Underworld Player

"Dammit, I should've brought more bottles..."

It was after the last class of the day, and Bai Zhi was heading back to his apartment, holding a glass vial barely two fingers wide in his hand. Looking at the clear fluid within, he sighed regretfully.

The chemistry lab session had been uneventful. Since the lab was well-stocked with various reagents, Bai Zhi had planned to whip something up and bring it home with him, but alas, he did not have the necessary authority to take any chemicals he pleased.

It was true, "Bai Zhi" had earned his place at the university by virtue of his excellent academic performance, but so did many of his peers, and in this much bigger pond, he had been surpassed by a few of his classmates. Besides, "Bai Zhi's" grades had tanked, owing to his addiction to video games. Could someone without the privileges of being top student be allowed to freely access the school's resources?

Preposterous.

"Hmm... I have no choice but to reinstate myself as one of the academic elites as soon as possible. That way, I can also secure some funding from scholarships..." Bai Zhi stroked his chin thoughtfully as he laid down plans for the immediate future.

"...Huh?"

While he was deep in thought, he ended up at the empty lot in front of the Teachers' Residence, where he noticed something.

A schoolboy carrying a bag, who looked like they had just been let out of school, seemed to be chasing his own shadow and making a thoroughly fun game of it.

Bai Zhi thought it all childish, but gave the kid a wide berth anyway, just in case the kid stepped on his shadow*.

At that very moment, not far from Bai Zhi, Lin XiaoYi was hiding in a corner diligently writing the words "Young At Heart" into a notebook.

Next to Lin XiaoYi, her involuntary companion Xia Wen buried her face into her hands as she lamented, "XiaoYi… I think you're taking this too far."

"If people ever found out that we were stalkers, nobody will want to marry me, not even in my next life..."

"Who says we're stalking?" Lin XiaoYi spoke with all seriousness, waving the ball-point pen in her hand around for emphasis. "This is just run-of-the-mill reconnaissance, my dear.

"Besides, I already told you, Bai Zhi is a higher being who protects this school while completely hiding his abilities and true identity! The truth is the world is full of monsters, and if not for Bai Zhi, the school would long since have been overwhelmed by a ton of supernatural incidents!"

"But—Just— No matter how you look at him, that guy is a complete reprobate! I bet you made everything up because you're obsessed with him!"

Xia Wen was practically pulling her hair out as she glared wildly at her best friend, who seemed hopelessly lost to her.

"All that about another 'me' who went with you to the cafeteria, that guy saving you from this other 'me's' attack, how that useless video game addict was secretly some kind of monster-busting guardian angel... You must have read too many of those webnovels on your phone and become delusional, right?"

"No, I get why you'd think that," Lin XiaoYi responded with calm assurance as she tapped the pen lightly on her notebook. "That's why I brought you along to prove it! Seeing is believing, after all.

"I would never have believed such urban legends either, if I hadn't experienced it for myself. But I did! And now I know the hidden truth about the world. Us normies are always threatened by ever-present danger, and it's thanks to people like Bai Zhi who selflessly hold back the darkness without revealing their identity that we are able to go on living our lives," she declared.

Finally, she added, "My deduction is flawless. The world is getting increasingly dangerous, and I may not know when or how I might die, but I know it's coming. I don't want to have my head buried in the sand when it happens!"

"Okay, okay, even if what you're saying is all true, then what?" Xia Wen shrugged helplessly. "You sure you want to turn around and win that guy over? Just think about what would happen when the news gets out—your reputation as campus belle will be totally ruined! Please reconsider, O Lady Lin!"

"So be it! As if I, or anyone, cares about that! All those boys fawning over me need to get a life. Can't they take a leaf from Bai Zhi's book and do something important instead?"

Lin XiaoYi quirked her mouth in annoyance, but quickly turned morose.

"If only it were that easy to win him over... He literally just rejected me, and quite firmly too. That's why I need you, to be my wingman, you know?"

"Ah... Whatever do you mean?" Xia Wen answered in a deadpan voice, her face devoid of any expression. "You are the beautiful and brilliant campus belle. If you make the first move, any man should be over the moon with joy. I've seen just how persistent that guy used to be when he was after you.

"You just need to believe in yourself, go right up to him and confess. Even if he takes advantage of you, it won't be physically, but financially. I'll be waiting with open arms when you come crying back, hon."

"Shut up, you're teasing me." Lin XiaoYi rolled her eyes at Xia Wen as she pocketed her ballpoint pen. However, she soon looked thoughtful.

"Oh... actually, what you said might just work..."

"No way! You're really going to give yourself up just like that? I was being sarcastic!" Xia Wen exclaimed agitatedly.

"You can't trust a man before he's shown you his heart! What if he turns out to be worse than the rumors? I don't wanna have to see you crying and wailing at the abortion clinic!"

"Oh fuck off, you're exaggerating now!" Clearly irritated, Lin XiaoYi aimed a chop at Xia Wen's head with her notebook, but at the same time, there was a hint of self-doubt in her voice. "He was my knight in shining armor, but you had to turn such a romantic figure into a revolting creep. He's not the brute you think he is! Do you want me to slap some sense into you?!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, already defending your lover so soon? Haven't you heard, 'only fools rush in'?"

Xia Wen looked disappointed as she nimbly dodged another attack from the indignant Lin XiaoYi.

"What folly is love, that makes fools of even the wise— Hey, no fair, ambushing me like that! Foul! Foul!"

*There is a Chinese belief that harming ones shadow harms the person. Having one's shadow stepped on is akin to getting cursed...