Death Progress Bar

On Sunday afternoon, after the post-lunch nap, Lian Jun took Shi Jin back to school.

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“I’ll come to pick you up on Friday.” A frown never leaving his face, Lian Jun held Shi Jin’s hand, distractedly turning the ring on the younger man’s finger.
“I’ll text you the results of the medical examination, so don’t worry too much.
After you’re back in school, you have to eat properly, and you are not allowed to stay up late.”

“Right back atcha,” Shi Jin said with a smile, squeezing his lover’s hand.
“This is exactly what I want to say to you.
The police academy has a strict lights-out rule and they check if we’re sleeping, so it’s not like I could stay up late even if I wanted to.
You, however, are a repeat offender—without me there to keep an eye on you, you will surely be picky about food and be going to bed late again.”

“I won’t,” Lian Jun promised.

Shi Jin gave him an exaggeratedly skeptical look.

Amused by his expression, Lian Jun finally felt a little better.
He squeezed Shi Jin’s hand, not saying anything more.

So Shi Jin stopped talking as well, just leaned lazily on him.
From time to time, he rubbed his cheek against Lian Jun’s shoulder in silent reassurance.

The school was about an hour away, which was hardly a long drive.
They seemed to cuddle quietly for barely a moment before the car pulled up at the gate of the police academy.

Lian Jun glanced at it with a hint of regret.
“It’s a pity that I can’t accompany you further.
I really want to see what your dorm room looks like.”

Shi Jin thought of his six-person dorm room without a separate toilet and with the communal bathroom shared by the whole floor, and sweated a little.
“You will definitely get a chance to see it someday.
I mean, I will be at school for four years…” When he became a junior, he would be able to move to a four-person room with a bathroom. It would probably be better to let Lian Jun visit his room then.

Lian Jun’s expression became lukewarm.
“Yes, you will be at school for four years, much too long.”

Shi Jin: “……” Dammit, had he accidentally stirred up a hornet’s nest? Hello, mouth, meet foot.

“You’re absolutely not allowed to fail your final exams,” Lian Jun said suddenly in a severe voice, turning to stare him in the eye.
“If you fail, you’ll have to take make-up exams, which means spending more time in school.
I’ll never allow it!”

Shi Jin sat up straight and replied loudly, “Sir, yes, sir, Jun-shao, sir! No problem, I can do it! I will work hard!”

Amused again, Lian Jun couldn’t keep his stern expression up any longer.
He gently pinched the teenager’s face, looking as if he wanted to say something, but no words left his parted lips.
Finally, he just sighed slightly and leaned down to kiss him.

Shi Jin closed his eyes and kissed back, wrapping his arms around his lover in a comforting hug.

After they parted, Lian Jun rubbed Shi Jin’s lips with his thumb and said, “You should go now.
If you delay any longer, you won’t have time to tidy up your dorm room before reporting to the counselor.
Don’t forget to eat dinner, and call me when you’re free.”

Shi Jin nodded and lifted his backpack, though his expression screamed unwillingness to part.
He gave Lian Jun a farewell kiss on the cheek, then opened the door and got out of the car.
Instead of going, however, he stood at the side of the car and signaled for Gua Two, who was the chauffeur today, to drive.

Gua Two didn’t move, only glanced back at Lian Jun.

Lian Jun lowered the car window to face Shi Jin.

“No way, I won’t let you watch my back as I’m walking away,” Shi Jin said, deadpan.

Lian Jun’s question was answered before he could ask it.
Eyes warm, he reminded Shi Jin to eat properly again, then pushing down his reluctance to leave, he motioned to Gua Two and slowly raised the car window.

The car drove away.
Shi Jin followed it with his gaze until it disappeared behind a corner, then put on his backpack, about to cross the road and enter the school gate.
What he didn’t expect, though, was to see Luo Donghao and Liu Yong, staring at him from the other side of the crosswalk.

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His expression stiffened for a second before he forced himself to act as if nothing was wrong and waved to them in greeting.
“Hey, what a coincidence! You guys are also going back to school at this time,” he called out amicably.

The air froze.
Liu Yong goggled at Shi Jin; suddenly, he let out a holler and pointed at him in disbelief, yelling, “He appeared! The fearless warrior Shi Jin, who’s brave enough to miss classes for over a month, returns!”

Swish.
All around, the cadets returning to school looked over at Liu Yong, startled by his roar.
Following the direction of his pointing finger, their gazes then fell on Shi Jin, and some of them started whispering.

Shi Jin’s eyebrows twitched.
He was instantly certain that in the nearly two months he wasn’t here, a new version of the rumor about him must have appeared and spread through the school.
Otherwise, the cadets wouldn’t have such a creepy reaction after hearing his name.

