Restricted Fantasy Invasion

Chapter 37
Late at night, in the South District, in Yan Huan’s rental house.

The desk lamp in front of the desk was bright, its gentle light illuminating the words scattered across the papers on the desktop.

Yan Huan was lying on his own bed like this, his face pale, mind blank, mouth slightly open, with all sorts of symbols and words still floating before his eyes.

Then, as if he had just figured out the answer to a difficult math problem, he suddenly clutched his head, and his black bangs spilled out from between his fingers.

His bloodshot eyes gleamed with excitement, a spark of intelligence shining through.

"I think I solved it. As long as I take the integral-"

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the illusory words in the corner of his vision, where something seemed to be timing him.

[Learning Conqueror, Layer 10, Remaining Time: 1 minute 28 seconds]

Yan Huan instinctively wanted to sit up and return to his desk to keep studying, so he could maintain the Conqueror's layers.

But in the next second, a black cat jumped in front of him, lifted its head, and reminded him,

"Yan Huan, you should rest now."

Yan Huan was slightly stunned, looking at Meow-chan in front of him.

The other's words seemed to awaken the pain in his body, and only then did he snap out of his focus a little.

He realized his whole body was sore and aching, and his head was starting to feel foggy.

Kidney deficiency, always comes after overexertion-

"Hiss-"

Yan Huan drew in a sharp breath and rubbed his sore shoulder, asking Meow-chan,

"What time is it now?"

"It's almost two in the morning, meow."

Meow-chan ran over to his side, swiping its tail lightly over the phone he hadn't touched all night.

The phone screen lit up, showing the time as 1:48, along with several plane messages.

"You've been reading since five o'clock yesterday evening, nearly eight hours straight. You still have school tomorrow. If you keep this up, your body won't be able to take it."

Hearing this, Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, reached out and rubbed Meow-chan's head, and smiled helplessly.

"Mainly, I didn't expect this buff to be so ridiculous. The feeling of gradually understanding knowledge is honestly amazing."

Actually, it's not that studying itself is too boring-after all, 'curiosity' is one of the most important traits of humanity.

The key is, most of the time, studying doesn't give you any obvious positive feedback.

Especially in a subject as difficult as mathematics.

Most people, even after spending hours, a whole day, or even several days, still can't figure out what it's trying to tell you or what it's for, and feel like they've gained nothing.

That's why the concept of learning has become synonymous with "tedium."

When it comes to quantifiable assessment, no matter what you do, the problems you can't solve remain unsolvable.

But if, for every half hour you studied, you got extremely obvious positive feedback, then learning would be no different from anything else addictive.

Yan Huan, using the Learning Conqueror ability, was basically like this.

The more focused he was, the faster his progress, and the more concepts he understood.

And after reaching full layers, the instant spike in intelligence let him instantly figure out the doubts he'd left unsolved before.

Back and forth, it was downright addictive.

And there was even this thing called "layers."

Maybe he had a touch of mild OCD-every time Yan Huan thought about taking a break, he'd see those about-to-drop Conqueror layers and couldn't help but keep focusing.

But he really had to stop now.

Yan Huan yawned, watching the remaining time on Learning Conqueror tick away.

The moment it ended, his previously sharp mind seemed to instantly become a lot heavier.

Although Yan Huan's intelligence was never low to begin with, after experiencing such a huge boost, he could finally understand the true meaning of that saying-

"Even among geniuses, there are still gaps!"

Yan Huan dragged his heavy body over to the computer, tidied up his notes and drafts, and closed the digital textbook he'd read most of.

Then he shut the computer, getting ready to wash up and rest.

"Oh right, Meow-chan, how about I open a can for you?"

"Meow?"

Yan Huan squatted down, opened a can of cat food, and watched as Meow-chan's face filled with resistance.

It glanced at the can on the floor, then at Yan Huan's expectant face beside it.

Then it stretched out a paw pad and patted Yan Huan, as if trying to wake up his rationality.

"Go ahead and eat. Little cats need to eat this stuff to grow chubby."

"Meow."

Meow-chan blinked, then reluctantly came over to the can, stuck out its little tongue, and gave it a tentative lick.

Huh?

The taste actually wasn't so bad?

"Nom nom... nom nom..."

So, Meow-chan started licking the can faster and faster, making Yan Huan smile as he rubbed its cat head.

Then he picked up his own phone-he hadn't checked plane all night while in focus mode-and got ready to check his messages.

Hmm.

In the big student council management group, Yuan Lina said she was going to the Linmen game expo this weekend too.

Then, hearing that, Sakuramiya said she wanted to go have a look as well.

Nice, that means the student council's team-building is set for the weekend.

No point sending messages in the group to disturb people's rest at this hour. Just as he exited the chat window, he noticed a red dot on the "Contacts" tab below.

