Chen Ying took Yue Lao and Mi Xi up.

Both Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei were at home. Su Xiaopei has a cold and was not in good spirits, but she still received them warmly.

“Su Xiaopei,” Yue Lao 2238 rushed to Su Xiaopei as soon as he entered the house. Chen Ying thought to himself, why doesn’t this Cheng Jiangyi, who was usually so nauseatingly protective of his wife, kick this so-called Yue Lao away?

“I brought Chen Ying here.” 

The way he said that… Chen Ying was not a hostage! He came up voluntarily, okay? It wasn’t at all because of that guy.

Su Xiaopei smiled, greeted Chen Ying, and then turned to Mi Xi.

“Hello, you must be Mi Xi.”

Mi Xi nodded.

“I’m Su Xiaopei.”

Mi Xi formally greeted, “I have seen my aunt.”

Very good, you recognize each other. Wishing you a lasting family relationship and a happy family reunion. Chen Ying turned around after chanting the blessing and now wanted to leave. 

Cheng Jiangyi and Yue Lao each grab one of his arms. 

“Sit, sit, have a cup of tea,” Su Xiaopei said to Mi Xi with a smile. “Don’t be too polite, come, come with me. I have prepared some things for you.”

Mi Xi looked back at Yue Lao 2238; he nodded, and Mi Xi followed Su Xiaopei farther into the house.

“You see, she only trusts you, so you take her in.” Chen Ying decided to preemptively push the young miss onto Yue Lao 2238.

“I live in a collective dormitory.”

Yue Lao 2238 composed his expression and hurriedly explained to Chen Ying, “Here is the situation: the world we live in is closely co-existing with another parallel world. You can imagine the relationship—the two worlds work together, and the energy is eternal. I am Yue Lao number 2238. My job is to carry out the instructions of the Red Thread System, to connect people with predestined relationships, and lead lovers to marriage. As for our Red Thread System, after a certain case last time, we found out that someone has some special abilities, that is, this person can allow people from one world to travel through and go to the other world. Mi Xi was, thus, guided here by the Red Thread System.”

“You are a writer, and Yue Lao is a pseudonym?”

“Listen to me,” Yuelao 2238 was very serious when he talked about his work. “Mixi lived in an era similar to the ancient times on our side. The way of life, language, and culture are the same as in our ancient times. You can also see this from her appearance. The clothes she is wearing now are the same as what she usually wore there.”

“Why did she cross over here?” Chen Ying decided to ask another question and follow his lead.

“Mi Xi’s father was a general who protected their country. Her family was framed, and all the family members were executed. Mi Xi, this daughter—in order to protect her mother, younger sister and little brother—fought to the death using a spear, alone against eighteen soldiers, in a bloody, final battle.” 

“She died already?” Chen Ying was taken aback.

“She is filial, righteous, and courageous, and touched the Yue Lao who has been actively leading the red thread for her marriage. She was not destined to die then, but it all happened too sudden, and he was caught off guard. That is the result. Yue Lao over there hopes to save her so she could instead enjoy a happy life, and so he urgently asked for help from the Red Thread System.” 

“Isn’t there a talk about reincarnation in your mythology? Just find her a good family and place her there.”

Yue Lao shook his head. “I only know about the Red Thread System, not about reincarnation. Please don’t interrupt. Anyway, the Red Thread System accepted the application, but because Mi Xi already passed away in that world, she had to come here to get a new life. The unfortunate thing is that the red thread tied to Mi Xi’s hand is broken. Yue Lao over there did not have time to tie the red thread for her marriage before everything happened, so she has no red thread to protect her body. Without the red thread’s protection, she can only last for three years. 

“It is not an easy task to find someone who is destined to be tied to one’s red thread. It will be very, very tight to accomplish this in three years—the time may not be enough. This case ended up being transferred to my hands, and I will help her tie her red thread in the days to come.

“But in the meantime, she needs a place to stay and someone to take care of her. I searched all possible candidates in the system, and found that your conditions are very suitable, and you happen to know Cheng Jiangyi, so I asked him about you. After a while, I confirmed that you are indeed the most suitable.”

“Wait, how did you come to the conclusion of ‘most suitable’?” Chen Ying asked.

Yuelao 2238 paused, as if thinking about how to explain it. 

Cheng Jiangyi hurriedly jumped in, “Let me explain it.”

Just say it then. Chen Ying sat up straight. Who are you trying to bluff? Yue Lao and broken red thread, dead and alive, who was the most suitable? Make it up, come on, I wanna see how you make it up!

“You are the most suitable candidate. The reasons are as follows: First, your brother is my business partner, and we can almost count you as one of our own. It’s simpler to talk and rely on our own people. If something goes wrong, you also know who to turn to. This is very easy to understand, right? The second reason is simpler: you are rich ah, and can afford it.”

Chen Ying’s face darkened. This reason was really fucking good ah.

“The third reason is that besides me, you are the most courageous, soft-hearted, and most conscientious person I know. When we entrust the little young lady in your hands, you won’t do things half-hearted.” 

This was obviously a compliment to others but he didn’t forget to include himself? Chen Ying was very disdainful. 

