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Chapter 5: “I Heard I Have High Standards?”

Her mother urged her to give it another try.

“Mom, a forced melon isn’t sweet,” Li Huanhuan replied.

She cupped the phone with her hand and whispered, “Alright, I’m on the bus, it’s not convenient to talk. I’ll call you later.”

Then she hung up.

“Phew~”

Looking at the phone screen dimming, Li Huanhuan let out a sigh of relief.

The image of Qin Shi’s face began to surface in her mind…

If she didn’t know Qin Shi was the protagonist of this world, if she had simply run into such a top-tier hottie on a blind date, maybe she really would’ve been attracted just by his looks.

But unfortunately, there’s no “if.”

Qin Shi was the protagonist of this world, and she… she was just an extra in the storyline. Extras and protagonists—there’s never a real ending between them.

She forcefully suppressed the little spark of attraction that had been stirred by “male beauty.”

Male Contestant No. 80: Eliminated!

Back home.

Li Huanhuan flopped dramatically onto the couch, hugging a pillow and rolling over twice.

“Ahh, nothing beats the comfort of home~” she let out a moan of relief.

Protagonists, villains, Western restaurants, bars, obsessive fans…

All these glamorous figures and their high-intensity, constantly stimulating lifestyles—none of it suited someone like her, a lazy shut-in extra.

Just the amount of energy she’d spent going out today, the number of steps she’d walked, already exceeded what she’d normally use in half a month. She didn’t plan to go out again for the next two weeks.

“Meow~”

Something fluffy brushed against her bare ankle.

Li Huanhuan sat up in a flash. A white long-haired cat was sitting next to the couch, quietly staring at her with a pair of emerald green eyes.

“Your Highness~” Li Huanhuan dove over and scooped up the cat before it could react, burying her face into its soft belly for a big sniff—only to be promptly slapped in the face.

“Meow!”

The royal cat wriggled out of her arms, leapt onto the back of the couch, and looked down on her with an air of disdain as its fluffy tail swished in front of its chest.

Li Huanhuan, used to this treatment, didn’t get upset. She remembered the bag of cat food she’d gone through hell to bring home.

“Wanna try a new flavor, Your Highness?” she asked with a grin.

After letting the royal cat sample the new food, Li Huanhuan went to the bathroom. After freshening up, she changed into thick pajamas, brought her thermos to her desk, powered up the computer, and began her work for the day.

Li Huanhuan’s main job was as a video creator. Her videos featured stick figure animations based on stories she wrote herself. Her content was diverse—adventures, fantasy, pets, daily life, and sometimes trending topics to chase views…

It looked easy, but took a ton of effort.

Sometimes, chasing an idea meant sitting at her computer for 10+ hours straight. All-nighters were common.

But video creation didn’t bring stable income. Even though she’d built a following of over 500,000 fans since graduation, most of her monthly income still came from advertising.

Her update schedule wasn’t exactly frequent. When she had ads, income could go over 10,000 RMB. When she didn’t, well—she’d at least have to go vegetarian for a few days.

So besides her main job, she also freelanced writing content for a public WeChat account. It was deeply subcontracted work, and her cut was tiny—but added to her video income, it was enough to support herself and her royal cat.

She even opened a social media account just for her cat and occasionally livestreamed its daily life.

All in all, even though Li Huanhuan was a shut-in, she actually had a lot on her plate. That left little time to go out—let alone blind dates or dating.

Another all-nighter.

At 8 a.m., she uploaded her freshly finished video to the platform, scheduled it to go live at 8 p.m., rubbed her cat’s round head, and headed to bed.

The cat leapt from the desk and followed her to the bedroom, tail swaying.

Back in her room, Li Huanhuan expertly flipped open her blanket and slipped inside. Within two minutes, she was sound asleep.

Buzz buzz buzz.

She was awakened by the sound of her phone vibrating.

Before that, she was dreaming.

It was a chaotic dream. First, she dreamt she was back on her 20th birthday. After making a birthday wish, this “NPC” version of herself awakened—only to realize the world she lived in was actually a novel. Panic and unease surged.

Then, she saw her mother collapse in front of her, pale-faced…

“Mom—!”

She sank into a swirling black vortex.

“Li Huanhuan!”

In the darkness, someone was calling her name.

Who?

Who was calling her?

The voice was familiar, but dream-trapped Li Huanhuan just couldn’t remember.

“Li Huanhuan, don’t see Fox again! He approached you just to get revenge on me!”

What?

“Huánhuán? Huan-huan? Like a circle?” said a childish voice.

“So you’re ‘Circle’?”

“Circle-sis~”

…

Buzz buzz buzz.

Li Huanhuan felt like someone was covering her nose. In the dream, she was suffocating.

“Phew—” She struggled awake—her view was blocked.

The royal cat was lying on her face. No wonder she couldn’t breathe even in her dreams.

She quickly grabbed the cat and tossed it to the side, gasping for air. She paused, plucked two white cat hairs from her mouth, and stared wordlessly at the smug feline now grooming itself on the window ledge.

Buzz buzz buzz.

Li Huanhuan sighed. The dream fragments were already fading. Finally, she noticed the phone on the nightstand vibrating.

“Who the heck calls this early—no, this late in the day?”

She glanced at the clock. 4 p.m.

She’d slept a full eight hours.

The call was from an unknown number. Li Huanhuan instinctively declined it.

