Chapter 35: If I Go Bald, Will You Still Love Me? (End)

From the age of two to eighteen, his world was confined to a small black room. After turning eighteen, he was finally allowed to step out of that room, yet he still could not leave the boundaries of the school. This place was nothing less than a cage, imprisoning him for a century.

Bai Yao sat up, her eyes curved in a smile, her face radiant with laughter. “Honestly, the world outside isn’t all that great. There are far too many unpleasant people; it’s actually more fun here at school.”

Shen Ji stared at Bai Yao in a daze. “I... I thought you’d blame me...”

He had hidden her heart within his own body, which meant Bai Yao could never stray too far from him. It was, without a doubt, a selfish act. But just as the only way he knew to express his love was to do joyful things with her, when he wanted her by his side, this was the only direct and forceful thing he could think to do.

Had it been anyone else, they would have said, “You can’t limit my freedom,” and played the endless game of chase and escape. But by some stroke of luck, he had met Bai Yao.

Bai Yao deliberately put on a fierce expression and said, “Of course I blame you! It’s all your fault, I’m all dirty now. I’m going back to take a bath!”

She placed his heart in his hand and stood up, nearly collapsing from weak legs. Shen Ji hurried after her to support her. Indeed, Bai Yao was covered in a bit of dust, all thanks to him. He was timid, most afraid of her anger, and watched her cautiously, wanting to beg for mercy but too scared to speak.

Bai Yao brushed off his hand and walked to the door. She paused and turned back to ask, “Do you want to bathe together?”

Shen Ji’s eyes lit up as if he would float away. “Yes!”

The next day, Bai Yao entered the classroom just in time, her steps unsteady, nearly late. As soon as she sat down, she slumped over her desk, eyes closed, trying to rest. She shouldn’t have spoiled him so much; now he’d gotten clever, always carrying a little box. If he kissed her and she didn’t push him away, he would seize the opportunity without hesitation.

Lu Xiaoran asked curiously, “Yao Yao, didn’t you sleep well again last night?”

Bai Yao lazily murmured in reply.

Lu Xiaoran, lowering her voice in gossip, asked, “Is your boyfriend really that amazing?”

Bai Yao opened her eyes and glanced at her, answering with mock seriousness, “He’s gifted.”

Now it was Lu Xiaoran’s turn to feel embarrassed. She wasn’t some clueless schoolgirl; of course she knew what loving adult couples got up to. Lately, Bu Zhongyao from the class next door had looked just like Bai Yao, and Lu Xiaoran could easily guess what was going on.

Lu Xiaoran sighed, “Yao Yao, if Shen Ji were still the way he used to be, would you have fallen for him?”

Bai Yao knew Lu Xiaoran was really asking about the Shen Ji who had vanished.

Every class had its invisible student, and in their class, the quiet one was always bullied for his timid nature. The rest of the story was predictable—fed up with his life but powerless to change it, one midnight, he went to the art room spoken of in rumors.

By a stroke of luck, he met the anomaly from the stories. But as fate would have it, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Having lost all hope in life, someone said, “If you can kill those who bullied me, I’ll pay any price—even my life.”

The entity in the art room had no name, not even the semblance of a normal human. Yet he accepted the bargain, took over Shen Ji’s identity, and from then on bore that name.

Yesterday, as they shared a bath, Bai Yao touched his face and asked curiously, “Is this what Shen Ji looked like?”

He shook his head. “Yao Yao, this is my original face.”

The moment he took Shen Ji’s place, he erased that boy’s existence, gaining a reason to exist in the real world, and thereby was able to take on his original human appearance.

At the same time, everyone’s memory changed; the old Shen Ji’s face was wiped from their minds, replaced with the one before her now.

He’d never had a name, so he didn’t mind being called Shen Ji.

Bai Yao realized that the person she had hugged and kissed was his real face all along, and she couldn’t help but feel a subtle sense of relief.

But then she thought of something else. “Does that mean you’ve taken over other people before?”

He nodded, counting on his fingers. “Seventy-three years ago, I was the class sports rep in Class One. Sixty-nine years ago, I was the academic rep in Class Four. Fifty years ago, I was the math teacher. Forty-five years ago, I was the school beauty...”

The more Bai Yao listened, the deeper her frown grew.

Being a sports rep was plausible—after all, he was athletic. But an academic rep, a math teacher—surely he must have led his students astray! And the school beauty? That was a leap across genders!

Seeing her frown, Shen Ji hurriedly stopped, inwardly glad he hadn’t mentioned being the cafeteria lady. To change the subject, he offered, “Yao Yao, let me show you a magic trick! See, when I peel back my skin, this is what’s inside!”

The skin of the young man split open, revealing a black humanoid form with magma-like lines, burning and dangerous.

Bai Yao shrieked, “Change it back right now!”

Shen Ji frantically returned to normal, at a loss. “Yao Yao, did I scare you?”

Bai Yao stood up in the bathtub and kicked him hard in the face. “Idiot! The water’s about to boil! You’re going to scald me to death!”

The water bubbled frantically, testament to its heat.

Even after being kicked, Shen Ji didn’t get angry. As Bai Yao lifted her leg, he gazed at her beauty, feeling his heart flutter, and cheekily asked, “Yao Yao, can you kick me again?”

All she said at the time was, “Get out!”

No matter how romantic the moment, with Shen Ji, things always ended in chaos.

The sunlight outside the window was warm and gentle.

Thinking back to Lu Xiaoran’s question, Bai Yao sat up, rested her chin on her hand for a long moment, and finally said, “I love the Shen Ji who is here now; it has nothing to do with who he was before.”

Lu Xiaoran seemed to half understand.

Suddenly, a blue panel appeared before Bai Yao’s eyes. She blinked, thinking she must be mistaken, and looked to Lu Xiaoran, but her friend saw nothing, only smiled back at her.

Bai Yao looked again.

[Congratulations, Host. Strategy successful. Would you like to leave this world?]

Below was a line of small text: [If you choose ‘No’, you must wait until death to transfer to the next world. Once you leave, all your memories and emotions from this world will be erased.]

The teacher entered and began the lesson, and the classroom quieted down.

Bai Yao, sensing something, gazed out the window.

Amid the dappled shadows, a boy sat on a branch, swinging his legs aimlessly. By chance, his eyes met the girl’s through the glass. He clutched his chest, as if his heart had been startled, like a child who’d done something wrong. The jerky in his hand was forgotten, and he dared not take another bite.

He had always tried to be invisible, never expecting to be caught peeking by the girl inside.

He feared she would be angry, but instead, she smiled at him.

She mouthed two words.

He tilted his head in confusion.

Bai Yao chuckled, turned back to the blue panel, and without hesitation, pressed “No” between “Yes” and “No.”

Outside the window, the innocent boy finally understood that the words she’d mouthed were—“Fool.”

He pursed his lips, grumbling to himself that he wasn’t foolish at all, and took another bite of jerky. Staring at the girl in the window, his anger melted away, his legs swinging with excitement. He was happier than ever.

His Yao Yao was wonderful. Even if she called him a fool, she wouldn’t break up with him.

Truly, she loved him so much!