Chapter 3 03
It's very quiet.
The system was as silent as if it were dead.
After finishing loading the save file, Tan Quelu rummaged through her luggage and suddenly asked, "Where's my uniform?"
In the original work, he is a cowardly, innocent-looking person. Although he came from the same orphanage as Xia Xing, he was too ordinary for Xia Xing to notice. He was a poor man destined to live a mediocre life and was not on the same level as her. There was no need for them to have any interaction.
After a long silence, the system weakly spoke: [The host is currently wearing a uniform. You will need to go to the administration office to retrieve it again. All other personal belongings will be kept in the dormitory at St. Weston Academy.]
“Oh,” Tan Quelu nodded, carrying her luggage toward the school gate, and said slowly, “Your goal is to protect the protagonist’s safety and prevent him from losing his life, right?”
System: 【...That's correct.】
"This world allows us to save three times. Shouldn't we seize this opportunity to figure out the true nature of all the characters? If that's the case, the deaths of two people are already worth it."
Tan Quelu's tone was persuasive and gentle, but the system recalled the expression on his face when he killed Zhong Wan with his face covered in blood.
With his eyebrows lowered and eyes filled with compassion, he looked as if he were cleaning up a scourge for the world.
The system whispered a suggestion: [Host, you might want to see a psychiatrist.]
He must be mentally ill.
Tan Quelu smiled, closed his eyes, and skillfully drew a half-cross gesture in front of his chest. Sunlight fell on his face, and he seemed to be bathed in God's sweet rain. He whispered, "Sorry, I have no obligation to cure diseases."
[...]
Tan Quelu opened her eyes. Not far away, the protagonist was already taunting Zhong Wan while holding an orange cat.
He looked at the scene calmly: "Communicating with some people is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are at chess, this pigeon will only poop on the chessboard and then walk around as if it has won."
"How can a normal person save a stupid pigeon?"
Tan Quelu opened her umbrella and gently shook her head: "You're useless too, you don't know anything. If I weren't more capable, I would have died with Xia Xing long ago."
Tan Quelu had a pure and innocent appearance, and even when she was swearing, she maintained a good-natured demeanor. The system suddenly felt ashamed and stammered, "[Y-yes, I'm sorry, host, I only know the content from the original work...]"
“What I want isn’t an apology,” Tan Quelu sighed, her voice full of forgiveness. “You brought me into this world, shouldn’t you give me your greatest support? Or are you trying to kill me?”
"But I'm the one who needs your support the most."
"System, you hate me? You think I'm not presentable, that I deserve to die because I've been to prison, and that I don't deserve to live in the sunlight, just like Xia Xing?"
【I don't! 】
The system screamed, its voice distorting, and an electronic voice cried out urgently: "I really didn't! I didn't want to kill you, and I don't think you deserve to die! Host, I... I support you, I'll support you no matter what! Waaah..."
Tan Quelu remained silent.
An electronic device whose feelings are unknown. No matter how many rhetoric he uses, this is the best he can do for now.
"Stop crying, it's too noisy."
The system immediately fell silent, daring not to make another sound.
Tan Quelu then looked towards the distance.
The main entrance of St. Weston School.
Xia Xing, holding the orange cat, her face stubborn, uttered that familiar line for the third time—"Stop! Who are you? You think you can just run away after bumping into a cat?"
Just like the previous two times, the surrounding students instantly fell silent, behaving like NPCs.
Zhong Wan, sitting on the motorcycle, squinted and suddenly felt extremely irritable.
It felt like I'd heard that phrase countless times before. My temples throbbed, and I had this urge to stuff the guy in front of me into a pressure cooker, stew him into soup, and then launch him into outer space to never see him again!
Grass.
Zhong Wan shook her head, realizing that she was probably under too much pressure from being scolded by her parents these past few days.
With each word Xia Xing spoke, his agitation intensified.
Just as Zhong Wan tightened the motorcycle engine, intending to kill this idiot.
A pungent, cheap soap smell suddenly assaulted my nostrils.
Immediately afterward, a pleasant, unfamiliar voice rang out, calling his name with some surprise: "Zhong Wan?"
