Chapter 52 [VIP]

He was a little confused by Pumpkin Party's sudden confession. The last time the two of them logged on, they were fighting fiercely, but this time, Pumpkin Party confessed his feelings to him.

His attitude changed so quickly, it was as if someone had been reborn through his body, obtained some kind of strategy or mission, and then started to tormenting him, a mere passerby.

It was eerie and somewhat terrifying.

【peipei】: If you're sick, go get treatment sooner rather than later. Don't come here and act crazy.

【peipei】: Quickly agree to end the relationship. I don't want to get back together with you, nor do I want to accept any of your confessions. Whatever your schemes are, just give up on them.

Finally, Pei Xingzhi added angrily.

【peipei】：mental disorder

He's not some dungeon boss, so why do people keep coming to him to farm experience every day? Did someone accidentally give him some kind of "heartthrob" attribute recently? It seems like everyone's suddenly fallen for him.

Xie Nanyi accepted Pei Xingzhi's verbal attacks with great receptiveness and offered another round of flattery.

【Pumpkin Party】: Peipei…I'm sincere. I know I went too far in the past, but there were reasons for it. I only just realized that the reason I was bothering you was because I've fallen for you and wanted your attention. Peipei, can you give me a chance? Ω_Ω

【Pumpkin Party】：peipei~

The Pumpkin Party's lies had zero credibility with Pei Xingzhi. Seeing that he had no intention of ending the relationship, Pei Xingzhi was too lazy to argue with him anymore. He directly manipulated his staff to give Pumpkin Party a series of combos, reducing his health bar to a sliver before giving him several healing potions.

【peipei】: Agree quickly, or I'll kill you.

【Pumpkin Party】: peipei, you hit me so hard.

【peipei】：Get out.

The elf rolled around in place, and several small red flowers bloomed on its head.

【Pumpkin Party】: Peipei told me to roll, so I rolled.

Pei Xingzhi: ...

[Note: peipei is now offline]

He had witnessed firsthand how irritating this person could be; if he continued to entangle himself with this shameless pumpkin party, he wouldn't be able to do anything else today.

After playing the game for an hour, it was only 4:30 PM. Pei Xingzhi had been ignoring Xie Nanyi for a while, and after struggling with himself for a bit, he finally opened the chat app and checked the message Xie Nanyi had sent.

After the conversation, Xie Nanyi only sent a few perfunctory greetings, and then there was no further news. Until now, he hasn't sent any new messages. His communication abruptly ended, just as abruptly as the confession at Pumpkin Party.

Pei Xingzhi couldn't describe his current mood. Whether Xie Nanyi sent a message or not, or what message she sent, was none of his business, so why should he care so much?

Pei Xingzhi glanced at the wizard doll he had casually placed on the table, swiped right to set the message as unread, turned off his phone, and went to the living room to stretch his limbs. He wasn't going to waste his hard-earned day off on these people.

Negative emotions can overwhelm all optimistic factors around him. If he doesn't quickly get rid of the things accumulating in his mind, he will definitely be crushed by these irritating factors.

He chose a well-rated comedy as background music, drew the curtains in his room, and then lay down on the bed to go to sleep.

Rather than doing other meaningless things, it's better to have a meaningless sleep.

At least I'll have some energy when I stay up late at night.

Pei Xingzhi's sleep was quite chaotic.

What's in your heart appears in your dreams. Pei Xingzhi's dreams have become increasingly complex due to the many things he's experienced lately.

One moment he and Xie Nanyi are whispering in the classroom; the next they are lying in bed, silently gazing at each other; then it's their wedding ceremony, with his parents sitting in front receiving tea from Xie Nanyi; and then he's lying in bed, Xie Nanyi leaning against him, the two discussing what to name their unborn child...

The brain in the dream can't keep up with the speed of the changing scenes, and it's not until you wake up in a cold sweat that you realize how ridiculous your dreams were.

I thought sleeping would be relaxing, but it turned into another kind of mental stress.

Pei Xingzhi brushed his bangs aside, turned off the TV series that was still playing, and stretched his arms as he got up.

Although he had many bizarre dreams during his sleep, he didn't sleep for long. The clock showed 7:27 PM, and it was only just getting dark outside. Lights were turning on one by one in the buildings across the street, and he could see people moving around through the windows. He opened the window, and the cold air rushed into his nose, making Pei Xingzhi sneeze involuntarily.

Pei's parents don't have fixed working hours. He sent them a message before going to bed to ask, but hasn't received a response yet.

I guess some surgery has delayed things again, and I don't know if he'll be back tonight. That's just how their family is; they never seem to be able to get together. Either someone has something come up or someone else has something to do.

