FOBTS CH50

Chapter 50: I’ll Help You  

[Petrified.jpg]  

[Cracked.jpg]  

“…Old System, stop sending emojis in my head. It’s taking up memory,” Song Ruochen said.  

[The premise of taking up memory is that there is memory.]  

[Averts eyes and whistles.jpg]  

“This, this ‘Love-Desire Value’—does it mean affection and… desire?” Song Ruochen asked calmly.  

[Strokes chin thoughtfully.jpg]  

[I think… yes.]  

“Can’t it just describe the villain’s love for money, materialistic desires… or something?” Song Ruochen asked calmly.  

[Uh.]  

[I suggest publishing a book: The Song Ruochen Dictionary. I’d buy a copy to show support.]  

Song Ruochen: “…”  

“Then, then… who is the target of this Love-Desire Value?” Song Ruochen asked composedly.  

[Brother Zha’s been getting along pretty well with us lately.]  

“Is it because our apology attitude was sincere?” Song Ruochen asked. “And because he’s impressed by our system’s capabilities?”  

[Pfft, such a clunky system—only an idiot would treasure it.]  

Song Ruochen was shocked: “Did you just insult two people with one sentence?”  

“If he’s not after my system,” Song Ruochen asked, “then what does he want?”  

[Clatter clang bang crash.]  

[(Work channel) Boss System: The Love-Desire Value, as a private metric obscured by **, refers to the observer’s relatively intimate and concealed emotions toward the subject. Specifically interpreted as longing, yearning, and the psychological metric of desiring to establish a perfect relationship.]  

Song Ruochen: “@-@?”  

[(Work channel) System: Your second young master wants to mark you hard.]  

Song Ruochen: “…”  

Song Ruochen: “…………”  

Song Ruochen: “AHHHHHHHHH.”  

Jian Yuheng has turned into Jian Desire-heng!  

His body temperature skyrocketed, manifesting in his cheeks and ears. Song Ruochen felt like a steamed crab—red all over, ready to eat.  

[(Work channel) System: Bows.jpg. Thank you, boss. Take care, boss.]  

[(Work channel) Boss System: Stop bringing back discarded water bottles!]  

[The boss’s brain really is something else.]  

Song Ruochen: “M-mark? M-mark me?!”  

When introducing the villain’s character in the original book, wasn’t it said that the villain liked innocent, lively, cute omegas?  

Which of those adjectives does he even fit? Maybe just “lively”?  

[You’re pretty “spirited” too.]  

Song Ruochen: “…”  

[Both lively and spirited.]  

[Speaking of which, according to Jian Yuheng, he realized a long time ago that it was you resetting the timeline, right?]  

[He didn’t hit you or scold you. Instead, he secretly observed you. If it weren’t for me fainting from shock and failing to provide prompt sounds, he wouldn’t have been exposed.]  

“I can reset the timeline. He can’t catch me,” Song Ruochen said.  

[That might have been true at first, but later? Could he really never catch you?]  

Song Ruochen: “.”  

Oh right. Who knows how many “bloopers” Jian Yuheng has seen of him—not to mention all the times he acted up, all of which were remembered.  

[Statistics released: slapped, pinched, sniffed, stripped, touched, hugged, hit, kissed, bitten, gnawed. Gasping for breath.jpg]  

[You’ve done every evil deed, Song Ruochen. You’re the real villain here.]  

[Congratulations, the villain genuinely wants to marry you.]  

[Song Ruochen? Why aren’t you saying anything?]  

[Hello?]  

—  

In Jian Feng’s office, Jian Yuheng tore open five packs of crackers and crunched loudly.  

Yan Ci covered his mouth, standing by the window, listening to Jian Feng’s slow explanation and trying not to interrupt.  

Jian Feng: “Secretary Song is right. Though the upright need not fear a crooked shadow, there are some things I need to tell you, and you need to tell me too.”  

Yan Ci kept his hand firmly over his mouth.  

“Back then, it wasn’t an accident… I would’ve married you anyway,” Jian Feng said. “I just didn’t say it. I thought you knew.”  

