The life you want
"Hey Dog Bro, how about... we stop playing this and go play something else?"
Jin Can recalled Ge Ouchen's pale face when they rode the pirate ship back in junior high school and said worriedly.
When there are too many people, it becomes impossible to coordinate actions.
After much discussion, everyone decided that their first challenge would be the most terrifying and thrilling ride in the entire amusement park – the "Ultimate Trial" – a roller coaster that involves vertical drops, 360-degree Thomas spins, and several weightlessness experiences.
While queuing, the boys from the competition class were bragging and making bets with each other: whoever threw up after coming down would have to buy everyone milk tea.
Ge Ouchen was surrounded by them, his face seemingly expressionless, but Jin Can keenly noticed that when he saw the roller coaster tumbling on the track in a way that defied physics, his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
“It’s nothing.” Ge Ouchen’s voice was very soft in the noisy crowd, but Jin Can heard it as a tremor and stubbornness.
In front of his friends, especially a group of outstanding, competitive friends, his damned, boyish pride seemed to prevent him from backing down.
So, amidst excited screams, Jin Can watched as Ge Ouchen, expressionless, boarded the roller coaster that seemed to lead to either heaven or hell.
Five minutes later, as the roller coaster slowly returned to the platform, everyone looked as if they had just been pulled out of the water, their faces pale and their legs weak.
However, everyone was unusually excited.
"Wow! That was awesome!"
"I almost thought I was going to fly out of the air!"
Ge Ouchen was the last one to come down.
He remained silent, his face as white as a sheet of paper, his lips pressed tightly together.
He didn't linger; his steps were somewhat unsteady as he walked straight to the public restroom next door.
Jin Can's heart clenched, and he immediately followed.
She waited at the bathroom door for a short while before hearing muffled, violent vomiting sounds coming from inside.
Jin Can felt both anxious and pained... Although she also wanted to laugh at him a little, she ultimately decided not to be too immoral.
Ultimately, it was heartache that prevailed.
A few minutes later, Ge Ouchen walked out, leaning against the wall.
He seemed to have splashed water on his face, but it still couldn't hide his pale complexion and reddened eyes.
Upon seeing Jin Can standing at the door, Ge Ouchen's eyes flashed with a hint of embarrassment and awkwardness, and he subconsciously avoided her gaze.
"How embarrassing," he said self-deprecatingly.
Jin Can quickly stepped forward and took out bottled water and tissues that he had prepared in advance from his bag.
"Rinsing your mouth again will help." She unscrewed the cap and handed it to him.
Then, she took out a tissue and, quite naturally, wiped the cold sweat that had seeped from his forehead due to discomfort. Her movements were gentle yet practiced.
Ge Ouchen stood frozen, letting her take care of him.
Just then, the boys from the competition class came over, laughing and joking.
"Hey Dog Bro! You didn't really throw up, did you? You promised milk tea!"
"Dog Bro's feeling a bit weak right now, after all, he has so many girls to deal with every day..."
Before they could finish speaking, Jin Can suddenly turned around, her clear almond-shaped eyes now glaring at them like a mother tigress protecting her cubs.
"Shut up!" Her voice carried a strong sense of intimidation, making the boys afraid to make any rash moves.
"Who threw up? He just didn't eat breakfast, he'll be fine after a rest!"
She cornered the boy who said "Dog Bro is weak," pinning him against the wall with one hand and pointing at his face with the other, her tone a mix of joke and pressure: "You like milk tea, right? If anyone dares to utter a word about what happened today, I'll let them taste my special 'laxative milk tea'! I guarantee the effect will be immediate, their chrysanthemums will bloom, and they'll never forget it!"
[The power of verbal therapy resonance has been activated!]
The boys were stunned by her fierce appearance, looked at each other blankly, and finally smiled sheepishly and raised their hands in surrender.
"Alright, alright, we wouldn't dare say anything if our sister-in-law spoke up!"
"Yes, yes, we didn't see anything."
