Chapter 156

Chapter 156

Lou Sheng's grades took a sudden turn for the better.

Liang Ban later had a talk with him, his typically serious face softened with a warm smile, praising Lou Sheng for his recent good state and encouraging him to maintain this momentum and strive further.

Both were words of praise, but Lou Sheng didn't understand why he was particularly sensitive to those from 017.

A seemingly ordinary sentence, when spoken by 017, seemed to carry an odd, almost magical effect that made him uncomfortable. Even though it was just an electronic voice...

More than half of the first semester of the second year of high school had passed, and Lou Sheng had gained a little weight. It wasn’t accurate to call him fat; he was still generally thin, but he was indeed heavier than when school first started. Even his height had increased by a couple of centimeters.

Eating too many sweets really does pack on the pounds.

The assortment of snacks in Lou Sheng's desk never seemed to run out all semester.

Sometimes after class, Lou Sheng would casually reach into his desk for something. One day it hit him that he had unknowingly made 017's feeding a habit...

Habits can be a dangerous thing. After realizing this, Lou Sheng, out of some inexplicable defiance, gave up snacks for two days.

017 picked up on his odd behavior, asking if he was tired of the taste, and after Lou Sheng vehemently denied it, still thoughtfully swapped out the snacks for new ones from the service point.

"You don't have to force yourself if you don't like it, young host."

Lou Sheng: ...

He suddenly felt a little silly, because how could 017 possibly be aware of his inexplicable mindset? 017 was just a presence in his mind and couldn't eavesdrop on all his thoughts.

017 would just keep changing the flavors until he accepted the feeding.

Lou Sheng's rebellious streak lasted a mere forty-eight hours before it was officially over.

Zhang Antong, sitting next to him, watched as two pieces of chocolate would mysteriously show up in Lou Sheng's desk every day, unfailingly, yet no one could be found who put them there.

He was baffled for quite a while.

"It's like dealing with a ghost," he grumbled.

In a sense, 017 could indeed be considered a type of ghost.

In the first semester of the second year of high school, Lou Sheng consistently ranked first in his class across several exams.

His English was still a weak spot. Lou Sheng's English was mainly poor in listening. Before high school, the English teachers he’d had were far from having standard pronunciation, and Lou Sheng himself didn't have a smartphone to practice privately, so his scores stayed stuck in the middle range.

Seeing that Lou Sheng didn't show impatience when explaining problems to Zhang Antong and the girls in front, more and more students started approaching him after class for help. At first, Lou Sheng could rack up nearly a hundred points of gratitude in a single day, which later decreased slightly but still remained around fifty.

The boys in class had started treating Lou Sheng differently, from politely distant to calling him "Lou God" and "Sheng Ge," often inviting him to play basketball during physical education classes.

But unlike most boys, Lou Sheng had never been very interested in basketball.

PE classes at Beiyang High School were pretty laid-back, especially in Class Seven, where the PE teacher would, at most, take roll call, and the students would do whatever they wanted. Some would stay on the playground to play basketball or walk, while others would go back to the classroom to study. Lou Sheng was one of the latter.

017 would nudge him, "It's good to go out and exercise occasionally."

Lou Sheng raised an eyebrow, "You’re making it seem like I’m lazy."

017 chuckled.

Lou Sheng only heard a very light laugh in his mind, which quickly disappeared.

It’s just a system, but it can still laugh…

Lou Sheng isn’t lazy, but since starting high school, aside from morning exercises, he hardly ever works out. However, before coming to Beiyang High School, he had done various kinds of work, making him way tougher than his peers.

In December, under his autumn and winter school uniform, he only wore a thin sweater. In the northern winter, he’s definitely built to handle the cold.

Actually, not long after autumn began, 017 was really worried Lou Sheng would catch a cold. At that time, Lou Sheng's wooden bed still had those two thin items, which made lying down uncomfortable.

017 got him a full set of thick bedding and some base layer clothes from the service point. But Lou Sheng didn’t seem too happy about it.

He didn’t say anything to 017, but after that, 017 rarely went out of his way to get these things.

Lou Sheng didn’t start using them till December.

"The final exams are over, you can take it easy. Moreover, the break is just two days away."

"..." Lou Sheng didn’t know how to respond to 017.

For him, the break isn’t anything to get excited about; it’s just work and catching up on homework, which is even more exhausting than school.

The winter break is even more boring. During the Spring Festival, there’s no work, and staying at home makes you want to stare holes in the ceiling.

