Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Starting over...

How could that be possible?

Ye Jishu almost blurted out that such a thing could only happen in a game's setting. But suddenly, he remembered that this world itself was not scientific. His sense of normalcy had already shattered hours ago.

Thus, he fell silent.

He didn’t respond with a "yes" or a "no."

The person before him carefully observed his expression and then said, "You’ve felt it too, haven’t you? The uniqueness of your identity."

Ye Jishu: "Yeah."

Even if he didn’t understand at first, he should’ve figured it out when he saw Yan Mei’s true form.

Before this, the games he had come into contact with were basically dropping hints.

It couldn’t just be a coincidence that he played a game that closely mirrored reality, recommended by a specific viewer. After that, the first live-streaming project he participated in involved a terrifying segment revealing Wen Yuhe’s true identity.

Thinking about it now, it was all a slow process to make him accept the truth.

Since he already knew—

...

Everyone present stared nervously at Ye Jishu, not moving, waiting for his reaction.

Even though time was tight, and there was no telling what He might do in response to their actions.

But if they didn’t give Ye Jishu, who had suffered several shocks, a little time to process, the fallout would still be too much to handle.

Not everyone could quickly accept that they were a character similar to "The Truman Show"—that poor guy who thought he was living a normal life but was actually being observed. Just thinking about it made his head feel like it was going to explode.

"That."

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ye Jishu finally spoke.

Everyone held their breath, unsure what he’d say or do next.

"You guys must have a pretty big budget."

You managed to whip up a game just for me in no time.

Is the whole neighborhood part of the setup? Were my old places set up the same way? That must’ve cost a fortune.

"Pretty impressive."

As his words fell, the room fell silent.

Out of all the possible reactions, no one saw this coming.

A moment later.

Lin Lin’s lips twitched, and he finally spoke: "I’ve said it before, you can’t use normal logic to figure out Jishu..."

Wei Yangze was stunned at first.

Then, he carefully observed Ye Jishu's expression.

There was not a trace of reluctance on his face; he wasn’t being sarcastic or insincere.

No matter how you looked at it, there was only one conclusion.

He genuinely didn’t care about this matter or seek to question it. He didn’t even ask why the Bureau of Infection Management and Control had done this.

What kind of person is this?

Realizing this, Wei Yangze widened his eyes in surprise again, a thought emerging in his mind.

"He can accept this so effortlessly..."

"His emotional stability is remarkable."

Now, he fully understood why He was interested in him.

As the source of infection continues to spread in the real world, most people's emotions become restless and chaotic. But when approaching Ye Jishu, these feelings disappeared, leaving only calm. Such a trait naturally draws those special beings closer.

As everyone’s expressions shifted, Ye Jishu stood up by himself and walked towards Lin Lin, extending his hand.

Lin Lin quickly handed him the gift.

Ye Jishu lowered his eyes and carefully inspected it.

The packaging was still intact.

The contents were likely undamaged.

"Thank you," he said, lifting his head.

Lin Lin hesitated, then stammered, "...Uh, uh, you're welcome."

"No matter how much we talk, I can’t figure out what’s on his mind."

Luckily, Ye Jishu didn’t seem interested in continuing the conversation.

"What do you mean by 'start over'?"

As the words fell, he turned his head to look at the woman beside him, "Can you explain what you mean?"

...

Ye Jishu’s existence is a rare anomaly.

To use a virus as a metaphor.

Everyone is infected, and eventually, someone develops immunity.

In other words, this person can weaken the "source of infection."

Ye Jishu is that person.

Since the Bureau discovered him, they’ve kept him under protection.

To preserve the concept of normalcy, and ensure the newly emerged "antibody" doesn’t break down mentally, they’ve been monitoring his every move in secret, introducing "sources of infection" to sustain his ability, while ensuring excess "sources of infection" don’t appear near him.

This way, he can remain an unnoticed background figure, simply moving past those anomalies.

However, this plan fell apart when he started college.

Because He entered his world.

From that point on, Ye Jishu's peaceful life was turned upside down.

Even a random passerby became "everything" to a certain being.

"Our data indicates that your first meeting happened on that rainy night."

Ye Jishu caught on quickly.

Since the Bureau of Infection Management and Control caught it in time, he dreamed that night that "this is a novel."

In a sense, this approach worked pretty well.

This way, he’d at least brush off some weirdness in reality without questioning it right away.

"To fix this, headquarters deployed Experimental Product 001, which can take you back to that day. In theory, just avoid that classroom that day—after all, if it’s Him, he’d have no reason to notice you otherwise."

Yeah. That’s exactly it.

"The Butterfly Effect."

Exactly.

If it hadn’t been for that rainy night, when Ye Jishu refused to share an umbrella and headed to the classroom at the end of the hall, he wouldn’t have stumbled upon the strange scene of Yan Mei being confessed to, blurted out that line to dodge trouble, and set off the chain of events.

One short encounter rewrote his story.

But this accidental connection started on shaky ground.