Someone added me?

Yan Huan blinked, opened "My Friends," and saw a new friend request, sent around ten o'clock last night.

"Xin Yi"

"requests to add you as a friend."

"Source: Searched by plane number."

Yan Huan eyed the other's musical note avatar, thinking as he walked to the restroom to wash up.

It's probably Bai Yi, right?

Earlier, Yan Huan and her mother had added each other on plane, so it wouldn't be hard for her to know his account.

After thinking about it, Yan Huan clicked accept, but didn't send a message-he just focused on washing up.

When he came out of the restroom, Meow-chan had already finished a can and was licking its paw.

Looks like there's no need to prepare a litter box for it-so that's the value of a divine being.

But only input, no output-doesn't that make it more like a Pixiu?

"Time for bed, Meow-chan."

"Meow~"

Yan Huan turned off the light, lay down on the bed utterly exhausted, and rubbed his brow.

Meow-chan hopped over to his side, blinking its clear emerald eyes and asked,

"Didn't you message your boss earlier? Hasn't she replied yet?"

Yan Huan, just about to fall asleep, was reminded by Meow-chan and picked up his phone again.

Oh right.

Tong Yingtong still hadn't replied to his message.

What on earth had she been doing all night with no messages at all?

Looking again at the chat window with no reply, Yan Huan hesitated, but didn't type anything else.

Instead, he put down his phone and hugged Meow-chan in his arms.

"Forget it, whatever. I'll just ask her what's up tomorrow."

"Meow~"

Yan Huan closed his eyes, getting ready to sleep.

Time rewound bit by bit-to Thursday night, Jinghe District.

In a room on the first floor of a villa, the warm lamp light shone like water, illuminating every piece of furnishing in the spacious room.

An electric guitar was still plugged into the computer, with plenty of other instruments beside it. The computer screen was on, displaying a professional paid music production software.

The tracks were already filled with different instrument sounds, forming a rainbow of varying lengths across the black background page.

A song was about to be born.

Ever since she wrote her second song a year ago, she hadn't released anything new.

It wasn't that she hadn't written-no matter how busy she was that year, she still managed to finish the basic melody and arrangement.

But the remaining song title, lyrics, and so on, she hadn't started at all.

First, because her daily work was just too busy; second, because her mother's constant denial made her doubt whether she should keep creating.

But-

Just yesterday, she learned that the Yan Huan her mother always talked about turned out to be her own fan?

Was he lying?

But why would he lie?

Previously, every time I saw him it was through the Indifference state; he and I didn't even know each other, so there was absolutely no motive.

Besides, he's so outstanding-one of the top figures at school; he could beat me in the auditions just by his looks alone.

Someone like him

is actually waiting for me to release a new song?!

"Mmm."

At this thought, Bai Yi, wearing a dress on her bed, hurriedly buried her face into the pillow she'd been hugging.

Her feet, wrapped in white socks, kicked up and down on the bed in excitement, making a "pa pa pa" sound as they slapped the mattress.

Then, still hugging the pillow, she rolled over twice on the bed, her black hair fanning out behind her like petals, making her rosy little face as beautiful as a blooming flower.

She couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from curving up, giggling foolishly the whole time.

Calm down, Bai Yi!

You're an idol!

You must-

You must keep up your image, and work even harder!

So, she quickly straightened her expression.

But that smile just couldn't be suppressed, sneaking out from the corners of her lips again and again.

Bai Yi put down the pillow and walked over to the computer.

On the desk lay her phone, already displaying someone's plane account, which she had secretly copied from her mother's phone.

All she had to do was tap the screen to send a friend request.

Bai Yi pouted, stuck out both index fingers, and hovered over the button for a long time, but just couldn't bring herself to press it.

"Ahhh, I can't. I can't do it."

She quickly covered her flushed face, letting her cool fingers lower the temperature of her cheeks.

Sending a request like this is just too weird.

And what if he asks when I'll release a new song, or if I'll sing at the game expo on Sunday?

Not only haven't I written the new lyrics, but even for the weekend, Mom definitely won't let me go up and sing.

She looks down on my singing the most.

At this thought, Bai Yi's once-warm face cooled down bit by bit.

She pressed her lips together, looking a little sadly at the music tracks on the software in front of her.

They lay in her computer like a dragon without eyes, lifeless and still.

"Why are you back?"

Just then, she heard the door opening outside, followed by Zuo Jiangqin's voice.

"Ah, I heard Yiyi ran away from home, so I dropped work and rushed back to Linmen."

The reply came from a middle-aged man.

It was Jiang Xiong, Zuo Jiangqin's remarried husband, who had come back.

