Observation Chapter 10
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Observation Chapter 10: The Sentient Document
‘Clatter…’
Sounds of typing filled the room once more, as the newly appeared words in [The Observation Record of Abnormal Girls] began to delete themselves from existence.
The process continued without pause until every word written after Lin Qian fell asleep was removed.
After that, the computer screen blinked twice in quick succession…
…before descending into darkness.
As if none of it had ever happened at all.
……..
Tuesday, May 19th, 2020. 9:18 am.
Lin Qian woke up from his deep and fulfilling sleep.
“Hmm?”
The first sound he made upon opening his eyes was one of confusion.
“Ah!”
Following that, he let out an exclamation of surprise and sprung up from his bed with a flip.
“What in the world did I experience…”
“Seems like I ran into some really strange things last night…”
“That’s right!”
Lin Qian hurriedly drew back the curtains.
Strands of sunlight streamed through the window, landing squarely on the edges of his brows and temples.
Thankfully, the sun was not green.
‘Wait a moment…’
‘None of my novels ever featured a green sun.’
“I seem to recall mentioning a red moon last night.”
Lin Qian hastily booted up his computer and scrolled through his chat history from yesterday.
“…”
‘Just as I thought…’
At that moment, several new messages appeared in the group chat.
The Dragon Awaiting Its Strength: ‘Hey, old cur Blooming, have you launched your new series yet?’
Girl-Shopping Little Bat: ‘Release it, quickly.’
Song of Nine Lifetimes:
Song of Nine Lifetimes: ‘Hey, Old Dog Blooming, did you meet your demise on top of Qiao Biluo1‘s belly? You need us to call in a group of specialized professionals for you?’
Song of Nine Lifetimes:
“…”
‘That old bastard, Nine Lifetimes, he’s trash-talking me again.’
Stroking his chin, Lin Qian gently clicked on his mouse.
[You have timed out ‘Song of Nine Lifetimes’ for 10 minutes.]
Rayandapple: ‘F.’
Big Booty:
That Blooming Prosperity: ‘@Song of Nine Lifetimes, clarify this for me once your timeout is over. The photo of this professional team shows just 7 people, but the ‘Supreme Luxurious 8 Person Pallbearer service’ it advertises promises 8. Where’s the missing member? This seems like false advertising to me, so I’m adding 3 more minutes into your timeout.’
Despite making that claim, Lin Qian did not follow through with it.
It was just a joke, nothing more.
Furthermore, Lifetime was the group’s administrator. They were an avid reader of his, who had bought every chapter of his novels and even awarded him with an Imperial Chalice. To put it simply, they were his sugar daddy.
While others might balk at the label, Lin Qian was not one to quibble about that. If receiving an Imperial Chalice allowed him to secure his basic needs, what harm was there in calling his benefactor a sugar daddy?
As for the other regular in the chat, Frantic Haku, they were the embodiment of a mega sugar daddy.
Closing the group chat, Lin Qian spent a moment in thought, before opening his web browser and catching up on the news.
This world was startlingly simple compared to the complex creations he had woven for his novels – universes that perfectly mirrored the intricacy of Sin City.
Despite that, he decided to play it safe and interact with this world as though it was the setting of his novels.
What made him heave a sigh of relief was the fact that there were no reports of crimes in the news.
Next, he opened the document which had seemingly developed a will of its own.
[The Observation Diary of The Abnormal Girls]
“Why don’t I type a few words and see what happens?”
He furiously tapped away at his keyboard, but no words emerged on the screen.
“…”
‘This is embarrassing, what do I do now?’
Since he had already started typing, he decided to commit himself completely. He decisively opened a document and designated it as the draft for his new novel.
Afterwards, he headed downstairs to the corner shop and purchased four packets of instant noodles.
There was a saying that summed it best:
‘A cup of tea, a box of cigarettes and two thousand words to write a day.’
With unwavering determination, Lin Qian devoted 4 consecutive hours to writing. Only when his body was completely wracked by soreness and the sun turned green to his weary eyes did he manage to finish the chapters needed to release his novel.
“I’m really not cut out to write romance novels…”
Lin Qian sighed in resignation before glancing at the time; It was already 1:30pm.
He planned to have lunch before heading to his university for classes.
‘Just as I thought. Only someone that is a true master of time management, such as myself, could execute this schedule.’
Finishing his simple instant noodle meal, Lin Qian grabbed a fresh set of clothing from his balcony and changed.