This guy Cheng Jiangyi obviously didn’t care about the young lady’s well-being at all and was trying to push the responsibility onto others. Could he do this and still nag Chen Ying about his conscience? Who’s really reluctant and half-hearted here?

“You know me too little,” Chen Ying said in rebuttal. “I touch my chest every day, but I can’t find where my conscience is. My brother is really kind, he is also rich, and he is on his own. It’s more suitable for you to find him.” He was also very good at pushing things onto others. 

Cheng Jiangyi has the guts to try and cheat him because Chen Ying’s own brother has the intention to cheat him. And if you tell him that his brother, Chen Fei, didn’t know that Chen Ying was being bullied to death right now, he wouldn’t believe it—so he feels no guilt whatsoever for dragging his own brother into the water.

“Look at you, how old are you? How can you still count on your older brother for everything? Your brother is not free ah. He wants to help the company earn money. He is so busy with work, how can he have time to take care of a little miss? You are relatively free.”

“How am I free?” Chen Ying wanted to tear at his hair. “I’m also very busy with work!”

“Don’t you have so many employees to feed; let them do it.” 

“Do you two have no employees?”

“Not as many as your family’s.”

That, unfortunately, was a fact—but the logic was still wrong. 

Chen Ying stretched his legs and counterattacked. “If my brother is busy, then you yourself must be free. And you have a family; you and your wife are the most suitable for adoption.” 

“We can’t.”

“Why?”

“We’re trying to have a baby. The baby-making activity is too noisy. Underage girls would be embarrassed to hear it.”

Chen Ying’s face turned half black. How can this person say such shameless words?! 

The strange thing was that Chen Ying actually agreed, thinking that this activity was really inappropriate for little young misses to hear.

“I haven’t finished what I was saying yet,” Cheng Jiangyi continued his persuasion work. “I have to have an excuse to sell you the IP rights to the game [Xun Lang], right? You take care of Mi Xi, and although it really has little to do with me, it seems that I will owe you a favor after all. When it comes to Intellectual Property cooperation such as film and television rights, I will give priority to you. You see, this is my compensation to you.” 

“You f*cking need a reason to sell the IP rights to me?” 

“Of course. In case someone else bids higher than you, as this is business, I need a strong reason to convince myself to be unyielding in the face of higher profits.”

Chen Ying really wanted to give him the middle finger ah! 

But, to be honest, the allure of [Xun Lang]’s IP rights was indeed not small, even more attractive than that of [Swordsman].¹ It’s just that their company has not yet completed the development, and the IP rights have not yet been offered. But he has read the story script, seen the character designs, seen part of the testing, which was indeed very interesting. It’s a good business that will make a lot of money.

“Let me tell you,” Cheng Jiangyi spoke again. This time he has straightened his expression and was very serious. “Yue Lao is real, and the Red Thread System also exists. This is not a made-up story. I was unconscious in the beginning, and when I finally woke up, suddenly, I could only rely on the red thread to protect my body. It was Xiaopei who found me over there.”²

Chen Ying was dazed for a moment—the female psychologist went to another world to find a destined person. This plot seemed very familiar. He suddenly understood that this was the plot of [Xun Lang]. He couldn’t help narrowing his eyes at Cheng Jiangyi.

“I didn’t make it up; it’s not my idea. It’s what really happened. I just wrote it down and designed it into a game. I only wanted to preserve the story of me and Xiaopei forever this way.”

“And you promised me that you will find a way to let everyone believe in love, learn to cherish it, know how to work hard for it, and be forgiving,” Yue Lao 2238 interjected. It’s why he agreed to let them use his plot in the game.

Cheng Jiangyi waved his hand to tell him not to interrupt. He continued to say to Chen Ying, “You don’t have to doubt this matter: it is indeed true. Your brother knows it too, and he also knows about Mi Xi. Chen Ying, it is reasonable for the Red Thread System to choose you. You need to take good care of her—it shouldn’t take too long.”

Chen Ying raised his eyebrows. “What won’t take too long?”

“Tying the red thread.”

Chen Ying continued to raise his eyebrows. “Just now, Mr. Yue Lao, who specializes in tying red threads, said that it is difficult to tie hers. Three years would be very tight, he said. And now you say it won’t take long? Your conscience, is it still there?”

“He emphasized the importance of things, and I emphasized the operability of things. The rhetorical methods are different, and the words used are different, but you can definitely understand this with your IQ.”

Yuelao 2238 looked from one to the other—both of them were so eloquent ah, he better not cut in.

At this time, Su Xiaopei came out again with Mi Xi in tow. 

Mi Xi has changed into a lightweight, casual, sportswear with long-sleeves; pants; and canvas shoes. Her long hair was combed into a ponytail, and she looked like a normal girl. Seeing everyone looking at her, she felt a little embarrassed. Blinking her eyes, pursing the corners of her mouth lightly—she didn’t seem to know where to place her hands and feet.

Chen Ying looked at her limpid eyes, her pure expression; her temperament was completely different from that of modern girls. 

He suddenly found that he actually believed their words. Although they were talking nonsense, he actually believed them a little bit.

