Chapter 10: Blackmail
On the school sports field,
A group of energetic teenage boys and girls were enjoying themselves, showing the youthful energy that suited their age.
In contrast, Li Nuo was sitting under the shade of a large tree. He leaned back with his hands on the ground and stared blankly at the sky, counting the clouds one by one.
Even Zhou Qikuan could not stand watching him daydream all the time. He walked over and said,
“How do you manage to space out no matter where you are?”
“None of your business,” Li Nuo replied with a look of disdain.
“It’s PE class. Aren’t you bored just sitting there? Why not come play basketball with me?”
“Hah, foolish. I don’t like sports where a bunch of people fight over one ball.”
Seeing that Li Nuo was as stubborn as ever, Zhou Qikuan gave up trying to persuade him and changed the subject.
“Are you coming to my house this Sunday? I have something good to show you.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll be interested.”
“A new game cartridge?”
“Uh... sort of, but even better.”
The moment he heard that, Li Nuo’s eyes lit up.
“I’m definitely coming!”
“Good. I’m going to play basketball now. See you later.”
“Go ahead.”
After Zhou Qikuan left, Li Nuo returned to his usual state of emptying his mind.
After who knew how long, his neck started to feel sore. He finally sat up straight and began rubbing it hard.
At the same time, An Ran'er stared at her phone with a shocked expression.
There was only one message on the screen from someone with an anime profile picture.
“I know the real name of that Bilibili uploader. His name is Li Nuo.”
After reading the message from Xiao Lu, An Ran'er completely lost her composure.
So the person she had been desperately searching for all this time had been sitting right next to her every day.
She looked up toward the boy sitting under the tree. He looked absent-minded and a little silly.
She simply could not believe that this fool was actually the uploader she had admired for half a year, [A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold].
“Could Xiao Lu have gotten it wrong? But...”
She had often thought her deskmate’s voice sounded strange, as if he was forcing it out. It sounded neither completely male nor female.
Still, no matter how strange his voice was, he was definitely a boy.
And their group was a girl band. She had never even considered letting a boy join it.
But when she thought about how the band was about to be forced to disband, she could no longer worry about such things.
If he really was that uploader called [A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold], then even if he was a boy...
A bold idea began to form in her mind.
Since PE was the second class in the afternoon, everyone had to return to the classroom afterward for the final lesson of the day.
During the break,
Some girls who disliked PE had already returned to the classroom to chat or do homework.
Meanwhile, groups of sweaty boys who had just finished playing basketball were proudly talking about their amazing shots.
At that moment, Li Nuo sat at his desk doodling in his notebook. His mind was completely focused on the mysterious game cartridge Zhou Qikuan had mentioned.
Just as he was getting into it, a voice suddenly spoke beside his ear.
“Don’t leave right after school today. Come to the music room. I have something to ask you.”
Hearing An Ran'er’s voice, Li Nuo felt as if he had been shocked by electricity. Goosebumps instantly appeared all over his body.
It was the first time she had ever spoken to him at school.
He felt both surprised and flattered.
But as the saying goes, when something unusual happens, there is usually a reason behind it.
He had a bad feeling about this.
“C-Can I not go?” he asked nervously.
“No! Unless you want me to post those photos of you wearing girls’ clothes at the anime convention.”
As she spoke, she took out her phone and showed him the photos.
“You!”
Seeing the pictures and hearing her threat, Li Nuo finally gave in.
“Fine. I’ll do whatever you say.”
Watching him surrender so quickly, An Ran'er finally understood why Xiao Lu had suggested using those photos as leverage.
After school, in the music room.
An Ran'er sat quietly beside the piano, lost in thought.
About ten minutes later, Li Nuo finally arrived in a hurry.
Seeing how late he was, she frowned.
“Why are you so slow?”
“I had something to do.”
“Forget it. Let me ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“Do you have a Bilibili account called [A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold]?”
“Uh... n-no... I don’t...”
The moment he heard the question, Li Nuo panicked and immediately denied it.
“You can stop pretending. I already know.”
Hearing her firm tone, he lowered his head and muttered,
“I’m not... It’s not me...”
“You’re still pretending!”
“I’m not.”
Seeing how timid he looked, An Ran'er softened her voice and spoke sincerely.
“Whether you are or not, I’ll tell you the truth. The reason I transferred to this school was to find that uploader called [A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold].”
“Uh... why are you looking for them?”
“I have something very important I need to ask them.”
Seeing the earnest look in her eyes and hearing the almost pleading tone in her voice, Li Nuo’s heart softened.
“How do you even know that person is in this school?”
“I don’t just know they’re in this school. I also know their real name is Li Nuo.”
“Couldn’t it just be someone with the same name?”
“I checked. You’re the only Li Nuo in this school.”
Li Nuo could not understand it at all.
He had never revealed his identity, so how had she found out?
Seeing how certain she was, he knew he could no longer hide it.
Finally, he confessed.
“Fine. I admit it. It’s me.”
“It’s really you!?”
Now that he had admitted it, An Ran'er found it hard to believe.
But things had already reached this point.
She could only try her luck.
“Since you admitted it, are you free this Saturday?”
“Huh? You want—”
“Don’t ask. Just tell me if you’re free.”
“I should... be free.”
“Good. Saturday, ten in the morning. Meet me at Huarong Park.”
“Uh, aren’t you going to tell me what this is about first?”
“You’ll find out when you get there.”
“But—”
“You’re not allowed to stand me up. Remember, I still have your weakness.”
She waved her phone in front of him and smiled mischievously.
“You... so annoying.”
“Hehe.”
Watching him look completely defeated, An Ran'er covered her mouth and laughed.
Her mood instantly improved.
……………………………
That night,
Li Nuo returned to his apartment after finishing work at the noodle shop and collapsed onto his bed.
Seeing this, Roubao jumped onto the bed and gently licked his face.
“Haha, stop it, Roubao.”
After moving the cat aside, he turned on his computer.
But the moment he logged into QQ, he received a friend request.
The nickname was [A Rising Star Ran Ran].
He was about to reject it when he noticed the request message:
【Li Nuo, if you dare reject me, you're dead!】
Judging from the tone and the nickname, he was almost certain who it was.
As soon as he accepted, the other side sent a smug sticker.
An Ran'er: “Hehe, I knew you wouldn’t dare reject me.”
Li Nuo: “You degenerate.”
An Ran'er: “How dare you! Xiao Li, hurry up and bow to Sister Ran a few times, and I might forgive you.”
Li Nuo: “...”
Looking at her messages, Li Nuo could not help but laugh.
This An Ran'er was completely different online.
When she was on the internet, she totally let herself go.