translator: Eve

editor: xiin

【Didn’t you realize that Xiao Yuanmu was really different from how he appeared in the book a long time ago?】Looking at the time, Xiao Yuanmu had probably already landed on S Country’s soil. However, Song Xuanhe was still lost in his thoughts. The System had finally become unable to hold itself back from saying：【You didn’t find it noteworthy before. Why are you suddenly splitting hairs over this now?】

【The differences could be explained by my appearance before.】Song Xuanhe’s eyebrows were still slightly furrowed. He said：【But no matter how I think about it, I just can’t think of how my existence would have changed his attitude towards the Xiao Family.】

【The butterfly effect.】The System said：【You changed too many things. I think that there is a high possibility that you were able to change his attitude towards them. Looking at the data, it doesn’t seem surprising.】

Song Xuanhe lowered his gaze, fiddling with the phone Xiao Yuanmu had left with him. Xiao Yuanmu had said that if he encountered an unsolvable issue and wasn’t able to contact him, he could call the number in this phone.

He had never turned the phone on. He also didn’t know who the sole number in the phone belonged to.

The only thing he knew is that the person on the other end would not be someone he knew.

The moment Song Xuanhe had received this phone, he had realized this point. A complicated and baffling emotion had then risen up in his heart. Even after Xiao Yuanmu had boarded his private jet and flown up into the skies, the feeling had not disappeared.

【You’re jealous.】Song Xuanhe hadn’t concealed his thoughts. The System knew exactly what he was thinking about so it gave him an answer：【There are many reasons why someone may become jealous, but because I have scoured many movies and TV shows while conducting research, I can come up with rather accurate conclusions. The reason why you’re jealous is because you like Xiao Yuanmu. You are jealous of his unconditional trust in owner of that number.】

【Is that so?】

Song Xuanhe’s finger pressed down and the screen lit up. The dim light shone on his face, the light reflecting off his pupils.

The System was certain：【Yes.】

【What kind of movies and TV shows did you watch?】Song Xuanhe’s finger moved slightly and the screen turned dark again. He said in a mild voice：【Dogblood dramas that all aunties love?】

The System fell silent for a moment before angrily saying：【…All television shows and movies have meaning! I will not allow you to insult them!】

【Dogblood is a neutral term.】Song Xuanhe said：【I didn’t insult them.】

The System made a search：【You’re lying. Dogblook is a negative term.】

Song Xuanhe shrugged, tossing the phone onto the coffee table：【Is that so? Sorry, guess I remembered incorrectly.】

The System choked. A few seconds later, it said：【I had thought that you had become more easy to interact with ever since you moved in with Xiao Yuanmu. At least you didn’t treat me like you do Zhou Nan—always abusing him with your poisonous tongue. I never expected that you were only nicer to Xiao Yuanmu. I’m really glad I didn’t modify your file.】

Song Xuanhe raised a brow：【Hey, you went overboard saying I have a poisonous tongue. You should apologize.】

【Only if Zhou Nan apologizes first.】The System said：【I learned that from him when I inadvertently overheard him complaining to Xiao Shenglin.】

Song Xuanhe pulled his own phone out and called Zhou Nan, who had come over under the guise of visiting him but had run after Yu Yan after only three minutes.

Zhou Nan answered very quickly. “What’s up? I’m at the library with Yu Yan right now. The revolution is about to succeed. Comrade, unless you have something urgent going on, can you contact me later?”

Song Xuanhe:” The library is a sacred place. you’ve already desecrated it by sitting inside with the intentions of pursuing Yu Yan. You’re even playing on your phone behind Yu Yan’s back. Not only have you offended scholars and book lovers, I think the chances of the revolution succeeding will only lower if Yu Yan catches you on the phone.”

Zhou Nan clicked his tongue. “How am I desecrating anything? All the books Yu Yan read are in Greek! All the books in this library are in Greek! How am I supposed to read them? What, should I learn Greek to pursue him? Besides…Yu Yan, wait no! I can explain. I didn’t mean it like that….”

Song Xuanhe snickered as he heard this. “I hope that you can succeed within ten years.”

The System：【…Do you think I have to apologize?】

Song Xuanhe paused and then said：【I approve of your descriptor.】

【It’s not my descriptor.】The System corrected：【It’s the descriptor of Mr. Zhou Nan, who was once again harmed by you.】

Song Xuanhe raised a brow but didn’t reply. The System felt like something was wrong. It reviewed his conversation with Song Xuanhe from beginning to end but couldn’t find what was off. All it could do was attempt deeper analyses.

After the System fell silent, Song Xuanhe sighed in relief. He pulled his suitcase with him to the room Louis had prepared for him. He was only going to stay for two days so Song Xuanhe hadn’t brought a lot with him. He casually hung the few outfits he had packed and then stood in place for two minutes. He then pulled out his laptop to send his new designs to Feng Tong. After sending the email, he realized that he had nothing to do.

Aside from things related to Xiao Yuanmu, he couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do in Y City.

【You can take pictures, draw more, go out shopping or go to a nice restaurant.】The System reminded him：【That’s what you did when you were alone.】

But what once made him happy while alone didn’t interest him anymore.

【You can also….】

“Song!”

