Chapter 58: ?? World (2)

Lin Yuetian took his insulated lunchbox and stepped out of the classroom. He casually stopped a passing classmate to ask where Wang Yunzhi was. The response came quickly—clearly, the school heartthrob had quite the reputation. Wang Yunzhi was usually playing basketball during lunch break.

Lin Yuetian nodded, thanked the student, and then made absolutely no move toward the basketball court. Instead, he walked straight toward the neighboring class.

The system’s tone was serious: “First warning: The contractor is violating the system’s narration…”

Lin Yuetian gently explained, “Just now, in your narration, you said ‘Lin Yuetian [immediately prepared] to bring Wang Yunzhi lunch,’ not ‘Lin Yuetian [prepared to immediately] bring Wang Yunzhi lunch.’ I’ve already immediately prepared everything. I’m just not going right now. That doesn’t contradict your narration, does it?”

The system fell silent for a moment before reluctantly saying, “…Warning canceled.”

“If you want to call me out for exploiting loopholes, feel free,” Lin Yuetian mused. “Or… are you unable to speak freely right now?”

The system didn’t respond to his probing and continued narrating:

“Lin Yuetian walked out of his classroom and, for some reason, thought of Su Huaiyu from the neighboring class. It was said that he had recently become quite popular… Lin Yuetian felt a strange pang in his chest. He knew he was being paranoid, but what if Wang Yunzhi fell for him? They were both school celebrities, while he, in comparison, was just a nobody… He didn’t know why, but Lin Yuetian wanted to take a look… just a look, that’s all, to see what kind of person the other was.”

He emphasized “just a look”—the real meaning was self-evident.

Lin Yuetian believed that the best way to deal with the system’s petty revenge was to go on the offensive.

So he took a moment to prepare, forcing himself to tear up. Then, with his eyes brimming with unshed tears and his body swaying slightly, he walked to the door of the neighboring classroom. At a glance, he spotted a very good-looking boy sitting in the second-to-last row, engrossed in a book.

Then Lin Yuetian let out a long sigh, and his tears fell like rain. And so, he stood there—sighing dramatically, crying endlessly, and just looking. It was perfectly reasonable, right? He was simply too emotionally sensitive, so crying while observing was normal.

System: “…”

And so, he silently wept—for a full five minutes. By then, a crowd of onlookers had gathered, whispering amongst themselves, their gazes darting between him and Su Huaiyu. Lin Yuetian, still tear-streaked, only responded to curious inquiries with, “I just wanted to look at Su Huaiyu.” He answered nothing else, strictly adhering to the system’s narration.

Finally, Su Huaiyu couldn’t take it anymore. Amidst the murmurs, he stood up and approached, asking quietly, “Um… classmate, are you okay?”

Lin Yuetian turned to the system. “See? Su Huaiyu spoke to me of his own accord. That doesn’t count as me violating the narration, does it?”

The system merely responded: “Upon hearing this question, Lin Yuetian felt both sorrow and joy, resentment and grief. Overcome with inexplicable sadness, he longed to speak yet hesitated, and in the end, could only whisper ‘It’s nothing’ before walking away in sorrow.”

Now, it was Lin Yuetian’s turn to be speechless… Luckily, his acting skills were impeccable, and he adjusted immediately.

“…It’s nothing,” he said, looking as if he could no longer bear to stay and was about to leave. But just before walking away, he accidentally brushed past Su Huaiyu.

Su Huaiyu, still dazed, could only wave frantically at the watching crowd. “I don’t know him! Really!”

—

Meanwhile, after leaving the scene, Lin Yuetian strayed further from the usual paths and slipped into the restroom at the end of the hallway. He casually picked a stall, entered, and locked the door. From his sleeve, he pulled out a phone—the one he had just lifted from Su Huaiyu’s pocket when they brushed past each other.

“See? You never said I [just] left,” Lin Yuetian said. “So, with my mind in turmoil, my hands had a will of their own and accidentally took his phone. Totally reasonable, right?”

The system remained silent for a long time before finally speaking its first unscripted words of the day: “I really want you to pass the evaluation, big bro. Please don’t push me.”

