ABSTIWTVMST Chapter 144

An Rouyu suddenly lost all oxygen. Her vision went black, and she thrashed about like a fish pulled from the water, unable to breathe—struggling wildly but to no avail, her only response the powerless flicking of her tail as death loomed.

Jing Yicheng truly disliked An Rouyu. Ever since shedding the rose-tinted lens of childhood memories, he had grown increasingly averse to this woman who, despite gaining the upper hand, played the victim; who had clearly wronged Xu Chenghao but still had the audacity to hold a grudge as if she were the injured party.

Jing Yicheng had always been biased. If he liked someone, no matter how flawed they were, he’d dote on them as if they hung the stars. But if he didn’t like someone, even the sound of them drinking water could irritate him. This double standard was most evident when comparing his attitudes toward Xu Chenghao and An Rouyu. Every time he saw An Rouyu wearing that pitiful “I’m weak, so I’m right” expression, he felt an overwhelming urge to kill her on the spot.

But Haohao was right, there was no need to dirty his own hands over someone like An Rouyu. Rather than a swift end, Jing Yicheng preferred to watch her suffer in despair, forced to swallow her pain for the sake of her child.

He let go of her and slowly wiped his fingers with a handkerchief. “I hope you stay in prison and reflect on your sins. Otherwise… you know what’ll happen.”

He dropped the handkerchief to the floor and stepped on it as he turned to leave. The assistant, who had been silently waiting at the door, immediately stepped forward to open it and followed him out.

Only An Rouyu remained in the hospital room, lying on the bed. She stared blankly at the pure white ceiling, tears slipping silently down her cheeks and soaking the sheets. Regret, despair, helplessness, numbness—she was like someone drowning in a swamp of negative emotions, her whole being steeped in a deathly gloom.

But she couldn’t die.

She knew that if she died, it might put an end to her own suffering—but what about her child? What if Jing Yicheng, ruthless as he was, turned on the child and made them pay for the mother’s debt? Curling up on the hospital bed, An Rouyu bit her lip and wept soundlessly. The only thing she could do was call in the police and confess to her crimes.

She could only confess!

…

An Rouyu pled guilty and was sent to prison. Due to the severity of the arson and her suspected involvement in a more serious, unnamed offense, she was sentenced to over ten years in prison according to Article 115 of the criminal law. Arson suspects involved in kidnapping and extortion are judged harshly by law—her punishment, in this case, was well deserved.

But Jing Yicheng wasn’t done. Determined to make an example out of her, he unleashed a ruthless crackdown that nearly crushed the An family, leaving them gasping for breath. Then he turned directly on the Ruan family—seizing their connections, snatching resources and partners—and within a week, forced Han Haofeng, the acting president, into a corner so tight he almost brought the Ruan family to ruin.

Eventually, Jing Yicheng relented—not out of mercy, but because Old Master Ruan contacted Grandpa Xu, who in turn reached out to Father Xu, and only after this long chain of favors and face-saving negotiations did Jing Yicheng finally agree to back down, allowing a brief moment of calm to return to the business world.

Anyone with eyes could see that Jing Yicheng was throwing money around to get revenge on Xu Chenghao’s behalf. But did that matter? Not really. The business world had always been survival of the fittest. If a man with money wanted to stand up for the one he loved, what could anyone say besides envy his deep pockets?

Besides, people were actually far more interested in the fate of the other two families. Malicious eyes watched from the shadows, ready to pounce and leech off any weakness for a quick profit. Especially the Ruan family, once neck-and-neck with the Xu Group—everyone was eagerly waiting for their fall from grace so they could swoop in and divide the spoils.

The An family’s downfall was inevitable. That they’d be carved up by the ruthless industry came as no surprise. What did catch people off guard, however, was just how hard the Ruan family was to break. While they couldn’t match Jing Yicheng head-on, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. The Ruan family wasn’t intimidated by those small-time companies. In the end, when Ruan Chenxuan regained consciousness in the hospital, he swiftly squashed every schemer in his path and reestablished his footing. Though many sighed in disappointment, they weren’t willing to give up on the rare vulnerability the Ruan family had shown. What followed was a grueling tug-of-war, turning the business world—so recently peaceful—into a battlefield of smoke and chaos.

