He tricked the female lead into becoming his boyfriend, but then went on to criticize the male lead.

The sarcasm and deeper meaning in Jiang Shangyu's words were clear to everyone present.

Everyone has their own path, and it's their own choice. There's no need for others to interfere.

Gu Shiyan didn't say anything, but silently reached out to support Zhao Muze, who was completely drunk and staggering, and then reached out to pull Chi Nanli, who still wanted to continue complaining, signaling him to leave quickly and not get involved in other people's business.

Just as the group was about to turn and leave, a greasy, rough middle-aged man's voice suddenly came from the end of the corridor.

"Yan Yan!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged man with a shiny bald head and a thick gold chain around his neck, wearing a floral shirt, walking quickly towards them with an impatient expression. His gaze was fixed on Su Qingyan, and his tone was stern: "Didn't you tell me you were going to the restroom? What are you doing here? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

The scene instantly became extremely awkward.

Su Qingyan froze, her face drained of color, and she stood there helplessly, wishing she could disappear into the ground.

Jiang Shangyu and Gu Shiyan exchanged another glance, their eyes understanding each other.

Sure enough.

The two did not linger any longer, and with Chi Nanli and the drunken Zhao Muze, they turned and left with unhurried steps.

☆

The girls' dormitory was quiet at four in the morning.

The curtains were drawn tightly, blocking out the deep darkness of night outside, leaving only the even, long breathing sounds in the dormitory.

Sang Jiuning, Tang Tongtong, and Qin Ying slept soundly. After a whole day of classes and late-night chatting, they were so tired that they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Their sleeping postures were relaxed and peaceful, and they showed no signs of waking up.

Only in the Totoro cage by the desk near the window was there a scene of utter chaos.

The round and chubby System 438 was curled up on the soft wood shavings mat, its small body slumped into a ball, its thin paws weakly gripping the edge of the cage, its soft, pitiful cries echoing in the quiet cage, audible only to itself.

【Oh no! We're doomed! We're doomed!】

[It's all because human snacks are too delicious! Potato chips, cookies, candies—I couldn't resist eating too many!]

[I, a once supreme system, have been completely assimilated by human food! My spiritual energy has dissipated completely; I am no longer the omnipotent system!]

438 was on the verge of tears, inwardly wailing and regretting it to the core.

It was originally just temporarily possessing the chinchilla and staying obediently in the dormitory as a pet for a month to pass the time. Who knew that it couldn't resist the enthusiastic feeding from that girl Tang Tongtong, and could eat all kinds of human snacks every day.

Now it's all right, I can't sense any system energy at all.

It was so excited that it couldn't help itself, but the next second its lower abdomen swelled up, and it couldn't hold back anymore.

In a flash, the freshly replaced clean cushion was completely soiled.

438's pupils dilated instantly, the Totoro completely wilted, and its mentality completely collapsed.

Help! I'm not only useless, I'm also a complete mess!

[Shameful! Utterly shameful! A system of this caliber, acting so casually...]

[Oh no, I can't be a pet elegantly anymore!]

It lay sprawled on the messy mat, letting out several soft whimpers. Its small body was listless, exuding a sense of utter despondency and hopelessness.

Unfortunately, the three girls in the dormitory were fast asleep, and no one was awakened by the cat's inner turmoil and constant wailing in the cage.

The three of them slept soundly, completely unaware that the little pet had experienced a huge psychological crisis in the middle of the night.

……

At six o'clock in the morning, the sunlight peeked through the gaps in the curtains, and the soft morning light fell on the dormitory floor.

Tang Tongtong was the first to wake up.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up, stretching lazily. She habitually turned to look at the Totoro cage on her desk, preparing to feed the little guy breakfast as usual.

But upon seeing that, she immediately frowned, and her sleepiness vanished.

The little chinchilla, who is usually lively and energetic in the morning, jumping around and chattering noisily, was lying quietly in the corner today, motionless, with its head drooping and even its ears drooping listlessly, looking weak and on the verge of death.

Tang Tongtong panicked instantly, quickly threw off the covers, got out of bed, and whispered to the cage, "You two, wake up! Come and see this little thing!"

Her voice was filled with genuine concern: "Is it sick? It looks so listless and lifeless, like it has no energy at all."

Qin Ying rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. She groggily leaned over and stared at 438 in the cage for a long time, carefully observing its condition.

After a moment, she spoke with a mixture of doubt and curiosity: "You know what, I took a closer look, and this little thing has dark circles around its eyes. How come it has dark circles under its eyes?"

Normal chinchillas are clean, soft, and cuddly; none of them have dark circles under their eyes. They look strange and pitiful.

Sang Jiuning also woke up slowly, sat up lazily, casually brushed a stray hair behind her ear, climbed out of bed, walked slowly to the desk, and looked down at the little guy pretending to be dead in the cage.

She observed carefully; the little one's limbs were limp and motionless, his eyes were vacant, and his whole body exuded a sense of weariness from having seen through the world.

Sang Jiuning couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips, her tone tinged with amusement and teasing: "To be honest, I can see a lot of decadence and vicissitude in it."

Just like humans who stay up all night, experience the ups and downs of life, and completely give up.

Lying in the cage pretending to be weak, 438 heard every word of the three people's conversation.

Little Dumpling sighed inwardly.

"Absolutely! I look incredibly weathered!"

[A perfectly good top-tier system has been turned into a listless, slacking pet. Who understands this?!]

It weakly stretched out its short paws, its movements slow and languid, utterly listless, filled with a sense of powerlessness.

Since you're treating me like a pet, at least give me a name! A pet without a name is so unrespectable!

Unfortunately, the three of them couldn't hear its thoughts and could only silently suffer in silence.

Seeing its listless appearance, Qin Ying was really worried and frowned, suggesting, "Why don't we take it to the vet? Maybe it's sick or something. Small animals can't talk, and it's too pitiful for them to tough it out."

Tang Tongtong nodded repeatedly, her face full of heartache: "I also think we should go and see it. Look at it now, lying there too lazy to move. The way it stretched out its paw just now, it looked like it was holding on with its last breath. It's so pitiful."

The two had already started packing their things, planning to take the little guy to the vet for a check-up after breakfast.

438, who was pretending to be dead and slacking off, instantly lost his composure upon hearing the words "pet hospital".

No, no, no! There's absolutely no need for that!

I'm not sick! I'm perfectly healthy! I'm just feeling emo!

Going to the hospital for a checkup is too embarrassing! The dignity of the system cannot be lost!

438 was extremely anxious, fearing that if he were really sent to the hospital and went through a lot of trouble, his abnormality would be exposed on the spot.

In a moment of desperation, 438 suddenly jumped up from the mat.