Luo Shang chatted idly with the System while his conversation with Old Master Shen drew to a close.
In the original work, once the dialogue ended, Old Master Shen would call Shen Changqing downstairs to let the two fiancés spend some time together. Then he would head upstairs himself, thoughtfully giving them space to be alone.
After Old Master Shen left, Shen Changqing would voice his disgust toward Su Shang, coldly mocking his clingy advances. He would even compare Su Shang to Su Mingyao, declaring that Su Shang was nowhere near as good. That would only push Su Shang further down the path of corruption.
But now, Old Master Shen hesitated.
His grandson was upstairs at the moment, spending time with Su Mingyao and Su Bingyao. Calling him down abruptly wouldn’t improve Shen Changqing’s attitude toward Su Shang one bit. It certainly wouldn’t help nurture any feelings between the fiancés.
Maybe he shouldn’t call him down at all?
Old Master Shen wrestled with the decision, and a brief silence fell between the two men.
[Finished?] Luo Shang pretended to sip his tea, but inwardly he was waiting for Old Master Shen to summon Shen Changqing.
[Shouldn’t he call Shen Changqing down by now? Why no sign of it?]
[It’s only been thirty seconds of quiet—you’re way too impatient!] the System replied.
[Thirty seconds is plenty telling. Did I mess up my performance so badly that he doesn’t want to call Shen Changqing anymore? What a pain.] Luo Shang said.
[The scene’s supposed to end with Su Shang leaving the Shen Family with a smile on his face but venom in his heart. Shen Changqing stands in the living room afterward, his fingers tracing Su Mingyao’s contact info on his phone screen.]
[Without Shen Changqing showing up, we can’t keep the act going. Thirty seconds in, and no call—looks like Old Master Shen has no intention of doing it.]
[Total acting flop.] The System remarked. [You came off a little half-hearted just now.]
Luo Shang: [Can’t help it. Anything involving Shen Changqing’s plotline, and I start wondering how I ever fell for him back in the day…]
At that moment, Su Mingyao and Su Bingyao both turned to look at Shen Changqing, studying the expression on his face.
Shen Changqing gritted his teeth. “Thanks a lot!”
Luo Shang glanced across the table. So far, Old Master Shen showed no sign of calling Shen Changqing down.
[Guess I’ll have to destroy the world and restart then.] Luo Shang said.
[Just wait a little longer. It’s been fifty seconds now. If Old Master Shen doesn’t call him down within two minutes, I’ll reset and put on a better show next time.]
Right then, Su Mingyao gave Shen Changqing a quick shove, his tone urgent. “Hurry up and go downstairs!”
“We just need you down there to make the numbers right! Otherwise, Luo Shang’s going to destroy the world!”
This world’s end stemmed from Shen Changqing, so it shouldn’t involve them directly. But they were standing way too close to him—they could easily get dragged into the fallout!
“What? Destroy the world?” Shen Changqing stared in bewilderment.
It was a relief that Luo Shang wasn’t jumping straight to murder this time. Shen Changqing had half-expected him to target his grandfather with something gruesome, like puppeteering corpses. Instead, Luo Shang’s malice was aimed squarely at him.
The realization eased some of Shen Changqing’s tension even as it sent chills down his spine.
And then he heard Luo Shang casually mention restarting the world.
Frankly, what business was it of theirs if the world reset?
They’d probably be part of it too—at best, they’d keep their memories.
“You don’t get it. Death’s actually the easy way out,” Su Bingyao said gravely.
“Right, how high up is the third floor here?” He edged toward the window, peering at the trees below with clear intent.
The instant Su Bingyao heard Luo Shang threaten to reset the world, he’d begun scouting escape routes. One hand was already gripping the windowsill.
“Calm down, Brother Yao!” Su Mingyao yelled. “Just send Changqing downstairs! That’s all it takes—no need for this!”
“What are you doing? You planning to jump? Have you lost your mind?” Shen Changqing gaped at the Su brothers’ frantic improvisation.
“I’m not crazy. I never should’ve come this afternoon. You two were enough—why drag me into it?” Su Bingyao shot back over his shoulder.
“Enough already, Changqing—go downstairs now! Once you’re there, we’ll have the right number for the plot, and it’ll be fixed!!” Su Mingyao raised his voice to drown out Su Bingyao as he urged Shen Changqing.
“Pop in your Bluetooth earpiece. We’ll back you up from here.” By now, Su Mingyao grasped the gravity of the situation as well.
Forget Su Bingyao itching to leap out the window—he wanted to bolt too. But running was pointless. They couldn’t outpace Luo Shang’s world-ending antics. The only real solution was getting Shen Changqing downstairs to follow the plot.
“Although it’s called restarting the world, before Luo Shang takes that step, he’ll first destroy the world entirely, then restore it to the exact time point he wants.” Seeing Shen Changqing’s continued reluctance, Su Mingyao hurriedly explained.
“If during that restoration, Luo Shang decides he doesn’t want you around anymore, he could just wipe you out of existence! Then use your corpse to finish off your task!”
Whether that was accurate or not hardly mattered right now—this was a crisis, and threats were fair game. Without driving home how this directly concerned him, Shen Changqing wouldn’t budge.
In their previous life together as husbands for over a decade, Su Mingyao knew exactly how to hit his weak spots.
“We’ll make sure following the plot goes smoothly this time,” Su Bingyao added from the side, piling on the pressure.
Reassure him first, get past this immediate hurdle, and worry about the fallout later. Su Bingyao had caught the subtext in Su Mingyao’s words and was now working in tandem with him to shove Shen Changqing downstairs.
