Chapter 63
Xingyuan had once been a player, but weak and unskilled, he had failed the Toy Town dungeon.
His appearance was unremarkable, and as a doll, he was equally ugly and undesirable.
He had been passed from owner to owner, eventually ending up in the shopkeeper’s display case, waiting to be bought.
Resentful and bitter, he hid in a corner of the display case, cursing everyone.
After an unknown amount of time, perhaps just a few days, Xingyuan woke up to a system notification.
[Ding! Congratulations, player Xingyuan! You have received a mysterious reward!]
The system’s cold, mechanical voice was laced with an irresistible temptation.
If he accepted this reward, he would become a child named Xing Nuo and live in the real world.
This child had everything Xingyuan lacked!
A cute, little face, a doting father, and two handsome, powerful older brothers.
This perfect life, falling into his lap out of nowhere?!
Xingyuan, overjoyed, didn’t hesitate. He eagerly accepted the offer without a second thought.
He didn’t care what would happen to the original Xing Nuo.
Wherever that child went, he hoped he would become an ugly, unwanted doll, trapped forever!
That way, no one would expose Xingyuan’s deception!
But when Xingyuan woke up in Xing Nuo’s body, he was met with a pair of cold, reptilian eyes.
Xing Nuo’s father, Shen Wen, sat by the bed, his golden hair flowing smoothly, a bowl of warm egg custard in his hand, his expression unreadable as he studied him.
Xingyuan quickly spoke, his voice sweet and childish, just like the original Xing Nuo’s.
“Daddy, I hungry.”
Shen Wen didn’t offer him the egg custard. Instead, he reached out and gently gripped his neck.
“Who are you?”
Xingyuan’s disguise was instantly seen through.
Before he could continue his act, he felt an overwhelming wave of drowsiness.
He drifted in and out of consciousness, realizing he was in a basement.
He lay on a waterbed, surrounded by swirling, crimson liquid.
In the dim light, the basement was a scene of red and black.
The nightmarish scene made Xingyuan’s mind reel, his blood turning to ice.
Before he could scream, Shen Wen, the beautiful, golden-haired man, forced something into his mouth, and he lost consciousness again.
He woke up again, but didn’t open his eyes, trying to understand his situation.
Faint voices reached him:
“…Xing Nuo…too late…no doll in window.”
“Probably…in dungeon. Wen Xingxue treating him well.”
Xingyuan struggled, not understanding how his disguise had been so easily seen through. He tried to escape, but his body was weak and limp, unable to move.
So, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
The system’s reward was a trap!
Despair washed over him, and then he felt a lightness, realizing he was back in his clown doll body.
He opened his eyes, his initial joy turning to shock as he realized that he, and the unsold green-haired doll beside him, had both turned back into humans!
A flood of memories, not his own, filled his mind—
The little boy named Xing Nuo, escaping the display case in his doll body, being picked up by Wen Xingxue, going to a dungeon with him.
Xing Nuo, being young, hadn’t realized it, but Xingyuan, a veteran player, immediately understood Wen Xingxue’s special treatment of the clown doll.
Challenging a B-level dungeon, far below his level, and coincidentally, the Toy Town dungeon?!
Spending countless points on clothes and accessories for the little clown doll.
And finally, after Xing Nuo said he wanted to go home to his daddy, destroying the Heart of Toys and setting him free.
Xingyuan was consumed by jealousy, his eyes bloodshot, his face contorted.
I shouldn’t have listened to that damn system!
He hadn’t even enjoyed a single moment as a human before being exposed and imprisoned by Shen Wen!
He would have been better off staying as a doll, being picked up by Wen Xingxue, gaining his favor.
As Xingyuan seethed with jealousy, he heard the green-haired doll’s excited cries, asking him his name.
Xingyuan, irritated, was about to tell him to shut up when he felt a cold sensation in his neck and collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief and resentment.
He died without knowing who killed him.
