Fate Trading System – Chapter 217

Plan A

Heavenly Voice 8

Going Home

Su Xin wasn’t particularly fond of wearing white clothes. It wasn’t that she found white unattractive; in fact, she thought white was a very nice color—depending on the circumstances, of course. The kind you saw in hospitals was rather unappealing, but generally, white got dirty easily, and it wasn’t convenient for moving around late at night.

However, the woman standing before her suited white very well.

The same white color gave off different feelings on different people. Some women looked ethereal¹ and fairy-like, some looked pure and adorable, and others just seemed ice-cold.

Yan Shuang probably belonged to the third category, cold as ice and frost, just like her name suggested. Even though she was wearing a white casual tracksuit, she didn’t give off the gentle and approachable vibe of an older sister figure. Instead, she exuded a sense of distance and indifference, her eyes seeming to keep others a thousand miles away.

But it was different when she smiled. Her smile was very, very faint, almost like a polite formality, but it was beautiful, instantly melting away that imposing aura.

“What do you want to eat?”

Su Xin inquired. Her own tastes leaned towards strong flavors; she liked spicy and salty, disliked sweets. Sweet things were okay occasionally, but eating them for too long was unbearable for her.

“Anything is fine. Since you’re treating, the guest follows the host’s convenience².”

“Hmm… then let’s eat out, just order a couple of dishes casually.”

“Okay.”

Su Xin didn’t have much money on her. Treating someone to something exceptionally delicious or expensive was impossible. Eating something more affordable was within her wallet’s capacity.

After dinner, the two walked home together, strolling leisurely. It seemed as if they had known each other for a long time, but in reality, they had only just met yesterday.

Some remain strangers even after a lifetime, while others become fast friends after a brief encounter³.

With some people, you feel an instant connection upon first sight. You can confide in each other after just a few hours together, and after ten days or half a month, you might be willing to sacrifice a lot for them.

And then there are others. You might know them for decades, but the relationship remains stagnant, never changing much. If you don’t see each other for a while, the distance grows until you feel like strangers.

Su Xin felt that she and Yan Shuang definitely belonged to the former category. Perhaps finding a kindred spirit at first sight⁴ really existed in this world, just like love at first sight—incredibly mysterious and profound.

“Where is your home? I haven’t asked yet.”

“In the capital.”

“I see, the capital…”

The original host, Lin Tang, had never even left this province. The capital was quite far from this city.

“Is it that far?”

“Yes, but I’m not home often. I have to travel everywhere for business trips. Every time I take on a new research project, we have to relocate. Sometimes we need to conduct field investigations and collect specimens.”

Yan Shuang kept both hands in the pockets of her jacket. She didn’t have much contact with her parents; their relationship could be described as indifferent.

“I see. Isn’t that very tiring for you?”

“Not really. It’s just like you see now. It was quite tough in the early years, following my professor. But once I became capable myself, people started inviting me over. They handle arranging housing and other necessities, so I basically don’t have to worry about much. As for the research, since it’s my interest, how could I find it tiring?”

“That’s true. As long as it’s something you’re interested in, it never feels like hard work.”

Dusk had already fallen, the setting sun dyeing the horizon with unique colors.

“When is your next check-up?”

“I’m not sure about that either. It depends on my research progress. Hmm, are you in a hurry?”

“Not particularly. It’s just that I have to go home tomorrow and might only be back in a few days.”

“Okay, that’s fine. A few days might be too short anyway. I’ll contact you if anything comes up.”

“Alright.”

The two arrived at their respective doors and bid farewell.

“Have a safe trip⁵.”

Yan Shuang nodded at Su Xin, then pushed open her own door.

Su Xin heard the sound of the door closing behind her and opened her own, stepping inside.

That group of people seemed to be behaving themselves. Liu Yan hadn’t come demanding the house back either—he was the one paying her rent.

They were probably scared, seeing the videos on their phones and computers vanish as if they’d seen a ghost. Plus, she had leverage on them.