Zhong Wan paused, and a few seconds later, turned her head to look at the person who had come.
A strange young man stood in the sunlight, carrying luggage and holding an umbrella, looking at him with a pair of clear, dark eyes.
He was dressed casually in a common light-colored short-sleeved shirt, clean but showing signs of having been washed multiple times. Everything he wore was cheap; he looked utterly inexpensive. Yet, his face was undeniably expensive.
Just like putting a beautiful child in the middle makes everyone look beautiful.
When Zhong Wan saw Tan Quelu's face, she felt that the price of every single item he wore should be increased by six zeros.
Zhong Wan narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "You know me?"
Tan Quelu smiled, her pure face softening as she jokingly said, "Important people often have bad memories, of course Young Master Zhong won't remember me, but you'd better hurry up and get into school."
His voice was soft, but the ending note rose slightly, like an affectionate scolding, not too intimate, maintaining just the right amount of reserved distance.
Zhong Wan tried to recall, but still couldn't remember that beautiful face. If they had met before, he certainly wouldn't have forgotten.
Xia Xing, who was standing to the side, glanced at Tan Quelu, who had suddenly appeared, and secretly looked over his cheap clothes. However, because of Tan Quelu's familiar tone with Zhong Wan earlier, she did not say anything.
He was holding the orange cat, just about to continue his attack on Zhong Wan.
Tan Quelu suddenly looked over and said with a smile, "Young man, the cat in your arms seems very uncomfortable. You can let go of it a little."
Xia Xing was taken aback, only then realizing that the orange cat had been struggling. He quickly let go, still insisting, "But he bumped into the cat first, he has to apologize! Does riding a motorcycle make you so great? How childish!"
Zhong Wan's temples throbbed violently.
His eyes turned icy with rage, and the black motorcycle roared as it spewed towards Xia Xing, its tail spewing out eerie blue flames—he was determined to smash this idiot into outer space!
Tan Quelu grabbed Zhong Wan's wrist, her voice calm: "Zhong Wan."
The onlookers gasped in surprise.
Everyone in St. Weston knows that Zhong Wan has a volatile temper and spends most of his time either with his F3 group or constantly practicing and racing. Even in a prestigious place like St. Weston, he's still a troublemaker that no one dares to mess with.
Talking about peacock green is risking your life?
Zhong Wan narrowed her eyes, her dark, irritated gaze fixed on Tan Quelu, as the motorcycle roared with a menacing warning: "You want to die too?"
Tan Quelu smiled slightly, leaned close to the boy's helmet, and whispered in his ear, "President Wei is coming soon. If you hit someone now, the Zhong family will take you away this afternoon."
"Zhong Wan, don't cause trouble."
“I can persuade your aunt and uncle not to force you to bow down to Xie Chenbi.”
Zhong Wan was startled. Her eyes, hidden beneath her helmet, were fixed on Tan Quelu, filled with cold, sharp scrutiny and suspicion.
How could he have known...?
And what about General Wei—Wei Guan?
Eden Group is a major investor in the Board of Trustees, but a big shot like Wei Guan is very busy and rarely appears here.
Moreover, Wei Zhiyan hadn't told them either.
Zhong Wan smelled the cheap soapy scent on Tan Quelu and became increasingly convinced that he had ulterior motives.
He stared coldly at the boy: "Get out of my way."
Tan Quelu didn't speak, quickly extinguishing her smile and looking at Zhong Wan with a cold expression, as if she were looking at a shameless idiot.
He turned around, smiled, took Xia Xing's hand, and said softly, "Let's go."
"Wei Guan is coming soon, it's not worth arguing with him."
Zhong Wan heard Tan Quelu's annoyed voice: "If Wei Guan finds out that Zhong Wan treated me like this... Humph, let's go."
Zhong Wan: "...Wait a minute."
Tan Quelu ignored him, called Wei Guan by name, and immediately dragged Xia Xing away, taking the use of borrowed power to the extreme.
Zhong Wan felt like cursing.
He tightened the brakes on his motorcycle, about to give chase, when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind. Immediately afterward, the security captain appeared quickly, leading his men to rush to the roadside.
"Ah Wan?"
