ABSTIWTVMST Chapter 149

As the system’s broadcast voice fell silent, Xu Chenghao was forcibly yanked out of the young man’s body, watching helplessly as the youth untied the rope and followed it downwards into the fall.

In that instant, Xu Chenghao seemed to share a spiritual connection with the youth, speaking in unison with him: “This time, I’ll die with you. Next time, I’ll repay you with a lifetime…”

Bang—

The youth fell into the mountains, fulfilling his vow.

Xu Chenghao sat dazedly atop the clouds, curling up and burying his face in his knees… He finally understood. He finally understood why the system had made him watch all of this—because these were his memories, experiences he had once lived through.

So it turned out he had once made such a promise. So it turned out what he thought was his first time transmigrating into a book had actually been a second round triggered by a reckless gamble. So it turned out the timeline reversal that changed Jing Yicheng’s ending was this very rewind… So that’s how it was. So… that’s how it was…

After a long silence, the system suddenly appeared before him again, stepping on a white cloud and looking down at him: “You don’t look happy.”

Xu Chenghao sniffled: “Seeing the tragic memories that belong to me—should I be happy about that?”

System: “But no matter what, in the end, you won.”

Xu Chenghao: “…That’s true.”

Recalling the flood of questions in his mind, Xu Chenghao finally pulled himself together, stood up, and said: “Since I won, does that mean Jing Yicheng’s ending has been rewritten?”

“Yes.”

“Then does the chili pepper bet still count?”

“It counts.”

“You’re really going to unbind from me and leave?”

“Mm.”

Xu Chenghao looked at him and murmured, “Thank you.”

The system seemed somewhat surprised: “Rare to hear a ‘thank you’ from you.”

Xu Chenghao said with slight embarrassment, “Just because I don’t say it doesn’t mean I’m ungrateful.”

“Heh, I even knew when you were secretly cursing me in your heart.”

“……”

Xu Chenghao forced an explanation: “That was because I had no memories… Anyway, I still need to thank you. Thank you for being willing to give me a second chance.”

“This was merely a clearly priced gamble. Being able to win was your own effort and had nothing to do with me,” the system spoke calmly, but its voice suddenly lowered: “Besides, many times, I wanted to stop you—I didn’t want you to succeed.”

Xu Chenghao was shocked: “Why?”

“Probably out of jealousy.”

“Huh?” Xu Chenghao was a little dazed, and before he could analyze what that answer meant, the system had already forcibly ended the conversation, saying blandly, “Everything is over. You should return now.”

“Wait—” The cloud beneath his feet, once solid, suddenly opened into a gaping hole, and before Xu Chenghao could finish his sentence, he plummeted down. The unfinished words were instantly swept back into his throat by the wind, choking him into a fit of coughing. Amid the burning pain in his throat, he abruptly opened his eyes.

His blurry vision hadn’t yet adjusted to the scene in front of him when a familiar voice suddenly rang out, shouting: “He’s awake, he’s awake! Xu Chenghao is awake!”

Xu Chenghao blinked, staring at the pure white ceiling above him. His whole body jolted—this really was a hospital!

Li Nian stood at the bedside, hollering noisily. Seeing him sit up, he immediately rushed over and asked, “How do you feel? Does your head hurt? Any discomfort? Why were you just coughing? Anything you want to say right now?”

Xu Chenghao coughed twice: “Where’s Jing Yicheng?”

“……”

Li Nian’s face was smeared with dog food. He instantly returned to his aloof demeanor, threw off Xu Chenghao’s hand, and said coldly, “Heh, men.”

Xu Chenghao rubbed his head. “What exactly happened? What’s going on?”

Li Nian said, “I should be the one asking you that! Do you know you were unconscious for an entire week?”

Xu Chenghao opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Li Nian cut him off: “Okay, I get it, you don’t know. Don’t talk for now—let the doctor check you over and figure out what’s going on. I’ll go call Jing Yicheng.”

Xu Chenghao stopped him. “If Jing Yicheng’s resting, don’t call him.”

Li Nian replied sourly, “You two really get each other. Fine, I won’t call him. Hmph!”

Xu Chenghao chuckled. During the check-up and while waiting, he found time to ask what exactly had happened. Li Nian explained everything in detail, finally allowing Xu Chenghao to understand the whole situation.

The problem had started when the system appeared—what he experienced was following the system to trace back through time and recover his sealed-off memories; but in Jing Yicheng’s eyes, it was simply that Xu Chenghao suddenly fainted while the calculator was broadcasting the count, and then remained unconscious for a full week!

Li Nian said that Jing Yicheng had been terrifying this past week. Aside from the doctors, he hadn’t allowed anyone else into the room. He sat by the bedside every day with a gloomy expression, like a walking corpse. This time, he was only resting because Li Nian and the assistant had brazenly knocked him out and carried him next door to force him to rest.

As he spoke, Li Nian seemed to suddenly realize the gravity of what he’d done. His face turned stricken with horror: “It’s over—I actually knocked out Jing Yicheng! Oh my god, President Xu, my life is in your hands now. You have to protect me! I mean, I was taking care of your man, right?!”

Xu Chenghao couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re just realizing that now?”

Li Nian pulled a long face. “It was that assistant who emotionally blackmailed me! Otherwise, how would I dare?”

Xu Chenghao slowly got out of bed and started stretching his limbs. “Then you should go find him.”

“His words won’t save me—you’re my get-out-of-jail-free card.” As Li Nian spoke, he followed closely behind, worried Xu Chenghao would be too weak after lying in bed for a week, ready to support him at any moment.

“Then I’ll give it a try.”

“You can’t just ‘try’—you have to make every effort to save my little life.”

