Chapter 099
The system swallowed its saliva and dared not speak.
Yan Xi was puzzled. She put her hands on her hips and poked the system's chubby face.
"Why can't you say this? Now that the overall situation has been decided, there is nothing to be afraid of even if Pei Yubai or Ye Luoyi knows the truth about the world. What are you worried about?"
[If it was Pei Yubai and Ye Luoyi, it would be easy...] The system murmured, but it knew it couldn't hide it, so it finally told the truth, [It was Zhou Yanci.]
Yan Xi blinked and stared at the system blankly, not reacting for a long time.
[Host? Host? ]
Yan Xi came back to her senses, her eyes flickered, "Are you sure?"
The system nodded, [Only awakened characters can talk to me, you can, and so can my brother.]
Yan Xi bit her lip. She had thought about the possibility that Zhou Yanci might wake up, but this was really the worst case scenario.
Zhou Yanci's awakening means that he will know everything she has done in the past, and he will also know that she is close to him not because she cares about him, but for Zhou Qingyu's luck value.
【How about you explain it to your brother? 】
[I think my brother will listen! ]
Yan Xi was very confused and silently grasped her sleeves.
The system patiently persuaded, "Host, why don't you trust your brother a little more? Just like the eldest lady knew that you lied to her, but still chose to forgive you. 】
[My brother must feel the same way! He likes you so much! 】
Yan Xi was afraid. She was afraid that Zhou Yanci would care.
"Qingqing and I were deceived after we got to know each other. We had known each other for five years before this and knew each other inside out. Even if Qingqing didn't know the truth until now, she would believe that I was doing it for her own good."
"But Zhou Yanci..."
It was not Yan Xi's original intention to deceive, but to Zhou Yanci, her approach was deception.
Zhou Yanci was not a very secure person. Five years ago, a person he had a crush on could become his "imaginary enemy". If he knew that Yan Xi approached him not for his own good, how uncomfortable he would be.
The system looked at the troubled Yan Xi and sighed, "So this is why you told the eldest lady that you would not marry your brother!"
Unlike Zhou Qingyu who was casual, Yan Xi was fully prepared for everything she did. So she had already imagined the worst possible outcome between her and Zhou Yanci.
That way, when that day really comes, at least she won't be too sad.
Originally, Yan Xi thought that Zhou Yanci would never know about luck value.
Then she would hide it from him for the rest of her life.
But who knew that this damn plot would eventually play tricks on her, and the person who finally woke up was Zhou Yanci.
…
There are still two hours left before the end of get off work.
Yan Xi packed her bag and quickly left the Xingyao Building.
Since awakening is inevitable, she cannot escape and can only face it.
The Zhou Group is cold and solemn, and the employees work as hard as screws.
Yan Xi's access card passed the check-in point and entered the elevator smoothly.
The elevator went up to the 88th floor.
Yan Xi was feeling nervous, her heart was beating fast, and she was silently reciting an apology in her mind.
She has been an excellent student since she was young. She has spoken in front of teachers and students of the whole school as a representative of freshmen many times. Now that she has become the VP of Xingyao, she has also spoken in front of Xingyao employees or to millions of netizens in the live broadcast room.
But this was the first time she was so nervous.
Yan Xi went over the draft in her mind over and over again, but she always felt it was not appropriate.
On the 88th floor, Yan Xi saw Zhou Yanci.
He just came out of the office and straightened his collar. Yan Xi was about to call him when she saw Zhou Yanci turn around and enter the conference room.
The sound that was not yet uttered was swallowed into her throat, and Yan Xi nervously tapped the corner of her desk.
The second secretary noticed Yan Xi and asked, "Boss Yan, are you here to see Boss Zhou?"
"Yes," Yan Xi said, "How long will Zhou Yanci's meeting last?"
The second secretary checked Zhou Yanci's schedule and said, "It will take about two hours. After that, Mr. Zhou will go to the High-tech Zone to inspect the game company he just invested in."
"Boss Yan, if you have something to ask Boss Zhou, I can let him know first."
"No."
Yan Xi didn’t know whether she had managed to escape or what, but her voice became somewhat weak.
"Can I wait for him in his office?"
"Of course."
The second secretary opened the office door for Yan Xi.
Zhou Yanci's office is simple and elegant in style, with mainly cool tones. The walls are made of smooth marble, emitting a faint cold light. There are no unnecessary decorations, only a few abstract art paintings hanging on one side.
This is Yan Xi's first time to come to Zhou Yanci's office.
Although they have been in love for a while, they are almost the same as before they were in love. At most, they do some intimate things.
