The System is Abstract, Luckily, So Am I

Chapter 165 : The Round Table Conference Begins

Ding Sihan's taste wasn't bad. Everyone was quite satisfied with the lunch. Even if they were pre-made meals, they were top-tier pre-made meals.

"If only Baowei were here. He probably could have eaten all the crab shells too."

"Forget the crab shells. If you ask me, Baowei could have licked the black oxidized grime baked onto the bottom of this pot completely clean."

Having eaten and drunk their fill, Lin Li and Bai Bufan walked behind the three girls, talking smack about the absent Zhou Baowei.

That's just how bros are. If you aren't there, you deserve to be talked smack about.

Lin Li didn't even dare to imagine what kind of persona he was given when Bai Bufan, Zhou Baowei, and the others chatted in the dorm without him.

"Let's go buy something to drink, shall we?"

Not in a hurry to catch a cab back to the library, Qu Wanqiu pointed at a milk tea shop across the street and said to the group behind her.

"Sure," Chen Yuying nodded, then turned back to look at Lin Li. "Lin Li, I happen to owe you a fruit tea. Shall we go buy it now?"

"Okay."

The group walked over.

In front of the milk tea shop, after Lin Li told Chen Yuying what he wanted to drink, he looked at Ding Sihan, who was standing silently and unwilling to step up to order. "What are you doing, Ding Sihan?"

"Keep quiet. Right now, there are two little people fighting in my head," Ding Sihan made a shushing gesture, her expression filled with hesitation and struggle.

"Drink it, drink it, it's fine. We're planning to study all day today, how can you not have a cup of milk tea to satisfy your cravings? This is an energy station..." Hearing this, Lin Li immediately transformed into a devil, whispering demonic temptations into Ding Sihan's ear.

Bai Bufan took one look. A bastard is truly a bastard.

Then, although he didn't dare to get close, he stood in place, nodded, and loudly agreed: "Yes! Exactly! Everyone else is drinking, why shouldn't you?"

Looking as if she had just stepped in something foul, Ding Sihan moved a bit further away from the approaching Lin Li and said with disgust, "I never said I wasn't going to drink."

Lin Li: "?"

"Then what are the two little people in your head fighting about? Just for fun?" Lin Li was puzzled.

"Because one of them is saying to add coconut jelly, and the other is saying to add a milk cap," Ding Sihan said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Lin Li: "..."

So the two people fighting in your head are both devils? There's no angel involved at all?

Unbelievable.

"And the result? Have they finished fighting?" Lin Li sighed and asked.

"They fought to a draw and signed a non-aggression pact, so..." Ding Sihan sighed, took a step forward, and said, "Hello, a passion fruit double mix, add a portion of coconut jelly, and add a portion of milk cap."

Only kids make choices, adults have no choices to make, but teenagers can truly say, "I want it all."

Lin Li smiled with gratification.

When I get married, Ding Sihan, you're sitting at the same table as Baowei.

...

The five of them returned to the library's study room with their milk teas and fruit teas, beginning their afternoon study session.

"Damn, it's a bit cold."

The AC in the afternoon was clearly cranked up higher than in the morning. Bai Bufan, the only person present who hadn't brought a jacket, rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and complained to Lin Li.

"Didn't I remind you? Why didn't you bring a jacket?" Lin Li frowned.

Like acting tough? Now you're eating the bitter fruit of your own actions, huh?

"When did you remind me?" Bai Bufan was shocked. He scrolled through his chat history, found only the part where Lin Li pranked him that morning, and frowned. "You didn't."

Lin Li pondered for a moment.

Oh, I only sent the reminder to the group chat.

"Then I guess I didn't," Lin Li nodded earnestly.

Bai Bufan: "..."

"What do you mean, 'Then I guess I didn't'?! Just a second ago you had a 'you deserve it' look on your face, and now you still have a 'you deserve it' look on your face?! Are you not going to take even a little bit of responsibility?!"

Amidst this questioning, Lin Li stood up and took off his jacket. Then, under Bai Bufan's touched gaze, he put it right back on himself.

Bai Bufan: "?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" After sitting back down as if it were perfectly natural, Lin Li looked innocently at the staring Bai Bufan. "You didn't think I was going to give it to you to wear, did you? If I gave it to you, what would I wear?"

Bai Bufan announced that Lin Li was not a sweet guy; he didn't even qualify to rank behind him.

Facing the teeth-gritting Bai Bufan, Lin Li sighed again, stood up, and returned shortly after, handing him a paper cup. "Then stop drinking your iced milk tea for now. Drink this."

Bai Bufan picked it up, took a sip, and then his expression became agitated. "Ah~~ What is this~~ Ah~~ What did you give me to drink~~ Why is my body getting so hot~~"

Feeling the three girls opposite them start to stare at him with vigilant eyes, Lin Li really wanted to smash Bai Bufan into masala paste.

"It's boiling water. I added boiling water."

At this, the three girls dropped their vigilance and switched to looking at Bai Bufan as if he were a mental patient.

...

In the end, Lin Li's jacket was shared between the two of them, otherwise Bai Bufan threatened to hang himself in the study room.

The afternoon passed in earnest studying.

Forming a group to study at the library was indeed very meaningful for Lin Li.

In the past, when he took a break from studying and looked around, there was only Bai Bufan, who was either not studying seriously or not studying at all. It provided zero pressure for Lin Li and served no supervisory purpose whatsoever.

But now, whenever he looked up, there were three girls studying diligently. This was quite effective for keeping him on track.

Even his mood improved.

In the past, I could only look at Bai Bufan. What kind of miserable life was that?