"Honestly. She was just throwing a little tantrum, she'll be fine in a few days. She even went to the event today, so she probably knows she was wrong."

"Even if it's just a tantrum, running away from home is a big deal. Is Yiyi asleep?"

"I don't know, probably asleep." Footsteps sounded as Bai Yi turned her head toward the door, where a knocking sound came from.

"Knock knock."

"Yiyi, are you asleep?"

Bai Yi pressed her lips together, hesitated for a moment, then spoke up,

"The door's not locked, Uncle Jiang."

"Click."

The door opened, revealing a refined man outside, his hair half white and still in his suit, with a few wrinkles on his face.

He wore glasses, glanced at Bai Yi in the room, and smiled as he said,

"Your mom said you ran away from home the day before yesterday?"

"Yeah, but it's all fine now."

Jiang Xiong folded his arms, noncommittal,

"Is that so."

As the atmosphere grew quiet, Bai Yi turned to look at him and took the initiative to ask,

"Is everything okay at the company? Coming back to Linmen suddenly must really affect your work."

"On the contrary, things are great over there. I was planning to come back to Linmen anyway. The boss of Ye International sent his daughter here, so there'll be a lot more business, and I'm hoping to see if I can connect with Ye International."

"Ye International? That's way out of our league. Can you really make the connection?"

"Maybe not for others, but your uncle shouldn't have a problem. You know, Yiyi, I may not be that capable, but I have a lot of friends."

Jiang Xiong smiled slightly and walked into Bai Yi's room.

He didn't close the door, just pulled over a chair and sat down.

The new person in charge, Ye Lan, was once my schoolmate-she was a year ahead of me.

"I even gave a wedding gift when she got married, but she didn't have good taste in men. Her husband was no good-he messed around even when the kids were little. She caught him and kicked him so hard he lost his ability to have children, so later she had to leave with her kid and nothing else."

Jiang Xiong casually threw out this interesting story, catching Bai Yi's attention, who hadn't wanted to talk at first. She asked incredulously,

"Ye International... Didn't that senior's family have a lot of money? How did her husband even dare to cheat?"

"It's complicated. I only heard about it, don't know the details."

Jiang Xiong spread his hands helplessly and explained,

"I heard that when Ye International first started, things were tough, and she had siblings, so she was strapped for cash during undergrad.

"Later, when things got better and she brought her boyfriend home for her family to meet, her family looked down on that poor guy and refused to approve the marriage no matter what."

Bai Yi blinked, looking very curious,

"So..."

"Yeah, so when she got married, her parents didn't come. I guess her family never approved in the end. But maybe it wasn't just because of his background-maybe they sensed he was no good."

After hearing this, Bai Yi had a complicated expression and could only sigh,

"The adult world is just too complicated."

"Right? That's why I hope you'll spend more time with kids your own age and work a little less."

Bai Yi heard the implication in his words, pouted, and muttered,

"Isn't that how celebrities are? Always going to events. And what if I'm not popular anymore? That's why Mom says, while I still have fans, I should do as many events as I can."

"You can't earn all the money in the world, Yiyi."

Jiang Xiong took off his glasses and smiled as he said,

"Even my big-shot senior at Ye International has a ton of problems, let alone us. If it gets so bad you run away from home, why not just take a break instead?"

Bai Yi glanced at Jiang Xiong, then said softly,

"But what about the penalty for breaking the contract? That's a huge sum-we can't afford it, can we?"

"Yeah, we can't afford it."

"Then what's the point of talking!"

At this, Bai Yi angrily threw the plushie on her desk at him, but Jiang Xiong easily caught it.

"Don't be so stubborn. What I mean is, finish what you have now, then let's take on less.

"Life is long, Yiyi. Go to school more, spend more time with your classmates, read more books-even if you're not good at studying, it doesn't matter, but you should really read more perspectives.

"And when you have free time, do something you enjoy."

The middle-aged man in front of her played with the plushie in his hand for a moment, then tossed it back.

"Our family isn't rich, but we're not poor either. Worst case, even if we can't do anything, we won't starve. Relax, and be brave."

Bai Yi caught the plushie and just looked at Jiang Xiong, unable to say anything for a long while.

After a while, Zuo Jiangqin's voice came from upstairs,

"What are you doing down there? Go take a shower! Wash up and come upstairs to sleep!!"

Bai Yi blinked at her mother's voice, and Jiang Xiong's back went limp at Zuo Jiangqin's fierce aura.

Then, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his face.

Clearly, that was the signal for something.

Jiang Xiong reached out, shakily put the chair back in place, and gave Bai Yi a helpless smile,

"I'm going to bed then. You should get some rest too, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Jiang."

Bai Yi nodded, watched Jiang Xiong leave, and closed the door.

Be brave, huh.

