GRMFBS CH284

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“…Why is it clinging to me?!”

Zhan Yan tried his best to shoo the bird away.

“Ouch! Don’t peck my hair!”

Zhan Yan heard his younger schoolmates whispering in shock behind him.

“So incredible! Absolutely incredible!”

“Is he the legendary upperclassman who has a natural magnet for small animals?”

“Wait, that’s not right. Didn’t I hear he was so terrifying that beasts flee at the sight of him? Isn’t this the exact opposite?”

“Right, right, and I heard the second half of the rumor says he can wrestle a pig single-handedly!”

Zhan Yan: …

What kind of ridiculous nonsense have these kids been listening to?

“Hurry up and go! Stop sticking to me!” Zhan Yan resorted to physically pushing the bird away.

The falcon’s two large talons gripped his arm securely, refusing to let go. It flapped its huge wings to maintain balance, fanning his head with a flap-flap-flap.

Zhan Yan: …

Right now, he really missed his ability to jump three stories high. If he still had that physical strength, he would have thrown this rogue bird far away!

If Xiao Gu were here, that would work too. Unfortunately, Xiao Gu had gone out to buy things first… Who could have guessed he’d run into such a shameless, persistent bird?

Gu Jiancheng emerged from the shopping mall dressed in a tracksuit, hauling a massive shopping bag. The carefully selected white shirt and casual pants were being saved for tomorrow, when he was scheduled to meet Yan Yan’s parents.

Having finished his shopping, he was on his way back to campus. Shortly after leaving the mall, Gu Jiancheng noticed a nearby boba shop running a promotional event.

Huh? Why does that standee look so familiar? Isn’t that the game character Yan Yan cosplayed for an ad earlier?

“Buy boba, win a raffle for plushies…”

Gu Jiancheng’s eyes lit up.

Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming were driving toward Zhan Yan’s university when, halfway there, a familiar voice suddenly echoed from a shop’s outdoor speaker along the street.

“…Once you eat my grapes, there’s no turning back.”

Xingxing perked up with excitement. “Meow Meow.”

That was Zhan Yan’s voice! Had they arrived?

Ji Yueming looked out the window. It was a boba shop doing a cross-promotional event with the game Dawn Continent. The shop was playing character lines, but when it came to the character Zhan Yan cosplayed, it didn’t use the in-game voice actor—it played the lines Zhan Yan had recorded for the advertisement.

Both of them saw the promotional sign describing the event.

Zhan Yunkai pulled into a parking spot. “Want to go try it?”

Ji Yueming originally planned to buy a couple of cups of boba to try her luck, but then she saw a crowd gathered outside the shop.

“Why are there so many people? Is this boba shop that popular?”

“Or maybe the game is just really popular?”

Neither of them wanted to wait in line, so they hesitated.

Xingxing meowed spoiledly. He heard Zhan Yan’s voice! Even though it sounded a bit strange… why not go over?

“Let’s go take a look, then.”

Holding Xingxing, the two got out of the car. They overheard the crowd whispering in amazement.

“Which cup is this?”

“Fifth?”

“It’s his sixth cup. Hasn’t he pulled the plushie he wants yet?”

Inside the boba shop.

Gu Jiancheng was blankly chugging his sixth cup of boba. On the table in front of him sat two plushies and four collectible cards.

The collaboration featured three characters, each with one plushie and one card, awarded randomly through the draw. Gu Jiancheng had drawn six times and somehow hadn’t pulled the character Zhan Yan cosplayed even once.

They were still a distance away from campus, making it inconvenient to carry a bunch of drinks around. Otherwise, he could have just handed them out to his classmates.

So Gu Jiancheng decided to drink them himself—mainly because he hadn’t expected his luck to be this terrible.

“With an appetite like that, he could enter a competitive eating contest!”

“I’m so jealous. How can a handsome guy eat so much and not gain weight?”

“Don’t be jealous. The guy’s luck is terrible; six cups in and he still hasn’t drawn what he wants.”

“Which character does he want?”

“The Grape Young Master.”

“I don’t think he’s going to get it today. How can he even swallow any more?”

Gu Jiancheng could actually keep drinking, but he was worried that continuing would scare people. He walked up to the counter and asked, “Can your shop hold onto some boba drinks for me?”

“Ah… we don’t have a service for that.” The clerk earnestly tried to persuade him, “Handsome, please don’t drink any more. How about we just give you two plushies?”

What if he developed a medical issue right in their store?

Just then, a delivery driver walked into the shop to pick up an order.

Gu Jiancheng watched as the driver picked up twelve cups of boba at once, falling silent for a moment.

A few seconds later, he turned back to the clerk and asked, “Do delivery orders qualify for the raffle too?”

The clerk replied, “Yes, as long as someone comes to the store to draw.”

Gu Jiancheng: …

So why didn’t he just order delivery to be sent back to campus?

He immediately pulled out his phone and started placing an order.

“Hey, a cat!”

“So cute! Where did it come from?”

Gu Jiancheng looked down just in time to see a small tabby cat sprinting toward him in pure excitement.

Xingxing? Why is he here?

Although Xingxing hadn’t found Zhan Yan, he was still thrilled.

It’s an acquaintance! It’s Xiao Gu, who has always been so good to him!

Xingxing leapt forcefully. Before Gu Jiancheng could figure out how the cat had gotten here, he reflexively reached out and caught Xingxing in his arms.

Guided by a strange gut feeling, he raised his head—and locked eyes with Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming standing just outside the shop.

Gu Jiancheng: …

Aren’t those Yan Yan‘s parents?!

Why are they here TODAY?!

