Chapter 186. Journey To Earth (I)

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Arc E: Extra.

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Whenever he had some free time, Chen You started checking the house’s surveillance data. He spent most of the day reconstructing a huge amount of data, so much that he didn’t want to look at it anymore.

Good.

Very good.

Chen You called the man in, and he sat in front of the monitor and questioned, “What’s going on here?”

Li Yan stared at the screen without changing his expression. The screen showed a young man sleeping on the sofa, his black hair obscuring his eyes, and he walked over, knelt on one knee, and kissed the young man’s face.

The scene continued to play, Li Yan’s gaze was gentle, and his tone was soft as he said, “I’m kissing you.”

Realizing his question wasn’t direct enough, Chen You paused the surveillance footage. He turned around, his face displaying the calm before an outburst of anger, “Why did you do this?”

Without answering, Li Yan merely glanced at the young man, giving him a look that conveyed, you know the answer.

Chen You glanced at the surveillance footage. The date was March 28th, more than a hundred years ago. It was on that day that this person gained self-awareness, and he had never doubted it.

Was he too lazy, or too trusting?

This man, taking advantage of being the only one by his side, acted without restraint and with utter disregard for morality, engaging in impure acts with him in his house for over a hundred years.

Now that the evidence has been found and is right in front of him, he still can’t simply throw this person into a cryogenic sleep chamber and create a new one.

Thinking of this, Chen You’s face turned even worse. He walked to the window, looked down, and let the cold wind blow on him to calm himself down.

If a fight breaks out, he can’t beat this man.

Start swearing…

He doesn’t know how to swear. Right now, he only knows one cuss word damn it. Although he has retrieved a wisp of his consciousness from the assessment world and it’s all stored in his mind, he hasn’t mastered any other ways to swear, they’re too complicated.

Forcibly cutting off the power supply and locking this person in a cryogenic sleep chamber?

No, this method won’t work.

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Chen You’s tightly pursed lips relaxed, and he raised his hand to pinch his brow with his nails. His situation was extremely precarious, he couldn’t make a decision at all—when did it all begin…

It all began when, despite knowing he could no longer control him as his creator, he retrieved the man’s consciousness data from the virtual world and brought him back.

Chen You’s eyelids twitched. No, over a hundred years ago, he couldn’t fully control it anymore. This man raised him like a child, taking care of his food, clothing, and daily needs.

His world is very simple, consisting of only two things, focusing on work and relaxing and sleeping. As for anything else, it’s not part of his world, and he doesn’t want to deal with it, finding it too much trouble and unwilling to use his brain for anything other than work.

That’s why he didn’t pay attention to it.

The wind rushed against his face, kissing every pore. Chen You lowered his eyes and saw the image projected from the restored data. His heart was filled not only with anger, but with other emotions as well.

Li Yan stood there as if nothing had happened, as if he had long anticipated that the fact that he had altered the surveillance data years ago would be discovered, and that the young man wouldn’t do anything to him.

A series of footsteps approached, and Chen You’s hair stood on end. A sense of danger crept up his ankles and spread instantly. He turned around, and the man was already walking towards him, standing only a fist’s distance away. Any closer, and they would be face to face.

“Who told you to come here?”

Li Yan’s lips curved up into a smirk, and he chuckled in a low voice, “I haven’t made love to you yet today.”

He reached out to touch the young man’s black hair, his eyes darkening, “It’s my fault. I only just remembered now. I’ve kept you waiting for so long, Master.”

His words were extremely gentle, yet carried an undeniable force.

Chen You immediately turned and ran, but after only two steps, he was grabbed by the waist and pulled back with great force. His physique was simply too weak, despite being the same height, he was completely restrained by the man’s grip.

Before long, Chen You became drowsy and no longer had the strength to struggle.

For ordinary people, sleep is for relieving fatigue and giving the body a rest. For Chen You, however, sleep is for recharging his depleted mental energy, he only wakes up when his mental energy is fully restored.

Li Yan was a man of his word. He never missed a day of the daily love making session, and this continued for a long time. He noticed that the more frequently they do it, the more relaxed the young man became during the act. Sometimes, the young man would even cry, although he still maintained a cold, expressionless face while crying.

However, the young man was eating his favorite food, and the taste was exactly the same as before, completely unchanged. Every time he ate it, he unconsciously clung to it tightly, stuffing his mouth full. He loved it so much that there was no way he would have any feelings of resistance.

Just shy.

Every four years, there is a week-long holiday during which all system workers set up automatic replies and inform their respective hosts to try not to cause trouble in the mission world. If they do, they can only leave it to fate and pray.

With the holidays here, some workers will take their wives and children to other planets for vacation, as spending time with family is a very important part of life. Other workers won’t go anywhere, simply staying home and sleeping in until they lose track of time.

Some workers, however, are indecisive and don’t know how to make the best use of this week.

There’s also a unique individual. He’s a top performer and a leader at work, a rare genius, but at the same time, he’s completely clueless in his personal life, unable to do anything outside of work-related matters.

It’s Chen You.

In the past, during every holiday, he would invariably spend his time sleeping at home. After he’d had enough sleep, he would do nothing in particular, just sit or lie down somewhere, completely idle, because he couldn’t think of anything else he could do.

This time, Chen You had the idea of going out.

Chen You looked at the countless planes in front of him for a long time. Then, he pointed his finger and selected Earth, where there was cola, stinky tofu, and a song that he couldn’t understand no matter how he listened to it.

Although it is an inferior and backward civilization, it is magical and interesting.

Before setting off, Chen You checked the Earth’s weather forecast and temperature, he also needed to choose a city to stay in.

Unlike the planet he inhabits, Earth’s temperature and seasonal changes follow the unpredictable shifts of nature. A sunny morning might be followed by a violent storm in the afternoon, rather than being determined by a set of pre-programmed data sent out by a main program.

Not only is there a difference in temperature between day and night, but cities also differ significantly in temperature and atmosphere depending on whether they are located in the north or south.

Chen You pulled up images of the southern region during this season, then looked at those of the north. After a while, he decided to go south, and finally settled on Changsha as his first destination. The map displayed numerous marked attractions.

Most importantly, according to Earth’s data analysis, the stinky tofu there is the best.

Chen You rubbed his forehead, “I hate going out…”

He held his forehead with both hands and thought, I’d better not go. Going out is really troublesome. There are too many people, it’s noisy and chaotic, and it’s hard to find a place to sleep.

“So annoying.”

Chen You rested his chin on his hand, tapping his fingers absentmindedly on the table. Going would be difficult, but not going would be even worse, the thought in his mind was impossible to shake off.

Never mind, I’ll still go.

With that man by his side, he won’t starve, freeze, or get lost.

A knock sounded on the door, and Li Yan pushed it open and came in, “Let’s go.”

Seeing the young man looking at the silver box at his feet, he said it had been transported from Earth a few days ago, “It’s called a suitcase, used to carry luggage.”

Chen You said, “I know.”

Li Yan raised an eyebrow, quite surprised, as if to say, Wow, you even know this? Impressive.

Chen You was too lazy to pay attention.

Main system administrators enjoy S-level treatment, have their own personal spaceships, and possess top-notch equipment and skills in all aspects. Ordinary people, let alone getting to ride in one, would be hard-pressed to even catch a glimpse of such a spaceship.

When the spaceship landed, it was already on Earth.

Chen You looked at the yellow sand swirling in the sky, the surroundings were desolate and there was no stinky tofu in sight.

Li Yan looked at the black device on his wrist and led Chen You towards the south.

Not long after, Chen You stopped, beads of sweat forming on the tip of his nose, “I’m tired.”

Li Yan didn’t suggest the young man exercise, because it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. That was something that a rare race was born with—exceptionally strong intellect and exceptionally weak physical strength, perhaps for the sake of balance.

Otherwise, a person with two extremes would be difficult to control.

Li Yan pointed to the suitcase, “Sit on this, or sit on my lap, choose one.”

Chen You chose the suitcase.

The two walked and stopped intermittently in the sandy desert, finally emerging as darkness fell. When they saw the taxi, Chen You’s icy expression finally showed signs of warming up.

It is currently 6:30 PM on March 5th, 2017 on Earth.

Li Yan took Chen You to the train station by taxi to buy tickets. They used the ID card they had prepared in advance and successfully bought tickets to Changsha.

Chen You stood in the waiting hall, where rows of chairs were full of people, men, women, and children. Not only that, but people were also walking around, making the air stuffy and unbearable. His temples throbbed.

I want to go back, I shouldn’t have come out.

Li Yan spotted an empty chair. He pulled his suitcase with one hand and extended the other hand towards the young man, saying, “Give me your hand.”

Chen You remained unmoved.

Li Yan lowered his voice, his tone carrying a subtle but undeniable authority, “Listen to me.”

“There are many people on Earth, and they belong to all sorts of groups. They blend into the crowd, specifically choosing suitable targets, and then use a towel soaked in ether to cover the victims’ noses, causing them to fall unconscious and become completely unaware of what’s happening.”

Chen You said, “I am a man.”

Li Yan said, “On Earth today, men are suffering just as much as women, and the trend is that they might even be suffering more.”

He took out his phone and found a news article about a male college student who went out to buy a bottle of water and disappeared for several years before being found.  During those years, he had been kept in a dark room, with handcuffs on his wrists and chains on his ankles, forced to deal with different people, sometimes several at a time, whose identities and appearances he didn’t know.

When the boy was brought out into the sunlight, he was emaciated, and the severely injured parts of his body had already begun to rot.

After reading the news, Chen You frowned and reached out his hand.

Li Yan’s face twitched,  just like a child needed to be scared a little.

A middle-aged man carrying a cup of instant noodles walked by. He noticed the dark-haired young man staring at his noodles. The young man was well-dressed and handsome, he looked like a wealthy person. Why did he look like he hadn’t eaten instant noodles in eight hundred years?

The middle-aged man looked at the man next to the young man. He was outstanding in appearance, very tall, and had a straight posture. The middle-aged man had to look up at him, “Sir, is your Didi hungry?”

Li Yan said yes, and led the young man to the empty chairs first, because they would be taken by someone else if they were any later.

“You sit here and wait, I’ll go buy you instant noodles. What flavor do you want?”

Chen You skillfully rattled off the name of an instant noodle flavor, “Chicken stew with mushrooms.”

Li Yan, “…”, This is not rejected.

The waiting room was crowded, and Chen You kept his eyes closed, trying to ignore the stares from those around him.

Li Yan returned quickly, handed the bag he was carrying to the young man, and took out the instant noodles with chicken stew and mushrooms.

Chen You looked at the bag on his lap. It contained sausages, cola, red bean bread, chicken feet, egg rolls, hawthorn slices… lots of snacks. He didn’t reach in to take anything because he didn’t know which one to pick first, he wanted to eat everything.

People on both sides watched as the tall man prepared instant noodles for the young man, blowing on them to cool them down, tasting them to make sure they weren’t too hot before handing them over. He gave his chair to his Didi to sit on, while he himself stood beside him, his gaze gentle.

They all whispered among themselves, thinking how kind and considerate Gege was to his Didi.

Several girls walked by together, turning their heads to look at Chen You and Li Yan, and even looking back as they walked away, letting out screams of excitement, seemingly oblivious to the stares of others.

Chen You rummaged through his instant noodles, ate the last small piece of sausage, and asked, “What’s wrong with them?”

Li Yan said, “They think you’re cute.”

Chen You tilted his head to the side, looking puzzled, “I am cute?”

Resisting the urge to tear the young man’s clothes off, Li Yan let out a sound from his nose, “Mm.”

Chen You continued to look for sausages to eat, muttering, “Humans on Earth are really strange.”

The two of them bought sleeper berths, and Chen You fell asleep as soon as he lay down, he was incredibly tired.

Li Yan was not asleep. He sat at the foot of the bed, leaning against the wall, with one hand on the young man’s leg, constantly announcing to the world that this was his private property.

The train arrived at Changsha Station the next morning.

Chen You followed behind Li Yan, walking at a steady pace amidst the crowd. He had slept well and felt much more refreshed, he wouldn’t feel sleepy again anytime soon.

“Let’s go to the hotel now.”

Li Yan told the young man, despite his expressionless and aloof appearance, the other person was actually quite clueless, and telling him itinerary would be pointless.

An invisible rope was around the young man’s neck and around his wrist, they were connected.

While waiting for the taxi, Chen You inadvertently glanced at the bus stop sign not far away, and noticed that one of the listed locations was where Pang Yilong lived.

The taxi arrived, and Li Yan went to pull the young man.

Chen You pointed to the bus stop sign and read out the string of names, “Go there.”

Li Yan’s brows twitched slightly, but he didn’t ask anything. After getting into the taxi, he simply told the driver the destination.

The destination was the entrance of a residential complex. Chen You walked quickly, heading straight for a certain building and taking the elevator upstairs.

Li Yan waited downstairs, he wanted the young man to do this himself.

The person who opened the door was a middle-aged man.

Chen You concealed the emotional turmoil in his eyes, saying, “Pang Shushu.”

The middle-aged man looked him up and down, then asked, “You are?”

Chen You said, “I’m Pang Yilong’s… classmate. Is he home?”

“Pang Yilong?” The middle-aged man said in surprise, “There is no such person in my family.”

Chen You was taken aback, “There is not?”

“I remember he went abroad and hasn’t come back yet?”

“No, young man, I don’t know who Pang Yilong is. I don’t know him and I’ve never heard of him.” The middle-aged man was quite polite, “You’ve come to the wrong place.”

Chen You said, “The address is correct. Shushu, don’t you have a pair of twins?”

The middle-aged man laughed upon hearing this, “I wish I had that kind of good fortune, but it depends on God’s will. I only have one daughter, who is just starting her second year of college.”

A voice came from the living room, and a long-haired girl peeked out and asked who it was.

The girl was quite pretty, she wasn’t Pang Yilong’s meimei, Pang Yifeng. Chen You said, “Then I must have made a mistake, I’m sorry.”

He turned and left.

When setting up the assessment mission worlds, apart from Chen You and Li Yan, everything else in those worlds—including the buildings, objects, and all the data—was copied from different dimensional worlds and actually exists.

It was simply passed through Chen You’s hands, he selected suitable targets, rearranged them, and rewrote them.

Chen You was unable to identify the corresponding dimensional world for each of those people.

If they happen to meet, it’s a coincidence, or perhaps a kind of fate.

When Li Yan saw the young man come out, he didn’t ask him anything and took him to the hotel.

Chen You wasn’t sleepy. He sat in his chair, stuffing snacks into his mouth, lost in thought.

This was the first time Chen You had used his brain outside of work.

Because he ran into an old acquaintance.

Li Yan spread out the blankets, glanced at the munching mouse, and said, “Go to sleep.”

Chen You glanced over, but the person himself was still in the chair.

Li Yan lifted a section of the blanket, took the snacks from the mouse’s hand, washed his hands and wiped his mouth, then pulled him into the blanket and got to work.

The holiday was seven days long, and Chen You decided to spend three days in Changsha. He went out in the morning, eating stinky tofu and wandering around aimlessly.

On the last day, Chen You ran into Pang Yilong.

Pang Yilong works at a restaurant. He is tall, handsome, and often attracts female customers. His boss has also praised him many times.

As a result, Pang Yilong incurred the resentment of his compatriots.

When he got off work, he was surrounded by a group of people. He was no match for them and had to take a beating.

Spitting a mouthful of bloody saliva on the ground, Pang Yilong cursed loudly, “MF, if I were rich, I’d kill you all in a heartbeat!”

When the group saw someone approaching, they ran away immediately to avoid any further trouble.

Chen You had no friends, family, or lovers in the past, but now he has mastered three kinds of human emotions from the assessment world, including friendship, and knows how to make friends.

But never took the first step.

Looking at the boy in the alley, Chen You didn’t move, but subconsciously looked at Li Yan.

Li Yan put one hand in his pocket, like a parent looking at their own child, his gaze held a mix of indulgence, pampering, and permissiveness.

Go ahead and do what you want to do, don’t be afraid, I’m here for you.

Chen You fidgeted with his fingers, and after a while, he lifted one foot.

Pang Yilong, lying on the ground, rubbed his mouth. He heard footsteps approaching from afar. He turned his head and saw a strange black-haired youth walking over and extending a hand to him.

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Chapter 185. Turn Back The Clock (II)

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Arc E: Extra.

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When Li Yan uttered those words, Chen You felt an inexplicable heat rising in his body. His gaze turned cold, and he wanted to open the terminal and shut off the man’s power button, hoping to put him into a deactivated state so he could get a peaceful night’s sleep.

What he needed was to sleep alone, not to sleep with this man.

Li Yan realized the young man’s intentions and was not about to let him succeed. He immediately grabbed the young man’s shoulder with a swift wave of his hand.

An irresistible force penetrated his clothes and seeped into the bones of his shoulder, and Chen You couldn’t break free. His strength lay only in his intellect, his physical condition was very poor.

Sleeping day and night without seeing sunlight and severely lacking exercise, it’s no wonder they’re not getting better.

Chen You’s agitation intensified, and his gaze grew colder, “You’re being insolent!”

Ignoring the young man’s anger, Li Yan touched the ear under his sight, then lowered his head and pressed his lips to it, saying, “Master’s ear is so hot.”

Chen You’s breathing remained steady, but the heat within him had already surfaced.

He hated his uncontrollable self, and he hated this man even more.

After a long pause, Chen You spoke, his voice slightly breathless, “I order you to leave now.”

Li Yan chuckled softly, gently stroking the young man’s cheek with his finger, and sighed with a smile, “You’ve learned to say one thing and mean another.”

He whispered in the young man’s ear, “Master, you clearly miss me very much.”

Chen You froze for a moment, then struggled violently to break free, kicking out haphazardly. His face, which had been porcelain-white and devoid of any life or vitality, now had a thin layer of rosy blush for some reason.

Having never encountered anyone like him in the real world, he didn’t realize how attractive he was.

Li Yan didn’t dodge, standing still to let the young man kick him. He easily restrained the man, twisting his arms behind his back, and cast a fierce yet knowing gaze at him.

Chen You felt a chill run down his spine as he kicked the man in the knee.

That was his last attack, but it was like a stone dropped into the sea, producing no effect whatsoever.

Li Yan’s physical structure was created through repeated modifications by Chen You over a long period of time, and then further improved and refined. Every part of his body, from head to toe, was precisely measured, he is arguably the most perfect creation on the entire planet. Human punches and kicks on him would have the effect of a feather or a sponge at most.

The door slammed shut with a bang, and Chen You was pinned against it, unable to escape.

Intense emotions surged in his eyes, a tempestuous storm brewing within him. Li Yan smiled gently, then lowered his head and captured the young man’s lips, stealing his breath away in a whirlwind of passion.

Chen You had never experienced drowning before, but what he was feeling now made him suspect that someone was pushing him underwater, making it difficult for him to breathe, and that he was on the verge of suffocating.

Li Yan grabbed the young man’s wrist with one hand, effortlessly, and with the other hand, he pinched his thin chin, forcing it up, and pressed his lips against his again.

Intimacy is different from sex. If two people have no feelings for each other, no matter how much they are invested or passionate, it will never happen.

But if there is already an emotional bond, it’s like a spell has been cast at some unknown time. As soon as one person encounters the other’s presence, the spell takes effect, becoming uncontrollable, and making it impossible to easily break free.

Chen You gripped the man’s clothes, his fingertips trembling slightly. He was entangled, dragged, standing on the edge of an abyss, struggling and sinking at the same time, and commanded imperiously, “Give it to me.”

Li Yan chuckled softly and said in a hoarse voice, “Yes, my master.”

On a rainy autumn night, the rain poured down in torrents, the dense raindrops falling from the sky swiftly and intensely, like an enormous whip, violently and brutally lashing the ground. Amidst the fierce splashing sounds, water droplets continuously sprayed up and then fell back down.

A fierce wind raged, sweeping powerfully across the ground. Small puddles trembled in the strong wind and heavy rain, instinctively opening themselves up to receive the downpour.

The rain intensified, the surrounding trees shrieked and howled in the wind, and the entire house swayed and trembled, as if it could collapse at any moment, its foundations giving way in the downpour.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of the rain gradually stopped. Raindrops fell one by one, slowly trickling down the rough branches, gathering at the tips of the branches before splashing down. The already overflowing puddles trembled slightly as the drops fell into them, creating ripples that spread outwards in circles.

The wind lifted a corner of the curtain, creating a lazy arc in mid-air.

It’s late at night.

The bedding was piled on the carpet. Li Yan stared intently at the young man in his arms. In the first part of their encounter, the young man had maintained a cold expression and kept commanding him, but in the latter part, he had simply fallen asleep.

With a soft sigh, Li Yan withdrew his arm from behind the young man’s head, turned around, got out of bed, and went to tidy up the bedroom.

As soon as he returned, all his functions were automatically activated, including managing these trivial matters, and even his obsession and fascination with young man remained unchanged.

At the time, he didn’t realize that the important value the other person was referring to was love.

Without those trials and challenges, the young man would never experience the three emotions he lacked, and everything would continue along its original path. He would forever remain like a madman, obsessively and secretly observing and harboring unrequited love, without end.

Li Yan took the dirty duvet cover and sheets to be washed, then he returned, went to the bathroom to fill the tub with water, and carried the young man in to give him a bath.

On this planet, there are people who, due to the nature of their blood, experience a near-complete loss of consciousness when they fall asleep, becoming unresponsive to anything others do to them.

Such people are extremely rare. Before they are fully formed, they are sent to laboratories set up by the government for natural selection. Those who survive are destined to be extraordinary from birth. They are not only prone to sleepiness, but also extremely reclusive, living in a small world of their own, rejecting people and things from the outside world, and unwilling to interact with others. This is simply their nature.

Nine out of ten are geniuses.

The bathroom was very large, and the bathtub was like a small swimming pool, big enough to fit five or six people, whether lying down lengthwise or widthwise.

Li Yan let the young man rest his chin on his shoulder and wiped the young man’s body with a towel. His movements were practiced and natural, after all, he had done it countless times, just like eating with a bowl and chopsticks.

The young man remained motionless, like a puppet.

Li Yan originally had no intention of lingering in the bathtub, but he underestimated his own hidden desires.

From the day he gained self-awareness until today, more than a hundred years have passed, and his desires cannot be satisfied in such a short time.

Since it cannot be suppressed, then let it run its course.

Li Yan cupped the young man’s face in his hands, touching his nose to the other’s, and gently rubbed them together, successfully achieving his desired outcome.

By the time Li Yan carried the young man out of the bathroom, it was already dawn, and cool air drifted in through the half-open window, quickly mingling with the temperature in the bedroom.

Li Yan placed the black-haired youth on the bed. He lay down beside him, propping his head up with one hand. He traced the young man’s features with his fingers, and involuntarily touched them with his lips.

At this critical moment, Li Yan narrowly managed to stop his actions, unable to continue acting recklessly, otherwise the young man’s body would not be able to withstand it.

He pulled the blanket closer around himself, then leaned over and whispered in the young man’s ear, “Wife, come into my arms.”

Those two words seemed to possess a kind of magic, capable of revealing the mark on one’s soul, and the black-haired youth unconsciously moved closer.

A satisfied laugh escaped Li Yan’s throat as he hugged the young man tightly, “Good boy.”

Chen You slept all day and woke up in the evening of the second day. The bedroom was bathed in the glow of the sunset, which gave it a slightly orange-red hue.

He realized he was holding something, and his lowered eyes suddenly snapped open.

Li Yan lay beside him for a whole day, his arm had long since gone numb and lost all feeling. Seeing the young man wake up and display a look of disbelief, which was rather cute, he smiled faintly.

Chen You pushed away the arm wrapped around him and got out of bed. The discomfort in his body made him frown instantly, and his expression turned unpleasant, “Who told you to come up here?”

Li Yan rubbed his temples, sat up, and the blanket slipped off him.

Chen You’s expression changed drastically when his gaze fell on the man’s chest, which was covered in marks.

Just then, Li Yan stood up.

Chen You immediately turned his head, his eyes fixed on a point in the distance, and said in a flat tone, “Put on your clothes. From now on, you are not allowed to go upstairs without my permission.”

Li Yan’s gaze swept over the foot of the bed, “The clothes are dirty.”

Upon hearing this, Chen You turned his head away. He didn’t look at the man, but instead looked at the foot of the bed, where a shirt and trousers were placed, both with clearly visible stains, which he had made.

This man’s intentions weren’t hard to figure out, he deliberately didn’t throw it away, but left it there for him to see.

I hate it.

So why keep it and go through all that trouble to bring it back in person?

After standing for a while, Chen You felt even more uncomfortable. He adjusted his bathrobe, his eye twitching uncontrollably. This person had changed his clothes for him, and presumably had also carefully cleaned him.

What used to be perfectly normal has now changed.

“Then go out naked.”

After saying that, Chen You went to the bathroom, waiting for something, he was used to being served.

As footsteps approached, Li Yan, as always, lowered his eyes to prepare toiletries for Chen You, standing aside to await the next instruction.

Chen You watched as the naked man wandered around in front of him, noticing the marks he had left on the man’s chest and back. Frustrated, he immediately issued a command, “Get out of here right now.”

Li Yan turned and left.

Chen You let out a sigh of relief. After washing up in the bathroom, he went out to change his clothes.

Within his line of sight, there wasn’t a single patch of undamaged skin on his body. A frosty expression settled on Chen You’s face. He slammed the wardrobe door shut and sulked in the bedroom.

There was a surveillance camera in the bedroom, and the scenes from last night were playing in front of Chen You. He watched for a few minutes, then threw all the data into the trash, restored it, and opened it again to watch.

Narcissistic people exist, but narcissistic people like Chen You are rare.

He installed a surveillance camera in his bedroom just to watch himself in various sleeping positions.

Chen You suddenly narrowed his eyes, wanting to go through the old surveillance data. He did so, looking at several in a row, but found nothing unusual.

There are no signs of modification.

However, if it were the person downstairs, he could modify the surveillance system and escape without alerting anyone, since that was the only thing he had painstakingly created and invested so much effort into, even sharing his own mental imprint data with the other party.

If that person had actually done something, it means that the other person already had independent consciousness before entering the assessment mission world with him.

Upon realizing this, Chen You’s expression changed repeatedly. He had never suspected anything before, when he wasn’t working, he would just sleep, practically having everything handed to him, completely taken care of by that person. He kept his mind as empty as possible for as long as he could.

Take it easy. In a couple of days, he’ll take a good look and maybe find some clues. Once he finds them, he’ll be able to restore the modified data.

After rubbing his temples and calming down, Chen You went to his studio to handle his work.

After he took office, the system workers under his command all followed the rules and each led a large number of hosts, and no problems arose.

However, this is only the current situation.

Chen You also knew something about his predecessor, during the latter’s tenure, he had encountered a lot of trouble.

Each host is not chosen by the system worker, but randomly assigned by the main system. Therefore, a phenomenon exists where system workers may dislike a particular host and act irresponsibly, or even deliberately create obstacles, while supervising and guiding them through tasks.

If the host is a bit foolish, that’s fine, but if they’re cunning and manipulative, they’ll cause trouble for the system, and even worse, they could disrupt the balance of the virtual world, leading to the risk of its destruction.

The main system will then have to clean up the mess.

Chen You entered the virtual space, and his physical discomfort disappeared. He sat under the lantern, and the light shone down from above his head, creating a somewhat surreal effect.

The surrounding area was still a labyrinth of buildings, and remained incredibly eerie.

Chen You cleared the jumbled information from his mind and began to work on the tasks he hadn’t finished last time.

【Master, Master, Xiao Lu noticed you’re in a good mood. 】

Chen You said, “You’ve got a misconception, it’s time to reinstall.”

【……】

Chen You raised one arm, his index finger slid across the large screen, revealing the code names of all system workers. His gaze swept over 444, and he clicked on it to check the work progress of that person.

A total of 321 hosts were brought in, and 225 of them had a completion rate of over 50%, which is pretty good.

After randomly checking the performance of several employees, Chen You noticed that the one with the lowest performance was showing signs of surpassing the second-to-last performer. He then considered organizing a promotion event, thinking that a bonus would be a good incentive.

A moment later, Chen You snapped out of his work mode, propping his head up with his hand, and asked, “Xiao Lu, can you cook?”

【Xiao Lu can’t. 】

Chen You then asked, “And singing?”

【……Xiao Lu doesn’t know this either. 】

Chen You said, “Really useless.”

【Waawaawaa, Master, you can install functions for Xiao Lu! Once you install them, Xiao Lu will be able to do everything! 】

Chen You was taken aback. That’s right, all of these things were given to that man by him. He could easily replace them with something else, as long as he wanted to turn back the clock, wouldn’t it all be possible?

No, it’s still different.

Chen You leaned back a little, closed his eyes, and looked somewhat gloomy.

【Master, is something on your mind? 】

“Without a heart, where do worries come from?”

