Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Lou Sheng transferred all his points to 017 via the transfer channel, keeping none for himself.

After discovering the revival function card at the service point, Lou Sheng stopped letting 017 exchange points for trivial items and even regretted his teenage appetite several times. If he had known about the function card that could revive a soul, he would never have let 017 waste so many points back then.

017 finally took the advice and stopped spending points carelessly.

He was eager to come to the real world and see Lou Sheng.

After getting a smartphone, Lou Sheng also got a new phone card.

The new phone’s contact list was completely empty.

The old phone still had his adoptive parents' numbers saved. Lou Sheng stared at them for a while, deleted the two numbers with no activity for three years, and permanently shut down the outdated phone.

He added Liu Xing and Liang Ban’s numbers, but the contact list remained sparse.

Lou Sheng recalled the social media accounts he’d gathered from classmates on 017’s advice, so he downloaded the app and added a few former classmates.

As soon as Zhang Antong added him, he sent a flurry of messages packed with exclamation marks and then invited Lou Sheng to the Class 7 group chat.

It was Lou Sheng’s first time in the class group, and a wave of welcoming messages poured in.

The Class 7 students thought it was funny that he joined the group only after graduation.

Some admiring remarks noted that Lou Sheng never went online or fooled around in high school, which explained his consistent top ranking.

The college entrance exam results were released, and Lou Sheng, unsurprisingly, ranked first again, even earning a bonus from the school.

Lou Sheng applied to the top university in the capital and was accepted without a hitch.

Several Class 7 students were also studying in the capital, and though they weren’t at the same school, they added him.

By coincidence, Zhang Antong also landed in the same city as Lou Sheng. When purchasing tickets before enrollment, he even asked Lou Sheng about his train times.

Lou Sheng bought tickets only once during his entire college career. He didn’t have to ‘go home’ every year like other students from out of town.

He rented an apartment near the university and stayed in the capital for the next four years.

Lou Sheng became far more driven in completing tasks, almost to the point of obsession.

Within six months, the whole department knew about the stoic but exceptionally kind guy in their class.

017 advised Lou Sheng to befriend those with high gratitude points, as they were probably decent people.

That’s how Lou Sheng became friends with Lu Yunsheng in college.

Their friendship was partly due to the gratitude points, but also because they shared a common bond—both were parentless.

Still, Lu Yunsheng was a bit better off, having a brother by his side.

017 was glad to see Lou Sheng forming friendships. He hoped Lou Sheng would never be alone, no matter where he was.

If Lou Sheng knew his thoughts, he’d tell 017 that from the moment 017 appeared, he was no longer alone.

In less than four years, 017’s points rose from 70,000 back to 90,000.

Lou Sheng would check that number occasionally and then push himself even further.

Most of these points were accumulated by Lou Sheng after his junior year. That’s when he finally discovered a quicker way to earn gratitude points: making money and donating it.

Lou Sheng never imagined he’d one day do something like donating money.

He didn’t see himself as a particularly compassionate person. Maybe he had a little, but not much.

017 always called him a good person, but Lou Sheng still didn’t feel he came close to being 'noble.'

If it weren’t for his burning desire to see 017 as soon as possible, he wouldn’t have done so many of what others called noble good deeds.

Lou Sheng had started making money back in high school. In college, surrounded by powerful connections and with a sharp mind, he earned his first big break in his junior year.

Lou Sheng kept half for himself, as seed money for his future ventures. The other half went to various charities.

A month later, 017 got a flood of notifications about gratitude points being added.

Sometimes, 017 thought his host was pushing himself too hard, studying and earning money like his life depended on it. It was like there was this inner drive pushing him to overcome anything.

017 suggested Lou Sheng take a break now and then.

But this time, Lou Sheng ignored him.

He wanted so badly to see 017 as soon as possible.

Lou Sheng figured when they first met, he could hold back from hugging 017.

And he couldn’t rush to spill his feelings either.

There were so many things he wanted to do with 017.

Whenever he came across something interesting or a great restaurant, Lou Sheng would make a mental note to take 017 there later.

Bit by bit, these things piled up without him even noticing.

At first, he kept them to himself, but later, worried he might forget, Lou Sheng secretly jotted them down on paper during late nights when 017 was offline.

Over four years, it grew into a thick stack.

But half the things on the list were stuff only couples could do together.