But somehow, Su Xin just couldn’t believe that group would stay docile. Every single one of them was societal dregs, the type completely asking for a beating.

If this were her own world, Su Xin would have unhappily eliminated them long ago. After all, weeds must be pulled out by the roots, otherwise, they’ll grow back with the spring wind⁶.

But it wasn’t possible in this world. Setting aside the fact that this identity absolutely couldn’t have any blemishes, she also had no money or resources, making it difficult to obtain the firearms she was familiar with. What she’d said before was just bluffing them.

Su Xin indeed could calmly carry out dismemberment, but she wasn’t some pervert; why would she do such a disgusting thing? Besides, she wasn’t at all certain she could pull it off seamlessly⁷ and hide everything.

Su Xin believed that Heaven’s net is vast, but it lets nothing slip through⁸. She wasn’t a criminal, so her attitude towards the police was the same as any ordinary person’s, just perhaps a bit more sensitive, avoiding contact. Su Xin wasn’t afraid of things going wrong during her missions; after all, the organization above would handle it.

This thought merely flickered through Su Xin’s mind, and she didn’t dwell on it. She had Lord Fourteen monitoring them. If they dared make any unusual moves, she would know instantly.

Night fell quickly. After the long darkness comes the dawn.

Su Xin had already packed the things she needed for home during the evening. She didn’t bring a suitcase, just packed a backpack with her clothes, phone, cards, and some other important documents.

She traveled home by high-speed train⁹. After picking up her ticket at the train station, she went to the waiting room to wait for the train.

Stepping onto the unfamiliar yet familiar land, Su Xin felt no particular emotion.

The original host hadn’t dared to come back, but she dared. She felt no emotional attachment to these people; to Su Xin, they were just characters she needed to act around, people she needed to pretend to be close to.

After arriving at the train station, she took a taxi home. The fare was a bit expensive, as it was quite far.

Upon reaching home, Su Xin took out her key and opened the door, finding her whole family inside.

“Dad, Mom.”

“You’re back! Your brother has been talking about you for days. He’s lying down in his room, go see him.”

“Okay.”

Su Xin tossed her bag onto the sofa, took a sip of water, then walked to her brother Lin Weiyan’s door and knocked.

The original host’s mother had married two husbands with the same surname, so the original host didn’t need to change her last name after getting a stepfather.

“Come in.”

Su Xin saw the man the original host adored. Previously, he had only existed in fragments of memory; now, seeing him in the flesh, Su Xin… felt nothing.

The young man lying in bed had skin showing an unhealthy pallor from prolonged bed rest, but this sickly air couldn’t conceal the handsome refinement of his features¹⁰.

He was a very good-looking and refined boy, the type likely to be the dream lover of many young girls—that gentle, neighborly older brother type.

What feelings could Su Xin possibly have for a ‘little brother’ type? Internally, aside from mentally noting that he was indeed quite handsome, there wasn’t another ripple of emotion.

“Ge¹¹.”

Su Xin called out dryly, standing there, head lowered, twisting her fingers.

“Come here.”

Lin Weiyan sighed helplessly, beckoning his sister over.

“Why are you crying? Aren’t you happy to see Gege awake?”

“I am.”

Su Xin felt she might have graduated from the drama queen academy. The act came so readily. Though internally she felt nothing, even wanted to laugh, externally she maintained the appearance of a red-eyed little white rabbit¹².

Lord Fourteen, I don’t think I’m very suited for this kind of sentimental drama. Watching this kind of scene makes even me want to laugh.

【emmmmm……】

Lord Fourteen, you’ve changed. You never used to talk to me like this.

Mentally picturing reaction gifs series¹³.

【Yes, Host. I have changed. I have become light, become electricity, become the one and only myth. Any objections?】

None! Lord Fourteen, you haven’t caught a virus, have you?

【Certainly not. I am merely on the verge of data collapse from being angered by my new Host.】

Su Xin initially wanted to ask why, but remembering she still had to act, she abandoned the thought.

