Because Pei Yan didn’t speak for a moment, Shen Ju couldn’t help feeling a bit uneasy.
Did I say something wrong?
Or maybe…?
He’d only been lost in wild thoughts for a few seconds when he heard Pei Yan let out what seemed like a sigh.
Hm?
Shen Ju perked up his little ears.
Pei Yan’s expression seemed tinged with regret as he spoke softly, “If you were by my side right now, would you still open your arms and hug me to comfort me?”
Shen Ju didn’t answer right away. Instead, he thought for a moment before asking, “Would that be enough?”
He was asking with complete sincerity.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Pei Yan in the video feed pause for a second, then let out a low chuckle.
“If I said it wasn’t enough, how else would you comfort me?”
Shen Ju thought again, but he couldn’t come up with anything.
In his mind, a hug was already the utmost limit.
So Shen Ju said, “However Pei-ge wants me to do it, I’ll do it that way.”
Pei Yan nearly sighed again.
So obedient. Too obedient.
Even if I bullied him until he cried, he’d still look up at me all teary-eyed.
“Shen Chirp.”
“Hm?”
Shen Ju instinctively straightened his back a little more. Every time he was called by his little nickname, he felt like he was about to get warned about something.
But Pei Yan said, “As long as your hugs are saved for me—only for me—that’s enough.”
“That way, I’d be thoroughly comforted.”
Bang!
A string of fireworks shot into the sky.
Shen Ju thought he’d heard his own heartbeat.
He lifted his gaze to check the time and realized it had already turned midnight.
“Pei-ge! Happy New Year!” Shen Ju exclaimed excitedly.
“Happy New Year, Shen Chirp.”
They spoke almost at the same time, then both burst into laughter.
They admired the fireworks together for a bit.
They even compared them side by side, but of course, they weren’t the same show.
He Yuan was still quite a distance from the Pei Family Old Mansion. Even under the same sky, they weren’t watching the same fireworks.
“No worries. That means the two of us are watching fireworks together.”
“Mm.”
Pei Yan watched Shen Ju and suddenly asked, “Do you have any plans for the next few days?”
“Yes.”
Shen Ju listed them out one by one for Pei Yan: “I still need to visit my maternal grandparents for New Year’s greetings. I also want to stop by my aunt’s place—Guan Mulin said he’d go too. Oh, and… we still need to visit the graves.”
It was to pay respects at the graves of Guan Mulin’s birth parents, Xu Ning and Shen Sheng An.
They’d go to Xu Ru’s house first, then head over together with her and Jian Yi.
As he spoke of this, Shen Ju’s tone softened involuntarily.
Like he’d thought of something.
If only Dad and Mom could come back to life…
996 popped up: [Impossible. As I told you before, Host, the dead can’t come back to life.]
[I know.]
[Host… ]
[Hm? What?]
996 seemed hesitant about something but ultimately didn’t say it.
[Nothing.]
[Happy New Year, Host.]
It figured a day like today wasn’t the time to bring it up.
[Happy New Year, Brother 996.]
Their conversation flowed through the video to Pei Yan’s end. Shen Ju might not have caught the hesitation in 996’s tone, but Pei Yan did. He frowned slightly, but since the System didn’t continue, Pei Yan couldn’t figure out what it was. Besides, he couldn’t insert himself into Shen Ju’s plans for the next few days, so he could only remind him that if anything came up, he could contact him anytime.
Pei Yan smiled. “Whether it’s something or nothing, you can contact me.”
“As long as I see it, I’ll respond to you.”
At a time like this, tasks didn’t matter.
He just wanted to tell Shen Ju that he was here—and that he’d always be here.
Shen Ju spent this New Year very contentedly.
Yes, content.
Nothing extra happened, no unexpected incidents.
He was very satisfied.
That held true until the day they went to visit the graves, when Shen Ju’s mood settled into something heavier.
Xu Ning and Shen Sheng An had passed away when he was five. In his memories, they were wonderful parents—Xu Ning would hold him and pinch his cheeks, while Shen Sheng An would lift him high and let him ride on his shoulders.
If not for that accident, even if he wasn’t their biological son, he probably would have grown up happy.
But there were no “ifs” in reality.
The reality was that he’d found his birth parents, while Guan Mulin had lost his at the same time.
Guan Mulin hadn’t even had the chance to meet them.
This was Shen Ju’s first time coming to the graves with Guan Mulin.
He didn’t know if Guan Mulin had come secretly on his own before.
Back then, he’d been afraid to touch on any of this.
