Thank you @Mareux for the Kofi. (1/10)
Yuying University
Chapter 415: “Auntie, Auntie, let me explain!”
Fifteen minutes remained before the class bell would ring.
The Anchors who had enrolled in the course began trickling into the classroom.
One by one, they all looked completely exhausted—some with pale faces, others with deep, dark circles under their eyes. Each of them looked worn out and spiritless.
Even the scar-faced man who had caused trouble during the last film class looked the same.
When he saw them sitting in the back row, he hesitated as if wanting to say something. However, possibly due to the presence of Teacher Sun at the podium, he paused for a moment and ultimately said nothing, choosing instead to sit near the door.
Wen Jianyan noticed that this time, there were fewer students in the film appreciation class than last time.
And where those missing students had gone… was painfully obvious.
After all, it was rare to find Anchors like Wen Jianyan—ones who had figured out the rules and managed to complete the assignment 100% on their first try in the Instance.
“Ring-ring-ring—”
The class bell rang.
Just like last time, thick darkness began to spread outside the door, quickly engulfing the entire hallway.
“Welcome, students, to the second class of our term.”
Teacher Sun stood at the front of the room with a smile on his face. His cold gaze swept across the classroom and paused briefly on Wen Jianyan before moving on slowly. “Next, I will lead you in appreciating more outstanding film works to enhance your literary and artistic cultivation.”
The room dimmed again, and with the buzzing of machinery, the projector started to run once more.
[Film appreciation is about to begin—]
With that familiar mechanical voice came an eerie chill.
Wen Jianyan was already prepared.
After a brief moment of darkness, just like before, the world around him flipped.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a single bed in a dorm room.
Wen Jianyan propped himself up with one hand and looked around the empty dorm. He was alone.
However…
His gaze paused on the heart-shaped stickers pasted on the wallpaper.
Unlike the dorm in Brave Richard, the decor and details here clearly indicated a female dormitory.
Obviously, this had something to do with the gender of the film’s protagonist.
Wen Jianyan got out of bed.
He quickly scouted the dorm room, paying special attention to the books on each bed, flipping open the title pages to look for names.
—None of them said “Wang Ni.”
Apparently, unlike last time, he hadn’t been transported directly to the protagonist’s exact place and time. The characters and plot elements of the movie would need to be triggered manually this time.
Wen Jianyan opened the dorm door and stepped out.
He discovered he was on the first floor.
The room number behind him read 104.
The hallway was also empty. Wen Jianyan gently closed the door behind him and walked a few steps deeper into the corridor.
Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind:
“Who’s there?! What are you doing?!”
Wen Jianyan froze and turned around.
A burly dorm manager stormed toward him, eyes blazing and eyebrows arched. Her presence was so fierce it could startle anyone into a shiver.
Wen Jianyan instinctively tried to back away, but the dorm manager grabbed him by the arm.
Her grip was like an iron clamp, and her booming voice exploded in his ear:
“You’re a boy—what are you doing in the girls’ dormitory?!”
Wen Jianyan: “?”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[?]
[?]
“Get out—NOW!” the dorm manager barked, dragging Wen Jianyan toward the exit.
Wen Jianyan was tall, but in her grip, he was like a scrawny little chick. She pulled him by the collar, and he stumbled forward helplessly.
“W-wait!”
As he was about to be thrown out of the girls’ dorm, Wen Jianyan panicked and turned his head, clinging to her arm.
“Auntie, Auntie, let me explain!”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[??]
[??]
[A-actually…” Wen Jianyan stammered, “I—I’m a girl!]
The dorm manager froze and looked at him suspiciously.
“…What?”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[???]
[???]
Seeing she’d finally stopped, Wen Jianyan quickly sped up his speech, putting on the most pitiful expression he could muster:
“I’ve always been tall since I was young… and I play basketball… so people often mistake me for a boy. I don’t want this either!”
While talking, he glanced at the livestream interface, fingers flying to try and edit his appearance in real-time.
Using his real face as a base, he planned to make a few subtle gender adjustments—remove the Adam’s apple, add a slight bust. He might just be able to get away with it…
But the moment he opened the customization interface, Wen Jianyan went still.
