After preparing a simple dinner and spending an hour relaxing, the sky had darkened considerably. Xu Yin changed into his running shoes and headed out.
Although it was summer, the evening in the city offered some relief from the daytime heat when the cool breeze blew. Xu Yin was not a particularly motivated person, and when it came to physical education classes in college, he would always try to avoid running. He would only make an effort during the final exams to avoid failing, hovering around the passing grade, and then spend the whole day in bed recovering.
Voluntarily going for a night run was completely out of the question for Xu Yin. So he found it quite miraculous that the system, 018, had brought him this far.
To ward off boredom, Xu Yin kept the chat window with 018 open, so 018’s speech bubbles would occasionally pop up in his field of vision.
018: “Inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth!“
018: “Isn’t the feeling of exercising great?“
018: “This is your life burning!“
Xu Yin: “I’m so tired.”
018: “No! Don’t say you’re tired! You’ve only been running for five minutes!“
Realizing that he might be sounding too harsh again, 018 immediately softened his tone and awkwardly said: “Could you please endure a bit more? My goal is to confirm that host is strong enough to be resurrected. However, ‘strength’ doesn’t only refer to the physical aspect. It’s also more about the mental and spiritual aspects. So, persistence is really important!“
Since the host used someone else’s body in this mission and not his own, mental and spiritual strength was indeed much more critical than physical strength. However, physical strength was still the foundation, and often, the body and mind were closely intertwined. The main system’s tasks were essentially refining the host’s body while also refining their spirit.
Hearing this, Xu Yin looked up at the night sky. The night had completely fallen, and the street lamps along the road had lit up one by one. There weren’t many people or cars on this road, making the city seem somewhat peaceful.
Becoming stronger…
Breathing heavily, Xu Yin remarked: “This is quite a chuunibyou1TL: chuunibyou means second-grader syndrome.”
018 replied: “The fact that you can still make complaints means you still have the strength.”
Xu Yin: “Hey…”
Xu Yin was now walking as he couldn’t continue running after ten minutes. 018, frustrated but determined, kept sending message bubbles. Just then, Xu Yin suddenly stopped and said: “Oh, a random task just popped up.”
Xu Yin was puzzled for a moment and opened the task panel. There indeed was a new random task that read, [Please continue forward for twenty meters.]
He didn’t think much about it and resumed running. As he ran, he noticed a tree up ahead with a girl standing beneath it. The girl had her back turned to him and was looking up at the tree. Xu Yin followed her gaze and saw a fluffy little calico kitten perched on a tree branch, presumably not long after being born. Simultaneously, the random task in the control panel changed, and its main content became, [Please climb the tree to rescue the poor little kitty, Score: 5 points.]
Xu Yin: “…Climb a tree???”
018: “Climb it, young man!!!”
Xu Yin’s mind responded with a touch of irony: “I’ve never climbed a tree before.”
018: “In life, you’ll experience countless firsts.”
Xu Yin gazed at the tree and fell into silence.
The girl heard the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing, so she turned around and was momentarily taken aback.
The young man behind her was probably around 1.8 meters tall, with a lean physique. He seemed to have jogged here and was currently catching his breath. Sweat covered his face and neck, and he looked quite flushed and hot, with his damp hair sticking to his neck. Strangely, despite his sweaty appearance, he didn’t look disheveled at all. On the contrary…
He looked incredibly handsome and sexy!
The young man had delicate eyebrows and captivating peach blossom eyes. His eyes were so beautiful that the graceful curvature of his eye corners gave off a hint of charm. His nose was straight, and his lips, though slightly thin, had a healthy rosy tint to them. His fair complexion and small face completed the striking picture.
He’s too good-looking, incredibly good-looking!
This young man could debut on the spot!
The girl’s heart started pounding involuntarily.
The handsome and sexy guy with his well-defined jawline, Adam’s apple, and collarbone were all top-notch!
Her little heart was going thump-thump, and for a moment, her brain seemed to go blank. Then, she watched as the young man closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and, after opening his eyes, smiled at her, “Is this little cat unable to come down?”
