C13 Humph Humph Humph Humph!

Sun Xiaoya grabbed Chen Xiaomeng, who was dancing with abandon next to her, and loudly whispered in his ear, "What's this song? Who released it?"

Chen Xiaomeng replied, "I have no idea, but when Zhe sings it, it's so powerful. Oh... it's at 38.6 degrees!"

Chen Xiaomeng's exuberant 'oh' nearly gave Sun Xiaoya a fright, prompting her to quickly distance herself from this madman.

Zhao Zhe was in his element, strumming and singing away. He couldn't remember most of the lyrics, but he had the melody down pat, repeating the few lines he knew until even he grew tired of them. Switching up his guitar playing, he sang, "I send you to the gate, and my tears start to fall. I know you won't return my love, yet I wait in vain..." Then came a long stretch of forgotten words. He had only listened to the storage card from the world of ice and snow a few times, so remembering this much was a testament to his exceptional memory.

Forgetting the words and tune didn't faze Zhao Zhe in the slightest. He shamelessly skipped straight to the chorus, "Tonight you won't return, leaving me waiting alone. Your love, so hard to decipher, maybe we should never have fallen in love..."

Sun Xiaoya was baffled; she had never heard this song before. Logically, such a catchy tune shouldn't be known only to them. If they were aware of it, she should be too, especially since they sat right in front of her every day, where she'd be the first to catch any buzz.

"The girl across from me, look this way, look this way, look this way. The show here is fantastic, please don't pretend to ignore it..."

Zhao Zhe was unpredictable, throwing out one line here and another there, creating an aura of mystery. But the truth was, he remembered so few of the lyrics and melody that he couldn't continue without mixing them up.

Sun Xiaoya was shaking with anger. It dawned on her that Zhao Zhe was deliberately antagonizing her. He was absolutely doing it on purpose. She had just collaborated with Chen Xiaomeng on "The Guy Across from Me, Look Over Here," and Zhao Zhe countered with "The Girl Across from Me, Look Over Here." What irked her was that Zhao Zhe's rendition was more than twice as appealing as hers, its melodic beauty so evident that even Chen Xiaomeng, who was clueless about music, could see it.

"Stop!" Sun Xiaoya couldn't contain herself any longer and yelled out.

Zhao Zhe paused his guitar strumming and looked at Sun Xiaoya; she was the one who had requested he sing a few lines.

Sun Xiaoya was so furious her voice shook. "Zhao Zhe, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You're trying to get back at me for interrupting your plans earlier today, right?"

Zhao Zhe felt utterly misunderstood. He had merely sung the song he'd heard on the card. What was all this about? Why would he seek revenge on Sun Xiaoya? Did he have nothing better to do than to create trouble for himself?

As Zhao Zhe stopped, the fans from both live broadcasts became restless, bombarding the screen with messages urging him to continue. They might not grasp music theory, but they certainly knew what sounded good.

Sun Xiaoya glanced at her phone screen and had no choice but to command Zhao Zhe: "Sing!"

Zhao Zhe's face was the picture of injustice. "No, I won't sing. They're not even my fans."

Sun Xiaoya threatened, "You won't sing? Fine, I'll go and call Grandma up here, and you can explain to her what you were up to this evening."

Zhao Zhe gave in, "Fine, you win. Let me sing, and I won't pick on you anymore."

Sun Xiaoya instructed, "Then you can't always oppose me. Change the lyrics a bit..."

Zhao Zhe plucked his guitar strings, "... Hahahaha, humph, humph, humph, humph. Hurry up and use the nunchucks, humph, humph, humph..."

This tune was unrelated to Sun Xiaoya's earlier song, so she decided to listen. But as Zhao Zhe repeated the same line for the fifth time, she lost her patience. "Stop humming and sing already!"

Zhao Zhe, unacquainted with embarrassment, confessed, "I forgot the lyrics; that's the only part I remember!"

Seeing Sun Xiaoya fuming and ready to strike, Zhao Zhe quickly strummed his guitar again: "Alone, I drink until I'm drunk, pairing up with a lovely vision. With only my eyes for company, I yearn for the day we can be together again. Tenderly, I will support the zither..." And then, he trailed off, forgetting the words once more.

Sun Xiaoya and Chen Xiaomeng had never heard such a song before. Could this even be called a song? It seemed more like spoken word, yet the rhythm was so catchy that it made people shake their bodies to the beat without even realizing it.

Clang! Zhao Zhe collapsed onto the table. If he didn't feign drunkenness, he wouldn't have lasted. He could sing well enough to outdo Sun Xiaoya and Chen Xiaomeng's performance, having resorted to every vocal trick in the book, including a series of grunts and groans.

