n

n

n

nLou Ying returned to the Lord GOD space and shut himself up in his room for several days without a word. 089 and 023 came knocking on his door several times, but he didn’t feel like receiving them.

nIntense self-blame wrapped him up whole.

nChi Xiaochi was clearly his neighbour’s brother, the boy he grew up with, the boy he held in his heart, and they did hope for a future together, but it was only a teenager’s general idea of ‘the future’ and contained no charming content.

n

n

nHow could one think such thoughts about him?

nHow can he like Chi Xiaochi?

nIn her confused state of mind, Lou Ying has to work to numb herself.

nHe received his eighth host on the hoof and hurried to his post.

n

n

nSimilar to his first host, the eighth host, Lv Fan, is a timid and reserved young man, ordinary in appearance, not very talkative, a geek in his current life, and not even very articulate.

nLou Ying poured all her energy into bringing him up with the utmost care.

nHe could not help but think of Chi Xiaochi in his spare time, because he could not help but think of Chi Xiaochi in his spare time.

nLou Ying used to take her thoughts for granted.

n

n

nXiaochi is his younger brother and is always so unsettling that his every move naturally touches Lou Ying’s heart, making him want to hug him, comfort him, keep him company and kiss his hair.

nIt’s not the same now, nothing is the same, everything has changed.

nLou Ying started to run away.

nDuring the breaks between missions and tasks, he no longer goes back to visit Xiaochi, but stays by his host’s side throughout.

nLv Fan apologised, ” Mr Lou, you don’t always have to be with me, you can go about your business.”

nLou Ying lies: “There’s nothing for me to do back there.”

n

n

nIt had been a long time since he had been back to visit his family and a long time since he had gone to 023 to enquire about any news relating to Chi Xiaochi.

nLou Ying believes that such alien feelings are like a frying pan on fire, which will soon die out if the lid is used to keep the flames down and the oxygen out.

nIn time, everything will be back on track and his wayward feelings for Xiaochi will slowly become normal.

nHowever, this deliberate isolation has surprisingly had the exact opposite effect.

nLou Ying began to have frequent dreams of his past with Chi Xiaochi, of picnics with the grown-up Xiaochi, of cutting his hair with an empty flowerpot fastened to his head.

nThe happier you are in your dreams, the more despondent you are when you wake up.

nOne day, he actually dreamed that Xiaochi kissed him.

nFrom that day on, he did not dare to dream again.

n

n

nWhile Lv Fan slept, Lou Ying would always go back to the sparring ring in Lord GOD’s space alone and take down all 17 opponents simulated by the system.

nLou Ying gasped and collapsed in the middle of the open field, holding a hand over his eyes and gritting his teeth darkly.

n…… how to miss him so much.

nLou Ying had never solved such a difficult problem in his life. He didn’t know what to do to offset his feelings, but to woefully run away, retreat and then throw in the towel.

nHe tucked away everything related to Chi Xiaochi and never talked about him to anyone else.

n023 was concerned about his condition and wanted to ask him what he had seen and what had happened on that trip back to the original world line to visit his family.

nBut 089 pulled him back, “Don’t ask.”

n023 wondered, “I just want to know what happened to him.”

n089 said, “How can he tell you when he doesn’t have the answer himself.”

nLou Ying was so careful to avoid everything about Chi Xiaochi, but who would have thought that this avoidance would be broken so abruptly by the host, Lv Fan.

nOne evening, Lv Fan asked him, “Mr Lou, are you free?”

nLou Ying treats each host with the same gentleness: “Yes. What’s wrong?”

nLv Fan stammered for a while before saying, “Nothing, just wanted to watch a movie with you.”

n

n

nAt the mention of the word ‘film’, Lou Ying’s heart is twisted in a not-so-subtle and sour way.

nHe put out his film library for Lv Fan to choose from.

nLv Fan flipped through the pages, probably because he couldn’t find anything he liked, and clicked on “Your most played movies”.

