[Hello, Li Yufei! I am from of the Afterlife Administration, specifically the Transmigration Unit of the Reincarnation Department!
I have come to you today to discuss your position within this world.]
"Eh?"
'Did someone hack my phone???'
In his confusion, Li Yufei could only stare dumbly at the smartphone screen.
He had been texting his friend, Quan Xiaodan, before bed, when his screen had suddenly went black and this white text appeared.
Yufei had thought himself quite well-versed in internet safety, but it was clear that he had made a blunder at some point.
'Yeah, I've undeniably been hacked…'
[No. Your phone hasn't been hacked. I just had to use the medium you were most likely to notice my message on.
If you don't believe me, open a notebook and I can begin speaking to you there.]
As if reading his mind, the obscure individual countered Yufei's thoughts.
Yufei touched the tip of his nose, squinting suspiciously at the glowing characters. Thinking it wouldn't hurt, he stretched his arm forward and grabbed a thin, small note pad from the nearby nightstand. Bypassing the pages filled with rough doodles and random notes, he opened it to a blank page.
As he stared at the empty paper, the corners of Yufei's lips quirked up in self-ridicule. Despite knowing it was nonsense, his curiosity still led him to do as the words instructed. Still, his expectations were practically nonexistent.
'Only a crazy person would believe in a lie like that.'
But, contrary to what any sane human being would expect, the words displayed on his smartphone actually began to rapidly bleed into the originally blank page.
At the sight, Yufei's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. They were so wide, it would make anyone watching want to cup their hands beneath his eyes in fear the eyeballs might fall.
'Scizophrenia…?'
[You believe me now… right?]
The appearing text almost seemed unsure, pausing briefly before adding a hesitant "right?"
Yufei didn't respond, and the writing didn't wait, continuing to speak unperturbed.
[Anyway, let's finish this quickly. I don't have all day.
This is your basic data:
Name: Li Yufei
Age: 19
Sex: Male
Role: Quan Xiaodan's high school bully
Fulfillment status: Entirely OOC; unlikely to be reverted successfully; issuing punishment is suggested]
Li Yufei had already moved on from his shock, now skimming through the details with a look of disinterest. However, in the middle of reading, his movements froze and his brows gradually furrowed in exasperation and disbelief.
"I'm supposed to be Xiaodan's bully?? What kind of nonsense is that?!"
His voice raised slightly as his mind stirred. Yufei might not have fully understood what it all meant, but he still understood the definitions of "role" and "bully".
His "role" in this world was to bully Quan Xiaodan. However, just like what the fulfillment status said, he was definitely not fulfilling that "role". On the contrary, he was really close friends with Xiaodan. If Yufei were to ever bully him, he'd probably drown in his self-loathing.
[Mr. Li Yufei, you are an error.
According to our records, your soul was supposed to be sent to a straight romance drama. However, you and this role's originally assigned soul were somehow swapped.
Usually, we would proceed with an extermination procedure and just recreate the worlds with the souls in their rightful places, but that damned witch told us not to.]
The words started appearing faster, the rugged strokes easily conveying the writer's anger.
[She claims she's one of the prophetesses directly connected to the god of destiny, but I call bullshit. All she does is eat and sleep when she could at least help with the administration work from time to time! If she's assigned to the department, then she should pitch in!!!]
A dot of ink appeared, slowly growing like when a pen tip is pressed and held against a paper.
[Oh, sorry about that.
Anyway, you're staying in this world whether any of us like it or not. So to maintain balance in the law of causality, I have to punish you.
Give me a second to perform a quick analysis…
Alright, your punishment will be nightmares!
You're all set! Thank you for your time, and I wish you the best of luck!]
The conversation ended as abruptly as it started, leaving no gap for Yufei to speak. The moment they're done saying their part, they vanish? Couldn't they have thought to at least answer a few of the poor error's questions?
Despite them calling it a 'discussion', it really was just them dumping the info onto Yufei like dumping trash onto a landfill, then disappearing like they didn't want to waste any more of their time.
Feeling both frustrated and utterly flabbergasted, Li Yufei stood up aggressively, gripped the notebook like he was imagining it was the writer, and then shouted into it.
"HEY! You can't just leave!!! I still have questions!!! How am I supposed to interpret this?!!" His voice was very loud, echoing across the house. Fortunately, he lived alone, allowing him to vent without restraint. "And why am I being punished for something that I didn't even know happened until 10 minutes ago???!!! I didn't do it! It was whoever was in cha-!"
- Bzzz… Bzz, Bzzz…
Finally noticing his buzzing phone, Yufei paused mid-sentence. Ruffling his hair with a long sigh, he reached to see who was calling him, but before he could answer, the buzzing ceased.
He plopped onto his bed, his face slightly red and throat sore, when he belatedly saw several unread messages from Xiaodan.
He must've been too immersed in his feelings of injustice to notice them… Opening the text messages, his tense expression loosened considerably while reading through them.
Quan Xiaodan:
[Are you there?]
[Xiao Li?]
[?]
[Did something happen?]
[I'm getting worried…]
[Text me when you see this.]
"Haha! He's acting like I'm a little kid. It's not like I was kidnapped."