So you don’t need multiple "breakups"—just stick to this plan, and you’ll cut ties with Yan Mei for good.

Of course, this way, the Bureau avoids taking any risks. It tackles the problem at its source. This was a plan they debated for a long time before moving forward—after all, the fallout from a direct clash with Him is unthinkable.

The thought sends chills down your spine.

Even someone as skilled as her would hesitate and feel fear in the face of the unknown.

"Jishu, you’re the type who steers clear of trouble. If fruit tea’s an option, you’d never touch anything else. Once you’ve taken a route, you’d never stray from it. Even in the one game you’re into, you rarely branch out, sticking to the same playstyle."

Huh. That’s spot on.

"Since meeting Yan Mei, so much in your life has shifted—don’t you feel out of place and confused? I’m not sure what’s on your mind, but if you could go back to your comfort zone and live like before, would you?"

This isn’t about whether you’re willing. It’s about whether it’s even possible.

Humans exist because of emotions.

Severing such a strong emotional tie is no small feat.

If it were someone else, they might have a seventy percent certainty that the other party would agree.

After all, "Yan Mei" is a monster.

When ordinary people encounter such non-human beings, the typical reaction is to keep as much distance as possible, just like Bao Zhehan did.

But the person before them was Ye Jishu.

A man who stays calm even when aware he's being watched, showing no signs of losing control.

His thoughts were beyond their comprehension...

...

After a moment of silence, he suddenly looked up and said, "I can give it a shot."

Lin Lin was taken aback.

He glanced at Ye Jishu, who had stopped thinking, his face still blank.

Just like before, when he realized he was being watched, he remained unfazed.

Lin Lin was different from the others.

He was the first to interact with both of them.

He was well aware that Ye Jishu likely had feelings for Yan Mei; otherwise, he wouldn’t have defended him during the interrogation.

That’s why he was puzzled by Ye Jishu’s actions.

But Ye Jishu had already spoken.

He was willing to give it a go.

Since Ye Jishu had agreed to the Bureau’s plan, Lin Lin had no reason to question him.

Lin Lin stayed quiet.

Even Ye Jishu’s expression gave nothing away.

He wondered if He would feel the same helplessness when facing him.

...

They had already gotten the green light.

Soon, Ye Jishu reached a room at the Bureau.

The group came to a halt.

The door swung open, revealing the room inside.

Ye Jishu looked in.

The setup was identical to his old room.

Simple, all-white decor.

The room held just a bed, a half-open window, and a plain pot of green pothos on the nightstand.

He’d bought it because he gamed a lot and heard green plants blocked radiation.

But he later found out pothos didn’t actually block radiation—those claims were just marketing tricks.

Though it served no purpose, he later felt the room was too clean and needed some decoration, so he eventually kept the plant.

"I thought this might help you relax," the woman said.

That made sense, under normal circumstances.

After all, this was the place he had stayed the longest during his experience of being shuffled around, so it should evoke a sense of relaxed attachment.

Ye Jishu recalled this memory.

At that time, he had his own room for the first time.

His aunt and uncle promised to treat him as their own because he was "pitiful" and needed their care.

Was he really pitiful?

Ye Jishu was puzzled. But he didn’t argue.

Then, as expected.

Just like others, they slowly started to ignore him, from remembering to call him for dinner and opening the door when he came home from school, to him sitting on the stairs, quietly waiting until they finally remembered to let him in.

He remembered this so clearly because he was really into a game back then, where each match lasted forty minutes. He only needed to win five or six matches in a row, and someone would let him go home. Moreover, winning a match came with a prize, so he didn’t have to beg for money—Ye Jishu thought this was probably the key point.

Anyway, he was really into gaming.

Not only could it pass the time, but it also offered exciting challenges, and in the end, he could receive a reward that was all his.

He didn’t like rewards that were just given to him and preferred to earn them actively, which gradually became his habit when playing games.

Thinking about it this way, he might be someone who couldn’t live without games.

"Am I getting off track? I didn’t realize it... Now I should ask what’s next, right?"

Thinking this, Ye Jishu turned his head and looked at the person beside him with a questioning gaze.

The other person immediately said, "Feel free to use this room and that bed."

Ye Jishu understood.

It was probably through dreaming.

Previously, the Bureau of Infection Management and Control made him feel like he was in a novel through this method.

He walked into the room, took off his coat, spread it on the bed, and then lay down. This was the easiest way to keep the sheets clean and avoid any hassle.

As he was doing this, his phone seemed to buzz in his coat.

But he didn’t take it out to look.

Instead, he turned his gaze back to the woman.

He was asking, silently, what to do next.

"We are leaving," she said, "Whatever happens, it’s all up to you."

After saying this, she stared at Ye Jishu for a moment.

That look reminded him of all the people who didn’t understand him. Without a word, she turned and closed the door.

Lin Lin and the others vanished from his view.

A moment later.

Ye Jishu shifted his gaze and looked up at the ceiling.

"Is this really trustworthy? Can it end just like that?"

Either way, I’ll just go along with it for now. He turned his attention to reality and suppressed the urge to check his phone.

