Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Xing Shi had a long dream.

He dreamed of his childhood, when his father He Fengbo had just become somewhat famous, and his mother Xing Jiaying was a dance teacher. They lived in a small two-story house, with vegetables and flowers planted in the yard, and a swing built by He Fengbo himself.

He could sit on the swing and play for an entire afternoon.

Even though his parents were busy, they’d always make time to take him to the nearby playground after work.

The slide was fun, and the sand was fun too, but sometimes his playmates wouldn’t listen, which was frustrating.

Xing Jiaying chuckled and said, “That’s because Sui Sui is too smart! Maybe next time you could explain things differently.”

Xing Shi, looking up with his childish voice, asked, “What approach?”

Xing Jiaying said, “You have to think of it yourself. But don’t argue with them, okay?”

Xing Shi obediently said, “Okay, I know. They can’t win an argument with me, so they don’t even try.”

Both Xing Jiaying and He Fengbo laughed out loud and said, “And no fighting either.”

Xing Shi said, “I won’t. They don’t dare to fight me either.”

He Fengbo glanced at his small frame and asked, “Have you already beaten them all up?”

Xing Shi said, “No.”

He Fengbo asked, “Then why don’t they fight you?”

Xing Shi bounced a little and happily said, “I shared the candy Grandma gave me, and now they all call me ‘big brother.’”

Xing Jiaying and He Fengbo couldn’t help but laugh again.

On weekends, his parents would also take him to bigger parks and amusement parks, not just the small one near their house. Occasionally, during holidays, they would take him on trips.

Gradually, he started kindergarten. On the first day, he sat in his chair with tears in his eyes as his parents left, holding back from crying out loud. The teacher rewarded him with a small toy for being so brave.

After the first few tough days, he adjusted and started having fun every day. Then he started elementary school.

Elementary school wasn’t as carefree as kindergarten, but it was no problem for him, surrounded by younger kids.

During the summer vacation of his first grade in elementary school, his parents took him to the seaside, along with another family from their neighborhood. He had been playing with their child since he was little, and the two families had always been close.

The seaside was bustling, and he bought two cone ice creams when he saw his younger brother, who had gone to the restroom, returning tearfully, accompanied by an older boy.

Xing Shi quickly went over, and the parents who had been watching them also hurried over.

After asking for the reason, they learned that his younger brother had been scared and started crying when a small lizard ran into the restroom. The boy who was also inside had saved him.

Xing Shi said, “It was just a lizard.”

His younger brother, who was a head taller but twice as bulky, sniffled, “But it was so scary.”

Xing Shi slightly tiptoed and soothingly patted his younger brother’s head. He then looked at the boy next to him, who was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, with a gentle expression and a very handsome face.

Gratefully, Xing Shi said, “Thank you for saving my younger brother. From now on, we are brothers.”

He stretched out his hand, “This ice cream is for you.”

The boy probably didn't expect him to be so worldly and chuckled. "No need, it was just a small favor."

Xing Shi continued to offer, "It's a coincidence that we met, don't be polite, take it."

The boy was amused again and, hearing both sets of parents also encouraging him to take it, reached out to accept it. "So, should I call you big bro?"

Xing Shi said, "If you're willing, I don't mind."

Seeing the other laugh again, and quite handsomely at that, he said, "You look older than me, so I'll call you bro. My name is Xing Shi, but people call me Sui Sui—what's your name, bro?"

The boy smiled and introduced himself, "My name is Fu Xiuning."

"Beep... Current affection..."

Xing Shi's consciousness jumped, and the images of the dream quickly dissolved.

He felt as if he was submerged in a black fog, unable to see anything around him, only hearing the inexplicable "beep" sound.

His consciousness followed the sound and gently floated up, flying upward.

In the hospital room, the system suddenly heard the alert tone and knew that Fu Xiuning had arrived.

But it couldn't understand why the affection points were increasing. The host was unconscious and unable to communicate, so it could only face this unexpected turn of events alone, confused.

"Beep"

"Current affection: 28"

"Ding"

"Current affection: 30"

"Beep"

"Current affection: 32"

Fu Xiuning could also hear this sound, his expression calm as he walked inside.

