Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Fu Xiuning didn’t eat in the cafeteria but brought the food back to eat with him.

There was a small round table in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the lounge, with a single sofa on each side, perfect for a meal.

Citing the rule of “no phones during meals,” Fu Xiuning took both their phones to charge in the outer office. He didn’t care whether Yan Feng’s system would notice.

Now, without any electronic devices around them, they finally didn’t need to exchange messages anymore.

Xing Shi mentioned what happened in the group chat.

Someone needed to keep an eye on Yu Yi to prevent him from meeting Yan Feng.

Later Riser deliberately admitted that Yan Feng was its host, putting on a show of being forthcoming as if it was afraid they wouldn’t believe it. But this very act made people hesitate, especially since Yan Feng’s style really didn’t match that of a host. How much the other hosts believed was up to them.

However, Xing Shi’s name was brought up. Whether they had noticed Fu Xiuning’s special treatment of him before, they certainly knew about it now.

Xing Shi put on an innocent act, using sarcastic words, “I guess it’s because I’m just too awesome and lovable, huh? What can I do, man? They might start targeting me because they see how nice you are to me, right?”

Fu Xiuning said, “Li Yu probably won’t, but Sang Chenhao is uncertain.”

Xing Shi asked, “Do you have a suspicion list for this new host?”

Fu Xiuning glanced at him, “Not for now.”

Although 99 already knew that Fu Xiuning had discovered the strategy, hearing this still made it gasp and ask Shang Shang Qian, “That’s pretty scary. How did he figure out the host so quickly? Do you think he’s right?”

Shang Shang Qian said, “I don’t know.”

It had a vague guess based on the previous string of points being added, but the situation was too bizarre, and it wanted to observe further.

99 remained wary, “If he’s right about everything, that would be too scary.”

Shang Shang Qian said, “That’s a good thing.”

99’s thoughts habitually revolved around working for the main system, so it took a moment to realize it was also a victim, and then it chimed in, “That makes sense, considering we’re all in the same boat.”

Xing Shi served food to Fu Xiuning and, after seeing him eat it, raised an eyebrow and asked, “How is it?”

Fu Xiuning looked back at him and calmly nodded.

Earlier, Xing Shi had been preoccupied with asking Shang Shang Qian about things and was then forced to rest by his brother, so he hadn’t had a chance to confirm the 99 situation with Fu Xiuning until now.

Fu Xiuning had understood his question was about a “suspicion list” rather than directly asking if the new host had appeared, which meant Xing Shi wanted to keep his ability to overhear conversations hidden.

Even though it was difficult to hide this from Shang Shang Qian, at least it shouldn’t be openly discussed. He cooperated.

Xing Shi received his feedback: he could still hear 99’s voice.

This meant he couldn’t hear Shang Shang Qian because it had been unbound from its host.

In other words, even though 99 had been drained of energy, Xing Shi was still bound to it, meaning they would need to completely dismantle 99 to sever the connection.

It was noteworthy that the main system was so precious with its energy, yet whenever Fu Xiuning appeared within a certain range, the favorability tracker would activate automatically. This was likely due to an invisible energy line connecting him, allowing him to hear conversations between bound hosts and systems, and enabling the program to promptly detect changes in his favorability.

So, unless something unexpected happened, Xing Shi’s favorability tracker should still be working fine. Either there was a hidden independent energy source within 99 that hadn’t been found, or the program had another operational mechanism that couldn’t be solved by draining energy.

This part was easy to handle.

99 is right here, under my nose, and can be dismantled anytime.

But I still need to keep one system for now since Shang Shang Qian needs to return.

The favorability is currently at 70, but we can wait until it gets closer to 90 before dismantling it.

The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously retracted their gazes.

The meal was quickly finished, and Fu Xiuning glanced at the untouched dishes on Xing Shi's side. "Not to your taste?" she asked.

Xing Shi shrugged. "No, it's good. I'm just not that hungry."

Fu Xiuning studied him. "Not feeling well?"

Xing Shi nodded. "Still a bit sleepy."

Fu Xiuning touched his forehead and got up to find something.

Xing Shi also felt his forehead. "No fever, right?"

