Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Rao Lin received a text message.

“[Everyone Dash Forward] Dear Mr. Rao Lin, hello. Thank you for supporting the 2027 program Everyone Dash Forward. Please check in at the audience entrance for Everyone Dash Forward on XX Road, Feihe, Huian, at 1:00 p.m. on October 23 and participate in the recording. Requirements: …”①

Pointing at the text, Rao Lin said to Song Zhu, “Teacher Song, don’t you think this is definitely that Narcissus pair’s doing? They’re obviously waiting to laugh at us.”

Song Zhu took out his phone. “I got one too.”

It was the exact same message. Other than the name, everything else was identical.

Staring at the two texts, Rao Lin suddenly put the phones side by side. “Teacher Song, doesn’t this look like a betrothal letter?”

Song Zhu: “…”

A betrothal letter for going on a diving show?

His ability to change the subject was as terrible as ever. “It’s probably just a prank. The group already settled on the 23rd for team-building in Feihe…”

Rao Lin said, “Teacher Song, I’m going to Photoshop these two texts into a betrothal letter and post it to Moments!”

Song Zhu: “…”

Song Zhu said, “Then don’t bother editing it. It’d be quicker to just send yourself a new text message.”

They promptly forgot about the message. At noon on October 23, Rao Lin was washing dishes when one of the group chats suddenly exploded with messages.

[Toxic Family (9)]

Ning Wang: @Rao Lin @Song Zhu @Zhuang Yao where are you guys?

Ning Shuo: @Rao Lin @Song Zhu @Zhuang Yao where are you guys?

Qin Genan: @Rao Lin @Song Zhu @Zhuang Yao where are you guys?

Luo Li: ?

Zhuang Yao: [image] This text wasn’t a prank?

Luo Li: What’s that?

Qi Yang: Hehe, it’s the text I DMed you about before. King told me to arrange it quietly. I can’t believe not a single one of you asked in the group.

Luo Li: You guys really know how to keep your mouths shut. Didn’t any of you mute the chat?

Rong Xi: …I didn’t.

Luo Li: You really went to the venue?

Rong Xi: [image] Yeah. I guessed it was a prank, so I secretly went to ask Brother Ning [proud.jpg]

Ning Shuo: Hurry over and win the fridge! We’re just missing you three! @Rao Lin @Song Zhu @Zhuang Yao

Holding dish soap in one hand, Rao Lin looked at the messages in the group and, for one brief moment, wanted to crawl through his phone screen and poison Ning Shuo to death.

Rao Lin: Teacher Song and I aren’t in Feihe.

Ning Shuo: Don’t mess with me. I checked your schedules ahead of time. Everyone I signed up definitely had plans. I remember you and Song Zhu are on vacation and have been in Feihe these past few days. Besides, there’s team-building this afternoon, so you’re definitely here.

Rao Lin: …

Rao Lin: You only investigated my physical body. You have no idea my soul is still with Teacher Song, galloping across the grasslands a thousand miles away.

Ning Shuo: Then sorry for the trouble. Please command your and Song Zhu’s physical bodies to come over here and win the fridge.

Rao Lin: …

Racing the clock, the two contestants-who were only a little over ten minutes from the venue by car-finally arrived at the competition site. Zhuang Yao had gotten there a few minutes earlier and had already picked up her number tag.

According to the lineup, there were eight contestants in total: the six former Zone F players other than Luo Li, who was still a minor, plus Rong Xi and Qi Yang.

In other words, since there had already been a team-building event scheduled for the 23rd, every adult who had long ago kept that day open showed up without exception.

Ning Wang still hadn’t cut his hair, and recently the two of them seemed to have discovered some new source of amusement. Every time they met, they wore the same expression, said similar things, and absolutely refused to introduce themselves.

Rao Lin asked cautiously, “Are you Ning Shuo or Ning Wang?”

