To get straight to the point: Gao Yang might be saying goodbye to his single status.

The story starts two days ago.

Two days ago, Wang Zikai, Gao Yang's best friend, stole Gao Yang's phone and sent a 300-word "heartfelt confession" to Li Weiwei as a prank.

By the time Gao Yang discovered it, it was too late to retract the message. Although he immediately sent a follow-up message to explain, Li Weiwei did not reply. Not only that, but she also didn't speak to Gao Yang for the next two days and even deliberately avoided him at school.

Li Weiwei and Gao Yang were childhood friends. Their families lived close to each other, and they had known each other since kindergarten. Later, they both moved to the city of Licheng and attended the same high school, making their connection quite special.

According to Gao Yang's memories from before the age of six, he did have a crush on Li Weiwei. When he first saw the beautiful little girl in kindergarten, he secretly decided that he would marry her when they grew up. Unfortunately, before he could realize this dream, Gao Yang had traveled through time.

Over the years, thanks to Li Weiwei, Gao Yang often found himself the object of envy and jealousy among the boys in his class.

Gao Yang naturally had strong sentiments for Li Weiwei. To be really honest, he liked her.Who doesn't like beautiful girl? But he really never thought about it in that way. If he had to be pretentious, it might be that he just lacked that "heart-thumping" feeling.

In two months, the students would be graduating from high school and going their separate ways.

As Gao Yang's best friend, Wang Zikai couldn't bear to see the situation-actually, he was just bored and looking for something to do-so he decided to "matchmake" the two, leading to this prank.

Now, two days later, Li Weiwei finally replied on WeChat: "I accept."

Gao Yang had mixed feelings. He thought, Didn't I explain to you that it was Wang Zikai's prank? How could you ignore that message?

No, I need to explain again... 

WeChat pinged again: "Want to meet up today?"

Gao Yang hesitated for a moment and replied, "Sure."

2 PM. Dawang Plaza.Shanqing District.

By the time Gao Yang arrived, Li Weiwei had already been waiting for a while.

On this rare weekend break, Li Weiwei had put on a light green sweater, and her usually tied-up hair was draped smoothly over her shoulders. As the wind blew, her hair and the hem of her skirt gently fluttered. She pressed her long hair behind her ear and waved happily at Gao Yang, "Here, Gao Yang, over here!"

The spring breeze was bright and beautiful, and the girl's smile was as lovely as a flower.

At that moment, Gao Yang could somewhat understand the feelings of the guys in their class who adored her blindly. He really had been taking his good fortune for granted.

Gao Yang smiled as he walked over. "Sorry for being late."

"No worries, Qing Ling and I took a walk around first. I also bought some study materials at the bookstore and got two books for you," Li Weiwei said.

It was only then that Gao Yang noticed a tall girl with a ponytail standing not far behind Li Weiwei, coolly playing with her phone with one hand in her pocket.

The girl with the ponytail was named Qing Ling. She was 1.67 meters tall, a short-distance running specialist in their class, and Li Weiwei's best friend.

Besides that, Qing Ling was recognized as the goddess of the entire school. She had a beautiful face, and despite being in the sun every day, her skin was as fair as snow, which was quite impressive. Due to her long-term training, the curves of her body under her tight sportswear exuded an aesthetically pleasing artistic beauty, and her long legs were the ultimate appeal for many straight guys.

Interestingly, unlike Li Weiwei, who frequently received love confessions, Qing Ling had almost no admirers. This was because she never spoke to boys-in fact, her gaze at them always seemed to convey a sense of physical disgust, as if she were looking at flies.

Over time, everyone knew she had androphobia and stopped bothering her. However, Gao Yang believed that she didn't actually have androphobia; she was likely just a beautiful... lesbian.

As if sensing Gao Yang's gaze, Qing Ling put down her phone and looked up, meeting his eyes. The strength of her aura and the depth of her disdain made Gao Yang feel like he was not just a fly, but a fly staring at feces.

"Qing Ling, want to join us?" Li Weiwei called out to her.

"No, you two have fun," Qing Ling said, offering Li Weiwei a sweet grin like an angel.

Double standard! What clear double standards!

...

In the afternoon, Gao Yang and Li Weiwei had a pleasant and fulfilling day together, drinking milk tea, watching a movie, and eating barbecue.

Late at night, Gao Yang walked Li Weiwei home. Li Weiwei moved forward along the silent, lonely path. She suddenly turned around and asked, "Hey, do you regret it?"

"Huh? Regret what?" Gao Yang asked.

Li Weiwei blushed. "Regret confessing to me."

"Weiwei, actually..."