Yan Yan, Yan Yan… Yan Yan, save me!

Back at the university.

Zhan Yan was still locked in a battle of wits with the falcon.

Professor Miao hadn’t noticed his livestream was still running. He was nervously watching Zhan Yan and the bird.

A falcon this size has incredible biting and gripping power. And it’s flying right around Zhan Yan’s head—those big talons and beak are terrifyingly close to his neck and face.

If he had known it was a raptor like this, he wouldn’t have called Zhan Yan over. A lost phone was just a lost phone; he couldn’t let a kid get bitten…

[Hahahahaha]

[This guy’s hair, I’m dying. Is this bird trying to build a nest?]

[One second he’s coolly controlling the bird, the next he’s frantically chasing it away.]

[This guy is so handsome, he can even pull off such a deathly camera angle.]

[Hey hey, streamer, don’t shake the camera! Shoot the big bird! Shoot the big bird!]

Some of the other students tried to help chase the bird away with their jackets, but the falcon spread its wings and glared at them, scaring them off.

“Eek!”

“Don’t get close, everyone. Don’t move, don’t startle it!” Professor Miao nervously directed the students. He found a tree branch, hung the phone on it, and tried to lure the falcon away.

The falcon’s sharp, large beak approached the wobbly camera frame.

[Wow, so handsome!]

[The camera is shaking too much.]

[Is the streamer planning to sacrifice his phone to save the student?]

[Then wasn’t finding it earlier a waste of effort?]

The falcon flapped its wings to keep its balance, casting a glance at Professor Miao.

Professor Miao: …

[Why do I feel like this bird’s look is pure disdain?]

[Hahahahaha]

[It’s really strange, is this bird trained? Why isn’t it biting anyone?]

[Definitely not trained. A trained bird would have flown off long ago after being shooed like that.]

[You can tell this is entirely of the bird’s own free will.]

Left with no choice, Zhan Yan softly threatened the falcon, “If you don’t leave, I’m going to call my dad to beat you up!”

The falcon couldn’t fully comprehend the sentence, but an inexplicable chill made its feathers puff up. It flapped its wings and flew away.

Professor Miao let out a massive sigh of relief, forehead drenched in sweat. He had been terrified the falcon would take a bite out of Zhan Yan.

“Professor, how’s your phone?” Zhan Yan asked.

Only then did Professor Miao realize his livestream was still active.

[Aw, it flew away.]

[Hahahahaha]

[Hey hey, streamer, don’t turn the camera away!]

[What did that guy just say?]

[Hey! Don’t end the stream!]

Professor Miao exited the livestream room and briefly inspected the phone.

Looking at it now, it was actually fine—a piece of the phone case’s side was scratched up, and there were a few scratches on the screen protector, but the phone itself had no major damage. Professor Miao didn’t care much about losing a phone anyway; he had mostly been worried about the data stored inside.

“The phone is fine. How about you? Did you get scratched? Do you need a tetanus shot or vaccine?”

“I’m fine, my skin isn’t even broken. I’ll take off now, Professor, goodbye!”

Seeing that everything was okay, Zhan Yan quickly slipped away under the admiring gazes of his junior schoolmates. If he didn’t leave now, Professor Miao would start nagging.

Zhan Yan found a spot nearby to tidy up his hair, which had been thoroughly messed up by the falcon.

Seriously, why did it have to peck his hair!

Zhan Yan pulled two feathers out of his hair. His small curls were somewhat tangled and difficult to brush through.

Sigh, why hasn’t Xiao Gu returned yet? I’ll ask him to help comb my hair when he gets back.

Zhan Yan opened his Gossip Ticker to check where Xiao Gu was.

【Dark Shadow Gu Jiancheng was drinking boba to draw merch of the game character you cosplayed. On his sixth cup, he ran into the Chongming Demon King Zhan Yunkai and Celestial Master Ji Yueming, who brought Xingxing along to visit you. Xingxing recognized Gu Jiancheng and happily jumped into his arms.】

Zhan Yan: ???

Wait, what was going on?

Why was Xiao Gu drinking boba to draw merch? Why did Mom and Dad arrive today? Why was Xingxing there too? How did they suddenly run into each other?!

Gu Jiancheng’s mind went completely blank for a moment.

He was wearing a tracksuit pulled randomly from his closet—unironed and full of wrinkles. In one hand, he carried a giant shopping bag with a set of newly bought clothes hangers stubbornly poking their heads out, and beside him sat the empty boba cups he had just finished…

When had Yan Yan’s parents arrived? Had they just seen him chugging six cups of boba in a row?!

His image! Oh, this was bad, bad, bad…

Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming had originally been standing among the crowd of onlookers, watching a tall, handsome young man obsessively try to pull merch of the character Yan Yan had cosplayed.

Ji Yueming: “That kid has quite an appetite.”

Zhan Yunkai: “Looks like he’s not particularly bright, though.”

Ji Yueming: “Maybe we should just gift him a set of the merch.”

Right at that moment, Xingxing dashed out.

“Meow—”

Xiao Gu! Even though his cooking isn’t great, he’s the Xiao Gu who takes such good care of him!

In one bound, Xingxing jumped right onto Gu Jiancheng’s arm.

“Meow, meow~” Xingxing rubbed his head affectionately against him.

Where’s Yan Yan? Where’s Yan Yan? You two must be together!

Zhan Yunkai: …

Ji Yueming: …

Xingxing knows him?

Xingxing had only been away from home twice for an extended period—once during Yan Yan’s last internship, and once recently when Yan Yan went out on vacation.

To be this familiar with Xingxing…

The expressions of both husband and wife instantly changed.