CH 031

TL: Moonlit

Concluding the awards ceremony, Ran Xing declines the celebration invitation from the crew, excitedly approaching Lin Hanchuan for recognition: “Look, I’m the Film Emperor!”

“Not bad,” Lin Hanchuan patted his head, praising.

Both of them were busy with their careers, and it had been a long time since Lin Hanchuan had touched Ran Xing’s head like this. The touch felt as good as always.

“I’ve already booked a hotel, a five-star luxury hotel. It’s perfect for us to go in suits,” Ran Xing, unaware of any oddity, exclaimed with excitement, his face flushed. “We’ll sit by the window and enjoy the night view outside. I heard it’s beautiful…”

As Ran Xing kept talking excitedly throughout the way, he suddenly realized that he had been the only one rambling while Lin Hanchuan simply smiled at him.

Ran Xing blushed, lowered his head, and fell silent.

Even when they sat in the restaurant, Ran Xing didn’t say another word.

As Ran Xing had mentioned, the view outside the window was beautiful. Neon lights illuminated the night, igniting the spark of humanity. Lin Hanchuan quickly withdrew his gaze and looked at Ran Xing. “You chose a nice place.”

Ran Xing immediately smiled, presenting himself as a mature and confident young film emperor. He didn’t hide his emotions in front of Lin Hanchuan, whether it was joy or anger. “I did a lot of research to find this place.”

Both of them had their own thoughts, and neither paid attention to the food. Fortunately, the serving speed at the Western restaurant was slow enough to give them time to contemplate how to broach the subject with each other.

As Ran Xing repeatedly rehearsed his lines, he wrote numerous versions of his confession, memorizing each one perfectly, waiting for this moment to achieve success.

But before he could decide which version to use or what tone to adopt—whether assertive or sweet—Ran Xing heard Lin Hanchuan’s voice.

“I’m planning to transfer 51% of the shares of Starlight Entertainment to your name.”

Suddenly, Ran Xing’s prepared lines became a mess in his mind, and he looked up in confusion.

“Although you are the largest shareholder, I have already arranged the company’s management personnel, so you don’t have to deal with the company’s affairs directly. You’ll receive dividends directly,” Lin Hanchuan’s words were unusually lengthy. He was afraid of saying too little and not providing enough explanation. “Your agent will be managed by the Public Relations Department Manager. I’ve already informed him in advance…”

Ran Xing felt an ominous premonition in his heart. He forced a smile and dryly said, “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Lin Hanchuan looked deeply into Ran Xing’s eyes. The pale and frail boy from a year ago had now grown into a young man, much stronger in physique, even slightly taller.

He had grown into someone who could stand on his own. Lin Hanchuan couldn’t explain the mixed emotions he felt. “I have regained control of Yanshi Film Industry and plan to return.”

Ran Xing instantly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, “I can go back too! I’ll go wherever you go.”

Lin Hanchuan remained silent. He couldn’t tell Ran Xing that he was about to leave this world, destined to be unable to follow.

Ran Xing understood everything in Lin Hanchuan’s gaze. He lowered his head, rubbed his nose, and then raised his face with a smile, his eyes slightly reddened. “Did you know… Are you avoiding me?”

Lin Hanchuan didn’t understand what Ran Xing meant by his words and remained silent.

Ran Xing had come to this meal happily, but he left despondently. Lin Hanchuan, as usual, accompanied Ran Xing home, watching him go upstairs. He stood there for a long time before finally driving away.

Upstairs, Ran Xing watched the familiar car gradually fade away, and he couldn’t help it—tears welled up in his eyes.

Restless throughout the night, Ran Xing managed to sleep for half an hour before dawn broke. When the first rays of sunlight fell on his face, Ran Xing suddenly sat up from the bed.

The expression and words from Lin Hanchuan last night echoed in his mind all night. Ran Xing’s rusty brain finally started working.

He doesn’t like me, so why would he give me Starlight Entertainment? The present Starlight Entertainment was completely different from before. Transferring assets worth billions casually, Ran Xing couldn’t believe that Lin Hanchuan had no feelings for him.

