Internal players

Chapter 74

Ren Li almost choked on Pei Jingling's blunt words, his face darkened, and he snapped, "Pei Jingling, what nonsense are you spouting again?!"

Pei Jingling let out a cold, ambiguous laugh, offering no response.

For the first time, Ren Li felt exposed, extremely uncomfortable. He clenched his fists, his face turning stony.

Avoiding Pei Jingling's gaze, he said sternly, "Stop making such jokes in the future."

Pei Jingling crossed his arms, leaned lazily against the wall, and said flatly, "Whether it's a joke or not, you know better than I do."

Ren Li was at a loss for words again. He pursed his thin lips tightly, glaring at Pei Jingling with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.

He suddenly found the former Pei Jingling, who spoke in vague terms and listened to his "scolding," rather endearing. When Pei Jingling expressed his love, he often received cold rejections or irritable responses, yet he never got angry and would even act cute, his temper gentle and lovely.

A hint of softness and guilt rose in Ren Li's heart.

Thinking it over, he realized that Pei Jingling's ability to keep a straight face while making lewd comments under his reprimand showed he really didn't know the meaning of modesty or shame.

That shameless little rascal.

Glancing at the indifferent Pei Jingling, Ren Li thought, now he too could be considered a shameless little rascal in a way.

The school bell rang, signaling the start of the morning reading session. The building echoed with the loud voices of students reading.

Yet, the atmosphere between Ren Li and Pei Jingling was silent.

Previously, Pei Jingling would have livened up the atmosphere. Now that he had "cooled down," the two expressionless people stood together, inexplicably silent.

As the temperature rose, Ren Li's face turned red from the heat, sweat beading on his forehead. But because of the earlier "incident," he awkwardly refused to take off his clothes in front of Pei Jingling.

He only had two layers on, a sweater and a thermal shirt. To cool down, he would have to take off everything...

Pushing his stray hair back, Ren Li finally turned to Pei Jingling to distract himself and asked, "Don't you need to go to class?"

"No." Pei Jingling's expression was cold and calm. "They'd probably be happy if I wasn't in the classroom."

Ren Li said sternly, "Do you want to leave here?"

"Leave?" Pei Jingling slightly raised an eyebrow, looking at Ren Li. "Which kind of 'leave'? Death? Time travel? Or..."

Ren Li interrupted him, "Just leaving here."

Pei Jingling was silent for a moment, then straightened up and said lightly, "It's not possible."

Ren Li frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I can't explain it clearly," Pei Jingling said, tapping his head hesitantly. "But I have a strange feeling in my head that I can't leave until something is accomplished."

Ren Li's gaze deepened. Pei Jingling's memories weren't his own but those of his current identity.

"Until something is accomplished..." Combining this with the "successful revenge" task Pei Jingling had mentioned, Ren Li wondered if this was a clearance condition.

Before he could think further, Pei Jingling's clear voice interrupted, "In 'your time,' there should be another me, right? You should have interacted with 'me'?"