Lin Zhi became a nodding doll, not just nodding but even making an “OK” gesture, but it was all useless. Song Mian didn’t even look at him and simply stuffed him into the bedding.
Lin Zhi was shoved in place, listening to the rustling sounds and Song Mian’s low panting breaths. As a doll-bound soul, he nearly left his body entirely. Even taking Song Mian out right then was impossible.
Taking him out required someone who could actually see him, after all.
The doll was even naked from the waist down, with the cold sensation spreading across his entire soul. His soul felt even dirtier now!
“Baby, am I good to you?”
Good my ass!
Lin Zhi’s soul flushed red. He slapped a hand onto Song Mian’s face, but the doll’s face remained blankly dazed. Song Mian seemed completely oblivious to Lin Zhi’s frustration and rambled on maniacally, “How about seven times tomorrow all day?”
Can’t even count! There were only three left, okay?
Lin Zhi covered Song Mian’s mouth.
“Just sleep with it, baby.”
Lin Zhi let out a string of ellipses. After being stuffed back into the bedding, Lin Zhi noticed Song Mian wasn’t holding him down, so he controlled his body to slowly wriggle out from under the covers, propping himself on the pillow. When he saw Song Mian’s lips twitching again, he immediately covered them.
It was a light hand, but it worked. Song Mian fell silent and pulled Lin Zhi into his arms.
Just as Lin Zhi was on the verge of drifting off unexpectedly, he heard Song Mian going crazy again: “From now on, no matter where you go, your soul will carry my scent. Zhizhi, I’ll find you wherever you are.”
Lin Zhi clamped his hand over Song Mian’s mouth once more.
Song Mian chuckled softly.
In the rural night, little dogs occasionally held their meetings, and Lin Zhi was woken by a few barks. His soul booted up abruptly, turning the barks into roars— the dogs were fighting!
Lin Zhi slowly extricated himself from Song Mian’s arms, hopped down to the floor, sprawled flat, then pushed himself up with his hands. He toddled all the way to the window, then… stared blankly at the high window.
The window facing the barking dogs in the backyard had no table nearby. As a mere doll, Lin Zhi had no way to reach it to watch the dog fight. He pondered for a few seconds, and a wicked idea formed.
Lin Zhi stood on Song Mian’s face and jumped.
Song Mian slowly opened his eyes. After being lightly patted—almost like a cotton puff—with negligible force, he rasped, “You’re really trying to scare me to death. What do you want?”
Song Mian turned on the light.
Lin Zhi jumped off the bed and ran to the window, gazing longingly at the unreachable height before looking back at Song Mian. Song Mian picked up the doll and leaned against the window. Lin Zhi finally saw it: a pack of dogs downstairs bumping heads, with the largest white one occasionally barking “Woof!” Suddenly, two small dogs in the group started fighting, while the others milled around chaotically. The scene descended into total disorder.
Lin Zhi watched without blinking.
An hour passed. Song Mian’s arm stiffened from holding the same position, and he asked again, “Had enough yet?”
This time, the doll in his arms didn’t move.
Song Mian’s brows furrowed. Since the doll wasn’t wearing clothes, he grabbed the rabbit ears and lifted. The doll dangled limply like a soulless rag, arms flopping and legs swinging with the motion. The soul had fallen asleep.
Song Mian: “…”
Song Mian’s face darkened.
The next morning, around six, Aunt Jiang knocked on Song Mian’s door, calling him to get up for breakfast. She came back every few minutes to knock again. Once he was thoroughly awake, she added, “Sleep after you eat. You have to eat breakfast.”
Song Mian had no morning grumpiness. Once roused, he dressed Lin Zhi in the clothes that had dried overnight, washed up, and went downstairs to eat the steamed buns Aunt Jiang had made herself. Lin Zhi struggled out of Song Mian’s pocket and sat on the table, leaning forward to sniff the aroma of the buns.
Aunt Jiang brought out some pickled vegetables from the kitchen and said to Song Mian, “Young people should sleep and wake early—it’s good for your health. The day before yesterday on TV, there was a college student who stayed up all night every night and dropped dead!”
Lin Zhi kept sniffing the bun, chiming in absentmindedly, “No way, no way. I won’t drop dead. I sleep early and wake late.”
Lin Zhi said loudly, “Song Mian, you need to pay more attention, got it?”
Song Mian’s gaze flicked to the doll. Seeing it about to face-plant into the bun, he grabbed its clothes. The doll steadied itself, then slowly leaned toward the bun again.
Aunt Jiang finally noticed the doll and exclaimed in surprise, “Is this doll sniffing the bun? Xiaomian, you’re controlling it?”
Song Mian: “Mm.”
Aunt Jiang’s face flushed a bit. “Haven’t seen you in half a year, and you still know how to humor your aunt. I made extra buns—take some back with you.”
Song Mian was at a loss for words. “No need.”