Lin Yuetian, satisfied, remarked, “Oh? So you can talk after all.”

The system quickly reverted to its cold, emotionless narration: “Lin Yuetian, overwhelmed with sorrow, hid in the restroom, washing his face with tears, all the while thinking to himself…”

Before the system could continue, Lin Yuetian swiftly forced out more tears. His face remained expressionless as tears streamed down. Then, without hesitation, he used a 500-point hacking skill to crack the phone’s password, searching Su Huaiyu’s data for useful information. His image was strikingly contradictory—a person drenched in sorrow, yet intensely focused on the phone screen. He looked like a complete lunatic.

Lin Yuetian’s gaze sharpened, and suddenly, he chuckled. “Oh? He keeps a diary…”

Not wanting the system’s narration to interfere with his plan, he quickly scrolled through the notes, skimming the contents at lightning speed. After a brief scan, he nodded in understanding. “So Su Huaiyu is a transmigrator.”

“This world was originally the setting of a scum-gong redemption novel. The original body of Lin Yuetian had fallen for Wang Yunzhi at first sight and started a long, arduous pursuit. Wang Yunzhi constantly belittled him, but after losing a game of Truth or Dare with friends, he jokingly agreed to date him. The original owner was ecstatic and ignored Wang Yunzhi’s cold indifference, continuing to be gentle and devoted. It wasn’t until after the college entrance exams that he learned the truth. Unable to accept it, he impulsively jumped from the rooftop.”

“Su Huaiyu must be using his knowledge of the original story to seize the original protagonist’s opportunities—like that essay competition, for instance.”

Lin Yuetian paused before sighing, “Man, why didn’t he just invest in Bitcoin instead?”

He sounded genuinely regretful for Su Huaiyu.

The system finally found an opportunity to interject, narrating rapidly:

“Lin Yuetian wanted to learn more about this beautiful rival. Overcome with immense guilt, he used his miraculous talent to unlock the phone, only to stumble upon a fictional story featuring himself and Wang Yunzhi as the protagonists. Seeing the tragic ending that awaited him in the story, he finally understood Su Huaiyu’s malice toward him. His heart ached, unsure of what he had done wrong. Devastated, he sorrowfully closed the phone, deciding to return it later—though he still had to deliver Wang Yunzhi’s lunch first.”

“…See,” Lin Yuetian couldn’t help but say, “we’ve been working together for so long, why must we hurt each other like this?”

System: “Lin Yuetian muttered to himself.”

Lin Yuetian said, “You know, I’ve realized something. It seems like every time I take an action freely, you always have to come up with one of these melodramatic narrations to justify it in a way that fits the original character’s personality. If this isn’t just you holding a personal grudge, I suppose I’ll assume this is a mandatory part of your job interview process?”

System: “Lin Yuetian continued to monologue in his mind.”

Lin Yuetian said, “Don’t push me.”

As he spoke, he put the phone back in his pocket, stepped out of the stall, and washed his face at the sink.

Just then, a classmate carrying a soccer ball walked in, drenched in sweat. Seeing Lin Yuetian’s red eyes and tear-streaked face, he was so shocked that he couldn’t find the words to speak. A flood of social news reports about school bullying and academic pressure leading young students to take extreme measures flashed through his mind. He cautiously asked, “Dude, are you okay? Did something happen?”

Lin Yuetian straightened up and slowly answered, “Love.”

With deep emotion, he said, “Love always brings sorrow.”

The system uttered its second non-narration statement of the day: “Ugh.”

—

—Scum Gong (渣攻, zhā gōng) is a term from Chinese BL (Boys’ Love) fiction referring to a dominant (gong) character who is cruel, manipulative, unfaithful, or emotionally abusive toward their partner (shou, the submissive character). These characters often regret their actions later, leading to redemption arcs or tragic endings.

Scum gongs are popular in 虐文 (angst-heavy stories), where they mistreat the shou before making amends. Some stories focus on revenge, where the shou moves on, leaving the scum gong to suffer.