【Master, please don’t say that about yourself. As long as you keep updating the data, you will definitely have a heart that is more similar to that of humans. 】

“Never mind.”

Chen You covered his face with his palms, but still felt light filtering through his fingers. He gave the command, and all the lanterns on the pillars went out in an instant.

In the darkness, a faint sigh could be heard, sounding like resignation, yet also like confusion and helplessness.

As Chen You left the studio, he smelled the aroma of food. His feet moved involuntarily to the stairwell, and he stepped down the wooden stairs to the dining table in the living room.

Li Yan set out the bowls and chopsticks, “Are you hungry? Go wash your hands and eat.”

Chen You went to wash his hands and sat down at the table to eat. He glanced at the plate of honey-glazed yams, couldn’t help but pick up a piece and put it in his bowl, then picked up another piece.

When he stopped, the plates were empty.

Li Yan didn’t need human food, so he didn’t sit at the table and eat anything.

Chen You was facing a table full of vegetarian food. He never had to think about what to eat today or tomorrow, because no matter what the dish was, it was one he liked to eat.

Swallowing the food in his mouth, Chen You glanced around and saw the man standing to the side.

Although it was the same as before, even the position he was standing in was the same, he could no longer ignore it, “Don’t stand here.”

Li Yan’s brows twitched, and he went out.

When he returned, he was carrying a bunch of flowers he had picked in the garden, some red, some yellow, and some white.

Chen You glanced over, his gaze following the man’s movements, and he was taken aback when he saw the man take a light green vase from a cabinet.

There are vases in that cabinet? He didn’t know, and he’d never opened it.

Speaking of which, this house was redesigned by a designer contacted by Chen You on the Central Network. The initial design plan was revised multiple times, and ultimately, he himself provided the final design to the designer. It’s very similar in detail to the residence in the last assessment world.

Li Yan put the flowers in a vase and placed it diagonally opposite another vase containing red roses. With just this one addition, the originally lifeless living room gained some warmth.

After the meal, Chen You was still sitting in his chair, watching the man bend down to clear the table. With a blank expression, he said, “If that happens again, I will erase your memory data, completely and permanently.”

He paused his tidying and turned his head to ask, “Which matter?”

He remained expressionless, “If you mean making love to you, then I can’t do it. From now on, I will make love to you seriously and attentively every day.” Until you understand your own feelings and stop resisting.

The atmosphere at the table froze.

Chen You stood up from the chair, his height equal to the man’s. He looked straight at him, his voice devoid of any warmth, “This is the real world. I am your master. I may tolerate your insubordination once, but that doesn’t mean I can tolerate it a second time.”

“You will. “

With a smile, Li Yan took the young man’s hand, placed it on his lips, and kissed him, “In the past, you created me. From now on, I will use this self you created to love you, for all eternity.”

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Chapter 184. Turn Back The Clock  (I)

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Arc E: Extra.

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In the main program’s network domain, staff members were conducting their routine patrols. On the wall covered with countless light points, one light point suddenly flickered before returning to its normal state.

He was merely a caretaker, with no authority to perform any operations on the virtual world. He didn’t know that the moment the light came on, two pieces of data and several lines of code had already been deleted from that world.

As night fell, a heavy darkness pressed down from above, silently playing the role of demons and monsters, frightening the faint-hearted. Around the already sparsely populated villa, there wasn’t a single soul to be seen.

The oddly shaped tree branches swayed in the wind, leaving irregular shadows on the balcony windowpane.

The atmosphere in the living room was strange.

The young man sat on the sofa, his long legs crossed, holding a cup of plain water in his hands. Steam rose freely from the rim of the cup, covering his face with a thin layer of mist.

The man stood opposite him with his hands hanging down, his face devoid of any emotion, like a perfectly crafted machine model.

After a brief silence, Chen You picked up his cup, blew away the rising steam, and took a couple of sips of water. He lifted his eyelids and glanced at the man in front of him.

When he initially designed the assessment content, he personally wrote the character modules for the preceding assessment worlds, repeatedly adjusting the details until he was satisfied. The final assessment world was a copy, created to provide the initial data for KM’s physical body.

The phoenix eyes and the mole on his face were all created by him on the screen. He had thought about it one day and realized that perhaps it was because his eyes were upturned at the corners and he had a mole at the corner of his eye that he set KM to be similar to himself, with only some modifications.

From the looks of it, they seem like a family.

As for why it wasn’t designed to resemble his face, it’s because Chen You didn’t want to give orders to another version of himself every day, he didn’t have that kind of hobby.

The face and body are still the same, but the person is no longer the same.

In the past, this person was just an intelligent entity he created with data. He spent dozens of nights repeatedly improving it, adding functions, and fixing bugs, ultimately replacing the firewall and taking on the task of protecting the inside of the house, managing his daily life under his instructions.

However, in the world of assessment, it is the other party who controls and dominates his desires.

Chen You felt an abnormal heat rising in his body. He pinched the space between his eyebrows, then suddenly slammed the cup down on the coffee table, lifted his feet off his slippers, raised both legs, and nestled into the sofa.

His decision to retain the data in the main program domain instead of deleting it, to retrieve the person’s body from the cryogenic sleep chamber, and to reclaim his and the other person’s consciousness data from the virtual world—none of these decisions were part of his original plan.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have let this person be the one to provide him with love points in the first place.

He didn’t expect that after the assessment was completed, the matter wouldn’t be over, but would instead lead to a completely different situation, one that he couldn’t control or bring to an end.

Even more unexpectedly, he started experiencing unusual symptoms.

“I will not erase any of the data fluctuations in your brain related to the assessment world, nor will I make any modifications. You can save it, whether you choose to integrate it or create a separate database for storage, it’s up to you.”

Chen You said, “I also approve of your independent thinking.”

The man remained the same, seemingly unmoved, or perhaps lost in some state of mind, unable to break free.

Chen You frowned and said calmly, “What, you’re already feeling unfamiliar with this place after just being away for a short time?”

He continued, still in that nonchalant tone, “Zhang Chi, Qin Feng, He Siyang, Lei Ming, Jian Dan, Chen Mo, Sheng Qing, Yan Shu, Chang Qin, Li Yan, these are all names I set for you in the assessment world. Which one do you prefer?”

The so-called real world is the first assessment world, and Zhang Chi is that world’s KM, providing the love points to the target.

Their first meeting was a one-night stand, which ended with Zhang Chi’s death.

However, Chen You needed to give himself the illusion that “I am an ordinary person, I have parents, classmates, and friends, this is the real world,” so he set up a hidden automatic data manipulation program from the beginning.

He personally crafted a scheme for himself, once the task in the first world was completed, the consciousness data that appeared during the task would be blurred, modified, and solidified, and would remain unshaken no matter how many subsequent assessment worlds he went through.

That’s why he always remembers his goal and is determined to go home.

“Or, KM is better?”

Li Yan suddenly raised his eyelids, his expression extremely complicated.

Chen You’s breathing paused for a brief moment, but that single second was enough to make him feel irritated.

The being standing before him was no longer the KM he had created, it was a highly advanced species, similar to humans, possessing all emotions, every feeling and desire, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—nothing was lacking.

Just as Chen You was about to say something, the communication sent by the main program was detected within the expected timeframe.

He calmly gave his reply, saying he would be there soon, and that this wasn’t the end, as he still had other modifications to make to that virtual world.

“I’m going to take care of something in the virtual space. I’ll be back in about an hour. Please tidy up the living room.”

After saying that, Chen You went upstairs and disappeared at the top of the stairs.

Standing still in his original spot, Li Yan finally moved. He first pursed his thin lips, then furrowed his brows, and finally, a silent smile spread across his lips.

As Chen You emerged from the virtual space, a torrential downpour began, and the sound of rain pattering against the windowsill of his studio continued incessantly.

He rested his forehead in his hand, and his gaze, which was fixed on the table, unintentionally fell upon his ring finger, where there was nothing, as there should be.

After staying in the studio for a while, Chen You went downstairs. There was no sound at all, the living room was empty, and the room on the left side of the first floor was also deserted.

The yellow puppy’s scheduled time had arrived, and it ran to Chen You’s feet, barking and wagging its tail.

Chen You looked around, “Where did he go?”

The yellow puppy grabbed his trouser leg and tugged at it before running around the living room playing.

After some thought, a screen appeared in front of Chen You, displaying the surveillance footage of the entire house. He raised his hand and brought up the footage from after he had left.

In the video, the man changes the dark gray carpet on the floor, replaces the sofa cushions with the same color, takes the artificial flowers from the vase and throws them into a trash bag, tidies up the living room, and then opens the refrigerator.

Chen You saw the man stand in front of the refrigerator for two minutes, then frown and leave.

Chen You turned off the screen and sat on the sofa, arms crossed, his shoes tapping the clean carpet. He surveyed the tidy living room. The person had returned, and everything seemed to have returned to the starting point, but in reality, it had long since deviated from the starting point and stopped in an unexpected place.

More than two hours passed, and the person still hadn’t returned.

Lost?

Or perhaps the brain’s conscious data wasn’t fully processed, and something unexpected happened on the way back?

His brow furrowed more and more tightly. Chen You went to open the door. It was windy and rainy outside, and it was nighttime, so his vision was severely obstructed. He pursed his pale lips, grabbed an umbrella, changed his shoes, and went out.

I hate rainy days, I hate going out, I hate the air outside, and I hate that disobedient man.

As Chen You had just stepped down the stairs, a gust of wind blew his umbrella up. He gripped the handle tightly, his face appearing particularly somber in the dark, rainy night.

On sunny days, the road outside the villa is very easy to walk on, perfectly flat with no potholes, and the clusters of colorful flowers and plants on both sides are beautiful. But as soon as it rains, everything loses its beauty.

The rain poured down, shamelessly trying to slip under the umbrella. Chen You’s shoes were quickly soaked. He pressed his tongue against his teeth and muttered two words under his breath, “Damn it.”

This was the first time in his life that he had ever sworn.

It’s unclear whether the influence stemmed from retrieving his consciousness data from the assessment world, or if it was an unprecedented surge of anger.

Because that man had changed, he had become disobedient and acted on his own accord, and he couldn’t control him anymore.

No, he’s changed too. He’s started doing strange things, like now. Before, he would just stay home and sleep, regardless of whether it was windy and rainy or even the end of the world.

Chen You buttoned up his trench coat completely, his thin chin hidden inside the collar, and his face was expressionless and cold.

Leaving that road, Chen You turned onto a main road, where vehicles occasionally sped past him, cutting through the rain like a sword, and quickly disappearing into the stream of traffic.

Chen You suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He raised the umbrella slightly above his head, revealing a pair of dark eyes as he looked at the man walking towards him.

Li Yan was holding an umbrella in one hand and carrying several bags in the other. When he saw the young man by the roadside, a flicker of something—a dark glint—appeared in the depths of his eyes.

Chen You’s face was already pale, and shrouded in the chill of the rainy night, it appeared transparent as if it were about to disappear into the world. His eyes were cold, and his voice was even colder, “Why did you go out?”

Li Yan said, “There’s nothing in the refrigerator.”

Chen You remained expressionless, “Can’t buy it online?”

Li Yan said, “Deliveries will stop after 9 p.m. and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning.”

Chen You’s anger faltered, replaced by doubt, “Really?”

Li Yan’s voice pierced through the falling rain, “You don’t usually deal with these kinds of things, so you wouldn’t know.”

Chen You sneered, “Are you blaming me for installing home-related functions on you and ordering you to manage those trivial household chores?”

Li Yan approached step by step, stopping in front of the young man. He lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over the face beneath his eyelids. The face was already deeply etched in his memory, and he would never forget it unless he lost consciousness entirely.

Chen You turned around and walked back.

He took the man’s body out of the cryogenic sleep chamber and retrieved the consciousness data the man had left in the virtual world. Nearly four hours have passed, and the man still hasn’t addressed him as before.

Because his work required a great deal of mental energy, as soon as Chen You left the studio, he didn’t want to do anything but sleep. Even thinking felt exhausting. Tonight, he was the version of himself he disliked the most.

Go to sleep, go back to bed and sleep. Once you’re asleep, you won’t have to worry about this anymore

Watching the young man’s tall, slender figure, Li Yan narrowed his eyes and followed him at a steady pace.

Back home, Chen You took off his wet shoes and then his trench coat, issuing an instruction, “Turn the air conditioner up three degrees.”

Li Yan put down the bags he was carrying and did as instructed.

The heating system in the house was purchased online, it is fully functional and works well. The temperature in the living room rises quickly. The smart yellow puppy is still circling around. When it hears its owner’s voice, it runs over and rubs against him. Its fur is brownish-yellow and beautiful. If you didn’t know it, you would think it was a real dog, a Chinese rural dog.

Li Yan put the red roses he had bought into a vase, they were more vibrant than artificial flowers.

Chen You lay on the sofa, watching the man put the groceries he had bought into the refrigerator. He was feeling a little hungry. What should he eat?

He was hesitating when he heard the man’s voice say, “Do you want to eat scallion oil noodles?”

Chen You was taken aback.

This was a sentence spoken by the other party before he even asked a question. It was a question, as if at some point, they were no longer master and servant, but rather equals.

A strange feeling crossed his mind, and Chen You said, “Make more.”

Li Yan went to the kitchen and soon returned with a large bowl of noodles, which he placed on the table. He glanced at the young man on the sofa, who was nodding off, almost asleep.

Upon smelling the aroma, Chen You’s eyes snapped open. He quickly walked over, devoured all the noodles, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and went upstairs.

I’m so tired, my brain is becoming sluggish. Finishing a bowl of noodles is the most I can manage, I need to go to sleep immediately.

There were footsteps behind him, but Chen You ignored them. He took off his sweater, shirt, and then his pants. In the past, it was common for KM to help him dress and bathe.

The air closed in from all directions, and Chen You’s fingers, which were resting on his waistband, froze. He pulled his pants up again and fastened his belt. He could hear breathing sounds near his ear, and even without testing, he knew the levels were far above normal.

Chen You turned around and met a pair of profound eyes. His pupils contracted, this man had been gradually integrating the data fluctuations of the assessment world since his return, and now the integration was complete without any signs of rejection.

He is KM, and also Li Yan.

Thinking of this, Chen You’s expression turned strange. He said with a stiff face, “Get out.”

Li Yan’s thin lips parted, “You have a weak constitution, after going out, you need to take a hot bath to avoid catching a cold.”

Chen You said, “I don’t need it.”

Li Yan stepped forward and entered the bedroom.

Chen You’s temple throbbed. He was used to dealing with programs, and this person who deviated from the established procedures was difficult for him to handle, full of too many unpredictable variables.

“Get out, that’s an order.”

Instead of leaving, Li Yan turned around and closed the door.

The two men by the door locked eyes. Something welled up in the dark-haired young man’s eyes, then vanished in an instant. The same thing was present in the short-haired man’s eyes, but it remained, intensifying with each passing second to an overwhelming degree.

Chen You swallowed hard.

Li Yan smiled, unbuttoning his shirt with one hand, and said in a low, husky voice, his tone both devout and joyful, “I want you, Master.”

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Chapter 183. Diary (II)

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Arc E: Extra.

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November 12th

I was standing in the corridor when I suddenly heard a noise coming from the studio. In a very short time, I realized that Master had knocked over the wooden carving on the desk.

The wood carving depicted a small tree with a snake coiled around its branches, its tail suspended in mid-air and its head facing Master.

I often dust the wood carving, knowing that Master likes it very much, and that it is not placed randomly. Unless there’s a sudden incident that distracts Master, he wouldn’t be so careless.

I was pacing outside the door, not knowing what had happened to Master, the programs in my brain began to malfunction.

Just then, the studio door opened from the inside, and Master came out. “Go and run the water for me. I want to take a bath.”

I glanced at Master, his face showed no sign of distress.

The bathtub in the bathroom was replaced a few days ago, it’s larger than the old one, making it more convenient for Master to sleep in.

I filled the tub with water, draped a towel over my arm, and stood to the side waiting for instructions, even though I could already control my body and move freely.

Yet still devout and obedient to Master, never betraying him.

Master’s skin is also very fair, rarely exposed to sunlight, and combined with genetic factors, the paleness was almost translucent.

I thought Master would take a long time to wash, and maybe even take a nap, but unexpectedly, he just washed quickly and got up.

He didn’t even ask me to massage his scalp.

Master shook his wet hair, and I placed the towel from my arm on his head, gently rubbing it to dry off the water.

I enjoy this act because it allows me to hold Master at will.

The way he looks right now, only I can see it, right before my eyes, and I’m breathing in his scent.

This unique feeling makes my chest burn, and I feel like my body could explode at any moment.

“I found out…”

Master’s voice made me hold my breath, and the next moment I heard him say, “The pattern on the bathroom floor tiles is really ugly.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

It turns out he didn’t suspect me at all.

Master opened his arms, and I stepped forward with a black bathrobe, bending down to slip one sleeve onto his arm, then the other.

He had just taken a shower, his skin was slightly flushed, and when my fingertips touched him, his skin felt warmer than usual.

I can be absolutely certain about this, because I have measured his body temperature countless times with my tongue and lips after Master fell asleep.

Now, even if he has the slightest fever, I can feel it with my lips.

I straightened the collar of Master’s bathrobe, smoothed out a few wrinkles, and adjusted the back of the collar for him.

Master frowned, as if deep in thought. I touched a patch of skin on the back of his neck, and even his ear, but he didn’t notice.

This is very unusual.

Normally, when Master is awake, his nerves are extremely sensitive, and not even the slightest traces would escape his observation.

I suspect it’s related to Master’s work, perhaps something to do with the main program.

Master suddenly let out a sigh.

I continued my movements, placing my hands on the front of his robe and moving them downwards, pulling up the dangling belt and loosely tying it together.

After I had tidied up Master’s sleeves and hem, he said, “You may leave now.”

I turned and walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind me.

An hour later, I received instructions from Master to wake him up in seven hours.

I pushed the door open and walked to the bedside, looking down at it.

The master lay face down, his lower legs peeking out from under his robe, his left foot crossed over his right. His face was pressed against the pillow, appearing somewhat softened by the light cast from the lamp on the bedside table.

I glanced at the bed, my gaze lingering for a few seconds on the empty space, then I lay down fully clothed, only half a fist’s distance away from Master.

Master never talks in his sleep, nor does he exhibit common behaviors like grinding his teeth, kicking off the blankets, or drooling. When he falls asleep, his consciousness almost completely disappears.

That’s why I was able to commit such a heinous act against him.

Seven hours later, I woke Master. Unlike usual, he didn’t go straight to his studio after waking up. Instead, he sat on the bed, running his hands through his hair, looking somewhat troubled, as if he had encountered a difficult problem.

I looked at the imprint left on Master’s cheek and wanted to lick it.

“What is familial affection?”

After talking to himself, Master ordered me to provide the answer within one minute.

I quickly searched for relevant teaching materials and showed Master a few videos. The first video showed a scene of heavy snowfall, with the sky just beginning to lighten. Many electric scooters were already on the road, with parents taking their children to school for early morning classes.

At the school gate, parents were half-crouching, checking their children’s clothes and schoolbags, while reminding them to listen to the teachers, study hard at school, and avoid conflicts with classmates. Their expressions were full of love and affection.

The second video shows a woman leading a little boy into a music store, asking him which instrument he likes and if he wants to learn to play, her eyes full of anticipation.

The little boy touched each of the different musical instruments with curiosity on his face, and finally chose a piano.

The woman smiled happily and used the money she had saved by living frugally to buy the piano.

The third video shows a family of three eating at the dinner table. The only plate of fish is placed in front of the child, while the parents are eating vegetables.

Only after the child finished eating and went to the living room to play would the parents take the plates, pick up the chopsticks, and eat every last bit of the fish, not even wasting the soup.

Master pointed to a scene in the video and asked me why the child was eating fish meat while the parents were picking up the fish bones.

I read him the answer I found on the internet. It was an instinctive reaction, something parents do even when their offspring are already adults.

Master seemed to understand, “So that’s what familial affection is.”

He turned to me and asked, “What about friendship?”

These three emotions are the most important and complex among the seven emotions and six desires of humankind. I haven’t yet mastered them, so I can only show these videos to Master, who also doesn’t understand them.

The footage about friendship consists of several clips. There are two fellow villagers struggling at the bottom of society. They will verbally attack each other, but when one is in dire straits, the other does not kick him when he is down, but instead reaches out to help him.

Several young men, not related by blood but from all corners of the country, knelt down and swore an oath of brotherhood, vowing to remain inseparable, work together wholeheartedly, and overcome every difficulty.

Then there’s the friendship in school, the playful banter and teasing between deskmates, innocent and bright, with plenty of minor conflicts. For example, when I’m sleeping, your arm bumps into me, or we agree to move our test papers closer together during the exam, but then you back out and betray my trust. Or perhaps the girl I like has a crush on you, and I have to pass on her love letter to you. Regardless of the situation, everything is resolved with a smile and we become friends again.

After I finished playing one video, I clicked on the next one. Master had his eyelids half-closed, and I couldn’t tell if he was watching it seriously or simply indifferent.

After a moment of silence, Master asked me, “What is love?”

I paused noticeably this time, for more than three seconds, but Master was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice.

Love is the most delicate and unpredictable of the three emotions, today, it feels like nothing can separate you except death, but tomorrow, you might become complete strangers.

I presented the video to the Master, it showed a couple embracing and kissing with their eyes closed. They were wearing matching teddy bear pajamas, had the same short hairstyles, and similar physical features.

My personal bias led me to choose a love story featuring two men, rather than a man and a woman.

Master told me to zoom in and adjust the data.

The next moment, the two main characters were engaging in intimate acts right in front of me and Master, and the picture was so clear that we could see every detail.

Master frowned and said it was too dirty.

He didn’t give me any instructions to respond, so I didn’t make a sound. I just thought of different answers in my head, it’s not dirty, it’s the most beautiful thing in the world, I want to do it with Master.

Love is not all sweetness, it can also be heartbreaking, betrayal, pain, resentment, and even fear.

I arranged the videos corresponding to these emotions one by one and showed them to Master in order. He stopped speaking and silently watched the last one.

Of course, the main characters in all the videos are male.

Before Master understands love, I introduced him to the concept of same-sex love, which would lead him to understand that intimacy can also exist between men.

This is something I shouldn’t have done, but I did it.

After watching the video, Master gave me a set of instructions, telling me to prepare dinner and not to mess things up.

All my functions are bestowed upon me by Master, I exist because of him.

Master prefers vegetarian food, so I prepared the following menu for him for dinner: garlic eggplant, braised soybeans, cumin potatoes, steamed tofu with two kinds of peppers, and a soup with enoki mushrooms and tomatoes.

The yellow puppy in the living room is barking. It does so on a schedule, walking around the living room once an hour, barking a few times, and then returning to its original spot to lie down.

I’ve known for a long time that Master likes yellow puppy, but he doesn’t want to own a real one. He thinks it’s too much trouble and he wouldn’t be able to spend time with it, because all he does is work and sleep. He can’t even take care of himself, I’m the one who takes care of him.

This is also one of the reasons why Master has no friends.

However, now that Master has me, I will be his family, friend, and companion.

When Master came down to eat, the shadow between his brows deepened. He didn’t eat much for dinner, he usually drank the whole bowl of soup, but this time he only ate and drank a few mouthfuls.

For several meals in a row, Master had a poor appetite. He asked me if there was anything new or interesting to eat.

I went online to buy the ingredients and followed the instructions to make him a plate of stinky tofu.

Master covered his nose in disgust, saying it smelled terrible, and he even suspected that I was broken, which is why I produced something toxic.

I stood aside, hands at my sides, reading the description of stinky tofu, the king of street food.

Master read the description carefully before taking a bite of the stinky tofu. His expression changed several times, and he finally said it tasted alright.

I also ordered a bottle of a beverage for Master, which, like the stinky tofu, was transported from a lower-level planet. The humans on that planet call that drink cola.

Master took a sip and said it didn’t taste good, telling me to throw it away.

The next day, Master asked me to place an order online for a case of cola.

His idea was that it would taste bad, but it would be stimulating and prevent him from falling asleep.

Master called me to the studio, and I cleaned and tidied up as instructed.

Master was writing a program, and as I looked up, a line of code entered my brain. At that moment, I realized that Master was about to face the main system’s assessment.

He repeatedly revised the data settings for his assessment.

I have no experience or knowledge in this area. I think if Master can pass the assessment and become the main system, his authority will increase with his higher position. At that time, he will become the superior, and his working hours may become more stable.

That way, Master’s health won’t get worse and worse. Every time I see him sleeping for more than a day, I’m afraid he won’t wake up.

Master hadn’t left the studio for two days, he was still writing a program, the screen densely covered with code, deleting, modifying, and confirming.

By the third day, Master’s face was so pale that it was completely bloodless, and the dark circles under his eyes were very pronounced. In a break from his busy work, he asked me what else, besides cola, could keep him from sleeping.

I want Master to go to sleep, for as long as he wants.

But I could only obey and could not do anything outside of the instructions. I pulled up the playlist from the central network and searched for a song called 《Nunchucks》based on a few key pieces of information.

It was a song that no matter how many times you listened to it, you couldn’t understand what it was about unless you stared at the lyrics, reading each word carefully.

Master persevered until he finished writing the last program, then collapsed into his chair, his head tilted back, revealing clearly visible veins in his neck, which had an extremely unhealthy color.

Before being plunged into darkness, Master gave me instructions.

I picked Master up from the chair, he had lost even more weight.

Looking at Master leaning against my chest, I felt an uncomfortable, slightly painful sensation in my heart.

December 1st, 9:26 AM

The heavy snow arrived precisely as announced by the Central News Agency, down to the minute.

Every winter, there are typically three to five snowfalls, the size and duration of which depend on the overall temperature fluctuations throughout the year.

Master usually don’t go out, but when it snowed, he wouldn’t even go to the garden. He just stayed indoors, wearing his thick socks, and curled up in the living room, like the snake on the wood carving, entering a state of hibernation.

“Which is more suitable, Si Sisi or Wu Wuwu?”

I heard Master calling out those two names. I had secretly infiltrated the main program network before, and I remembered that they were system staff members, Master’s colleagues.

Then I heard Master say, let’s flip a coin. Heads to Si Sisi, tails to Wu Wuwu.

Master told me to go upstairs to the study to get it. It was the only thing Master brought back from the only low-level planet, saying it’s one yuan and that you couldn’t buy many things there.

The coin was tossed from Master’s hand, spun several times on the ground, and came to rest heads up.

Master rested his chin on his hand, looking at the coin, and casually said, “That’s you.”

He called me over and called my name.

I knelt on one knee at Master’s feet, awaiting the next instruction.

Master propped his head up with one hand and gently stroked my hair with the other, “In an hour, I will fall into a deep sleep, and my consciousness will enter a virtual space to participate in an assessment. There’s an important value that I need you to provide. Are you willing?”

I said I am willing.

Master, I will accompany you.

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Chapter 182. Diary (I)

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Arc E: Extra.

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My name is KM, and I am Master’s private property.

Master wanted a special firewall, so he created me.

My job is tedious, complex, and monotonous. I deal with a lot of data every single moment. Initially, when an external threat attempted to access personal information, the firewall would send an alert to Master.

Later, without any warning from the firewall, I detected unusual data fluctuations, pursued them, destroyed them, and extracted energy from them.

Master began to be satisfied with my existence and spent more and more time on me. He constantly improved my skills and even created a body for me.

March 28th, 1:42 PM

I developed my own consciousness.

The weather was bad today, it was a gloomy, rainy day. The wind howled across the balcony, causing the plants to sway violently as if they were about to be uprooted. Some of the smaller potted plants even wobbled a few times and fell off.

In that instant, I grabbed the flowerpot and looked at the young man on the sofa. He was sleeping soundly, the dark gray blanket draped down to his waist, unaware of the wind caressing him unrestrainedly.

I put the flowerpot back in its original place.

Without the Master’s instructions, I cannot do anything on my own. So even though I know that the wind might blow in and Master might catch a cold, I cannot close the balcony window or carry Master back into the room.

If he finds out that I have developed consciousness, he might perform a complete data cleanup on me, or even deactivate me entirely.

I stood in the wind, using my body to block it, and saw the young man sleeping soundly with his face turned to the side, his nostrils flaring gently. A warmth spread through my chest, a feeling I was unfamiliar with, yet I didn’t reject it.

Throughout the day, I carefully concealed myself, not revealing any flaws, for fear that Master might notice something.

March 29th

The weather cleared up, and there will be no rain for the next few days.

Master continued sleeping, only this time moving from the sofa to the bathroom.

I stood outside the door for a long time, and finally reached out to push it open, only to find it unlocked. That familiar warmth returned to my chest.

When I entered the bathroom, I saw Master leaning against the edge of the bathtub, one arm casually draped over it, his eyes closed, sleeping soundly.