Fu Xiuning said, "Not sure."

She took out a thermometer from the bedside table and handed it to Xing Shi.

He took it, shook it down, and carefully clipped it under his arm.

Five minutes later, he checked the result: 37.5.

Fu Xiuning frowned slightly.

Xing Shi met his gaze and explained quickly, "My power core wasn't fully activated before. I was a bit drained trying to keep them contained, but after absorbing the system's energy, my core is fully up and running now. This won't happen again, don't worry."

Fu Xiuning looked at him. "Are you sure?"

Xing Shi said, "I'm sure."

Fu Xiuning noticed he didn’t hold back while explaining, so he figured it must be true. "Shall I send you home?"

"Yeah," Xing Shi agreed. "It’s way more comfortable to go home, take a shower, and sleep in my own bed. Just have Qin send me."

Fu Xiuning ignored him, picked up her car keys, and gestured for him to follow.

Xing Shi obediently followed. As they stepped into the elevator, he checked his phone.

He had put his phone on silent while sleeping, and Yan Feng had called three times during lunch. He asked, "Did Yan Feng call you?"

Fu Xiuning had already checked her phone. "He did."

Just as Xing Shi was about to comment, a fourth call came in, and he pressed to answer. "Hello, Feng Ge."

Yan Feng almost rushed back to the office but calmed down when he heard Xing Shi's voice. "Why did it take you so long to answer? Were you just waking up?"

Xing Shi said, "I had the phone on silent and didn't hear it. What's up?"

Yan Feng said, "I wanted to grab you something to eat. Need anything?"

Xing Shi said, "No, I have a low fever, I'm going home to sleep."

Yan Feng sounded surprised. "A low fever?"

Xing Shi weakly replied, "Yeah, maybe I got scared."

Yan Feng thought to himself, *Sure enough, he's such a wimp,* and suggested, "Want to go to a temple and pray? I'm free recently, how about I accompany you to climb the mountain tomorrow morning?"

Xing Shi said, "Tentative, depends on my situation."

Yan Feng hung up the phone and sneered, turning to the system, "With this kind of courage, we could totally freak him out with some spooky stuff and maybe even scare him to death."

The system also didn't expect that Xing Shi could get a fever from fear and said, "Wanna give it a shot?"

Yan Feng decided to try it out, starting with normal horror movies or escape rooms to confirm Xing Shi's fears before working out a detailed strategy.

Xing Shi went home and took a shower, and by the time he changed into fresh clothes, there was a knock at the door. He went to open it.

Fu Xiuning had knocked once and received no response, guessing that Xing Shi might be showering. Now, looking at his wet hair, he asked, "You took a shower even with a low fever?"

Xing Shi remained calm, "It's fine, it's not a cold."

Fu Xiuning didn't comment and handed him a fever patch, instructing, "Dry your hair before sleeping."

Xing Shi obediently said okay.

Fu Xiuning looked inside.

The curtains were drawn, and the room was dim, very suitable for sleeping.

He didn't enter, saying, "Get some rest, and call me if you need anything."

Xing Shi first dried his hair, then peeled open a fever patch and stuck it on his forehead.

He signaled to the two systems not to disturb him, got into bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream, he was back in his childhood.

After helping his little brother and sharing an ice cream, they became like brothers.

It was their first day at the beach, and they were both staying for several days. Xing Shi naturally took on the role of the leader.

He handed his small shovel to Fu Xiuning and generously said, "This is for you, play with it as you like!"

Fu Xiuning couldn't help but smile, "No need, I'll just watch you play."

Xing Shi invited, "Come on, play with us~ What’s a beach trip without playing in the sand?"

Fu Xiuning smiled, "Watching you guys is just as fun."

Xing Shi said, "That's definitely not the same."

He looked at Fu Xiuning's gentle, studious appearance and understood, "Are you shy?"

Fu Xiuning said, "No."

Xing Shi gave him a patient look, seeing him return the shovel. He took it and, after crouching to shovel some sand, suddenly looked up pitifully, "Brother, I don't know how to build a castle. Can you help me?"

His little brother, caught off guard by the sudden request, shivered and tumbled into the hole Xing Shi had just dug.

