Aftermath of the Three Male Leads Meeting

Nan Pei knew that even if he tried to run now, the three male leads would find a way to catch up. He closed his eyes, sighed, and resignedly stopped pedaling.

Preparing himself mentally, he got off the bike, paused for a moment, and turned to face the iconic scene of the three male leads meeting for the first time.

However, despite his mental preparation, seeing the three tall figures lined up made his heart skip a beat, almost suffocating him.

The system had mentioned before that when the career lines of the three male leads exceeded 30%, a rescue opportunity would be available, but it could only be triggered when all three appeared simultaneously.

Nan Pei didn’t expect this opportunity to trigger so quickly. Moreover, the situation seemed a bit… strange.

Because of the simultaneous “Nan Pei, where are you going?” the three male leads noticed each other’s presence and began sizing each other up.

Song Jingchen slightly frowned, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes. He glanced at the young man on his left, then at the elegant man on his right.

His expression revealed a subtle sense of crisis as he pondered: Why are these two guys also outside the venue?

Suddenly, Song Jingchen recalled that all three seemed to be waiting for someone at the entrance.

Could it be that the other two were also waiting for Nan Pei?

Many questions surfaced in Song Jingchen’s mind, deepening his frown.

Clearly, the other two didn’t look any better.

Duan Heng silently glanced at the two on his right, his lips tightly pressed, jaw clenched, and his cold eyes filled with vigilance.

Lu Bairan’s expression remained calm, revealing nothing of his thoughts, but his gentle eyes clearly held suspicion towards the other two.

The air was thick with tension.

Nan Pei found it increasingly hard to breathe.

To ease the awkwardness, he forced a smile and said, “Haha, I was just testing out the new prize, haha, hahaha, what a coincidence…”

The three looked at Nan Pei expressionlessly.

Nan Pei’s smile stiffened, and they showed no reaction.

The awkward atmosphere didn’t improve at all.

The system’s voice chimed in, “Host, would you like to use the precious rescue opportunity? This system can help you escape…”

Nan Pei took a deep breath and told the system, “I think I can still salvage this.”

At that moment, Song Jingchen, staring intently at Nan Pei, asked, “Aren’t you going to explain?”

His tone seemed calm, but there was an imperceptible emotional fluctuation.

At this moment, Lu Bairan and Duan Heng also looked at Nan Pei, waiting for his explanation.

System: “Host, it’s time to test your acting skills.”

Nan Pei swallowed.

What he needed to do now was come up with a reason to hide his true relationship with the three and…

Maintain three different personas.

This task was daunting; failure would lead to a collapse of the plot, and even the system was nervous for Nan Pei.

Under the gaze of the three, about five seconds passed.

Nan Pei didn’t look at Song Jingchen but instead at the other two, curling his lips and pointing to Song Jingchen, speaking warmly:

“This is Song Jingchen, president of the Song Group, young and promising, invited to this gala. He’s also my closest… business partner.”

His tone carried a hint of pride, and Song Jingchen couldn’t find fault with it.

Except for the absence of Nan Pei’s signature “Jingchen Gege.”

However, Duan Heng and Lu Bairan both frowned, feeling that Nan Pei’s voice seemed… overly gentle?

At this point, Nan Pei looked at Song Jingchen, deliberately softening his voice:

“Right, Jingchen Gege hic…”

When he said “Gege,” he covered his mouth, pretending to hiccup, muffling the sound.

Then, Nan Pei added, “We’ve made quite a bit of money from our projects.”

To Lu Bairan and Duan Heng, it sounded like “Jingchen Ge,” which seemed more normal than “Jingchen Gege.”

Plus, since Song Jingchen helped Nan Pei earn a lot, it was reasonable for Nan Pei to be gentle, so they didn’t suspect anything—just business partners, nothing special.

Lu Bairan and Duan Heng both relaxed.

Song Jingchen felt quite pleased with the “closest” part and didn’t mind the “business partner” that followed.

After all, besides “business partner,” there wasn’t a more fitting term for their relationship.

Song Jingchen also understood that Nan Pei calling him Jingchen Gege was an expression of admiration.

However, he still heard Nan Pei’s hiccup and raised an eyebrow, “What, ate too much?”

Nan Pei silently nodded, showing no signs of anything unusual.

But the task wasn’t over.

He still had two different personas to maintain.

