Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Asking Jingliu to Help Me Win Over Jingliu

Bros.

"I've transmigrated. No doubt about it."

The surrounding buildings were quaint and ancient, the bluestone slabs underfoot dry and cool, carrying the faint dampness of early morning.

Wangshu stood there in a daze, his mind completely blank. One second he'd been pulling an all-nighter in his apartment, and the next he found himself on this unfamiliar ancient street.

"Hurry up and talk! Who are you?! Why are you in my house?!"

A young yet forcibly fierce voice came from ahead. Wangshu focused his gaze — it was a girl of about eleven or twelve, her long blue-and-white hair strikingly eye-catching under the sunlight.

She gripped a wooden stick in a defensive stance, a pair of crimson eyes locked onto him. Her young face was written all over with wariness, yet couldn't quite hide the panic underneath.

Wangshu raised both hands. "Calm down, kid. I don't mean any harm."

"Who're you calling kid?!"

Though Cangcheng had always been the most prosperous haven among the Xianzhou, the Second War against the Abundance hadn't fully ended yet.

An Outworlder appearing out of nowhere inside someone's home like this — that demanded caution.

"I..."

Wangshu opened his mouth but didn't know where to begin. Tell her he came from another world? Who'd believe that?

And with all this ancient architecture around, why was the little brat in front of him dressed so... trendy? What era was this, exactly? Some alternate history?

Not enough intel. So how was he supposed to come up with a believable cover story?

【Bright Future Chat Group — Successfully Joined】

Wangshu paused for a moment, then suddenly straightened his back.

Asta: "Welcome, newbie! Group status: -1!"

That was it. Including Wangshu, the group had a grand total of three people. Besides Asta, the other member was Jingliu.

"Answer me right now, or I'm calling the Cloud Knights!"

Ha! The physique of a long-life species was no joke — little Jingliu jabbed Wangshu hard with the stick, sending the big guy stumbling backward onto his rear.

Cloud Knights? That name sounded awfully familiar. Weren't they the background NPCs from Star Rail?

Then what he needed to do now was crystal clear!

【Bright Future Chat Group】

Wangshu: "HELP! Big shots, I transmigrated, and now some little brat has me cornered with a wooden stick."

Asta: "What kind of kid?"

Wangshu: "Looks about eleven or twelve ?"

Asta: "... ?"

Well, aren't you living the life.

Asta: "Some special species? Or is the newbie also young?"

No response. Asta's heart sank — had the newbie actually been knocked out by a little kid?!

"W-Wait, wait!"

Wangshu... of course hadn't been knocked out. He sat on the ground, frantically waving his hands.

"Do you believe in transmigration?"

Little Jingliu tilted her head. Transmi-what?

"I'm actually from another world..." Wangshu tried to explain.

"I don't care what world you're from! If you haven't reported to the Ten-Lords Commission and you've broken into a private residence, you can look forward to being thrown in for hard labor!"

Jingliu lifted her small chin with confidence. Having realized the Outworlder in front of her was pathetically weak, her initial panic had completely vanished.

Starting off with a prison sentence?

Wangshu was dumbfounded. Telling the truth wasn't getting him anywhere.

Left with no other choice, he gazed at her with eyes full of tender affection. "The truth is... I'm your lover from the future. To save you from the tragedy that awaits, I crossed the endless reaches of time and space to come here."

Did kids these days even fall for this kind of line anymore? He could only hope the little brat in front of him was the gullible type — though she certainly looked unconventional enough...

"Do you think I'm a three-year-old? You actually came up with something like that?"

Little Jingliu was somewhat annoyed, but after a moment's thought, she burst out laughing. Did she really look that stupid?

"Then tell me — what's my name?"

"No, that question's too easy. Anyone could find out about the great Jingliu's reputation just by asking around."

Little Jingliu muttered to herself. So what kind of hard question should she ask?

Her birthday? That could be found out with a little digging too.

She tilted her fair little face upward. "Then tell me — what was my mother's favorite dish to make for me?"

Hearing the name Jingliu, Wangshu was indeed very familiar with it. But... who the hell knew what Jingliu's mother's favorite dish to cook was?!

"If you can't answer — " Jingliu twirled the stick one-handed, spinning it like a sword flourish.

"I'll be sending you straight to the Ten-Lords Commission for judgment."

【Bright Future Chat Group】

Wangshu: "@Jingliu, I'm sorry, Lady Jingliu. I shouldn't have called you a little brat. We're all members of the same group here — please show this humble one some mercy."

Jingliu: "?"

Jingliu: "...Did you transmigrate into the Abyssal Prison?"

Jingliu quickly scanned her surroundings. Not a soul in sight. In the vast emptiness of the Abyssal Prison, forget about Wangshu — she couldn't even see the child he was talking about.

Wangshu's heart lurched. Are you saying there's a second Jingliu?

It was over. Even a seasoned weeb like him had characters he didn't recognize.

Wangshu: "@Jingliu, Senior, what was your mother's favorite dish to make for you?"

Jingliu: "..."

Wangshu: "Senior! I'm begging you!"

Jingliu: "Pickled vegetable fried rice."

Asta: "..."

Pfft — Wangshu nearly lost it. Which world's Jingliu are you? That sounded so... tragically humble.

"Hey! Have you figured out what you're gonna say to the Ten-Lords Commission yet?"

Wangshu snapped back to the present. Looking at the surprisingly strong little brat before him, he could only try a Hail Mary.

"It's pickled vegetable fried rice, Jingliu."

The moment the words left his mouth, little Jingliu's brain stopped working. Her mother had been lazy when she was alive — and while pickled vegetable fried rice wasn't exactly bad, her mother had told her never to tell anyone. It was her own little life secret.

He actually knew!

Her small lips stammered. "I... I even told you something like that in the future?"

Could what this man said actually be true?

Jingliu studied the Outworlder carefully. He wasn't bad-looking, admittedly, but with a body this frail — as a born-and-bred Xianzhou native, how had she possibly fallen for him?

"So... can you put the stick down now?"

Wangshu's chest was still aching.

With a clatter, the stick fell to the ground. Little Jingliu took small steps backward.

"Um, give me a moment. My head's kind of a mess right now."

Wangshu gazed wearily up at the sky.

【Bright Future Chat Group】

Asta: "@Wangshu, newbie, are you still alive?"

Wangshu: "Ah, I survived."

Asta: "What's the situation on your end?"

What situation? Wangshu glanced at little Jingliu beside him, her small face flushed red. He tried taking a step closer; she retreated a step, her big dewy eyes brimming with panic.

"I was actually joking earlier."

Wangshu tried to explain. Jingliu bit her lower lip and nodded. "It's fine. I'll accept this sort of thing soon enough."

"Don't worry — I'll pass the coming-of-age certification exam quickly. But I don't have any feelings for you right now."

"I really was joking."

Wangshu tried to salvage the situation.

"No need to explain. I, the great Jingliu, am not so weak that I can't handle something this small."

Having psyched herself up, little Jingliu stopped retreating and stared earnestly at the man before her.

Wangshu hesitated for a moment, then crouched down beside Jingliu and — screenshot!

Wangshu: "Roughly like this. Blushing_Jingliu_and_Wangshu.jpg"

Asta: "You actually got bullied by a kid this age?"

Asta: "Wait ?, is she bullying you, or are you bullying her?"

Asta: "Mr. Wangshu, you'd better not be too old yourself."

Jingliu: "?"

Jingliu: "??"

Jingliu: "@Wangshu, ????"