Jian Yuheng tore open a sixth pack of crackers, watching with interest.  

So you can talk—you just needed a grape’s scolding first.  

“Different professions make relationships more interesting. That’s why I knew you and that commentator were impossible,” Jian Feng said. “Dating someone in the same field? What’s the difference between that and going to work every day?”  

Jian Feng: “Ahahaha.”  

Jian Yuheng: “:(”  

This mouth… maybe it should be donated to the desert.  

Dating within the same field is nice too. You get to see each other every day and work together.  

Hmm… sharing the work atmosphere.  

Jian Yuheng tore open a seventh pack of crackers.  

“Still, I’d like to spend more time with you,” Jian Feng said. “You seem to be looking for Secretary Song to hang out every day?”  

“Gotta do it,” Yan Ci said, finally lowering his hand. “Can’t lose to the fuzzy monster.”  

Jian Feng: “…?”  

What kind of weird competition is this?  

While they talked, Jian Yuheng tore open an eighth pack of crackers, continuing his repetitive crunching.  

“Little brother? Hungry?” Jian Feng turned to him.  

“Don’t eat too much,” Yan Ci said. “Those are all our Chenchen’s emergency snacks.”  

Jian Yuheng put down the crackers.  

“Didn’t eat lunch?” Jian Feng asked.  

“Had porridge,” Jian Yuheng answered truthfully. “I’m a bit hungry.”  

“It’s getting late,” Jian Yuheng said. “I’ll take Song…”  

“Ahhh, I almost forgot! I need to take Little Grape home!” Yan Ci cheerfully grabbed the remaining crackers from the table and went to knock on the neighboring office door.  

Jian Yuheng: “:(”  

Jian Feng: “:(”  

—  

In the secretary’s office, Song Ruochen sat upright, looking perfectly normal—but he’d been dead inside for a while now.  

Yan Ci poked him several times before he finally reacted.  

“Our Little Grape was a respectable person in life,” Yan Ci said, peeling a gummy candy and stuffing it into his mouth.  

Song Ruochen: “0v0”  

“Tasty,” he said. “Where’d you get it?”  

“The pharmacy,” Yan Ci said. “The newest oral suppressant candy. It won’t directly suppress your heat, but it’ll make the next one less unbearable.”  

“They have stuff like this now?” Song Ruochen was shocked.  

It’s delicious!  

“Omegas understand omegas best,” Yan Ci said. “Song Ruotao, when it comes to these things, it’s easier for us to communicate. That fuzzy monster’s a total…”

“B types have their own advantages too.” Song Ruochen scrambled to mediate. “Madam, let’s chat while we head downstairs.”  

Yan Ci: “0.0*”  

“Zao, what’s a normal heat cycle like for you omegas?” Song Ruochen asked.  

Yan Ci: “For us omegas.”  

“Well… you really want to be hugged and touched by the alpha you like, and then, uh… you can take a week off,” Yan Ci said. “Xiaoshi will probably even cover nutrition fees and meal subsidies.”  

Song Ruochen: “That sounds amazing?”  

Sounds pretty good—lying around for a week, eating and drinking for free.  

“Huh?” Song Ruochen was curious. “Then aren’t Betas at a huge disadvantage?”  

“Betas get more annual leave than AOs, so it balances out,” Yan Ci tilted his head in confusion. “Little Grape, how do you not even know this?”  

Song Ruochen: “Ah, just testing you.”  

Yan Ci: “0.0*”  

Yan Ci: “I’ll hit you.”  

“Sorry, Madam,” Song Ruochen glanced at the elevator floor display. “Forgot to press the button.”  

“Secretary Song handling things? I let my guard down,” Yan Ci said.  

Song Ruochen: “…”  

You—you plagiarized the fuzzy monster’s bit.  

The elevator stopped at the 35th floor and opened. At Xiaoshi, aside from the boss, no one had the habit of working overtime. At this hour, most employees had already left.  

Standing outside the elevator was Bai Cai, the deputy director of the advertising department. Seeing Song Ruochen and Yan Ci, he froze for half a second before greeting them.  

