Chapter 0: She Said She Wants To Be Friends With Me
Li Nai is not my friend.
She always calls me “Little Transparent Jun,” and I doubt she even knows my name.
Formally, my interactions with Li Nai only began today.
It’s not that I didn’t know her before; after all, she’s my deskmate and quite popular. I often heard about her deeds.
Li Nai is a celebrity in school, known to everyone. Of course, speaking of fame, Lianbing and Xue also have their renown. However, their fame differs slightly. If Lianbing and Xue are admired for their charm and demeanor, Li Nai’s fame stems purely from her vast network of friends.
She seems to make friends with anyone; her social skills astonish me.
To be honest, I admire her a little.
She’s the complete opposite of me, someone with a handful of friends. Li Nai has countless friends.
It’s said she has over three hundred friends, a third of the school. She can even converse with friends of friends, and even students from other schools… It’s like a spiderweb of friendships. She can manage conversations with over two hundred people, and in just a few minutes with a stranger, she can shift from a stranger to a friend, leaving a deep impression. That’s practically a special ability. Not only can she make friends, but she can also become the class monitor…
This is likely why Li Nai is so popular in Class 2-2, a class filled with peculiar individuals.
However, due to our completely opposite personalities, we’ve never had any interaction.
She’s entirely proactive, while I’m completely passive.
Lianbing interacts with me because she’s interested in my body (no mistake about it). Xue is similar to me in personality and also interested in my body (no mistake about it). As for Lan Shenghua and Yu – both have peculiar fixations on me, but I’ll set them aside for now.
But any connection with Li Nai is truly unimaginable.
We’re worlds apart.
Would an impatient rabbit proactively make friends with a slow turtle?
It’s not the tortoise and the hare race; no rabbit would be that foolish.
Therefore, I once believed that Li Nai and I could never be friends.
But that’s often how things go; the things you deem impossible are precisely what happen around you.
This is my feeling after today.
Now, back to today, the morning of May 8th.
Having just been discharged from the hospital, I was on my way to school on a Monday.
I was riding a women’s bicycle on the road between home and school.
Feeling a jolt, I quickly applied the brakes and stopped the bicycle by the roadside.
I crouched down to check and found it wasn’t a dropped chain, but a flat tire.
If it were a dropped chain, it could be repaired in an emergency, but a flat tire… there’s truly no way.
“No… am I that heavy?”
This women’s bicycle belongs to Xinran. Normally, she rides it to take Keling to school, while I walk.
But today, I was running late. Xinran and Keling had left earlier than me due to morning duties, so I borrowed it.
And now it’s a flat tire.
SF Light Novel
“What a hassle…”
There’s no repair shop nearby. Do I have to push it all the way to school? If I do, I’ll really be late.
I rode a bicycle precisely to avoid being late, only for this to happen. And it happened to be in the awkward middle of home and school, which annoyed me.
It looks like I’ll have to take a shortcut through ‘there.’ Honestly, the serial killer incident left a terrible impression on me, so I’m not keen on passing through there. It always feels like something bad happens whenever I go there.
Oh well, today is my first day back at school after being discharged. I shouldn’t be late.
I took out my phone and tapped on the all-black icon. A city map appeared on the screen.
The red dot represents me, and the nearest blue… a Black Street entrance—oh, there’s one nearby.
The entrance location changes weekly, so it really depends on luck to use it.
After activating navigation, I wasted no more time and pushed the bicycle towards the designated location.
I quickly found the hidden spot; it was a dead-end alley.
Although the Black Street entrance changes, it usually appears in secluded places because that’s the ‘setting.’
I can’t see it, but as I pass through the designated spot, I feel a sense of dizziness. This is definitely the sign of entering Black Street.
The best proof, of course, is this group of [Extras] before me.
They are the residents of this street, all members of the ‘Troupe.’ While they occasionally appear in ordinary TV dramas, most of the time they play “passersby” in special occasions.
