Cheng Zhaorui instantly found his footing and glared angrily. “Because of this ‘I’m going to become a recluse until the end of time without him’ look of yours! Yiming has always been a smart kid, and he knows you well. He most likely guessed that once he passed away, it would completely disrupt the rhythm of your life. But he’s also a considerate kid. If he guessed what kind of impact it would have, do you think he would still be willing, or even dare, to pass away in front of you?”

Some time ago, when they were reviewing the contract completion process, they had a heated discussion about the issue of “dying or not.”

At that time, Lin Chen had said that with Cheng Huanzhen’s personality, if Cheng Yiming were to pass away, Cheng Huanzhen would not let go of any part of the funeral arrangements and would definitely insist on watching him enter the crematorium with his own eyes.

Cheng Zhaorui had thought Lin Chen was exaggerating. Although his son sometimes acted like a serious and stubborn block of wood, it wouldn’t be so extreme that he couldn’t even give a corpse a chance to escape, right?

But looking at it now, well, it was a good thing he ran away. Otherwise, his son would have probably been the one to personally receive the ashes, and he wouldn’t have even been able to fight him for them!

Cheng Huanzhen froze completely.

Only the tip of his stylus was pressed forcefully against the tablet screen.

Seeing his lost expression, Cheng Zhaorui’s heart, which he had hardened with great difficulty, softened again.

He sighed and advised, “Zhen’er, my condolences. Don’t wallow in these emotions for too long. People will always leave. You can’t just immerse yourself in sadness for so long every time you send someone off in the future, can you?”

He spoke earnestly.

But Cheng Huanzhen looked back, staring blankly towards the windowsill.

After a moment of silence, Cheng Huanzhen suddenly spoke. “You don’t understand. Dad.”

His voice was low and hoarse, as if he was about to cry but couldn’t.

He said, “Little Uncle is different.”

Cheng Zhaorui frowned and asked, “How is he different?”

Cheng Huanzhen was silent, lost in thought, then answered, “He’s different in every way.”

Just like now. He opened his eyes and saw this colorful world, and everywhere he looked, he saw his Little Uncle.

Every color, every taste, every sound, every joy, all carried the shadow of his Little Uncle.

So how… how could Little Uncle be the same as everyone else?

…

Cheng Huanzhen discovered that there seemed to be a problem with his planned life.

During these days, he still arranged his daily schedule according to habit.

But his routine, which had never deviated from the plan as long as he wasn’t disturbed, had been met with one accident after another these days.

Take today, for example.

According to his plan, he was supposed to go to the old family home to see his grandfather first—

Ever since Little Uncle went missing, his grandfather had been hit hard and was exceptionally angry. He had been fuming for weeks, shutting himself in at home and refusing to see anyone, not even him.

He had only recently become willing to see people again, so Cheng Huanzhen planned to take some time in the next few days to visit him.

He had scheduled the plan for this time today.

But as he sat in the empty back seat of the car, the silent air almost suffocating him.

For a brief, impulsive moment, Cheng Huanzhen wanted to tear up all his plans and schedules and just do something he wanted to do, based on his feelings at that moment.

What did he want to do?

He wanted to find his Little Uncle.

There were still so many places on his list he hadn’t been to, he still hadn’t exhausted all his strength, he could still keep struggling…

Cheng Huanzhen suddenly said to the driver, “Stop for a moment.”

The driver stopped the car, puzzled. “Young Master? We’re still quite a ways from the old residence.”

Cheng Huanzhen said, “I know.”

He left his bag in the car, got out by himself, and stared intently at a dessert shop on the side of the road that was so pink it looked like it was about to bubble over. He then strode towards it.

Walking into the shop, the owner, who was fairly familiar with him, greeted him with a smile. “What will it be today? The usual?”

Cheng Huanzhen gave a polite nod. “Yes, thank you.”

He paid, walked to a two-person table by the window, and sat down. Resting his chin on his hand, he looked out at the street scene, feeling for a moment that this was indeed a bit foolish.

Just as Cheng Zhaorui had said… it was useless, just for a bit of psychological comfort.

The owner soon brought over a large pot. It was a strawberry hot pot for two.

Little Uncle quite liked it. Occasionally, when they passed by, he would always pull him in to order one.

He didn’t have a habit of eating desserts, always finding them a bit too sweet. He was more willing to sit in the shop and wait for Little Uncle to finish.

