He looked back to see the man frozen at the top of the stairs, stunned. Smugly, he stuck out his tongue in a ghost face and hurried away.
Once no one was behind him, Zhong Nian stopped, hands on knees, gasping. He slowed to a walk.
What a weirdo, chasing him out of nowhere like he was a chick.
Oh right, the cakes…
Zhong Nian opened the paper bag. Through the transparent box lid, he saw the Little Cakes had collapsed, cream smeared everywhere. He felt like the sky had fallen.
“My Little Cakes are dead—”
Mid-wail, the persistent voice sounded before him. “I’ll compensate you.”
Zhong Nian reflexively jumped back, glaring at the red-shirted man. “Why are you chasing me? I don’t have anything good here.”
“How not? You’ve got a big one right here.” Yu Jingshan smirked at him.
Zhong Nian pursed his lips, turned to run, but his path was blocked. Retreating further, his calf hit the flowerbed edge, and he fell back onto his butt.
Looking up, the man was right in front of him, so close their legs touched knees. He bent down to look.
“Why run? I’m not a bad guy.”
Zhong Nian pouted. “Bad guys all say that.”
Yu Jingshan chuckled and sat beside him. “I really just want to make friends. Give me your ID to add as a player friend?”
“You’ll leave me alone if I do?” Zhong Nian asked. Seeing Yu Jingshan nod, he reluctantly gave his ID.
Soon, he received a System notification—a friend add request.
After fumbling through the unfamiliar process, his new friends list gained one person.
“Okay now? I’m leaving.”
The man wanted to say more but saw Zhong Nian bristling like a spooked animal, full of wariness. Knowing not to push too hard, he nodded and let him go.
On the way back, Zhong Nian deliberately avoided crowds and made it home smoothly.
Closing the door cut off all outside contact. A player’s personal space was absolutely safe.
Zhong Nian let out a long breath, set down the bag, and shifted back to his most comfortable Original Form. A round rabbit head poked out from under his clothes.
The System helped unpack the collapsed cakes, placing them on plates and tidying them up. They didn’t look too bad.
“I should’ve known not to go out. What kind of people are out there?” The Blue-White Cat-Rabbit hopped onto the table, channeling his frustration into appetite, burying his face in the cakes and munching away.
In Original Form, the cakes seemed bigger. He ate his fill of various flavors until his belly was round. Cream smeared his mouth fur, and his pink three-petaled lips were stained red from cherry juice.
The System wiped him down with a damp towel from head to tail. The half-wet Cat-Rabbit fur clumped in strands, like a gnawed mango pit.
The System glanced and sneakily rubbed the rabbit paws a couple extra times during the wipe.
The rabbit, in high spirits from the sweets, didn’t notice. He raised his paws high, waited for the wipe to finish, then flopped on the carpet, kicking with the Yellow Small Ball for some after-meal exercise.
Suddenly, a jarring “ding-dong” sounded from somewhere. His rabbit ears perked up and twitched. A beat later, he realized it was a message notification from his friends list in the System interface.
He had only one friend, so no need to guess who.
【Yu Jingshan: [Player Clearance Record Screenshot.jpg]】
【Ah, sorry, slipped.】
Zhong Nian tapped it open. The screenshot showed Yu Jingshan’s player ID and dazzling clearance record. In half a year in the game, high-score clearances had propelled him into the Leaderboard Top 10.
Just one step from success—clear the final S-level Dungeon to escape player status.
Even as a newbie, Zhong Nian knew the value of this screenshot. But what did it have to do with him?
Pretending to send it to him because no one else to brag to?
Zhong Nian pursed his lips and, with the System’s guidance, swiftly blocked him.
Exiting the interface, he glimpsed the Forum icon and clicked it on impulse.
The Forum was for anonymous posts where players exchanged info, chatted, or formed teams—no spoilers allowed.
Posts of all kinds filled it.
Zhong Nian skimmed. Besides bland newbie tips, the hot topics were major guilds and Leaderboard celebs—like Silver Snake Guild’s Jie Jialiang. Many marveled at his freakish abilities and clearing methods, mentioning Yu Jingshan too.
Turns out, back in newbie days, the two had teamed up. Some conflict turned them bitter rivals.
Yu Jingshan was a Lone Wolf Player, deeply hostile to Silver Snake Guild. In Instances, he’d sabotage them whenever possible.
But he was too strong; Silver Snake Guild couldn’t do much.
Zhong Nian thought maybe the man pestered him today just to mess with Silver Snake.
It was their grudge—nothing to do with him.
Zhong Nian exited the post, but his finger slipped and paused.
【Tao Tao, that flower-like beauty newbie player Z Nian… Code: Cruise Ship, waiter.】
The keywords made Zhong Nian think of himself. Posted nine days ago, he hesitated then clicked.
【1L: Started with a casual scroll, then fell for the cover… Damn Game System, how could it put such a pretty beauty in a game to suffer? But my chance… Someday I’ll catch him and keep him as my wife.】
【2L: Get it… Licked nonstop in the Live Stream Room for two days, tongue’s worn out.】
【3L: Who? Link please.】
【7L: Love love love, this is my wife!】
【11L: Stop, one night emptied my points, all to him… Was set on quitting, now itching again.】
【12L: Makes me anxious, wanna rush into the Instance and escort him through.】
【13L: Some people, don’t get ahead of yourselves. Does he need you? Baby’s got plenty of dogs—the whole Cruise Ship’s NPCs are his.】
【14L: Cruise Ship? That Fatal Cruise Instance?】
【22L: Clueless passerby. What’s this new guy’s level? NPCs all his dogs? Is God’s Favor that high?】
【23L: Not about God’s Favor level. See once and know.】
【27L: Seriously, who can give a link?】
【28L: Find your own. Why share my wife?】
【33L: Too bad no screenshots in Live Stream, or I’d save a thousand for my grave.】
…
From suspicion to certainty, Zhong Nian realized it was about him.
So boring. These people spammed shameless barrages during his stream, and now the Forum too?
He poked around for a complaint button but asked the System.
“I can help complain, but the main System usually doesn’t care,” it warned, then did it.
Unexpectedly, within a minute, a successful complaint notice popped up. The post was gone when he checked.
The System was a bit surprised.
Zhong Nian, problem solved, tossed it aside and pounced on the bed, rolling until his fur was a mess.
He flopped on his back, belly up, and ordered the System, “Bad System, groom me!”
Rest period was just days—better enjoy before the next Instance.
![Bunny is Delicate, But He’s Everyone’s Crush! [Infinite]](https://i3.wp.com/dobynovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bunn.jpg?resize=151,215 "Bunny is Delicate, But He’s Everyone’s Crush! [Infinite]")
![Reborn as a Ragdoll Cat [Interstellar]](https://i2.wp.com/dobynovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/f.jpg?resize=151,215 "Reborn as a Ragdoll Cat [Interstellar]")
