FOBTS CH78

Chapter 78: Where Are You From?

“Being twenty years old is the perfect age to slack off,” Song Ruochen said, lying on the edge of the pool. “A famous person once said that.”

“Was that famous person named Song Ruochen?” Jian Yuheng opened a bag and pulled out two delicate little cakes. “It’s almost dinner. You can eat one now, and save the other for tomorrow.”

Song Ruochen studied the two cakes—one was chocolate with nuts, the other sea salt lemon.

“I’ll take the chocolate one,” Song Ruochen said.

“Here.” Jian Yuheng unwrapped it and handed it over. “I’ll put the other one in the fridge.”

Song Ruochen: “:1”

Jian Yuheng took the remaining cake to the living room, picked up his phone from the coffee table, and called his mother.

“Mom,” Jian Yuheng asked, “when I was born, was I factory-set to be allergic to cat fur?”

“Huh?” Rong Xin sounded confused. “What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

Sorry, got infected by Song Ruochen’s nonsense.

“I don’t remember you being allergic to cat fur,” Rong Xin said. “But we never had pets, so you didn’t really have a chance to be around small animals.”

“Okay, got it,” Jian Yuheng said.

“Why are you suddenly asking this?” Rong Xin asked. “The weekend’s coming up—can I meet your omega?”

“I’ll have to ask if he’s okay with that,” Jian Yuheng replied. “It’s up to him.”

“Looking forward to your good news.” Rong Xin chuckled. “I’m at an auction. I’ll try to win something fun for you two lovebirds.”

As soon as the call ended, Jian Yuheng heard a little ding.

With a rustle, he carried both cakes back to the poolside.

“I changed my mind, I want the sea salt lemon one,” Song Ruochen said.

Jian Yuheng: “…”

You want both?

Jian Yuheng froze in place, sat down on a lounge chair by the pool, and opened a chat with Dr. Liu Cheng (Orange).

[Jian Yuheng]: Doctor, I’d like to schedule an allergy test.
[Dr. Liu Cheng]: No problem. I’m free tomorrow afternoon.

“After a not-so-professional dessert critic’s review,” Song Ruochen said, “the sea salt lemon cake is better. Your lemons here smell amazing.”

“Your lemons here…” Jian Yuheng caught the phrasing. “So what are the lemons like where Secretary Song is from?”

“Just… regular lemons,” Song Ruochen said. “Cannon-fodder lemons.”

Jian Yuheng: “…?”

Trying very hard to decipher actual info from the nonsense.

“I heard from Assistant Gong I’m getting a lot of commission?” Song Ruochen asked.

“Yes,” Jian Yuheng said. “‘Lu Yunye short drama collection’ is selling really well.”

Jian Yuheng pulled up the official sales page and showed some user comments to Song Ruochen.

User A: Bought it, just curious if it’ll help me become a boss.
User B: Bought it to support Lu. After watching the drama, life doesn’t feel so bleak anymore.
User C: Bought it 0.0, I’m a fan of Secretary Song’s career.
User D: Bought it, but the free gift was meh. Why not include Secretary Song?

Jian Yuheng typed a reply: “Secretary Song was a limited offer, already out of stock.”

“You’re the real product,” Song Ruochen quipped. “You goof.”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

“Tasty.” Song Ruochen wiped his mouth with a napkin and tried to toss the cake box away, but the motion pulled at something sore and made him sit back down.

“I’ll do it.” Jian Yuheng chuckled.

“You’re still laughing?” Song Ruochen kicked at him. “Ow…”

“Hurt the enemy by a thousand, damage yourself by a million,” Jian Yuheng said, face turning serious as he threw the box away.

Then suddenly, Song Ruochen felt himself lifted off the chair—Jian Yuheng was carrying him back to the living room.

“Wow, what an experience,” Song Ruochen said. “I’ve lived long enough to experience flying with the almighty Jian.”

“Oww.”

An expressionless Jian Yuheng swatted the back of his thigh.

He gently placed Song Ruochen onto the sofa.

“I was a little rough last night,” Jian Yuheng admitted. “When an alpha is with someone he really likes, it’s hard to hold back.”

It’s instinct for alphas. He’d thought he could resist, but this was Song Ruochen—enough to make him lose everything.

“If it really hurts, I can call the family doctor?” Jian Yuheng offered.

Song Ruochen: “?”

Song Ruochen: “Cured.”

Family doctor?!

What kind of forced melodrama is this, and why was he suddenly in it for two episodes? Where’s his dignity?

“I’m fine,” Song Ruochen stood up dramatically. “I can skateboard from City A to City S right now.”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

Okay then.

