Author: Qi Jing Nan Qu
Volume: 9
Age Rating: Mature
Exclusive Extra: √
Translator: Luckykoi, Golden Pavilion
Editor: Juurensha, My Nguyen, KiKi, Ann. C

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Volume One

Now, standing before Yang Baihua, Chi Xiaochi looked up at him with an innocent smile that barely concealed a steely resolve. His eyes shone brightly. 

Yang Baihua, however, was staring at the car with a frown. “Did you buy this?”

Chi Xiaochi glanced back at the car and playfully bragged, “Isn’t she gorgeous?”

“How much was it?”

Chi Xiaochi’s eyes curved into crescents. “Take a guess.”

So far, their conversation had followed the script exactly. As Yang Baihua’s frown deepened, Chi Xiaochi watched the target’s affection bar drop another two points on the system dashboard.

Yang Baihua swallowed his irritation and tried to reason with the rich kid who had no concept of money. “I know you mean well. And I know you gave up a lot for me. But we still have to think about the future. You grew up rich, so you don’t understand what it means to save for a rainy day. If you keep blowing money like this…”

He made sense. According to the script, Cheng Yuan should have lowered his head in shame, admitting he’d been joking and that the car was actually a gift from his older brother, Cheng Jian.

Chi Xiaochi put on a hurt look. “My brother gave it to me. I get nauseous on buses.”

Yang Baihua stroked his hair. “Look, you’re all grown up now. You can’t keep relying on your brother. He has his own life, and so do you. If he keeps spoiling you like this, you’ll never leave that gilded cage you grew up in, don’t you think?”

Chi Xiaochi watched him silently. Yang Baihua’s confident demeanor reminded him of Cheng Yuan’s past. Cheng Yuan once had a friend who’d been strongly against their relationship. After Yang Baihua lectured him in that exact tone, Cheng Yuan cut ties with the friend.

To Yang Baihua, Cheng Yuan was far too naive. He’d better heed his advice, or someone would lead him astray sooner or later.

Then Chi Xiaochi spoke. His voice was pleasant to the ear, featherlight, just as it had been all the times he whispered sweet nothings to him. Lulled by the tone, Yang Baihua took a moment to process the words.

“That’s just my brother taking care of me. He didn’t spend your money.”

A digital dashboard floated before Chi Xiaochi’s eyes, visible only to him. It showed real-time stats such as his body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and even the current weather. But what stood out most were the two progress bars: blue for regret points and red for affection points, each capped at one hundred. The blue value held steady at nine, while the red value was slipping because of Chi Xiaochi’s wisecrack.

“Why do people hate hearing the truth?” he rued to the system, who stayed silent.

Yang Baihua said in disappointment, “Cheng Yuan, how could you say that?”

Chi Xiaochi answered gently, “I didn’t mean it that way. My brother is just looking out for us. A car would make our lives much easier. Even if I don’t use it, you can drive it to work and impress your colleagues.”

His pleasant tone made his earlier sharp words sound like a harmless statement of fact. As the affection bar climbed by two points, the system gave silent approval to his carrot-and-stick approach.

Yang Baihua let out a long breath. The child had been spoiled rotten since childhood and never learned tact. He probably didn’t even realize how hurtful he sounded. With that in mind, Yang Baihua softened his tone, as if he were coaxing a child. “A car isn’t just a one-time expense. We have to pay for gas and parking every month. Have you thought about whether we can afford that?”

“I’ll make money.” Cheng Yuan clasped his hands behind his back, smiling at him with open sincerity. “I’m almost finished with my demo. Once that’s done, I’ll have money.”

“How many times have I told you? It isn’t a proper job,” Yang Baihua said, resigned.

“But music is my passion.”

“Passion isn’t enough to put food on the table. Forget it. Let’s drop this.” Yang Baihua relented. “I don’t want to argue.”

“All right, all right.” Cheng Yuan took a step forward, closing the distance between them. He glanced at Yang Baihua and added gently, “I just thought the car could be useful. Your parents and third sister are coming next week, aren’t they? We could pick them up. You could also drive them to Xiaoyan’s school and take her out for a meal. Didn’t she ask last time when you were going to buy a car?”

Yang Baihua fell silent, the words hitting home. Meeting those fervent eyes, he felt his heart skip a beat. Cheng Yuan’s breath misted in the winter air, softening his features. Around them, the city lights shimmered, casting a faint glow over his flushed cheeks. The fur trim of his white down jacket fluttered in the night breeze, gently brushing against his porcelain neck. With each touch, Yang Baihua’s chest tightened and grew warm.

Meanwhile, the digital dashboard in front of Chi Xiaochi displayed a translucent card.

Name: Beauty Halo (Free Trial)

Duration: 10 min

Quantity: 1

Quality: Excellent

Type: Single-use

Cost: 0

Description: The golden luster of egg-studded fried rice, the rich mouthfeel of slow-simmered pork bone broth, the tender burst of succulent crab legs from their shells, and the crimson gleam of salted duck egg yolks—none of them quite as lovely as your soft smile under the gentle light.

What an analogy, Chi Xiaochi mused. Curious, he asked the system, “Did a chef write this description?”

“009 was one of the earliest AIs, a pure data construct,” the system explained. “He just happens to enjoy studying recipes.”

