"(Y/n)?"

You quickly snapped out of your thought upon hearing the call of your beloved. The protagonist stared at you concernedly from his seat, probably wondering why would you suddenly glare at the air. Was there some kind of bugs bothering you there that he can't see? He wasn't sure.

You smiled to reassure him that everything's alright. Ignoring the annoying people that were vigorously typing on their keyboards.

"Chen Miao," you leaned down to face him who was sitting on his chair, causing a few strands of your hair to brush against his cheeks. "Why didn't Kai come to school today?"

You saw something shifted inside his eyes, becoming darker than ever, but the protagonist was quick to conceal it, smiling innocently as he tilted his head.

"I don't know," he answered. "He went back home earlier this morning to change his clothes. Perhaps he was too tired to come to school?"

『lies!!』

『you drugged our husband!』

『hmph! look at this punk lying with a smile, totally itching to punch him.』

Drugged? You frowned. Was Chen Miao even capable of doing such a thing? You recalled back the previous timelines. It's not like you viewed the protagonist as some kind of angel free from any sins, but the protagonist that you knew was kind and gentle. It frustrated you to know that there's, perhaps, another part of him that you haven't seen before.

ーyou wanted to know every side of him; whether it would be the good side or the bad side. You wanted to unravel all of it.

"Then I guess I should ask the teacher for his address," you purposely said to see his reaction. "I'll be right back."

You weren't even able to take a single step yet but the protagonist had already grabbed ahold of your wrist, looking anxious for some reason you couldn't decipher.

"You," he pursed his lips slightly, almost pouting. "Didn't you asked me to tutor you yesterday? I'm telling you, if you went to another man's house today, I won't teach you anything at all."

『yoo is he sulking?』

『is he jealous??』

『no, he's definitely acting bc he's scared his lies would be exposed!』

Chen Miao is jealous? That fact alone was enough for you to suck a deep breath to calm yourself down, finding it endearing that he was so possessive of you, yet a part of you felt like this was just your wishful thinking. After all, think about it, what is it about you that would make Chen Miao liked you?

It's already a blessing that he doesn't remember anything. If he knew that you had been killing him multiple times in the previous timelines, you doubted he would even grace you with his presence.

"Alright," you coughed to hide your excitement. "I guess I will postpone that for later. So are we going to study at the library or somewhere else?"

『argh chen miao is so cunning! she seriously fell for that seduction?!』

『our husband's life is at stake!』

『Stfu, he ain't my husband』

『these brainless fans really think we care about their husband. it's not like he will really die. delusionals』

"Didn't you suggest the library yesterday?" He reluctantly let go of your wrist. "I have been looking at your grades in the previous exams. While you did good in geography, science, and history, you failed physic, chemistry and math, so I guess we will have to focus on that today. Here some notes and questions I have prepared for you."

You stared at the pile of books he had organized on his desk.

『damn it, the dedication of this man to help the npc study (QAQ)』

『thank goodness my mom doesn't watch this or else she would have nag me to find a bf like chen miao lol』

"I, uh, look forward to it," you forced a smile and took a random note on top of his desk. "Let's walk together to the library after class then?"

He nodded.

You went back to your seat and opened the note that you took, just to show anyone that's watching that you appreciated his efforts in wanting to help you even though you only used that as an excuse to get closer to him. However, you realized that the note looked rather brand new, as if it had only been opened a few times. Furthermore, despite the handwriting belongs to Chen Miao, this doesn't look like a note he would write, it's too simple and easy to understand. As his stalker in the previous timelines, you would know the kind of notes he would write.

Your only conclusion here is Chen Miao wrote a new note just to make it easier for you to understand, and as for whose notes he copiedー

Your eyes went to the class monitor who had eyebags under his eyes, a sign of lack of sleep considering he didn't have those dark circles before.

You chuckled, feeling warmness spread inside your chest at the funny thought of Chen Miao calling the class monitor late at night to ask for a picture of each pages of his notes to copy.

It reminded you how there was a timeline where Chen Miao had been friends with everyone in the class, including the class monitor, but of course, things changed after he died and the next player who controlled him followed a delinquent route, causing Chen Miao to be an outcast in the class.

"System," you called out to the round ball who has been by your side since the beginning, yet none can see him except for you. "Right now, is there any player out there controlling Chen Miao?"

「Hmm? So long as the matter with Kai isn't resolve yet, there will be no player controlling the protagonist.」

"Then, right now, the one I've been talking to all this time, is really Chen Miao?"

「Yes.」

Your heart thumped at the possibility you're about to ask. "Then does he know? Does he remember?"

