Chapter 3 Part 2

At noon, Lin Zhi drank another bowl of porridge.

He was starving.

But Song Mian stayed in the dorm that afternoon too.

He was going to starve to death!

Finally, at 5 PM, Lin Zhi vaguely heard Song Mian close his computer. Lin Zhi snapped his eyes open and glanced down. Song Mian said, “Bought you porridge.”

Lin Zhi gagged at the word. “No need. No appetite tonight. Go to the banquet—don’t be late.”

Knife-cut noodles, fish noodle soup, fried chicken and milk tea—he was coming!

Song Mian suddenly smiled, which struck Lin Zhi as eerie.

Song Mian said, “I’ve decided to stay and take care of you.”

Lin Zhi sucked in a cold breath.

“You’re… this nice to me?”

Song Mian countered, “Got a problem?”

He really did.

Lin Zhi’s gaze deepened. “You have to go—show that illegitimate son who’s boss. Tell him you’re the real deal!”

Song Mian smiled. “I don’t care about that.”

He even sat back down.

Just then, Tong Xu returned from outside. Lin Zhi grabbed at him like a lifeline. “Tong Xu can take care of me! Go to the banquet! Don’t let the illegitimate son steal your family fortune!”

Tong Xu, who hadn’t had any romantic luck at the library and had gone to an internet cafe instead, ate dinner at the cafeteria before coming back. Suddenly pulled into the spotlight, he said, “I can do it.”

Lin Zhi nearly cried.

Tong Xu: ?

Lin Zhi insisted, “You must go! Teach that illegitimate son a lesson!”

“Lin Zhi.”

Song Mian suddenly called his name.

“What?” Lin Zhi poked his head out, meeting Song Mian’s half-smiling eyes. “I see you’re pretty spirited now.”

Lin Zhi: “…”

Lin Zhi flopped back onto the bed, mumbling, “That’s the deathbed rally. Just go already!”

Song Mian eyed the big lump on the bed, thinking who knows what, then compromised. “Fine, I’ll go. Take good care of yourself.”

“Mm!”

Lin Zhi listened closely to Song Mian’s movements. Once Song Mian left the dorm, he leaped up and threw off the blanket. Tong Xu jumped. “Back from the brink?”

“Nah, I haven’t had dinner.”

Tong Xu stood. “I’ll buy it for you. Porridge, right?”

Lin Zhi cringed at porridge. He checked the time—past 5, over an hour until his death.

“System bro, no life danger before 7, right?”

【Death at 7 PM. You’re safe otherwise, host.】

Lin Zhi hopped out of bed. “Thanks, bro—I’ll get it myself.”

Tong Xu opened his mouth, but in a flash, Lin Zhi had changed—short sleeves topped with a jacket—and dashed out excitedly. He poked his head back in. “Put the phone down. Don’t tell Song Mian I went for food. Say I ate the porridge you bought. Thanks a ton!”

Tong Xu hesitated. “Sure?”

After Lin Zhi left, Tong Xu pieced it together—Lin Zhi was faking.

Why?

Soon, Song Mian’s message arrived.

[Did Lin Zhi go out to eat?]

Tong Xu: “……”

Tong Xu hesitated before replying: [You… know?]

Song Mian: [Yeah. You don’t need to tell him about what I asked. He’s been hungry all day—that’s enough.]

Tong Xu let out a soft hiss of breath. So this was the real Song Mian.

It was a little past six when Lin Zhi returned. As soon as he got back to the dorm, he couldn’t help but let out a satisfied burp. Tong Xu caught the scent of barbecue and felt a complicated mix of emotions. “Zhizhi, you’re still eating barbecue with a cold?”

Lin Zhi grinned sheepishly. “I was too hungry. Don’t tell Song Mian.”

But Song Mian teased you all day long.

At 6:50 PM, Lin Zhi stopped checking his phone. He lay on the bed, arm raised, staring fixedly at his watch. He’d been watching so intently that even Tong Xu remarked, “Song Mian can be pretty harsh sometimes, but he really shelled out a lot of money for you. I can tell he genuinely sees you as a friend. You’re just too… out there. Zhizhi, stick close to Song Mian’s thigh, and you’ll never have to worry for the rest of your life.”

“He’s just not great with words—he’s not harsh,” Lin Zhi said objectively. Two more minutes! After two minutes, he wouldn’t die.

Tong Xu didn’t argue. “If you say he’s not harsh, then he’s not. I’m serious, though. We’re graduating next year, and jobs aren’t easy to come by. But if you can latch onto Song Mian’s thigh and get into the Song Corporation, that’d be perfect. He’d have your back. Tsk, I’m actually a little jealous of you now.”

