Translated by Eve

Edited by Kara

Xiao Yuanmu leaned back against the sofa and seemed to not have heard him clearly. He raised his head slightly. “What did you say?”

Song Xuanhe's fingers on his hand hanging by his side curled slightly, brus.h.i.+ng past the seam of his hand-sewn pants. He had been about to repeat himself when he heard someone's phone chime, alerting the owner that a new email had arrived in their mailbox. Sun Jinren pulled his phone out and had just read the contents of the email when his expression changed drastically. He shouted, “

Er shao

!”

“

Er shao

!” Sun Jinren ran over to Song Xuanhe's side. He pulled on Song Xuanhe's arm, his forehead already covered in a layer of cold sweat in the span of a few seconds. His voice nearly cracked in his urgency, and there was a warped smile on his face. “Forget about the matter of me asking to borrow Mr. Xiao for a few days to answer investment queries. I've found another financial advisor. There's no need to trouble you anymore.”

Song Xuanhe's eyelashes trembled. He restrained himself from glancing at Xiao Yuanmu's expression. He then turned to Sun Jinren, whose face was full of worry. Pulling his arm out of the other's hold, he ignored Sun Jinren's surprised and panicked voice and said, “Financial advisor?”

Sun Jinren nodded at once, appearing very impatient. However, there was still a stiff smile on his face. “Yes, ah. Weren't we just talking about getting Mr. Xiao to help me look at investments? Oh, but there's no need for that now.”

Song Xuanhe acted like he didn't understand the look Sun Jinren was giving him. He looked down and said, “Didn't Boss Sun want….”

“No!” Sun Jinren seemed frightened. Every word carried alarm. He sounded guilty. At once, he lowered his voice, “I will still give

Er shao

the present I have promised, including both the Roller Group contract and that other thing you want. However, there is no need to lend Mr. Xiao to me. I have other matters to attend to. I won't disturb you any longer.”

Sun Jinren acted like he was being chased by something. As soon as he had finished speaking, he sprinted out of the room without waiting for Song Xuanhe's response.

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The light in Song Xuanhe's eyes flickered. A few seconds later, he turned to look at Xiao Yuanmu, who was still sitting down.

Xiao Yuanmu was fiddling with his phone. Because his gaze was cast down, the corners of his eyes that were typically slanted upwards were currently pulled straight. With the light illuminating his profile, his exquisite jade-like face seemed to lose some of its chill. He looked even more beautiful.

Noticing Song Xuanhe's gaze, Xiao Yuanmu stopped spinning his phone and held it firmly in his hand. He then looked up and asked, “Boss Sun had wanted me to be his advisor?”

“Yes.” Song Xuanhe smiled suddenly and replied, “But, it seems like he's already found someone else and changed his mind.”

Xiao Yuanmu's jaw seemed to relax a bit. He said, “Since that's the case, let's leave.”

“Aren't you curious why he had wanted an ordinary venture investment employee to be his advisor?” Song Xuanhe looked at him, creases between his brows. He sounded vexed, “I don't know why he had suddenly asked for you only to not want you anymore just as soon.”

Xiao Yuanmu's eyes were cold. He stood up. “Not curious.”

The two of them left the room shoulder-to-shoulder. As soon as they had walked out the villa's doors, they saw Sun Jinren and Song Jiabao standing in a corner of the garden. From this distance, they couldn't make out their conversation. However, Song Jiabao was facing their direction, and they could see that his expression was ugly. It was obvious that he was not in a good mood.

In that same moment that Song Xuanhe had caught sight of Song Jiabao, Song Jiabao had also noticed Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu. In that instant, his expression grew even uglier.

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Song Xuanhe looked away and said to Xiao Yuanmu, “Let's go.”

Xiao Yuanmu glanced at the two over there, a cold glint flas.h.i.+ng through his eyes. Before it had disappeared, his lips curled up slightly.

“Your relations.h.i.+p with Song Jiabao doesn't seem to be very good.”

After climbing into the car, this was what Xiao Yuanmu had said.

