We lost internet over the weekend because of the storm 🙁
After returning to the dorm alone, Ning Guiqu grew increasingly frustrated. How could Lu Yuan misunderstand him as being unfaithful? He didn’t do anything wrong. Of course, Ning Guiqu believed the original owner of this body was innocent too.
So, Ning Guiqu sat down and opened his WeChat contacts, starting from the first friend whose name began with A. Although he never invaded the original owner’s privacy before, Ning Guiqu felt compelled to examine past conversations to prove the original owner’s innocence.
Before Ning Guiqu took over, the original owner had chatted with many people, but he was not familiar with them. He opened over a dozen conversations, all of which were perfectly proper. The original owner hadn’t sent any suspicious mass messages at all.
Growing bored, Ning Guiqu scrolled through the contacts again, looking for any suggestively named contacts.
The original owner had a lot of friends. Normally, when Ning Guiqu needed to find someone, he would simply search for their name. The original owner had a good habit of adding notes to contacts, making it easy to find anyone.
This time, as Ning Guiqu kept scrolling, he noticed a few contacts like “Cutie,” “Momo,” and “Camellia” that seemed unimportant and lacked proper notes. He ignored them and continued to the bottom of the list.
Ning Guiqu’s finger stopped. He blinked.
He blinked again.
Then he rubbed his eyes.
Before him were two identical black profile pictures, both named with a single period.
It was not unusual for friends to have the same profile pictures and contact names. It could be a coincidence. But! This black profile picture was his alt account, his “trash bin”!
Did his trash bin… multiply?
Ning Guiqu’s head spun. He tapped the upper black profile picture and found it empty. So that wasn’t his alt account. He then opened the lower one and recognized the familiar content of his alt account.
Suddenly, Ning Guiqu’s scalp tingled.
He checked both accounts’ Moments, which were identically blank. He then examined their WeChat IDs. Both were strings of letters, but in different orders.
So how could he be certain which one was his alt account that he used for venting?
Ning Guiqu quickly exited WeChat and logged into his alt account. The familiar black profile picture and period appeared, but Ning Guiqu’s face paled.
In the alt account’s message history, he found his main account. However, the most recent message was from 9 p.m. on the 9th of last month, the day after he transmigrated into this world. The last message was: [Blow up this stupid school]
But Ning Guiqu hadn’t thought about blowing up the school in quite some time.
Ning Guiqu’s breath quickened. Maybe… maybe his alt account had a bug causing delayed message reception. He immediately sent a “hello” from the alt account to his main account.
After sending it, Ning Guiqu quickly logged out and back into his main account.
The result left Ning Guiqu pale-faced and trembling.
The message had come through. But that “hello” appeared under the empty black profile picture!
A bare “hello” stood alone.
So he had been using the wrong alt account all along?
Ning Guiqu could not believe it. How was this possible?! How could he have made such a careless mistake?!
He had personally registered the alt account, chosen the black profile picture to appear silent and trash bin-like, and set the nickname as a single period because he couldn’t think of anything else. It was all his own doing.
What happened to the owner of the other account with the identical black picture and period nickname? Did someone copy his account? But his alt account hadn’t added this person. After setting it up, he had only added his main account.
Then he had begun his days of venting. So how could he have mixed them up?
Everything now pointed to the fact that Ning Guiqu had made a mistake! He had been sending his rants to some unknown friend!
But how did he confuse them? Surely anyone would be able to tell their own account apart? The whole point of creating an alt account was to vent privately, but he’d been sharing his thoughts with someone else?
Even if this other person had the same profile picture and nickname as his alt account, he shouldn’t have mixed them up! Was he some kind of super idiot?
Let me think about it, let me think about it.
The last message he sent to his real alt account was on the evening of his second day in this world. So he must have started using the wrong account on the morning of the third day!
Why did he make the mistake?
He arrived in the afternoon and woke up in the original owner’s bed. The next day, he set up the alt account and began venting. Because he had just come through, he had been cautious with the alt account. He would usually delete his rants after sending a few. Even now, although he didn’t delete daily, he still cleared them periodically.
But if he hadn’t been sending them to his alt account, but to someone else, deleting them would have been pointless! The other person would have received them.
