“Where is Xiao Fan?” the man asked.
“Who?”
Yan Hao was a bit dazed, instinctively looking around.
“Do you still not know Xiao Fan at this point in time?”
The man’s tone carried a hint of confusion.
What was even going on?
Disregarding everything else, he expanded his Dao, wanting to leave these crazy people.
Surprisingly, the so-called Dao and Spiritual Power seemed to no longer exist.
He only felt a wave of dizziness hit his head, and the scenery before him swayed slightly.
Sensing something, the girl kindly reminded him, “Don’t use those Taboos in front of us anymore.”
“What should we do? It seems a bit too early for this point in time,” Xiao Cai, dressed in a white dress, said to the other two, her brow furrowed slightly.
“True, but what about Xiao Bai? It’s already been two times. Will she…” the man said, a trace of worry in his voice.
‘Xiao Cai, Xiao Fan, Xiao Bai… I might as well be Xiao Qing. Is this brother here supposed to be Xu Xian?’ He rubbed his head.
Even though he was dizzy, he habitually complained in his mind.
“I can stay here first,” the little girl named Xiao Bai said.
Xiao Cai walked over and patted him.
“I’m leaving Xiao Bai to you.”
She put on a look of profound grief, as if she were entrusting an orphan at Baidi City.
‘She’s really got the makings of an actress,’ Yan Hao thought.
“Lolis are great—small, soft, and easy to push over.”
Another trashy line slipped out.
The three of them looked at him simultaneously with varying expressions.
Seeing their gazes, he panicked a little.
“What? I was just… talking nonsense.”
“Forget it, don’t mind this idiot. Let’s go,” Xiao Cai said, taking out a Small Ball.
The Small Ball flew from her hand into the sky and grew larger.
The ship emitted a beam of light toward them, and then, like something out of a sci-fi movie, they vanished…
“This… this is…?”
He stood frozen, his eyes wide like copper bells.
“It’s just the progress of technology,” Xiao Bai explained, her tone as flat as if she were saying the weather was nice today.
“You really… you’re really from the future…”
He looked at Xiao Bai, his voice full of disbelief.
“The two of them are; I am not. I just said, I am from the Eastern Han,” the little girl said, also taking out a Small Ball.
“You’re holding high-tech equipment, yet you say you’re from the Eastern Han. Then what about me? Am I a Peking Man or a caveman…”
His tone was full of shock.
***
Zero’s house.
She had just finished bathing.
Her hair was still damp as she stared blankly at the Hatsune Miku doll in the corner of the room.
Her expression was strange, whether it was confusion or sadness.
Her wet, short hair covered part of her face as she gently kicked the Hatsune Miku doll…
***
The School playground.
“I didn’t expect to still have the courage I lost. I really want to ask once more, will you wait or leave…”
It was autumn, and the morning breeze on the playground was a bit chilly.
Yan Hao hummed a song softly.
Having listened to Tao Feng’s MP3 so much, he couldn’t help but start singing along, though he was still a bit out of tune.
Being surrounded by a bunch of strange strangers had wasted a lot of time.
In the end, that Xiao Bai hadn’t even said goodbye before leaving in her high-tech transport.
By the time he returned to The School, it seemed like dawn was about to break.
He simply didn’t return to the dormitory and went straight to the playground to wait for morning exercises.
***
Between classes.
He was still reading a novel.
He had already finished Tao Feng’s Dragon Raja and was now reading the History Class Representative’s Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation.
The History Class Representative was named Xiao Qing.
She was a complete fujoshi—petite, wearing glasses, and possessed a large collection of BL novels.
She had originally wanted to trade this book with Tao Feng for Dragon Raja.
Tao Feng had indifferently said he didn’t read those and told her to just take his book.
However, Yan Hao, having finished Dragon Raja, was somewhat interested in this one.
So, he went to chat with Xiao Qing.
Seeing him take the initiative to talk to a girl, Tao Feng thought he had finally seen the light.