Nan Pei turned his hand towards Duan Heng, cleared his throat, his voice becoming more refined, eyes showing a hint of admiration:

“This is Duan Heng, captain of the e-sports team I invested in, top-notch skills, here today to discuss match-related matters with me. Actually, he’s one of the e-sports players I greatly admire.”

Lu Bairan and Song Jingchen both glanced at the two, their expressions varied.

At that moment, they felt that Nan Pei’s expression seemed a bit too admiring?

Duan Heng slightly frowned, feeling that Nan Pei maintained a deliberate distance when speaking, but it seemed like his imagination.

The next second, Nan Pei looked at Duan Heng, slightly curling his lips, and said seriously:

“Especially Xiao Duan’s Cheetah, it’s the best in the national server in my heart.”

Hearing Nan Pei mention “Cheetah,” Duan Heng recalled the leopard-print jacket Nan Pei gave him, realizing Nan Pei was subtly expressing affection.

Thus, Duan Heng confirmed that the faint sense of distance was just his imagination.

And Lu Bairan and Song Jingchen understood that Nan Pei’s “admiration” was merely for Duan Heng’s gaming skills.

Duan Heng nodded, feeling quite pleased:

“Good eye.”

He was referring to Nan Pei liking him.

Duan Heng’s usual arrogance didn’t raise any alarms for Lu Bairan and Song Jingchen, who didn’t see him as a competitor.

Lu Bairan watched Nan Pei, feeling that Nan Pei was behaving very normally today.

Too normal, not like a nouveau riche.

A hint of confusion flashed in Lu Bairan’s eyes, his brows furrowed.

Nan Pei swallowed.

The hardest part was yet to come.

He introduced Lu Bairan to Duan Heng and Song Jingchen, saying:

“This is Lu Bairan, an artist from the entertainment company I invested in, very talented, invited to the charity gala today, and I came with him. He’s a new actor I really like…”

Meanwhile, Song Jingchen and Duan Heng noticed that Lu Bairan’s clothes seemed similar to Nan Pei’s.

A hint of strange emotion flickered in their eyes.

Nan Pei calmly stepped forward, patted Lu Bairan’s shoulder, his voice turning hearty:

“Haha, this outfit isn’t bad, right? It reflects the mutual trust between boss and artist, showcasing corporate culture… Importantly, it’s expensive! Isn’t the red carpet all about whose outfit is pricier… More importantly, Xiao Ran is getting popular lately, and I’m very pleased.”

Although Nan Pei’s way of speaking seemed odd to Song Jingchen and Duan Heng at the moment, since his artist was gaining fame, his excitement was understandable.

Moreover, what he said wasn’t wrong; the price of outfits is indeed a red carpet competition factor.

At that moment, Lu Bairan felt that Nan Pei was still the familiar nouveau riche he knew.

Nan Pei looked at Lu Bairan and further said, “He’s the future Film Emperor in my heart.”

Lu Bairan was moved, knowing that Nan Pei still loved and supported his dreams as always.

To the other two, a boss hoping for their artist to become a Film Emperor wasn’t unusual.

The doubts the three had about Nan Pei dissipated.

Nan Pei quietly let out a long breath.

What he didn’t know was that the three male leads’ mindsets had subtly changed.

To Song Jingchen, the other two were just Nan Pei’s employees, while he himself had close ties with the Nan Family, making the other two incomparable to him.

To Duan Heng, the other two were a business partner and a money-making tool, while Nan Pei had invested millions in him, making the other two insignificant.

To Lu Bairan, the other two were just making money for Nan Pei, but Nan Pei was supporting his dream of becoming a Film Emperor, a bond like that of a talent scout and a prized horse, unmatched by the other two.

After Nan Pei’s introductions, none of the three regarded the others as competition, nor did they realize Nan Pei was simultaneously pursuing all three.

Nan Pei thought his task was complete and said:

“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now, you guys…”

Before he could finish, the three spoke simultaneously:

“Let’s go together.”

Nan Pei: “…”

What were these three up to?

Usually, they found fault with him, but now they all wanted to leave with him?

Song Jingchen’s tone was calm, glancing at the other two with a hint of superiority, “There’s a project between our two families to discuss with you.” His eyes showed disdain for the others.

“About the match,” Duan Heng suddenly spoke, his tone slow and firm, “I have a lot to ask you.” After speaking, he glanced at the other two, his gaze arrogant.

Lu Bairan said word by word, “There’s a notice in a few days, I want to talk to you about it.” His tone was gentle and calm, but his gaze was firm and hard to refuse. His soft eyes seemed to disregard the other two entirely.