Bai Yi turned to look at her phone, where the interface for a user named "Huan" was still open.

She pouted, reached out her finger, and pressed the "Add Friend" option.

A gentle tap, and then-

"Friend request sent!"

It worked!

Bai Yi nervously raised her phone, watching the pending friend request in her contacts, her heartbeat starting to speed up.

Will he accept it?

Or

will he reject it?

Clutching her phone, she flopped onto the bed, staring nervously at the screen.

One minute passed.

Five minutes passed.

Ahaha, maybe he's just busy and hasn't seen it at all?

I'll just watch some videos for a bit, it's fine.

Bai Yi opened the short video app and started scrolling.

However, after every few videos, she would open the plane in the background to check if he had accepted.

The answer was always the same.

No!!

Why did I even send a friend request in the first place, so stupid?!

Is there really no option to withdraw it?!

Bai Yi's face turned red as she rolled around on the bed, looking utterly regretful.

One act of bravery, exchanged for a whole night of introversion.

Little did she know, at this very moment, Yan Huan hadn't even seen her friend request.

In his eyes, there was only studying!

Meanwhile, at the same time, Linmen Southern District, Nursery Rhyme Bar.

The bar's main door was tightly shut, with a "Closed Today" sign hanging on the handle outside, and even the shutters inside had been pulled down.

As a result, the scene inside was completely hidden from outsiders.

"Yingtong, you have to help us!"

Inside the closed bar, quite a few people had gathered. Many burly men with wing tattoos on their bodies looked playfully at the two injured men in the center of the bar.

They had obvious knife wounds and burns, looking seriously hurt, but they seemed not to care about the pain, just staring ahead.

Right in front of them, on the sofa, a beautiful red-haired woman in a black T-shirt and jeans sat with dead eyes, sizing up the two kneeling men before her.

Besides those burly men, there were also plenty of graceful women in furs and qipaos, every gesture exuding a fragrant allure.

They smoked cigarettes and held wine glasses, giggling as they propped up their chins, watching the scene unfold.

Tong Yingtong said nothing, but a man next to her let out a chuckle and cursed,

"Hey, you didn't even call her Sister Tong, and you still want help? Don't you know the rules?"

"Sister Tong, Sister Tong-"

One of the kneeling men belatedly spoke up, scooting a little closer toward Tong Yingtong.

"You really have to help us, help us get away, we're begging you."

Tong Yingtong sighed, yawned, and looked a bit bored.

"When you were splitting the profits, you never thought of me, but now that you're in trouble, suddenly you remember?"

The burly onlookers burst out laughing, and the beautiful women with wine glasses crowded around, smiling as they said,

"Sister Tong, you're a top student, and none of us are doing anything good here. The boss doesn't want to dirty your hands~"

"They really messed up this time. Everyone knows you used to be with Mama Bai, and all her connections are with you. Can you think of a way to get them out of here?"

Tong Yingtong didn't reply, just took out her cigarette case and put a lady's cigarette between her red lips.

As she fumbled for her lighter, a sudden chorus of lighter strikes sounded around her.

"."

Tong Yingtong's beautiful eyes lifted slightly. On the sofa, the qipao beauties with wing tattoos around her had all lit their lighters at once, respectfully leaning in to light her cigarette.

The dense firelight around her seemed to ignite the lifeless look in Tong Yingtong's eyes, releasing a chilling aura.

"Sister Tong~"

"Please, go ahead~"

The fragrant breeze from delicate hands made the flames on the lighters flicker gently.

No one dared to snatch her cigarette away roughly-only that kid would ever do something like that.

But after a moment's thought, Tong Yingtong reached up and took the cigarette from her lips herself.

The beauties beside her covered their mouths and giggled, asking,

"Sister Tong, smoking ours?"

"Forget it."

Tong Yingtong exhaled and said helplessly,

"I'm trying to quit."

The lighters around her all snapped shut. No one commented; they just kept smiling at Tong Yingtong.

Tong Yingtong leaned back against the cushion, looking at the two battered men before her.

Everyone's gaze settled on her, as if waiting for something.

Suddenly, Tong Yingtong's eyes lit up. She raised a finger and said,

"Hey, I actually have an idea."

The rest all put on a "we're doomed" expression, while only the two kneeling outsiders still looked confused.

"Huh?"

They thought they'd found hope and looked expectant.

But Tong Yingtong just smiled slightly and said,

"You know you really messed up, right? Not only are Linmen's police after you, but your rivals are too."

"Y-yeah, that's right."

"Me, I have a way to get someone out of Linmen."

"R-really?!"

Propping up her chin, Tong Yingtong's smile suddenly turned terrifying.

Yeah, but out of you two, only one can leave.

"You two decide for yourselves-which one gets to go?"

(End of this chapter)