Chapter 74

As Gu Yi'an left the classroom, she didn't forget to take her backpack.
She had retrieved it right under the proctor's nose, yet the proctor hadn't noticed her at all.
Gu Yi'an smoothly exited the exam venue, but she didn't see Lu Zize anywhere outside.
The corridor was empty.
It was exam time, so no teachers or students were wandering the hallways of the teaching building.
Gu Yi'an felt a twinge of confusion.
Where had Lu Zize gone?
She slowly made her way out of the building alone.
Outside the teaching building lay a vast expanse of lawn.
This was the school's vanity project, part of their greening efforts to create a beautiful campus. The grass species they introduced actually thrived under light foot traffic, so the turf remained lush and vibrant, radiating vitality.
Unexpectedly, this lawn had become a popular spot for couples on dates or friends having heart-to-heart talks.
The school had even specially installed several stone benches throughout the area.
Gu Yi'an spotted Lu Zize on the lawn.
He had chosen a spot in the shadow where the sunlight was blocked by the building, sitting on a long bench while reading a book. The scene resembled a pictorial, as if he existed in a world apart from everyone else.
Gu Yi'an stood still, watching him from a distance for a while.
It felt like the first time she was observing the deity from afar.
Previously, no matter which incarnation of His she encountered, He had always been close by, so close that Gu Yi'an never knew how to interact with Him and could only instinctively keep her distance.
The deity seemed to have mastered human aesthetics without guidance, crafting each of its bodies to align perfectly with human standards of beauty.
Not only was Gu Yi'an watching him, but girls walking along the campus path beyond the lawn were also stealing glances in Lu Zize's direction.
Most of them didn't dare to look for too long, lingering only briefly as they passed that section of the path.
Some even attempted to hide in the distance and secretly take photos.
Gu Yi'an glanced toward where those people were.
As someone who was frequently photographed herself, she was quite accustomed to it.
While Gu Yi'an stood at a distance, Lu Zize, who appeared to be engrossed in reading on the lawn bench, was actually receiving instructions from a white ghost hidden in the shadows.
"Lord Ghost King, you must not initiate conversation with the Ghost Queen later, nor should you look at her. If you pursue her too eagerly, she will instinctively want to avoid you."
"The Ghost Queen dislikes your human form. You should revert to your notebook form. In my opinion, returning to your notebook form is definitely the right move."
"Also, you must speak sparingly later. If the Ghost Queen asks anything, don't question her, just admit your mistakes outright. The Ghost Queen can never be wrong, and you can't be wrong either. But one of you has to compromise."
The ghost spoke confidently and at length.
Lu Zize sat there patiently, listening to its advice.
He didn't argue with the ghost, but he was curious about one thing.
"Have you... ever been in a relationship?"
The gentle male voice was merely asking a simple question, but it left the hidden ghost speechless for a moment. After a pause, it whispered, "...I see things clearly as an outsider. Isn't this because you asked me, Lord Ghost King, why the Ghost Queen dislikes your human form?"
Just then, Gu Yi'an's figure began approaching from afar.
The hidden ghost immediately vanished.
Meanwhile, on Gu Yi'an's backpack, a ghost charm seemed to solidify more distinctly at that moment.
Gu Yi'an didn't notice the movement on her backpack.
She walked toward Lu Zize's location.
When she reached him, he looked up at the sound of her approach.
That one glance was full of grievance, leaving Gu Yi'an puzzled.
Before she could figure out the reason, the figure of the boy reading on the bench vanished, replaced by a familiar notebook lying quietly on the seat.
Gu Yi'an: "..."
What was going on?
Why did Lu Zize in human form hide from her as soon as he saw her?
Gu Yi'an had intended to ask Lu Zize why he had taken human form, but who would have thought he would revert to his notebook form upon seeing her?
Was he afraid of her seeing him in human form?
Gu Yi'an vaguely recalled something.
She seemed to have told Lu Zize that she didn't want to see him in human form.
But when had she said that?
Gu Yi'an couldn't remember.
It was just like how, when she saw the exam paper earlier, she felt she had taken it more than once, yet she couldn't recall when she had done so.
Gu Yi'an set down her backpack, took out a tissue to wipe the bench, and then sat down.
She was very familiar with Lu Zize in his notebook form.
Gu Yi'an looked at the notebook and asked, "Lu Zize, I feel like my world has reset, hasn't it?"
The more she thought about it, the more certain she became of her speculation.
If deities existed in this world, all sorts of unimaginable things could happen.
Then, the world resetting wasn't impossible either.
The notebook, hearing her voice, floated into the air on its own and automatically opened.
"A player has used an item to restart."
The notebook answered Gu Yi'an's question without any concealment.
The people passing by paid no attention to Gu Yi'an's location.
They ignored the notebook floating in mid-air.
From the reactions of the passersby, Gu Yi'an realized that she and the notebook were currently being overlooked.
Her attention returned to the text in the notebook.
"Restart?"
