Sui Si's apartment.
Yu Tang and the system stayed in their sea of consciousness and watched the entire live broadcast.
In order to make employees immerse themselves in the characters and plot as much as possible, Chuanshuju has made great efforts. The first-person perspective high-definition broadcast is broadcast without delay. After the voice-over ends, it takes a few seconds for the picture to stop in the curling smoke.
"Does he really think so?"
Yu Tang was a little surprised: "When I get back to the bureau, will I be able to get a B in the evaluation of getting into the role within one second?"
system:"… "
Yu Tang dragged the progress bar back and listened to the voice-over words "I can't survive" twice.
His silence package had not expired, but he was not restricted from speaking in his mind. Yu Tang had traveled through four books, but had never had such a big breakthrough in the emotional direction. He was still unsatisfied and asked the system to discuss: "Is this the power of acting?"
system:"… "
It felt like it was the power of Sui Si's imagination.
But its host obviously doesn't think so. Its host is very happy and even wants to pay the re-examination fee for the "One Second to Act" project.
"Host, host." The system looked at Yu Tang who had already started to think about his own affairs, suppressed the worry about wasting experience points, and reminded him of the main business, "Sui Si wants you to join W&P, do you want to agree?"
Yu Tang was curious: "How can you disagree?"
"Yes." The system said, "I asked other systems, and it seems that their hosts usually refuse with the reasons of 'just wanting to stay with the protagonist' or 'willing to give up better development opportunities for the protagonist'."
It’s not that the protagonist is really that important. In the various world lines under the jurisdiction of Chuanshu Bookstore, the employees basically don’t want to follow this kind of plot unless they really have no choice.
The Affectionate Spare Tire Department where Yu Tang works is okay. Relatively speaking, it still focuses on the emotional and story lines, and there won't be any outrageous work.
The all-round secretary and housekeeping department next door often receives unreasonable requests in some world lines, including but not limited to "develop a complete game system within three days", "increase sales three times within a week", and "acquire a competitor company within two months".
Their systems have no way to go beyond the world line logic to provide cheat codes. To complete these tasks, the host can only spend a huge amount of money to purchase S-level short-term ability surge cards such as [Gifted], [Extremely Talented], and [The Cool King's Destruction].
Because of this, the employees of the Almighty Butler Department often spend more than they earn. They have to exchange all the experience points they have just earned from the previous book for ability cards in this book. Together with the Affectionate Spare Tire Department, they have become the two departments with the fastest job-hopping among employees in the Bookstore.
"We don't have many experience points."
The system had just assessed the difficulty of the W&P Marketing Director's job. It didn't want to discourage the host's enthusiasm, so it tried to choose its words carefully: "With our current savings, if the host is kidnapped ten more times and sells ten more slave ships, we can probably buy an S-level ability card..."
Yu Tang: "What do you want to buy experience cards for?"
system:"?"
"Gifted?" Yu Tang came over and took a look at the system's shopping cart. "I made this card when I was an intern."
system:"… ?"
Yu Tang clicked on the page: "I made both the Tianzi Jue Lu and Tianliang Wangpo cards. I actually also wrote a set of teaching materials on "How to Acquire a Consortium from Zero Basics", but they don't seem to be very interested and would rather buy Tianliang Wangpo cards."
These were just pastimes when they were bored. Yu Tang was still thinking about the make-up exam. While the system was not paying attention, he took out their small treasury and counted the experience points from beginning to end.
When he first came to Chuanshuju for internship, the first place he went to was the All-Round Butler Department.
The All-Round Butler Department is a pure tool department with very low requirements for emotional lines. Yu Tang found the work very smooth and once wanted to submit a report to stay in this department forever.
If he hadn't been so successful at work and accidentally acquired the protagonist's company several times, he wouldn't have been persuaded to leave by the head of the All-Round Housekeeping Department and come to the Affectionate Spare Tire Department, which is also a supporting role tool system.
"We have to take another make-up exam. As long as we can get our One Second Entering a Role score above 75 points at level C, we can submit a report to apply for transfer to Long Aotian's main character department."
Yu Tang: "The career line is upgraded, and you will be successful in your career and rich."
Yu Tang discussed with the system: "I'm still two experience points short. Give me a piece of bubble gum."
"… Host." The system had just restarted and was struggling to run the logic program. "The [Tianliang Wang Po] card was only launched this year. When did you develop it?"
