Chapter 49: New Attributes
An Han had already taken out his phone to call Ren Chi, but a sudden idea made his eyes light up.
“Wait! If I solve this problem my own way, I won’t complete the task, but I also won’t run into trouble.”
“This is a system bug! Who says I have to follow the system task exactly?”
So he immediately called Su Peng.
“I’m busy right now. I won’t be back at school until the evening. What happened?”
“My ankle is twisted, I can’t walk. Never mind…”
He switched to calling An Kexin.
“I’m out shopping with a friend. It would take an hour by taxi to get back to school~”
He thought again, was there anyone else at school who was close enough and willing to help him?
An Han thought hard, but no other names came to mind.
There were over thirty people in the class. Most went home for the National Holiday. The only ones left he knew well were Su Peng and An Kexin. The rest were just classmates he had talked to before, strangers at best, not even friends.
“This system… it really doesn’t leave any loopholes!”
He grabbed the stair railing and carefully forced himself to stand.
Reverse thinking, choosing task three but completing task two! That way, he wouldn’t get the reward, but he could still solve his immediate problem.
“Ah, if I had thought of this earlier, I should have picked the hardest task one and then called Ren Chi for help.”
Lifting his twisted left foot, An Han carefully jumped down one step.
He lost his balance and used his hands and foot to steady himself on the ground. The pain made his face pale.
Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and dialed Ren Chi.
He couldn’t handle it! Even lightly putting weight on his left foot caused sharp pain. His calves were already sore. Hopping step by step back to the dorm would be too hard.
“Hello, Brother Ren~” Since he was asking for help, An Han’s voice turned soft and sweet.
“Who is this?”
Ren Chi didn’t recognize his voice at first.
“It’s me, An Han!” he said, sounding pitiful and pleading. “Brother Ren, when you go back to school to move your luggage, could you take me to the clinic too?”
“What happened?”
“I twisted my ankle going down the stairs… and it’s pretty bad.”
A moment later, there was the sound of a door opening upstairs. Ren Chi’s voice called anxiously in the hallway. “An Han!”
“Here! Fifth floor!”
Heavy footsteps rushed over, and a moment later, Ren Chi appeared in An Han’s sight.
He came forward, frowning, and before An Han could speak, he scolded, “How can you be so careless?!”
“Sit down first. Take off your shoe, I need to check it!”
“Oh…” An Han sat on the steps, looking pitiful.
It’s not like I twisted my ankle on purpose…
He was a little worried that sweating so much today might make his feet smell, but he still obediently took off his shoes and socks.
Ren Chi crouched down on the step, holding An Han’s calf as he carefully looked at the swollen, red ankle.
He touched it gently, but An Han couldn’t help crying out in pain. “Don’t touch it! It really hurts!”
“Hiss—! I said don’t touch it!” Tears almost came out from the pain.
“It’s serious. Luckily you called me.”
“Really…?”
“I’ll take you to the clinic.”
Hearing that, An Han grabbed the railing and tried to stand up, but then he saw Ren Chi suddenly turn around and crouch down with his back facing him.
Looking at Ren Chi’s broad shoulders, he roughly knew what he wanted to do, but he still hesitated. His face turned slightly red. “Um… you can just help me walk.”
“It’s pretty far.”
Ren Chi turned his head, confused. “We’re both guys. Why are you embarrassed?”
“It’s because it hurts!” An Han defended himself.
“Hurry up. Don’t waste time.”
…Fine.
Worried that Ren Chi might feel the small “buns” on his chest, An Han zipped up his jacket as high as he could to add more layers of fabric.
Then he carefully wrapped his arms around Ren Chi’s neck and leaned his weight onto his back.
“So clumsy.”
With one strong motion, Ren Chi lifted him up and asked, “You’re pretty light. Do you even weigh 50 kilos?”
“Almost 50 kilos, I think?”
“Eat more. Not even reaching 50 kilos is way too skinny.”
Ren Chi’s concern made An Han, who was always bullied by the system, start overthinking again.
Could it be… the counselor likes me too?
Probably not. There were no notifications saying his affection value increased.
It must be just normal teacher–student care.
Lying on Ren Chi’s back, his thighs supported by Ren Chi’s steady hands, he barely felt any shaking as they went down the stairs.
Ren Chi kept talking as he walked. “How can you twist your ankle going down the stairs? Can’t you be a little careful?”
“If something happens to you, what am I supposed to do as your counselor?”
“Don’t move around. I’ll take you to the clinic first and then send you back to the dorm.”
You just don’t want the school blaming you because you secretly made a student help you move, right?
Although he complained in his heart, An Han strangely felt like he suddenly had an older brother.
His exposed skin could feel the warmth coming from Ren Chi’s body, which made him feel calm inside.
Letting go of his messy thoughts, An Han relaxed and closed his eyes, resting on Ren Chi’s shoulder.
“We’re almost there.” Ren Chi glanced back at him. “Rest well after going back. Classes start again in a couple of days.”
“I know.”
Ren Chi sighed helplessly. Who would have thought that asking An Han to help would end up like this?
Carrying him into the community clinic outside the neighborhood, he carefully placed An Han on a chair and called out, “Doctor, my student twisted his ankle.”
Locals usually called doctors “teacher,” and workers like drivers were called “master.”
An Han leaned back in the chair, looking done with life.
[Task completed. Reward: +1 Skin-and-Bone attribute]
He wasn’t interested in the task at all. He skipped past the completion message and stared at the words “Skin-and-Bone.”
He didn’t recognize the term. Skin and bones?
He didn’t understand what this attribute would do, but the system’s rewards…
He and Su Peng used to just be good friends, but because of the system rewards, their brother-like friendship almost went in… a strange direction.
Grinding his teeth, An Han cursed silently, but he had no choice except to accept the random attribute.
Ren Chi noticed his strange expression and sat next to him, asking quietly, “Do you not like hospitals?”
“It’s okay…”
He forced out a smile and immediately saw the surprised look on Ren Chi’s face.
That made him even more annoyed. He glared at Ren Chi.
“Sorry.” Ren Chi turned his head awkwardly. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt like his student’s skin looked as smooth and soft as a baby’s, making him want to poke it.
It felt like there was suddenly a soft filter over his vision. The change in An Han happened so suddenly that he didn’t know how to react, and could only blame the clinic’s lighting.