Chapter 33

Chapter 33

996, carrying a bundle, displayed "zzz" in its beady eyes—it had already requested its annual system maintenance from the main system.

It couldn't eat anymore.

It couldn't even feel a tingling sensation anymore.

"Xiao Jing…"

The Slime skidded to a halt.

Qi Jing had been leaning against Bo Chengyan's shoulder, but upon meeting 996's beady eyes, he instantly panicked. His cheeks flushed crimson, and he immediately began pushing the person in front of him away.

Bo Chengyan slightly furrowed his brow, gripping Qi Jing's fingers patiently. "What's wrong?"

"I… I should eat. You go downstairs first."

Qi Jing's gaze darted away, his breathing slightly quickened, because he couldn't get down; his knees were pinned, making movement impossible. He could only look up at Bo Chengyan, his eyebrows gently furrowed.

"I want to get down."

Bo Chengyan lowered his gaze, faintly recalling how Qi Jing had been when he first arrived—his vocal cords not yet fully developed, speaking with a hint of hesitation and shyness.

It was actually a bit like pouting.

Just like now.

Qi Jing was picked up. He instinctively turned his head away, but Bo Chengyan keenly noticed, firmly cupping his chin to turn it back.

"Where were you looking?"

Bo Chengyan frowned at the person in his arms, then followed his gaze, his expression blank.

Because there was nothing there but a windowsill.

"The vase… the vase," Qi Jing stammered, clutching Bo Chengyan's shoulder, his eyes earnest.

"It's really pretty."

"I think it's really pretty."

About a few seconds passed.

Bo Chengyan didn't ask anything further, simply complied and headed downstairs calmly. "Call me if you need anything."

The boy's face was gently brushed—a very intimate gesture.

Only after the door closed did 996 finally pop its head out of the vase. The narrow opening made it a bit difficult to wiggle its body out smoothly.

"What's going on? Do they have x-ray vision or something?"

Qi Jing was completely spaced out, pressing his lips together. He had a feeling Bo Chengyan had dropped the subject earlier…

As if unwilling to make things difficult for him.

"Hey, where's my bundle?"

996 spun in mid-air, realizing it had dropped its things, then squeezed its body back into the narrow vase opening to retrieve its small package.

Its voice buzzed.

"Xiao Jing… I brought you something good."

Still struggling to reach it.

Qi Jing sighed, walked over, and tipped the vase upside down. 996 and its bundle tumbled out together.

"You scared me to death."

"Where have you been these past few days?"

The blue Slime looked apologetic, mumbling sheepishly, "I didn't take good care of you. You're my host, my mission; your safety should be my top priority."

"But every time, it's Bo…"

996 suddenly became a bit awkward.

So annoying.

It unfolded its bundle, stating earnestly, "I've already fixed myself. I won't eat random things anymore."

"And this is our reward from last time. I had Qing Shi process it a bit in Hong Kong to make it easier for you to use."

The blue Slime squatted on the ground, laying out various documents.

They were various property deeds, shop ownership certificates, and large-denomination savings cards.

Simple and direct.

Since Qi Jing didn't plan to return to his original world, there was no real need for data transfers, making the workload even lighter.

"Oh, right."

"Because we were afraid you wouldn't know how to manage assets, Qing Shi asked if you needed his help?"

Qi Jing stared at the items in a daze. "Are these… real?"

996: "Of course."

The boy crouched on the carpet, his bangs falling obediently. He tugged at his sleeve.

He was actually a little lost.

Money truly flows.

He had just spent a million.

And now…

Qi Jing felt like he hadn't done anything. He hadn't even worked.

This didn't align with the simple principle of "you reap what you sow."

"This is too much… and I didn't help the protagonist…" Qi Jing couldn't help but say, his eyebrows furrowed, his fingers twisting together.

996 quickly replied, "Not at all, not at all, Xiao Jing."

"I'll explain the plot to you later. I accidentally pulled you from another world, and here you have no family or friends. To survive, you have to complete your role, which isn't easy."

"It's a transactional process."

996 floated around, growing increasingly worried the more it thought about it. "You're too obedient."

"No, I have to give you a fallback plan."

*

Eavesdropping is a violation of human rights.

Bo Chengyan knowingly committed the offense.

Qi Jing had no idea his words were being overheard. From a third-person perspective, he was constantly talking to himself.

Speaking to thin air.