nLou Ying’s heart snapped and it was too late to say anything to stop it.

nLv Fan pointed to the top of the line, Murder at the Cape, and exclaimed, “215 times! Mr Lou, is this movie that good?”

nLou Ying is speechless.

nHe couldn’t even lie about the film not being good, so he nodded, “Yes, it’s not bad.”

nLv Fan exclaimed, “You like it so much, let’s watch this.”

nLou Ying : “…… is good.”

nDespite the unpredictable emotions that plague him on a daily basis, Lou Ying never loses sight of his business.

nAs a result of his investigations, the Lv Fan body is no exception to the rule that there are conductors buried within the body that deliver entropy in varying amounts on a daily basis.

nLou Ying records the daily fluctuations in detail and gradually discovers by comparison which world the host is most emotionally invested in and the more into the object of the task, the more energy he or she will receive.

nLou Ying is not one to jump to conclusions.

nHe would simply list down the problems and conditions he found and, after careful calculation, finally arrive at a relatively reliable and logical conclusion.

nThe evidence so far, at least, points to serious violations of Lord GOD’s greed for entropy values.

nThis is because there is no mention of the matter of entropy value being collected from the host in any of the provisions of the system’s contract with the host.

nAfter Lv Fan completed his fourth mission, he took a half-month-long beach holiday, and Lou Ying returned to his long-awaited dormitory for a rare moment of quiet to thoroughly consolidate and organise all the data he had obtained over the days.

nIn the process of sorting it out, he had the idea of complaining to the immediate supervisory authority.

nLou Ying felt that there was a truth behind this that he had not been able to reach.

nLou Ying has such a strong personality that she does what she says she will do.

nHe compared the available materials and began to write the first draft of his complaint.

nHe was halfway through the complaint when he felt a chill run down his back.

n…… It was the intense discomfort of being surreptitiously spied on.

nLou Ying looks back.

nBehind him is a clean wall with only a frame for a hand-painted watercolour of a landscape that he and Chi Xiaochi once walked together at sunset on abandoned railway tracks.

nWas …… his illusion just now?

nLou Ying turns to his data-laden record panel, his face calm and his mind racing.

nHe recalled that Lord GOD had signed a strict privacy policy with the system, one of which was that Lord GOD had no right to pry into the system’s personal privacy.

nHowever, Lord GOD has also planted energy transfer lines in the host body that are not permitted by regulations.

nThis proves that ……

nLou Ying raised his hand and a pale blue stream of data coalesced from his fingertips.

nHe presses his fingers against the wall, letting the threads tangle and melt with the wall made of data, like putting a butterfly into a deep forest or letting the water flow into the sea.

nGradually, the pale blue threads spread to every part of the room’s walls, enveloping the room in a cocoon of air.

nWhenever anyone tries to spy on him again, it is impossible not to touch these threads.

nOnce touched, the information is instantly fed back to Lou Ying.

nWhether it’s an illusion or not, it’s always a good idea to take precautions just in case.

nLou Ying pulls out a stool and sits down to continue her work.

nOnly at times like this can he let go of Chi Xiaochi a little.

nWhen the second round of grooming and review was over, Lou Ying stretched her body on the stool a few times and thought about her next move.

nHe had to go back to Lv Fan’s rest stop first to see how he was doing on his beach holiday and to make sure he was okay before he ……

n…… and then, where can it go.

nLou Ying presses his forehead in distress.

nOnce again he was driven to the brink by this dilemma.

nHe could only give up thinking about it and returned to the rest stop.

nI didn’t expect Lv Fan, who had promised to go to the beach for a coconut, to be sitting on his knees in that pristine white space, not looking so good.

nLou Ying asked softly, “Lv Fan, what’s wrong?”

nLv Fan asked a question out of the blue: ” Mr Lou, do you have someone you like?”

nLou Ying’s heart was poked without warning.

