Zhuang Lin said it harshly, but his voice wasn't loud. Yu Deng strained to hear and finally understood what Zhuang Lin had said.
"Oh..." Yu Deng blinked, not particularly bothered by Zhuang Lin's harsh words.
After all, they were roommates, so of course, they should help each other out.
Moreover, why did Zhuang Lin consider being a dog as a punishment? The men he had encountered before had all fought to be obedient dogs.
Yu Deng was confused and couldn't understand why Zhuang Lin said that, so he decided to just ignore it. He trustingly handed his clothes to Zhuang Lin, slowly dragging his swollen ankle back to the room.
On the balcony.
After throwing out his harsh words, Zhuang Lin waited for a few seconds, but when he didn't get any response from Yu Deng, he couldn't help but glance sideways.
He saw that Yu Deng had already left him behind and gone back into the room.
Zhuang Lin's face darkened: "..."
He wanted to throw his hands up and give up, but Yu Deng's clothes weren't washed yet. If he threw them back to Yu Deng, he might end up damaging them with his rough handling.
Zhuang Lin had no choice but to lower his head and continue scrubbing the clothes with force.
...Damn, how did he end up in this embarrassing situation?
Meanwhile, in the room, Yu Deng had taken a while to get back to his bed, only to realize he didn't know how to climb the ladder.
Every time he stepped up, he had to put force on his foot, which hurt his ankle.
"Wait a minute, Tongtong, can I use tools here?" Yu Deng suddenly realized. This was an infinite dungeon, so tools could be used.
[Theoretically, yes.]
Upon hearing this, Yu Deng quickly pulled out a healing potion from his personal space and drank it in one gulp.
A few seconds later, his ankle started to feel warm, and the pain completely disappeared.
Yu Deng squatted down and pressed his ankle, then successfully stepped on the ladder and climbed up to the top bunk. "Tongtong, I'm better now... huh!?"
Before he could finish his sentence, the pain from his sprained ankle returned. It was a bit better than before he drank the potion, but it still hurt.
Yu Deng was confused and complained, "Tongtong, how can the system's store sell fake medicine?"
[... ]System 01 remained calm. [Host, please wait. I am checking this for you.]
[The check shows that your injury has been affected by the dungeon level and is a precondition for triggering a mission. Moreover, in the general recognition of the characters in the dungeon, your injury is of the type that cannot recover quickly. Therefore, it cannot be fully healed by a C-grade potion and can only be temporarily alleviated.]
"So that's it..."
So there was such a limitation. In this kind of role-playing dungeon, even injuries and healing had to be managed without NPCs?
Yu Deng shook his head, once again feeling the pitfalls of the dungeon.
He pulled out his phone and the note that Lu Yan had given him, adding Lu Yan as a friend.
Lu Yan quickly accepted his friend request, asked a few simple questions, and then added him to the class group chat.
Yu Deng hadn't used his phone in a long time, so he became absorbed in the device, not even noticing when Zhuang Lin entered.
Zhuang Lin: "..."
Zhuang Lin pinched his brow and then hurriedly put his hands down.
——Even after using laundry detergent and rinsing his hands with clean water, Zhuang Lin could still feel the lingering scent of Yu Deng's clothes on his hands.
It was the soft fragrance unique to Yu Deng.
The tall athlete was just standing by the bed, his line of sight matching the person lying on the top bunk, easily noticing that Yu Deng was poking at his phone screen, chatting with someone.
Most likely chatting with Lu Yan.
Zhuang Lin thought Yu Deng would be unable to get up to the top bunk and would be upset and frantic, asking him for help, but the delicate person actually climbed up by himself.
Wasn't he afraid of the pain?
The conflicting feelings of annoyance and bitterness inside Zhuang Lin became even stronger. Without saying a word, he walked back to his desk, poured a bottle of soda into his mouth, and then crushed the can with a loud crack.
[Beep—Intense energy fluctuation detected. Special mission target showing signs of destructive intent.]
The main system, which hadn't appeared for days, popped up in a rush, urgently reminding Yu Deng, [Player Yu Deng, please note, the mission target for this dungeon also requires the highest level of countermeasures.]
Yu Deng responded dismissively, "Got it, got it, you mean a contract and seal, right? I'll complete the mission."
After brushing off the main system, Yu Deng temporarily put down his phone, looked up at Zhuang Lin, and said, "You finished washing them?"
"Mm."