The distinction threw Chi Xiaochi off. What, were there AIs that weren’t data constructs? Before he could pursue the thought, the system cut in, “Mr. Chi, the mission.”

“Oh, right.”

Fortunately, Chi Xiaochi focused again. They hadn’t known each other long, yet this new agent was already proving a handful. 

After reviewing the backstory, Chi Xiaochi had pondered at length before he finally asked, “When I see him later, can I just run the car into him?”

In the silence that followed, he added, “Relax. I’m kidding.” 

Then, he seemed to reconsider. “Actually, wait—Cheng Yuan’s family is loaded, right? If it’s an accident, they can pay the legal fees.”

After a long, weighted pause, the system replied, “You seriously want to hit him, don’t you?”

“Nah, I’m just asking.”

“Mr. Chi, this is a living, breathing human you’re talking about.” 

“Exactly,” Chi Xiaochi said with deadly earnestness. “Living, breathing humans are fragile. Things happen.”

The system tried to maintain a detached tone. “Mr. Chi, the laws of this world are similar to the one you came from. Committing assault and battery will land you in jail. Also, if you run over the target, how do you expect to leave this world?”

Usually, only when the target’s regret value reached one hundred could an agent leave the current world and transfer to the next.

The system had hoped this would end the conversation, but Chi Xiaochi’s reply caught him off guard. “I’ve heard regret is strongest right before death.”

The silence was deafening.

“Even if he survives,” Chi Xiaochi added, “he gets a lifetime supply of regret. Efficient, isn’t it?”

Please shut up.

Chi Xiaochi could practically hear the system’s breakdown. He sighed. “Fine, jeez. Where’s your sense of humor?” The disappointment in his voice was unmistakable. 

With growing unease, the system checked Chi Xiaochi’s file again. He was indeed an actor, not a former felon. That said, his history was riddled with scandals. He’d been accused of putting on airs, smoking in public, and setting a bad example for young fans. Then came even uglier rumors: that he had abandoned his parents, that he had slept his way into roles. Most of them were hearsay, but the truth had been buried too deep to dig out.

After filtering out the clutter, the system came to a conclusion: Chi Xiaochi was simply eccentric and had a few psychological quirks, but with proper guidance, he should be manageable.

In all fairness, he had done well so far. He had used the free trial skill cards effectively, and Yang Baihua’s affection points were finally starting to recover.

Every new agent received a starter pack with twelve different single-use skill cards. If an agent found any particularly useful items, they could redeem them later from the system inventory with affection or regret points and use them when the conditions were right. 

For example, right now.

Yang Baihua swallowed. He had always known Cheng Yuan was attractive, but even beauty could dull with time. Yet looking at him now, the rush from their honeymoon period came back, and his heart gave a familiar leap. 

The little bunny looked up at him with big, trusting eyes, full of love and devotion. Someone so outstanding trusted him completely and thought only of him, as he should.

Yang Baihua enjoyed the feeling of everything falling back into place. With a faint smile, he asked, “You remember my cousin Xiaoyan?”

Cheng Yuan puffed out his chest. “Of course. I remember everything about you.”

For a moment, Yang Baihua wanted to lean down and kiss him. But then he spotted an acquaintance leaving work. The man walked through the revolving door with two colleagues, twirling his keys as they talked about where to eat barbecue.

Yang Baihua turned slightly, shielding Cheng Yuan from sight. The hand reaching toward Cheng Yuan’s face lowered and slipped into his pocket. “Next time you want to make any changes to our home, talk to me first,” he said softly. “It’s our home, yeah?”

Chi Xiaochi sneered inwardly. Our home? Talk to you first? You let your whole family sleep in “our” bed. Did you talk to me about that?

But none of this crossed “Cheng Yuan’s” mind. The naive guy only understood that Yang Baihua had agreed to keep the car. His eyes lit up, brimming with even more affection as he looked at Yang Baihua.

Yang Baihua smiled. “Shall I drive?”

“I’ll do it. You’ve worked all day,” Cheng Yuan replied, opening the back door and bowing playfully. “Sir, please get in. I’ll throw out the trash.”

Yang Baihua got into the car with a smile, unable to hide the envy in his eyes as he looked around. When would he be able to give someone a car as casually as Cheng Jian?

Chi Xiaochi carried the water bottle to the roadside trash bin. A cigarette butt floated inside, but Yang Baihua didn’t notice. Years at a computer had weakened his eyesight, and he clearly wasn’t paying attention anyway. Chi Xiaochi threw the bottle into the recycling bin. It struck the side and crumpled with a soft crackle.

He asked the system, “You saw that, right?” 

The system hummed.

As a singer, Cheng Yuan cherished his voice and had never touched cigarettes. Chi Xiaochi, however, had smoked half a cigarette earlier. Even with gum masking the smell, a trace still lingered on his breath and clothes. Yet his partner didn’t ask, nor did he even notice.

Chi Xiaochi was merely testing the waters. This alone proved nothing. Still, in his opinion, it was one of the small signs foreshadowing Cheng Yuan’s tragic fate.

^{Translation: Luckykoi
Copy Editor: Juurensha, Ann.C
Proofreader: Ambrose E, Paula Dip}

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