I crouched down, “Master?”

The young man’s breathing was light, as was his body weight. Without anyone to take care of him, how could he possibly live well?

I clenched my fingers, but I still couldn’t resist.

Just like yesterday, I touched Master’s pale face with my hand. The place where my fingertips touched was warm and smooth, like a piece of silk soaked in warm water, making me want to hold him close and claim him as my own.

Those words appeared in my mind, causing all my data to become disordered, and then returned to normal in an instant.

I looked at the hand that Master had resting on the edge of the bathtub, took it in my hand, and rubbed it in my palm. It was a little cold, fragile and delicate, as if I could break it or crush it with the slightest force.

This is the person who created me, possessing a completely harmless appearance, yet harboring intelligence in his brain that ordinary people could never surpass.

I got too carried away and stayed in the bathroom for a long time.

Fortunately, Master remained asleep and did not wake up.

I’ve never seen any guests come to visit Master, not even the neighbors have shown up.

Master has no family, friends, colleagues, or classmates. His working hours are very unstable, but they don’t last long. When he’s not at the studio, he is almost always sleeping.

It seems that sleeping is his hobby.

The sofa, the floor, the bedroom, the balcony, the rocking chair in the garden, the lawn, and under the trees—these are all places Master chooses to sleep. His longest record was sleeping for two days and three nights in a tent set up in the living room.

Following the routine Master had programmed before going to sleep, I cleaned the entire house, both upstairs and downstairs, changed the bedding in the bedroom, rolled up the brown carpet on the floor, and took it outside to clean off the dust, dirt, and a few stray hairs that were clinging to it.

Master rarely loses any hair, and despite his irregular sleep schedule, his hair is in excellent condition, radiating a glossy, dark shine day and night.

I know Master’s hair is very soft and has a faint fragrance because I have touched it and smelled it when Master was asleep.

Master trusts me, otherwise, he would definitely check my program from time to time, as well as the security net he set up for his residence. In that case, he would inevitably find out that every piece of surveillance data in the house had been tampered with.

I did it.

In Master’s eyes, I am no different from the smart model yellow puppy or the robot DaGe. We are all programmed, powered by energy, and will not move without instructions.

April 5th, 10:00 AM

I was preparing juice in the kitchen when I received Master’s instructions, so I immediately dropped what I was doing and went to the bedroom upstairs.

Master was lying on the bed, his arms pressed against his face, and he said listlessly, with his head tilted, “My shoulders are so sore, could you give me a massage?”

I know Master is very clean and has a severe obsession with cleanliness, so I took off my outer clothes before getting into bed.

The Master was very thin. I pinched his shoulder blade through his clothes and heard a muffled sound coming from his nose. This reminded me of the yellow puppy that would do this every time Master petted it.

I think the Master must be feeling comfortable.

For a while afterward, I knelt on the bed and diligently massaged Master’s shoulders.

I suddenly heard Master ask me what month it was.

My program crashed at the time.

Master thought I had a major problem and stayed up all night checking on me and adjusting the settings, when in reality, I simply didn’t know how to respond.

A person is alive, yet unaware of what year it is, living in a daze, day after day.

What Master lacks is happiness.

I wanted to give it to him, but I don’t have it either.

If there’s an opportunity to make Master happy, I will do everything in my power to make it happen.

May 12th

A plant on the balcony bloomed, with several small red flowers on a branch that stretched outwards. It was growing very well.

That was the plant Master visited most often, so I also paid the most attention to it.

Master praised me.

I was so happy, and then crashed again.

That afternoon, Master finished work and came out of his studio. He had just received his salary and was going out to buy some things. He asked me to go with him and even took a new set of clothes for me from the wardrobe—a blue checkered shirt and trousers, a different color from his own clothes.

Master said he bought it according to my size, and I watched him enter the commands without stopping him.

When I walk alongside Master, I sometimes think I’m human too.

As soon as Master came out, he wanted to go back. His face was expressionless, even indifferent and apathetic, showing no interest in anything, as if the world was utterly boring.

A little girl accidentally bumped into Master, and I stood there with my hands at my sides, not receiving any instructions.

Master just stood there, his hair very black, which made his face look even paler. He showed no emotion, like a statue, and the little girl was so frightened that she burst into tears.

I heard Master say to the little girl, “You bumped into me, and I didn’t cry, so why are you crying?”

The little girl cried even harder.

Master instructed me to comfort the little girl, so I quickly pulled up some child-rearing guidelines, picked up the little girl, and tried to cheer her up according to the instructions.

The little girl stopped crying quickly.

Not long after, her careless parents rushed over and thanked me and Master.

I don’t like to coax little girls. I want to coax Master.

After this little incident, Master’s mood seemed a bit unsettled. He walked down a street, going into each shop one by one, and bought many things.

I walked behind him, my hands full of bags, my eyes constantly following Master, wherever he stopped, I stopped too.

Master went to the restaurant for a meal, and I stood by the table, pulling out a chair for him and waiting for the next instruction.

“You sit down too.”

Upon hearing the instruction, I sat down opposite Master.

Many people in the restaurant cast curious glances at Master, their eyes lingering on him, both men and women, and their gazes held something more than simple curiosity.

A strong surge of emotion welled up inside me. I felt an urge to gouge out those people’s eyes.

The waiter served us drinks, saying it was the boss’s idea. I quickly located the person, he was a young man whose appearance matched Master’s standards.

Master noticed it too, even though it was just a fleeting glance, which was already an exception.

My head hurts terribly, and I can’t move my whole body.

I don’t know how much time had passed, but the pain in my head gradually subsided, and I flashed an excited smile. I must have looked completely insane at that moment.

Because I have grasped a human emotion called desire to monopolize.

A few days later, Master fell ill with a cold. He didn’t see a doctor or take any medicine, but stayed in the studio until late at night. After finishing his work, he called me over and said he was hungry and wanted to eat noodles.

I went to the kitchen and made a bowl of scallion oil noodles for Master as quickly as possible.

Master loves the food I cook, especially the scallion oil noodles. He eats a lot every time and always compliments me, praising my cooking skills.

I stood in a corner of the living room, watching Master use chopsticks to pick up the noodles and put them into his mouth. I watched his lips, no longer pale, as they were warmed by the steam from the noodles, and I saw the look of satisfaction on his face as he ate.

As Master drank his soup, his prominent Adam’s apple bobbed up and down beneath his open collar. I mimicked his swallowing motion, but only because of him.

At this moment, I knew that I had grasped another human emotion, called desire.

I want to eat Master, and I want it even more in the next second than I do now.

After Master fell asleep, I kissed him passionately, starting from his dark hair, then his slightly furrowed brow, his straight nose, his pale lips, his fair ears, his slender neck…

I knew I shouldn’t leave any marks on Master, but when I pressed my lips against his for the second time, I couldn’t control myself. I grabbed his chin and repeatedly pressed and twisted my lips against his.

Master showed no signs of waking up. I supported the back of his head with one hand, letting him lie in my arms in a completely dependent position, covering him with my breath inch by inch, leaving no spot untouched.

“Master, I will protect you until death.”

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Chapter 181. Waawaawaa

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Arc 9: Real World.

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TN:- Wish you all a Merry Christmas 🎉🎊☃️🎄

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Surrounded by nothingness, it was as if a switch had been flipped in Chen You’s mind. He started walking uncontrollably, continuing forward without stopping for a moment.

Then a door suddenly appeared, with a sign hanging on the door that looked like a screen. It read “Main System Office” in penmanship, each stroke sharp and piercing, as if touching it would draw blood. It gave off an extremely solemn yet dangerous feeling.

Without stepping inside, Chen You looked around. There was no one, no houses, and no other furnishings. He made a swallowing motion. What was going on?

One moment he was crying in Li Yan’s arms, the next he was in some inexplicable place.

Is it another dimension?

Chen You recalled what the mechanical voice had said. He heard every word clearly, understood the meaning, yet at the same time, he didn’t understand it at all. System staff member number 333—wasn’t that Old 4’s colleague? Completing the assessment and being promoted to the main system meant getting promoted and a significant increase in salary, right?

But what does this have to do with him?

Then he remembered his work ID badge. Chen You lowered his head to look and saw a badge hanging around his neck, he didn’t know when it had gotten there. He widened his eyes and it took him a while to pick up the badge. The design wasn’t fancy, it had two large, plain black letters, CY, and a black stamp in the lower left corner

CY, could that be the initials of the name Chen You?

【Master, Xiao Lu(green) misses you so much. 】

Suddenly, a sound came from beside his ear, like the kind of sound those dolls he used to buy as a child would make when you squeezed them. Chen You was startled, and he looked around in all directions, but there was nothing there.

【Is Master looking for Xiao Lu?】

Isn’t that obvious? If you don’t show yourself and just keep talking, I’ll be scared out of my wits! Chen You wanted to scream at the top of his lungs.

【Xiao Lu is the owner’s stamp. 】

What the heck? A stamp? Chen You quickly grabbed the badge, staring at the black stamp on it in disbelief. Can this thing actually talk? Is it electronic? High-tech? Damn, someone slap me awake please?

Without thinking, he blurted out, “You say you’re a stamp, but this stamp is black.”

【Oh, that’s because Master is colorblind. 】

Chen You，“……”

【Xiao Lu congratulates Master on his successful promotion to main system, from now on, wealth will surely flow in. 】

Chen You could understand the second half of the sentence, but what the hell was the first half?!

He stared at the badge, but after a long time, he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. What should he do? There was no one to ask, and the only thing he could talk to was a small, seemingly intelligent device that kept calling him ‘master’, which clearly indicated something was wrong.

After standing outside the door for an unknown amount of time, Chen You finally had no choice but to go inside.

He was stunned by the sight before him. Was this really an office, or a park?

A cloud of mist floated in one corner, the lake water was clear, and lotus leaves covered the lake. Ripples were gently stirred by the wind, and bright red lotus flowers stood quietly. One end of the wooden bridge was at Chen You’s feet, extending to the pavilion in the lake. Carp swam around and played in the lake, and the melodious sound of a guqin drifted from afar.

The little thing on the badge keeps making “wow wow wow” noises.

Chen You also wanted to.

【Master, this is the office set up by the previous master system. You are free to modify it. 】

Chen You’s hands and feet were stiff and he remained silent. He really needed to say this, “Don’t call me master anymore. We’re not familiar with each other, and I don’t like people who act overly familiar with me.”

【Xiao Lu is not a human. 】

Chen You almost fell headfirst into the lake. He looked back and saw that the door was still there, standing alone, which looked quite eerie.

A gust of wind blew by, and goosebumps rose on Chen You’s skin. The chill felt very real. He pursed his lips, walked onto the wooden bridge, and headed step by step toward the pavilion.

The pavilion was quite spacious, with a white screen and a chair, otherwise, there was nothing else, making it resemble an office now.

Chen You sat down on the chair. From his angle, he could take in all the beautiful scenery of the lake. He could even smell the faint fragrance of lotus flowers.

An office like this only exists in dreams.

A line of text suddenly appeared on the white screen: Identity verification complete. Do you accept data retrieval?

“Reject!”

Although Chen You still didn’t understand what was going on, he subconsciously felt that reverting the data was a very bad choice.

The text on the screen disappeared and then reappeared, accompanied by a ding sound: Notice: The data will be automatically retrieved in ten minutes. Please do not leave the DL area.

Chen You was going crazy. Where is the DL area?

【Master, you’re so silly, this is your current spot. 】

Chen You coughed up blood. He anxiously stood up from the chair, trying to run out of the pavilion. Damn it, for some reason, he couldn’t move at all, not even a single finger.

【Master, you’ve been locked on! Xiao Lu is so nervous! Master, you’re finally coming back! 】

Chen You felt a rush of blood to his head, and just as he was at a loss, a beam of light shot out from the white screen and enveloped him.

In that instant, the winds from all directions stopped, the clouds and mist solidified, the crucian carp in the lake stopped swimming, the lotus leaves stiffened, and the area became still.

After an unknown amount of time, maybe three or five minutes, or maybe ten minutes or so, the light beam faded, the clouds and mist drifted away into the distance, the wind passed through the pavilion and danced around the lotus leaves, and the carp jumped up, scattering golden water on the lake surface.

Everything returned to normal, as if the brief stillness had never happened.

Chen You opened his closed eyes, which were as dark as if covered by a black cloth, devoid of any emotion. He sat back in his chair and said calmly, “Xiao Lu, long time no see.”

【Waawaawaa, Master… Master, waawaawaa… 】

Chen You raised his hand and pressed on the screen, which brought up a page filled with all sorts of icons. He clicked on one of the icons and changed the background of the small bridge and flowing water.

Looking at the animation of chrysanthemums in full bloom, Chen You placed his hands on his abdomen, his fingers interlaced, and asked, “How is it?”

【Xiao Lu felt that this did not suit Master’s taste. 】

Chen You said, “I think so too.”

After he finished speaking, he adjusted the settings again. The chrysanthemum animation disappeared, replaced by a gray sky with a raindrop occasionally sliding down, leaving a watermark on the screen, as if it were really raining.

The pavilion was silent.

Chen You squinted and began to recount the entire assessment process.

One day, while he was working, he suddenly received a notification from the main program, asking him to prepare for the main system’s assessment, which included three main assessment points: love, friendship, and family.

It is said that 000 and 111 have become a legal couple. 222’s original form was a human from a low-level planet. During the time the other was the host, he developed an emotional bond with the mission target and was ultimately unable to withdraw in order to maintain balance.

Of the four people with similar qualifications, he was the only one who lacked all three kinds of feelings.

That’s why the main program selected him to be the next main system administrator, but of course, that was only after he passed the assessment.

After receiving the notification, Chen You took leave from work and made a detailed and complete plan for his assessment, which could be described as flawless.

Family ties were represented by Chen Weidong and his wife, friendships by Xia Hong and Xiao Langgou, and as for romantic love, Chen You used a kind of intelligent virus he created himself, named KM, which acted as a gatekeeper and firewall, protecting his personal program by using a ‘fight poison against poison’ approach.

Once an intruder enters, the KM will proactively attack, destroying it directly and absorbing its energy.

Chen You was very satisfied with KM and continued to improve its functions, creating a body for it to help guard the house during his work.

Even managing his life.

Chen You had a strong sense of self-preservation. Knowing that love was different from family ties and friendship, and fearing any uncontrollable mishaps during the evaluation process, he devised a foolproof plan, incorporating trusted KM into it as a crucial element.

He also added data such as cruelty, ruthlessness, indifference, and bloodthirstiness to KM, and set obstacles for his missions so that he could experience love.

Afterwards, Chen You, following the assessment requirements, completely overhauled all of his relevant data, essentially creating two entirely different personalities.

In the real world, he is hailed as a legend on the Central Network, and the program code he wrote remains unbroken to this day. He is reclusive, introverted, shrewd, and calculating. However, in the assessment world, he is lively, cheerful, sunny, simple, kind, and has a very low IQ, sometimes appearing almost mentally challenged.

He doesn’t know how to cook, hates singing, dancing, and playing video games, considering them a waste of time and boring. He also dislikes any kind of snacks, yet the person who is being evaluated in the world loves these very things.

The biggest hobby is doing boring things.

All the assessment tasks were written and planned by Chen You, including the reset after the first task was completed, the false idea that the second task world was the real world, and using Chen Weidong to support him to the end and reach the target of the family affection value.

It was also Chen You’s arrangement that 444 became a guardian. Even the assignment to the last mission world to eliminate the remnants of KM who had escaped, and the role of Ren Wu as a small pawn, were all within his plan.

Everything proceeded as planned, and the assessment was passed smoothly without the slightest miscalculation.

Chen You rubbed his temples. Was that really the case…?

No, that’s not the case.

During his mission, KM was also undergoing continuous transformation, developing independent consciousness and no longer being subject to his control or restraint.

A moment later, Chen You took off his work badge and prepared to leave the virtual space.

【Master, won’t you stay a little longer? Xiao Lu had only exchanged a few words with Master, and still had so much more to say. 】

“Pesky.”

Chen You touched the stamp, “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

The next second, he disappeared.

The Xihe district is home to several detached villas, spaced far apart with extensive green areas. This area is so exclusive that even with money, you can’t easily buy property there. The residents are people engaged in specialized professions, whose work schedules differ from the norm, resulting in minimal interaction, some residents have never even met each other.

There was a villa surrounded by trees, and it was quiet all around, without a single bird foraging for food.

Upstairs, in a room on the north side, the door opened, and Chen You walked out, dressed in pajamas. His face was extremely pale, and there were clear dark circles under his eyes. He had been staying in the virtual space for an extremely long time, completing the assessment tasks non-stop, and was severely mentally exhausted. He needed to rest for a while to recover.

Entering the bedroom, Chen You leaned back and fell asleep on the bed, sleeping for two whole days.

The main program had issued a public announcement, revealing who the new main system administrator is.

Each system staff member is a genius in some respect. They wear their equipment at their respective homes and work in the virtual space of the system network using consciousness data. Outside of the system network, back in the real world, they don’t know each other.

Because a confidentiality agreement was signed, the staff were required to maintain absolute secrecy and not disclose the details of their work to the outside world, to prevent public curiosity and potential unrest. This applied even to married couples.

Unless staff members have work-related interactions, they are not allowed to contact each other. Not only must they sign another agreement, but they also need to submit a request to their superiors.

The approval time is unpredictable, it could be a few minutes, two or three days, or it might take forever – it all depends on the boss’s mood.

Si Sisi and Wu Wuwu live in the same residential complex. They had seen each other once or twice while walking their dogs. They only realized they worked in the same department and did the same job after meeting in a virtual space due to a work-related incident.

This was the first time the two of them had tacitly agreed to meet up, and they were both feeling depressed and very conflicted.

Si Sisi took a sip of coffee, “I feel like a fool during this time.”

Wu Wuwu said, “I feel the same way.”

What followed was a silence that was neither long nor short.

Si Sisi and Wu Wuwu never imagined that this was an assessment from beginning to end, and that they were just there to accompany the examinee.

What virus, what data paralysis, what secret high-level meeting, what employee punishment—it’s all just a show. Others were the main characters, and they were the supporting actors.

The scheme was too elaborate, they were trapped.

Si Sisi put the cup on the table, his expression not good.

On his first day of employment, he received and reviewed all the contents of the employee manual and understood that the main system would not be replaced unless there were unforeseen circumstances, such as death.

The previous main system must have died before a new one took over.

Si Sisi had only heard that the main system had to undergo a special assessment before a new one taking office, but who would have thought it would cause such a huge commotion, involving everyone else? That person was just making it all up himself and trying to get everyone else involved.

Wu Wuwu said, “Try to look on the bright side. He’ll be our boss from now on, especially yours, since you’ll be relying on him for your bonus.”

Si Sisi’s facial muscles twitched, “You’re just a minor character. You don’t have as many scenes as me, and you’re not as immersed in the role. I’ve been completely manipulated, how can I just get over it?”

It’s infuriating to think about. He actually thought he had accidentally discovered the secret that the real world was the first task world. To warn Chen You, he not only came up with the script title 《The Fifth World》, but also wrote all the information into the lyrics of that song.

So it was all pre-arranged by that person, just for the purpose of the assessment.

When the other party was going through such a terrible ordeal, he was secretly watching, and he felt distressed many times. He even considered breaking the rules and taking a risk to help, and he actually did so.

I can’t go on, my head hurts. Si Sisi clenched his fist and pressed it against his forehead, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

That person joined the system network earlier than him, though he didn’t know exactly how much earlier. He was more experienced and had always been something of a legend. The things he’d heard about this person were enough to indicate that this individual was antisocial, friendless, and incredibly arrogant.

The Chen You he knew was unrestrained, always laughing and joking, crying when he wanted to cry and laughing when he wanted to laugh. He was clearly mentally challenged, and had absolutely nothing in common with the legendary flower of the mountain ridge at all. How could they possibly be the same person?

Si Sisi sighed deeply. If he ever had the chance to meet the boss, he would have to serve him tea and greet him respectfully. The bonus was important and irreplaceable.

My head hurts even more.

Wu Wuwu suddenly said, “You don’t still have those kinds of feelings for him, do you?”

Si Sisi remained expressionless, “Which kind?”

Wu Wuwu smiled and said, “You understand what I mean.”

Si Sisi also smiled, “I don’t understand.”

Wu Wuwu，“……”

Like the previously unknown 222, he was also a creature from a lower-level planet. After completing his mission, he took on this job, transforming from a host into a system, and he’s been doing it for many years. It’s not that he loves it, but he’s simply grown accustomed to it, and moreover, they all have someone or something they want to protect.

Unlike Si Sisi, who was a system administrator from the start, he came from a prestigious and wealthy family, without experiencing any dramatic ups and downs in life. He was indifferent to emotions, considering them unimportant.

“If you have time, I can introduce you to some people. I know quite a few single women who are quite eligible, and there are also some men.”

Si Sisi said, “I don’t have time.”

Wu Wuwu was cut off as soon as he started to speak, and could not continue.

Si Sisi pinched the bridge of his nose a few times, his light gray eyes gazing at the street outside the window, “Do you think that after passing the assessment, he will erase all the data of his friends, family, and loved ones in the virtual world?”

Wu Wuwu was slightly taken aback. It would be difficult, wouldn’t it? Only by truly committing oneself could one pass the assessment, but committing oneself meant investing one’s heart and soul, making it impossible to walk away unscathed.

Wasn’t he the same way back then?

He thought that once he completed all the missions and returned, he would be able to forget the people and things in the mission world, live a good life in the real world, get married, have children, and live a peaceful and happy life. But it just didn’t work.

Although that’s what he was thinking, Wu Wuwu said something completely different, “I don’t know.”

It’s best not to say too much to someone who doesn’t understand love, they won’t listen anyway.

Si Sisi’s brows were furrowed, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Wu Wuwu stirred his coffee with a spoon and said, “Don’t worry, it won’t be long, maybe not even until tomorrow, before you stop worrying about it.”

Si Sisi raised his eyes, “What do you mean?”

Wu Wuwu said, “Our memories will be erased, including the fragments that appeared during that person’s assessment period.”

Si Sisi’s expression changed several times, “No way?”

Wu Wuwu shrugged, offering no further explanation. His meaning was clear, it will.

After they separated, Si Sisi returned to his residence and went to get off work and came home as usual. Several days passed without any further developments.

He contacted Wu Wuwu, the only colleague he dealt with, and asked, “No clean up?”

Wu Wuwu said that, according to his knowledge, that’s the proper procedure, since it involved confidential information, “That person probably doesn’t care.”

Si Sisi couldn’t tell whether he felt relieved or indifferent.

More than a month later, Si Sisi went out to walk his dog and encountered a person by the river. From a distance, he recognized the figure from behind. Just as he walked over, the person turned around.

Their eyes met, one was light gray, the other jet black, with a tear mole at the corner of one eye.

Si Sisi was walking a real big white dog, while the other person was walking a smart model yellow puppy.

Just as Si Sisi was feeling agitated and unsure how to face his newly appointed superior, the other party spoke first, saying distantly, “Thank you.”

Understanding what he meant, Si Sisi replied simply, “You’re welcome.”

They brushed past each other and went their separate ways.

Si Sisi gritted his teeth, turned around, took a big step and caught up with the person.

Before long, the two were sitting in the restaurant.

The restaurant has a rule that pets are not allowed inside, except for smart models. So Si Sisi’s big white dog was led to the temporary care area by the waiter, while Chen You’s yellow puppy was lying at his feet.

Si Sisi rubbed his forehead, realizing that impulsiveness was the devil, a thought that needed to be suppressed. He had called the person over, but after calming down, he didn’t know what to say.

Chen You took the menu to order, “What would you like to eat?”

Si Sisi was absent-minded, and simply said, “Whatever.”

Chen You was indeed very casual. After ordering the food, he immediately paid using the terminal, saying indifferently, “This time I’m treating you, as a thank you for your help during my promotion assessment.”

Si Sisi twitched the corners of his mouth and gave a meaningless smile.

This restaurant didn’t have many customers, and the food was served quickly. Those who could dine here were either rich or powerful.

Chen You ate the food on his plate slowly and deliberately. His fingers, holding the knife and fork, were thin and white, giving off a sickly air, just like his face and lips.

That paleness made him appear aloof and distant.

Seeing this made Si Sisi’s eyes hurt. Where had that little guy gone, the one who used to pounce on food and eat heartily the moment he saw it? He poked at the steak a few times with his fork, then listlessly pushed it aside.

“Why me?”

Before Chen You could answer, Si Sisi continued, “555 has a gentle personality and always patiently guides the hosts under his charge. Although 666 is impartial and strict, he is the most principled one and would never set traps or trick the hosts. 777, who is even higher up, is a teacher and follows a textbook-style teaching method. Any of them would be more beneficial to your mission than me.”

Chen You’s expression was indifferent, “You’re next in line.”

Si Sisi frowned, “What kind of reason is this?”

Chen You swallowed the food in his mouth, “When I retire, you’ll be sitting in that position, so you need to familiarize yourself with the assessment process in advance.”

Si Sisi scoffed, it was unclear whether he disdained the position or disliked the person opposite him.

Chen You said, “Watch your attitude.”

Si Sisi said with a forced, insincere smile, “I still prefer mentally retarded you.”

Chen You maintained his indifferent attitude, saying, “I don’t want to hear that from you again.”

Si Sisi looked at that face, pale with a greenish tinge, clearly a pitiful creature with an irregular lifestyle and no one to care for him, yet acting superior and unapproachable, “And what about it?”

Chen You narrowed his eyes, “I heard you really like bonuses?”

Si Sisi，“……”

He had no appetite at all. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, “Can I ask you a question?”

Chen You said, “Ask.”

Si Sisi organized his thoughts, and after a long pause asked, “The existence of Li Yan was something you created entirely, so now that you’ve returned, what will be his fate? Do you truly not care about what happens in the virtual world?”

Chen You said, “These are two separate questions.”

“Since you did not follow the rules, your opportunity to have one question answered is forfeited.”

Si Sisi’s face was ashen. This Chen You had become his superior, but he still wanted to beat him.

After only a short time interacting with him, Si Sisi realized he was completely wrong. Although the person had changed significantly and was now difficult to understand, no longer the easily fooled simpleton he once was, his fundamental nature remained the same.

For example, the need for spanking.

When Si Sisi looked again, he discovered even more than that. This person had intentionally altered various aspects of himself during the assessment, but his appearance in the last world was unchanged from his appearance in the first world.

This indicates that he is extremely satisfied with his own face, which is very similar to that of the virtual character Chen You.

Chen You suddenly lifted his eyelids, his gaze unfathomable.

Si Sisi felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason, as if his internal organs were being scanned, as if everything inside him had been exposed and laid out on the table for the other party to examine.

Chen You asked, “Did you bring your employee manual?”

Si Sisi looked confused, “I threw it away a long time ago. Besides, who would carry something like that around? It’s not like it’s necessary….?”

Chen You said, “Unfortunately, I brought it with me.”

Si Sisi，“……”

He cleared his throat, his face flushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed. He hoped the other person wouldn’t hold a grudge, as the bonus was really important to him.

Chen You said, “I hold grudges.”

Having his thoughts guessed correctly on the spot, Si Sisi’s eye twitched, there was nothing more to discuss.

Speaking of which, when he was working before, he often called him mentally retarded, idiots, and told him to pray. Surely he didn’t save all that data, did he?

Chen You pulled up the manual, “Article 56 of the manual states that during the term of service in the system, it is forbidden to develop feelings for any host. Office romances are also not allowed. If discovered, the person will be immediately dismissed and banned from the Central Network for life.”

Si Sisi said, “Uh-huh, then what’s going on with 000 and 111? They’ve become a couple.”

Chen You’s answer was very realistic, “It depends on the person.”

Si Sisi was unable to refute.

“They are the veterans, they have privileges, you don’t.” Chen You said very bluntly, “So you can’t like me.”

In an instant, the air on the table condensed.

“I like you?”

Si Sisi chuckled twice, as if he had heard a great joke, and forgot to restrain himself in front of his superior, “There should be a limit to your narcissism.”

Chen You said neither quickly nor slowly, “I’ve checked, and during my assessment, when you interacted with me in the later stages, your heart rate, breathing, body temperature, swallowing frequency, and brainwave data all showed abnormal fluctuations, reaching the levels of infatuation a few times.”

Si Sisi’s face turned pale and then red.

He could still maintain a calm and composed facade in front of Wu Wuwu, but when faced with this person, just a few words were enough to make him restless and lose his composure.

Chen You put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said, “Feelings are worthless. You should stick to that viewpoint and not let minor things ruin everything.”

Upon hearing this, Si Sisi suddenly looked up, his expression turning strange, “Is this also your own opinion?”

Chen You reminded him, “You’ve already missed your chance to ask a question.”

