Shen Yuqing abruptly sat up in bed. What?
Pei Yiyan had called off the engagement with the original host?
He quickly tapped on the notification, which immediately redirected him to the official social media platform of the Shen Group.
Three minutes ago, they had posted an official announcement bearing the company seal.
Shen Yuqing opened it and skimmed through. Beyond the formalities, the core message was clear: Pei Yiyan and the original host had decided to part ways due to incompatibility, but they would remain good friends and explore future collaborations.
The engagement was called off.
Not only was Shen Yuqing stunned, but the system was equally baffled.
The system said, “At this point, the plot of this world has truly spiraled completely out of control.”
One thing after another had already deviated from the original trajectory.
The system continued, “But host, no matter how much this world changes, our goal remains the same—to eliminate the blackening values.”
Shen Yuqing lay back down on the bed, his mind still reeling from the news of the broken engagement. Beyond the initial shock, he actually felt a faint sense of relief.
The original host and Pei Yiyan had never shared any real affection. Now that Pei Yiyan’s health had mostly recovered, calling off the engagement would also spare the Shen family from the downfall depicted in the original plot. It was for the best.
Shen Yuqing exhaled deeply, burying his face into the pillow before asking, “What should we do next? Pei Yiyan and Song Wangzhuo’s blackening values have surged again. What on earth happened in the last month and a half?”
The system also seemed at a loss. “I don’t know either. The blackening values of all three male leads are dangerously high now. If I were to trace back, I’d need at least half a month in hibernation to barely accumulate enough energy. Alternatively, after the semester starts and Chu Ningbai interacts with them, you could try gathering intel.”
That seemed to be the only option.
Still, to be safe, Shen Yuqing said, “There’s about half a month until the semester starts. I probably won’t need you much during this time, so go into hibernation and store up as much energy as possible. If we need it later and don’t have any, we’re screwed.”
The system agreed. “Then, host, I’ll go into hibernation now. If anything urgent comes up, remember to call me.”
“Got it,” Shen Yuqing replied, and the system’s indicator light dimmed.
Face still buried; Shen Yuqing felt exhaustion creeping in after days of travel.
Just then, Chu Ningbai, having finished organizing his own belongings, walked over. “A-Yu, don’t sleep like that. It’s suffocating.”
Shen Yuqing rolled over to find Chu Ningbai already standing in the room.
He sat up and asked, “Ningbai, aren’t you going to rest?”
Instead of answering, Chu Ningbai headed toward the wardrobe. “I’ll help you tidy up first, then rest.”
Shen Yuqing sighed and hopped off the bed. “No need, Ningbai. I’ll take care of it later.”
He was simply too tired earlier and had haphazardly stuffed everything inside, leaving the wardrobe in complete disarray. He felt a little embarrassed about it now.
But Chu Ningbai had already started hanging up his clothes, neatly categorizing them so everything was visible at a glance.
“I’m not really in the mood to rest right now anyway,” Chu Ningbai said. “A-Yu, what would you like to eat? I’ll go downstairs later and see if there’s a market nearby.”
“There’s a large supermarket not too far away,” Shen Yuqing answered without thinking.
Only after speaking did he realize something was off; he had come here with Chu Ningbai, so how did he know that?
Sure enough, Chu Ningbai turned to glance at him. Shen Yuqing explained, “I just checked there’s a park nearby. We can take walks after meals in the future.”
Thankfully, when renting the place, Xiao Zhao had mentioned some details, all of which were available online.
Chu Ningbai nodded. “Alright.”
Shen Yuqing checked the time on his phone. They had eaten lunch on the spaceship, and there were still several hours until dinner.
“Ningbai, you should rest for now. Later, we can go out together and explore the area,” Shen Yuqing said with a smile.
Chu Ningbai had just finished organizing Shen Yuqing’s clothes. Seeing his smile, he paused for a moment before reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Alright, I’ll listen to A-Yu.”
Shen Yuqing was caught off guard by the head pat and froze briefly.
He looked up at Chu Ningbai. Despite being an Omega, Chu Ningbai was taller than most even slightly taller than Shen Yuqing himself.
Chu Ningbai withdrew his hand. “Alright, A-Yu, get some rest. I’ll go rest too. I’ll wake you later.”
Shen Yuqing nodded absently. “Okay.”
Chu Ningbai left, gently closing the door behind him.