“Is that even worth mentioning?” Song Xuanhe turned on the engine. The System's voice was constantly blaring in his head. He furrowed his brows and thought：【Sun Jinren doesn't want Xiao Yuanmu anymore. Am I supposed to just directly send him over? But even if I did offer him, with how frightened Sun Jinren had looked, he probably wouldn't even have had the nerve to accept.】

Hearing that Song Xuanhe was finally replying to it, the System said：【But if the plot deviates, your mission will be considered a failure! You'll only have half a year to live after returning to your original world!】

Song Xuanhe looked at the congested road in front of him calmly：【If I hadn't come to this world, wouldn't I only have had half a year to live anyway?】

The System froze before saying：【But if you complete our mission, you can live longer than that.】

【It's not that I don't want to complete my mission. You also said it before, there can only be an outcome if there is a cause. Sun Jinren doesn't want Xiao Yuanmu anymore. Even if I offer Xiao Yuanmu to him, he doesn't want him. Since the cause is gone, how am I supposed to get my outcome?】Song Xuanhe sounded very calm as if he had already expected this to happen,【Besides, Xiao Yuanmu has already been reborn. Therefore, the storyline regarding Xiao Yuanmu's rebirth hasn't been messed up. Since that's the case, we should just let nature take its course.】

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Song Xuanhe laughed after：【You're not going to tell me that Xiao Yuanmu actually hasn't been reborn yet, right?】

【The main System has already replied. He was indeed reborn on September fifteenth.】The System said：【But, not even the main System knows why he had been reborn at that time. Therefore, it ordered for the plot to still be followed….】

It had only been five days since he had gone from repeatedly panicking over this conjecture and sounding Xiao Yuanmu out to ascertaining that he had indeed been reborn. Back then, Song Xuanhe had wondered how he would feel if the System were to tell him that Xiao Yuanmu had already been reborn. Would he feel like it was only to be expected, or would he find it hard to believe and think it absurd?

But when it had really come time, he found that he didn't feel anything at all. He was very calm.

There was only one question in his mind. It was something that not even the main System could confirm: From what point in time did this Xiao Yuanmu come?

Song Xuanhe cast his eyes down. He thought that the possibility of his guess being true was growing.

The Xiao Yuanmu today seemed to have already known about what would happen at this party. That was why he had spectated the whole time. He had silently examined everything from the moment Sun Jinren had come looking for him. He had examined their every action and had come to some kind of conclusion.

Perhaps Xiao Yuanmu had already realized that he was different from the original Song Xuanhe he had met in his last life prior to rebirth. Perhaps he was now just lying in wait for the sake of finding out why they were different.

【I've just received an order. That scene's done for.】The System sounded dissatisfied：【But, I've already reported everything that has happened today to the manager System. When the main System is notified, it will give us instructions. But, I've already made sure to make it clear that the plot deviation has nothing to do with you, so you…don't have to worry too much.】

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【I'm not worried, I just think….】

Halfway through this thought, Song Xuanhe heard Xiao Yuanmu ask, “What are you thinking about?”

Song Xuanhe paused and replied normally, “I'm thinking about what to do next.”

Xiao Yuanmu asked, “With regards to what?”

“A lot of things.” Song Xuanhe looked at the changing numbers of the traffic light and said in an absent-minded tone, “Like where I came from and where I should go.”

Listening to Song Xuanhe's joking, half-hearted tone, Xiao Yuanmu cast his gaze downwards. When the car started moving again, he looked up, gaze dark. “Have you decided?”

“No,” Song Xuanhe laughed, “How can I understand something that even philosophers don't get?”

Xiao Yuanmu's unreadable gaze landed on his face for a few seconds. He then looked away. Neither of them spoke again.

It was quickly approaching nine o'clock, so there wasn't much traffic downtown. For some reason, when Song Xuanhe saw the empty four-way crossing up ahead, a bad premonition arose in his heart.

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When the light turned green, he furrowed his brows and suddenly asked, “What time is it now?”

The System and Xiao Yuanmu's voices sounded at the same time.

“Nine o'clock.”

【Careful!】

The truck on his right side that had its high beams on seemed to suddenly lose control. It b.u.mped into two turning cars and then came barrelling at them.

Song Xuanhe's pupils constricted. His rationality told him to turn the wheel to the left in order to avoid the truck at once, but his body froze, and he found it difficult to control his own actions.

Suddenly, another hand reached for the wheel. Xiao Yuanmu had undone his seatbelt and quickly took control. There was currently no way to avoid the truck by turning to the left anymore, so he yanked the wheel all the way to the right instead. The car quickly sped into the strip of vegetation on the side, skirted past the trees on the side, and crashed into a streetlight.

