1: Chapter 1 The Cold and Aloof School Beauty

(Brain deposit box here; please discard any sense of incongruity in this fictional world~)

(Solemn Declaration: Please believe in the author! The further you read, the better it gets! The author's last book died in the dark room, but it was still selected for a short drama adaptation—I've got the skills!)

September. The lingering power of midsummer remained, and the cicadas chirped with all their might.

Xinghai Private University, a bizarre institution known for 'raising college students like high schoolers.'

There was no freedom to choose courses, classes were fixed, and there were even atrocious morning and evening self-study sessions.

Aside from being allowed to go home after school at night, the only difference between this place and a prison was probably that the food tasted slightly better.

Freshman Class Three, the 'Kings' Hometown' in the back row by the window.

Huang Mao spun his pen, his gaze aimlessly sweeping across the podium.

As a 'ubiquitous NPC in the world,' he adapted well to this high-pressure environment.

After all, the small two-story villa at home had just finished renovations, and he had moved in last night. The joy of living alone was enough to offset the boredom of school.

That was a man's romance—a fridge stuffed with Cola, lying on the living room carpet whenever he wanted, not having to close the door to shower, and even being able to do Michael Jackson's moonwalk in the living room with his bare butt out.

"Um... Leng Qingxuan, about this problem..." A boy wearing glasses in the front row plucked up the courage to turn around.

"I don't know it."

The cold voice sounded like ice cubes hitting a glass—crisp, and even carrying a bit of bone-chilling frost.

The boy's face turned beet red, and he shrunk back.

Huang Mao raised an eyebrow.

Leng Qingxuan, the universally recognized Iceberg Campus Belle of Xinghai University.

Long straight black hair, skin as white as a freshly peeled egg, and facial features so exquisite that not a single flaw could be found.

Standing at 1.7 meters tall, she was a scenic view just sitting there.

Unfortunately, this scenic view was lined with an electric fence.

Two weeks into the semester, the number of fallen 'warriors' who had tried to hit on her could circle the playground three times. Some said she was an unreachable flower on a high peak; others said she was a daughter of a wealthy family who looked down on commoners.

Huang Mao was non-committal about this.

In his view, a beauty of this level belonged to the 'SSR-rank rare cards'—meant to be admired from afar, not trifled with. That was a treatment reserved for protagonists; an NPC like him was fine just watching.

His gaze inadvertently swept over the phone Leng Qingxuan had placed on the corner of her desk.

Perhaps because her movements were a bit large when she rejected the person just now, the phone had flipped over onto its back.

Huang Mao's fingers spinning the pen suddenly jerked, and the pen fell onto the desk with a 'clack.'

It was a dark blue phone case with a white shield emblem printed on it, and in the middle of the emblem was a double-rhombus design.

Was that... the logo of Chaldea from the 2D game FGO?

Huang Mao blinked.

He took another look.

It definitely was. Moreover, it was a China-server exclusive merchandise from the FGO anniversary limited edition. A 'normie' would absolutely never buy such a niche item.

Huang Mao raised an eyebrow.

Could she be a 'fellow fan'?

Taking advantage of the teacher turning around to write on the blackboard, Huang Mao moved his chair forward and lowered his voice, testing her in a volume only the two of them could hear:

"Master?"

Leng Qingxuan's back, which was originally as straight as a pine tree, stiffened visibly to the naked eye.

She slowly turned her head.

Those cold eyes that usually looked at everyone as if they were trash were now like lightbulbs that had been switched on, instantly becoming terrifyingly bright.

She stared fixedly at Huang Mao, her gaze containing three parts shock, three parts suspicion, and four parts irrepressible ecstasy.

"You play too?" Her lips moved slightly, her voice extremely low, yet carrying the urgency of meeting a long-lost relative.

Huang Mao pointed at the phone on the corner of her desk. "The anniversary limited case. I wanted one too, but I didn't manage to snag it."

The aloofness in Leng Qingxuan's eyes collapsed instantly, replaced by a fervor known as being a 'shut-in otaku.'

She quickly glanced left and right to make sure no one was paying attention before lowering her voice and complaining at a rapid-fire speed:

"I camped for three nights to get that limited case! Do you know how ridiculous the scalpers are these days?"

"By the way, who do you have on your Support list right now?"

"I need a Max Limit Break Kaleidoscope Berserker Lancelot, or a Support Caster is fine. Farming the infinite lotto lately has made me almost go bald, but my friend list is full of bad people hanging non-MLB CEs!"

Huang Mao: "..."

Isn't this contrast a bit too big?

Where did the 'keep away' iceberg goddess from just now go?

"Cough," Huang Mao steadied his mind. "I've got a NP5 Castoria with a MLB event CE."

"Add me!" Leng Qingxuan almost squeezed these two words through her teeth. She quickly pushed her phone over, the screen displaying a string of ID numbers. "Quick, add me!"

During the next two classes, the surrounding students were horrified to find that the legendary Iceberg Campus Belle, who supposedly 'gave frostbite with a single glance,' was actually turned sideways the whole time, chatting heatedly with the plain-looking Huang Mao in the back row.