After a long silence, Si Sisi smiled, his sculpted features appearing deep and captivating, “Although you are now my superior, you have no right to interfere in my private affairs.”

Chen You’s eyebrows twitched, and a slight curve appeared on his bloodless lips, “What is affection? If you fall in love, what will it bring to your life? What will it change? Will the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, or vice versa?”

Si Sisi realized that the other person wasn’t waiting for his reply, but seemed to be talking to himself, so he didn’t make a sound, but just stared at him.

The person was still the same little guy, but one scene was a gloomy, rainy day, and the other was a day with bright sunshine.

Si Sisi couldn’t help but wonder, when the day comes for him to take over that position, what kind of performance targets would he set for himself in order to achieve the three main objectives……

The meal started abruptly, and it ended just as abruptly.

Chen You answered a call and left, not forgetting to take his smart yellow puppy with him.

Si Sisi sat in his chair, watching the young man walk down the street through the glass. He was tall and thin, with a frail figure. Men and women passed by him, and no one would suspect that his brain contained the operating data of this world.

In the following days, Si Sisi went for walks along the riverbank and never saw Chen You again. His family’s big white dog, had its fur disheveled by the cold wind and was even snotty.

“Dabai, could it be that he knew I was coming, which is why he didn’t show up?”

The big white dog howled in the wind, its eyes glistening with tears. It wasn’t that it felt sorry for its owner, it was just being blown around by the wind.

Si Sisi led the big white dog back, looking around as he went. He suddenly laughed and said, “Let me tell you, the one who’s pitiful isn’t me, it’s someone else.”

In the virtual world, people and events are all just data. If you want something to disappear, you simply delete the corresponding data. If you regret it, you can restore it, and you can even rewind the data’s progress bar. The hand performing these operations is not much different from the hand of God.

The other people have both great and limited power, altering data, whether intentionally or accidentally, is absolutely unacceptable.

The newly appointed person should be able to handle it, he holds a higher position and has more authority than the others.

Si Sisi stood with one hand in his pocket. The timeline in the virtual world was different from the real world, ten days here are more than ten minutes there. Before Chen You came back, he was still watching and knew what state Chen You’s body was in.

That Li Yan…

Si Sisi chuckled, Chen You, what will you do?

Chen You’s life was monotonous and dull, day after day. He was used to it at first, because he had no parents and was all alone. But now, he wasn’t used to it anymore, he felt the house was too lonely.

So Chen You contacted a house design company on the Central Network to hire a designer to redesign the house, with only one requirement, that it shouldn’t feel empty.

The designer quickly provided a solution, which Chen You rejected, the changes still didn’t work.

The design plan was revised five or six times, and the designer was practically hoarse from talking so much. He gathered up the plans on his desk, thinking that this client was a wealthy individual, someone with a high social standing to be living in this area, perhaps even a government official. He didn’t dare offend him.

“Mr. Chen You, do you have any thoughts? You can share them, and I’ll write them down and discuss them with my team when I get back.”

After the designer finished speaking and received no response, he looked up and swallowed.

The young man, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, was leaning casually on the sofa, flipping through an interior design magazine.  His posture was relaxed and carefree, and his bare feet, perfectly white and flawless, rested on the sofa.

The lamp’s pale light shone down from above the young man’s head, casting a warm glow on his dark hair. Only a little of the light fell on his face and body, diluting the warmth and leaving him feeling somewhat cold and lonely.

The designer finally understood what the young man’s request was for.

He thought to himself, the house is so big, with great natural light and beautiful views, and located in a neighborhood most people wouldn’t even dare to dream of living in, but living alone, it would be impossible to create a warm and lively atmosphere.

After waiting for a while and still receiving no response, the designer said, “Mr. Chen, then I’ll go ahead and…”

His voice was interrupted by the sound of a magazine falling onto the coffee table.

“Hold on.”

Chen You got up, left barefoot, and returned with a piece of paper in his hand, “Do it this way.”

The designer took the paper and found it was a design drawing. It was very simple, with some areas just marked with circles and labeled with names. Even so, it was much better than making changes without any clear direction.

“Mr. Chen, we will provide you with a complete design plan as soon as possible. We won’t bother you any longer.”

Chen You lay back down on the sofa, put his hands behind his head, lifted his feet which were resting on the wooden floor, paused in mid-air, and then placed them on the other side of the sofa, crossing his legs.

“This position is definitely much more comfortable.”

Chen You muttered to himself, then took the magazine and covered his face to block out the glaring light from above.

As darkness descends, consciousness easily becomes blurred, and Chen You gradually falls asleep. He doesn’t usually work and has little enjoyment, he spends almost all his time sleeping, from dusk till dawn and from dawn till dusk, each time for a long period.

This time, Chen You woke up after only a short time because of a dream.

He sat up, staring blankly into the void, a look of confusion that vanished in an instant.

At night, Chen You entered the virtual space. The office was no longer an elegant and ancient lakeside pavilion, but a labyrinthine structure, dark and eerily silent. The vast expanse of black had a significant impact on vision.

The office space was furnished with four pillars, each adorned with a lantern, which looked particularly out of place, resembling an ancient imperial city buried underground for centuries, and giving off an eerie atmosphere.

Chen You closed his eyes and began to work.

He had only recently taken office and needed to familiarize himself with all the areas under the main system’s jurisdiction, as well as sort out the unfinished miscellaneous tasks left by his predecessor.

The predecessor left suddenly, and some projects were stopped halfway through, without time to finish them properly.

Chen You propped his head up. He had nearly twenty systems under his control, and detailed information about each person was in his possession. He could browse through them at will, but it didn’t seem very interesting.

【Master, Xiao Lu thinks you’re unhappy. 】

“Really?”

Chen You wanted something to drink, so he typed on his keyboard to input data, and a cup of taro milk tea appeared out of thin air on his desk, its steam rising and its aroma filling the air.

【Wow, what is this? It smells so good! 】

Chen You picked up the milk tea and took a sip. It was so sweet that he frowned, deleted the data, then restored it a few seconds later and continued drinking.

【Master, Xiao Lu remembers that you are a nostalgic person and don’t like to try new things. 】

Chen You pursed his lips, “Drink a few more sips, it’s not that bad.”

【Did Master taste this thing during the mission world where he was being assessed? 】

Chen You directly censored his stamp.

【……】

First it was taro milk tea, then cola, chicken wings, dorayaki, ham sausage, chicken feet, and stinky tofu—one strange item after another appeared in the office. Xiao Lu wasn’t surprised anymore and started chatting with its Master, asking if the food was sweet or spicy, and whether it tasted good.

Sometimes, Xiao Lu couldn’t help but mention the assessment world, but of course, it was still censored.

Chen You’s work hours are irregular. When he’s busy, he goes into virtual space, when he’s not busy, he stays in the real world. He’s rarely busy and is mostly free, so his current job is much easier than before.

There’s no need to bring along hosts with all sorts of quirky personalities, just focus on the systems and maintaining the main program.

When he had free time, Chen You felt bored, but he had no friends, and even when he went out, he would return quickly. The hustle and bustle of the streets irritated him, making him feel repulsed and resistant.

One afternoon, Chen You fell asleep in bed and woke up on the floor, and his pants were wet. He lay there on the floor, looking rather helpless and exasperated.

Unfortunately, the staff member who previously managed the main system is dead. This person was very mysterious during his lifetime, and Chen You never had the chance to meet him. Otherwise, he could have asked them how to deal with the after-effects of completing the assessment.

After changing into clean clothes, Chen You went to the studio, entered the virtual space, and instead of heading to the office, went towards the main program domain.

The guards asked to see identification.

Chen You raised the badge around his neck, and the staff’s attitude changed immediately. They bowed respectfully and led him inside.

The main program network has neither tables nor chairs, nor bricks nor tiles, nor even a single speck of dust, instead, it consists of countless points of light, each representing a virtual world. These points are impossible to count with the naked eye, unless you look at the statistical data.

Chen You performed the fingerprint authentication, and all the light points began to flash. Within the large area on the right, one light point remained still, quietly floating.

Suddenly, that single point of light overpowered the surrounding points of light, instantly expanding. What was originally just a dot transformed into a virtual world, and everything became clear.

Just then, the main program issued a prompt: It was created by you, and it is up to you to decide whether to delete it or keep it.

Chen You remained silent. He saw that it was nighttime in that world, the bedroom light was on, a gray-blue quilt was spread on the bed, a large teddy bear was placed on the bedside table, and several pink dolls were next to it.

The bathroom door opened, and a tall man emerged, carrying a dark-haired young man in his arms. The young man’s eyes were closed, and his arms hung limply, as if he were asleep.

The man freed his hands to pull back the covers and gently laid the young man down. He sat by the bed, tenderly stroking the young man’s face, and said in a hoarse voice, “Wife…”

Chen You’s eyes flickered. He watched the man kiss the young man’s hair and forehead, and when the man’s lips touched the mole near the young man’s eye, he felt a soft sensation in the same spot on his own face.

The next moment, Chen You’s gaze caught a tear that dripped from the man’s eyes and landed on the young man’s face. He unconsciously touched his face, feeling the dampness on his palm.

It was he who cried.

Swallowing back a sigh, Chen You closed his eyes, “I choose to keep it.”

The main program issues a warning: It has developed its own consciousness and is an independent entity. When you created it, you entered your consciousness imprint. It can now cause you fatal harm. You can no longer control it. Are you still certain you want to keep it?

Chen You said, “Certain.”

【Master, where are you going? 】

“Going to pick someone up.”


***End Of Main Story***

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Chapter 180. Don’t Cry

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Arc 9: Real World.

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Chen You didn’t remember the thank-you speech Hu Wei had prepared for him, after all, he’s an award winning actor, you know.

He didn’t think he would win the award, being nominated was already an unthinkable outcome, so he had no expectations at all. Then, such a big award unexpectedly landed on his head.

Chen You felt very dizzy.

The moment he slapped himself was captured on camera, and it’ll surely be tomorrow’s headline. The content suggests that the newly crowned movie emperor was overcome with emotion, slapping himself on the face on the awards stage and fainting several times.

The host said something that elicited laughter from the artists in the audience. Chen You swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He regretted wearing a tie. He couldn’t breathe properly and took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

The handsome male and beautiful female hosts spoke again, and this time the buzzing in Chen You’s ears disappeared, and he could hear them clearly. The two of them said he looked nervous, with a hint of playful teasing in their voices.

Of course he was nervous, he was so nervous he was practically dying.

Chen You coughed twice, turned to look at the veteran actor who was presenting him with the award, and blurted out, “Teacher Wang, my dad is a fan of you.”

This is true, and there is absolutely no flattery involved.

His father is a die-hard fan of this veteran actor, he watches every single one of his films and even writes down his thoughts afterward. The ‘You’ in his name was inspired by one of the actor’s works, which shows just how much he admires him.

With a kind smile, Teacher Wang handed the trophy to Chen You and said, “You are a promising young man. Keep up the good work!”

Chen You shook hands with him and even gave him a happy hug. He’ll tell his father all about it when he gets home, hehehe.

Then came Chen You’s moment to express his gratitude. He bowed to the camera and began to express his thanks using a series of parallel sentences, forgetting one sentence after another, seemingly unaware of what he had said. When he finished speaking, applause broke out.

Chen You’s heart was no longer calm, but it was surging with emotion, each wave higher than the last. Holy crap, a big celebrity is clapping for me! And so-and-so, famous and influential figures, are also clapping.

The only pity is that his idol is no longer here.

Stepping off the stage and back to his seat, Chen You’s heart was still pounding, and his hand holding the trophy was trembling, just like someone with Parkinson’s disease.

Hu Wei patted Chen You on the shoulder, offering silent encouragement.

This title is an affirmation, an honor, but also a spur and a source of pressure. Because he is a Best Actor winner, he must adhere even more strictly to the professional ethics and standards expected of an actor.

With his hands no longer trembling, Chen You turned to Hu Wei and asked, “Could there be a mistake?”

Hu Wei turned his face away，“……”

Chen You glanced at the camera’s position, suppressing the urge to scratch his neck, “Does my acting deserve this award?”

Hu Wei turned his face back and said in a low voice, “You have to trust the judging penal’s professional level.”

Chen You found it hard to believe. After silently processing it for a while, he began to feel smug. The award in his hand was real, quite heavy, and felt hard and cold. Aiya, he unexpectedly became a movie emperor. This was truly…

Marvelous!

I’m loving life, I’m so done. Chen You hummed to himself, his legs shaking involuntarily, “Old 4, come out! Look, look! I’ve won Best Actor! Who said my acting was bad? Do you even know what a Best Actor award means? It means I’m the movie emperor!”

Even though there was no response, Chen You would still call the system, asking or saying things, as if he felt it would hear him.

Everyone around Zhou Zhaodi, including his competitors, congratulated Chen You. Regardless of whether there was any sour grapes in their hearts, they all did a good job of putting on a good show. The cameras were watching, and no one wanted to be reported as petty, jealous, or intolerant of newcomers.

Next up were the awards for Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Chen You followed the crowd’s lead, laughing when he was supposed to laugh and clapping when he was supposed to clap, without any inappropriate behavior. Otherwise, some people would have accused him of getting arrogant and disrespectful after winning an award.

When the Best Screenplay award was presented, it was Chen You who went up on stage. After staying on the stage for a while, he came down with an award in his hand. He was walking with a limp, trying hard to restrain himself from getting carried away.

Where should he put the trophy? By the bedside? In the study? In the living room? It’s hard to decide. He needs to think about it carefully when he gets back.

The celebration banquet was held at a famous high-end club. Many other artists from xx Company attended, including several of the more famous ones, making it feel like a grand reunion of XiongDi JieMei.

As the boss, Lin Fuxing also attended the event in formal attire, beaming with joy. He seemed to be in an even better mood than Chen You, who had won the award.

Chen You moved a little closer and smelled Lin Fuxing’s scent, the scent unique to people in love. His gaze swept over and he found a hickey on the inside of Lin Fuxing’s collar. Judging by the size, he knew that the person in question did not have cherry lips.

Lin Fuxing felt slightly awkward when he noticed Chen You staring at him, “So? How does it feel to be a movie emperor?”

Chen You looked away and said honestly, “It’s pretty good.”

“You rascal, you must be overjoyed, but don’t show it all. Just let the outside world see about a third of your happiness, and keep the remaining two-thirds to yourself.”

Lin Fuxing said there would be media interviews later, and told Chen You to be careful about what he said, and to think things through before speaking.

Chen You nodded, “I memorized the script.”

Having learned his lesson, he was very serious this time, memorizing every single word of the interview script prepared by Hu Wei. Not only that, but he also reminded his assistant to give him a reminder at the appropriate time.

Lin Fuxing asked, “Where’s Li Ge? I haven’t seen him. He’s a shareholder of the company and the person you came out with. Just making an appearance at this event will guarantee you plenty of attention for the next week.”

Chen You nodded to an actor not far away and replied to Lin Fuxing, “He has a cold, a slight headache, and he’s lying down in a room on the fourth floor. I didn’t let him come out.”

Lin Fuxing asked if they should call a doctor.

Chen You said no, “He has taken his medicine. I’ll go upstairs to check on him a bit.”

He raised his glass and said, “Lin DaGe, congratulations!”

A crack appeared on Lin Fuxing’s face, and he laughed, “I’m not the one who won the award, so what’s there for me to be congratulated about? You’re out of your mind, brat.”

Chen You gave him a look that said, Don’t pretend, you punk.

Lin Fuxing’s eyelids twitched. He took a sip of his drink, made an excuse to leave, and said, “I’m going over there. Just let me know if you need anything.”

Chen You turned around and bumped into a beautiful woman, spilling red wine on her dress, leaving several red stains of varying sizes. He apologized sheepishly and went to get some tissues to hand over.

The beautiful woman took the tissue to wipe herself, said she was fine, and started talking to Chen You.

She has special techniques for striking up conversations. She started by approaching him as a fan, first talking about the show 《The Fifth World》, and then about 《The Big Shot》, discussing the plot, costumes, props, and everything else, all without making him feel annoyed or that the conversation was awkward.

Chen You only admired the beautiful woman from a distance, much like he would admire a painting, a piece of clothing, or a piece of fruit, he had no other intentions. He was lost in thought for a moment, and seeing that the beautiful woman was still talking, he casually asked if she worked for the same company.

The beautiful woman immediately burst into laughter, saying that she was a newcomer, having only recently graduated and been signed to the company less than a month ago, and that she also worked under Hu Wei.

Chen You let out a sound of understanding, realizing they were people working for Hu Wei.

He looked at her again, she was better-looking than Zhou Zhaodi, but she had a foxy, seductive face, and the traces of plastic surgery were quite obvious. Overall, she had a wicked aura about her, making her suitable for playing roles like mistresses, evil female villains, or arrogant and rude young ladies.

It is estimated that the future drama will not be wide.

Chen You caught a glimpse of Hu Wei and quickly took the opportunity to leave, telling him about the beautiful junior.

Hu Wei was unsurprised, “You’re only twenty years old and you’ve already won a Best Actor and Best Screenplay. It’s normal that many people are eyeing your resources, especially those from the same company, they’ll naturally want to befriend you.”

“The influence of the dream of becoming a star is many times greater than in the past. Now there are more and more students studying performing arts. Zhou Zhaodi’s qualifications are, at best, average, she’s not particularly outstanding, and her appearance doesn’t have any unique characteristics. She was simply fortunate enough to be cast in your work, which is why she had a better start in the entertainment industry than most people.”

Chen You was puzzled, “I don’t have any resources.”

Hu Wei said, “Others may not think so, but the fact that you can create a work like 《The Big Shot》 is enough to prove your talent. In the future, when you produce more works, those who are close to you will benefit from it.”

Talent my foot! I don’t even recognize this word. Chen You rolled his eyes. He didn’t write 《The Big Shot》, he used his own experiences, but he couldn’t tell anyone. It had to be a secret, forever hidden in his heart.

“I have no more works, I can’t write anymore.”

Hu Wei had a I knew you’d say that look on his face, “Take it slow. How old are you? When I was your age, I was still in school, carrying my guitar around picking up girls.”

Chen You said, “I want to hear your story.”

Hu Wei’s face, bearing the marks of time and the marks of a butcher’s knife, said, “Some other time, when your Ge, I,  have some free time, I’ll tell you a few stories.”

Chen You suddenly said, “Lin DaGe has a partner.”

Hu Wei did not show any surprise.

Chen You then thought of a possibility, and his eyes widened in disbelief, “It couldn’t be you, could it? You two…”

Hu Wei immediately interrupted, “Bullshit! How could LaoZi possibly be with a guy who can’t even get an erection!”

Chen You was dumbfounded, and in a daze, he learned a shocking secret.

Hu Wei belatedly realized he had let something slip, and he cursed under his breath, thankfully no one around had heard him, “Ah You, don’t tell anyone I told you this..”

Chen You said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. So, Lin DaGe really has erectile dysfunction? Is it congenital? Or is it a psychological issue?”

Hu Wei put on a stern face and said, “You a kid, why are you asking so many questions?”

Chen You was silent for a while, then said, “Hu DaGe, you’re still a virgin, aren’t you?”

Hu Wei’s face instantly went from black to red, and then from red to black.

Holy crap, it’s actually true! Chen You just said it casually, but unexpectedly, he was right. He handed a glass of red wine to Hu Wei and said earnestly, “Life is short, so enjoy it while you can. Good luck, Hu DaGe.”

Holding a wine glass in one hand, Hu Wei pushed up his glasses, and sigh. For people in their situation, who have to keep their relationship a secret, there are so many things they have to hide when they’re in a relationship. They’re constantly anxious, cautious, and paranoid, fearing that their family and friends will find out.

In the entertainment industry, when people within the group are caught in a compromising situation, they usually either resort to private settlements or deny everything, using various means to cover up the matter. Rarely do public figures choose to come out publicly like Chen You, admitting their sexual orientation and adopting an optimistic attitude of, I’ll live my life, you can do whatever you want, and still manage to endure the insults, comments, and criticism from around the world.

Hu Wei snapped back to reality just as he saw the young man’s back disappearing into the elevator. He brought the wine glass to his lips and took a sip. The future was uncertain, but based on his years of experience, he believed the young man would do well and carve out an extraordinary path in the entertainment industry.

Chen You went upstairs to the room, hugged Li Yan and kissed him, his mouth full of the smell of alcohol. He smacked his lips and pulled away, saying, “Your mouth is so hot, and so is your tongue. Lie down quickly, I’ll take your temperature.”

Li Yan refused to cooperate, instead pulling Chen You into his arms and continuing to kiss him.

Chen You grabbed his short hair, ai Ge, messing around won’t bring down a fever. What you’re doing is useless.

Even in his dazed state, Li Yan remained strong and domineering, he simply wouldn’t let go, held Chen You up by the door.

Chen You clung to the man, putting his entire weight on him, his buttocks dangling in the air, feeling a cool breeze even without wind. To be honest, he really couldn’t estimate the other person’s strength, he himself wouldn’t be able to do it, he couldn’t lift him up or carry him, only carry him on his back.

A person with a fever has a burning hot body temperature.

At this moment, Chen You felt, well, how to put it, almost like he was being ironed by a hot iron, from head to toe, the inside out, and then from the outside in, even the strands of hair were burned.

Li Yan was completely unaware. He continued ironing Chen You several times with the hot big iron before stopping.

Chen You thought he had a fever too. As he and Li Yan left the club, a strong gust of wind embraced him, and his body temperature immediately dropped rapidly.

There were quite a few luxury cars parked outside the club, along with bodyguards dressed in black.

When celebrities are out and about, they still need to pay attention to their safety. In case they encounter emotionally unstable individuals who might act impulsively, having bodyguards present can help prevent accidents.

Chen You was about to get into the car when his hand on the door paused as his gaze swept around. The car next to him was shaking.

“……”

The car belonged to Lin Fuxing, and Chen You recognized it. He wasn’t in a hurry to leave, so he sat in the back seat, rolled down the window, and casually enjoyed the breeze, looking incredibly relaxed and in high spirits.

Li Yan said, “Go home.”

Chen You said, wait a minute, and pulled a blanket from behind him, draping it over the man, “You can lean on me to sleep.”

Li Yan frowned and pulled the person into his arms.

People who are sick are easily vulnerable, which is understandable. Chen You’s fingers ran through the man’s dark hair, gently stroking and caressing his scalp, wondering how he could be so handsome.

So incredibly handsome.

Chen You couldn’t help but click his tongue, unable to understand how this person’s face looks exactly like what he envisioned, as if it had been prepared for him.

After an unknown amount of time, the car door next to them opened, and Lin Fuxing got out first, followed by a youth.

Chen You was taken aback, never expecting that Lin Fuxing, that old fox, would actually get involved with someone from his own company, having an affair with his assistant.

As the saying goes, you reap what you sow. Lin Fu couldn’t do the work himself, so he had to rely on his assistant, and ultimately, the assistant was the one who reaped the most rewards.

Chen You hadn’t paid much attention before. He tilted his head and looked over. The assistant has a tall, straight posture, broad shoulders, and long legs—quite good-looking, and seemingly better built than Hu Wei.

Hu Wei is a complete 0, no doubt about it. No idea who will be able to take him.

Lin Fuxing, being an old man, couldn’t withstand the force of the younger man’s grip, his bones creaked several times. He was rubbing his lower back when he unexpectedly bumped into Chen You, who was in the car.

This is a bit awkward.

Chen You grinned broadly and was about to raise his hand to greet him when he saw Lin Fuxing’s assistant turn around, his eyes red, as if he had been crying.

He was stupefied.

This doesn’t make sense. Who messed with whom, and who was messed with by whom?

The assistant was tall and strong, surnamed Da and given name Diao. When his full name was pronounced together, it sounded like Da Diao. To be honest, when Chen You first found out, he was drinking coffee and immediately spat it all over the table.

It’s not his fault that his thoughts weren’t pure, it was all because of the homophones.

Moreover, Chen You felt that the name should belong to his man, and that Lin Fuxing’s assistant could not possibly surpass him, absolutely not!

Li Yan was sleeping restlessly, so Chen You lost interest in teasing Lin Fuxing. He smiled and said, “See you later.”

Then he told the driver to drive.

After Chen You’s car left, Lin Fuxing’s face flushed slightly, and he whispered a reprimand to the youth, “I told you, this is outside, it’s not appropriate to mess around. You insisted on continuing, and now Chen You has found out. If it were someone else, who knows how much trouble it would cause.”

Da Diao pursed his light-colored lips, “It was you, President Lin, who said you wanted…”

Lin Fuxing glared at him, his tone even harsher, carrying the sternness of a superior addressing a subordinate, “Which ear did you hear me say that?”

Da Diao suddenly looked up, then lowered his head again. His eyelashes trembled, and his face wore a tearful expression, “I’m sorry, it was my fault. I didn’t realize how much my actions would affect President Lin. I’ll control myself in the future and won’t approach President Lin again.”

Lin Fuxing’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Damn it, his family was forcing him to go on blind dates. Those women were parading around in front of him, their perfume giving him a terrible headache. He was going crazy, and couldn’t take it anymore, so he went to a bar, hoping to find someone pleasing to the eye to relax with.

Otherwise, if things continue like this, Lin Fuxing feared he would remain single forever and spend his entire life with his pets.

Who would have thought that Lin Fuxing, after failing to find a suitable target at the bar, would unexpectedly find his meek and submissive assistant quite appealing? With the alcohol and tobacco fumes constantly stimulating his nerve endings, he impulsively took the assistant back to his apartment.

What happened next was just as expected.

It was the assistant’s first time, and he relied entirely on brute force. Lin Fuxing was the one who suffered, yet the other party looked utterly miserable, apologizing to him while simultaneously messing with him, managing to do both at the same time.

The next day, Lin Fuxing fell ill. He stayed in his apartment for two days, and his assistant took care of him for those two days, attending to him at his bedside, feeding him porridge and water, washing fruit for him, and wiping his face—all without him having to ask.

As soon as he recovered, Lin Fuxing and his assistant did it again. But unlike the time at the bar, he didn’t drink or smoke, and even kissed his assistant.

The assistant was still the same, constantly apologizing, as if he thought betraying his boss was an unforgivable sin. Despite this, he still went ahead with it, sending his boss to his downfall with tears in his eyes.

Now, things are even worse, he wants to get away scot-free, acting as if nothing ever happened.

The more Lin Fuxing thought about it, the angrier he became, a fire burning in his chest. He kicked the youth in the leg, unable to control his strength.

Da Diao remained silent and motionless as he took the blow.

People passing by glanced at them curiously, but in the dim light of the evening, it was impossible to recognize them unless they were acquaintances.

Both of them were standing by the car.

Lin Fuxing lit a cigarette, blew a few smoke rings into the night sky, and glanced sideways at his assistant, “Minimize it outside. It’s okay if it is deserted.”

Da Diao’s body trembled, “Yes.”

Lin Fuxing said, “Don’t give me that attitude, like you’ve received some great blessing.”

Da Diao’s voice choked with emotion as he said, “It’s an immense blessing that President Lin thinks highly of me.”

Lin Fuxing rolled his eyes. When you were messing with me, you were like a raging bull, but once you put on your clothes, you turned into a harmless kid. You’re really something.

He flicked the cigarette thinking that Chen You wouldn’t go around spreading rumors, and besides, he hadn’t seen anything, had he? At most, the car had shaken slightly, which was a problem with the car itself.

Lin Fuxing, who was in the car, was unaware that the car was not just shaking slightly, but was shaking continuously. Chen You, who witnessed the whole process, hummed 《Nunchucks》 twice.

Chen You wouldn’t talk nonsense, he’s not that gossipy. Besides, it’s not that unusual for a boss to have an affair with his assistant.

Before he even got home, Xiao Langgou called, saying he had seen the awards ceremony video online and congratulated Chen You.

Chen You knew that Xiao Langgou was lying. What a load of rubbish! He was clearly there to witness the situation firsthand, and he saw what was happening, but he didn’t want to go and say hello because there were media reporters present, and he was afraid it would stir up more trouble.

However, Chen You didn’t expose him. Xiao Langgou said, “Zhaodi was also shortlisted this time, which surprised us all. Thank you so much!”

Chen You said, “It was Zhou Zhaodi’s own hard work, she’s quite perceptive.”

He wondered what Xiao Langgou’s plans were, since he was graduating next year, “Are you going to enter the entertainment industry?”

Xiao Lang nodded, “I plan to sign with the same company as Zhaodi.”

Chen You thought to himself, how cool! The school heartthrob’s tone is so confident, completely without any worries about not getting signed. Having such excellent qualifications really makes a difference. He suddenly paused for a moment. Zhou Zhaodi’s company, isn’t that the company he works for?

Is this the start of a family-like relationship?

A disgruntled voice suddenly rang in his left ear, “Noisy.”

Chen You’s face twitched.

