RPDH Chapter 16

[Establishing channel… Welcome back to reality.]

…

At midnight, the manhua ‘Beyond Black and White’ updated again.

Li Li rubbed her eyes as the notification dinged. She raised her head from the desk as she felt around for her phone.

One second she was racing down the hallways in the Tarnished Bronze HQ, the next she was seated at a familiar desk. The warm light of the lamp coated the area. Li Li even spotted the sticky notes she had posted on the wall.

How reassuring, she thought.

She didn’t read the manhua update at once, just like before. Instead, she flipped through the PowerPoints for tomorrow’s classes as she waited for the initial comments to trickle in.

The manhua picked up on the end of the last conversation. She directed Little Corgi to take the floor at night while she outright monopolized the bed. Little Corgi didn’t see anything wrong with the arrangement and was actually in favour.

[I think Li’s just teasing Little Corgi]

[+1]

[Li’s such a tsundere hahahahaha]

[It’s adorable how he misbehaved with a straight face and that cowlick hahaha]

[I want to pull that cowlick out, no, I want to be teased by Li too! I’m very cute too!]

[Woof woof woof!]

[The previous poster accidentally exposed their true feelings]

[Woof woof woof! I can be a little puppy too, Li! Tease me, tease me!]

The brain rot comments really gave Li the authentic manhua-reading experience.

She reviewed her lines from the manhua perspective, nodding along as she tried to figure out who this handsome dude was.

When the Rank C ability user took Li away right in front of Little Corgi, three large thought bubbles conveyed Yi Ming’s frustration and worry.

He even wondered if that was the last time he would ever see Li again. He frantically paced the pitch-black room, glancing at the door from time to time as he mulled over whether to escape right now.

The readers were having a grand old time at his expense.

[Is it just me or does he look like a little corgi with separation anxiety?]

[Corgi’s puppy dog eyes.jpg]

[Come back already, Li! Little Corgi’s going to tear up the house!]

Li read the comments as she flipped the page. Sure enough, Yi Ming decided to tear up the house in the end.

Yi Ming dismantled the bronze door a while later and tried to sneak out.

Then he ran right into Qing Yuchen, who came to inspect this part of the warehouse.

Yi Ming did mention this to Li Li, but she only learned of the specifics now.

This probably took place after she warned Qing Yuchen not to investigate her.

The 1.8m tall Qing Yuchen loomed over the panel, half of his face remaining in shadow. His eyes were somewhat bloodshot as he raised his chin with arrogance and disdain.

When Yi Ming saw Qing Yuchen, his feet seemed to rust in place and refused to move.

‘Is this the mind control the boss mentioned?!’

This was Yi Ming’s first time facing Qing Yuchen’s ability head-on. Last time, he lost consciousness right away.

“How did he get out?” Qing Yuchen turned to reproach the Rank C ability user without sparing Yi Ming a single glance.

The Rank C simply bowed his head. “I don’t know.”

“Trash.” Qing Yuchen spat.

Then Yi Ming’s feet started moving on their own, carrying him back to his cell.

He was going to be locked up again. This trip was useless.

Yi Ming grit his teeth and snapped his head back to scream, “What did you do to Li? He’s already injured! If you have to punish someone, let me take his place!”

He was really worried about Li.

Li Li thought about what she was probably doing at this point.

She was probably having the local speciality, those soup-filled pork and squid dumplings. Just the thought of them made her a little hungry now.

Yet the power level fanboys were having a field day in the real-time comments.

[Is the villain really this strong? It’s over before the fight even began?]

[How is this fair? He couldn’t do anything after running into him!]

[The Rank C with him didn’t even move. The protagonist didn’t even have the chance to launch a last minute gambit.]

[With Corgi at Rank D and Li at Rank D or E according to the analysts, I don’t think this arc is winnable.]

[The Desolate Dragon arc has to be the most difficult arc bar none right now.]

[Who do you think is stronger, Qing Yuchen or the Rank A bigshot?]

[Don’t compare combat power across ranks. It’s got to be the Rank A bigshot hands down, ah. Not like Qing’s ability works on anyone of a higher rank than him.]

[The Rank A would OHKO him.]

[The Rank A would OHKO him.]

[The Rank A would OHKO him.]

The first few comments talked about how weak Li was while the latter ones spammed ‘the Rank A would OHKO him’.

Li Li: Much appreciated, guys.

Wasn’t there a possibility that the Rank A and Li were the same person, and said person couldn’t beat Qing Yuchen? Even now, ordinary person Li Li was wracking her brains for a way to obtain an ability.

Qing Yuchen sneered on the next page in response to Yi Ming’s words.

“Li?” He seemed to be looking down on an ant. “You want to help him?”

“You have no idea who ‘Li’ is.” Qing Yuchen stated, “He has no need for your so-called ‘help’, weak little corgi.”

Li Li’s expression cooled at this revelation.

So Qing Yuchen tried to expose her while she was out.

Killing in front of her, testing her three times, and exposing her second identity behind back while still investigating her in secret. This person really was just giving lip service.

