CH 52

Bai Zhenzhen was frightened.

“What do you mean?” “If you are not from this world, then you…”

Huo Xiang sincerely said, “Really, although my words are a bit ridiculous since I have decided to confess to you, whether you believe it or not, I have to say it. The world we live in now is not the real world, but it is a system-constructed world in a book.”

“And you are just a character in the book. What you are experiencing now is the plot of the book.”

“I am a character in the book.” Bai Zhenzhen repeated Huo Xiang’s words, and her voice trembled unconsciously. “What about you? Who are you?”

“I don’t belong to your book; I am an outsider.” Huo Xiang explained, “I am bound to a heroine rescue system in my world, and the task that system has entrusted me, is to protect the heroin of the book—and that is you.”

Bai Zhen was too shocked to speak.

Huo Xiang is not a character in the book!

So is the “real world” he talks about the same as hers?

“I know it’s unbelievable, but what I’m saying is true. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why I suddenly disappeared, and everything about me also disappeared.”

Huo Xiang looked at Bai Zhenzhen’s shocked face, stroked her back, and gently comforted her: “It’s okay, Zhenzhen; this thing is complicated; normally, it’s difficult to digest for a while; you should calm down first.”

“No, then where is your real world?” Bai Zhenzhen asked subconsciously.

Huo Xiang smiled bitterly: “Actually, what I said just now was also wrong. The current world is real to you, but the real world, I think, is virtual to you. Hence, it can be said that our worlds are different, but I came from my world to yours.

“So where exactly is your so-called real world?” You tell me, there is no such thing as ‘Zhuerdaifu1’ in your world, right? The most famous island is the Maldives, right?” Bai Zhenzhen wanted to confirm.

Huo Xiang’s eyes flashed with surprise. “How do you know? Could it be that you—”

Bai Zhen took a deep breath.

“Have you ever been to the world I mentioned?” Huo Xiang asked excitedly.

Bai Zhenzhen replied, “That’s where I came from!”

“What?! You have been to my world?” Huo Xiang still didn’t believe it.

Bai Zhenzhen patiently replied word by word: “I am just like you; I’m from that world, and I was also foolishly brought into the world in this book! And I also knew that I was “the heroine of this book”! “

Huo Xiang’s mouth opened wide: “What…what?!”

“Two days before I met you, I entered this world. Because I only remembered the protagonist in the book, after meeting you, I always thought that you were just an unimportant passerby in this book; I never thought that you and I are… fellow villagers!” Bai Zhenzhen thought for a long time.

“So, you also came with a mission?” You also have a system in your mind?” Huo Xiang finally found the key point.

As soon as the words fell, he immediately stopped comforting Bai Zhenzhen and stepped back several centimeters.

“No wonder everyone forgot about me, but you remember me! Although you occupy the heroine’s body, you have independent thinking and memory!”

After being reminded by Huo Xiang, Bai Zhenzhen remembered to “question” the system.

Bai Zhenzhen: “System, come out!”

System: “Host, the system has always been here. The system knows what you want to ask, but the system is also confused. Up to now, the system still cannot identify this person.”

Bai Zhenzhen: “This world is all built by you. You can’t recognize a person who broke into this world?”

System: “The character search function is limited to this system, and according to this person’s narrative, he was brought over by another system. This system cannot distinguish him, and he can only be characterized as ‘an unimportant character’.”

Bai Zhenzhen: “So how many uninvited guests have been mixed, into the world in this book, that you can’t find out?”

System: “Yes, host.”

Bai Zhenzhen was speechless.

She was silent for a moment before realizing that the room was extremely quiet. Just now, when she was talking to the system in her head, Huo Xiang had not spoken.

“Did you talk to the system in your head just now?” Huo Xiang asked suddenly.

Bai Zhenzhen nodded and smiled awkwardly: “Yes. So, you too…”

“Well, I asked the system just now if it could recognize the system that brought you here. But because it’s not the same system, it can’t recognize the system in your mind.” Huo Xiang said, twisting his tongue.

“Yes, that’s what my system says too.” Bai Zhenzhen said, “Otherwise, we would have recognized each other long ago.”

Huo Xiang smiled: “Same…”

Having said that, the atmosphere in the room became strange.

Bai Zhenzhen crossed her fingers.

