Chapter 38: A Brave Attempt in Exchange for a Night of Introversion

Chapter 38: A Brave Attempt in Exchange for a Night of Introversion

Late at night, South District, in Yan Huan’s rental apartment.

The desk lamp shone brightly, casting a soft glow over the scattered papers filled with words.

Yan Huan lay on his bed, his face pale, brain blank, mouth slightly open, with all sorts of symbols and texts floating in front of his eyes.

Then suddenly, it seemed he figured out the answer to a math problem. He slapped his hands over his head, causing his black bangs to slip through his fingers.

His eyes, tinged with bloodshot veins, sparkled with excitement and intelligence as he exclaimed, “I think I’ve got it! As long as I…”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed some illusory text counting down in his vision:

【Learning Conqueror, Level 10, Remaining Time 1 minute 28 seconds】

Without thinking, Yan Huan tried to sit up, planning to return to his desk and concentrate on studying to maintain his conqueror level.

But in the next moment, a black cat jumped in front of him, looked up, and reminded him, “Yan Huan, you should take a break.”

Yan Huan blinked in surprise, staring at Meow-chan.

Her words seemed to awaken the pain in his body, pulling him back from his intense focus.

Realizing he was achy all over, his head feeling heavy and dizzy, he thought, “Ah, kidney deficiency, the usual after overexertion.”

“Ugh,” Yan Huan sucked in a deep breath, wincing as he rubbed his shoulders, and asked Meow-chan, “What time is it?”

“It’s almost two in the morning, meow.”

Meow-chan darted to his side, lightly swiping his untouched phone with her tail.

The phone screen lit up, revealing the time as 1:48 and several notifications from plane.

“You’ve been studying since five last night, almost eight hours straight. You have classes tomorrow; if you keep this up, your body won’t hold out!”

Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, rubbed Meow-chan’s head, and chuckled helplessly, “Mainly, I didn’t expect the boost to be so ridiculous. The feeling of gradually understanding knowledge is just exaggerated.”

It wasn’t that studying itself was overly dull, after all, “curiosity” is one of humanity’s essential traits.

The key issue was that many times, studying provides no immediate positive feedback.

Especially in subjects as difficult as math.

Most people spend hours, days, or even longer trying to grasp what it’s trying to convey and find it utterly futile.

Thus, the concept of studying became synonymous with “tedium.”

In quantifiable assessments, no matter how much effort is put in, the problems that can’t be understood won’t suddenly become clear.

But if every half hour of studying yielded significant positive feedback, then studying would be no different from other addictive pursuits.

That was the experience of Yan Huan utilizing the Learning Conqueror ability.

The more focused he was, the faster he progressed; the more concepts he understood.

And once he maxed out the level, his wisdom inflated instantaneously, allowing him to clear up prior confusions in a flash.

It was incredibly addictive.

And with that “level” concept…

Maybe it was a slight obsessive-compulsive trait, but every time Yan Huan thought about taking a break, he’d glance at the dwindling conqueror levels and couldn’t help but maintain his focus.

However, it was imperative to stop.

Yan Huan yawned, watching the remaining time for the Learning Conqueror tick away.

In that final moment, his originally sharp brain felt considerably heavier.

Although Yan Huan’s intelligence wasn’t low to begin with, having experienced such a substantial increase in intellect, he grasped the true meaning of the phrase, “Even geniuses have their differences!”

Dragging his weary body to the computer, he organized his notes and drafts, also closing the digital textbook he had nearly finished reading.

Then, he shut the computer off, preparing to wash up and rest.

“By the way, Meow-chan, how about I open a can for you?”

“Meow?”

Yan Huan squatted down, opening the cat food can, only for Meow-chan to show a disdainful expression.

She glanced at the can on the floor and then at Yan Huan, who was looking expectantly.

Then she swatted at Yan Huan with her paw, seemingly trying to awaken his rationality.

“Just eat, little kitty! This is what helps you grow chubby!”

“Meow.”

Meow-chan blinked, reluctantly moving closer to the can and cautiously licking it.

Hmm?

The taste wasn’t so bad after all?

“Smack, smack.”

Thus, Meow-chan’s licking sped up, prompting Yan Huan to smile as he rubbed the top of her head.

Opening his phone again, having been so focused all night without checking plane, he prepared to look through his messages.

Hmmm.

In the student council group chat, You Anli Na mentioned she also plans to attend the Linyi Gate game exhibition this weekend.

Then, Sakura Palace said she wanted to see it too.

Great, looks like the student council is having a team-building event this weekend.

Not wanting to disturb anyone’s rest with unnecessary messages, he exited the chat, only to notice a red dot on his “Contacts” list below.

