Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Shen Gali had no idea he'd been wearing the strawberry sticker for half the day until it finally washed down the drain during his shower.

He sat on the bed with his knees hugged to his chest, his beige pajamas loose and slipping off one shoulder.

Occasional droplets from his still-damp hair slid down his neck and into his collar.

Clutching his phone, he typed into the search bar: 'price of the most enclosed cemetery', 'price of the safest cemetery'.

A seven or eight square meter plot cost eight million! Dubbed an 'underground CBD', it even had a pavilion nearby. A cheaper decent one still cost over a million.

This was clearly beyond his means.

Money.

At that moment, Shen Gali suddenly developed a keen interest in money.

It's hard to be a man without money, and even a ghost can't escape the word 'money'. He needed to make money, absolutely had to make money, for a peaceful 'afterlife garden'.

And he had to choose a closed-off place with full security, where no one could get in. Even if it wasn't enclosed, money talks; he'd throw enough cash to build it in a square-within-a-square shape, sealed on all sides, with outer walls enclosing inner walls, preferably a matryoshka style.

Just thinking about lying there, with no one able to get in, and not having to listen to their hypocritical wailing and mourning every now and then—it was f*cking awesome!

Shen Gali felt such a strong emotional jolt for the first time; his heart ached slightly, and he absently touched his chest.

But a depressed slacker never had a plan, even for making money. Thinking about it was already a win; as for the rest, he'd take it one step at a time.

Although he fell asleep peacefully dreaming of a beautiful future, the next morning Shen Gali was forced to wake up early and his mood hit rock bottom.

Especially when he saw a pile of all kinds of stickers on the dining table.

Nan Liujing gently stirred his coffee, took a sip, and without lifting his eyes, said, 'Why aren't you wearing your strawberry sticker anymore?'

Shen Gali propped his cheek on one hand weakly, picked up his fork, and poked at the sausage on his plate without appetite.

'If you like it, just stick one on your arm—a full sleeve. Cool.' He said listlessly.

Nan Liujing let out a cold snort, put down his cup, picked up a sticker to examine it, and said, 'Come here.'

Shen Gali didn't move until Uncle Li coughed beside him.

He sighed in frustration, still resting his cheek on his hand, his eyes fixed out the window. He slid his elbow forward, pulling his body along a bit.

Smack. The next moment, something tapped his forehead.

Shen Gali froze, then raised his hand to touch his forehead.

There was now a 3D sticker there.

Shen Gali: ???

He looked over at Nan Liujing, only to see Uncle Li already pushing him towards the entrance, leaving behind a back that revealed nothing of his mood.

He peeled off the sticker and looked.

Give a round of applause to the badass—Peppa Pig forehead tattoo.

That pink hairdryer (Peppa) smiled looking a bit derpy, perfectly matching Shen Gali's expression.

Shen Gali felt mocked, but a depressed slacker didn't want revenge. Getting revenge was too tiring. He just wanted to get even somehow.

So he grabbed a stack of 3D stickers from the table, went into Nan Liujing's room, and plastered them all over his headboard, water cup, and computer.

Satisfied with his masterpiece, he left.

*

The art class was scheduled once a week, and there was none today. Shen Gali hadn't eaten a bite of breakfast. After applying the stickers, he went back to his room to lie down.

He dozed off, and after an unknown amount of time, the buzzing of his phone came to his ears.

He fumbled for his phone and glanced at the caller ID—it was an unfamiliar local number not in his contacts.

The original owner hadn't even bothered to label it 'idiot', so it was probably a scam. Reject, reject.

But the other party didn't even give Shen Gali a chance to hang up; they hung up themselves, and promptly sent a text:

'Dear Shen Gali, I am your major's college advisor. According to attendance records, you have missed many classes. This behavior will affect your graduation exams. Please come to campus to check in today. — Student Affairs Office, Jinhai University.'

Shen Gali couldn't believe it.

Marrying a psychopathic villain was bad enough, but how could the original owner not even have graduated?

And now he had to go to class on behalf of the original owner? What kind of suffering is this?

Pop. A light little bubble suddenly burst in his mind.

Before transmigrating into the book, although he had received an admission letter from a top university, due to his mother's death and his own heart condition, he took a leave of absence on registration day.

During his hospitalization, he often saw college students organizing themselves to visit the elderly. They wore bright clothes, styled their hair nicely, sang and danced, freely displaying their youth and gaining happy smiles.

That was probably what envy felt like—swept up by the emotion, it felt beautiful, yet tinged with bitterness because he never had it himself.

Shen Gali stared at the text message, reading it word by word several times, and made a decision.

He opened the wardrobe, shoved aside the flashy Lolita dresses, and carefully selected a newly bought lake-blue shirt, with a simple white T-shirt underneath, paired with high-waist straight-leg jeans. He tied a pale yellow bunny-ear scarf and left the house before Uncle Li returned.

To avoid looking too out of place, he even bought a backpack from a roadside shop, although it was empty except for a phone.

Half an hour later.

Standing at the gate of Jinhai University, looking at the majestic gate and the students coming and going, for the first time, he felt the sun above wasn't so glaring.

