What should I say?
No, what should I do?
Am I dead meat this time??
Shen Changqing sat in the Shen Family Living Room, his mind swirling with these thoughts. Any faint goodwill he’d felt toward Su Mingyao for saving him back in the garden had evaporated completely.
Can I start sucking up to him now and still salvage this?!!
Shen Changqing jerked his head up and stared at Luo Shang.
Luo Shang sensed the gaze and glanced over. ?
Shen Changqing: !
Luo Shang actually didn’t like tea. He preferred drinks aimed at a younger crowd—high-sugar juices, sodas, that sort of thing—which suited his sweet, adorable looks perfectly. It was the one hobby his teammates in the Reincarnation Space teased him about as actually matching his appearance.
No one could guess Luo Shang’s other interests from his looks or vibe.
Take the bed, for instance. Outsiders might picture someone as cute as Luo Shang surrounding it with plush toys. In reality, he kept chunks of his defeated enemies’ corpses on a rack by the bedside. He’d dabbled as a necromancer back in the day, so he had zero issue with it.
Ke Yanjin, his partner, didn’t just tolerate it—he approved wholeheartedly. Though his take differed from Luo Shang’s: to him, those were “little snacks,” packed with spiritual energy and offering distinct flavors depending on the species.
Snacks right by the bed—who wouldn’t love that? Feeling peckish in the middle of the night? Just crunch one down. Air-dried, they even got nice and crispy.
The teammates all agreed: Captain and Deputy Captain were a match made in heaven, perfectly locked in, harmonizing in the weirdest ways despite their differences.
Luo Shang had an unusual sweet tooth. Back during the early Reincarnation Deathmatches in the Reincarnation Space, when he was still fully human, he’d pop candy constantly to unwind. By the time sugar stopped sparking any real pleasure in his body, the habit was unbreakable.
He liked booze too, but the everyday stuff from his native world barely registered anymore—his body metabolized it instantly. Only Hell Brew, potent enough to knock out an Abyss dragon for a millennium after one swig, could actually get him drunk.
The Shen Family Living Room offered tea to guests, served plain to let the leaves’ natural flavor shine. Luo Shang sipped it perfunctorily—just a couple tastes before ignoring it completely.
Shen Changqing picked up on it right away. Luo Shang hadn’t griped to the System or anything, but Shen Changqing read the preference loud and clear from his actions alone.
Luo Shang doesn’t like tea? Time to switch it up!
The Shen Family Villa’s fridge brimmed with drink options, including every kind of fresh-squeezed juice imaginable. Sure, the super-sweet ones were mostly Shen Zhulin’s territory—the rest of the family rarely touched them—but today, they were all getting some action.
“I’m feeling a bit thirsty right now,” Shen Changqing said, “but not for tea. Something else would hit the spot.”
With that excuse, he instructed Aunt Zhao to haul out three bottles of every beverage in the fridge. She arrayed them on the table in impressive style.
Shen Changqing grabbed a cola first and poured it into a glass with deliberate care.
“Help yourself to whichever one,” he said, softening his tone as much as he could.
Old Master Shen: ?
He immediately assumed his grandson was using the drinks as a metaphor for the narrow options on offer, this finicky display a blatant sign of disdain for Luo Shang.
What the hell was wrong with the boy? What kind of stunt was this? Even if he couldn’t stand Luo Shang, there was no call to humiliate him like that—to slap his face right here in front of everyone!
Luo Shang’s presence wasn’t just personal; he was here to hash out the engagement between the Shen and Su Families. That made him a stand-in for the Su Family too.
Old Master Shen was glad he’d stuck around. With him present, Shen Changqing only dared go this far. If he’d left, heaven knew how cutting his grandson might get!
He opened his mouth to chew out Shen Changqing and smooth things over.
But Luo Shang actually reached for a bottle of strawberry juice amid the lineup and took a sip.
“Thanks.”
[Not bad.] Luo Shang’s heart voice noted casually.
[This Shen Changqing’s got some use after all.]
Shen Changqing let out a quiet breath of relief.
“It’s fresh-squeezed. If you want the recipe, I’ll have Aunt Zhao pass it along later. She can whip up a fresh batch for you to take home too.”
“Sure,” Luo Shang said.
Old Master Shen: ??
Wait—huh? They were literally just drinking beverages? Had he read way too much into it?
He couldn’t keep up with these kids!!
“Right, since you’re here and we’ve all got a full house,” Luo Shang said, “this is perfect timing to talk about our engagement.”
“I’m not the Su family’s biological son, and this is ultimately a marriage alliance between the Su and Shen families. Compared to me, my second brother Su Mingyao should be the far more suitable candidate.”
[At this point, he should express agreement, just like in the original plot.] Luo Shang mentally flipped through the script in his mind.
[But in the original plot, it was because he was an expert at spotting green tea types, able to easily see through Su Shang’s manipulative sweet talk, so he played along and kept the conversation going.]
Agreement, huh? Fine, watch this!
Shen Changqing gritted his teeth.
Though he didn’t currently see Su Mingyao as a suitable marriage partner, the Su family only had two options right now—Luo Shang and Su Mingyao. In that case, Su Mingyao was a billion times more suitable than Luo Shang.
