Restricted Fantasy Invasion

Chapter 1
The boy gently pressed down the top of the ballpoint pen in his hand, and the pen tip, which had been fighting for more than ten minutes, finally received the signal to retreat and retracted into the pen belly, leaving only the neatly written equation on the desk as proof of its hard work.

The white answer sheet flipped over, revealing its title,

"Yuanyue International High School Spring Semester Opening Exam, Subject: Mathematics, Exam Duration: 120 minutes"

Beneath the printed title, the test taker's name was written in black letters,

"Yan Huan"

It was precisely a spring-drenched afternoon, sunlight pouring generously through the second-floor classroom windows, illuminating the handsome boy's side profile just as he finished his test.

Under his slightly long, softly curled black bangs, his dark eyes glanced out the window, reflecting the vast green field outside, streaked with crimson sunlight-the playground traced by the setting sun.

On the track, young people in athletic uniforms ran laps, looking just like Kuafu, endlessly chasing the descending sun.

In his previous life, the image of Kuafu in Yan Huan's mind was always that of a young, strong boy, because he believed that the act of tirelessly and blindly chasing the sun was full of youthful flavor.

That was something only the young would do, and it was their enviable privilege.

Fortunately, in this parallel world, there were also legends about Kuafu, allowing him to use such sentences in his essays.

The other students around him were still buried in their work, while Yan Huan alone lightly placed the pen warmed by his hand onto the desk.

Propping up his chin, he exchanged a glance with the middle-aged, bald math teacher on the podium, and then, as if by tacit agreement, they both looked away.

'This kid, finished in so little time again.'

'Zhou Bin, your bald head is reflecting light again.'

Their thoughts collided in empty space, yet neither knew what the other was thinking.

"Read the questions carefully. Check your work thoroughly."

That was his math teacher from last semester, Zhou Bin-a rather humorous name. Every time Yan Huan saw him, he couldn't help but think of imported Japanese raw cola.

He listened absentmindedly to the sound of his classmates scribbling furiously beside him, his mind drifting off to who knows where.

"Is my transmigration missing a bit of [fantasy flair]?"

Yan Huan dazed out, suddenly feeling a little frustrated by the thought.

The cheat system implanted in his brain, the female demon who would repay kindness at night, the foreign foodie in the warehouse saying "Are you my master?"-

None of that existed!

It just seemed like he'd died young, suddenly collapsing at his overtime workstation, then reincarnated as a baby, starting a brand-new life in a completely unfamiliar, apparently parallel world.

He'd lived self-disciplined for more than ten years, and only this year did he enter youth once again!

Actually, Yan Huan still had a little bit of hope for this. On his sixth birthday, his wish was that his transmigrated life would have a touch more fantasy.

But contentment brings happiness. Having died once and been reborn and transmigrated, what more could he ask for?

If Lao Da could be resurrected and transmigrate to another world, he probably wouldn't care about all those boomerang elbow memes flying around the internet.

Yan Huan thought contentedly, but feeling bored, decided to really follow Bin-not Bin, Zhou Bin's advice and pick up his test paper to check it again.

So, holding the paper, he picked up his pen again, pretending to check but actually spacing out to kill the remaining test time.

Soon, it was almost time to hand in the exam.

"There are twenty-five minutes left before the end of the exam. Please double-check your name, student number, and answer sheet."

"Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock."

It was just another ordinary afternoon, but in this silent exam room full of frantic writing, the sound of the clock's ticking echoed rhythmically, as if reminding the students of the urgency of time.

But after a second, Yan Huan belatedly realized something was off.

Wait, isn't the exam using a digital clock?

He looked at the whiteboard on the podium. The countdown timer was ticking away, but it wasn't making any sound.

Just as Yan Huan was feeling puzzled, a girl's voice, clear as a nightingale, suddenly broke into his ears as if it were an illusion-

"Hello, can everyone in Exam Room 1 hear me?"

Yan Huan's movements paused slightly. Instinctively, he wanted to turn his head toward the classroom door, but in his mind, a shrill, childlike scream exploded, cutting him off-

[Don't answer! Don't answer! Don't answer!]

What's going on, are the Trisolarans invading?

Why didn't they invade in my last life but show up now?!

As Yan Huan covered his ears and thought this, out of the corner of his eye he suddenly caught sight of a small head poking through the open exam room door.

Under a head of glossy, elegant black bangs, a fair hand was cupped around her mouth like a megaphone, confirming that the girl's voice just now had come from her.

