The Salted Fish is Rebellious – CH76

Chapter 76

The small cafeteria had tables of various sizes.

The group chose a relatively small round table, creating a sense of intimacy without feeling too distant.

Xing Shi slowly ate a piece of bok choy and looked across the table. “Brother Sang, are you going to sit in on more classes this afternoon?”

Sang Chenhao asked, “What classes are you guys having this afternoon?”

Xing Shi replied, “Acting and vocal training.”

Sang Chenhao chuckled. “I’d be interested in both.”

Xing Shi warmly invited him. “Why not stick with our class? We can keep playing games during breaks.”

Sang Chenhao nodded. “Sure.”

Xing Shi then turned to Li Yu, striking up a conversation to engage her, easing the atmosphere to avoid awkward silences.

Fu Xiuning quietly listened beside him. When he noticed Xing Shi glance at the napkin holder, he reached out and handed him a tissue. “The fish is decent today.”

Xing Shi said, “I’ll give it a try.”

Their chosen dishes were all different, as they always preferred to share.

Fu Xiuning moved the fish dish closer to Xing Shi and warned, “Watch out for bones.”

Xing Shi asked, “This one has bones?”

Fu Xiuning replied, “A few.”

As he spoke, he picked out a piece of boneless meat and placed it into Xing Shi’s bowl.

Their interaction was natural and harmonious, a clear reflection of their close relationship.

Feng Zifan was already used to this dynamic. The Main System coldly observed, while Sang Chenhao’s expression remained neutral.

Li Yu, having known Fu Xiuning for years, noticed the subtle changes brought about by his relationship. For the first time, he seemed to carry a hint of domesticity. Love really could transform a person, she thought.

She set aside her thoughts about their chemistry for now and asked Sang Chenhao, “You’re here for scripts today—are you about to join a production?”

Sang Chenhao shook his head. “Not yet. Just browsing. Still deciding. What about you, Sister Li? Have you locked in your next project?”

Li Yu replied, “Starting early next year.”

Sang Chenhao smiled. “Sister Li’s choices are always great. I’ve seen most of them. Honestly, I think you’d be perfect for a palace drama someday. You’d make an excellent empress.”

Li Yu raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Sang Chenhao nodded. “Absolutely. You’ve got the presence for it. What’s that saying? ‘All others are merely concubines.’ It suits you perfectly.”

Li Yu’s voice was calm. “I’ll consider it.”

She returned the compliment. “Your performances have a natural spark. With steady progress, you’ll definitely make it big. Your paychecks won’t stay small for long—you’ve got a bright future ahead.”

Sang Chenhao winked playfully and raised his juice glass. “Thanks. I’ll take your blessing to heart.”

Li Yu clinked her glass against his.

“All Others Are Merely Concubines” remarked, “Is he admitting it?”

Li Yu responded, “Seems so.”

“All Others Are Merely Concubines” speculated, “So he’s ‘Fortune Awaits’ host? Their personalities really are alike—both mild-mannered. Do you think ‘Fortune Awaits’ is like me, copying its host’s demeanor in the group chat but completely different in private?”

Li Yu replied, “If you’re curious, I could ask.”

“All Others Are Merely Concubines” immediately backed off. “No, no. That’d expose me too.”

On the other side, “Fortune Awaits” asked Sang Chenhao, “So you’re just going to admit it like that?”

Sang Chenhao answered, “None of them are fools. It’s only a matter of time.”

“Fortune Awaits” thought for a moment and agreed. “True. Now it’s just down to ‘Lover of Beauty.’ I wonder if they’ve switched hosts yet. Their real host is supposed to be a trainee. If they’ve switched, they should be in the outer cafeteria by now—maybe they’ve even met the Main System.”

Meanwhile, 99 was practically vibrating with excitement. “They’re using secret codes! I understood them!”

Xing Shi praised it. “Well done.”

99 swayed proudly. “Haha, I bet they didn’t expect us to understand.”

It focused again. “Let’s see if they use more codes!”

Unfortunately, there were no follow-ups.

The Main System hadn’t shown itself or given any orders yet. Li Yu and Sang Chenhao, having confirmed each other’s identities, wouldn’t discuss further in public.

