Li Nian stared at Xu Chenghao in disbelief for a few seconds, confirming that he was not joking but serious. He immediately covered his chest, his face twisted with a grim expression, and got up to leave.
Xu Chenghao looked at him bewilderedly, “Where are you going?”
Without looking back, Li Nian replied, “Your emotional intelligence is beyond repair. Goodbye.”
Xu Chenghao pounded the table, “Come back!!”
Li Nian: “No way. Being your emotional guru is too exhausting. It’s the biggest regret of my past three years.”
Xu Chenghao: “I’ll double your salary!”
Li Nian stopped in his tracks, “Really?”
Xu Chenghao: “Triple your year-end bonus!”
Li Nian hesitated for a moment before returning to his seat, and said seriously, “I’m telling you it’s not about money. It’s because we’re brothers that I’m willing to continue talking to you, understand?”
Xu Chenghao couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and changed the subject, “Was what I said too much?”
Li Nian scoffed, “Of course. We’ve known each other for decades and never interacted like this. Besides, if you keep going ‘beyond this,’ you might end up getting married, believe it or not?”
Xu Chenghao questioned, “Is it really that exaggerated?”
Li Nian couldn’t help but cough, “You’re really giving me internal injuries with this.”
Xu Chenghao poured him some tea, “Don’t get worked up, take it easy.”
Li Nian sipped his tea, meanwhile, he scrutinized Xu Chenghao for a while before suddenly realizing, “Oh… are you standing on your own perspective, thinking it’s perfectly normal for friends to share accommodations?”
Xu Chenghao nodded, “Yeah, you’ve stayed at my place before too.”
Li Nian: “Do you think he hasn’t clearly expressed his pursuit of you, and you two haven’t crossed boundaries in your interactions, so you’re just friends?”
Xu Chenghao nodded, “Yes, yes.”
Li Nian put down his teacup, “Xu Chenghao, I have to say you’re already biased.”
Xu Chenghao’s heart skipped a beat, “Really?”
Li Nian: “Of course. Every time I mention Jing Yicheng’s deliberate approach to you, you insist he’s your former romantic rival, unwilling to admit. Isn’t that bias?”
Xu Chenghao recalled that before Li Nian pointed it out to him, he even thought Jing Yicheng’s feelings towards him were imagined by others, because in his understanding, the villain likes the female lead, not him… Oh, he seemed to have really been influenced by preconceived notions shaped by the plot.
Xu Chenghao suddenly said, “Seems like it.”
Li Nian instantly relaxed, “That makes sense. You scared me. I thought you were really clueless.”
Xu Chenghao: “…Can we talk properly?”
Li Nian shrugged, “Do we need to continue? Once you set aside your preconceived notions, you can see clearly. You two are practically an old married couple now; you don’t need me, the emotional expert.”
Xu Chenghao doubted Li Nian’s professional abilities, “Is that so?”
Li Nian: “Why not? If we replace Jing Yicheng with Ruan Chenxuan, would you be willing to go to work, come home, have meals, or even let him into the bedroom as if you’re an old married couple?”
Xu Chenghao didn’t hesitate, “No.”
Li Nian: “Exactly.”
Xu Chenghao: “No, Ruan Chenxuan and Jing Yicheng are in different positions, there’s no comparison.”
Li Nian: “How are they different? Strictly speaking, both of them started off on the same starting line, at least initially, your relationship with both of them was bad, even rivals.”
With that, Li Nian changed the subject and pondered, “Speaking of which, the pivotal turning point in history was during the project. At the time, I was wondering why Jing Yicheng was so eager to sign a contract that involved such significant territorial concessions and compensation. Looking back, he had far more foresight than I did.”
Xu Chenghao recalled, “He didn’t think so much at the time, he just wanted to compensate.”
Li Nian rolled his eyes, “Look at your tone when you talk about your own people.”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
Unable to bear it, Xu Chenghao held his head and lamented, “I always feel like you’re brainwashing me. I didn’t feel anything abnormal during our interactions, everything seemed normal.”
Li Nian responded coolly, “That’s exactly what’s scary. Don’t you understand the principle of boiling a frog in warm water? Even if you do, it’s too late. I see you’re almost cooked by now. You’ve gotten used to the current temperature of the water, treating your interactions as routine. When he leaves, you’ll realize something’s wrong.”
Xu Chenghao’s heart skipped a beat. In his mind, Li Nian’s words translated to — he didn’t feel anything now, but he would regret it once he chose to leave here and leave Jing Yicheng.
Xu Chenghao silently recalled his life before entering the book. It was actually very plain, but compared to the world in the book, it was more real. Moreover, people often say that their own dog kennel is better than others’ golden or silver kennels. Staying in an unrealistic world within a book definitely wasn’t as reassuring as returning to his own world.
It’s like leaves returning to their roots; people always have such feelings. Xu Chenghao was no exception, of course.
However, if this world became mixed with other things, and the proportion of it started to increase, and there appeared emotions that could tie him down, then it wouldn’t be so easy to distinguish between the superiority of the two worlds.
This was simply a world-class problem for Xu Chenghao! A major life decision! He was almost fretting himself into getting white hair.
Li Nian snapped his fingers in front of him, summoning back his attention. “Is there anything else you haven’t figured out?”