At that point, Luo Donghao woke up.
He slapped down Liu Yong’s pointing hand, then dragged him over to Shi Jin, hiding Shi Jin from sight.
“Where have you been?” he asked with a frown.
“You disappeared right after military training.
Everyone thought you dropped out of school.”

“That… uh, is a long story.
Anyway, there was a reason why I had to leave.
The school knew and gave me permission,” Shi Jin placated.
Not giving him time to reply, he continued, “Let’s go in first.
This is not the place to talk.”

Luo Donghao and Liu Yong also realized that, so they forced themselves to calm down and followed Shi Jin to school.

If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

Shi Jin went to his dorm room first to put his things in order.
As it happened, none of his roommates were there, but he didn’t care.
He took out his bedding from the cabinet and prepared to make the bed.

Luo Donghao hurriedly grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“Are you stupid?” he asked, scowling.
“This is summer bedding and it’s almost winter now.
First, go to the residence life staff office to get winter bedding and uniforms.”

Shi Jin blinked, then slapped his forehead.
“Duh.
Yeah, you’re right, thanks.
But before that, I should go see the counselor.
I wonder if he’s in his office…” He put down the bedding and picked up his backpack again.

Unable to hold his curiosity back any longer, Liu Yong scurried over and peppered him with questions.
“Why do you need to see the counselor? Are you going to write the self-review and apology for skipping classes? And why did you miss school for so long? Hurry up and spill!”

“I didn’t play hooky, I was away on a mission.
Now that it’s finished, I need to hand in my report.
My student file should already be updated,” Shi Jin replied with a smile.
He pulled his two friends, who froze in shock at the word “mission,” out of the room, and locked the door.
“I’ll explain to you in more detail after I see the counselor,” he said, walking away.
“Wait for me in the tea corner at the cafeteria, I’ll find you when I’m done.”

Luo Donghao and Liu Yong tried to drag him back to finish his explanation but failed, so they could only reluctantly leave for the cafeteria.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations.
Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!

The meeting with the counselor went smoothly.
Only some people of higher rank knew that the mission was just an excuse for Shi Jin to leave school, and the counselor wasn’t one of them; he really thought that Shi Jin had been away on an assignment.
After reading Shi Jin’s report, he not only praised him with a teacher’s pride but also reassured him, saying that he would make the class representative bring him material from the missed lessons to help him catch up with the rest of the class.

Shi Jin received the praise with modesty and humbleness and thanked the counselor for his help.

That over and done with, he went to the tea corner and found Luo Donghao and Liu Yong.
He briefly told them where he was the past month and a half, and described some of his mission experiences (which were half true, half made-up).
After that, the three went to the residence life staff office to get Shi Jin’s winter uniforms, bedding, and other necessities.

On the way back to the dorm, Liu Yong couldn’t calm down.
He grew up inland and was envious to death that Shi Jin not only took part in a real mission as a sniper but also went out to sea on a ship.

“If only I could be sent on a mission like that, I could finally see the sea,” he sighed with longing.
He opened his mouth, about to ask about the task in more detail, but then remembered that Shi Jin said it was confidential, and stopped himself.
Recalling another thing he was curious about, he changed the topic, “By the way, Shi Jin, who was the person who brought you to school today? I only caught a glance, but those facial features, lustrous jet black hair, alabaster skin, rosy lips, and that intriguing cold yet gentle temperament… Ow! Luo Donghao, why are you hitting me?!”

Wishing he could put a gag on Liu Yong’s mouth, Luo Donghao glared at him and motioned with his eyes to Shi Jin walking in front.

Bewildered, Liu Yong followed his gaze.

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“It was my boyfriend,” Shi Jin replied in a freezing tone, watching him ambiguously.
“For you to compliment him so much… Are you perhaps interested in him?”

A killing intent!

Liu Yong’s body jolted in shock.
He took a step back, shaking his head frantically.
“No no no! I was just praising casually.
I mean, seeing somebody this good-looking, it’s normal to sigh with envy of his good genes, right? It turns out that’s your boyfriend? He’s, he’s great.”

Shi Jin’s face immediately lit up with a radiant smile.
“He is! I’ll introduce him to you when there’s an opportunity.
He’s really, really great.”

Liu Yong nodded his head like a chicken pecking at feed, silently moving to not-quite-hide behind Luo Donghao.

