Chapter 30: A College Student’s Adventure — Hopeless Romantic Rehab: A Crash Course
The hopeless romantic climbed the iron ladder one rung at a time.
The higher he climbed, the clearer the voices became.
Above him—
people seemed to be arguing.
“We should’ve gone back earlier in the first place!”
The twin-tailed girl sounded irritated.
“Now not only are we still stuck here, but the price doubled too.”
“And didn’t you choose to stay too?”
The blonde girl immediately shot back.
“I wasn’t forcing you.”
Her tone grew sharper and sharper.
“Every time something happens, you come to me. And now that there’s a problem, I’m supposed to clean everything up again?”
“Aren’t you exactly the same?”
The long-haired girl replied coldly.
“You always make us do the things you don’t want to do yourself, while you play the good person.”
“And whenever something goes wrong, we’re the ones blamed for it.”
She paused, her voice turning colder.
“And didn’t this whole mess start because of your stupid ideas?”
The three argued back and forth, neither willing to back down.
Their voices grew louder.
Then—
a faint metallic sound came from the ladder.
All three froze and turned.
The boy’s figure appeared at the edge of the rooftop.
“I found a way back.”
The air fell silent for a brief moment.
“…Why did you take so long to come back?”
The blonde girl frowned, obvious dissatisfaction in her tone.
The boy froze.
His expression stiffened instantly.
As if he had never expected that reaction.
The blonde girl also noticed the atmosphere change.
Her expression shifted immediately.
“Senpai, I just…”
She lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly.
“No one came back for so long… I got scared…”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened slightly.
The boy immediately panicked and hurried over to comfort her.
“It’s okay now. I’m back.”
The words came out automatically.
Then he paused, falling silent.
“So what’s the way back?”
The twin-tailed girl asked impatiently.
“You’ll see soon enough.”
The boy straightened slightly, sounding proud.
“What about the other two?”
The long-haired girl asked.
“They already went back.”
The boy smiled.
“I’m the only one who specifically came back for you guys.”
His tone carried obvious confidence.
Even a deliberate emphasis.
Then he began recounting everything that had happened along the way.
Some parts exaggerated.
Some parts embellished.
Making himself sound more exhausted—
and more “special.”
The girls listened, occasionally showing surprise and admiration.
Their eyes gradually settled on him, filled with admiration.
He couldn’t have been more satisfied.
“I’ll be there soon.”
The sudden voice beside his ear startled him.
But that shock was quickly replaced by the fantasy of successfully bringing the girls back with him.
“Let me tell you something.”
The boy grinned proudly.
“In less than ten minutes, we’ll be going home.”
Seeing how certain he looked, excitement welled up in the girls’ hearts.
So—
there really was another way back after all.
Who needs you, Maiden J?
Less than ten minutes later—
“She’s the one. She can bring us out.”
The boy looked at the girls expectantly.
But the expressions on their faces held only shock and silence.
“The method you found… was just finding her?”
Xiaoyue’s voice trembled with suppressed anger.
“Do you know she demands a price?”
The boy looked at them in confusion.
“But… there’s no such thing as a free lunch, right?”
“You can’t demand help from someone while refusing to pay anything.”
“And besides, what she asks for isn’t even that much.”
“Not that much?”
Xiaoyue’s voice rose immediately as she pointed at him.
“Then why don’t you pay our share too, if it’s ‘not that much’?”
The other two girls quickly echoed her.
The boy stared at them blankly.
He truly couldn’t understand what they were thinking.
“…We’re not saying you’re wrong or anything.”
The girls’ tone suddenly softened.
“But could you maybe talk to her again and ask her to lower the price a little?”
“Then we could all leave together.”
He fell silent for a moment.
And suddenly understood why everyone always called him a hopeless romantic.
The girls kept talking.
Their voices rising and falling.
He stood there silently, saying nothing.
After a while, he took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
As if he had finally figured something out.
He glanced at them once, without another word.
Then turned toward Xia Jiuwei.
“I’m willing to pay 10% of my Mental Strength. Can you send me back?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
Without looking back again—
his figure disappeared.
Lu Nian’an looked at the three girls, her tone icy.
“20% Mental Strength. Accept it or don’t.”
“Can’t it be lower?”
Xiaoyue snapped unwillingly, anger in her voice.
“It’s not like sending us back even takes that much effort.”
She pointed at Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian’an.
“Why should you get to take our Mental Strength whenever you want?”
Lu Nian’an turned her head slightly toward Xia Jiuwei and gently squeezed her hand, as if calming her.
The next instant—
her presence sharpened abruptly.
“Then by your logic, I also have no obligation to save you, correct?”
She spoke calmly.
Her gaze cold and unwavering.
“30%.”
The three girls’ expressions changed instantly.
They began arguing, protesting, shouting.
But Lu Nian’an never wavered.
Every additional sentence they spoke—
was met with another increase in price.
Her tone remained calm.
Yet left no room for negotiation.
In the end—
after a long stalemate, both sides finally “reached an agreement.”
55% of their Mental Strength per person—
in exchange for a chance to return to reality.
The two returned once more to the apartment in reality.
The horizon had already been dyed warm orange-red by the setting sun.
They looked at each other—
and both finally relaxed a little.
After showering, the two sat side by side on the sofa, silently watching the city bathed in sunset light.
“Next time… let me handle this kind of thing instead.”
Lu Nian’an said softly.
She glanced at Xia Jiuwei, her voice becoming gentler.
“…You’re still bothered by what happened today, aren’t you?”
It sounded like confirmation.
Or reassurance.
Then she leaned closer and lightly tapped Xia Jiuwei’s nose.
“Hey—”
Xia Jiuwei protested unhappily, waving her hand dismissively at her.
“Heh.”
Lu Nian’an laughed softly.
The smile was faint—
but warm and familiar.
Soon, silence settled between them again.
“Nia…”
Xia Jiuwei’s voice became hesitant.
“What if I said… I don’t want to deal with the Under-Reality anymore?”
The words sounded difficult to say.
“Then don’t.”
Lu Nian’an answered almost immediately.
“But…”
“No buts. You’re not some savior. You have no obligation to save everyone.”
Her tone remained calm, but firmer than before.
After a brief pause, her voice softened slightly.
“Save people when you want to. Rest when you’re tired.”
Xia Jiuwei fell silent for a while.
“But… if I don’t go, a lot of people will still suffer.”
Lu Nian’an looked at her.
“And those people—”
she asked quietly,
“What do they have to do with you?”
The two looked at each other for a long time.
Neither spoke again.
That night, inside the bedroom.
The lights were off, leaving only the faint glow from outside the window.
“Um…”
Xia Jiuwei spoke quietly.
“This weekend… I should finally be able to visit my grandfather again. Do you want to come with me?”
She finally said the thing that should have been done over half a year ago.
And it was the first time either of them had reached out since their disagreement began.
“Okay.”
Lu Nian’an answered softly.
Her voice was gentle—
as though nothing had ever happened.
And yet—
Xia Jiuwei could clearly feel it:
the arms holding her were tighter than usual.
As if afraid of losing something.