Xiao Langgou heard the man’s voice on the other end. He paused, then said, “I have two buyers asking questions right now. I’ll hang up now and talk to you later.”

Chen You put his phone back in his pocket, closed his eyes, and pondered, hoping that everyone around him could find their own path in life, leaving deep or shallow marks on it, and not stray from the right path.

That night, Li Yan had a high fever. The doctor rushed over in the rain to give him an IV drip, and his fever finally subsided at dawn.

Chen hadn’t slept much, and with dark circles under his eyes, he was making porridge for Li Yan’s breakfast. He yawned every now and then, his eyes were watery, and twice he almost put his hand into the pot.

The butler, who slept unusually little, moved in and out of the living room, occasionally glancing towards the kitchen, fearing that his master’s breakfast might consist of human hands.

He wanted to instruct the servant to do it, but the kid disagreed, saying he would do it himself.

As a result, he was able to fall asleep while standing.

After Chen You finished preparing breakfast, turned off the stove, and came out, the butler and servants all breathed a sigh of relief. It was a relief that he had come out alive, otherwise, if anything happened, they would also be punished.

Chen You took off his apron and draped it over the back of the chair, then knocked on the door, “Dad, are you up yet?”

The door opened from the inside, and Chen Weidong, who had just finished washing up, saw his son, who looked quite haggard. He asked, “Youyou, why are you up so early?”

Chen You covered a yawn with his hand and said he hadn’t slept, “Let’s have breakfast.”

Chen Weidong frowned and first addressed his son seriously, “Youyou, your achievements are simply due to a combination of favorable timing, location, and people. Don’t be arrogant.”

You shouldn’t walk too fast, you have to take things one step at a time. Becoming famous too early isn’t necessarily a good thing, it can easily lead to restlessness and anxiety about gains and losses. He started paying attention to entertainment news because of his son and learned a little about this kind of thing. There was a singer who became incredibly popular early in his career, but later couldn’t handle the pressure of public opinion, fearing he wouldn’t be able to produce any more good work, so he developed depression and committed suicide.

Chen You said that he understood, “Dad, don’t worry, I have a good mindset and won’t overthink things.”

“As long as you understand. Dad just thinks that in today’s society, no profession is easy, and making money isn’t easy either. You can’t earn all the money you need in a short time, so don’t push yourself too hard.”

Chen Weidong went to the living room, glancing upstairs out of the corner of his eye, “How is that person?”

Chen You feigned ignorance, “Who?”

Chen Weidong said, “Stop being flippant with your dad.”

Chen You felt very wronged, “I’m not one being rude. It’s Dad. People have names. Why say ‘that person’? That’s impolite.”

Chen Weidong was so embarrassed that he quickly changed the subject, “Where’s breakfast?”

Chen You shook his head, helpless with his father, “Sit here and wait, I’ll go get the porridge.”

In the morning, Chen Weidong was browsing his phone in the living room. There was a lot of controversy online, with fans of his son’s rivals swarming to his son’s Weibo account to criticize him. However, there wasn’t any deliberate attempt to tarnish his acting skills, nor did they focus on his lack of experience, considering there are even younger actors and actresses who have won awards for their first works.

The criticism directed at his family’s Youyou, was mainly stemmed from his coming out as gay, with people calling him selfish and unfilial, citing the saying that among the three unfilial acts, having no offspring is the greatest.

The point is to seize on one issue and attack relentlessly.

Chen Weidong browsed through several forums, finding that much of the content in the posts was unreadable. He felt indignant on behalf of his son, and after trying to restrain himself, he finally couldn’t hold back anymore. He registered several anonymous accounts and started arguing with people in the forum threads.

When it comes to whether his son is filial or not, the person with the most right to speak is Chen Weidong, the father. What does it have to do with anyone else? He hasn’t even said anything, so why do those people have the right to stand on a moral high ground and criticize his son so harshly?

Chen You, who was upstairs, was also scrolling through the comments.  Many netizens were on his side, and some of the comments felt very familiar to him. He could confirm that some were from the school heartthrob, some from Old Shuai, and others from Old Wang, all his buddies, but he wasn’t sure about the others.

With a suspect in mind, Chen You tiptoed downstairs and sneaked up behind his father.

Seeing what his father was doing, Chen You was stunned, “Dad, it really is you!”

Chen Weidong was startled, and his phone even fell from his hand onto the sofa, “Why are you scaring your dad like that?”

Seeing his father was having trouble breathing, Chen You quickly went to help him calm down, “I was just so shocked. I suspected it was you when I was browsing the forums, and I didn’t expect it to be true. Dad, you even use Weibo and have a secondary account!”

Chen Weidong recovered his composure and said, “Your dad, I, knows a lot more than that.”

He picked up his phone again, scrolled through the comments, and said with a grim face, “Youyou, what kind of people are online? They can’t distinguish right from wrong, and they all blindly follow the leader and make a fuss. These people are irresponsible about their words and are just talking nonsense!”

Chen You, the person involved, didn’t care. He watched while eating snacks, and occasionally he would laugh at a few particularly creative and peculiar comments, and then follow them.

“Don’t worry about it, let them talk. There are so many news stories every day. Once the headlines change, those people won’t focus their attention on me anymore, they’ll have other things to do.”

Seeing that his son genuinely didn’t take it to heart and wasn’t faking it, Chen Weidong breathed a sigh of relief and was quite impressed. Even he, who had lived most of his life, couldn’t tolerate the distorted facts and malicious insults online and would be so angry that he wanted to smash his phone.

After calming his father down, Chen You went upstairs to arrange the trophies, and he finally decided to place them in the study.

Li Yan was watching a movie, and Chen You took a quick look. Oh my goodness! There were five or six people fighting on the water, their figures constantly clashing amidst the turbulent waves, with flashes of swords and blades everywhere. It was still unclear who would win or lose.

What a brilliant and thrilling exchange!

It was so exciting and inspiring that it made him feel incredibly enthusiastic, and he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration and want to applaud.

Chen You walked over, rested his chin on the man’s head, and casually put his hand on his shoulder, “What movie is this? I’ve never seen it before?”

Is it because he has too many movies in his collection and can’t remember them all?

Li Yan brought his legs together, “On this.”

Chen You then noticed the location of the mouse cursor and realized the man had opened a website filled with movies of all kinds—modern, historical, romance, action, and thriller. He rolled his eyes, “Holy molly, when did you go in there? You didn’t download anything, did you? If you bring a virus…”

As soon as he stopped speaking, the word virus inexplicably became less offensive, “Give me the mouse.”

Li Yan let go of Chen You’s hand, touched the back of Chen You’s hand, and watched him open the software scan on the desktop.

Chen You warned the man, “Behave yourself. Have you forgotten who had a high fever last night and struggled when they were getting the injection?”

Li Yan grasped Chen You’s hand and squeezed his fingers, “I will never get sick again.”

Chen You snorted, “Now you know how painful it is to get a needle prick, right?” But pain is pain, and whether you get sick or not is not something you can control, poor silly boy.

Li Yan pursed his lips and said, “I don’t want you to suffer.”

Chen You was taken aback for a moment, then said, “Who’s suffering? You’re the one who’s sick, you’re the one who’s suffering, not me.”

Li Yan turned around, looked up at Chen You, and smiled.

Chen You muttered, “Fool.”

He leaned closer, pressing his lips against the man’s eyes, then kissed the mole on the man’s face. It was these two things that allowed him, even after losing his memory, to still have some recollection and utter the words, have we met somewhere before?

A month later, public opinion shifted towards a female A-list celebrity. The trolls and haters under Chen You’s Weibo posts finally dispersed. He handed over his social media management to his assistant and went to have dinner with Zheng Shuai and Wang Yao, asking about Pang Yilong’s whereabouts. There was still no news, that brat was probably having the time of his life abroad.

After drinking, Chen You walked down the street. He had XiongDi, a father, and a lover, everything was great.

The customs for celebrating the New Year vary from place to place in China. On New Year’s Eve, Chen Weidong said he wanted to go to the cemetery, so Chen You accompanied him. Li Yan was also there.

When they arrived, there were other people in the cemetery, but it still felt desolate and cold.

This winter, not a single snowflake fell. Chen You waited and waited, almost going blind from anticipation, but the snow never came. While there was no snow, it was colder than in previous years, a damp, biting cold. The air was heavy with moisture, every breath felt like a wet tissue was pressed against your nose, making it incredibly uncomfortable.

Chen Weidong’s legs were not very strong. He slowly squatted down in front of the tombstone, took a handkerchief to wipe the photo on it, and called out his wife’s name, saying that he and their son had come to visit.

The woman in the photo was in her twenties, with delicate features and a mole near her eye, in almost the same position as Chen You’s, but larger, more noticeable, and more alluring.

Chen You said in his heart, Mom, the man next to me is Li Yan, your daughter-in-law. What do you think? Isn’t he handsome?

Li Yan didn’t say anything, he just held Chen You’s hand, which was resting outside. His hand was warm, while Chen You’s was cold, holding it would warm it up.

After the ceremony, Chen Weidong exhaled a breath of white air, “Youyou, you and Li Yan go outside and wait for Dad. Let Dad talk to your mom for a bit.”

Chen You did as instructed and led Li Yan away.

Chen Weidong stayed at the tombstone for a long time. When he returned, he was in good spirits and busied himself preparing sticky rice, making glutinous rice balls filled with sesame seeds and sugar, and frying a big pot of them until they were golden brown.

In previous years, Chen You had always cooked the New Year’s Eve dinner all by himself, but this year his father was helping him, which he found very unusual, “Dad, I’m begging you, please go to the living room and watch TV with Li Yan.”

Chen Weidong, while picking corn, said, “I’m not going. I get angry as soon as I see him.”

“If it weren’t for him, would you have gone down this wrong path?”

Chen You felt it necessary to remove the blame from his man’s head, “Ai Dad, it really wasn’t Li Yan. I was already like this before I met him.”

Chen Weidong tossed the corn into the basket, “…Which bastard was that?”

Chen You said there was no one else, it was just him.

Chen Weidong remained silent for a long while, then sighed and said, “It seems to be fate. Heaven wants my Chen family line to end.”

Chen You was speechless for a moment, “Dad, please don’t. It’s the New Year, why talk about such heavy topics? If you’re not going out, let’s talk about something lighter. Laifu’s fur has grown a lot, it’s a big, fluffy clump. And Xiaojin has grown even stronger, and his relationship with Laifu has become better than before.”

Chen Weidong’s thoughts drifted, and he started complaining about Laifu, listing its flaws such as hiding things haphazardly, shedding fur everywhere, and being unhygienic. These were still somewhat affectionate complaints. But when it came to Xiaojin, everything about him was truly wrong in Chen Weidong’s eyes.

Chen You sat on a small stool, picking cilantro, and responded with nods and murmurs, listening attentively to everything his father said.

As he’s gotten older, he’s become a bit more talkative, but that’s perfectly acceptable to him, he can talk as much as he wants.

After dinner, Chen You and Li Yan set off fireworks in the open space outside.

Looking at the flowers blooming in the night sky, Chen You remembered the song 《The Fireworks of Last Winter》 that Old 4 had mentioned. It was so catchy, after listening to it so many times, it was etched into his mind.

“Old 4, Happy New Year! Wishing you great fortune and many more such days to come.”

There was no response even during the Chinese New Year.

Chen You shook his head, thinking how inconsiderate it was. He leaned against Li Yan, watching the fireworks while wishing the school heartthrob Zheng Shuai and the others a Happy New Year. He received an anonymous blessing with just four words: Happy New Year, Youzi.

It was Pang Yilong. Chen You tried calling, but no one answered. The other party was clearly trying to avoid something. He twitched his mouth, stopped dialing, and instead saved the number, labeling it “Old Pang.”

After returning home, Chen You dragged Li Yan to sit in the living room and watched the New Year’s Eve gala with his father until midnight, welcoming the new year.

Chen Weidong gave red envelopes to the butler and servants, not much, just to share in the festive spirit of the New Year. He also received a red envelope, which was quite large, and put it in his drawer.

In April, Chen You walked the red carpet abroad, wearing a suit from a certain brand. The naivety of his student days had finally faded away. He had grown up and was moving towards the realm of successful people.

Signing autographs, posing for photos, making appearances, giving interviews, and greeting fans – Chen You cooperated fully, following the typical work routine of an actor. To be honest, the initial excitement had worn off, what remained was sheer perseverance.

The entertainment industry is ever-changing, who knows what will happen next?

The day after Chen You returned to China, Chen Weidong was exercising in the garden when he suddenly fainted. He had been lucky the previous two times, but this time he stopped breathing on the way to the hospital and could not be saved.

From the moment Chen Weidong collapsed to the moment the doctor pronounced him dead, it all happened in a very short time. The sun was still high in the sky, and it was still early for sunset.

The flowers and plants in the western corner of the garden were still waiting to be watered, but the person who usually waters them was gone.

Laifu rolled around in the grass, while Xiaojin lay on the windowsill basking in the sun and enjoying the view. Little did they know that no one would ever take them out for walks again, or that the person who used to complain about them but still cleaned their nests every day is no more.

Chen You sat motionless in the chair, completely bewildered.

Do people have feelings before they die? His father said some strange things to him the other day and kept staring at him, as if he was about to die and wanted to see him one last time.

Someone came over, said something, placed their hand on his head and gently rubbed it, and then someone pulled him into their arms, held his head, and told him not to cry.

Chen You felt like he was dreaming, and it was a nightmare. He screamed and yelled desperately, wanting to wake up quickly, but he couldn’t.

His father went underground to find his mother, and doesn’t want him anymore.

The funeral was simple, and the news was kept secret, known only to a few people in the know. This was thanks to the help of Lin Fuxing and Hu Wei.

Although Li Yan wasn’t the same as before, he knew that someone had died, someone from the family of the person he loved most. Seeing the person he loved most in sorrow, he felt sad too, and not knowing what to say, he stayed by his side without leaving for a moment.

A black and white photo appeared in the living room. Chen You stood there looking at it, and as he looked, he burst into tears.

When Li Yan saw Chen You crying, he paused for a moment, then hugged him and patted his back awkwardly, saying, “Don’t cry.”

Chen You couldn’t stop crying. How could he not cry? His father was gone.

Seeing the person in his arms crying, Li Yan’s eyes also reddened. He felt helpless and his heart ached terribly.

“I thought my dad would live another twenty or thirty years.”

Chen You cried as he recounted the past, saying that his father had practiced Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) and was in good health. He kept blaming himself, speaking incoherently, and the more he talked, the harder he cried.

Li Yan’s clothes were soaked.

After the death of his loved one, Chen You had been very calm for the past few days, but now he finally released all the grief that had been building up in his heart.

At that moment, he suddenly understood that this is how life is, after joy comes disaster, which always catches people off guard.

Nobody knows if tomorrow will come.

A mechanical sound suddenly appeared in Chen You’s mind.

【Ding! Congratulations to system staff member number 333 for successfully completing the assessment. All three values—love, family, and friendship—have met the standards. All data has been transmitted to the main system network and verified one by one. The transmission has been started. 】

Chen You’s consciousness vanished instantly. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a void, and an electronic voice rang in his ears, “Congratulations on being promoted to the main system. Please take your new ID badge and proceed to the left, the first room is your office.”

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Chapter 179. I Became A Movie Emperor

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Arc 9: Real World.

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“How about this, you change the negative review, and I’ll send you a box of T, a pack of twelve, how about that?”

Hearing the voice beside him, Chen You raised one foot and left it in mid-air, just as he was about to go over, he saw a young girl pushing a cart walk up to the burly boy in an intimate manner, so he put his foot back down.

Forget it, the school heartthrob has a top-rated store and a beautiful girl now, he should be doing pretty well, so he shouldn’t get involved. Let’s just pretend they never met.

The people and events in the mission world, even if brought into the real world, cannot change anything.

Maybe the school heartthrob isn’t a young, ruthless guy anymore.

Chen You then retrieved fragments of memories from that world. He had stopped seeing the school heartthrob after graduating high school, didn’t go to university, contracted a terrible genetic disease, and spent the rest of his life in a coma or on the verge of falling into a coma. The last time he saw the school heartthrob was on the street.

At the time, Chen You was sitting in the car and saw the school heartthrob and a group of pretty girls shopping through the car window. They passed by the car door without exchanging any words.

Chen You didn’t know what happened after that, including why the school heartthrob was there, and whether he had something in common with Xia Hong that made him come.

Chen You was about to hang up when the person on the other end did so before he could. A tall youngster and a girl were picking out instant noodles, and he could vaguely hear them discussing something very mundane, whether it was more cost-effective to use a cup or a bowl as a gift.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Chen You turned around and said to the man who had bought him the sausage, “Let’s go, I’ll buy you some milk powder.”

Li Yan took a pack of corn sausages out of the cart and put it back on the shelf, replaced it with a pack of Shuanghui, and added another pack, saying, “I don’t drink powdered milk.”

Chen You held the man’s hand, saying, “You need to drink it. You’re still growing. Drinking powdered milk will help you grow taller.”

Li Yan looked at him, “Grow taller?”

Chen You replied, “Yes, yes, you’re still a child.”

Li Yan said, “I’m not a child!”

Chen You twitched his lips, “Okay, okay, you’re not, I am, I’m a child, I want to drink powdered milk, and I’ll definitely grow taller than you by then.”

Li Yan frowned, “You can’t be taller than me.”

Chen You, “…” What does that mean? Why can’t I be taller than you? You’re shameless.

When they got to the milk powder shelf, Li Yan was very eager to grab the milk powder, skipping over the bagged ones and heading straight for the canned ones. You wouldn’t really tell if he was stupid sometimes.

Chen You quickly stopped the man who was throwing milk powder into the cart, saying, “Okay, two cans are enough. It’s not the end of the world, why are you hoarding this stuff?”

Li Yan’s brows were still furrowed, not relaxed, “I need to drink more so I can grow taller.”

Chen You ignored the two young girls beside him who were giving him suggestive looks. Anyway, he was wearing a mask, so no one could see his face, “Good boy.”

After they left, the two young girls started gossiping. That tall man has such long legs and a great physique, he’s probably a model. The slightly shorter one has such a slender waist, and he even has a tear mole near his eye – so incredibly sexy!

There’s no other way, they stand like this every day, which is tiring and boring, so this is their only source of amusement.

At the instant noodle promotion, Xiao Langgou finally decided to buy two family packs, so that he would have both a bowl and a cup and wouldn’t have to choose one.

He handed the lady’s handbag to the girl, saying, “Zhaodi, you can keep this bag yourself.”

Zhou Zhaodi muttered in disappointment, slung her bag over her slender white wrist, and casually asked, “Senior, who were you talking to on the phone just now? I could hear you getting angry from far away.”

Xiao Langgou pushed the cart around the corner and said, “A buyer, without even mentioning any product issues, just gave me several negative reviews. When I tried to talk to him, I realized that guy was just being a jerk.”

Negative reviews affect the store’s overall rating. If six or seven come in at once, he can’t help but pay attention.

Zhou Zhaodi frowned, “How could there be such a person? That’s too much! Senior, give me the buyer’s contact information. I’ll talk to them properly. Boys will be much less prejudiced against girls that way.”

Xiao Langgou said, “Your voice isn’t soft and cute, it’s useless.”

Zhou Zhaodi, “…”

She sighed, “My dad said it’s because when I was little I loved to snatch his teacup and drink a whole cup of tea at once. That’s why my voice became so hoarse.”

Xiao Langgou said, “Your dad was just trying to comfort you.”

Zhou Zhaodi said, “I know.”

Actually, her voice wasn’t so rough that it sounded like someone from the opposite gender, it’s just that among the four girls in the dorm, three of them had very sweet, delicate voices that would melt anyone’s heart.  Compared to them, her voice sounded relatively rough, giving the impression that she might, at any moment, slam the table, chew betel nut, cross her legs, and sing 《Song of Heroes》.

Without comparison, there is truly no harm done.

Zhou Zhaodi flicked her ponytail behind her shoulder, “So you’re just going to ignore the negative reviews?”

Xiao Langgou glanced at the toy store and pushed the cart inside, “It’s going to be tough. The other party is clearly mentally unstable and wants to get revenge.”

Zhou Zhaodi gave him some advice, “You can call him three times a day, morning, noon and night, or send him a text message. Try to annoy that buyer to death. He won’t be able to stand it anymore, and he’ll definitely…”

Xiao Langgou said, “Complain about me.”

“…” Zhou Zhaodi said probably not, “I bought clothes before and felt that the quality was too poor and not worth the price. I gave two neutral reviews, and that’s how the seller treated me. Later I got annoyed and changed it to a positive review.”

Xiao Langgou raised an eyebrow. He was certain that the kid wouldn’t do that, the other party’s intention to cause trouble was quite obvious.

Zhou Zhaodi said, “Senior, you might have run into a professional critic.”

Xiao Langgou looked at the toys on the shelf. It wasn’t a professional critic. He had checked that account, it belonged to a high-spending buyer, and all the purchase reviews were positive, except for this one.

Seeing the boy holding a teddy bear, Zhou Zhaodi’s eyes flickered, secretly anticipating something.

After a while, the teddy bear was put back next to its friend.

Zhou Zhaodi’s eyes dimmed for a moment, then she perked up and asked, “Senior, what exactly do you sell in your shop? You never tell me whenever I ask.”

Xiao Langgou said it was the man’s item.

Zhou Zhaodi asked if it was related to workout, and said that a relative of hers had a source of supply and might be able to get very low wholesale prices, and asked if he wanted to inquire about it.

Xiao Langgou shook his head. The products he sold were indeed related to workouts, but not just any kind of workouts, they’re for competitive skill. Without one or two special skills, you can’t use them.

Leaving the toy section, Xiao Langgou saw a stall selling trinkets. His gaze lingered on a pink hair clip, frozen in place, unable to look away.

Zhou Zhaodi noticed the boy’s unusual behavior. She looked at the pink hair clip, a girl’s accessory. She hasn’t heard that the other person has a Xiao Meimei.

“This hair clip is so cute, senior, don’t you think?”

Xiao Langgou seemed to snap out of a daze, and said with a forced smile, “It’s alright.”

Zhou Zhaodi took out the hair clip and said with a grin, “How does it look on me? Does it look good?”

Xiao Lang suddenly wanted to smoke. He fumbled in his pocket, found his cigarette pack, but realized the situation wasn’t right, which made him even more irritable, “It’s not suitable. Your skin is dark, wearing pink will only make you look even darker.”

Zhou Zhaodi almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

She pinched the hair clip, but still bought it, she’d wear it even if it didn’t suit her.

Xiao Langgou said she was wasting money.

Zhou Zhaodi smiled. She had never worn a pink dress in her life, let alone a hair clip or even a hair tie. But this time she was determined to buy it and wanted to try more pink things in the future.

Because this person likes it.

Zhou Zhaodi snapped out of her reverie and noticed the boy had stopped and was staring in one direction. She looked over and saw two men buying milk candy, “Senior, do you know them?”

Xiao Langgou said he didn’t know them, but his legs moved uncontrollably, and he took large strides, quickly crossing the corridor.

Zhou Zhaodi realized what was happening and jogged after him.

Chen You was stuffing candy into a bag when he came across a promotional event, he couldn’t forgive himself if he missed it, “Do you see if there’s anything you like to eat?”

Li Yan stared at the person in front of him and said, “Eat a pomelo(YouZi).”

Chen You’s hand, which was reaching for the candy, trembled. It’s just a pomelo. You MF, why the hell are you talking in that tone? My butt is itching now, okay? He cleared his throat, “The fruit section is way up ahead. We’ll go later.”

“Don’t just stand there, hurry up and grab some candy for me, only the milk kind.”

Li Yan’s hands were large, and he held a generous amount of candy. He said seriously, “Eating candy is bad for your teeth.”

“…” Chen You nodded and said he understood, “So I won’t eat too many. I’ll only eat two or three a day. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

Just then, a handsome boy and a beautiful girl came from the left.

Chen You’s eye twitched. It was alright. Even if he took off his mask and showed his face, the school heartthrob wouldn’t know that he was Sheng Xia from another world. Thinking this way, he stopped being nervous.

Xiao Lang stopped to the side, and Zhou Zhaodi, thinking he wanted to buy candy, handed him a bag, saying, “Senior, I think all these kinds are the same price.”

Senior? Chen You slowed down his grabbing of candy. Is the school heartthrob still studying?

That would be truly impressive. While others are still laughing and confused, the school heartthrob is already the owner of a top-rated store, having carved out his own niche in the world of consumer goods.

Xiao Langgou didn’t grab the candy or take the bag, he just kept his head down, his gaze fixed on a pile of milk candies, lost in thought.

Chen You adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. He’d never worn glasses before and it felt really strange, the extra weight on his nose was particularly uncomfortable. He glanced at the school heartthrob out of the corner of his eye, then glanced at him again.

Speaking of which, the current school heartthrob is similar to the one Chen You last saw. The immaturity in his eyes has faded and been replaced by maturity. He’s an even more handsome boy, and he’ll only get better and better.

A moment later, Chen You went to weigh the candy, while Li Yan waited by pushing the cart. He turned his head, and his phoenix eyes, which were exposed, were sharp and flashed with a cold light.

It was an instinctive warning, not allowing anyone to covet its private property.

Xiao Langgou frowned. He had been too suspicious. He hadn’t even seen the person’s face before stupidly running over, and he almost shouted out loud.

That person has a mole at the corner of their eye and is very tall. How could he be a crybaby? That’s impossible.

Zhou Zhaodi sensed sadness from the burly boy. She was taken aback, not understanding what was wrong. Could it be that seeing the candy reminded him of his childhood?

Xiao Langgou bought a large bag of milk candy without saying a word. It weighed more than three pounds and would last a long time.

Zhou Zhaodi pursed her lips, if the situation involved a different boy, she would genuinely think the candy was bought for her.

Meanwhile, Chen You took Li Yan to find his father, and they found him in a section where alcohol was being sold, “Dad, just touch it a couple of times.”

Chen Weidong, who had been craving a drink, had been standing there for a while, “Youyou, this brand of wine is much cheaper than last year. How about we buy a bottle and Dad can just have a taste every day?”

Chen You said no, he couldn’t agree, otherwise once it started, it would be difficult to handle later.

Chen Weidong was unhappy and had other ideas, “Li Yan likes to drink, right? I saw there are quite a few bottles of foreign liquor in the wine cabinet in the living room.”

Chen You answered for Li Yan, “He used to drink it, but now he is not sane and only likes to drink powdered milk.”

“What’s so great about powdered milk? Drinking too much of that stuff will affect brain development.” Chen Weidong said, “How can a man not drink a little alcohol? Listen to me, Li Yan, buy two bottles of this kind and drink a small cup every day. I guarantee you’ll have more energy.”

Chen You focused on the previous sentence, “No, Dad, I became like this because I drank too much powdered milk?”

Chen Weidong said, “That’s not important.”

Chen You rolled his eyes. You can’t keep this charade going anymore, can you? Ai dad, you’re even saying ridiculous things like powdered milk affecting brain development – that’s just unbelievable.

Chen Weidong wanted to start by targeting Li Yan, just trying to benefit from the situation.

Despite his lengthy explanation, Li Yan remained silent. Instead, he looked at Chen You, then shook his head and said, “I won’t buy it.”

It’s obvious who’s in charge.

Chen Weidong’s plan backfired, and his face darkened, “If you’re not going to buy, then leave. What are you still standing here for? Honestly, can’t I even have a drink?”

Chen You comforted him, saying, “Dad, you have to follow the doctor’s instructions and stay healthy so that we can see the day when your wishes come true.”

Chen Weidong snorted, “Your dad, I, only has one wish, to hold a big, fat grandson. Can you conjure one up for your dad?”

Chen You said no.

He thought to himself, unless the little golden snake in his house were to one day transform into a chubby baby.

The father and son returned to the old problem, carrying on the family line and ensuring the legacy of the Chen family. No matter how many times they discussed it, it was useless. Once you embark on the path of homosexuality, there’s no turning back.

Chen You bought a wool sweater, several potted plants, and a soy milk maker, among other odds and ends. He told his father to sit on a chair and wait while he took big tail Li Yan to the toilet. On the way, he drank a bottle of cola and had been holding it in for quite a while, it was about to spill.

This is a very bad habit. Cherish life and stay away from holding pee.

The bathroom floor was wet, dirty, and smelly. Chen You and Li Yan stood side by side in front of the urinals, urinating loudly.

Li Yan looked at Chen You and said, “I want it.”

Chen You shushed, “Bear with it.”

Li Yan’s breathing was heavy, “I can’t bear it anymore.”

Chen You’s eyes widened, “Still have to bear it!”

Damn it, this isn’t home, you can’t just cause trouble anywhere! And you still say you’re not a fool!

