CH 30

Ren Shuhan ran back to the teaching building without returning to the classroom. Instead, he took a turn and, finding no one around, reached a skylight and climbed up onto the rooftop.

Although in novels and comics, the rooftop is a must-pass place on campus, often appearing prominently, based on Ren Shuhan’s past school experience, modern schools either lock the rooftop entrance to prevent students from entering and causing trouble, or they simply don’t have direct rooftop access, only requiring a ladder to reach it.

So he didn’t bother looking for a door and went straight to the rooftop. Besides, his current body was quite strong, and he could jump up without needing a ladder.

He just wanted to find a quiet place and quickly finish reading the original work.

To his surprise, the morning passed, and he had managed to calmly read one-third of the “Tales of the Noble Family.” The character “Ren Shuhan” had only just appeared, and the scene was the exact one that had just happened!

What did this mean? It meant that until today, the interactions he and the protagonist had… were zero!

Ren Shuhan: So, I’m still a pure gong?

And this time, it was thoroughly pure, unlike last time when there was no physical advantage taken but a bunch of messy emotional baggage left, causing chaos even at his wedding.

However, Ren Shuhan didn’t feel happy because of this. In the original work, Song Xici had a white lotus younger brother named Song Xiyue.

Having the word “moon”1Just like Song Xici has “word” in his name, like Gu Weici, this character has “moon”, just like “Jiang Qingyue” in his name gave Ren Shuhan an ominous feeling.

Song Xiyue was different from Jiang Qingyue in the previous world. He was no longer a barely noticeable white moonlight but a villain. He had openly and secretly targeted Song Xici several times, and each time, Song Xici gave him a slap in the face. Now, in the eyes of the whole class, he was practically a joke.

This person clearly had no blood relation to the Song family, nor did he have any engagement with Ren Shuhan. Being an Omega meant nothing in this book, as Omegas were everywhere, and there were hardly any Betas. He didn’t understand where he got the confidence from to confront the protagonist, for no apparent reason.

But!

Ren Shuhan keenly detected a mysterious sense of familiarity.

Could it be that he, too, had fallen under the protagonist’s halo?

He felt a little anxious.

Ren Shuhan briefly flipped through the remaining two-thirds of the plot. The pattern wasn’t much different from before, but it added some romantic scenes between him and Song Xici, as well as… the familiar wife-chasing scenes.

Upon seeing this briefly, Ren Shuhan decided not to read any further. He would first go back to the classroom and find Song Xiyue, his classmate, to make contact.

On the way, he mentally prepared himself.

Even if Qingyue really has changed, it doesn’t matter. Isn’t he just a malicious antagonist? After all, in the last book, he himself was still a scumbag wasn’t he? And he hasn’t despised him either, right? Besides, he shouldn’t take NPCs too seriously in the future, including Song Xici. So far, there are hardly any normal characters in this book, and Song Xici is just impolite, which is considered good. He shouldn’t get too involved with NPCs…

Just as Ren Shuhan was thinking this, he ran into Song Xici again.

It was almost noon, and few classmates had left because Song Xici, the top student in Class 2, had arrived. He was standing at the entrance of Class 1, looking around and rolling up his sleeves, saying, “Where’s Ren Shuhan? Tell him to come out.”

Classmates:

“What the hell, is he seeking death?”

“Hey, don’t underestimate Song Xici. Maybe he’s tough in fights too.”

“Are you kidding me? He can’t beat Brother Han. I’d take my head off and use it as a ball for you to kick.”

“To be honest, it’s hard to say. Based on this performance, Xici might transfer to our class tomorrow. Maybe he wants to confirm his position as the class leader.”

“Think about what Song Xiyue said before. What was the result? He said Song Xici was last in the grade, but in reality, he ranked first. He said Song Xici was old-fashioned2To be perfectly honest, this line kinda confused me…Like if you don’t play instruments or know how to dance, you’re old fashioned? I don’t know if it’s something related to this world lol, but Xici excels in playing musical instruments and dancing. The same goes for fighting.”

“I’m considering switching sides to Song Xici. After all, he seems easier to get along with than Brother Han. Hey, you said that Song Xiyue had such a powerful older brother, so why would anyone rush to offend him? Just for Brother Han? But I haven’t seen Brother Han treating him differently either?”

“Hahaha, when has Brother Han treated anyone differently? Everyone can see that Song Xiyue is just wasting his efforts. Fiancé? Ridiculous! Does he really think childhood sweethearts can make it to the end? He’s daydreaming.”

“Don’t say that. I suddenly feel like Song Xici would be a good match for Brother Han if he were an Omega.”

“…What? Brother Xici as an Omega? Are you kidding me or are you serious?”

“No, Brother Han belongs to all of us. No one can snatch him away, not even Brother Xici. I won’t allow it!”

…

The classroom was in chaos. Ren Shuhan took a deep breath, not noticing a short-haired teenager silently leaving through the back door.

“Is there something you need?” he stood behind Song Xici, arms crossed, expressionless.

Song Xici was startled and patted his chest. “Why did you scare me?”

A girl in the classroom screamed: “Ah! They really match each other!”

Ren Shuhan: ?

Don’t act like we’re close or something, okay?

Song Xici seemed like a chuunibyou teenager3If you watch anime, you’ve probably seen this trope already! This describe teens (or sometimes even older people) who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers and he seriously declared “I want to challenge you!”

Even standing outside the classroom, Ren Shuhan could hear the entire class gasp. He was speechless, both inside and out. “Whatever.”

