The Dying Man

"What was this? I'd only meant to treat someone to lunch out of kindness. How had I ended up looking like some villain abducting an innocent girl?"

Watching Tang Youxin pick out the noodles one by one like a chick pecking at grain, reluctantly doing the bare minimum, Xia Xu found it both amusing and exasperating.

But then he remembered his "real business." While Tang Youxin ate, he lowered his head and took a close look at her face.

A moment later, he had to admit that she really had taken his breath away.

An unrivaled beauty truly lived up to the name. Although her bangs and sidelocks concealed most of her face, even the few visible features were exquisite. Her skin looked delicate enough to break at a touch, fair and smooth as a baby's, with a healthy rosy glow.

More importantly, Tang Youxin's beauty wasn't the sultry, glamorous kind that demanded attention and stunned people at first sight. She was more like a sweet, timid girl next door, or a little white flower after the rain: pure, tender, fragile, and endearing.

Perhaps her distinctive looks and demeanor, along with her withdrawn personality, were part of why Tang Youxin had been practically invisible in class.

She was beautiful, but that beauty didn't hold much appeal for ordinary, naive teenage boys. Combined with her personality and family circumstances, it might even invite ridicule and bullying.

Yet the more mature a person was, the more devastatingly alluring that innocent, youthful face became. Her shy, bashful expression and delicate, introverted nature stirred an almost overwhelming instinct to protect her.

Especially now, with her watery eyes-whether from being "bullied" or simply how they always looked-and her aggrieved expression, a subtle, elusive hint of allure had somehow emerged in her pure, youthful face.

It was only the tiniest trace, yet it was the finishing touch. Innocence intertwined with hidden allure, both pure and seductive, adding an uncontrollable hint of cruelty-a desire to bully and torment her-to the urge to cradle her carefully in one's hands.

That cruel impulse arose, only to be suppressed by the desire to protect her. The guilt and remorse stirred an even stronger protective urge, while a contrary impulse brought back that trace of cruelty. The cycle repeated, constantly tugging at the nerves and making one's tenderness toward her rise without end.

Only now did Xia Xu understand what it meant to be a pear blossom bathed in rain, or so lovely that anyone would feel tenderness for her, and why the ancients had created such phrases to describe women.

They were simple yet vivid descriptions, and nothing else could have suited her better.

Without exaggeration, there was no need to see the figure beneath her baggy school uniform. That face alone fully justified her five-star fate of unrivaled beauty.

And she wasn't wearing a trace of makeup. Given her family's circumstances, cosmetics were clearly out of the question.

If she wore a little light makeup, if she dressed in something suitable, if her looks fully matured and that faint, elusive allure beneath her youthful features became genuine charm, and then she were truly "bullied" a little-just how breathtaking would she be?

Thud!

The noodle shop owner brought over the other bowl of noodles, making a soft sound as he set it on the table.

Xia Xu hurriedly pulled his gaze away from Tang Youxin's face-he was afraid that if he kept looking, his pretend "bullying" might become real.

With his noodles now on the table, he simply picked up his chopsticks and dug in. He was still growing, after all. The one and a half steamed buns he'd eaten earlier would have sufficed for breakfast, but not lunch.

Perhaps influenced by someone's utterly graceless eating, Tang Youxin stole a glance up at him, then unconsciously began eating a little faster. At last, she stopped picking up the noodles one at a time.

The two ate in silence without speaking. The few other customers gradually left, making the little shop, which measured less than twenty square meters, feel rather deserted.

Before long, Xia Xu had polished off his bowl. Seeing that Tang Youxin had only eaten a little less than half of hers, he didn't hurry her, merely looking around the noodle shop aimlessly.

Bored, he thought of the special ability he'd only recently acquired and habitually glanced at the shop owner, who was slumped lazily beside the stove near the entrance now that there were no customers coming in.

The owner was a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, wearing black shorts and a white undershirt. A white towel hung over his shoulder, and a cigarette dangled from his mouth.

With a thought, the attribute panel opened.

[Name]: Xue Mingjie

[Life tier]: 1

[Fate potential]: [Supporting character: "The Dying Man"]

[Talent potential]: Gambling (3 stars)

[Special]: None

[Obsession]: Live an honest, steady life.

[Affinity]: 2

"Well, well. This owner might be hiding quite a few tricks."

Xia Xu's eyelid twitched.

A three-star talent for gambling. If the man really devoted himself to it, he might not become a gambling god, but surely he'd at least be highly skilled?

Together with "Live an honest, steady life" in the obsession field, it was rather intriguing. This owner might be a man with a story.

Of course, what concerned Xia Xu more was clearly his fate potential.

[Supporting character: "The Dying Man"]

Another new plot. There were actually other plots in this world!

And judging by the name, it seemed even more troublesome than "Hunter." Death was right there in the title.

Unwilling to give up, he concentrated on the words "The Dying Man." But just as with "Hunter," what appeared was several rows of question marks rather than a description of the fate potential.

"Forget it. I'm not a character in this plot anyway. I just won't come here again."

Xia Xu shook his head.

He didn't know the plot, had no power, influence, or money, and was only an ordinary high school student. There was nothing he could do except keep his distance.

Just staying alive in this somewhat strange world and properly enjoying his youth for once would be good enough.

Click! Click! Click!

A little while later, the crisp sound of high heels striking the tiled floor rang out.

"What would you like today?"

With a customer arriving, the noodle shop owner immediately greeted her. Judging by his response, she was probably a regular.

"The usual, a bowl of noodles with fried bean sauce."

A somewhat familiar female voice answered the owner.

Both Xia Xu and Tang Youxin, who had been eating with her head lowered, paused and looked up at the same time.

It was a woman in her thirties or forties, dressed in fairly conservative office attire. Her face had a stern, unsmiling look, giving her a certain natural air of authority.

Of course, perhaps her identity was what made them both feel that way.

This woman was their English teacher and homeroom teacher, Liu Xiulan, nicknamed Liu Yaksha. The mere mention of her name could make the entire class pale.

When Liu Xiulan finished ordering and sat at a nearby table, Tang Youxin almost buried her face in her white porcelain bowl. Her whole body seemed to curl inward.

She was doing her best to make herself less noticeable. All that was missing was a muttered chant of "You can't see me."

Unfortunately, things didn't go her way.

"Hello, Ms. Liu."

The "bad guy" across from her actually took the initiative to greet their teacher without a care in the world.

Embarrassed and annoyed, Tang Youxin could only follow suit with a timid greeting. "Hello, Ms. Liu."

"Mm."

Liu Xiulan looked at them. Her gaze paused briefly before she smiled and nodded, showing no intention of joining their table or lecturing them.

"Phew..."

Only after Liu Xiulan turned away did Tang Youxin quietly breathe a sigh of relief. She shoveled the remaining noodles into her mouth, and once they were all in, she didn't even stop to chew. With her cheeks puffed out, she grabbed Xia Xu and left, looking very much as though she were fleeing in panic.

"Xia Xu, Tang Youxin, come to my office during the lunch break."

They had already reached the concrete outside the shop and were about to escape the tiger's jaws when Liu Xiulan's voice rang out behind them like a summons of doom.

"Oh..."

"Okay..."

They both answered. Xia Xu had intended to ask what it was about, but Tang Youxin dragged him toward the school gate.

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