Xing Shi wasn't the host, so his deepest worry finally faded. The closer he got to the ward, the more memories of Xing Shi flooded his mind, replaying all the moments they had shared.

"Beep"

"Current affection: 35"

"Beep"

"Current affection: 40"

"Beep..."

Fu Xiuning stepped into the hospital room and saw the person on the bed.

"Beep"

"Current affection: 50"

Xing Shi's consciousness finally broke through the fog, and he opened his eyes.

He Dao was sitting by the hospital bed, texting and busy with his phone, which kept vibrating non-stop. He Dao was hunched over his phone, typing furiously, barely looking up as it kept vibrating.

There are mainly two things to do: one is to find a more authoritative expert through connections, and the other is to delve into metaphysics.

After all... being knocked flying by an unknown blast, stuck in a low fever and coma for almost two days and nights, and the hospital can't find anything wrong—something's definitely off.

He was asking friends for recommendations on a reliable master when he noticed his son's hand twitch out of the corner of his eye. He quickly looked up, surprised and delighted, "Sui Sui, you're awake?"

Xing Shi looked over, "Dad."

He Dao responded and, while pressing the call bell, asked with concern, "How do you feel? Is anything uncomfortable?"

Xing Shi saw Fu Xiuning walk over and sit on the other side. After looking at him for a moment, Xing Shi said, "I have a headache."

He Dao said, "You're still running a low fever."

Xing Shi remembered what happened before he passed out and asked, "What happened to me?"

He Dao then recounted Yu Shu's death and how they were knocked flying.

It was the afternoon of the second day since the transfer, and he had finally woken up.

As they spoke, the doctor rushed in, and He Dao got up to make room for them.

The doctor carefully asked Xing Shi about his symptoms but still couldn't figure out the cause of the low fever.

However, some tests hadn't been done while he was in a coma, and now they could proceed with those.

At the mention of a bone marrow biopsy, Xing Shi immediately refused, "I don't think I'm seriously ill."

The doctor had heard of the theory about the strange air mass and, although initially skeptical, couldn't dismiss it when their young master said the same. Given how often strange things happen to him, even the doctors had started to believe in metaphysics.

The doctor said, "Then let's observe for another two days."

He Dao saw them out and asked about any dietary restrictions. Returning to his son, he asked, "Do you want some water? Are you hungry? What would you like for dinner?"

Xing Shi's head felt foggy, and he had no appetite, "Some porridge."

Then, remembering something, he added, "And an ice cream cone. Want one, bro? We can each have one, and from now on, we're brothers."

Fu Xiuning looked at him, unsure if there was any deeper meaning in his words, and advised, "Wait until your fever breaks before eating that."

Xing Shi saw his normal expression and knew that Fu didn't remember their past meeting.

One reason could be that they were just passing acquaintances, and Fu Xiuning had long forgotten about it. This would also explain why He Dao didn't recognize Fu at the airport after many years.

The system's information on Fu Xiuning didn't meticulously record every detail of his life, so this incident was omitted, leading to them missing this clue when reviewing the information with the system.

Another reason was more thought-provoking.

The original host's memory and the system's records didn't include this incident either, but as the host tasked with winning over Fu Xiuning, an important event like this shouldn't have been missed by the system.

So whether Fu Xiuning and He Dao really forgot or not, it seemed his memory had been altered.

Xing Shi nodded, got up to freshen up, and came back, lounging against the headboard, asking, "What's the situation with Yu Shu?"

Fu Xiuning poured him a glass of water and said, "It's caused quite a stir. The police are taking it very seriously and should release a statement soon. They've sent two people to Z City to gather information on Yu Shu and were waiting for you to wake up to ask about that day. Should I schedule them for tomorrow morning?"

Xing Shi said, "No need, now is fine."

Fu Xiuning nodded and sent a WeChat message to the police, then, following usual protocol, asked about the matter of that mass of airflow.

Xing Shi said, "I don't know. It suddenly exploded, and I was pretty confused too. Did the police find out the reason? What did Feng Zifan and the others say?"

He Dao interjected, "They said there's a ghost."

