Lu Yingheng looked at the bristling, flustered little white fluffball hovering in midair with a helpless, troubled expression and put on a show of sighing, though he was already overjoyed inside.
Lu Yingheng: (*σ´∀`)σ
The awkwardness of that accidental kiss had long since vanished. All he could think about was the tremendous success of his carefully planned prank.
He didn't linger in the video store any longer and strolled leisurely out the door.
The moment he stepped outside, he could no longer keep up the act. He leaped into the air, spinning in circles atop a light swirl of wind, his hearty, triumphant laughter spreading over the street.
"Hehehe! Hahaha! All that effort wasn't for nothing! I finally tricked you into finishing the first three Dragon Raja books!"
"I've finally gotten my revenge! That damned childhood friend of mine, before I transmigrated! How dare he trick me into believing Dragon Raja was a feel-good story! This is what you call passing on the legacy!"
Lu Yingheng was absolutely delighted!
Seeing that it was still early, he took his time wandering the streets of Lumina Square, spending more than three hours there.
He knew exactly how fast his system read, and given how serious and stubborn the little fluffball was, he knew she was bound to be breaking down over the plot of the third book right about now.
Once he'd worked out the timing, Lu Yingheng turned toward a milk tea shop on the street. Carrying three cups of cool, sweet milk tea in one hand, he returned to the video store at precisely the right moment.
As soon as he pushed the door open, soft, aggrieved sobs reached his ears.
"Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh!" The system let out a beastlike roar. (The whole passage was crossed out.)
"Boohoo... Ahhh... Herzog, you bad guy! I hate you! You..."
The little white fluffball hovered in midair, her snowy fur drooping limply and her tiny body trembling as she whimpered in complete distress.
She spun around angrily, but even after struggling for a long time, she couldn't come up with a decent insult.
The system's built-in rules forbade her from insulting her bound host, and as a result, even her built-in library of insults was incomplete.
So, try as she might, she couldn't find a single insult, leaving her with anger and grievances she had no way to vent.
Lu Yingheng watched her struggle for words in anger and teased her, holding back a laugh, his tone playful:
"System, when you insult someone... why does it sound a little like you're acting cute?"
Just as his little white system was about to burst from holding it all in, he gently set the three beautifully packaged cups of milk tea on the table and pushed them in front of her.
"Here's your milk tea. Cool off."
"Boohoo! Host! You're a coldhearted, heartless big meanie!"
The palm-sized fluffball pounced on him at once and clung tightly to his arm. He could have shaken her off with a little effort, but she stubbornly held on, refusing to let go, full of grievance.
Afraid she might fall, Lu Yingheng hurriedly freed his other hand to support the soft little fluffball and helplessly cautioned her:
"Be careful! Stand still, all right? If you fall, you'll just cry to me again."
"Rawr!"
Still angry, the little fluffball bit his arm, leaving faint teeth marks, and shouted in a fierce little voice:
"That's your punishment! That's what you get for tricking me!"
Lu Yingheng looked down at the little thing hanging from his arm and solemnly passed the blame:
"System, I only tricked you into reading the books. I'm not the one who wrote them to stab you in the heart.
"Do you know who made Herzog kill Erii? It was Old Thief Jiang Nan!"
The little fluffball hovering in midair froze. Her big, round eyes blinked, and she looked utterly bewildered.
"Who's Old Thief Jiang Nan?"
"Old Thief Jiang Nan is the author who wrote these books. Every heartbreaking plot point, every regret you can't let go of-he wrote them all! He decided Erii's ending too."
Lu Yingheng explained with a straight face, taking the opportunity to guide her:
"If you want to curse Herzog and get even for Erii, shout it with me: Herzog and Jiang Nan, get married!"
The little fluffball's mind was blank. She didn't understand the joke at all.
But the anger bottled up in her chest had nowhere to go, so she instinctively followed his lead and shouted in her sweet little voice:
"Jiang Nan and Herzog, get married!"
Her soft voice echoed through the quiet video store, childish yet earnest, and Lu Yingheng nearly burst out laughing.
That afternoon, Belle came rushing back to the video store.
Full of energy, the young woman grabbed Lu Yingheng by the wrist and urged him in a wheedling tone:
"Brother Heng, hurry up and come shopping with me! You shut yourself up in the video store every day. That's so boring! Come out and get some fresh air!"
Lu Yingheng made a token struggle and sighed, pretending to be helpless as he tried to decline. "I checked the almanac when I went out today! Everything's bound to go wrong. It's not a good day to go out."
But Belle was in such high spirits that she paid no attention to his excuses and dragged him straight out of the video store.
"Everything's bound to go wrong..."
Lu Yingheng sighed.
Just moments ago, the two of them had been strolling along a bustling street when, as soon as they turned a corner, something happened.
A car suddenly went out of control, its tires screeching against the pavement as it hurtled toward them at high speed.
In a split second, Lu Yingheng reacted instinctively, raising his hand and striking out with a seemingly gentle palm.
"BOOM!"
The sturdy car's front half instantly crumpled under the tremendous force, and the whole vehicle slammed hard into the ground...
The driver behind the wheel was deathly pale and stiff all over, his eyes filled with utter terror. He couldn't recover his senses for a long time.
Driver: ∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll)
Lu Yingheng looked at the completely wrecked front of the car and let out a long, helpless sigh.
"How do I run into the main storyline just by going shopping?"
[Whoa, whoa, whoa! Long time no see! My dear husband is as powerful and handsome as ever!]
[Driver: Am I going to get slapped into a cookie when I get out of the car?]
[Just kidding. There won't even be crumbs left, okay?]
In the livestream, Xia Linxi was currently on a call with her best friend, Lin Xingyao:
"Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Zenless Zone Zero story livestream, back after a long time!"
"It's been a month since the Belobog Heavy Industries storyline! The developers have finally released a new story update!"
Yes, Lu Yingheng felt helpless too.
Time seemed to flow completely differently in the two worlds. Only a few days had passed here, but over there, it seemed a month had gone by.
As a result, the main story events came almost one after another.
Two figures hurried over: Zhu Yuan and Qingyi, two officers from the New Eridu Public Security Bureau.
Zhu Yuan stared in complete astonishment at the scene before her, which defied common sense.
Of all the people she'd known growing up, even her classmate Hoshimi Miyabi probably couldn't slap half a car into the ground...
Although she could see with her own eyes that the car had gone out of control, she still raised her gun warily, keeping her gaze fixed on the masked Lu Yingheng and not daring to let her guard down.
Qingyi looked just as serious. She stepped forward to take control of the situation, speaking calmly:
"Sir in the mask, we saw roughly what happened here. The accident was caused by the car going out of control, and it had nothing to do with you.
"But according to procedure, please come back to the Public Security Bureau with us and give a brief statement."
Seeing this, Belle immediately stepped forward to explain and clear things up:
"Officers! The car really did go out of control and charge at us on its own! It had nothing to do with Brother Heng. He was only protecting himself!"
--
Boohoo... Dear readers, please leave more ratings for the book. Even just writing "good read" is fine...
Your humble author is kneeling and kowtowing here, thanking you profusely!
Once the book reaches 20 ratings, the author will release an extra chapter. I absolutely won't go back on my word!