He heard a faint rustling sound.

The soft patter of rain drifted in from outside the window, and the earthy scent of grass and soil filled his nostrils. Tree shadows swayed across the floor, slipping through the window cracks—it was raining again, typical for this time of year, the peak of the rainy season.

That’s just how summer is.

But oddly, there wasn’t a single cicada chirping here.

He drifted into thought, his mind clearing.

After some time, Ye Jishu’s vision began to blur, and a wave of drowsiness swept over him.

He was on the verge of sleep...

His eyes shut.

But then, his eyes snapped open.

The sensation of falling vanished.

His mind suddenly sharpened.

Ye Jishu felt a chill on his arm from pressing against the hard wooden desk. His cheek, pressed between his arm and the desk, burned with a sharp sting.

He straightened up and glanced around.

The scene around him had shifted.

The room had a typical fan-shaped, tiered seating layout. One look made it obvious this was a lecture hall for a public class. The lecture in progress confirmed it was a history class.

"Wasn’t I supposed to go back to that rainy night? So why..."

Ye Jishu froze for a moment, then snapped out of it.

He quickly turned to the blackboard, scanning it for answers.

The history teacher for public classes had a habit.

Every time he taught, he would write today’s date next to the blackboard, and this time was no exception.

Soon, Ye Jishu saw the date.

"It’s today."

That very night. The day he met Yan Mei.

But...

Isn’t it a little too early now?

The clock hanging in the classroom showed 6 PM. Although it was the last class, there were still a few hours before the evening study period began.

It would only be after the evening study period that the two would have their first real conversation.

Ye Jishu slumped back onto the desk.

The person next to him shot him a surprised glance, clearly not expecting someone to continue sleeping after waking up, but soon, as usual, they ignored his presence and kept whispering with their friends.

When Ye Jishu woke up again, he was alone.

The classroom was completely empty. No one had woken him up.

As Ye Jishu packed his books, he could hear the sharp clatter of books hitting the desk.

The sound reverberated through the silent classroom.

But before leaving, Ye Jishu suddenly remembered something, paused, and bent down to reach under the desk.

He quickly found what he was looking for.

"A pen."

Of course, he’d nearly forgotten it again...

He stuffed the pen into his coat pocket.

Then, with his bag over one shoulder, he walked out of the classroom alone.

In the hallway, there were still scattered students walking, their hushed conversations drifting through the air.

It seems he hadn’t overslept by much. He likely just missed the initial wave of students flooding out of the building, and the entire floor was nearly deserted, letting him stroll leisurely down the hallway by himself.

He still had a few hours to kill—how should he pass the time?

While he was lost in thought, suddenly, he heard a few familiar voices ahead.

For a moment, Ye Jishu hesitated in his steps.

Even though the voices were unfamiliar.

Yet, he sensed a familiar presence.

He glanced up and spotted someone approaching him from across the hallway.

"Yan Mei."

The person standing before him was unmistakably Yan Mei.

But the despair that had clouded his face hours earlier was gone, along with any hint of gloom or pain.

His strikingly handsome face, with icy eyes and a faint upward curve of his lips.

That natural, almost-smiling curve was enough to unsettle anyone who saw it, driving them to the brink of madness.

It was as if the person Ye Jishu had seen at that time was just a silhouette conjured in the darkness.

"This still seems more like him."

However, Ye Jishu couldn’t recall ever having such a face-to-face encounter with him before.

It must have been because he overslept.

Previously, he had followed the crowd after the public class ended, so he wouldn’t have run into Yan Mei in the hallway at this time.

...

Strangers around Yan Mei were crowding him, constantly trying to chat him up.

"I saw a coffee shop earlier..."

"During class, I noticed you didn’t take notes, so I took notes for you—"

Yan Mei kept smiling but didn’t respond to anyone.

However, this didn’t diminish their interest; they kept chattering nonstop beside him, desperately vying for his attention.

Their intense, adoring behavior made one suspect that if Yan Mei told them to die, they wouldn’t hesitate for a second.

Ye Jishu wasn’t all that surprised.

It was always like this. Whether or not he was seen as a "heartthrob," Yan Mei always dominated in relationships.

Though many thoughts raced through his mind, Ye Jishu kept a straight face and kept walking.

Just as he was thinking this, Yan Mei was already walking towards Ye Jishu.

The distance between them shrank.

The hallway was narrow, and with a moment’s distraction, Yan Mei was just a few meters away.

"So close."

Yan Mei’s eyes casually landed on him. It seemed he finally noticed Ye Jishu in the hallway.

For a moment, Ye Jishu thought he would call out to him like before.

After they got together, the other party had always been like this.

Whenever Ye Jishu appeared in his line of sight, he would happily call his name, come over, and put aside whatever he was doing.

But soon, that gaze lingered for just a moment before Yan Mei withdrew his eyes and walked past him without any hesitation. The people talking beside him also passed by Ye Jishu and walked towards the other end of the hallway.

The footsteps faded away.

Yan Mei was gone.