Early in the morning, Liu Sizhen sent Lin Bosheng on an errand again.

The students in Class Eleven whispered to each other, quietly commenting: “This is just too much, isn’t it? After all, Lin Bosheng is one of the top students in the class.”

Sure, he’s a bit distant, and doesn’t have the best relationships with his classmates, but how could he end up being bullied like this by Liu Sizhen, the new guy?

Even if Liu Sizhen’s family is wealthy, so what? Treating others so poorly will come back to him eventually.

Meanwhile, the person being criticized, Liu Sizhen, looked at Lin Bosheng, who was out of breath as he brought over breakfast. Liu discreetly assessed him. Tsk, there’s no denying it—this male lead certainly stands out.

From the moment he appears, he’s distinct from the other classmates.

Even though he’s only wearing a worn-out school uniform that’s a bit faded, and is dressed like everyone else, he still exudes a unique presence… only he could pull that off.

At just sixteen or seventeen, he already shows hints of his future look, and no matter how things turn out, he won’t stray far from it. His neatly trimmed nails and fresh appearance are like a young poplar tree in its growth stage.

But this little poplar, shivering in the lingering cold of early spring, wearing such thin and shabby clothes, clearly shows he doesn’t come from a wealthy background.

—

Changning No. 2 High School doesn’t have the best reputation among all the schools in Changning, but it’s in a prime location. Although the admission standards are lower than Liu Sizhen’s previous high school, for someone like Lin Bosheng, from a modest family, it’s considered quite a challenge to get in.

Not to mention, Lin Bosheng didn’t get in by paying any expensive selection fee. He entered purely based on his own academic abilities.

Every year, No. 2 High School admits a batch of high-achieving students to boost its graduation rates, and in return, they offer tuition waivers. The top students may even receive full scholarships along with a stipend.

Liu Sizhen continued chatting and laughing with the people around him.

From start to finish, he didn’t give this quiet boy beside him a single glance. Of course, he didn’t even look at the change Lin Bosheng handed him.

This was the money Liu Sizhen had given him earlier—more specifically, the change left after purchasing things.

Liu Sizhen pulled a pork floss bun out of the bag and tossed it at Lin Bosheng. “Didn’t I say I don’t like this? And I don’t drink plain milk either…”

A girl nearby couldn’t help but quietly complain, pointing out that she’d heard Liu Sizhen specifically ask for a pork floss bun and milk, only to change his mind once Lin Bosheng brought it back after much effort.

It was obviously a deliberate setup.

Lin Bosheng didn’t say anything. He looked at Liu Sizhen, then at the bun and milk that had been tossed into his hands, and silently put them away as if he was used to this treatment.

He looked like a pitiful figure, bullied yet too afraid to talk back.

—

Of course, Liu Sizhen isn’t actually a high school student. He doesn’t even belong to this world. As for why he’s here or why he suddenly became a high school student—well, that’s a bit complicated.

Honestly, he himself feels completely bewildered.

Before coming to this world, Liu Sizhen had been rehearsing for a play he’d perform at the school’s upcoming anniversary event.

Everything had been going well until it came to his solo scene, which was a monologue. Since some props hadn’t been prepared yet, he was performing without them.

He was fully absorbed in the role when he suddenly heard gasps from the audience.

Looking up, he saw a backdrop prop falling straight toward him. He tried to move, but his body didn’t react quickly enough. His brain knew he needed to dodge, but his feet didn’t follow through.

And then he was knocked unconscious.

Oddly, he didn’t feel any pain—he only remembered a hazy voice in his head talking to him. The strange voice first told him that he’d died and then asked if he wanted to live.

Naturally, Liu Sizhen chose life.

The system then informed him that to continue living, he would need to complete tasks in another small world.

The voice explained for a long time, mainly introducing who it was, its purpose, what it wanted him to do, and how these small worlds were created, among other things.

The voice was monotonous, mechanically unchanging, almost hypnotic.

Liu Sizhen nearly fell asleep listening, though he’s usually a good listener.

He found it rude not to pay attention, so he always listened earnestly, even when he wasn’t interested.

So, Liu Sizhen patiently listened to the entire explanation. Most of it was abstract—the system’s origin, how small worlds are formed, and so on.

It was long-winded and lacking focus.

Finally, Liu Sizhen summarized the main points himself, disregarding the unrelated background information.

He noted the parts that concerned him directly.