For their personal safety, or to avoid being targeted by certain individuals, they live in Black Street when they’re not on a mission.
Only within Black Street do these ‘actors’ revert to their normal selves.
… Or so they say. I can’t tell if they’re acting or not.
After all, their acting skills are so realistic that any one of them could become a famous actor.
Of course, it’s also possible they’re just being themselves.
“Isn’t this Little Newcomer? Good morning, are you heading to school?”
“Yes, good morning. I’m a bit late, so I’m taking a shortcut.”
The person speaking to me is Grandpa Zhang, the owner of a flower shop, who’s bringing a potted plant out for some sun.
Seeing the bicycle I’m pushing, he pats his back and says.
“Your bicycle has a flat tire? I can help you fix it.”
“No problem. I’ll get a tire from Old Liu next door. You can pick it up after school.”
“Then I’ll trouble you.”
After handing over the bicycle to Grandpa Zhang, I bowed and continued walking.
Like this, people in Black Street greet me and even help me.
Before, they treated me as an ‘intruder’ and ignored me. Now that they’ve confirmed my identity, they’ve started accepting me.
As for why I can freely enter and exit Black Street…
SF Light Novel
“Waaah! I’m going to be late! I’m going to be late!”
This voice, this situation… it’s so familiar.
Just like that noisy Mr. Rabbit who’s also late, someone approaches me from behind with hurried footsteps.
They seem to know what a troublesome person she is and try to avoid getting involved.
I’m the same.
Guessing what’s about to happen, I immediately sidestepped and moved aside.
For someone whose brakes never work, avoiding her is the best choice.
I thought she would safely pass me by.
But…
We still collided.
However, unlike the time we bumped into each other at school, this time she clearly aimed for me.
So this time, it wasn’t just me who was knocked down; she also fell with me, rolling several times on the ground.
Good thing I didn’t eat breakfast, or after being hit by this human cannonball, I would have thrown up everything I ate…
What the heck!
I mean, I’m the one in pain!
Like she’d taken the wrong medicine, she crashed into me with no regard for herself, or rather, no brains—
This strange creature, whose actions are completely unpredictable, is named Li Nai.
Juncheng, why was I so— she clearly had thoughts of digging into me, and even thought of the atmosphere, simply looking at—
The surrounding extras have entered “ignore mode.”
Do they know that Li Nai is a major troublemaker?
How unsupportive.
“Ah! Isn’t this Little Transparent Jun? What a coincidence!”
After climbing off my stomach, Li Nai exclaims with a surprised look on her face, as if she’d discovered something new.
It’s so theatrical that I can tell it’s fake immediately.
“Yes, what a coincidence. So coincidental it’s like it was meticulously planned, isn’t it? Classmate Li Nai?”
Seeing me looking at her, who was pretending to have accidentally bumped into me and was scratching her head with a troubled expression, I decided to revert to my usual self and grinned, patting my backside.
As soon as Li Nai saw that her flimsy acting didn’t fool me,
She picked up the piece of bread that had fallen on the ground and said.
“Being bumped into by a beautiful girl with bread in her mouth, and then my hand happens to touch her chest, etc. Although it’s a cliché GAL GAME trope, it’s cliché but still effective, isn’t it? Ahahaha!”
“Recently, there aren’t many of those tropes, so it’s quite refreshing. Wait, what I meant to say is, I dodged you, and you still ran into me!”
What nonsense.
And I didn’t touch your chest!
With no benefits whatsoever, I’m the one who’s losing!
Hearing my accusation, Li Nai dramatically leans back and exclaims in surprise.
“Eh?! You’re blaming me? Little Transparent Jun, you’re not very gentlemanly. I was trying to avoid you, but you avoided me first. As a result, my evasion path overlapped with yours… So we collided. In the end, it wasn’t my fault.”
“Ah, whatever. Anyway, I’m in so much pain right now. My… seems to be splitting open again.”