"This year," Yu Tang said, "Didn't I play games alone in the cold villa in the third book?"
The system handed over the bubble gum and thought of the hundreds of hours that Yu Tang had been addicted to PSP: "..."
The hosts who spent huge sums of money to buy ability cards must not know that those ridiculously expensive S-level ability cards were developed on a second-hand game console.
The rigid system of Chuanshuju, where employees with any rating of D are not allowed to be transferred to the main department, should really take the reality into consideration and make appropriate updates and reforms.
Yu Tang skillfully digitized the bubble gum, got back the experience point balance, and submitted the 79th application for make-up exam.
The system has improved its understanding of the host and no longer dissuaded Yu Tang. It helped him retrieve relevant information about the W&P company: "Host, those ability cards are all worth sky-high experience points. As a developer, don't you get any dividends?"
"Yes." Yu Tang said, "It can't be used for the time being. The money earned from dividends is not in the same worldview as ours."
The passbook is unlocked in a step-by-step manner and is also linked to the employee's skill rating. He can only use the profit income within his own world view. Only when all skill ratings are raised to level C or above can the cross-world view profit transfer function be unlocked.
If these books didn't happen to be in the same world, even if the system sold the slave ship of the first book, the experience points would only be temporarily sealed due to insufficient authority.
When he passes the C-level test in One Second Acting, the dividends from Chuanshuju will be automatically unlocked and directly transferred to his account. The 1:1 exchange rate is a direct exchange of world currencies, so you can buy as much bubble gum as you want.
"We should report to the headquarters and apply for adjustment of the regulations." The system spoke up for him, "Although the host's acting skills are only 61 points, 20 of which are exchanged for permanent skill cards, the host's outstanding abilities in other aspects should also be allowed to be converted into compensation."
"When I came to Chuanshu, the work manual was still from 20 years ago, and the edges were all curled."
Yu Tang turned on the monitor and stole a piece of bubble gum from the system: "The bureau should have never encountered a situation like mine. Let those old antiques study it again."
The system flashed a small red light, and he and I moved closer to the monitor to review the conversation between Sui Si and Nie Chi in the car.
Yu Tang likes to pursue his career. There is no special reason, he just likes it naturally.
He is not very interested in money, but building a career from scratch to the peak is more fun and exciting for Yu Tang than any other game.
In contrast, honing acting skills, cooperating with the main character to follow the emotional line, and finishing a book step by step to earn experience points are the inhumane destruction of work enthusiasm that turns people into office animals.
Yu Tang didn't want to destroy himself, but as long as he could improve his acting skills through the training in these worlds, he could get sky-high dividends and live a retirement life in advance by buying any protagonist company he wanted.
"Work harder." Yu Tang was in high spirits when he knew he could go to work at W&P. He cheered himself up and high-fived the system, "Practice your acting skills. If you get over 75 points, we will become rich overnight."
The system flashed a small red light, high-fived him, and quickly went to the system discount mall to buy a complete set of the "Actor's Self-cultivation" series of books.
When Sui Si arrived home, Yu Tang had just finished reading the third page of the series.
He got a headache every time he read the books. He tried his best to read three pages, but couldn't hold on any longer and took two naps. He was awakened by a hand gently supporting his shoulder and he opened his eyes.
Sui Si sat beside the bed.
The curtains blocked out most of the light. In the dim bedroom, drops of medicine from the IV dripped down, and the air seemed quiet.
Sui Si's face didn't look very good, with fatigue evident between his brows, but his expression was unusually gentle.
At least that's the case for Yu Tang.
Except for those times when they had just gotten married and pretended to be intimate in front of the camera in order to share the heat with Ke Ming... Such gentleness on Sui Si's face was almost rare to the point of being a little unfamiliar.
Sui Si's acting is very good, he can control himself, he can be tender and considerate in front of the camera, and he can immediately return to indifference when the camera is away. No one can see the flaws in his actor-level acting skills. Those online fans who used to support Sui Si and Ke Ming lost their minds after being hurt by such scenes, and they have been chasing Yu Tang for nearly a year with overwhelming insults and ridicule.
Seeing the gentleness on Sui Si's face, the first thing that surged up in Yu Tang's deep primitive data was an almost suffocating fear.
"Are you awake?" Sui Si reached out to help him up. "I brought you some porridge. You..."
Sui Si stopped talking and his outstretched hand stopped in mid-air.
Yu Tang dodged his hand.
