The Meng Family of Jing City was one of the most prominent families in the area. Although most of its members in recent generations had gone into politics or business, the refinement of a scholarly family remained in their bones.
Song Yu's grandmother had been a classic Jiangnan beauty in her youth. Even in old age, her delicate grace had not diminished in the slightest. Her white hair was neatly combed, and she stood on tiptoe at the carved iron gate, gazing toward the end of the road with nervous anticipation.
Song Yu got out of the car.
Warm light illuminated the boy's delicate, pale face.
Grandma Meng's eyes reddened at the sight of him. She rubbed the corners of her eyes. "Yuyu has grown up. For a moment, Grandma barely recognized you."
Song Yu smiled and supported her by the arm. "Sorry for the wait, Grandma. It's windy out here. Let's go inside."
Grandma Meng smiled with reddened eyes and patted the back of his hand, speaking softly. "Not at all, not at all. All that matters is that you're here."
Once inside, Song Yu saw many people, all from the Meng Family. Most were from the younger generation, with his cousins gathered together.
They all stood up when he entered and greeted him warmly, but their eyes flickered as they looked at him, their intentions less than simple.
Song Yu knew what they wanted. They had probably all listened to their elders and come to make his acquaintance because of the Song Family's reputation in City A.
"These are all your older cousins. We're family. From now on, if there's anywhere you want to go in Jing City, you can ask them. They know this city much better than you do."
Grandma Meng introduced them one by one. Her aim was simple: she was afraid Song Yu would be lonely after arriving alone in Jing City and wanted him to meet more people his age.
But Song Yu had no interest in any of them.
Song Yu had come from a well-off family in his original world, too, and handled occasions like this with ease. He smiled politely and obediently, but his manner remained cool.
Once everyone was seated, the family ate quietly.
Grandma Meng had been a young lady of a distinguished family, raised under strict household instruction, and still maintained the tradition of not speaking during meals. Since she said nothing, the younger family members naturally dared not act out. Though their anxious gazes were practically boring holes into Song Yu, none spoke to him without permission.
For Song Yu, this was a good thing.
After finishing his meal, he used fatigue from the long car ride as an excuse and went upstairs to shower and sleep.
He left behind a tableful of people wearing complicated, frustrated expressions, wanting to speak but holding back.
After showering and drying his hair, Song Yu let himself collapse onto the bed.
The quilt and pillow carried a faint jasmine fragrance. The air in Jing City was fresher than in City A, and Grandma Meng had planted plenty of flowers in the garden. With the evening breeze drifting gently through, everything felt especially peaceful.
Song Yu stared at the ceiling, thinking about what to do next.
If he suddenly went looking for Xie Sui, he would definitely be taken for a lunatic.
Should he wait until school started?
They would be in the same class anyway.
No.
Song Yu covered his eyes with his hand and thought, Xie Sui will have his fingers broken this summer and suffer lasting damage for the rest of his life. I'd better save him.
"But where did he live again?"
Right. He had forgotten the most important thing-
Where did Xie Sui live?!
At this thought, Song Yu abruptly sat up, his eyes wide.
Fuck, how could he let this happen?
"008! 008!"
Song Yu began frantically calling for 008.
A little while later, 008's weak voice, full of mixed feelings, sounded in his mind. "I'm here. Is there something you need?"
Song Yu straightened up. "Do you have Xie Sui's current address?"
"Of course I do," 008 said instinctively. But it quickly caught on and asked Xie Sui in alarm and suspicion, "What do you want that for?!"
Song Yu chuckled. "To go find him, obviously."
008: "???!!!"
Anxious and furious, 008 appeared before Song Yu in its original form. After looking around, it sank into despair. Suppressing its anger, it said, "Host, what are you doing? Why are you in Jing City?!!!"
Song Yu said, "Didn't you say I could do whatever I wanted during these five years?"
008 spun in anxious circles. "But that was on the condition that you didn't affect the plot! You can't be in Jing City right now. You can't meet the protagonist. It's not time for you to appear yet. Go back!"
Song Yu raised an eyebrow.
A little afraid of Song Yu, it could only earnestly persuade him. "Host, go back! Go back to City A. You can't appear before Xie Sui as Song Yu. That would deviate from the plot."
Song Yu sat cross-legged on the bed, smiling with utter nonchalance. "That's easy. I just won't use my identity as Song Yu. I remember Xie Sui always called Song Yu by his English name in the original novel. Besides, he's so young now, there's no way he remembers me. I can just make up an identity and show up around him."
008 sounded frantic. "That's not how it works!"
Song Yu snapped his fingers. "That's exactly how it works. I don't see a problem. Just tell me Xie Sui's address."
008 was left speechless, so angry that smoke rose from its head.
Seeing this, Song Yu simply let his smile fade slightly and said coolly, "You dragged me into this world by force, against my wishes. You should have considered consequences like this."
008 lowered its head and pressed its lips together.
008 was utterly miserable, but they were systems full of humanitarian concern, and since they were in the wrong to begin with, there was nothing it could do.
