This Time I'm Dead

The betting window had just opened, and the number of wagers surged like a rising tide.

However, unlike the last time when one option completely crushed the others, this time, the audience's bets were spread quite evenly across the four choices—

Option [1. Qiqi] held a 19.32% share of the bets.

Option [2. Xiao Wei] held a 21.19% share.

Option [3. Both at once] held a 23.69% share.

And the final option, [4. Neither, let me enjoy this pleasant night alone], sat at a staggering 35.80%.

It seemed that while the "School Beauty is pretty" comments were flooding the stream, the silent majority was still waiting for Wen Nan to make his move.

Wen Nan was unaware of the betting percentages; he had closed the system immediately after the window opened.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Wu Yuwei urged. "Her, or me? I only want an answer from you."

The reason she was so eager to force Wen Nan's hand was that Wu Yuwei was confident; if it truly came down to a choice between her and Liu Qi, everyone would undoubtedly choose her.

On this point, Liu Qi and Wu Yuwei shared the same assessment.

Though she hated to admit it, Liu Qi knew she wasn't as beautiful as Wu Yuwei, nor was she as popular with the boys.

She didn't even possess the means Wu Yuwei had just used—the fake fall, the feigned fragility, and the way she had shifted the blame onto her.

In this contest, she had absolutely no chance of winning.

Ye Jiu wouldn't choose her.

Even if she and Ye Jiu were childhood sweethearts, even if she had been the first to go on a date with him, even if they had just kissed under the starlight...

None of that could compare to a confession and a proactive kiss from the school beauty.

Rather than passively becoming the loser, she would rather leave with her dignity intact.

At that thought, Liu Qi's eyes reddened.

She forced her eyes wide, trying her best to keep the tears from falling, and tried to make her voice sound less choked. "Brother, what's so hard about this? Just pick Xiao Wei. If it were me, I'd pick her too."

As the words fell, Wen Nan and Wu Yuwei both looked toward her.

Liu Qi smiled and waved her hands at them. "You should take her to the infirmary."

As she spoke, she glanced at her phone and put on an exaggerated expression. "Oh, my aunt is here! She's waiting for me at the school gate, I have to go find her right now."

With that, she turned around in a hurry and trotted to the edge of the bleachers, keeping her head down as she stuffed the "confession drinks" she had collected over the past few months back into her backpack, one by one.

Behind her, she heard faint footsteps, gradually fading into the distance.

It was her brother leading Wu Yuwei away.

That was fine.

Wu Yuwei was so beautiful; with a girlfriend like that by his side in the future, her brother would surely have plenty of face when walking around campus.

As for her confession tonight, she would just treat it like a joke—laugh it off and let it pass.

Love? She didn't care for it at all.

It hadn't even started yet, and it had already brought a pile of messy problems; she didn't want that kind of trouble one bit.

She would go back to her old life of focusing on her studies, carefree and happy.

How nice that would be.

It was just... why was the wind so strong today? It blew a brick right into her eye. So annoying.

Tears slid down her cheeks one by one, dripping onto her backpack and soaking into a dark patch.

Liu Qi rubbed the wet spot hard with her thumb, but she couldn't clean it off. Finally, she simply hugged her backpack and crouched on the ground, curling into a ball like a little sparrow.

She raised her hand and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, but the more she wiped, the more they flowed.

She tried her hardest not to sob out loud.

But her chest felt incredibly tight, her throat was constricted, and her shoulders and chest shook uncontrollably in rhythmic spasms.

I don't know how much time passed before a figure slowly approached.

The person stood against the light, the streetlamp casting a shadow from behind that enveloped Liu Qi.

A soft chuckle came from above her.

"Weren't you acting so generous just a moment ago? What's this? I've only been gone for two minutes, and you're already hiding here crying all by yourself?"

Wen Nan crouched down in front of Liu Qi and raised a hand, intending to help her wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Liu Qi turned her head to avoid him, not letting him touch her. Between sobs, she said intermittently, "Didn't you... didn't you go with her? Are you... are you done with me? Why did you... why did you come back?"

"Why are you so silly? When did I say I was done with you?" Wen Nan gently ruffled the top of Liu Qi's head. "I only took her to the infirmary. I came straight back to find you as soon as I dropped her off."

Qiqi looked up, dazed, staring at Wen Nan through her blurred, teary eyes. "You... you didn't choose her?"

Wen Nan shook his head. "I rejected her."

Qiqi couldn't believe her ears. Her red, swollen eyes opened wide, and she stared at Wen Nan like a little deer. "Then... will you choose me?"

Wen Nan nodded earnestly. "Yes."

"Waa—"

The sobbing that had been suppressed for so long finally broke through, and Qiqi opened her mouth, wailing loudly.

Wen Nan was startled for a moment, then couldn't help but chuckle. "Why are you crying even harder? You've even got a snot bubble coming out; you look like a little silly pig."

"You're the little silly pig!"

As she retorted, Qiqi raised her hands to wrap them tightly around Wen Nan, as if terrified he might leave again. She clamped her arms around his neck with such force that Wen Nan felt like he was suffocating.

Wen Nan hugged her back, gently stroking her hair. "Alright, stop crying."

[He actually chose Qiqi?]

[Damn, I bet wrong again.]

[What a disaster. I've lost every single gold coin in my account tonight on this.]

[Me too. This livestream is cursed.]

[I seriously suspect the streamer is rigging the game.]

[Scumbag, reported.]

[Wait, is there really a streamer who would risk his life just to rig the game? He actually rejected the school beauty? Does he not know the consequences of rejecting the school beauty?]

[What consequences are there for rejecting the school beauty?]

[Dead as a doornail! Dead as dead can be!]

[Is it really that serious? When the streamer kissed Qiqi earlier, people said the same thing. I believed it and was ready to attend his funeral, but instead of a funeral, I ended up stuffed with dog food.]

[Yeah, this streamer seems to be a hidden powerhouse. If he can easily handle a three-and-a-half-star female ghost like Qiqi, a three-star female ghost like Wu Yuwei shouldn't be a problem.]

[That's not it. Did none of you recognize her? Wu Yuwei is a bodily-fluid type female ghost.]

[Bodily-fluid type?! No wonder the description said she was juicy...]

[What is a bodily-fluid type female ghost?]

[It means that when this type of female ghost is stimulated and secretes a large amount of bodily fluid, she releases a massive amount of irritating pheromones into the surrounding air. If other female ghosts are present, they immediately enter a berserk state, and their aggression toward the target increases by three hundred percent instantly!]

[So, the school beauty is basically an AOE high-potency damage buff?]

[You could put it that way.]

[The school beauty is only three stars because her fluid's damage-boosting effect cannot be applied to herself. Usually, a player only chooses one target to romance, so even if she releases pheromones, it's not a big deal.]

[Wait, hold on... the streamer chose five romance targets at the same time!]

[Right... that's the key issue here.]

[So, the streamer rejecting the school beauty just now will likely cause her to secrete a large amount of fluid?]

[Be confident, remove the "likely." Look at the black mist appearing over the campus; she's already released the pheromones.]

[Holy crap, Nine Times a Night has four female ghosts around him. Are they all going to go berserk at the same time?]

[It looks like it.]

[He can't escape this calamity.]

[Hands together in prayer.]

[Hands together in prayer.]

[Hands together in prayer.]

[Candle.]

[Candle.]

[Candle.]

In the livestream, the chat began to light incense for the streamer.