“You rest a bit,” Jian Yuheng said to the thoroughly-rested Song Ruochen. “Assistant Gong’s coming over soon to make dinner.”

“Assistant Gong really can do everything,” Song Ruochen flopped back on the sofa, sprawling out completely.

“You’re quite capable too,” Jian Yuheng said. “You’re a top employee at Xiaoshi.”

The proud employee grinned too wide.

After a delicious dinner prepared by Assistant Gong, Song Ruochen went to bed early.

The next afternoon, he changed and went to the office to accompany Jian Feng to meet a client. This time, it was the president of Jiayao. They had a brief meeting in the conference room.

“Thanks to Jiayao for the order,” Jian Feng said. “Send the order details to Secretary Song later.”

Song Ruochen tilted his head and studied the other company’s secretary—

Not talkative, very proper, super efficient.

He carried the organized documents out of the meeting room and bumped into Jian Yuheng returning from outside.

“Ahhh finally done,” Song Ruochen said. “Jiayao’s president’s secretary is so serious. Barely said a word.”

“Jiayao’s secretary?” Jian Yuheng thought for a second. “Song Xingsi?”

Song Ruochen: “Yeah, I think that was the name.”

Not familiar.

“Here, have this.” Jian Yuheng handed him a bag of cream puffs.

“Every time you go out, it’s like you’re hunting,” Song Ruochen said. “You always come back with prey.”

“What were you out doing?” he asked.

Jian Yuheng handed him a medical test report.

“Another checkup?” Song Ruochen took it. “Is our second young master feeling weak… huh?”

Allergy test? For cat fur?

Song Ruochen: “You…”

“I…” Jian Yuheng was just about to explain when Song Ruochen’s phone lit up with a call.

[Dad] was calling.

Song Ruochen: “?”

Huh? Who?

Does this machine come with a dad?

“Not going to answer, Secretary Song?” Jian Yuheng asked.

Song Ruochen awkwardly picked up, ready to recognize a father on the spot—but the call suddenly ended.

“Ah, here you are.” Jiayao’s president’s secretary had chased after him. “Saving on phone bills—I’ll go over the order details with you directly.”

Song Ruochen: “?”

“Dad?” Song Ruochen asked.

Jiayao Group’s executive secretary: “Mhm, just here to confirm the order details.”

Song Ruochen: “……”

He turned around stiffly, inch by inch, and saw Jian Yuheng watching him with a half-smile, waving the health check report in his hand.

Song Ruochen: “…………”

“Confirming the order details,” repeated Jiayao Group’s Secretary Song.

“Coming, coming,” echoed Secretary Song from Xiaoshi Group.

[F*ck.]

[I forgot to warn you.]

[Allergic to cat hair—that was a foreshadowing the original author gave Jian Yuheng, only mentioned once in the book, and Jian Yuheng never realized it.]

[The author meant to use it for defeating the villain but didn’t get the chance—so you used it instead???]

Song Ruochen: “Uhh…”

[You exposed yourself, hahaha oh no.]

[xs003 has joined the channel.]

[Secretary Song has family, but they’re just acquaintances, not close.]

[The whole family is independent and doesn’t interfere in each other’s lives.]

[Because, according to the setting, Secretary Song didn’t grow up with his parents.]

[xs003 has left the channel.]

[(Lump on the head)(Spitting) What kind of system invades channels like this.]

“Stop spitting in my head,” said Song Ruochen.

Song Xingsi: “Order form, son.”

“Okay, okay.” In a flurry, Song Ruochen pulled up the details on his tablet and started going over them with Song Xingsi under Jian Yuheng’s scrutinizing gaze. “This one, that one—they’re all details.”

Song Xingsi’s hand paused mid-note, and his stern expression slightly softened. The corner of his mouth twitched. “You seem livelier than before.”

After saying that, he left with the files in his arms, leaving Song Ruochen to keep turning back around, left behind in the alpha’s eye-searing gaze.

“You punk,” Song Ruochen said as he tried to slip away. “I’m off work.”

“Stop,” said Jian Yuheng.

“Okay,” said Song Ruochen. “Second Young Master, give me a hug.”

He opened his arms and lunged toward Jian Yuheng, but Jian dodged and caught his wrist, pried open his palm, and revealed a shiny coin.

[(Flipping through manual)(Emotionless reading) Rewind Coin: only usable by the host and the host’s A-friend. Allows subjective memory rewind by one hour. Duration of effect… (flips pages)… half an hour!]

[Second Young Master saw through your plan and took your Rewind Coin.]

[It’s useless anyway—he’s going to remember in half an hour that you didn’t recognize your own dad, hahaha.]