Xu Chenghao took out two pens from the pen holder and placed them on the table, indicating, “Now, before me are two difficult choices concerning the future of my life.”
Xu Chenghao picked up the pen on the right. “This choice feels like a bizarre dream, full of all sorts of incredible things. Maybe one day I’ll wake up and feel very insecure.”
He put down the pen on the right and picked up the one on the left. “This choice is much more real. It’s the environment I’m familiar with and the option I initially firmly wanted to choose. But…”
Xu Chenghao suddenly paused, holding the pen for a while without speaking. Finally, he calmly said, “That’s how it is.”
Li Nian remained silent for a while, then suddenly rummaged around himself for a bit before pulling out a coin and placing it on the table. “Here, heads right, tails left.”
Xu Chenghao hesitated. “Is it really so casual?”
Li Nian replied, “Anyway, you can’t make any decision. Might as well take a chance.”
Xu Chenghao hesitated, then picked up the coin, hesitating for a moment before taking a deep breath and throwing it into the air. The coin instantly soared up, rolling in slow motion under Xu Chenghao’s gaze, slowly descending—
Li Nian suddenly slapped the table. “Heads or tails!”
Caught off guard, Xu Chenghao instinctively responded, “Heads!”
Clang—
The coin landed on the ground, making a crisp sound as it spun and settled.
Xu Chenghao stared with wide eyes, still a bit shaken. Li Nian smiled and pushed the pen on his right towards him, saying, “See, you already have the answer in your heart.”
Xu Chenghao was astonished, “Is it really that simple?”
“Yeah, the method I saw from the online emotional experts is indeed effective,” Li Nian said as he bent down to find the coin. After three seconds, he finally found it near the table leg, picked it up, and quietly slipped it into his pocket.
Curious, Xu Chenghao asked, “Heads or tails?”
Li Nian replied, “Heads, just like your answer.”
Xu Chenghao couldn’t shake the feeling of unreality. “Is it really decided like this?”
Li Nian responded, “What else? Every fork in life is a gamble. Tossing a coin is just another way to find the answer you want.”
Picking up the pen on his right, Xu Chenghao couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart. Before he could start overthinking, Li Nian interrupted, puzzled, “What does this choice have to do with Jing Yicheng? Why would an emotional expert like me also work as a life coach?”
Instantly diverted, Xu Chenghao retorted, “It doesn’t matter!”
Li Nian showed a subtle expression, shaking the pen in his hand. “Family?” Then he used her own pen to tap the one in Xu Chenghao’s hand. “Love?”
Xu Chenghao chuckled. “You’re overthinking it.”
Li Nian: “Oh, I see.”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
Li Nian sighed, “If you choose the right side because of Jing Yicheng, then prepare to be doomed. There’s basically no way out.”
Feeling uneasy, Xu Chenghao said, “It can’t be that bad.”
“Why not?” Li Nian stood up. “You’re about to be cooked like a frog!”
Xu Chenghao protested, “You’re the frog!”
“And you’re a bullfrog, a stone frog, a field jī1The term “jī” (鸡) in Chinese means “chicken,” but it’s often used colloquially to refer to various animals in a somewhat playful or teasing manner. So, “field jī” would refer to a frog that is typically found in fields or rural areas.!” Li Nian retorted before darting out of the room. As expected, the folder he kicked accidentally hit the doorframe just after he left, narrowly missing his back.
Poking his head out from the doorframe, Li Nian said, “Just one more thing.”
Xu Chenghao held up the folder, looking at him.
Li Nian grinned, “Remember to give me a red envelope if it works out.”
With a thud, the folder hit the doorframe, and Li Nian’s laughter gradually faded down the corridor.
Sitting back at his desk, Xu Chenghao felt frustrated, arms crossed, staring at the little yellow duck for a while. Suddenly, he remembered a similar situation yesterday, but his choice was completely different then…
Going back wouldn’t stop the changes now, but staying would bring even more questions. What about the original owner if he stayed? What about the transmigration system? What about the Little Pepper mission? What about the original world?
[Ding——System 2333 is online to serve you.]
Xu Chenghao was startled. “Can you stop appearing out of nowhere like that?”
[Ding——System 2333 heard the host calling.]
Xu Chenghao: That’s… fine. What do you want to say?
[Ding——System 2333 reminds you that if you choose to stay, then you are Xu Chenghao. From the beginning, you have always been Xu Chenghao, and there is no talk of an original owner.
Secondly, the Little Pepper Mission is bound to the time-travel system. Completing the Little Pepper Mission will undo the time-travel system and restore normal life. However, if you fail to complete the Little Pepper Mission, you cannot undo the binding.
Thirdly, there is no after-sales service for the Little Pepper Mission. You must complete all tasks to terminate it. Otherwise, you have no authority to terminate the Little Pepper Mission.
Fourthly, to remind you again, you have already died in the original world due to a car accident. If you complete the time-travel mission, you can go back before the accident to save yourself. However, if you choose not to go back, believe that so much time has passed, and their wounds have healed, and nothing will happen.”]
Xu Chenghao: ???
Wait a moment, there’s a lot of information here. Let him digest it first!!
The author has something to say: Actually, the third rule of the time-travel system itself is a trap, after all, it is also known as “my face hurts so much.”
T/N: This system is one of the most supportive systems I’ve ever read about. I love it so much haha
