Go Fish Out All Those Flowers

Eastern Center of Lujin City.  

Under the setting sun, a birthday party was being held in the luxurious villa of the Song family.  

In the center of the pool floated a giant inflatable unicorn, with a champagne fountain and a multi-tiered birthday cake set up by the poolside, creating a very lively party atmosphere.  

However, the appearance of one figure shattered this joy.  

Nan Pei, dressed in a black high-end designer suit, walked into the Nan family’s villa holding a bouquet of bright roses, his expression filled with anticipation and nervousness.  

As soon as he got near the pool, everyone noticed him and began whispering:  

“President Song hates him so much, how does he still have the face to come?”  

“He’s been shamelessly chasing President Song for so many years and still won’t give up.”  

“Usually so arrogant, but in front of President Song, he’s always just a lapdog. It’s satisfying to see.”  

Nan Pei ignored the noisy voices, pursed his lips, and searched the crowd for the figure of his beloved, finally locking eyes on a tall young man.  

Nan Pei’s eyes lit up, and he walked towards the man:  

“Jingchen Gege—”  

Song Jingchen was the star of this birthday party, tall and handsome. He had just graduated and inherited the family business, quickly becoming the most sought-after eligible bachelor in Lujin City’s wealthy circles.  

Song Jingchen had just come out of the pool, wearing a tight black swimsuit, with a large white towel draped over his shoulders. His hair was semi-dry, and water droplets clung to his well-defined muscles.  

The moment he saw Nan Pei, Song Jingchen’s brows furrowed tightly, his voice cold as ice: “What are you doing here?”  

“Jingchen Gege, happy birthday.” Nan Pei handed the roses to him, his eyes curving into little bridges, “These are ninety-nine Juliet roses I specially airlifted from Europe, each representing my love for you…”  

Nan Pei was two years younger than Song Jingchen, having just graduated from college. He looked fair and delicate, and under the dewy roses, his eyes appeared exceptionally pure.  

Everyone knew that Nan Pei liked Song Jingchen and had pursued him for over a decade, but he was always rejected.  

At this moment, Nan Pei was a bit nervous, but his expression was full of anticipation for praise.  

The whole place fell silent.  

Song Jingchen glanced at the roses in Nan Pei’s hand and suddenly sneered, mocking:  

“What era is this, still giving roses?”  

As if Nan Pei and the flowers he gave were a joke.  

The people around couldn’t help but laugh.  

Nan Pei was slightly stunned, but he didn’t give up and continued, “Jingchen Gege, I also prepared another ‘flower’ for you.”  

Saying this, he pulled out a black-gold credit card from the bouquet and handed it to Song Jingchen:  

“Jingchen Gege, I know you’re short on money lately. This is my ‘spend as you like’ card for you. Do you like it?”  

Hearing Nan Pei’s words, Song Jingchen’s expression changed: “What are you talking about? I’m short on money?”  

“Isn’t that the case?” Nan Pei said sincerely, “Jingchen Gege, I know your company has been having some financial issues lately, so I’m using this money to help you through the tough times.”  

The laughter around them also stopped, and people couldn’t help but start discussing Song Jingchen:  

“Song Jingchen’s company is having problems?”  

“That can’t be, President Song is so capable.”  

“Is Nan Pei just talking nonsense…”  

Although Nan Pei was a lapdog, he usually gave gifts like sports cars and branded watches. This was the first time he directly offered a credit card.  

It made Song Jingchen feel publicly humiliated.  

“Do I need your help?” Song Jingchen frowned, speaking coldly, “It’s just a minor project issue. Do you really think you understand my company?” His tone was full of disdain.  

Song Jingchen knew that Nan Pei, this spoiled brat, didn’t understand financial issues at all and was just looking for an excuse to get close to him.  

“Even if it’s a small problem, it could still have a big impact.” Nan Pei sincerely and passionately offered the credit card to Song Jingchen, “Jingchen Gege, maybe one day you’ll need this money, so just take it.”  

Nan Pei’s words made Song Jingchen even more displeased.  

How could he possibly need Nan Pei’s money?  

Song Jingchen coldly stared at Nan Pei, and the next second, he reached out and pulled a fair-skinned boy beside him, wrapping an arm around him.  

The fair-skinned boy was named Cheng Wang, who had also pursued Song Jingchen and had been bullied by Nan Pei a few times.  

Cheng Wang, feeling flattered, said, “Jingchen Ge, isn’t this a bit much?”  

As he spoke, he looked at Nan Pei—the rival who usually bullied him relying on his family background, now trembling with anger.  

Normally, Nan Pei would have been furious and beaten Cheng Wang.  

But to maintain his image in front of Song Jingchen, he glared at Cheng Wang with resentment and held back.  

Song Jingchen curled his lips, looking at Nan Pei’s pale face, his tone turning joyful: “You’re much better than someone else.”  

After saying this, Song Jingchen’s eyes were filled with a sense of revenge.  

Nan Pei didn’t expect Song Jingchen to embarrass him like this.  

Everyone around pointed at Nan Pei, their eyes full of schadenfreude.  

