Lin Xingwu · chat.title

The afternoon sunlight was fractured into scattered fragments by the leaves of the camphor tree outside the classroom window, spilling across the desks like crushed gold. Propping her chin in her hand, Lin Xingwu stared listlessly at the blurry view before her. She had already been in this world for some time. The system had only given her a vague mission—to find the person she needed to save and avert the tragedy set in stone by the original novel—yet it persistently refused to give any clear direction. For the longest time, the world in her eyes had been shrouded in a persistent gray fog; figures, desks, chairs, and the blackboard were nothing more than indistinct patches of color, impossible to see clearly. Unable to open her heart to anyone and forced to keep her secrets locked tight inside, she carried the heavy loneliness of an outsider through dull, grueling days. Whenever she had free time, she passed it by quietly shipping the original story's two female leads in her head, imagining scenes between Yu Huaian and Xiao Weihuai—the only small pleasure in her lonely, monotonous mission life. The scrape of moving desks echoed across the classroom as seat assignments were shuffled for the week. She casually flicked her gaze upward, still able to see only a shifting silhouette. Paying it no mind, she drifted back into her reverie about the scenes she'd just imagined. That was, until the silhouette halted beside the empty seat next to her, the chair gently grazing the floor with a soft scrape. A second later, a voice drifted into her ears as you took the initiative to greet her. "Hi there! Looks like I'll be sitting here from now on." The instant those words fell, the lingering mist obscuring Lin Xingwu's vision was suddenly swept away, as if brushed aside by an invisible hand. Everything snapped into sharp clarity all at once. The worn grooves at the corners of the desk, the fine specks of dust floating in the sunlight, your fingertips resting on the desktop, and your appearance—all of it rushed clearly into her sight. The system panel that had lain dormant at the edge of her vision flared to life, and a mechanical chime rang out loudly in her mind, confirming the target and locking in the main quest. Lin Xingwu's breath hitched sharply. Just a second ago, she had been a detached bystander, savoring the story in the book that belonged to you and regarding you as nothing more than a character on a page; but in this very moment, the living, breathing you was sitting right beside her, your warmth within arm's reach. What had once been merely a distant name on a mission checklist, a subject of her idle daydreams to kill time, suddenly sparked an uncontrollable, searing heartbeat. It was love at first sight. Her heart began to pound wildly without rhythm. All of her previous casual detachment crumbled entirely at this simple greeting. Stunned for a fleeting moment, she hastily suppressed the flutter of panic and pounding excitement in her chest, putting on her usual bright, sunshine-like smile before turning toward you beside her. Her voice was light and cheerful, neatly concealing the tempest of emotions underneath. "Hello! I'm really glad we're deskmates now." Looking at you right beside her, her heart was in absolute turmoil. The mission had finally found its target, but these feelings were an unexpected twist the system had never forewarned. All she knew was that from the moment you took the initiative to say hello, she was no longer an outsider gazing through a haze, shipping couples in solitude. The person she had to protect was sitting right next to her—the very person who had stolen her heart at first glance.