Chapter 10 - Coin

A clear voice alerted everyone to the person at the door: With lime-green eyes and white hair that reached the floor, Nurse X leaned against the frame and frowned.

—

Li YueYing felt like he'd received a divine revelation: Nurse X did exist! He looked to Zi FengXin, who… had no reaction. Other than the fear in FengXin's librarian-weary eyes, the sophomore had a blank face when watching Nurse X's entrance.

Could it be…

The memories of those around him were altered again?

But, how did Nurse X come back? The System had swallowed him without a trace; YueYing remembered this clear as day.

Nurse X, on the other hand, glared at YueYing with a hidden intention behind his eyes. YueYing perceived this as the Nurse telling him to find him in the infirmary later to ask any questions and gave a vague nod. The Nurse smiled at him before waving his hand and walking away.

The Librarian stood, then sat back down, not understanding the purpose of the Nurse's visit. Was it just to tell the students that he had a habit of choking people? Albeit by accident…

He supposed he owed the little tyrant an apology.

After all, if Li YueYing had indeed forgotten his memories as the librarian suspected, he'd need to reform this 'little tyrant' into a student befitting society. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs with a stern look to the students before him.

Zi FengXin started quaking on the spot, as expected, but Li YueYing wore a defiant expression. One the librarian had seen countless times as the little tyrant bullied students from every hall. His eyebrows furrowed in resentment.

Li YueYing watched as the librarian made a face of exasperation, then of enlightenment, then of annoyance. What was he thinking..? Holding his arms akimbo, YueYing waited for the librarian to talk.

"I'm…" After a long pause, with the only sound being Zi FengXin's body creaking from his tenseness, the librarian opened his mouth. "I apologize for choking you."

The silence in the library could freeze the tips of mountains. YueYing stared at the librarian, who stared back. This competition lasted for a long time, almost to the point where Zi FengXin felt he'd explode on the spot if it continued any longer. But before he could say anything, YueYing stepped to the librarian's desk, his shadow overcast on the hazelnut wood.

"I…" He pushed his hair back, deliberating his words. "I want to know, why did you do that? Was I… that bad of a person?"

These words confirmed the librarian's initial suspicion, and the tenseness of his rigid face softened by just a little bit. "What do you remember?"

So he thinks I lost my memory. YueYing internally sighed, lighting a traditional graveyard candle for himself in mourning for what he was about to say next.

"I don't remember anything. But FengXin told me I used to bully people severely. I know nothing beyond that."

FengXin shook his head like a maraca, backing YueYing's words.

"I see." The librarian glanced down at his own hands, intertwining them as he pondered. He took out a coin, one YueYing had never seen before, then gazed up at the senior with expectation. "Does this bring back any memories?"

YueYing wished he had the System to explain everything in this messed-up plotline he couldn't keep up with. Instead of offering an explanation for why he choked YueYing on sight, the librarian handed him a strange coin to look at instead. YueYing didn't know what to feel.

His magenta eyes shimmered as he examined the coin from its borders to its face. In the light, his laid-back expression had a touch of somberness.

"No." After a while he pushed the coin back to the librarian with a guilty conscience.

He once again prayed for the System… wait, didn't the System only appear if Zi FengXin left his visible vicinity? YueYing's narrowed eyes flickered to the sophomore.

Zi FengXin halted in place like a statue, holding his breath while wondering why the little tyrant had such a ferocious face on.

"FengXin, my friend, could you help me?"

As YueYing expected, the kid's eyes lit up immediately.

'I want to talk to Mr. Librarian alone for a second' would be the wrong phrase to say to FengXin, who was an extrovert by heart and loved to listen as much as he talked. YueYing thought for a long second.

"Could you buy me a drink? I'll pay you back. Uhh…" But what drink? YueYing wasn't allowed to drink anything before he died, and the first thing he had in this world was a glass of dirt-like coffee….

Actually, he'd always wanted to try flavoured Peach drinks. They looked so vibrant and summer-like, and even though they had cute characters and fun designs on the bottle, everyone—men, women, children, elders—drank them without an ounce of prejudice.

"A peach drink will be fine." YueYing stated, a warm smile in his eyes.

A sparkling halo embraced FengXin—as expected of the 'Protagonist'!—and the boy sped away, down the corridor, across a corner, then disappeared.

The Librarian watched this exchange carefully. The Li YueYing he remembered had no such benevolence in his face. Nor did he like flavoured drinks, only choosing bitter black coffee or tea. Rather than simply losing his memories, the YueYing in front of him seemed like a completely different person!

When YueYing focused his sights on the librarian again, he found the man gripping the coin tightly in his palm.

"?"

The inquisitive hum from YueYing brought the librarian back to his senses. He unfurled his hand, finding a long, red mark etched into his skin. He chuckled lowly to himself.

This soft, slow laughter sent shivers up YueYing's spine. He knew it contained no malice, yet he couldn't help but feel that the librarian was like a tiger. Omniscient, even in hiding. If the librarian truly became mad, YueYing wondered if his neck would directly snap…?

He shook his head. The coin most definitely had a story. This was the best time to call on his System!

System!!

[ Pah! (°ロ°) ]