“What’s with being polite to your aunt? Without your funding, how could Tongtong have gotten into such a good university? And you keep sending us money. Xiaomian, Auntie doesn’t need much spending money right now—don’t send more. That old man over there, though, as soon as he has cash, he blows it on cards.” Aunt Jiang glanced at Uncle Jiang, who was quietly eating breakfast beside them.
Uncle Jiang said nothing, but Aunt Jiang grew more irritated the longer she looked. “I’m talking about you! All you do is eat. Wash the bowls later!”
“Got it. Just say you want me to wash the bowls instead of beating around the bush.” Uncle Jiang muttered under his breath, then shut up under Aunt Jiang’s glare.
Lin Zhi listened to the uncle and aunt bickering, glancing back to see Song Mian silently devouring his buns. Lin Zhi figured Song Mian was much happier here—at least he’d eaten four big buns!
He wanted to eat too.
Alas.
Song Mian didn’t catch up on sleep and took Lin Zhi out the door. The morning air in the countryside was incredibly fresh, and even ghosts felt comfortable with the breeze. No wonder Little System bro loved hanging out in the wind.
Lin Zhi followed Song Mian to a vast field where locals grew vegetables, but one patch was just bare soil pitted with holes full of dirt.
Lin Zhi, now wearing shoes, walked to the soil. Song Mian looked down and suddenly said, “No impression?”
The doll stared blankly.
But Lin Zhi was clever. He instantly recalled Song Mian’s nastiness from the night before and stiffly shook his head to indicate he did have an impression. Song Mian’s tone turned dangerous: “Lying to me? What impression could you possibly have?”
Lin Zhi wanted to take Song Mian out again.
Song Mian said, “We used to grow carrots in this dirt. The rabbit I raised loved digging them up and eating them straight from the ground without washing.”
As soon as Song Mian finished speaking, Lin Zhi’s doll hands were already digging into the soil. Normally, his soul barely had strength in the doll, but now the dirt was flying onto Song Mian’s pants.
Song Mian: “…”
Song Mian walked over and yanked the rabbit’s perked-up ears. Lin Zhi suddenly felt like his vital point had been seized—his soul couldn’t move.
What the hell!
Song Mian looked speechlessly at the doll’s filthy hands, dirty shoes, and pants. “I just cleaned you yesterday.”
The dazed doll didn’t move.
Song Mian: “Know you were wrong?”
Lin Zhi didn’t!
Lin Zhi tried reaching out with both hands toward Song Mian’s face, but Song Mian held him far away. “Want to be watered again?”
Lin Zhi instantly wilted, going limp without resistance. Friendship over! Absolutely over!
Song Mian took Lin Zhi nearby to the river to wash his hands. After washing, the doll’s hands were wrinkled, and even a bit of water had seeped in. Lin Zhi aggrievedly waved his hands under Song Mian’s eyes.
Song Mian ignored it and started undressing the doll again.
Lin Zhi had weirdly gotten used to being stripped. The naked doll sat by the riverbank, watching Song Mian wash his clothes. Lin Zhi slapped a hand down to hold them.
“Wash them, and what do I wear? The new clothes haven’t arrived.”
Song Mian grabbed the rabbit ears and stuffed Lin Zhi into his pocket. Lin Zhi clung to the edge, sighing.
Soon, Song Mian’s phone rang. It was the delivery for the clothes. Lin Zhi’s rabbit ears perked up, and Song Mian had them bring it right over. After scrubbing the mud spots off the old clothes, Song Mian folded them neatly.
A man in a suit arrived running. Song Mian handed over the wet clothes, and the man took them respectfully, passing Song Mian an exquisite bag in exchange.
Lin Zhi was curious!
Lin Zhi struggled out of the pocket and pawed at the bag.
Inside was another fancy gift box. Song Mian opened it to reveal a neatly arranged light blue princess dress, with a sparkling sapphire embedded at the chest, accompanied by matching crystal high heels.
?????
Lin Zhi sensed something wrong and twisted around to run, but Song Mian caught him.
“Little System! Little System bro, come back! I don’t want to fulfill the Male Lead’s wishes anymore!” Lin Zhi’s soul shouted desperately! But the Romance Rescue System didn’t appear, and Lin Zhi was forced into the princess dress and light blue crystal heels.
Lin Zhi sat on Song Mian’s lap, utterly lifeless.
Song Mian smoothed out the skirt and admired it. “Looks good.”
Lin Zhi raised a hand to strike.
Song Mian murmured lowly, “It’d be even better if it were you wearing it.”
Lin Zhi was incredulous!
Song Mian! He wanted him to wear this princess dress?
Lin Zhi slowly slid down Song Mian’s leg and stood beside him, frozen in place. When Song Mian repacked the gift box into the bag, Lin Zhi bolted—but without coordinating with the heels, he pitched forward and fell flat.
Lin Zhi lay on the ground, his soul grieving.
