14.5 – You would have to have that level of charm~
editors: BlueBug & Macabre
Xue Ling originally wanted to go to the supermarket, but he went straight home after leaving Tianxuan. It was a simple matter of wearing the same clothing as another person, but he was so angry that he didn’t even want to eat tonight.
He tossed and rolled around on the bed for a long while after he got home. He also felt that he was being a little overanxious, so he pulled the system out to ask it, “Is there something wrong with me?”
The system thought in its heart that his anxiousness was only because a certain person had ignored him, but it did not reveal even the tiniest bit of its thoughts and only said, “No. Perhaps it’s because everything went so well today right up until something went wrong at the very end.”
Xue Ling harrumphed, “Since everything went so smoothly today, I should reward myself well. Let’s go have a big meal!” Having said so, he really stood up and prepared to go back out again. “System, take a look at what delicious food there is near my house. Don’t worry about the price! From today on, this young master headed towards the pinnacle of life. This small amount of money means nothing!”
System: “…” Don’t talk like you’re inviting me out to dinner. You clearly know that I can’t eat anything.
Alas, host was still a bully even when he’d lost his memory!
It was such a cute and dedicated system. Fortunately, it did not seek revenge, and was still so considerate of its host. What would its host do without it?
While it was thinking this, the system still checked for its host to find out where he could go to eat delicious food. As soon as it entered the internet, the system discovered that a certain person that it had previously locked in on and flagged happened to be in a restaurant. As a good system dedicated to restoring its host’s memories, the system didn’t even think twice before setting that as the destination point and sending the navigation instructions to Xue Ling’s hovercraft.
This place was not far from Xue Ling’s house, so he arrived very quickly. The system hacked into the restaurant’s system and got him a private room. Xue Ling left the car with the little valet, then put on his sunglasses as he went towards the private room.
Xue Ling provided his reservation number, then looked around the restaurant. It seemed to have been built with privacy in mind; there was no reception area, and all the rooms were private. The waiters were robots, and displayed the same attitude towards all the guests regardless of their identity. The décor was very good, and he couldn’t hear any other sounds while walking to his room, which indicated that the sound insulation and confidentiality were also done well.
The door to a private room opened just as he was thinking these thoughts, and a figure emerged. Xue Ling’s footsteps paused, and his mood was instantly ruined. He wanted to beat the version of himself that had suddenly wanted to go out to dinner to death! It was bad enough that he wanted to come out; couldn’t he at least have changed clothes?! He’d already worn the same thing as someone else! Why couldn’t he have learned from it?! Look! They met again! Could things be any worse!!!
Xue Ling was just about to lower his head and go straight past the other party, but was called back by another voice that exclaimed in pleased surprise, “Little Ling? What a coincidence!”
Xue Ling could only stop and say hello. “What a coincidence, Liunian.” Since he had opened his mouth to make this kind of greeting, the iceberg-like, glasses-wearing man gave him a look, but soon turned his eyes away. It seemed that he was just confirming Xue Ling’s identity.
“Let me introduce you.” Su Liunian tugged on the hand of the man beside him and laughed as he said, “This is my eldest brother, Su Xuanyan. He just came back today, and we were having a welcome back dinner for him.”
Xue Ling’s lips twitched as he thought internally, great, the three brothers had all come together. It wasn’t like he was trying to complete any achievement, why did he have to meet all three of them?! “Hello, President Su. I’m Tianxuan’s latest artist, and will be under Brother Shen’s care in the future.” He greeted the other party and stretched out his hand, but the other party did not have any intention of shaking it, and merely nodded his head.
Xue Ling was so embarrassed that he wanted to go far, far away right now!
Su Liunian laughed a little awkwardly and said, “My eldest brother looks like an iceberg on the outside, but in fact, he’s very gentle. Don’t let him frighten you.”
Xue Ling shook his head and said, “It’s all right. I’m going to have dinner, so I won’t linger…”
Even before he could finish speaking, Su Liunian exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, after looking carefully at eldest brother and Little Ling’s clothing, it seems to really be fate!”
Xue Ling: “…” Ha-ha. Xue Ling really wanted to hit someone, but could only bear with it for now. “Yeah, so, you guys have to eat, so I won’t disturb you. I’m going to go ahead first.”
Su Liunian nodded and said, “Okay. It’s really a pity. If you had arrived earlier, we could have eaten together.”
Xue Ling waved his hand and said goodbye to Su Liunian. There were still sounds coming from inside the private room; Su Xuanqing and Shen Yue should be inside. After Xue Ling had gone a little distance away, it seemed that there was another tall and broad man with them. The group of them had already finished eating and were preparing to leave. Xue Ling turned his head back and was somewhat depressed as he went into his own private room.