At the same time, the truck had crashed into a big tree in the strip of greenery. The overloaded truck started to tilt to one side. Soon after, a louder bang echoed throughout the night as the truck fell completely onto its side.

The series of car crashes that had started with the truck had ended up causing eight cars in total to lose control, including the cars the truck had hit in the beginning and a bus that had been hit by said cars, because they hadn't been able to break in time. The entire intersection was blocked up.

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Song Xuanhe's face was pale upon narrowly escaping danger. He didn't pay attention to the System's calls. He quickly undid his own seat belt to go check on Xiao Yuanmu's condition.

When he saw the blood seeping out from the other's forehead, Song Xuanhe's raised hand began to shake. He carefully supported Xiao Yuanmu up and quietly called out, “Xiao Yuanmu, are you okay?”

Xiao Yuanmu didn't respond. His long eyelashes fluttered slightly, blood flowing down his eyebrow and streaking across his cheek. The blood was nearly the same colour as his slightly pursed lips. He looked abnormally weak. He was so still that Song Xuanhe felt panic arise in his chest.

Song Xuanhe pulled out his phone to call for an ambulance in a flurry. His gaze never left Xiao Yuanmu's pale face though. His mind was a total mess.

Reasoning told him that even if Xiao Yuanmu had undone his seat belt, the force of the impact just now wouldn't have been enough to do any fatal damage.

But, he was still panicked and at a loss over what to do. The book had described Xiao Yuanmu's accident in great detail. Even though it hadn't been the same road Sun Jinren had taken, the timing and the truck had been exactly the same. Then…would Xiao Yuanmu, who had been set to die in that accident…die now?

【He's fine. He's just unconscious.】The System's voice echoed in Song Xuanhe's ear：【His physical signs are very strong. He only b.u.mped his head a bit. He doesn't even have a concussion. With his condition, he shouldn't have fainted. My a.n.a.lysis suggests that the reason he's unconscious right now likely has to do with the unavoidable force of the plot. You don't need to worry so much. 】

Song Xuanhe pressed his hand against Xiao Yuanmu's pulse. Indeed, the other's pulse was very steady. He sighed in relief and then pulled Xiao Yuanmu out of the car. The truck was already leaking oil. Although the book hadn't mentioned the truck exploding, Song Xuanhe was still very cautious.

With this chain of car accidents, there must have been many people who had called emergency services. Furthermore, the city centre was very close to the hospital. Shortly after, sirens coming from several ambulances could be heard.

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Song Xuanhe followed Xiao Yuanmu into one of the ambulances.

The doctor

quickly examined and wrapped up Xiao Yuanmu's wound. Afterwards, the doctor discovered that this patient didn't seem to have any major issues, so he sighed in relief before turning to Song Xuanhe. “The patient seems to be fine from a preliminary check standpoint. As for whether he has any internal injuries, it'll have to wait until we reach the hospital…. What's with your hand? Why didn't you mention it earlier?”

The doctor looked at Song Xuanhe's b.l.o.o.d.y hand in shock. He called for a nearby nurse to help prepare his tools. He examined Song Xuanhe's arm while saying, “You lost so much blood, why didn't you speak out? When I saw all that blood on your friend, I had thought that he was injured somewhere. There's a big hole in your hand! Where did you even get the strength to pull him out…?”

“Your hand will have to be st.i.tched up later.” The doctor frowned while treating Song Xuanhe's wound simply. “Don't move your hand anymore. If you do, although your friend will be fine, you won't.”

Song Xuanhe's lips curled up. “I'm fine. Besides, that truck is leaking oil. What if it had exploded, and I hadn't dragged him out?”

The doctor glanced at him before checking him over for any other injuries. When he had confirmed that Song Xuanhe didn't have any other wounds aside from the one on his hand, he said, “You're a thorough thinker.”

After having arrived at the hospital, the result of Xiao Yuanmu's examination was as the System had said. He had only b.u.mped his head, but it hadn't been enough to give him a concussion. It was just that they had to keep him under observation, because he was unconscious.

Seeing Xiao Yuanmu lying on the hospital bed serenely, Song Xuanhe finally relaxed. He followed the doctor to another room to clean up and st.i.tch his own wounds.

However, when the doctor was cleaning his wounds, Song Xuanhe's face, which had just regained some colour, paled again. He actually looked even more pale than before. “

Dage,

can you be more gentle….?”