【Appearance customization unavailable under special status.】
What?
Before he could react, the dorm manager gave him another once-over, pausing at his Adam’s apple and flat chest.
She spat heavily:
“Little bastard—you think you’re fooling anyone with that excuse? Trying to sneak into the girls’ dorm with such a trick—shameless!”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[HAHAHAHAHA!!]
[This is the best thing I’ve ever seen!]
[Please insult him more! He loves it!]
And so, Wen Jianyan was mercilessly kicked out of the girls’ dorm. He stumbled a few meters before finally managing to stop himself.
Behind him, the matron’s disdainful voice called out:
“So young, and already on the wrong path!”
Wen Jianyan: “……”
Then came a loud slam as the dorm door shut, shaking the glass in its frame.
Wen Jianyan straightened up silently. He looked back at the tightly closed dorm door, then down at himself.
Acting as another character was second nature to him—but playing another gender without any appearance modification? That was pushing it a bit.
Still…
He opened the livestream interface again.
Sure enough—
【Appearance customization unavailable under special status.】
Special status?
Could it be…?
Wen Jianyan frowned and opened his character card.
【Character Card】
Name: Wen Jianyan
Age: 18
Identity: Freshman at Yuying Comprehensive University (Richard’s new roommate)
His gaze dropped, masking the thoughtful expression in his eyes.
Just as he suspected, the films all shared a connected narrative.
Even the “new identity” he received was carried over from the last movie, which explained why his appearance couldn’t be altered and why he couldn’t simply switch genders like in other Instances.
—After all, Richard’s new roommate couldn’t possibly be a girl.
That said, for the other Anchors, this wouldn’t pose any real obstacle.
Because, unlike Wen Jianyan, they hadn’t activated an in-movie identity. So, although they couldn’t take anything out of the film or touch any NPCs, all the NPCs would treat them as invisible. Even if they were male, it didn’t matter.
Wen Jianyan frowned slightly.
That was… a bit troublesome.
After all, the movie was titled A Day in the Life of Wang Ni, and the protagonist, Wang Ni, was clearly a girl. A large part of her “day” would definitely take place in the dormitory. But because of his identity card, he had already been thrown out of the dorm, meaning he would miss out on a major chunk of the plot.
He glanced dejectedly at the tightly shut dorm door, crouched in a corner by the wall, and began editing a message to Orange Candy and the others.
After summarizing the situation and informing Orange Candy, Wen Jianyan began wandering further down the corridor to test the limits.
However, he soon discovered that although he was recognized as a member of the film’s storyline, due to the movie’s spatial restrictions, he couldn’t leave the designated area. The moment he walked a little too far, he would be instantly teleported back to this location.
Since that was the case, there was nothing else to do… but wait.
Wen Jianyan sighed and returned to the area beneath the dorm.
Roughly ten minutes later, the dormitory door creaked open from the inside.
Wen Jianyan perked up and looked toward the source of the sound.
“What the hell—AH!”
Even before seeing the person, a string of noisy, chaotic shouting reached his ears.
“What are you doing?! Don’t touch me! Ahh! Ow!!”
Wen Jianyan: “…”
Yeah. He had a good idea what had just happened.
He sighed again, stood up, and headed for the dorm entrance.
Sure enough, at the entrance, a petite but fiery-tempered Orange Candy was cheerfully pummeling three fully grown men. The three of them were scrambling around helplessly, unable to fight back. One could barely save himself, let alone help the others. No matter what, someone always got caught and screamed pitifully.
Wei Cheng stood nearby but didn’t even try to intervene. He simply blocked the two other female members of the opposite team—probably to stop them from stepping in. But knowing him, Wen Jianyan suspected it was more about protecting them from getting caught in Orange Candy’s rampage.
As soon as Wei Cheng saw Wen Jianyan, his eyes lit up like he’d seen a savior:
“Hey! You’re here! Come help me talk down our captain—”
Wen Jianyan sighed again.
He walked over. “What did they do?”
“They were in this same film during the last class. So, when we entered again this time, they were still in A Day in the Life of Wang Ni,” Wei Cheng explained helplessly. “Our captain asked them where Wang Ni was and hoped they could share some information… but they refused.”