She was a beautiful girl, with looks that could easily be called perfect, almost magnetic-once you looked, it was hard to look away.

The most striking thing was her bright, moist eyes beneath long lashes, sparkling like starlight. Her arched brows and gentle features gave her an angelic charm that lingered in the mind.

On the chest of her gray school jacket, rising and falling with her breath, hung a name tag with her name written on it.

"Class 1-B, Bai Yi."

Thank goodness, not a Trisolaran.

[Your life is about to end. Emergency world-line intervention is commencing!]

[The correction plan has begun. Please maintain your current actions, and absolutely do not display any behavior that suggests you've noticed the modifier, or there will be severe consequences.]

[I'll explain the details to you shortly.]

World-line? Modifier? Life ending?

The voice in his ear sounded again, steadier this time and less grating, but the barrage of strange terms was no less shocking than before.

And at this moment, Yan Huan truly followed the instructions of that mysterious voice in his mind-not moving a muscle, and even more, only using the corners of his eyes to cautiously track the girl.

The reason was simple-Yan Huan was startled to find that the girl named Bai Yi seemed to be separated from the entire world, actually half-transparent.

In his peripheral vision, the half-transparent girl leaned her stunning profile into the exam room where the students were still scribbling away.

Then, instead of lowering her hand, she called out "Ah" again in that lovely voice, like a climber on a mountaintop letting out her pent-up breath.

Yan Huan blinked, but except for him, everyone else in the exam room seemed not to hear a thing and just continued with their work.

"You really can't be discovered."

The girl covered her mouth and laughed softly, tucking a lock of black hair behind her ear, revealing her small, rounded, fair earlobe.

She seemed completely relaxed as she walked into the exam room, even waving her hand in front of Zhou Bin and the students in the first row, playfully observing their complete obliviousness.

"Hmm hmm hmm~"

She hummed a little tune Yan Huan had never heard before, pacing the podium with her hands behind her back, just like a leader inspecting the troops.

Then, she suddenly frowned, as if remembering something, and turned to look at Zhou Bin on the podium with a displeased expression.

Yan Huan didn't know what she was going to do, only saw her searching for something by the podium.

A marker.

She grabbed the marker and walked toward Zhou Bin with clear mischief in her eyes.

Under Yan Huan's widening gaze, she stood on tiptoe and drew a big black X on Zhou Bin's face with the marker, then scribbled all over it with a few random strokes.

Yet still, neither Zhou Bin nor the students below seemed to notice anything strange.

Zhou Bin's gaze swept across the exam room, but no matter what, he couldn't see the girl in front of him or realize his face had become a doodle wall.

Only Yan Huan saw this utterly absurd scene.

"Ha, that's for calling my mom to tattle on me."

The girl's sweet voice sounded like a little devil, perfectly matching her current smugness.

A ghost?

No.

I feel like I know this person.

Now that he thought about it, Yan Huan suddenly remembered who this somewhat familiar-looking girl was. She was Bai Yi, a classmate in his grade. He'd said he'd seen her not just at school because she was a celebrity on campus.

She was a young artist already signed with a famous international entertainment company, conquering countless netizens worldwide with her extraordinary youthful charm, known as the "wife a million people are waiting to grow up."

She'd already starred in three movies, had several hit songs, and countless endorsements. He even saw her ads occasionally when shopping online.

She wasn't quite a big star yet, but within the school, she was definitely famous.

And now, this internet-famous idol was doodling on Zhou Bin's face with a marker?

And he was the only one who could see it?

What kind of Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai plot is this?!

"Whoosh whoosh."

The wind outside suddenly picked up, making the curtains sway and the exam papers tremble.

As the blue-and-white curtains billowed like waves, they covered half of Bai Yi's body, but neither her hair nor her skirt moved at all, as if she were a beautiful ghost standing apart from the world.

Fantastical, stunning.

But at that very moment, as the wind rose, Bai Yi seemed to sense his gaze and suddenly turned to look at Yan Huan, brushing right past his cautious scrutiny.

"Huh?"

Not good!

After hiding for so long, it seemed like he was about to blow his cover!

Yan Huan's mind raced, but his expression remained calm. He simply looked in her direction, which in turn made Bai Yi feel awkward.

She glanced at herself in confusion, then at the curtains that had fallen again as the wind stopped. Finally, she turned to look straight at the handsome boy sitting by the window.

Ah.

So it's you, Student Council President.

Bai Yi pursed her lips and walked silently toward Yan Huan, making his heart beat faster and faster, though his face didn't change and his pen still spun between his fingers.

