Chapter 28.1: Seminary 04.1

2ND APR 2023~SV

Bullying people —— Stepping

Wen Qing really couldn’t understand it. It was fine if his hobby was bullying people, why was it a passive hobby too?

He raised his eyes to look at Bai Tong. Bai Tong was also looking at him doubtfully.

Wen Qing slowly said, “I saw it very clearly.”

He didn’t see it wrongly.

Bai Tong smiled. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s also my first time seeing a situation like yours.”

Wen Qing pursed his lips. He turned to look at him and asked in curiosity, “Can this hobby also hint at any clues?”

Bai Tong pondered over his identity card. He tried to analyse, “A passive hobby means that it is out of your control.”

“It might need certain things, or certain people, to trigger your hobby.”

Wen Qing froze for a moment. A faint sense of unease rose in his heart.

Triggering the hobby of bullying……

Why does it sound a little weird.

After thinking for a while, Wen Qing continued to ask, “If the condition is triggered, what if I don’t go to bully others?”

“Will the system directly control my body?”

Hearing his question, Bai Tong laughed and firmly said, “No, the system just wants us to actively play the game.”

“If you don’t want to…”

Wen Qing blinked, “Nothing will happen if I don’t want to, right?”

He only wanted to complete the main task, to live for seven days.

Bai Tong helplessly reminded, “If you don’t want to, it will naturally have other ways to force you.”

Wen Qing’s eyelashes trembled. He understood. If he didn’t carry it out, there was a big chance that he would fail to clear this instance or die directly?

Wen Qing’s sight turned black. Why were the others’ hobbies so normal?!

Why was he so unlucky?

The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became.

Seeing the changes in his mood, Bai Tong’s steps paused. He said to him, “Do you want to try and bully me once?”

Wen Qing looked at him blankly. “How do I bully?”

He had never bullied anyone in this life.

Speaking of which, he had to thank System Dad for giving him the opportunity to bully others……

Bai Tong lowered his eyes. His gaze moved around his (WQ) little arms and legs.

Wen Qing’s body was thin and slender. Not to mention muscles, there wasn’t even flesh in them.

He doesn’t look like someone who can beat people up.

Bai Tong pondered for a moment. He tentatively said, “Try to hit me.”

Wen Qing slowly raised his hand and beat him on his arm.

When the warm and soft hand brushed against his arm, Bai Tong’s heart seemed to skip a beat. He was a little absentminded.

Wen Qing didn’t notice his abnormality. He tilted his head, “Like this?”

Bai Tong’s throat slightly moved. He only felt that the place on his arm that had been hit was growing warmer, growing hotter.

He turned his head, clearing his throat, “You didn’t use strength at all.”

“Use a little more strength.”

Wen Qing responded, raising a hand, “I really did use strength.”

Bai Tong nodded.

Wen Qing stretched his body, using force to beat Bai Tong’s arm.

“Pa——”

A clear and loud sound rang out.

Bai Tong didn’t even blink once. “Done hitting?”

Wen Qing’s palm was red.

His palms were tingling and quivering from the pain, and the tip of his nose was uncontrollably acidic.

Wen Qing pursed his lips and tried his best to question Bai Tong with a normal tone. “How is it?”

Bai Tong looked down at his arm, and asked solemnly, “Did you use strength?”

Wen Qing silently slipped his red hand into his pocket, and muttered quietly, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction[1].”

Bai Tong was startled. “What?”

Wen Qing lowered his eyes. His morale hit rock bottom. “This hobby might not let me bully people.”

“It’s me hitting myself.”

These words sounded a little pitiful and cute. Bai Tong couldn’t help but use his hand to prop up his fist, covering the smile on his lips. “My analysis might not be right. It’s also possible that this ‘bullying’ isn’t bullying in the general sense, and there may be other implications…”

Wen Qing softly responded, reluctantly accepting Bai Tong’s consolation.

For the rest of the road, he pursed his lips and didn’t say anything.

Walking to the hall of the dormitory building, Wen Qing still had his head lowered, following Bai Tong step by step.

Bai Tong walked, he also walked.

Bai Tong stopped, he also stopped.