Yan Xi sat on the black sofa, planning to think about the words she would explain later.
"bite--"
The tablet on the table lit up.
Yan Xi glanced at it instinctively, and the content on the tablet quickly caught her attention.
That's a search interface.
The keyword displayed on the search box is system.
Yan Xi's breathing was choked. She stretched out her hand uncontrollably and clicked the search bar on the tablet's search interface. A series of search terms popped up: system, book-traveling, awakening...
Her breathing became increasingly labored, and her blood began to run colder from her fingertips to her heart.
"Xixi?"
Suddenly a man's voice came from the door.
The moment she saw Zhou Yanci, Yan Xi felt very guilty and quickly pressed the lock button on the tablet, and the metal tablet fell into darkness.
Yan Xi stood up in panic, "Aren't you in a meeting?"
"Due to equipment failure, the meeting will be postponed for half an hour."
Zhou Yanci closed the door of his office and loosened his dark blue tie. He glanced at the tablet on the table and finally landed on Yan Xi.
He was sitting next to Yan Xi. "You came to my office without even saying hello. What? Are you here to check on me?"
Zhou Yanci's attitude was too natural, just like in the past. He put his arms around Yan Xi, pinched her waist with his broad palms, and gently rubbed his head against Yan Xi's neck.
"Missed me?"
Yan Xi only felt a tingling sensation in her waist and almost forgot about her business.
"Don't you have anything to ask me?"
Zhou Yanci looked at her with amusement, "Didn't I ask you? Why did you come to see me specially? Don't you miss me?" He smiled, with some helplessness and some pampering in his smile, "Are you really here to check on me?"
Yan Xi was confused. Didn't they say Zhou Yanci had awakened? If he had awakened, he shouldn't have this attitude!
"Tong! Come out quickly! What's going on?"
Yan Xi called the system in her heart.
The system popped up, looked Zhou Yanci up and down, and floated around Zhou Yanci.
【That's not right! 】
【Theoretically, my brother has indeed awakened! 】
[But he seems...can't see me? ]
Yan Xi gritted her teeth and asked, "What on earth is going on?"
This is really too much of a psychological problem!
The system made faces at Zhou Yanci so hard that its little face was stretched out of shape, but Zhou Yanci just ruffled Yan Xi's hair and didn't notice that there was a concrete emoji package beside him.
[It seems that he is not awake yet! 】
[Host, I don’t understand either. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a situation! ]
Yan Xi sighed. She couldn’t rely too much on this rookie system!
"Why don't I just be honest with him!"
[Host! No! ]
[If your brother doesn't wake up and you tell him the truth about the world, his memory will be erased and your existence will also be erased! ]
[You can only tell me when he wakes up! ]
There's a knock on the door.
Zhou Yanci: "Go in."
Special Assistant Sun walked into the office and respectfully picked up the tablet on the table.
"Sorry, the tablet fell down when I was reporting just now! Mr. Zhou, Mr. Yan...you guys continue! I'm going to work!"
Yan Xi was surprised, "Is this tablet yours?"
Special Assistant Sun glanced at Zhou Yanci. Seeing that Zhou Yanci did not respond, he immediately straightened his back and said righteously, "Of course it's mine! The latest model! The highest configuration! Not bad!"
Yan Xi: "I just accidentally saw your search interface, what system, transmigration..."
"Oh!" Special Assistant Sun slapped his head, "My girlfriend likes to read novels, I guess she searched for it. Mr. Yan, do you also like to read this kind of novels? Then I'll ask her to recommend a few to you later."
Yan Xi waved her hands, "No, no."
She rolled her eyes around and lingered on Zhou Yanci's face for a while, but didn't notice anything unusual.
This is actually Special Assistant Sun's tablet. Does this mean Zhou Yanci may not be aware of it?
It's not 100% triggered, right?
Assistant Sun left the office.
Zhou Yanci held Yan Xi's hand, interlocking their fingers tightly.
"Now that we're here, how about we go to class?"
Yan Xi had never expected to hear the word "翹班" from the mouth of Zhou Yanci.
"Don't you have a meeting?"
"Just let Special Assistant Sun host it."
"What about the gaming company that inspected the Hi-Tech Zone?"
"Assistant Sun is also fine."
Yan Xi didn't know whether she should feel sorry for Special Assistant Sun.
"But I..."
Zhou Yanci suddenly kissed her, his tongue like a nimble snake, easily snatching Yanxi's breath, he entangled her, step by step, his kiss was lingering and delicate, like a traveler in the desert, absorbing the last drops of rain.
Yan Xi was kissed so hard that her breathing became rapid.
