“Lao Lin’s been completely hooked, hasn’t he?”
“The BYD romance arc is moving so fast, not even a hint of push-and-pull. Is this even the same anime I’ve been watching?”
“I want to touch Lao Lin’s trophy too.”
Lin Zhen made it back to the dorm right on time and collapsed onto his bed.
“Chicha, did you hear everything just now?”
“I did. If you want, I can help you save it, then play it during your wedding,” Chicha replied, unable to fully hide the amusement in its voice.
“No, no, no,” Lin Zhen hurriedly shook his head.
“Alright, last five seconds. Next time you want to contact me, wait at least three months. If you keep opening channels on the Divine Hands Society network, the firewall will definitely notice.”
“Got it,” Lin Zhen whispered back, closing his eyes as his consciousness slowly drifted into sleep.
But tonight was different from all the others.
He didn’t sleep well. For once, he had a dream—and it was a strange one.
In his dream, there was a blue-haired girl whose face he couldn’t quite see, strolling with him across the trash planet, laughing with him in front of his grandparents, and doing some rather unusual things together…
Of course, as for exactly what those things were, or how it felt, Lin Zhen had already forgotten by the time he opened his eyes the next morning. All he remembered was that it felt comfortable, and that living like that was truly happy.
“Why did I have a dream like that? Was it because of what happened last night?”
Lying on his bed, Lin Zhen quietly replayed the memory, his face tinged with red.
After a while, he climbed out of bed, ready for breakfast.
But suddenly he felt a deep discomfort in his lower half, and a look of guilt flashed across his face.
“I actually wet the bed?”
He hurried off the bed, hunched over as he shuffled to the bathroom for a shower.
“Six hundred sixty-six, that’s insane!”
“First we had Shinji Ikari’s takeoff in the hospital, now we have Lao Lin. I hereby nominate both as the two great gods of the anime world.”
“Don’t be cringe, Lao Lin is way more of a man than Shinji Ikari. It’s a totally normal biological thing, okay?”
“A nocturnal emission?”
Watching this ridiculous scene play out, Yun Ruoxi, who had been pretending to sleep, couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Her shoulders shook with barely-suppressed laughter.
Last night, she’d just wanted to push up Lin Zhen’s affection a bit more, but who would’ve thought that a little teasing would get such a reaction out of him?
Boys at this age really were interesting, though she could only tease him for a few more months.
Hopefully, next time they meet, Lin Zhen won’t have forgotten her—or found someone new.
Yun Ruoxi wasn’t all that concerned about Lin Zhen’s love life.
She was just worried that, during the gap between Season One and Season Two, if Lin Zhen really did get a girlfriend, she’d have to come up with a way to reestablish herself as the “female lead” in front of the audience.
How troublesome.
“Alright, time to get up. I have to act like the brainwashing is over today.”
Thinking this, Yun Ruoxi rubbed her face and quietly sat up.
But just then, a sharp pain suddenly twisted in her stomach, wave after wave.
“What is this? Did I eat something bad?”
Clutching her stomach, Yun Ruoxi’s expression turned miserable.
Her beautiful brows knitted in an instant, and she curled up, shrinking back under her covers.
But the pain didn’t ease with time; instead, an even stranger sensation started to wash over her.
Helpless, Yun Ruoxi activated her pain suppression, finally freeing herself from the cramps.
Then, almost unconsciously, she reached down and checked her hand.
She stared in shock. “No way? It can’t be this much of a coincidence?”
Realizing the possibility, Yun Ruoxi’s face filled with disbelief as she suddenly threw back her blanket, gazing at the bedsheet now stained with blood-red plum blossoms.
Only then did she have to accept reality.
Her period had come.
And it was on the very same day that Lin Zhen had his nocturnal emission.
“It has to be the plot correction at work! It has to be! There’s no way it could be this much of a coincidence otherwise!”
Yun Ruoxi gritted her teeth, her face a little pale, feeling as if all her starlight energy was flowing away with the blood, leaving her weak.
She opened her system panel and found that her starlight energy index now had a new “-10%” negative effect.
She couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.
“To think your combat ability gets nerfed when you’re on your period—what a garbage setting, this really is an anime world.”
“Damn it, the bleeding’s getting worse.”
Yun Ruoxi was afraid that if she delayed any longer, her bed would turn into a crime scene in more ways than one.
She hurried to wake Aili.
She told her to go to logistics and get a special pair of underwear and a new set of bedsheets for her.
With this world’s advanced technology, they no longer used traditional sanitary products. Instead, there were underwear made from absorbent materials—a small blessing in the midst of misfortune.
“Okay, sis, I’ll go right now!”
“Oh, and you should probably get one for yourself too.” Remembering that Aili was probably old enough now, Yun Ruoxi quickly added.
“Got it!”
A while later, Aili returned with the underwear, and Yun Ruoxi immediately hunched over and made her way to the bathroom.
Thinking about how she’d just been laughing at Lin Zhen, only to end up with her own embarrassing problem now, all she could say was: this moment is truly a reflection of that moment.
Karma really does come around.
Fortunately, the camera wasn’t on her right now; otherwise, Yun Ruoxi really might have passed out from embarrassment.
“System, is there a skill to get rid of periods?”
[Starlight Rank Three users can remove period effects.]
“I still have to reach Rank Three…”
Yun Ruoxi grimaced as she changed her clothes.
Starlight Rank Three required a minimum starlight energy index of 1000—almost six times what she had now.
No way she’d get there any time soon.
“Whatever, I’ll just tough it out. At least I have pain suppression.”
Once again, Yun Ruoxi was grateful for the existence of pain suppression.
She quickly finished changing, left the bathroom, and was immediately greeted by Aili, who grinned and sidled up to her.
“Sis, sis, congrats on growing up!”
“Oh? And what’s that supposed to mean?” Yun Ruoxi stopped in her tracks.
“My mom told me that getting your period is the first step for a girl to grow up,” Aili nodded vigorously.
At this, Yun Ruoxi remembered the cramps, her face paling as she lightly bit her lip. “Mm, well, if I could, I’d never want to grow up!”
“You have to, though!”
Aili took Yun Ruoxi’s hand. “Come on, sis! I just ran into A Zhen on the way, he asked you to join him for breakfast, and later you’ll go train together!”
“Really?” Yun Ruoxi forced a smile.
She hadn’t expected that after Lin Zhen dreamed about her just yesterday, today he could act like nothing had happened and invite her over.
Guess that’s what being the main character is all about—his shamelessness really is something else.
The two of them hurried to the cafeteria.
Lin Zhen and the others were already there, the table piled high with a mountain of all sorts of breakfast foods.
Starlight users burned a lot of energy using their abilities, so their appetites were enormous—everyone was a big eater.
“Over here!”
Lin Zhen had been watching the entrance the whole time.
When he spotted the two girls walk in, he immediately got up to call them over.