Hell High School (13): Sweet Date

Of course, Tan Xiao didn’t mix with the players. He had dinner with Wen Yi in the school cafeteria as usual.

Today, they had claypot rice noodles. As usual, they shared a large portion. When the super-sized claypot was served, the soup inside was still bubbling.

While waiting for the steaming hot food to cool down, Tan Xiao had a sudden idea and suggested to Wen Yi, “We don’t have evening study today. How about we go out and take a stroll around the school?”

Although his living expenses were all deposited into his meal card by his mom, it didn’t mean he didn’t have money in his regular account. He had checked before, and his mobile account had a balance of five hundred thousand spirit coins.

[In the Plague Infection instance, to honor the contributions of certain citizens, the enthusiastic volunteer Tan Xiao not only received the Outstanding Citizen award but also a reward of 500,000 spirit coins. Of course, his boyfriend Wen Yi received even more.]

Although everything related to Dr. Wen was temporarily forgotten with the closure of the Plague Infection instance, the messages exchanged between the two on their phones were cleared by the system. However, the enormous assets Tan Xiao earned in the instance were well preserved and brought out by the game system.

Except for the phone he kept close to him, all the other items Tan Xiao owned were piled up in the system space, and he was completely unaware of it.

At that time, when he saw the balance, Tan Xiao was shocked for a moment, doubting whether he had made a mistake somewhere.

However, after verifying it several times, the bank card he had linked indeed had that much money, and the name was his own. Tan Xiao then felt justified in using this money because, subconsciously, it should belong to him.

Tan Xiao, being generous, said, “I’ll treat you to a full day of food, drinks, and entertainment!”

Wen Yi didn’t say whether he agreed or not, but spoke in a low voice, “You said last night that you were very tired and needed a good rest. Were you lying to me?”

Tan Xiao was not the least bit guilty, “Yesterday was yesterday, today is today. I had a whole day of classes yesterday and ate that terrible corn. I was exhausted when I got home. Besides, it’s rare to have a break during evening self-study. If there’s a break, there should be activities for the break!”

Usually, the school gate was closed during classes, but in situations like this where there was a collective break, the gate would open outward.

Tan Xiao had already spent a few days at the school, and it was such a small place. He had already checked out the new school’s playground, cafeteria, library… everything he could go to, and there was nothing new to see.

As for the other teaching buildings, the classrooms were all pretty much the same. He was already tired of seeing them every day, let alone wasting time on a tour. For students, the school was nowhere near as fun as the outside world.

Tan Xiao tried to persuade Wen Yi: “Think about it, the holidays in senior year are already scarce, we only get one evening self-study session off, and by the time the college entrance exam comes around, we only have two month-long breaks! Excluding the month-long breaks, there are less than ten weekends!”

The holidays in senior year are indeed very few; on weekends, the school only gives a half-day off on Saturday afternoon, and the month-long break is just a day and a half. He didn’t have much time to accompany Wen Yi outside of school.

Although their relationship could be more open and honest after graduation, the time spent in school would become a beautiful memory long after. If they only remembered the school scenes from one semester, that sounded a bit sad, didn’t it?

Tan Xiao said, “It’s six o’clock now, and we have four hours before we have to return to school by ten-thirty. Let’s not go too far, just stroll around the area.”

Generally speaking, there are commercial streets near schools. Speaking of which, he hadn’t strolled around the vicinity of Yuying High School since the start of the school year. After all, he had been very busy since the beginning of the school year, and all his time had been devoted to studying and Wen Yi.

Wen Yi fell silent. The instance time was short, and unless he forcefully kept Tan Xiao, the other party would definitely leave. What Tan Xiao said was like a beautiful dream to him, a future they could never have.

Seeing him silent for a while, with a somewhat pale face, Tan Xiao reached out and touched Wen Yi’s forehead. The temperature was normal, even slightly cool. “You’re not running a fever. Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable? If you’re not feeling well, we can go back and rest.”