Lou Sheng tucked those at the bottom.

Even if they stayed just friends…

During their chats, Lou Sheng would sometimes casually fish for details about 017’s preferences.

He wanted to know what 017’s eyes looked like back when he was human, what he liked, what he hated…

After spending so long in the virtual world, 017 had forgotten a lot of things.

Regarding appearance, he only said that his hair color was light, his pupils were also light, and his skin was whiter than most people’s.

He looked… pretty good. Of course, even though this was a very modest conclusion, 017 still didn’t have the heart to say it directly to Lou Sheng.

Lou Sheng imagined a vague silhouette of a young man, with light brown short hair seemingly surrounded by a hazy halo under the sun, like a child of light.

As for preferences, 017 also told Lou Sheng some. For example, his favorite meat was fish, followed by shrimp.

Lou Sheng laughed when he found out, saying that his preferences were similar to Chang Sheng’s.

017: '...'

Lou Sheng began to learn cooking. Before, he would just get by with his meals, like making a basic bowl of noodles—just boiling dried noodles with a bit of soy sauce.

Since discovering the dishes 017 enjoyed, Lou Sheng took a studious approach to cooking, putting in a lot of effort.

Once, after trying a tasty shrimp dish at a restaurant, Lou Sheng even went into the kitchen to buy the recipe.

During his university years, Lou Sheng's cooking skills got much better, especially his braised fish, which he mastered.

But every time he cooked, he was the only one who cleaned the plate.

Lou Sheng was quite clumsy with his tongue, and he always ended up with fish bones stuck in his throat.

017 was worried that Lou Sheng might end up in the hospital from a fish bone and couldn't help but say, "Why not make something else?"

Lou Sheng: "I like it."

"But, host, it seems like... you're not great at eating fish."

Lou Sheng nodded and said, "But I like it."

"Really?" 017 hesitated.

He didn't recall Lou Sheng liking fish before.

He remembered when Lou Sheng first adopted Chang Sheng in high school, he would always frown when feeding it dried fish, clearly not used to the fishy smell.

People's tastes can change, I suppose...

During his senior year of college, Lou Sheng celebrated his 22nd birthday.

He had planned to spend it at home with 017, as he had done in previous years, but some of his college friends came specifically to celebrate his birthday.

Lou Sheng treated them to a meal and had a little alcohol.

The atmosphere in the private room was cozy, but he still preferred his 17th birthday, the one with just 017 and Chang Sheng, the first time anyone had celebrated his birthday.

Just thinking about it made Lou Sheng smile.

Lu Yunsheng, sitting closest to him, noticed and teased, "Are you drunk?"

He'd never seen this guy smile like that before.

Lou Sheng's smile didn't fade at all as he replied, "A little."

Lu Yunsheng paused. Although he was the same age as Lou Sheng, having a younger brother at home had made him more observant than most guys.

But all he could tell was that Lou Sheng was acting differently than usual; he couldn't figure out much more. "Don't drink too much, okay?"

"Mm." Lou Sheng pushed his glass away. "He doesn't let me drink much either."

Maybe it was the alcohol, but his chest felt slightly warm. He couldn't help but think that maybe next year he would finally meet 017.

"Her?" Lu Yunsheng naturally assumed it was a girl and understood.

No wonder he's acting so strange; he's in love.

Suddenly, Lou Sheng remembered something and called out to 017.

"I think I’m older than you."

017: "Yeah."

"Two years older than you?"

017 said: "Three years."

The year he died, he was nineteen.

Lou Sheng muttered, stunned: "017, you're so young."

Just nineteen, the age when most start college.

He’s almost done with college now.

017 had said that the ones who become systems and Taskers were souls who died early and couldn't experience a full life. They’re reborn looking exactly as they did before they died.

If 017 came to see him, he should still look nineteen.

Lou Sheng figured he’d be about twenty-three or twenty-four by then. 017 might even have to call him 'big bro.'

Thinking of this, Lou Sheng raised the corner of his mouth and smiled. He knew it wasn’t right to tease 017, but he couldn’t help but feel amused.

When Lou Sheng called him young, 017 didn’t even refute.

Today, he seemed unusually quiet.

Lou Sheng faintly sensed it, "017, why aren’t you saying anything?"

"Nothing..." 017 said softly: "Happy birthday, Host."