There had been too many victims in this car accident. There weren't enough doctors. Therefore, the doctor dealing with his wound right now was the one from the ambulance just now. When he saw Song Xuanhe frown and make a fuss, he mocked, “Hadn't you been able to bear with even worse pain to drag your friend out just now? Why can't you handle this bit of pain?”

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“Well, at that time, I, ah, ah, ah—” Song Xuanhe had never been able to handle pain, even in his past life. As soon as the doctor had begun working, he started to shout. He was about as loud as the child next door who was refusing to get a shot for his fever. “

Dage

, be more gentle, ah. It really hurts.”

The doctor furrowed his brows and finished cleaning his wounds before rubbing his ears. “If you keep shouting like that when I st.i.tch you up, don't blame me if they end up crooked.”

Song Xuanhe stared at his cleaned wound blankly. He said in a stiff tone, “Can't you use an anaesthetic?”

“Yes.” The doctor smiled, “But, it won't numb the pain fully.”

The doctor was right. Compared to when his wound was being cleaned, when he had to watch the needle pierce his skin, although it didn't hurt as much, it felt even more torturous.

But, the doctor's words had managed to shut Song Xuanhe up. With a tensed, pale face, he pursed his lips and endured the st.i.tching.

When it was over, Song Xuanhe glanced at the doctor's name tag. “Dr. Yu, can I get an anaesthetic for when I take the st.i.tches out too?”

Yu Yan looked at him and smiled. “No.”

Song Xuanhe was about to speak again when his phone rang. After comforting the worried Li Nianan, he refused her offer to come to the hospital or send a car over and over again. He then hung up.

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After having been interrupted by Li Nianan's call, Song Xuanhe suddenly realized that his question just now had been very childish and useless. Since he couldn't use an anaesthetic later, then what else could he say? Therefore, he simply thanked the doctor and then headed back to the emergency room.

Xiao Yuanmu had already woken up. When he saw Song Xuanhe, he stood up, gaze falling on the other's st.i.tched hand. For some reason, a hint of a smile flashed through his eyes. However, it disappeared very quickly, so Song Xuanhe missed it. He asked, “How's your hand?”

“It's fine.” The anaesthetic was still in effect, so Song Xuanhe didn't find it very painful. He replied very honestly.

Xiao Yuanmu's gaze then s.h.i.+fted to Song Xuanhe's face. He suddenly came in close, his fingertips gently flitting over the other's eyelashes. He said quietly, “Your eyelashes are wet.”

Song Xuanhe froze, the corner of his lips rising. “Probably just sweat.”

A rare smile that didn't seem to reach his eyes appeared on Xiao Yuanmu's cold face. However, it only lasted a second. He then said, “Since it's nothing, let's go back.”

Both of them were injured, and the car was left at the site of the accident. So, they didn't have a car now.

Therefore, they stood on the road and waited for a taxi to pa.s.s by. Song Xuanhe's hand was injured, and Xiao Yuanmu's head was wrapped in bandages. Although they were trying to flag a car, no car stopped for them.

Song Xuanhe stared at the backside of a taxi that was clearly empty as it ignored them. He mulled over it before saying, “Could it be that the drivers think that we got injured in a fight?”

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Xiao Yuanmu paused while raising his hand. His gaze fell on Song Xuanhe's sleeve that was darkened from being drenched in blood. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he pulled his phone out to make a call.

Song Xuanhe looked up and asked, “Are you calling someone to pick us up?”

Xiao Yuanmu nodded. “A friend.”

The image of the man who had been at the orphanage director's hospital room appeared in his mind. He asked, “What's your friend's name?”

“Yang Jie.”

Song Xuanhe flipped through both his memories and the book but couldn't find anything related to this person. Song Xuanhe sighed and didn't ask anything more.

Yang Jie arrived very quickly. It was just that he was just a bit too overly respectful and cautious towards Xiao Yuanmu, his “friend”.

For example, when he had seen that Xiao Yuanmu was injured, he had turned whiter than Song Xuanhe, who had suffered from blood loss. He looked like he wanted to ask about it but didn't dare to ask. Therefore, he could only open the car door for them.

Furthermore, when he had opened the car, he had even put his hand over the top of the car's interior and said, “Xiao

ge

, be careful.”

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With his behaviour, it didn't seem like they were equals. Rather, they seemed like they were boss and subordinate. Regardless, Song Xuanhe didn't ask about it. Since Xiao Yuanmu had been reborn, he naturally had a way to gather subordinates. One Yang Jie was nothing. His future army of loyal subordinates was what was truly fierce.