Someone added me?

Yan Huan blinked and tapped on “My Friends,” quickly spotting a new friend request that had come in around ten last night.

“Xin Yi.”

“Wants to add you as a friend.”

“Source: Plane number search.”

While walking to the restroom to wash up, Yan Huan scrutinized the profile picture featuring a musical note and began to think.

Could it be Bai Yi?

Earlier, he added her mom as a friend on plane; it wouldn’t be hard for her to find out his account.

After contemplating, Yan Huan clicked to accept but didn’t text her back, just focusing on washing up.

When he came out of the restroom, Meow-chan had polished off an entire can and was licking her paws.

Looks like I don’t even need to prepare a litter box for her—what a deal!

But only taking in and not letting out… doesn’t that make her more like a pixiu?

“Going to bed now, Meow-chan.”

“Meow~”

Yan Huan turned off the lights and collapsed on his bed, tiredly rubbing his temples.

Meow-chan bounced over to his side, her bright eyes looking at him curiously as she asked, “Didn’t you just message your boss about work? Has she not replied?”

Just as Yan Huan was about to fall asleep, Meow-chan’s reminder struck him to grab his phone again.

Right.

Tong Yingying hadn’t replied to his message.

What has she been doing all night without any response?

Looking again at the silent chat box, Yan Huan hesitated but ultimately decided not to type another message.

Instead, he set the phone down and cuddled Meow-chan in his arms, saying, “Forget it, I’ll just ask her tomorrow what happened.”

“Meow~”

Yan Huan closed his eyes, preparing for sleep.

The time rewound slightly to Thursday night, Jinghe District.

In a room on the first floor of a villa, warm lamp light illuminated the arrangements within the spacious room.

An electric guitar connected to a computer sat near several other instruments, the screen lit up with a paid professional music production software.

The audio tracks were filled with different instrument sounds, creating a rainbow of varying lengths on the black backdrop.

A song was about to be born.

Since composing her second song a year ago, she hadn’t released anything new.

Not that she hadn’t written; throughout the year, despite how busy she was, she had persisted in finishing a general melody and arrangement.

However, she hadn’t started on the song titles or lyrics.

Partly because her daily work was overwhelming, and partly due to her mother’s constant disapproval, which made her question whether she should continue creating.

But yesterday, she learned that the Yan Huan her mother had been nagging about could actually be her fan?

Is he lying?

But why would he lie?

Every interaction she’d had with him was marked by indifference; they hardly knew each other and he had no motive.

Besides, he’s so exceptional—a top contender at school—he could probably win in trials based solely on looks.

Yet this guy was actually waiting for her to release new songs?!

“Wuwu.”

At this thought, Bai Yi buried her face into the pillow she had been hugging.

Her feet, wrapped in white socks, kicked up playfully, patting the bed uncontrollably, creating a rhythmic “thump, thump” sound.

Then, rolling around on the bed with the pillow, her flowing black hair spread like petals, making her red cheeks blossom like flowers.

A grin crept uncontrollably onto her lips as she giggled nonstop.

Calm down, Bai Yi!

You’re an idol!

You must maintain an image and work even harder!

Thus, she quickly adjusted her demeanor.

However, that smile was simply uncontainable and peeked out sneakily from the corners of her mouth.

Bai Yi set the pillow down and approached the computer.

Her phone lay on the desk, with someone’s plane account already entered, all jotted down from secretly checking her mother’s phone.

With a simple click, she could send a friend request.

Bai Yi pouted, her fingers hovering above the button for a long time without pressing down.

“Ahhhh, I can’t do this!”

She hurriedly covered her flushed face, letting her cool fingertips try to lower her temperature.

Sending this request feels too weird.

And what if he asks when I’ll release new songs or if I’ll sing at the game exhibition this Sunday?

Not only have I yet to write the lyrics for the new song, but my mother certainly wouldn’t allow me to sing either.

She’s the one who looks down on me singing.

As that thought settled, Bai Yi’s originally warm cheeks slowly cooled.

She bit her lip, feeling a little sad as she gazed at the audio tracks on the music software.

They lay lifelessly in her computer, like dragons without the spark of life.

“Why are you back?”

At that moment, the sound of a door opening echoed from outside, followed by the voice of Zuo Jiangqin.

“Ah, I heard Yi Yi ran away from home, so I dropped my work and hurried back to Linyi Gate.”

Responding was a middle-aged man’s voice.

It was Zuo Jiangqin’s remarried husband, Jiang Xiong.

“Honestly. She’s just throwing a tantrum. She’ll be fine in a few days. Today, she went to participate in the activities; she probably knows she was wrong.”