Although they couldn't hear what was being said, the colorful expressions on Leng Qingxuan's face—frowning one moment, gritting her teeth the next, and her eyes sparkling the next—simply made everyone doubt their very existence.

Was this still the same Leng Qingxuan? Could she have been possessed?

"...So, I'm really going crazy."

As school was nearing its end, the topic had somehow drifted from the game to reality.

Leng Qingxuan was slumped on the desk, her spirit seemingly drained, radiating a strangely decadent aura.

"My mom pulled the internet cable at home, saying it's so I can focus on practicing the piano."

"Every day when I go home, it's piano, etiquette lessons, flower arrangement... I even have to hide in the toilet just to log in and clear my AP."

She ran her fingers through her smooth black hair, her tone as resentful as a neglected wife in a deep courtyard.

"I want to run away from home. Really, even sleeping under a bridge would be better than being in that cage."

Looking at her like this, Huang Mao really couldn't hold back the urge to comment.

This wasn't some aloof goddess; this was clearly an internet-addicted girl being driven insane.

"Forget sleeping under a bridge, there are too many mosquitoes," Huang Mao replied casually. In a momentary lapse of judgment, he joked, "My house was just renovated—a small two-story villa. There are plenty of empty rooms, no one to nag you, and a gigabit connection. How about you come over?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Huang Mao regretted it.

What was this? Sexual harassment? Kidnapping an innocent girl?

According to the script, Leng Qingxuan should return to her aloof self in the next second, slap him, and then call the police, right?

However...

The air was quiet for three seconds.

Leng Qingxuan didn't get angry, nor did she call the police.

She just stared blankly at Huang Mao, and then asked extremely seriously, "Really?"

Huang Mao froze. "Huh?"

"Really no one to nag? And gigabit internet?" Leng Qingxuan pressed, her eyes burning with intensity.

"No, wait..." Huang Mao was a bit flustered. "I meant, it was just a joke."

"You're a girl, I'm a guy, and we've only been talking for less than two hours, right? What if I'm a bad person? The kind of pervert who would lock you in a basement and do strange things?"

Leng Qingxuan shook her head with a face full of conviction. "People who play FGO aren't bad people."

Huang Mao's mouth twitched wildly. "That's not necessarily true!"

Seeing this, the light in Leng Qingxuan's eyes instantly went out.

She lowered her head, her shoulders slumped, and her whole being looked like a puppy soaked in the rain.

"As I thought, it's no good..." she muttered to herself. "Of course, how could anyone be willing to take in a trouble like me."

"Forget it, I'll just go back and continue living like a walking corpse. Or maybe I'll hang a rope on the doorframe tonight; maybe I can isekai to Chaldea..."

She continued her mutterings while peeking at Huang Mao out of the corner of her eye.

That gaze was three parts desolate, seven parts expectant, and ninety parts acting.

Huang Mao's eyelid jumped.

But...

Looking at that face that was still breathtakingly beautiful even when she was pretentiously acting pitiful, Huang Mao sighed.

Even though he knew it was a trap, his damn compassion was stirred.

"Fine, fine." Huang Mao took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. "If you really have nowhere to go... why don't you come and try it out?"

Leng Qingxuan snapped her head up. There wasn't a trace of desolation left on her face; her smile was so bright it was dazzling.

"Send me the address on Ding Ding! I'll go back and pack my things after school. See you tonight!"

...

The sunset on the way home was as red as blood.

Huang Mao walked home, feeling a bit lightheaded.

He really agreed?

Allowing the school-famous Iceberg Campus Belle to move into his house?

"How could she actually come?" Huang Mao shook his head, trying to shake the messy thoughts out of his brain.

Accidentally opening the bathroom door, making breakfast while wearing an oversized shirt, walking into the wrong room at night... these were all hallucinations produced by the 2D world poisoning his brain.

She was a young miss, after all. Words spoken in a moment of impulse would surely be regretted once she went home and cooled down. Besides, up until now, his Ding Ding hadn't received any messages.

That was the best proof.

Returning to his new home and pushing open the door, the empty living room felt exceptionally lonely.

Huang Mao breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt inexplicably disappointed.

"Whatever, I'll just order takeout and play games all night."

He pulled out his phone, preparing to open the delivery app.

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang.

Huang Mao's finger froze on the screen.

No way, right?

He swallowed hard, walked to the entrance, gripped the doorknob, and slowly pulled it open.

Outside the door stood a person.

Leng Qingxuan was dragging a huge pink suitcase. She had changed into a loose white hoodie and denim shorts, revealing two straight, long, pale legs. Her originally loose long hair was tied into a high ponytail, making her look full of youthful energy.

Seeing Huang Mao, a trace of a sly smile appeared on her exquisite face—it was the ease and vibrancy of someone who had cast off all disguises.

She pushed the suitcase into the doorway and stood there prettily. Her first words weren't "Sorry to bother you" or "Thank you."

She held out her hand clutching her phone and asked as a matter of course:

"So, I'm here... Can I have the WiFi password first?"