CH 6

(School Rule Number One, Early Relationships are Forbidden)

Players who cleared the novice task were given a three-day break. 

Whether they were despairing, rejoicing or weeping bitter tears, it did not change the fact that the three days were fleeting.

Unlike the players who were plagued with fear, Shen Dongqing woke up early in the morning and prepared a backpack full of snacks, waiting for the next copy to start.

Needless to say, he even thought that the game was pretty fun.

The place Shen Dongqing was living in was situated in a small city, but because he had been spending the past three days playing the happy and fattening house, he did not take a step out of his room. Now that he was venturing out, he realised that there were a lot of players within the city, and his neighbourhood was bustling with activity. All in all, it was not that much different from an ordinary city. 

Under the system’s guidance, he arrived at a public bus stop.

An old bus was parked there, and through the dusty and stained glass, he could discern that there were already a few passengers inside.

Shen Dongqing adjusted his backpack straps and got on the vehicle and settled himself in an empty seat near the window.

Probably because some people had yet to arrive, the bus stayed there without moving.

Shen Dongqing felt around for his mobile phone and he had just turned on the screen when someone reached out from behind and tapped his shoulder.

“Hi!”

Shen Dongqing turned his head back, meeting a smiling visage that was glowing with enthusiasm.

“Hello hello.” The man seated behind him leaned against his seat and made his own self-introduction, “Great god, let’s be friends. I’m Fang Qi.” 

Shen Dongqing shook his head: “I’m not a great god.”

With a look that said ‘I understand’, Fang Qi threw a fleeting glance at Shen Dongqing’s backpack which was rustling with his movements and he lowered his voice: “The items in the system are freaking expensive and yet you managed to buy so much. Therefore, you must be a great god.”

Shen Dongqing eyed him before he pulled open his backpack, not bothering to hide the contents. “It’s snacks.”

The bag contained chocolates, biscuits, potato chips, coke… Essentially, there was nothing useful in it. 

Fang Qi faltered for a beat before he made a recovery: “If you dare to buy so many useless things, you must have superb skill to back up the boldness of your execution. Can I hug your thigh?”

“I just passed the novice copy and I completely relied on lying down. Now that I’m going into a new copy on my own, my heart is a little panicked, and it would be nice if a great god could take me through…”

While Fang Qi was talking, he was simultaneously thinking that he should sit next to Shen Dongqing to cultivate a closer relationship between the two of them.

He was about to get up when he saw another person getting on the bus and skipping past all the empty seats before he directly sat on the seat that he was targeting. 

“Hey, that’s my…”

The man who snatched his seat was wearing a pair of sunglasses, and when he heard Fang Qi speak, he pulled them down slightly to reveal a pair of light brown eyes and stared right at him.

In less than a second, Fang Qi hurriedly said in fear: “Never mind, never mind, you sit.”

Although Fang Qi was not acquainted with this person, he knew that he was not an ordinary player from his appearance. 

Fang Qi returned back to his seat obediently while keeping his ears peeled as he listened in on the movements in front of him – If he managed to find a chance to hug his thigh, he’ll be set!

Shen Dongqing felt that the person in sunglasses looked a little familiar, and he glanced at him again: “Ah, it’s you!”

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Itbe Qfcsjc tjv atf riluta eguf ab gfjmt bea jcv gey tlr oeggs tfjv yea jr tf iloafv tlr tjcv, tf qgfrrfv la yjmx vbkc jcv oflucfv tlr lcvloofgfcmf ys wjxlcu j cbcmbwwlaaji tew.

Shen Dongqing did not mind, and he turned his head back to his bag and rummaged it a little before he fished out a round jelly and stuffed it into Zhou Wenyan’s hand. “This is for you.”

With wide palms and long and slender fingers, the jelly looked particularly small and compact in Zhou Wenyan’s hand. He hesitated for a moment, a little uncertain as to what he should do with the translucent fruit jelly.

In the end, he could only tuck it into his trench coat pocket. 

Then, the last person got onto the bus and door closed behind them, and the bus finally started.

The engine rumbled and the bus slowly drove into the thick darkness.

