Zhu Tong didn’t have time to think about anything else because the youth in front of him was eagerly waiting.
Truly eagerly waiting.
Because Shao Ming was taller than him, usually Zhu Tong would look up at him, or they would sit face to face, or even when Shao Ming was on top of him… Ahem, anyway, there were rarely moments where he looked downwards at Shao Ming.
Looking at Shao Ming from this angle gave Zhu Tong a sense of freshness.
Zhu Tong tactically cleared his throat and continued, “Because the world we’re in is not an ordinary world.”
“…”
Once he started, Zhu Tong didn’t dare to stare into Shao Ming’s eyes anymore.
With his eyes downcast, he began to systematically narrate; from the appearance of the system to the world setting the system had enlightened him about, to his transfer to extend his life, and even including the discovery he had just made that Xia Yang might also have a system. Besides the specific tasks, he told Shao Ming everything he could.
After finishing, he continued to lower his gaze, his heart pounding uncontrollably, feeling nervous.
He was nervous about what Shao Ming’s reaction would be.
Unlike when he received this information with the system in his mind, the system’s existence made him firmly believe in the information he had learned. But Shao Ming had nothing now.
Although Shao Ming had said he would trust him, perhaps Shao Ming was only choosing to trust him out of respect, and subconsciously didn’t truly believe.
But since Shao Ming discovered Xia Yang’s anomalies by himself… He should believe, right?
Perhaps he just needed time to digest this information?
Zhu Tong patiently waited.
A few seconds later, he heard Shao Ming say, “So, what task did you transfer here for?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
He suddenly looked up, locking eyes with Shao Ming’s pitch-black ones.
He was stunned for a moment and asked, “You… don’t have any other questions?”
Why was the first question so piercing?
Shao Ming calmly replied, “No.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
How could there be no other questions? Wasn’t he curious about Xia Yang’s anomaly, so curious that he had a splitting headache and couldn’t stop thinking?
He had just said so much; there should be many questions to expand upon.
The system said, ‘It seems like he only cares about issues related to you.’
“…”
Zhu Tong fell silent.
Shao Ming’s focus was solely on what Zhu Tong’s task was.
He only cared about Zhu Tong.
Zhu Tong felt a mix of sweetness and bitterness in his heart as he lowered his head and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you about that.”
Shao Ming cared about him, and he cared about Shao Ming.
So he didn’t want Shao Ming to blame himself for the task. Zhu Tong knew he would definitely blame himself.
Zhu Tong raised his eyes and said, “But besides that, I can tell you everything else.”
Shao Ming looked up at him.
He didn’t doubt Zhu Tong’s words at all.
Because Zhu Tong didn’t just say it; he had even done it.
He could even reveal everything about the system, which was already crossing the line.
All of that, just to make him stop having headaches?
But just like how he had doubted Xia Yang because of the headaches – sometimes, the more they tried to hide something, the easier it was to reveal their flaws.
Zhu Tong had been so honest with him up to this point, but he refused to tell him what his life-extending task was. Either this task was dangerous, or… it was related to him.
Shao Ming remained silent, locking eyes with Zhu Tong. After a moment, he let out a barely audible sigh and stopped pressing further. Instead, he asked, “So… Xia Yang’s presence everywhere is because he’s the protagonist of this world?”
Zhu Tong nodded, “Yeah.”
Shao Ming continued, “Would his system pose a threat to you?”
Pose a threat
Zhu Tong was stunned for a moment. “I don’t think so.”
“Think so?” Shao Ming asked, gaze deepening.
“Mn,” Zhu Tong thought for a moment and said, “If the system on Xia Yang is like mine, then it shouldn’t pose much of a threat to me. The system’s abilities only work on the host. From what I can see, the system on him probably enhances his charisma and makes him more attractive to others.”
“…Is that so?”
Shao Ming absentmindedly responded.
He suddenly thought of when Xia Yang came to find him last time, and how he confidently talked about Zhu Tong’s death. Was it also because he had a system on him and knew about Zhu Tong’s fate?