Wei Cheng put it mildly, but Wen Jianyan didn’t need to think too hard. As long as Orange Candy was involved, things could never have played out that peacefully or simply.
Wen Jianyan cleared his throat and stepped forward.
“Everyone, let’s stop for a moment—let’s not…”
He paused and carefully swapped out the phrase “one-sided beating” with something more neutral:
“—let’s not resort to mutual violence.”
“After all, we’re still inside the movie. No one knows when the scene might change. Wasting time here isn’t good for either side.”
Whether it was due to Wen Jianyan’s words or because Orange Candy was genuinely tired of beating people up, she finally huffed, flicked her wrist, and reluctantly stopped.
She turned to Wen Jianyan. “What are you doing out here? I didn’t see you inside.”
Wen Jianyan: “…You didn’t check your phone?”
Orange Candy glanced at the three battered male Anchors and replied ominously, “Didn’t find the time.”
Wen Jianyan: “……”
After the one-sided beating finally ended, Wei Cheng stopped blocking the way. The two female Anchors from the opposite team rushed forward to help their teammates up.
One male Anchor, his left eye badly bruised, struggled to his feet and spat angrily:
“You—you son of a—”
Orange Candy narrowed her eyes, and the corner of her mouth curved up into a smile. People who knew her well recognized that this was her signature expression before going berserk:
“Wanna go again?”
“…”
The Anchor immediately shrank back, the rest of his words stuck in his throat.
Wen Jianyan stepped forward.
Amid the hostile glares from the other group, he smiled warmly and bent down to help one of them up:
“Sorry about that—our captain has a bit of a temper. Really, we’re sorry for what just happened.”
Wen Jianyan had a face that was naturally trustworthy and didn’t hold back on using his charm. Although the other party still looked wary, they didn’t reject his help.
One of the female Anchors’ eyes flickered with recognition.
“I remember you.”
Wen Jianyan: “Hmm?”
“You were the one who raised your hand and asked the teacher a question last class, weren’t you?”
Wen Jianyan: “That’s right.”
He scanned the group. “Looks like… you all used the bathroom break event?”
The group exchanged looks.
From their expressions, Wen Jianyan could easily tell the answer was yes.
Perfect.
In any Instance, strength is always the foundation of cooperation.
A male Anchor with a swollen right cheek and a whistle in his speech said, “If I remember right, I didn’t owe you anything last time.”
Wen Jianyan smoothly responded:
“Correct. We entered a different movie last class.”
“!”
The five people across from him froze, clearly not expecting that answer.
“You… you can switch movies?”
“Yes.”
Wen Jianyan smiled slightly, his eyes calm and direct without revealing anything more:
“Why don’t we cooperate and share some intel?”
The opposing team suddenly became visibly uncertain. They exchanged glances with one another, clearly tempted by the new information Wen Jianyan had let slip.
Wen Jianyan didn’t rush them. After helping all of them up, he stepped back into his own team, giving the other side time to discuss.
Orange Candy stared over, still looking indignant.
Wen Jianyan sighed.
“Miss Orange Candy, must you beat everyone you meet every single time?”
Orange Candy snapped: “They called me a little shrimp!!”
Wen Jianyan: “……”
While he was speechless, it seemed like the other team had reached a conclusion.
A bruised and battered Anchor stepped forward.
“Alright, we agree.”
He said, “We’ll share our intel, but only if you tell us what you know, too.”
Wen Jianyan smiled slightly, not at all surprised by the condition.
“So… can you tell us now, where is Wang Ni?”
Wei Cheng asked.
The Anchor, who had introduced himself as Suo Suo, glanced nervously at Orange Candy. After she gave him a vicious tongue-sticking-out warning, he quickly looked away.
Then he turned back to Wen Jianyan and said:
“Unfortunately, we don’t know the answer to that, either.”
Wen Jianyan was stunned.
“You don’t know?”
“That’s right,” Suo Suo nodded, glancing toward the dorm building with a slightly grim expression.
“When we entered this movie last time, the first scene wasn’t the dormitory.”
I laughed so hard when wjy tried to sound like a girl