Although he really wanted to go out and have fun, clearly Wen Yi’s health was more important than the joy of playing games.

Wen Yi shook his head. “No.”

He agreed to Tan Xiao’s suggestion: “Let’s go out and have some fun later.”

“Are you really okay?” Tan Xiao looked worried, “Don’t push yourself too hard. If not, you should go back and catch up on sleep. You haven’t slept much these past two days.”

Tan Xiao’s health had always been excellent; he was the kind of person who looked vibrant and exceptionally healthy. But Wen Yi was the complete opposite, with a pale complexion, thin and frail, looking like someone who wasn’t in good health. It was just that Wen Yi was so restless in bed that he easily overlooked the fact that his little boyfriend might actually be quite fragile.

Thinking this way, he couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty: “Let’s not go out, let’s go back to the dorm and sleep.” Of course, when he mentioned sleeping, he meant it literally, just pure sleep.

Upon hearing this, Wen Yi insisted, “I know my own body. There might not be any more days off after this, so let’s go out today.”

The two of them took half an hour to finish a big bowl of claypot rice noodles, then slowly walked towards the school gate. Although they weren’t holding hands, their actions were quite intimate, with arms draped over each other’s shoulders.

They were both tall and long-legged, especially Tan Xiao’s face, which stood out even more in the crowd while wearing a school uniform.

On the other side, after the player group finished their meeting, they split into six teams, planning to check in at six different places. Since the experimental building was directly opposite the school gate, Xia Yizhen spotted Tan Xiao in the crowd at a glance.

Seeing her expression, Dong Hu, who was in charge of leading the team, reminded her, “This is just a game instance, don’t develop any feelings for the NPCs in the game.”

They would only stay here for ten days, and now there were only seven days left. He didn’t quite understand Xia Yizhen’s true feelings.

Xia Yizhen shook her head: “No… I look at him because of his name.”

She hesitated: “That classmate has the same name as the big shot Tan Xiao.”

Dong Hu was taken aback. As a top player, he naturally paid attention to Tan Xiao. As soon as the system announcement came out, Dong Hu extended an invitation to Tan Xiao to join the organization he had established, but the other party was very indifferent. Even during the second time entering the game, Tan Xiao remained unresponsive to him.

The other party’s lack of subtlety inevitably displeased Dong Hu. It was just an S-rank score in a beginner’s dungeon. “Plague Infection” was said to be a large-scale urban disaster-type dungeon, and there were no supernatural elements. As long as one was lucky enough to play a noble, they could get a high score. An S-rank based on luck wasn’t anything impressive.

Dong Hu looked at Tan Xiao’s face, which was even younger and more handsome than his own, and couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy. His voice turned serious: “Class 8 already has five players. Each class has five players. He should just be an NPC with the same name.”

Under his watchful gaze, Tan Xiao and another NPC walked to the school gate and then just walked out in front of everyone.

The players all knew that the maps in the game instances had boundaries. The instances were actually independent spaces. For example, in the instance named “Hell High School,” they couldn’t leave the game boundaries of Hell High School.

If Tan Xiao were a player and forcibly left Hell High School before clearing the level, he would be erased by the instance rules.

Dong Hu’s heart sank. He instinctively used a commanding tone: “I said, he’s an NPC, don’t mind them. Let’s hurry to the laboratory building.”

The chemistry lab, physics lab, and biology lab were all in the experimental building, so they could solve two ghost stories at once. Therefore, their group naturally chose the experimental building. As for the “Missing No. 14,” this ghost story had the least information. Dong Hu’s plan was to collect data today and finish the seventh ghost story tomorrow if everything went smoothly.

Xia Yizhen naturally knew this rule. She didn’t expect Tan Xiao to be an NPC. Fortunately, she had asked her questions very subtly at the beginning and didn’t directly reveal that she was a player.

Tan Xiao actually noticed that someone was watching him, and it wasn’t just one person. However, since those gazes didn’t carry any malice, he didn’t turn around. In his previous school, he was also the center of attention, and it was normal for people to look at him a few more times on the street.

