“Don’t run! I already said I would tell you!”
“Starting the first level punishment program!”
“Today’s matter is very important. You can’t be taken away. Stop it!”
“…Starting the second level punishment program!”
The moment the last word came out, pain surged through Xing Shi’s limbs.
Xing Shi was only two steps away from the wall, and he made a sharp turn into the corridor next to it. There was a sign for the restroom there, which he had seen before.
He ran to the sink to rinse his hands and looked at his face in the mirror. It wasn’t strange. It was his own face.
Xing Shi stared for a few seconds before turning to leave.
As he was eating, he guessed that no one here knew him. Since everyone was a stranger to each other, he took off his coat and changed his ‘skin.’ He pretended that the person who was running wildly just now wasn’t him and calmly returned to the dining hall.
The second level punishment had ended. This pain was completely acceptable. The system couldn’t control his body, and it seemed that the erasure couldn’t be carried out at will. At present, it seemed like there was nothing that could be done except the punishment.
He organized the information and went to the drinks section.
The system was scared to the point of almost disconnecting. After seeing that he was full of energy and in the mood to drink, it collapsed. “The second level punishment is useless to you?”
If it was another host, they would’ve collapsed to the ground the moment it was activated. How could he be fine?
It asked, “Is there something wrong with your nervous system?”
Xing Shi answered, “My pain threshold is high. Why don’t you try the third level?”
The system was silent.
Xing Shi thought that this punishment mechanism was indeed triggered only under certain conditions. He said, “So it won’t hurt if I hit the wall. Why don’t I show you?”
“I will tell you,” the system replied immediately.
Xing Shi poured a glass of juice and hummed to indicate that he was listening.
“Xing Shi, 19 years old, a freshman at Z College.”
The system’s voice had become calm again after compromising. “You met a talent scout during winter vacation and signed a contract with June Culture Media to be a trainee. Today is the day of the re-examination and class assignment…”
Xing Shi interrupted. “Am I not going to college any longer?”
The system said, “Yes, this place is very close to your school. You can train while studying.”
June Culture Media had only been established for two years, but it was very strong.
The artists included a newly crowned Best Actor winner, as well as popular young actors and actresses. Last year, the trainees they promoted achieved first and fifth place in a popular talent variety show.
This year, major platforms would hold a talent show again. Therefore, the moment the company released the announcement of recruiting trainees at the beginning of the year, there was an endless stream of people signing up.
The system finished introducing the background and said, “The company has established a talent scout team. If they come across someone with an outstanding appearance, they will sign a contract in advance. This is what Feng Zifan called the internal selection.”
“Recently, all those who have passed the initial interview will have a re-examination. Today is the last day. In the afternoon, those who have passed the re-examination or were internally selected will be divided into classes. Then targeted training will be carried out.”
Xing Shi resisted. “How many years did I sign for?”
“Five years.”
“How much is the compensation for the termination of the contract?”
The system answered, “The contract says it is over a million, but June Culture Media is more authentic. The termination fee can be negotiated in a friendly manner. However, if you want to run away with your appearance, it will be at least six figures.”
Xing Shi asked helplessly, “Can I afford it?”
“No.”
Xing Shi took a few small cakes and a plate of fruit and returned to his seat.
The system waited for a while, but he didn’t say anything. It was worried he would do something rash again and said, “It is good to be a celebrity. Many people will like you, and you can make a lot of money.”
Fu Xiuning heard the voice again but didn’t look up.
There was a range restriction. He didn’t hear how they communicated later. He only saw the host turning sharply into the corridor. At that time, the person ran too quickly, and he only saw a back view. He remembered that the person was wearing black pants and a denim jacket.
He would know who it was when the classes were divided later.
Feng Zifan and the others finished eating. They saw Xing Shi coming back, so they moved back and filled the empty seats.
The two of them had noticed his movement just now. “Why were you running? What is wrong?”
Xing Shi moved the plate in the middle to share the food and said casually, “I suddenly felt nausea. It is better after I ran to the bathroom.”
Feng Zifan saw that he was eating a small cake and didn’t seem like there was anything wrong, so he shifted the topic back to the class division. This time, they knew his name and that he was internally selected.
Xing Shi told them, “It can’t be called an internal selection. I just signed a few days earlier than you. I was lucky to meet a scout. If the scout saw you, maybe you would’ve signed the contract too.”
Feng Zifan and the other person were happy to hear this, but they waved their hands with self-awareness.
“There are different levels of handsomeness. There is still a gap between us,” Feng Zifan said. “We don’t know how many have been internally selected, but there are two people who are obvious on the boy’s side. They seem to have only arrived at noon. One of them is noon. You arrived at noon, right?”
Xing Shi asked the system and replied after getting the answer, “Yes.”
Feng Zifan looked like he had expected it. He lowered his voice, “The other one is behind us on the left. Take a look. You will definitely find who I am talking about.”
Xing Shi turned around and saw the person two tables away from him.
In early spring, the person’s jacket was folded neatly and placed on the back of the chair next to him. Now he was only wearing a white shirt.
The sleeves on both sides were rolled up properly, revealing beautiful wrists. The fingers were white and slender, and they easily held the dark chopsticks. The movements were very gentle, and he also ate very gently.
His face was a bit pale, but it didn’t damage his good looks. Instead, it added a bit of fragility. However, he looked too noble. There was a sense of politeness and courtesy all over his body. People didn’t dare to approach him easily.
Xing Shi met Feng Zifan’s expectant eyes and gave a secret code. “White shirt?”
Feng Zifan nodded vigorously. “Isn’t he very conspicuous?”