Xing Shi, trying to hold back his laughter, put on a serious expression. "It might actually be true."

He Dao grew serious.

Among all those people, only his son had ended up with a fever and unconsciousness. It was also rumored that Yu Shu and Sui Sui had argued that night, so this couldn't be ignored.

He asked, "Should I find a master?"

Xing Shi said, "Let me observe for now. If the fever goes down, then it proves there's nothing to worry about."

His coma this time was due to being hit by a reversed energy transfer, and the low fever might be because the magic core was awakening.

His magic core was a high-level energy body that would automatically handle the chaotic energy transfer inside it, digesting and reabsorbing it, so a few days of rest would do the trick.

Barring any accidents, he should recover from the fever by tomorrow or the day after.

He Dao settled for the next best thing: "Then I'll go get you a protection charm."

But he was too late.

Bei Jinrong and the others, upon receiving Xing Shi's message that he was safe, had grouped together to visit him in the hospital, bringing a bunch of items.

"Here, take this protection charm. We brothers went to the temple early this morning to get it, along with red strings, bodhi seeds, cinnabar bracelets, and pendants. You should buy some red underwear to wear... Oh, and most importantly, this charm. My family's master gave this to me; it's from a different lineage than the temple one. I got one for each of us, and here's a peach wood sword, keep it safe too."

Most of their families had sought out masters, and they had bought many items from the temple. At this moment, they handed over everything, useful or not, including a cross.

When the two police officers entered, they were greeted by a bed covered in metaphysical items. They paused for a moment before sitting down to start their work.

Xing Shi explained everything he knew and admitted that they had had a fight but hadn't taken it too far.

After asking about the incident, the police wished him a speedy recovery and then left.

Still running a low fever, Xing Shi felt drained after handling both sets of visitors.

Bei Jinrong and the others didn’t linger, making plans to meet up for dinner after his discharge before heading out.

Xing Shi lay down in bed, intending to take a nap.

Closing his eyes, he called out to the system, "You've been quiet lately."

The system had a lot to say but remembered how talking while drunk made him even more confused, so it held back.

When he called out, the system explained its reasoning and added gently, "If you're feeling unwell, just sleep first. We can talk after you wake up."

Xing Shi indeed felt dizzy but still asked about the follow-up, "With Yu Shu's death, how did those systems react? They must have noticed me, right?"

The system couldn't wait to bring this up. "I don’t know if they investigated, but they didn’t mention you in the group chat because Yu Shu’s Shang Shang Qian never went offline, so they all thought Yu Shu wasn't the host."

Xing Shi was somewhat surprised and pondered for a few seconds before saying, "It blew up the energy. It probably didn't have enough energy to return, right?"

The system replied, "It just wanted to get back at you; it wouldn't be so foolish as to blow up all its energy, would it? There's still some energy locked in the return program."

Xing Shi figured that, given the emergency, the Shang Shang Qian had acted fast enough to save itself.

He asked, "Has it said anything in the group chat recently?"

The system responded, "No."

Feeling dizzy, Xing Shi decided to put the matter aside for now. "I’ll get some rest."

The system responded, "Go to sleep, rest well."

Fu Xiuning sat nearby playing with his phone and, hearing their conversation end, made a few guesses in his mind. He got up and replaced the fever patch on Xing Shi’s forehead.

Hearing the movement, Xing Shi knew it was Fu Xiuning and quickly drifted off to sleep without opening his eyes.

He slept until dinner time and felt a bit better, no longer wanting to lie down. He got up and went to the living room.

He Dao and his wife, Xing Xuefei, were quietly chatting and, hearing the sound, looked toward him. The latter said, "Awake? Xiuning went to buy porridge. He'll be back soon."

With the system’s reminder, Xing Shi recognized her and called her "Auntie," then asked, "Why did you come as well?"

"Such a big incident happened; how could I not come?" Xing Xuefei stepped forward and gently touched his cheek with the back of her hand. "It seems like you’re still running a slight fever. I’ll get the thermometer to check again."

Xing Shi nodded obediently and sat down on the sofa.

Just as his temperature was taken, Fu Xiuning and his assistant happened to walk in with dinner.

