Chapter 2: They've Never Filmed... That Kind of Thing!
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Zhai Da stared blankly at the system information only he could perceive, lost in thought.
This only made Yu Xiaoli more frightened.
She had always heard that the pressure in the final year of high school was immense, and many kids ended up mentally unstable. Was this happening to her own son?
But... Zhai Da’s grades hadn’t been impressive either...
Yu Xiaoli turned to call the doctor again but was stopped by Zhai Da, who held her hand.
“Mom, I really’m fine... You should go handle the discharge paperwork...”
“You should stay a couple more days...”
Zhai Da replied, “If I have any problems, it’s mental, right? Are you going to send me to a psychiatric hospital? Why keep me here?”
Yu Xiaoli said, “That’s not impossible... I’d sell everything I have to get you treatment!”
Zhai Da was speechless.
Fortunately, it was the doctor himself who finally let Zhai Da off the hook. The old doctor in the white coat flipped Zhai Da’s eyelids, asked some irrelevant questions, and then allowed him to go home.
Temporary dysfunction caused by psychological stress was a far cry from true psychiatric illness. In the doctor’s view, rest at home would restore him.
This wasn’t a time when mental health was widely recognized, and this was only a secondary hospital in a small county town.
The treatment cost only two thousand yuan per month — no one was treating real psychiatric diseases here!
Only then did Yu Xiaoli agree to discharge, going with the doctor to complete the paperwork. The ward was left with only Zhai Da and an old man reading a newspaper.
Finally, Zhai Da had the time to carefully study the “system information” that had just appeared.
After meditating for a long while, Zhai Da roughly understood the function of the “Life Equipment Synthesis System.”
Strong emotions, obsessions, and feelings in life generate “thoughts” that attach to objects — like a talisman worn for years, a fascia gun on the bedside table, or a favorite collar.
With the system’s help, Zhai Da could identify these “special items” and activate them into [Equipment], which, like a game, would enhance the wearer’s various abilities.
It wasn’t that these objects were inherently magical; the system endowed them with corresponding powers. Before this, they were ordinary.
[Low-level Equipment] could be used immediately, while [High-level Equipment] required completing unlocking tasks.
Most importantly, if paths matched, equipment could be synthesized to form rarer gear.
The newbie gift, the [Clown Love Letter], was the lowest rarity white-tier item, transforming one of his personal belongings into [Equipment].
Its effect was to increase humor... quite a humorous effect...
Wait... where was this thing?
Logically, since he had fainted in the second mock exam, he shouldn’t have been carrying any “paper.”
He recalled the second mock exam was a citywide standardized test, with rules aligned with the college entrance exam: school sealed off, freshmen and sophomores on break, no personal belongings allowed in, not even uniforms to prevent cheating.
The police and city departments were involved, making it a drill for them too.
That was why he was directly taken from school to the hospital in a police escort — the route was smooth, with police cars clearing the way!
Normally, he would have only been woken up by pressing the philtrum, but since high schoolers often acted recklessly, maybe it was literally the philtrum.
Zhai Da checked and rechecked — even flipped his shoe insoles — but found no “love letter.” Though this first [Equipment] was pathetic, curiosity gnawed at him; he couldn’t have lost it.
Just then, there was a noise at the ward door. Zhai Da turned to see four or five familiar yet strange youthful faces.
And his high school homeroom teacher, Ding Rong.
All of them looked at Zhai Da with pity and sympathy.
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Under everyone’s gaze, Zhai Da quietly slipped the blackened insole back into his yellowed sneakers and smiled awkwardly.
“Uh~ well, since you’re here, no need to mention anything... Oh wait, I didn’t bring anything. Please, have a seat.”
Aside from Ding Rong, a teacher just over thirty, he barely recognized the others — though they looked familiar and were likely high school classmates.
It was normal for teachers and classmates to visit someone who fainted during an exam...
Ding Rong sighed and approached, intending to grasp Zhai Da’s hand, but recalling him searching his insoles, she patted his shoulder instead.
“Zhai Da, health is the foundation for revolution. Everyone looks forward to your speedy recovery…”
Not a word about the six-pack of walnuts?
Zhai Da said, “…Uh… I was actually just about to be discharged. You all can go back — I’m really fine…”
A tall, thin boy behind pushed up his glasses and said, “Zhai Da, you shouldn’t be distracted. It not only affects your studies but also Lin Shuyao.”