She pushed Zhou Yanci away with force, gasping for breath.
Zhou Yanci had a smile in his eyes, his nose touching hers, and his low voice sounded like a whisper, or like the devil's temptation.
"Yanxi, let's go on a date."
——
This is Yan Xi's first date with Zhou Yanci.
After confirming the relationship, Yan Xi was either busy appearing on variety shows or preparing her thesis proposal and work for Xingyao, and had no time to accompany Zhou Yanci.
She had no experience in love, and neither did Zhou Yanci.
But if you think about it carefully, after a couple is together, they should go on dates, right?
Before going on the date, Zhou Yanci took Yanxi to a clothing store to change out of his overly formal suit. Zhou Yanci changed into a casual jacket, and he instantly looked several years younger, completely different from the cold and aloof male.
Yan Xi changed into a pink cashmere sweater and a chiffon long skirt, which made her look a lot younger.
——Of course, this is because Yan Xi is young.
但系統看了眼周宴辭：【總覺得哥哥和你在一起的時候，都在裝嫩。】
顏兮：“……”
“他27，還行吧？”
【不啊，已經奔三了，男人過了25就不行了，你知道的吧？】
前面試衣服的周宴辭一個趔趄。
顏兮：？？？
系統：？？？
【他不會……聽到我們腹诽他了吧？】
顏兮咽了口唾沫，“不至于吧？”
……
周宴辭這一趔趄，搞得顏兮心驚膽戰。
系統一直蹲在顏兮的肩膀上，周宴辭又熟視無睹，顏兮才緩和了點。
逛了一會兒，兩人去吃晚飯。
去的不是特別高檔的餐廳，只是一家普通但挺有風味的小店。
顏兮和朝朝過去常來這裏，餐廳老板是海大的校友，做飯很好吃，偶爾店裏還有活動打折。
兩人落座，剛要點餐，服務員上來搞推銷，“我們餐廳最近有情侶活動哦！只要戴着吉祥物頭套合照，挂在我們店門口的照片牆上，就送一份巧克力冰激淩！”
這種小便宜，顏兮以前都是能占就占，拍個照片，又不虧。
但她看了眼那蠢萌的青蛙頭套，實在想象不到周宴辭戴着玩意是什麽樣子。況且周家大少哪裏需要餐廳活動送冰激淩，他把這餐廳買下來都沒問題。
“不用了，我們不吃……”
“拍一張吧！”
顏兮猛看向周宴辭，“你想戴這個青蛙頭套？”
周宴辭一愣，看了眼青蛙的頭套，眼中露出一絲嫌棄。但他餘光又瞥向服務員用于打廣告的小牌子，目光落在“情侶活動”四個字上。
他一字一頓，“我、想、拍。”
啊這……
難道周宴辭有戀醜癖？
直到顏兮戴上那醜到爆表的青蛙頭套，都沒明白周宴辭到底看上青蛙什麽。
不過青蛙頭套雖醜，周宴辭的顏值竟然hold住了這麽醜的玩意兒。服務員給兩人拍了張合照，一張用于挂在餐廳的照片牆上，一張給了兩人。
“很好看呢！兩位看起來很配哦~”
周宴辭在摘那蠢萌的頭套，本來因為脖頸扣子複雜有點惱，聞言嘴角勾了勾。
“嗯，我也這麽覺得。”
……
那張合照，最後被周宴辭小心收進錢夾裏。
兩人成功換到飯後甜點冰激淩，顏兮一路上美滋滋地舔着。
行吧，頭套雖然醜，但是冰激淩好吃呀！
系統一直跟在顏兮身邊，它只是虛拟幻象，吃不了冰激淩。
系統悟了，它哪裏是來幫宿主看周宴辭有沒有覺醒，它分明是來吃狗糧的！
冰激淩是吃不到，但狗糧吃得飽飽的！
顏兮去上洗手間，周宴辭幫她拿着冰激淩，系統不甘心，圍着冰激淩嗅啊嗅啊！
沒事，吃不到，聞一聞也行吧！
周宴辭突然換了個姿勢，冰激淩也被挪到一邊。
好麻煩，系統又跟着冰激淩飄過去。
周宴辭又把冰激淩換了個位置。
系統不放棄，又跟上。
接着，周宴辭第三次挪開了冰激淩。
系統光禿禿的腦袋上冒出個問號，哥哥這是幹嘛？
它擡頭，一臉茫然看着周宴辭。
然後，它看到一直對它熟視無睹的周宴辭，此刻悠悠看着他。
他眸光含笑，笑容裏卻有點冷。
……
不一會兒，顏兮從洗手間出來。
系統跟看到救命稻草一樣，一下飛到顏兮身邊！
“我還以為你回去看小說了，你還在呢？”顏兮在心裏問系統。
系統抿着嘴，小臉委屈極了。
它的臉蛋紅紅的，好像被什麽東西捏過。
它習慣性蹲在顏兮的肩頭，忽然感覺一道銳利的目光，系統整個球一抖，統軀震顫，瞬間浮空，再不敢碰顏兮。
顏兮感到奇怪，“你怎麽了？”
【沒……沒啥……】
顏兮丈二和尚摸不着頭腦。
系統瞅了眼周宴辭，又看了看顏兮，非常狗腿且篤定地說：【那個，宿主！我已經确定了，覺醒的人不是哥哥！】
