Yan Wenshu mind was a complete blank.

The system was stunned. He really wasn’t thinking anything at all?

It didn’t believe it and listened carefully again—but still, not a single sound of thought.

The system gave up. At least Zang Ling was thinking about him, but he… he was just completely still, as if nothing was happening.

Had it just witnessed the birth of a heartless scumbag?

Yan Wenshu had no idea what nonsense the system was imagining. Even if he did, he wouldn’t have reacted.

Right now, he truly wasn’t thinking about anything. A strange calmness had come over him. It had been a long time since he’d felt this way…

Since his rebirth, breaking free from the storyline’s control and getting revenge on Yuan Haolang and Han Lanmeng had become his obsession. Nearly every night, he was tormented to the point of insomnia.

Only now did it feel like he could finally breathe.

Zang Ling’s movements were so gentle that it gave him an illusion—

That he was her treasure.

The thought flashed across his mind, and Yan Wenshu abruptly snapped back to reality. What terrifying thing had he just thought?

He warned himself. No matter what kind of person Zang Ling is, it has nothing to do with him. He just needs to complete his mission.

I don’t like her.

The sound of the hair dryer stopped. Yan Wenshu paused his thoughts, wondering what to say next.

But then she spoke: “Yan Wenshu, do you have any secret tricks for hair growth? I swear I won’t tell a second person.”

“…”

Zang Ling added, “I’m serious. Don’t be fooled by how much hair I have now. I had even more back in school. I only needed to loop a hair tie twice.”

Once she started talking about it, she couldn’t stop. She rambled on, “Ever since I started working, my hair has been falling out like crazy. You have no idea how devastated I felt seeing clumps of hair on the sink after washing it! Thank god the company’s doing better now, so it’s not as exhausting as before. Otherwise, I’d be bald by now!”

“God, every morning when I wake up, I just wanna sleep in, just once, just wake up naturally. But I can’t. Lying flat and giving up on life? That dream’s not happening until I retire… Anyway, back to the point—Yan Wenshu, why do you have so much hair? Can you share your secret method?”

After a while, Yan Wenshu replied, “…I don’t have any secret techniques. I’ve never really paid attention to that sort of thing.”

Zang Ling gave him a deep, knowing look. “Oh, I get it. You’re just naturally gifted!”

“So jealous of you~ Naturally hairy men.”

Her thoughts jumped quickly. “Does that mean you also have a lot of leg hair and armpit hair?”

“…Not really.” Yan Wenshu turned to look at her, took a deep breath, and said, “Even though I don’t have any hair-growth methods, I heard that going to bed early and avoiding late nights helps reduce hair loss.”

Zang Ling swallowed the ‘let me see’ she was about to say, and sighed dramatically, “Maybe in my next life. It’s fine. When we’re old, none of it will matter. Who cares about hair when we’re all just grannies and grandpas?”

“You’re very beautiful,” Yan Wenshu said. “So it doesn’t matter. Even if you grow old, you’ll still be a beautiful old lady.”

Zang Ling screamed internally. This man—he’s too much! How can he say something so sweet in such a casual tone?

“Men!” she exclaimed.

“You’re a bit of a sweet-talker. Sometimes I can’t even tell if you’re telling the truth.”

Yan Wenshu’s expression turned slightly pale. Had she figured out?

But Zang Ling quickly changed her tone, laughing cheekily, “But you’re also very honest. I like your honesty.”

“Thank you, my handsome little old man of the future!”

Yan Wenshu: “Ah… you’re welcome.” If she kept startling him like this, he was going to lose his mind.

She looked at him eagerly. “So, do you like me a little now?”

“Are we at ten points yet?”

“Can we be together yet?”

Yan Wenshu diverted his gaze. “Um… I don’t know. Are we almost done eating?”

Zang Ling happily changed the subject. “Yep! I made all this food myself. Hope you like it.”

Yan Wenshu walked over and was just about to pull out a chair when Zang Ling beat him to it and pulled it out for him. He paused and looked up at her.