Ning Wang was one thing-this was a law-abiding society now, and you couldn’t just hit people anymore. But if it was Ning Shuo, Rao Lin didn’t dare get too cocky. Ever since Ning Shuo came back, his Word Spirit had started working whether what he said was good or bad, and Rao Lin didn’t want to fall into the water before he even got started.

He really wanted to win that fridge in front of Teacher Song!

The young man arched a brow at him. “Guess who I am.”

Rao Lin: “…”

Patting the young man on the shoulder, he put on a professional fake smile. “I’m guessing you’re definitely my good brother, hahaha!”

The young man merely smiled and said nothing.

Given that both Xie Nings could fly and Rong Xi could swing, Rao Lin turned to Song Zhu and said, “Teacher Song, just watch me bring back fourth place for you!”

The Everyone Dash Forward event wasn’t actually decided by time; Rao Lin was only referring to the time-based battle they had decided on among themselves in the group.

Song Zhu was stretching. Hearing that, he looked up in confusion. “You think I’d be slower than you?”

Rao Lin immediately adjusted. “Then I’ll take fifth!”

Qin Genan, standing nearby and rolling up her sleeves, said, “If we’re comparing speed, I might not be slower than you either!”

Rao Lin thought about it and decided to back down another step. “Then I’ll do my best to stay in sixth and aim for fifth.”

Zhuang Yao, beside him, shot him a glance. “I’ve been training nonstop for the past few months because of missions. I heard you and Song Zhu have been on vacation the whole time? If we’re competing in speed and agility, you really might not be better than me.”

Rao Lin: “…”

Ning Shuo, who had been watching the fun from the sidelines for a while, patted him on the shoulder and said gently, “Admit it. You’re not the person you used to be.”

Ning Wang patted his other shoulder and, in the exact same tone, said, “Admit it. Your teammates aren’t the teammates they used to be either.”

Watching Rao Lin look utterly dejected, Luo Li-sitting off to the side as a spectator and sipping milk tea-sent Zhu Xiangfeng a message saying she’d go find her to play tomorrow. When she saw the cute bunny sticker the other girl sent back, she looked up in an especially good mood and said to Rao Lin, “It’s okay, Rao Lin. At least Song Zhu is still yours.”
Song Zhu was merciless. “On the field, there’s no playing favorites.”

Rao Lin: QAQ

After that little pre-match incident, Rao Lin’s original attitude of just showing up and having fun had completely changed:

This was about dignity.

That said, Rao Lin was still the Captain. Even if the people on his team were all absurdly overpowered, his own individual strength was nothing to underestimate.

And before the match began, something else happened.

The person in charge reminded the contestants with a smile, “Everyone, Everyone Dash Forward is a show for ordinary people. If any of you have special abilities, please don’t use any supernatural or otherwise non-scientific methods during the obstacle course. Otherwise, please withdraw in time, okay?”

Laughter instantly broke out behind the Two Nings and Rong Xi, and the one laughing the loudest was Rao Lin.

“Hahahahaha!”

Qi Yang thought it was funny too, but he still raised his hand and asked, “Why aren’t special abilities allowed?”

The staff member laughed awkwardly. “If special abilities were allowed, wouldn’t everyone who showed up get to take one home for free?”

At that point, there’d be no point in running the show anymore.

Rao Lin immediately shook off his earlier gloom and waited backstage with his number tag in hand.

—

Luo Li sat in the audience, sipping juice and chatting.

Because Zhu Xiangfeng had missed two years of school after disappearing, she had makeup classes every Saturday, so travel plans were temporarily on hold.

But her brother Zhu Xiangyu had promised that if she finished her homework early during winter break, she could go on a winter vacation trip with Qi Yang-gege from the Qi family, and he would bring along his younger sister, Luo Li.

Zhu Xiangfeng was very much looking forward to the upcoming trip, and Luo Li was too.

Waiting for something good always made people smile without realizing it. Luo Li held up her phone and filmed videos for Zhu Xiangfeng of the others attempting the course-some falling into the water, some showing off quick, agile movements.