If it wasn’t true, how did Mi Xi jump onto the roof of his car?

She must have fallen from the sky, otherwise he can’t explain what happened.

He once heard from his older brother that Cheng Jiangyi had had a very special experience, and this Yue Lao 2238 should not be a lunatic. Even if he took another ten thousand steps, these two men definitely can’t be trusted—but Su Xiaopei was different. She was a serious woman who didn’t joke around. 

But if this was true, why did the Red Thread System choose him, and how was he suitable?

“What if I don’t agree to take her in?” he asked.

No one answered him. It was only Su Xiaopei who let out a long sigh.

Mi Xi was slightly shocked when she heard what he said. She pursed her lips tight, turning her face away, but she was too stubborn to bow her head.

Looking at her expression and her clenched hands, Chen Ying felt his heart soften. She seemed rather pitiful. 

Well, in actual fact, it’s really not a big deal to raise her, just give her a place to live and keep her from starving to death. This was something others would do, too, right?

Chen Ying cleared his throat and saw that Mi Xi was peeking at him in secret. He suddenly had the realization that it was quite rude for him to speak like that in front of her just now. The young miss has just arrived and was unfamiliar with everything. Everyone was telling her that she could only rely on him, yet he has been nothing but rude. 

However, he was really not willing to show weakness like this! Why does it have to be him ah?

“So, how old are you?” he asked, trying to figure out the situation.

“Seventeen. She’s seventeen, almost eighteen.” Yue Lao seemed to realize that Chen Ying was giving in, so he replied quickly. He took out some folded papers from the inner pocket of his suit. “She’s very sensible at this age, so she won’t cause trouble. Mi Xi is very good.”

Chen Ying gave him a look. Did he ask him? Look how proactive he was. Like a human trafficker selling people. Is such a Yue Lao really reliable?

“My birthday is on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month,” Mi Xi answered by herself.

“Are you willing to come with me?” Chen Ying asked with a provocative tone. 

If the other party, the girl herself, didn’t want to—then everyone else can’t talk nonsense. She could choose to stay with whoever she wanted. Okay, that’s fair enough, a good way to settle this. She didn’t like him, so there’s a good chance she will say ‘no’.

Mi Xi looked at Yue Lao, then at Su Xiaopei, then turned back to him. 

Everyone can see her reluctance, but she still whispered, “Please take care of me, Uncle.”

Chen Ying couldn’t help but stroke his forehead. This was really bad! Young lady, didn’t you beat eighteen men by yourself? Blind obedience was not a virtue—don’t just listen to what others say ah! 

He looked around at the few people around him: everyone was staring at him. Mi Xi was biting her lip and peering at him in secret. Chen Ying took a deep breath. It’s like a group of bastards selling people, and he was the poor buyer. No, it should be said that Mi Xi was the poor, little young lady from a good family who was being trafficked.

What would happen if he didn’t take her in? Chen Ying hesitated.

“Here,” Yue Lao was very anxious and stuffed the folded papers into Chen Ying’s hand. “These are Mi Xi’s materials and various documents. I will leave them with you.”

Chen Ying took a look. It’s just a look, okay, he was only a little curious. He hasn’t made a final decision yet—.

Look at this! Damn all these people! 

He jumped up to his feet.

“How the hell did she move to my household registration?!”

“You are the guardian ah,” Yuelao 2238 replied.

“Does your Red Thread System also manage the police and handle household transfer procedures?” Chen Ying gritted his teeth, “You stole my household account book!” 

“No, no,” Yue Lao waved his hand fiercely, “I didn’t steal your account book. Your brother provided it.”

F*ck. Of course, he did. It’s really hard to guard against thieves from your own family.

“What else do you want to ask?” Cheng Jiangyi asked him.

Chen Ying was so angry ah, there were too many questions to ask, but these were not the point! The point was, he has been schemed against by this group of people. Including his own brother. What about family? What about human nature?!

Chen Ying cursed 100,000 words in his heart. He turned to Mi Xi, and the young miss was looking at the TV. To her, this world was indeed very strange. He looked at her, once again feeling inexplicably soft inside. 

It wasn’t the young miss’ fault; she’s a victim too. She couldn’t even die well, and was sent to this dratted place to be taken in by a strange uncle.

The whole room was full of people with shitty intentions.

Have they considered the feelings of the little miss? Did no one see her disappointed and sad expression? His heart was so soft ah.

“It seems that he’s fine, so it’s settled!”

Wait, did he agree? He didn’t agree ah! But he was already thinking about which room to place her in, and which bed sheet and quilt to use for the bed.

Kindness was a hell of a thing!

_____________________

FOOTNOTES:

 ¹[Xun Lang] is game developed by Cheng Jiangyi and Chen Fei’s company. I don’t know what [Swordsman] is. Perhaps it was mentioned in the other novels by the same author sharing this same universe. In any case, it’s not very relevant to this story. ↩

 ²Cheng Jiangyi and his wife Su Xiaopei are the main leads in another novel by the same author, entitled ‘Xun Lang’. It’s titled ‘In Search of Love’ in Novel Updates. ↩

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