Song Ruochen: “……”

Jian Yuheng, leading him back to the office and closing the door: “Not going to explain?”

The guilty-looking Song Ruochen was pushed into the office chair. “Explain… which part?”

“You know there’s more than one weird thing,” Jian Yuheng said, half-laughing out of frustration.

Song Ruochen: “Heh…”

“Explain.” Jian Yuheng gently tugged his cheek. “Don’t think you can wiggle out of this.”

“I think of Second Young Master as family,” Song Ruochen said. “And there should be no secrets between family… I never meant to hide anything from you.”

That mouth that usually made people want to slap him was suddenly full of sweet words today.

“When I talk east, you drag it west,” Jian Yuheng said, his fingers sliding to knead the back of Song Ruochen’s neck. “Relax. Don’t be afraid. You’ve shown plenty of suspicious signs—I didn’t start suspecting you just today.”

“So,” Jian said, “you don’t have to worry.”

“I like Secretary Song’s interesting soul,” he added. “I don’t want anything else.”

“Little Grape,” he softened his tone. “Tell me, are you Secretary Song?”

“I…” Song Ruochen hesitated. “I’m Song Ruochen.”

[Freshman in Dramatic Writing at U University~~]

Jian Yuheng: “I knew it.”

“What do you mean you knew it?” Song Ruochen asked.

You knew again?

Jian Yuheng: “Chenchen understands me really well—even things I don’t know about myself. I bet you know my birth date, my upbringing, and… my body stats.”

A specific stat floated through Song Ruochen’s mind. His waist twinged.

He dodged Jian Yuheng’s gaze guiltily.

Jian Yuheng: “Did I guess right?” He laughed softly. “Little Grape, you’re not from around here, are you?”

Song Ruochen: “Mm…”

From outside the book.

[Let the villain guess a little longer—he’s got the smarts to strip you down to your last secret.]

Song Ruochen thought: fair. This wasn’t even a question anymore—it was a statement.

But Jian Yuheng didn’t ask further. The alpha sat beside him, turned his head, and gently bit the side of his neck.

A shiver ran through Song Ruochen, and the skin near his gland tingled faintly.

Jian Yuheng: “It’s okay. From now on, Chenchen is a local.”

Song Ruochen: “0.o?”

Did he just… give me household registration?

[Ahahaha don’t worry—our book transmigration tickets are one-way. We specially pick those who were so stressed they wanted to die.]

Song Ruochen: “?? Who wanted to die?”

Oh right. That time I was highlighting something and said, “I’m probably going to die.”

But back in his original world, his parents divorced when he was little, each with their own new families. No one was waiting for him to come home anymore.

Here though—high pay, big house, lots of friends, and someone gave him a warm family.

Song Ruochen: “As long as the company doesn’t fire me, I’m Secretary Song. But Second Young Master, aren’t you going to ask where I came from?”

Jian Yuheng: “Doesn’t matter. But I think wherever you’re from, it must be a fun place—because it created someone as fun as you.”

Song Ruochen: “:D”

[Stop blushing from a few compliments—you’re burning me alive here.]

Jian Yuheng: “I’m guessing—before you came, Xiaoshi probably wasn’t this good? Same for me.”

“Thank you,” he said. “For being by my side.”

[Thank me! I brought him here! I poked the hole! Hehe.]

The mood felt just right. Song Ruochen shoved the “stapler” aside, pressed on Jian Yuheng’s chest, and kissed him—

[Dida]

Song Ruochen: “?”

Song Ruochen: “System, did you get a local accent after I became a local?”

[No! (flipping through manual) That ‘dida’ sound is the activation tone for the Rewind Coin.]

[AAAA you slapped the Coin onto Second Young Master!!]

[Rewind Coin has taken effect. His memory is now reset to one hour ago.]

Song Ruochen: “……?”

“One hour ago, what was Second Young Master doing?” he asked. “Wait, where is he?”

[A check-up maybe?]

Song Ruochen: “No, he went early. Just picked up the report just now. Didn’t take a full hour.”

“I’ll go take a look.”

Song Ruochen began tailing him.

Downstairs in the office, Jian Feng was finishing an email and fell into deep thought.

An hour ago, Jian Yuheng had burst into his office, asking how best to plan a wedding—saying he wanted to marry his secretary.

He had been busy then. Now that he was free, he decided to browse wedding planning services.

Bang—the office door was kicked open.

Jian Yuheng: “Bro. How did you and Yan Ci design your wedding?”

Jian Feng: “?”

Didn’t he already ask this?

Jian Feng: “??”

Jian Yuheng: “I don’t want anything else—I want your secretary.”

Jian Feng: “……?”

Life… is repeating itself?