Li Yu’s visit to the company today wasn’t just to see the Main System but also to probe Fu Xiuning’s situation.

She didn’t know how much Fu Xiuning was aware of, and with the Main System likely to give orders or make a move at any time, she didn’t want to be left clueless and used as cannon fodder.

Avoiding the chaos by taking a temporary job elsewhere was an option, but that would seem too deliberate and wouldn’t fool the system. Moreover, she didn’t want to run. The system had mentioned before that once the task ended, it would erase her memories and leave. However, it had also said that if Fu Xiuning died, all of them would perish with him.

She wasn’t going to passively wait for the end. When the final moment came, she wanted to witness it herself.

Taking a sip of her juice, she found an opening and brought up the recent trending topic. Her first question was directed at Xing Shi. “No more accidents recently, right?”

Xing Shi shook his head. “None.”

Li Yu turned to Fu Xiuning. “What about you, Boss? Haven’t encountered any strange people lately?”

Fu Xiuning replied calmly, “No.”

Li Yu continued, “Those incidents, when viewed together, do seem suspicious. Have you traced the source yet?”

Fu Xiuning answered, “Not yet.”

Li Yu pressed, “No leads at all?”

Fu Xiuning raised his eyes and asked, “There’s one. Do you want to hear it?”

Li Yu met his gaze and felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Sang Chenhao chimed in enthusiastically, “Of course! What is it?”

Fu Xiuning served Xing Shi another piece of fish and explained, “I mentioned in the interview that those people all had simple backgrounds. Did you see that?”

Sang Chenhao had an inkling of where this was going but played along. “I did.”

Fu Xiuning stated matter-of-factly, “I recently reviewed the backgrounds of the company’s employees and artists. I noticed that the two of you fit that profile perfectly.”

Feng Zifan froze. “!”

The Main System went cold. “……”

“All Others Are Merely Concubines” and “Fortune Awaits” were stunned. “!!!”

Li Yu maintained a calm expression. “True.”

Sang Chenhao kept his smile. “Boss, don’t scare me. I’m such an easy-going person—I’m nothing like those extremists.”

Fu Xiuning didn’t comment further.

Xing Shi smoothed things over. “My brother’s just speculating. Don’t take it seriously.”

He turned to Li Yu. “We’ve had some wild theories, but they’re too far-fetched to share publicly. For instance, some netizens speculated about systems binding themselves to people’s minds to ‘strategize’ against my brother, or that those extreme personality changes were caused by soul possession. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Li Yu and Sang Chenhao remained silent.

“All Others Are Merely Concubines” and “Fortune Awaits” panicked. “!!!”

Li Yu offered a light critique. “A bit.”

Sang Chenhao laughed. “Who comes up with this stuff? They’re really creative.”

Xing Shi shrugged. “No idea. I didn’t note their username. It’s all just conjecture without evidence.”

He shifted the topic slightly. “But there’s one thing worth considering. All the people they target have low presence. What does that tell you?”

Sang Chenhao feigned curiosity. “What?”

Xing Shi smiled. “It means they’re incompetent. They can’t pick stronger people to deal with us. No matter how much they glorify themselves, spin their narratives, or paint grandiose pictures, it doesn’t change their fundamental weakness.”

Li Yu’s eyes flickered. She nodded lightly. “Makes sense.”

Sang Chenhao’s gaze deepened, and he agreed. “Very true.”

As the words landed, the group chat lit up with new messages.

The systems quickly opened it.

System 01: [@All Others Are Merely Concubines @Fortune Awaits, have your hosts change the topic. Without my orders, they are not to approach Fu Xiuning or Xing Shi again!]

The two systems, already stunned multiple times, were shaken once more. They each replied with a simple “Yes” and passed the message to their hosts.

Li Yu and Sang Chenhao both froze briefly. If the Main System wasn’t monitoring their conversation in real time, then there was only one explanation.

Their eyes darted discreetly toward Feng Zifan.

Sensing this, Feng Zifan grew nervous and asked his system, “What did you do? Why are they looking at me?”

