Chapter 116 He Has Been Waiting All Along

Chapter 116: He Had Been Waiting All Along

“Ahh—” A faint, tiny light orb suddenly emerged from behind the main system.

The orb wobbled unsteadily, whimpering as it wobbled: “Master System! How could the plot deviation be as high as 97.3%? We completed every single task perfectly!”

Xiao K’s glow flickered on and off, reflecting its turbulent mood.

It thought the main system’s final verdict was completely unfair! There's gotta be a bug!

It had slaved away at its tasks, faithfully guided its host—how could it end up with a deviation rate of almost 100%?!

The main system’s sphere of light hung silently in the void.

Though it showed no visible fluctuation, Xiao Yan could somehow feel the main system's exasperation toward its own dumb kid.

“Xiao K,” the main system’s voice remained flat, yet carried an underlying trace of exhaustion, “Finishing the tasks doesn’t mean the plot didn’t go off track.”

Xiao K’s light orb wobbled: “Huh?”

The main system continued: “Host Xiao Yan completed all assigned tasks, that's true. But he changed the original character’s brutal nature into a devoted one, twisted the angsty relationship between Liu Qingci and Xiao Jing into mutual feelings between Liu Qingci and himself, and turned the inevitable death ending into a promise to be together through life and death. This has completely deviated from the original story.”

Xiao Yan couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Xiao K’s light orb flickered on and off, as if its CPU had fried.

After a long pause, it spoke weakly: “…So, is it my fault?”

The main system paused for a moment.

“It’s the fault of the host you were assigned to,” it said. “But you didn’t notice or stop him, so that's on you.”

Xiao K: “…”

Xiao Yan: “…”

Xiao K’s light orb went completely dark, like a rock with no hope left.

“Enough.” The main system’s voice rang out. “The reset procedure is about to commence. Xiao K, step back.”

Xiao K lingered reluctantly, hovering in place.

“No, no, noooo~”

It even began rolling around, throwing a tantrum. “If it resets, Liu Qingci will forget the host. That'd be such a shame ╥﹏╥”

“Xiao K, I sent you into the book world to complete tasks, not to ship couples.”

Xiao K flickered guiltily: “Well…”

Xiao Yan couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Xiao K complained: “Host, I’m trying to help you, and you’re laughing? You're not even worried?”

“Xiao K, thank you, but…” Xiao Yan paused. “Can I ask the two of you a question?”

The main system’s light flickered faintly: “You may.”

“If you start this reset and can undo everything, then what was the point of sending me into that world to complete the tasks?”

Doesn't that make me redundant? Aren't these systems just spinning their wheels?

The main system’s light paused for a moment: “Not necessarily.”

Xiao Yan: “What’s not necessarily?”

“Everything,” the main system said. “This reset procedure is a last resort. Once implemented, its effects are entirely uncertain.”

Xiao Yan pondered for a moment, then concluded: “So you kept me around all this time without deleting me. Because you're not sure how it'll turn out, and I… might still be useful to you?”

The main system: “You're pretty sharp.”

At the same time, a white flash shot across the void.

The next second, Xiao Yan passed out.

Xiao K saw its fallen host and panicked: “Master System! What happened to him?”

The main system’s voice was completely unruffled: “The reset procedure has already started. Your host will black out for a bit. When the program finishes, he'll wake up on his own.”

Xiao K flew up to look and sure enough, saw a progress bar floating in the air.

Reset procedure progress: 3%...

It was still running slowly and steadily.

—

Qianqing Palace.

Three days had gone by since Xiao Jing got hurt.

Liu Qingci sat on the couch by the window, eating slowly, taking his time.

The hand holding the porcelain spoon was slender, with well-defined knuckles. His nails were clipped cleanly, flush to the skin, with no excess beyond the skin.

When he was almost done eating, the hall door was pushed open.

Xiao Jing walked in.

The white bandages on his shoulder were hidden under his robes, so you couldn't see them, but he moved more slowly than usual, as if scared to make the wound worse.

Liu Qingci took another spoonful of rice porridge.

“You've gotten used to things pretty fast,” Xiao Jing said, stood in front of him, looking down at Liu Qingci who was still sitting.

Liu Qingci swallowed the rice porridge and put down the spoon.

He finally looked up at Xiao Jing.

“How long are you planning to keep me locked in here?” he asked.

Xiao Jing sat down across from him.

“You want to go out? To do what?” he said with a sneer. “To pay your respects at Xiao Yan’s grave?”

Liu Qingci’s eyes shifted slightly.

“Yes, to pay my respects at his grave. Is that a problem?”

Xiao Jing's smile was icy cold, and his voice was deep: "No."

Liu Qingci looked at him.

Xiao Jing met his gaze and said word by word: "In this life, you will never set foot outside this hall. Forget about going to see him—he's dead, rotted away, without even a gravestone. Even if you go, you won't find him."

He said it slowly, as if savoring the moment.

"Then why are you still keeping me locked up here?" Liu Qingci asked calmly.

"Don't you know?"

Xiao Jing suddenly stood up.

He took a step forward, walking up to Liu Qingci, then leaned down, bracing both hands on the couch beside him.

He was very close.

But the moment Xiao Jing approached, Liu Qingci wrinkled his nose in disgust and leaned away.

Xiao Jing's expression grew even darker.

"You don't know why I'm keeping you here?" he sneered. "I keep you here because I don't want others to see you."

"I keep you here because even if you hate me, even if you want to kill me, I can only keep you right where I can see you."

Liu Qingci's brow furrowed even more.

"Stop talking. Pretend I didn't ask," he cut Xiao Jing off quickly. "Everything you say makes me sick."

Xiao Jing abruptly leaned in, grabbed Liu Qingci's chin, forcing his head up.

"Sick?" Xiao Jing's voice ground out between clenched teeth. "You think it's sick? Then you can just keep feeling sick!"

Liu Qingci's chin throbbed under the grip, but he didn't even flinch.

He jerked his head to the side, dragging Xiao Jing's arm along.

Perhaps it aggravated the wound, because Xiao Jing let go, a pained grunt escaping his lips.

Unfazed, Liu Qingci wiped his chin in disgust and spat, "Whatever."

Their conversations always ended badly, with Xiao Jing storming out.

Left alone, Liu Qingci was all the happier for the quiet.

He counted down the days.

Five days had gone by since the day Xiao Yan took an arrow.

Five days, and still nothing.

Liu Qingci silently told himself it was okay.

It's fine. Only five days.

He kept waiting.

He had to come back someday.