Chapter 19: The Gathering

The girl’s proactively approaching face—if not for her pale complexion and deeply sunken eye sockets—would have been a rather delectable sight.

In a novel, encountering such a situation would naturally be the behavior of a heroine, but in reality, it would only make one suspect the other party wanted to harvest their kidneys, and that their body would be found in various parts of the world the next day.

“…”

But before Lin Cheng could make any move, a strange flush appeared on Ye Weixi’s pale cheeks. She silently lowered her head and walked out of the kitchen.

She quickly went to the living room, found a bottle of medicine on the table, poured out two or three pills, and put them in her mouth.

Lin Cheng followed beside her, gently patting her back.

The touch was like stroking a living spine.

“Sorry, my body suddenly started to hurt. I couldn’t bear it,” Ye Weixi said, looking back at Lin Cheng and forcing a smile.

“Whatever you’re thinking, wait until your body has recovered. I’ll go buy you some papaya tomorrow.”

“You really do like big chests.”

“…”

I see that you, little thunder, have chosen the path of death.

Big thunder and small thunder are both my beloved ministers—don’t talk nonsense.

“Alright, don’t let your imagination run wild,” Lin Cheng interrupted.

“Rest well today. The rice cooker is still keeping the food warm. If you get hungry at night, take it out and eat. Remember to take your medicine on time too.”

Ye Weixi hummed softly and didn’t argue further.

Lin Cheng glanced around. The room, which he had initially cleaned, had improved a bit, but it still felt too cold and gloomy. He’d have to find time to completely change it.

“Let’s add each other’s contact information. I’ll be back tomorrow,” Lin Cheng said, taking out his phone—
a Xiaomi 6.

Ye Weixi took out hers—
an Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Lin Cheng immediately noticed the Genshin Impact icon on her screen.

“You play Genshin Impact too?”

“Mm. After starting Genshin Impact, the phone gets hot, and it’s very comfortable to put it on my stomach.”

Her phone screen was full of games that would make it heat up after being opened.

But there was no Wuthering Waves.

“Why don’t you download Wuthering Waves?” Lin Cheng asked curiously.

“I play Wuthering Waves on my computer,” Ye Weixi replied, placing her phone on her stomach. “When I play, I’ll open Genshin Impact and then put it on my stomach.”

That was some serious multitasking.

After exchanging contact information, Lin Cheng checked the rice cooker one last time, making sure the keep-warm button was on before preparing to leave.

He couldn’t stay home and take care of Ye Weixi all the time.

He still had to deal with that bastard protagonist, Zhou Mingyuan.

“Lin Cheng, thank you.”

As the door closed, Ye Weixi’s thin figure standing at the entrance disappeared from view.

“Finally out. This sick girl’s room really smells of disinfectant—it’s so uncomfortable to breathe in,” Su Wanqing muttered, floating in the air and patting at Lin Cheng’s clothes.

“Look, you didn’t even wear an apron, and you got water all over yourself. I don’t know why you have to take care of this sick girl. And you’re coming again tomorrow? You’re not really planning to take care of her every day like you said, are you?”

Su Wanqing kept chattering, and though she knew Lin Cheng would never respond, she had gotten used to talking to herself.

She followed him all the way downstairs.

They took a taxi, which cost twenty-five yuan, back to the school gate.

“Damn it, what a rip-off. He charged me one hundred and fifty, f*ck.”

Lin Cheng took out twenty-five yuan, recalling the driver earlier who had sworn to help him chase down Ye Weixi. He was so angry he could have cursed his mother.

“When will ride-sharing apps really replace these rip-off drivers? There’s a reason these taxis are being boycotted.”

Su Wanqing, however, didn’t think it was expensive at all. Twenty yuan, one hundred and fifty—it all seemed the same to her.

The school security guard saw Lin Cheng return in uniform, just glanced at him, and didn’t ask questions.

It was exactly 7:30—end of the first evening self-study session.

Lin Cheng slipped back into the classroom.

Seeing her cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute deskmate suddenly return, Li Xiaoran was a little surprised. She thought Lin Cheng would go home after class as usual.

Resting her hands on the desk, she tilted her head and looked at him.

“Lin Cheng, why did you borrow money from me this afternoon?”

“I had something to do.”

“Was it about that girl with the umbrella? What happened after you chased her out?” Li Xiaoran asked curiously.

“Nothing special. That girl is sickly, and it has nothing to do with Su Wanqing’s death,” Lin Cheng explained.