Zang Ling smiled calmly. “Please, have a seat.”

“…Thank you.”

“Aren’t you eating?”

Zang Ling sat across from him, watching intently without blinking. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. “I want to watch you eat first.”

Yan Wenshu pressed his lips together and smiled slightly. He didn’t know where she ordered the food from, but it looked pretty good. He decided to just treat it as if she’d cooked it herself.

[She’s smiling so sweetly… So why do I have such a bad feeling about this?] The system thought, [The food’s not even drugged.]

Yan Wenshu was unfazed, [As long as it’s not drugged, it’s fine.]

But reality soon proved that the system’s hunch was spot on.

Yan Wenshu took a bite, and his pupils practically quaked. His expression almost broke.

The seasoning exploded on his tongue. It was like eating ten spoonfuls of salt all at once, and before he could even react, he washed it down with a huge gulp of soy sauce, pepper, MSG…

Now he was convinced. This had to be cooked by Zang Ling herself. No takeout, no matter how bad, could possibly create this level of culinary horror.

Zang Ling eagerly asked, “So? How is it? Is it good?”

Yan Wenshu forced himself to swallow and managed a strained smile. “Mm, it’s good…”

Zang Ling breathed a sigh of relief, beaming. “I knew it! My cooking isn’t that bad. My parents are so over the top, always stopping me from cooking. I was starting to doubt myself. Thank goodness for you, now I have my confidence back!”

Yan Wenshu’s words were enough to fool Zang Ling, but they didn’t fool the system. It had watched the whole thing clearly. The cooking definitely wasn’t like what he said.

When the host took that bite, his lips trembled and his brows furrowed.

The system was now curious. Just how bad was Zang Ling’s cooking? It flew out of its space and landed near the wood ear stir-fry, where a piece of meat had fallen on the table. It cautiously licked it, and instantly crashed to the floor.

This was a pain even mechanical lifeforms couldn’t bear…!

Zang Ling noticed Yan Wenshu staring at a spot on the table and asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Is there something there?”

Yan Wenshu shook his head and smiled. “No, I was just thinking… there’s so much food, I might not be able to finish it all.”

“No worries, I’m here too. But really, don’t force yourself if you can’t finish. It’s okay.”

“I’m not forcing myself. What you made… is really delicious. I’ll do my best to finish it.”

“Is it really that good?” Zang Ling lit up. “Ah, I’m amazing! Even cooking is something I can do perfectly! Yan Wenshu, how about I cook for you often from now on?”

“…That might not be a good idea.”

“Cooking’s no big deal for me. Plus, you’re the first person to ever praise me. I’m thrilled!”

Yan Wenshu’s face stiffened, and he forced a smile. Watching Zang Ling eat like she was enjoying gourmet food, he couldn’t help but ask, “You really don’t feel anything?”

“Feel what?” Zang Ling paused, then suddenly understood and laughed, “Oh, the feeling that my food is amazing!”

Yan Wenshu couldn’t help but thought,

Is there really nothing wrong with her taste buds?

Then, Zang Ling started crazily piling food into Yan Wenshu’s bowl. He inexplicably felt a chill down his spine. Looking down at the mountain of food in his bowl, for the first time in his life, he felt resistance toward eating.

Would he even survive after finishing this meal?

“Yan Wenshu, come to work with me tomorrow,” Zang Ling suddenly said.

“Tomorrow is the first day of us announcing our relationship. There will definitely be a lot of people doubting us. But it’s exactly at times like this that we can’t panic or avoid things. I know you don’t want to be misunderstood, but don’t worry, this situation won’t last long. I won’t go easy on you at work either. After some time, people will naturally drop their prejudices and truly respect you. But if anyone dares to bully you, you must tell me. I’ll teach them a lesson for you.”

Speaking of this, Yan Wenshu hesitated. “But… won’t this affect your chances of finding a partner in the future?”

“That’s not going to happen.” Zang Ling stared straight at him and declared bluntly, “If I can’t win you over, then I won’t get married in this lifetime.”