It sure as hell wasn’t going to be him facing Luo Shang!
Embracing the time-honored daoist principle of “better a dao friend perishes than this poor daoist,” Su Bingyao spoke up to persuade him.
“With Luo Shang fixated on following the plot right now, he won’t lay a finger on you. Just do what you’re supposed to, obediently, and he’ll be too lazy to bother with you.”
“Fine then…”
Shen Changqing watched as Su Mingyao stepped out of the study and opened the door. He had the distinct feeling that if he didn’t agree, these two united Su brothers would truss him up and hurl him down from the third floor!
Gritting his teeth, he jammed the Bluetooth earpiece into his ear. “I’ll go down myself. Don’t touch me.”
He directed that at Su Bingyao, who was already rolling up his sleeves.
“Good, good, good. We promise we won’t lay a hand on you—but hurry up.” Su Bingyao kept a straight face.
Luo Shang’s heart voice had already begun the countdown. Only sixty seconds until he blew up the world!
Shen Changqing felt a wave of utter helplessness wash over him. Su Mingyao—the one who’d claimed to be his future wife—was now aligned with his brother, blindly catering to that guy’s absurd demands.
But this time, it wasn’t my fault at all. It was his crappy acting that made Grandpa unwilling to call for me!
Still treating Luo Shang’s heart voice as gospel, Shen Changqing remained somewhat resentful.
“Quit stalling!” Su Bingyao snapped.
If Shen Changqing didn’t get moving, Su Bingyao was liable to kick him down the stairs himself!
“Good, good, good.” Shen Changqing didn’t dare waste another second and bolted downstairs.
In a straight fight, Shen Changqing figured his childhood training in rock climbing, horsemanship, and the like put him on equal footing strength-wise with Su Bingyao—he wasn’t scared. But Su Mingyao was there too.
Worse, Su Bingyao was Luo Shang’s brother, the only person Luo Shang truly respected. What if he went back upstairs and slyly badmouthed him to Luo Shang?
Luo Shang already had zero goodwill toward him. That would shrink his room for error even further. One wrong move, and Luo Shang might just slaughter him…
In the end, just before the countdown ticked to zero, Shen Changqing made it downstairs. He schooled his face into a tight mask to hide his fear—which doubled nicely as disdain.
Through the Bluetooth earpiece, Su Mingyao was pumping him up.
“You got this! No worries—believe in yourself!”
Believe my ass. Is this the kind of thing I can just willpower my way through? Shen Changqing griped to himself.
Maintaining that stony expression, he took a seat across from Luo Shang.
He overheard Luo Shang speaking to the System.
[He’s here already. Old Master Shen hasn’t even called for him yet.]
“I heard Aunt Zhao mention a guest had arrived,” Shen Changqing said curtly by way of explanation.
There are guests upstairs too… Old Master Shen shot Shen Changqing a glance.
Could it be that he has feelings for Luo Shang as well, and that’s why he came down?
Hmm… hard to say. Better keep watching.
Old Master Shen scrapped his plans to leave, opting instead to observe and figure out who exactly his grandson fancied.
[Is this the plot’s compulsion kicking in? Even without Old Master Shen calling him, he came down to advance the plot anyway.]
Luo Shang wondered to himself.
No, nothing of the sort. I didn’t want to come down at all—your brothers forced me!
Part of Shen Changqing’s sour mood stemmed from Su Bingyao and Su Mingyao.
What plot compulsion? You think your calm days just happen? It’s us out here carrying the load!
[Could be,] the System chimed in quickly.
What was he supposed to say next? Shen Changqing tapped his earpiece, waiting for Su Mingyao’s prompt.
Upstairs, Su Mingyao went quiet.
Su Bingyao: “What’s up? He must not know what to say. Mingyao, give him a hand?”
Su Mingyao said slowly, “I was just bullshitting earlier.”
Su Bingyao: ??
Su Mingyao: “The claim that I could help him was complete nonsense. When that incident happened, I wasn’t there in my previous life, so I had no idea what they actually talked about. Changqing never mentioned it to me afterward either, which is why I only learned today that Su Shang had come looking for him.”
“That’s why everything I said earlier was just to trick him—to get him to go downstairs and buy us some time.”
Shen Changqing, who overheard Su Mingyao speaking through the Bluetooth earpiece: ??
No way, you tricked me??
He suddenly panicked.
Su Bingyao stared at Su Mingyao in bewilderment.
“That’s right, now’s the time. While he’s downstairs stalling for us, it should hold them off a little longer. Let’s slip out the back door,” Su Mingyao said.
“I lived here for a long time in my previous life, so I know exactly where the villa’s side door is. We can escape without alerting Luo Shang and Shen Changqing in the living room downstairs.”
That way, whether Luo Shang wanted to destroy the world or not, it would have nothing to do with them!
Su Bingyao: !!
“My little brother is so clever! It seems that being reborn and living several more decades in that lifetime wasn’t for nothing!”
Downstairs, Shen Changqing, who was facing Luo Shang, really wanted to curse.
But he couldn’t, because Luo Shang was sitting right in front of him now, gazing at him with those feigned innocent eyes.
Holy shit! This is screwing me over!
Am I really going to marry that guy Su Mingyao in the future? Do I even have a future anymore?
“Grandpa, why on earth did you arrange that engagement with the Su family back then? Aren’t you basically trying to get me killed?!
At this moment, Shen Changqing’s heart was filled with utter despair.