Especially after confirming things with 996.
Shen Ju stood to the side, watching as Guan Mulin bent down and placed a bouquet in front of Xu Ning and Shen Sheng An’s tombstone. He seemed affected too—or perhaps a mix of complicated emotions laced with curiosity—as he unconsciously reached out to touch the photo on the stone. His mouth opened, like he wanted to call out to them, but he hesitated in place, lips pressed tight, looking a bit lost.
Almost instinctively, Shen Ju asked the question again:
[Brother 996, is it really impossible…?]
996 knew what he meant and sighed. [No, Host. The dead can’t come back to life. Guan Mulin’s parents can’t be revived—it goes against the natural order.]
[In fact, after you complete the tasks and help restore Jian Yi’s left hand, it’ll also require blurring a ton of people’s memories and perceptions. The energy needed is beyond imagination. If your tasks weren’t so tied to this world’s Protagonist Gong and Shou, the head office wouldn’t have approved your task reward submission. And it would still require you… Host, stop thinking about impossible things. It’s really not feasible.]
[I know.]
Shen Ju’s voice dropped: [I just feel like I let Er-ge down…]
[There’s no helping it.]
996 paused: [Just like when you first took on this task, Host. A lot couldn’t be foreseen. Some situations are beyond our control.]
Shen Ju paused.
He seemed to pick up on something off in 996’s tone.
[Brother 996… what’s wrong?] he asked.
996 went silent for two seconds before finally resolving to speak: [There’s something I need to tell you.]
[I should have told you sooner, Host.]
[It’s that… ]
996 took a deep breath, thinking that whether early or late, it had to be said—so might as well get it all out now.
[Our Task Energy Bar is over halfway full now, right? Before, our tasks were mostly step-by-step, with task guides and suggestions, plus clear instructions for your role-playing between the Protagonist Gong and Shou. But after the Task Energy Bar passed halfway, there’s a new explicit directive for your final outcome… I mean, the endgame for your character role… ]
[It’s… sigh, Host, you know you’re playing the vicious true young master to contrast the fake young master, highlighting his great, righteous, upright image. So your image has to be bad. In the end, for the fake young master to stay with the Guan Family, you—as the antagonist—definitely have to… have to get kicked out… ]
996’s voice grew smaller and more guilty as it spoke.
It didn’t even dare look at what expression the Host had right now…
It hadn’t expected the Task Energy Bar passing halfway to unlock such a clear directive.
But it made sense.
After all, with over half accumulated—rounding up, success was practically here—they needed clearer instructions.
Just… this instruction was clear, but…
996 was thinking this when it suddenly noticed Guan Mulin looking their way—more precisely, at the Host—with an odd expression on his face, like he’d heard something shocking and unbelievable.
Eh?
Had something happened while it was talking to the Host?
996 thought back—no.
Just their conversation…?
Wait.
No way…
[Host, look at Guan Mulin—] 996 blurted out.
Shen Ju instinctively looked up.
Guan Mulin instinctively ducked his head, hiding the shock and complex emotions in his eyes.
What did I just hear?
First off, Shen Ju really was doing tasks to help restore Jian Yi’s left hand.
Jian Yi’s left hand can be restored… Of course it could—with a System around, fixing a disabled hand shouldn’t be hard.
At first, when Guan Mulin overheard Shen Ju and the System talking about his birth parents, he was surprised. Then hearing Shen Ju say he felt bad about letting him down made things complicated. He wanted to say there was no “letting down”—if anything, he’d been living off Shen Ju’s identity and owed him plenty. Many things couldn’t be fought or changed by human effort, especially death.
Even just for restoring Jian Yi’s hand, Shen Ju had already given more than enough.
Guan Mulin doubted he could do the same.
Every time he thought about it, he admired Shen Ju’s resolve.
He wasn’t sure exactly what happened in that accident back then, but Shen Ju had only been a few years old—five, right? What could a five-year-old do?
Even grown up now, Shen Ju was still trying his best to make up for it.
Too kind.
Kind to the point that Guan Mulin felt a pang of heartache for him.
Especially after hearing what 996 said next…
Guan Mulin could barely control his expression or stop himself from whipping his head toward Shen Ju.
How could this be?
Why?
Why should Shen Ju have to leave…
After all this time together, Guan Mulin truly saw Shen Ju as a little brother. Besides, the Guan Family was Shen Ju’s home. If anyone should leave, it should be him—not Shen Ju.
Guan Mulin kept his head down, lips pressed tight, emotions churning.
