The system appears

After dinner, Gu Zhiyue said goodnight to the others and returned to his room.

He was on a video call with Bai Qinglan on his phone.

"Son, are you settling in all right? Is there anything you need?"

"It's all right. They've prepared everything, and the room was newly prepared too."

Bai Qinglan chuckled and asked, "Why do you keep calling them 'they'? You should try changing how you address them. Your parents must have been looking forward to hearing you call them Mom and Dad."

Gu Zhiyue nodded slightly. "I know, but it just feels so sudden. I can't quite..."

"I know. This change was so sudden that you can't accept it right away, but you have to take that step eventually, don't you? This way, you'll have another pair of parents to love you."

"All right, I'll try." Gu Zhiyue looked at Bai Qinglan's face on the screen. "Mom, are you really good friends with them?"

Bai Qinglan smiled and nodded. "The four of us went to the same high school and university. Wanling was even the one who brought your dad and me together. We've known each other for over twenty years now."

"All right, you must be tired today. Get some rest. We'll talk again tomorrow."

Gu Zhiyue nodded. "Okay. Tell Dad to get some rest early and stop staying up so late."

"All right. Talk to you tomorrow."

Gu Zhiyue put down his phone, got up, and left his room, intending to go downstairs to the kitchen for some water. When he reached the stairs, perhaps because he still wasn't used to the width of the steps here, he misplaced his foot and fell down.

Gu Zhiyue instinctively cried out as he fell. The sound alerted the others in the house, and Gu Shuoyan was the first to rush over and pick him up. "Quick! To the hospital!"

Zhao Wanling was so panicked that her mind went blank. Gu Jiangfeng draped a coat over her, took her hand, and got into the car with her.

Gu Shuoyan glanced down at the person in his arms, then looked up and urged, "Faster! How long will it take us to get to the hospital at this speed?"

The driver pressed the accelerator a little harder. "Third Young Master, there aren't any pedestrians or cars here, so I can go a little faster. Once we're down the mountain, going too fast could cause an accident."

Gu Zhiyue's brows were slightly furrowed. His head felt swollen and groggy, and he felt a little nauseous.

When you were down on your luck, everything really did trip you up.

Fortunately, they hit green lights all the way, and there were few cars on the road. Before long, examinations and a hospital room had been arranged for Gu Zhiyue.

The doctor examined Gu Zhiyue thoroughly before explaining the situation to the rest of the Gu Family. "They're only superficial injuries, nothing serious. He'll make a full recovery once the wounds heal. But remember to keep them dry, watch what he eats, and apply the medication on time, or they may leave scars."

Zhao Wanling finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, of course. We'll remember. Thank you, doctor."

After watching the doctor leave, the three stayed beside Gu Zhiyue's bed. Gu Jiangfeng frowned slightly. "When we get back, tell Old Qian and the others that all the lights in the house must stay on twenty-four hours a day from now on."

Gu Shuoyan suddenly called out, "He's awake! He's awake!"

Looking at the three heads leaning toward him, Gu Zhiyue, still not fully awake, instinctively called, "Mom."

Zhao Wanling wept with joy. "Mom's here. How are you feeling, sweetheart? Does your head hurt? Are you uncomfortable anywhere else?"

Gu Zhiyue paused for four or five seconds before replying, "It hurts a little. Nowhere else."

Gu Shuoyan breathed a sigh of relief. "I told you he'd be fine. Didn't the doctor just say so? Our little brother is fine. Mom, you're too nervous."

"How could I not worry? Seeing Xiao Yue with blood all over his head nearly scared me to death."

Gu Jiangfeng said, "You're exaggerating. You'll frighten Xiao Yue."

As Gu Zhiyue listened to the three fussing over him beside his bed, he felt a little sense of belonging to this family.

[Ding-dong~ Successfully bound to host Gu Zhiyue. System No. 9 at your service!]

Startled, Gu Zhiyue turned his head from side to side, but there was nothing there.

Gu Shuoyan asked, "What is it? Do you want your phone? It's at home. I'll have someone bring it over now."

Gu Zhiyue nodded. "Oh... okay." Then he continued lying there. Had the fall given him some strange supernatural ability?

