Chapter 1: The Indifferent Idol Encounter of the Reborn Boy

Chapter 1: The Indifferent Idol Encounter of the Reborn Boy

The young man gently pressed the tip of the ballpoint pen he held, finally receiving the signal that the battle-worn nib had retreated back into the barrel after a fierce fight lasting over ten minutes, leaving behind neatly written equations as proof of its toil.

The white answer sheet turned, revealing its title:

“Far Moon International High School Spring Semester Entrance Exam, Subject: Mathematics, Exam Duration: 120 Minutes”

Below the printed title, in black font, the name of the examinee was written:

“Yan Huan”

It was a sunny afternoon, with sunlight pouring through the second-floor windows of the teaching building, illuminating the profile of the handsome young man who had just finished his problems.

With slightly longer, wavy black bangs, his dark eyes glanced out the window, reflecting the sprawling green field bathed in a crimson glow—an impression of the setting sun traced over the playground.

On the track, young athletes in athletic gear ran laps, appearing like the legendary Kua Fu perpetually chasing the sun that was about to set.

In his previous life, Yan Huan envisioned Kua Fu as a strong young lad, thinking it quite youthful to tirelessly and blindly chase after the sun without a hint of fatigue.

That was something only the young could do, a privilege they could relish.

Thankfully, there were also tales of Kua Fu in this parallel world, allowing him to incorporate such lines into his essays.

While the other students around him were still buried in their work, Yan Huan effortlessly placed the warmed ballpoint pen on the table.

Cradling his chin, he exchanged a glance with the middle-aged, balding math teacher at the podium before they both discreetly averted their gazes.

That kid, finishing up in such a short time again.

Zhou Bin, your bald head is reflecting light again.

Thoughts clashed aimlessly, neither aware of the other’s thoughts.

“Carefully read the questions, and check thoroughly.”

That was his math teacher from last semester, Zhou Bin, a rather humorous name that made Yan Huan think of Japanese-imported raw cola every time he saw him.

Bored, he listened to the sounds of his classmates writing furiously, while his mind drifted elsewhere.

“Isn’t my reincarnation missing a bit of that fantasy color?”

Yan Huan found himself pondering that with sudden dejection.

The implanted cheat ability system in his mind, the benevolent female monster that would grant favors at night, the foreign foodie sounding off “Are you my master?” in the warehouse—

Nothing at all!

He seemed to have abruptly died at work, reincarnated as an infant, and started all over in this completely strange, seemingly parallel world.

Living disciplined for over a decade, he finally stepped back into youth this year!

In fact, Yan Huan was a bit hopeful about this. His wish on his sixth birthday was to have a touch of fantastical color in his reincarnated life.

But one should be content; after dying once and being reborn, what more could he ask for?

If the prison could be revived and reincarnated into a different world, he probably wouldn’t care about the barrage of internet memes flying around.

Content with this thought, yet feeling incredibly bored, he decided to really heed the suggestion of his teacher, Zhou Bin, and picked up the exam paper again for a proper review.

Thus, holding his exam paper, he picked up the ballpoint pen again, appearing to check but actually dazing away the remaining examination time.

Soon, it was almost time to submit the paper.

“There are twenty-five minutes remaining in the exam. Please check your name, student ID, and answer sheet carefully.”

“Tick, tock. Tick, tock.”

It was just another ordinary afternoon in this quiet exam room filled with the sound of pens scratching against paper. The rhythmic ticking of the clock seemingly reminded the examinees of their looming time limit.

But a second later, Yan Huan became aware of something unusual.

Wait, isn’t the exam supposed to use an electronic clock?

He glanced at the whiteboard at the podium, where the countdown clock flickered above, yet it made no sound at all.

Just as he was puzzled, it felt as if a voice, like an illusion, suddenly intruded into his ears with a melodious tone, akin to a lark:

“Hello, students of Examination Room One, can you hear me?”

Yan Huan’s actions hesitated slightly, instinctively turning to look toward the classroom door. In his mind, a harsh, child-like scream echoed loudly, breaking his movement:

【Do not respond! Do not respond! Do not respond!】

What’s happening? Did the Trisolarans come for a visit?

Why didn’t they come in my previous life but showed up now?!

Just as Yan Huan covered his ears, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye—a small head poking into the open exam door.

With a head of sleek black bangs, a pale hand was cupped like a horn in front of her mouth, confirming the previous voice belonged to her.