Ning Wang was the first to go up. Unfortunately, when a foam pole swept toward him, he used Lightness Skill right in front of several cameras and was immediately disqualified.

The second was Ning Shuo. For a brief moment, the host thought the contestant who had just been eliminated had come back again, and said with a smile, “Sir, could you please call the next contestant over for me?”

He thought he was being tactful enough, but the newcomer only smiled faintly and pointed at the number tag at his waist. “That’s me. The one just now was one of my family. It wasn’t clearly explained during registration, so your script probably didn’t mention it either.”

The host truly hadn’t been given any introduction notes. He noticed that this man’s headband was a different color from the last one’s, and there were slight differences in the details of their clothing, so he assumed “family” meant Twins and hurriedly said, “Alright, please get ready.”

At that exact moment, the Everyone Dash Forward Live Stream Room had already exploded.

At first, the audience had only clicked in because they were drawn by Ning Wang’s looks. Then someone who had returned from the System posted a comment with a whole string of exclamation points: King! It’s King!!!

The moment she saw “King,” she instinctively thought of him using Lightness Skill and burst into merciless laughter at her screen.

Then the second “King” stepped onto the field, and she froze.

Wait, what? Which one is King and which one is Knight?!

And while she was still reeling, she also got hit with a fresh wave of sugar-

Now that King and Knight really do look exactly the same, if they look in the mirror every day and see themselves in the reflection, would they… oh oh oh hehehehehe hahahahahaha!!!

More and more people recognized them, and the Danmu was soon flooded with the codenames they had used in the System.

People who had no idea what was going on clicked into the [King and Knight Super Topic] mentioned in the Danmu and were immediately drowned in sweetness.

The Super Topic got another new discussion post.

[King and Knight Forever: I seriously don’t get what there is to ship about two people with the same face, same voice, and now even the same hairstyle and outfit. Anyway, I’m shipping it.]

Even without using Lightness Skill, his skills were still there. For Ning Shuo, dodging the obstacles was easy.

As the first contestant of the day to win a refrigerator, a microphone was immediately thrust in front of him the moment he hit the button. “Contestant Number Two, as today’s first winner to take home our show’s refrigerator, is there anything you’d like to say to the viewers?”

Ning Shuo thought about it. “Do you want the tactful version or the blunt one?”

The host interviewing him laughed. “What’s there to be tactful or blunt about? Just say whatever you want.”

Since they were, after all, living in a socialist society, Ning Shuo decided to keep it a little tactful. “Thank you all very much for your support. Actually, my victory today wasn’t just thanks to my own overwhelming strength. I also have to thank my lover for graciously yielding ‘first place this round’ to me.”

The course was slippery, and the obstacles kept coming one after another.

But for Xie Ning, who had trained since childhood, there was no need to use Lightness Skill at all.

So Ning Wang had deliberately gotten himself disqualified.

Ning Shuo really had been tactful. He hadn’t directly said who his lover was; but at the same time, he hadn’t exactly been subtle either, because the only person who had gone before him was Ning Wang.

The interview wrapped up hastily, and the Super Topic got another new post.

#They came out to the whole country again#

Aside from the Two Nings, everyone else also gained a wave of popularity on the show through their looks and one victory after another.

Those who had returned from the System knew perfectly well how strong they were, but seeing the screen full of comments like “so pretty,” “so handsome,” and “big sis is so cool, I love her, wuwuwuwu,” they only then belatedly realized something: the people I like aren’t just strong-they’re unbelievably good-looking too.

The online uproar hadn’t yet reached the people on-site.

Aside from Qin Genan accidentally losing her grip on the pole, and Rong Xi having a seed unexpectedly fall from him into the water-where it promptly sprouted into an absurdly thick vine, causing him to be declared defeated on the spot just like Ning Wang-everyone else successfully won a refrigerator.
Rao Lin was only three seconds slower than Song Zhu and only two seconds faster than Zhuang Yao, barely managing to make the “top three” he’d bragged about.