“Yes, I do think we should call off the engagement,” Shen Changqing said.
Old Master Shen’s brows furrowed.
“It’s because I’m really not worthy of you…”
These were Shen Changqing’s true thoughts.
He truly wasn’t worthy of Luo Shang. He was just an ordinary mortal. Let the gods duke it out among themselves—spare him!
“You’re the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met. There’s a unique aura about you. I can’t even imagine what life would be like as your partner. Your match should be someone far more outstanding than me,” Shen Changqing said sincerely.
Go find that equally divine boyfriend of yours and leave me alone, haha! Stop tormenting me!
The old Shen Changqing had never been in a position where he had to simp for anyone. It was always others simping for him—a single glance was enough to make people jump to do his bidding. Now that he was the one in that spot, Shen Changqing was astonished at himself. He could actually pull off simp behavior like this, and he seemed to have a real knack for it—subtle, seamless, like boiling a frog in warm water.
In the face of life-and-death crisis, he had broken through his own potential and limits, successfully mastering the art of simping.
He had grown! Shen Changqing felt gratified with himself.
Old Master Shen: ???
What? His grandson was already one of the top talents among B City’s elite families. If even you thought you weren’t worthy of him, then who could be?
Old Master Shen did think Luo Shang was impressive, but not so impressive that his own grandson would feel inferior by comparison! These words were way too exaggerated!
He finally saw it: his grandson hadn’t brought out all those drinks to intimidate Luo Shang—he’d done it to butter him up!
This… this simp standing before him—was this still his grandson? The same arrogant grandson who looked down on everyone and deemed no one worthy of him?
Just this morning, he’d been saying he didn’t like Su Shang and wanted Su Mingyao. By afternoon, he’d done a complete one-eighty and started fawning over Luo Shang.
Had he snuck off to Sichuan for some face-changing training?
Why was he being so attentive to Luo Shang? Didn’t he dislike him? If he disliked him, why simp so hard?
Old Master Shen was utterly baffled for the longest time. All he could do was sip his tea.
“Oh.” Luo Shang took a sip of his strawberry juice, utterly unmoved by the flattery.
He’d heard far too much of that sort in the Reincarnation Space. Shen Changqing’s lines didn’t even make the top ranks.
In certain planes, Luo Shang had been worshipped as a god. The hymns composed by those high priests were something else—professional deity praise, not something a half-baked amateur like Shen Changqing could match.
Things like “Lord of Entropy, King of Order, Venerable of Chaos; Guardian of Contracts and Commerce; Sovereign of Heat and Order—you are Chaos itself, the origin of all creation…” Even Luo Shang had felt a bit embarrassed hearing them.
Now Shen Changqing was saying he was too special and unworthy? Luo Shang felt no particular stir.
Yeah, you’re right. That’s pretty much it.
That was basically his reaction.
System: [No, no, no! If you’re following the plot, that’s not his line at all! Snap out of it—this isn’t the simps from the Reincarnation Space or your adoring followers praising you! You’re supposed to be following the plot here!]
Luo Shang: “Mm…!”
[Fair point.]
[This plot feels off. The lines differing from the original is one thing, but the emotional tone is completely different too? Where did it go wrong?]
Off? Off… Yeah, in the original plot, I was supposed to mock and be sarcastic to him, not simp for him… Ever since awakening his simping talent, Shen Changqing’s mind had turned lightning-fast.
“Did you think I’d say something like that?” Shen Changqing immediately switched gears, negating everything he’d just said.
“I’m not like you.” I’m really not as strong as you—I’m just an ordinary guy.
[Oh, now that’s right.] Luo Shang’s heart voice gave its approval.
Shen Changqing silently wiped the sweat from his brow in his mind.
“Our engagement should indeed be called off. That’s the only thing you got right.”
The subtext was that all those claims about Luo Shang not being good enough for him were utter nonsense!
Old Master Shen choked up again.
In his mind, he automatically rephrased Shen Changqing’s words like this:
“I’m not like you” became “I look down on you.” Which meant all the nice things Shen Changqing had just said about Luo Shang were pure sarcasm.
“Our engagement really should be called off—you’re right about that” turned into “I don’t want to marry you, and I reject your opinions outright.”
This was a direct slap in Luo Shang’s face. His grandson was still the same arrogant, superior punk who thought no one measured up to him. Nothing had changed!
He was just about to tear into Shen Changqing when he saw the young man wave Aunt Zhao over. She soon returned with a whole new tray of neatly sliced fruit.
“I remember you like this one,” Shen Changqing said.
He picked out a slice of the ripest, sweetest custard apple and offered it over.
Luo Shang accepted it. “Thanks.”
Old Master Shen could hear the blatant fawning in his grandson’s tone.
Old Master Shen was completely baffled.
What were you young people up to? What kind of game was this between the two of them? Or was it one of those “love turned to hate” situations?
Maybe Luo Shang had been ignoring Shen Changqing, so now he was trying to win back his attention like this.
Old Master Shen puzzled over it for ages but came up empty. He began to regret sticking around in the living room. Wouldn’t it have been smarter to head upstairs and deal with some work instead? Why meddle in the drama between these two youngsters?
