Yang Ruiqing’s voice wasn’t loud, but it didn’t stop the other students from gossiping. When they saw Yang Ruiqing’s expression shift and him walk over, everyone instinctively lowered their voices.

Attention subtly fell on Yang Ruiqing.

After hearing his words, the noisy classroom seemed to have been pressed to pause; it plunged into an eerie, deadly stillness.

So still you could hear a pin drop.

Only Wen Ruyu still hadn’t reacted.

Since entering the dungeon, he had only glanced at Yang Ruiqing from afar; he had never really heard his voice. So he didn’t realize at once that the words were addressed to him.

When the classroom fell completely quiet and many gazes slid toward him, he belatedly sensed something was wrong.

He raised his head inexplicably and found Yang Ruiqing standing in front of him; his slender body went rigid.

When did this person come over?

Had he just been speaking to him?

Did he say… he wouldn’t like him?

Did he misunderstand that the original liked him?

The original had long been stalking Yang Ruiqing’s social accounts, persistently pestering for photos, and when denied, following and secretly photographing him.

Wen Ruyu pressed his lips together and lowered his voice. “...I’m just here for class.”

Because his face was masked, the cold, seductive voice came through the mask with a muffled quality. That didn’t lessen how pleasant it sounded; to human ears it somehow evoked a pitiful tenderness.

Like someone being bullied yet forcing themselves not to speak up, suffering alone.

Paired with his naturally slender figure — even wrapped in oversized clothes he still seemed fragile and thin — and that plaintive voice, people couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.

Not just one person felt that way.

Everyone present did.

Even Yang Ruiqing paused for a beat.

He suppressed the odd feeling rising in his chest, frowned, and continued coldly, “Class?”

“You spent the whole lesson staring at me and you call that attending class?”

Wen Ruyu: “......”

Was his gaze that obvious?

That was hard to explain.

He couldn’t very well say, Someone wants to kill you — I’m trying to find the murderer for you.

That would only make people assume he liked him.

Wen Ruyu’s long lashes trembled. He bowed his head and mumbled softly, “I didn’t mean anything else.”

“I just thought… you’re excellent, and I wanted to learn more from you.”

Even more pitiable.

Everyone stared at the bowed figure.

The youth lowered his head as if his grievance was unbearable, refusing to let others see him embarrassed.

The thin, fragile form looked exceptionally pitiful.

Even Yang Ruiqing felt an odd twinge — had his words been too harsh?

A boy beside him had clearly had enough. He glared at the impersonal way Yang Ruiqing had treated the other and stood up angrily.

“Yang Ruiqing, don’t be excessive!”

“He just likes you and didn’t do anything to you. Do you have to humiliate him like this in public?”

Yang Ruiqing glanced at the boy as if he were beneath notice and replied coldly, “This is between me and him.”

“How is it not my business?” the boy snapped, unable to hide his displeasure. “We’re classmates. Acting like this is really lacking in manners.”

Around them, classmates paused and some tacitly agreed with the boy; their looks toward ","Yang Ruiqing","university student"] carried rebuke.

Yang Ruiqing been a bit callous.

The boy merely liked him and hadn’t affected him in any way; he even sat far in the corner, yet Yang Ruiqing publicly embarrassed him.

Completely… undeserving of the boy’s affection.

Yang Ruiqing’s still break time; this will look bad.”

Yang Ruiqing he made a scene?

He hadn’t argued. He hadn’t even been especially harsh, had he?

His gaze returned to special player protagonist pitiable act for?

Acting like he’d bullied them first.

What a villainous complaint.

Yang Ruiqing a deep breath, stifled the irritation, and looked down at Wen Ruyu didn’t offer another refusal; expressionless, he only left a single line.

“Take care of yourself.”

Break was ten minutes; no sooner had he said that than the bell rang and Yang Ruiqing.

Why did that voice sound… familiar?

Although class resumed, many eyes still covertly landed on Wen Ruyu and some pretended to talk to the back row while stealing glances toward the corner.

The boy beside Wen Ruyu looked torn, then in a muffled, caring voice asked, “Are you… okay?”

Before Wen Ruyu above everyone, super arrogant. Don’t take it to heart.”

“He acts like that to everyone; he’s not targeting you.”

["people","Wen Ruyu","special player protagonist"] pressed his lips and said nothing — mainly because he didn’t know how to respond; he didn’t actually like Yang Ruiqing liked him.

But the boy assumed Wen Ruyu crib notes — I saw him once carrying one in an exam — his roommates say he doesn’t bathe for months, never brushes his teeth.”

Wen Ruyu and he snapped shut.

entity["people","Wen Ruyu","special player protagonist"] no longer felt like chatting. The boy clearly wasn’t close to ["people","Yang Ruiqing","university student"] — maybe jealous — but not murderous. The possibility he was the killer was nearly zero.

As for ["people","Yang Ruiqing","university student"]’s affairs, Wen Ruyu phone and scrolled the school forum.

Because Yang Ruiqingqing leads final GPA gap.” “What kind of person does Yang Ruiqing like? Has anyone been with him?”

","Wen Ruyu","special player protagonist"] read through them one by one, trying to glean a clue from the fragments.

If someone hated Yang Ruiqing Wen Ruyu sleeve. A dark thought rose.

Why?

Why insist on liking Yang Ruiqing?

What’s so great about him?

Wen RuyuSee you at six.]

No note, no name — just the short line. Wen Ruyu stay away.

If he angered the killer, he might not survive, let alone find the murderer of entity["people","Yang Ruiqing","university student"].

Wen Ruyu was moving.

This building seemed… sparsely populated.

With so few people stirring, the sensors stayed off; only a handful of rooms had lights on — perhaps fewer than five.

Had the seniors gone out for internships?

It was almost six.

Wen Ruyu

Chapter 22

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