Shen Yuqing slowly lay back on the bed, unable to shake the thought how is Chu Ningbai so good?
He pulled up the stats panel again for a look.
[Blackening Value: 88 | Favorability: 50]
A question mark popped up in Shen Yuqing’s mind. They hadn’t even known each other for half a month why was the favorability so high?
At the start, it had been 0!
He wanted to call the system and ask if this was a bug, but remembering it was in hibernation, he dismissed the thought. Whatever, no need to ask.
Isn’t it normal for someone as interesting as me to be liked?
With shameless self-satisfaction, Shen Yuqing drifted off to sleep.
——
He slept straight until 4 PM, waking to his alarm. Stretching as he got out of bed, he felt much more refreshed after the nap.
Stepping outside, he found Chu Ningbai’s door still shut. He washed his face with cold water in the bathroom, summer in Silino was unbearably hot.
By the time he finished, Chu Ningbai had emerged from his room, fully dressed. “Hurry and change, A-Yu. It’s time to go.”
Shen Yuqing nodded and ducked back into his room to put on outdoor clothes.
At the elevator lobby, the lift was still on a higher floor. After a moment’s thought, Chu Ningbai suggested, “Let’s take the stairs.”
They were only on the second floor no need to wait.
Shen Yuqing agreed. “Sure.”
A minute later, they reached the ground floor much faster than waiting for the elevator.
Chu Ningbai said, “We should stop by a pharmacy later. The scar on your hand needs more ointment.”
Shen Yuqing glanced at the exposed scar on his left forearm. “It’s fine. At this point, only surgery can fully fix it.”
The scar had already formed, blending like new skin—no pain, no itch.
If Chu Ningbai hadn’t mentioned it, Shen Yuqing would’ve forgotten about it entirely.
Chu Ningbai nodded. “Fair. Save the money for scar cream and put it toward surgery instead—a permanent solution.”
The two chatted as they walked out, completely unaware that someone had just stepped out of the elevator.
Song Wangzhuo emerged just in time to overhear them discussing the scar on an arm.
His gaze snapped toward them, but upon seeing their faces, he quickly composed himself.
He thought to himself, Shen Yuqing’s scar had already healed it was gone.
Yet for some reason, the words “arm” and “scar” still triggered an instinctive reaction in him.
The two men ahead walked out of the building.
Song Wangzhuo followed slowly behind. Over the past two months, his life had undergone earth-shattering changes.
On the night Shen Yuqing took the injury for him, the elder of the Song family, Song Lejin’s mother had embraced him, calling him “son.” In his dazed state, he finally pieced together the truth.
It turned out he had been swapped. Nie Xiu had already sent people to investigate an incident from years ago. No deed could be done without leaving traces, and with Nie Xiu pouring considerable resources into the search, they eventually tracked down the bribed nurse from back then.
According to the nurse, Song Lejin was originally supposed to be born a month later. However, to ensure Song Wangzhuo’s seamless return to the Song family, they had performed an early cesarean. This explained why Song Lejin had been so frail as a child.
The baby swap had been a joint effort between the nurse and the conspirators. After succeeding, they promised her a hefty sum to take Song Wangzhuo far away from Silino and never return.
At the time, she hadn’t known what to do. The conspirators had instructed her to “dispose of him at the first opportunity,” but…
Just carrying out the swap had taken all her courage she couldn’t bring herself to kill an infant.
So, after much deliberation, she found a poor but kind-hearted couple, gave them some money, and left him with them.
Once everything came to light, Song Wangzhuo and Song Jue swiftly stripped Song Mingzhong of his power, leading to the recent upheaval in the Song Corporation’s news.
But truthfully, that wasn’t what weighed on Song Wangzhuo’s mind. After years of walking alone, the concept of family would take time to get used to.
What preoccupied him now was Shen Yuqing.
After regaining consciousness, Shen Yuqing seemed like a completely different person as if he no longer acknowledged their past bond.
Even stranger, the scar on his arm had vanished.
The doctors claimed it had fully healed, but Song Wangzhuo knew better. He had watched that scar every day even with the best care, it couldn’t have disappeared overnight.
Later, he met Shen Yuqing’s so-called fiancé, who only said one thing: “It’s not him.”
Song Wangzhuo didn’t understand why, but deep down, he accepted it.
This Shen Yuqing wasn’t the friend he once knew.