Unlike middle-aged people who had been struggling in society for years, college students were innocent and enthusiastic. When he asked for directions, they would tell him in detail, and some even personally led him there.

So Shen Gali easily found the Student Affairs Office of his college.

The advisor was bald, shiny as a lightbulb. As soon as he saw Shen Gali, his tone was unfriendly:

'You have missed thirty-six classes this semester and also missed the important professional certification exam. In theory, we cannot issue you a degree certificate, but the school is willing to give you one more chance. As long as you take the makeup exam and pass, you can graduate.'

Shen Gali's previously good mood was completely overshadowed by this statement.

He was a liberal arts student, weak in math, physics, and chemistry, but the original owner studied software engineering. Just the dense, worm-like code was enough to torture him to death, and now he had to take a professional certification makeup exam...

Shen Gali sat on a bench in the college lobby, hugging his legs, worried—

Sitting on the stone steps on the campus roadside, hugging his legs, worried—

Sitting in the pavilion beside the moat, hugging his knees, feeling down—

A visible gloom hung over him, making him stand out starkly from a group of students nearby who were holding cameras, operating drones, and beaming with youthful smiles.

Shen Gali's fingers twitched as he instinctively looked toward that group of students.

Wait, what did he see?

Why did the person at the center of the crowd and smiling like a spring flower look so familiar?

No way, he had to disappear quickly.

Shen Gali hurriedly stood up, accidentally knocking over his backpack.

With a "thud," it caught the attention of those students.

The next second—

"Brother! Brother, what are you doing here!"

The young man striding toward him grinned even wider, waving his hand and speaking in a forced, high-pitched cute voice as he called him "brother."

Shen Gali wanted to cry—the original novel never said that Shen Lanqing was attending the same university as the original owner.

Shen Lanqing ran up to him, grabbed his arm, slightly bent over to look up at him, his cheeks flushed, unable to hide his surprise: "Brother, did you come to see me? I'm so happy!"

In the original text, Shen Lanqing was 181 cm, one centimeter taller than Shen Gali, so to mimic the cute image in TV shows of a kid pestering an adult, Shen Lanqing deliberately bent down.

Shen Gali looked away, his voice cold: "I came just so I wouldn't be stuck with just a high school diploma."

Shen Lanqing didn't understand, stubbornly insisting that his brother had come to see him and was just making up this excuse.

He pulled Shen Gali toward the group of students, even interlacing their fingers to prevent him from escaping.

Shen Gali struggled briefly, but finding the other's grip strong, he gave up.

"It's almost time for the college entrance exams, and the school is preparing a promotional video for enrollment. I'm auditioning with the other students right now. Brother, please cheer me on, okay?" Shen Lanqing said with a smile.

Hearing this, Shen Gali recalled that this was indeed a plot point in the original text: the original owner and the protagonist were both auditioning for something. It had already been decided that Shen Lanqing would get the part, but the original owner used his money behind the scenes to steal the part, causing the darkness within Shen Lanqing to start awakening.

But in the end, Nan Feiyao stepped in to settle the matter and exposed the original owner's misdeeds to the public, leading to condemnation from everyone.

Inevitably, after the original owner stole the opportunity from the person the villain loved, how could the villain let him get away with it? Cue another round of being locked in a dark room and thoroughly tormented.

The original text also mentioned that among this group of students was an informant for Nan Feiyao, who had been keeping a close eye on Shen Lanqing and reporting his every move to Nan Feiyao, so he could always be the first one there to protect his beloved. That was how deep Nan Feiyao's love went.

Shen Gali breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Good, this plot wouldn't happen anymore, and those two lovebirds wouldn't come around to bother him.

The assistant director in charge of the promotional video was a senior named Xiao Fa, who was the informant hired by Nan Feiyao.

Seeing Shen Gali, he quickly stepped aside and sent a text to Nan Feiyao:

"Nan-ge, it's a code red!"

To make sure he got his commission, he would create opportunities even when there were none.

Dragged into the group, Shen Gali felt mortified as he endured a chorus of "Hello, senior." He raised his hand to block the sun and said weakly, "Sorry, I have UV allergy. I'll be going now."

Xiao Fa's eyes narrowed. Trying to leave? No way.

"Shen Gali, hi, I'm also from the Computer Science College. We've met before, actually." He extended his hand and gave Shen Gali a fake smile.

Shen Gali didn't understand—he already said he was leaving, why shake hands?

Shen Gali: "Sorry, I also have a stranger-skin allergy. I'll be going now."

"Wait, Shen, we're currently auditioning actors for the promo video. We think your appearance is very suitable. Would you be interested..."

"Not interested. I have camera phobia."

"It won't take much of your time."

"Stop it. I'm about to have a 'every-second-wasted-makes-me-ache' attack."

"If you succeed in the audition, the college will give you a 1,000 yuan bonus. Don't miss this chance."

Shen Gali looked up.

Did he say money?

He straightened up: "When's the audition?"

"Right now."

Xiao Fa snickered. He took the bait!—true to his reputation as the money-grubber, he bit. Happiness at max. Now just waiting for Brother Nan to swoop in to protect the flower, and he could sit back and collect the cash.