The look in his eyes when he glanced at Zhu Tong just now was more than plain jealousy.
Would he do something to Zhu Tong?
How far would he go?
Regardless of whether he posed a threat to Zhu Tong or not, he was a trouble. What kind of protagonist, what kind of world setting? No one was born to exist for someone else, and there was no reason for someone to die just because the “plot” said so.
Heartthrob charm?
Shao Ming sneered inwardly. He never believed that a person could easily obtain everything just based on appearance and charisma. If success was determined solely by one’s appearance, then the world was deformed.
What should one do if the world was deformed? Find a way to correct it.
Xia Yang… the Xia family.
Suddenly, Shao Ming thought of something, and his eyes darkened.
Seeing him lost in thought, Zhu Tong became nervous and quickly asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Shao Ming raised his eyes at the sound of his voice.
Zhu Tong tentatively said, “Don’t think about Xia Yang anymore. If you… if you really don’t know what to think about, you can think about me…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he added, “I mean…”
Suddenly, Shao Ming laughed and said, “What? Are you jealous if I think about someone else?”
Zhu Tong froze, “No, I’m just worried about your headache…”
“So you don’t get jealous if I think about someone else? Boyfriend, are you that magnanimous with your feelings? I’m sad, what should I do?”
Zhu Tong was caught off-guard by his sudden irrational behavior.
His lack of jealousy stemmed from trust. What was there to be sad about?
Helplessly, Zhu Tong said, “I’m serious, don’t change the subject.”
Shao Ming said, “Okay, I got it. From now on, I won’t think about anyone else, just you.”
His voice carried a hint of laughter, making Zhu Tong’s ears turn red. Just as the bell for the end of class rang, Zhu Tong glanced at the large playground outside, then lowered his head and asked, “Are you feeling better now? Do you want to go to the school infirmary or back to the classroom?”
Before he could finish his sentence, the youth in front of him suddenly raised both hands and wrapped them around his waist, pulling him forward.
Shao Ming leaned against him and said, “It seems like there’s still some lingering effects. Let me lean on you again.”
“……”
The flower bed of the evergreen plant was tall, and although Zhu Tong was standing, Shao Ming, with the advantage of his height, managed to press his face against Zhu Tong’s chest.
In this position, even through the thick wool coat, the sound of his heartbeat could be heard clearly.
Without any doubt, Zhu Tong became nervous when he heard “lingering effects,” and he gently massaged Shao Ming’s temples with his hand, his fingers skilled and gentle.
Just as Shao Ming was feeling surprised, he heard Zhu Tong ask above his head, “Feeling better?”
Shao Ming replied, “The effect is remarkable.”
Zhu Tong relaxed and said, “This is a method the doctor taught me when I had headaches before.”
The hand around Shao Ming’s waist tightened slowly, and he asked, “Is it the doctor you mentioned last time, the one who sent you the voice message?”
Speaking of the voice message, Zhu Tong couldn’t help but laugh.
Last time, the doctor said in the voice message that Shao Ming was his “love person”, and he had to explain it vigorously. But not long after that, Shao Ming really became his lover.
“Yeah, it’s Dr. Johnson. I’ll take you to meet him sometime.”
Shao Ming, lost in thought, replied softly, “Okay.”
Zhu Tong thought again, not just the doctor, but also his family.
For example, his grandfather.
Last time, his grandfather even said to bring Shao Ming home to visit. But he didn’t know if Shao Ming would agree.
He lowered his head and looked at the big head buried in his arms, then relaxed his hand, which was helping to massage the acupoints in his temple, and reached up to pat his head.
Shao Ming couldn’t help but lift his head, smiling, “What are you doing, Little Young Master?”
But Zhu Tong didn’t answer. He met Shao Ming’s gaze and said seriously, “Shao Ming.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you want to… meet my family?”
“…”
The moment these words were spoken, Zhu Tong clearly felt Shao Ming’s hand around him stiffen for a moment, but his facial expression didn’t change much.