Simultaneously, the radio on both sides sounded.

An old man was talking and it sounded extremely strenuous for him; he would cough thrice in every sentence, and his voice was hoarse and unpleasant. 

【 Welcome to Infinite Nightmare Game 】

【 You have entered a C-level Copy 】

【 Please survive through seven days at Qinghai High School 】

The voice landed, and the driver stepped on the brakes sharply, causing a teeth gritting screeching noise. 

Subsequently after, the bus stopped and the door opened.

Someone poked his head out and glance in the distance. There was a thick fog outside and everything was obscured.

Under such circumstances, no one dared to step out of the car arbitrarily.

Zhou Wenyan stood up and stretched. “Let’s go.” 

Shen Dongqing did not think too much, he picked up his backpack and followed him.

Seeing that the two thighs had gotten off the bus, he chased after them in a hurry.

Their actions caused the remaining people to look at each other and they got off one by one.

The fog was heavy outside, and their visibility was restricted to one-meter radius. 

Shen Dongqing stared at his feet without straying and took small, careful steps as he was afraid that he would trip over a stone. He hadn’t taken two steps when a hand stretched towards him abruptly from under his nose.

“Huh?” Shen Dongqing raised his head.

With one hand tucked in his trench coat pocket and the other held out towards Sheng Dongqing. Zhou Wenyan stared at him without uttering a word.

And tentatively, Shen Dongqing placed his hand in his hold. 

Zhou Wenyan grasped it and pulled him forward.

After roughly ten minutes of walking, the fog gradually lightened and the main gates of school became visible.

They had probably arrived at the time where holidays had just ended which simultaneously signalled the return back to school as students could be seen entering through school gates in droves. There was also a large granite stone tablet with the school’s name was glided in gold on the surface beside the entrance and it read – Qinghai High School.

Zhou Wenyan brought Shen Dongqing into the flow of human traffic to blend in, and they walked towards the main entrance of the school. 

Before they could step into Qinghai High School, they were stopped by a middle-aged woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses. A badge hung on her chest, and it read “Director of Teaching Affairs”.

The Director of Teaching Affairs scrutinised the two of them with a severe look, and it lingered on their intertwined hands for a long moment. Following that, she rebuked in a sharp voice: “Intimate contact is prohibited in school; early relationship are not allowed.”

Zhou Wenyan had never been through the Qinghai High School copy before, but once he heard what the bespectacled woman said, he thought it was safer to not violate the school rules and thus, he let go of his hand.

Originally, Shen Dongqing had regarded the matter of holding hands with Zhou Wenyan while they were walking as something pure, but how did it become abnormal when it came out of the Director’s mouth? 

And with Zhou Wenyan releasing his hand, it only achieved the opposite effect of making it seem like they were guilty.

When Shen Dongqing thought about that, he grabbed hold of Zhou Wenyan’s hand and told the Director of Teaching Affairs seriously: “Teacher, our relationship is purely that of classmates.”

After he said his piece, he pulled Zhou Wenyan away without looking back.

Unexpectedly, the Director of Teaching Affairs could not find any grounds for refutation due to the courage and convictions he had invested into his words. 

Hence, Shen Dongqing continued to hold onto Zhou Wenyan’s hand as they followed the surrounding students to walk in the same direction.

The first thing the students had to do after they returned from their vacation was to organise the things in their dormitory.

The dormitory was located in the west corner of the school, and they had to traverse through the classroom building and the field – which was roughly half of the campus – before they reached the front of two six-storey buildings.

The buildings were divided by male and female, and the pair followed the boys to enter one of them. 

It was only then that Shen Dongqing let go of his hand.

Zhou Wenyan looked towards the side of his face and supressed his smile. In a low voice, he said: “Are you not going to continue holding my hand?”

Solemnly, Shen Dongqing replied, “I only kept it going just now because I was trying to prove that we were not in romantic relationship.”

Saying that, Shen Dongqing went over to the bulletin board to check which room he was supposed to stay in. 

The only notices posted on the bulletin board were rule violations.

Despite looking over the contents once, Sheng Dongqing did not find his or Zhou Wenyan’s name.