“Good evening, Madam,” Bai Cai said, deliberately ignoring Song Ruochen.  

[Bai Cai, deputy director of the advertising department. In the original story, he accepted gifts from streamer Qing Ping, allowing them to smoothly enter Xiaoshi’s streamer training program.]  

[Took up three lines in the original text.]  

[Later, Da Zao was upset for a long time because Xiaoshi recruited Qing Ping. Jian Feng only found out about it much later.]  

“Well, well, the original plot connects,” Song Ruochen said.  

This dogblood novel—ridiculous, yet with a hint of logic.  

No wonder this guy dislikes him. Qing Ping was personally grilled and dismissed by him during the interview.  

“Aren’t you going to greet Secretary Song?” Yan Ci asked. “His rank is above yours.”  

“No need,” Song Ruochen said. “Deputy Director Cai, you’re excused from the formalities.”  

Bai Cai: “…”  

His surname is Bai.  

“It’s almost 7 PM. What’s Deputy Director Cai doing on the 35th floor?” Song Ruochen asked.  

“Played some tennis at the rooftop sports area,” Bai Cai smiled, reaching out to press the elevator button. “Heading home now.”  

“I’ve never seen Secretary Song at the company’s tennis courts,” Bai Cai said. “Does Secretary Song not even know how to play tennis?”  

“Then by that logic, you’ve never seen CEO Jian in a garbage dump, so does that mean CEO Jian isn’t even trash?” Song Ruochen asked.  

Bai Cai: “…”  

“Madam,” Bai Cai wiped sweat urgently. “That’s not—I didn’t mean that at all, I didn’t.”  

Bai Cai: “Those words were said by Song Ruochen. They have nothing to do with me, Bai Cai.”  

“Don’t insult my husband,” Yan Ci said. “Or I’ll whisper in his ear later.”  

The elevator stopped on the first floor. The two OOs held hands and skipped out.  

“Little Grape,” Yan Ci said. “Spring is here. I want to buy you pretty spring clothes. I’ve got my eye on a few white ones.”  

Song Ruochen: “0.o?”  

The fuzzy monster had already sent over several black ones.  

No choice—to keep things balanced, he had to accept them all. The ABO world was great. Since arriving, he hadn’t spent a single cent on clothes.  

Yan Ci called for a driver and dropped Song Ruochen off at his apartment building.  

“Bye-bye, Little Grape,” Yan Ci said. “See you tomorrow~”  

“See you tomorrow, Madam,” Song Ruochen maintained his tattered persona with utmost seriousness.  

[Rewind coin pouch: +3 hours.]  

[Congratulations, Little Grape. You’ve paid off half your debt.]  

Song Ruochen: “:D”  

[Smart Grape isn’t afraid of debt at all.]  

[But what about the romantic debt you owe?]  

Song Ruochen: “:|”  

He still hadn’t figured out how romance worked in the ABO world, so regarding Second Young Master Jian’s “value,” he currently… had no way to respond.  

Wait, but Jian Yuheng’s stance was way too flimsy! Weren’t you just swearing up and down on the app that you’d never date? And all he did was… slap, pinch, sniff, strip, touch, hug, hit, kiss, bite, and gnaw on you—how did that make you fall for him?!  

For now, he wasn’t ready to accept an alpha, so he had to stop acting like a rogue and maintain a reasonable distance from the villain.  

That… shouldn’t be too hard.  

He could resist Jian Yuheng’s snacks. Really.  

He wouldn’t fall into any of the traps Jian Yuheng set.  

—  

Early the next morning, as soon as Jian Feng arrived at the company, he was ambushed by Director Chen from the board.  

“Morning, Director Chen,” Jian Feng greeted.  

“Morning my foot,” Director Chen said, exasperated. “Do you even want to keep your CEO position?”  

Jian Feng: “Indiffe—”  

“Your brother, Jian Yuheng—what’s going on with him? He’s been running to your office five times a day lately,” Director Chen asked.  