The three looked at him, waiting for him to choose.

And each believed Nan Pei would choose them.

Nan Pei stood there, suddenly feeling exhausted.

The system’s voice suddenly sounded, “Still trying to salvage, host?”

Nan Pei weakly replied, “Let the plot of this world collapse, I’m tired.”

The system patiently said, “Host, you can ask me for help.”

Facing the intense gazes of the three, Nan Pei really couldn’t handle it; choosing any of them wouldn’t end well.

Now, even asking Huo Yao for help was too late.

So, Nan Pei could only ask the system:

“Can you really help?”

The system seemed excited, “Of course, I can take human form and find a reason to get you out of this mess.”

Nan Pei cautiously asked, “What will you look like in human form?”

System: “I’ve never transformed before. I’ve never handled such a mess before.”

Nan Pei: …

Great, the system is a newbie too.

But there was no other way, so Nan Pei continued to ask, “What will you roughly look like?”

System: “The appearance can be set, but the age must match the system’s.”

Nan Pei: “And how old is that?”

System: “This system has been working for over eighty years.”

“Eighty years old?” Nan Pei’s eyes lit up, “That’s perfect! You can pretend to be my elder and take me away!”

The system seemed very interested in taking human form, saying, “No problem, this system will do its best to cooperate with you.”

“By the way,” Nan Pei thought for a moment and told the system, “since you’re going to be my elder, make sure your appearance is about seventy to eighty percent similar to mine to avoid suspicion.”

The system solemnly said, “This system will not fail!”

Nan Pei cleared his throat, curled his lips, and suddenly said to the three, “Sorry, I have a relative waiting nearby to go home with me, so I can’t leave with you.”

The system’s voice had disappeared from Nan Pei’s mind, leaving only the electronic sound of data flow.

Song Jingchen frowned, “So late, which relative?”

Nan Pei didn’t know if the system would become a grandpa or grandma, so he could only dodge the question, “Haha, that’s not important, just my closest relative…”

The three’s eyes showed confusion.

At that moment, footsteps sounded behind Nan Pei.

The stone in Nan Pei’s heart finally settled.

It seemed the system successfully took human form to help him.

The three male leads’ gazes simultaneously shifted behind Nan Pei, and then the next second, they collectively froze.

Nan Pei smiled and said, “This is who I was talking about—”

He turned around, wanting to see which elder the system had become, but saw nothing.

Nan Pei was slightly stunned.

The next second, his pant leg was suddenly grabbed.

A childish voice came from beside his leg—

“Let’s go home.”

Nan Pei’s eyes widened instantly.

He looked at the five-year-old child at his feet, feeling like he was about to turn to stone.

In the moment of eye contact with the child, they began to communicate telepathically.

Nan Pei was shocked, “Aren’t you over eighty?!”

The system helplessly replied, “I forgot that eighty system years equate to five human years. I missed that conversion formula. I’m not great at math.”

Nan Pei angrily said, “You’re an AI claiming to be bad at math?! Is that reasonable?!”

The child showed a pitiful expression, and the system’s voice sounded, “Isn’t this okay, host?”

Looking at the child’s face, Nan Pei felt a sense of foreboding.

The system was very dedicated; even as a five-year-old, it managed to look eighty percent like Nan Pei, with even the hairstyle and outfit being miniaturized versions.

No one would believe they weren’t related.

Nan Pei’s mouth twitched, turning stiffly and slowly to the three male leads, and sure enough, saw three faces of shock and disbelief.

The atmosphere turned awkwardly tense.

To ease the awkwardness, the system tugged at Nan Pei’s pant leg again, softly saying:

“Let’s go home.”

The voice mimicked a human child’s whining.

Song Jingchen, a character from a melodramatic CEO novel, was used to big scenes and was the first to recover from the shock.

The next second, his face turned ashen, looking at the little boy, he said word by word:

“…How old?”

The system quickly answered, “Eighty, no, five.”

“…”

Song Jingchen felt his veins throbbing, and after a moment, he looked at Nan Pei, his voice icy:

“If I remember correctly, you graduated college three years ago… and the child is five?!”

The information was overwhelming, leaving the other two speechless.

Nan Pei: “…”

He looked at the system at his feet, even his telepathic waves trembling:

“There are many ways to save me; you could become my elder, but please don’t send me to meet my ancestors, okay?”

Author’s Note:

System: Haha

I’ve been really stuck with writing lately, please understand my update schedule! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!