Transformed into a heartthrob's simp, every day is a battleground.

Chapter 272 Dropping Out

Yan Xun zoomed in and out of the image, knowing that it would be strange if he rashly went to take the bone.

"Can I feed Beng Beng some snacks?" Yan Xun asked. "The stall owner said that all of his snacks are handmade."

The snacks Yan Xun bought were placed on the table, and the man walking the dog nodded upon hearing this, "Of course."

Yan Xun found a calcium milk biscuit shaped like a chicken leg in the plastic bag. He tore open the packaging and handed the biscuit to Beng Beng. Beng Beng was obviously very interested in the biscuit. He immediately put down the beef bone and carefully bit the biscuit from Yan Xun's hand.

Yan Xun then took the opportunity to pick up the beef bone—

"Let me do it." The man walking the dog took the beef bone from Yan Xun and put it aside.

Yan Xun's gaze lingered on the bloodstain for a few seconds. The dog walker casually moved the beef bone around, seemingly to make it more stable.

"What breed is 'Bouncy'?" Du Yun asked curiously.

"It's not a breed, just a mongrel," the man walking the dog said.

"I found it before, and I've been keeping it because I felt sorry for it."

“I’ve wanted to have a pet before,” Du Yun said, taking the opportunity to mention his donation certificates. “But I work day and night, so I probably wouldn’t even have time to walk the dog.”

The man walking the dog asked curiously, "Do you work from home?"

"I'm a game streamer," Du Yun said.

"He's a student," he casually added, implying something about Yan Xun. "And you?"

“I’m just an ordinary office worker,” the dog walker said. “But my company offers flexible working hours, sometimes I can work from home, and pets are allowed at the office.”

"Sometimes I bring Bengbeng to the company."

"That's great!" Du Yun immediately showed an envious expression. "Is it an internet company or something else?"

"No, it's a pet supplies company," the man walking the dog said. "So our company welcomes employees to bring their pets to work."

Du Yun outwardly chatted happily with the man walking the dog, but inwardly she wondered why Yan Xun wasn't speaking.

He glanced at Yan Xun out of the corner of his eye and saw that Yan Xun was looking down at his phone.

Why are you playing on your phone?!

Du Yun shouted in his heart!

Go play on your phone at home!

"I'd love to work at a pet company too." Yan Xun, perhaps having had enough of his phone, finally looked up at the man walking the dog. "I'm a junior at Yunshan University... Do you hire interns?"

"Interns?" The dog walker thought for a moment upon hearing this. "It seems the operations team is recruiting interns."

"If you're interested, I can ask around for you."

Yan Xun immediately thanked the man walking the dog.

Du Yun looked at the furnishings in the room and asked, "Do you live alone?"

The man walking the dog looked at him warily.

Du Yun knew the question was a bit abrupt and thoughtless, so he could only pretend to be a bit oblivious and continue to cheerfully say, "I also live alone."

"It just so happens that I don't have any friends after I moved here."

"If you were alone too, we could play together."

"I think we're about the same age."

The man walking the dog didn't speak, but his gaze lingered on Yan Xun for a moment—meaning, don't you still know him?

“Him? He’s just a kid.” Du Yun said casually. “Besides, he only spends a lot of time at home during summer vacation. He’ll definitely have to live in the dormitory when he goes to school.”

The man walking the dog nodded, it was unclear whether he accepted Du Yun's excuse or not.

However, he still answered Du Yun's first question.

"I do live alone."

"And I don't know anyone here."

"You're not a local?"

"No," the man walking the dog said. "My hometown is in a pretty far place."

He mentioned a place name, a place Yan Xun had never heard of before, probably a fictional place in the game.

"So far?" Du Yun asked in surprise.

He didn't know where that place was either, but he habitually chimed in, "So why did you decide to buy a house here? Did you go to school here and then just stay?"

“Yes,” the man walking the dog said, “I go to school here.”

Knowing that Du Yun would continue to ask questions, he quickly told her about his school.

Yan Xun felt the name sounded familiar, and after a moment's recollection, he immediately remembered that it was Shu Fan's alma mater.

—Is it because the dungeon was designed lazily, or is there some other reason?

"What a coincidence," Du Yun said. "I have a friend who graduated from here."

Yan Xun: "..."

He looked at Du Yun.

Du Yun: "?" He didn't understand Yan Xun's meaning.

Yan Xun sighed.

Du Yun suddenly realized—he had just said he had no friends—he looked at the dog walker and saw that the dog walker didn't seem to care much about the loophole in his statement.