Wei Zhiyan got out of a black Cullinan, turned his head slightly, and said something to the person in the back seat.
Immediately, he walked over with Xie Chenbi, who had an indifferent expression in the car next door, patted the stunned Zhong Wan, and said with a smile, "Are you stupid? What are you standing there for?"
Zhong Wan looked up and finally took off her heavy helmet.
His dazzling platinum hair stood out in a fluffy, voluminous style. The boy's features were sharp and handsome, and the hair color added a touch of arrogance to them. An unapproachable aura lingered around his eyes, making him exceptionally eye-catching.
He looked at the car with the special license plate, his brows furrowed: "...Why did President Wei suddenly come to the school?"
“It was a last-minute decision,” Wei Zhiyan shrugged lazily. “It seems to be for some project? I can’t fathom my brother’s thoughts. Why are you asking?”
Zhong Wan didn't speak, seemingly lost in thought, then suddenly asked, "Does your brother like men or women?"
“…” Wei Zhiyan cursed at him: “Are you sick? Did you drink engine oil and poison your brain? What a disgusting question.”
He gets goosebumps just thinking about linking things like "Western perspectives" and "romance"!
Zhong Wan also felt like she had made a fool of herself. Wei Guan was a well-known upright person; he would never keep a mistress.
That's the younger generation?
Why would the younger generation of the Kewei family be dressed so shabbily?
Xie Chenbi glanced around indifferently and calmly asked, "What just happened?"
"...You'll see when you look at the security footage."
Zhong Wan put her helmet back on, started the motorcycle with a hum, and said hurriedly, "I'm going to check on someone, I'm leaving now."
......
Tan Quelu led Xia Xing to the registration desk of St. Weston School.
His hands were warm, with thin calluses on his fingertips and the area between his thumb and forefinger, feeling soft and comfortable to the touch. Xia Xingchao unconsciously savored the sensation for a while before shaking him off, frowning and demanding, "Who are you?"
Tan Quelu didn't answer, and looked around the reporting hall.
St. Weston School boasts a luxurious yet solemn atmosphere, with numerous registration windows. The school employs AI-powered services; white robots sit at the windows, beeping as they input student information, while names flash across electronic screens. Each time a student's information is entered, a swarm of bee-like robotic spheres carrying daily necessities rises and flies smoothly and swiftly towards the student dormitories.
This is a more advanced world.
It also made class distinctions more pronounced.
Tan Quelu's gaze slid across the clear window and lingered in the most secluded corner.
That's the window for students admitted through special admissions.
Located at the far end of the hall, the staff consisted of several ordinary-looking students wearing vests, who, according to the original work, were probably there to earn academic credits.
Tan Quelu walked to the window.
The staff member glanced at his face a few times, then quickly scanned his iris. The screen beeped twice: [Information entered: Tan Quelu, 18 years old, special admission student of the Seagull Welfare Institute, dormitory: Wenhua Building 17, Room 401.]
Xia Xing, who was following behind him, was stunned for a moment, and finally realized: "You're also from the Seagull Welfare Institute? You're a special admission student? Then how do you know Zhong Wan... No, you're lying to him!"
So his claim of knowing President Wei is also fake?
After receiving her uniform, Tan Quelu turned around and caught a glimpse of the undisguised disappointment in Xia Xing's eyes.
He asked the system: "[Is this the stubborn, unyielding, and rebellious uke you described?]"
Last time, he didn't even bother to accept his incredibly beautiful and stylish handmade umbrella.
This time, however, she was able to let him lead her here.
After a long silence, the system weakly replied: "I'm sorry, host, but that's what the original story says... and in the original story, all three F3 fell in love with him."
But things are not going well so far. It seems like the F3 members have run into some problems, and Zhong Wan looks like she's going to smash Xia Xing to pieces and send him flying out of the galaxy. It's hard not to say that things are going to get tense.
If the original plot is unreliable, how can the protagonist win the hearts of a group of big shots and make them cry and grovel at the crematorium?
[Host, what do we do?]
What else can we do?
Oh, you lovelorn protagonist, please wait another lifetime!
A note from the author:
System: I've been crying!
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