Gu Yi'an asked, "Does this mean the entire world is rewinding, going back to a certain day?"
"Yes."
The notebook confirmed Gu Yi'an's speculation.
At this point, Gu Yi'an recalled the sense of weariness she had felt when she first saw the exam paper.
She had taken the exam more than once, so of course, she would feel tired of it.
So, had she been dragged into another one of The Game of the Gods again?
Once Gu Yi'an figured this out, she stopped dwelling on the world restarting.
After all, it was The Game of the Gods.
As long as it made him happy.
Everything was under his control anyway.
Now, Gu Yi'an was more curious about something else.
"Lu Zize, why did you turn back into a notebook?"
His sudden appearance in human form and then his abrupt return to being a notebook left Gu Yi'an puzzled.
Upon hearing this question, the notebook fell silent, no longer responding as quickly as before.
After a while, new text finally appeared in the notebook.
"Being human is too hard."
Gu Yi'an: "?"
Is it?
Another line of text appeared in the notebook.
"I'm not going to be human anymore."
Gu Yi'an couldn't help but laugh at this.
The notebook spoke as if it really were human.
"You were never human to begin with."
Gu Yi'an reminded it of this fact.
The notebook immediately wilted.
The floating notebook began to fall downward.
Seeing this, Gu Yi'an instinctively reached out to catch it.
She caught the notebook.
Instantly, the notebook perked up, its pages spreading out smoothly as new text emerged.
"For you, I'll strive to become human."
Gu Yi'an withdrew her hand.
But the notebook continued to float in the air on its own.
Wait, what did that mean...
She felt something was off.
Those words should have been touching, but why did it feel strange when the notebook said them?
This didn’t sound like Lu Zize’s usual way of speaking at all.
Where did it learn such things?
Gu Yi’an smiled slightly and asked, “Who taught you that?”
The notebook trembled, immediately betraying its ally.
“The Hanged Ghost.”
She knew those words couldn’t have been Lu Zize’s style.
Gu Yi’an’s gaze fell on the backpack charm resting on the bench.
The cute little ghost swayed gently, as if a ghost were amusing itself.
It quickly noticed Gu Yi’an’s stare.
The Hanged Ghost shuddered, reacting exactly as the notebook had earlier.
“Your Highness, is there something you need from this humble servant?”
The Hanged Ghost cautiously inquired.
Gu Yi’an’s expression remained calm as she addressed the Hanged Ghost, “Don’t teach it strange things.”
The notebook was perfectly fine as it was before.
Now, suddenly spouting lines like a passionate young hero just didn’t suit it.
Upon hearing this, the Hanged Ghost immediately understood that Gu Yi’an meant it shouldn’t teach the notebook odd phrases.
The Hanged Ghost pondered, had its earlier advice to the Ghost King about speaking less and admitting mistakes backfired, making Her Highness mistakenly think the Ghost King was nothing but a bumbling fool?
No.
It was more likely that Her Highness had noticed the Ghost King’s unusual behavior and was now warning it not to teach him strange things.
The Hanged Ghost mentally filled in the gaps with its own reasonable explanation.
It glanced at the notebook, then sensed the intimidating aura enveloping it.
Well, it had no choice but to speak up for the Ghost King.
The Hanged Ghost immediately raised its voice, “Your Highness, you see, Lord Lu is just trying to find a way to get along with you better. That’s why he’s experimenting with different ways of speaking. It’s all because he wants to become… become… become…”
Gu Yi’an stared expressionlessly at the Hanged Ghost.
This ghost really loved to talk.
She understood the notebook’s intentions but didn’t want to address them directly.
The Hanged Ghost could easily read Gu Yi’an’s thoughts.
And precisely because it understood, it knew that if it uttered the final word, Gu Yi’an might never regard it as a trusted subordinate again.
After all, it had been working hard lately, always beating the little girl to the punch, and was the first one Her Highness thought of when she needed something.
The Hanged Ghost glanced again at the notebook.
The overwhelmingly threatening aura surrounding it undoubtedly came from the notebook.
Caught between the Princess and the Ghost King, it was truly difficult for a subordinate to pick a side.
“…become good friends.”
In the end, the Hanged Ghost chose to side with the Princess, timidly finishing the sentence before silently turning away.
Gu Yi’an breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Her gaze returned to the notebook.
Inside, the previous text had vanished, and a new line of words appeared.
“Can good friends go on dates?”
Before Gu Yi’an could respond, another line slowly materialized.
“I want to go on a date.”
Gu Yi’an looked at the notebook.
Then she gazed into the distance.
Where her eyes fell, the sunlight cast a golden glow over everything.
The students passing by radiated youthful energy.
In the teaching building behind her, her classmates were still taking exams.
This period, while others were suffering, seemed like the perfect time to go out and have fun.
She and Lu Zize could probably be considered friends.
Friendship is a two-way street.
Gu Yi'an hesitated for a moment before taking the initiative to suggest, "Let's go out and have some fun."