He even felt an urgent itch to hop into the group chat right then, discuss with Qin Soxi and the others what to do.
But he didn’t dare make any big moves, afraid it’d give him away.
His reaction earlier had been off—hope they hadn’t noticed…
Shen Ju didn’t get what 996 meant.
He looked at Guan Mulin like asked, and…?
[Mm… nothing.]
996 figured it must be its imagination.
How could their words be overheard? No anomalies in the program code.
Though maybe it was time for a routine self-check.
But that could wait.
Sensing Shen Ju now, 996 asked cautiously: [Host, you okay?]
Shen Ju didn’t know how he felt right now.
Earlier, he’d been fantasizing that maybe after the tasks ended, he’d get a chance to explain.
That he could stay with the Guan Family.
That he’d have more family…
But now 996 told him the task’s endgame was leaving the Guan Family.
Like a slap of reality.
What was I deluding myself about?
The tasks had gone too smoothly lately. The family and Pei-ge didn’t seem to truly dislike him, and the Task Energy Bar kept rising… All that gave him the illusion that everything would be fine once tasks ended… But he’d forgotten the role he was playing—the vicious true young master whose end couldn’t be good by logic.
But I’d prepared for this mentally, right?
From the moment he accepted the role-playing task, he’d been ready.
He’d never expected the Guan Family to truly like him.
Never dreamed of meeting Pei Yan or building this great relationship with him.
These were bonuses.
Getting them during the tasks—he should be grateful.
So…
It’s fine.
I’m fine.
That’s what Shen Ju told 996 too.
[Host… ]
[I’m really fine, Brother 996.]
Shen Ju seemed unwilling to continue the topic, ending it decisively: [Don’t worry, I’ll keep doing the tasks properly.]
“What?”
That night when they got back, after Shen Ju had fallen asleep, the whole family gathered in the study.
Guan Mulin feared he couldn’t explain clearly in the group chat, nor could he make himself understood, so he only said there was something extremely important—very extremely important—to discuss, and that they absolutely had to avoid Shen Ju. Only after Shen Ju had fallen asleep did he quietly gather the rest of the family in the study. Then Guan Mulin recounted everything he’d overheard that day, sparing no detail.
The moment he finished, Qin Soxi and the others’ faces changed abruptly.
“How could this be?”
Qin Soxi paced anxiously around the study two or three times. “Why does the baby have to leave the Guan Family in the end? Can’t this be changed?!”
“If they want to complete the task, I’m afraid it can’t be changed.”
Guan Mulin pressed his lips together. “And we’ve confirmed Shen Ju’s goal for doing the task: restoring Jian Yi’s left hand as the reward. If we want Shen Ju to give it up…”
No need to say it—that was absolutely impossible.
Qin Soxi’s face paled, her eyes reddening.
Now they were trapped in a dilemma.
She felt sorry for that child Jian Yi just looking at him, and she couldn’t help imagining how outstanding and dazzling he would be with a fully intact body.
But… but the one who had to suffer now was her child…
If she had a choice, of course Qin Soxi would choose Shen Ju.
But the most pressing issue now was that Shen Ju still had to continue the task.
He had to help a disabled person restore their left hand, giving them a fully intact body, without letting anyone else find it strange. According to what 996 had said, it probably even required altering and blurring others’ memories and perceptions of “Jian Yi’s disability.” Just thinking about it, she knew how enormous the energy cost would be—and no wonder Shen Ju had accepted such a task…
And now the task was already more than halfway done.
Could they hold Shen Ju back?
They had even helped him get this far…
Guan Lifeng wrapped an arm around Qin Soxi’s shoulders. “Don’t think about the worst first. Think about it—we’re helping the kid with his task right now, aren’t we taking a shortcut? Maybe we can find a loophole in the task’s ‘ending’ too.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right.”
Qin Soxi sniffled, forcing herself to perk up. “We need to think this through carefully.”
Just how to do it…
Shen Ju had no idea that the family had already learned of this behind his back, and they were worrying themselves sick over the task’s endgame where he had to leave the Guan Family.
He still thought he’d disguised it perfectly, that everything was proceeding normally as planned.
Pei Yan didn’t know about it either.
But he would have a chance to see Shen Ju soon.
Because Pei Tai was hosting a banquet, and the Guan Family was among those invited.
![How Should an Ordinary Person Role-Play? [Quick Transmigration]](https://i3.wp.com/dobynovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/qck.jpg?resize=151,215 "How Should an Ordinary Person Role-Play? [Quick Transmigration]")