He turned to Ning Wang and said in a mocking sing-song tone, “Knight, admit it. You’re not the Knight you used to be. You’ve regressed. You couldn’t even win a fridge.”

Ning Wang stayed calm. “I’m with my brother. We don’t need two fridges. Unless you and Song Zhu need two?”

He shook his head and sighed. “What a shame. You two have been together longer than my brother and I have, and your relationship is progressing this slowly? You’re not even living together yet?”

Rao Lin: “…”

Rao Lin exploded. “This is intolerable!”

And so the two most childish people there started splashing water at each other in the water park next to the filming site. Standing safely on the steps out of splash range, Ning Shuo shouted, “Ningning! Expand my territory and annihilate the enemy army for your King!!” Song Zhu yelled a couple of cheers for Rao Lin, but Rao Lin got too into it and started splashing wildly. Song Zhu got caught in the crossfire, so he decisively took Qi Yang and Luo Li away from the battlefield.

Qin Genan opened up a towel behind Zhuang Yao, trying his best to keep the water from splashing onto her. Rong Xi ran while smacking at his clothes, trying to shake off the grass seeds stuck to him, and shouted in despair, “Keep your war away from innocent bystanders! These grass seeds have all come loose-I don’t want to go out covered in grass!” Luo Li had just been about to message Zhu Xiangfeng to complain that some adults were seriously way too childish when she saw the photo Zhu Xiangfeng had sent her a few minutes earlier.

It was a handmade wind chime. You could tell it was the maker’s first time making one, and you could also tell how much care she’d put into it.

Children’s friendships were always pure. Even though they had all spent a year in the System and, mentally speaking, could hardly be considered children anymore.

Luo Li looked up.

The sky after the rain reflected a clear blue. Wild geese were flying south, and just then, a plane crossed the distant horizon, trailing a streak of cloud behind it.

None of that could ever be seen in the unchanging sky inside the System, where everything was written by code.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath-

“Don’t think you’re getting away!”

Her socks were completely soaked. Luo Li opened her eyes, numbness filling them.

Friends were great, but right now she really wanted to kill someone.

She looked up and asked Qi Yang, “Brother, can you get me a knife?”

Qi Yang, who wasn’t wearing a jacket and could only awkwardly use his hands and body to shield her from the water, felt his lips tremble. “W-what are you going to do?”

Luo Li turned around, found a scoop, dipped it into the water, and with one fierce fling splashed it toward that crowd of childish adults.

“I’ve assigned myself a Murderer Mission. I’m now preparing to create a Murder Case scene.”

—

After the afternoon schedule ended, they followed the original itinerary and went camping for barbecue.

When it came to cooking, Qin Genan was unbelievably skilled. Since middle school, this man had loved showing off his culinary skills to his family. He was the one who did the cooking at home, and during school breaks he’d even learned barbecue techniques from relatives. Now that he finally got to show what he could do, everyone praised him nonstop, to the point that Qin Genan got dizzy from all the compliments and worked even harder at the grill.

This was probably social PUA. Or not.

Ning Wang and Rao Lin helped out beside him, hoping to secretly learn a few tricks so they could show off themselves sometime later.

The barbecue area was too crowded for a fourth helper slash apprentice, so the rest of them ate while getting ready to set up the tents. Zhuang Yao dragged Luo Li around to take pictures, and had Luo Li send them to Zhu Xiangfeng while she was at it.

After putting everything in order, Ning Wang was about to go look for Ning Shuo, who had suddenly abandoned all laziness and started running around everywhere, when Rao Lin sent him a picture.

It was a screenshot of a post Ning Shuo had just made on Moments.

Ning Shuo: [Image] Thank you for staying with me for so long. [rose.jpg]

Ning Wang thought Ning Shuo was posting some kind of relationship flex, so he eagerly tapped open the picture.

It was a screenshot showing nothing but an avatar of a swing, with the words [has accompanied you for 476 days] beside it.