Just as Gu Zhiyue was about to put the matter aside, the voice sounded again. [Host, only you can hear my voice. I'm inside your consciousness.]

Gu Zhiyue raised his hand before his eyes and looked at it, then lowered it. [This really isn't a hallucination? How could something this incredible happen to me?]

[Host~ I'm a newly appointed system. This is my first time binding to a host to carry out missions. The other systems have already started working, but I've only just bound to my host...]

Gu Zhiyue actually heard hurt and sadness in the voice. He asked, [Then... what's the mission?]

[Well, I need to go back and confirm that with the Main System first. You can call me Xiao Jiu from now on, host. Host! I'll go back and get the mission first. See you in a bit!]

[Oh... then, see you in a bit.]

Gu Zhiyue closed his eyes. I'll sleep first and worry about it later.

Gu Shuoyan stayed to keep watch overnight, while Gu Jiangfeng and Zhao Wanling went home first. The doctor had said it was nothing serious and that Gu Zhiyue could leave the hospital tomorrow.

Gu Shuoyan slept on the single bed beside the hospital bed. The lights in the private room were off, leaving nothing but darkness apart from the red glow of the call button.

Gu Zhiyue slept until he woke naturally. The injury on his head had long since stopped hurting, though it was still covered with gauze.

Gu Shuoyan had a bodyguard go downstairs and buy two breakfasts. "We'll leave the hospital after eating. Just have some fried dough sticks and steamed buns for now. Once we get home, we'll have Aunt Sun make you something nourishing to build you back up."

"How did you fall yesterday?"

Gu Zhiyue thought back. "I think I misplaced my foot going downstairs. I lost my balance and fell."

"You nearly scared us to death. Luckily, they were only superficial injuries, nothing serious. Mom went white with fright."

Half an hour later, the two left the hospital. Zhao Wanling drove over herself to pick them up, and Gu Shuoyan asked, "Where's Dad?"

Zhao Wanling said, "Something suddenly came up at the company, so he rushed off to a meeting. Come on, let's go home and make Xiao Yue something nourishing to build up his strength."

Gu Zhiyue said, "There's no need. I'm not that frail. I only bumped my head."

Zhao Wanling was firm. "Absolutely not. We have to build your strength back up."

Gu Shuoyan chuckled. "Just listen to our mom."

Gu Zhiyue nodded. "All right, I'll listen to our mom."

Hearing him address her that way again, Zhao Wanling tightened her grip on the steering wheel in excitement. "The doctor said you can't have spicy food for a week, or it might leave a scar. Let's bear with it, sweetheart. Once the wound heals, Mom will take you out for a feast."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom."

After returning home, Gu Zhiyue called Bai Qinglan and whined to her, just as he had every time he came home after getting hurt before.

Bai Qinglan kept sighing in distress. "You child, being so reckless late at night. Thank goodness they're only superficial injuries. Otherwise, what would your mother and I do?"

Gu Zhiyue held up three fingers. "I promise I'll never let an accident like this happen again."

"You little rascal. Rest up and listen to the doctor's instructions, understand?"

"I understand."

By lunchtime, the voice calling itself System No. 9 still hadn't sounded in his head again. Gu Zhiyue was already wondering whether it had all been a dream.

The next second, that voice appeared. [Host, I'm back!]

Gu Zhiyue was so startled that his hand trembled slightly. [You scared me to death! Why did you speak so suddenly?]

[I was too excited. I've received the mission the Main System gave me!]

[What mission?]

Gu Zhiyue didn't notice Gu Shuoyan and Zhao Wanling staring at him as though they had seen a ghost. Zhao Wanling was about to call out to him, but Gu Shuoyan stopped her.

They exchanged glances and reached an understanding: they would see what was going on first.

Gu Zhiyue took a bite of food and asked, [What mission are you carrying out?]

[The plan to save the Gu Family! That means your family, host.]

Gu Zhiyue raised his brows slightly. [What does my family need saving from?]

[Plenty, host. The Gu Family will have a terribly miserable future. That's why the Main System had me bind to you, to stop the tragedies from happening.]

[Then tell me first. What will happen to the Gu Family in the future?]

Even Zhao Wanling and Gu Shuoyan slowed their eating, all but leaning their ears closer. They had to hear what would happen to the Gu Family in the future.