Chapter 59: ?? World (3)

Lin Yuetian left behind the classmate who had been too stunned by his declaration of love to speak and headed to the basketball court with the lunchbox.

He was late, perhaps too late—most of the students had already gone back to prepare for afternoon classes. Only Wang Yunzhi remained on the basketball court.

To play the role of the lovesick fool that the original character was, he waved enthusiastically at Wang Yunzhi. “Yunzhi! Sorry, I’m late today! Lunch should still be warm…”

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Yunzhi quickly approached him. The moment he saw Lin Yuetian, his eyes reflected a mix of infatuation, regret, elation, and sorrow—like a pie chart of emotions, complex and layered, as if he had countless words to say. But after struggling for a long time, he suddenly blurted out, “I like you too, Yuetian. Let’s date.”

“? The original character confessed already? Why so sudden?” Lin Yuetian was momentarily stunned before quickly realizing, “Rebirth?”

“Hearing Wang Yunzhi’s confession, Lin Yuetian was first in disbelief. Was this real? Did Wang Yunzhi actually like him? Could Wang Yunzhi really like him? Then came the overwhelming joy—he was on the verge of tears. His unwavering devotion and tireless efforts had finally paid off… So without thinking much, Lin Yuetian nodded happily and accepted Wang Yunzhi’s confession.”

Lin Yuetian indeed nodded happily. “Great! Let’s get a room tonight?”

Wang Yunzhi was visibly shaken. “W-What…?”

The system and Wang Yunzhi fell into a long silence before the system hesitantly narrated:

“Being suddenly confessed to, Lin Yuetian was so overjoyed that… uh, so overjoyed! That he quickly, humbly thought—what if Wang Yunzhi’s feelings were just a passing whim? What if their love was fleeting? And so, Lin Yuetian soon came to the idea of giving his precious… body… that thing… to the one he loved.”

Lin Yuetian said in his mind, “If you can’t come up with something, you don’t have to force it. Really, no need to push yourself so hard.”

Wang Yunzhi was dazed for even longer before regaining his ability to speak, stammering, “A-Are you serious?”

“Or do you prefer your place?” Lin Yuetian asked.

“N-No… I…” Wang Yunzhi gritted his teeth. “Fine. Wait for me here after school. I’ll pick you up.”

“Sure.” Lin Yuetian said. “Then I’ll head back to class.”

The system warned, “Company policy strictly prohibits underage relationships beyond the neck.”

“I was just talking. Don’t worry about my actions,” Lin Yuetian replied in his mind. “Or do you really think I’d sacrifice my looks for this?”

The system, seemingly dumbfounded by its own stupidity, resumed narrating irritably: “And so, Lin Yuetian left the basketball court, eager to return to class. His heart pounded wildly, both shy and excited.”

As Lin Yuetian walked past the school building, he overheard a chaotic conversation:

“Wow, this holographic game is insane! It’s so realistic!”

“Shh, lower your voice! There are NPCs around!”

“Who cares? There’s an anti-OOC filter—NPCs can’t hear us. Our identities are set as members of the drama club, so they probably just think we’re rehearsing.”

“This is way too detailed… Oh damn, I just got a quest from an NPC—to grab assignments from the teacher’s office.”

“I got a mission too—says I have to get a girlfriend within a month…”

“The school setting is kinda small, but the level of detail is insane. We’re lucky to have scored beta access—whoa! Look at these flowers! Look at the water! This is groundbreaking tech!”

“The game world’s first online story expansion is dropping this weekend, right? Then we’ll know the main storyline. Wonder who the protagonist is…”

Clue Six: All game players are members of a club called the Drama Club.

Clue Seven: The first online story expansion will be released this weekend.

“An expansion pack…” Lin Yuetian pondered. “Does this world have an original plot? Or is it the predetermined storyline of Su Huaiyu, the transmigrator? Or maybe the game itself already has a set narrative?”

【Lin Yuetian just wanted to get back to class as soon as possible.】

The system, growing impatient, started repeating itself with extra emphasis.

Lin Yuetian obliged, quickening his pace calmly.

Then, very naturally, his left foot tripped over his right foot, sending him sprawling to the ground. Immediately, he let out a delicate “Ah~” and curled up, clutching his knee.

“I was just so focused on getting back to class that I didn’t watch my step and lost my balance. Completely normal, right?” Lin Yuetian said.

The game players quickly noticed the commotion and swarmed over—because, as the saying goes, a player who doesn’t love to meddle isn’t a good player.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Dude, you alright?”

“Need help?”

“Do you have a quest?”

Their enthusiasm was overwhelming.

The system, momentarily stunned by Lin Yuetian’s shameless exploitation of loopholes, quickly regained its composure. “Lin Yuetian heard—”

Lin Yuetian immediately cut off its spellcasting: “As a cheerful yet emotionally fragile teenager, I was deeply moved by the sudden attention of so many classmates. Naturally, I wanted to learn more about them and become their friend. That makes sense, right?”

The system’s voice grew increasingly numb, as if resigned to this familiar pattern. “…Lin Yuetian was a cheerful yet emotionally fragile teenager. Surrounded by so many caring classmates, he was overwhelmed with gratitude and deeply moved… Thus, he decided to become… friends with them.”

Lin Yuetian looked at the players with an expression of heartfelt gratitude. “I’m fine. Who are you guys?”

After the players introduced themselves, Lin Yuetian took the opportunity to express curiosity about the Drama Club. Through skillful conversation, he managed to extract details about their first-phase mission: integrate into and experience school life, and plan a large-scale academy performance at the gym this weekend.

Lin Yuetian enthusiastically asked if he could join the Drama Club, receiving a warm welcome from the players. Deeply moved, he promised to help plan the performance and deliver an audiovisual feast of an academy show.

He even overheard some players remarking that this NPC was easy to fool. Others speculated that he might be the first storyline NPC players encountered in the game, while another guessed he could be the game’s protagonist—only to be quickly refuted, with the reasoning that Lin Yuetian looked far too ordinary. However, some players disagreed, arguing that game protagonists were often designed to be plain to help players self-insert…

“Academy performances, club activities, a slice-of-life protagonist… This feels a bit like a Japanese-style setting,” Lin Yuetian mused, listening intently to the players’ conversation as they casually chatted, relying on the so-called anti-OOC filtering system. He even shared his thoughts with the system. “Is this game made in Japan?”

“In any case, after making new friends,” the system pressed on, unmoved and sounding both strained yet determined, “Lin Yuetian decided to immediately, quickly—but carefully—return to class.”

Lin Yuetian didn’t mock its wording. Instead, he smiled.

“I have a plan,” Lin Yuetian said.

—

—An anti-OOC filtering system prevents characters from acting Out-of-Character (OOC) by ensuring their behavior stays consistent with their established traits in role-playing or fan fiction. It uses tools or guidelines to maintain character accuracy.