Ning Guiqu searched his message history again but couldn’t find his real alt account’s chat. This meant he had deleted the chat with his real alt account.
Ning Guiqu tried to remember. He vaguely recalled lying in bed on the second night, half-asleep, wondering if he had cleared his alt account properly, and reaching for his phone. He couldn’t remember exactly what he had done, but now it seemed he must have deleted the chat window.
What an idiot. Why did he delete the chat window?
Then came the third day. After brushing his teeth, he was knocked to the ground by Shi Wen, who had just woke up. Although he had said it was fine, his butt had actually hurt, naturally leading him to scold Shi Wen viciously on WeChat.
At that time, he had simply scrolled to what he thought was his alt account in his message list and sent the rant. That fake alt account had been empty, just like his real one. But there were differences: the time and location were different.
He hadn’t noticed these details. After all, who would expect there to be a fake alt account?
Now, everything was clear.
So, who was on the other end?
The fact that he had been sending messages for so long without any response might mean the other person no longer used that WeChat account. Ning Guiqu thought for a moment, then, clinging to a sliver of hope, sent a message.
[Hello, are you still using this account?]
After sending it, Ning Guiqu stared blankly, his heart pounding. Don’t reply! Don’t reply! Don’t reply!
Before Ning Guiqu could exit the chat, a message suddenly appeared.
[Yes.]
Yes? Yes! Yes?!!
Ning Guiqu’s eyes widened as he gasped.
A-an instant reply!!
What should he do? What should he do? What should he do?
It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine. The original owner hadn’t even added a note for this contact, so they probably didn’t know each other. Ning Guiqu tried to control his erratic breathing, gently inhaling and exhaling. It would be okay!
It had to be okay!
Ning Guiqu had just settled himself mentally, preparing to respond casually with “Sorry, wrong friend. No wonder you weren’t replying,” to smooth things over.
But how could reality be so kind?
The account he had mistaken for his alt account spat out another message: [Ning Guiqu, you’ve finally realized I’m not your alt account?]
Ning Guiqu’s vision went black, unable to see any hope for the future.
It was someone he knew!!
It was! Someone he knew!!!!
Ning Guiqu breathed in and out.
It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay. Even if it was someone he knew, there was no note, so it probably wasn’t a close acquaintance. His alt account content hadn’t appeared on the school forum yet, so they probably weren’t from the same school, and were likely waiting to see more of his uncouth content to blackmail him.
Yes, yes, yes, he could spend some money to buy the rights to this content.
With trembling hands, Ning Guiqu sent a message: [How should I address you? If possible, please name your price. I’m willing to buy the rights to this content.]
Ning Guiqu struggled to maintain politeness, fearing the other party might choose to expose his uncouth content if he was impolite.
Soon, the “trash bin” spat out another message.
[No need to buy. Open the door, your alt account is outside.]
Out-outside the door??
They were from the same school! And had come to find him in person! Ning Guiqu desperately needed oxygen! It had been less than half an hour from discovering his mistake to the owner of the “trash bin” showing up at his door.
Ning Guiqu stared at the dormitory door, even considering throwing a sack over the person outside and beating them into amnesia. But could he really be powerful enough to beat someone into amnesia? Submitting to reality, Ning Guiqu walked to the door and took a deep breath. He opened it.
Standing outside was… Lu Yuan.
“Ning…”
Ning Guiqu slammed the door shut, then chose to open it again.
Still standing outside was… Lu Yuan.
“Ning Guiqu, it’s me.” Lu Yuan held the door, preventing Ning Guiqu from closing it again.
Ning Guiqu staggered backward a few steps, his eyes rolling back. Lu Yuan swiftly caught the faltering Ning Guiqu. Ning Guiqu maintained a rigid posture as he fell into Lu Yuan’s arms, peacefully closing his eyes.
Lu Yuan: “…….”
Ning Guiqu was so scared that he fainted.
Ning Guiqu was helped to sit on a chair. He wasn’t actually unconscious; he just couldn’t accept reality. Lu Yuan sat beside him, letting Ning Guiqu’s head rest on his lap.
Ning Guiqu kept his eyes closed.
