Chapter 20 Take it back, you hear me?

Ji Shian's skin crawled with goosebumps, and then he realized what the other party was going to do. He actively cooperated, pointing at the crayfish in the middle, and said in a coquettish voice that he had never made in his life, "Ah Huai, I want to eat that."

Qin Yinghuai paused, put down his chopsticks and put on disposable gloves, "Okay."

Ji Shian tapped his toes under the surprised gazes of his elders, while glancing at Zhou Xingzhi's expression out of the corner of his eye.

Zhou Xingzhi finally pulled his gaze down from Zheng Xiaoxiao's face. He glanced at Ji Shian calmly, and his eyes lit up when he saw the crayfish. He turned his head and asked Zheng Xiaoxiao, "Xiaoxiao, do you want to eat crayfish~"

Ji Shian broke out in a cold sweat and subconsciously grabbed Qin Yinghuai's sleeve. His movements were so large that he accidentally bumped into the water cup, causing a small splash of drink to spill. Zheng Xiaoxiao looked over here as if she had sensed something. Ji Shian's heart was racing, but his expression was held tight by a strong sense of conviction.

I've never been so embarrassed in my life. Zhou Xingzhi, this is all for you!

She pouted and said in a coquettish tone, "Hurry up, I'm so hungry."

Qin Yinghuai obediently increased the speed of his hands.

He placed the peeled crayfish in a small bowl and pushed it towards Ji Shian. His profile looked particularly gentle under the light.

Ji Shian subconsciously wanted to say thank you, but he was interrupted by Mr. Qin's cough halfway through.

Old Master Qin glared at Qin Yinghuai and said, "How can you be so slow at peeling a crayfish?" He then reached out and pushed a small bowl piled high with lobster meat over to him. He looked at Ji Shian kindly and said with a smile, "An'an, eat what Grandpa peels. Don't go hungry."

Ji Shian looked up and caught a glimpse of playfulness in Old Man Qin's eyes.

This is not appropriate at all. Ji Shian could hardly continue acting and boldly stepped on Qin Yinghuai's foot.

Qin Yinghuai was very steady. He poured the lobster meat into Ji Shian's bowl and said, "Grandpa, you eat yours. I'll peel it for Anan."

Ji Shian stared at the lobster sticking out of the bowl and screamed frantically: "Then you take it back to the old man! Take it back, do you hear me?"

The people gathered around the table were all looking at Zhou Xingzhi silently, waiting for his reaction.

There was no surprise, no astonishment, no disbelief. He was like a programmed machine, only knowing how to revolve around Zheng Xiaoxiao.

Zheng Xiaoxiao looked at Ji Shian who was eating hard across from her and said softly, "This isn't very appropriate, Miss Ji."

She looked a little embarrassed and glanced in the direction of Old Man Qin suggestively: "It's not appropriate to let an old man serve me."

Ji Shian was infected by Qin Yinghuai and kept brainwashing himself with the urgency of the incident. He suppressed his moral shame and pretended to be calm, "What's the big deal?"

She turned her target to the silent Mr. Zhou and ordered him, "Uncle Zhou, hurry up and peel some crayfish for Miss Zheng."

Zheng Xiaoxiao's broken filter froze for a moment, and she looked at Ji Shian in disbelief.

Dad Zhou nodded and bowed as he began to peel the shrimps. Mom Zhou gave him a sidelong glance and said: You're exaggerating.

Zheng Xiaoxiao saw this and her heart was in turmoil. Why did this family act so unconventionally?

Ji Shian calmly showed off a piece of fish that had been carefully deboned, "Zhou Xingzhi owes me 50 million."

Zheng Xiaoxiao could no longer hide her fear on her face: "How is this possible?"

Qin Yinghuai filled Ji Shian's glass with drink and kindly explained, "Xinghai Entertainment had funding problems a couple of years ago. He looked everywhere for help but couldn't find anyone, so he finally came to me."

He sighed pretentiously, "I didn't want to lend him money. After all, everyone knows that money is hard to get back once it's given away. My money didn't come from the wind. If An An wasn't so soft-hearted, I wouldn't have lent him a penny."

Zhou Xingzhi responded mechanically, saying yes and yes.

Father and grandmother Zhou also sighed heavily, and mother Zhou hurriedly used the serving chopsticks to pick up food for Ji Shian, muttering good words to him.

This was completely different from what she had expected. Besides, if they were really in debt, how could they still live in such a nice house? And, they were all happily sitting together for the New Year's Eve dinner.

Grandma Zhou suddenly said, "An An, how about I mortgage the house to you and Ying Huai?"

Ji Shian nodded obediently: "Sure, grandma."

Qin Yinghuai stopped her: "No. It's natural for us young people to settle the accounts between ourselves."

Ji Shian snorted and kept muttering the same old things like stubbornness and it's all about money, what's the difference?

Qin Yinghuai seemed to be helpless, but the principles in his heart were pulling him, so he had to humble himself and coax the man to eat.

Ji Shian reluctantly forgave him for the sake of the cola chicken wings.

Zheng Xiaoxiao twitched the corners of her mouth, her facial expression on the verge of being out of control. She had been calling the system loudly in her mind since she started eating, but there had been no response.

What the hell is wrong with this family? They're so crazy. Damn this fictional world, there's no logic at all. If she had known earlier, she shouldn't have listened to the system's advice and gotten a ticket to the wealthy circle from Zhou Xing.

Anxiety and unexpected accidents kept piling up, and Zheng Xiaoxiao had the urge to leave the spot.

