I can't take this

The traps at the village entrance were already in place.

Gen Asagiri was securely tied to a wooden post, playing the part of a wretched, bedraggled traitor as he patiently waited for the scouts Tsukasa sent to take the bait.

Everyone settled into slacker standby mode, waiting for their prey to come to them. With nobody busy working, the entire camp suddenly grew idle.

With nothing to do, Li Xiang sat cross-legged in the shade of a tree and, out of habit, opened her exclusive system viewing panel in her mind.

She had been busy with all sorts of things these past few days. Several new episodes had come out, but she hadn't found a single spare moment to watch them.

She couldn't be bothered to watch the full episodes in detail, so she figured she would scroll through the forum comments and take a quick look at the audience's reactions.

But that little scroll certainly opened this old lady's eyes.

The instant the forum refreshed, a dense jumble of fanwork topics and shipping edit tags flooded the entire screen, enough to make her eyes spin.

Before, there had only been a handful of shipping comments. Today, the absurdity had doubled.

Gen/Senku, Senku/Gen, Kohaku/Senku, Li Xiang/Senku, Senku/Li Xiang, Li Xiang/Ruri...

Do you people have a death wish...?

At least eight hundred ridiculous ship tags had sprung up. It was a free-for-all, with absolutely anyone paired with anyone else.

[Senku/Gen rules]

[Gen/Senku rules]

[Li Xiang/Senku rules]

[Senku/Li Xiang rules]

[Lmao, Senku/Li Xiang? Does that water flea even have the stamina?]

[I can't ~_~]

[Hey, Li Xiang and Ruri are pretty shippable too, aren't they?]

[You get me?]

The entire comments and video-edit sections had descended into chaos. Fans of every pairing spammed away, and new edits kept appearing, each more popular than the last.

Li Xiang's heart sank. This was bad.

These netizens seriously have too much time on their hands! They have a perfectly good, hot-blooded science-and-survival anime to watch, but all they do is ship everyone-and the ships just keep getting more ridiculous!

Especially me... A devoted puppy? Sweet on the outside, sinister underneath? This is beyond absurd.

Her mouth twitched uncontrollably as her finger instinctively scrolled downward. Somehow, she ended up opening the pinned video on her account, the one with the most likes and a commanding lead in popularity.

She had expected some glorious fight, a daring rescue, or an epic moment of her leading everyone to turn the tables. The instant she opened it, she wished she hadn't...

The video appeared.

The woman on the screen looked exactly like her, but her demeanor was completely different.

Normally brisk and straightforward, she had been drawn with an intensely predatory air. Her eyes brimmed with almost obsessive hunger, like a beast lying in wait for its prey, her presence suggestive and dangerous.

Worst of all were the details, so outrageous they made her toes curl with embarrassment.

The version of her in the video actually had a pet muzzle strapped over her face, looking intensely aggressive and suggestive.

Above her, a foot in a red stiletto rested lightly against her shoulder, domineering and seductive, the tension off the charts.

The charged, erotic push and pull created an oppressive atmosphere.

"Holy crap... Knock it off, would you?!"

Li Xiang's mind went blank, and her cheeks visibly began to burn.

Her ears and neck grew hot too, her face so red it looked ready to bleed.

What the hell are these ridiculous fanworks?!

Can't you make something normal?! You ignore all the perfectly good adventure scenes and edit this nonsense instead!

She fumbled in a panic, wishing she could claw the screen to pieces on the spot. Her finger stabbed the close button, shutting the video at lightning speed and closing the entire system forum along with it. Out of sight, out of mind.

Just as she reached the peak of mortification and was internally losing her mind, the system's mechanical voice drawled through her head, sounding rather amused by the spectacle.

"Host, you're incredibly famous online now. Your popularity has gone up several notches."

Li Xiang snapped on the spot. Her composure completely collapsed, and she raged inwardly, mortified and furious.

"Don't I get to have any dignity? Can you please stop messing around?!"

"With this ridiculous, borderline explicit stuff spreading everywhere, and drawings this suggestive, I'm seriously going to end up saddled with all sorts of weird characterizations and filters!"

The system calmly continued.

"But, host, your popularity points really have increased a lot. The returns are excellent."

"Just shut up! I'm begging you!!" Li Xiang felt like crying as she frantically tried to stop it.

The system wisely muted itself.

"All right, all right. I'll stop."

The system's voice vanished entirely, but that outrageous image remained branded into Li Xiang's mind. It wouldn't go away, replaying over and over until her whole body burned with embarrassment.

While she was lost in thought, curling her toes in abject mortification, someone suddenly gave her a light pat on the shoulder from behind.

Pat.