But Little Uncle would always order a portion for two, smiling and saying that this shop’s strawberry hot pot only came in a two-person serving. If he didn’t eat, it would be a waste. Then he would forcibly stuff a fork and spoon into his hand, forcing him to eat with him.

Later, after Little Uncle fell ill and went blind, it became a routine where Little Uncle would throw a tantrum at home every few days, and he would have to stop by here on his way home from school or work to get a takeout order.

Over time, he and the shop owner became familiar with each other.

Cheng Huanzhen lowered his eyes, speared a piece of strawberry, and took a small bite.

Sure enough, even without Little Uncle, the strawberry was still very sweet.

Strawberry hot pot was indeed better left for Little Uncle to eat.

So he put it down again.

He just sat there by the window. Quietly, without a word.

As he waited, customers came into the shop, and the environment became noisy.

The seat opposite him at the two-person table remained empty, attracting no one.

Cheng Huanzhen sighed silently, then let out a low, self-deprecating laugh.

He got up, called the owner over, and had the dessert packed to take back to the car.

He said to the driver, “Let’s go, to the old residence. Pick me up at four in the afternoon. Take this dessert home for my dad. It’s up to him whether he eats it or not.”

…

Dozens of kilometers away, inside the “Hong Hong Mei” dessert shop.

In an unnoticed corner, Lin Chen leisurely ate a bite of strawberry, savored it seriously, and said to the system, “The strawberries here are pretty good, I’d give them a 9 out of 10. Looks like I didn’t choose the wrong location for the house.”

The mention of this made the system want to complain. “Host, you picked a house like you were choosing an imperial concubine. Why did it take a whole month!”

Lin Chen said profoundly, “Buying a house is a big deal. If I don’t pick the right place, guess what will happen?”

The system asked curiously, “What will happen?”

Lin Chen sneered. “I’ll transmigrate right after making the full payment!”

The system shivered, its voice trembling with grievance. “Host, you promised you wouldn’t hold a grudge!”

Lin Chen asked in surprise, “Did I hold a grudge? Where did I hold a grudge? I’m just learning from experience to prevent making the same mistake next time!”

The system grumbled, “Fine, no wonder you’re not buying a house inside the third ring road this time. But Host, isn’t this location a bit far from the city center? All the friends you’ve made in the last three years are concentrated within the fifth ring road!”

Lin Chen asked speechlessly, “Can you name a single one of them I can actually hang out with?”

The system: “…W-well, that’s true. But that’s no reason for you to not see a single person for over a month of your vacation!”

The system wanted to say more, but Lin Chen cut it off. “Have you been a bit bored lately?”

The system was surprised. “Yes, yes! Host, how did you know!”

The system had been with the Host for so many years.

When the Host worked, it worked. When the Host was on vacation, it still worked. Only this past month had been a rare good time when the Host was on vacation and it didn’t have to work either.

But after living like this for too long, the system couldn’t help but feel a bit bored:

Every day, it watched the Host choose houses and look at properties. The rest of the time, he didn’t do much, just stayed in the temporarily rented guesthouse, reading books and newspapers. Occasionally, he would go out to find dessert shops. He didn’t use his phone, didn’t meet up with friends, and didn’t take any new orders. He was living like a retired old man in his seventies or eighties. It was utterly boring!

Lin Chen clicked his tongue. “I was originally thinking of giving you a break…”

“Forget it. Go and keep a 24-hour watch on the young master of the Li family for me. I heard he has already looked up all the ‘relatives’ who attended Fang Chengyu’s funeral on the day he died of sudden death—oh, keep an eye on all these weak links, the semi-informed and fully-informed executors as well. We can’t let that idle Young Master Li actually dig up anything.”

The system had been cooped up for so long that it was happy to have some work.

Thanks to the strengthening of its new batch of loan storyline maintenance abilities, it had gained the ability to temporarily convert its “vocalization function” into a “camera function.” It could now carry up to two cameras simultaneously for surveillance work, at a negligible cost!

Before leaving, the system suddenly thought of something and asked, “Host, when should I come back?”

Lin Chen dismissed it. “Whenever you want.”

The system gave a clueless “Oh,” and without another thought, happily scampered off.

With the system gone, it was finally quiet in Lin Chen’s ears.

He quietly finished the single portion of strawberry hot pot and took a taxi back to the guesthouse.

