Putting on the verge of tears, she said, “But I don’t like the male lead. You’re the one I like!”
Before I could react, I’d been handed a huge scoop of gossip.
The second-generation system rubbed the space between its brows awkwardly:
“I won’t go soft again. Tomorrow, you have to find a chance to get close to him.”
Sở Ương Ương clung to his sleeve.
“Please, give me two more days, QAQ.”
“...All right.”
Good heavens.
So it’s true—stay up past midnight and there’s gossip to be had!
“Come out. Stop hiding.”
The second-generation system’s cool voice rang out.
System: [Host, he’s found us! I’m getting out of here!]
Me: [???]
System: [His father is the Supreme God! I don’t want to offend him!]
Back to half a lifetime.
Still all alone.
My heart is ice-cold.
17.
Sở Ương Ương greeted me with a smile:
“Thẩm Chiêu Chiêu, fancy seeing you again!”
“I’m guessing you came to ask me about following the plot, right? Perfect timing—I was just about to come find you to discuss it.”
I nodded. “Do you have any ideas?”
Sở Ương Ương looked confident.
“The System told me what happens next. How about you have Tạ Ngộ Triều play along with me so we can trigger a system error?”
18.
Sở Ương Ương and Tạ Ngộ Triều were following the romance plot.
Those two would definitely have to go through some trials and tribulations together.
“First, Sở Ương Ương sneaks out of the residence to provide free medical care to the people, only to run into the deposed Crown Prince, Tạ Ngộ Triều. Blah, blah, blah—this one’s done. Check.”
“Second, Tạ Ngộ Triều leaves the palace in disguise and happens upon a fire. Sở Ương Ương just happens to be there, too, and together they help people escape by the skin of their teeth. As luck would have it, Tạ Ngộ Triều realizes Sở Ương Ương is the female doctor who saved him years ago.”
“Third, Tạ Ngộ Triều is ambushed during the autumn hunt. Sở Ương Ương stays by his side, nursing him and treating his wounds, and the two gradually...”
“Hold on a second.”
I couldn’t help asking, “Are you following a romance plot or the story of Tang Sanzang’s journey to the West with his disciples?”
You won’t give up until you’ve made it through all eighty-one trials, will you?!
19.
For the second plot point, all we had to do was get the two of them in the same place and include enough fire-related elements to successfully trigger a system error.
We chose a house in the suburbs and planned a bonfire party.
To make full use of everything, I even skewered a whole lot of meat for grilling.
Sở Ương Ương and the second-generation system were building the fire.
Tạ Ngộ Triều suddenly ran over and tugged at me.
“Want to go stargazing?”
The night was still and dark, and his eyes shone brighter than the stars above.
I took hold of his sleeve and gave a gentle nod.
“Where are we going to look—ah!”
Before I could finish, he suddenly scooped me up around the waist. With a light spring of his feet, he used his qinggong to leap onto a high wall and race across the rooftops.
All I could hear was the wind rushing past my ears and the pounding of my heart.
Thump, thump, thump...
At last, Tạ Ngộ Triều landed on a rooftop.
He set me down,
and his kiss fell upon me.
It was hungry and fierce, an urgent yet tender taking, a claiming.
Still dazed, I hurried to stop him.
“Tạ...”
He kissed me in a muddle, took my hand, and managed to answer, “Wait a little. I’ll explain once I’ve kissed you enough...”
My heart pounded like a drum as I tried to kiss him back.
There wasn’t much time left anyway. We might as well savor this moment and love each other with all our hearts.
They’d just finished lighting the fire when I looked up and saw Sở Ương Ương staring at the two shameless people we were:
“Good evening, world.”
“Not you two.”
20.
Time passed.
We reached the autumn hunt safe and sound.
Having succeeded last time, we were much more practiced now.
We were leisurely riding through the woods.
Everything was ready. All we had to do was wait for the person we’d arranged to jump out and stab Tạ Ngộ Triều’s sleeve a few times.
But to our surprise, a group of black-clad assassins dropped out of the sky.