Furthermore, when he encountered a problem at home, he had to take out his phone to ask the Class Rep. Not only was there no guarantee of a timely reply, but it was also very easy for Lin Li to "accidentally" click into a social media app or a short video platform.

But in the library, he didn't need a phone as an intermediary to ask questions. If he didn't know something, he just had to reach out and tap the desk in front of Chen Yuying.

Having a beautiful girl teach you math problems offline was a hundred times better than those "beautiful live dealers dealing cards online" ads. A! Hundred! Times!

So Lin Li simply took that bastard of a phone and ruthlessly threw it into the trash can. It was nothing but a stumbling block on the path of learning. If Bai Bufan hadn't said it was unnecessary, Lin Li would have stomped on it a few times too.

Bai Bufan's study efficiency improved even more drastically.

After all, while others might say "no" to unhealthy temptations, Bai Bufan would say "not enough."

If anyone came to bother him while he was doing serious work, he would drop everything to play with them. If you invited Bai Bufan and saw him wave his hand, that wasn't a refusal; that meant "say no more, let's go."

So the extent to which Bai Bufan's study efficiency improved in the library was even greater than Lin Li's.

Besides that, there was another very important factor: the phone Lin Li threw into the trash can was his.

He had nothing to distract him.

Damn, Lin Li is a real animal. He even wanted to stomp on it a few times.

...

Before they knew it, the sky outside had grown dark.

Since there wasn't any particular restaurant they really wanted to eat at this time, the group simply had a bowl of noodles near the library.

"Let's take a walk and rest for a bit. Gotta strike a balance between work and rest. I don't really want to go back and keep studying right now," Ding Sihan took large strides to the front, crossed her arms, stretched them upwards to loosen up her body, and said to the group.

"I think that's a good idea," Bai Bufan nodded.

If they went back to the library, his phone was going right back into the trash can. Even though he knew Lin Li was doing it for his own good, this animal was also doing it to be evil.

Moreover, studying for too long easily leads to diminishing marginal returns. The phrase "balance between work and rest" exists for a reason.

"Sure," Lin Li agreed nonchalantly.

He was also a bit tired from studying.

Right now, whether he opened or closed his eyes, all he saw were science problems.

Reaching the top 100 truly was a long and arduous journey.

The infrastructure around the county library was very complete. There were two parks nearby alone, a sports stadium and swimming pool in the area, as well as a commercial complex.

"There's a music fountain at South Lake Park every weekend night. Let's go check it out," Ding Sihan suggested.

No one had any objections, so they slowly walked in that direction.

"Class Rep, do you know what this sign means?"

Lin Li, who had originally been walking in the back with Bai Bufan scanning their surroundings, suddenly stepped forward and spoke to Chen Yuying.

"Hmm?" Hearing this, Chen Yuying looked in the direction Lin Li indicated and saw a traffic sign. After looking at it for a moment, she shook her head. "I don't know."

"This means 'No Overtaking'. Now you know," Lin Li said.

Chen Yuying: "?"

So Lin Li wasn't asking me, he wanted to teach me?

"Oh," Chen Yuying nodded.

Naturally, Lin Li didn't ask this for no reason. The progress for Task Two had just experienced another slight increase.

Sure enough, teaching Chen Yuying theoretical knowledge about cars counted as part of the "mech experience," and the growth rate was a bit faster than cyber-driving.

"This safety sign means bicycles are prohibited on the uphill. This one means no long-term parking. That one means there's a roundabout ahead..."

Since that was the case, and they were just walking anyway, Lin Li kept muttering from behind.

"Lin Li, how do you know so much?" Chen Yuying actually wasn't interested at all, but since it was Lin Li talking, she didn't mind listening. After listening for a while, she asked curiously, "Are you planning to get your driver's license as soon as you turn eighteen this year?"

Lin Li smiled smugly. Just as he was about to start spouting nonsense, Bai Bufan beside him tilted his head, glanced at Lin Li's phone, and sneered, "Because he's searching for them right now."

Afraid Chen Yuying wouldn't believe him, Bai Bufan even flipped Lin Li's phone around to show the search history on the screen.

[What traffic safety sign has a bicycle on it?]

[What sign is three arrows in a loop?]

Lin Li was indeed searching for them on the spot. After all, he had no plans to get his driver's license immediately after coming of age, so why would he memorize these things in his free time?

Chen Yuying blinked, a slightly rich smile appearing on her face.

This smile was clearly stolen from Lin Li's face.

Chen Yuying is a thief. Chen Yuying is bad.

"Class Rep, you should turn your head back around. The following scenes involve gore and violence, don't look," Lin Li said to Chen Yuying with a smile.

"Oh." Chen Yuying was still very well-behaved and obediently turned her head away.

Bai Bufan: "?"

"Don't turn away, Class Rep. Look back at me one more time, Class Rep. Class Rep?" Bai Bufan pleaded.

Facts proved that Chen Yuying listened to Lin Li more.

Facing the steadily advancing Lin Li, Bai Bufan let out an awkward laugh.

In theory, when facing an approaching enemy, the most appropriate response is to attack, right?

But right now wasn't a good time to attack. So, after looking around, Bai Bufan pointed at the various signs Lin Li had searched up on his phone and hurriedly changed the subject:

"Lin Li, have you noticed? The low-IQ little stick figures on these signs doing stupid things to serve as a warning to us... they're all black. Does this mean... Ah!!!"

Lin Li didn't have time to be a Race Knight right now. He planned to be the Bufan Knight first.

Bai Bufan: Got wrecked (Sad).

(End of Chapter)