"Really?" the dog walker asked with interest for more details.

Du Yun had no idea, and even Shu Fan himself probably wouldn't know if he were here.

Du Yun could only give a vague answer, "She didn't tell me much, she just mentioned that she graduated from here."

"Oh." Upon hearing this, the dog walker immediately lost interest.

“But she graduated in the last two years,” Du Yun said. “You should have graduated earlier than her, right?”

"Hmm." The man walking the dog told him his graduation year, which was at least 5 or 6 years older than Shu Fan's.

"Oh right, I haven't asked your name yet." Du Yun seemed oblivious, only just realizing they hadn't exchanged names. "Maybe she knows you."

"Kong Ling," the man walking the dog said.

Du Yun then told Kong Ling their names, “I live in that house with the black roof.” He pointed to a black roof outside the window, “He lives in that house with the white roof over there.”

“I know,” Kong Ling said. “I saw him that day.”

“But you don’t need to ask your friend,” Kong Ling said to Du Yun. “I’m not a celebrity, and besides, when I graduated, your friend probably hadn’t even enrolled yet, so it’s normal that he hasn’t heard of me.”

He then told Yan Xun, "I will find time to consult with the company about the interns. I will let you know when I have any news."

He took out his phone and exchanged contact information with Yan Xun.

Du Yun also took out her phone, "Count me in too."

Kong Ling also added him as a friend by scanning the QR code.

"I still have some work to do," Kong Ling said. "You can play with Beng Beng here. I'll go upstairs to take care of things first."

He phrased it tactfully, but Yan Xun and the other man understood that he meant for them to see the guests off.

So the two of them stood up as well. "No need, no need," Du Yun said. "We've bothered you, let's go back first."

Yan Xun nodded as well.

Kong Ling didn't try to stop them, which made the two even more certain that he had just been subtly trying to get rid of them.

He escorted Yan Xun and his companion to the door, adding a few more words, "You can come visit again when you have time."

"Bouncy likes you guys too."

“If you put it that way, we’ll take it seriously,” Du Yun said. “We’re not very good at polite talk.”

Kong Ling shook her head. "It's not just polite talk."

“I live alone, so it’s rare to have such a lively atmosphere. Bengbeng also enjoys playing with people.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Yan Xun and Du Yun waved goodbye and left.

"What do you think?" Du Yun asked immediately after leaving Kong Ling's house.

“I’m wondering… is it possible that the school he mentioned he graduated from is lying to us?” Yan Xun asked.

Du Yun thought for a moment, "That is indeed possible."

"But what benefit does he get from doing this?"

"I don't know," Yan Xun said. Kong Ling had revealed too little information, and he couldn't be sure of her purpose.

"Why don't you come to my house? My computer is pretty good," Du Yun said. "You can use my computer to look up some information."

Yan Xun had already planned to visit Du Yun's home, so he readily agreed to the invitation.

……

Du Yun's house and Kong Ling's house have almost the same layout.

“That’s my live stream room,” Du Yun said. “But I’m taking a break right now and won’t be streaming.”

"I personally don't play games at all. If I were to go live, I reckon I could make it into the annual highlight reel of my most embarrassing moments," Du Yun said, opening the door to his live streaming room.

This space was converted from a study. In addition to the computer and equipment specifically used for live streaming, another computer was placed in the corner.

"I guess it's to prevent any accidents during the live stream, like accidentally seeing something he shouldn't, so he has another computer here." Du Yun turned on the computer. "You can use this computer to search."

Yan Xun pulled out his gaming chair and, without any hesitation, searched for Kong Ling's hometown—Zhuyuan Town—on the webpage.

Zhuyuan Town is a township under Fenghe County, and Fenghe County is a full 37 hours away from Qingshan City, where they live, by train.

Du Yun stood behind Yan Xun, his hands resting on the back of the gaming chair as he looked at the screen. "So far away?"

"He left his hometown to work here!"

Yan Xun then searched for Kong Ling's alma mater and his name, and to his surprise, the other party was indeed not lying about this.

The other party is even a celebrity on campus.

He is the founder of a charity organization on campus and has organized several fundraising events, mainly to improve the living conditions of stray animals on campus.

With her pretty face, excellent grades, and experience in organizing numerous large-scale events, Kong Ling has always been a prominent figure on campus.

Yan Xun also looked up the pet company the other party mentioned.

It turns out they are a very well-known company in the industry.

"What's so special about this? A winner in life?" Du Yun looked at Kong Ling's resume.

“You two do have one thing in common,” Yan Xun said.

