Social Death and a Feast

The next morning, Yang Chen was jolted awake by the vibration of his phone.

The class group chat: 99+ unread messages.

Still bleary-eyed, he opened it. The next second, his whole body shot upright from the bed.

[Local News Flash: Fallen Beast Spotted at People's Park—Magical Girl Knight Purifies It with a Thunderous Strike!]

The video thumbnail showed Knight's lightning sword aura cutting across the entire plaza.

Yang Chen let out a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, thank goodness. They filmed Knight, so it had nothing to do with him—

Then he saw the second video.

[Exclusive Footage: In a Moment of Crisis, Kindhearted Citizen Steps Forward and Pushes Trapped Mother and Child Out of Harm's Way!]

The video had been filmed by onlookers from a distance. The image was somewhat blurry, but it was clear enough—clear enough to see a figure suddenly charging out of the crowd, pushing the fallen mother and child aside, then being swallowed whole by a wave of black sludge.

The comments section had already exploded.

[Whose girl is this? She's so brave!]

[Can't see her face, but she looks so delicate and pretty. Long hair—she's a girl, right?]

[Girl +1. Her movements were so slick. I'm in love, I'm in love.]

[She looks like such a cute little sister. I hope she's okay.]

A girl.

A girl...

Yang Chen's hand trembled slightly around his phone.

It was over.

Those were the only words left in his mind.

Because the latest message in the class group chat was—

[@Everyone Watch this video! Don't you think this figure looks a little familiar?]

[Holy crap, that silhouette...]

[That hair length...]

[No way, no way, no way!]

[@Yang Chen Miss Yang, is this you?! Are you still alive?]

Yang Chen entered the classroom wearing a hat and keeping his head lowered.

Then he discovered that it was useless.

"He's here, he's here! The person in the news is here!"

"Miss Yang! Give us an interview! What were you thinking when you bravely rescued that mother and child?"

"What do you think about netizens calling you 'such a delicate and pretty girl'?"

At first, everyone had actually been quite worried about Yang Chen. After seeing the news, they had asked Chen Qianqian about his condition. Only after learning that Yang Chen was fine did they finally relax.

Then again, they were young people in the prime of their youth. Naturally, they were endlessly curious about what had happened in the park.

So as soon as Yang Chen entered the classroom, everyone began bombarding him with questions.

"What am I supposed to think? I didn't even know about this. Do you expect me to storm the news station and make them add a line saying the kindhearted citizen was a boy?"

"Hahahahahaha—"

The whole class burst into laughter.

Seeing that Yang Chen could still joke around with everyone, they figured he was truly fine.

Yang Chen walked expressionlessly to his seat, sat down, lay forward, and buried his entire head in the crook of his arm in one smooth motion.

As long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassed one is someone else.

As long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassed one is someone else.

"Hey, don't play dead." His deskmate leaned over, struggling to hold back a laugh. "Seriously, was that really you in the video? You're way too fierce! That was a Fallen Beast, and you still dared to charge in?"

"If you'd accidentally died, I, your deskmate, would have been devastated!"

"...It was a matter of perspective," Yang Chen said gloomily. "I was just passing by and slipped."

"Besides, my life is tougher than most. How could I die so easily?"

"Could slipping really give you the speed of a hundred-meter sprint?"

"The ground really was very slippery."

"Pfft—"

His deskmate ultimately failed to hold back his laughter.

The worst part was still to come.

After second period that morning, the homeroom teacher called Yang Chen to the office. In front of all the teachers there, he solemnly praised Yang Chen for his "noble act of Righteous Heroism" and announced that he had already recommended Yang Chen for the school's "Virtue Youth" selection this term.

Thus, that afternoon, an announcement rang out over the school broadcast:

"Yang Chen, a student from Class 2 of Senior Three at our school, stepped forward bravely during yesterday's Fallen Beast attack at People's Park and rescued a trapped mother and child..."

The broadcast echoed through every corner of the school.

It echoed through every classroom.

It echoed beside every pair of ears.

And then...

"Miss Yang is awesome!"

Yang Chen pressed his face against the desk, feeling as if his soul were slowly drifting out through the top of his head.

"Miss Yang, congratulations~"

Chen Qianqian's voice floated over from beside him, filled with undisguised schadenfreude.

Yang Chen lifted half his face from his arms and glared at her resentfully. "You're still laughing. If you hadn't insisted on going out at that time..."

"Hey, that's not fair." Chen Qianqian planted her hands on her hips. "What does my insisting on going out have to do with your insisting on charging out at that exact moment?"

She leaned a little closer and lowered her voice with a wicked grin.

"Guess whose call I got before leaving the house this morning?"

Yang Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

"You... You couldn't have..."

"Mm-hmm." Chen Qianqian hummed a little tune as she turned back to her seat. "Good luck, Virtue Youth."