"You can see me?"

From the girl standing so close, there was a faint but pleasant fragrance, like flowers blooming in the morning, full of vitality.

She leaned down a bit, her long black hair tipping at an angle and brushing against Yan Huan's temple, yet he felt nothing at all.

Yet Yan Huan only became more certain-she was absolutely real.

Yan Huan stayed perfectly still, eyes fixed ahead, his gaze passing right through her chest as if admiring some beautiful scenery.

"."

Bai Yi, having received no answer to her question, fell silent for a moment. Then, that mischievous little devil smile-so at odds with her pure idol image-bloomed once more on her face as she picked up the other gel pen on Yan Huan's desk.

Something miraculous happened-the gel pen she picked up instantly turned semi-transparent. To be precise, it was as if she had pulled the semi-transparent soul out of the pen's body on the desk.

There was a gel pen on the desk, and in her hand, a semi-transparent gel pen, as if the world-line had split in two.

"That face of yours is still just as annoying, President."

Ah, me?

No, we're not even close, are we? Haven't even met offline, right?

But Bai Yi offered no further explanation. With a smile that held no warmth, she spoke while aiming the tip of the gel pen at Yan Huan, as if about to write something on him just like she had with Zhou Bin earlier.

Yan Huan's dark eyes slowly focused, and the voice that had echoed in his mind earlier rang out again in his head.

[Correction plan has commenced. Please maintain your current actions and under no circumstances display any behavior suggesting you have discovered the modifier, or serious consequences will follow!]

Yet even so, his arm still itched to move, as if already targeting her slender wrist beneath her cuff.

At that very moment, a distinct "tick-tock. tick-tock. tick-tock." sounded from the girl before him, exactly like the clock chime he'd heard earlier.

Then, he heard other mysterious sounds emanating from her as well,

[Current effect: No concern]

[The fifteen-minute countdown is about to end, please take note.]

Bai Yi's movements suddenly froze. She was still holding Yan Huan's gel pen, but her face was now full of resignation.

She lowered her head to glance at the time, looking a bit reluctant to leave.

"Time's up already? That fast?"

Helplessly, she set the gel pen back in its original place, and it overlapped perfectly with the other gel pen on his desk, as if two world-lines had merged.

Turning back, her radiant gaze lingered on Yan Huan's handsome face for a long moment before she finally turned away in exasperation, preparing to leave the classroom.

"We have plenty of time ahead, Yan Huan. Hmph."

"Tick-tock."

"Tick-tock."

The clock chimes that had sounded before now spread again, like the workings of a machine or the heavy splashing of water droplets.

Yan Huan's gaze followed the faint, illusory sound as he watched her rapidly retreating figure fade away, until she disappeared completely.

A few minutes passed, and everything seemed to return to normal.

But at a certain moment, Zhou Bin, standing at the podium, suddenly shuddered. For a split second, it felt as if countless pen strokes had scratched across his face.

"Hiss!"

He quickly reached up to cover his face, producing a sharp "pop" sound.

The noise made all the test-takers look up from their papers. And when they did, every single one of them was stunned.

"What are you looking at? Have you finished the second question? Don't you want your grades? Hurry up-"

"N-no, it's just-" At this point, a brave student raised a trembling hand to point at Zhou Bin and blurted out, "Teacher Zhou, y-your face!"

"My face?"

Zhou Bin was momentarily confused, then quickly pulled out his phone, turned on the front camera, and aimed it at himself.

The moment it turned on, he saw his bald head, now thoroughly defiled by marker. Not only had someone drawn a pair of JQK, but also written,

"Stupid teacher, stupid teacher, stupid teacher."

The handwriting was messy, like the scribbles of a three-year-old child.

The classroom fell completely silent, except for Zhou Bin, whose face grew redder and redder as his body trembled uncontrollably.

"Who was it?!!!"

A second later, his miserable wail echoed throughout the entire teaching building, probably startling every other exam room.

Only Yan Huan sat there in a daze, the only one who truly knew what had just happened.

And just like Zhou Bin, the spot on Yan Huan's temple that the girl's black hair had brushed earlier-where he'd felt nothing at the time-now finally began to tingle faintly.

It was as if the delayed, fleeting tenderness from a few minutes ago had finally landed right between his brows, describing for Yan Huan the beauty the girl had left behind.

And arriving late as well was that birthday wish he'd made at age six.

That touch of fantasy.

(End of this chapter)