The next page revealed Yi Ming was completely unaffected by Qing Yuchen’s words.

The brunet glared even harder. “I don’t care! I know Li is a good person!”

He trusted his intuition over anyone else’s words. Since he believed Li was good, no one could convince him otherwise.

[Who wouldn’t like Little Corgi!]

[This is what it means to be jail buddies!]

[No, they’re father and son /s]

Yi Ming was locked up again without much else happening. After three black transition panels, Qing Yuchen appeared once more.

He was still investigating the source of the leak.

The manhua described how he just received news that Father Tang had sent out a letter before his death. Qing Yuchen brooded in his chair for a long time.

‘So it was actually…’

That was all the thought bubble revealed before the perspective switched again.

[What is it? Who is it?]

[Is he the Riddler or something?]

[Guys! Check out the new analysis post in the forums!]

Li Li was somewhat concerned by the results of Qing Yuchen’s investigation. She had a feeling this was related to his sudden departure from Tarnished Bronze on the last day.

She noted her suspicion before continuing to read.

The next part was Yi Ming running down the hallways with Li. Then he stopped and told Li that they ‘could be family’.

Of course Li Li had a family, but it was just her and her mother, really. She knew Yi Ming had misunderstood at the moment, but she didn’t realize how deep the misunderstandings ran.

She took a deep breath and touched her heart.

It was alive. Beating.

Good. She didn’t exactly need a conscience to live.

They were the only one in the hallway that seemed to stretch on forever. The slightly shorter teen grasped the young man’s hand with full sincerity. There was a hint of expectation in his face that was still lined with a bit of baby fat.

The dark-haired young man’s mouth was parted slightly. He seemed to be stunned. The corridor behind him was consumed by unfathomable darkness.

In contrast, the teen was backed by blinding white light.

[Promise him! Promise him already!]

[You go, Little Corgi!]

[Cowlick Li won’t be alone anymore]

[My heart is aching for some reason. Cowlick Li is so cute with this expression]

[Yeah, catch him off guard! Put him at a loss!]

[Look at that confused little look on his face. As expected of Master Corgi.]

[Those who tease dogs must be ready for a counterattack!]

The scene was particularly charged after the author put their own spin on it. Li Li, however, wasn’t particularly affected. She touched her face before resting her cheek on one hand. “My popularity should rise a lot this time.”

After all, she was directly promoted to the protagonist’s big brother.

Who was she to refuse free handouts? Still, Li Li was actually reluctant to bind herself too tightly to the protagonist’s group.

She had no intention of following the plot by Yi Ming’s side from the start.

There were many reasons, the biggest one being she didn’t want to deal with all the restrictions.

“If I can get an ability by tomorrow, I’m going to dip. If I can’t, I’ll bide by time by Yi Ming’s side.” Li Li halfheartedly made a brief outline.

There were just too many variables at play. There were many aspects of that world not shown in the manhua. In the end, Li Li felt like she needed to remain spontaneous and keep her options open.

Speaking of which, she still needed a standout scene…

Giving the candy didn’t count in her mind. She was just doing what her character would at that moment.

However, the manhua chose to relay the scene from Tang’s perspective. Only now did she realize how tall she was to this little girl.

The ordinary fruit candy bought from the system mall glimmered like a star.

[Wallpaper! My new wallpaper! I want candy too!]

[Outside: aloof + cold. Inside: Stop crying, I’ll give you candy.]

[Biting my handkerchief and hallucinating the ice melting]

[Gap moe point activated!]

[Itching to write fanfics]

[Drop a link! I want to read it tonight!]

After finishing the update, Li Li couldn’t help but sigh, “This would be equivalent to a month of updates for any other manhua.”

Both she and the author were hard workers. She diligently acted while they diligently drew.

It was almost 1am by now. Li Li set an alarm, planning to go on the forums tomorrow.

…

Li Li’s roommate happened to be in when she came back from classes tomorrow.

Her roommate was reading the manhua on her laptop while taking notes when Li Li walked in.

If she didn’t know better, she would think her friend was studying some profound text.

“Are you studying the manhua, Yaoyao?” Li Li casually asked.

She didn’t expect her roommate to nod seriously. “Yep.”

She showed Li Li her little notebook. “I still think your resemblance to the new character in B&W is uncanny. Your names are similar too. You can probably go to a cosplay event even without a costume. I’ve taken notes on how you can pretend to be the original goods if you even transmigrate into a parallel world. As for the cowlick, the one on your head should do. Keeping a poker face shouldn’t be too hard either. You’ll have to strike a careful balance to be a cute tsundere like him…”

Li Li touched the top of her head. Sure enough, there was a tuft of hair that had been blown astray when she opened the door.

She paused for a moment before pursing her lips into a thin line. She turned to her roommate with half her face covered with a pitiful expression. “Like this, darling?”

The roommate waved her hands excitedly. “Yes, that’s exactly it! Add a bit of blood and you’ll be Cowlick Li in the flesh!”

Li Li: “You’re probably thinking of the fandom’s version of Cowlick Li.”

Don’t think she doesn’t know of the corrupting power of fanfics!