They showed no mercy as they attacked Tạ Ngộ Triều.
That clearly wasn’t part of the plot! What was going on?
The System sounded an alarm.
[This is bad, Host! The monitoring supervisor caught us cheating and has imposed another punishment!]
The icy wind cut through us, and arrows flew like rain.
In the thick of the fight, Tạ Ngộ Triều’s horse suddenly went out of control and bolted like an arrow straight toward the cliff.
I lashed my horse and desperately chased after him.
As he fled and dodged, an arrow struck Tạ Ngộ Triều. His body suddenly went weightless, and he began to fall uncontrollably.
“No!”
Throwing caution to the wind, I lunged forward. Just as Tạ Ngộ Triều was about to fall into the abyss, I grabbed him with all my strength.
The two of us dangled from the cliffside, swaying as if we might fall at any moment.
I was too weak to pull Tạ Ngộ Triều up. All I could do was clamp my body around a pine tree growing on the cliffside and hold on for dear life.
But it was as though Heaven itself were working against us.
The tree couldn’t bear our combined weight. With a crack, it snapped.
The fierce wind cut my face like a knife. My body plunged helplessly downward, and the violent rush left me dizzy.
Just as I despaired, convinced it was all over,
a voice sounded in my ear.
It sounded so resolute, as if ready to give everything.
[Host!]
[Damn it... Don’t underestimate the bond between us!]
21.
When I woke up, Sở Ương Ương was sitting beside my bed.
Her eyes were red, and her voice was hoarse.
“Chiêu Chiêu, it’s over.”
“We... can go back now.”
My head throbbed, and for a moment I couldn’t understand what she meant.
Over... what did she mean?
Had we failed completely?
I called out to the System in my mind.
But no matter how long I waited, it didn’t answer.
When we were ambushed and fell into the abyss, the System used its emergency energy to save Tạ Ngộ Triều and me, sacrificing itself.
While I was unconscious, Sở Ương Ương grabbed the second-generation system by the collar and burst into tears.
“I can’t take it anymore!”
“He loves her, he doesn’t love me. I don’t love him; I love you. You love me, so why can’t you be a little braver and admit how we feel about each other? Instead, you keep making me follow this ridiculous plot and woo someone who has nothing to do with me. Some things can’t be forced. Why do we have to keep torturing each other and hurting both of us?!”
“Can’t you go say hello to your father and pull some strings, get him to cancel this mission?”
The second-generation system fell into deep thought.
Then he really did go to see the old man he’d left home in a huff years ago and hadn’t spoken to since.
The Supreme God checked and saw that Tạ Ngộ Triều’s corruption level had dropped to zero.
Then, for the sake of his son’s pride, he relented and ended the mission early, while still granting the reward as usual.
Tạ Ngộ Triều stood before the time-space portal, looking lost and bewildered.
“Chiêu Chiêu… do I have to leave you again?”
I stepped forward and hugged him.
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want to spend my whole life in a world that isn’t mine. Here, I can only depend on you. That’s too big a risk for me. I’m not free.”
He nodded faintly.
The strength of his arms around me gradually eased.
I turned and stepped through the time-space portal.
“Hey, little emperor, want to come with us?”
The second-generation system drawled in its usual flippant tone.
He grinned, carefree and arrogant.
“I’m the Supreme God’s son. I have this kind of privilege.”
Tạ Ngộ Triều’s eyes lit up.
He stood before the portal, but just as he was about to cross the threshold, he suddenly stopped—
If he followed me to another world, he’d have to give up everything in this one.
The throne. His empire.
Everyone’s memories would be altered. They’d believe Emperor Tạ Ngộ Triều had died in the assassination during this autumn hunt.
The time-space portal was about to close.
He took a deep breath.
It seemed he’d made up his mind.
“Thẩm Chiêu Chiêu, I truly have no right to interfere with your decision. But I told you—when you love someone, you have to be a little brave.”
Then he resolutely took my hand.
“This time, I’ll take a step toward you.”