She always thought Huo Xiang was a character in the book, so she was always “outrageous” in front of him. Now it turns out that Huo Xiang is a “citizen” from the real world, so her “black history” includes cooperation, confession, marriage…

Huo Xiang had the same fear and embarrassment.

“That……”

“That……”

Two people opened and closed their mouths at the same time.

“You speak first.”

“Why don’t you talk first…?”

“Okay.” Huo Xiang scratched his head. “Speaking of which, the nature of our travel is not the same. Your soul has entered a character that already exists in the book. But I was born out of nowhere. I’m a “new” addition.

“I understand.” Bai Zhenzhen also deliberately behaved more naturally. “Anyway, one thing we can be sure of is that we both came here with a mission. My mission is to stay here for a year. How about you? How long are you staying?”

Huo Xiang answered: “My mission has no time limit, as long as I protect the heroine in the book, keep her from getting hurt, and collect her happiness points. When happiness points accumulate to a certain value, I can return.”

“So that’s it!” Bai Zhenzhen suddenly realized, “So, you approached me purposefully from the beginning to complete your mission!”

“Yes, I just wanted to complete the task!” Huo Xiang followed Bai Zhenzhen’s words.

His inner nervousness was unexpectedly evident.

Bai Zhenzhen pursed her lips, and when she heard Huo Xiang’s response, she felt disappointed.

“Then you suddenly disappeared before the wedding; is it because you failed the mission? Once the mission fails, the traces of your existence in this world will be wiped away??” She asked again.

“Yes. However, the system was reset not because the main task failed but because the side task failed.

Huo Xiang briefly explained his system’s rules to Bai Zhenzhen.

After hearing this, Bai Zhenzhen sighed: “Your rules are so complicated, but mine are simple. As long as you stay for one year, you will be liberated.”

“A year from now, will you return to the real world?” Huo Xiang was startled.

Bai Zhenzhen replied, “Yes. I have read this book, and I also know that the heroine will suffer a lot, so when I first came here, I just wanted to escape. But later, I found that escaping did not solve the problem. That’s why I took the initiative.”

“Did you deliberately set up Uncle Bai, your stepmother, and your stepsister?”

Seeing Bai Zhenzhen nod, Huo Xiang felt annoyed.

No wonder, when Uncle Bai passed away, Bai Zhenzhen’s real happiness rose instead of falling. So, it turned out this way!

“That’s pretty okay.” Huo Xiang smiled faintly. “From now on, you can live happily without any burden, and when the time comes, you can return to the original world.”

Bai Zhenzhen asked without hesitation, “What about you? How much happiness do you want to collect? I can help you!”

“I’m not in a hurry.” Huo Xiang paused.

Bai Zhenzhen thought briefly, then said again, “By the way, you just said that you failed the side mission, so the system was reset and you have to restart the mission again. So, what was your side mission?”

Huo Xiang couldn’t answer for a while.

If he answers honestly that the task was to hold a wedding, will Bai Zhenzhen think he does not want to marry her?

He could explain it, but he was hesitant to explain the reasons.

After all, the person in front of him is a real person, not a character in the book.

“I see.” Bai Zhenzhen thought about it for a while and understood the context.

She smiled at Huo Xiang naturally and said, “There’s nothing to be ashamed of saying! You were going back to the real world; it’s impossible to marry the NPC in the book! It’s like what we discussed in Haicheng. Yes, as real as it feels here, it’s still not genuine.”

After a pause, she added: “In fact, I am the same! It was only because of the plot that I had agreed to marry you.”

Huo Xiang immediately inquired, “Is marrying me part of the plot?”.

Bai Zhen swallowed unnaturally but still smiled and said, “Yes, otherwise how could I agree to marry the characters in the book? How strange!”

“That’s right!” Huo Xiang laughed dryly: “I was also collecting happiness values; otherwise, who would be so stupid?”

“Yes, right!” Bai Zhenzhen agreed.

The two looked at each other and then looked away awkwardly.

“It’s alright now since we have confirmed each other’s identities; if there’s anything I can help with, just let me know!” she said.

“Yes, since we are fellow villagers, it is right to help each other,” said Huo Xiang.

Just then, Huo Xiang received a mission from the system again.

System: “Ding, Side Mission 2 is released: Complete the first intimate contact with the heroine.”

Huo Xiang froze for two seconds, then looked at Bai Zhenzhen with a dead look on his face and said, “That… what a coincidence! I just want a small favor right now, and I need your help.