Song Xici shouted from behind him, “Tonight at 8 p.m., meet me at the playground!”

Ren Shuhan’s patience had run out, and without saying a word, he entered the classroom and started observing the faces of the people around him.

There wasn’t a single person he recognized.

He did remember two names, but he didn’t know their faces so he couldn’t match the characters from the original work, but fortunately, his character setting was convenient to use—being aloof was just right.

“Where’s Song Xiyue?” Ren Shuhan went straight to his seat at the back and knocked on the desk of his desk mate to ask.

He deliberately acted as if he didn’t care and was too lazy to find someone, so as not to appear clueless if Song Xiyue was still in the class. But it seemed like his acting was in vain.

“He just left,” the desk mate replied, surprised and with an expression that said, ‘Oh my, Brother Han talked to me!’ “Should I asked him to come back?”

You ask him to come back?

Ren Shuhan asked cautiously, “Do you have his number?”

The desk mate nodded and willingly gave Song Xiyue’s phone number to Ren Shuhan.

The surrounding classmates whispered:

“What could Brother Han want from him? He must have offended him with his loose tongue. I can already imagine a bloody scene.”

“The contrast between the older brother and the younger brother is too obvious, right? Song Xici actively challenges the position of the school bully, while Song Xiyue becomes a lapdog and gets beaten up. Tsk tsk, are they really blood-related brothers?”

“You guys are being too exaggerated, aren’t you? Can’t it be that Song Xiyue finally managed to melt the iceberg that is Brother Han? Pfft, hahaha…”

“You’re laughing yourself. How could that be possible?”

“Ah, I think it’s possible…”

After saving the number, Ren Shuhan had no idea what excuse to use to make the call.

If the other person turned out to be Qingyue, regardless of whether he remembered him or what he thought, Ren Shuhan would definitely not care and would shamelessly find an excuse to strike up a conversation. But if it wasn’t Qingyue, wouldn’t that be awkward?

He asked his desk mate again, “Do you have a photo of Song Xiyue?”

The desk mate: “…”

Classmates:

“?”

“……Can’t melt him, indeed.”

“Didn’t Song Xiyue say they were childhood sweethearts? But Brother Han doesn’t even recognize him? I’m dying of laughter.”

“They were just childhood acquaintances on the surface. They didn’t interact much. Every time, it was Song Xiyue initiating the conversation, and Brother Han had no response. It always ended like that.”

“Exactly, that’s so like Brother Han.”

Ren Shuhan didn’t pay attention to what the people around him were saying. He was tapping his fingers on the desk, waiting for the photo.

Unfortunately, his desk mate didn’t have it.

“Um… He has long hair,” the desk mate gestured to his shoulders, “He’s the only guy in the whole school with hair this long. He might be at the third cafeteria. You can go look for him?”

Long hair… Ren Shuhan said, “Thanks,” and went straight to the cafeteria.

He searched for the entire lunch break but couldn’t find him.

Not finding the person was one thing, but when Ren Shuhan went back to reading the original work to catch up, he realized that some patches in the system had been loaded, causing automatic corrections to the original work. Song Xiyue was gone from the book.

He used the search function again and found that the name Song Xiyue hadn’t appeared after today!

It wasn’t like this when he was reading the original work in the morning. What happened?

This was just bizarre. Ren Shuhan became even more determined to find Song Xiyue first. However, when he attended classes in the afternoon, Song Xiyue still didn’t show up, and none of his classmates knew what was going on.

“Maybe he’s sick. I noticed he didn’t look well this morning.”

“It seems like he left after Song Xici came… Hmm, could he be afraid that Song Xici would confront him?”

“Hehe, it’s clearly him who always picks a fight with Cici. I think he’s afraid that he will transfer to our class and it’ll be too awkward for him, so he dropped out to save face, right?”

“You guys are really making exaggerated guesses. How could he drop out over such a small matter? Besides, Brother Han is in our class. After pursuing him for so many years, would he give up?”

After asking several classmates and teachers without getting any answers, Ren Shuhan had no choice but to break his own character.

He took out his phone and found someone named “Wen Xin.” He prayed that she would be as caring and helpful as the Wen Xin from the previous world, his super considerate assistant. He sent her a message saying, “Are you there? Can you help me with something?”

Wen Xin replied instantly, “Young Master, what’s the matter?”

Ah, that familiar feeling came back. Thank you, Wen Xin. You’re much more reliable than the system! I’ll give you a raise when I inherit the family property!

Ren Shuhan was deeply moved and started giving her orders without holding back, “Help me find out why Song Xiyue didn’t come to school today and send me a few pictures of him.”

Wen Xin: …?

Did the young master suddenly want to start dating?

To investigate why an Omega classmate didn’t come to school, is this some kind of cliché plot in a campus novel? Oh~ so embarrassing!

Wen Xin: “Alright.”

In the afternoon, after the second class, Ren Shuhan received a reply and three photos:

“He went to his family’s hospital at noon. The reason couldn’t be determined, but he came out quickly. At 1 p.m., he contacted a different high school, and it is speculated that he might be planning to transfer.”

The three photos consisted of two side profiles and one back view. The youth had a slender figure, fair skin, and long black hair that reached his shoulders. When the wind blew, a glimpse of his nape could be seen, and there was a small red mole behind his ear.

With just one glance, Ren Shuhan knew that he had found the person.

Yaay, it looks like we’ll find some recurring characters as well!

Thank you for reading! You can consider checking out my ko-fi for bonus releases (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