Luo Donghao gave him a look of disgust.
Noticing that they were almost at the dorm building, he hesitated for a moment, then took a few quick steps to catch up with Shi Jin.
“Shi Jin, you’ve been absent for more than a month, and now there are again all kinds of rumors about you.
I know it might be difficult, but please try to stay calm even if you hear something ugly.
If you lose your temper and start a fight, it won’t help any, you’ll only get punished.
Anyway, the guys who were in our squad during the military training know these rumors are just a bunch of lies, so don’t let it bother you.”

Seeing him care so much, Shi Jin was a little moved.
Glancing at the dorm building, he nodded to show he understood.

Soon, Shi Jin understood why Luo Donghao suddenly said that to him.
This time, when he returned to his room, all his roommates were there.
It seemed they weren’t here before because they’d been playing basketball, as they were wearing sports jerseys of the same color.
At the sight of Shi Jin, they immediately fell silent and stared at him with strange expressions, eyeing Shi Jin’s ordinary clothes that he hadn’t had the opportunity to change out of yet.
After a moment, they all continued what they were doing, without acknowledging Shi Jin.

Luo Donghao and Liu Yong frowned, and Shi Jin lowered the hand he raised intending to wave and say hello to his roommates.
Liu Yong took a step forward and opened his mouth to speak, but Shi Jin turned around and squeezed his shoulder to let his friend know it was fine.
He gave Luo Donghao a look, put down his bedding and other stuff on the bed, and the two of them dragged Liu Yong out of the room.

“Damn, what’s with their attitude, snubbing you like that!” Liu Yong huffed once they were outside.
He frowned at Shi Jin.
“And you, why did you stop me… eh, whatever.
Anyway, why are you so unlucky? The rest of us lives in the same room with at least one person from the same class, you’re the only one who is alone.
I’m afraid it will be hard on you.”

This year, the police academy freshmen were not allocated to rooms according to classes like in the past, but randomly.
Shi Jin happened to have the bad luck of being the only member of Class 1 allocated to his room—his roommates were either from Class 2 or Class 3.

“It’s okay.
They were probably influenced by the rumors.
It should be fine after I have a proper talk with them,” Shi Jin appeased, patting him and Luo Donghao on the shoulder.
“Go back to your rooms, I’ll meet you at dinner.
You’d better not start eating without me!”

Liu Yong still wanted to speak, but Luo Donghao squeezed his arm, stopping him.
“Alright, then see you later.
Call me if you need anything,” he said.

Shi Jin nodded.
He watched them leave, then looked at the door of his room and sighed.
It was to be expected that the roommates he only briefly met on the first day of school wouldn’t be familiar enough with him to give no credence to the rampaging rumors.

He opened the door and went inside, his gaze sweeping over the roommates who were sneaking scrutinizing glances at him.
Disinclined to talk to them right then, he made his bed and put away all the other stuff, then took his mobile phone and wallet and left again.
After finding a quiet place, he called Lian Jun—he much preferred spending his time on his lover rather than wasting it on explaining himself to the people who so easily changed their attitude because of baseless rumors.

The call connected almost instantly.
Hearing the familiar voice, Shi Jin roared into the phone’s mic, “Darling! Is the medical examination over!”

Lian Jun was startled into laughter.
His mood instantly lifting, he scolded, {You’re fooling around again.}

Succeeding in making Lian Jun laugh, Shi Jin also laughed, satisfied.

The two started to cook telephone congee.
Lian Jun occasionally had to put down his phone so that he could undergo this check or that.
At these times, Shi Jin kept completely silent, trying hard to make out the conversation between Lian Jun and Uncle Long and figure out Lian Jun’s current physical condition.

Time passed imperceptibly, and finally, it was time to end the call.
Shi Jin suppressed the urge to sigh and maintained a cheerful tone as he said goodbye to Lian Jun.

Lian Jun responded in a low voice.
Abruptly, he added, {Don’t worry about the rumors, just ignore them.
I made some arrangements at school that would help you get rid of them.}

Puzzled, Shi Jin was about to ask him to explain, but in the background, he heard Uncle Long roar at Lian Jun to put down the damn phone and reflexively shuddered in fright.
Not daring to delay Lian Jun any longer, he said goodbye to him again and hung up.

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After dinner, Shi Jin followed Luo Donghao and Liu Yong to the school auditorium to attend the back-to-school roll call that was taken every Sunday evening.
It was the first time for him, so he watched the surroundings to remember the way.
As he did, it was impossible for him not to notice the looks and comments of the cadets passing by.
He didn’t pay any attention to them but once Luo Donghao and Liu Yong noticed them as well, the two’s originally good mood quickly plummeted.

“What are you looking at, huh? They piss me off—only a moron would believe those stupid rumors,” Liu Yong muttered, scowling.