Like someone "possessed."

Bo Chengyan vaguely sensed something in the house, perhaps already attached to Qi Jing, though he didn't know for sure.

A sense of losing control slowly crept over him.

That night, he didn't leave Qi Jing's room, simply sitting by the chair to keep him company.

"Aren't you going to sleep?"

Qi Jing didn't dare poke him with his foot again, asking cautiously instead.

He was still startled by Ruan Hang's words and knew that relationships needed to progress gradually.

"I will, after you fall asleep."

These words were actually quite perfunctory, like an adult coaxing a child.

However, the roles were reversed.

Qi Jing tucked his chin in and reached out to pull Bo Chengyan's hand into the blanket. This action actually resembled seduction.

But it wasn't; he just wanted to pull him a little closer, to hold him comfortably.

Time passed, drop by drop.

The person on the bed truly fell asleep. Bo Chengyan stood up and bent over, his eyes very dark and unreadable.

Why didn't he tell him?

Wasn't he afraid… of that thing?

996 had clearly become a malevolent spirit, but its jelly-like body was lying obediently in the bedside drawer, in hibernation.

It had learned its lesson; it would definitely not eat snacks again.

It would surely guard well—

Around two in the morning, the drawer opened a crack. 996 had set an alarm for itself, wanting to see if the protagonist had left…

He had.

But where was its Xiao Jing?!

Ten minutes earlier.

Qi Jing was in a daze, vaguely feeling himself being picked up, his pajamas sliding up and bunching at his elbows.

"Mmm…"

Bo Chengyan pulled at Qi Jing's calf, holding him face-to-face like a child, and said in a low voice, "Awake?"

Warm breath brushed his neck.

Unconsciously, Qi Jing wrapped his arms around Bo Chengyan's neck and hummed, like a sleep-talker.

"Not sleeping in this room anymore."

Bo Chengyan tilted his head and quietly told him, but the boy didn't respond, just slept against his shoulder.

Just like that.

He was still "stolen" from.

996 was utterly shocked. It floated to the next room and, finding the child asleep in the master bedroom, breathed a sigh of relief.

But what was the point of this?

The "malevolent spirit" didn't understand. It swaggered in, only to be met with a chilling gust of wind.

And a cold, sharp gaze.

It shouldn't have been visible.

996 felt inexplicably humiliated. What was this about, both of them?!

It was going in!

Just as it tried to float closer—

Bo Chengyan stood up, his face calm, and walked towards it.

996 vanished on the spot.

At two or three in the morning, the main lights were already off.

It appeared quiet and peaceful.

The man hadn't even changed his clothes, his shirt slightly rolled up as he scanned the hallway.

Qi Jing slept very comfortably, a faint scent of grass and wood lingering around his nose. He closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into the covers.

Only when he heard the door close did his eyelids flutter open.

The first thing he saw was the dark decor. The boy froze for a moment.

This wasn't his room.

"Awake?"

Bo Chengyan seemed to have showered and changed clothes, bending down to lean closer.

Qi Jing raised his arms to wrap around the other's neck and was pulled up to a sitting position by his waist, looking a little bewildered. "Did I sleepwalk?"

"No."

"I carried you here."

The master bedroom was quite large, but the color scheme wasn't particularly youthful, and most of the decorations were books.

The boy sat on the edge of the bed, his light-colored pajamas smoothed out a bit, as he looked around.

"Bo…"

Something was placed around his neck.

Qi Jing looked down and saw a round piece of wood, like a button.

"What's this?"

"A peace buckle."

Bo Chengyan lowered his gaze to fasten it for him, his expression consistently gentle. His chin was lightly touched.

Qi Jing's fingers were clasped, and his fingertips were gently rubbed.

"There."

A small wooden pendant now hung around his neck on a black cord, looking quite nice.

With one hand held, Qi Jing used the other to pick up the peace buckle around his neck, looking at it curiously.

"Did you sleep well?"

Bo Chengyan asked gently, squeezing his palm.

The boy indeed turned his gaze back, his eyes clear as he looked at him, his voice still a little muffled from just waking up.

"Good."

But the next second.

"You don't look so good."

Qi Jing reached out to touch the other's face, wondering if it was just his imagination. He asked, "Did you sleep?"

