nerd × popular
Aiden Lan’s apartment was the kind of place you didn’t bring people to.
Faint peeling wallpaper. A flickering ceiling light. Secondhand everything.
But it was clean, quiet, and paid for—barely—thanks to two part-time jobs and a scholarship that would vanish if he slipped even once.
Of course, none of this stopped Kai from standing in the middle of it all, still adjusting to his new life.
Aiden (mc)
So… this is the tragic life setting.
Cool. Depressing. Smells like instant noodles and responsibility.
Noah ( system)
You're awake. Finally.
Ready to go from sad orphan to romance god?
Aiden (mc)
Where are you? [ looks around]
Aiden (mc)
Are you gonna float in front of me again like a judgmental anime hologram?
Noah ( system)
I won’t appear in front of you unless summoned privately.
Noah ( system)
You're living among humans now. Talking to thin air might get you diagnosed as mental.
Aiden (mc)
So how do we talk?
Noah ( system)
Just speak to me in your mind.
I’ll hear you. No one else will.
Aiden (mc)
(So you're the voice in my head now?
God, I hate this already.)
Noah ( system)
I know. Isn’t it fun?
Kai rolled his eyes and moved toward the cracked bathroom mirror.
Same face—well, Aiden’s face now.
Pale. Messy black hair. Faded uniform. Thin wrists.
No family.
No parents.
No backup.
Only school, work, and a microwave that sounded like it might explode every time he used it.
Aiden (mc)
(Aiden Lan really lived on nightmare mode, huh?)
Noah ( system)
He’s on a full scholarship, works part-time at a café after school, and weekends at a restaurant.
Noah ( system)
You’re now the poor, hardworking, invisible student with a crush on the school god.
Aiden (mc)
…It’s giving main character pain arc realness.
Aiden (mc)
Did he at least have toast?
He rubbed his eyes, staring at the cracked wall clock—
7:51 AM.
Aiden (mc)
WAIT WHAT
I’M LATE?!
Noah ( system)
You were too busy emotionally spiraling and asking me existential questions.
Aiden (mc)
Why didn’t you wake me UP earlier?!
Noah ( system)
I tried. You told me to “shoo” and rolled into a blanket burrito.
[ shrugs ]
He yanked on his faded uniform, barely brushed his hair, shoved glasses onto his face, and bolted out the door with his bag half-zipped and no breakfast in sight.
Aiden (mc)
If I fail the mission from dying of hunger, I’m suing the system.
Noah ( system)
Add it to your imaginary lawsuit file.
Now run, drama king. The Male Lead awaits.
And so, Kai—now Aiden Lan—raced down the street, wind in his hoodie, toastless and flustered, completely unprepared for what awaited at Hillpoint Academy.
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