He had rented a villa-style guesthouse of over three hundred square meters. The conditions were quite good in all aspects, but living alone, it sometimes felt particularly empty.

The guesthouse fell into a month-long silence.

Only the occasional sound of pages turning in a book or newspaper would rustle through the house, announcing the resident’s presence.

Time quickly flew by to March.

AC9999, who had been working overtime alone, finally got tired of it.

It grumbled as it ran back home, asking the Host, “Host, Host, when are you going to start taking new orders?”

On the quiet and empty balcony, a soft rustling sound was heard.

Lin Chen looked up from a history book and greeted it, “Mid-March. You’re back?”

The system glanced at the Host’s phone.

Oh! It was March 10th, very close to mid-month. Looks like it came back at just the right time!

The system answered cheerfully, “Yes Host, I’ve worked diligently for a month, it’s time to come back for a vacation!”

Lin Chen chuckled at it. “You complain when you’re on vacation, and you complain when you’re working. No wonder you can only defeat thirty percent of other systems.”

The system protested, “Host, you promised not to belittle me!”

Lin Chen ignored it. He closed the book, put it down, pushed his chair back, and said, “Alright, since you’re back, I’ll treat you to some cake.”

The system was bewildered. “Huh?”

Lin Chen said nothing, just went out and took a taxi to the nearest cake shop.

Lin Chen scanned the cakes in the display counter, pointed to a mango cake, and asked, “Do you have this in strawberry?”

The owner said apologetically, “I’m sorry, we’re out of strawberries today. Are you looking for a birthday cake? How big? For ready-made ones, we only have these few. If you want a different kind of cake, you can leave an address, and I can have it made and delivered to you in about an hour.”

Lin Chen: “Let me see the menu… Oh. Forget it, I’ll just take a ready-made one. Just pick the smallest single-serving cake for me.”

After placing his order, he went to a table in the shop to sit down.

The shop had a childlike decor, and there was a doll on every seat.

Lin Chen looked around for a moment, chose a small bear, placed it on the plate opposite him, and then said to the system, “Camera over here.”

The system obediently moved the camera onto the teddy bear, looking at the Host from an unfamiliar perspective, and asked with confusion, “What do I need to do, Host?”

The Host threw aside the candles that came with the cake, took only the cake, and unhurriedly cut a small corner from it, placing it on its plate.

The Host said, “Didn’t I say? I’m treating you to cake.”

The system became happy. “Ooh! …Wait, Host, but I can’t eat cake?”

The Host, while cutting his cake, took a moment to glance at it. “It’s the thought that counts. Did you really think you could eat it?”

The system sulked, watching the Host eat cake for half an hour in boredom.

Finally, the Host finished the cake by himself, wiped his mouth and hands, and said, “Alright, you can come back now. You look like you want to go back to work again? Go ahead.”

The system was indeed a little bored. Who could blame it when the Host didn’t like to chat with it, always feeling that its questions were very uninspired (okay, maybe they were indeed uninspired).

But hearing the Host say this, it hesitated for a moment.

Just as the Host walked out of the cake shop, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky. The Host frowned and retreated under the eaves, muttering to himself, “The weather forecast in this plane is so inaccurate…”

The Host sat on a chair under the eaves, hailed a cab, and waited for the driver to arrive. The location he had chosen was far from the city center, showing no signs of the capital’s prosperity on a weekday. Now with the rain, the streets seemed even more deserted. At a glance, there were few pedestrians, and the entire street was quite silent.

The system suddenly wondered if it should say something to the Host.

For example: “Host, after you… after you buy a house, shouldn’t you buy a car too?”

The Host replied perfunctorily, “Oh, I’ll consider it. We’ll talk about it after I retire.”

Or for example: “Then Host, do you want to ask some friends out for dinner today? You can’t seriously go two months on vacation without seeing a single friend!”

The Host asked curiously, “Oh? Who do you suggest I ask?”

The system thought hard. “Um… Qi Jingming is in the country often now, Fang Lian also came back this week, and Old Master Cheng has been dying to play chess with you for the past two months! If all else fails… if all else fails, you could also ask He Wenyan and Lin Ruyan out. They knew your original self anyway!”

The Host let out a sneer. “An investor they’ve only met a handful of times over several years suddenly asks for a meeting. Do you think they’ll come with gifts, or with work reports?”