Chapter 10
The meals at Linlan Garden were truly worth their price, and Xing Shi enjoyed them thoroughly. Yet, the fact remained that he hadn’t had proper rest for over half a month. Enduring the throbbing pain at his temples, he said, “Don’t go crazy.”
The system immediately went silent.
Xing Shi placed his phone back on the table and asked again, “Could Lin Kecheng be the host?”
The system resumed its usual tone: “Systems don’t have mutual sensing; I don’t know if he is.”
Xing Shi thought to himself that he could find an opportunity to test that later.
After a moment’s hesitation, the system couldn’t hold back: “Don’t you have anything else you want to say?”
Xing Shi glanced at Fu Xiuning across from him.
The young CEO’s expression was calm, showing no sign of being bothered by the minor surprise. His refined and aloof demeanor suggested he disliked physical contact, which hardly seemed like a point in his favor.
Can one not judge a book by its cover?
In his mind, Xing Shi asked, “Is your favorability program malfunctioning?”
The system replied, “No way!”
Recalling the fluctuations throughout the day, it grew suspicious and scanned thoroughly before reporting back, “Checked everything; all good~”
This meant that Fu Xiuning gained one favor point simply because he held the host’s hand!
Fu Xiuning had already given one point upon first meeting the host — he liked the host’s face. The system’s ID wasn’t mistaken: the big boss who had ruined many hosts was indeed a face-conscious person!
Who would have thought? If it told this in the group chat now, probably no system would believe it!
Excited and wanting to scream, it controlled the volume to avoid disturbing the host and analyzed, “Good-looking people easily attract favor. Fu Xiuning is a weirdo; he dislikes you because you look better than him, so he first adds then subtracts points.”
“You two haven’t met for half a month; the score was at -8, which gradually dropped to -10 after spending some time together. Meeting again after a few hours brought it up to -9,” it said. “Tonight, he should have dropped back to -10, but physical contact can bring people closer. Since you’re good-looking, he gave you a point.”
Then it shifted tone: “This is just a general hypothesis. I have another guess. Want to hear it?”
Xing Shi said, “Not really.”
Ignoring him, the system continued, “I suspect he actually fell in love with you at first sight but is unaware of it. His first reaction isn’t to approach but to feel aversion, struggling internally, avoiding, unwilling to admit it. That’s why the favorability score fluctuates, and suddenly holding hands caused the increase!”
Xing Shi didn’t refute; he was considering that possibility too.
He thought Fu Xiuning was unlikely to show delayed gratitude. Perhaps the one-point increase in the parking lot was indeed because of his face.
Though his memories before crossing over were gone, he never forgot his appearance. His magical world body resembled him about seventy percent, and even so, he was entangled by many people. Now, with a full resemblance, he had been asked for WeChat contacts by many over the past half month.
His handsomeness was an objective fact.
Seeing his silence, the system said, “Think carefully—is there anything wrong with what I said?”
Sincerely, Xing Shi replied, “Nothing wrong.”
The system was thrilled: “So do you want to switch to a romance route?”
Xing Shi said, “No.”
The system didn’t push further. Today again proved that the host’s face was a powerful weapon, which reassured the system, knowing it would eventually live an easy life counting money.
Fu Xiuning remained expressionless.
Over the years, he had heard countless times the host and system talking behind his back—getting angry, insulting, scheming, maliciously speculating, or fantasizing. He was used to it and felt no emotional fluctuations.
Apparently, this worked on Xing Shi for now as well.
After finishing the meal, the two left Linlan Garden.
Xing Shi returned to the company to continue training and found the practice room bustling with activity.
He raised an eyebrow: “Did the teacher suddenly give a day off?”
Everyone laughed and explained.
The reason was that everyone was a bit restless, so the teachers paused classes and split the dance groups.
Their skill levels varied, and the teachers planned the routines to increase in difficulty gradually, so the audience’s emotions would rise step by step. Those with weaker foundations were grouped together with simpler choreography for easier mastery.
Though a novice, Xing Shi’s talent was high and he learned quickly. As the star student of the Z program and the show’s protagonist, everyone unanimously decided he would stand center stage in the final group dance.
Xing Shi accepted calmly.
No matter where he stood, it was the same set of moves—he had successfully found a shortcut.
He flopped down to rest, then got up to train again after groups were formed, practicing late into the night before returning to the dorm with the main group.
After washing up and lying on his bed, he asked the system to show him Fu Xiuning’s information.
As his consciousness sank into his mind, the system’s interface appeared.
It displayed favorability records and a shop for checking anytime. There was also a speed-reading function to quickly scan data. Half a month ago, he had reviewed all the original host’s information with the system.
Now the system treated him like a treasure and gently said, “Aren’t you tired? No rush now; sleep first. We can continue tomorrow.”
Xing Shi refused.
He wouldn’t let his consciousness slip in an environment he didn’t trust. Only the company and school dormitory allowed him to lower his guard somewhat.
He said, “Right now.”
The system was moved by his diligence: “Okay, which part first?”
Xing Shi said, “Family.”
The system pulled up the relevant content, and Xing Shi absorbed it rapidly in speed-reading mode.
