Can't We Skip the Drinking?

Listening to the rushing water from the bathroom, Lin Tian let out a sigh of relief as he sat on the sofa.

He had not expected his first strategic objective to be achieved so easily.

Still, Lin Tian remembered that the old man's home was nearby.

Why hadn't she gone home to wash up?

Lin Tian had no time to dwell on it. Thinking of the girl's strange behavior today, he took out his phone.

He called the old man.

Lin Tian had saved the old man's number long ago, but this was the first time he had called it.

He needed to confirm whether Gan Yan Yu was the old man's granddaughter, and what exactly her background was.

The phone rang for a while, but no one answered.

It seemed the old man really was busy. Otherwise, he would not have closed his shop today.

Bang—

Before long, the bathroom door opened.

Gan Yan Yu came out, wiping her dripping wet hair.

Lin Tian instantly perked up.

With her single ponytail undone, Gan Yan Yu's ink-black hair cascaded all the way down her back.

The girl had changed into a black spaghetti-strap dress that revealed her lovely collarbones. Its simple, fitted design outlined her graceful curves.

Her fair, slender legs, straight out of a manga, were on full display.

What a figure.

That ponytail seemed like some sort of seal. Once it was undone, it dispelled much of Gan Yan Yu's scruffy student aura, replacing it with the air of a female lead in a youth idol drama.

"What should I do with the clothes I changed out of?"

Gan Yan Yu held the school uniform she had just taken off.

"The washing machine's on the balcony. Give them to me."

Lin Tian took Gan Yan Yu's dirty clothes and headed out to the balcony.

Just as he was about to toss them into the washing machine, he felt their faint dampness and hesitated slightly.

Bodily fluids included sweat too, right?

The weather tonight was rather muggy, so theoretically, there definitely had to be some.

Then...

Lin Tian crouched beside the washing machine and gently lifted the clothes.

They were both students at No. 7 High School, yet Lin Tian had no impression of Gan Yan Yu at all. Maybe she was as energy-efficient at school as he was.

How was he supposed to collect it? The system had not said.

He placed his hand on the slightly damp collar of the uniform, then lifted it and gave it a sniff.

A faint, pleasant fragrance mingled with the chalky smell of standing water on concrete.

"What are you doing?"

Lin Tian's two heads snapped up at once.

Turning his face, he saw Gan Yan Yu standing blankly at the balcony doorway, staring at him.

The air instantly froze.

"I'm helping you put in laundry detergent," Lin Tian said.

"Oh."

Whether she believed him or not, Gan Yan Yu nodded thoughtfully.

"I wanted to ask, can I sit on your sofa?"

"Go ahead. You don't need to ask me about that."

"Okay."

After saying that, the girl turned and went back to the living room.

Leaving Lin Tian utterly numb.

In both this life and his last, he had not even held a woman's hand, yet he had nearly been mistaken for a pervert!

Just as he was about to curse the system out, the system interface appeared—

Body fluid extracted. System analysis in progress.

Analysis complete. Physical examination report generated.

Name: Gan Yan Yu

Occupation: High school student; professional cellist

Age: 18 years, 8 months, 24 days

Height: 166.9 cm Weight: 41.3 kg

Blood type: O

Health status:

Clear signs of low mood, loss of interest, and fatigue. Also reduced appetite, sleep disturbances, and significant weight loss.

Has tried two antidepressant medications, but with poor results and obvious side effects.

Overall physical health is acceptable, but severe weight loss and fatigue have begun affecting daily life and normal functioning.

It remains unclear whether attention, memory, thinking speed, and other functions have been affected.

Seeing a status panel as terrifying as something from DNF, Lin Tian took a deep breath.

Was this body being used to cultivate venomous insects or something?

Even a transmigrator would shake his head after stepping into it.

Lin Tian immediately felt that his earlier judgment had been correct.

This girl really did have thoughts of ending her life.

She simply had not gotten the chance before Lin Tian suddenly came to the sixth floor, then barged onto the rooftop and interrupted her twice.

To avoid dragging him into it, she had tried to send him away.

But he had displayed an unusual degree of persistence, leaving her with no way to continue.

With no other choice, she had come home with him first, intending to make him lower his guard.

If Lin Tian's judgment was correct,

then her next move

would be for Gan Yan Yu to find an excuse to leave.

Lin Tian returned to the living room.

Gan Yan Yu was already lying on the sofa, completely absorbed in the computer on Lin Tian's desk.

On the screen was an unfinished video Lin Tian had been watching, from an uploader called Dead Mouse, part of the "Hardcore Ruthless Person" series.

Although this world's history and entertainment works differed somewhat from those in his previous life, many things were extremely similar, and he could usually find equivalents here.

This episode told the story of a Classical Musician in medieval Europe who was imprisoned by the Church for composing "treasonous" music, then burned to death after completing his final dance.

Gan Yan Yu watched with extraordinary focus. It was the first time Lin Tian had seen her eyes opened so wide.

"What, did you see yourself in it?" Lin Tian asked.

After learning of Gan Yan Yu's condition from the system, Lin Tian put aside his spectator mentality and began observing her seriously.

No. 7 High School was not that high-pressure a school. He could not understand how a high school student could have such severe psychological issues.

She was so pretty. She should not have had many worries.

At worst, she could have gone to wash people's feet for money.

"How did you know I play classical music too?" Gan Yan Yu seemed somewhat delighted by Lin Tian's question.

"Uh, I could tell from the piece you played earlier."

What Lin Tian had actually meant was that she was involved in music. He had not thought that far ahead.

Still, he had not expected a high school student to like classical music. He had always assumed only old geezers liked that sort of thing.

"That's amazing."

Gan Yan Yu looked at Lin Tian with a trace of admiration.

"Most people don't have that ability."

"I'm still learning too."

Lin Tian was not entirely making things up.

After all, if he really became a producer,

the first direction Lin Tian would pursue would be music. After all, nothing felt better for a plagiarism merchant than copying songs.

Copying novels, comics, and the like still took quite a bit of effort. Only copying songs was both the easiest and the fastest way to become famous.

"Which high school do you go to?"

This was the first time Gan Yan Yu had taken the initiative to ask about Lin Tian.

Lin Tian had a distinctly youthful look, so it was not hard to tell from his appearance that he was a high school student.

"The same one as you, No. 7 High School," Lin Tian said. "Though I don't think I've ever seen you at school."

"I took a year off and went abroad. I only came back recently."

"I see."

No wonder. If such a beautiful girl had gone to the same school, how could he possibly have had no impression of her?

Just then, Lin Tian suddenly stood up.

"Want something to drink?"

Since he was hosting a guest, he could not possibly offer nothing.

"Anything is fine."

Lin Tian quickly walked to the refrigerator and took out a convenience store bag.

He set it on the table and opened it, revealing several bottles of beer inside.

"Do you drink?"

Gan Yan Yu showed an awkward expression.

She had not expected that after saying "anything is fine," Lin Tian would bring out alcohol right away.

"I didn't buy any water. This is all I've got, but this beer's pretty good. A little of it can help you sleep."

If I get her drunk, she won't be able to leave, right? Then she'll have to stay the night.

As long as she makes it through tonight, she'll be mine.

However, just then,

Gan Yan Yu lowered her head and fell silent for a while.

Then she slowly raised her head again.

Lin Tian noticed that a faint blush had appeared on the girl's cheeks.

She reached out with her delicate hand and grabbed Lin Tian's arm.

In a soft murmur, she said:

"Can't we skip the drinking—?"