“Jingchen Gege…” Nan Pei almost couldn’t stand, his voice tinged with tears, “How can you treat me like this? I’m supposed to be your future boyfriend…”  

“Boyfriend?” Song Jingchen sneered, looking at Nan Pei with disdain, coldly saying, “Do you even deserve it?”  

“Jingchen Gege, we grew up together. Every time you had difficulties, I would help you.” Nan Pei widened his eyes, his voice full of disbelief, “Do you really hate me that much?”  

Nan Pei and Song Jingchen had known each other since childhood. The Nan family was an old wealthy family, while the Song family was a rising star, not yet firmly rooted in the upper circles.  

Over the years, whenever the Song Group had problems, it was the Nan family that helped solve them, allowing the Song family to gradually establish itself in the upper circles.  

However, Nan Pei was a typical playboy, arrogant, uneducated, and harsh to others. Song Jingchen could never be interested in someone like him.  

“Pretending to help me, but what’s your real motive? Don’t you know yourself?!” Song Jingchen’s eyes were filled with even more disgust, “You just want to use money to force me to be with you.”  

Nan Pei’s help to Song Jingchen and the Song family was all for the purpose of pursuing Song Jingchen.  

Naturally, Song Jingchen couldn’t tolerate such behavior and hated Nan Pei to the core.  

Nan Pei held back his tears, stubbornly maintaining his last bit of dignity: “Jingchen Gege, I’m not forcing you. Even our parents said we’re the most compatible… I just want you to succeed in your career.”  

Song Jingchen frowned.  

He found it strange—usually, Nan Pei would say, “I want you to be happy,” but today he changed his words to “I want you to succeed in your career.”  

Of course, in Song Jingchen’s eyes, there was no difference; both were extremely hypocritical words.  

Nan Pei tentatively offered the roses and credit card: “Jingchen Gege…”  

To everyone’s surprise, Song Jingchen suddenly reached out and took the roses and credit card.  

Nan Pei’s eyes lit up, the thing he had been hoping for finally came true, and joy almost overflowed from his eyes.  

The next second.  

“Splash—”  

Song Jingchen ruthlessly threw the bouquet along with the black-gold credit card into the pool.  

Countless splashes flew up, landing on Nan Pei’s face before he could retract his smile, sliding down his cheeks.  

The man’s eyes were filled with suppressed anger as he looked at the person in front of him who disgusted him, saying word by word:  

“The things you give are as cheap as you are.”  

Nan Pei’s pursuit, to Song Jingchen, was not only moral coercion but also like an annoying plaster that made him nauseous.  

Everyone watched Nan Pei, this usually arrogant young master, now looking flustered and helpless, his designer clothes becoming a mockery.  

“Jingchen Gege,” Nan Pei looked at the roses and credit card thrown into the pool in panic, “Those were flowers I worked hard to get, and there’s a lot of money on that card…”  

“Such a precious gift, what a pity.” Cheng Wang looked at Nan Pei, curling his lips, and slowly said, “In that case, why don’t you—go fish out all those flowers now, how about it?”  

Nan Pei stood there, stunned.  

The rich kids around had a look of anticipation, laughing and saying:  

“Yeah, don’t you like President Song? Go fish them out.”  

“Don’t tell me you’re scared, then don’t say they’re expensive flowers you carefully prepared. I bet they’re just cheap stuff worth a few hundred bucks.”  

“Exactly, is there even money on that card?”  

Nan Pei looked helplessly at Song Jingchen, hoping for a bit of mercy from him.  

However—  

Song Jingchen lightly parted his thin lips, sneering:  

“Good idea.”  

At the moment he heard those three words, the tears Nan Pei had been holding back finally fell.  

Song Jingchen showed no sympathy, his gaze at Nan Pei as cold as ice.  

The sunset faded, the last bit of light disappeared, and a chilly breeze swept through.  

The roses in the pool scattered, floating on the water’s surface, almost covering half the pool as the wind blew.  

The black-gold credit card slowly sank to the bottom of the pool.  

It was now autumn evening, the water was cold, and Nan Pei was wearing a thin suit. Once soaked, it would be very uncomfortable.  

Just when everyone thought Nan Pei would back down.  

Nan Pei closed his eyes, as if finally making up his mind, and jumped into the pool, causing a huge splash and a gasp from the crowd.  

The moment he entered the water, he visibly shivered.  

Cheng Wang, seeing his plan succeed, looked gratefully at Song Jingchen and moved closer to him: “Jingchen Ge…”  

However, Song Jingchen shook off his hand, which was trying to cling to him, looked expressionlessly at the person in the pool, and then turned to leave.  

Without a hint of hesitation.  

Cheng Wang, being ignored by Song Jingchen, could only vent his anger on Nan Pei: “Nan Pei, you’re moving so slowly, who are you putting on a show for? I don’t think you really like President Song…”  

Nan Pei didn’t speak, diving to the bottom of the pool, searching for a long time before finding the credit card.  

He seemed numb from being soaked in the water, mechanically repeating the action of fishing out the roses, one by one, carefully.  

The pool water soaked him completely, making his lips tremble from the cold.  

The onlookers, finding him uninteresting, gradually dispersed.  