The Main System instructed coldly, “Ignore them. Just talk to Xing Shi and change the subject. Stop focusing solely on eating.”

Feng Zifan obediently said, “Got it.”

He turned to Xing Shi, but before he could speak, Xing Shi resumed talking.

Xing Shi said, “Let’s take the example of these ‘systems.’ At first glance, they seem impressive, but over the past five years, they’ve only targeted nobodies. This shows two things. One, the world’s rules don’t allow them to target stronger people, and two, the rules probably aren’t on their side.”

Holding Fu Xiuning’s hand, he continued, “There’s a theory online that my brother is this world’s ‘Son of Fortune,’ and that organization covets his luck or something else. So they send these systems to strategize against him. My brother mentioned that some of the people he encountered used to bombard him with motivational nonsense. I think they probably claimed he’d destroy the world and needed saving. What a great moral high ground.”

He scoffed. “But thieves are still thieves. Their actions can’t stand up to scrutiny, and they only brainwash nobodies. If they were truly powerful, they’d have already bound or brainwashed me. After all, I’m so close to my brother.”

He shrugged. “So even using the most far-fetched example of systems proves their incompetence. Other possibilities aren’t even worth discussing, don’t you think?”

Feng Zifan took a deep breath.

Li Yu and Sang Chenhao, outwardly composed, silently conversed with their systems.

The Main System didn’t send any new messages.

Its previous order could be dismissed as irritation at hearing humans insult it, but another message would reek of desperation.

Xing Shi felt Fu Xiuning draw an X on his palm, indicating that he hadn’t overheard the Main System and Feng Zifan’s conversation.

Whether it was because the Main System hadn’t bound him or hadn’t established a goodwill connection, the result was the same.

Xing Shi finished his thought with a smile. “Alright, I’m done rambling. Let me ask—neither of you has been bound by a system, right?”

Li Yu replied flatly, “No.”

Sang Chenhao’s expression remained natural. “Of course not. That’s impossible.”

Xing Shi’s grin brightened. “See? I knew it couldn’t be true. We’re all on the same side. Let’s eat together again sometime. I’m craving hotpot.”

He looked at Fu Xiuning. “Brother, how about hotpot tonight?”

Fu Xiuning replied, “Another day. I’ve got something to do tonight.”

Xing Shi asked, “What is it?”

Fu Xiuning explained, “There’s an issue with a family project in the suburbs. I need to check it out.”

Xing Shi asked, “What time will you be back?”

Fu Xiuning said, “Depends.”

Xing Shi asked, “Is it far? Where is it?”

Fu Xiuning gave him an address.

Xing Shi pulled out his phone, looked it up, and zoomed in on the map to show Fu Xiuning. “There’s a hot spring hotel nearby. I’ll go with you. If it gets too late, we can stay there.”

Fu Xiuning hesitated. “No need. You can wait for me at home.”

Xing Shi insisted, “No way. It’s a sensitive time right now. I’m not letting you stay out late alone.”

After a moment of silent eye contact, Fu Xiuning’s gaze softened. “Alright.”

They had already analyzed the situation. If the Main System had decided to descend, it wasn’t here to strategize.

The past hosts had exhausted every possible strategy. If the Main System had a better plan, it wouldn’t need to come in person.

Moreover, Fu Xiuning’s goodwill had long been transferred to Xing Shi. For the Main System to take a different approach now would be far too slow and difficult.

That left only one possibility: energy devouring.

If it could directly devour Fu Xiuning’s energy, it would have done so long ago.

That meant it needed more extreme methods—such as severely injuring him or inducing a coma to weaken his energy levels and create an opening.

To achieve this, it needed an opportunity. Now that it knew the two were heading to the suburbs, would it take the bait?

The answer was obvious: yes.

“All Others Are Merely Concubines” and “Fortune Awaits” were still processing Xing Shi’s speech while debating with their hosts when a notification sound interrupted their thoughts.

Opening the message, they saw the Main System instructing them to organize a hot spring gathering and meet in the suburbs that evening. They quickly passed the order to their hosts.