Noticing what he was holding, Fu Xiuning asked, "Are you still running a fever?"

Xing Shi replied, "37.4, it’s almost gone."

Seeing Xing Shi’s relaxed expression, Fu Xiuning felt somewhat relieved and responded with a soft "Mm-hmm."

The assistant stayed, and the five of them sat around the dining table for a meal.

Xing Shi drank his porridge while the other four ate stir-fried dishes.

Eyeing the water-boiled meat slices in front of him, Xing Shi was eager to try but was intercepted by Fu Xiuning halfway. Turning his head to meet his gaze, Xing Shi blinked, "I’m just running a fever, but I’m fine otherwise."

He Dao said, "Having a fever means there’s still an issue with your body’s functions."

Xing Xuefei also advised, "That’s too spicy. Wait until you’re better to eat it."

The dish was originally placed there for Fu Xiuning’s convenience, and as they spoke, He Dao switched it with a lighter dish to prevent temptation.

Xing Shi took a sip of his porridge and shot Fu Xiuning a silent, accusatory glance.

Noticing his glare, Fu Xiuning picked up a vegetable and placed it on Xing Shi’s plate. Seeing Xing Shi use his spoon to push it down into the porridge, a fleeting glimmer of amusement appeared in his eyes.

"Beep"

"Current favorability: 51"

Xing Shi: "?"

He suddenly felt he had misheard and called out to the system, "How much?"

The system, full of joy, replied, "51~"

Xing Shi said, "Is your favorability program broken?"

The system replied, "No, I’ve checked~ It’s really 51~"

Xing Shi couldn't help but glance at Fu Xiuning, feeling puzzled.

Fu Xiuning liked his face and appreciated his personality, even back when his favorability was still negative.

Later, when Fu Xiuning discovered that he was the original host, the lingering estrangement disappeared, and his favorability turned positive.

They spent every day together, and he could clearly sense Fu Xiuning's favorability and attention towards him. But with a favorability of only around 20, it still felt far from romantic territory.

Ultimately, he was the host selected by the main system. Being able to return might have been due to some agreement signed with the main system. Putting himself in Fu Xiuning's shoes, if he were Fu Xiuning, he wouldn't easily fall for such a special person.

So why had there been such a sudden increase in favorability out of the blue?

This wasn't an exam where 60 points was the passing grade. A favorability score of 100 meant that more than half indicated entry into the realm of liking, at least for ordinary people.

Fu Xiuning had seen too much of humanity's dark side, making him emotionally distant and indifferent to others. Even if he wasn't the host, his 50 points were more valuable than an ordinary person's 50.

It couldn't be that during his coma, Fu Xiuning had some epiphany while waiting and realized his feelings for him—thinking, "Even if you're the main system's person, it's fine. If I lose, I’ll accept whatever happens, even if it means giving up my life," and added points for him, right?

Xing Shi was taken aback by this thought and quickly sipped some porridge to steady his nerves.

Impossible, he thought.

Fu Xiuning was definitely not that kind of love-struck fool.

The system, seeing him silent, asked, "Don't you have anything to say?"

Xing Shi said seriously, "It must be because my charm is too great."

The system replied, "That’s probably it!"

Xing Shi continued, "He cares about me, can't live without me."

The system said, "That makes sense!"

Xing Shi rambled on, "Maybe he watched some life-and-death movie scenes, got scared, and while rushing to the hospital thought, 'How can I live without you?' and added points."

Fu Xiuning: "..."

The system wanted to agree but thought it unlikely. "He added points at noon. Should I check what he was doing then?"

Xing Shi looked at Fu Xiuning again, seeing how calm he was, and said, "Go ahead."

The system checked quickly and reported, "He had lunch with Feng Zifan at noon; not sure what they talked about."

Xing Shi couldn't imagine what they might have talked about and casually replied, "Feng Zifan has a good eye for things. Maybe he said something nice about me that made him love me more."

The system thought about it and found it reasonable. "True, he admitted two days ago that he had someone he liked and even stopped you from pursuing Yu Shu, which shows how much he cares about you. But the Yu Shu thing is too bizarre. Seeing you get hurt because of that, he probably felt guilty for not stopping you. Hearing Feng Zifan say a few more things about you probably made him like you even more."