Xing Shi gave a positive ‘yes’ honestly.
Feng Zifan was envious. “You two are amazing. You can debut on the spot without any makeup. You will definitely have a lot of fans in the future.”
Xing Shi didn’t respond. It was because the moment he agreed, the system started to urge him to make friends.
He understood. “Is he Fu Xiuning?”
The system said, “Yes, he is so handsome and pleasing to the eye.”
“He isn’t a trainee but the boss of June Culture. Today is when the classes are divided. He probably wanted to see the trainees, so he didn’t go to the private room to eat.” It suggested, “You should pretend to know nothing and make friends with him. Maybe he will take care of you more in the future.”
Xing Shi nibbled on a small cake and listened to Feng Zifan and the others gossiping. He replied to the system, “He doesn’t seem to be the type to make friends with others.”
The system said, “You are so good-looking. What if he likes you?”
Xing Shi said, “You didn’t deny it. It means he is really hard to approach.”
The system was silent for a second. It quickly calculated the host’s personality and behavior style before concluding that he was as stubborn as a donkey. It was useless to persuade him, so the system said like it was natural, “He is the capture target. How can it be easy? You only have the advantage of appearance, but this alone won’t work. Just try it if you don’t believe me.”
Xing Shi said without hesitation, “No need to try it. I can’t do it.”
The system: “?”
Xing Shi suggested, “Why don’t you bind to someone else?”
“……” The system explained, “Once bound, it can’t be unbound unless the capture is successful or the host dies.”
Xing Shi regretted it.
The system told him, “Once the host succeeds, you can make a wish to the main system. It will usually come true as long as the wish isn’t too outrageous.”
Xing Shi finished eating the small cake and reached for the fruit plate.
The system said coldly, “Just eat it. Do you think you are the only host? To be honest, you are the last one to be bound. Other hosts have already come into contact with Fu Xiuning.”
Xing Shi picked up a piece of fruit and put it in his mouth. He paused for a moment before asking to confirm it, “There are other hosts in the world besides me. We have the same goal, right?”
The system saw that he was a bit concerned and thought the provocation method was effective. He gave a cold hum.
Xing Shi was curious. “Why Fu Xiuning?”
The system answered, “It is because he is antisocial. Do you remember the favorability value reported by the program?”
Xing Shi remembered. “-5.”
The system said, “Yes, this is his initial favorability value towards you. However, you don’t know each other at all. He hates everyone equally…”
As they were talking, the people in the dining hall started to make a commotion.
Feng Zifan asked and learned that the practice room downstairs was open. They could go to get familiar with the environment first and wait for the class assignment.
Xing Shi still had half of his fruit plate left. He said, “You go first. I will leave after I finish eating.”
Feng Zifan and the other person sat down after hearing this, indicating that they would leave together.
Xing Shi continued to listen to the system’s explanation. It was basically that the Fu family was very powerful. Fu Xiuning would have more resources and power to use after inheriting the family business in the future. How terrible would it be if he was determined to be anti-social?
He finished eating the fruit plate while listening to this righteous speech. Then he stood up and said, “Then why didn’t you kill him or cripple him?”
The system said, “Our goal is to save him. This is a human life. How can you just kill him?”
Xing Shi asked back, “The host’s life is also a life. Don’t you punish and kill us as you wish?”
The system choked up for a moment. “I was just saying this. The punishment is also because I was too anxious… Fu Xiuning!”
Fu Xiuning was walking out at this time.
Due to the commotion just now, there weren’t many people left in the dining hall. At this moment, he heard the excitement of the system and saw three people coming out of the dining area on the right. He looked over naturally, locking onto the last boy in a second. He wore black casual pants, a white sweatshirt and was holding a denim jacket in his hand. If nothing unexpected happened, this should be the host.
Xing Shi raised his head when he was called by the system, and their eyes met.
Fu Xiuning saw his face clearly.
The bridge of his nose was high, his eyebrows were delicate, and he looked handsome, dazzling, and full of youthfulness.
His eyes were very calm, perfectly suppressing the impetuousness that would be present at this age. He revealed a unique temperament.
[Ding.]
[Currently favorability value: -4.]
Xing Shi: “?”
System: “!”
Fu Xiuning: “……”
The two people’s eyes met for only a second before they separated.
Fu Xiuning walked forward, his eyes darkening.
The favorability program ruined his plans and always put him at risk of being exposed. He hadn’t expected that one day, he would give the other person a point because of the host’s appearance. After all, he had no feelings for humans after so many years.
It seemed that this face was very much in line with his aesthetics. He suddenly felt disgusted when he thought of the host becoming completely different under it in the future.
[Ding.]
[Currently favorability value: -10.]
Xing Shi: “……”
System: “?”
The system never expected Fu Xiuning to increase the point as soon as he saw the host. It was so happy that it was about to set off firecrackers. Then it suffered a huge failure before it could celebrate. It was immediately stimulated. “Why?”
Xing Shi accepted it well. “This is easy to understand.”
Fu Xiuning maintained a constant speed, wanting to hear his opinion.
Xing Shi said, “Beautiful things make people appreciate them. So when he saw me for the first time, he thought that I was handsome, and his favorability value increased by 1 point to -4. Is there anything wrong with this?”
“There is nothing wrong. But why did it decrease again?”
“I am stunning at first glance. Of course, he has to savor it.”
Xing Shi followed closely behind the man. “Didn’t you say he was abnormal? So when he thought about it carefully, he found that I was even more handsome than him. D*mn it, -10 points.”
The system: “……”
Fu Xiuning: “……”
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