He had stayed in the hospital for three days.
Holding his phone, Song Yu searched through an avalanche of information and finally confirmed that he had transmigrated into a book.
He had entered that idiotic book, Gentle Control, and become the cannon fodder who shared his name.
Song Yu, the Song Family's third young master in City A.
Tossing his phone aside, Song Yu raked irritably through his hair. He turned his head, and a boy's face appeared in the window.
Pale skin, soft black hair, exceptionally delicate features, and large, clear eyes. In his blue-and-white hospital gown, he looked all the more frail and pitiful.
This face was practically identical to his own at fifteen.
Fuck. Your Brother Song was about to shut down.
As a supporting character whose appearances in Gentle Control could be counted on one hand, Song Yu's illness did not merit any ink from the author. So after transmigrating, Song Yu asked everyone around him, including the doctors, nurses, and housekeeper, but not one could name his illness. They all just looked at him sadly with tears in their eyes.
Even his mother, the Song Group's invariably decisive and formidable businesswoman, had instantly reddened eyes upon hearing his question.
Forcing a gentle smile, she answered a different question. "Be good, Yuyu. Once you're out of the hospital, Mommy will go wherever you want to have fun."
Song Yu understood.
The original author had never intended to let him live.
Don't ask. Ask, and it was a terminal illness beyond the bounds of modern medical knowledge. In any case, all he had to do was wait to die.
A black sedan slowly drove into a villa on the outskirts of City A. Song Yu's parents had bought this house specifically for his recovery. Set beside mountains and water, it had elegant scenery and peaceful surroundings.
Song Yu got out listlessly, his delicate, pale face filled with world-weariness. The sight terrified his mother, who feared that the slightest lapse might send her precious son off to kill himself.
Inside the villa, the housekeeper had already prepared dinner.
Song Yu's father and older brother were both at the company and could not get away tonight, leaving only his mother to eat with him.
His mother watched him worriedly and placed food in his bowl. "You're out of the hospital now, Yuyu. Why the long face? Isn't Auntie Wang's cooking your favorite?"
Song Yu had little appetite and did not want to speak.
Suppressing the ache in her heart, his mother maintained her smile. "Now that you're back in A City, Mommy has arranged a welcome-home banquet for you, right here at home. You'll be attending high school in A City anyway. Why not take this opportunity to meet more people your age? What do you think, Yuyu?"
Even in A City, the Song Family ranked among the foremost wealthy families, and the media competed to cover any banquet they held. Bringing Song Yu back in such a high-profile fashion was enough to show how much the family adored him. But... meeting people his age. If he remembered correctly, those two scum gongs were also in A City right now. They more or less counted as his peers and even belonged to the same social circle.
Song Yu's fingers paused for a long time.
A faint mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Beep... system starting up...]
Song Yu's pupils contracted, and he suddenly looked up. "Mom, I'm going back to my room to rest for a bit."
His mother froze, watching her son leave the table and run upstairs.
Song Yu returned to his room, closed the door, and drew the curtains.
Turning around, he silently regarded the pale, ethereal soul standing before him.
He frowned deeply. "Were you the one who dragged me into this world?"
Standing before him was none other than this world's Song Yu.
"Song Yu" wore a hospital gown, his face so pale it was translucent. His eyes were gentle and harmless, like a little lamb's. After a long hesitation, he slowly nodded. "Mm, it was me."
"Why?"
"Song Yu's" already pale face grew a shade whiter, and he said weakly, "I'm sorry. A malfunction occurred in our main world, so we had no choice but to bring you here as a remedial measure. I'm this world's Song Yu, but you can also call me System 008. Originally, the purpose of Song Yu's existence was to talk to the protagonist five years from now and help him make peace with his past. But for some reason, this time Song Yu didn't survive his illness and died in the hospital."
"We needed someone to complete Song Yu's storyline, so we took it upon ourselves to bring you over from a parallel world. First, we'd like to apologize. As compensation, however, we'll transfer a payment to you in your original world once this is over. You only need to stay in this world for five years and complete the storyline, and then you can leave."
Song Yu scoffed, his clear, dark eyes filled with coldness. "Do you think I'm short on money?"
008 fell silent.
Song Yu considered this an idiotic book and did not want to waste five years here at all. He frowned irritably. "I don't agree. Can you send me back right now?"
008 shrank back guiltily and lowered his head, not daring to look Song Yu in the eye. "I'm sorry. I don't have that ability."
It tried to persuade Song Yu. "Actually, these five years won't have much effect on you. As long as you don't affect the storyline, we won't interfere with anything you do. Time in your original world is frozen, and in this world, you have a perfect family background. You can do many things however you please."
Song Yu gave a cold laugh.
008 was timid. Having explained all this to Song Yu, he disappeared. "Th-then that's all. Get some rest. If anything comes up, you can summon me anytime. Just call 008 a couple of times in your mind." Of course, he might not necessarily come out.
Song Yu stood there, so angry his teeth hurt.
Just then, his mother came upstairs and knocked on the door, her voice full of worry. "Yuyu, what's wrong? You were eating just fine. Why did you suddenly go back to your room?"
Song Yu composed himself, went out, and smiled at her. "Nothing, Mom. Let's go back downstairs and eat."