Although you never specify what he knows and what he remembers, the system seemed to know what you're asking,「Yes.」

You felt your stomach churned.

The sound of the bell ringing sharply indicated that it was the end of the class for today. You looked up upon realizing that the protagonist was already standing tall in front of your seat. Everyone else in the classroom has already went out to do their own matters, be it to go home, or to attend their clubs, or to hang out with their friends. Now, it's only you and Chen Miao inside.

"Are you okay?" He reached out his hands to check your temperature. "You look sick."

You stared at him blankly before leaning into his touch, acting coquettish. "What to do, Ah Miao? Suddenly, I don't feel like learning."

『gah, am i watching a romance movie right now?!?!』

『rather than romance, it's more like a thriller. he still has our kai at his home, remember?』

"Being lazy is normal," he gave you a helpless look. "But you shouldn't let that affect your grades."

You grumbled. "My body feels heavy. It doesn't want to move."

Chen Miao powerlessly watched your sudden change of heart from "wanting to study together," to "I'm too lazy to do that."

You silently chuckled at his trouble expression, deciding that it was enough of teasing. You were about to apologize when you noticed him hesitantly looked around in the classroom, and after making sure of something, he took you by suprise when he pulled you up and carried you in his arms-one arm under your legs and the other supporting your back like a groom carrying his bride.

You blinked in disbelief, feeling your heart thumping at the closeness. "Chen Miao...?!"

His cheeks were blushing red but despite that, he still looked at you with a stern gaze. "You can't let your laziness take away your chance to have a proper tutor like me. I won't let you repeat a year."

『i'm on my knees. wth is this??? these npcs have more love life than me』

『if i had a man like chen miao during my teenage days, i might have pass my exams with flying colors (*° ་། °)=3』

『upstairs don't lie. if you had a man like this tutoring you, you would just be drooling like how i am right now and failing your test right away』

You laughed, the irony of his words considering everyone has been repeating their school years without realizing.

The system told you that Chen Miao remembered everything, was he pretending not to know? It made sense because even if he told you, it would probably get censor, but then again, why would he be so kind and gentle to the one who murdered him everytime?

"You can put me down now," you told him. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to carry me all the way to the library, right?"

You knew that Chen Miao would be too shy to do that.

He gave you a doubtful look. "Promise you won't run away if I did."

You laughed once more. "I won't! I'm not so heartless that I would run away after all the preparation you had done to teach me."

He hesitantly put you down, deciding to trust you.

You two then walk together to the library silently.

"So what are you going to teach me?" You asked, glancing at the pile of books on the table he prepared.

"Let's start with physic first." he replied instantly, and reached for a stack of notes on the table.

He flipped through the pages quickly, stopping sometimes to flip back to a certain page to double check on the notes before handing it to you. After a while of explaining, he asked you to do a few questions.

You reluctantly agreed and despite knowing that you can answer the questions had you used your brain hard enough, why would you when you can act dumb and be more intimate with Chen Miao?

"So what is the equation for gravitational force?"

He grabbed a pencil and wrote at the blank paper. "The equation for gravitational force is F = G m1 m2 / r^2, where G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects, and r is the distance separating them."

"Oh okay, thanks. Can you help me understand this concept of torque in a system next?"

"Torque is a force that causes an object to rotate around an axis. It can be calculated using the formula T = r × F, where r is the distance from the axis of rotation and F is the force applied."

"Oh..." Yeah, you don't get it.

Alright, you'll be honest. Whenever exam is near, because time kept repeating itself, you just memorized all the answers without trying to comprehend them, and now you're reaping what you sow after pretending to be a genius.

After hours of studying, you finally admitted defeat, huffing in protest. "Does our teacher really teach these in class? Why couldn't I remember?"

"Because you didn't listen in class. Now take out your notebook and study these notes, I'll check them tomorrow." He got up from the table, realizing that most of the students in library had already gone home.

You can feel your head throbbing at the thought of experiencing this everyday. "Chen Miao, can I come to your house?"

He seemed suprised. "Why?"

"Honestly, I feel sick."

He must have notice your exhaustion before eventually agreed. His eyes showing concern as he felt your warm temperature against his hands. There's a look of regret on his face.

"I'm sorry I forced you," he looked like he's on the verge of kowtowing at you. "You can come to my house, I will make you some tea with honey."

You nodded slightly, leaning into his cool touch while closing your eyes, feeling better all of a sudden.

can someone please tell me if what they studied made sense? I have never learn physic before (QAQ)