Caught completely off guard, Li Xiang jolted, her heart giving a violent leap. She nearly sprang straight up.

"Wh-what is it?!"

She panicked instantly, the alarm obvious in her voice as she stiffly turned around.

Senku stood behind her.

The boy's eyes were bright and clear, his face full of confusion as he stared at her flushed face.

"Are you okay?" Senku frowned slightly, his voice concerned. "Why's your face so red? Do you have a fever?"

Without waiting for her answer, he naturally reached out with the back of his hand, bringing it toward her forehead to check her temperature.

The instant his warm fingertips were about to touch her skin, the image from that outrageous video flashed through Li Xiang's mind again.

She couldn't bring herself to meet Senku's eyes now, much less let him touch her. Everything felt unbearably awkward.

If he figures it out, I'll never be able to show my face again!

Almost instinctively, Li Xiang jerked her head aside. The movement was quick and stiff as she deliberately avoided his touch.

"I'm fine... Go get some rest. I'm heading off."

She spoke rapidly, then turned and hurried away before Senku could ask anything else, looking utterly flustered as she fled.

Senku stayed where he was, watching her retreating back with an even deeper frown, thoroughly puzzled.

Weird.

She was fine a moment ago. Why was she suddenly acting so strange? Her face was unusually red, and her behavior was weird too.

He thought it over for a couple of seconds but couldn't make sense of it.

Meanwhile, Li Xiang hurried out of the shade and went straight to a deserted stretch of river outside the village before finally stopping.

The river murmured, and the cool evening breeze brushed her burning face, finally easing some of the heat.

She crouched alone on a rock beside the river, cupping her cheeks in both hands, her mind a tangled mess of emotions.

Everything twisted together, leaving her restless.

How am I supposed to face my friends normally from now on?!

Could these artists please stop being so good at capturing the mood?! Those drawings are way too realistic and immersive!

Great, now even I start imagining things when I look at them, and I'll be spending every day with Senku, Kohaku, Gen, and the others.

Every time I see them, I'll automatically remember those ridiculous shipping fanworks. This is mortification on a whole new level!

As she sat there brooding alone and furiously complaining to herself, a girl's clear voice called from behind her.

"Li Xiang!"

Kohaku jogged over, having followed her trail to where she sat alone by the river.

Li Xiang turned at the sound and barely managed to suppress her jumbled thoughts. She raised a hand and gave a small wave to show she was fine.

Kohaku reached her in a few quick steps. Before she even had a chance to ask anything, she leaned forward and gently pressed herself against Li Xiang.

Their foreheads pressed together, their noses almost touching. They were far too close.

Their warm breaths mingled. The girl's clean, pure scent of sunshine and greenery washed over Li Xiang, gentle and soothing, instantly enveloping all her senses.

Warm and sweet, it smelled of sunlight and wind in the hills, bringing an inexplicable sense of peace.

The sudden intimate contact left Li Xiang momentarily startled, and she instinctively asked in a soft voice.

"Kohaku, what are you doing?"

Kohaku pouted slightly and gave an earnest explanation.

"Senku just told me your face suddenly got really red and you were acting strange. He was worried you had a fever and weren't feeling well, so he asked me to check on you."

Keeping their foreheads together, she carefully gauged Li Xiang's temperature and nodded seriously.

"You really are hot. Your face is super red. Are you sure you're okay? Do you feel sick anywhere?"

The close contact was so sincere and innocent that Li Xiang felt even more ashamed.

Every one of my friends genuinely cares about me, and here I am with my head full of ***. This is downright sinful!

She quickly eased away, shook her head, and gently reassured the worried girl.

"I'm really fine, Kohaku. I don't have a fever."

"I've just been too busy lately, so I'm a little tired and my head's a mess. I'll be fine after some rest."

Kohaku blinked her clear, innocent eyes. Though she still looked a little worried, Li Xiang sounded certain, so she stopped pressing and obediently nodded.

"All right, then. Get some proper rest, Li Xiang."

"I'll take care of your work back at camp. Don't worry about it. Just relax."

"Thank you, Kohaku."

"No problem!"

Kohaku smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, then turned and hurried back to camp to help with the work.

The riverbank grew quiet again, leaving only the murmuring water and the rustle of the evening breeze.

Li Xiang sat alone and let out a long sigh, utterly deflated.

She raised her hands to cover her burning cheeks, wailing inwardly.

Somebody help!

Who on earth is drawing this stuff...?

It's so realistic, with such a vivid atmosphere, that you can't forget it once you've seen it!

I'm really done for now!

I'll have to face Senku, Kohaku, and everyone else every day. The moment our eyes meet, my brain will automatically conjure up those ridiculous images. How am I supposed to act normal around them?!