Yan Wenshu was stunned by her words. After a pause, he replied tactfully, “Even if we don’t end up together, that just means we’re not meant to be. Maybe the person you’re truly waiting for is right around the corner. There’s no need to lose confidence because of me.”

“Lose confidence?” Zang Ling shook her head seriously and raised a finger, wagging it. “No, that’s not it.”

“I’m sure that there won’t be another man in this world who fits perfectly in my heart like you do.”

Zang Ling spoke earnestly, “every second when I look at you, I would be filled with so much joy. No one could possibly give me that feeling except you.”

Her gaze was sincere. No one could hear words like that without feeling stirred inside.

Even the system immediately melted upon hearing that. It spoke righteously, [Host, she’s already like this! Aren’t you going to make a move? Are you really going to make the girl confess first?]

But Yan Wenshu suddenly thought of something else. He lowered his eyes and asked hypothetically, “Without me… I mean, if I had never appeared in your life at all, would Yuan Haolang have become the person you liked?”

Zang Ling’s eyes widened in disbelief, leaning back so far she nearly fell over. “Are you kidding me? You think I’d fall for that idiot?!”

[Idiot?] The system couldn’t help but laugh. [So that’s how Zang Ling sees the male lead… Host, maybe you can relax now. With her attitude, there’s no way she’d fall for the male lead like in the original plot.]

Relax? How could he possibly relax? This was just the beginning.

Seeing her sit back down properly, Yan Wenshu asked in a low voice, “Then in what situation would you end up with him?”

Zang Ling shuddered and replied with difficulty, “I really can’t imagine it… unless I went completely brain-dead.”

So, she had been controlled in her past life too. Yan Wenshu lowered his gaze in thought. After following through with the plot last time, where did she end up?

Zang Ling asked, “You’re asking this… don’t tell me you’re jealous?”

“N-No.” His gaze drifted away.

Zang Ling curled her lips. “Oh——”

“Don’t leave tonight. Just stay here.”

Yan Wenshu glanced at the window. “The rain’s stopped. I should head back.”

He got up to clear the dishes, but Zang Ling stopped him with one hand. “There’s a dishwasher. No need to wash them.”

“Alright…”

“The rain may have stopped, but didn’t we agree to go to work together tomorrow? If you go home now, it’ll be so inconvenient going back and forth. Why not just stay at my place tonight?”

Zang Ling leaned close to Yan Wenshu, her beautiful eyes looking at him expectantly. He lowered his gaze and looked at her for a while, then, as if bewitched, he agreed.

[As expected of you, Host! Looks like you’ll win Zang Ling over tonight.]

Hearing the system’s excited comment, Yan Wenshu looked at Zang Ling, who was busy preparing toiletries for him, but there wasn’t a hint of joy in his eyes. [You’re overthinking it.]

[Then why are you staying? To build your relationship?] The system tried to persuade him sincerely. [Although I also like seeing you two develop your relationship slowly, the situation’s different now. The female lead is arriving next week. If you don’t act soon, you’ll face a lot of restrictions.]

The key was, if Yan Wenshu failed, where would the system go to find another person to help it return home? Its energy had only been enough to bind with him alone.

[By staying over tonight, you can get closer to Zang Ling, and then make her take responsibility for you. Actually, you’ve rejected a lot of good opportunities before. Host, sometimes I really don’t understand you. What exactly are you hesitating over, or… what are you afraid of?]

Yan Wenshu pressed his lips together. Afraid? What was he afraid of? It was just a little tactic of playing hard to get. Was he really afraid… of something?

[I don’t need to use the kind of method you’re talking about. Otherwise, how would I be any different from Yuan Haolang and the others?]

[But…]

The system still wanted to say something, but was soon cut off by Yan Wenshu. [I know what I’m doing. Before she arrives, I’ll become real.]

That was what he said.

But at that moment, the system felt that his expression was especially cold — as if nothing could move him, not even death itself.