When he saw Song Xuanhe close his eyes after climbing into the car, Xiao Yuanmu's brows knitted even more tightly. “Does your hand hurt?”

“No.” Song Xuanhe closed his eyes and comforted him, saying, “I'm just tired and want to rest for a bit.”

Xiao Yuanmu's gaze flickered between the other's pale face to his slightly trembling, curled lashes. His eyes that had always been still suddenly rippled. There was a complicated, unclear, and dark emotion in his eyes. In the end, he also closed his own eyes and rested.

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Song Xuanhe really was tired. However, the System that was constantly speaking was being too loud for him to sleep.

【I don't want to know what order the main System has given us.】Song Xuanhe said：【Did your data not tell you that a human needs to rest after losing too much blood?】

The System：【But, this is related to your future mission and your life. Aren't you curious?】

【The car accident Xiao Yuanmu was supposed to be in happened. What do I have to be curious about? 】Song Xuanhe's eye twitched, and he said：【Did the main System decide to consider this important scene as completed?】

【How did you know?!】

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【If not, wouldn't I have gotten injured in vain?】

Although he had been in a panic when the car accident had occurred, after calming down, Song Xuanhe realized that this accident had been his road to survival.

In the book, Xiao Yuanmu had died before he could be reborn. However, the Xiao Yuanmu here had already been reborn. The matter with Sun Jinren had changed too. However, the car accident that was supposed to happen had still occurred as scheduled. This meant that Sun Jinren taking Xiao Yuanmu had actually been only a small part of the important scene. Only the car accident that had been meant to cause Xiao Yuanmu's rebirth was an important, unchangeable detail.

That meant that, regardless of whether Sun Jinren had appeared, all that was important was that the car accident happened. Furthermore, it didn't matter when Xiao Yuanmu had been reborn. The car accident was just an excuse to justify his rebirth. Therefore, the important scene should be considered to have been completed.

Since it was like this, the moment the reborn Xiao Yuanmu had helped him avoid being hit by that truck, this accident had become his chance to survive.

【But, you still have to act out the scenes in the future.】The System said：【But, there are very few scenes directly related to you after Xiao Yuanmu's rebirth. Therefore, as long as everything goes smoothly, when we reach the scene where the original host is set to die, you can return to your original world.】

【Oh, but you should be careful. Xiao Yuanmu was reborn early, so this has called a lot of things to deviate. You have to make sure that the most important things do not deviate.】

Song Xuanhe thought about it a bit. He asked：【Are you referring to Xiao Yuanmu's return to the Xiao Family?】

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【Yes.】

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【His return to the Xiao Family is his business.】Song Xuanhe said：【In the book, it was because he revealed his outstanding talent that he was noticed by the Xiao Family. It had nothing to do with the Song Xuanhe in the book.】

【But, it concerns you now.】The System felt a bit guilty：【The main System has discovered that you had altered your lines during the crucial scene. It was going to punish you by sending you back to your original world, but it changed its mind in the end. It said that as long as you can guarantee that Xiao Yuanmu goes back to the Xiao Family, it will count it as you having made up for your mistakes and won't make you pay for it.】

Song Xuanhe didn't reply. The System hesitated and then asked：【Earlier, you did all that…You knew that you shouldn't have made any mistakes during the crucial scene but had still purposely probed…Was it because you didn't want Xiao Yuanmu to die in the accident?】

Almost in unison with the System's voice, Xiao Yuanmu suddenly spoke up and broke the silence of the car.

“When the truck had been coming at us, you knew that by turning the wheel like that, it would put you directly in the truck's line of collision. So, why did you do that?”

The author has something to say:

Xiao Yuanmu: It's probably because he cherishes me. That's why he chose to sacrifice himself to protect me.

Song Xuanhe: My mind was completely blank. I had no idea what my hands were doing.

Eve: Song Xuanhe being afraid of pain is so cute. I can imagine him pouting when he heard he couldn't use anaesthetics when taking the st.i.tches out. And Xuanhe baby, the fact that your subconsciousness chose to protect MuMu over yourself is very telling.

Kara: He

bao,

you do care!! Also, thank goodness that they've made it through the crucial scene unscathed…mostly. I can't wait for what comes next, because the whole plot seemed like it was building up to this moment, but now we're here. So, what chaotic fun awaits us? Hehehehehe (*≧艸≦)