"I thought you'd be happier when I accepted your confession." Li Weiwei tilted her head, looking a bit unsure of herself. "But then again, who knows? Maybe you guys lose interest right after winning over a girl and realize you didn't really like her in the first place."

"It's not that, actually that message..."

"Gao Yang," Li Weiwei strained her eyes in displeasure, studying Gao Yang. "What's up with you today?Are you hiding anything from me?"

"...Am I?"

"Yes! "You've been distracted all day," Li Weiwei observed, her tone somewhat annoyed.

In truth, Gao Yang had been little preoccupied today. He had thought that the "date" would take his mind off things, but the more he tried not to think about it, the more he couldn't stop thinking about it.

After considerable deliberation, Gao Yang eventually spoke up: "Li Weiwei, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"In our third year of middle school, didn't your grandma pass away from a stroke?"

"Yes."

"Did you see her one last time?"

Li Weiwei froze for a time before blinking. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, did you see her body after she died?"

"I was at school at the time. By the time I got home, my parents had already sent her for cremation."

"I see."

Gao Yang thought to himself: Just as I suspected.

"Is there something strange about that?" Li Weiwei asked, puzzled.

"Nothing...," Gao Yang said, hesitating.

Although Gao Yang was only six years old before he time-traveled, he had attended the dean's funeral. He had long been vaguely aware that this parallel world was somewhat different from his previous one.

For instance, in this current world, many people are cremated immediately after death, without holding any "body farewell ceremonies" or similar rituals.

It's as if they are in a hurry to destroy some evidence, like with his own grandfather, or Li Weiwei's grandmother.

Thinking of this, Gao Yang felt inexplicably frightened.

"What's wrong... you look pale," Li Weiwei noticed.

Gao Yang thought for a moment and said, "Li Weiwei, have you ever considered that the world we live in might actually be full of dangers?"

Li Weiwei immediately became nervous. "What,What are you trying to say? Don't scare me..."

"I was grabbed by a mentally ill person last night, you know that, right?"

"I heard about it. Fortunately, the police shot him, so you weren't hurt. I was really worried about you," Li Weiwei said, blushing. "Actually, it was because of that incident that I decided to accept your confession."

Gao Yang shook his head. "No, the truth is, he wasn't planning to harm me at all. He was warning me."

"A warning?" Li Weiwei was confused. "Warning about what?"

Gao Yang briefly explained the situation and mentioned the incident when his grandfather died when he was five years old.

Li Weiwei became more scared and subconsciously went closer, leaning against Gao Yang's arm.

"Could this have been a dream? You were really young at the time..."

"No, it was definitely not a dream!" Gao Yang said strongly.

"Do you think... your grandfather was...?" Li Weiwei couldn't complete the sentence.

Gao Yang shakes his head. "Not necessarily, I just feel like something's not right."

"You peeked into the room back then, didn't you?" Li Weiwei asked. "What did you see?"

Gao Yang remained mute. He saw something in his dreamy recollection, but he wasn't sure if it was a delusion, or if Li Weiwei would believe him.

"Actually..."

"Ah! Forget it; don't say it..." Li Weiwei lowers her head. "Let's just go home."

"Li Weiwei, don't you believe me?" Gao Yang grasped her hand.

Li Weiwei was surprised at first. She took a moment to overcome her nervousness before nodding firmly. "I believe you."

"I trust you, too. I don't know who else I can talk to about this." Gao Yang took a deep breath and summoned the strength to continue. "I actually saw a hand."

"A hand?"

"Yes, specifically, an arm. It was as thick as a typical person's thigh and coated in grayish-blue scales. The scales resembled little insects wriggling and wiggling. It was quite horrible."

"Oh my God..."

"I don't know what it was, but it couldn't have been a human hand," Gao Yang stated, frowning.

"Gao Yang." Li Weiwei gazed up at him. "Is this the kind of hand you were talking about?"

Gao Yang was astonished!

-A searing ache ran through his wrist!

He looked down and seen Li Weiwei's little, white arm suddenly rip apart, showing grayish-blue scales growing from within.

In the moonlight, the scales' edges shone with a terrifying pale light. They grew longer, digging into Gao Yang's flesh and draining his blood like enormous, ugly leeches.

"Li Weiwei... you..."

Li Weiwei quickly extended her other hand, grabbing Gao Yang by the neck and lifting him effortlessly. The writhing grayish-blue scales on her arm transformed into soft, sticky tentacles, invading Gao Yang's mouth, nostrils, ears, and even the corners of his eyes.

Gao Yang's head felt an unimaginable pressure, and he knew that within seconds, his head would explode like a watermelon in a microwave.

"Gao Yang, thank you." Li Weiwei's voice remained unchanged, even gentler than before.

She smiled, "You are the first awakened one I've encountered."

"I will never, ever forget you."