Sun Xiaoya and Chen Xiaomeng noticed the viewer count in their live stream had surged, even exceeding the previous peak. The audience was buzzing with questions about the bizarre songs they had just heard. Some found the songs unsettling, but most were quite pleasing to the ear. The mystery was that no one knew where these songs originated from.

Zhao Zhe persevered. Seeing the viewership start to decline again, Chen Xiaomeng hastily grabbed the guitar from Zhao Zhe and announced, "Let me sing a song for everyone... Ah, who threw a vegetable leaf at me?"

A wilted leaf smacked Chen Xiaomeng on the head, and with a swoosh, a tomato hurtled towards Sun Xiaoya. She dodged just in time. Peering over the edge of the protective wall, they spotted Zhang Chu, Auntie Li, Auntie Wang, and others, armed with vegetable leaves and glaring upwards.

"Who's making that awful noise up there? You're interrupting our mahjong game..."

Zhao Zhe had initially pretended to be drunk, but eventually, he genuinely fell asleep. The toll of hopping between two different worlds and the immense pressure had left him utterly drained.

The next morning, Zhao Zhe was rudely awakened by his phone's ringtone. Reluctantly, he groped for his phone, not bothering to check the caller ID before snapping, "Who is this, disturbing my sleep so early in the morning?"

"Zhao Zhe, it's Xu Jian..." The caller's tone was soft, but his words sent a jolt through Zhao Zhe. Xu Jian? What could have happened? Was he about to call Zhao Zhe's parents?

Upon receiving no response from the other end of the line, Principal Xu took the initiative, "Zhao Zhe, here's the thing. I got your number from a classmate of yours. I wanted to inquire about the cat-eye gems passed down in your family. You have two of them, right? Would you consider parting with one for the principal? I'm willing to pay for it, and I assure you, you won't be at a loss."

Zhao Zhe was taken aback. Gems? Ah, now he remembered—the mouse eyeball. Hadn't he already given one to Xu yesterday? Why was he after another? The man's greed knew no bounds.

"No sale!" Zhao Zhe's refusal was firm. After all, Xu had already accepted a bribe in the form of one gem the day before. If he dared to cross Zhao Zhe, the bribery would be exposed! Let's see whose reputation would suffer then. Zhao Zhe had nothing to lose; he feared nothing.

"Come now, Zhao Zhe, let's not be too hasty. Everything is negotiable, including the price... How does 50,000 sound? Many cat-eye gems aren't particularly valuable, and 50,000 is quite generous."

Zhao Zhe couldn't believe his ears, "Principal Xu, what was that amount again?"

"Fifty... fifty thousand. If that's not enough, we can talk. Fifty-five thousand..."

Zhao Zhe's phone tumbled onto the bed. Fifty thousand for a mouse eyeball? That was a hundred times better than any drink sales. True, acquiring mouse eyeballs wasn't easy, given the lethal nature of snow rats, but with the right weapon, it shouldn't be too hard to take one down.

"...How about 60,000?" Xu, not hearing a response, assumed Zhao Zhe was holding out for more and raised his offer.

"Sixty-five thousand!" Before Zhao Zhe could fully process the situation, the price went up again.

Zhao Zhe smirked to himself. Xiaoxue was right; the snow nucleus was indeed valuable!

"One hundred thousand per gem," Zhao Zhe countered to Principal Xu. "The one I gave you yesterday was just for safekeeping. If you want the one I have, bring 200,000 to the school gate for the exchange, and both will be yours."

The thought of striking a deal with the principal sent a thrill through Zhao Zhe. Who else in the school could claim such a feat? And he had named his price—a steep one at that. To his astonishment, Principal Xu considered it and agreed! One hundred thousand per gem!

After Zhao Zhe got up and hurried to the school entrance to finalize a deal with Principal Xu Jian, he handed over 200,000 yuan to Chen Xiaomeng to continue procuring supplies for him. By the time he finished, it was already noon. Zhao Zhe felt it was time to head to the world of ice and snow, as time was not on his side. Any further procrastination and King Nusbath would surely lose his temper.

The sum of 200,000 yuan was substantial, but Zhao Zhe was hardly from an impoverished background. He was somewhat immune to the allure of money, owning three apartments. These fixed assets gave him a sense of security and confidence. Therefore, the 200,000 yuan didn't overly excite him; it was merely the first windfall from the world of ice and snow. There were still many tasks ahead of him, and he entrusted the acquisition of supplies and equipment to Chen Xiaomeng.