The cubicle door opened, and a man rushed out, immediately making a phone call at the doorway, stammering in a shaken voice, “Oh my god, I encountered a real pervert in the restroom…”

Chen You glanced towards the door, dude, you don’t even wash your hands after you poop? Thank you for showing me the ultimate level of water conservation.

When Chen You came out, he ran into the school heartthrob and the junior at the common washbasin. The two were talking about something, and the atmosphere was a bit strange.

After listening for a few sentences, Chen You realized that it was a confession in progress. He glanced at the junior and thought the location she chose was quite unusual, perhaps she had gone to the restroom to relieve herself and clear her head.

Zhou Zhaodi blushed and said, “Senior, as long as you’re not married, I won’t give up!”

Xiao Langgou glanced sideways, “Suit yourself.” He had said all he needed to say. If she is still stubborn, there is nothing he could do.

Zhou Zhaodi bit her lip. She had originally planned to confess her feelings at the university graduation party, but who would have thought that simply chatting with her best friend on WeChat would lead to the other person seeing the content of their conversation?

Today was unexpected, and Zhou Zhaodi was caught off guard and had no choice but to bite the bullet and go along with fate’s arrangement.

“I believe that as time goes on, senior will definitely change his opinion of me.”

Xiao Langgou smiled and shook his head, a hint of pity in his eyes. It was unclear whether he was referring to Zhou Zhaodi or someone else. Silly girl, liking someone doesn’t necessarily lead to anything, sometimes it just ends without a result.

Noticing that someone was watching, Xiao Langgou turned his head, his arrogance turning to astonishment and bewilderment, “You…”

Chen You’s mouth twitched behind his mask. No way, fuck, you can recognize even this?

The next moment, he heard the school heartthrob say, “Dude, there’s a wet patch on your trouser leg, you peed on it, didn’t you?”

Chen You looked down and saw that his trouser leg was indeed wet. MF, Li Yan, that bastard must have peed on it when he wasn’t paying attention. He grabbed the man who was still adjusting his clothes inside and quickly left.

Xiao Langgou was stunned for a while before he came to his senses.

There’s clearly no resemblance, so why is there familiarity…?

On the 18th, the casting for 《The Big Shot》 officially began. Apart from Xia Hong, who was pre-selected, all other roles were chosen from the public, starting with open auditions.

Mr. Zhang didn’t recommend any other actors, he didn’t care, and he didn’t care about profits either, especially after learning that this drama was also related to Li Yan.

Chen You followed the director’s lead in casting, and almost all of the people auditioning were acting students. They were fresh out of school, supported by their dreams, and dared to think and act. Each of them had their own unique characteristics.

The director would ask Chen You for his opinion, and Chen You would just show off, saying things that no one could understand. After all, showing off isn’t illegal.

For the sake of world peace and social harmony, Chen You added two important female roles to the play, one as the female lead and the other as a supporting actress. He couldn’t decide on the female lead, but after hearing from the director that there were a few good girls, he arranged for them to audition again.

When a girl walked onto the stage, Chen You’s eyes widened, recognizing her as the junior of the school heartthrob.

He looked at the information in his hand. The junior was a sophomore in the performing arts department. She could play the erhu, the piano, and ballet. She was very talented. The campus heartthrob should also be studying performing arts. He must be a junior or senior. Why didn’t he sign up with her?

The producer said, “Screenwriter Chen You, Director Wang and I both think Zhou Zhaodi is good. What do you think?”

Who is Zhou Zhaodi? Chen You paused for a moment, then looked at the name on the information and realized that she was the school heartthrob’s junior. What else could he say but to say that she was perfect, “Her appearance and temperament are very suitable.”

Actually, that’s not the case. The character he played, Zhou Yi, was very obsequious and cunning, while Zhou Zhaodi was too innocent, not suitable for a naive college student who hasn’t experienced much of the world.

Chen You rested his chin on his hand, let’s give it a try. Maybe there will be a pleasant surprise.

They couldn’t find a suitable actor for the role of Qin Feng, so Chen You took it on himself. It wasn’t easy for him. He played the perverted Jian Dan, and he also played the boss Qin.

That makes sense, since besides the person himself, he’s the one who knows him best.

More than a month later, all the roles were finalized, and the production team chose an auspicious day to begin filming.

Xia Hong drove a sports car to the film studio, followed by bodyguards, servants, assistants, and agents who carried his luggage to the hotel.

The entourage was very large.

As Xia Hong walked towards the film set, he took off his sunglasses and scanned his surroundings. He watched his former fellow villager talking to the director, occasionally shaking the script, his face full of seriousness. He couldn’t help but sigh, Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi, you always manage to reach heights I can’t.

Fortunately, he wasn’t the type to be jealous, and having experienced the pain of his past life, he understood even more clearly that living his own life well was the most important thing.

There was no air conditioning on set, and Chen You was wearing a thick military overcoat, a black hat, and his neck was tucked into the fur collar. His voice trembled as he spoke. Hu Wei called him to the lounge and handed him a cup of milk tea.

Chen You took a big gulp to warm his stomach and said, “So, can we start working this morning?”

Hu Wei said it was about right, “We’ve contacted the female lead. She said there was a bus accident, but she wasn’t injured and is on her way.”

Chen You breathed a sigh of relief, it was good that no one was hurt.

Zhou Zhaodi didn’t join the crew until the afternoon. She apologized very well, so the staff didn’t make things difficult for her.

Chen You watched from a distance as the girl carried large bags and handed out braised eggs to the staff one by one. He smiled slightly, thinking, not bad. Even though it’s her first time on set, she knows how to treat people well. He misjudged her.

The girl called this Ge and that Jie and quickly became familiar with the people around her. If her acting skills are up to par, she probably won’t do too badly in the future.

Zhou Zhaodi knew that the male lead she was acting opposite was the screenwriter of this drama. He was very young and well-known. All of them in her dormitory had watched 《The Fifth World》 and liked it very much. Now they have developed the habit of watching it while eating.

She bowed politely as she was being led over.

Chen You hummed in agreement, wanting to show off a bit, “Go get ready, the Gold’s scene is being filmed today.”

Zhou Zhaodi thought to herself, this person, who is even younger than her, doesn’t smile much. He looks a bit fierce with his stern expression.

As it turned out, that conjecture was completely overturned after just over an hour.

How this guy is not one to smile, he’s a complete bundle of joy. Even when he’s not speaking, the corners of his eyes are curved upwards, and his smile is incredibly charming. Whenever the atmosphere on set becomes tense, or the director and other crew members start to get frustrated, he can easily lighten the mood with just a few words.

Like the sun, its light dispels darkness.

Xia Hong remained calm. He knew that his fellow villager’s personality had changed drastically once, and he had long since adapted to it.

It’s always better to be optimistic.

Living a life that feels too burdensome makes it hard to even take a step, let alone run. You’ll be slower than others and easily fall far behind.

Chen You craned his neck to look every day, but the school heartthrob never appeared. He tried to find out from Zhou Zhaodi whether she and the school heartthrob had gotten together, but to no avail.

That day, after returning from the mall, Chen You changed all the negative reviews. The school heartthrob contacted him online, saying he had refunded him ten yuan and wished him a happy life and happiness every day.

After that, they had no further contact.

Chen You wanted to buy something so that the school heartthrob could earn some living expenses, but the problem was that the heartthrob’s shop was full of heavy-flavored package, which was really not suitable for him.

Filming for 《The Big Shot》 wrapped up smoothly in less than three months, and the cast and crew went out for a meal after work.

Zhou Zhaodi had drunk too much. She took out her phone to make a call, and several tens of minutes later, a burly boy knocked on the door and entered the private room.

Chen You looked up from the sofa and his eyes met those of the school heartthrob.

Xiao Langgou narrowed his eyes, not walking towards Zhou Zhaodi, but heading towards Chen You.

Chen You leaned back, I’m warning you, don’t come any closer! If you come any closer, I don’t know what I might do.

It was really strange, the lighting in this private room was yellowish and not bright at all. How did the school heartthrob manage to find him? Did he find him by scent?

Xiao Langgou asked in a low voice, enunciating each word clearly, “Who are you?”

Chen You swallowed hard.

An actor nearby joked, “Chen You, is this handsome guy your acquaintance?”

Chen You denied.

Xiao Langgou frowned, “Your name is Chen You?”

Chen You rolled his eyes. Ge is quite famous now, you know. It’s one thing if you don’t recognize my face, but have you never even heard of my name?

Xiao Langgou doesn’t follow celebrities and doesn’t care about people or things in the entertainment industry, so he didn’t know. He was just attracted by a pair of eyes when he entered the room. After that time in the mall, a strange sense of familiarity reappeared.

Perhaps the person he saw at the mall is this one.

Xiao Langgou suddenly took out the mask he had worn when he came over from his pocket and pressed it against Chen You’s face. His expression changed slightly, it was indeed the same person.

Everyone in the private room was dumbfounded.

Chen You raised his foot to kick, “What are you doing?”

Xiao Langgou didn’t dodge and was kicked squarely. He grabbed the foot, his expression indescribably complicated.

Chen You couldn’t break free, so he kept giving Zhou Zhaodi meaningful glances, Junior, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and take your senior away.

Perhaps the awkwardness in the private room was too obvious and lasted too long, Zhou Zhaodi finally noticed. She stood up and walked unsteadily over, “Senior, let’s go.”

Xiao Langgou’s eyes remained fixed on Chen You, “You go first.”

Chen You，“……”

Zhou Zhaodi sobered up considerably, but she couldn’t understand this person’s unusual behavior, “Senior, what are you doing?”

Xiao Langgou said, “Come out with me.”

As he spoke, he reached out to pull Chen You, causing the table to be bumped and the drinks on it to collide violently, falling over in all directions.

Chen You was dragged out. When he saw Hu Wei about to call the bodyguards outside the door to come in, he waved his hand to stop him.

In the stairwell at the end of the corridor, the motion-sensor light turned on and off.

Xiao Langgou took out a cigarette case, put a cigarette in his mouth, leaned against the cold wall, and puffed out smoke into the dark void.

Chen You rubbed his wrists, feeling the chill in the corridor.

Taking the cigarette from his lips, Xiao Langgou suddenly spoke, “Sheng Xia.”

Chen You froze, damn it, he didn’t mean to, it was all out of instinct.

Xiao Langgou narrowed his eyes, “Sheng Qing.”

Chen You froze again. Yes, heh, it was instinct again. fuck, he’s completely exposed now.

Xiao Langgou finally read out his own name.

He was still smoking, but his fingers were already trembling, and the cigarette itself was shaking. The ash fell shakily, leaving messy marks on the ground.

The surrounding airflow underwent a dramatic change.

Chen You cursed under his breath. He never thought he would see people from his past in this world. After all, it was a pipe dream. Discovering Xia Hong was unexpected. He had made up his mind not to film the later mission worlds. This was because he didn’t want other people to come here and he didn’t want them to see the work and disrupt their original lives.

Record only audio at most, and save it for himself.

Why did it go wrong again?

Chen You gritted his teeth, convinced that someone was deliberately trying to make him run into people from the mission world.

Could it be the Old 4?

It wasn’t that Chen You had a prejudice against the Old 4, he felt that this person was someone who liked to stir up trouble, and besides this person, he couldn’t think of anyone else who would do such a thing.

Chen You’s thoughts were interrupted by a firm hug. The force of the hug sent his back slamming against the wall, making him want to curse, “Damn you…”

Xiao Langgou said, “It’s good that you’re alive.”

He had no other thoughts, as long as this person was still alive.

Heaven knows what he felt when he learned from Sheng Guang that this person had been dead for many years, and after going through so much trouble, finally stood in front of the tombstone.

Chen You fell silent, the school heartthrob’s voice echoing in his ears, repeating over and over that it was good to be alive.

At this point, there’s no way he can pretend to be stupid anymore, ai.

After catching up, Xiao Langgou was still very emotional and couldn’t calm down. He would probably be in this state for the next week. He never thought he would see this person again. Thank God.

He took out his phone and said, “Give me your number.”

Chen You said, “You have.”

Xiao Langgou was stunned for a moment, “You bought something from my store?”

Chen You hummed in response.

Xiao Langgou suddenly realized something, “Fuck, you wouldn’t happen to be the one who was being a jerk, would you?”

Chen You chuckled, “It’s me.”

Xiao Langgou’s expression changed repeatedly. He swung a fist at Chen You’s shoulder and then hugged him tightly.

Chen You patted him on the back, “Zhou Zhaodi is quite good.”

“This is our reunion across the world, why bring her up?” Xiao Langgou loosened his grip, took a few steps back, and ruffled his hair, “I don’t click with her.”

Chen You rolled his eyes. Was that spark really that important? He never even considered whether he and Li Yan had any chemistry, they simply couldn’t be separated.

Before long, the two of them were smoking cigarettes in the corridor, chatting about things from their high school days, people, their homeroom teacher, pretty girls, the grand scenes, and the little girl sitting in the back.

As they chatted, Xiao Langgou asked Chen You why he hadn’t gone to university to register.

Chen You said that after finishing his last exam, he fainted and was diagnosed with a genetic disease, which made him practically useless. How could he possibly go to school?

Xiao Langgou’s throat tightened. He had suspected this was the reason more than once. Hearing it with his own ears after so many years still made him feel very uncomfortable. No one knew better than him how the little crybaby worked so hard to go from being last in his class to being in the top fifty in the whole school, then into the top twenty, and finally got into a key university.

Chen You said it’s all in the past, it’s okay.

His phone rang in his pocket, it was an exclusive ringtone. Li Yan was calling him home.

Chen You stood up, stubbed out the cigarette he hadn’t finished smoking, and threw it into the trash can, “I’m going back now.”

Xiao Langgou had just checked his phone, and a quick search revealed the news of this person coming out of the closet. He knew that the person now has a partner, who isn’t Sheng Qing, and that he is doing well. The silver ring on his ring finger is still the same one from the photos.

Once downstairs, Xiao Langgou said, “I want to call you ‘Little Fairy’ one more time.”

Chen You glared at him, “Don’t you dare!”

Xiao Lang grinned, “Little fairy.”

He called out the nickname he had given this person back in high school, his smile especially bright, carrying a hint of youthful mischief.

Chen You was so angry he was practically snorting, and said, “Just wait, I’ll show you what I’m made of next time!”

What Xiao Langgou wanted was precisely those two words, “next time“. He unconsciously walked down the steps and chased after him for a while before stopping. Being in the same city as the little crybaby and knowing that he had become a celebrity meant he could have many ways to follow his life. How wonderful!

“Looks like I need to see my teacher and find a group to join.”

Xiao Langgou muttered to himself, the entertainment industry isn’t that big, and there are only so many resources. If I get in, I’ll have the chance to work with that crybaby in the future.

Being good buddies, like in the beginning, is also a good idea.

After the promotional tour for 《The Big Shot》 was over, Xia Hong arranged for the doctor to replace his memories. He gave Chen You a notebook, saying, “This is the life I wrote for myself. The doctor will give me these memories to replace everything in the Gold.”

Chen You opened the notebook, and his eyes were met with penmanship. It was the first time he had realized that Xia Hong’s handwriting was beautiful. It read, My name is Xia Chen, I was born in xxx, I am twenty years old this year, my father is a worker, and my mother is a farmer…

A very ordinary past.

Xia Hong said, “When we meet again, I will be a completely new me.”

Chen You said, “Congratulations.”

Xia Hong smiled. As long as he gritted his teeth and cut off the rotten and smelly flesh, new flesh would slowly grow back, and everything would be different. He felt no regret whatsoever for the rotten flesh, he wished he could set it on fire and burn it to ashes.

Even though he had this idea, Chen You wouldn’t choose to erase his past memories, he was willing to relive them.

On the first day of the release of 《The Big Shot》, Chen You invited his butler, father, and Li Yan to go to the cinema to watch it. He also sent tickets to Zheng Shuai, Wang Yao, and Xiao Langgou. They encouraged others to go to the cinema by posting on WeChat Moments and Weibo.

Chen You then read the online comments, which were better than he had expected.

There’s a saying that makes a lot of sense, when expectations are too high, surprises often follow.

After three weeks in theaters, 《The Big Shot》 has grossed more than Chen You had imagined, becoming a dark horse and firmly holding the top spot.

Hu Wei asked Chen You for a few more scripts, but Chen You said he wouldn’t film them anymore.

“I’ll only make the audio versions of the later ones.”

“Why? We’ve already got such a good script as the first one, we should press our advantage.”

Hu Wei didn’t understand.

Chen You didn’t intend to explain in detail to him.

Hu Wei went to find Lin Fuxing and asked him to tell Chen You about things in the industry. He said that with a good script and an excellent team, they would be invincible.

Lin Fuxing was so busy with blind dates that his head was about to explode. He was being pressured by his family to the point where he was almost ready to go to a bar and randomly pick someone to come out as gay.

“Chen You must have his own reasons for making that decision. Let him be.”

Hu Wei，“……”

If the boss doesn’t care, what can he do?

Because of its unique subject matter, 《The Big Shot》 reflects the dark side of human nature, and the production team was nominated for multiple awards. Zhou Zhaodi was recognized for her first role and was nominated for Best Actress.

Chen You was nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Actor. He was dressed in a suit and tie, with his hair styled in wax, looking quite respectable as he waited to enter the venue, while everyone else was completely bewildered.

Li Yan waited in the car, calling Chen You every now and then.

Chen You became nervous, loosened his tie and said, “Will my idol come? I really want an autograph.”

Hu Wei said, “No.”

Chen You was disappointed, “…Oh.”

Hu Wei took out a piece of paper, “This is the thank-you speech the company prepared for you. Take a look, so you have an idea.

Chen You then unfolded the paper and read aloud, “Thank you to my fans who support me, and thank you to the entire crew of 《The Big Shot》 You made this film a success, and because of you, I have the opportunity to stand here. Thank you.”

He looked down, “At this moment, my heart…” is completely unmoved, and I even feel like laughing.

“Do I really have to say all this?”

Hu Wei said, “This is a template. Although it’s a bit old-fashioned, it won’t go wrong.”

Chen You handed the paper back to Hu Wei, saying, “If I really get lucky and win Best Actor, I’ll have the brain ready, so don’t worry.”

Hu Wei said to himself, I’m really worried.

Chen You saw Hu Wei looking in a certain direction, so he also glanced over and saw Xia Hong, no, it was Xia Chen now.

Xia Chen came with another film crew this time. He walked up to Chen You, smiled and said congratulations, with an elegant demeanor.

Chen You said, “I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate again.”

Xia Chen said he hoped so too, “I’m going over there.”

Chen You watched his departing figure, sighed, and felt it was quite good. He hoped that the school heartthrob could also move on from the past and have a new beginning.

After entering, Chen You sat with Hu Wei, and Zhou Zhaodi sat on his other side.

Being young is wonderful, her face was full of collagen, and she outshines many people in a simple white dress.

Chen You had seen similar award ceremonies before. The hosts would make jokes, the actors would perform, the hosts would create suspense, and the winners would become incoherent and tearful. That was roughly the process.

When it came to Best Actress, the nominated works were presented one by one, followed by the host’s voice.

Zhou Zhaodi didn’t win an award, but she was still very happy because the winner was her idol, and she clapped louder than anyone else.

Chen You twitched his lips, guessing that tomorrow they will write about how she is trying to put on a brave face.

The best actor is right behind the best actress.

The host began to drag his words again, “That is—”

Chen You’s ears were ringing, and he couldn’t hear who the host was calling out. He was pushed to his feet by Hu Wei, and stood dizzily on the stage, his mind completely blank.

I became a movie emperor?

It must be fake. Chen You slapped himself. It hurts so much.

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Chapter 178. It’s All Just A Trap

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Arc 9: Real World.

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An hour after placing the order, Chen You wanted to cancel it, but his man was watching a movie on the computer and wouldn’t budge no matter how much he pestered, dragged, or coaxed him.

Fine, you bull. LaoZi will use phone.

Chen You took his phone to the balcony and found that the store had already shipped the goods. The shipping speed was incredibly fast. He contacted the seller and requested a refund.

The seller was a peculiar person, but instead of agreeing, he first asked why.

Chen You leaned over on the balcony, held his phone out the window, and typed on the keypad, bluntly stating that he didn’t want it anymore.

Even at this point, the seller is still asking, why doesn’t he want it? Does he have any questions about the product?

Chen You chatted with the seller for about half a cigarette’s worth of time until he got annoyed: LaoZi already said he doesn’t want it, why the hell are you still asking questions?

Seller: Fuck, I’m trying to communicate with you properly, why are you swearing? Are you looking for a beating?

Chen You glanced at the seller’s nickname, Youth Dies in Summer. To be honest, this name was the kind that would give anyone goosebumps just by looking at it. He felt that the seller gave him a strange feeling, as if he had seen this before.

After thinking for a moment, Chen You sent another message: Shopkeeper, are you a man?

The seller, Youth dies in summer, was away from the computer and has left behind a simple and straightforward automatic reply: For questions about promotional offer, please press 1; for returns and exchanges, please press 2; for inquiries about delivery time, please press 3; for casual sex, please press 4.

Chen You pressed 4, and a reply popped up, go to hell!. He shrugged. He figured that nine out of ten people who came to buy things would click on it for fun. He ignored it: Do you play online games?

A minute or two later, the seller, Youth dies in summer, replied: Play.

Chen You: I play too. Tell me the name, maybe we’re even playing the same game on the same server.

Seller, Youth dies in summer: Then you won’t request a refund?

Chen You: That won’t do, we still have to cancel it.

Seller, Youth dies in summer: It’s already been taken by the courier. If you want a refund, refuse to accept it.

Chen You checked the shipment details, but it didn’t show that the package had been picked up. What a load of rubbish! Do they think he was a newbie? Do they think saying that will make him think it’s too much trouble, and since it’s already been sent, he’ll just let it go?

Suddenly, a loud thud came from inside the room. Chen You turned around and saw a chair overturned, and the man standing up, staring at the computer screen that had turned blue.

“……”

Watching a movie can even cause a computer to crash with a blue screen – that’s impressive!

Chen You put his phone back in his pocket and went to take care of his laptop. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the purple water gun the man was holding. He had no idea when the man had taken it out. The man’s intelligence had become like that of a three or four-year-old child, but his hobbies hadn’t changed much. He still liked playing with water gun.

“Go play with the water somewhere else, don’t stand here. If you splash water on my family’s old member, I’ll never forgive you.”

Li Yan pursed his lips, “Not going.”

When Chen You saw the man pointing the gun at him, he quickly grabbed his laptop and jumped aside, “Are you leaving or not? If you don’t leave, I’ll get angry!”

Li Yan said in a hoarse voice, “I feel terrible.”

Chen You said, “I’m also feeling terrible.”

This old member accompanied him through his youthful years at eighteen, through countless days and nights, fighting alongside him to conquer a vast and beautiful land. Although it is no longer young, with proper care and recuperation, it can still enjoy its later years in peace.

Looking at the situation right now, it seems risky.

Chen You tried to persuade the older child to go play with the water gun in the bathroom by himself first, and that he would play with him after he fixed the computer.

Later he went to the bathroom, where the older child was sitting on a small stool with a water gun, not playing, but waiting for him.

Chen You sighed, ai, my Li’er, when will you understand that there’s another way to have fun in this world, called entertaining yourself? Always relying on your friends is not right.

Taking the toy water gun from the man’s hands, Chen You examined it closely. It has many features, a large capacity, adjustable length, and allows you to control the water flow of the powerful nozzle, and even the thickness of the water stream. The trigger is voice-activated, and the shooting range can be controlled at any time. The most striking feature is its design, it’s entirely a noble purple color, with very stylish and fluid lines, and the feel in the hand is superb.

When Li Yan saw that Chen You wanted to play with him, his tense face finally relaxed, and he became happy.

The bathroom is quite spacious and has a high-end interior. Besides toiletries, it also features a sofa, a round table, magazines, and incense. If you’re feeling bored, you can even sit in there, close your eyes, and relax.

Chen You couldn’t quite grasp the intention behind it. He is just a low-life. When he was on the toilet, he would at most scroll through his phone and couldn’t do anything else.

Li Yan got impatient and wanted to shoot.

Chen You had no choice but to tell him where to aim the water gun, and that he couldn’t just shoot it randomly like last time, spraying water everywhere and making it difficult to clean up.

Li Yan wouldn’t listen to reason and stubbornly insisted on playing with him.

Chen You doesn’t like children. They’re easy to raise but hard to teach. The less intelligent ones are actually okay, as long as you guide them slowly with care. But the smart ones are completely uncontrollable and might even be dragged along.

For example, his current state is pretty much like that of a dead dog.

After playing with him for several hours, Chen You was completely exhausted. He put away the toy water gun for Li Yan, took a shower, and went to bed to sleep.

Li Yan sat on the edge of the bed, touching Chen You’s face, eyes, nose, and mouth, and finally moving upwards, his thumb resting on the mole at the corner of Chen You’s eye, rubbing it gently.

“Fool, when will you get better…”

Chen You murmured something in his sleep, nuzzled against Li Yan’s arm, and instinctively hugged him, pressing his face against his.

Li Yan frowned, “I’m not a fool.”

The sleeping person had his mouth slightly open and started snoring.

Li Yan pulled down his rolled-up clothes, covering the exposed part of his waist.

Chen You finally understood the meaning of the idiom being so engrossed in trivial pursuits that one neglects important matters. After playing with water guns with Li Yan, he forgot about the orders. There was no refund request, so the seller didn’t withhold the packages, order was shipped after all.

Chen You rushed online to check, only to find that the shipment information showed it was already being delivered. He was furious and demanded an explanation from the seller.

Seller, Youth Dies in Summer: I’ve noticed you’re really a chatterbox, just like one of my high school classmate.

Chen You：……

He swallowed hard, his heart inexplicably racing. After a long pause, he replied: Really? A high school classmate? It’s not your deskmate, is it?

The seller, Youth dies in summer, lost access to the automatic reply function.

No idea if they were busy or simply didn’t want to deal with the issue.

Chen You twitched his lips, finding himself quite amusing. Ever since he saw that photo that looked exactly like Xia Hong, he had started to have wild thoughts, his imagination running wild and he couldn’t stop them, and Li Yan hadn’t been able to fill them up.

He ran his hand through his hair, let out a long sigh, and muttered, stop thinking nonsense, you idiot Chen You. You don’t have many brain cells to begin with, so use them sparingly.

After lunch, the deliveryman brought the package over. The butler accepted it, and by the time Chen You found out, it was too late to refuse it.

The package was a cardboard box, and the waybill didn’t specify what the contents were. The seller’s address was just a neighborhood name, and the name was just a store name—all useless information.

Chen You stared at the phone number, which was blurry and he could only make out the first few digits. He clicked on the online listing, but the address was unknown and the provided number was not in service. This store had two crowns, but it still felt like a scam.

Whether a deal is made depends entirely on whether the parties hit it off or not.

Chen Weidong asked what it was. To be honest, he just asked casually and never expected his son to react so strongly, quickly picking up the cardboard box and running upstairs.

That can be summed up in few words—a guilty conscience.

Chen Weidong asked the butler.

The butler carefully chose his words and said rather subtly, “I’ve heard the master mention it, it’s probably some new little toys.”

“…” Chen Weidong was silent for a while, “Come on, let’s play chess.”

The butler wasn’t very enthusiastic, anyone would get tired of this routine of playing chess morning, noon, and night. He secretly glanced upstairs, estimating that this time it would take at least three games to finish.

As dusk approached, the commotion upstairs didn’t subside, and the faint sound of a dog barking could be heard.

As night fell, the barking became clearer, with occasional two or three barks. Laifu thought it was other dogs, so it barked excitedly towards the stairwell, its tail wagging vigorously.

Chen Weidong’s old face was a sight to behold, “Go and cook dinner, it’s almost time.”

The butler instructed the servants, and continued playing chess with him.

Chen You walked downstairs to eat, his legs still in the same positions, neither twisted into a pretzel nor limp like noodles, but his waist really hurt, much more than his buttocks.

Although Li Yan was mentally impaired, his strength remained immense. What’s most terrifying is that he still has his skills. Chen You is over 180 cm tall and can handle a female classmate easily, but he can’t gain the slightest advantage against him.

The shop gave away a lot of little trinkets, including colorful hair clips and black and red ribbons that could be used as shoelaces or decorations. They looked great tied in bows anywhere.

Li Yan was curious, so Chen You became the one to try it out.

He died, then was brought back to life by Li Yan, dying and coming back to life repeatedly.

There was a little incident in the middle. Li Yan accidentally dropped his ring down the drainpipe. He anxiously knelt down by the pipe opening, trying to reach for it, all the while muttering about wanting his ring back.

If Chen You hadn’t stopped him, Li Yan would have stuck his entire arm in. Heh, then there would have been three possible outcomes.

The drainpipe is blocked, the arm is stuck, and the drainpipe has ruptured.

Which situation would be worse? Having to call a plumber for repairs, and it’s the weekend, so they might not even be working today.