He had finally become human again, a second chance within his grasp, only to have it snatched away.
So many players died in Central City every day. No one, except for the green-haired doll, noticed his death.
Xing Nuo felt like he had just closed his eyes, listening to his dad’s story, being told to take a nap, when he suddenly woke up.
He rubbed his eyes, looking at the dark sky outside, and gasped softly.
“Daddy, dark dark!”
How did Zaizai sleep till night?
Shen Wen, carrying a bowl of double skin milk, hearing Xing Nuo’s voice, smiled gently.
“Yes, our little sleepyhead Xing Nuo, you slept for so long.”
Xing Nuo hummed and yawned, feeling strangely tired even after sleeping.
He snuggled against his dad’s leg, resting his head against him.
“Zaizai sleepy.”
He felt exhausted, as if he had just run a marathon.
Shen Wen scooped a spoonful of the double skin milk and offered it to Xing Nuo.
“Eat something. Daddy will sleep with you later.”
Xing Nuo’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly ate the double skin milk.
The dessert, brought by Shen Yan from a private chef, was rich and creamy, a new and delicious experience for Xing Nuo.
After finishing it, he cupped his cheeks, exclaiming how sweet it was.
“So sweet! Like cloud bwad!”
He wasn’t sure why he mentioned cloud bread, but he suddenly craved it.
“Daddy, Zaizai can have cloud bwad tomorrow?”
Shen Wen, ever indulgent, didn’t refuse.
“Yes, you’ve been such a good boy today.”
Xing Nuo, having only slept, not understanding why he was being praised, covered his mouth, giggling inwardly.
Silly Daddy. Zaizai didn’t do anything today!
He hadn’t studied diligently, hadn’t gone for a walk with Daddy, and yet Daddy said he was a good boy!
He nuzzled his dad’s arm like a puppy.
“Okay! Zaizai eat two!”
Having successfully negotiated his reward, Xing Nuo yawned again, his eyelids drooping, and quickly fell asleep.
This time, he slept soundly until morning.
Sunlight streamed through the clouds, bathing the world in a golden glow.
The breakfast stall downstairs was crowded and noisy, people clamoring for their morning meal.
The aroma of freshly steamed buns filled the air, the steam reaching Xing Nuo’s face as he stood on tiptoe, looking eagerly at the stall.
He gasped, his eyes watering from the steam, and took a couple of steps back.
The stall owner, seeing the little one’s scrunched-up face as he rubbed his eyes, chuckled and picked out the prettiest red bean bun.
“Here’s your red bean bun, little boy!”
She handed the bun to Xing Nuo, receiving a sweet “Thank you” in return, her mood instantly brightening.
Watching the handsome, blond man with the curly-haired little boy walk away, she sighed dreamily.
“Old man, if our son gives us such a cute and well-behaved grandson, I’ll be overjoyed!”
Her husband, who was serving another customer, scoffed.
“Don’t even think about it. Our son inherited my genes. He can’t produce anything this good-looking, unless he gets cheated on.”
The stall owner rolled her eyes and sighed, then continued serving the other customers.
Xing Nuo, holding the red bean bun, which was almost as big as his face, in one hand and his dad’s hand in the other, took a large bite.
Shen Wen, seeing this, poked his head.
“You already ate breakfast at home, and now you want a red bean bun? Are you still going to eat your cloud bread today?”
Xing Nuo, his cheeks puffed out, chewing happily, his eyes sparkling, said, slightly embarrassed:
“Yummy! Daddy eat too!”
He generously offered the bun to his dad.
Shen Wen shook his head, seeing they had reached the kindergarten, and took the bun, putting it in Xing Nuo’s backpack.
“I’ll keep this for you. You can eat it during break time if you’re hungry. If you can’t finish it, bring it home for your brother. He has a big appetite.”
Xing Nuo nodded and, carrying his sunflower backpack, reluctantly entered the kindergarten, looking back at his dad every few steps.
