Chapter 10: A Death-defying Admission Notice
“I finally understand why milk tea is unhealthy…”
On the tenth day of working at the milk tea shop, Han Yixuan let out such a sigh.
However, Wang Heng beside her did not respond, just continuing his work on his own.
Using the electronic scale, he measured out a full five kilograms of sugar, two kinds each, which added up to a full ten kilograms, poured it into the pot, and stirred with a large spoon. The pot was on the induction cooker, and the sugar water inside was already boiling and steaming.
This stirring job, being quite laborious, was done only by the shop manager himself besides Wang Heng.
Han Yixuan watched from the side and continued sighing, “This much sugar boiled like this has to be added a lot into the milk tea. The calories are off the charts! I won’t dare drink milk tea casually anymore; it’s too easy to gain weight.”
Wang Heng glanced at her, “You’re not fat anyway.”
“Do you think my figure is okay?” the young girl asked softly.
Wang Heng withdrew his gaze, nodded slightly, and said no more.
Appropriate praise is a shortcut to increasing favorability. Wang Heng knew this very well. But precisely because he knew, he was even less willing to say more.
After stirring was done, he put down the spoon, slightly adjusted the heat on the induction cooker, and set the timer. After forty minutes, the timer would naturally remind him to turn off the heat.
“Should I go clean up a bit?” Han Yixuan suddenly asked.
Wang Heng shook his head, “I already cleaned before you arrived.”
“You’re so quick, so capable!”
“Not bad.”
After finishing these preparations, Wang Heng sat down at a blank space in the shop and opened the book he brought.
In the first few days of starting the part-time job, he didn’t have the habit of bringing a book. But ever since Han Yixuan became a colleague, he found the idle time at work increasingly hard to endure. To avoid unnecessary conversation, he had to find something of his own to do. The most suitable choice was naturally his mobile phone, but his was a black-and-white button phone, and playing Snake all day would seem a bit strange. So, he simply brought a book.
This second-hand textbook on C language was very cheap and could help him pick up some half-forgotten knowledge, making it an excellent choice.
The seat Wang Heng chose had another empty chair directly across the table. Han Yixuan stared at that chair for a good while, hesitated for half a moment, and finally sat at another table nearby—after all, stepping right up to someone’s face like that would still be difficult for this thin-skinned girl.
Han Yixuan used a new model smartphone. After the screen lit up, her gaze slid to the handsome boy not far away.
“C Programming Language…”
The young girl withdrew her gaze, opened the mobile browser, and searched it. Ten seconds later, she gave up on the plan to find a common topic through this book.
At that moment, her phone received a new text message. She opened it and glanced, immediately realizing a topic to chat about had come.
So, while Wang Heng was reviewing C language pointers, he suddenly heard the young girl’s voice:
“Did you get the text message?”
He looked up, slightly bewildered, “What text message?”
“The one from the school, notifying us to pick up the admission letter. I’ve already received mine; haven’t you gotten it yet?”
Hearing this, Wang Heng took out his mobile phone and checked. Sure enough, he had received it too, but he had set it to silent earlier to not affect work, so he hadn’t noticed.
Han Yixuan asked eagerly, “Which school did you get into exactly?”
“Telecommunications Science and Technology University.”
It was clearly a top domestic university, yet Wang Heng’s tone was exceptionally calm. After all, with his score known in advance along with that school’s cutoff line, there was no surprise in the result.
However, Han Yixuan was surprisingly excited, “The one in Rongdu?”
“Yeah.”
Wang Heng looked at the girl in front of him, somewhat puzzled. He really couldn’t understand what this girl had to be so excited about.
But the next second, he realized…
“I’m in Rongdu too!” Han Yixuan shook her phone, excited almost to the point of jumping, “Look, look, Finance University in Rongdu!”
At this moment, Wang Heng finally understood that he had still been too naive.
He had originally thought that as long as he didn’t go to the Imperial Capital, picking any unfamiliar city would let him avoid those peach blossom tribulations and escape the terrifying asura field. However, under the influence of the worldline correction mechanism, he always seemed to be arranged clearly. Even more terrifying than the original asura field.
At least in the first playthrough, Han Yixuan wasn’t in the same city as him. And now, with Han Yixuan not dodged yet, would the other tribulations descend… He felt it very possible they would still fall on his head.
Thinking of this, Wang Heng seemed to see a flash of blade light before his eyes. It was clearly summer, but he was breaking out in cold sweat.
So, should he just confirm a relationship with Han Yixuan and use that as a reason to refuse all other girls?
The problem was, doing so would be another change to the worldline, with completely unknown consequences. He still remembered that among those girls, there was one far more fitting the ‘yandere’ label than Han Yixuan…
Wang Heng stared at the young girl in front of him and involuntarily fell into contemplation.
Being stared at so directly, Han Yixuan felt a bit at a loss. She could tell there was no ambiguous intent in Wang Heng’s gaze; rather, it hid a trace of… fear?
But soon, Wang Heng’s expression returned to calm.
He said, “What a coincidence.”
Han Yixuan also laughed, “Yeah, really such a coincidence! My first choice was actually a school in the Magic City, but my score seemed just a bit short…”
————
While going to the toilet during a work break, Wang Heng questioned his mobile phone, “Worldline correction should only tamper with things that have already happened, right? Han Yixuan was originally supposed to go to the Magic City; why did her first choice fail and become the second? The Gaokao test papers are already graded, so the cutoff lines shouldn’t change!”
It didn’t take long before that magical message box appeared on his phone: 【 Unfortunately, there are actually many leeways in this aspect. For example, in Chinese language reading comprehension and essays, a whim of the grading teacher can affect the scores of millions of students. Though the impact range is limited, it is indeed possible. Don’t forget the volunteer filling stage; others’ results could also inversely affect Han Yixuan. 】
Wang Heng couldn’t refute, thought for a moment, and asked again, “Then if I agree to Han Yixuan and date her…”
【 You can try. But since Han Yixuan might be affected by worldline memories from the previous playthrough, others might not be immune either. Moreover, maintaining a confirmed relationship wouldn’t actually be easier. You should understand that. 】
Wang Heng certainly understood. That first love lasting over two years, after the initial sweetness and satisfaction, soon brought all sorts of problems. And it was precisely those problems that made him realize he was more suited to being single than dating a girl.
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