In the "Boundless Dreamscape" livestream, the black screen suddenly came to life just after ten.
It showed a bright classroom. A middle-aged man with a bald crown and a ring of hair wore an old blue shirt and held a history textbook, standing at the front as he lectured with dramatic rises and falls in his voice.
The camera panned to the forty-odd students below the podium, all dressed in blue-and-white uniforms and slouching every which way.
Only a handful were listening attentively.
Among them was the nation's little sister, Li Xueying, who held a Lotso black pen and propped up her chin as she listened closely.
The bullet comments read: [Awww, our little sister is so well-behaved.]
[Xueying probably looks just like this in her regular classes.]
[Help, why is my husband sleeping?]
Shen Xingli sat two rows behind Li Xueying. He had appeared on camera for only two seconds, but sharp-eyed fans had still spotted him.
The director was constantly monitoring the comments and took the opportunity to swing the camera straight toward Shen Xingli.
In the blue-and-white uniform, Shen Xingli had shed his usual cold, aloof air and looked a little more boyish.
His black hair was fluffy, and one hand covered the back of his neck, leaving only half his face visible in the crook of his arm.
After giving Shen Xingli a close-up, the director turned the camera toward Shen Anbai.
Shen Anbai was drawing.
With a pencil, he was rendering the figures in his history textbook in finer detail.
[Help, why is Baibai so damn good at drawing too?]
[Even his die-hard fans didn't know Baibai could draw.]
The camera moved again. Qiu Wen and Luo Hang were gaming on their phones.
They sat one behind the other. Qiu Wen squatted on the chair, while Luo Hang sat with his legs crossed. His hair had been deliberately styled, his bangs curving slightly over his forehead, giving him a roguish air.
[The school bully from a novel, brought to life.]
[Luo Hang, dude, stop being so handsome.]
[This old auntie's heart can't take it. Call me an ambulance!!!!]
This episode had six guests in total, and five had appeared so far.
The camera moved again, and someone with pink hair appeared on-screen.
He wore a blue-and-white uniform. The sleeves were a little long, so he had folded the cuffs up twice, revealing slender wrist bones and cool, pale skin.
He stared intently at the history book in his hands.
The bullet comments paused briefly.
[Why is he reading so seriously?]
[Starting to build his top-student persona, huh?]
[LMAO, anyone who hasn't been living offline knows Jiang Nan graduated from Jingkou Vocational and Technical College.]
[I just finished my college entrance exams and got online for the first time. An honest question: what was his major? Was it related to showbiz?]
[Well... how is it not related?]
[It probably is?]
[So is it related or not? Did he study dance?]
[No... beauty and hairdressing...]
[...]
[...It is related, actually.]
[Nice.]
The next second, the camera focused on the digital clock above the blackboard.
8:40.
The digital clock was not in sync with the actual time. The production team had probably adjusted it deliberately.
Two NPC students in the front row leaned together and whispered.
Student A said, "Five minutes until class ends."
Student B said, "Hurry up and end already. I still want to get a black pepper sausage from the school shop."
Outside, the sunlight was just right, streaming through the clear windows and spilling over everyone in the classroom.
Everything seemed exceptionally peaceful and quiet.
At the sight, some loyal viewers already had a bad feeling.
[Help, I'm getting goosebumps.]
[Key point: five minutes until class ends. Knowing this production team, someone's definitely dying when class ends.]
"Riiing-"
"Riiing-"
Five minutes later, the clear bell rang right on time.
The history teacher casually tossed his chalk onto the desk, clapped his hands, and said, "Class dismissed."
The chalk dust on his palms fell to the floor with the movement.
Just then, a scream rang through the entire school.
It sounded as though someone had seen an evil spirit.
Goosebumps rose uncontrollably on Jiang Nan's arms. His male deskmate, who had slept through the whole lesson, suddenly raised his head.
His deskmate was an NPC with delicate features and a great deal of drool spilling from the corners of his mouth.
He asked Jiang Nan, "Got any tissues?"
Jiang Nan shook his head. Glancing at the drool around the boy's lips, he said offhandedly, "You could tear a page out of your textbook and wipe it off."
He had meant it as a joke, but who would have thought his deskmate would actually tear a page out of his textbook and roughly wipe the corners of his mouth with it?
Jiang Nan watched in stunned disbelief.
The bullet comments went blank too.
[This dude is hardcore. Told to rip it, and he just did.]
[Seriously, is Jiang Nan manipulating him?]
Only a hater could have posted a comment like that. He had meant to drag Jiang Nan's reputation down further.
But the rational viewers were not buying it.
[Don't go throwing a term around just because you've learned it. Do you even know what manipulation means?]
[Wait, stop arguing. Why do I feel like something's really wrong with this NPC?]
At that comment, all the viewers held their breath.
Because after wiping the drool from his mouth, the boy revealed a meaningful smile the instant he saw Jiang Nan.
Then he drooled even more.
Jiang Nan froze.
The boy extended the tip of his scarlet tongue and licked up the drool. He smiled. "Sorry about that."
The bullet comments stayed quiet for a full half minute.
Only then did someone post: [Why does he look like he wants to eat someone???]
More than one person felt that way.
Jiang Nan shot straight to his feet.
He was still holding his book.
The history textbook fell straight to the floor, revealing the book tucked inside it.
The camera immediately zoomed in for a close-up.
"The domineering school heartthrob falls for the childish wild girl"
Garishly colored lettering on a garishly colored cover.
The bullet comments: [...]
The director's room: [...]
The chief director turned to the assistant director. "Why did he bring a book like that?"
The assistant director hurried to explain, "We gave him a whole box of books. There were all kinds of classics and ghost stories. Who the hell knows why he picked that one?"
And he was reading it so damn seriously.
The terrifying atmosphere suddenly hit a snag because of Jiang Nan's book.
The bullet comments poured in.
[So when he was reading so intently just now, without even blinking, he was reading THIS?????]
[Help! Memories I buried have come back to attack me!]
[I don't know what to say. This is the kind of Mary Sue story I only read in elementary school.]
[Shocking! Little Immortal Nan doesn't just like Dark Balala Fairy Xiaoyue. He also likes reading The domineering school heartthrob falls for me.]
[Hahahahaha I'm dying. All you haters mocking him for faking a top-student persona, get out here and apologize right now!]
Fortunately, the NPC was very professional. He looked at Jiang Nan in distress and said, "I'm drooling again."
Jiang Nan solemnly advised him, "You could swallow it back down."
[Blegh.]
[I'm off to the bathroom to puke.]
[I can't take it. How can someone with such a handsome face say something so disgusting?]
"You dropped your book."
The NPC bent down, picked up Jiang Nan's fallen history textbook, and handed it back to him.
As Jiang Nan took the book, the other boy's fingers suddenly rested on the back of his hand. Whether it was deliberate was unclear.
But Jiang Nan noticed something.
The other boy's fingernails were very, very long.