As he and Wen Yi walked out of the school gate, without Tan Xiao noticing, the space outside the school distorted for a moment. He only felt a slight blur in front of him, and then he saw a very lively street on either side of the school.

Normal players indeed could not leave the instance range of “Hell High School,” but Tan Xiao clearly did not belong to the category of normal players. He was even brought to the school by Li Li, a special instance NPC.

At this time, it was considered the evening rush hour. The main road opposite the school gate was bustling with people and cars, and the shops on the street had all lit up their signs, creating a lively and vibrant atmosphere. The aroma of hot pot and spicy hot pot wafted out from the shops, and in some of them, students in their school uniforms could be seen chatting and laughing.

For the NPCs, when the instance started, it was the only chance for day students to go out. When the school announced a break, the students naturally swarmed out, but they didn’t dare to go too far. NPCs belonging to the hell high instance who didn’t return to their territory within the school’s designated time would also be eliminated by the rules.

Tan Xiao and Wen Yi had eaten their fill in the cafeteria, so they weren’t interested in the smell of food in the air.

He saw a couple on the street holding cups of milk tea and immediately said, “Let’s go buy some milk tea to drink.”

The high school had a supermarket and a cafeteria, but the drinks were just those common canned ones. Since they were out on a date, it was only natural to drink something better while chatting and laughing.

The milk tea shop was across the street. After leaving the school, he naturally took Wen Yi’s hand and said, “The light is green, let’s cross the street.”

But after successfully crossing the street, he didn’t let go either. The two people in school uniforms looked like the most ordinary couple. Anyway, they were both boys, and as long as they didn’t kiss in front of the teacher, it wasn’t considered early love.

The sweet-smiling girl working at the milk tea shop asked, “What would you like?”

“Two cups of starlit grape lemon tea, one with half sugar and the other with full sugar, no milk foam, and both with extra boba.”

Fruit tea is a slushie type, and they can’t be served without ice. However, they can go shopping in the mall later, which definitely has heating.

Tan Xiao liked it not too sweet, so he ordered fruit tea with half sugar. But Dr. Wen preferred full sugar without a milk cap because he didn’t like things with a strong milk flavor.

Since he had ordered many times, Tan Xiao instinctively blurted it out. After ordering, he realized he had ordered for Wen Yi. He turned to Wen Yi and asked, “You drink this too, right? Do you want to change the sweetness or toppings?”

Wen Yi shook his head: “No.”

When he died, this kind of milk tea hadn’t started to become popular in the outside world. The shop at the door sold milk tea made from milk tea powder for 1 spirit coin a large cup. But until Tan Xiao appeared, Wen Yi had never stepped out of the gates of Yuying High School, even though he had the ability to do so.

When Tan Xiao opened his mouth to place an order, another thought popped into Wen Yi’s mind: “Doctor Wen.”

If Tan Xiao was so skilled at ordering two cups of milk tea, was it because of that Dr. Wen? But if Tan Xiao was a human player, his Dr. Wen shouldn’t be in this world, after all, even the streets of Hell High School were actually scenes from another dungeon.

Holding onto this sudden burst of jealousy, Wen Yi took a big gulp of the flavor that “Doctor Wen” would like. He disdainfully critiqued the doctor’s taste: “Full sugar is so sweet, it’s sickening. The lemon is sour and bitter, really hard to drink!”

Tan Xiao, on the other hand, was drinking happily. He took a big gulp and exhaled a breath with a hint of grape aroma towards Wen Yi: “I love their fruit tea the most. Their quality control is always stable, refreshing and delicious.”

Wait a minute, Wen Yi looked at the name of the store again: Spirit Realm Chain Milk Tea Shop, God’s Flavor. It was said to have game shares behind it and was present in multiple game instance scenes.

He was quite sure that this was not a store that ordinary humans would have visited, but it was also possible that Dr. Wen was a player.

Thinking of this, Wen Yi’s face darkened even more.