顏兮眼睛明亮，“你确定？”
系統連連點頭，【确定确定确定！】
【這次覺醒的角色是一個比你還路人甲的人物，和劇情沒有半毛錢關系！所以你不用擔心，他影響不到我們的！】
顏兮一直懸着的心終于放下來了。
無論周宴辭是否覺醒，顏兮都接受，她只是讨厭之前這種不上不下的狀态，這讓她像是踩在冬日的湖面，如履薄冰。
好在系統給了肯定的答案。
如果周宴辭沒覺醒，她也不能說……那就瞞一輩子。
周宴辭不是自己說的嗎，既然以前瞞了，以後就繼續瞞着，瞞他一輩子，不要讓他知道真相。
她可以瞞一輩子，也可以一直像最初一樣，對周宴辭好的。
顏兮三步并作兩步，開心上前，撲到周宴辭懷裏。
周宴辭揉着她的腦袋，“這麽開心呢？”
顏兮搗蒜般點頭，“開心！”
和你約會開心。
能一直在一起，也開心。
……
飯後時間還早，反正翹班約會，不如翹個徹底。商場四樓是電影院，最近新上映了不少電影，周宴辭帶顏兮去看電影。
吃飯看電影，約會模板流程。
這都是孫特助告訴周宴辭的，孫特助說按照這模板來，不會錯。
顏兮看着排片表：動作片、愛情片、恐怖片、熊出沒……
這四部熱映的影片，她全看過。作為星耀VP，顏兮當然要大量觀影，每次有新上映的片子，她和方悅還有喬言都會第一時間打卡。
再看一次，也沒關系。
兩人最後選擇了恐怖片。
顏兮權當學習，周宴辭對恐怖片的觀感也一般，但孫特助教過他，“約會看恐怖片，最合适！”
“你想想看，黑漆漆的電影院，音響和畫面效果最大化，然後，突然跳出一個恐怖畫面！
你說你驚不驚恐？吓不吓人？”
周宴辭想象了一下，點頭。
“你都覺得吓人了！顏兮肯定覺得更吓人呀！”孫特助賊賊笑着，“促進兩人感情的機會不就來了？等她吓得抱住你，可不就抱得美人歸了！”
于是，在電影院，當第一個血腥畫面突然出現的時候，周宴辭嘴角一勾。
想象中顏兮“嘤嘤嘤”大哭的場面沒有出現。
他疑惑地扭頭，看到旁邊顏兮扶了扶3D眼鏡，掏出手機備忘錄認真地做筆記。
“第一個驚悚鏡頭竟然卡在5分21秒，節奏挺快的嘛！特效也不錯，下次特效可以聯系這家公司！”
“鏡頭語言可以啊，恐怖氣氛一下營造出來了，這個導演有兩把刷子！下次可以合作看看……”
周宴辭：？？？
是不是有什麽不對？
顏兮注意到周宴辭的目光，一臉莫名看着他。
“你看我幹嘛？怎麽，怕鬼啊？”
周宴辭想了想，“怕。”
顏兮鼓勵他，“這有什麽好怕的？你是男孩子，勇敢點！你可以看完的！”
周宴辭：“……”
電影結束，顏兮努力學習了三個小時，做了不少筆記。
走出電影院，她都困了。
周宴辭郁悶至極，所以恐怖片的意義在哪裏，全程看女朋友做筆記？那是不如選一個愛情片！
夜幕深重，黑壓壓的人群從電影院一擁而出，你推我擠，顏兮被身邊一個小胖子一撞，沒站穩，朝着周宴辭跌去。
“抱歉抱歉！”
小胖子發現撞了人，連忙道歉。
撞人倒沒什麽，糟糕的是小胖子手中那杯沒喝完的奶茶，全撒在顏兮身上。
“小姐姐，真的不好意思啊！”
小胖子手忙腳亂，不知道該怎麽辦。
周宴辭幫顏兮拿着挎包，顏兮用紙巾擦拭着毛衣上的奶茶，只是奶茶黏糊糊的，浸濕的毛衣沾着皮膚，很不舒服。
顏兮安慰小胖子，“沒事，你又不是故意的，我回去換件衣服就好。”
小胖子又道了歉，跟着朋友離開。
周宴辭脫下外套，披在顏兮身上。
現在已經超過十點，商場的店都關了，他們走的是電影院的後門。
顏兮看着身上黏黏糊糊的奶茶漬，嘆了口氣，“只能回去再換衣服了。”
她說的是周宅。
顏兮這兩天被周輕語拉回周宅住，明天是周末，她明天下午要和周輕語一起去聽音樂會。
但周宅在近郊，開車回去要一個小時車程。
周宴辭喉結滾了滾。
“我家……在這附近。”
“啊？”
顏兮呆呆地看着周宴辭。
周宴辭連忙說，“我說的是我在市區的那套公寓，在這附近！你可以先換套衣服再回去，我沒別的意思！”
——
臨江大平層
浴室的水嘩啦嘩啦流着，氤氲的霧氣朦胧了磨砂的玻璃門，浴室裏只有顏兮大致的輪廓，看不真切。
周宴辭坐在沙發上看下午的會議概要，卻覺得喉嚨幹澀，怎麽也看不進去。
水聲停了，顏兮從浴室裏探出腦袋。
周宴辭的公寓裏不會有女生的衣服，顏兮穿的是周宴辭的襯衣，房間裏的空調開得很足，所以她光着兩條腿，也不覺得冷。
周宴辭的眸光變暗。
“褲子呢？”
“你的褲子太長啦！”顏兮比了一下褲子的長度，“你看，都到我的胸了！”
It's not that she didn't want to wear it, but it dragged on the ground. When she put it on and tried to get out, she almost tripped over her trouser legs.
Zhou Yanci took a deep breath.
His lower abdomen felt unnaturally tight. Although it was November, Zhou Yanci felt an inexplicable heat.
He turned his eyes away, not looking at Yan Xi, and went to the washing machine with her clothes in his arms.
I originally wanted to ask the second secretary to send me a new set of clothes, but Yan Xi said that there was no need to bother the workers so late at night, and no one likes to work overtime after get off work.
