The Hidden Truth and the Exploding Favorability

Given his lazy yet somehow hardworking approach to these missions, Chu Ci never expected Ji Yanli’s favorability to hit the maximum so quickly.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. Looking down at his damp clothes, he asked Xiao Ba in confusion: “Wait… logically, if the favorability is full, it means the conquest is successful. Why am I still here?”

Xiao Ba was clearly puzzled as well, flying in circles around him. “Does the protagonist shou need to personally admit he likes the Host?”

Hearing this, Chu Ci felt a bit dejected. He didn’t think Ji Yanli was the type to take the initiative to confess. After all, in the original novel, he was the center of attention—the “White Moonlight” who only had to sit there for suitors to line up outside the school gates with “love tickets.”

“Wait! Host!” Xiao Ba bumped into Chu Ci’s shoulder in a panic. “The protagonist shou’s favorability is dropping!”

Chu Ci’s eyes widened, his expression utterly shocked. Fearing Chu Ci wouldn’t believe it, Xiao Ba projected Ji Yanli’s favorability bar directly.

In the slightly stinging fluorescent light, he could clearly see the numbers regressing. Within seconds, 100% became 95%.

Chu Ci frowned. “What does this mean?”

Xiao Ba blinked its white eyes blankly. “I guarantee our detection system is fine. Generally, once favorability is full, it doesn’t just suddenly drop like this.”

“This…” The little system was stumped, spinning anxiously. “Argh, it’s too complex! My mechanical brain is going to overheat!”

Chu Ci stared at the floating numbers, a deep sense of frustration welling up. It felt like being an escapee who finally found the exit, only to realize at the last second that there was an unbridgeable chasm between him and freedom.

“I need to report this to my superiors,” the black system said before vanishing into thin air.

Chu Ci was left alone.

His soaked clothes were uncomfortable, so he found a yukata in the hotel closet. After changing, he hung his wet clothes by the window; he still had to wear them to school once the sun came up.

He curled up in the soft bed. The dim nightlight cast weak shadows on the ceiling. Listening to the whistling wind outside, Chu Ci suddenly felt homesick.

Even though his home world was almost identical to this one, he had been lonely there for a long time too. Yet, he couldn’t help but worry: he left so suddenly, did his new spider plant get watered? Did anyone feed the stray cat downstairs that finally got comfortable with him? Did the old lady next door have anyone to help her up the stairs?

Even living alone, those long-held habits provided a sense of reality.

Here, Chu Ci felt like an interloper. Like a prophet, he knew the story and the fate of every character. He was the chess player who could change a person’s entire life with one move.

He hated that feeling.

The autumn wind swept over the windowsill. Without realizing it, Chu Ci closed his eyes and slipped into a dark, dreamless sleep.

The next morning, when Chu Ci left his room, Ji Yanli was already gone. The girl at the front desk recognized him immediately. “The friend you brought last night left early. Your phone was dead, so he asked me to tell you.”

Chu Ci checked his phone; it was indeed dead.

He thanked her and hailed a taxi, running into the classroom just as the bell rang.

Ji Yanli was already in his seat. As Chu Ci passed him, he instinctively glanced over, only to see his own backpack sitting on his desk.

This is…?

‘[Ji Yanli brought it for me?]’

His lips moved as he reached out to ask the boy in front of him, but before he could speak, the teacher rushed in. Chu Ci had no choice but to pull his hand back and sit down.

With finals approaching, the atmosphere was tense. The teachers were already chanting slogans about hard work and the upcoming challenges of senior year.

Chu Ci leaned his chin on his hand, spinning his pen. In the original novel, this period marked the transition into the mid-to-late stage of the story. Many events were about to unfold.

Zhang Zhuo being killed, Lin Yu’s “blackening,” the original host’s accidental death, and Ji Yanli and Song Qichen confessing to each other.

Chu Ci’s hand froze.

The early plot points had been changed by him, but would the ending change? At least so far, there hadn’t been any disastrous butterfly effects.

But now, Chu Ci had a bigger problem: Ji Yanli knew about his mission…

“Reporting!” A familiar voice broke his thoughts. He looked up to see Song Qichen—who was never late—panting at the door, his face flushed.

His usually neat hair was a mess, and the bruise on his left cheek looked more swollen than it had last night. He had even misbuttoned two buttons on his shirt. For the perfectionist Song Qichen to look like this was as likely as Chu Ci winning the lottery.

Thinking of last night’s events, Chu Ci lowered his head.

“Student Song?” The English teacher was surprised too. After looking him over, she waved him in. “Quickly, take your seat.”

Song Qichen gave a muffled “Mm” and hurried to his desk with his head down.

As the teacher continued the lecture on complex grammar, the room was silent except for the sound of pens. Only Chu Ci was restless. He was sandwiched between the two protagonists, and the awkwardness was palpable.