nHe didn’t move and asked, “Why do you say that?”

nLv Fan says: “You were in my system and I wanted to know more about you, so I went and watched all the videos you’d seen. –The videos you watched the most were all about a guy called Chi Xiaochi.”

nLou Ying tilted his head, “He’s an actor and I just like watching his films. It’s just that I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t seen any more.”

nLv Fan said, “But the play count is seven more.”

n”…… what?”

nLv Fan opened the light screen, went to the library, selected “Your most played movies” and found “The Cape Murder”.

nHe pointed to the play count in the bottom right corner.

n…… shows played 223 times.

nLv Fan whispered, “I watched it once that day and fell asleep. The other seven times, you watched it that night.”

nLou Ying froze.

nHe remembered.

nBefore the film was shown that day, he quietly set it to loop mode.

nLv Fan is asleep and the film is replayed over and over again with him tuned to silent.

nDuring this time of replay, Lou Ying’s heart was at peace as he found an excuse to think and watch Chi Xiaochi with abandon.

n…… but even he didn’t expect it to be as many as seven times.

n”Xiaochi is my neighbour’s brother.” There was a half-hearted pause, and Lou Ying gritted his teeth in defiance, “I don’t have those kinds of feelings for him …….”

nLv Fan’s tone was a little strangely excited: “Really?”

nLou Ying doesn’t say anything.

nHe remembered the feeling of his heart biting into a lemon when he saw Chi Xiaochi and Song Zhihuai’s intimate behaviour that day, the longing and longing that had been going on day and night all these days, and all that there was about Chi Xiaochi.

nLou Ying closes his eyes and smiles bitterly.

nTo his heart he gave that answer that had long been called for: “…… false.”

nLou Ying likes Chi Xiaochi.

nIt was only after leaving him alone in the world for many years that I realised how much I liked him.

nLv Fan pursed her lips and cracked a smile, “Aha, I knew it. Mr. Lou is so nice, he should have had a husband a long time ago.”

nLou Ying said, “No.”

nLv Fan : “What didn’t?”

nLou Ying : “He has a thousand and one futures and possibilities. …… but it will never be me.”

nWith these words, Lou Ying’s long-held heart finally sank.

nAll this time, he has been torn and evasive, but only because he refuses to admit that Chi Xiaochi is the one person who can never be his.

nChi Xiaochi has Lucas, Song Zhihuai, and many more to come.

nLou Ying died as his friend, as his brother, and would have been fixed forever at that step, unable to advance even one step further.

n”Ah ……” Lv Fan paused slightly for a moment, “In that case, does Mr Lou still like him.”

nHaving accepted that initial answer, Lou Ying already had the courage to answer all the questions.

nHe said to himself, “Yes, like it.”

nWhen Lv Fan fell silent again, Lou Ying remembered the question she had wanted to ask when she first saw him here: “Aren’t you going to the beach?”

n”Not going. Half a day in the sun alone and find it’s not much fun.” Lv Fan inhaled and smiled, “Come on, let’s go to the next world.”

nThey walked through two worlds together again, and Lou Ying started following Chi Xiaochi-related messages again.

nChi Xiaochi’s new movie is about to be released and I heard it is a basketball related movie. In the film, he has a short haircut and a crisp black sports band wrapped around his forehead, which makes his skin look clean and white, and an orange basketball in his arms, giving him a youthful and healthy look.

nThe cast was apparently pleased with his look and had him in short hair throughout the promotional run.

nThe host asked him, “How does it feel to cut your hair short?”

nChi Xiaochi thought for a moment and said, “It feels like I’m not wearing any clothes.”

nLou Ying watched his promotional session live from a remote location and it was a crying shame to hear him spouting such nonsense.

nAs a matter of fact, his “inappropriate words and actions” drew a lot of criticism from the media, generating a lot of heat for the film in disguise and putting himself in the limelight once again.