“If you’re happy, why are you crying? Mom and Dad told me about you going out to work. It’s my fault. You could have gone to the school you wanted. My sudden accident delayed you… For a girl like you to go work so far away, how dangerous is that? Don’t go next time.”

“If I don’t go, I don’t know where else to go. Should I go back and repeat the year? But that opportunity has already passed.”

“Gege will help you figure something out.”

Lin Weiyan’s face was filled with self-blame. If it weren’t for his sudden accident, his sister wouldn’t have ended up like this. She should be happily studying on campus right now, not working alone outside.

“No need. I’ve already promised my boss I’ll go back to work. It’s not good to stand people up¹⁴. Besides, Gege, you don’t need to blame yourself too much. At least you were finding joy in helping others. Isn’t it great that the little kid is safe and sound?”

The car accident happened like this: a drunk driver ignored a red light and sped across the road. However, an elementary school student was crossing at that moment. Seeing the car about to hit the child, Lin Weiyan quickly pushed the child out of the way, but got hit himself.

The driver paid compensation, and the child’s parents sent many gifts in gratitude. But the money wasn’t enough to cover everything. The driver’s family wasn’t well-off either, and couldn’t produce more money. Moreover, he faced sentencing for drunk driving and causing injury. The student’s family was just an ordinary household, not wealthy; the money they offered was the most they could manage.

Insurance covered a portion too. All in all, it was barely enough, but there was no money left for tuition, and the family had no savings. They were originally going to apply for a loan, but the original host was stubborn¹⁵ and refused, preferring to go out and work to subsidize the family income. Studying music was actually quite expensive, and the family couldn’t afford it.

The original host’s mother and stepfather held rather old-fashioned views, believing it wasn’t useful for girls to study too much, as they would eventually marry and become housewives anyway.

So, things ended up like this.

Su Xin didn’t judge their rights or wrongs. The outcome was already set; what was the point in judging who was right or wrong?

“Sigh.”

Lin Weiyan sighed.

“Ge, just focus on recuperating and getting better quickly. Once you’re well, you can go back to school.”

“Then what about you? You can’t always be like this. I’ll earn money in the future. Your teacher must have contacted you, right? With such a high major score, how could the teacher bear to let you not study? He must have suggested you repeat the year. Why didn’t you go back?”

“Ge, there’s no point asking these things now. Anyway, what you need to do now is get your body healthy quickly. Once you’re better, you go back to school, and I’ll continue working. If there’s a chance, I’ll still go to school. Don’t worry, I won’t let myself stay like this forever. I’m heading out now, won’t disturb your rest.”

Su Xin waved her hand and quickly left the room, closing the door behind her.

Deep confusion lingered in the eyes of Lin Weiyan lying on the bed.

Her attitude wasn’t right.

How could Lin Weiyan, with his high IQ and EQ, fail to notice that his stepsister used to look at him with the same adoration as other girls at school who admired him? He had sensed those feelings before. But just now, in her eyes, he only saw the emotion a sister should have for her brother, completely devoid of any other intentions.

Three months away, and she seemed to have changed quite a bit.

Perhaps she had seen the bigger world outside and grown up.

Lin Weiyan breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to hurt his sister, yet somehow, he felt a sense of loss and disappointment.

Su Xin didn’t have much to talk about with her parents. She put her things back in her room and closed the door, not coming out.

Lord Fourteen! Quickly tell me, how did your new Host make you crash?

Listening to gossip was rather enjoyable.

【Well… her personality is quite different from yours and my previous Host. She loves to act cute/spoiled.】

Acting cute is good! Women who act cute have the best luck! A girl is acting cute with you, and you’re not happy?

【No, her way of acting cute… makes me want to smash her dog head¹⁶.】

Pfft pfft pfft.

【”I’m still just a child, Mr. System. I’ll die if I’m unhappy, so could you please give me a little golden finger¹⁷? Like this.”】

The Host you picked yourself, you have to teach her even if you have to kneel.