Fu Xiuning was an only child. His parents had a harmonious marriage and a warm family atmosphere. The Fu family was powerful and influential, but Fu Xiuning was not spoiled; he was polite and liked by many since childhood.
Xing Shi asked, “Did he have any accidents as a child? Like being kidnapped or something?”
The system searched faster and replied, “No.”
He requested Fu Xiuning’s elementary school records, quickly scanning them, finding everything normal with no signs of a malicious personality. The aloof temperament was faintly visible—after all, being so popular made it necessary to keep a distance.
He rubbed his head and said to ease the tension, “Did he have any crushes or early romances in middle or high school? Any notable fluctuations in grades?”
The system replied, “No romantic relationships, but there were fluctuations in grades.”
Xing Shi asked, “When?”
The system said, “In high school, he missed monthly exams due to illness and injury, ranking near the bottom. But whenever he took exams, he ranked in the top ten.”
To be safe, Xing Shi skimmed through the middle school records again; all was normal. Then he looked at high school.
The first semester of sophomore year was fine, but suddenly the second semester’s records expanded sharply.
He was deliberately bumped during PE class, injuring his leg. The culprit felt guilty and insisted on taking care of him.
He was cornered by outsiders but rescued by male classmates. After refusing friendship offers, the whole class knew about his cold and unyielding nature.
He was pushed down the stairs by a mentally unstable girl... One incident after another filled the entire second semester.
In sophomore year, he transferred schools and had a peaceful period, but soon faced various incidents again. Because of this, he hired private tutors every holiday to learn fighting, gradually reducing injuries.
Xing Shi asked for university records and continued reading, reaching the latest incident: the assassination attempt by Shao Jianbo.
The previous entry detailed a passionate girl chasing him off-campus, resulting in a car accident that left her in a vegetative state.
The records were from Fu Xiuning’s perspective, briefly summarizing events, unable to see the other side’s thoughts, but Xing Shi formed a suspicion.
He asked, “System, when did your strategy mission begin?”
The system said, “Five years ago.”
Xing Shi fell silent.
Fu Xiuning was now a junior; five years ago was the second semester of freshman year.
After a few seconds, he asked, “You say he’s antisocial?”
The system replied, “Yes.”
Xing Shi pulled up records from the first semester of freshman year: “What makes him antisocial?”
The system explained, “The main system predicted he would become antisocial in the future, so they wanted to intervene during his youth.”
Xing Shi sneered, “Could it be that the main system’s prediction is also on the fate line? That your intervention caused him to become antisocial?”
The system sighed, “We had that thought when reviewing Fu Xiuning’s records before we came, but things were already like this. We can only try to save him.”
Xing Shi thought to himself this didn’t feel like saving but more like hunting.
Regardless, whether that reason was true or not, he planned to dismantle the system.
But this time, it wouldn’t be about calling it “Dad”; Fu Xiuning would be the one calling him “Dad.”
His consciousness withdrew from his mind, and he said without much sincerity, “Alright, good luck.”
The next day was the weekend; the school was on holiday, but the company was not.
Trainee training was intense, with few breaks. As a day student, Xing Shi had to train at the company on Saturdays and Sundays.
Full-time trainees occasionally got a day off, but few truly rested, as everyone was desperate to debut and worked hard.
Xing Shi stayed at the company for two days. On Sunday night, the brothers returned the meal favor.
Then life returned to the usual routine of attending classes while training until Friday, when he met Fu Xiuning at school.
Fu Xiuning was driving by, saw him, stopped, and asked, “Where are you going?”
Xing Shi said, “South Gate.”
Fu Xiuning gestured for him to get in and drove on: “What for?”
Xing Shi said, “Meeting Senior Lin.”
Fu Xiuning thought he was picking up takeout again. Hearing this, he glanced at him: “Didn’t I tell you to limit contact with him?”
Xing Shi said, “He insisted on treating me; I couldn’t refuse. I’m just eating, no deep talks.”
Fu Xiuning knew he was sensible and nodded.
The system waited expectantly for a moment, then asked, “Why didn’t the favorability move? Were you dressed badly today?”
Xing Shi said, “That means his normal value for me is -8.”
The system thought for a moment: “Makes sense. Being in love without realizing it is hard, but he’ll get over this hurdle.”
Xing Shi changed the subject and instructed, “Help me find some info; I plan to test Lin Kecheng.”
Fu Xiuning raised an eyebrow: “?”
So much for ‘no deep talks.’
They were already near the South Gate when they met; a few words later, they arrived.
Lin Kecheng had just arrived. Unable to get Fu Xiuning out, he planned to build a good relationship with Xing Shi first.
Unexpectedly, luck was on his side as Xing Shi was sent by Fu Xiuning.
He immediately smiled and stepped forward to chat, hoping to get Fu Xiuning to join them for a meal.
But the next moment, a notification sounded in his mind.
[Beep beep]
[Current favorability: -5]
Lin Kecheng: “!!!”
His system: “!!!”
They had spent half a year just to gain one point, only to fall back to square one in an instant.
Both man and system instantly broke down: “Why!”