“Aah~” she yawned and prepared to get up.

Buzz buzz buzz.

The number called again.

Huh? She picked up the phone with a puzzled look. Wasn’t a telemarketer? Not a scam?

As a long-time shut-in, her social circle was tiny—just two or three people. And they usually messaged her on WeChat. If it wasn’t her mom, then any phone calls were usually spam or scams.

“Hello? Who’s this?”

After the phone rang four or five times, she finally picked up.

“It’s me,” said a very familiar voice on the other end.

“Huh?”

“Qin Shi.”

“What?!” Li Huanhuan froze.

“Qin Shi?!”

She couldn’t help but raise her voice.

“Why are you calling me? Wait, how did you get my number?” she asked.

“… Is it strange I have your number?” Qin Shi replied.

“No, not strange.” Her half-asleep brain finally woke up.

Qin Shi didn’t have her contact info, but he could’ve gotten it from her family.

Still…

“Why did you call?” she asked cautiously.

On the other end, Qin Shi sounded a bit annoyed. “I heard you told Auntie that I have high standards and wasn’t interested in you?”

Li Huanhuan: “…”

Wasn’t that true?

But she still apologized earnestly.

“Sorry.”

“Just ‘sorry’?” he asked. “I hate being slandered.”

Li Huanhuan: “?”

Huh? Slandered?

Was she still half-asleep, or was he?

Qin Shi continued: “I won’t allow my reputation to be damaged. Tomorrow afternoon at 2, Team Sirius has a match against CoolPlay. It’ll end by 4.”

Sirius was Qin Shi’s team.

CoolPlay was Zhang Canyang’s team.

She had no idea why Qin Shi was mentioning the match.

“After the match, I’ll ask the coach for leave. Around 6, we’ll meet at Chenguāng Plaza. You pick the restaurant,” he said.

Huh?

Another sudden meetup?

“You can take your time to decide. If you don’t, I’ll choose.” Qin Shi added.

“But why?” she finally found her voice.

He chuckled. She rubbed her ear, uncomfortable at how warm it made her feel.

“I told you, I don’t allow my reputation to be damaged. We’ll meet up, eat, and take a selfie. Then send it to them.”

“Them?”

“Your mom and mine.”

He sounded busy. “Save my number. Remember—6 p.m. tomorrow at Chenguāng Plaza. Don’t be late.”

Then he hung up.

“Hello? Hello—?” she said to the dead line.

She put down her phone with a helpless sigh.

So this was a protagonist’s lifestyle? Random calls, cryptic remarks, and suddenly scheduling a date?

Did he not realize that for someone like her—a shut-in—going out two days in a row would completely mess up her rhythm?

She picked up her phone again and stared at his number. Instead of calling, she sent a text:

“Sorry, I have plans tomorrow and can’t make it.”

She declined his dinner invitation.

Qin Shi probably was really busy—he didn’t reply. So she didn’t think too much of it.

She got up, washed up, opened a new cat food can, ordered takeout, and sat back at her computer.

She meant to write her freelancing assignment—but instead, fragments of her dream came rushing back.

“Circle? Like a hoop?”

“Then I’ll call you Circle-sis~”

…

The soft, timid voice of a little boy echoed in her mind.

“Why would I suddenly dream about Little Sun?” she murmured, rubbing her temples.

Little Sun was a boy from her childhood.

When she was little, before her dad passed, their family lived in an old apartment without an elevator. The boy—“Little Sun”—lived downstairs.

His parents always fought. His mom cried all the time. One night, the police were even called. Later, she realized it was domestic abuse.

She met him one rainy day—her 7th birthday.

Coming home from dinner, they saw a small, soaked figure huddled in the stairwell. His body was covered in bruises.

Her dad picked him up and rushed him to the clinic. His mother came crying and thanked them profusely—but Li Huanhuan saw that she, too, had worse bruises.

She got to know the boy and his mom.

Whenever his dad came home, his mom sent him to Huanhuan’s place.

At the time, she didn’t understand why—just that she had a new playmate.

His mom called him Yangyang. Seeing how sad and quiet he was, Huanhuan nicknamed him “Little Sun,” hoping he could one day shine and smile.

She was chatty and would talk to him for hours while he silently listened.

Eventually, he opened up, showing a softer side just for her.

“Huanhuan? Huan-huan? Like a circle?”

“It’s Huanhuan, as in return and fantasy!” she corrected.

His eyes turned red. She got up to grab tissues, but he thought she was leaving and gripped her sleeve tightly.

She turned, saw his tear-streaked face, and melted.

“Fine, fine. If you want to call me ‘Circle,’ go ahead.”

“Circle-sis.”

From then on, she had a little shadow following her around.

One night a year later, his dad got drunk, fell off the balcony, and died.

Cops came. Grandparents. A big commotion.

Then one day after school, Little Sun was gone.

“He and his mom moved away,” her mom said.

“Where to?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did he leave a note?”

“No.”

…

She never saw him again.

“Circle?”

Yesterday, Fox—Zhang Canyang—had the exact same reaction when he heard her name.

Zhang Canyang?

Yangyang?

Could he be… her Little Sun?

But her Little Sun was shy, sad, quiet—like he lived in eternal rain.

Whereas Fox was blonde, smiled at everyone, like a charming angel—yet clearly unpredictable and complex.

Could they really be the same person?

She thought of the strange dream.

And exited her document…

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