【Her methods for completing tasks are somewhat unconventional¹⁸, but they always yield unexpected results. If I had to judge, she’s actually more terrifying than both of you.】

How so?

【She looks very obedient, but she’s full of schemes¹⁹. Her values are a bit skewed²⁰.】

Yikes.

【Regarding your situation, Host, I will continue monitoring as usual. Just call out if anything happens.】

Okay.

Su Xin didn’t bother taking her clothes out of the backpack to put them away. She had only brought two sets of clothes back for washing, keeping things very simple. Anyway, she was going back in two days.

The relationships within this family were actually somewhat subtle, with Lin Weiyan as the central point.

The original host’s mother was a very typical, traditional housewife with little education, rather weak-willed, and very obedient to her husband. Logically, such a woman would never divorce her husband unless she was kicked out.

The original host’s mother had been married for several years but only had one daughter, with no further children. The scum dad had an affair, and the other woman got pregnant. A check-up revealed it was a boy, so the scum dad and his family eagerly wanted to kick the original host’s mother out, refusing to support the original host either.

The stepfather was a man with a rather dominant personality. His wife couldn’t stand his nature and, unable to bear it any longer, initiated a divorce, completely disregarding their young son. These two individuals with complementary personalities met, and it was the stepfather who initiated the pursuit, thus forming this family.

However, this family didn’t really value girls much. The stepfather had some preference for boys over girls. The original host’s mother was also the type who relied heavily on her husband and mentally supported the idea that ‘a daughter married out is like spilled water’²¹, believing there was no need to invest so much in raising her. The family previously funding the original host’s music studies was the only thing she had ever requested. The stepfather agreed after consideration, a decision significantly influenced by Lin Weiyan’s persuasion.

So, the situation in this family was: Dad loved Brother, Mom loved Brother, Sister loved Brother. Brother was quite astute²² and subtly smoothed over the family dynamics. That’s why everyone cared so much about him when he had his accident.

During dinner, the three of them fell into silence.

Mother Lin put rice and dishes into a large bowl for Lin Weiyan, who was still inconvenient to move and recuperating, thus confined to bed.

“Tang Tang, how was life outside?”

“Not bad. I think it’s good for a person to see the world. At least I’m very independent now and can live well on my own.”

“That’s good. Girls should be a bit more independent and strong.”

The stepfather nodded. Mother Lin wore a faint smile and remained silent.

“Dad, I plan to stay home for three days, then go back to work. My boss is urging me.”

“So soon?”

Mother Lin finally spoke.

“Yeah, because it’s quite busy over there, and it’s not good if I’m absent. The other singers can’t cover everything, and it’s unfair to make one person sing for so long.”

“Alright then. Buy your own train ticket back. Do you still have money?”

“It’s a little tight.”

“I’ll give you some later then.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

The atmosphere was overly awkward. After finishing her meal, Su Xin returned to her room, planning to come out later to wash up before going back in.

When she had nothing else to do, Su Xin went to Lin Weiyan’s room to keep him company and talk, needing to maintain the image of a good sister after all.

“Tang Tang, staying outside these few months, you must have made many new friends, right?”

“It was okay, I met a few. They’re all pretty nice people. Coincidentally, I ran into my classmate—well, a university classmate. Though technically we aren’t classmates yet, since I haven’t even enrolled.”

Su Xin mentioned Zhao Yunhan, the chatterbox teenager who persistently sent her messages every day—sometimes a photo, sometimes a joke, or just talking about trivial things in his life, or discussing music theory.

Zhao Yunhan was genuinely enthusiastic. He had compiled and sent Su Xin a list of all the theoretical textbooks they were using. Sometimes, he would also take notes on important points covered by the teacher and send them to her.

He was a very endearing kid.

Lin Weiyan felt extremely guilty. Seeing his sister like this intensified his self-blame. If he hadn’t had the accident, his sister would have followed her predetermined path into university life, happily enjoying herself with classmates. But now, his sister was forced to grow up, forced to enter society prematurely, adapting to things she wasn’t suited for.