He went home hoping to seek comfort from his parents, but in the end, he could only process all his negative emotions on his own.

Tears welled up in his eyes, and Pei Xingzhi lowered his head to wipe them away with his sleeve, then couldn't help but open his phone again. Xie Nanyi's side was unusually quiet, making Pei Xingzhi wonder if he was up to something again.

Perhaps there really is a telepathic connection between people; he had just been thinking about Xie Nanyi when his message came through.

[Clingy]: Xiaozhi~ Have you eaten yet?

【Sweetheart Bunny】: No.

As if by some strange twist of fate, Pei Xingzhi replied.

[Clingy]: Xiaozhi, have you missed me? I miss you so much.

【Sweetheart Bunny】: I don't want to.

Pei Xingzhi bent slightly, resting his chin on the balcony railing. The air was filled with a damp, earthy scent, and a heavy, humid feeling enveloped Pei Xingzhi's body.

It's going to rain.

A raindrop landed beside Pei Xingzhi's arm, and then, dense raindrops pelted down from the dark night sky, instantly forming a torrential downpour.

Pei Xingzhi moved a small stool to the balcony and sat down. Listening to the pattering of the rain, he felt much more relaxed.

His reply was like a blessing to Xie Nanyi. No matter how long he had ignored her, as long as he replied, Xie Nanyi would have endless motivation.

Pei Xingzhi even suspected that he had created some kind of mini-program that would bombard his chat window with messages as soon as it received them.

The incessant notification sounds gave Pei Xingzhi a headache. He turned off Xie Nanyi's message notifications and continued to sit peacefully on the small stool, listening to the rain.

It's raining quite heavily tonight, so his parents probably won't be coming back. He doesn't have any particular desires or wants; he just wants to be alone for a while.

He wanted some peace and quiet, but reality wouldn't allow it. He had only closed his eyes to rest for a few minutes when his phone rang again.

This message clearly didn't come from Xie Nanyi. Pei Xingzhi sighed resignedly and opened his phone to see who had sent the message.

[Senior Li]: Pei Xingzhi, are you at school now?

【Sweetheart Bunny】: I'm not at school.

[Senior Li]: Did you go home? I remember your home is near the school, right? Could you please do me a favor? I really can't find anyone else who can help me right now.

[Senior Li]: I asked around and no one else was at school, so I had to come to you.

The senior's tone sounded like it was something extremely urgent. He usually took good care of him, so Pei Xingzhi didn't care about the trouble and quickly asked.

【Sweetheart Bunny】: What's going on?

[Senior Li]: I haven't saved the experimental data I did before my break. The school's system deletes data every seven days, and today is the seventh day. I'm currently collecting samples in a remote mountainous area, and even by the fastest bus, I won't get to school until tomorrow night. But by then, the system will have already refreshed, and all my data from the past two months will be wasted. Pei Xingzhi, could you please help me save it when I go back to school?

[Senior Li]: I'm really begging you, I'm only coming to you because I have no other choice.

Pei Xingzhi felt a burning sensation as he looked at the message from his senior, as if he were being roasted on a cross.

To prevent students from maliciously damaging other people's experimental results when no one is around, all classrooms with access permissions are given an additional layer of access control during the holidays. This access is only available to teachers; ordinary students like him have no way to enter.

Even if he wanted to help, he was powerless to do so.

He didn't reply to the message for a long time, and the senior seemed to notice his hesitation, so he sent a message to try to persuade him.

[Senior Li]: The special access to the school lab is only available from 10 PM to 10 AM. As long as you go and come back quickly, you can save it for me.

[Senior Li]: Pei Xingzhi, please, I really need this data. Otherwise, not only will my time be wasted, but I will also have to choose a new research topic for my scholarship application.

[Senior Li]: Pei Xingzhi, I'm begging you, you're the only one who can help me now.

Looking at the endless stream of death warrants on the screen, Pei Xingzhi suddenly regretted being so honest when filling out the family survey.

No wonder he saw that his classmates' home addresses were far from the school when he submitted their materials; they were afraid of such trouble.

It wasn't that he was lazy and didn't want to help; the issue of access restrictions was one aspect. Furthermore, even setting aside the access restrictions, the fact that he stole back to the school's lab when no one was around was a problem in itself. If anyone's experimental data or materials were to have problems later, he would be primarily responsible.

No matter how many reasons he has, he will not be able to escape these fabricated charges.

[Senior Li]: Pei Xingzhi, I'm begging you. You know how important this experiment is to me. I really can't lose this data.

[Senior Li]: I know this violates school rules, but don't worry. I'll take responsibility if anything happens, okay?