“Even if it’s just a tantrum, running away from home is a serious matter. Is Yi Yi asleep yet?”

“I’m not sure; she should be.”

Footsteps echoed as Bai Yi turned her head to look towards the door, where a knocking sound resounded,

“Knock, knock.”

“Yi Yi, are you asleep?”

Bai Yi bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and finally replied, “The door’s unlocked, Uncle Jiang.”

“Click.”

The door opened to reveal a dignified man with greying hair and some wrinkles, still in his work clothes.

He inspected the room, looking at Bai Yi with a smile.

“Your mother said you ran away from home two days ago?”

“Yeah, but everything’s fine now.”

Jiang Xiong crossed his arms, neutral in tone, “Is that so?”

Noticing the atmosphere grow tense, Bai Yi turned to him and asked, “Is everything okay at the company? Suddenly returning to Linyi Gate should affect your work quite a bit.”

“Actually, things are great there. I was initially planning to come back to Linyi Gate soon. The CEO of Ye International sent their daughter to Linyi Gate; there’ll be plenty of business here, and I’m hoping to establish some connections with them.”

“Ye International? That’s impressive; are you sure you can connect?”

“Others might not be able to, but your uncle here is quite adept. You know, I may not have much capability, but I know a lot of people.”

Jiang Xiong smiled slightly, stepping further into Bai Yi’s room.

He left the door open and pulled out a chair to sit down.

“That new head, Ye Lan, used to be my classmate; she’s a year ahead of me.”

“When she got married, I even sent a gift. But her taste wasn’t great; she chose a guy who turned out to be a real scumbag. While her child is still little, the husband already ran around and got caught by her—she kicked him and left, taking only the child.”

Jiang Xiong threw out an amusing story that captured Bai Yi’s attention, leading her to ask in disbelief, “Ye International? Isn’t your classmate’s family quite wealthy? How could he dare cheat?”

“It’s complicated. I’ve only heard a bit, so I don’t know the specifics.”

Jiang Xiong shrugged helplessly, explaining, “I heard that when Ye International was just starting, things were tough for them, and your senior had siblings, so she struggled during her undergraduate years.”

“Things got better later, but when she brought her boyfriend home, her family disapproved of the poor guy, refusing for the marriage to happen.”

Bai Yi blinked, curiosity shining in her eyes. “So…”

“Ah, so when she married, her parents didn’t come, and I guess they never agreed to the marriage. However, it’s likely not just due to his family background; they must have sensed he was a bad guy.”

Hearing this, Bai Yi’s expression turned complex, and she could only sigh, “The adult world is just too complicated.”

“Right? That’s why I wish you’d spend more time with peers and do less work.”

Bai Yi caught his hint, pouting as she muttered, “Aren’t celebrities always expected to attend events? What if I don’t become popular later? My mother thinks I should make the most of my popularity and participate in more activities.”

“How can you earn all that money, Yi Yi.”

Jiang Xiong took off his glasses and smiled, “Even my former classmate at Ye International has her own issues; imagine us! Instead of driving yourself crazy to the point of running away from home, it’s better to take a good break.”

Bai Yi glanced at Jiang Xiong, then softly said, “But what about the breach of contract penalty? That’s a huge sum we can’t afford, right?”

“Right, we can’t afford it.”

“Then why even mention it?!”

Hearing this, Bai Yi angrily hurled a plush toy from her desk, which Jiang Xiong effortlessly caught mid-air.

“Don’t be so rigid! What I mean is, finish your current tasks, and then let’s take on less work.”

“There’s plenty of time, Yi Yi. You should spend more time in school, with classmates, and make sure you read a lot. Even if you’re not good at studying, it’s important to absorb different viewpoints.”

“Then, when you have free time, do things you enjoy.”

The middle-aged man fiddled with the plush toy in his hands before tossing it back to Bai Yi.

“Our family isn’t rich, but we’re not poor either. If we prepare for the worst, even if we accomplish nothing, we won’t starve. So just relax and be brave.”

Bai Yi caught the toy again, yet stared at Jiang Xiong, speechless for a while.

After a moment, the voice of Zuo Jiangqin echoed from upstairs.

“What are you doing down there? Hurry up and wash up! Clean yourself, then come to bed!”

Bai Yi blinked at her mother’s voice, while Jiang Xiong shrank back, visibly intimidated by Zuo Jiangqin’s fierce aura.

Then, a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Clearly, that sounded like some sort of alarm.

Jiang Xiong hesitatingly scrambled to put the chair back in place, giving Bai Yi a resigned smile. “I’ll head to bed now; you should get some rest too.”