Before Yan Xun could speak, Du Yun interrupted, "Don't you love protecting small animals?"

"I also frequently donate to animal welfare organizations that help stray animals."

“And then there are singles.” Du Yun pointed to herself, “I’m also single and live alone.”

“He only said he lives alone, not that he’s single,” Yan Xun reminded him.

Du Yun didn't care, "They're pretty much the same."

Yan Xun took a picture of Kong Ling participating in animal rescue when she was in school and posted it in the group chat.

【A Loving Family (10)】

[Yan Xun: @Shu Fan, do you remember this person? He's your senior.]

[Shu Fan: ...I think I vaguely remember? Let me think.]

Soon, a message came from Shu Fan's side.

[Shu Fan: He does seem to be my senior.]

[Shu Fan: He was also a prominent figure on campus, enthusiastic, liked to help others, and was quite good-looking. Although he had already graduated when I enrolled, the campus charity group was very famous, so I had some impression of this founder.]

[Shu Fan: Of course, this information just came to my head.]

[Shu Fan: Did you guys go find that guy walking the dog?]

On the foggy day, what appeared outside the window was Kong Ling, who had grown an extra dog's head on her neck.

Like the crew cut, Shu Fan had no impression of Kong Ling at the time because they hadn't started the corresponding storyline.

Now that Yan Xun and Du Yun know Kong Ling's alma mater and her basic information, this hidden plot has also appeared in Shu Fan's mind.

[Shu Fan: @Du Yun, is the thing you and he have in common that you both like rescuing small animals?]

[Du Yun: We are all philanthropists (smugly)]

[Shu Fan: Really? Looking at the characters in the dungeon, those with this kind of setup don't seem like good guys.]

Du Yun was furious, but he couldn't refute it—he himself felt that their similar experiences were very deliberate.

It's as if they're deliberately trying to hide something.

Yan Xun sat in his gaming chair and searched for information about Zhuyuan Town.

The information available online is very general. The only unique thing is that a science student from Zhuyuan Town became the top scorer in the county in a certain year.

The student came from a poor family, and the county government specially awarded him a scholarship to encourage him to pursue further studies.

Yan Xun clicked on the news and saw Kong Ling, who was even younger.

The other person was holding an enlarged check, wearing a red flower on his chest, and taking a photo with the person in charge of the company who was willing to donate money.

Above the photo of the two is the name of the company.

—Anyway, it wasn't the company Kong Ling would later work for.

"Are his parents still in their hometown? Or have they passed away?" Du Yun asked, looking at the report.

Kong Ling didn't mention this, so of course they wouldn't know.

"Let's put his matter aside for now," Yan Xun said. "First, find out which school you graduated from."

Du Yun was reminded by Yan Xun and remembered Yan Xun's guess in the market.

He then hurriedly began rummaging through drawers and cabinets at home to search for it.

Finally, Du Yun found the campus card hidden deep inside a cabinet in the corner of the live-streaming room.

“I’m from Yunshan too.” Du Yun handed his campus card to Yan Xun. “Strange, aren’t my graduation certificate and other documents in this building?”

"Didn't you bring it with you?"

Yan Xun looked at the campus card and calculated the enrollment time. Du Yun should be in the same year as the crew-cut guy and the others.

He glanced again at the locker where Du Yun had placed her campus card.

It was a mess inside, with all sorts of things, including unused tissues.

Rather than saying it was deliberately hidden in the closet, it's more accurate to say that the owner just threw it in when packing up.

"Is it possible," Yan Xun said, "that the reason you couldn't find your diploma and other documents is because you actually didn't graduate?"

"Damn! That's a really malicious guess!" Du Yun exclaimed in shock.

"Couldn't it be that I forgot it back in my hometown?"

As Du Yun spoke, he looked back at his cabinet again... Indeed, this cabinet did not look like a carefully maintained storage cabinet; he had seen it before.

Because the cabinet looked like it was full of junk and miscellaneous items with nowhere to go, he didn't look through it carefully and that's how he missed the campus card that revealed his identity information.

"Am I being expelled from school?"

"That's why you were in such a hurry, you didn't have time to pack, and you just put the things in a snakeskin bag and took them home?"

"What do you think was the reason you were expelled?" Yan Xun asked.

Du Yun thought to himself, "I was just guessing, how did it become a sure thing that Yan Xun would be expelled from school?"

However, he only thought it to himself, while looking at the computer screen and saying, "Addicted to playing games and streaming? Skipping classes and failing too many courses?"

"So you got expelled?"