She was a beautiful girl, with looks that could easily earn a perfect score, her magnetic presence making it hard to look away at first glance.

Most striking were her long lashes framing bright, glistening eyes that sparkled like stars, her delicate features appearing angelic in a daze.

On her grey school uniform jacket, there hung a name tag that read:

“Class 1B, Bai Yi.”

Good, she’s not a Trisolaran.

【Your life is about to end; an emergency intervention of the world line is about to commence!】

【Correction plan is in progress. Please maintain your current actions, and be sure to exhibit no behavior that suggests you have noticed the modifier, or severe consequences will follow.】

【Allow me to explain the details shortly.】

World line? Modifier? Life-ending?

The voice rang in his ears again, sounding a bit calmer now, less jarring, but the bombarding of strange terminology was no less impactful than before.

At this moment, Yan Huan obediently followed the instructions of that mysterious voice in his mind, refraining from any sudden movements, instead cautiously tracking the girl with the remaining vision in his eye.

The reason was simple; Yan Huan was horrified to discover that the girl named Bai Yi seemed detached from the entire world, appearing semi-transparent.

In his peripheral vision, the semi-transparent girl ventured into the exam room where classmates were focused on their writing.

Next, she kept her hand up, calling out “Ah!” in a joyful tone, as if releasing the pent-up energy of a climber standing on a mountaintop.

Yan Huan blinked, but other than him, everyone else in the exam room continued their work as though they hadn’t heard a thing.

“Wow, they’re really not going to discover me.”

The girl chuckled softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her delicate, pale earlobe.

Seeming completely relaxed, she entered the exam room and even reached out to dangle her hands in front of Zhou Bin and the first-row students, observing with amusement as they failed to notice her.

“Hee hee hee~”

She hummed a tune that Yan Huan had never heard before, wandering before the podium as if she were some kind of inspecting leader.

Suddenly, her brows furrowed as if remembering something, and she turned with an annoyed look toward Zhou Bin at the podium.

Yan Huan had no idea what she was planning but watched as she searched for something at the podium.

A marker.

She grasped the marker and walked ominously toward Zhou Bin.

Under Yan Huan’s widening eyes, she tiptoed, using the black marker to draw a big cross on Zhou Bin’s face, followed by several random scrawls.

Still, neither Zhou Bin nor the students below seemed to have noticed anything unusual.

Zhou Bin’s glance swept across the exam room but, no matter what, couldn’t see the girl before him, nor did he realize his face was becoming a canvas for scribbles.

Only Yan Huan witnessed this absurd scene.

“Ha, here’s a tip for calling my mom to complain!”

The girl’s charming voice sounded like a little devil, showcasing her current smugness.

A ghost?

No, wait—

This girl looks somewhat familiar.

Wait, Yan Huan suddenly remembered who this girl, who seemed a bit familiar, was.

It was Bai Yi, a peer in his year; he had mentioned seeing her at school before because she was a figure of great renown in Far Moon Academy.

A young artist who had already signed with a well-known international entertainment company, she captivated countless internet users with her whimsical youthful charm, dubbed “Wife Waiting to Grow Up by the Million.”

She had starred in three films and released several hit songs, along with countless endorsement deals—he even occasionally stumbled upon her ads while shopping online.

While her status wasn’t exactly that of a major star, she was certainly quite famous at school.

And now, this youthful idol, thriving online, was doodling on Zhou Bin’s face with a marker?

And he was the only one who could see this happen?

What kind of plot is this where a youth won’t dream of seeing the bunny girl senior!?

“Whoosh.”

The wind outside suddenly picked up, causing the curtains to sway and the test papers to flutter wildly.

Within the dance of the blue and white curtains, Bai Yi’s form was partially concealed like a wave, yet neither her flowing hair nor her skirt seemed to be affected, as if she existed separately from the world.

Fantastical, utterly beautiful.

But just at that moment, as the wind blew, Bai Yi seemed to sense a gaze, abruptly turning her head to look at Yan Huan, their cautious glances brushing against one another.

“Eh?”

Uh-oh!

Having remained hidden for so long, it seemed the cover was about to blow!

Yan Huan’s mind raced, yet his expression remained calm as he maintained his gaze toward her, which made Bai Yi appear a bit uncomfortable.

She skeptically glanced at herself, then around at the curtains that had fallen back down, finally turning to look directly at the handsome young man by the window.