A crescent moon rose in the sky.  

Nan Pei finally emerged from the pool.  

There were no more spectators by the pool, only him and the inflatable unicorn.  

It was very quiet around.  

This melodramatic and vulgar farce finally came to an end.  

Nan Pei climbed ashore with the roses and credit card, sitting by the pool, letting out a sigh of relief.  

The roses were damaged and broken, lying quietly beside him, the scent of flowers mixed with the smell of pool disinfectant, entering his nose.  

Nan Pei looked up at the crescent moon in the starry sky, casually brushing aside his wet bangs, his suit already wrinkled beyond recognition, the water droplets on his face indistinguishable from tears or pool water.  

He was somewhat lost in thought, recalling everything that happened after crossing over, feeling like it was all a dream.  

After a moment, a mechanical voice in Nan Pei’s mind brought his thoughts back:  

“Host, the novice task is complete, your performance was very successful.”  

Hearing this, Nan Pei was silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh.  

The system, seeing this, asked, “Host, are you feeling sad for the ‘Nan Pei’ in the original story?”  

Nan Pei replied, “I just feel regretful.”  

His words carried a hint of sorrow.  

“Host, you need to get used to it. Playing the role of a lovesick supporting character is your task. You have two other books to be responsible for, and you must be able to detach from the character’s emotions at any time…”  

The system had seen many hosts whose emotions were affected by the plot, getting too into character, even falling in love with characters in the book, leading to the plot deviating and collapsing.  

Nan Pei sighed again, interrupting the system, saying:  

“You know, for a genius actor like me, who nails it in one take and has top-notch acting skills, how did I die so young? Just now, my crying scene, that single tear, perfectly timed to fall right after Song Jingchen finished speaking—”  

“If this scene were in my original world, it would definitely win me a Best Supporting Actor award, right?”  

System: “…”  

Before crossing over, Nan Pei was a professional actor with superb acting skills, but unfortunately, he hadn’t acted in many films before he died in a car accident.  

After crossing over, he was forced to bind with the “Lovesick Supporting Character System.”  

The system told him this was a world where three novels had merged.  

After merging, due to the limited overall luck of the world, each protagonist received insufficient luck, which would prevent their career lines from progressing smoothly, thus failing to attract the main character shou.  

To fill this gap, the system had Nan Pei play the role of a lovesick supporting character around the main character gongs.  

In the original plot of these three books, the “lovesick supporting character” was just an annoying lapdog role.  

But now, Nan Pei had to use the lapdog identity to provide the best resources to the main characters during his pursuit of them, helping them become industry leaders.  

To this, Nan Pei questioned, “Why do I have to be a lapdog to give resources?”  

“To maintain plot stability, having the lovesick supporting character give resources to the main character is most appropriate,” the system explained, “It won’t be questioned for its rationality, nor will it make the main character develop feelings for you.”  

Nan Pei: “Can’t I just be their dad?”  

System: “…There’s currently no system for playing the main character’s dad.”  

Then, the system transmitted the world line into Nan Pei’s mind, while also telling him the specific task content:  

Help the main character of the overbearing CEO novel become the richest man, help the main character of the e-sports novel win the trophy, and help the main character of the entertainment industry novel become a top star.  

“The task duration is six months,” the system continued, “You must play the role according to the original plot, advancing the career lines of the three main characters to 100% without affecting the original plot. Only then can you earn a chance to be resurrected.”  

“Additionally, you cannot let the three main characters discover each other’s existence, or it will trigger a plot collapse, resulting in task failure.”  

“The task is quite challenging. Once completed, besides the resurrection opportunity, you can also earn a high bonus—depending on your performance, the bonus amount will be determined, with a maximum of one billion yuan. Please do your best.”  

Thus, Nan Pei accepted the task.  

Song Jingchen was the main character gong of the first novel, with a persona of a narcissistic and domineering CEO.  

However, due to insufficient luck, although he inherited the family business, the company was about to face a financial crisis. Without Nan Pei’s help, it would cause a career stagnation.  

Attending Song Jingchen’s birthday party was Nan Pei’s novice task, aimed at experiencing the feeling of being a lapdog and subtly reminding Song Jingchen to pay attention to the company’s financial issues.  

Of course, if he could give away the credit card, that would be even better, but unfortunately, Song Jingchen wouldn’t accept it at this point.  

After completing the novice task, Nan Pei sat by the pool, already soaked to the skin.  

A cold wind blew, and Nan Pei couldn’t help but touch his wrinkled suit.  

The system thought, although Nan Pei had an optimistic mindset, he had been soaking in cold water for so long, his body had suffered greatly and still needed comfort.  

So it said, “Host, I suggest you go back and rest early. After all, you’ve been in the water for so long, it’s easy to catch a cold…”  

Before it could finish, Nan Pei took off his jacket, revealing a white shirt covered with warming patches and wrapped in cling film. As he tore off the patches and film, he muttered:  

“I accidentally put on too many, it’s a bit hot…”  

The warming patches were piled up beside him, forming a small mountain.  

The system finally fell into complete silence.  

It felt that its worries, like itself, were completely unnecessary.