He had a foreign language class later that afternoon. Although students from all majors would be attending, the teacher’s eccentric temperament made it clear that skipping was out of question.
He showed no interest in anything other than doing a roll call, with one out of four periods in the class dedicated solely to that purpose.
To make matters worse, there was no telling when the roll call would strike. It could happen at the beginning, the end, or even in the middle of the lesson.
Lin Qian had even heard rumors of this teacher taking attendance twice during class, but after receiving a flood of complaints from students, he was forced to cut it back to once.
It was an utterly messed up situation.
As soon as he stepped out of his apartment, Lin Qian caught sight of ‘Lil’ Zhang’ gripping his waist and wobbling his way down the stairs.
“Zhang Zhuang, you are up already? Did you just get out of Sister Zheng’s place?”
Lin Qian’s acquaintance with his neighbors was limited, with Zhang Zhuang being one of the few he knew, albeit barely.
Given their shared financial struggles, it was common for them to exchange a few words whenever they encountered each other.
At the mention of ‘Sister Zheng’, Zheng Zhuang involuntarily shuddered. As he subconsciously checked his surroundings and realized it was just Lin Qian and himself, he sighed and replied, “Yes.”
“Seems like you have overworked yourself, buddy.”
While the name Zhang Zhuang might conjure the image of a lively young man, the term ‘energetic’ had ceased to apply to him after the landlady began to invite him for late-night conversations.
The slight muscles that once filled out his frame had given way to a figure thinner than a chrysanthemum stalk, with his face marked by severe emaciation.
Lin Qian could not help but inwardly lament the hardships of life. Without the financial support of his beloved readers…
“I don’t have much of a choice either, brother. It’s not like you haven’t heard of Sister Zheng’s… impressive dimensions. Even if I had a pair of steel kidneys and an iron waist, it wouldn’t be enough.”
“That’s the cost of keeping a rich woman happy. Make sure to drink more warm water and take some tonic pills to nourish your kidneys and body. Don’t forget to toss some wolfberries into your thermal bottle, that helps too.”
“Sigh…”
Zhang Zhuang let out a deep sigh.
Choosing not to dwell on that topic any further, Lin Qian changed the subject. “Did you happen to catch anything unusual, since you were up quite late last night?'”
“By anything unusual, you mean…?”
“For example…”
Lin Qian forcefully banged on his apartment door, causing a series of ‘thud, thud’ sounds to ring out.
“Something like that.”
“… I’m not sure. Sister Zheng’s apartment is on the top floor, and it was rather noisy last night, so I wasn’t on the lookout for anything unusual. You may want to ask your immediate neighbors. Perhaps they might know a thing or two about that.”
“Mhm. I’ll ask around. Thanks.”
Lin Qian lingered briefly outside Apartment 403 before leaving.
…….
Southern Sky University was among the top four institutions in Southern Sky Province and held a renowned reputation.
Furthermore, its status as a teacher-training institution drew a significant number of female students with attractive appearances, particularly in majors that tended to attract more of the fairer sex.
This trend was most evident in departments like Liberal Arts, Foreign Languages, and Fine Arts.
The Public Administration Department, where Lin Qian studied at, also featured a significant proportion of attractive female students.
When Lin Qian arrived in the lecture hall, he chose a seat under a ceiling fan.
Since it was still early, the classroom had yet to fill up with students.
Despite that, it was oppressively humid and stuffy, giving him a sense of extreme discomfort.
The arrival of May had ushered in warmer temperatures to the province, a sensation especially noticeable given the cessation of a heavy rain last night.
The temperature hovered in an uncomfortable middle ground, neither hot nor cool.
Lin Qian pulled out his phone, deciding to use this short downtime to work on his draft.
This had already become second nature to him.
“…”
Right after unlocking his phone, he found the sentient document, [The Observation Diary of the Abnormal Girls], surfacing on his home screen.
The document even boasted its own unique icon and was positioned right next to the [SFACG] app.
Almost as if it was terrified he would miss it.
He attempted to remove it, only to realize there was no way to do so.
‘Alright, brother. I give up. You’re truly like a piece of gum stuck to my shoe!’
The document on his phone made Lin Qian instantly lose interest in writing.
Faced with a shortage of inspiration, he decided instead to browse [SFACG] for some light-hearted novels.
Shortly after Lin Qian begun reading, two individuals entered the classroom.