“Eh? Is that so? Ah, ahaha, I’m sorry…”
After I said that, Li Nai seemed to realize she had caused trouble. She gave a couple of awkward laughs, lowered her head, and apologized sincerely to me.
Seeing your expression, how can I still say anything? I’m so done.
However, she couldn’t maintain her serious demeanor for more than three seconds. Li Nai immediately looked up again and said to me with sparkling eyes.
“Then I’ll lick your wound for you! The wound will heal much faster! And you won’t feel any pain anymore!”
Li Nai stuck out her tongue and wiggled it. Despite being a beautiful young girl, she looked incredibly vulgar.
I raised an eyebrow and retorted.
“Is the side effect turning into a zombie?”
“Not necessarily. Maybe Little Transparent Jun carries natural antibodies?”
“What’s the probability of that?”
I immediately flicked the zombie who was about to lean in and lick me on the forehead.
Li Nai clutched her forehead and cried out as if about to weep.
“Eh?! How mean, Little Transparent Jun~ I’m your friend~”
“Who said I’m your friend? Besides, you should remember my name already.”
“Eh, that, uh… I’ll remember it when I can! Just, um…”
I sit next to her, and we’ve been in the same class for over a year. And yesterday, I even introduced myself properly. Yet, she forgot my name!
Li Nai crossed her arms and thought for a while. Suddenly, inspiration struck, and she clapped her hands, pointing at me gleefully.
“You’re… Jun Cheng, right! See, I remembered!”
She smugly puts her hands on her hips, her face full of a “praise me, I’m amazing” narcissistic expression.
But she got it wrong!
“It’s Juncheng! You idiot! And what about my last name!”
“…?”
“You can die twice for that!”
I couldn’t help but hit her on the head again.
S gogegcgg
Normally, I’m not so hot-tempered, but seeing her always makes me angry. Is it because Li Nai is naturally gifted with the ability to provoke critiques?
“Ah, what can I do? I’m a zombie, after all. Zombies don’t have very good memories.”
“Blaming your race when it’s convenient, huh?”
“Oh, never mind that. Shouldn’t we hurry? We’re almost late!”
Li Nai returned to her cheerful expression as if the previous incident had nothing to do with her, and said while biting into her bread.
Whose fault is it that we’re losing time… And speaking of which, she’s going to eat that bread that fell on the ground?
Li Nai noticed my gaze and understood what I meant. She immediately gave a thumbs-up and replied.
“It’s okay! It hasn’t been more than three seconds! It’s still edible!”
“But that’s not how it works. Even if the zombie virus inside you didn’t swallow everything from the start—”
“She considers the virus her immune system!”
So, the zombie virus is actually that gentle?
Sighing deeply, talking to this girl is exhausting…
“Don’t sigh first thing in the morning, Juncheng. Happiness will slip away?”
“Who do you think caused it…? You remember my name, don’t you!”
Was she just pretending to be stupid earlier!
Li Nai swallowed the rest of the bread, wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, and smiled cheerfully, saying coolly.
“Of course, I remember your name. An Juncheng, right!”
I’ll consider you to have passed, for now.
Li Nai stood with her hands behind her back, leaning to the side, smiling at me.
“So, will you be my friend?”
“No, I refuse.”
Rejected by me once again, Li Nai’s expression was one of utter shock as she cried out in disbelief.
“Eh?! Why! According to this development, Juncheng, shouldn’t you be completely smitten and crying, begging to be my friend?”
“Where did that fantasy come from… We’re just in a cooperative relationship; we have no personal connection.”
“That’s a shame.”
Even if you put on that abandoned puppy expression, I won’t be swayed!
… If you could properly remember my name, I might consider—
“Okay! Juncheng!”
Her smile was as brilliant as a sunflower, making it impossible for me to look directly at her.
No wonder she’s so popular. She truly has something attractive about her.
As long as she’s around, it certainly won’t be boring.
She’s so lively it’s quite troubling.
By the way, we were still late.