Yu Deng cheerfully said, "That's great, good thing you helped me wash them, or I would've had to wash them for so long."
Zhuang Lin, embarrassed, felt his heart warm up from the simple words. He turned his head awkwardly and mumbled, taking the clothes to the bathroom.
Yu Deng lay back down and closed his eyes.
Today was so tiring, but fortunately, tomorrow was Saturday, and he wouldn't have to get up early for class!
...
Soon, it was lights out. Yu Deng released his two little paper figures, who vigilantly squatted at the head of his bed, guarding him.
At first, Yu Deng was worried he might hear strange noises like the previous night and hesitated to fall asleep, but tonight the dormitory building was very quiet, and there were no abnormalities until the early hours of the morning.
A rare good night's sleep.
The next morning, Zhuang Lin woke up early, while Yu Deng remained unmoving under the sound of the radio alarm.
Zhuang Lin glanced at Yu Deng several times, thinking about the harsh words he had said earlier. He resisted the urge to wake Yu Deng up. But as it neared the time for the morning study session and Yu Deng still hadn't woken up, Zhuang Lin hesitated for a moment and decided to make a loud noise.
"Zhuang Lin? What are you doing?" Yu Deng groggily poked his head out from under the blankets, resting his chin on the metal railing and barely opening his eyes to look at the calendar on the desk.
"Why are you up so early? Isn't today Saturday?" Yu Deng's voice was thick with sleep.
Zhuang Lin deliberately avoided looking at Yu Deng. "Are you still half-asleep, thinking you're still at the old school? At Guihuai, high school seniors have classes on Saturdays."
Yu Deng: "…??"
Ugh, he really couldn't stay in this dungeon for another day.
Yu Deng was forced to end his sleep, groggily getting up. He carefully stepped on his injured leg, swaying as he grabbed the ladder and slid down, almost stumbling. Zhuang Lin's eyelids twitched as he watched, his fingers twitching with the urge to help him.
Fortunately, Yu Deng managed to steady himself. He staggered to the wardrobe, found his new school uniform, and slowly put it on.
Honestly, the quality of Guihuai High School's uniform was quite average, especially the pants. The rough, low-quality fabric irritated Yu Deng's skin as he wore them.
As he changed, he muttered, criticizing the workmanship of the uniform.
Beside him, Zhuang Lin repeatedly took deep breaths, his voice almost squeezed out from between his teeth: "…Are you really changing clothes here?"
"Hmm?" Yu Deng turned his head, confused, and asked, "Isn't it okay?"
Zhuang Lin fell silent.
Zhuang Lin struggled internally for a long time, hesitating to figure out how to suggest carrying Yu Deng downstairs. Before he could finish his inner conflict, their dormitory door was knocked on.
Lu Yan appeared at the door.
In just two days, Lu Yan had already become accustomed to revolving around Yu Deng. The resentment from being forced to be his boyfriend had transformed into some sort of secret relief.
At this moment, Lu Yan naturally picked up Yu Deng and carried him to class, not sparing a single glance at the other person in the dorm.
Zhuang Lin: "…"
Zhuang Lin watched as Yu Deng's official boyfriend carried him away, clenching his fist so tightly it cracked.
Though he didn't break his own harsh words, he felt even angrier.
...
Yu Deng was very tired.
After all, anyone who had been a high school senior for three days straight, with the possibility of continuing for two months, would be exhausted.
Yu Deng's seat was by the window, and with just a turn of his head, he could see the greenery and the school path through the glass.
After enduring through another class, his eyes glazed over as he gazed out the window. He saw two boys behind a tree.
The taller one was pointing at the slightly shorter one, seemingly scolding him. The shorter boy shrank his shoulders and dared not retort, books and practice notebooks scattered on the ground. The taller one scolded more intensely and slapped the shorter boy across the face.
Yu Deng furrowed his brows. But the other students seemed to be used to this.
Yu Deng was about to say something to Lu Yan when suddenly, the situation changed.
The shorter boy abruptly raised his head, his eyes filled with fury as he grabbed the taller boy and started punching him in the face, stopping only when the taller boy could no longer stand.
But strangely, after being hit, the taller boy didn't shout or attempt to fight back. Instead, he hunched his shoulders, lowered his head, and walked away timidly, just like the shorter boy a few minutes ago.
All of this happened in just a few seconds, and Yu Deng was left dumbfounded, not reacting in time.
[I don't know why, but the scene I just saw felt so weird. I got goosebumps.]
