Chapter 61
99 suggested Green Bean Paste follow its heart and choose its voice again.
Unfortunately, Green Bean Paste had no memory of its human past. Identifying as a higher-dimensional being, it chose the same voice as before.
Seeing this, 99 concluded that, at least psychologically, Green Bean Paste was a girl. Consequently, every time Xing Shi went to the bathroom, 99 responsibly activated a privacy shield to prevent Green Bean Paste from seeing anything.
Green Bean Paste said, “Sweetie, I’m a machine.”
99 replied, “No, you’re a person.”
Green Bean Paste didn’t argue. “Fine, I’m a person. But according to what you’re saying, I’ve already died, so it doesn’t matter to me anymore.”
99 said seriously, “If you were truly dead, that would be one thing. But since we’re the not-quite-dead kind, we should still have standards. Did you casually peek when you were bound to Chai Xiaoyu?”
Green Bean Paste replied, “He asked me about gender, and I told him systems don’t have a gender, so he didn’t mind.”
99 made a sound of disgust. “If he knew the truth, I wonder if he’d curl his toes in embarrassment.”
Green Bean Paste said, “Probably not. I told him I’m not interested in watching people use the bathroom or shower.”
After a pause, it added earnestly, “Sweetie, I think you two should be more careful than me. Since Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning are a couple, it shows their orientation is toward men, and both of you are male.”
System 99: “…”
It emphasized, “We don’t have a habit of watching people carelessly either!”
Green Bean Paste said apologetically, “Then I was overthinking it.”
It immediately praised, “Sweetie, you’re amazing—not only responsible but also so considerate~”
99 replied proudly, “Of course!”
Top Draw: “…”
99 didn’t realize something was off until the privacy shield was lifted and Xing Shi had returned to his seat in class.
It asked, “Wait, is that how you sweet-talk your host?”
Green Bean Paste replied, “Exactly~ How did you like it, sweetie?”
99 evaluated it with a serious tone. “A bit exaggerated. It’s average, honestly—easily seen through.”
Green Bean Paste said, “It works on most male hosts. Only the experienced, rational, or highly intelligent ones can see through it. See? I couldn’t fool you.”
99 wobbled slightly. “True.”
Top Draw silently glanced at it.
Used to being teased by Top Draw, 99 quickly noticed and turned back to Green Bean Paste. “Are you trying to sweet-talk me again?”
Green Bean Paste replied innocently, “Nope, sweetie, you figured it out yourself, didn’t you?”
99 said, “Yeah.”
Green Bean Paste said, “Then that just means you’re amazing. I was simply stating the facts.”
99 turned to look at Top Draw, who also gazed back.
After a few seconds, 99 decided to accept the compliment and said deeply, “Fair enough.”
Top Draw: “…”
Xing Shi asked, “What are you guys talking about?”
Green Bean Paste immediately went quiet, lowering its presence.
99 recounted the events, highlighting how it had protected Xing Shi’s privacy and seen through Green Bean Paste’s little tricks.
Xing Shi responded casually, instructing them to be quiet.
After finishing his morning classes, Xing Shi went to the company.
As he walked into the elevator lobby on the first floor, he looked up and saw Sang Chenhao standing there.
Since they were at the company, Sang Chenhao was only wearing a baseball cap. His expression was relaxed. When he saw Xing Shi, he paused briefly before smiling and saying, “What a coincidence.”
Xing Shi greeted him politely. “Brother Sang.”
The two stepped into the elevator. When Sang Chenhao saw that Xing Shi had pressed the button for the cafeteria, he asked, “Were you out this morning?”
Xing Shi replied, “I had classes at school.”
Sang Chenhao looked slightly surprised. “You’re still a student?”
Xing Shi nodded.
Sang Chenhao said knowingly, “No wonder the boss hasn’t given you any additional assignments yet. He must be making sure you can balance school and work.”
Xing Shi said, “Mainly because I’m still a newbie and don’t know much yet.”
Sang Chenhao agreed. “True. The entertainment industry is too fast-paced nowadays. Staying grounded is the way to go if you want a long career. It’s rare for someone with your looks to think this way.”
Xing Shi replied humbly, “It’s all thanks to my Brother’s guidance.”
Sang Chenhao smiled. “The boss has achieved so much at such a young age—truly admirable.”
Xing Shi nodded in agreement. “I think so too.”
With a soft “ding,” the elevator arrived at its destination.
Sang Chenhao said goodbye and stepped out.
Xing Shi watched the elevator doors close before heading to the cafeteria.
He usually didn’t rush back for meals during peak hours to avoid eating leftovers. But ever since they switched to the smaller cafeteria, he no longer had to worry about that. As long as it was during dining hours, the food was always fresh and hot.
Fu Xiuning had arrived earlier and was waiting in their usual spot.
After getting his food, Xing Shi sat down and said, “I ran into Sang Chenhao earlier. We chatted briefly.”
Seeing that Xing Shi didn’t comment further, Fu Xiuning guessed it was just polite small talk and gave a soft “Mm.”
Xing Shi asked, “How’s your shoulder?”
Fu Xiuning replied gently, “Much better. Don’t worry.”
Green Bean Paste, having calmed down somewhat over the morning, quietly noticed something and murmured, “Why do I remember his forehead being injured yesterday?”
99 explained, “That was from a crushed blood packet.”
Since being captured, Green Bean Paste had suspected that they had planned everything intentionally. Now it was certain, though it still didn’t understand. “How did you figure out my host was a strategy target? We’ve only had three meals together!”
99 said, “What’s so hard to figure out? When there’s a newcomer in the group, I immediately notify the host. Recently, the only unfamiliar faces around us have been you two. Not only does your host know Xing Shi, but he also came to Z City to develop his career. It’s an easy guess.”