‘[Sigh… what a hard life.]’

Chu Ci pulled three pens from his bag and made a mock bowing gesture toward Ji Yanli’s back. Then he stealthily reached back and did the same toward Song Qichen’s head.

His seatmate noticed. “With your grades, even if you worship them as gods, you’ll still fail the same.”

Chu Ci shrugged. “I’m not worried about that.”

The seatmate, failed in his attempt to annoy Chu Ci, blinked. “You know, after this semester, we’ll be re-sorted into classes based on grades. Ji Yanli is definitely going to the elite class. Don’t you want to be with him?”

Chu Ci turned to him with a look of profound mystery and whispered: “I’ll let you in on a secret. My dad actually owns an entire mountain. I’m just here to kill time. I’ll go back to inherit the family business after graduation.”

He spoke with such sincerity that the seatmate was momentarily stunned. The boy stared at him, muttered something under his breath, and rolled his eyes.

Chu Ci sat back, satisfied. It didn’t matter if the guy believed it; in this world, his identity was whatever he claimed it was. The original host was so overlooked that no one actually knew his family background.

The thrill of a successful “flex” cleared the tension from the air. When the bell rang, the class monitor came over to change the duty roster.

“Chu Ci,” the monitor said. “It’s your turn today. Sweep the trash at the back of the room.”

Chu Ci walked to the back and began sweeping up crumpled paper.

“Who do you think hit Song Qichen?” A group of girls nearby were gossiping. As the school’s stars, the boys’ injuries were the talk of the class.

“It couldn’t be Ji Yanli, right? They’re so close,” a girl with a ponytail whispered.

“Not necessarily,” a short-haired girl countered. “Song Qichen didn’t bring him breakfast today, and they haven’t spoken all morning. It looks like a cold war.”

“Cold war?” Another girl with glasses set her pen down. “I heard they fought because… Song Qichen couldn’t help but kiss Ji Yanli.”

The girls gasped.

Chu Ci swept the last paper ball into the bin and shook his head.

‘[I don’t know if Song Qichen kissed Ji Yanli.]’

‘[I only know that I was forcibly kissed in the dark.]’

The memory of that sensation flashed back, making him feel faint.

‘[That damn pervert. Just wait until I catch you!]’

He ground his teeth. He mentally went through the list of people who were there: Ji Yanli, Song Qichen, Bai Yu, and Lin Yu.

Lin Yu and Bai Yu were like his bros. Song Qichen only had eyes for Ji Yanli. That left only—

A name was about to surface when he heard crying.

Across from the gossiping girls, another girl was hunched over her desk, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

Chu Ci looked over. It was his former seatmate, Song Mingyue!

Though they hadn’t sat together long, he knew her. She was usually as proud as a swan, looking down on everyone. Only one person could make her this upset: her idol, Lin Cian.

Since this involved an important supporting character, Chu Ci tapped her shoulder.

First tap, no response. Second tap, still nothing. On the third, the girl whipped around, annoyed. “What do you want!”

Chu Ci saw her red eyes and handed her two tissues. “Did something happen with Lin Cian?”

She burst into fresh tears. “Someone leaked photos this morning. Paparazzi caught him coming out of a hotel with a man. People are saying he’s in a relationship!”

Song Mingyue grabbed Chu Ci’s sleeve, her nose red. “Tell me… Lin Cian wouldn’t do that, right?”

“He definitely wouldn’t,” Chu Ci comforted her.

After all, the person Lin Cian actually liked—Ji Yanli—was sitting right here. Their plot hadn’t even started yet; there was no way he’d fallen for someone else.

Song Mingyue nodded, wiping her eyes. She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you. Even though we aren’t seatmates anymore, you still came to comfort me.”

Chu Ci waved it off and went back to his seat.

“Chu Ci!!”

The seatmate who had left at the start of the break suddenly appeared, panting heavily as if he’d run a marathon. He held up a hand, trying to catch his breath.

Chu Ci patted his back. “What’s the rush? Speak slowly.”

The seatmate slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me!”

“I just… I just asked around…” He gasped for air. “Your dad doesn’t own a mountain. Someone saw him digging through trash a few days ago!”

Chu Ci looked at him lazily. “Is a mountain of trash not a mountain?”

“You…!!” The seatmate’s face contorted with rage. His eyes flashed with cruelty. “Your dad is just a thug. A gambler in debt who drove your mom to suicide—”

BANG!!!

Before he could finish the sentence, the boy was knocked to the floor. The sudden violence turned every head in the room. He stared up at Chu Ci in shock, a bright red mark blooming on his cheek.

Chu Ci’s hand was clenched at his side, his knuckles stinging with a hot, throbbing pain.

The boy clutched his face and screamed:

“You dare hit me?!”