[I think I can guess the hidden rules of this dungeon.]
[I have a feeling too, but if that's the case, the difficulty of the mission just increased.]
"Lu Yan, what's going on with them..." Yu Deng turned around and tugged at Lu Yan's sleeve.
Lu Yan stared at Yu Deng, who was oblivious to everything, and after a moment of silence, he didn't answer directly. Instead, he said softly, "Did you notice that our school rules don't require students to be united and friendly?"
Not requiring unity and friendliness... What does that mean? Does that mean fighting between students is allowed, like what happened earlier?
Yu Deng, confused, tried to think it through.
He was still trying to piece together the scattered clues and reason out useful information when he received more bad news.
Their class's head teacher and math teacher, Wang Laoshi, walked into the classroom.
"Students, as of yesterday's class, our first round of review has ended, so next Monday, we will have a brief summary test." Teacher Wang kindly added, "It's not the monthly exam, so don't get confused."
This was a bolt from the blue.
Yu Deng's eyes went dark: "??"
Wasn't cheating not allowed on this kind of test? Why are there so many exams, sob sob.
Guihuai High School didn't have evening self-study on Saturdays, and there was also one less class than usual.
Yu Deng should have been happy, but the test put a lot of pressure on him. He decided to stop theorizing for now and focus on reviewing to avoid ending up at the bottom of the class.
After the last class ended, students who lived off-campus gradually left, and the boarding students didn't stay in the classroom either. His deskmate, Lu Yan, didn't leave immediately but was called away by the class teacher.
Yu Deng, taking advantage of the empty classroom, quickly grabbed the competition questions on the desk, flipped open the most basic practice book, and tried to start studying from scratch, attempting to cram a bit.
He persevered for ten minutes, but the corners of his eyes had already started to turn red.
Yu Deng let out a sound of torment from being tortured by math: "I don't get it, I can't do it…"
[So pitiful, the secretly cramming little baby is both miserable and adorable.]
[Seeing his wife cry from learning, some painful memories also surged to the surface…]
[The system's intentions are suspicious. Why make an idiot play the role of a genius?!]
[Dammit! Why can't I help my baby cheat! What's wrong with giving my little fool a cheat code?! Getting so angry I started tipping.jpg]
Yu Deng was so absorbed in studying that he didn't notice his deskmate and boyfriend returning, standing behind him.
Lu Yan took one look and immediately recognized that Yu Deng was working on very basic questions, far below the genius level the teacher had mentioned.
Lu Yan said softly, "These seem like high school level questions?"
Yu Deng hastily covered the practice book: "No!"
[Ding, ding—Detected that player Yu Deng is acting in a way inconsistent with their character design. Performing in-depth judgment on character collapse level…]
This was the first time Yu Deng heard the system assess the integrity of his character. It seemed that this scenario had a high standard for character consistency.
Yu Deng felt wronged, panic-stricken and not knowing what to say, he held back for a few seconds before retorting: "Who asked you to assign me the genius character design?!"
Pretending to be a genius was a mission he could never complete!
System 01 comforted him: [Don't worry, host.]
A few seconds later, the system made an announcement.
[After evaluation, combining player Yu Deng's task and comprehensive rating, an adjustment has been made: Player Yu Deng may exhibit one behavior inconsistent with the character design in front of the mission target, but cannot collapse the character design in front of other characters.]
Yu Deng breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Lu Yan and snapped, "You, you're not allowed to tell anyone!"
Lu Yan stood beside Yu Deng, quietly watching him.
The pretty little boyfriend really was unreasonable. At first, he had threatened Yu Deng to be his boyfriend by exposing his family debt, and now that the situation had reversed, he was the one asking for secrecy.
But as Yu Deng did his problems with his face all scrunched up and his eyes red, it was impossible to intimidate him. Instead, Lu Yan found him pitiful and adorable.
The turbulent emotions in his heart were becoming clearer.
"Alright, I won't tell anyone."
[Ding. Triggered Lu Yan's side mission (3): Have Lu Yan tutor you.]
Let the top student tutor him? Yu Deng's eyes lit up. This task was exactly what he needed.
[Host, please remember to maintain your character in this scenario.] System 01 reminded.
"You're the top student, so you must know all this, right?" Yu Deng recalled the system's advice and grabbed Lu Yan's sleeve. "Since you found out my secret, you're responsible for tutoring me!"
Lu Yan seemed to think for a few seconds: "Alright, but I need some reward."