Ning Wang instantly turned to stone.

Rao Lin, who had rushed over at the first chance to laugh at him, patted his shoulder and sighed. “Sigh, Knight, it’s perfectly normal for a King to have a whole harem of-”

Then he saw Ning Wang’s phone, and the rest of his sentence cut off abruptly.

Ning Wang switched the app to the official website, where it clearly said your phone has accompanied you for xxx days. Aside from the number of days and the avatar, it was exactly the same as the screenshot Ning Shuo had posted.

…

Rao Lin had known it was fake, but not fake to this extent. He turned around and went looking for Teacher Song, his very back radiating bleakness and a desperate need for a hug.

Ning Wang, metaphorical tail wagging high, left a comment under Ning Shuo’s post: Brother, where’s that thing that’s accompanied you for 476 days?

Just after the comment was posted, a message popped up at the top of the screen almost at the exact same moment.

Ning Shuo had sent a location to the group chat, along with a photo from a lawn music festival. He’d also privately sent Ning Wang a few messages and a voice clip.

“Ningning, come have fun!”

It was a music festival jointly organized by a few foreign visitors and local residents. Some were playing guitar, some were playing accordion, and they enthusiastically invited the tourists nearby to join in-especially someone as strikingly good-looking as Ning Shuo.

Faced with their praise that “you have the aura of an artist,” the tiny extroverted streak in Ning Shuo’s personality flared up again, and he sincerely dragged his companions into it with him.

Miss Zhuang and little Luo politely declined the invitation to sing and dance and instead stood off to the side filming for them. Song Zhu dove into a tent without hesitation, only to be dragged back out by Rao Lin to play. Qin Genan and the Two Nings were the ones having the wildest time of all: the sort who could communicate perfectly well through body language even with a language barrier.

The remaining two solo stans joined the filming squad while partying, and Rong Xi had even specifically brought the DSLR his grumpy-faced older brother had provided, recording this rare moment of ease after so many years.
The days in the System felt like they had only just happened yesterday, and even now, they remained unforgettable.

Ning Shuo gave Rong Xi’s group photo on Moments a like, then looked up at the boundless night sky.

This starry sky was nothing like the one generated by programs in the Rest Area, where you could see the edge of it at a glance. Beneath the stars, people sang and danced, living in a complete and beautiful world.

At ten that night, Li Ziqian sat at her desk and stretched. After uploading her latest chapter, she flopped onto her bed and started a video call with her best friend. Shangguan Zhigu and Gu Qi had just finished showering and were preparing for tomorrow’s performance. Sui Chunsheng, newly back in the spotlight, had just finished dancing and was discussing his upcoming schedule with his manager. Zhu Xiangfeng had gone to her brother to ask about a problem, but her mind was somewhere else. Her ears heard nothing at all, and her eyes kept sneaking glances at the living room TV, where the headline read: “Most Beautiful Girlfriend Tao Anqing Suspected of Intentionally Harming Others.”

Noticing she wasn’t paying attention, Zhu Xiangyu lightly pinched her cheek. Thinking there was still tomorrow, he simply carried Zhu Xiangfeng over to the nearby sofa and used the remote to switch the TV to the children’s channel.

Under the streetlights, Shu Yan walked out of the movie theater holding Shu Xiao’s hand, coaxing his deliberately reserved older brother into taking a walk with him. The light stretched their shadows long, and from a distance, they looked as if they were leaning against each other. By pure coincidence, at that very same moment, the lawyer named Ying Jian had just wrapped up a case where the plaintiff had become the defendant, and was driving to the hospital to pick up his wife, Jiang Shu, who was still working late.

The evening breeze carried the warmth and bustle of mortal life out in every direction. Even in such a lively world, there were quiet corners. An Sheng stood silently before a gravestone for a long while. After placing a bouquet of flowers down, he turned and walked toward a more distant future.