nLou Ying wanted to go back and spend some time with Chi Xiaochi, but Lv Fan said he wanted to get back to his old world quickly and didn’t want to waste too much time on unnecessary rest, so they had to rush off to the next world after a day or two at most.

nLou Ying sees Lv Fan as a hope because he might be the first host to have a chance to return to his original world, so he willingly accompanies Lv Fan back-to-back.

nAnd because Lv Fan has learned something about himself that he doesn’t know, Lou Ying prefers to see him as a friend rather than a ‘hope’.

nIn his opinion, so did Lv Fan.

nHe would even giggle about Lou Ying’s past with Chi Xiaochi, and when pushed to the limit, Lou Ying would pick up a funny story or two about Lv Fan.

nLou Ying’s tongue is as sweet as her heart when she tells it.

nSoon they entered the world of Lv Fan’s seventh mission.

nWhen she first opened her eyes, Lou Ying gave a puzzled “hmm” in her mind.

nThe first thing that hits your nose is the strong scent of coffee, followed by the slight roar of an old photocopier as it brushes and spits out paper.

nOn the computer in front of him was a half-done PowerPoint for an advertising case, to his left was a half-eaten pumpernickel biscuit, and a small humidifier exhaled a mist that quickly moistened sleep-dried lips with the scented vapour.

nWhat puzzled Lou Ying was the sheer ordinariness of this world’s atmosphere.

n…… is like a normal world.

nGenerally speaking, from the third to the fourth world, the worldview of the mission world will be out of the realm of the original owner’s familiarity. The fifth and sixth worlds will increase in mission difficulty, with a small probability of A-grade difficulty missions, and the worldview of the seventh world will be further distinguished from the previous worlds.

nIn short, it won’t be as normal as it is now.

nLest his subjective judgement lead to a mistake, Lou Ying took a quick glance at the tasks in this world and found them to be equally common –

nThe original owner is a hardworking white collar worker in an advertising agency with loving parents. Although his family has little money, he was brought up in a honey pot and has developed a happy-go-lucky little sweetheart personality.

nOne day, a design director was parachuted into his department. He was two or three months younger than the original owner, the son of a female industry leader and a Cambridge graduate.

nThe director general’s eyebrows strangely resembled the original owner somewhat, so his colleagues joked that the two of them must have been brothers in a previous life.

nThe director general didn’t mind this little joke without malice, explaining it for him with grace and occasionally jokingly calling the original owner his brother.

nThe director general is quite an affable and elegant person, and his pursuit of the original owner is silent, unfolding step by step, capturing his heart a little and then netting him into his arms.

nThe original owner, who was not gay before, was at first overwhelmed and resistant for some time in the face of the director’s advances, and then, just slowly fell and fell deeply in love.

nLou Ying had a bad feeling when she saw the resemblance.

nAs expected, the original owner and the director had been in a sweet relationship for two years and had already planned to get married abroad, but unintentionally learned the fact that the director was his real brother when he was on the phone with someone else.

nIn the end, it’s just a case of the love-hate relationship of the parents’ generation coming back to haunt the next generation.

nThe father of the original owner was a backwards entry into the family of the Superintendent’s birth mother, but was growing weary and struggling to catch his breath under the strength of his wife.

nThe already not-so-strong love between the two is worn away at the speed of light, and the original father soon falls in love with another mediocre woman, secretly dating for days until his lover becomes pregnant and the months get bigger, things can’t be hidden anymore, and the wife realizes what a piece of work the man sleeping next to her pillow is.

nThe wife is too lazy to keep such a man around any longer, and after kicking him out of the house, she realises she has a child too.

nBecause of her personal constitution, she did not abort the child, but had it and was then sent far abroad for education.

nThis child is now the Superintendent.

nBecause he looked so much like his father, his mother always treated him lightly.

nHe was the equivalent of losing both parents at the same time and growing up abroad as an orphan.