"My stomach is starting to hurt! Ouch, run!"
They wisely slipped away.
Jin Can easily defused an awkward situation in a domineering yet adorable way.
Ge Ouchen chuckled softly.
Jin Can turned around and saw him leaning against the wall, staring blankly at him.
"You're still laughing! Still laughing!" He glared at Ge Ouchen reproachfully. "Who told you to be so stubborn!"
"Yes, I was wrong." He readily admitted his mistake, but the smile in his eyes grew deeper and deeper.
The barrage of comments in Jin Can's mind surged like a tide, densely covering the entire screen.
[Haha, Dog Bro's sudden change is amazing, it's so funny!]
[Jin Chan's protectiveness towards her husband is off the charts! I'm rooting for Jin Chan this time!]
[Dog Bro: Weak, pathetic, sliding on his knees, hahaha!]
[This threat is outrageous! What the heck is this laxative milk tea?!]
[Help! This is so sweet, I'm totally shipping them!]
The lively comments added a relaxed atmosphere to the whole scene, as if even the air itself became lighter.
Jin Can secretly glanced at the comments and saw the exaggerated remarks. Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she pretended nothing had happened.
Unfortunately, all these subtle actions were noticed by Ge Ouchen. A knowing smile appeared on his lips as he said:
"What did those comments say? Let me guess."
"Ah, so sweet, I'm dying of sweetness."
Jin Can blushed instantly, turned around and beckoned Lin Xiaoxiao and the others over, whispering, "Let's go quickly, eat something first, and recover our strength."
bite--!
As noon approached, a system panel suddenly popped up, coldly reminding users that all daily tasks for the day were still at zero progress.
Got it!
Jin Can nodded, but in his heart he had already cursed the system eight hundred times.
Seriously, man?!
Of course it's zero! Because I'm on a spring outing today!
In the afternoon, everyone was in high spirits and played all the games. Even when their legs were tired, they still wanted more.
But the joy of a spring outing is ultimately fleeting.
When Jin Can dragged his exhausted body home, the system's emotionless death knell immediately echoed in his mind.
[Host, please note that the spring outing is over, and your relaxation time has been reset.]
[New Task: 1. Guzheng practice, 1 hour daily, complete the full piece "High Mountains and Flowing Water" and qualify for the arts festival preliminary round]
[2. Organize a poetry recitation themed "Youth and Dreams," and successfully advance to the preliminary rounds of the arts festival.]
[3. Learning tasks: 30 minutes of daily English listening practice, memorizing 200 new words, and practicing incorrect answers...]
Jin Can stared at the task list that appeared in his mind and felt a chill run down his spine.
Until the very last sentence, she finally couldn't hold back anymore and completely broke down.
[Punishment for mission failure: 5% deduction of attribute values.]
Why?
Was there a punishment?
Guzheng? She hasn't even picked up the basics yet!
Poetry recitation? Thinking about it carefully, I realized I was actually going to have to pretend to recite poetry in front of the entire school?
Jin Can suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed, overwhelmed by a wave of shame.
Not to mention the sheer volume of study plans, the intensity of which was simply nightmarish.
She collapsed onto the bed, feeling utterly exhausted.
For the first time, she felt a sense of weariness and resistance towards the system, which forcefully pushed and compelled her, giving her no room to breathe.
"Why..." she muttered to herself, staring at the ceiling.
"It's just a one-day spring outing, is it really necessary to be so ruthless?"
The system responded to Jin Can with silence.
The comments section was divided into two camps arguing, but unfortunately she was tired and too lazy to check them all.
Jin Can rolled over and buried her face in the pillow, her mind still replaying the scenes from the amusement park earlier that day: Ge Ouchen's pale face, the gentle smile on his face when he apologized, everyone playing happily in the sunshine, their laughter echoing...
Those scenes, which had just happened yesterday, so vivid and joyful, suddenly seemed distant and unreal when compared to the cold, impersonal tasks of the system now…
It looks fake!