Sui Si's chest sank slightly, but he remained calm, put down his hand, and looked at Yu Tang quietly.
…
"Host!" The system was startled and reminded Yu Tang in his mind, "We cannot go against our character setting—"
Yu Tang was also confused: "I didn't go against my character setting."
This action was not his own intention at all. It was the original data he made before leaving. Based on logical deduction, it was an instinctive reaction to Sui Si's action according to his character.
The system was a little surprised, and came over to open the ooc panel, and sure enough, there was no data fluctuation.
Yu Tang suddenly had an idea: "Can I apply for a re-play? From today onwards, deduce all the way to Sui Si's marriage, and re-play Yu Tang's plot line."
"Yes, this is also the responsibility of the Supervision Department." The system said, "It's just that the data is too large, so it will take a few days."
Yu Tang had no shortage of time. He arranged the system to submit the application and continued to concentrate on exploring the subtle changes that were not easy to detect.
The gloom in Sui Si's eyes only lasted for a moment before he adjusted his mood, turned sideways, and placed the porridge on the bedside table.
"Angry with me?"
Sui Si's tone was not accusatory. He covered the corner of the quilt for Yu Tang and said slowly, "You misunderstood what I said this morning."
Yu Tang opened his mouth, but still no sound came out.
He had just woken up, still feeling very uncomfortable. His arms were shaking as he tried his best to support his body. He looked at Sui Si with a pale face.
"I don't want to chase you away. I want you to put down your burden and have a good rest."
Sui Si raised his head and said, "Look at yourself. How thin have you become?"
Yu Tang pursed his lips instinctively and lowered his head as if he had made a mistake.
Sui Si looked at Yu Tang, and for some reason, the pressure in his chest eased a little.
Knowing Yu Tang's feelings for him, Sui Si didn't want to give Yu Tang useless expectations and never took a good look at Yu Tang.
But now he slowly discovered that when Yu Tang was like this, he was not as annoying as he thought.
Yu Tang's temperament was dull and gentle, and this gentleness could hide many details, making people feel that his appearance was not outstanding. But his eyes were clean and gentle, and he lowered his head quietly, with his scattered hair falling down, and a little unclear mist under his eyelashes.
Sui Si recalled the day when he rescued Yu Tang from the river, wrapped him in clothes and took him to the hospital, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
If there hadn't been the gambling agreement with the Sui family, and if there hadn't been the pressure of the contract to make him feel suffocated, he would have let Yu Tang stay at home, not go anywhere, do nothing, and rest peacefully.
The doctor had warned him that Yu Tang's current condition was unstable and that rushing to have normal communication and interactions might lead to more serious consequences.
…But he didn’t have time.
For Yu Tang, as long as he is a little more patient and gentle, there shouldn't be any problem.
Sui Si looked at Yu Tang's expression. He tried his best to be careful and asked slowly, "Are you hungry?"
Yu Tang stepped back.
"System, check." Yu Tang asked in his mind, "Has the ooc value fluctuated?"
The system held up a small paper umbrella to protect against electric shock and was extremely surprised: "No!"
Yu Tang had a rough idea in his mind.
According to the rules, he should be nervous and uneasy when seeing Sui Si's gaze, and immediately force himself back to work and do what he should do as Yu's special assistant.
But now, even though Yu Tang was still cowering and hiding, the ooc rating of his character did not fluctuate at all.
There is no fluctuation, which shows that the plot development of this world, the pressure accumulated on Yu Tang, and the doctor's diagnosis of Yu Tang's mental state have provided sufficient logical support to bring about new changes in the character.
"The doctor's diagnosis did say that Yu Tang is in a period of acute stress and may exhibit abnormal behavior."
The system also found this and urgently downloaded the "Guide to Human Mental Illness": "Host, we need to check what is considered abnormal behavior..."
"Run." Yu Tang said, "Go live in a big villa and become a marketing director."
system:"… "
It felt that this action was a little too abnormal.
"It doesn't matter. There is a bug in the bureau's regulations."
Yu Tang has already figured out the rule: "As long as I can explain the logic of my behavior clearly, it's not OOC."
Just like Yu Tang now, because he has been under pressure beyond his limit, even if he can no longer be the calm and stable special assistant Yu, it will not cause fluctuations in his personality.
For Sui Si, Yu Tang, the spare tool who once obeyed him in everything and gave him whatever he wanted, has begun to lose control.
"My condition is too bad. I am in the acute stress stage of catatonic stupor and cannot communicate effectively with the outside world."