Ah.

So it’s you, Student Council President.

Bai Yi bit her lip, silently approaching Yan Huan, causing his heart to race while his expression remained unchanged, the ballpoint pen even spinning between his fingers.

“Can you see me?”

The girl in front of him radiated a faint but pleasant fragrance, reminiscent of blooming flowers in the morning.

She leaned slightly down, causing her long black hair to fall at an angle, just grazing Yan Huan’s temple without even a hint of sensation.

Yet Yan Huan felt even more certain—she was definitely real.

He remained still, staring ahead, his gaze piercing through her form as if admiring some beautiful scenery.

“…”

After a moment of silence without an answer, Bai Yi’s face broke into a mischievous smile, which clashed with her pure idol image, as she picked up another ballpoint pen from Yan Huan’s desk.

Something supernatural happened; the pen she picked up instantly became semi-transparent—as if she had extracted its ethereal essence from the desk.

One pen on the table, one semi-transparent pen in her hand, like two ends of a world line split apart.

“Your face is still as obnoxious as ever, President.”

Ah, me?

No, we aren’t familiar at all; we haven’t seen each other in real life, have we?

But Bai Yi offered no further explanations. With a cold, humorless smile, she pointed the semi-transparent pen at Yan Huan as if intending to write something similar to what she had done to Zhou Bin.

Yan Huan’s dark eyes narrowed, the voice in his mind echoed anew,

【Correction plan is in progress. Please maintain your current actions, and be sure to exhibit no behavior that suggests you have noticed the modifier, or severe consequences will follow!】

Yet even so, his arm seemed to act on its own, as if aiming for her slender wrist beneath her sleeve.

In this critical moment, a distinct “tick, tock, tick, tock” resonated from the girl, identical to the clock sound he had heard earlier.

Then, he heard other mysterious sounds coming from her,

【Current effect: Indifference】

【Fifteen-minute countdown is about to end; please take note.】

Bai Yi’s actions abruptly halted; she still held Yan Huan’s pen but bore a look of resignation.

Looking down at the time, it seemed she felt something was missing.

“Is it over already? So soon?”

With no choice, she replaced the pen back on the desk, perfectly aligning it with the other pen, which seemed to be on another timeline.

Turning back, her radiant gaze lingered on Yan Huan’s handsome face for a moment before she irritably shifted her gaze away, preparing to leave the classroom.

“We’ll meet again, Yan Huan, hmph.”

“Tick, tock.”

“Tick, tock.”

The previous clock sounds crept back in, like the mechanical whirr of machinery or heavy water drops splashing.

Yan Huan’s gaze followed the fading figure of Bai Yi as she departed quickly, vanishing into the distance.

Minutes passed, and everything seemed to return to normal.

But at some moment later, Zhou Bin standing at the podium shivered slightly, as if a thousand pen strokes had crossed over him in an instant.

“Hiss!”

He hurriedly covered his face with his hand, producing a loud “smack.”

The sound caused the test-takers to look up in shock; they froze, and upon seeing Zhou Bin, expressions turned to astonishment.

“What’s going on? Finished answering the second question? Don’t you want your grades? Hurry up!”

“N-no!” At that moment, a brave student timidly raised a hand to point at Zhou Bin, urgently exclaiming, “Mr. Zhou, your face!”

“My face?”

Zhou Bin froze momentarily, then quickly fished out his phone, activating the front camera to face himself.

Upon opening it, there it was—his face marred with marker scribbles, with not just a pair of JQK doodled, but also written across his forehead were the words:

“Foolish Teacher, Foolish Teacher, Foolish Teacher.”

The handwriting was chaotic, akin to a three-year-old’s doodles.

The classroom fell utterly silent, with only Zhou Bin’s face flushing an increasing shade of crimson as he trembled uncontrollably.

“Who did this?!!!”

A second later, his miserable shout echoed throughout the entire teaching building, likely startling the other exam rooms too.

Only Yan Huan sat there dazed, uniquely privy to the absurd events that had just unfolded.

And like Zhou Bin, he felt a slight itch on his temple, where Bai Yi’s hair had touched moments ago, finally delivering a hint of sensation.

It was like the long-awaited enchantment arriving at the center of his brow, recounting the beauty she had left behind.

Also arriving late was the birthday wish he made when he was six.

A touch, of fantastical color.