The door opened and then clicked shut. There was the sound of footsteps. Louis shouted his name, a smile in his voice. Song Xuanhe could hear him approaching his room.

He shut his laptop and got up. He headed out of the room and found Louis standing downstairs, looking up at him. He had a black phone in his hand. When he saw Song Xuanhe come out, he lifted the phone up and asked, “Is this your phone? You forgot to take it up with you.”

The System stopped analyzing the earlier conversation. It knew what was strange!

Song Xuanhe leaned against the railing and looked down, eyes flickering over the phone in Louis’ hand. In a flat voice, he said, “It’s Xiao Yuanmu’s. Nothing important. You can leave it there.”

Louis nodded and placed the phone back down. He then said in an excited voice: “I just received some news! You’re going to be really happy when you hear it!”

Song Xuanhe wasn’t interested but he nodded along. “What is it?”

“I remember Xiao mentioned that you gave him a pair of cufflinks! The cufflinks designed by Master McPhail!” Louis was worked up. “Master McPhail’s tea party will be in Y City this year! Aren’t you excited?!”

Song Xuanhe first drew a blank. The matter regarding the cufflinks, and the tea party he used to long for seemed like they had occurred a long time ago. He couldn’t help but feel a bit absentminded upon hearing Louis mention them.

Back then, when his departure from this world had still been a long time away, he had once longed to attend McPhail’s tea party. He had thought that it would make his time in this world worthwhile. But now that his departure was getting closer and closer, what once enticed him and made him excited was now shoved to the back of his mind. Everything seemed insignificant now.

Louis hadn’t expected Song Xuanhe’s dazed expression. He had heard Xiao Yuanmu talking about Song Xuanhe’s profession before. After bringing Song Xuanhe back from X Country, he had also realized just how enthusiastic the other was about his job. That’s why he had wondered if all of this was due to Xiao Yuanmu’s machinations when he had heard this information.

Master McPhail’s home was in L City, E Country. Most of his annual tea parties were held in L city. Even if they were held overseas, they were typically held in M City, Y Country, or B City, F Country. The tea party being held in Y City, America, was unprecedented. The only reason for this that Louis could think of was that Xiao Yuanmu must have done something. After contacting Xiao Yuanmu, the other had confirmed that he had, in fact, had a hand in this.

That’s why he had skipped work to tell Song Xuanhe, who was likely in low spirits now that Xiao Yuanmu had left, this news as soon as he had heard it.

He just didn’t expect for Song Xuanhe to not look excited or happy.

“Song.” The smile on Louis’ face faded and he worriedly asked, “Are you okay?”

“Thank you for telling me this, Louis.” Song Xuanhe came back to himself and smiled. “I’m ecstatic.”

Louis nodded subconsciously. He then told Song Xuanhe the time and location of the tea party. Afterwards, he added, “It’s almost time to eat. Do you want to eat at home or should we go out and find a place? This is your first meal here. Do you want a grand welcoming banquet or a simple meal?”

Song Xuanhe chuckled. “I don’t want to detract from the time you have for your dates. I can find something to eat on my own.”

Louis: “I already promised to eat with you until he comes back. In return, he’s promised to give me half a month off. For the sake of my vacation, please honour me with the opportunity to dine with you.”

“And you’re going to get two weeks off because of this?”

“Yes!” Louis smiled as he snapped his fingers. “Where should we eat? Or do you prefer to eat at home?”

Song Xuanhe: “I can’t cook.”

“What a coincidence, neither can I.” Louis shrugged, “Looks like we have no choice but to go out.”

Song Xuanhe returned to his room to change. Louis was already ready. As the approached the door, he asked, “Do you need to take that cell phone with you?”

Song Xuanhe paused. The System’s voice echoed in his head：【I know why I felt like something was weird earlier! It’s because you changed the topic after I exposed you for being jealous over the owner of the number in the pain! You humans are so sly! Deceiving systems is an outrageous act!】

【You systems are capable of finding things weird? Maybe there’s something wrong with your data or computer chips.】Song Xuanhe’s fingers moved. He calmly walked over to the living room and grabbed the phone, putting it in his pocket.：【I would suggest that you go get a checkup after this mission is over.】

【How do you explain the fluctuations in your emotions then?】The System said：【Tell me whether or not you’re jealous. My data will tell me whether or not you’re lying.】

Song Xuanhe’s tone was flat：【I’m not jealous.】

A few seconds later, the System exclaimed in shock：【You’re actually telling the truth!】

Song Xuanhe’s expression was mild. He really wasn’t jealous. The reason for the fluctuation in his emotions was because he was surprised to realize that…while Xiao Yuanmu was very possessive and had a strong desire for control when it came to him, he felt the same towards the other. It was just that Xiao Yuanmu had always told him everything out of his own initiative. That’s why he had never realized this in the past. It had been that unknown number that had evacuated the emotions he had hidden deeply inside of him.

He didn’t know what to do with this information.

Eve: Soft, introspective He bao makes my heart soft. Looking back, he has had a lot of character development. The way he realized what once excited him no longer seemed important in the grand scheme of things made me pensive. It’s interesting how his priorities have changed. Perhaps the most important thing to him now is simply spending time with Xiao Yuanmu, considering how limited the time they still have together is.