Two crows flew across the sky.

On the ground, a man lay groaning in pain.

One hand clutched his lower body while the other, with a twisted wrist, rested limply on the sun-scorched ground. His eyes were swollen red, his lips cracked and bleeding.

The woman slowly put on the sunglasses, hiding the fleeting bloodlust in her eyes. “Sorry, Captain. I lost control for a moment.”

Duan Chunshui made a nonchalant sound of acknowledgment. “Who was it just now that said he was going to beat me up?”

[Getting beaten up by sister Jiang was within my expectations.]

The little girl lowered her heart-shaped sunglasses, revealing eyes as black and shiny as grapes. She glanced at the man writhing on the ground before pushing her sunglasses back up.

Everything had happened too quickly. By the time the school belle reacted, Wang De was already on the ground, so hurt he couldn’t even speak. She gasped and stepped forward to help him up.

But before she could bend down, an arm blocked her path. 

“Don’t bother with him.”

The voice, as if fresh from sleep, carried a husky quality that resonated in her ears and left lingering ripples in her chaotic mind.

The school belle followed the arm to look at the person who had stopped her. It was an unreasonably handsome man. His half-lidded eyes made her first notice how long his lashes were.

When those sleepy eyes fully opened, they seemed like a deep pool of water, clearing her previously overheated mind in an instant.

“What do you like about him?” the man asked.

The school belle was stunned. She looked at the beautiful face before her, then down at Wang De’s twisted, pained, and uglier-than-usual expression. For a moment, she was lost in thought.

While she was dazed, Duan Chunshui grabbed Wang De’s collar with ease and hauled him up.

“Do you… do you know who I am!?” Wang De shouted through the pain. 

“No one gets away with hitting me! How dare you lay hands on me!”

Wang De panicked for a moment but quickly regained his composure.

He had read enough novels to know how these situations went. Sometimes a little back-and-forth made the face-slapping more satisfying. Let the antagonists win a round, jump higher, and their eventual fall would be even more dramatic.

“I advise you to apologize now, or else…”

“Got it, Mr. Protagonist.”

Duan Chunshui’s casual reply left Wang De stunned and silent. After a moment, he stammered, “Y-you… What did you say? You know I’m the…?”

“Mm.” Duan Chunshui replied smoothly, “You’re the protagonist of this world. Everything revolves around you. All the school beauties are yours, and later on, so will be the female celebrities in the entertainment industry. You’ll even establish a business empire and become unimaginably wealthy.”

Wang De froze.“He… he really knows I’m the protagonist! And everything he said is right!”

“Then why aren’t you letting me go? Where are you taking me?” Wang De asked warily. 

“You’re not planning to send me to a mental hospital, are you? I’m telling you, I’m not crazy! It’s strange, but it’s all true! Ask around at school if you don’t believe me!”

“Why would we send you to a mental hospital? We’re taking you to learn how to maximize your protagonist abilities,” Duan Chunshui said casually.

Wang De was skeptical but forced himself to stay calm. He started reevaluating Duan Chunshui and these people’s roles in this novel, but none of the stories he had read had characters like this!

---

Duan Chunshui stuffed the battered and confused protagonist into a car. Across the way, Jiang Nian took the school belle into another vehicle.

The little girl hurried over to Duan Chunshui, he gestured toward Jiang Nian’s car.

Before he could say anything, the girl jabbed her finger at his nose and began speaking dramatically, “Duan Chunshui, did you forget what you said back at the orphanage? You said you’d always treat me well. You said you—”

Duan Chunshui looked up at the sky, rubbed his ears that were growing calloused from her whining, and promptly shoved her into the back seat.

The moment she sat down in the car, the girl quieted herself, stuck a straw into her milk tea, and began slurping contentedly.

In the car, Wang De didn’t say a word. He was reflecting on how un-protagonist-like his earlier behavior had been. After some self-reflection, he felt more composed.

He wasn’t nervous because he understood one thing: As the protagonist, no matter how dangerous the situation, he would survive. Even setbacks would eventually become rewards.

Settling down, Wang De decided to test the new ability he had awakened—he tried to listen to the inner thoughts of the people in the car to figure out who they were and where they were taking him.

The first thoughts he heard came from the little girl. Childish minds were simpler and easier to access. He leaned closer to her and focused.

[What’s this idiot doing?]

“……”

“So, it worked.”

“I was indeed the protagonist.”

Wang De then leaned toward the front passenger seat, where Duan Chunshui was slouched lazily, and attempted to read his thoughts.

[Does he not realize how much Duan Chunshui wants to punch him?]

“……”

Glancing into the rearview mirror, Wang De cautiously observed Duan Chunshui. Despite looking entirely relaxed, Duan Chunshui had an inexplicable air of intimidation.

Remembering basic physics from middle school, Wang De realized Duan Chunshui could see him through the mirror, so he quickly sat back and straightened up.

He tried listening to the driver next, but again, he only picked up the little girl’s thoughts.

After testing for the entire car ride, Wang De concluded that, for now, he could only hear the thoughts of children.

Eventually, the car stopped. Wang De was led into a seemingly ordinary elevator. There were no floor buttons, and once everyone was inside, it began descending automatically.

It was clearly a secret facility. Wang De had two guesses:

1. This place seemed connected to money. Perhaps someone, a distant relative or an influential benefactor, had left him an inheritance.

2. This was an organization tied to his awakened abilities, as they had claimed, meant to help him maximize his protagonist powers.

“Ding!”

The elevator doors opened, revealing a brightly lit hall bustling with activity.

The scene resembled a government affairs office, with scattered individuals handling tasks at various counters. Some wore standard black uniforms, others casual clothes, and a few donned eccentric outfits that looked like cosplay.

The atmosphere, however, was far more solemn. Black-uniformed guards holding unfamiliar weapons stood alert around the perimeter, scanning the room.

As they exited the elevator, someone handed Duan Chunshui a piece of paper, which he immediately passed to Wang De.

Wang De instinctively took it, assuming it was some kind of inheritance document. When he looked down, it read: “Mutual Non-Mockery Contract Between Novels.”

Wang De: “…What the hell is this? What are you people doing?”