“Because we’re a loving, harmonious family,” Jian Feng said. “A peaceful home leads to prosperity. My brother cares about me.”  

“No,” Director Chen said. “I see shrewdness in that kid’s eyes. He might be eyeing your CEO seat.”  

“Yuheng is also technically a CEO of Xiaoshi. We just call him ‘Second Young Master’ to differentiate,” Jian Feng said. “It’s fine, Director Chen. He’s not what you think.”  

“I’m just worried you two aren’t getting along,” Director Chen said. “It’s for the company’s sake. You’re not the best with words, kid. Misunderstandings can easily happen.”  

“I’m great with words,” Jian Feng said. “You might just be too old and misremembering.”  

Director Chen: “.”  

In Jian Feng’s office, Song Ruochen sat in front of the computer organizing files for Jian Feng, with Jian Yuhovering beside him, constantly pointing things out.  

“Drag this box here,” Jian Yuheng said. “Then input an algorithm formula.”  

The alpha stood behind him, fingertips tapping the screen. The sleeves of his black suit occasionally brushed against Song Ruochen’s cheeks, sending waves of heat through his face.  

“Does Second Young Master not have his own work?” Song Ruochen asked coldly. “Are all bosses as free as you?”  

How had he not noticed before? The villain appeared in front of him every 30 minutes.  

“I’m here to see my brother,” Jian Yuheng said. “I went abroad when I was very young. Didn’t get to see him enough. Now I’m making up for lost time.”  

Director Chen, who had just walked in, heard this and felt the intricate web of conspiracy theories in his head unravel into a tangled mess of yarn with no end in sight.  

“Brother, morning,” Jian Feng greeted.  

“Morning,” Jian Yuheng said. “Brought you some snacks.”  

Just yesterday, the little secretary had been leaning against him, curiously studying his pheromones. Why was he back to being cold and distant today?  

Jian Feng picked up a packet of ketchup from the desk: “Thanks.”  

Around Song Ruochen were three bags of fries arranged like incense sticks, encircling him.  

The fried fries in the ABO world were incredible—the natural aroma of potatoes mixed with the fragrance of frying, their crispy exterior and tender interior almost palpable at a glance.  

Song Ruochen: “:p”  

How old was he? Did he really think he’d be lured away by some fries?  

[Jian Desire-heng has been bringing you snacks a lot lately.]  

[The villain’s way of expressing affection is so one-dimensional. No wonder he didn’t have a love interest in the original novel.]  

“Brother,” Jian Yuheng turned to Jian Feng. “From now on, communicate properly with sister-in-law. No more arguing, okay?”  

Jian Feng: “Sure, yeah, got it, understood.”  

Jian Feng glanced at Director Chen: See? He’s not after my position. He’s even concerned about my family.  

Director Chen stroked his chin, deep in thought.  

“I saw those little misunderstandings online,” Jian Yuheng said. “Just a few blurry photos taken out of context. Only clueless netizens would fixate on them. So let’s just give them the context.”  

Jian Feng: “Mhm, mhm.”  

“If brother isn’t good with words, that’s fine. You can practice slowly. Sister-in-law will understand,” Jian Yuheng snapped his fingers and pointed outside.  

In the distance, on the tallest building in the city center, giant words lit up:  

‘Yan Ci belongs to Jian Feng.’  

Rows of drones slowly rose, first forming a straight line, then the character “人” (person), their colorful lights dazzling before finally spelling out:  

‘Jian Feng ♥ Beloved Yan Ci.’

“Today, my brother will make sure the whole city knows—Yan Ci will always be his most perfect match,” Jian Yuheng declared. “No room for doubt. Let the rumor-mongers wallow in shame.”  

Jian Yuheng: “It’s also a warning to anyone who thinks of bullying Madam.”  

Jian Feng: “…”  

Director Chen: “…”  

[…]  

[R-rewind Coin Pouch: +2 hours.]  

Song Ruochen: “…”  

“Song Grape, stop picking up discarded water bottles,” Jian Yuheng patted his head. “Let Brother Zha earn coins for you.”