“Got it, got it.” Xu Chenghao opened the ward door and glanced out. “Jing Yicheng’s over there?”

“On the right.”

Xu Chenghao strolled slowly to the right, and as he opened the door to the next room, he saw the assistant inside spring to his feet in surprise, a rare expression of joy flashing across his face: “President Xu, you’re awake!”

“Mm.” Xu Chenghao poked his head in and, seeing Jing Yicheng lying on the hospital bed with an unshaven face and deep dark circles under his eyes, nodded in approval. “Nice job.”

The assistant adjusted his glasses and said, “The rest is up to you, President Xu.”

Xu Chenghao couldn’t help chuckling. “Where did all that courage to knock him out go?”

Assistant: “If I’ve got a get-out-of-jail-free card, using muscle would just be a waste.”

Xu Chenghao: “…You can leave now.”

Assistant: “Alright.”

Once the door closed, the room instantly returned to silence. Xu Chenghao, feeling a bit tired, walked over and sat by the bed, quietly observing Jing Yicheng’s sleeping face. Then, without ceremony, he leaned down to rest on top of him… Hmm, he stinks—Jing Yicheng probably hasn’t showered in days.

But Xu Chenghao didn’t mind. He still cozily nestled against his chest to rest.

Jing Yicheng must have been terrified when he suddenly passed out, and probably felt guilty too… Xu Chenghao leaned his head against his chest, wondering how he should comfort Jing Yicheng later.

Just as he was thinking, Xu Chenghao suddenly felt the heartbeat beneath his head begin to quicken. Sensing something, he looked up—just in time to see Jing Yicheng slowly opening his eyes.

Xu Chenghao tilted his head and smiled: “Good morning\~\~”

Jing Yicheng stared at him in a daze. Two seconds later, he suddenly held his breath and carefully reached out to poke Xu Chenghao’s cheek.

Xu Chenghao turned his head to dodge and bit down on his finger, grinding his teeth firmly: “Does it hurt?”

“It hurts.” The pain proved it was real—this wasn’t a dream! Jing Yicheng’s eyes lit up, and with both hands he grabbed Xu Chenghao’s waist, flipped him over, and pressed him down onto the bed in a fierce hug: “Haohao… Haohao, you scared me to death!”

Xu Chenghao wrapped his arms around his waist in return and patted him comfortingly: “It’s okay now. I probably just passed out from too much stress suddenly relaxing—that’s all. It’s fine.”

Jing Yicheng buried his face in the crook of Xu Chenghao’s shoulder and suddenly bit down on his shoulder.

“Ow ow ow…” Xu Chenghao shrank his neck, feeling utterly wronged: “Why are you biting me?”

“To teach you a lesson. Let’s see if you dare to scare me like that again,” Jing Yicheng spoke harshly, but his teeth had already eased up, gently rubbing against Xu Chenghao’s shoulder.

Xu Chenghao pouted, unhappy: “It’s not like I knew I’d faint…” He’d thought time had simply frozen.

Jing Yicheng was silent for a moment, then kissed the bite mark: “Then you bite me too, so I can remember this too.”

Xu Chenghao knew Jing Yicheng was definitely feeling guilty for not protecting him, so he deliberately said, “I’m not biting you—you haven’t showered in who knows how long, you stink.”

At those words, Jing Yicheng lowered his head and gave himself a sniff, then unhesitatingly hugged Xu Chenghao tighter: “Now you stink too. Let’s wash together.”

Xu Chenghao obediently wrapped his arms around Jing Yicheng’s neck. But contrary to expectations, Jing Yicheng didn’t get handsy. He simply washed both of them thoroughly, then helped Xu Chenghao dry off and change into clean clothes.

Dressed in loose loungewear, Xu Chenghao sat cross-legged on the bed, propping his chin in his hand and watching Jing Yicheng get dressed with clear admiration in his gaze: “Your abs look so good.”

Jing Yicheng had just put on his shirt. Hearing this, he leaned in and motioned, “You can touch.”

Xu Chenghao happily gave them a couple of squeezes and even helped button him up. “Let’s get the discharge papers later. I want to go home.”

“After I see your test results.” At the mention of his condition, Jing Yicheng instantly turned serious and frowned: “You were unconscious for a whole week and they still couldn’t find anything. I don’t feel at ease.”

“I already said it was because of excessive mental tension followed by sudden relaxation.” Xu Chenghao thought to himself, if a doctor could diagnose an out-of-body experience, that’d be the real miracle.

But Jing Yicheng still couldn’t rest easy. Once Xu Chenghao finished buttoning him up, he pulled his hand in for a kiss and said firmly, “Wait for me to check.”

Xu Chenghao: “……”

Fine, whatever makes you happy.

Jing Yicheng asked, “Want to come with me?”

“No, I don’t have the energy.” Xu Chenghao shook his head. “I’ll wait here.”

Jing Yicheng immediately frowned. “Then I’ll carry you.”

“Don’t. If you’re that worried, have Li Nian come stay with me. I just want to rest for a bit,” Xu Chenghao protested. “I just woke up and ran out here to find you!”

Jing Yicheng felt distressed too, but he truly couldn’t relax. After thinking for a moment, he decided to call the doctor over.

The assistant quickly brought the doctor. While they were talking, Xu Chenghao, feeling bored, fished around in his pockets and found he had nothing on him. He went over to the laundry bin to dig through their clothes, but instead of finding his own belongings, he pulled a red velvet box from Jing Yicheng’s pocket.

Xu Chenghao held it up and looked it over, thinking, Could this be a ring? Was Jing Yicheng originally planning to propose after harvesting the peppers? If so, then he’s been carrying this ring with him for a whole week?

 

T/N: We have just a few chapters to go sob*