Ruan Qingan likes Zhou Zihang.

Almost everyone knew about this, because the original owner's feelings for Zhou Zihang were open and aboveboard. Regardless of whether it was at school or whether teachers intervened, it became common knowledge.

Publicly confessing one's feelings was nothing to her; the original owner even skipped class to pursue Zhou Zihang and almost got punished.

Lu Ke hesitated to speak precisely because he knew this; if Ruan Qing'an knew that Zhou Zihang liked Chen Siyue, how heartbroken she would be...

But without giving Lu Ke a chance to refuse, Ruan Qing'an bent her knuckles and tapped the table again: "What's wrong?"

"Sister Ruan, they really don't have any conflicts, just some emotional entanglements, it won't involve me."

"Emotional entanglements?"

Ruan Qing'an retorted, "Do you think I don't know whether Brother Hang is in a relationship or not? How could he possibly have any romantic entanglements? Fine, fine, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too. I'm too lazy to force you."

Perhaps these words spurred Lu Ke into speaking. After hesitating for a while, Lu Ke quickly said, "Really, I didn't mean to lie to you, Sister Ruan!"

“Zhou Zihang... he's been pursuing Chen Siyue lately. We live close by, so I know that, but Chen Siyue hasn't accepted him yet…”

After saying those words, Lu Ke looked at Ruan Qing'an's expressionless face and realized what he had said. As he finished speaking, his voice grew softer and softer, and he didn't dare to look up at her.

Hearing this, just as Ruan Qing'an was about to ask more questions, x09 in her mind suddenly interrupted her. His low, husky male voice always sounded so calm and composed.

"Host, there is one more thing you need to learn, and that is to observe your surroundings."

"A lot of information comes not only from conversations with people. Host, you should learn to observe the details of the environment before making judgments to improve your questioning efficiency."

x09 is like a teacher, offering a casual reminder at the most crucial moment.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing'an's words caught in her throat. She glanced at the classroom without making a sound. After class, the atmosphere in the classroom was noisy and chaotic.

Just as she was wondering what it meant, her gaze suddenly swept over the empty seats scattered in different locations. Upon seeing this, Ruan Qing'an suddenly remembered—

Zhou Zihang and Chen Siyue are also from Class 4 of Senior Three!

In youth-themed angst literature, to exacerbate the conflict and give them more opportunities to meet, these four important characters are all in the same class.

The fact that Zhou Zihang and Chen Siyue are not seen now can only mean that the two empty seats must belong to them.

After thinking about this, Ruan Qing'an said, "Don't lie to me, Lu Ke. Even if neither of them is here, it doesn't mean they have any relationship."

Seeing that even after telling the truth, Ruan Qing'an still didn't believe him, Lu Ke became even more anxious. Who would want to be seen as a liar in the heart of the person they secretly love?

Now, Lu Ke didn't care about anything else and said seriously, "Sister Ruan, the reason I know is because I live close to Chen Siyue and her family, and I saw Zhou Zihang on my way home."

"Zhou Zihang was pulling and tugging at her at that time, and their relationship seemed a bit ambiguous. I vaguely heard them mention that they knew you liked Zhou Zihang, and they were afraid you would cause trouble for Chen Siyue."

After speaking, Lu Ke looked anxiously at Ruan Qing'an, as if determined to prove that he had not lied.

After Lu Ke finished speaking, Ruan Qing'an finally understood which part of the plot this was, and why Zhou Zihang and Chen Siyue had disappeared.

This is roughly the early to middle part of the original story, when Zhou Zihang realizes he has fallen for Chen Siyue and begins to pursue her, only to be rejected by Chen Siyue in every way possible.

Chen Siyue's excuse was that she was afraid the original owner would cause her trouble. This prevented Zhou Zihang from pursuing her in a high-profile manner at school, but it also sowed the seeds for the original owner to be blamed by Zhou Zihang later.

The reason why neither of them was present this time is even simpler.

Just like in angst-filled youth literature, there are always a few families with some problems, and the protagonist Chen Siyue's family is like that.

Her parents divorced, and she lived with her father, but he was an alcoholic and abusive. Last night, Chen Siyue couldn't accept it and ran away from home for the whole night, bumping into Zhou Zihang who was coming out of a bar.

Zhou Zihang suspected that the girl he liked was not a pure white lotus flower at all, but a bitch, and he was so angry that he confronted her this morning.

However, he accidentally discovered Chen Siyue's injuries and learned about the incident. This became the key reason why he felt sorry for the female lead and eventually became completely devoted to this poor girl.

However, because of this, both of them were late and ended up being taken to the dean of students for criticism.

After recalling the plot once again, Ruan Qing'an looked up and met Lu Ke's tense gaze.

She ignored him and shoved Lu Ke away: "Ha, do you think I don't know who Brother Hang is? Even I didn't accept him, so why should Chen Siyue be liked?"

After saying that, Ruan Qing'an ignored Lu Ke's expression and strode away, not caring whether there were still classes or not. For the original owner, skipping classes was already a routine, and no one cared about her.

Only after leaving the classroom did Ruan Qingan ask x09 in his mind, "x09, can you locate Zhou Zihang and Chen Siyue's positions?"

"Can."

Soon, Ruan Qingan could feel a pale blue virtual screen appear out of thin air in front of him, with two light spots flashing on it, which were now overlapping.

She tried touching it, but couldn't feel anything. She was even more amazed by the Bureau's high-tech capabilities: "Amazing..."

"These are just some minor tricks, host. But you seem to have a plan in mind."

"Hmm, I have some ideas, but I don't know if they're feasible."

Ruan Qing'an paused, then tried to say, "In my opinion, the original owner's tragic fate is largely related to her own love-obsessed nature, her neglect of her career, and her involvement in Zhou Zihang and his relationship."

"So I think that as long as I can change these things, then I should be able to change my predetermined fate. So I have to contact them in order to have a legitimate reason to get out."

When she spoke, although she was somewhat confident, it wasn't much; she sounded like a student being questioned by a teacher, with a hint of nervousness and unease.

X09, who could easily detect it, chuckled softly. His calm tone, which was always unwavering, carried a clear sense of reassurance: "That's right, you're absolutely right, host."

While they were talking, Ruan Qingan had already found the female lead and the male supporting character, who were arguing and pulling each other, in an alley outside the school, using X09's navigation.

Looking at the wall separating them, and faintly hearing the voices of two people talking outside, Ruan Qing'an was at a loss: "How can I get out of here?"

She's smart, but this is definitely the first time she's done something like this...

After a brief silence, x09's low, helpless laughter echoed in Ruan Qing'an's mind: "Host, you still have a lot to learn."

"Now, listen to what I say and do it. The original owner's physical fitness, muscle memory, and even your instincts after receiving the memories are all capable of allowing you to bypass the wall."

"But I... I feel like I can't do it..."

x09 said seriously, "You may not trust yourself, but—what you need to do now is trust me and follow my instructions completely."