Zhai Da hesitated, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about…”
Another girl said, “We heard you were hospitalized after the exam. The teacher was anxious, looking for your personal items. Wu Yue said your backpack was left at the convenience store. When we opened it, there was only one letter. At the time, we thought it was a farewell note… We were all scared…”
Zhai Da looked toward the tall, burly boy at the back — Wu Yue, an old high school friend, though their friendship had ended after graduation due to the latter’s relocation.
It wasn’t until 2022, when Wu Yue heard Zhai Da had won the lottery, that he contacted him.
He said he had just been released from JD Institute, his family ruined, and wanted to borrow money to slip away and wash dishes… claiming it was easy to make money there, and in three months he could buy the restaurant where he washed dishes, then start repaying him the fourth month.
Wu Yue looked ashamed, as if he’d done something wrong. Zhai Da’s bad feeling deepened.
“So you guys just…?”
“Just passed it around…”
Zhai Da: …
Have you distilled the main idea?
Homeroom teacher Ding Rong handed over the scented letter, comforting him.
“Zhai, early romance isn’t right, but graduation is just a few months away. When you start working, the teacher won’t care anymore.”
Zhai Da’s trembling hands unfolded it. The handwriting was earnest but ugly.
“Yaoyao, your name isn’t special, but the more I say it, the more it makes me smile, the more I write it, the more beautiful it feels…”
“Maybe the answer is long, and I want to spend a lifetime answering it. Are you ready to listen?”
“Yaoyao, I want to see the moon from your window… then become your sun.”
The embarrassment made his toes itch with ingrown nails!
This was definitely the kind of thing that would make an adult sit up in bed at midnight and slap himself!
He remembered! In his previous life, senior year, he had a crush on a girl... but by his thirties, he had forgotten even her name.
He only remembered her legs.
There was no deep affection — pure visual attraction, craving the face and the body.
Otherwise, what do you think young love is? Who cares about a girl’s worldview, bypassing her features!
Apparently, one day he had a mini stroke and wrote a love letter, but never sent it — just one of many foolish youthful moments.
Looking back, it really was crazy! Everyone else dated and then broke up before graduation; he waited until almost graduating to confess.
At that moment, a tall girl who had been hiding at the back of the crowd stepped forward, took a deep breath as if making a decision.
Because everyone wore their own clothes for the mock exam, this girl had a certain innocent beauty — a heart-shaped face with all original features, long hair draped over her shoulders, and a figure far more striking than her strange-age peers.
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She was none other than Lin Shuyao, the girl whose legs he only remembered.
Zhai Da quickly scanned her — nine parts legs, seven parts face, a classic white moonlight in a high school boy’s heart.
Only, due to the era and her age, her hairstyle made Zhai Da a little uncomfortable.
It was clear she had tried her best within the rules, though her efforts were somewhat misguided.
Towards the non-mainstream.
The girl came to the bedside and bowed deeply, as if bidding farewell to a corpse.
Yet her lowered face bore a trace of pride and self-respect.
What girl wouldn’t be happy to receive a love letter? Even if her family already had a pile of them.
“Zhai, sorry to tell you this here, but I don’t want to date now. With college entrance exams approaching, we should focus on studies.”
Zhai Da replied, “You make a good point. I agree.”
The second mock exam was over; if he didn’t study now, he wouldn’t even get into a vocational college!
Yes, he had once been a lucky rich kid, and in this life, he’d have more chances at rebirth.
But why can’t I be a well-educated, lucky, and wealthy person?
Who has time for childish romance?
Lin Shuyao: ?
This isn’t what I expected.
Wasn’t she supposed to be devastated, lips trembling, begging him to reconsider, then reluctantly keeping in touch for friendship, chatting occasionally until she found her true love and deleted him, only to be re-added later by her true love?
Zhai Da said, “I understand your concern led you to read my private letter, but you all misunderstood — this isn’t a love letter to Lin.”
Lin Shuyao was stunned, feeling a lump stuck in her throat.
She could reject Zhai Da’s confession but couldn’t accept such a perfunctory refusal!
With barely perceptible pride, she said,
“Zhai, the love letter has my name... Yaoyao...”
Zhai Da recalled the earlier nurses’ chat and calmly said,
“That’s incorrect. It’s written for Ayase Haruka.”
“Ayase Haruka... a Japanese person?”
“Yes. I know her from watching DVDs. This is a fan letter to her.”
Lin Shuyao: …
Many people were still processing this when the homeroom teacher adopted a stern expression.
“Zhai Da, do you think you’re very funny?”
Her face was slightly flushed.
“I never touched… that kind of thing!”
Zhai Da: …?