Throughout the meal, Song Yu ate distractedly.
His mother kept watching his mood and could barely eat either. After hesitating, she said, "Did Mommy upset you by mentioning the banquet just now?"
Song Yu was stirring his porridge with his spoon. He paused at her words, then lowered his head. "No."
His mother's heart ached terribly. "If you don't like it, we won't hold it. Mommy was wrong. I forgot our precious Yuyu likes peace and quiet. I'll turn down any future events for you too."
Song Yu sighed inwardly. His irritation and gloom melted away little by little under his mother's gentle, kind gaze.
He regarded this as a book, but none of the people in it were flat paper characters. They were truly alive.
For instance, the well-maintained wealthy lady sitting across from him-her love and worry for her son could not be faked.
Song Yu lowered his head and took a sip of porridge, his eyes downcast, each eyelash distinct.
His mother and father were both busy and rarely had time to stay by his side. His mother had only managed to pick him up from the hospital and eat with him today by canceling many meetings. After he started high school, he might also spend more time apart from his family than with them. Song Yu did not like City A. In Gentle Control, every one of City A's ** was like a lunatic. Besides, for some reason, ever since entering this book, he kept finding himself thinking of that poor little thing, Xie Sui.
He swallowed the porridge in his mouth.
Bits and pieces of the book's plot came back to Song Yu.
Xie Sui was the same age as him, currently on summer vacation before high school too, but his life was nowhere near as fortunate.
That summer, Xie Sui worked himself to the bone at part-time jobs to earn his living expenses, got tangled up with a bunch of thugs, and was cheated out of some money by a heartless boss. During a fight with the thugs, his fingers were broken. Without the best treatment, he was left with a lifelong injury. The reason he never fought back against the bullying when he first started high school was also that his hand had been injured then.
Song Yu recalled the humiliation and abuse Xie Sui had suffered, then remembered the boy's initial innocence and kindness-Xie Sui had gotten involved with those thugs to save a girl they had nearly bullied.
The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became.
Gentle Control ought to be renamed Xie Sui's Miserable Life.
In any case, when he read it, those idiots had made his brain ache with anger, while at the same time, he had felt unbearably sorry for Xie Sui.
He had only five years in this book. He could coast through those eighteen hundred days eating and drinking, or perhaps he could also... change someone's fate.
Many unreadable emotions surged through Song Yu's dark eyes. Finally, he set down his spoon, a flicker of resolve passing through them.
"Mom, I want to transfer schools."
His mother: "???"
Jing City, where Xie Sui lived, was Song Yu's maternal grandmother's hometown.
Song Yu said calmly, "I want to go to Jing City and stay with Grandma for a while first."
News of Song Yu's return had spread throughout City A's elite circles. Everyone was extremely curious about the Song Family's third young master, who had always stayed out of sight while recuperating. They described him in almost mythical terms and eagerly looked forward to seeing him at the Song Family banquet. Only Song Yu's older sister, Song Wanying, knew that these people had absolutely no chance. Because on the third day after his discharge, Song Yu had already boarded a plane to Jing City.
On his phone, his sister's messages came in a relentless barrage.
[Song Wanying:] [Song Wanying: What's this supposed to mean? Are you targeting me? Trying to make me lose face? (knife)(knife)(knife)] [Song Wanying: I'd only just bragged to our girls and promised them a look at your peerless beauty, and the next thing I know, you're on a plane?] [Song Wanying: (knife)(knife)(knife) Give me an explanation, or you're done for.]
By then, Song Yu had already arrived in Jing City, gotten off the plane, and was sitting in the car headed to his grandmother's house.
Jing City was also a provincial capital, prosperous and bustling, but with less of City A's extravagance, restlessness, and glittering nightlife.
The black sedan headed toward the city center, roadside trees racing past on either side.
The driver was an honest-looking man in his fifties. He smiled at Song Yu. "The old madam has lived alone in Jing City for years. It's peaceful, but lonely too. When she heard you were coming, she was so happy she cooked personally and made several homestyle Jing City dishes. She's been talking about it all morning."
While replying to Song Wanying, Song Yu smiled. "Mm, I trust Grandma's cooking."
The driver asked, "Young master, will you be attending Jingcheng No. 1 High School?"
Song Yu said, "Mm."
The driver's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful. My son attends Jingcheng No. 1 High School too. I'll make sure that brat takes good care of you at school."
Song Yu's frailty and frequent illnesses were no secret.
Song Yu accepted the kindness with a gentle smile. "Then thank you, Uncle." But he did not think he was that delicate. This illness was purely some terminal condition the author had made up to kill him off. In any case, right now he did not feel sick in the slightest. He probably would not be afraid of anyone even in a fight.
His phone kept flashing.
[Song Yu: What explanation do you want?] [Song Wanying: What explanation do you think I want? Suddenly transferring to Jing City without even a reason?-What did City A ever do to you? I've lived there comfortably for years. Now I feel awful whenever I leave the province.] [Song Yu: Tsk.] [Song Wanying: Out with it!!] [Song Yu: A reason? The world is so big. I want to see it on your behalf.]
[Song Wanying: ...] They could not keep being siblings like this.