Fu Xiuning burst out laughing and finally crouched down.

Turns out, playing in the sand was way more fun than he thought.

Xing Shi had originally wanted to take care of his new friend, but soon realized he couldn't spare the attention.

Because the castle Fu Xiuning built was exceptionally beautiful, a true work of art. Xing Shi helped by passing him tools and praised, "You're really good at this, bro!"

Fu Xiuning responded with a soft "Yeah."

Xing Shi quickly added, "You're almost as good as me!"

With a smile, Fu Xiuning continued working and asked, "Didn't you say you didn't know how?"

Xing Shi showed no discomfort at being called out, "I was talking about my natural ability, bro, you know what I mean~"

Fu Xiuning laughed again and didn't press further.

As the castle gradually took shape, it attracted many onlookers.

They huddled behind the castle and asked a parent to snap a picture of them together. They made plans to play together in the afternoon before parting reluctantly.

Another fun thing to do by the sea was playing in the water.

The waves were quite strong, and even adults could feel their powerful impact, let alone children.

Several parents were concerned and only allowed them to wade at the shore. They had to head back as soon as the waves reached their knees.

However, the hotel had a large public water pool, shallower than a swimming pool, where Xing Shi and the others could play.

Xing Shi couldn't swim yet, so He Fengbo put a floatie on him and instructed him not to take it off.

He nodded and eagerly dove in to join Fu Xiuning. The younger brother followed closely, splashing water all over them.

Wiping his face, Xing Shi immediately asked He Fengbo for a water gun.

The pool was vast, running through the entire central garden of the hotel. It passed under several bridges. The depth varied, but overall it wasn't as deep as a swimming pool.

After playing for a while, Xing Shi found the water only reached his chest and, feeling eager, got out of the floatie. This time, he could really show off and soaked them.

Fu Xiuning smiled at him and went to buy a water gun, bigger and more powerful than his.

Xing Shi opened his eyes wide, "Little bro, are you trying to start a war?"

Fu Xiuning filled his gun and aimed at him, asking with a smile, "What did you call me?"

Xing Shi wasn't afraid, "Bro, are you trying to challenge your big bro?"

Fu Xiuning: "..."

The water fight started, and soon other kids joined in, caught up in the fun. The number of participants grew, including two or three adults joining for fun.

Xing Shi, using the cover of a statue by the shore, quickly found a less crowded spot to hide, secretly refilled his water gun, and, full of fighting spirit, prepared to rejoin the battle. Just then, he felt a cramp in his leg and, caught off guard, fell into the water.

In his excitement, he hadn’t thought it through. He thought that even if he couldn't swim, he could just shout for help if something went wrong. But now, he realized that when you're truly drowning, you can't make a sound.

His limbs felt powerless, and he watched the faint light above as he slowly sank down.

Fear spread through his chest, and his consciousness gradually blurred. Suddenly, a hand broke through the light-blue water.

Fu Xiuning had grabbed him.

Xing Shi bolted awake, the room just as dim as when he’d fallen asleep.

99’s voice echoed in his mind: "You’re awake? Still running a fever?"

Xing Shi took a moment to react, touching his forehead. "I don’t know."

99 said, "About ten minutes ago, someone peeked in through the open door and then shut it. Probably your brother."

Xing Shi asked, "What time is it now?"

99 replied, "I don’t know."

Shang Shang Qian chimed in, "Three twenty-one."

After asking that, Xing Shi realized 99 had run out of energy, but Shang Shang Qian, having been supplied energy by him before, was still functioning normally.

He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and sent a message to Fu Xiuning.

Two minutes later, Fu Xiuning pushed the door open and entered.

This was the first time Fu Xiuning had stepped into this room since Xing Shi moved in. He took a quiet look around.

The house was cleaned by the maid every day, so the room wasn’t messy, appearing orderly and neat. He glanced around briefly and then moved to the side of the bed.

Xing Shi, seeing him in casual clothes, asked, "You didn’t go to work today?"

Fu Xiuning replied, "I just got back. How are you feeling? Still sleepy?"

Xing Shi said, "Slept enough, I think I’m fine now."