[Senior Li]: If you really can't do it, then forget it. I'll try to find someone else. I've already asked a lot of people, but they're all not really available. You usually go back and forth between school and home, so I thought it would be convenient for you, which is why I asked you.

Pei Xingzhi looked at the message he sent, feeling a mix of emotions.

He wanted to help, but he had suffered too many consequences from acting out of momentary enthusiasm, and now he was genuinely a little scared.

However, Senior Li had also helped him many times. Many of his projects would not have been completed so well without Senior Li's assistance, and he also knew the importance of experimental data to a student.

Pei Xingzhi bit his lip and punched the air in frustration.

【Sweetheart Bunny】: Senior, don't worry, I'll go to school and save it for you.

Who told him to be such a damn warm-hearted person?

His home is not far from the school. Although the weather was bad and it was raining, all the transportation was still running. He successfully arrived at the school before nine o'clock. However, the process was full of twists and turns, which resulted in him being soaked when he got off the bus.

Pei Xingzhi quickly wiped the rain off his face and hands and managed to find Senior Li's computer where he was recording data before the lab's special access was activated.

The students' personal computers were all password protected. Pei Xingzhi didn't know the password, so he sent a message to ask, but the other party seemed to have lost contact and didn't reply for a long time.

Time ticked by, and the time for activating special privileges was fast approaching. Pei Xingzhi bit his finger and, after a few minutes of internal struggle, decided to stay.

Since they're already here, and we're on the same boat anyway, we might as well do them a favor. Pei Xingzhi tried to guess Li Xuechang's birthday several times, but all the attempts were incorrect.

If it weren't for the fact that he brought this trouble upon himself, Pei Xingzhi would have really wanted to take out his phone and give Li Xuechang a piece of his mind.

Doesn't this person know their computer has a password? They're in such a hurry, why didn't they send the password to them beforehand?

Just when Pei Xingzhi was about to give up and leave in frustration, Senior Li finally replied.

[Senior Li]: Sorry, there is often no signal in the mountainous area, I just received the message now.

【Sweetheart Bunny】: It's okay, what's your computer password?

Pei Xingzhi was furious, but he still had to maintain his good demeanor as a model student.

[Senior Li]: There's a notebook on my desk, and the computer password is on the first page.

Pei Xingzhi followed his instructions and rummaged through his desk. His desk was very clean, with nothing on it except for some drawings and materials for recording.

【Sweetheart Bunny】: Are you mistaken? There's no notebook on the table.

[Senior Li]: Oops, I made a mistake. I brought my notebook with me. Never mind, I'll just tell you the password...

Pei Xingzhi obtained the password and successfully opened the computer. Following his guidance, he found and saved his experimental data.

Upon hearing that his experimental data had been saved, Senior Li sent a series of messages expressing his gratitude, all of which conveyed the same message.

Pei Xingzhi had no intention of responding to his thanks. His body and mind were in a mess. Compared to his senior's relief, he was more confused now.

He didn't want to do these things, but why did he come anyway? He was terrified the whole way here, and now that he had finally completed the task he had recruited, it was already 9:53. If he didn't leave soon, he would be locked inside.

He restored Li Xuechang's messed-up table to its original state, then got up, squeezed out the rainwater that had gathered on his clothes, and prepared to leave.

Pei Xingzhi was completely soaked. The laboratory maintains a constant temperature year-round to preserve the condition of the samples, and he had been there for so long, soaked, that he was almost freezing to death.

At 21:57, Pei Xingzhi entered the lab password and finally left the lab before special permissions were activated.

The rain intensified.

Pei Xingzhi was in such a hurry to leave that he forgot his umbrella, and his clothes were completely soaked. When the wind blew outside, Pei Xingzhi couldn't help but sneeze.

"bite"

When his phone beeped, Pei Xingzhi thought it was a message from Senior Li, hesitated for a moment, and then opened it to take a look.

[Clingy]: What are you doing?

The wind whipped at his head, making Pei Xingzhi's mind go blank. He felt wronged, even though he had brought this trouble upon himself. He could have simply refused; all his efforts hadn't brought him any benefit.

However, he could never learn how to refuse others, and he was always forced to maintain the standards of an excellent student that he didn't want to maintain.

He didn't want it to be this way, he didn't want to do these things, but reality never gave him a choice.

Pei Xingzhi sniffed, wiping away what appeared to be tears or raindrops from his face. He looked down intently at the screen and replied.

【Sweetheart Bunny】: It's raining.

[Clingy]: Lord Rain, could you please look up and see me sitting across from you?

A note from the author:

Infertile~

The experiments were all fictional, with a little bit of biochemistry involved. A normal first-year college student wouldn't be this versatile (but Pei Xiaozhi isn't an ordinary student).