He did not know that after he closed the door to his private room, a certain iceberg turned his head to look in his direction before quickly retrieving his gaze. His gaze turned a little gentler as he gently rubbed Su Liunian’s head. “You go back with Xuanqing first. There’s something I want to talk to Luo Chuanyun about.”
Su Liunian nodded, “Eldest brother, don’t go straight back to work as soon as you’re back. You have so many matters to deal with that they can’t all be finished in a day. We’ll help you bring your luggage back first~”
Watching as Su Liunian and Su Xuanqing left, Luo Chuanyun joked with Shen Yue and Su Xuanyan and said, “You went on vacation for a year, yet still came back alone like this. I thought you were gone for so long because you had found a lover to lose yourself in. Despite messing around for such a long time, you’re still single.”
“What’s wrong with being single?” Su Xuanyan pushed his hand into the pocket of his long coat. Suddenly, the image of that person who had been wearing the same thing as him flashed before his eyes, and he recalled the way he had tried to hide his embarrassment. The corner of his lips raised slightly, and his mood improved a bit. “If you feel sorry for me, then stop showing off your love and displays of affection in front of me.”
Shen Yue’s ears quietly turned red, and he reached out a hand to push away Luo Chuanyuan’s arm that was wrapped around his waist, but his resistance was ineffective. Instead, Luo Chuanyun tugged him even closer. “Why can’t I show off? My wifey is so cute, so beautiful, and so good. Of course I want the whole world to know~”
Su Xuanyan: “…” They hadn’t met for a year, but this person still made him want to beat him up.
In fact, there was something Su Xuanyan had to do after he returned from his vacation. “Enough, stop playing around. I came back this time to ask you to help me find someone.”
“Find someone?” Luo Chuanyun found it a bit weird, “Shouldn’t you be better at finding someone than I am? Your family runs a big business. You can use money to find them!” Having said so, he was curious and asked, “What kind of person are you trying to find?”
Su Xuanyan was silent for a moment, then said, “I don’t know.”
“Huh?” Now, not only Luo Chuanyun, but also Shen Yue who was walking beside them became curious, “What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Su Xuanyan spoke helplessly, “I don’t know who I’m looking for, but my intuition is telling me that I need to look for someone.”
The way he spoke in circles made Chuanyun and Shen Yue rather confused. They both reflected for a while, and then Shen Yue laughed and asked, “Brother Su, how can we help you find someone like this? You can’t provide even the tiniest bit of a description, and just say that you want to find someone with no details at all.”
Luo Chuanyun nodded to express his agreement with his lover’s words. “Exactly, you’re not even looking for a needle in a haystack. We can’t find this someone for you even if we cast out a wide net!”
Su Xuanyan also knew that this wasn’t possible. He signed helplessly and said, “Then, do you know what I’ve been up to this year?”
Luo Chuanyun: “…”
Did his good friend have a hole in his head today?
Luo Chuanyun found it funny as he said, “Are you still the same person after coming back this time? Nobody transmigrated into your body, right? What kind of questions are you asking? If I knew what you had been up to this year, would I be unable to get in contact with you? Could it be that you’ve had amnesia for a year, and have only just remembered who you are?”
Su Xuanyan shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. “I’ve really forgotten some things. I can’t remember it clearly at all. My memory stops in the first month after my departure, and the next clear memory I have is from over six months later. Something happened during this period. I have a vague impression of it, but the memories are not clear.”
Shen Yue frowned and said, “No wonder you wanted to get rid of the Su film emperors for this discussion. You don’t want to worry Liunian.”
“Yes.” After confirming it, Su Xuanyan himself didn’t know why he added another sentence, “I don’t want them to make a big deal of it…”
Luo Chuanyun: “…” He wanted to find someone, but didn’t want to make it a big deal. What did he want to do? Did he actually want to search? “Have you seen a doctor about your amnesia?”
In fact, Su Xuanyan nodded and said, “I did. That’s why I didn’t come back until today. The psychiatrist said that my memories were forcibly sealed, and hypnosis could not bring them out. He could only suggest that I come back and let it be. Perhaps I’ll be able to find a simple solution to the problem here.”
Shen Yue muttered, “Why does it sound like a TV drama…?”
They were discussing while walking out of the restaurant; on the other side, Xue Ling had just finished ordering and had his cheek propped up against his hand as he doubted life. “Did I forget to look at the almanac today before going out?”
The system soothed its host and said, “Lord host should think about it from a different angle. Perhaps this is fate! Meeting twice while wearing the same clothes. This is simply a level of fate that could overturn the heavens~”
Xue Ling listened to the system’s somewhat overenthusiastic words, then frowned and said, “How come I feel like you’re happy that this happened to me?”
“It must be an illusion. I’m also heartbroken for host’s sake.” The system appeared very serious. “Overall, today went very smoothly. If host is really unhappy, there’s a bar next door. You can go and enjoy yourself a bit there.”