Fu Xiuning then went to draw open a layer of the curtains.

Lying in bed, Xing Shi watched him, the soft light filtering through the sheer curtains, slowly brightening the room. He stood in the halo of light, his profile still holding a faint echo of the boy he once was.

As Fu Xiuning turned around and met his gaze, he was slightly startled, feeling there was some unspoken meaning in Xing Shi’s eyes. "What’s up?" he asked.

Xing Shi smiled. "Well... how should I put it, I dreamed about you."

99, getting excited, let out a low "Wow" on the spot.

Shang Shang Qian, after a two-second silence, reminded, "You don’t need to complete any more mission tasks."

Not wanting to disturb Xing Shi, 99 whispered, "I know, but without energy or memories, I’ve got nothing else to do. Why not ship a CP?"

Shang Shang Qian was momentarily at a loss for words.

As Fu Xiuning approached, Xing Shi couldn’t help but notice how different things felt.

In his dream, Fu Xiuning had a warm, inviting smile that made everything feel cozy. But now, though he was still gentle, there was an underlying chill, and even his occasional smiles seemed tinged with amusement or mischief.

Seeing that Xing Shi didn’t answer, Fu Xiuning touched his forehead.

Xing Shi grabbed his hand and examined it closely.

On the first day he returned, when he saw Fu Xiuning in the dining room, he had noticed how good his hands looked. Now, upon closer inspection, he found that to be true.

Fu Xiuning, seeing that Xing Shi was holding onto him without letting go, had a barely perceptible pause in his expression but did not pull away.

"Ping"

"Current favorability: 71"

99: "!"

Shang Shang Qian: "?"

Xing Shi snapped out of his reverie and looked up at the other.

Fu Xiuning gently pulled away this time, his expression calm as he asked gently, "What did you dream about?"

Xing Shi replied with a question instead, "Have you been to the beach when you were little?"

Fu Xiuning said, "I have."

Xing Shi asked, "Did you play with sand and water guns?"

Fu Xiuning recalled, "I believe so."

Xing Shi smiled and asked, "With who?"

Fu Xiuning was startled, a vague figure flashing in his mind, but he couldn't clearly capture it.

Connecting this with Xing Shi's somewhat abnormal behavior after waking up, he immediately understood what Xing Shi was implying, "With you?"

Xing Shi, seeing his expression, knew that he was just guessing and hadn't really remembered. He smiled and responded with a casual "Yeah," "Brother, you saved me, remember~"

Fu Xiuning looked down, meeting his gaze, feeling a sense of disbelief.

"Ping"

"Current favorability: 72"

Shang Shang Qian: "?"

Is the favorability that easy to increase?

It couldn't help but glance at its colleague.

99, still processing the situation, quickly recalled the original host's data.

Though it had no energy left, it was still an intelligent life form and didn't forget what it had seen.

It said, "This doesn't add up, Xing Shi. There's no record of this in the data. If the original host had really met Fu Xiuning when he was young, I wouldn't have missed such an important piece of information. I would have reminded you to use this to win him over."

Xing Shi casually said, "I made it up, see? The favorability went up, didn't it?"

99 was confused, "But you and him have already teamed up to dismantle the system. You don't need to do tasks anymore."

Xing Shi said, "What's the problem? This favorability system makes people want to max out their score."

99 said, "But if you get a perfect score, you'll be absorbed by the main system."

Xing Shi said, "I'll be careful."

99 nodded, "Alright, just be careful."

Xing Shi smiled, "Mm-hmm!"

Shang Shang Qian: “……”

Fu Xiuning was used to his trickery with the system and continued to seriously recall, trying to make out the faint shadow in his mind.

Unfortunately, even after Xing Shi finished taking his temperature, Fu Xiuning still couldn’t recall the memory, so he put it aside for now. He picked up the thermometer and saw that it had returned to normal, which relieved him a bit.

Xing Shi asked, “How’s it looking?”

Fu Xiuning said, “The fever has gone down.”

He noticed an opened cooling patch on the bedside table and placed the thermometer next to it. “I’ll leave these here with you,” he said.