After a long time, it gritted its teeth and scratched its head, making a concession with an extremely unpleasant expression. "Th-this... I need to ask the main world for instructions. Y-you mustn't do anything rash for now... Even if you appear around Xie Sui, don't reveal your identity."
Having received a satisfactory answer, Song Yu smiled. "No problem. The third young master of the Song Family in City A isn't the only person in the world named Song Yu."
008 no longer wanted anything to do with Song Yu. Sullenly, it turned into a wisp of smoke and returned to his mind.
Song Yu froze. "Hey, you haven't told me Xie Sui's address yet!"
"I don't know!"
008's furious roar answered him.
Song Yu: "..."
So what exactly had he called it for?
He had gotten no information and saddled himself with a whole pile of restrictions.
What a useless system!
It couldn't do anything except annoy him.
Song Yu sighed, lay back down, and went to sleep.
Finding someone in the vast city of Jing City seemed like looking for a needle in a haystack, but it wasn't impossible for Song Yu. After all, he had an uncle who was mayor and a group of older cousins eager to get on his good side. Yet before he needed to make use of those connections, a series of coincidences brought him face-to-face with Xie Sui.
It happened on his third day in Jing City.
Worried that staying cooped up at home would be bad for him, Grandma Meng tried every way she could to persuade him to go out.
Unable to withstand his grandmother's urging, Song Yu got into his older cousin Meng Guang's car.
Meng Guang's sports car was burgundy, as flashy as he was.
Taking off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of flirtatious peach-blossom eyes, he looked at Song Yu in the passenger seat. "Isn't my grandma annoying?"
Song Yu smiled. "She's all right."
"What do you mean, all right?" Meng Guang chuckled and stepped on the accelerator. "She has a ridiculous number of rules here. Every time I visit, I barely scrape through the first two days. By the third, she can scold me from morning to night."
Song Yu smiled without replying. He quite liked Grandma Meng's cooking and had been living comfortably these past few days.
Keeping his eyes on the road, Meng Guang suddenly curled his lips into a smile. "Cousin, how old are you?"
Song Yu paused. "Fifteen."
Meng Guang's smile widened, and he gave him a suggestive wink. "Then you're old enough. How about I take you somewhere fun?"
Meng Guang was his eldest uncle's only son, the mayor's son, a princeling who could run wild throughout Jing City. If even he called a place fun, it had to be something out of the ordinary.
Song Yu was tempted, but still reminded him, "I can't drink, though."
Meng Guang laughed. "Don't worry. I won't let you touch a drop. If anything happened to you, never mind my grandma-my hot-tempered youngest aunt would fly straight over from City A and skin me alive."
Song Yu laughed.
Meng Guang said, "Consider it an apology for not picking you up three days ago. I'll take you somewhere fun. Just give me a nod. Want to go?"
Song Yu had nothing to do anyway. Since he was idle, he simply agreed.
Meng Guang grinned. "All right! This is our little secret. You'd better show some loyalty and not sell me out the moment you turn around."
Song Yu chuckled. "I won't tell Grandma."
Only after getting Song Yu's promise did Meng Guang change direction and drive south.
Although Meng Guang loved having fun and knew how to let loose, Song Yu was his younger cousin, still a minor and innocent at heart. Naturally, he wouldn't take him anywhere unsuitable for children. Otherwise, how would he be any different from a beast?
Meng Guang brought Song Yu to an upscale club called Linshui. After entering and presenting his membership card at reception, he followed a server farther inside.
They passed through a lavish hall and a dark corridor. When they emerged, an antique-style courtyard came into view. Red wooden covered walkways stood over a pond, and looking down, they could see koi swimming in the clear water.
Meng Guang said, "I'm taking you to meet a few friends of mine."
Song Yu nodded.
Meng Guang's friends were all well-known rich young men in Jing City. Today had actually been meant as a small private gathering.
Usually, it would have been a hedonistic revel for rich boys, but with Song Yu present, none of the older boys had the nerve to call in hostesses.
And so it became no different from an ordinary karaoke outing. They fought over the microphone, assaulting everyone's ears with their demonic voices.
Meng Guang was furious. "This is how you abuse my cousin's ears?"
Someone scoffed. "Putting the microphone in your hands would be the truly devastating blow."
Meng Guang slammed the table in anger. "Who are you looking down on?!"
"..."
Leaning against the sofa and drinking water, Song Yu finally understood.
His own cousin had tricked him. He had made it sound so suggestive and mysterious to lure him here. In reality, he simply hadn't been able to turn Grandma Meng down and hadn't wanted to stand up his friends, so he had put on an act and fooled Song Yu into coming.
He had fallen for it.
Unable to bear this tone-deaf bunch any longer, Song Yu got up to leave. "I'm going outside for some air."
Meng Guang was already having the time of his life. He waved. "Okay. Don't go wandering off."
Song Yu went out for some air and also wanted to use the restroom. But after circling the courtyard's many rockeries for ages, he still hadn't found it. As he wandered, he ended up leaving the courtyard as well, and somehow found himself on the second floor of Linshui.