Bai Tong sat down, he also followed in sitting down.

Sitting on the soft sofa, Wen Qing slowly came back to his senses and glanced up.

There were sofas, tables and chairs in the dormitory building’s hall. There were several self-service vending machines beside the wall. However, these self-service vending machines had no doors and didn’t need money. The students passing by casually took snacks directly and headed upstairs with smiles.

Wen Qing was startled. The cafeteria didn’t cost money, snacks and drinks didn’t cost money and could be taken casually.

This school was simply doing charity.

He turned his head to look at Bai Tong. Bai Tong was looking at the timetable on the wall beside him.

Get up 7:00

Study 9:00 —— 11:00

Noon break 11:00 —— 14:00

Study 14:00 —— 17:00

Rest 17:00 —— 19:00

Curfew 19:00 —— Next day 7:00

Wen Qing thought he had read it wrongly when he saw the timetable at first glance.

Curfew at seven o’clock?

He carefully read it again. It really was a seven o’clock curfew.

Wen Qing couldn’t help but say, “This is too early.”

Bai Tong glanced at the gradually dimming sky outside the building with a solemn expression,

The general curfew time in middle schools and colleges was around ten o’clock in the evening. At seven o’clock in the evening, even elementary school students were still playing.

When things are abnormal, there must be demons.[2]

Bai Tong frowned. He got up and told Wen Qing, “Go upstairs and see.”

Wen Qing nodded and followed him upstairs.

The dormitory building had a total of four floors. In the passageways and corridors, men and women were laughing and playing, beating and scolding.

Wen Qing had only lived in the boys’ dormitory, and had never stepped into the girls’ dormitory before. He accidentally saw a few female students wearing garters and shorts. He didn’t know where to look, and hurried upstairs.

Just as he walked up to the fourth floor, a sweet female voice sounded before Wen Qing.

“What a coincidence, we met again so quickly.”

He raised his head and saw a girl with curved eyes.

It was Jiang Jing.

Jiang Jing smiled as she stared at Wen Qing. “Hey, we actually live on the same floor.”

“Which dormitory do you live in? I’ll come to find you at night, is that okay?”

Bai Tong coldly spoke, “Can you leave the dormitory after curfew?”

“Of course not. I mean at night before curfew.” Jiang Jing turned her head to look at him. Her eyes lit up and she cheerfully said, “Wow, I didn’t even notice you just now.”

“Do you two share a dormitory?”

“I’ll come to find both of you together at night, is that okay?”

Bai Tong didn’t expect things to develop like this. He was silent for a moment, then spat out two words. “Not okay.”

Jiang Jing pouted. “If it’s not good at night… is it good now?”

Wen Qing looked at Jiang Jing. Ignoring the contents of her words, her expression and tone were very normal, seeming like an ordinary, cute girl.

Wen Qing hesitated for a while, then took the initiative to ask her, “That… what will happen if you leave the dormitory after curfew?”

The smile on Jiang Jing’s face abruptly disappeared. She stared at Wen Qing and seriously said, “The third rule of the school, you are not allowed to leave the dormitory after curfew.”

“Violating school rules is disrespectful to God.”

Seeing her tone turn serious, Wen Qing stammeringly said, “I- I just asked because I was curious.”

Jiang Jing calmed down. She told him, “I also don’t know what will happen if you violate the school rules.”

“Since I entered the school, no one has violated the school rules.”

Wen Qing pondered on the meaning of these words. That was to say, as long as the school rules were not violated, it was safe.

He sighed in relief, and silently recited the three school rules in his heart.

Bai Tong stared at Jiang Jing for a while. He then asked, “Has no one violated the school rules before?”

Jiang Jing blinked. “How could I know people from before?”

Bai Tong slightly frowned. “How long has it been since you entered the school?”

Jiang Jing took advantage of the situation. She leaned against him, looked up and down his figure, raised her hand, tapped his shoulder with her index finger, and said with a charming smile, “It’s been a year. The seminary only enrols students every spring.”

She looked at Bai Tong, then looked at Wen Qing, and said emotionally, “You guys are really lucky, being able to catch up with the second enrollment.”