“Ge, I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ve already bought the ticket. I need to go back to work.”

“So soon?”

“Yeah. If you miss me, just call me, or we can video chat. But evenings might not work, as I’m usually busy then.”

Su Xin started singing in the evenings, as the bar only opened at night, drawing larger crowds then.

“Okay. Tang Tang has really grown up.”

She was no longer the little girl who used to follow him around, acting cute. She was still just as pretty and beautiful, but that naive innocence was gone, replaced by a maturity and indifference gained from entering society. There was a nonchalant air about her eyes and brow, as if nothing really concerned her much, as if she lacked passion for anything around her.

She wasn’t supposed to be like this. She should have been full of vitality, like a sunflower.

The next day, after bidding farewell to Lin Weiyan, Su Xin embarked on the journey back to D City.

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Yan Shuang was studying the blood sample. Most of the components within had already been analyzed. All that remained was to compare it with several agents²³ circulating privately on the market. Something used on an ordinary person wouldn’t be an exceptionally rare or expensive agent.

Blood circulates constantly. After half a month, the substances had been considerably diluted. The body’s reaction was concentrated in several areas. Yan Shuang pinpointed one specific agent.

C-R11 Agent. It was a relatively common type of Sensitivity Agent—describing it as an aphrodisiac might be inappropriate; ‘sensitivity agent’ was perhaps more accurate.

Su Xin’s reaction at the time suggested she had been injected more than just once, possibly three times or more.

This agent could cause the body to react slowly upon the first injection. After three doses, certain parts of the body would be severely modified/altered. Someone with weaker willpower would likely suffer a more tragic outcome.

Su Xin’s reaction wasn’t actually that severe, at least compared to other ordinary people. This could only mean Su Xin’s self-control was incredibly strong; her willpower surpassed her body’s instinctive reaction.

She’s quite an amazing person, Yan Shuang thought. Looks completely ordinary.

Yan Shuang had investigated Su Xin. Of course, she had to investigate thoroughly; Su Xin was an experimental subject she had handled. Whether due to this or other reasons, she needed to know the full story, even though it seemed inappropriate, like violating someone’s privacy.

One could only say she was quite an unlucky kid. Her life seemed unremarkable on the surface, but it had actually been quite full of hardships. Fortunately, things hadn’t deteriorated to the worst possible state.

For some unknown reason, that group of dregs she hadn’t paid much attention to—the ones who bullied Su Xin—had been taught a lesson by an unknown person. Perhaps someone Su Xin hired, or maybe other enemies. Yan Shuang didn’t care; she merely cleaned up the loose ends²⁴, following proper legal procedures to send them to the station²⁵. However, there were likely people backing those dregs, so they could be bailed out²⁶. But it didn’t matter. Even if they were out, they probably wouldn’t dare cause trouble again.

“Hello, this is Yan Shuang.”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

Su Xin was in a taxi heading back from the train station.

Her stepfather had said he’d give her ‘some’ money, and he really meant just ‘some’. Besides the ticket fare, he only gave her an extra 300 yuan. Considering the family’s situation, though, this was already quite good.

“I’ve already identified the agent. But resolving it might be troublesome. There’s no antidote for this kind of thing; it’s not a poison. So the process might be quite complicated. Also, the solution I formulate might not necessarily work. We might have to try several methods. If one works, it might require multiple injections to fully resolve it.”

“That’s fine. You can decide on these things. I can accept whatever is needed.”

“Okay. I can finish my current work by the 21st. Starting the 22nd, I’ll begin working on your case.”

“Okay.”

Today was October 19th.

Hope was right before her eyes.

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The author has something to say:

Let me explain here why Xin-jie is in a weaker position in every world, while Qing-jie is always a big shot.

Qing-jie is the protagonist.

The clients only make deals when forced to, certainly out of panic, fear, or helplessness.

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