After putting the child to sleep, Jiang Zong ran off to find his wife. Before bed, he sent Yu Min information about his ideal house. It wouldn’t be long before Yu Min and his wife, Qi Ran, could move into their new home and invite friends and family to a housewarming banquet.

Of course, Shen Xiao-already on Yu Min’s phone blacklist-would not be invited.

After finishing his night shift, Fei Jinnian returned home as quietly as he could, only to find that his wife and child were still awake, out on the balcony fiddling with the telescope he had just bought. Hearing her father come home, his four-year-old daughter pointed at the Big Dipper. In her bright, watery eyes, the stars and her curiosity shone together as she waited for this father, who had suddenly appeared in her life not long ago, to answer her questions.

This world was prosperous and lively, and all at once, Ning Shuo found himself missing his master a little.

He had heard that 001 and the others were doing everything they could to repair that world the World-Descent Rule had shattered. He wondered how the repairs were going.

And there was also the World-Descent Rule itself. Supposedly, the self-aware NPCs born within the World-Descent Rule were also being desperately rescued.

King was feeling down when his phone suddenly started blowing up.

My King’s Knight: If a screen protector cracks, you can replace it yourself. If a window breaks, you can change it yourself. But if my heart breaks, only you can fix it. Bro, where are you?

My King’s Knight: There are three kinds of rulers in this world: straight rulers, triangle rulers, and I love you very much.

My King’s Knight: I’ve been getting sleepy a lot lately. You’re definitely going to say it’s because I’ve been staying up late, but I haven’t. I’m sleepy because I’m trapped by you.

My King’s Knight: [Let’s hug.jpg]

My King’s Knight: [Kiss kiss.jpg]

Ning Shuo’s heart skipped a beat. Earlier, everyone had gotten carried away and started playing drinking games at the table, and it seemed like Ning Wang had taken all his drinks for him…

He remembered being pretty quiet when he was drunk. So after falling in love, did getting drunk make him quietly spam his boyfriend with cheesy pickup lines and over-the-top lovestruck messages?

Just as he was about to go look for him, his phone chimed twice more.

My King’s Knight: Bro, why can’t I find you? [Image]

From the picture, judging by the angle, Ning Wang was probably crouching in front of a tree when he took it. He had used a little stick to dig out a small hole in the dirt, and had also sent Ning Shuo several messages asking why Ning Shuo wasn’t in that hole.

From the background, it didn’t look like he was very far away. As Ning Shuo searched, he sent him a voice message: “Why would you think I was in that hole?”

It didn’t take long to find him. Just in time, Ning Shuo heard Ning Wang sending a voice message too, his voice aggrieved and pitiful: “I want to bury you in a hole that only I know about. That way, no one can hurt you, and you won’t be able to leave me either.”

After sending the voice message, Ning Wang quietly waited for a reply from the other side. While he waited, he kept digging with the little stick.

He had only just scraped at the dirt a couple more times when a voice suddenly sounded from behind him: “I want to bury you…”

It was the voice message he had just sent.

Alcohol had made his reactions much slower than usual. He stayed crouched there for another two seconds before finally realizing it, and his eyes lit up. “Bro…”

“Shh.” Ning Shuo took his hand and pulled him onto his back, coaxing him softly, “Ningning’s drunk. Let’s go back and sleep, okay?”

Ning Wang was still hung up on the hole. “But the hole…”

Ning Shuo’s movements were gentle, but firm. “Be good. Wouldn’t it be better to hide me at home when we get back? That hole is way too small. It can’t hide me, and it would be really uncomfortable too.”

“…” Ning Wang wrapped his arms around his neck and said quietly, “Okay.”

All the drunk friends had been taken away by the people meant to take them, and heaven and earth fell quiet once more.

The long years of suffering had receded far into the distance. Everyone’s future would go on, like the sky stretching endlessly ahead.

Perhaps dazzling like the blazing sun, perhaps pure like the bright moon, perhaps glittering like the stars.

Or perhaps like drifting clouds, free in both coming and going.

/End