That night, Yang Chen stood outside his own front door for ten minutes.

After taking three deep breaths, he still did not push open his own door. Instead, he dawdled and shuffled over to the neighboring apartment.

There was no escaping this. Rather than wait for Uncle and Auntie to come after him, he might as well walk into the lion's den himself and plead for leniency.

The door was unlocked.

He pushed it open a crack and peeked inside—

All the lights in the living room were on.

Chen Zhou sat in the very middle of the sofa, arms crossed and expression stern.

Su Wan's eyes were red, and she kept her head slightly lowered as her fingers tapped away at her phone.

The married couple heard the door and turned their heads in unison.

Two gazes pinned Yang Chen in place.

"U-Uncle, Auntie, good evening..."

Yang Chen forced out a smile.

"It certainly is good." Chen Zhou nodded. "When my colleague told me today that my family had a good boy, I was completely confused... It happened yesterday, yet I didn't find out until today—and only because my colleague told me. What a good boy, huh?"

Yang Chen's scalp prickled.

"Close the door behind you."

Yang Chen obediently entered, obediently closed the door, then obediently sat on the little stool across from the coffee table with both hands on his knees, like a criminal awaiting sentencing.

He cautiously craned his neck to see what Su Wan was looking at.

[On-the-Scene Analysis, Terrifying! Beautiful Girl Nearly Dies]

[Miracle of Courage! She Narrowly Survives a Certain-Death Situation]

What are you analyzing this stuff for, guys? Are you actually trying to kill me?

But thinking about it carefully, it seemed they had not gotten it wrong. He really had been hit head-on. If he had not possessed Magic Power to raise a shield, he probably really would have died.

Sure enough, as she watched, Su Wan reached out and wiped away another tear.

"Yang Chen." Chen Zhou spoke, his voice low and heavy. "We know everything about what happened at the park now."

"Uncle, I—"

"Did you know that was a Fallen Beast?"

"I knew..."

"Did you know that you're just an ordinary person?"

"I knew..."

"Did you know—" Chen Zhou's voice suddenly caught. The eyes of this man who had remained strong for most of his life reddened without warning. "Did you know that if something had happened to you, how would I explain it to your father?!"

The living room fell silent.

"Old Chen." Su Wan gently pressed down on her husband's hand, then turned to Yang Chen.

Her eyes were red too, but her voice was steady.

"A Chen, Auntie won't stop you from doing good deeds. You saved a mother and child. Auntie is proud of you, truly."

"But you have to remember—"

"You are also someone precious to other people. It may not be the best thing to say, but I still want to say it... Your life doesn't belong only to you."

Yang Chen lowered his head. Something clogged his throat, and only after a long while could he force out a sentence.

"...I'm sorry. Uncle, Auntie, I was wrong."

This time, it was not perfunctory.

He truly meant it.

"It's good that you know you were wrong."

Su Wan stood up, then suddenly changed the subject.

"You must be hungry, right?"

"Huh?"

"Sit there and don't move." She walked toward the kitchen and tied on an apron. "Auntie made sweet-and-sour spare ribs, Coca-Cola chicken wings, braised lion's head meatballs... Go wash your hands."

Yang Chen froze.

The kitchen door opened.

Chen Qianqian poked her head out from inside and made a face at Yang Chen.

"Mom! Is the meat ready?"

"Can't you check for yourself?"

Su Wan, her eyes still red, angrily pulled Chen Qianqian away.

"You can't even cook a meal. Who would be willing to marry you in the future?"

"I..."

Chen Qianqian glanced at Yang Chen, only to discover that Yang Chen was no longer looking her way.

"Someone will..."

Before long, the family of four—without anyone realizing it, and without anyone finding that number strange—sat around the dining table.

The sweet-and-sour spare ribs were piled up like a little mountain. The sweet fragrance of the Coca-Cola chicken wings mingled with the steam from the rice, warming the entire room.

"Eat. What are you spacing out for?"

Su Wan placed the largest piece of meat into Yang Chen's bowl.

Yang Chen lowered his head and shoveled in a mouthful of rice.

The rice was a little hot.

Hot enough to make his eyes sting.

On the television, the local news was replaying the day's report.

After showing Knight, the program lavishly praised the kindhearted citizen. Finally, the host said in a mysterious tone:

"Additionally, according to information obtained by this station, the Magical Girl Association is currently searching for a new Magical Girl who recently appeared in Our City. Reportedly, this Magical Girl calls herself—'Pure Love Warrior'..."

"Oh, speaking of that!"

Chen Zhou suddenly perked up again.

"I have to tell you all the story about how my pure love moved a Magical Girl one more time."

"Pfft—!"

Yang Chen sprayed out a mouthful of soup.

"What happened? What happened?" Su Wan hurriedly patted his back.

"N-Nothing..." Yang Chen coughed until his face turned bright red. "The soup... The soup was just too delicious..."