Lin Zhi didn’t catch a word of the chatter. As seven o’clock approached, extreme tension made his limbs go rigid. He tried to shift positions, but for some reason, one leg slipped, and the other kicked out wildly in panic, missing the bed. Lin Zhi’s eyes widened in horror. He grabbed desperately at the bed rail, but he still tumbled off with a loud “thud,” his head smacking hard against the floor.

“Damn it! Lin Zhi, if something happens to you, I’m screwed!”

Before blacking out, Lin Zhi heard Tong Xu’s panicked, terrified voice.

When he opened his eyes again, Lin Zhi was back on the bed. Compared to the dizziness from suddenly bashing his head in the previous loop, the desperate struggle on the dorm bed before dying—only to still crash to the floor—left him even more stunned.

The suffocating helplessness of the moment of death hadn’t faded, and the intense pain wracking his entire body made breathing difficult.

The Romance Survival System chimed in with its calm electronic tone: [Host! This system has blocked your pain sensations. It’s just psychological! Now do you see the cost of not binding? Without binding to me, you’ll just loop through these bizarre deaths over and over!]

Lin Zhi snapped back to reality. His body truly didn’t hurt.

The Romance Survival System then broadcast the novel’s subsequent plot: [Lin Zhi dies on the spot from a head injury after accidentally rolling off the bed. Song Mian, returning to the dorm, decides Lin Zhi can’t die so simply—Tong Xu is the prime suspect. Song Mian swiftly seizes power, becoming the Song Family’s decision-maker, and investigates Lin Zhi’s death. Tong Xu is proven innocent, and Song Mian ultimately becomes A City’s business overlord.]

Lin Zhi pondered.

[Host, your head’s empty—stop pretending to think. Hurry up and answer if you want to bind and do tasks!]

Lin Zhi had no choice but to ask, “What time is it now?”

Romance Survival System: [It’s March 14, 2025, 11:10 PM. Host, you’re falling asleep, planning to go to the illegitimate son’s banquet with Song Mian tomorrow.]

So he was back again. What a powerful system!

The Romance Survival System asked once more: [Host, you’ve died twice now. Are you sure you want to keep trying to save yourself? I have no objections if you do, but repeating deaths might break your psyche. Bind to the system and complete Branch Task One, and you can avoid dying again.]

Lin Zhi pondered, this time for real.

He’d known after the first death that he’d die no matter what—cannon fodder in the plot was like that. But the system could revive him, so Lin Zhi wanted to test it further. Even if he did nothing in the dorm and just waited until the time, he still died.

But kiss Song Mian’s mouth? Where was a straight guy’s dignity?

The Romance Survival System ruined the mood: [Host, if you die, you won’t need to worry about dignity anymore.]

True enough. The straight guy he’d been had already died falling off the bed. Now he was gay Lin!

Lin Zhi said, “I can abandon my dignity, but I need to ask Song Mian first.”

Romance Survival System exclaimed: [You’re going to ask about the kissing? The Male Lead definitely won’t agree! If he did, there’d be no need to win him over!]

“Not asking about that.”

The Romance Survival System grew curious.

Lin Zhi got up from the bed. Just like in the previous timeline, Song Mian was focused on typing away at his computer program. Lin Zhi sat down beside him and bumped his head against Song Mian’s shoulder.

Song Mian turned his head, frowning deeply. “What now?”

Lin Zhi’s expression grew serious. “Can I ask you something?”

“Mm.”

Lin Zhi lowered his voice. “Tell me the truth—have you ever taken a life?”

Song Mian: ??

Song Mian looked incredulous. “Are you sick?”

“No.” Lin Zhi pressed, “Killing is illegal, right?”

Song Mian’s face was expressionless. “Get lost.”

Lin Zhi leaned in again, persistent. “You’re from a wealthy family. Have you… ever gotten blood on your hands?”

Song Mian took a deep breath. “Even wealthy families have to follow the law. Get lost.”

Lin Zhi was satisfied and left. Even if he really kissed Song Mian, Song Mian wouldn’t beat him to death. He stood up and told the Romance Survival System in his mind, “I choose to bind.”

The Romance Survival System muttered: [Host, I still can’t keep up with your thought process.]

Lin Zhi said seriously, “Bind. No chit-chat while the system’s working.”

The Romance Survival System gave Lin Zhi six black lines. Then its electronic voice surged with excitement: [This system finally has a bound host! Please complete Branch Task One before 7 AM tomorrow: Kiss Song Mian. Reward: Continuation of life!]

After receiving the task, Lin Zhi went to find Zhu Muyun. “I talked in the dorm. Why didn’t you make me shut up?”

Zhu Muyun looked up from his book and lowered his head. “I didn’t dare.”

Lin Zhi was puzzled but not curious.

“Want some water?”

“It’d be great if you could pour a glass.”

Lin Zhi poured Zhu Muyun a glass of water and got a “thanks” in return. Now that’s more like it! Do what fits the timeline.