Just then, her phone vibrated; it was a message from Chao Ningning.
Did you have fun today?
As Jin Can looked at the message, the pent-up resentment that had been building up inside him suddenly surged up.
She replied, "I'm unhappy, I miss mice."
Not long after the message was sent, Chao Ningning called directly.
"Do you know... about the system and the bullet comments on me? You all know about them, right?"
On the other end of the phone, Chao Ningning seemed to be confirming something with someone else. After hesitating for a while, she finally admitted in a low voice:
"Yes, I know, all three of us know."
In an instant, Jin Can couldn't hold back and poured out all the increasingly bizarre tasks the system had issued to Chao Ningning.
She said that listening to English listening was boring, and that she felt like she was going crazy listening to that mechanical audio every day.
She talked about the torment of doing endless practice problems, some of which were so complicated that she wondered if she had learned a fake math.
She also talked about the arts festival and the awkwardness of poetry recitation, saying that she felt she would definitely forget her lines if she stood on stage;
She even complained about the pain of practicing the guzheng.
"My hands are covered in calluses now!"
"No, does Ge Ouchen really have such high standards for his 'official wife'? I don't believe it!"
"Besides, why me? Whoever wants to be it can be it."
"This place isn't fake, is it? Is it also a dungeon? Let me out!"
Jin Can became so excited that he started rambling and incoherently.
Chao Ningning listened quietly on the other end of the phone without interrupting her.
When Jin Can had finished talking, she slowly said, "Jin Can, calm down. Your efforts and the world you live in are absolutely real. I guarantee it!"
"Think about it carefully, what are you working so hard for right now?"
"To... get into a good university? To catch up with Ge Ouchen," Jin Can answered subconsciously.
"And then?" Chao Ningning asked again, "And after you got into a good university? And after you caught up with him?"
Jin Can was stunned; she had never thought that far ahead.
She always thought that as long as she got into a good university, she could prove herself and get closer to Ge Ouchen.
The two of them can then play happily together forever.
But what happens after that?
Was her life really just about chasing after Ge Ouchen? Was it just about exchanging a few moments of laughter and joy with him?
Chao Ningning chuckled softly on the other end of the phone, a laugh that carried a hint of world-weariness beyond her years.
"Jin Can, do you know? I study because only through studying can I access a wider world."
She paused, then continued, "My family wasn't well-off; we didn't even have a decent desk. When I was little, my biggest dream was to have my own room. So I studied hard because I knew that only knowledge could allow me to leave that narrow world and see a bigger world outside."
“Jin Can, you are very smart and talented.” Chao Ningning’s voice carried a calming power. “I know you were a little impatient today.”
"Whether it's a system or a task, they are just tools. What truly determines how far you go is always yourself."
"Don't get lost in the whirlpool."
"You have to ask yourself, are you desperately chasing after someone else's shadow, or is it the life and dreams you truly want?"
"Take some time to calm down and think it over carefully tonight. Don't rush to answer these questions. You're still young, you have plenty of time to think it through."
After hanging up the phone, Jin Can lay silently on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, the image of Ge Ouchen appearing in his mind.
She always felt that Dog Brother was a very good person, so good that it made people afraid to slack off. She had to work hard enough to be worthy of standing beside him and standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
But why?
Chao Ningning's words were like a seed, quietly planted in her heart.
In order to be able to laugh alongside Dog Brother, she held her breath and studied desperately, putting a lot of pressure on herself.
But then she suddenly wanted to ask herself:
What kind of life does Jin Can actually want?
She certainly wasn't working hard to become some kind of "official wife".
Disturbed by these problems, Jin Can suddenly sat up and opened the guzheng score.
I can't concentrate on studying, so I'll play the piano for a while to calm down.
As soon as her fingertips touched the strings, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down and practice, just like when she was a child.
The music flowed gently, and those lingering questions seemed to be pressed into the depths of the sound.
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