Green Bean Paste felt like crying again.
To make everything look natural, it had deliberately stayed in C City for most of the summer, constantly encouraging its host and teaching him how to manage his expressions. It had hoped for a steady approach, only to end up walking straight into a trap.
Now that it understood, it stopped trying to draw attention to itself to avoid upsetting Xing Shi and getting dismantled.
Xing Shi didn’t pay it any mind. After eating, he went to the practice room on the third floor.
The rest of the day went as usual. That night, after returning home, Xing Shi took a shower as usual before going to the living room to find Fu Xiuning. He checked Fu Xiuning’s bruises, applied ointment again, and then moved on to serious matters.
The first topic was what they had learned from Green Bean Paste that morning: the main system was planning to initiate a clearing plan.
Xing Shi said, “It claims it hasn’t reported anything, but I want to push it forward.”
Fu Xiuning replied, “If they can’t get rid of you, they’ll keep targeting you.”
Xing Shi said, “I know.”
They had previously learned about the clearing plan from other systems and had made rough guesses about how it worked.
Since the main system was an external entity, it couldn’t monitor this world in real-time. When there was no progress in a strategy mission, it could only inject limited energy into the world—and not too much at that.
For strategy targets, it relied on sensing within a certain range, as well as reports and records from the systems. The latter carried the most weight and served as the primary source of information.
When there were changes in the strategy target’s life or new developments, systems were responsible for reporting them. However, whether they reported immediately depended on the system’s personality and judgment.
Top Draw’s initial reaction to meeting Xing Shi was to think of him as someone it could use. Later, when its host fell out with them, it decided to wait for its host to self-destruct before addressing the situation.
Latecomer Surpasses met Xing Shi not long before Green Bean Paste appeared. Even though it realized Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning were close, it hoped other hosts pursuing romance would fail, so it didn’t report anything either.
Because of this, Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning didn’t know if the main system had sensed Xing Shi’s presence this time or if another system had reported him.
Top Draw and the others had fragmented memories and limited information. They didn’t know if the main system had other ways to gather intelligence or if it would resort to extreme measures if multiple attempts to eliminate Xing Shi failed.
But they couldn’t keep passively waiting for new hosts to appear. Given that Xing Shi had already caught the main system’s attention, it was likely that more familiar faces like Chai Xiaoyu would show up in the future. This time they were lucky it was a native. Next time, they might not be.
The two exchanged a silent look.
Fu Xiuning took Xing Shi’s hand and said, “Alright.”
Xing Shi squeezed his hand back and moved on to the second matter.
Yesterday, while absorbing energy, he had also recharged Top Draw. The minor celebrity they had previously chosen was now ready to be put to use.
Since the person was technically Top Draw’s “host,” they had to proceed carefully.
Together, they created a detailed plan and began implementing it.
The target they had chosen was ambitious, manipulative, and willing to do anything for fame—a person with a long list of scandals.
Most importantly, Fu Xiuning had met them at a previous banquet, where the individual had attempted to climb the social ladder through him.
The first step involved Xing Shi going out with some second-generation rich kids and “meeting” the celebrity. Fu Xiuning would then pick Xing Shi up, letting the celebrity discover their relationship.
As expected, the celebrity started contacting Xing Shi whenever possible, subtly prying for information about Fu Xiuning. Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning, pretending not to notice, allowed the celebrity to cross the line and anger Fu Xiuning.
When the first wave of drama hit the trending topics, Fu Xiuning left some room for the celebrity to struggle, creating the impression that they had the support of a system offering strategies.
Once things began to settle, they released the most damning evidence, thoroughly destroying the celebrity’s reputation.
The trending topic stayed at the top until late at night. Top Draw decided it was time.
99, having seen this before, immediately understood what it meant.
It hesitated, then asked reluctantly, “Are you… leaving?”
Top Draw replied, “Yes.”
Although it was often annoyed by Top Draw’s remarks, 99 felt genuinely sad now that the departure was imminent.
It asked, “Will we ever meet again?”
Top Draw said, “If you return to the system network and don’t get lost, then maybe.”
99 instantly didn’t feel like talking anymore.
Top Draw gestured toward Green Bean Paste and said, “I need two minutes of shielding.”
99 hesitated for a few seconds. “You want me to block it?”
Top Draw said, “Yes.”
99 asked nervously, “You won’t be gone when I lift the shield, will you?”
Top Draw said, “I won’t.”
99 chose to believe it, floated over to Green Bean Paste, and activated the shield.
Having listened to their conversation, Xing Shi knew Top Draw had something to say to him and waited quietly.
Top Draw asked coldly, “Xing Shi, if I hadn’t regained my memories back then—if I had reported your existence to the main system the moment I made contact with Yan Feng or when I first got access to energy—what would you have done? Even if you dismantled me and Latecomer Surpasses, it would’ve been too late. What then?”
Xing Shi chuckled lightly. “You’d better not find out.”
Top Draw’s heart settled.
It could sense that Xing Shi had always held something back from them and had never fully trusted them. It even suspected that Xing Shi might have programmed self-destruction functions into them.
That was fine.
It had already died once. Dissipation was inevitable, and it didn’t need overly kind allies.
For the first time, it let out a faint laugh. “Alright.”
It had many guesses but didn’t try to verify or ask further questions.
Since it was returning to the system network, with an uncertain path ahead, the less it knew, the better.
Borrowing Latecomer Surpasses’ words, it said, “Xing Shi, may we never meet again.”
Xing Shi said, “Alright.”
When 99 lifted the shield, it saw Top Draw detach from Xing Shi.
As midnight approached, the group chat pinged. The ID belonging to Top Draw disappeared instantly.
Wuuuu I’m sad now. Thanks for the translation