He sat in his seat for a while, threw down his pen, got up, and just walked around the playground a couple of times, putting on a show of "relaxing" for 017.

...

On the day Beiyang High School went on holiday, it was freezing cold.

"Hey, it’s colder today," 017 said, wanting to remind Lou Sheng to wear an extra layer of clothing.

Lou Sheng woke up early and also felt that the room seemed colder than usual, but he still only wore those two layers.

As soon as he stepped out, he really felt how much colder it was.

He shivered, frozen in place.

"Put on another layer," 017 said.

Lou Sheng originally intended to go back and put on more clothes, but as soon as 017 spoke, he suddenly felt the need to tough it out.

He said "it’s okay," and went to school like that.

Because of the cold weather and the upcoming holiday, the students weren’t up for class. After the teachers finished going over the final exam papers, they let them do their own thing.

"It’s snowing," 017 suddenly said.

Lou Sheng paused, looked up towards the window.

The sky outside was gloomy, not a pleasant weather. But if it’s snowing, that’s a different story.

He stared at the clear window for half a minute, seeing nothing.

"What are you looking at, Sheng Ge?" Zhang Antong noticed him zoning out and curiously looked over.

At that moment, a light snowflake leisurely fell into view.

Lou Sheng slowly blinked.

"Wow, it’s snowing!" Zhang Antong’s voice broke the silence like a stone hitting water.

In just a few seconds, the once quiet teaching building suddenly buzzed with activity.

During the third class, a light snow began to fall in Beiyang City, the first snow of the winter in Beiyang. It was perfect timing.

Lou Sheng caught sight of the snow half a minute before anyone else.

*

His backpack was unusually heavy that day, stuffed with all the textbooks and notes from the semester.

Lou Sheng’s bag was packed to the brim, but he carried it effortlessly.

The ground was blanketed with half an inch of snow, crunching under his feet as he walked.

The buildings and roads looked pristine under the snow, their usual grime hidden.

It was dark when he got home, but the snow brightened the surroundings.

Lou Sheng had felt oddly light and airy all day. He couldn’t put it into words, but it wasn’t like his usual self.

A grayish-white creature suddenly darted across the snowy expanse.

At first glance, Lou Sheng mistook it for a mouse, but a closer look revealed it was a cat.

He frowned; it looked familiar.

"It’s you again," Lou Sheng recognized it as the cat that used to scavenge through the trash bins months ago.

He hadn’t seen it in two months and wondered where it had been foraging.

A few months ago, it was just a kitten, but now it had grown noticeably. If not for its wary eyes and skittish nature, Lou Sheng might not have recognized it at all.

It was still scrawny, with a hollow belly, and he wondered where it had been roaming all this time. It hadn’t even managed to feed itself before slinking back.

"Still alive, huh..." he muttered.

017: "..."

His host always had a knack for saying things in a less-than-pleasant way.

Lou Sheng had picked up something from a street vendor on his way home. He offered the cat a small piece of bread, but the white cat ignored it. It glanced at Lou Sheng, neither coming closer nor running off, and licked its paw.

Yep, it was definitely the same cat.

Lou Sheng said, "Stray cats usually eat anything, so why are you so picky?"

Most of the locals were migrant workers who’d head back home for the Spring Festival. With its picky eating habits, this cat was likely to starve.

It might not even make it that far. 017 mentioned the temperature would drop over the next week, especially with today’s snow... many strays don’t survive northern winters.

Lou Sheng was silent for a while.

But that wasn’t his problem. He was barely getting by himself.

017 also observed the cat from within him and after a moment said, "It’s a bit like you."

"Like me? How so? I’m not that picky."

017 agreed, "Yes, you’re not picky."

Lou Sheng’s eyelid twitched.

Everything 017 says seems to take on a different tone, as if, aside from not being picky about food, he’s no different from this stinky cat.

"If you weren’t so ugly, maybe someone would actually want you," he said to the stinky cat that was staring at him.

017: "Don’t say that, it’s just a little skinny, but still kind of cute."

"..." Can’t even say it’s ugly?

"It doesn’t understand human language anyway."

Lou Sheng glanced at the white cat and smirked.

All dusty and gray—what’s so cute about it?

‘It’s kind of like you...’

‘Pretty cute.’

Lou Sheng suddenly linked the two ideas and choked.

The cold wind hit his throat, snapping him back to his senses.

What an idiot, he thought, cursing himself.