It glanced at the favorability score, clearly pleased. "You can exchange this for a lot of things. Want to?"

Xing Shi refused without a second thought.

The main system had been working on Fu Xiuning's favorability for years.

If he used the favorability to exchange for items, it might trigger some energy connection.

There was no way he was going to touch that favorability.

The system said, "There are many magical items in the store, don't you want to try them?"

Xing Shi said, "Not needed for now, shut up, my head hurts."

The system wisely shut up.

Just after finishing a meal, new visitors arrived, Feng Zifan and Yu Yi, who had received the news.

They couldn't come anytime they wanted as they had training, so they came during a break in the evening.

Xing Shi, who hadn't gone back to his room yet, chuckled, "It's just a low fever, I said there's no need to come specially, aren't you bothered by the rush?"

Feng Zifan smiled helplessly, thinking if it were just a low fever, he wouldn't have run over, but since it was a supernatural event, he had to see for himself.

He said, "We were worried about you. Xiao Yi was so worried he couldn't eat, so we came."

Xing Shi looked at Yu Yi.

Yu Yi looked at him dependently, ran over, and sat next to him, greeting Fu Xiuning politely.

Fu Xiuning glanced at him.

These hosts who had traveled through time indeed had the instinct to win him over engraved in their bones. Even without a system, they couldn’t help but come to him.

But compared to Yu Shu, who was more extreme, Yu Yi was much more cautious. Without the assistance of a system, he didn’t know anything. As a trainee with no foundation or support, he only dared to make his presence known the first few times, not daring to be too enthusiastic.

But even restraint has its limits. After going out together this time and spending more time with him, he noticed something was off.

He simply nodded.

He Dao, who had seen Yu Yi the night before, pushed the fruit plate over and greeted Feng Zifan, inviting them to eat fruit.

Feng Zifan had been feeling like he recognized him, and when he spoke, he cautiously asked, "He Dao?"

He Dao smiled, "Yes, I'm Sui Sui's father."

Feng Zifan was shocked. Earlier in City S, when he heard Qi Changyi calling Xing Shi's nickname, he guessed their relationship was special, and now with He Dao... he couldn’t help but wonder what was going through Xing Shi’s mind, choosing to become a trainee.

Xing Shi took a couple of bites of fruit, pretending not to notice the look in Feng Zifan's eyes.

Feng Zifan and Yu Yi had training in the evening, saw that Xing Shi was fine, sat for a while, and then left.

Xing Shi saw them off, then started persuading He Dao and the others to go back with Fu Xiuning.

The suite only had two bedrooms, so He Dao had set up a single bed in the ward last night, worried that something might happen while Xing Shi was asleep. Now that he had woken up, there was no need to trouble them further.

He Dao had him check his temperature again, finding it had dropped a bit more, so he didn’t insist, and his assistant followed them out, responsible for driving them back.

The ward quieted down, leaving only Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning.

Fu Xiuning asked, "Not going back to lie down?"

Xing Shi said, "I will, keep me company and chat with me."

Fu Xiuning accompanied him back to the bedroom, seeing him get into bed, then sat down in the chair beside him, asking, "What do you want to talk about?"

Xing Shi looked at him, "Tell me what happened while I was out. Anything interesting?"

Fu Xiuning knew what he was asking and said, "Last night, just before we went to bed, Yu Yi came by to check on you because he was worried."

Xing Shi raised an eyebrow.

Fu Xiuning said, "Your cousin said he doesn't think Yu Yi really likes him. He told you to keep an eye on him."

The system had been present for both incidents and chimed in, "Exactly, could it be that he accidentally found out about your relationship with Qi Changyi and deliberately got close to you?"

Xing Shi replied, "Impossible. Go check his phone. He's a fan of Qi Changyi."

The system obediently went to check and reported back, "Indeed, he's a fan of Qi Changyi."

Xing Shi continued, "Maybe Yu Yi is just too introverted to express himself, which led to a misunderstanding with Qi Changyi."

The system agreed, "Hmm."