“What do you want to bet that by tomorrow, we’ll be toadies currying favor with Shi Jin, an arrogant ‘rich second generation’ who can do whatever he wants because he has a behind-the-scenes supporter?” Luo Donghao shot back with a blank expression.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations.
Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!

Shi Jin came back to himself and asked, brows furrowing, “Arrogant ‘rich second generation’? Behind-the-scenes supporter? The heck you’re talking about?”

“Oh, this is your new ‘legend.’ The news that Instructor Xiang is your older brother is now common knowledge in school, and you haven’t attended classes for over a month; at this point, everyone is guessing which corrupt official’s sons you are.
According to the rumors, you’re here to get an academic degree so it would be easier for you to get promoted when you become an official in the future,” Liu Yong said, curling his lip at the rumormongers.

Shi Jin was speechless.
“My dad was an ordinary businessman and he had already passed away.
It’s my eldest brother who’s now in charge of the company.
My fourth brother—uh, our instructor—is the only one in our family who joined the military.
He got where he is by his hard work, not because he’s a ‘rich second generation’ or whatever.”

Taken aback, Liu Yong looked at him apologetically.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that your dad…”

Shi Jin waved his apology away, gesturing that it was fine.

“Those guys are really going too far,” Luo Donghao said abruptly, wrinkling his face in an expression of disgust.
“They must be either idle and bored or envious and spiteful.
That aside, it may be a good idea to ask the teachers to help you dispel the rumors.
Both us and our classmates tried to explain that it was all bullshit, but no one listened to us.”

A little touched, Shi Jin threw an arm around his shoulders and said with a smile, “Maybe the counselor will speak up for me during the roll call.
Think positive, you know? Don’t get angry over this because it’s not worth it.”

Luo Donghao shook off his hand, scowling.
“The counselor? Yeah, right.
You know, you are really… Everyone is worried to death for you, but you act as if it’s another person’s problem.”

 Shi Jin threw an arm around his shoulders again.
“Well, people need dreams.
Wouldn’t it be great if it actually happened? Okay, okay, don’t get mad.”

Half an hour later, Luo Donghao watched the counselor on the dais loudly praise Shi Jin for his excellent performance during the mission and encourage everyone to follow Shi Jin’s example.

Eyebrows twitching, he looked at Shi Jin, expressionless.

The teenager lowered his head, pretending not to be there. ‘I made some arrangements at school that would help you get rid of the rumors,’ Lian Jun said.
Shi Jin felt both cool and cringe.
Cool because it was obvious this was orchestrated by Lian Jun; it was so sweet of him! As for the cringe—everyone was staring at him with complicated expressions, the intent gazes almost piercing holes through his body.

The counselor still wasn’t done speaking.
He couldn’t say much about the content of the mission because the report was vague on it, so he focused on Shi Jin’s combat skills.
He opened Shi Jin’s student file and projected the mission performance evaluation onto the big screen.
“Look! Excellent perception of danger, excellent mental toughness, marksmanship above standard, close combat skills above standard—overall evaluation, excellent! Remember those ratings—this is the standard you’ll need to meet in the next four years! Remember that Shi Jin also got first place in military training—learn from his example! Don’t think you still have time because the final exam is still far away! If you dare to fail even one subject in the first semester, say goodbye to winter vacation because you’ll go back to the military base for additional training!” he finished, banging his fist on the lectern for emphasis.

The auditorium fell silent as everyone was shocked into silence by the counselor’s momentum.
They hurriedly turned to face the front, not daring to continue staring at Shi Jin.
Shi Jin was also frightened by the threat and made a quiet resolution to study hard every day—he absolutely mustn’t fail!

After the roll call, Luo Donghao and Liu Yong were the first to pounce on Shi Jin, demanding to know why the counselor would help him like that.
Shi Jin fobbed them off and fled to his dorm room, but found no refuge there—the moment he stepped through the door, he was surrounded by his roommates.

It was five against one.
Shi Jin swept a glance over the opponents, his body tensing slightly.

“That, um, I’m sorry about this afternoon,” one of the roommates apologized awkwardly, looking embarrassed and contrite.

The others also apologized to Shi Jin, saying that they didn’t deliberately ignore him at that time.

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Shi Jin blinked, his muscles relaxing.
He waved their apologies away with a smile, replying that it was fine, it was all a misunderstanding, let’s get along from now on.
Using taking a shower as an excuse, he took his pajamas and toiletries and left the room.

The smile on his face disappeared the moment the door closed.
He rubbed his face, not in a very good mood.
He wasn’t a person with no temper; after returning to school this time, he clearly understood that some people were true friends while others could never be anything more than roommates.