“What are you standing there like idiots? You should be returning to your dorm; class is about to begin!” A boy with a shaved head walked over, and he seemed to share the dorm with them, “Hurry up, your points will be deducted if you’re late!”

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan exchanged glances before they trailed behind up until they reached the door of dorm 402. 

After walking in, he saw their names pasted on the edge of the bed.

The dormitory could accommodate a total of six people. Shen Dongqing’s bed was on the upper bunk near the doorway while Zhou Wenyan’s bed was opposite of his.

Shen Dongqing placed his backpack on the bed, and he was about to follow Shaved Head out when the door was violently pushed open.

It was apparent that Fang Qi’s state of mind was a little off from his absent-minded expression; and when he saw Shen Dongqing, it was as if he had founded his loved ones. 

“I just saw…” Fang Qi was shaking like a sieve, “A player quarrelling with the Director, and afterwards…”

The aforementioned player had a lot of personality.

He rocked a hipster-like hairstyle and multicoloured hairstyle which was absolutely not allowed for school, and he had been stopped by the Director of Teaching Affairs as soon as he entered the school and he was told to have his hair cut. 

The player must have thought that the Director of Teaching Affairs was a normal woman because not only did he refuse to accept it, he even had the courage to talk back to her. But no one had expected the Director of Teaching Affairs to take a pair of scissors out, and with a “kacha”, she would directly snip his head off.

What was even more frightening was the fact that the students hadn’t bat an eyelid to it, and they had walked past the headless body unfazed.

As Shaved Head was changing into his uniform, he said: “Isn’t it very normal to break the school rules? Classes start at six, don’t be late.” 

Evidently, he was accustomed to such situation as well. After he was done speaking, he left, leaving the three players in the dorm room.

Fang Qi was also staying in the same dormitory. His bed was in the lower bunk and above him was Shen Dongqing.

“Shall we go to the classroom first?”

Zhou Wenyan opened his mouth to speak, “Wait, put on your uniforms first.” 

Before Shaved Head had went out, he had been changing his uniform.

Thus, it was highly likely that not wearing their school uniforms was a violation of the school rules.

Thinking back about it, Fang Qi realised that it was indeed the case. Hurriedly, he opened the cabinet with his name and donned the entire set of school uniform, school badge included.

The school uniform was not form-fitting; in a moment’s work, the youth with delicate features was reduced to senseless mediocrity. Furthermore, it felt odd for him to wear the school uniform because he was overage. 

Turning around, he said, “I’m done…”

Yes, there was no point for comparison.

Zhou Wenyan had long arms and legs to begin with; even though he was clad in a blue and white uniform, it failed to hide his slender figure, and he managed to make the ordinary school uniform look better with some adjustments to his cuffs. There was no need to mention Shen Dongqing; with his fair and clear skin, he looked like a freshly minted student the moment he put on the school uniform, and that was not considering the fact that his faint dimple made him one of the most handsome and pure boys in the school.

It was basically comparing goods with disposable goods. 

Under the impulse of jealousy and envy, a fair amount of fear scattered from Fang Qi’s heart. He looked at time: “It’s almost six.”

Shen Dongqing had just left the dorm when he suddenly remembered something. After saying “wait”, he ran back to the room before running out again, and his pockets were bulging like he had shoved a lot of things in it.

Under Fang Qi’s suspecting gaze, he patted his pockets: “Snacks.”

Fine. 

You deserve to be called a great god considering how you can still think about snacks at this time.

Fang Qi strengthened his thigh holding convictions.

According to the information written on the school board, they arrived at the classroom building and they searched for the class Secondary Three (Four). 

It was already filled with people and there were only a few empty seats left. After scanning the textbooks on the table, they found their own places.

Shen Dongqing was seated at the last row, and he happened to sit at the same table with Zhou Wenyan. Once he sat down, he rummaged through the books on the table and there was a book containing the school rules wedged in the pile.

Without a hitch, he flipped to the first page, and first line that greeted him was in a bolded text – Early relationships are forbidden.

Shen Dongqing promptly closed the school rules.