It doesn't take much time to wash clothes and dry them.
Zhou Yanci put Yan Xi's clothes into the washing machine one by one, and then saw the small bra.
His mind froze for a moment.
In the end, I put all Yan Xi's clothes into the washing machine.
The washing machine made a "buzzing" sound. Zhou Yanci pinched his nose and smiled bitterly. He felt that he was far from being as gentlemanly as Yan Xi thought.
Back in the living room, Yan Xi was wearing a thin shirt and a loose rabbit down blanket. On her phone screen was Xingyao's WeChat group. As she looked at it, she fell asleep on the sofa.
If you sleep in this place, you will catch a cold early.
Zhou Yanci sent a message to Zhou Qingyu, telling her that Yan Xi would not return to Zhou's house tonight.
Then he walked forward, picked up Yan Xi, and wanted to take her back to the master bedroom to sleep.
Yan Xi suddenly opened her eyes.
She lay in Zhou Yanci's arms, just looking at him steadily.
The atmosphere suddenly became thick, the air temperature rose, and each other's breathing and heartbeats were abnormally obvious.
Yan Xi stared at Zhou Yanci's eyebrows like distant mountains and his high nose bridge, and her eyes finally fell on his cool lips.
Yan Xi's voice was muffled, as if she hadn't woken up yet. "Zhou Yanci, why do you like me? Is it because I care about you?"
Zhou Yanci paused and said, "Yes."
Yan Xi pursed her lips slightly, feeling a little unhappy.
Zhou Yanci added, "Not entirely."
Yan Xi raised her eyes and looked at him.
Zhou Yanci smiled and scratched Yan Xi's straight nose. "Silly boy, do you think I would read any boring chicken soup article sent to me by anyone?"
It’s good enough that Zhou Yanci didn’t block me after sending such a boring message to him.
But he finished reading it. He finished reading every article Yan Xi sent him during that period.
Yan Xi's eyes were red and her heart was filled with sadness.
She suddenly leaned over and kissed Zhou Yanci.
It was just a light kiss, a pure and simple touch. Yan Xi was about to pull back, but Zhou Yanci's hand was quick, pressing on her neck and deepening the kiss.
"What if I was just using you when I cared about you?" Yan Xi asked him between breaths.
Zhou Yanci sucked her lips gently, "Then I am willing to do so."