Gaining some strength from this speculation, Ran Xing jumped out of bed, quickly freshened up, and hurried to Lin Hanchuan’s house.

While walking on the road, Ran Xing suddenly noticed a six or seven-year-old girl crossing the street. She stared intently at the zebra crossing, stepping on each white square, reciting something, looking adorable.

Ran Xing inexplicably thought of his former elementary school classmate. As he watched the little girl slowly crossing the road, suddenly, his pupils contracted, and he ran towards her, shielding her behind him.

The next second, a speeding car hit him, throwing him to the ground. He tumbled several times, instinctively holding the little girl tighter in his arms, before losing consciousness.

It seems like losing consciousness but also like an out-of-body experience.

Ran Xing looked strangely at the ‘himself’ lying on the ground, unconscious. The little girl, frightened and crying, struggled to catch her breath. Thankfully, she was well-protected and didn’t suffer any serious injuries.

The crowd gradually gathered, and the little girl’s mother rushed forward anxiously, embracing her daughter in her arms while crying.

Everything was chaotic and noisy, but Ran Xing heard a clear voice.

[“Hello, host. Due to insufficient stored energy, I am unable to repair your body. Please prepare yourself to go to the next world.”]

The voice was cold and devoid of emotion, as if directly echoing in his mind. Ran Xing should have found it strange, but he heard another unfamiliar voice: [“Activate power-saving mode and proceed to the next world.”]

After a while, Ran Xing finally reacted. It turned out that the magnificent voice belonged to himself.

…

[“Oh my, 100% energy!”] System 001 went crazy with joy, rolling around on the ground, its voice wavy with excitement. [“Host, you’re amazing! I thought you wouldn’t be able to complete the mission, but you did!”]

Lin Hanchuan looked at the rolling red ball at his feet, raising an eyebrow slightly. [“You can transform?”]

[“Yes, host. We systems can all transform, but it requires energy. The larger the form, the more energy it requires.”] System 001 chuckled, and its red color gradually faded into a faint pink. It shyly said, [“With the energy you collected this time, it’s more than enough. I just used a little bit to create a body for myself.”]

As if fearing Lin Hanchuan’s dissatisfaction, the pink ball gestured with its matchstick-like hands. [“Just a little bit.”]

The small ball was the size of two palms, round and chubby like a transparent water-filled balloon. When it rolled, it made a “duang duang duang” sound. It had two small black sticks resembling matchsticks, serving as either hands or feet, and the only way to distinguish its front from its back was its two grape-like black eyes.

It looked just like a cute little creature from a comic.

[“As long as there’s enough energy, you can create any body you want.”] Lin Hanchuan didn’t mind System 001 taking matters into its own hands. He looked around and asked, [“What kind of world is this?”]

Getting down to business, the little ball turned pure white in an instant. It pointed its small paw at Lin Hanchuan’s feet. [“This novel world is called ‘Regretful Counterattack: The Scum Wishes to Correct his Mistakes’.”]

In this world, the protagonist, Qi Fenghua, is an exceptionally talented young artist. He has a gentle personality and a boyfriend who is also an artist. The two of them secretly dated for a while, hiding it from their families. However, the boyfriend died in a car accident.

In Qi Fenghua’s eyes, his boyfriend was the epitome of perfection, but he passed away at a young age, causing Qi Fenghua immense pain. Until he met his boyfriend’s younger brother—the seme protagonist.

The seme protagonist looks exactly like the deceased boyfriend but has a completely different style and personality. Qi Fenghua, on one hand, tries to find traces of his deceased boyfriend in the seme protagonist but always painfully discovers that they have nothing in common except their appearance.

The seme protagonist has no talent for painting and has a dissolute and decadent personality, always indulging in nightclubs and parties.

Unable to bear it any longer, Qi Fenghua seeks out his parents, who dote on him, hoping to marry the seme protagonist. The Qi family is a prominent family in the art business, and a union between the two families would be a formidable alliance.

As a result, the seme protagonist is forced by his parents to marry Qi Fenghua.