Song Mian yanked him back, his voice obsessive: “What are you doing? Trying to leave me?”
The Male Lead was going crazy again!
Lin Zhi stared blankly.
The Romance Rescue System didn’t return until noon, and it almost didn’t recognize Lin Zhi.
[Host? Is that you?]
Lin Zhi slept in Song Mian’s arms, his voice heavy: “It’s me.”
The Romance Rescue System exclaimed: [Host, you’ve turned into a girl!]
Lin Zhi, lifeless: “We just got to sleep. We’ll slip out in half an hour.”
Lin Zhi didn’t wait half an hour. Song Mian had barely slept all night and woken early, so he had dozed off for real. At first, he clutched the doll tightly while sleeping, but later loosened up, as if afraid of crushing it. So Lin Zhi shifted a little, then a bit more, and finally extricated himself. He stood up.
The Romance Rescue System saw the full princess dress.
It glanced over, its electronic voice laced with genuine sincerity: [Host, did you delay a day just for this outfit?]
Lin Zhi’s soul was in tears.
Song Mian had betrayed him!!
“Work time—no chit-chat,” Lin Zhi said coldly.
Lin Zhi waddled to the window by the table and chairs. Jumping from there led to the yard, and from the yard, he could escape. After arduously climbing onto the chair, then the table, and finally the windowsill, Lin Zhi’s doll legs trembled.
“Little System, this is suicide!” The second-floor drop was like leaping off a cliff for a little doll like him.
Romance Rescue System: [You won’t die. Your soul can float to the roof—try controlling the doll to float!]
Lin Zhi trembled: “Little System, I… I trust you!”
Lin Zhi stood up. The doll’s legs shook violently. He squeezed his eyes shut and jumped out the window. In the instant of weightlessness, survival instinct made him float in midair.
Lin Zhi panicked.
“Little System, use your abilities!”
[Host, float farther!]
Lin Zhi kept floating, unsure where to, until suddenly—he blacked out.
Song Mian groped the bed and snapped his eyes open, bloodshot: “Zhizhi?”
The bedside was empty.
Song Mian watched from the window as Lin Zhi floated farther and farther away. He stared fixatedly at the blue figure, blood dripping from his wrist onto the floor. Despair enveloped him until Lin Zhi vanished from sight.
**
When he woke again, an excited electronic voice blared in Lin Zhi’s mind: [Main quest: Do it seven times with the Male Lead! The host will meet death on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at 8 PM. Complete the main quest before 8 PM Thursday to permanently avert the cannon fodder fate.]
Lin Zhi sat on the balcony, phone in hand. The game screen showed an unfinished match, with teammates yelling over voice chat, “That trash shooter runs so fast!”
Oh right.
Lin Zhi remembered: this support always charged ahead aggressively, and he always followed, only for both to die every time. This round, Lin Zhi had run!
Furious, Lin Zhi opened voice chat: “Not run and die with you in a love suicide?”
After saying it, Lin Zhi’s expression turned weird.
The Romance Rescue System urged again: [Host, we’re back! Hurry and call the Male Lead to come do it with you—no time left! Stop playing that game. Last time, you lost too!]
Yes, he was back.
His soul would never be “watered” again. Princess dress, hmph—forcing a straight guy like him into drag was the ultimate insult!
Lin Zhi quit the game. This round was a sure loss anyway, so he went AFK to give his teammates a rank protection card.
He stood up, but since he had suddenly switched back to his human body, his soul hadn’t caught up yet, and he tumbled back into the chair. After taking a moment to recover, he slowly stood again. He bounced on his toes, stretched his arms, and shook out his legs before rushing to the bathroom to check the mirror. He felt relieved.
He—Lin Zhi—was truly back!
No one remembered the days he had spent as a doll except him.
Song Mian.
The mere thought of his bro brought back all the things he’d endured over those eight days. His buddy was a hidden pervert!
No, Lin Zhi glanced at the mirror again. This was… an S City hotel.
Lin Zhi grew tense. “Sys, what day is it today?”
Romance Rescue System: 【I figured the host had it all under control! It’s Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 3 p.m. You have only 29 hours left to complete the main quest. Host, seven times! If you don’t sleep, that’s one every four hours on average.】
Holy crap!
While he was a doll, Lin Zhi had already decided that he’d absolutely cut ties with Song Mian once he got back. But the quest still had to be done—nothing could be more debauched than being a doll. And if he died again, Song Mian would definitely use Soul Summoning, trapping him as that guy’s doll for at least another seven days!
But, but! He needed some buffer time at least!!!
He was a straight guy, after all!!
The Romance Rescue System reminded him again: 【Host, one more thing. Although this system successfully used the time reset ability, in the final second before activation, I noticed the Male Lead watching you. He was directly involved in this time reset. This system is yours alone, so only you retain the memories. But the Male Lead’s will is very strong, so I’m not sure if he’ll keep those memories now!】
Lin Zhi was stunned—utterly stunned.