The girl blushed and replied, “Uh… Yes, it seems so! I’ve been watching it up there for a while, and it’s been meowing. It seemed to be afraid of coming down.”
As they were speaking, the calico kitten let out a pitiful meow, a soft and sorrowful sound. It might have regretted climbing up there or wondered why it couldn’t get down.
Xu Yin resigned himself to his fate, took another deep breath, and smiled at the girl, saying, “Could you please step back a bit? I’ll try to climb up.”
The girl, still entranced by Xu Yin’s looks, didn’t respond immediately. “Huh? Climb where?”
Xu Yin remained calm and replied, “Up the tree.”
With those words, he walked closer to the tree. He stared at the sturdy tree trunk for a few seconds, then stretched out his arms, embracing the trunk. With a push of his legs against the ground, he leaped into the air and latched onto the tree trunk!
Gravity was strong, and there wasn’t enough friction. Xu Yin gritted his teeth and quickly hugged the trunk, moving his entire body upwards with a lifting motion.
The girl stood there in complete shock, looking up at the handsome guy who was slowly making his way up the tree in such a bizarre posture. To her amazement, he was actually climbing up!
Xu Yin reached the very top but couldn’t hold on any longer, gasping for breath heavily.
The little calico kitten, upon seeing him, seemed to have tears in its tiny eyes. It turned and walked towards him, meowing weakly, “Meow…”
Xu Yin locked eyes with the fluffy little creature. Initially, he had countless complaints ready to spill, but he held them back.
He sighed softly, extended his hand, and said gently, “Good, come here.”
The calico kitten, being very cautious, carefully climbed onto his hand, clutching onto it with all four paws.
With one hand holding the kitten and the other gripping the tree, the difficulty level of the task skyrocketed.
He could feel a nerve in his brain throbbing.
In his field of vision, message bubbles from 018 appeared: “Hang in there!! Hang in there!! Going down means victory. 5 points will be yours! You’ll have a wonderful day again!!”
Xu Yin no longer felt like speaking.
He held his breath, and with a slight release of both his feet and hand, he began to slide down at a relatively steady pace.
On the nearby road, the traffic light turned red, and cars queued up.
In the backseat of a black luxury car, a man dressed in a white shirt and a suit was bowing his head, engrossed in reading documents on his phone.
The man had a tall and imposing figure, with a handsome and tranquil face.
After finishing reading the documents, he raised his head and stretched his neck. Inadvertently, his peripheral vision caught something outside the car window, causing him to pause.
On the roadside, next to a big tree, there was a person using both hands and feet to climb on a tree trunk about two meters above the ground.
Wen Congyan remained silent for a second, turned to look at the driver and assistant’s heads in front of him, then turned his gaze outside.
Indeed, that person was still clinging to the tree trunk, but was now sliding down at a steady pace.
Wen Congyan rolled down the car window, gazing at this miraculous scene.
The assistant sitting in the front passenger seat noticed the commotion, turned to look, and followed Wen Congyan’s gaze outside. He then adjusted his glasses in disbelief, wondering how there could still be someone climbing a tree by the roadside so late at night.
After a hard-earned safe landing, Xu Yin placed the little kitten on the ground.
The kitten was initially a bit unsteady on its feet, with its legs trembling. Xu Yin had to support it a few times before it managed to stand more steadily.
It raised its tiny head, let out a soft “meow,” circled around Xu Yin, and playfully hooked his ankle with its tail to express gratitude before jumping aside and darting into the bushes.
The girl was still standing there, her expression frozen in amazement.
Xu Yin met her gaze, cleared his throat, and smiled, saying, “The kitten is safe now.”
The girl finally snapped out of her daze, covered her mouth, and blushed, “You’re amazing at climbing trees!”
Xu Yin could only maintain his smile and replied, “Just giving it a try.”
Without much else to say, he nodded politely to the girl and was about to continue with his running task.
At that moment, the traffic light turned green on the nearby road, and the traffic started moving again.
Xu Yin sensed a strong gaze and turned his head.
Not far away, in a black car’s backseat, a man was staring at him. So he just stared at Xu Yin, and the car slowly, very slowly, took him away.
Xu Yin: “…”
Xu Yin took a deep breath.