“Mm, Uncle Jiang,” Bai Yi nodded, watching him leave and close the door behind him.

Be brave, huh?

Bai Yi turned back to her phone, where a username “Huan” still remained on the screen.

Pouting, she extended her finger and pressed on the “Add Friend” option.

Gently tapping the screen, it displayed, “Friend request sent!”

Success!

Bai Yi nervously held up her phone, watching the contact page as she awaited a response, her heartbeat racing.

Will he accept?

Or will he reject me?

She flopped onto her bed, anxiously glued to the screen.

A minute passed…

Five minutes…

Ahh, maybe he’s busy and hasn’t seen it?!

She thought, “Let’s just scroll through videos for a bit; it’s fine.”

Bai Yi opened the short video platform and started scrolling.

However, every few videos, she’d check plane again to confirm whether he accepted her request.

Every answer was the same.

Nope!!

Why did I even send the request?! Is there seriously no option to retract it?!

Bai Yi’s face flushed as she rolled on her bed, displaying an utterly frustrated demeanor.

One brave attempt in exchange for a night of introversion.

Little did she know, Yan Huan hadn’t even seen her friend request.

His mind was solely on studying!

Meanwhile, in the South District of Linyi Gate, at Tong Yao Tavern.

The tavern’s door was tightly shut, not only was there a “Closed for the Day” sign hanging from the handle outside, but even the rolling shutter was drawn.

As such, the situation inside remained entirely hidden from outsiders.

“Ying Ying, you really have to help us out!”

Inside the closed tavern, many people gathered, with several burly men sporting Wing Tattoos watching two injured men kneeling in the center, wearing sardonic expressions.

The two men were visibly wounded with knife and burn marks, looking quite severe yet seemingly unaffected as they gazed forward.

In front of them sat a red-haired woman in a black cropped tee and jeans, listlessly sizing up the two men before her.

Beside those burly men, there were also many elegantly dressed women, their figures exquisite, clad in furs and cheongsams, exuding fragrant airs with every gesture.

They smoked and held their wine glasses, merrily propping their chins as they surveyed the scene.

Tong Yingying remained silent, but one man beside her chuckled, scolding, “Hey, you didn’t even greet Tong Jie and still want us to help? Don’t you know the rules?”

“Tong Jie, Tong Jie!” One of the kneeling men came to his senses and shuffled closer to Tong Yingying, pleading, “You have to help us, please! Help us escape!”

Tong Yingying sighed, stifling a yawn, displaying her indifference, “You all never remembered me when making money, but now that you’re in trouble, you come looking for me?”

The nearby burly men burst into laughter, while the beautiful women with their drinks surrounded her, smiling, “Tong Jie, you’re the top student, right? We all know the things we do aren’t so great, and the bosses won’t let you dirty your hands~”

“They’ve really messed things up, everyone knows you were connected with Ma Ma Bai; her connections are all with you. Can’t you find a way to help them out?”

Tong Yingying didn’t answer but took out her pack of cigarettes, placing one between her red lips.

As she reached for her lighter, a sudden chorus of spark sounds echoed around her.

Tong Yingying’s beautiful eyes lifted slightly as the surrounding women, all with Wing Tattoos, lit their lighters up at once, respectfully leaning in to offer her a light.

The converging glow of the flames lit up her otherwise dull gaze, revealing an intimidating aura from within.

“Tong Jie~”

“Please enjoy~”

With the fragrant wind from their soft hands blowing, the flame on the lighter flickered slightly.

No one dared to roughly snatch her cigarette away—except that one guy.

However, after a moment of contemplation, Tong Yingying pulled the cigarette from her lips herself.

The surrounding beauties giggled, asking, “Tong Jie, wanna try ours?”

“Forget it,” Tong Yingying sighed, “I’m trying to quit smoking.”

The flames from the lighters extinguished one by one, and they made no comments, watching Tong Yingying with smiles still on their faces.

Tong Yingying leaned back against the cushion, gazing at the two wounded men in front of her.

All eyes were on her, seemingly waiting for something.

Then suddenly, Tong Yingying’s eyes lit up, raising a finger as she said, “Oh, I have an idea!”

Everyone else wore expressions of shock, while the two kneeling outsiders showed confusion.

“Uh, huh?”

Thinking they might have found hope, they even showed eagerness.

But Tong Yingying smiled subtly and said, “You know you’re in pretty deep, right? It’s not just the Linyi Gate police keeping an eye on you, but also the rivals.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Well, I have a way to get you out of Linyi Gate.”

“Really?!”

Tong Yingying propped her chin on her hands, her smile turning frightful.

“Sure, but you two… can only send one of you out.”

“You two decide who gets to leave.”