Chapter 6: This Time, There's No Escape-Huh? This Isn't a Dating Sim?(Mouth with three corners)

As soon as the betting opened, the number of participants surged like a tidal wave. However, unlike the previous time when one option overwhelmingly dominated the other, this time, the viewers' bets were spread quite evenly across the four options—

Option [1. Qiqi] received 19.32% of the wagers.

Option [2. Xiaowei] garnered 21.19%.

Option [3. Both in his arms] accounted for 23.69% of the bets.

And the final option, [4. None, let me enjoy this pleasant night alone], soared to 35.80%.

It seemed that, although the live chat was flooded with comments about the campus belle's beauty, the silent majority preferred to wait for Daxiong's choice.

Wen Nan had no idea about the betting proportions among the options; he had closed the system as soon as the betting began.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Wu Yuwei pressed, "Her or me? I want just one answer from you."

She was so eager for Wen Nan to make his choice because Wu Yuwei was confident that if it came down to a choice between her and Liu Qi, everyone would undoubtedly pick her.

Liu Qi herself shared this assessment, though she was reluctant to admit it. She knew she wasn't as pretty as Wu Yuwei, nor as popular with the boys. She didn't possess the cunning—pretending to fall, feigning weakness, or shifting blame—that Wu Yuwei had just displayed.

She never stood a chance in this contest.

Ye Jiu would never choose her.

Even though she and Ye Jiu had grown up together as childhood friends, even though she was the first to go on a date with him, even though they had just kissed under the starlight...

All of that paled beside the campus belle's confession and a single bold kiss.

Rather than passively becoming a loser, it was better to leave with dignity.

At this thought, Liu Qi's eyes reddened. She forced her eyes wide, determined not to let her tears fall, and tried to keep her voice from trembling. "Brother, what's there to hesitate about? Just pick Xiaowei. If it were me, I'd pick her too."

As soon as she spoke, Wen Nan and Wu Yuwei both turned to look at her.

Liu Qi gave them a bright smile and waved her hand. "You should take her to the infirmary."

She glanced at her phone, then exaggerated a look of surprise. "Oh no, my aunt is here and waiting for me at the school gate. I have to go find her."

With that, she hurriedly turned around and jogged to the edge of the stands, head down, stuffing the bottles of "confession drinks" she had collected over the past few months back into her backpack one by one.

Faint footsteps echoed behind her, growing more distant.

Her brother had left with Wu Yuwei.

That's good.

With such a beautiful girlfriend by his side, her brother would surely be the envy of everyone on campus.

As for her confession tonight, let it be a joke, a moment to laugh off.

Love? She had no interest in it.

It had barely begun and already brought so much trouble; she wanted nothing to do with such a mess.

She would return to her former carefree, studious life.

How wonderful that would be.

Only, why was the wind so strong tonight, blowing bricks into her eyes—how irritating.

Tears slid down her cheeks one by one, dropping onto her backpack and leaving dark, wet stains.

Liu Qi rubbed at the stains with her thumb, but they wouldn't come clean. In the end, she simply hugged her backpack, squatted down, and curled up tightly like a little sparrow.

She lifted her hand and wiped her face with the back of her hand, but the more she wiped, the more the tears fell.

She tried her best not to sob aloud.

But her chest felt so tight, her throat choked, and her shoulders and chest trembled uncontrollably.

She didn't know how long had passed when a figure slowly approached.

The person stood against the light, the streetlamp behind casting a shadow that enveloped Liu Qi.

Above her head came a soft chuckle.

"Weren't you acting so magnanimous just now? What, I've only been gone two minutes, and you're already hiding here, crying by yourself?"

Wen Nan squatted down in front of Liu Qi, reaching up to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Liu Qi turned her head away, refusing his touch, sobbing as she stammered, "Didn't you—didn't you leave with her? Don't—don't you want me anymore? Why did you—why did you come back?"

"Silly girl, when did I ever say I didn't want you?" Wen Nan gently rubbed the top of her head. "I just took her to the infirmary, and as soon as I was done, I came right back for you."

Qiqi looked up in a daze, her tear-filled eyes gazing at Wen Nan. "You—you didn't pick her?"

Wen Nan shook his head. "I turned her down."

Qiqi couldn't believe her ears; her reddened eyes widened, staring at Wen Nan like a startled fawn. "Then—you'll pick me?"

Wen Nan nodded seriously. "Yes."

"Ah—"

The sobs she had held back for so long finally burst forth. Qiqi opened her mouth and began to wail loudly.

Wen Nan was taken aback, then couldn't help but laugh. "Why are you crying even harder now? Look, your nose is all runny—you look like a silly little piglet."

"You're the silly little pig!"

Qiqi retorted, wrapping her arms tightly around Wen Nan's neck as if afraid he would leave her again, hugging him so hard that Wen Nan could barely breathe.

Wen Nan hugged her back, gently rubbing her hair. "Alright, don't cry anymore."

[He actually chose Qiqi?]

[Damn, I bet wrong again.]

[Damn it, all my coins are gone tonight.]

[Me too, this stream is cursed.]

[Seriously suspecting the streamer is fixing the bets.]

[Damn scammer, reporting you.]

[Wait, would a streamer really risk everything just to fix the odds? He actually turned down the campus belle? Doesn't he know the consequences of rejecting her?]

[What consequences?]

[A fate worse than death!]

[Is it that serious? When the streamer kissed Qiqi earlier, people said the same thing. I believed it, waited for the drama, but instead of a feast, I just got fed a ton of dog food.]

[Yeah, this streamer seems like a hidden pro—he can handle a three-and-a-half star female ghost like Qiqi with ease. Wu Yuwei is only three stars; he should be fine.]

[No, you guys didn't notice? Wu Yuwei is a bodily fluid-type female ghost.]

[Bodily fluid-type?! No wonder her description says she's 'juicy'...]

[What's a bodily fluid-type female ghost?]

[It means when these ghosts are stimulated, they secrete large amounts of fluids, releasing potent pheromones into the air. If there are other female ghosts nearby, they'll instantly go berserk, and their aggression towards the target will increase by 300%!]

[So the campus belle is basically an AOE damage buff?]

[That's one way to put it.]

[She only has three stars because her buff can't affect herself, and usually, a player only picks one target, so even if she releases pheromones, it's not a big deal.]

[Wait, but... the streamer picked five targets at once!]

[Exactly... that's the real problem.]

[So, by rejecting the campus belle, the streamer probably triggered her to release a ton of fluids?]

[No 'probably' about it—look at those black clouds over the campus. She's already released her pheromones.]

[Shit, Ye Jiu has four female ghosts around him—is he about to have them all go berserk at once?]

[Looks like it.]

[There's no escaping this one.]

[Praying hands]

[Candle]

...

In the live chat, the barrage of messages was now a flood of prayers and offerings for the streamer.