He hated these random tasks.
…
Xu Yin completed the basic task, earning a total of 11 points, enough to survive until tomorrow. As for tomorrow’s tasks, he would deal with them when the time comes.
He ignored 018’s complaints about how he turned red after taking a hot shower and didn’t behave like a manly man who should go cool off outside. This small-minded system was too rigid in its gender stereotypes.
Xu Yin simply went through his plans for the next day, and at 11 PM, he obediently went to bed.
— Completely unaware that on that same night, a Huge fan of Female celebrities posted a Weibo post: [Ah!!! Today on my way home from my internship, I encountered a kitten stuck in a tree, and a super handsome guy climbed up and rescued it! This guy is seriously super handsome! When he was carrying the kitten down, he was so gentle, and he smiled at me several times, such a gentle smile!!!]
Because she was quite known for being a huge fan, the comment section quickly filled up.
[Damn it, do you have photos to lick?]
[I’m jealous! (Lemon)]
[Unbelievable, A-Zi actually had a day when she’s smitten by a handsome guy!]
People in the entertainment industry knew that this huge fan, A-Zi, only followed pretty girls, and she had always shown no interest in male celebrities or guys in real life.
A-Zi replied to one of the comments: [It is because that guy is really, really handsome! Ah!]
***
In this world, the information flow and plotlines may seem illogical at times, but if you look closely, there’s still some logic behind it.
While the original host had reached the point of desperation and was considering having a serious conversation with his manager, he wasn’t just sitting at home waiting for work. He had seen a job posting from a former middle school classmate in his social media feed about half a month ago and, with some embarrassment, decided to contact him.
They hadn’t talked in many years, and they weren’t close. The original host felt awkward about reaching out. Fortunately, the classmate was kind and immediately offered to lend him some money if he was in such dire straits. The original host didn’t want to impose, so he decided to work at the classmate’s restaurant instead.
Moreover, he was just a nobody, and who would recognize him anyway?
So it had been almost a month.
Yesterday was his day off, which is why he finally went to the company to talk to the manager who never seemed to answer his calls.
Xu Yin wasn’t averse to doing this kind of work. The next morning, after doing some push-ups, he headed to the restaurant.
His friend’s name was Gu Lin, and he owned a barbecue restaurant. This restaurant was especially popular because of its unique decoration – it had a theme based on the Classic of Mountains and Seas – and it had attracted a large number of customers, with long queues forming during meal times.
Xu Yin was responsible for serving dishes, shuttling back and forth between the dining area and the kitchen. His movements caught the attention of many customers.
The head chef whispered to Gu Lin, “Have you noticed that Xu Yin seems a bit different today?”
Gu Lin took a look.
Xu Yin was undeniably very handsome, so when Gu Lin first found out that Xu Yin had become a celebrity, he wasn’t too surprised. However, he couldn’t quite remember what Xu Yin’s personality had been like back in the day. After all these years, meeting this old classmate again didn’t evoke any particularly deep feelings.
But you know what? Xu Yin did seem a bit different today. His spirit was different.
His posture was upright, and most of the time, there was a slight smile on his lips – it was subtle but gentle. When Gu Lin accidentally made eye contact with him…
Xu Yin met his gaze and nodded with a smile.
Gu Lin froze for a moment, cleared his throat, ran his fingers through his hair, and repeated to himself in his mind, ‘I’m straight, I’m straight, I’m straight…’
But he couldn’t help but look back again.
Xu Yin had already turned and was walking toward another table of customers, leaving Gu Lin with the image of his elegant profile.
‘Ah, what’s going on today?‘
Gu Lin scratched the back of his head.
Lunch didn’t end until around 2 PM. During Xu Yin’s break, he browsed Taobao2TL: Taobao is an App in china., and when Gu Lin passed by and saw the drawing tablet he was using online, he asked, “You can draw too?”
Xu Yin smiled and replied, “Yeah, you know about these things too?”
Xu Yin himself was originally an art student, majoring in fashion design – although he had only been in school for two years before a car accident transported him into this world. He gave it some thought and realized that if he didn’t continue in the entertainment industry, the only livelihood he could think of right now was drawing.