“Is that so? I thought there would be some special discovery. In that case, Lin Cheng, don’t think too much about it. Wanqing’s death might really have been an accident. After all, Wanqing’s family is very rich, and Zhou Mingyuan’s family is also very rich. If something really happened, the police couldn’t possibly be indifferent, right?”

“The police?”

Lin Cheng narrowed his eyes.

The two young officers who had come to question Zhou Mingyuan did seem suspicious, but they hadn’t acted—proof that they were probably powerless.

And now Lin Cheng was also being targeted by Zhou Mingyuan. He could be killed in the street just like Su Wanqing had been.

“Lin Cheng, tomorrow afternoon is the sports meet. Just now during self-study, Zhou Mingyuan wanted to invite our classmates to a dinner party. The head teacher agreed. Are you going?”

“A dinner party? So suddenly?”

[Host 🙇‍♀️, the plot will shift dynamically due to the protagonist’s intervention. Please note that the core plot (Su Wanqing’s death) has a strong anchor. Before you complete the main mission Protect Su Wanqing after high school graduation, all deviated side plots will eventually converge and lead to the core path of Su Wanqing must die.]

[Based on this logic, the host can judge that the fundamental purpose of all of Zhou Mingyuan’s actions—current and future—is to kill Su Wanqing.]

Lin Cheng was even more confused.

Su Wanqing was already dead.

[Host 🙇‍♀️, Su Wanqing is indeed dead, but the main mission Protect Su Wanqing has not been marked as failed or completed. The status is still: In progress. Please continue to execute the mission.]

[Supplementary Hint: A key character in the current plot node has been detected: Li Xiaoran. The core target of Zhou Mingyuan’s dinner party is Li Xiaoran. His fundamental motive is highly related to the main line of Su Wanqing must die.]

“Invite Li Xiaoran?”

Lin Cheng’s gaze shifted involuntarily to his smiling deskmate.

A faint anger and worry rose in his heart.

What was Zhou Mingyuan planning?

In the original plot, Li Xiaoran was just an eighteenth-tier side character mentioned once. Would he really target such a gentle, kind, and cute girl?

“Lin Cheng? Lin Cheng?”

Seeing his vacant stare, Li Xiaoran waved her hand in front of him.

“What’s wrong? Are you dumbfounded just because you heard about a dinner party? Are you going or not? Zhou Mingyuan said it’s his treat. We’re going to that newly opened In Time restaurant. I heard the atmosphere is super good!”

“Why is he suddenly treating everyone?”

“He said it’s to celebrate the sports meet, and also to… commemorate Wanqing. He said Wanqing loved lively events when she was alive, and if we get together, she’ll be happy watching from heaven.”

Su Wanqing stomped her feet mid-air in anger. “This bastard’s lies just keep coming! Lin Cheng, you must not go—it’s too dangerous!”

“Lin Cheng, are you going or not?”

Li Xiaoran pressed. Seeing his expression darken, she quickly added, “Actually, I don’t really want to go either. If you go, I’ll go with you…”

Suddenly—

A chorus of oohs came from the doorway.

In most cases, this meant that a couple—or an ambiguous pair—had just done something enviable and jealousy-inducing.

In a boy’s school days, being called “amazing” or “daddy” was already the highest form of respect, but a classroom-wide ooh was on another level entirely.

“Lin Cheng, there’s a girl at the door looking for you! She says she’s your girlfriend!”

Lin Cheng, Li Xiaoran, and Su Wanqing all turned toward the door.

A girl in a dress, with flawless makeup, stood there like an elegant heroine from an anime. Her snow-white skin even held a hint of rosy red.

Beautiful, dignified, generous—most importantly, brimming with life.

Is… Ye Weixi?

Lin Cheng almost thought he was seeing things.

If not for her paler-than-average eyes, he would never have recognized the girl as Ye Weixi.

No, where’s my sickly girl?

Where’s my huge, frail, touch-her-and-she-might-die, seriously ill girl?

Who’s standing at the door now?

This is Ye Weixi???

His confusion wasn’t over.

The few boys sitting nearby—close friends of his—immediately looked between him, the wide-eyed Li Xiaoran, and Ye Weixi at the door.

Their expressions shifted from disbelief, to indignation, to shock, to confusion… and finally, to a deep sense of loneliness.

Brother can’t stand to see you unable to afford breakfast, can’t stand to see you without a good bed to sleep in.

But you… you’re too much. You really deserve to die, Lin Cheng!

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