Xing Shi recalled the night of the beach barbecue and the look in Yu Yi's eyes as he watched them. He then asked Fu Xiuning, "Any other gossip?"

Fu Xiuning, knowing Xing Shi was engaged, asked, "How's your relationship with him? Do you think... he might be secretly in love with me?"

Xing Shi's heart skipped a beat. "Is that so?"

System: "...Huh?"

Fu Xiuning said, "It feels like it, but I'm not sure when it started. Do you think he saw me on the first day of class assignments?"

At that moment, Xing Shi understood what he meant, and the clues in his mind quickly fell into place.

Yu Yi had fallen and dazed himself on the day of class assignments and couldn't remember anything when he got up. During the first rehearsal for the school anniversary, while everyone was backstage, Yu Yi came to the front to find him. When they trended on social media and the company organized a photoshoot, Fu Xiuning went to see them, but only Yu Yi approached him. And during the incident with Gu Zheng, they had pulled back at the last second to avoid a collision, but Yu Yi still bumped into him.

So, Yu Yi was the host—the person chosen to carry the system.

Connecting the dots, Fu Xiuning suddenly realized how much sense this made, and they looked at each other, immediately understanding.

He wasn't the host; the real host was Yu Yi.

Xing Shi could almost deduce Yu Yi's journey.

Suddenly transported to a new world, everything around him was unfamiliar, but he didn't want to arouse suspicion. What did he do?

He faked amnesia by falling.

Deliberately falling and being helped up by those around him, he pretended to remember nothing, gradually piecing together the situation based on what others told him. Since he couldn't remember anything, he did poorly on exams and ended up in the same class as Xing Shi.

Yu Yi was preselected, and not many people knew him.

The trainees—new recruits training to become idols—had just entered the company, facing a completely unfamiliar environment, so even if Yu Yi acted strangely, no one would suspect him. Using the phone of the original host—the person he replaced—he could get a general understanding of the original owner and maintain the persona of someone who liked Qi Changyi.

Apart from faking amnesia since his arrival, he hadn't done anything else to raise suspicion and had even successfully unlocked the original owner's phone. This host was quite smart.

Xing Shi suddenly thought of the missing Shang Shang Qian—an ancient divination tool that seemed to be linked to the system and the host.

At that moment, Yu Yi and Feng Zifan were in a taxi heading back to the company.

Yu Yi looked out the window, thinking that soon Xing Shi would be discharged from the hospital, and he wouldn't be able to see Fu Xiuning again. He nervously squeezed his fingers.

The next moment, he heard the sound of static buzzing.

Then a cold male voice sounded, "Host... how did you end up being the host? What happened to your system?"

Yu Yi jumped and glanced at Feng Zifan next to him.

Feng Zifan noticed and asked, "What’s up?"

Yu Yi, seeing no sign of anything unusual in him, said with bright eyes, "I just saw someone wearing a costume on the street. It looked really good."

Feng Zifan chuckled and rubbed his head.

Yu Yi turned away and heard the sound of electric current, "zzzz," followed by a cold male voice, "Host... why are you the host? Where is your system?"

The voice continued, "Others cannot sense my existence; you can communicate with me directly in your mind."

Yu Yi asked, "Who are you?"

Shang Shang Qian replied, "I am System 66. You are the host, but why don’t you have a system? Do you not know anything?"

Yu Yi had read similar stories before, so he didn’t question it—like he was being drawn in naturally. "I just found out."

Shang Shang Qian gave him a brief explanation about the mission objectives and said, "I saw you by the sea. You know Fu Xiuning, right?"

Yu Yi nodded.

Shang Shang Qian continued, "I don’t have any energy right now, so I can’t bind you or assist you. You’ll need to spend more time with Fu Xiuning."

Yu Yi said, "I will."

Shang Shang Qian, knowing that hosts who have crossed over are usually attracted to Fu Xiuning, but not all choose the romance route, asked, "What do you think of him?"

Yu Yi replied, "Love at first sight."

Shang Shang Qian: "..."

Yu Yi continued, "But he seems to like Fu Xiuning, which complicates things. I don’t want to give up. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Shang Shang Qian choked on his words: "..." Talk about bad timing—and it’s another romance plot.