Bo Chengyan often felt like he was losing control, but he couldn't find the initial thread—was it when Qi Jing cried in the emergency room with an injured ankle, or during that persistent high fever, or later when he asked him in the room what "whistling" meant…

Without monitoring,

he would have no idea Qi Jing had been talking to an unknown entity. For how long, he wasn't sure.

Whether it had harmed him, also unclear.

"I slept."

Qi Jing wasn't entirely convinced, but he still didn't understand why he had been carried to the master bedroom. What was wrong with his own room?

Until the other calmly stated, "From now on, you'll sleep here with me."

*

Lin Se frowned at the list of references handed to him by the executive assistant, feeling utterly exasperated.

Why? Taoist priests charged so much!

It was half his annual salary.

He shouldn't have studied medicine; he should have found a Taoist temple early on to learn magic!

That's where the money was.

The young man, hands in his pockets, was very annoyed, but he still asked, "Didn't I give you the peace buckle? It's made of peach wood and has been blessed. It should be enough to ward off evil.

"No need for such a big fuss, right?"

Bo Chengyan said nothing until the young man bluntly asked, "How did you even find out there's a ghost at home?"

A few minutes later—

Lin Se's face was blank. He closed his eyes, wanting to say something but ultimately holding back.

Monitoring.

How perverted.

But if he hadn't used it, he probably wouldn't have found out.

Lin Se was a materialist; he still believed that perhaps Qi Jing was under too much psychological pressure and was having some delusions.

"Don't you want to take him to see…"

"He's not sick."

"…"

Bo Chengyan's face was calm as he checked the time on his wristwatch.

"Then have you asked him? Perhaps you could just ask him directly?"

"I haven't found the right opportunity yet."

Bo Chengyan slightly furrowed his brow, remembering something. "He even imagined a love story between me and an unrelated person, claiming it was a dream."

Lin Se: "Huh?"

What kind of wild ideas does this kid come up with?

But then the young man's eyes narrowed, recalling something. Hadn't Bo Chengyan mentioned before that he could hear…?

The executive assistant knocked on the door, reminding him of a meeting in fifteen minutes.

Lin Se had no choice but to leave, adding, "I still suggest you ask him first. The old house… the situation is different from Jinjiang Villa. Don't worry too much."

Meanwhile, at Peking University.

Qi Jing was collecting his military training uniform on the sports field, holding it carefully, though he felt it was a bit too sunny. 996 clung to the boy's shoulder like an ice pack.

When one side got hot, it would flip over, its beady eyes shifting up.

"I still don't quite understand what you're saying. I'm not cut out to be the protagonist."

996 earnestly stated, "How could that be? It's very easy."

"The world only needs stable data. Ruan Hang has his own ideas; I've observed him, he's very stable. The only unstable one is the male lead."

Qi Jing's eyelids drooped slightly. "I like him."

"Doesn't that count as me replacing someone else?"

996 floated around, as if finally discovering the root of the problem. "Is it because the character setting and plot I gave you have been troubling you all this time?"

The boy paused in his steps.

Actually, that was indeed the case.

Even if this hadn't happened, he would still have a sense of "absolute correctness."

Every time 996 appeared, it would remind Qi Jing of the original "plot."

It was very uncomfortable.

The boy found a shady spot to sit down. With no one around, he admitted, "A little bit."

"996, Bo Chengyan is incredibly rich. He doesn't necessarily need to choose me."

"I don't quite believe what you said, that I… I stabilize his data."

"How could I have such a great purpose?"

Qi Jing propped his chin on his hand, looking at the basketball court not far away, where someone was dunking, full of energy.

"You're great, Xiao Jing."

996 floated around like a jellyfish, earnestly stating:

"Everyone is unique. You can't measure a person's value by money."

"Although, from a data perspective, wealthy people have a higher social status, they are not the happiest group in terms of happiness index."

996 had stayed in Hong Kong for several days and had picked up some phrases by osmosis, which it now automatically spouted:

"From the numbered worlds I know, protagonists aren't always rich. Some are self-made small business owners, some are soldiers who died on the battlefield, some are just ordinary wage earners…"

"Covering all strata of human society."

Qi Jing sat on the resting bench, looking intently. "All strata?"

"Yes."

"Everyone deserves to write their own story."

The boy crossed his feet, swinging them slightly, and softly said, "I'm not that delicate…"

"I'm just thinking, what can I do?"

"Preferably, preferably not always being taken care of."

Just then—

Qi Jing's phone vibrated.