He had only scratched the surface of fashion design, but drawing itself was something he could do. He decided to take on some freelance work for now, and he’d figure out the rest one step at a time.
“Yeah, I’ve been into anime and manga for so many years, after all,” Gu Lin rubbed his chin and said, “By the way, my sister writes novels, you know, those online novels. She used to hire artists for cover illustrations for each of her stories, but recently, she’s thinking of hiring an illustrator directly. It’s all paid work anyway. If you can draw, I’ll introduce you to her on WeChat!”
Xu Yin was somewhat surprised but thought for a moment before saying, “Sure, I don’t have any sample illustrations at the moment. Once I get everything I need, I’ll draw a couple of them for her to see.”
Gu Lin gave a thumbs-up, saying, “No problem, no problem!”
Xu Yin didn’t expect this opportunity to come so quickly in this field. He sincerely thanked Gu Lin.
As Xu Yin sat there, looking up at him with a warm and gentle tone in his voice and his eyes, Gu Lin, who had never considered himself obsessed with looks, had been perfectly fine until today. But inexplicably, he felt his face getting warmer today. He quickly cleared his throat and said, “This is nothing, we’re buddies, cough!” Then he hurriedly walked away, trying to calm his pounding heart.
After a short break in the afternoon, dinner time quickly arrived, and the restaurant became busy again.
Meanwhile, in Wen Yan’s office, Nan Ye and his manager had finished discussing their matters. Nan Ye casually took a sip of tea and glanced at Wen Yan.
He had heard early in the morning about Xu Yin’s desire to terminate the contract. He didn’t expect that the seemingly fragile guy would play such a big game when it came to negotiating. Of course, it was very effective – just by looking at Wen Yan’s absent-mindedness throughout the day, it was clear.
Nan Ye’s veins on his temples throbbed as he maintained his smile.
Suddenly, he heard his manager beside him clearing his throat and casually saying, “Oh, by the way, I heard that Xu Yin has been in contact with Mr. Zhao, the head of Yin Mei Entertainment, recently.”
Nan Ye blinked and turned to look at his manager, who winked at him discreetly.
Nan Ye quickly turned back and continued sipping his tea, hesitating to let his manager continue.
Wen Yan had been pondering the phone call from last night. He had thought that Xu Yin was just venting and wouldn’t actually leave the entertainment industry if all the resources were allocated to him. However, upon hearing this, he paused and asked, “Zhao from Yin Mei Entertainment?”
Nan Ye’s manager lowered his voice, “Yes, has there been any recent activity from Xu Yin?”
Yin Mei Entertainment was their arch-rival in the industry, slightly more resourceful. Zhao, the person mentioned, had poached three of their artists in the past. Those artists were 18th tiered in their company, almost invisible. But within a year or two at Yin Mei Entertainment, they managed to gain some recognition. As a result, Wen Yan held a strong grudge against the company and Zhao.
Nan Ye’s manager thought that if Xu Yin wanted to play a game of cat and mouse, they should go along with it. After all, Wen Yan was rather stupid and clueless, and would believe anything. Even if Xu Yin cried and explained, Wen Yan’s focus was more on Nan Ye, so the ultimate outcome wouldn’t change much.
In the end, Nan Ye followed the ‘Elusive but present‘ route, which was what kept Wen Yan hooked. If Xu Yin tried to emulate Nan Ye now, even if he couldn’t grasp the essence, it wouldn’t work out well. Overexertion might even backfire.
At this moment, Wen Yan’s anger was visibly rising upon hearing this.
Yin Mei Entertainment, Zhao, that big-bellied, bald-headed guy who almost had a permanent suite at the XX Grand Hotel?!
Others might not know, but he was well aware. That place was known for its preference for male stars. How many people had they poached already? Could it be that Xu Yin… could it be…
Wen Yan was so furious that he immediately picked up his phone and dialed a number.
Nan Ye hadn’t expected Wen Yan to be so angry that he would make a phone call right in front of them. He nearly choked on his tea, quickly wiping his mouth and anxiously waiting for Wen Yan’s reaction.