Tan Xiao noticed Wen Yi’s unhappiness: “Are you really not feeling unwell?”

“No.”

Wen Yi’s competitive spirit had intensified; Dr. Wen was already a thing of the past. Even if it was only for a few short days, he wanted to create more beautiful memories with Tan Xiao, and make them so profound that Tan Xiao would never want to escape from him for a lifetime!

He tightened his grip on the cup in his hand: “Let’s go to the mall next door.”

This street connected to a very large mall, and the entire second floor was filled with amusement venues.

Tan Xiao nodded and decided to go to the mall first.

However, he didn’t go straight to the mall counter. Instead, he and Wen Yi picked out a watch for themselves at the first-floor counter.

Students were allowed to wear watches, and it was fine if they were a bit more stylish. However, the school supermarket only sold those ugly electronic watches. Tan Xiao thought the quality of the goods the owner stocked was too poor, so when he saw the counter in the mall, he couldn’t help but want to buy a gift for Wen Yi.

He had his eye on two men’s watches: “Take a few out for me to try on.”

If other players were present, they would casually use the system to scan and discover that many of the watches sold at the mall counters were actually useful system items! But not all players could bring spirit coins out with them, and even if they could, they couldn’t afford them at this stage.

In most instances, the assets of the NPCs that players control wouldn’t just transform into their own assets. Unlike Tan Xiao, who could bring out as much as he earned.

But Tan Xiao couldn’t see the system panel; to him, these were just ordinary watches.

Tan Xiao admired Wen Yi’s hand: “You look good wearing this!”

Tan Xiao and Wen Yi put on the same watch, adjusted the straps, and with a grand gesture, Tan Xiao said to the clerk, “I’ll take these two, I’ll pay.”

He didn’t choose any brand-name watches; the price was around a thousand spirit coins, which wasn’t considered an expensive gift for a student at Yuying High School. After all, most students at Yuying High School seemed to come from well-off families.

Bought matching couple watches, and with a satisfied smile, he led Wen Yi inside. After walking a few steps, they stopped in front of a claw machine.

As a guy, he wanted to show off in front of his boyfriend and see him in action!

He scanned the code to play the claw machine. The first try… failed! The second try… failed again.

His smile turned into a bitter expression: “I haven’t played in a while, I’m a bit rusty…”

Tan Xiao wasn’t bragging; he had been a claw machine expert since middle school. He never came back empty-handed, and it had to be because the mall owner was too greedy and the machine’s claw was too loose! He clearly grabbed those dolls, but it was as if the dolls were escaping on their own. The parabolic trajectory when they fell didn’t even follow the laws of physics!

Wen Yi glanced at him, and a swirl of black energy attached itself to the claw: “Try again.”

Tan Xiao tried once more, and this time the machine suddenly flashed red several times. The loose claw firmly grabbed a large handful of dolls.

The machine emitted a beeping sound, and all the dolls piled up at the exit, suddenly spilling out a lot of dolls.

His eyes were squinting with laughter: “I told you I was amazing!”

Tan Xiao wasn’t greedy and didn’t plan to clear out the entire mall of stuffed toys. After taking a photo of his haul, he stuffed all the toys that had fallen out into a milk tea bag and then handed all the successfully grabbed toys to Wen Yi: “All for you.”

Looking at the large pile of toys in his hands, Wen Yi’s lips curled up, and the bitterness brought by the fruit tea in his heart turned into a faint sweetness: Even though Dr. Wen was Tan Xiao’s past, the current Tan Xiao belonged to him.

These dolls, which were originally difficult to catch, were of course secondary props.

[Decoy Doll: Each doll can absorb one instance of damage]

For an existence like Wen Yi, the power of the dolls was weak, but for players, they were very useful items.

These precious props, Tan Xiao unhesitatingly gave them all to himself. Perhaps when he was young and naive, he liked that cunning and treacherous old man, but now he clearly loved himself.

The past is not important; the present is what matters. He not only wanted the present but also Tan Xiao’s future.