Epilogue
1
I brought Tạ Ngộ Triều back to the modern world.
Back to the world that was mine.
And received the mission rewards: cars, houses, gold and silver, and cash.
As Tạ Ngộ Triều gradually adapted and learned how to use the internet,
he realized he seemed to be the kind of…
handsome young man kept by a wealthy older woman.
It was a matter of dignity.
So Tạ Ngộ Triều hurried to find a job at a museum.
Then solemnly handed me his paycheck card.
One day, with some free time on my hands,
I went to the museum to see Tạ Ngộ Triều.
I found him standing before a glass display case, staring intently.
I followed his gaze—
It was a sword.
A very familiar sword.
I read the placard:
[The Changhong Sword, worn at the side by Emperor Liang Hui.]
Two visitors nearby were looking at it. “Wow! That sword is so cool!”
Tạ Ngộ Triều whispered to me, “Fake. A knockoff.”
A passerby took offense and snapped at him, “What the hell do you know? Who do you think you are?”
They’d picked a fight with the wrong person—he really did know what he was talking about.
I hurriedly dragged Tạ Ngộ Triều away. “Were you about to say you’re Emperor Liang Hui, and that you melted this sword down long ago and made it into a dagger for me to protect myself? Don’t. Whatever you do, don’t say that. If you do, they’ll take you away! They’ll strap you to a freezing metal table and cut you into pieces.”
Tạ Ngộ Triều’s face went pale.
Thank goodness, I’d scared him.
2
When I got home and opened the door, my head went blank—
[Surprise, Host! I, System Han the Third, am back!]
[For my outstanding performance, I’ve been promoted~ I now have two new systems working under me!]
[Oh, right, Host, I’ve just finished an advanced course in literary worlds. I’m sure you’re excited and can’t wait to try it out, right?]
My head went blank again, and I hurriedly muted it manually.
No, I don’t want to.
Not even a little.
3.
Along with the System, I returned.
Sở Ương Ương came too, along with the second-generation system, fresh from a honeymoon in a horror world.
Sở Ương Ương took a lap around my 1,000-square-meter villa.
She begged me to let her stay. “Chiêu Chiêu, I still haven’t found a place to live. Your house is so big, and it must be lonely with just you and Tạ Ngộ Triều here, right?”
“Not lonely. You’re not welcome.”
Tạ Ngộ Triều stood in front of me, his face cold.
Sở Ương Ương stood to the side, blinking and sticking out her tongue.
“Chiêu Chiêu, I told you that mutt of an emperor has a nasty disposition that’s hard to change, didn’t I? Tsk, tsk. Why did you insist on bringing him here?”
Tạ Ngộ Triều stiffened his neck and argued back.
“Mutt of an emperor? Nasty disposition? Don’t make me insult you.”
The second-generation system shielded Sở Ương Ương behind him.
He swept his hand out and drew a glowing circle. “Don’t make me send you back.”
The moment he heard the words “send you back,”
Tạ Ngộ Triều wilted at once.
He turned and hugged me, murmuring softly:
“I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to go back to a world without you.”
I rose onto my toes, and Tạ Ngộ Triều bent down obligingly.
I stroked the hair on top of his head to comfort him.
“You won’t go back. You won’t.”
Once I’d comforted Tạ Ngộ Triều, Sở Ương Ương and the second-generation system had already set up a barbecue on my lawn as if they owned the place.
Sở Ương Ương waved a barbecue skewer at me. “Chiêu Chiêu! Come on over!”
I pulled Tạ Ngộ Triều along with me. “Coming!”
We ate grilled skewers.
I looked at Tạ Ngộ Triều beside me.
One room, two people, three meals a day, four seasons… and fifty million in savings.
A simple life like this is wonderful.
4.
Tạ Ngộ Triều felt like a little dog standing in a torrential downpour, soaked through.
He used to think he’d spend his whole life out in the rain.
In truth, love had quietly dried his fur, becoming his little nest and his armor.
From then on, the little dog was no longer afraid of wind or rain.
-THE END-