nYears later, the Superintendent finds out from an onlooker what happened to his family and returns to investigate, only to discover that the woman who stole his father has a happy family, and their children enjoy a love that he never had, a complete love that he didn’t even know he had to sacrifice to get.

nHe’s crazy.

nSo he found a way to get his half-brother to fall into the same madness as himself.

nIn the end, the original owner could not accept such a treacherous relationship and was so bitter and depressed that she committed suicide.

nLou Ying’s brain aches as he watches this unforgettable plot, but he still can’t ignore the unnaturalness of the world line itself.

n–This type of worldline, which should normally appear in the second or third mission, simply does not fit the basic characteristics of what a seventh worldline should be.

nAnd, for some reason, Lou Ying has a strange, unexplained feeling in her heart.

nAs Lv Fan read the world line, he sifted through the story again from start to finish.

nRereading it again, he still hadn’t come up with a decent result, but the strange feeling that was hovering over him grew stronger.

nNo sooner had he sorted out the threads of the mess than a copy of Wen landed in front of him with a snap.

nLou Ying looks up and in front of her is the former director of the original owner, a middle-aged man with thinning hair.

nHe tapped on the table, “Here’s the final version of Lola’s shoot, it’s been sent to the cameraman before, you send a few more paper copies to Studio 3 so they can keep them for backup.”

nLv Fan responded with a quick “hey” and carried the Wen file out of the office, asking in a whisper, “Mr Lou, can you download a copy of the company’s guide map for me?”

nHe didn’t need to remind Lou Ying to start downloading.

nAs he connected to the network, the strange feeling that had been blurring in his mind became clear and strong again.

nThe bearded cameraman was setting up the machine when the Wen file was delivered to Studio 3, and his assistant took it and sent Lv Fan away indifferently.

nThanks to Chi Xiaochi, Lou Ying has a minimal understanding of what goes on in the industry.

nThe interior is about to be shot, with snowy, fluffy feathers all over the floor, a hundred spotlights pre-showing a dazzling array of light and shadows, and all props of a high quality.

nEmerging from the shed, Lv Fan rubbed his chest nervously, “They’ve got a lot of pie.”

nLou Ying set about making plans for Lv Fan to do a rundown of this world’s scum attack, casually reassuring, “Normal. Doing what they do ……”

nAs they spoke, one man and one system left shed three and entered the office lobby of the main building through a side door.

nWhen Lou Ying follows the host, he is used to snooping around for the host as soon as he enters a door.

nAfter his eyes turned halfway down the hall, his heart went numb at first and stopped beating for half an instant.

nAt first, Lou Ying thinks she misses Xiaochi so much that she sees visions of him.

nBut Lou Ying’s fantasy of Xiaochi is not often accompanied by a head that always remains colourful and changes colour from season to season as if it were a miracle warmer.

nLucas has grown his hair a little longer and has switched to a vibrant burgundy colour.

nChi Xiaochi’s hair, which hadn’t yet had time to grow, was trimmed short above the ears to add a touch of smart style, and his long, inky blue cashmere coat reached just halfway down his thighs, with a clean line extending from his knees and calves.

nHe wore a pair of sunglasses so large that they covered half of his face. Probably because he had spent a bit too much time outdoors in winter, the lower half of his face was pale from the cold, except for his lips, which had returned to blood and showed a hint of red.

nYet, clearly dressed in such a handsome manner, the man was holding a steaming cup of pearl milk tea and sipping it, childish as ever.

nLou Ying’s heartbeat slowly accelerated, eventually reaching a drum-like frequency.

nHe finally realised where that vague sense of strangeness had just come from.

nThe problem is not at all with the plot of the world line, but with the world line itself.

n–This is Worldline 707.

n-Worldline 707, the world in which he lived, the world in which Chi Xiaochi existed.

n…… What kind of luck would allow him to be randomly transported into this place?