On the first night after returning to school, Shi Jin didn’t sleep well.
He felt like the bed was too narrow and that the space beside him was too empty.
However, he quickly adjusted and after two days, was completely used to school life.

Before they knew it, the week was coming to an end, and the rumors and turmoil caused by Shi Jin’s sudden return to school as well as the frenzy caused by the counselor’s explanation finally died down. 

After school on Friday afternoon, Shi Jin again declined Liu Yong and Luo Donghao’s invitation to go out to play on the weekend.
Instead of carrying his textbooks back to the dorm room, he stuffed them into his backpack, and without bothering to change out of his uniform, he dashed in the direction of the school gate.

Liu Yong apparently liked to live dangerously as he grabbed Luo Donghao and rushed there as well.
Then, they watched Shi Jin get in a low-key, black MPV which soon disappeared in the distance.

“When the door opened just now, I saw an unbelievably handsome man in a traditional robe… Was that Shi Jin’s boyfriend?” Liu Yong asked, looking dazed.

Luo Donghao also looked a little dazed, but he quickly got his expression under control.
“Didn’t you see his boyfriend last time?” he asked.

“Back then, I only saw his side face for a split second.
Just now, I saw him from the front… Is he a real person? How can anyone be this good-looking…” Liu Yong pinched himself.
Finding that it hurt, he howled in envy, “Even though I like girls, I still feel an urge to beat Shi Jin up! Why are all the good things happening to that guy alone! By the way, I wonder if his boyfriend has sisters…”

Luo Donghao patted him on the shoulder.
“Wake up, dude.
Judging from Shi Jin’s boyfriend’s appearance and temperament, even if he has sisters, they’re waaaaaay out of your league.”

Shi Jin hugged Lian Jun as soon as he got in the car.
He gave him a kiss, then drew back and asked, “How long have you been waiting? Did you have to put off work?”

Lian Jun didn’t answer.
After taking a close, long look at Shi Jin’s uniform, he suddenly leaned over and pressed the younger man against the door, capturing his lips in a kiss.

Startled, Shi Jin hurriedly glanced towards the front of the car.
Seeing that the partition was raised, he immediately relaxed and put his arms around Lian Jun’s waist, eagerly kissing back.

The two kissed for a while before being willing to part.
Lian Jun sat up straight and began to straighten Shi Jin’s messy clothes.
“I already knew, but you look great in uniform.
The cut of this jacket flatters you very much.”

Shi Jin adjusted his breathing.
He glanced at Lian Jun’s fingers fiddling with the buttons of his uniform, narrowed his eyes, and pulled the other man back down for another kiss.

If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

A few days before Shi Jin’s birthday, Lu Shan finally contacted them—the alliance between the four organizations had been officially formed.
To prove her sincerity, Lu Shan returned Xi Fan, Snake Fang’s deputy leader who’d been captured by Tarantula after leading an attack on their warehouses, to Snake Fang.
Appreciating her high-mindedness, Meridian Gate and Epoch’s leaders hinted that they’d like for her to become the alliance’s leader.
Snake Fang didn’t voice objections.

Lian Jun frowned upon receiving the news.
“You mustn’t agree,” he said.
“Meridian Gate and Epoch are testing you.
It was Snake Fang that contacted them proposing an alliance, and it was Snake Fang that attacked you.
In short, you’re too conspicuous; from now on, you should keep a low profile and not push yourself forward.
Let Meridian Gate and Epoch take the lead, make them expose their thoughts and plans—drag them out from the safe rear to the frontline.”

Lu Shan’s excitement subsided a little.
Thinking back, she was shocked to find that since getting in touch with her, Meridian Gate and Epoch had indeed never revealed any of their intentions, always going along with her.
{Damn, Meng Qing and Qi Yun are too cunning,} she said with a lingering fear.
{I was so proud of myself I almost let those bastards use me as a dupe to divert attention from them.}

“No, you’re just too tired,” Lian Jun comforted her.
“These past few months have been very hard on you.”

Translator’s Notes:

“I should go see the counselor” – ‘counselor’ [輔導員] here isn’t exactly a school counselor most of you know.
A more appropriate name would be “teacher in charge of the moral education program” or “political instructor.” They’re government officials, and among their duties is also managing students’ affairs.
(Here’s the Baidu page if you’re willing to MTL.) “To cook telephone congee” [煲電話粥] – remember this? It means to have a long telephone chat, to talk on the phone for hours on end.
I added a note about this idiom waaaaay back in chapter 27. “Only a moron would believe those stupid rumors” – 听风就是雨 (idiom) – lit.
to believe in the rain on hearing the wind.
It means to easily believe rumors; to speak or act on hearsay; to be credulous.