The Xu Group, with its golden reputation, was untouchable. It never lowered itself to fighting over scraps. So while the others fought tooth and nail, it quietly rose with the tide, securing its position as the unshakable number one titan in the industry.

Only once the Xu Group firmly cemented its dominance did Xu Chenghao finally relax. He pushed all responsibilities onto his subordinates and embraced a blissful life where he paid no attention to the world outside his window and devoted himself entirely to his beloved chili seedlings.

Since the surveillance feed was on Jing Yicheng’s phone, the now-leisurely Xu Chenghao simply tagged along wherever Jing Yicheng went—sometimes going home, sometimes to the research institute. Not that he was ever bored; with his phone in hand, he could easily spend half the day glued to the screen.

On the surveillance footage, the once-barren soil had already burst into life with lush green pepper seedlings. With a 90% fruiting rate, they hadn’t disappointed. Clusters of white blossoms crowded together, practically promising a bumper harvest.

And—fourteen days had already passed since they were planted. Tomorrow afternoon, the first batch of peppers would be ready for harvest!!

Just thinking about it had Xu Chenghao giddy with excitement. His heart brimmed with anticipation and nerves. He pounced on Jing Yicheng’s back while the man was working, unable to contain himself: “Cheng-ge~”

“Mm?”

“We can harvest the first batch of chili peppers tomorrow!”

“Mm.”

“You’re not even happy?” Xu Chenghao asked.

Expressionless, Jing Yicheng replied, “I’m happy.”

Xu Chenghao: “…”

Yeah right, that’s what he called happy? But, it didn’t matter—he was happy, and that was enough! His good mood remained untouched as he nestled on Jing Yicheng’s back, nuzzling playfully.

At first, Jing Yicheng sat up straight and let him mess around. But after three minutes of having hair swish back and forth across his neck, he finally couldn’t take the tickling anymore. Suddenly, he reached his left hand behind, grabbed Xu Chenghao’s waist with one arm, and hauled him to the front, biting him hard twice. “Quit messing with me.”

Xu Chenghao immediately behaved, sitting obediently on Jing Yicheng’s lap and watching him handle work.

By nature, Jing Yicheng tackled everything head-on, always direct and forceful—completely different from Xu Chenghao’s calm and composed approach. Even his handwriting was heavy and forceful, every stroke emanating decisiveness and aggression. The man radiated dominance from the bone outward.

Curious, Xu Chenghao picked up a pen and scribbled a few characters, then compared them with Jing Yicheng’s writing… Hmm. Pretty average. Compared to Jing Yicheng’s presence, his lacked more than just a little flair.

Comparison really is the thief of joy. Xu Chenghao sighed, quietly crumpled the paper into a ball, and tossed it into the trash, pretending he hadn’t done anything at all.

Jing Yicheng took a moment to pat his head. “Bored?”

“No.” Xu Chenghao wasn’t being stubborn—he truly wasn’t bored. His heart and mind were completely consumed by the blooming chili flowers on the surveillance feed. As long as he had his phone, boredom was impossible.

Jing Yicheng was a little exasperated—and strangely jealous. He really preferred it when Xu Chenghao’s attention was focused entirely on him. But there were only two more weeks left… he could bear it.

He pressed his lips together, signed another document, and said casually, “Ruan Chenxuan is awake.”

“Didn’t he wake up a while ago?” Xu Chenghao replied distractedly while swiping through his phone.

“I mean his mind is awake.”

Xu Chenghao’s fingers paused mid-scroll, surprised. “He got his memory back?”

Jing Yicheng, for once, hesitated. “Sort of.”

Xu Chenghao frowned. “What do you mean, ‘sort of’?”

Jing Yicheng explained, “I mean, he did recover his memory. But his behavior hasn’t reverted to the way it was before. I heard that when he visited An Rouyu in prison, he told her to her face that he would erase her existence—and that the child would never know about her.”