“Bar?” Xue Ling’s tone rose slightly. ” I haven’t reached the point where everyone knows me yet… but going to a bar?”
“It’s a private club. It’s very upscale, and not just any ghost, snake, or god can go in. Isn’t it just having a drink?~ I know host wants to.” The system looked at the position of the target it had flagged, and began to try and coax its host some more. “I’ve already entered their network and set up a membership for host. The information is in host’s nano-computer, and you just need to swipe it to become a member~”
Xue Ling was indeed very unhappy, and he didn’t know why. At first, he thought he was upset because they were wearing the same clothes, but later, he felt that he was not that kind of person. In that case, why did he care so much about that matter…?
He mulled over it for a while and came to a conclusion that he was unwilling to accept just as the dishes arrived. The service robot knocked on the door and entered, interrupting Xue Ling’s thoughts. He snorted coldly, and immediately rejected his speculation. What a joke, he wasn’t that kind of person. How could he have fallen in love with someone at first sight?
That was too weird.
The food in this restaurant was really good. Xue Ling’s mood improved slightly, and after he finished eating, he walked to the bar based on the system’s instructions. It wasn’t far, and the bar was situated closer to the residential community in which Xue Ling lived.
There wasn’t anything gaudy or flashy about the décor outside the bar; Xue Ling swiped his nano-computer to enter and felt like he had just entered a brand new world.
The bar’s décor was quite old-fashioned. The lights were dim. Soothing music sounded through the bar, and it was relatively empty; most likely because their evening busy period hadn’t arrived yet.
Xue Ling went and sat at the bar. He rang the fancy little bell, and the young bartender handed him a drink list. “Hello, what would you like to drink?”
Xue Ling looked at the list and ordered a cocktail before propping his head up on his cheek and turning his head to take a look around. It wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t looked, but as soon as he turned his head, he discovered that the person sitting next to him was someone that couldn’t quite be considered familiar…
A cocktail was placed in front of the other party. It was the color of a starry sky, and had been mixed beautifully. It was precisely the cocktail that Xue Ling had just ordered, and was the bar’s specialty drink, ‘Starry Midnight Sky’.
Counting this time, he had bumped into the other person three times today. Xue Ling no longer felt embarrassed, and was now rather curious about how a big iceberg like him would come to drink. Was he trying to get drunk? But he hadn’t even touched his drink.
Perhaps because Xue Ling’s gaze was too intent, the man turned his head to look at him.
The man no longer wore his glasses, and it was hard to hide the ferocity of his eyebrows. He seemed to be in a bad mood, with a slight chill to his gaze, but at least he had restrained the iceberg atmosphere that he carried around and had no intention of turning the bar into a fridge.
Xue Ling kept his cheek propped on his hand as he looked over his face. He didn’t know why, but he was unable to keep a meaningful smile from forming on his face.
The man’s appearance had something in common with his own – when he wasn’t wearing his glasses, he also appeared a bit like an evildoer. But when compared to Xue Ling, the man’s ‘evildoer’ level was obviously not as high as his. When his giant iceberg temperament and the fierceness between his brows was added to the equation, it carried a sense of personal charm that was strangely compelling.
Only, his expression was so grim that it was really a bit of a wet blanket.
Xue Ling waved to the other party, “What a coincidence, President Su. We’re really linked together by fate~”
The man stared into his eyes, and they locked gazes. The grimness on his face lessened slightly when he heard his words, but the iciness grew stronger. “Could it be that you didn’t do it on purpose?”
Xue Ling tsked, and complained, “President, who do you think you are? Why would I purposely arrange for us to run into each other? Can’t you see that I almost want to throw away these clothes after accidentally wearing the same thing as you? Why would I come back and bump into you deliberately over and over again? You would have to have that level of charm~”
The man’s gaze was rather cold as it once again landed on Xue Ling’s body. He seemed surprised that Xue Ling’s current presumptuous tone was totally different from his previous restraint.
And the smile that Xue Ling gave him had the power to drive men crazy.
just in case you guys missed it (with extra comments this time)~
1 – Su Liunian x Su Xuanqing
Su Liunian rebirthed, the two of them are technically brothers, but not blood related~ Su Xuanyan is their eldest brother
xiin – YES YES it’s incest! *nosebleed* but they’re not blood related.
2 – Yuan Chuanbai x Baili Shaojue
Yuan Chuanbai is a genuine fortune teller, the Yuan Family is the same one that owns the World Literature Network
xiin – this pairing shows up a bit later in this arc and aren’t that relevant except that they’re both filthy rich family heads and Yuan Chuanbai is a legit fortune teller.
3 – Ji Zichen x Shen Chongwen
Ji Zichen is the transmigrating child that Xue Ling’s soul was originally attached to~
He’s first mentioned in and then shows up again (with a name) in. He’s not mentioned much in this story either so it’s not a big deal if you don’t know his backstory.