Wen Qing slowly nodded.

Yes, misfortune is also good luck.

Bai Tong still wanted to ask Jiang Jing a few questions, when the dormitory door next to the stairs suddenly opened.

A boy with strong features came out, raised his chin towards Jiang Jing and asked, “Wanna come here?”

“Sure,” Jiang Jing smiled flirtatiously. She turned to ask Bai Tong and Wen Qing, and asked again, “You really don’t want to keep me?”

Hearing this, the boy looked at Wen Qing and Bai Tong, narrowed his eyes, and ambiguously said, “Brothers, do you want to be together?”

Jiang Jing grinned. “That’s good, that’s good.”

A faint sound of water came from this dormitory. Wen Qing blushed and quickly refused.

“No- no need.”

Jiang Jing sighed in disappointment. She waved at the two of them, turned around and ran towards the boy, leaping directly onto him.

Wen Qing raised her hands and pressed his warm cheeks. With Bai Tong, he turned and walked towards 406.

When he pushed the door open, there was nobody in the dormitory. It was very quiet.

The dormitory was very big. Everybody had their own bedroom. Sofas, tables and chairs were placed in the living room, fruits and snacks were placed on the tea table, along with props and tools that even came with plaster bandages for external use…

Wen Qing was red in the face just from looking at those things.

He didn’t care about the actual situation, and put away those weird props.

Bai Tong walked around the living room, stopping in front of the room with Wen Qing’s name written on it. He twisted the lock, and his expression relaxed a little. He said to Wen Qing, “There’s no problem with the lock.”

He looked over the other two rooms again, his gaze stopping on the three large words ‘Ji Junfeng’. “Do you know who Ji Junfeng is?”

Wen Qing truthfully said, “He’s my deskmate.”

Bai Tong lowered his eyes. Wen Qing’s deskmate had no sense of presence, and he hadn’t seen Ji Junfeng’s appearance for half a day.

Wen Qing knew that Bai Tong was worried about him and slowly said, “He looks pr- pretty…”

Saying he was normal, he wasn’t normal either. Saying he wasn’t normal, Ji Junfeng’s words and actions seemed to be harmless.

Ji Junfeng looked weaker than him. He had so many injuries on him……

Wen Qing thought for a while. Unable to think of a suitable adjective, he simply said, “He won’t do anything to me.”

Compared with Ji Junfeng, he was much more afraid of Oz. He was tall and strong, it felt as though a punch could knock the lock off.

Wen Qing quietly asked Bai Tong, “Do you know Oz?”

Bai Tong closed the bedroom’s door and nodded, then shook his head. “We’ve dealt with each other before. It doesn’t count as being acquaintanced.”

“I’ve heard some stories about him. He looks cold, but he’s a madman in his bones.”

Bai Tong seriously told Wen Qing, “Don’t provoke him, and he won’t take the initiative to provoke you. He’s relatively safe.”

“Just stay a little further away from him.”

Wen Qing nodded. What had happened in the restroom during the afternoon kept replaying in his mind. 

He shouldn’t have provoked Oz, right?

He even helped him wash his face, how considerate.

Thinking up until this point, Wen Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

The bedroom had no chair. Wen Qing and Bai Tong sat on the bed for a while. Suddenly, a broadcast sounded out in the dormitory building.

“Attention all students, there is only one hour left until the curfew time.”

“For the celebration of God’s birthday, the seminary will start fasting[3] to purify the heart tomorrow.”

Footnotes

[1] – this is Newton’s third law of motion. the chinese phrase was a bit different (力的作用是相互的), but i decided to just go with a longer explanation to make things clearer. of course, if you have a better translation, please let me know!

[2] – the first part of a phrase, “事出反常必有妖，人若反常必有刀”. the first part means if things are abnormal, something must be weird, and the second part is a warning to pay attention to abnormalities in people around.

[3] – forewarning, the fasting here doesn’t refer to total abstention, it just refers to abstaining from wine, meat, etc; still a form of fasting, just not the traditional ramadan version.

SV: with all the free things, I wonder if there’s some sort of cost to it?…well, I still wish my schools were like that lmao