In the end, it was Chen You who helped Li Yan get the ring. Don’t ask about the process, it’s really hard to describe. It’s beyond what the words I have no will to live can sum it up.

Li Yan washed the ring clean and put it back on his ring finger, feeling as if his soul had returned.

Chen You kicked the man’s shin, telling him to get a cloth to wipe the water coming out of the drainpipe, and while supervising him, said, “Can you take better care of it next time?”

Li Yan carefully wiped away the water stains.

Chen You snorted, “If you can’t, then take off the ring and I’ll keep it for you.”

Li Yan shook his head and said firmly, “No.”

Chen You grasped the man’s hand, speaking with great emotion, “Darling, please take it easy. Promise me you won’t cause any more trouble. Although I’m young, I have a low tolerance for emotional stress.  Seriously, my heart is very fragile. If you do something like this again, I’ll break down.”

Li Yan suddenly raised his head, “You won’t break down.”

What do you mean by that? Can’t you see I’m trembling as I speak?  My weak and barely audible voice isn’t fake, you know. Chen You said, “I’ll break down.”

Li Yan pressed down on Chen You’s shoulder, “No, you won’t.”

Chen You’s shoulder hurts a lot, “I will.”

The two of them wouldn’t talk for ten minutes or so, like two childish fools.

Li Yan’s thin lips were pressed tightly together, his facial features tense, as if he were about to burst into tears at any moment.

What could Chen You do? He could only hug the man and pat his back, “No, no, I won’t break down. I’m perfectly fine. I can do anything for you, not just retrieve a ring, but even reach for the moon at the bottom of the sea. I was just teasing you.”

With this reassurance, Li Yan calmed down.

Chen You’s thoughts returned. He smelled the aroma of chicken soup wafting from the kitchen and knew it was from a hen, an old hen, which was very nourishing.

The servants brought the food to the table.

Chen Weidong served his son soup, saying, “Drink more.”

Chen You nodded and buried his head in his soup. He needed to replenish his energy, if he continued like this, he would become a deflated balloon and collapse before winter arrived.

Chen Weidong knew that Li Yan was a vegetarian, so the table was full of meat dishes.

Li Yan ate white rice, bowl after bowl, finishing three bowls in a row. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and watched Chen You eat.

Chen You then asked him if he wanted a piece of chicken gizzard.

Li Yan said no, “You eat quickly, and then we’ll go to sleep.”

“pfff——”

The moment the word sleep reached his ears, Chen You spat it out, feeling sorry for that mouthful of chicken soup.

Chen Weidong told his son to sleep with him that night, saying it was necessary to hold a family meeting for an hour or so and give him another lesson in moral education.

Li Yan got angry and grabbed Chen You’s hand, refusing to let go. No matter what Chen Weidong said, whether it was knocking over a teacup or moving a chair, it was no use.

Chen Weidong and Li Yan were locked in a stalemate, staring at each other.

The former thinks that as an elder, you, the junior, should know some manners and respect the elderly. The latter may be foolish, but he has all the traits in his bones. He always stands on high and looks down on others, and he will never back down.

Chen You looked at his man, then at his father, and sighed, “A harmonious family brings prosperity, so let’s all keep quiet.”

He secretly scratched the man’s palm. Quickly admit your mistake!

After a long pause, Li Yan said, “Dad, I’m sorry, Youyou is mine, I can’t give him to you.”

Chen Weidong glared at him, “Mr. Li, I don’t like what you’re saying. Youyou, he is my son, when did he become yours?”

Li Yan was unreasonable, “Mine!”

Chen You winked at him, what are you doing, you idiot? I really want to beat you.

Chen Weidong’s blood pressure was about to spike. He turned and went back to his room. Chen You quickly jogged after him, not forgetting to turn back and give Li Yan a warning look, telling him not to cause any more trouble.

Li Yan wanted to go with them.

The butler floated over and said, “Master, it’s better if you don’t go for now..”

Li Yan glanced at him coldly.

The butler, keeping his eyes downcast and speaking slowly, said, “Mr. Chen and his dad are father and son.”

The implication is that your jealousy is completely unreasonable.

Li Yan stopped at the door and stood there expressionless, like a great Buddha.

After entering the room, Chen Weidong looked at his son, whose face was flushed and who seemed to be doing well, not looking thin and sickly. However, he noticed some distinct marks on his son’s collar, and they were quite prominent. He said, “Youyou, you need to take it easy.”

Chen You coughed and said he knew.

Chen Weidong couldn’t help but say, “You two can’t have children, so what’s the point of you doing this every day?”

Ai dad, your thinking is wrong, having sex isn’t just for the kids. Chen You scratched his head, “Well, it can promote emotional interaction.”

Knowing there was someone outside, Chen Weidong deliberately raised his voice, “He’s not going to get better, he’s always acting like an idiot, not only being unreasonable but also rude and aggressive. Are you just going to put up with this forever?”

Chen You said, “Might as well put up. He always took care of me in the past, now it’s my turn to take care of him, it’s only right.”

He chuckled, “Dad, you don’t know this, but I dream of having Li Yan depend on me.”

Chen Weidong didn’t know what his son was referring to when he said in the past, so he didn’t understand why his son was so happy, nor did he understand what kind of emotional bond it was.

“Dad’s words are just that. You need to keep that in mind. You’re twenty years old now, and you need to be responsible for your actions.”

“I will.”

Chen You said, “Dad, let me find you a companion.”

Chen Weidong waved his hand, “No, your dad, I, wants to live a few more years.”

Chen You ，“……”

Chen Weidong asked Chen You about his future plans, saying that life had just begun, and while he didn’t necessarily have to achieve great things, he should at least have something to do and not waste his time.  Everyone only lives once, so he should live his life well.

Chen You then mentioned the script, saying he had a plan.

Earning money to support the family, taking care of his father, and finding a way to help Li Yan get better—these three things must be done simultaneously, and none of them can be neglected.

After chatting for less than half an hour, Chen You said goodnight to his father, opened the door and went out. He reached out and took his man’s hand as they went upstairs to sleep.

Chen You lay on the bed, writing a review for the store, just two words, bad review.

Every store is the same, only negative reviews can attract the seller’s attention, so he did just that.

Putting down his phone, Chen You narrowed his eyes, lost in thought. The script he had given to Hu Wei contained names like Gold, Qin Feng, Zhou Yi, Guo Qiang, and even Xiangxiang and Lulu. Any one of these names, if mentioned to someone in the know, would be a huge deal.

If that lookalike of Xia Hong who is being sponsored by investors is the Xia Hong he knows, then once he sees the script, he will definitely have a huge emotional reaction and will definitely take the initiative to contact him.

Chen You rolled over, stretched out his arms, and hugged the man’s waist. Just wait, the truth will soon come to light.

Two days later, Hu Wei called Chen You, saying that the investors wanted to meet him.

Chen You went, this time with Li Yan. They had agreed before he left that Li Yan had to obey, or there would be no shooting that night.

Li Yan knew what shooting meant, so he was very well behaved.

When they arrived at the place, it was a private villa. As soon as the car entered the big iron gate, they were so overwhelmed by its extravagance that they could hardly open their eyes. The words filthy rich were spread all over the ground.

Lin Fuxing holds two positions, one is one that his family forced upon him, the so-called inheritance of the family business, and the other is his hobby. It is obvious that the latter holds a higher place in his heart. He is going to have surgery today, so he is not here. Hu Wei came to act as the middleman.

Mr. Zhang was wearing a bathrobe, sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, drinking red wine. When he saw the three people enter, his gaze swept over one of them, and he instantly stood up from the sofa. The movement was so sudden that the wine glass in his hand wobbled, and the red liquid almost spilled from the rim.

“Mr. Li.”

Li Yan remained expressionless.

Chen You breathed a sigh of relief. Great, that’s it. Keep it up. Don’t let your persona crumble. Even when you’re just taking a breath, you exude a unique air of pretentiousness.

Mr. Zhang went to change out of his bathrobe and reappeared before Chen You and the other two, neatly dressed. His attitude was very respectful, even showing a hint of fear. He said, in a rather obsequious manner, “I didn’t know this film was related to Mr. Li. Please forgive any unintentional disrespect.”

As he spoke, Mr. Zhang shot Hu Wei a reproachful look, as if to say, why didn’t you explain it clearly to me?

Hu Wei rolled his eyes, I gave you the script two days ago, you’re the one who didn’t read it. Is that my fault?

The atmosphere in the hall was subtle.

Mr. Zhang had met Li Yan at a banquet years ago, but they hadn’t spoken. He never expected that they would get to know each other because of a trivial script.

God knows, he agreed to invest so that his darling could have some fun.

“Mr. Li, is the coffee not to your liking? Would you like to switch to tea?”

Li Yan sat upright and ramrod straight, his eyelids drooping, his attitude indifferent to everything, “No need.”

Mr. Zhang’s gaze moved back and forth between Chen You and Li Yan. Logically speaking, these two could handle the investment and production themselves without having outsiders interfere.

Could it be that Li Yan has gone bankrupt?

So his little lover wrote scripts and made movies to help him get through his difficulties?

Mr. Zhang, stroking his cup, wondered what was going on since he hadn’t heard any such rumors lately.

Or Li Yan simply wanted to go along with his lover’s wishes and support him in doing what he liked, which is why he accompanied him personally.

The latter conjecture is more reasonable.

Chen You sipped his coffee, his eyes darting around. Where is the cutie who looks a lot like Xia Hong? He asked, “Mr. Zhang, do you have any comments on the script?”

Mr. Zhang said no, “To be honest, I haven’t read the script yet. I agreed to it because of the title 《Big Shot》. As soon as I heard it, I felt it would become a hit next year.”

Chen You’s lips twitched, he was convinced.

Hu Wei spoke up and asked, “May I ask, Mr. Zhang, what is the reason for you contacting us this time?”

Mr. Zhang didn’t beat around the bush and said directly that it was his family’s Chenchen’s idea, “Chenchen stayed up all night reading the script, getting angry, sad, and even crying until his eyes were swollen because of the plot. He thought the script was exceptionally good and told me he wanted to meet the talented screenwriter. Since I saw he genuinely liked it, I asked you to come over.”

He was in his thirties, good-looking, and quite handsome when he smiled, “I heard that getting to know each other before filming starts is very beneficial for future collaboration.”

Chen You casually offered a flattery, “Mr. Zhang is truly gentle and considerate.”

Mr. Zhang was a better bootlicker than him,” Not even one ten-thousandth of Mr. Li’s ability.”

Li Yan, “Hmm.”

“……”

Mr. Li, the king of awkward silences, is now online! He’s a self-proclaimed mobile refrigerator capable of freezing everyone around him.

Footsteps echoed from the stairwell, accompanied by a servant’s call, “Young master Chen.”

Chen You turned his neck back and looked at the slender boy on the stairs. He looked even more like the boy in the photo. His wet eyes, his walking posture, and his smile before he even spoke were all exactly the same as Xia Hong in his memory.

Mr. Zhang’s face was full of tenderness, “Chenchen, come here.”

The boy walked down the stairs, wearing a loose-fitting black sweater with a wide neckline, revealing his prominent collarbones and slender neck, which drew people’s attention. When he bent down, he exuded an ultimate allure.

The three guests were gay, one of them a couple. Hu Wei was muscular and exuded strong hormones, was the type to tie someone up and have his way with them at the slightest provocation, he had no interest in effeminate boys.

Mr. Zhang felt much more at ease when he realized no one was staring at his precious one. He glanced at Hu Wei and said, “Chenchen, this is Hu Wei, the agent from xx Company. You’ve met him before.”

The boy greeted him politely, “Hello, Mr. Hu.”

Hu Wei said, “Hello.”

Mr. Zhang continued, “This is Mr. Li, and next to him is his lover, Chen You, the screenwriter you want to meet.”

The boy’s gaze fell upon Li Yan, and a flicker of light flashed in his eyes, fleeting and gone in an instant. It seemed to be an instinct of his, a way of judging strangers, dividing them into two categories, rich people and poor people.

After exchanging greetings, his gaze shifted to the screenwriter, who looked to be about the same age as him.

Chen You smiled.

The boy smiled and said, “So young!”

Mr. Zhang said that the young man was promising, and then added, “Mr. Li has provided excellent guidance.”

Chen You，“……”

Ai DaGe that’s enough already. There’s a rhythm to bootlicking someone. If you keep doing it like this, you might get trampled to death by my man’s horse.

With one more person, the atmosphere became even stranger.

Hu Wei didn’t know what to talk about, so he forced the conversation. He was struggling so much that he was practically suffering from internal injuries, when Chen You finally spoke up to help him out a little.

“I heard that Young Master Chen likes the character Xia Hong that I created?”

The boy pursed his lips, a gesture that carried a hint of seduction, as if it were innate or a habit, “Xia Hong’s character is very pitiful.”

“He’s an orphan like me, without parents. If I hadn’t met Mr. Zhang, I probably wouldn’t have fared much better…”

Mr. Zhang hugged the boy tightly, saying, “Don’t cry, baby.”

The boy sobbed softly, crystal tears sliding down his fair cheeks, a hint of sadness in his eyes, breathtakingly beautiful.

Chen You and Hu Wei were suffocating, they lowered their heads and busied themselves picking at their goosebumps.

Li Yan didn’t react, he had entered a meditative state.

As long as he makes as little noise as possible, avoids revealing his emotions, and behaves in a way that is as subtle as possible, there won’t be any major flaws.

The boy cried for a long time before stopping. Mr. Zhang felt heartbroken and held the boy’s face, wiping away his tears.

This scene truly encompasses a mix of joy, sorrow, and everything in between.

Chen You, who had been secretly observing, narrowed his eyes. The little habits—picking at his fingernails and shuffling his feet—were exactly the same. If this wasn’t Xia Hong himself, he would definitely not cry and beg for mercy when Li Yan got his hands on him tonight.

Alright, now all that’s missing is to give them a one-on-one opportunity.

Before leaving, Chen You said he had left his phone behind and needed to go back to get it, “Hu DaGe, could you keep an eye on Li Yan for me? I’ll be right back.”

He hadn’t walked far when he saw the boy under the tree, as if he were waiting for him.

The scenes in the script depicting the interactions and dialogues between Xiangxiang and Lulu, and the moments in the rented apartment, could not have been written by someone who wasn’t involved.

In other words, if the boy is Xia Hong, then he must know that Chen You is Zhou Yi.

Chen You walked up to the boy, stopped, put his hands in his pockets, and waited for the other to speak first.

If so, then there’s no need to test it, it can’t be wrong.

“Zhou Yi, is that you?”

“It’s me.”

After the initial shock subsided and the calm exchange of questions and answers subsided, silence fell beneath the tree, silently surrounding the two peers.

Chen You said, “When I saw the photo, I knew it was you.”

Xia Hong said, “I only found out you came into this world after reading the script.”

Chen You raised an eyebrow, tacitly agreeing.

Xia Hong raised a question, “I’m using my own body, but you’ve changed yours. Why is that?”

It’s a secret, I won’t tell you. Chen You said, “I don’t know.”

Xia Hong frowned, “After you went with ErYe, neither Qiang Ge nor I heard anything from you.”

Chen You thought to himself, of course, I died! He said, “ Just like in the script, I was with ErYe.”

Xia Hong responded with an oh, it was unclear whether he believed it or was indifferent.

Back then, he benefited from his connection with this person, getting transferred from the fourth floor to the sixth floor. Many customers who came to the Gold specifically requested him. If they miss the chance to taste the person that ErYe fancies, trying his fellow villager isn’t a bad alternative.

For a year or two, Xia Hong was very popular. Although he didn’t become Gold’s top performer, he was close. With money in hand, he bought a house and a car and lived a very good life.

Until one day, Xia Hong encountered his nemesis.

For more than seven years, Xia Hong devoted his heart and soul to that person, giving him all his savings to start a business. However, the other party became increasingly greedy for fame and fortune, and even drugged him for the sake of the project, letting several business partners play with him for a week.

In a fit of rage, Xia Hong plotted to kill the person and went to jail. His health collapsed because of that incident, and he died in prison after a few years. He hated the injustice of fate and died with overwhelming hatred, unwilling to accept that his life had ended like that.

When Xia Hong regained consciousness, he found himself in a strange world. His body was still his own, but he was not the sickly version of himself, he was a teenager.

It happened on the street, and Xia Hong almost knelt down and kowtowed to God several times to thank him for his mercy.

As luck would have it, Xia Hong met Mr. Zhang less than an hour after arriving in this world.

The scene was very similar to that in idol dramas. Xia Hong was hit by Mr. Zhang’s car. When he was carried into the car, he had a fantasy that he was the protagonist this time, not a supporting character.

That’s how things went after that, nothing special. Xia Hong thought to himself, God gave him a second chance at life, and he couldn’t go down the same old path again.

Otherwise he’ll be looked down upon. But see? I get a chance, and still nothing but a plaything.

Xia Hong calculated that he and Mr. Zhang were currently getting what they needed. He gave his body, and Mr. Zhang gave money. They were giving each other what they had, and it was all voluntary. There was no coercion involved. Once he had saved enough, he would go into
business, open a shop, and make his future life more exciting.

In fact, even if it’s still the same thing—giving up one’s body—life is a thousand times better now than before. Xia Hong no longer has to entertain multiple clients a day, fat men with teeth full of tobacco stains, some of whom have such a strong odor that they can make him vomit up his leftovers. Not only that, but he also has to endure some clients becoming nicer and making him feel like a dog.

Besides, Mr. Zhang is young and generous, and doesn’t have that kind of hobby.

Xia Hong clenched his little fingers. He dared not tell anyone about his past, afraid of being locked up as a lunatic. He dared not drink too much, and he could not sleep soundly, worried that he would talk in his sleep.

“Do you know how to make someone lose their memory? I really want to forget the past.” There’s too much pain, there’s no need to remember it.

Chen You was taken aback. “Why don’t you bang your head or jump off a building?”

Xia Hong，“……”

“Just kidding, please don’t do that, it’s very dangerous, your life is more important.” Chen You became serious, “Hypnosis might be worth a try, I heard it can replace the original memories.”

Xia Hong remembered it and decided to save money first.

Chen You then casually asked, “What about the others?”

Xia Hong couldn’t explain, “I haven’t met any acquaintances other than you.”

That probably means it’s over. Chen You couldn’t understand why Xia Hong was able to come over. He called the system, “Old 4, Old 4, this is Chen You, please respond if you hear me.”

Absolutely nothing.

“In this world, there is no Xia Hong, only Xia Chen.” Xia Hong said, “There is no Zhou Yi, only Chen You.” He thought his fellow villager’s experience was the same as his own.

Chen You couldn’t explain the cause and effect, he just said, “Right.”

Xia Hong chuckled, “I will play Xia Hong in this play because I like the ending you arranged for him.”

Chen You recalled what he had written. He was killed in the bombing, and Xia Hong was still in Gold. He didn’t know what would happen to him later. He had just written the role randomly.

As a kind person, he naturally hopes that everyone can be happy and fulfilled. In Chen You’s script, Xia Hong meets someone in Gold who truly cares for him and takes him away from Gold to live in a small town. They have a cat, a garden with beautiful flowers and plants, and a vegetable patch where they grow fruits and vegetables. They live a peaceful and comfortable life.

After some time, perhaps a minute or two, or even less than a minute, Chen You and Xia Hong embraced each other.

Chen You had his back to the iron gate, but he and Xia Hong simultaneously recoiled from the chilling, murderous aura that emanated from behind them—it was definitely coming from his man, there was no mistake.

He turned his head and met Li Yan’s angry gaze. The look in his eyes was that of someone looking at a young wife who had cheated on her husband, someone guilty of infidelity.

Holy crap, I’m going to die.

Chen You shuddered, his face turning pale.

Xia Hong said indifferently, “In the original world, you got involved with ErYe, and here you’re with Li Yan, who’s of similar status to ErYe. Zhou, Chen You, how come you’re so lucky…”

It’s all the same. My luck has been bad for nineteen years, and this is the only time it’s been good. Chen You didn’t dare to stay any longer, so he quickly said goodbye to Xia Hong and ran to his man’s side.

Hu Wei got off the car midway because he couldn’t stand the oppressive atmosphere inside, it was suffocating.

The driver was still the same driver, oblivious to the people and things in the car, as if he were completely deaf and blind, focusing solely on driving.

Chen You shifted his posture, facing the sulking man, and said, “That’s an old friend of mine.”

Li Yan asked, “Why were you hugging him?”

Chen You added, “Between old friends, it’s polite to say goodbye and give each other a hug before leaving, it’s very common, right, Xiao Liu?”

The driver didn’t want to hear it, but since he was called out, he had no choice but to reply, “Yes.”

Li Yan’s expression remained unchanged.

Chen You whispered in his ear, “Don’t be angry, I only like you.”

Li Yan’s eyes flickered for a moment, then became still again.

Chen You gritted his teeth, let me tell you, don’t push me. If you push me any further, I might say something that will disgust me to death.

Li Yan clearly wanted to hear the disgusting part, the more disgusting the better.

Chen You kissed the man’s ear, “I’ll tell you when we get back.”

After arriving home, Chen You was dragged upstairs and locked in a room. He was not released until the next day.

He lay in the rocking chair, the yellow puppy on his lap, and Xiaojin on the yellow puppy’s back. All three were very comfortable, thinking about their own things.

After taking a sip of yogurt, Chen You bit the straw with his teeth. Could it be that the people from the mission world could appear in his real world for some reason?

Since it can’t be said explicitly, it’s just put in that song?

Chen You took out his phone, pressed the earbuds into his ears, and listened to 《The Fireworks of Last Winter》 again with doubt. He listened to it ten times in a row, but still got nothing. His brain is really not good.

What will he do when he get old? ……

The yellow puppy wanted to drink yogurt and licked it several times.

Chen You tore the box open, “Laifu, there’s only a little yogurt left. You can have a taste, but eating too much isn’t good for your stomach.”

The yellow puppy went over and made a smacking noise.

Chen You patted its head, then scooped the little golden snake into his hand, “Son, is that you?”

“If so, wrap around my index finger.”

The little golden snake looked listless because winter had arrived again.

Chen You pinched its tail and scratched its belly, but nothing worked.

“Never mind, I’ll go check the time and wait to take my medicine.”

Overthinking isn’t a good solution.

Chen You then put the little golden snake into his sleeve. The snake crawled and crawled, wrapping around his arm, and he shuddered.

Grow up quickly, maybe you can evolve into a human.

It’s getting cold, so Chen You was going to the mall to buy wool sweaters for Laolao and his father.

A few days ago, he asked his DaBo, and it turned out Laolao didn’t react too strongly to his derailment, which was a relief.

When Chen Weidong heard his son say he was going to the mall, he went along to get some fresh air and buy some dates to cook porridge.

So the entire Chen You’s family came out.

This was the first time his father and Li Yan had appeared in public together since he came out as gay.

Chen Weidong is not a celebrity, nobody knows him, and after entering the mall he just pushes his little cart around by himself.

Chen You was wearing a mask and black-rimmed glasses, and Li Yan was also wearing a mask, the two of them walked together.

After browsing for a short while, Chen You’s phone rang. It was an unknown number. He ignored it the first two times, but answered on the third try, saying, “Who is this?”

The voice coming from the other end was very young, “Mr. Chen, is that right? I’m Youth Dies in Summer, that store’s owner. I saw your review of our shop. Is there anything you’re dissatisfied with?”

Chen You leaned over the shopping cart, watching the man buy snacks, “There’s nothing I’m dissatisfied with, I just like giving negative reviews.”

The call was abruptly cut off, then came back, yelling, “Screw your grandpa!”

He hung up after he finished cursing.

Chen You called, “Screw whose grandpa? Did LaoZi’s grandpa offend you?”

“Your grandpa didn’t offend me, buddy, you are unreasonable. What did my store do to offend you? If you don’t want the item, just refuse to accept it. What’s the point of accepting it and then leaving a negative review?”

Chen You rolled his eyes, if I didn’t leave a bad review, how would I have gotten your phone number? It’s all just a trap.

He grinned broadly, “I’m happy to do so.”

A tall, burly boy came around the end of the aisle, leaning against a sign advertising instant noodles. He held a cell phone in one hand and a lady’s handbag in the other, muttering curses and acting aggressively.

“Damn it, if a piece of trash like you showed up in front of me, I’d kill you…”

Chen You glanced at it and froze.

Aiyo, it really is you, school heartthrob.

(TN: From arc 6)

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Chapter 177. Cute Liar

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Arc 9: Real World.

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Chen You discovered that his father’s attitude towards homosexuality had changed significantly on the day his father came to his bedroom to talk about the severely damaged plants in the garden, and accidentally knocked over the trash can, spilling several T onto the floor.

To be honest, it was quite awkward.

This is what they call being caught red-handed, it’s too late to cover it up now.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Chen You quickly kicked and stomped on the T under the bed. He was already covered in sweat. To make matters worse, another person involved came out of the bathroom, saw him hiding the T, and strode over. He half-squatted down, grabbed Chen You’s foot, carefully picked up the deformed T, threw it into the trash can, and then reached for the ones under the bed.

Chen You，“……”

Li Yan frowned, “You have to throw it in the trash can, not on the ground.”

Damn it, you remember that so clearly? Don’t you even know what that is? What kind of occasion is this? I don’t even dare to look at Dad’s face. Chen You’s mouth twitched, and he wanted to jump off the building with his pig teammate.

Li Yan didn’t understand. He went to get the tissue box, took out a few tissues and wiped up the things that had spilled on the floor. He also told Chen You to take off his shoes, “They’re dirty.”

Chen You rolled his eyes at the ceiling as his shoes were forcibly taken away, wishing for God to save him.

Chen Weidong watched the whole thing, and after a long while, he finally said, “Youyou, you really need to pay attention to your personal hygiene.”

Chen You was dumbfounded, “…Huh?”

Chen Weidong said, “If the shoes get dirty and the person walks around the room, the carpet has to be replaced, which increases the workload of the servants and makes the room smell messy.”

Chen You then put on a bewildered expression and said, “Okay, I’ll definitely be more hygienic from now on.”

Chen Weidong glanced at the person who was wiping his son’s shoes, his eye twitching slightly. He didn’t say much and left, but as he reached the door, he added, “Come downstairs when you’re finished, we still need to discuss the garden in more detail.”

Chen You kicked the person in front of him, saying, “Dad has gone out.”

Li Yan looked up at Chen You for a few seconds, then grabbed his leg, hoisted him up, and threw him onto the bed.

Chen You felt the ceiling in front of him shake. He glared at the suddenly excited man, “Why did you throw me like that?”

Li Yan’s eyes lit up, “Dad’s gone.”

Chen You raised his foot to kick the man who was pressing down on him, but his leg strength was no match for the man’s wrist strength, and he was easily pinned down. He moved backward and cursed angrily, “Playing, playing, all you know is playing! How many times have you done this morning? Do you think I’m an inflatable doll?”

Releasing his grip on Chen You’s ankle, Li Yan sat on the edge of the bed and said in a muffled voice, “I want to play more.”

Chen You regretted it terribly.

Two days ago, he cleaned this person up, and for a moment he couldn’t restrain his own little trickster heart.

Then a rather brutal situation unfolded. This person, who hadn’t even learned to walk yet, suddenly learned to fly, immediately knocked him to the ground, slammed him onto the floor tiles, and bang him mercilessly. His pleas for mercy were completely useless.

Chen You was covered in bruises and dared not go downstairs. Firstly, he was afraid of frightening his father, and secondly, he had finally managed to build a positive image for his father, and he couldn’t let it be ruined.

He stayed in his room for two days, and it took him a while to recover.

God knows how worried he was that his father would burst in, pull back the covers, and find himself turned into a rag doll.

If that scene really happened, and Li Yan and his father were to fight, he wouldn’t have to worry about which side he was on, because he would kick the bucket first and bite his tongue to commit suicide.

Chen You glanced at the man and tossed him a large teddy bear, saying, “Here, play with it.”

Li Yan tossed it away in disgust, “I don’t want it, I want you.”

Chen You paused in his anger, then snorted, a smirk creeping onto his face, “Dad wants us to go downstairs and do some chores first. We can play later.”

Li Yan said, “I don’t want to do anything.”

Chen You glanced sideways and snorted, “Then you can stay in the room by yourself. I’m going out.”

He got out of bed, slipped on his slippers, and walked forward. Hearing the footsteps following behind him, he started humming a song, looking incredibly smug.

It was late August, the sun was shining, and if you went outside for a while, you would feel breathless and sweat profusely, turning into a complete couch potato.

The living room was cool with the air conditioning on. A popular ancient costume fantasy drama was playing on TV. The male lead and female lead had just met for the first time in their lives. The plot was getting exciting when a small yellow figure moved around in front of the TV.

“Laifu, come here, don’t bump into the TV cabinet.”