It didn’t matter where he was resting now. The person at the door was Lu Yuan. He had looked twice, and it was only Lu Yuan. The owner of the “trash bin” was Lu Yuan. The person with the black profile picture and period nickname was Lu Yuan.
It wasn’t someone who had copied his account; he had copied Lu Yuan’s account. But at that time, he clearly didn’t know there was another black profile picture in the original owner’s phone. It must have been the original owner’s love for Lu Yuan that influenced him. But that didn’t matter now.
So, Lu Yuan also had two accounts.
He even used both accounts and monitored his alt account daily. Otherwise, how could he have replied so quickly?
Why was it like this?
Ning Guiqu suddenly opened his eyes. Lu Yuan was looking down at him. As their gazes met, Ning Guiqu abruptly grabbed Lu Yuan’s collar. “It was you!”
Lu Yuan leaned forward slightly, saying calmly, “Ning Guiqu, I finally have nothing to hide from you.”
In contrast to Lu Yuan’s gentle demeanor, Ning Guiqu’s expression cracked. “So that was your alt account?”
He didn’t even know about Lu Yuan’s alt account. Lu Yuan became more certain that something was wrong with Ning Guiqu’s mind.
Lu Yuan explained, “It’s not really an alt account. I used it in high school, then switched to a new phone number when I started university.”
Ning Guiqu still clutched Lu Yuan’s collar.
Used in high school, then switched to a new number in university.
Ning Guiqu remembered. Back when he called Lu Yuan to play games, Lu Yuan said he would switch to his high school account, but later, he didn’t when playing with them. So, he found out at that time!
Ning Guiqu smiled coldly, his expression twisted. Under Lu Yuan’s concerned gaze, he released Lu Yuan’s collar, got up from Lu Yuan’s lap, sat to the side, straightened his clothes, and once again put on a brave face.
Lu Yuan clearly sensed something was off with Ning Guiqu. “Ning Guiqu, I don’t think your alt account is uncultured. On the contrary, the content is very genuine.”
Ning Guiqu raised his hopeless eyes. “Lu Yuan, I’m sorry for polluting your eyes.”
Lu Yuan: “…….”
“Ning Guiqu, be strong.”
Ning Guiqu laughed dryly, “That’s a quality I’ve never possessed. Next year, on this day, remember to burn incense for the late Genius Xiao Qu.”
Lu Yuan’s pupils constricted as Ning Guiqu suddenly stood up and dashed to the door. Before Lu Yuan could react, Ning Guiqu began “bang bang” hitting his head against the wall beside the door.
Lu Yuan hurried over.
On Ning Guiqu’s third hit, Lu Yuan’s hand intercepted. Ning Guiqu’s head collided with the back of Lu Yuan’s hand.
Ning Guiqu turned his head slowly, “Let me die. Let Ning Guiqu come back!”
Lu Yuan: “……..”
Lu Yuan: “……….”
Lu Yuan was confused.
But he quickly understood.
Ning Guiqu thought he was a transmigrator. He believed that if he died now, the original Ning Guiqu would return, and it would be the original Ning Guiqu who would face this mortifying situation. Admittedly, Ning Guiqu’s idea was a bit deviously clever.
But!
Ning Guiqu wasn’t a transmigrator. There was just something wrong with his brain.
Lu Yuan: “Are you sure that if you die, Ning Guiqu will come back? Besides, this information was only sent to me. Actually, you could just kill me to silence me, and no one else would know about this.”
Ning Guiqu stopped hitting the wall.
Undeniably, what Lu Yuan said was true, and it provided a new perspective.
“Killing is illegal,” Ning Guiqu still understood the law.
Lu Yuan’s lips curled slightly upward as he softly persuaded, “It doesn’t necessarily have to be killing to keep me quiet. If we were dating, those messages would just be you venting to your boyfriend.”
Ning Guiqu: “…….”
Ning Guiqu slightly raised his eyelids, looking at Lu Yuan with newfound curiosity.
Lu Yuan continued his persuasion, “As your boyfriend, we would be one, and I’d have the obligation to maintain your reputation.”
Ning Guiqu… stopped hitting the wall. It seemed he had been provided with a feasible solution.
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