“Wow…” Xu Chenghao exclaimed in awe. “Are they planning to love and destroy each other?”

Jing Yicheng thought for a moment. “I think what he meant was that he wants to give up not only on her, but also on the memories that came back with her—so he can live freely from now on, just him and the child, without any emotional baggage.”

“Give up?” Xu Chenghao was still puzzled. He felt like things had already gone so far that there was no turning back or chance for reconciliation.

Unable to shake the question, he poked at the system and repeated his doubt, hoping for an answer. But ten minutes passed, and while he and Jing Yicheng had already changed the subject, the system remained completely silent.

Xu Chenghao found it strange. He couldn’t help but call out repeatedly:

System? System, are you there? I know you’re there, come out! System! System—

[Ding—]

The familiar chime finally rang out, but the system didn’t speak. It felt more like it had been annoyed into acknowledging its existence with a single “ding.”

Xu Chenghao prodded again: What’s going on with you, system? If you’re not dead, answer my question.

[Ding—System 2333 recommends the host focus on surviving the high-stakes Gamble Series 9.0 and stop meddling in other matters.]

Xu Chenghao went quiet for a moment. You’re not even trying to make up excuses anymore, are you?

[Ding—2333 is just too lazy to explain.]

Xu Chenghao: Oh, so now you won’t even bother to half-heartedly brush me off?

Having spent so much time whining and flirting with Jing Yicheng, Xu Chenghao had become exceptionally skilled at throwing a mock tantrum. His tone was nearly identical to someone interrogating a boyfriend who hadn’t come home—so accusatory that it forced the system into silence for a few beats before responding.

[Ding—System 2333 kindly reminds you to maintain your dignity, Host.]

Xu Chenghao: ???

Maintain his dignity? How was he not dignified? He was asking a perfectly serious question! The system just didn’t want to answer and was clearly making excuses to change the subject!

Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Xu Chenghao snapped: Fine, if I’m so undignified, then why don’t you go ahead and explain what’s really going on!

The silence this time dragged on even longer. Just when Xu Chenghao was about to give up, convinced the system had retreated into indifference again, he suddenly heard a faint “Heehee~” in his mind.

Xu Chenghao: ???

No familiar chimes. No robotic, official tone. Just a playful little heehee? And why did that heehee sound like nothing good at all?

In just a few seconds, Xu Chenghao’s mind raced through countless possibilities—before landing on the most terrifying and straightforward conclusion:

His system had gone rogue and was planning to screw him over!

So this high-stakes gamble… was it even riskier than he thought?
Was that 90% fruit-bearing seed truly a gesture of goodwill? Was it really a genuine 90% success rate? What if the system had something more sinister planned—like draining his soul for cultivation or… well, he wasn’t exactly sure what a system would need a soul for, but Xu Chenghao was now absolutely convinced: he was being set up!

He had been looking forward to tomorrow’s harvest, expecting a triumphant start. But now that laugh—that damn “heehee”—had splashed cold water all over his enthusiasm and left him on edge. He couldn’t just sit back and wait for things to go wrong. He had to finish the chili-planting task as best as he could. Maybe when he went to harvest tomorrow, he could plant more… assuming they’d even give him the land.

From the very start of his chili-growing journey, Xu Chenghao had been plagued by a lack of land. It was always a struggle to find safe, centralized plots. Even the greenhouses he’d carefully prepared were destroyed—burned to ashes when it came down to it. If he wasted another batch of seeds, it would be game over.

The sense of relief he’d enjoyed for a while evaporated. His nerves tightened again, and his mind churned with anxiety, cycling through the same thoughts:
The system was out to screw him over.
What if the seed’s yield was bogus?
What if he failed the gamble?
What if he died first and Jing Yicheng lost it completely?

—And yes, Jing Yicheng did lose it when he noticed Xu Chenghao was still awake in the middle of the night. As a result, Xu Chenghao received an immediate and thorough dose of “domestic discipline” and finally passed out from exhaustion—
sleeping all the way until noon.

T/N: I love system 2333 so much hahaha