Chapter 107 105. The Awakening of the Tool Character [Bonus Chapter]
Under the dim glow of the stadium lights, An Han crouched beside Wang Sheng, binding their left and right legs together with silk scarves.
He and Wang Sheng had always gotten along fairly well—they were bunkmates, often sat side by side gaming on their computers, and Wang Sheng’s naturally submissive personality meant An Han never really felt the urge to bully him.
An Han preferred teasing people like Wu Dongming—those who gave strong, dramatic reactions.
“All set!”
Their legs now tightly bound, An Han stood up and glanced at Wang Sheng, whose face was slightly flushed.
Why the hell are you blushing?!
Annoyed but choosing to ignore it, An Han said, “On three—start slow. One, two, go!”
“Mm.”
They took their first steps together, awkwardly syncing their rhythm. Wang Sheng carefully mimicked An Han’s stride—step for step—and their initial walking went surprisingly smoothly.
“Now, let’s jog.”
After just a few paces, An Han was yanked off balance and tumbled to the ground.
“I—I was too slow! Are you okay?” Wang Sheng stammered, panic in his voice.
“It’s fine. Again.”
Less than half a minute later, An Han hit the turf once more.
Neither fall was serious, but An Han turned to Wang Sheng, puzzled. Visually, their legs were nearly the same length—their stride widths should’ve matched. So why did they keep tripping the moment they tried to run?
Wang Sheng scratched his head, utterly embarrassed. “Maybe… you should ask someone else? Dong Ming next door?”
“Dong Ming? Forget it.” An Han brushed himself off and stood. “Let’s keep going.”
About half an hour later, An Han finally accepted the grim truth: Wang Sheng genuinely had zero athletic coordination.
After being thrown to the ground seven or eight times, An Han sat slumped on the grass, hands covering his face, letting out occasional groans of despair.
Wang Sheng hovered nearby, watching his expression with anxious caution.
“It’s fine,” An Han suddenly looked up and reassured him with a forced smile. “I just need to show up at the meet—results don’t matter. Participation is what counts, right? We can literally walk across the finish line if we have to.”
“But that’d be so embarrassing…”
“It’s actually the safest plan!”
If only An Kexin hadn’t already submitted the finalized roster—An Han would’ve switched to a solo event in a heartbeat.
“We still have two days left. If we practice half an hour every night, we’ll improve,” An Han said, doing his best to bury his frustration and flash Wang Sheng a bright, confident grin.
【Wang Sheng’s Affection +5】
That brought Wang Sheng’s total to 60.
An Han wasn’t surprised. Long-term close proximity with any male inevitably raised their affection toward him.
If Wang Sheng’s affection rose by less than 10 points per day over the next two training sessions, that was still within acceptable limits.
…He really was digging his own grave deeper and deeper.
What if it crossed 80…?
An Han silently undid the scarf around his leg and stuffed it into his pocket.
He’d technically cleared the first obstacle of defying the system—but unease gnawed at him. He pulled out his phone and checked the weather forecast for Wednesday.
No typhoons. No heavy rain. No abnormal heatwave.
The sports meet almost certainly wouldn’t be canceled.
“You keep staring at me—aren’t you going back to game?” An Han looked up to find Wang Sheng still standing beside him.
Wang Sheng hesitated, head down. “Maybe… you really should ask Su Peng instead? Or Long Ge? Even Junjie would work…”
He felt terrible seeing the bruises already forming on An Han’s arms from all the falls.
An Han waved it off with exaggerated patience. “It’s fine. We’ll get better with practice.”
“Did you… have a fight with Su Peng?”
An Han’s expression froze. He frowned, turned away, and muttered, “Who knows what weird mood he’s in? Suddenly decided not to join.”
And most likely, he just didn’t want to team up with *me*. He’d still run his individually registered 3,000-meter race, no doubt.
An Han still couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong. Or maybe Su Peng just hated the three-legged race itself?
Or—was the system manipulating Su Peng’s mind?! That damn system was absolutely capable of something like that!
“Should I go ask him for you?”
“Do whatever.”
After Wang Sheng left, An Han flopped onto his back on the grass, gazing up at the pitch-black night sky.
Lights-out was still an hour away—he needed this time to sort out his next move.
The original task was clear: *Do not participate in the sports meet.* Labeled as the hardest option, it clearly wasn’t as simple as it sounded.
But now that he was *insisting* on participating, logically, that difficulty shouldn’t affect him anymore.
So… the real challenge must now come from the system’s forced enforcement.
Would it manufacture coincidences to prevent his participation? Or directly hijack his body or mind to refuse competing?
Lost in thought, An Han suddenly sensed a dark figure sit down beside him.
He turned his head—and saw Su Peng, who’d somehow appeared at his side without a sound.
“Huh?”
Wang Sheng had gone back to the dorm to look for Su Peng… so how was Su Peng already here on the field?
An Han wanted to ask what was going on—but staring at Su Peng’s face, he found himself at a loss for words.
“…So you asked Wang Sheng to replace me?”
“Yeah. What else was I supposed to do? You said you weren’t joining. Or should I tell you to skip your 3,000-meter race too?”
He realized too late that his tone had turned sharp and sarcastic—though he genuinely felt calm inside.
“….”
“You just don’t want to run with me, is that it?” An Han couldn’t keep the anger out of his voice.
Su Peng suddenly laughed. “Aren’t you always like this?”
“Me? What do you mean?!”
“During National Day break—wasn’t it *you* who kept clinging to me, demanding I hang out? And then suddenly ordered me to get lost?”
“I never—!” An Han’s eyes darted away, guilt flooding him.
That was because your affection started spiking the moment you saw me in that chest wrap! I was protecting myself!
“After the holiday, you kept giving me the hot-and-cold treatment. Sometimes you’d stick to me all day; other times, you’d brush me off even when I came looking for you.”
“And the other night—you practically dragged me into an all-nighter of snacks and internet cafes, then completely ignored me the next day?”
An Han hung his head, nervously fiddling with the fake grass beneath his fingers.
It hit him then—he’d never really treated Su Peng as a friend. More like… a potential pervert waiting to snap, or a convenient tool to be used at will.
Oh no.
His “task tool character” had *awakened*—and was now rebelling!
His mind raced, but he couldn’t find a single reasonable excuse. All he could mutter, small and sheepish, was: “I… sometimes get in a bad mood… and don’t feel like talking to anyone.”
“But I see you laughing and joking with everyone else. Only me gets the ‘bad mood’ treatment?”
“I won’t do it again!” An Han promised fervently—lying through his teeth for the sake of the mission.
———
…Looks like I still owe two more chapters…
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