Yu Tang said: "Sui Si woke me up and forced me to accept the new environmental changes, which further aggravated my stress response. I no longer had the energy to take care of him."
The plot of this section is very reasonable. The system reported to the Supervision Department and was worried: "But how do we transition to the big villa?"
"I knew this was not a place I could stay, so I left Sui Si's house instinctively."
Yu Tang: "I wandered all the way to the villa area provided by W&P for its employees..."
system:"… "
"Okay." Yu Tang gave in, "Walk to the studio."
This is the place Yu Tang is most familiar with. Even if he is not conscious, his body will instinctively remember that he has something to do and will return here.
In order to get this cooperation for Sui Si, Yu Tang volunteered to help in the subordinate department of W&P for half a year. The staff sent by W&P to take over would not fail to recognize him.
If anything unusual is discovered about him, Yu Tang will be protected by W&P personnel and taken back to headquarters for proper treatment.
"Big companies and big financial groups always put profits first."
The system is still worried: "What if they feel that the host's condition is not good and don't want to hire the host?"
Yu Tang was very friendly: "Then I will hack into their CEO's email and give them a copy of "How to Acquire a Consortium from Scratch"."
system:"… "
The system muted myself, and I went to the Supervisory Department to report with a written appeal letter on the logic of my character's behavior.
Yu Tang regained his composure.
Sui Si was still speaking to him slowly.
Yu Tang lowered his eyelashes, did not respond, and his expression did not fluctuate.
He sat there motionless, just like he had that day in the office, and even the sudden fear and trembling that had just come over him was gone.
Sui Si took the porridge, scooped a spoonful and handed it to Yu Tang's lips.
"Eat a little." Sui Si said, "You are angry with me, but there is no need to be hard on your own body."
His tone was gentle and considerate, just like the most normal couples on screen and in front of the camera.
Yu Tang seemed not to hear what he said until the warm rice porridge in the spoon touched his lips. Then his misty eyes moved and he raised his head.
Sui Si was somewhat helpless: "Open your mouth."
Yu Tang opened his mouth as he was told and followed Sui Si's movements to hold the spoonful of porridge in his mouth.
He just held it in his mouth, neither chewing nor swallowing, and then stopped moving.
Yu Tang was a little younger than Ke Ming. With the porridge in his mouth, his cheeks bulged a little, making him look even younger.
Almost like a confused deer.
"What are you thinking about?"
Sui Si laughed: "Okay, I admit my mistake."
"I admit my mistake." Sui Si said softly, "I can't live without you. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that this morning. Don't be angry with me."
As he spoke, he reached out and wanted to touch Yu Tang's hair.
When his hand was halfway raised, Yu Tang suddenly sat up.
Yu Tang pulled out the IV drip from his hand, ignored the bloodstain on the back of his hand, stood up and got out of bed.
Yu Tang's movements were not fast, and even each movement revealed a hint of stiffness and rigidity, yet seemed particularly resolute.
"What are you doing?"
Sui Si was stunned: "Yu Tang, what are you going to do? You—"
He soon knew what Yu Tang was going to do.
Yu Tang's movements were very skillful, so skillful that it seemed as if they had been repeated countless times and had become some kind of established pattern.
No need to think, no dare to think.
He turned his back to Sui Si and tidied the bed he had slept on, folding the quilt into its original style and stretching the sheets flat.
Yu Tang wandered around the room, as if he didn't see Sui Si at all. He put the IV bottles and tubes into plastic bags, and put all the moved things back to their original state.
Yu Tang knelt on the ground and smoothed out the wrinkles on the carpet bit by bit.
He carried the plastic bag containing medical waste, walked to the bedside, picked up the freshly opened hot porridge, and poured it in.
“Yu Tang!” Sui Si’s pupils shrank. He went over to stop Yu Tang and asked in a deep voice, “What do you mean? You—”
Sui Si's expression changed several times and he stopped talking in shock.
Yu Tang wasn't looking at him.
There was mist in those eyes, and Yu Tang's vision was blurry, as if he could not see anything, and could not express any emotion.
Yu Tang walked around Sui Si and turned off the bedroom light.
His mind was in a daze, but he still remembered one thing clearly: he was not allowed to stay in this bedroom.
This is not his home.
Yu Tang carried the bag of garbage, walked out of the tidy bedroom, opened the door, and left Sui Si's residence without looking back.