Tao Feng was prepared to repay him for his past kindness, even if it meant going all out to help Yan Hao woo the History Class Representative!
But Yan Hao only returned to his seat with a copy of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation.
Running over to his seat, Tao Feng said in surprise, “Buddy, you don’t… like men, do you?”
Long Yun, who was nearby, also looked over.
“What do you know? A sea is vast because it accepts all rivers; a person is great because they are inclusive,” Yan Hao replied casually.
“I haven’t read the novel, but I’ve finished The Untamed,” Long Yun joined the small talk, which was rare for her.
The two of them started chatting about the series.
Tao Feng, standing to the side, was completely stunned.
That night, after the lights were out for bed, he felt a wave of regret and declared he absolutely had to read the book too.
Yan Hao just smiled.
‘It’s nice to change yourself for the person you like,’ he thought.
***
The weekend, inside a small restaurant.
The restaurant wasn’t large, but it was clean, with several landscape paintings hanging on the walls.
The waiter brought out the utensils and tea, the clinking of the dishes making a crisp sound.
Yan Hao and Tao Feng sat on one side of the table, while Long Yun sat on the other.
The waiter served the dishes one by one, and soon the table was full.
Before taking many bites, Yan Hao picked up his phone.
“Ah, okay. I’ll head back right away,” he said to the other end of the line.
“What’s wrong?”
Tao Feng asked.
“I have something to take care of, so I’m heading back first. You guys eat. Let’s hang out another time.”
He scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
He quickly left the restaurant and opened his phone.
There were no call records—in fact, no one had called him at all.
He had just been talking to himself.
This was all part of a plan that he and Tao Feng called “Still in Love.”
Tao Feng had written this plan out of boredom during evening self-study.
Rather than a plan, it was more like a bucket list, filled with densely written goals.
Everything from eating together for the first time, going home together, the first time holding hands, and even marriage, having children, and growing old together was written in it.
As his strategist, Yan Hao was the only person Tao Feng showed this plan to.
It was a single sheet of A4 paper with messy handwriting, full of targets but without any methods of action.
‘Big brother, this isn’t a plan at all; these are just blatant daydreams,’ he had thought.
But he felt that Tao Feng really liked Long Yun—more than any other boy in the world, and more sincerely.
How could a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy not believe in love?
Both he and Tao Feng believed in so-called “love,” so he began helping Tao Feng plan specific actions and named the plan “Still in Love.”
In the face of so-called love, they were ignorant, but they were now prepared and ready to go.
The knights on white horses were now holding long swords; they were fearless and determined to succeed!
And now was the first official action of the “Still in Love” plan—their first meal alone.
A few days ago in the classroom.
“I heard a new shop opened near East Street recently. How about we go try it?”
Tao Feng stood by Yan Hao’s seat and said.
“I’m not going. Are you treating?”
Yan Hao said while looking at his book.
“I’ll cover the bus fare and the drinks. Now, are you going or not?”
“East Street? Long Yun, isn’t your house around there?”
Yan Hao put down his book and looked at Long Yun, who was still looking at her notes even though class was over.
“It’s not far from there. Are you guys going?”
Long Yun turned to look at them.
“Then you should go too. He’s covering the travel costs anyway. How about you, the local host, treat us?”
Yan Hao suggested.
“You’ve got some nerve, asking a girl to treat,” Tao Feng said helplessly.
“Uh…”
Yan Hao scratched his head.
“It’s fine. I should thank you for saving me last time anyway,” Long Yun said.
Both the location of the meal and the content of the conversation had naturally been planned in advance.
Most of the plan was Yan Hao’s idea.
Asking Long Yun to treat was just to ensure she would attend; in reality, they planned for Tao Feng to pay at the end.
At the same time, Yan Hao would appropriately disappear to make it easier for the two of them to be alone.
Now everything was proceeding perfectly, just as planned.