nBefore Lou Ying knew it, Chi Xiaochi and Lucas were already walking towards them, one after the other.

nLucas was looking down at his memo to check his schedule, while Chi Xiaochi was focused on the pearls in his milk tea cup, not intending to fix his gaze on the small employee who was looking at him steadily.

nThey are going in the direction of …… exactly to shed number three.

nLv Fan also recognised who the oncoming man was and stood horrified, calling out in a whisper, “…… Mr Lou?”

nLou Ying’s heart is tingling and she can’t speak.

nIt was not until she saw Chi Xiaochi in person that Lou Ying realised how much she missed him.

nTrying to hold him.

nTrying to kiss his ear.

nWanting to say what I like about him, even if to say it is to lose it.

nAll this he used to be able to think about.

nBut now, he has the power to make it happen.

nAlthough there is a ban within the system that does not allow the system to have entities in the mission world, Lord GOD cannot keep an eye on them all the time.

nAs long as the host’s consent is obtained and the energy is not used, it is entirely a matter of turning a blind eye to transforming the body and moving freely.

nAs Chi Xiaochi gets closer and closer, Lou Ying’s sanity is gradually swallowed up by the months of missing her.

nWhen she was about to pass Chi Xiaochi, Lou Ying was tempted to move her hand and put it gently on Chi Xiaochi’s small arm, which was carrying milk tea.

n…… is almost ten years old.

nLou Ying, who has spent the last ten years passing Xiaochi countless times, has finally met him in real life.

nEven so, he only dared to touch the small of his arm with restraint.

nChi Xiaochi’s reaction was several times more overwhelming than he had expected.

nWith a crisp, clean hand, he smacked away the hand Lou Ying had put up with a resounding snap.

nLou Ying was confused.

nChi Xiaochi frowned and took two steps back, looking at the stranger with a hundred thousand percent wariness and hostility.

nLucas, who has been tossed around by Chi Xiaochi’s negative press these days, has developed a reflex to put down his phone and jump in to defend Chi Xiaochi: “Sorry, sorry, he didn’t have a good night’s rest last night and he’s up and about, so don’t get upset with him.”

nLucas held Chi Xiaochi down and whispered menacingly, “Say you’re sorry.”

nChi Xiaochi bowed his head in apology.

nWith seven worlds of experience under his belt, Lv Fan’s on-the-spot reflexes are no less impressive: “Excuse me, excuse me, you’re that …… Chi Xiaochi, Mr. Chi, right? I, I heard you were coming and I wanted an autograph.”

nLucas was afraid that Chi Xiaochi would be a jerk again and practically forced him to give Lv Fan his autograph.

nWhen the little employee who came to ask for an autograph had gone, Lucas slapped Chi Xiaochi on the back in anger: “My God! Don’t give me any trouble! If someone catches you on camera, you’ll be a big shot and you won’t be able to tell anyone! I’ve been busy enough lately, can you stop adding to my workload?”

nChi Xiaochi frowned, “I don’t like people just touching me.”

nLucas then remembered and let out an ouch, “I forgot to forget. Not a bad stomach, is it.”

nChi Xiaochi froze on his straw: “It’s okay.”

nAfter a brief encounter, the two went in completely opposite directions.

nChi Xiaochi, however, felt his arm, which had just been touched by that hand, and then moved his hand to his chest, applying pressure, with a little confusion in his eyes.

nHe stopped in his tracks and looked back at the young man who had walked diagonally down the hall and was preparing to go up the stairs.

nLou Ying in Lv Fan’s body looks back at Chi Xiaochi in silence, tracing his eyebrows with his eyes.

nBut Lv Fan walked away without a backward glance.

nSeeing that the man did not turn around, Chi Xiaochi himself realised how ridiculous his unwarranted thought had been.

nHe tugged at the corners of his lips, threw the empty milk tea cup into the bin and whirled around, striding off in the direction of shed number three.

n