What, a reward?!
Yu Deng widened his eyes and was slightly displeased, making a small tyrant-like remark: "You're teaching me, isn't that what you're supposed to do?"
But after saying that, Yu Deng thought of Lu Yan's family debt, and tried to imitate the villainous characters in TV dramas who humiliate others with checks: "Fine, a reward is a reward. How much do you want? A thousand per hour is fine, right?"
"No need for money."
Lu Yan softened his tone and stepped back, "What I said earlier was wrong, it's not exactly a reward. I should say, if tutoring me works, then you could give me a little something as a reward, okay?"
Lu Yan lowered his stance.
As the one giving the lesson, he reversed the situation and pleaded for a reward, acting humble and understanding.
Yu Deng thought for a few seconds and realized Lu Yan's attitude was okay. He reluctantly agreed: "Alright then."
But Yu Deng couldn't think of a suitable reward, so he casually threw the question back to Lu Yan: "Then what kind of reward do you want?"
—He actually gave Lu Yan the right to choose.
Lu Yan bent down, and a trace of excitement appeared in his eyes.
"For the reward… can you teach me how to do something? Something that should be part of our relationship."
What? There was such a thing?
But even a top student like Lu Yan had something he didn't know? Heh, he still needed his help? Then fine, Yu Deng decided to agree.
"Alright then." Yu Deng didn't notice Lu Yan's ulterior motives. "But you have to teach me well first, and then I'll consider giving you a reward."
Lu Yan had no objections, of course.
It must be said that the top student's explanation was very clear, simplifying complex problems. Yu Deng slowly caught up with the logic, feeling like his mind was opening up.
Little math problems, how laughable!
Just as Yu Deng was feeling proud, after Lu Yan finished explaining one type of problem, he switched to another knowledge point, and Yu Deng had trouble keeping up again.
"…" Yu Deng's vision blurred. He was so tired and decided to end today's studying session. "That's enough, Lu Yan, I don't want to study anymore."
"Are you satisfied with today's results?"
Yu Deng nodded: "It's not bad."
Lu Yan had been preparing for a long time and finally expressed his goal: "Can I ask for my reward now? I'd like to ask you to teach me something very simple."
Yu Deng tilted his head slightly: "What?"
In the next moment, Lu Yan moved closer, wrapped his arm around Yu Deng's waist, and then awkwardly and hesitantly pressed a kiss to Yu Deng's lips.
"Eh?"
Yu Deng became alert, afraid his lips might hurt again.
But Lu Yan only lightly brushed his lips against Yu Deng's and didn't make any further move, as if he knew nothing more.
After staying still for a few seconds, Lu Yan looked at the little boyfriend in his arms and asked earnestly, "Is this how you kiss?"
He looked like an eager student, eager to learn.
Yu Deng's thoughts were immediately derailed. After thinking for a few seconds, he stuck out his tongue and gently touched Lu Yan's lips: "I think it's supposed to be like this."
His soft, pink tongue was sweet and fragrant.
Lu Yan's Adam's apple moved, his palms were burning, and veins stood out on the back of his hands.
Yu Deng, now playing the role of a little teacher, continued: "Mm, your lips shouldn't stay still, though."
Lu Yan lowered his gaze.
Originally, he had wanted to use the excuse of teaching kissing to touch Yu Deng, but when he realized Yu Deng seemed to have a lot of experience, a sour emotion called jealousy began to arise in him.
"I need to put the theory into practice."
And so, Yu Deng was fully embraced by Lu Yan, his lips completely captured, unable to continue teaching.
The humble and eager-to-learn top student quickly applied what he had learned.
When Yu Deng was kissed into a daze, he finally realized something was off, but before he could think of anything, his attention was stolen again by Lu Yan's soft yet insistent kiss.
His lips and tongue were bitten.
The lip tissue glistened with moisture, flushed and slightly swollen, making it clear that he had been kissed.
It was Lu Yan's first time tasting such sweetness, and his ears were slightly red as his kissing skills rapidly improved.
Yu Deng's breathing quickened, his physiological tears wetting his lashes, his cheeks and the corners of his eyes turning rosy.
Yu Deng desperately tried to pull away from Lu Yan: "That's enough, that's enough… You should have learned by now, right?"
Lu Yan stopped before Yu Deng could get angry and gently kissed the corner of his lips in a flattering manner.
"Mm, thank you, Teacher Yu, I've learned it."