They'd have to be a real bold kidnapper to try and kidnap the youngest master of the Li family. His family might not love him, but at least for publicity's sake, they wouldn't leave the criminal alone once they found them.
Imagining Xiaodan's worried face, Yufei felt a bit guilty, but all of his unease evaporated and his chest felt like it was being filled with a bubbly energy. It was almost laughable that this was all it took to wash away his stress.
Brows drawn up, but lips curving into a smile, he quickly typed a response.
Me:
[Sorry. My dad called me in the middle of it. TT]
[I'm gonna go to sleep. Sleep well.]
Quan Xiaodan:
[Thank goodness. Good night.]
[-sleepycat.jpg-]
Yufei wasn't sure if this night would be a good one, but the words made him happy regardless.
* * *
"Yo! Dumbass! Buy me a drink, will ya'? I want an energy drink."
A boy that looked similar to Yufei barked in a snarky tone, wearing an arrogant expression as he turned towards a scrawny-looking classmate.
It was clearly a bullying situation. The victim had a much slimmer build compared to Quan Xiaodan's tall and lean one, but the similarities were unmistakable. That unwavering conviction and resolve hidden beneath his gray-blue irises wasn't something just anyone could replicate.
Yufei could count the amount of times he had seen that look with one hand, and even then, it was never more than a glimpse. However, Xiaodan accounted for all the sightings.
The young master Li knew lots of strong and powerful people, but no one else had ever even came close, which was why Yufei held no doubt that pitiful little kid was meant to be Xiaodan.
As for the bully, he wasn't sure…
Wait…
Was that him? Was the bully wearing such a twisted and ugly look that Yufei couldn't even recognize his own face? Was that even possible???
The youth's expression fell ashen, feelings of injustice clawing at his back with searing heat.
When Xiaodan didn't respond and only lowered his head to look at the floor, Yufei stood up and grabbed his hair aggressively, pulling it back so that he would face him.
"I thought I asked for a drink. Do you have too much earwax in your ears or are you deliberately ignoring me? Remember that I'm a young master of the Li family, so it'd be best if you just quietly do what I say."
His voice was a near snarl as he brought his face up close, staring straight into those defiant grey eyes. Once he finished speaking, he roughly pushed him away and crossed his arms, looking down on the stumbling teenager.
He looked to be waiting for an answer, only retreating when Xiaodan finally nodded.
'Argh! What the fuck!!'
Yufei raged inwardly, feeling the urge to flip a table rise in his heart.
He had known from the beginning that this was just a dream, but that didn't stop him from wanting to strangle the bully and sternly tell Xiaodan to stand up for himself!
Well, realistically, the small Chinese citizen named Quan Xiaodan could get destroyed with just one word from this young master of the Li Family… But that only made Yufei angrier!!!
Ready to square up with this insufferable version of himself, the real Yufei stood in front of him with a fierce gaze.
"Yo! Asswipe! Are your legs just for show? Or did your family recently go bankrupt? Pay for your own goddamn shit."
Yufei didn't hold back. Having to see that smug, ugly expression on his own face was definitely unpleasant, but not enough to get him genuinely angry.
However, it being directed at Xiaodan? WITH HIS OWN FACE?! It made Yufei want to swing a punch, no matter if it was at his face or a dog's!
But his insults were met with silence. The bully Yufei only casually looked down at his phone without a word.
Upon being ignored by such a piece of shit, the real Yufei angrily walked up to him and slapped the back of his head. However, his hand never met anything solid, phasing straight through the toilet matter.
"Eh…? What's going on?"
Yufei started feeling panicked as a realization creeped up on him. He frantically began trying to slam classroom desks and talk to the surrounding kids, but, just as he had predicted, the dreamworld refused to acknowledge him.
Giving up, he let out a deflated sigh and tried to ignore his knotted stomach and scorching blood. He closed his eyes and lifted his head to the ceiling in an attempt to calm down.
"Oh! The dumbass is back!"
At the sight of him returning, Yufei stood up and snatched the drink out of his hands.
"Pay me back..."
Xiaodan glared at him through his hair and spoke determinedly.
"The fuck you just say?"
Yufei's face contorted disturbingly, twisting as if he just saw a cockroach crawling up his leg.
"Pay. Me. Back."
The real Yufei's eyes suddenly shot open, lighting up as Xiaodan revealed his backbone.
'Yes, Xiao Dan! Tell that asswipe who the real dumbass is!'
-Smack!
A crisp sound echoed as Yufei slapped Xiaodan so hard that the slim boy stumbled back, his small face immediately swelling.
Yufei had been cheering so happily, but that joy was swiftly cut short. His happiness rapidly turned to shock, then worry.
'Xiao Dan!'
That was not a light a slap. Xiaodan looked so fragile just while standing, how could Yufei endure the sight of Xiaodan reeling from such a loud smack?
Yufei's face turned pale. He wanted to run up and support his friend, frightened by his tilted balance, but it wasn't possible.
"This goddamn waste of space! Disappear!"
Yufei grit his teeth, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice when no one could hear him anyway.
And, as if his demand had been answered, the bully Yufei really did disappear… Along with everything else.