Meanwhile, Xu Yin saw an incoming call labeled “0” but was busy at the moment, so he simply rejected the call. Then he turned and carried two plates of meat to serve to a table of customers, smiling as he placed them on the table. Two female customers blushed and shyly glanced at him.
The call was instantly hung up, and Wen Yan couldn’t believe it. “He hung up on my call?!”
Nan Ye and his manager were also taken aback. Was it necessary to be so forceful?
Wen Yan continued to call, while Nan Ye and his manager hesitantly watched the prince’s performance.
Xu Yin returned to the kitchen and saw that Wen Yan was calling again. He raised an eyebrow and answered the call with a cold tone, “Mr. Wen, is there something you need?”
The same cold attitude again!
Wen Yan angrily said, “Xu Yin, where are you now, and why aren’t you answering my calls?!”
Xu Yin, for the most part, had a gentle demeanor towards people, even towards idiots.
Unless, of course, you genuinely provoked him.
He responded coolly, “I’m busy. If Mr. Wen has nothing important to say, I’ll hang up.”
Wen Yan: “???”
Could his coolness drop another hundred degrees?
Wen Yan was so furious that he stood up, and it caught the attention of Nan Ye and his manager.
Wen Yan slammed the table and shouted, “Busy? What are you so busy with?! You don’t even have any work right now! Aren’t you just lying to me?! What on earth have you been doing that you need to lie to me?!”
After yelling, Wen Yan took a couple of deep breaths. Then he heard a voice from the other end of the phone saying, “Xu Yin, these two plates of meat are for table number three. Can you help take them over?” Followed by Xu Yin saying, “Sure.”
And then, a dial tone, “Beep beep beep beep.”
The call was hung up once again.
Wen Yan froze on his end.
Nan Ye and his manager held their breath, not wanting to miss a second of observing Wen Yan’s expression. They wanted to analyze the current situation and see how Wen Yan reacted. Wen Yan had suddenly gone silent. Could he have been hung up on again? Getting hung up on twice in a row would surely make Wen Yan explode! Backfire, backfire, it’s happening!
However, Wen Yan remained motionless like a statue for several seconds before he finally reacted.
“Xu Yin, these two plates of meat are for table number three. Can you help take them over?”
“Meat for table number three, can you help take it over?”
“Meat for table number three.”
…
Wen Yan’s pupils dilated. His Ah Yin, was working at a restaurant?!
When Xu Yin said he was busy, was it because he had been so busy that he ended up working as a waiter at a restaurant?!
Not only did he misunderstand his Ah Yin for getting involved with that creepy man from Yinmei Entertainment, but he also yelled at Ah Yin.
Wen Yan’s Adam’s apple rolled, and both of his hands pressed onto the office desk.
At that moment, how hurt and disappointed must Ah Yin have felt?!
Ah Yin had gently expressed his anger and jealousy towards him just last night. But with the first phone call he made today, Wen Yan not only didn’t speak to him nicely, but he also shouted at him and misunderstood him.
At this very moment, Ah Yin, facing the customers, must be wearing a smile with deep exhaustion behind it.
Yes, how could someone as gentle as Ah Yin, someone whose heart was dedicated to him, possibly get involved with that creepy man from Yinmei Entertainment? Even his announcement to terminate the contract must have been insincere!
In this split second, the heart of Wen, the Crown Prince, shattered.
In front of the office desk, Nan Ye couldn’t help but lean forward a bit.
‘What on earth was going on? Could you show me some more fvcking reaction?!’
Wen Yan snapped back to reality, dejectedly redialing the number again, only to be hung up on instantly.
He dialed again, and it happened once more.
And again he redialed…
“The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.”
Redialed again…
“The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.”
Ah, it seemed like he was blocked.
Wen Yan put down his phone and calmly told the manager next to Nan Ye, “Listening to rumors and spreading false information, you’re fired.”
Nan Ye: “???”
His manager: “???”
What the hell?
At the restaurant.
Xu Yin impatiently blocked Wen Yan and then took a step forward. After some consideration, he opened WeChat, QQ, Weibo, and blocked Wen Yan across all platforms. Only then did he relax, calmly continuing to deliver orders.