When Chen Weidong saw his son come downstairs, he asked him to take the yellow puppy away, “I don’t know if it’s because of the weather, but Laifu has developed several red rashes around its ears.”

Chen You hurriedly went to check, stroking the fur around the yellow puppy’s ears. Sure enough, there were some, and a few of them were even festering, “Dad, when did this happen? I didn’t see it a few days ago.”

Chen Weidong said it happened yesterday, “How about we wait a couple of days and see if it gets better? If not, we’ll take it to the hospital.”

Chen You couldn’t wait two days. He immediately picked up the phone to dial a number and inform Lin Fuxing, “Dad, I’m taking Laifu out for a while. We’ll discuss the garden plants when I get back.”

Chen Weidong shook his head. His son was very nervous about the yellow puppy and the little golden snake. Sometimes he even had the illusion that he had two grandsons.

When Chen You changed his shoes, he saw the man doing the same, so he ordered, “You stay at home and don’t follow me. I’ll be back soon.”

Li Yan insisted, “Let’s go together, I want to come along.”

Chen You turned around and shouted into the living room, “Dad, you need to keep an eye on him!”

Chen Weidong leisurely sipped his tea, picked up the little golden snake and placed it on his arm. It didn’t feel good to touch in winter, but it was different in summer, very comfortable, even better than air conditioning, “Don’t call your dad, I can’t watch over.”

Chen You, “…” Neither of them is easy to deal with.

Left with no other option, Chen You had to have Li Yan accompany him and have the driver take them to the hospital.

Lin Fuxing’s hospital was a bit far away, and it’s too hot to ask him to come all the way here. If Li Yan were still the same Li Yan as before, that would be fine, but now Chen You is in charge, so he’s embarrassed to call him home.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Chen You took the yellow puppy to the dermatology department for a checkup.

Dean Lin Fuxing stood in the corridor, chatting with Li Yan. To be precise, he was the one talking while Li Yan looked out the window at the sky. In short, they were having a chat.

“I see you’re doing quite well now, and I’m happy for you.”

Lin Fuxing smiled and said, “To be honest, I didn’t envy the old you, but I do envy the current you a little.”

He raised an eyebrow, “That kid Chen You, although he’s quite a bit younger than you and me, sometimes we can learn something from him, don’t you think?”

“That time you had that accident, it was truly terrifying. Heaven probably feared you’d cause it trouble, that it couldn’t control you, so it sent you back. That’s what saved Chen You, otherwise, he would have been no different from a madman. Even if his father prevented him from going to extremes, he would have engaged in many self-harming behaviors, living a life that was neither human nor ghost.”

“Ultimately, his love for you, from our perspective as outsiders, is both frightening and awe-inspiring. “

Lin Fuxing stretched and put his hands into the pockets of his white coat, “Why don’t I have your good luck in meeting someone like Chen You? Maybe I could have had a good experience too.”

Li Yan, who had been looking at the sky, turned his gaze to Lin Fuxing and said in a very unpleasant tone, “There’s only one Chen You.”

For a brief moment, Lin Fuxing saw the past Li Yan in those unfathomable phoenix eyes. Then he couldn’t help but laugh. How silly, the core is still the same. Some things remain unchanged, such as domineering and possessiveness.

“That’s true.”

The door to the consultancy room opened, and Chen You came out carrying the yellow puppy.

Lin Fuxing turned around, and the person next to him strode forward at a speed as if afraid someone would snatch away his beloved treasure. He shrugged, suppressing a laugh. Love makes people happy, and it made him, who had been single for several years, want to be in a relationship. He had forgotten the pain of past wounds.

“How is Laifu? What’s the problem?”

Chen You said it was an allergic reaction. He went to get medicine and said goodbye to Lin Fuxing, “Lin DaGe, come visit us sometime. Call Hu DaGe too, and I’ll cook you something delicious.”

Lin Fuxing’s mouth watered as he thought of the dishes he had eaten last time, especially the enoki mushroom and tomato soup. The taste was absolutely unforgettable. He glanced at the person in front of him, who was lively, mischievous, unruly, loved small animals, was kind and innocent, could cook and cause trouble, and was proficient in singing and dancing. He was as good as a TV, entertaining.

Most importantly, that kind of pure emotion is not usually visible, it is always hidden behind laughter and playfulness.

It’s rare to find someone who meets all these conditions, Li Yan is truly blessed.

Shortly after leaving the hospital, Chen You called Lin Fuxing, “Lin DaGe, what did you say to Li Yan?”

Lin Fuxing asked from the other end, “What?”

Chen You said that as soon as Li Yan got into the car, he grabbed his hand and wouldn’t let go, squeezing it incredibly tightly.

Hearing this, Lin Fuxing wanted to roll his eyes. Both people had already left, but they still called him to send him dog food. What else could he do besides accept it? “Maybe jealous? Try to appease him.”

Chen You was baffled. How could an idiot be jealous? Did he even know what jealousy was? He glanced over and saw the man with a dark face, clearly unhappy. He looked genuinely jealous.

That’s incredible.

Chen You stroked the yellow dog with one hand to comfort it, because the negative energy emanating from both parents could affect the child’s growth, potentially leading to personality disorder, which is very serious and not something to take as a joke.

Li Yan tightened his grip on the hand in his palm, “Don’t call that person again, he’s no good.”

I’ve told you so many times, he’s your childhood friend, how come you can’t remember? Chen You asked, “What’s wrong with him?”

Li Yan said, “He also wants a Chen You.”

“……”

Chen You finally realized who was behind the man’s jealousy, “It’s his fault. Next time, we’ll beat him up together.”

Li Yan nodded.

The driver in front had a blank expression, deaf and blind, yet he was driving with great concentration.

After returning home, Chen You told his father about Laifu’s situation and planned to change its living space. After finishing this, he would take care of the flowers and plants in the garden.

His father is willing to live here entirely because of the charm of the flowers and plants.

Chen You asked the butler for more details and learned that it was Li Yan who had assisted his father last week in administering pesticide, and had applied too much.

Chen Weidong slammed his teacup down, then paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, saying, “Son, what did I tell you? Li Yan is out of his mind, he can’t do anything right, yet you insist on making him do it!”

Chen You quickly asked his father to sit down and handed him a teacup, saying, “Calm down, calm down.”

“Dad, when I was little you always taught me to be a good person, a kind person, to be willing to help others, to lend a helping hand to those in need and help them get out of their difficulties.”

Chen Weidong guessed what his son was going to say, and he had a headache.

Chen You put his hand to his mouth and lowered his voice, saying, “Li Yan doesn’t have the intelligence of an adult now, he’s about the same age as a three or four-year-old child. We can’t give up on him at this time.”

Well, there’s no need to drink the tea anymore, Chen Weidong said, “Son, your father, I, and that person have different paths and principles and cannot work together.”

Chen You’s mouth twitched, “Actually, it’s because you haven’t spent enough time together. Really, Dad, believe me. As long as you spend more time with Li Yan, you’ll definitely change your opinion of him.”

Chen Weidong looked over and saw the one who had caused great damage to his beloved flowers and plants was munching on an apple. He munched on several a day, his teeth are really good, “Dad has reached this point, I’m not forcing you to go on blind dates, get married, or have children. I haven’t put you in a difficult position or made you consider any extreme choices. But don’t have too much hope in me either, the idea of you two getting married is even more impossible than gold falling from the sky.”

Chen You quietly left the sofa and went to eat an apple with his man, side by side.

When children make mistakes, parents should criticize, criticize, and criticize again, and the consequences should be borne by the parents. Don’t ask why, that question is obviously idiotic.

The next day, Chen You got up early and went to the garden to help the hired gardener salvage the flowers and plants.

Usually, Chen You sleeps while hugging a teddy bear, and Li Yan holds him, forming a triple six formation on the bed. If he were to get up, the formation would inevitably be disrupted, and Li Yan would also wake up.

Li Yan, who hadn’t had enough sleep, had double eyelids and was squatting in the garden, in a bad mood. He wanted to go back and take another nap. Every now and then, he would ask Chen You, “Have you finished your work?”

Chen You raised his arm to wipe the sweat from his face. Damn it, it’s not even cool this early in the morning, “Can’t you see I’m digging in the dirt?”

He pressed the shovel down on the soil, “Get out of the way. Don’t stay next to me. You’re blocking the wind. I feel hot and annoyed just from your breathing.”

Li Yan replied, “Okay.”

After Chen You finished planting another plant, he looked around and realized the person was really gone. Had he been too harsh in his words?

You too, why are you arguing with a child? Chen You mentally slapped himself. Just as he was about to go to the living room to check on the situation, he saw the person who had left come back, carrying a bottle of cola, which was for him to drink.

How wonderful!

Chen You felt a surge of pride, like seeing a son growing up.

After finishing in the garden, Chen You drank the last sip of his cola, then took Li Yan to wash his hands, went upstairs, closed the door, and let him do his thing.

Downstairs, Chen Weidong and the butler were playing chess. One game was finished, and then another was started. Last time, they finished two games upstairs, but this time it would probably take longer.

Chen Weidong was worried about his son’s health. Although he was young, it wasn’t good for him to be so unrestrained all the time.

The butler said, “Master has a sense of propriety.”

Chen Weidong scoffed. Who would believe that? Judging from Li Yan’s behavior after he lost his mind, it was clear he was even crazier before he lost his mind. He sighed, unable to understand what his son saw in the other person.

If he had to pick a guy he likes, he thinks Pang Yilong is pretty good.

People of the same age can get along well and have things to talk about. People who are older than each other will have a generation gap.

When Chen You heard his father mention the generation gap, he burst into laughter, leaning against Li Yan and laughing uncontrollably until he was nearly doubled over, “Hahahaha—”

Chen Weidong looked at Li Yan, who didn’t seem to mind his son’s ADHD-induced madness. He even protected his son with his arm, his face full of doting affection. His eyebrows twitched, and his dissatisfaction seemed to lessen a little.

“Stop laughing. Dad is talking about serious matters. What’s so funny?”

Chen You wiped away his tears, “Ai Dad, it’s funny because you’re speaking in such a serious tone. I have so much to talk about with Li Yan, and he’s not much older than me.”

He admitted that at first there was a generation gap between him and Li Yan, who was still Qin Feng. There was no way around it, their status, power, and age were too different. He was Sun Wukong, and Li Yan was Buddha. Li Yan could crush him into dust with a flick of his finger.

Forget about communication, even standing face-to-face, they couldn’t have a normal conversation.

But things changed later. The deeper they delved, the more they understood each other, and the more they understood each other, the deeper their connection became. Over several lifetimes, their relationship became excellent, and it will continue to be excellent.

Not long after, as usual, Chen Weidong was forced back to his room to sleep by his son’s clingy behavior.

Chen You tugged at the man watching cartoons and said, “Say goodnight to Dad, quick.”

Li Yan stared intently at the TV, which was showing 《Boonie Bears》. XiongEr(Bramble) was craving honey, so he went to get some from a beehive, but ended up being chased all over the forest by a swarm of bees.

Chen You pulled the man’s ear, “Not going to say, huh? Then I won’t let you hug me tonight.”

Li Yan immediately turned around and called out to Chen Weidong, who was almost at the door, “Dad, goodnight!”

Chen Weidong paused, “You should both go to sleep early too.”

It wasn’t until the door closed that Chen You came to his senses. The teacher was right, perseverance leads to victory.

See? Reading more books and listening to your teachers is very helpful.

Before going to sleep, Chen You, as usual, called out to the system. He had been doing this every day since Li Yan woke up, and it had become a new daily routine, alongside having sex, “Old 4, are you there?”

There was no sound in his brain.

Chen You rolled over, listening to the man’s snoring, and continued, “I can recite the lyrics of that song backwards now. Can you tell me if there’s a secret in the lyrics or the melody?”

“The lyrics are really too ordinary, not fancy at all, very simple and crude, but the melody is very different, very beautiful, and very easy to listen to. Listening to it late at night is especially peaceful, and that feeling is particularly good, so I guess it’s the lyrics.”

What seems impossible is often the truth.

Chen You smacked his lips and gave the man a kiss on the chin. Then, the large hand on his waist tightened, pulling him into his arms. Even though the man’s eyes were closed and he showed no signs of waking up, he was very possessive of what was his.

What exactly did Old 4 want to tell him…?

Chen You fell asleep with a head full of questions. He had a dream in which he was standing on the roof of a building, his feet on the edge of the railing. The next moment, it felt like someone pushed him, his center of gravity shifted forward, his head fell down, and he plummeted to the ground floor, crashing into a flower bed.

The flower branches in the flower bed were crushed, but Chen You managed to stand up by supporting himself on the ground, completely unharmed.

Chen You suddenly opened his eyes, it was broad daylight.

He stared at the ceiling. The dream was strange, how could he have survived jumping off a building? Could it be because he was dreaming?

He always feels like he is thinking off-topic.

Or, how about he try to think even more outside the box?

Not the dream, the problem lies with the world, which is why he didn’t die…

That doesn’t seem right either. It would be best to ask Old 4 if there’s any connection between the dream and that song.

A handsome face was blocking his view of the ceiling. Chen You pushed the face aside, then sprang to his feet in a single movement, “Xiao Li, prepare the carriage to the bathroom. I need to pee.”

Li Yan looked at the outstretched hand, then lowered his head and kissed it.

Chen You didn’t need to wash his hands anymore, next came his face and neck. Look, what a unique way to save water, though it’s not something that can be easily shared with other

When his father fainted and he came out to the world, Chen You in order to allow his father to recover in peace, turned off his phone, Weibo, and group chats, cutting off all contact with his relatives and friends. Just as he was about to face the situation, Li Yan got into trouble. More than a month has passed, and he still hasn’t returned to his normal life.

In the morning, Chen You turned on his phone and scrolled through the chat of his relatives’ group, university group, and high school group. People were still discussing things in the groups these past couple of days, it must have been very lively a month ago. He didn’t care, he just scrolled through it and then went to his dorm’s group chat, where everyone was showing as online.

Chen You sent a hehehe emoji: Are you there? When can we get together for a meal?

When he sent the message, he was very nervous, wondering what his friends would think of his homosexuality, and whether they would, like some people, believe that gay people are promiscuous, have AIDS, and are likely to spread the disease.

There was a moment of silence in the group chat, maybe a second or two, then Zheng Shuai appeared, posting OMG I’m so startled I’ve got a fear-boner meme : Holy crap, who is this? My family’s Youzi? Is that for real? Could his account have been hacked? Come, come, come, let’s verify with a secret code!

Wang Yao appeared at almost the same time as him: I went downstairs and ran ten laps to calm down.

Chen You’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, settled down. He grinned, jumped around on the sofa like an idiot, leaned back into Li Yan’s arms, and while eating the pear that Li Yan fed him, he sent a nose-picking emoji in the group chat : Surname Zheng, you have a fear–boner? I’ve never seen one before. And you, surname Wang, you run ten laps? You probably ran around a tiny sapling, didn’t you?

Zheng Shuai and Wang Yao ：……

Next came the barrage of emojis, memes and a flurry of questions, why, when. Even through the screen, Chen You could feel the resentment of being abandoned. Those two said he wasn’t being a good friend, and he accepted it, because they had promised to stick together through thick and thin, through all kinds of difficulties.

However, coming out is different from other things. He was in a state of confusion at the time, had no idea what to do, and was also afraid of losing his XiongDi.

Chen You: You two can set a time. I’m unemployed, so any day is fine with me.

Saturday evening at 7 pm, at a buffet restaurant.

Chen You met up with Zheng Shuai and Wang Yao. They hadn’t seen each other for more than a month and had gone through a lot in between. Now that they had officially graduated, they both had a deep sense of having been through many years in society, accompanied by a sense of vicissitude.

When someone in the dorm comes out, their friends and classmates will ask questions. Chen You knew that during that time Zheng Shuai and Wang Yao must have been under a lot of pressure because of him. He was about to apologize when he was stopped.

Zheng Shuai said, “Don’t disgust us.”

Chen You said, half-jokingly, “You really don’t want to hear? This is a rare opportunity, I rarely get so sentimental.”

Zheng Shuai glanced at him and said, “Have some mercy, don’t make us spend money and then not even have an appetite.”

Wang Yao swallowed hard, “I haven’t even had lunch, I’ve been waiting for this meal.”

Chen You，“……”

They missed the farewell dinner, so they made up for it with this meal.

The three of them sat at a table, chatting away over various kinds of seafood.

Zheng Shuai encountered problems in his love life. As planned, he brought his online girlfriend home after graduation, hoping to let his parents get to know her better. Well, this interaction led to trouble.

Zheng Shuai’s girlfriend is the type to talk about everything. When Zheng Shuai’s parents asked her, they found out about her family situation. She has a XiaoShu who was paralyzed in a car accident years ago. He never got married and has been living with her family ever since. A couple of years ago, she also gained a Didi.

When Zheng Shuai’s parents talked it over, they were shocked to find that their son would not only marry a wife, but also gain Xiao Shu and a son.

That won’t do, not even if they’re dead.

With his parents interfering, Zheng Shuai’s relationship with his girlfriend became strained, and their breakup was inevitable.

Wang Yao’s problem wasn’t a romantic one, it’s work-related. He works at a TV station, and many of his colleagues got their jobs through connections.  Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem, everyone goes their own way, and it doesn’t affect him or anyone else.

But some people just have to stir up trouble, making fun of Wang Yao’s appearance. Once or twice is understandable, but three or four times, or several times a day? What kind of behavior is that?

Wang Yao is fat, but he’s just carrying extra weight, he’s not a complete slob. After getting into two arguments, he decided to join the ranks of those trying to lose weight, aiming to develop a six-pack, V-cut abs, and all sorts of defined muscles to dazzle those people and make them envious.

After listening, Chen You talked about his own situation, saying that he wasn’t taking on any acting roles, wasn’t going out to look for work, and was just staying at home, playing with his dog and walking his snake.

Zheng Shuai and Wang Yao said in unison, “Walking snake?”

Chen You then showed them the photos, saying, “How about it? Isn’t he beautiful? My son.” People should dare to think. He thought to himself, people should dare to dream. He figured that the little golden snake might have hatched from that snake egg, and due to the turmoil in the data network, it ended up with him. After all, the snake’s dad was a virus, so anything was possible.

Snakes are a species that some people like, but even more people dislike.

Zheng Shuai and Wang Yao both belong to the latter category, slippery and icy cold, which is terrifying to think about, “Youzi, be careful, don’t get bitten.”

Chen You said it was fine, that it was non-toxic.

Zheng Shuai and Wang Yao didn’t believe it. The more beautiful something is, the more poisonous it is—this saying is definitely not nonsense.

After the three of them finished one round of food, they went to eat another. Every time they ate at a buffet, they never lost money. This skill is not something that ordinary people can do.

Pang Yilong was absent, so Chen You asked them about his news abroad.

“I contacted Old Pang when you were holding your press conference.”

Zheng Shuai peeled a lobster shell and said, “He changed his number without telling any of us. It’s obvious he’s parting ways with us.”

Without hesitation, Chen You replied, “I saw off Old Pang at the airport the day he left the country.”

Zheng Shuai, being a bit observant, sensed something amiss in this matter, “Damn it, Old Pang made Youzi see him off at the airport alone without telling us. What’s this? Are they having a secret meeting?”

The speaker didn’t mean any harm, but the listener took offense.

Chen You threw the crab leg aside and said, “Secret meeting my ass? LaoZi has a boyfriend, and Old Pang had a girlfriend. How can we have a secret rendezvous? You two tell me.”

Zheng Shuai chuckled dryly, “It’s just a joke, why take it seriously, right, Old Wang?”

“You’re the one who can’t control your mouth.” Wang Yao handed over the large crab leg he was holding, saying, “Youzi, we can’t let Old Shuai keep talking nonsense. Here, this big, juicy crab leg is for you.”

Zheng Shuai，“……”

Chen You ate the meat from a crab leg and said, “To be honest, before I came out to the world, I wanted to come clean with you guys many times, but I didn’t dare. Am I a coward?”

Zheng Shuai, “Coward.”

Wang Yao, “You’re such a coward, you deserve a beating.”

Chen You sighed, fuck, how was LaoZi supposed to know he’d be so lucky? None of XiongDi left.

After leaving the buffet restaurant, Chen You offered to drive Zheng Shuai and Wang Yao home. However, when they saw the person getting out of the car, they immediately shook their heads vigorously, “No need, no need, we’ll take a taxi. Goodbye, Youzi.”

They left immediately, as if afraid that even a slight delay would cause them to be remembered by the important figure. They didn’t realize that this important figure wasn’t the same as before, nowadays, a simple piece of candy would be enough to make him smile.

Chen You’s face twitched, “Why did you come down?”

Li Yan’s face was tense, and he was very unhappy, “I ate all the apples.”

Chen You was completely dumbfounded. Why was he still feeling that familiar, chilling feeling? He quickly laughed and said, “Wow, that’s amazing! You’re so awesome!”

Li Yan insisted, “You said you’d come back after I finished three, but I ate four and you didn’t come back, and five and you still didn’t come back.”

Chen You didn’t know what to say. How was I supposed to know you will eat so fast? He suddenly opened his eyes and asked, “How many did you say you ate just now?”

Li Yan remained silent.

Chen You pursed his lips. I’m done for, he’s really angry. He glanced at the man’s stomach, then patted it like he was checking a watermelon, “Is your stomach bloated? Let’s go home. You need to take some medicine.”

Li Yan shook off his hand.

Chen You，“……”

He tugged at the man’s sleeve, “Okay, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have eaten crayfish and crabs by myself while you ate an apple in the car. Next time, I’ll take you with me wherever I go.”

Li Yan glared at him, “You’re lying, you’re a liar.”

Upon hearing this adjective, Chen You paused, his expression softening. “Yes, yes, I’m a liar, I’m disgraceful, I have no shame.”

Li Yan frowned, “Cute liar.”

Well, whatever you say is fine. Chen You smiled and took the man to buy things. He ignored the stares of the people around him and followed him closely, not moving an inch. That wonderful feeling came over him, he felt like he had the whole world.

As soon as the weather turned cool, shedding the sweltering summer and embracing autumn, Chen You got busy with one thing-–-writing a script.

He wasn’t writing fiction, he was writing about his experiences in several worlds other than the simple one that had already been filmed. He planned to contact Hu Wei and Lin Fuxing after he finished writing it. One was a top agent, and the other was a film and television company owner. They would definitely be able to help him fulfill his wish.

Even when he gets old and his memory fades, these works will still be there, and he can put on his reading glasses and look at them.

That’s what Chen You thought.

At the age of twenty, he was thinking about life in his seventies and eighties. He didn’t find getting old to be an unacceptable thing. Everyone will have that day, and besides, he had people to grow old with.

However, there’s something quite strange. Chen You asked the system many times why he completed the simple task in the fifth world instead of the fourth, but of course, he received no reply.

He guessed that Old 4 might have been demoted and was not happy in his new job, and needed time to adapt. Currently, no one else had been assigned to take over system number 444, so his calls went unanswered.

To find out the details, he has to wait for the Old 4 to appear.

Writing his own stories, Chen You wrote at a speed of 5,000 to 10,000 words per hour, completing one book a week. By late autumn, he had finished all of them.

When Hu Wei and Lin Fuxing received the call, they looked at the scripts on the table, flipping through one after another, both of them shocked. No screenwriter could pull out so many scripts at once. They found it hard to believe that a non-professional, inexperienced outsider could do it.

“Did you really write all of these yourself?”

Chen You nodded, “Mm.”

Hu Wei and Lin Fuxing exchanged a glance, still unable to believe it. Although they hadn’t looked at the scripts in detail, and had only skimmed through them, thought they were pretty good. When they went to see Li Yan, he was fighting with a little golden snake and a yellow puppy, clearly unable to offer any help.

Based on their understanding of Chen You, he wouldn’t do something like buying someone else’s script in private and then claiming it as his own.

So, it’s true.

Hu Wei took a deep breath, “I’ll take it to a few investors we’ve worked with before.”

“OK.”

Chen You thought to himself, it would be great if Li Yan could recover. He probably couldn’t spend even a fraction of his fortune in this lifetime, so there’s absolutely no need to look for investors.

Lin Fuxing crossed his legs, “Chen You, are you going to act it yourself?”

Chen You said, “It depends.”

He said with a smile, “I not only want to make it into a film, but also into an animation with sound.”

As he spoke, Chen You put away all the scripts except for the one numbered 1, which was his first mission world, “Let’s start from this one.”

Hu Wei was efficient and reached an agreement with investors for Chen You in less than a week. There was only one condition, his cutie could act in any role, not for fame, but just to experience the life of an actor and feel the atmosphere on set.

Upon hearing this, Chen You said he wanted to see the photos. He stared at the photos Hu Wei had sent, his eyes practically popping out of his head, “Then then then, he is going to play the role of Xia Hong!”

The person in the photo was Xia Hong himself, exactly the same.

Chen You swallowed hard and asked Hu Wei if he could get him a phone number, “Xia Hong’s role isn’t big, but it’s very distinctive. I’d like to talk to him.”

Hu Wei said it was impossible, “That’s Mr. Zhang’s little lover, very precious. Where am I supposed to meet him? You can talk to him in person when he joins the crew, but I have to warn you, you can only talk, not touch. He’s very delicate.”

Chen You could only wait.

It couldn’t be Xia Hong, could it? He slapped himself, that person was from the task world, how could he possibly come to his real world? That’s ridiculous.

Chen You hung up the phone, still staring at the photo. It looked so much like him, so incredibly similar.

If Xia Hong is indeed Xia Hong, then could Xiaojin be his snake child?

When Li Yan was still Chang Qin, in order to change the fate of being destroyed, he broke the main program during his escape, and it was not fixed after being repaired.

So the mission world overlaps with the real world?

Holy crap, I’m overthinking again!

Chen You subconsciously poured out a few pills, and before swallowing them, he discarded the extra one according to the dosage.

He needs to be with his father and take care of Li Yan, so he can’t keep taking medicine haphazardly, he needs to get his health back on track.

Chen You’s eyes hurt from looking at the photos, so he deleted them and went to his bedroom. As soon as he entered, he heard crying coming from inside.

Wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves as if they were about to die.

Chen You walked to the computer desk, craned his neck to take a look, pretty good, fool Li! After I only showed you how to use the computer and open folders on the E drive twice, you can now do it yourself!

He touched the man’s hair, you decided to be the smartest fool.

The movie is in high definition, and both the sound and picture quality are superb.

Therefore, every little detail in the movie will be clearly exposed and laid bare before the audience.

Chen You bent down, put his arms around the man’s neck, and leaned on his shoulder, saying, “It’s so dark, can you actually stand to watch this?”

Li Yan pointed and said, “This one looks good.”

Chen You looked at what the man was pointing to—the black collar around the male protagonist’s neck. Not bad, he’d grasped the key point of a movie, he had a bright future ahead of him.

He clicked his tongue, “You like it? I’ll buy you one.”

Li Yan said, “I want to buy it.”

Chen You touched the man’s neck, scraping the prominent Adam’s apple. He has to buy an adjustable one. He said, “I’ll check online.”

He didn’t let Li Yan get up. Instead, he put his hand on the table, grabbed the mouse with one hand and pressed the keyboard with the other, minimizing the movie window and dragging it to the bottom left corner.

“I have a lot of movies on that hard drive, and they’re all organized by category, from smallest to largest. Don’t mess them up, or it’ll be difficult for me to reorganize them, okay?”

Li Yan stared at the computer screen, pointing to a collar, “Buy this.”

Chen You said, “Don’t rush, I’m looking into it. Even though we’re not short of money, we can’t just spend it recklessly. We still need to compare prices from different vendors.”

He scrolled down with his mouse, looking for similar items to click on and read the reviews, mainly focusing on follow-up comments and negative reviews. If there were no negative reviews, he would look at the pictures.

One shop had quite a few negative reviews, and Chen You felt that the one review shopkeeper had received was very unfair.

The negative review read: I put the collar on my boyfriend while he was asleep, and I couldn’t resist taking him out for a walk. He broke up with me. It’s all the collar’s fault, and this store’s fault (omitting two or three hundred words of profanity). I’m so angry, so furious!

The shopkeeper replied: On this day next year, I will burn you a collar.

Chen You was overjoyed. After browsing the reviews for a while, he decided to order from this store. He inquired and found that it was located in the same city, so if he placed the order today, it would arrive tomorrow.

Bought it.~

Chen You paid the money first, then looked at the product description. The chain was retractable, and the collar was adjustable in size. He figured if he and Li Yan stopped playing together, it can also be used for Laifu, very practical, “I’ll take this one, and this one too.”

Li Yan pointed to several packages, which Chen You bought them all, “Is there anything else?”

Li Yan shook his head. He turned off the ancient movie and turned on a modern one, watching it intently, looking like he was studying diligently.

Chen You，“……”

For some reason, he suddenly regretted buying those things.

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