The rest of the meal went on strangely. Occasionally, Father Zhou would get dramatic and exchange a few moves with Old Man Qin, while Mother and Grandma Zhou would sigh from time to time. There wasn't a single jolly New Year atmosphere in the house.

It wasn't until Zhou Xingzhi's phone call that I suddenly remembered the words "Gu Rong" clearly printed on it.

Zhou Xingzhi picked up the phone slowly, his fingers seemed a little stiff and accidentally touched the hands-free.

Gu Rong on the other end of the phone was very frugal with his words: "Have you arrived home yet?"

Zhou Xingzhi nodded.

Gu Rong couldn't see it, so he repeated the question.

Zheng Xiaoxiao was horrified watching from the side and pushed Zhou Xingzhi: "Speak up." She shouted to the system in her heart, "Something happened, something unexpected happened." Zhou Xingzhi seemed to have gone crazy.

Now the people around him could no longer ignore Zhou Xingzhi's abnormal behavior. Mother Zhou suppressed her anger, pretended to comfort Zheng Xiaoxiao, and then called a driver.

After seeing Zheng Xiaoxiao off, the door closed. Everyone started moving. Father Zhou frantically called the family doctor. Qin Yinghuai contacted Gu Rong and briefly explained the situation. Ji Shian, Grandma Zhou, and Old Man Qin surrounded Zhou Xingzhi, asking him questions.

Zhou Xingzhi still sat there blankly, without any reaction.

When Zhou's mother came back, she was so anxious that she could barely hold back her tears. "No, I'm going to call the police."

Father Zhou used all his rationality to hold his wife down and said, "I have asked someone to keep an eye on her. Zheng Xiaoxiao can't get away. When the doctor comes, give Xingzhi a blood test. Once we get the evidence, we will go to the police to file a case. We don't know what role she played in this yet, so we can't alert the enemy." He held the other person's shoulder and patted it soothingly.

Ji Shian ran to the kitchen to pour a glass of warm water, and suddenly a crackling sound of electricity rang in his head.

She was delighted: System?

[It's me, the host! I finally got in touch with you. I'm telling you, be careful of that woman! She has a defector system that's wanted by the Administration!]

System 089 was so anxious that he didn't even have time to use punctuation.

Ji Shian's expression became serious: Don't be in a hurry, that woman has been targeted, just take your time and talk.

[When you and that woman made eye contact, my magnetic field collided with that defector system's, which is why I lost contact with you just now.]

Ji Shian's heart skipped a beat: You're not hurt, are you?

The system waved its hand: "Don't worry, I have the security plug-in issued by the Administration to protect me. There will be no problem."

The system continued: [The force of the magnetic field collision is mutual. That system must have been shut down for some time. It was in a period of rebellion and could not receive energy subsidies from the Administration. It could only maintain operation through shabby means.]

System: [That woman is its target. The Heartthrob has come into contact with the most protagonists and can obtain the most energy. This is probably why it chose her.]

Ji Shian: But isn’t that what would have happened in the novel anyway?

System: [People are no longer the same, so the plot is naturally disrupted.]

Ji Shian was shocked: You mean, the current Zheng Xiaoxiao is no longer the original Zheng Xiaoxiao?

System: [Yes, I don't know where this woman was pulled out from by the defecting system, but it's true that someone else has replaced Zheng Xiaoxiao.]

Ji Shian clenched her fists so hard that her nails dug into her flesh. Qin Yinghuai, watching from the side, quickly pried her hands apart to prevent a bloodbath.

Ji Shian forced a smile and continued to talk to the system: Is there any solution for Zhou Xingzhi's current situation?

After the system scan, he patted his chest and said, "No problem, I'm already recovering. I'm usually a bit of a jerk, but my willpower is pretty strong, and my subconscious is always resisting."

She and Qin Yinghuai stood in a corner, watching the doctors rushing in and out. Ji Shian asked, "What can we do?"

The system sighed: [For now, we can only wait for Zhou Xingzhi to recover. However, as long as he survives this attack, he'll have antibodies for the next one.]

Ji Shian: You also have the concept of antibodies?

System: [I’ll give you an analogy to help you understand.]

Qin Yinghuai suddenly said, "That means there's still a certain probability of being controlled."

The system was stunned for a moment, then confirmed: [Yes, but as long as his willpower remains strong enough, his recovery will definitely get faster and faster.]

Ji Shian frowned: When will your people from the Administration come to clean up the mess?

Sensing the host's anger, the system dared not speak out: [I have reported it, but have not received any feedback yet.]

Ji Shian's face turned very ugly for a moment: Where did the original Zheng Xiaoxiao go?

The system was silent for a moment, then spoke: [We will be responsible for the search.]

Qin Yinghuai sneered, full of sarcasm.

The two of them stood in a corner, their low pressure building up, threatening to solidify. The system paced anxiously. It hadn't expected to encounter such a situation. It had finally regained the host's trust, and now it was back to square one.

The system gritted its teeth and promised, "I guarantee that Zhou Xingzhi will be fine. If anything happens to him, I will use all my energy to untie myself from the host and bind myself to him. That way, no matter where he's taken, the Administration will be able to find him and bring him back."

Ji Shian and Qin Yinghuai remained silent, and it was unclear whether they were satisfied or not.

Zhou Xingzhi, who was surrounded tightly, moved his eyes and finally regained control of his body. He pushed away the medical staff around him, apologized repeatedly, and glanced around, accurately catching Ji Shian in the corner.

Zhou Xingzhi rubbed his eyes with tears and cried for help: "Everyone, hurry up, help!"

The two people in the corner were shocked at the same time.

The system held its body in its arms in fear and checked itself: [Am I leaking air again?]