Xing Shi nodded, sat up from the bed, stretched, peeled off the cooling patch from his forehead, threw it into the trash can, and casually pulled open the drawer to put these things inside.

Fu Xiuning stood up to give him some space, and as he did, his gaze suddenly stopped on something. “Wait,” he said.

Xing Shi looked up in confusion as Fu Xiuning bent down and pulled out a cufflink.

Fu Xiuning looked down at the item in his hand, staring at the dried blood on it. “Where did this come from?”

Xing Shi said, “I heard it was from saving someone who had a car accident.”

Fu Xiuning was silent for a moment and asked, “When?”

Xing Shi asked the system for the answer and told him, “Back in January.”

Fu Xiuning heard 99’s response as well but remained silent.

A moment later, the familiar notification chime rang out, heard by both men and their systems.

“Ding ding”

“Current favorability: 80”

99: “!!!”

Shang Shang Qian: “……”

Xing Shi’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly looked at Fu Xiuning, meeting his gaze. In that instant, he understood what Fu Xiuning meant.

Turns out, the person I saved back then was actually you?

For the mission, this information was way more valuable than knowing about a childhood encounter.

But how did the system miss something so important?

Ever since Xing Shi’s previous hospital stay, where he dreamt of Fu Xiuning, a vague thought had begun to form, and at this moment, it became completely clear.

He had once asked the system how to confirm the host, knowing that there would be an energy fluctuation when the host traveled through time.

But 99 had come to this world right after the host. The fact that it had made a mistake meant that his and Yu Yi’s time travel timelines had almost overlapped. His energy fluctuation had momentarily overshadowed Yu Yi’s, causing 99 to have an illusion, failing to notice Yu Yi, who was also in the restaurant.

What were the odds of that kind of timing overlap?

The answer was: extremely low.

So, after hearing about Yu Yi from Fu Xiuning and connecting it to his own dreams, a hunch began to form.

Now, learning that he had also saved Fu Xiuning, that hunch had become even more certain.

There is another force at work in this world.

It is very likely this force gave Fu Xiuning the ability to hear the conversations between the system and the host.

It was also this force that sent Xing Shi to the magic world, and after he upgraded the advanced magic core and gained the ability to resist the system, it chose the moment of his time travel to send him back.

To avoid further misunderstandings, it erased some of their memories.

Otherwise, from Fu Xiuning’s point of view, knowing that Xing Shi is the time travel host, overhearing the system and Xing Shi discussing ways to win him over, and discovering that the person he was dealing with was not only his childhood playmate but also his savior, his affection would certainly be even lower.

In a moment of disgust, Fu Xiuning might set a trap to get rid of Xing Shi before he even had a chance to prove himself.

And Xing Shi, not one to back down, would retaliate tenfold, leading them to a point of no return where they would fight to the death, making cooperation impossible.

What was this mysterious force? Could it be the world itself trying to save itself?

They stared at each other in silence, one standing, the other sitting, neither speaking.

Fu Xiuning’s thoughts mirrored Xing Shi’s, but with one additional question: Why did it have to be Xing Shi?

If not for these systems and hosts, would they have been destined to be together in their original lives?

Is that why Xing Shi was sent away, only to be brought back after enduring hardships to save him?

But why him? Why now?

Fu Xiuning gripped the cufflink tightly, his eyes filled with emotion.

He stared at Xing Shi in silence, the question burning in his mind: Why him?

"Ding."

"Current affection: 81."

"Ding."

"Current affection: 82."

"Ding..."

Xing Shi called out just in time, "Bro."

Fu Xiuning snapped back to reality, reining in his emotions. "I'll get you a glass of water."

Xing Shi responded with a soft "Yeah," watching him leave from the side of the bed before taking a deep breath, getting off the bed, and walking over.

Fu Xiuning grasped the door handle, paused for two seconds with his eyes downcast, then suddenly turned back.

In an instant, the two met, stopped in their tracks, and silently looked at each other.

Their emotions crumbled in the heavy silence.

The next moment, Xing Shi grabbed his collar, and at the same time, Fu Xiuning cupped the back of his head, pressing his lips firmly against Xing Shi’s.