The two silently locked eyes. Just as Zhu Tong thought Shao Ming would refuse, he suddenly smiled and said, “Sure.”
Zhu Tong’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Mn,” Shao Ming nodded, “But let’s wait until the holidays. Although I can’t wait, we’ve already skipped a lot of classes.”
Zhu Tong’s face reddened immediately. “I didn’t say we should go back now…”
Even if they went back now, there was no guarantee they would be able to meet. His grandfather was busy every day.
Seeing Zhu Tong’s slightly red face, Shao Ming thought to himself that some things needed to be accelerated.
The two sat by the flower bed for a while longer, then Shao Ming pretended to visit the school infirmary before finally returning to the classroom.
After confirming that Shao Ming’s headache was gone and his complexion had returned to normal, Zhu Tong remembered to ask the system about the self-protection mechanism.
‘…Information provided by the system is not restricted from being shared. As long as the host is willing and voluntarily shares it with others, the system’s self-protection mechanism will not be triggered. However, the host also needs to bear the risk of sharing information.’
This time, Shao Ming’s headache could be considered a risk.
If the system restricted information sharing, it would have directly prevented Zhu Tong when he first thought about disclosing everything, rather than just advising against it.
As for the anomalies on Xia Yang, he needed the system to attract other people’s attention. Naturally, this was something that couldn’t be made known to others.
When Zhu Tong decided to be honest with Shao Ming, the system had warned him about the risks, but he hadn’t expected the risk to manifest in Shao Ming, nor had he expected to inadvertently discover that Xia Yang also had a system.
‘Do you and his system have any connection?’ Zhu Tong suddenly asked.
The system replied, ‘No.’
Zhu Tong continued, ‘Aren’t you colleagues?’
Since even the self-protection mechanisms were the same, perhaps they were familiar with each other in the main system?
However, the system replied, ‘Although we have our own consciousness, we are just programs set by the main system. We don’t have human emotions, nor do we have the concept of being work colleagues.’
“…”
Just a program?
Zhu Tong furrowed his brow. Since the system appeared in his mind, apart from dutifully assigning tasks, it had never mentioned why it appeared… If it was just a program, then who implanted it in him?
Who wanted to save him?
And what about the system on Xia Yang?
‘Was there any mention of Xia Yang having a system in the original novel?’ Zhu Tong asked.
The system replied, ‘No.’
“…”
Since it’s like that, this system must have appeared later.
When did it appear? Why did it appear?
Was it related to him?
Zhu Tong was supposed to be doing his homework, but his mind wandered off. He didn’t even notice when he made a long streak of ink on his exercise book.
Shao Ming took the pen from his hand and whispered, “What are you thinking about?”
Zhu Tong refocused his gaze. “I’m thinking, did the system appear on Xia Yang because of something I did, directly or indirectly affecting the main plotline of the world?”
Was the appearance of the system on Xia Yang meant to correct deviations in the “plot”?
What was the main plotline? It was the love-hate relationship between the heartthrob and his admirers.
But what did that have to do with him?
Even if his arguments with Xia Yang changed some people’s inherent perceptions of him, weakening his heartthrob protagonist’s aura, wasn’t that Xia Yang’s own doing?
He couldn’t just let Xia Yang bully him and then quietly bear it, could he? That would be too spineless.
Zhu Tong took a sip of water from the cup on his desk, then turned to find Shao Ming looking at him.
“You didn’t do anything,” Shao Ming said. “Even if the plot changed, it wasn’t because of you.”
Since there had been changes, it meant that the original novel’s plot line was not immutable.
Shao Ming’s eyes darkened slightly.
Zhu Tong was taken aback.
Suddenly, a phrase came to his mind: “It’s not you who’s wrong, it’s the world.”
…Did Shao Ming have a belated bout of chuunibyou1from Japanese media. Characters who have delusions of grandeur about their mundane life. Fischl from Genshin Impact is a great example of this trope. or something?