On their wedding day, the seme protagonist casually delivers a blow to Qi Fenghua, saying, “I have someone I like who looks somewhat like you. If you’re with me, I’ll consider you at most a substitute.”

“So, let’s live our own lives without interfering with each other, and don’t expect too much from me.”

Qi Fenghua calmly accepted his words, unaffected by the seme protagonist’s harsh language. Every day, he prepared food for the seme protagonist, arranged his clothes, tidied his room… just like any devoted lover would.

In the eyes of everyone, Qi Fenghua was deeply in love with the protagonist, including the protagonist himself.

Only Qi Fenghua knew that the food he prepared was the taste his deceased boyfriend liked, and the clothes he prepared were the light-colored styles his boyfriend often wore. The room of the protagonist gradually transformed into the same arrangement as his boyfriend’s room…

But the protagonist remained oblivious to all this.

He was moved by Qi Fenghua’s gentleness and understanding and fell in love with him. Only then did he realize that Qi Fenghua’s heart was as cold and hard as iron.

The protagonist was filled with anger and tried everything to gain Qi Fenghua’s attention. They went through emotional and physical torment, and finally, the protagonist had a sudden realization that this approach wouldn’t win Qi Fenghua’s heart. So he decided to change his strategy and used a gentle approach, portraying himself as Qi Fenghua’s ex-boyfriend, his older brother, seeking a roundabout way to win him over.

After a period of time, Qi Fenghua was finally moved and accepted the protagonist. However, deep in his heart, there would always be a corner reserved for his ex-boyfriend.

As for the white moonlight in the protagonist’s life… that was Qi Fenghua’s cold-hearted brother, who the protagonist later realized his shallow affection couldn’t be considered love.

“[Chuanchuan, my… my energy is disappearing!]” 001 suddenly started crying. It turned into a melancholic deep blue color, and its round eyes shed large teardrops. “[Wuwu, did I malfunction? Am I going to die?]”

Lin Hanchuan quickly detached himself from the original plot and carefully held 001 in his hands. “[What about your self-check and antivirus functions?]”

001’s crying halted for a moment, and it rubbed against Lin Hanchuan’s finger, feeling wronged. “[The energy disappearance has stopped… Wuwu, so much of my energy, it’s completely gone!]”

If Lin Hanchuan hadn’t accumulated enough energy in the previous world, 001’s current body would not have been sustained.

“What happened?” Lin Hanchuan furrowed his brows and asked.

001 also seemed perplexed. It pondered for a while and finally remembered, “[It seems… we were trained before, and our systems automatically extract and store a portion of the energy.]”

Lin Hanchuan’s face turned dark, and he threw the pink little ball to the ground. “[Did you pass the factory inspection? How could you forget such an important matter!]”

001’s body turned into a deeper shade of pink, and it didn’t dare to make a sound.

Just as the two were speaking, there was a knock on the door. A gentle voice sounded from outside, “Brother Yi, I’ve washed the new clothes I bought for you. Do you want to try them on?”

It was the protagonist, Qi Fenghua.

Lin Hanchuan looked down at the pink ball at his feet, and it smiled mischievously. “[Ordinary people can’t see me, only the host can.]”

Lin Hanchuan put his mind at ease and walked over to open the door, seeing Qi Fenghua holding a white shirt.

Qi Fenghua’s appearance was outstanding, with a cold and ethereal temperament. His looks were so stunning that he could easily become a star in the entertainment industry, which was why he had the most fans among artists— they were all his fans.

“Another white shirt?” Lin Hanchuan wickedly curled his lips, resembling the original host Yi Qinglou to a great extent.

Qi Fenghua subtly frowned, suppressing his disgust. He gently said, “White is a classic and versatile color. It’s the least likely to go wrong…”

Lin Hanchuan suddenly interrupted Qi Fenghua, rudely asking, “If I wear a white shirt, do I resemble Yi Wusheng?”

Yi Wusheng, the twin brother of Yi Qinglou, the leading figure among young artists. Qi Fenghua’s genius but prematurely deceased boyfriend.

Author’s Note:

Lin Hanchuan, the acting genius.

Ooooooh… I did not see that coming! (*o*)