He had two tasks: one was to fulfill the wishes of the small world protagonists, essentially “bringing them warmth.” However, he couldn’t prevent the protagonist from experiencing the hardships they were meant to face.

The system believed these challenges were essential to shaping the protagonist; without them, the protagonist wouldn’t remain the same character.

So, he had a second task:

He had to play the role of the obstacle on the protagonist’s path to success.

These two tasks seemed completely contradictory to Liu Sizhen. Even the system admitted it had originally intended to assign them to two separate individuals.

One would fulfill the protagonist’s wishes,

And the other would play the antagonist.

But…at this point, the mechanical voice stuttered slightly, as if there was a connection glitch, though it soon resumed.

“In short, due to certain reasons, the system currently lacks the energy to support two taskers simultaneously. So, consider these two tasks as a single mission…”

Two tasks for the price of one—was this exploiting labor?

Since Liu Sizhen had recently been studying labor laws, he couldn’t help but wonder.

He didn’t say it out loud, though—it was just a thought. But the mechanical voice seemed to pick up on his thoughts.

It paused again before saying, “Of course, you can refuse, but then we won’t sustain any vital signs for your physical body in reality…”

“…Oh.”

Liu Sizhen responded softly.

Inside, his mind was racing:

It can actually hear my thoughts?!!

Liu Sizhen was cautious about the voice in his head and didn’t dare to upset it.

“I can indeed hear your thoughts. But if the user prefers, I can selectively listen, meaning I would only hear thoughts when the user calls for the system.”

Liu Sizhen hadn’t expected it to be so accommodating.

He even tested it in his mind.

[Really? System?]

[I’m here.] The system replied to his question and continued, [However, considering that completing two tasks on your own may indeed be strenuous, I can grant you an additional request upon successful completion.]

Hearing this, Liu Sizhen perked up. “…Anything at all?” he asked quickly, “Could it even be to wake up from a vegetative state?”

[As long as there are vital signs and the person isn’t fully deceased, it’s possible.]

“Then I’ll do it,” he said firmly. “I’ll do this task.”

When Liu Sizhen was conversing with the system in his consciousness, it truly felt like a dream, so he thought everything was just an illusion…or perhaps just his imagination.

But when he finally opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar, extravagantly decorated room, wearing clothes he didn’t recognize, in a city he had never even heard of, and was told he’d be attending a new school.

For a moment, he thought he was dreaming.

He froze, looked down at his hands, and touched his face.

“This time, things won’t be like before.”

Nearby, a woman who appeared to be around forty was preparing shoes for him by the entrance. She held what must be his bag, decorated with several sparkly charms. From his angle, he could also see a luxury car outside with a driver waiting for him.

—The bag’s charms seemed so old-fashioned.

Plus, to Liu Sizhen, they felt a bit…nostalgic.

He tried mentally addressing the system.

[System, what year is it?]

The voice responded quickly.

[The current year is 2007.]

No wonder…he had only been four years old in 2007.

The woman was still going on.

“Young master, when you arrive at your new school, make sure to study hard, don’t get into arguments with your classmates, and listen to the teachers…”

“Mhm, got it.”

So, none of his previous conversations were a dream…

The system had mentioned assigning him a random identity to approach the protagonist.

So…he really was in another world.

Initially, Liu Sizhen assumed that the woman was his character’s mother. However, as soon as that thought crossed his mind, the system informed him of her name and role.

She wasn’t his mother, just the live-in housekeeper who had taken care of him since he was young.

“Got it, Aunt Wang. Please hand me the bag.”

Liu Sizhen, who had always been praised for his good manners, instinctively took the bag from her and thanked her warmly.

Aunt Wang’s reaction, however, was one of shock, as if she had seen a ghost.

All he did was accept the bag and casually say thanks, but Aunt Wang looked as though he’d done something profoundly moving.

She kept muttering about how the young master had matured, reminiscing about how obedient and well-behaved he was as a child, only to become increasingly rebellious as he grew up.

But she didn’t believe it was his fault. She insisted that Liu Sizhen’s true nature wasn’t bad and that his rebellious phase was due to the bad influence of classmates at his previous school.

Now, with this transfer, everything would surely improve…

Previously, he attended a prestigious private school with high tuition fees and a student body of wealthy, elite families. Now, moving to No. 2 High School, the environment would certainly be different.

Aunt Wang kept advising him all the way to the car, mentioning how the new school’s conditions weren’t as good, and asking him to bear with it for a while. She promised to make him something delicious after school.

“Got it, thank you, Aunt Wang.”