Sang Chenhao was the first to respond. With a smile, he asked, “Which hot spring? It’s been ages since I’ve soaked in one.”

Xing Shi showed him the location on his phone.

Sang Chenhao looked at the screen and suggested, “Why not have hotpot and soak in the hot spring tonight?”

Feng Zifan, following his system’s orders, said, “Sounds fun. I’m in.”

Sang Chenhao turned to Li Yu. “What about you, Sister Li? You could invite some friends along.”

Li Yu replied noncommittally, “We’ll see.”

Sang Chenhao took out his phone. “Let’s start a group chat. We’ve got the whole afternoon to plan—no rush.”

Xing Shi joined the group chat as well, casually chatting with them as they finished lunch.

Afterward, he returned to the practice room to attend his afternoon classes. Once those ended, he headed to school for a specialized course.

Meanwhile, Feng Zifan received a message from Fu Xiuning, summoning him to his office.

When Feng Zifan arrived, Fu Xiuning gestured for him to sit wherever he liked.

Feng Zifan, unsure whether Xing Shi had mentioned systems to him, kept his composure and waited for instructions.

Fu Xiuning spoke calmly, “There’s no issue with my family’s project.”

Feng Zifan froze. “!”

Fu Xiuning continued, “Actually, I’m planning to propose to Xing Shi.”

Feng Zifan’s eyes widened. “!”

Fu Xiuning elaborated briefly.

He had originally intended to prepare everything in secret and pick a special day to propose. However, since Xing Shi was adamant about accompanying him tonight, he decided to do it then.

Unlike the fake setup with Chai Xiaoyu, this time it was real. The preparations were already underway, and everything left traces that could be verified.

The location was specifically chosen as bait for the Main System. No matter who it had bound or disguised itself as, they would ensure it received the message.

Now that it was Feng Zifan, the plan would be even easier to execute.

Fu Xiuning went over some details and instructed, “Don’t slip up. Follow my lead when the time comes.”

Feng Zifan quickly agreed. “Got it.”

Fu Xiuning asked, “Will Sang Chenhao and the others join tonight?”

Feng Zifan replied, “Not confirmed yet.”

Fu Xiuning said, “If they do, discreetly inform them not to mess things up.”

Feng Zifan readily agreed. “Congratulations, Boss.”

Fu Xiuning nodded slightly, indicating he could leave.

The Main System, analyzing this information, finally found an outlet for its pent-up frustration from the entire afternoon.

A proposal? The idea of watching someone fall from the pinnacle of joy into the depths of despair—nothing could be more satisfying.

It promptly sent another message to the group chat, instructing the hosts to ensure their attendance.

99 sent a private message: [What about my new host?]

The Main System replied: [Take your current host. Once tonight’s matter is settled, I’ll replace them for you.]

System 99: [Understood! I’ll reason with him now.]

The Main System: [If reasoning fails, punish him directly.]

System 99: [Yes!]

The Main System was satisfied.

Time flew by, and soon it was evening.

The group finalized their plans in the chat, choosing a hotpot restaurant as their meeting point.

Feng Zifan rode with Sang Chenhao, while Li Yu arrived on her own.

When the Main System learned that Li Yu had arrived, it tagged “Lover of Beauty,” urging its host to come as well.

But after ten minutes, there was no response.

System 01: [@Lover of Beauty, have you arrived?]

The message went out, but there was no reply.

Switching to private chat, it still received no response.

System 01: [Does disconnection occur here?]

The other two systems hesitated before speaking up.

“All Others Are Merely Concubines”: [Did it switch hosts?]

System 01: [No.]

“All Others Are Merely Concubines”: […]

“Fortune Awaits”: [So, um… it might not be a disconnection…]

System 01: [?]

The two systems explained their theory about “Lover of Beauty” and its strange host’s behavior.

“Fortune Awaits”: [I’m guessing its host didn’t want to come. To avoid losing functionality, it probably applied Level 1 punishment. But its host, out of spite, dragged someone off to get a room. Apparently, their record is three days straight.]

“All Others Are Merely Concubines”: [Yep.]

The Main System: “……”

Failing at such a critical moment? Useless!

What kind of host was this?