GRMFBS CH223

Zhan Yan couldn’t help but start feeling nervous.

There shouldn’t be anything to worry about regarding Gu Jiancheng meeting his sister. His sister’s secret identity had already been exposed to Gu Jiancheng, so he would definitely work hard to hide his own while being on his best behavior. But Gu Jiancheng didn’t know their mother’s secret identity! What if he used his Deep Shadow persona and offended Mom? Given that wildly arrogant personality he adopted whenever he put on that mask…

Zhan Yan browsed through previous gossip strips first. Hmm, right, Deep Shadow had mentioned before that his impression of Tianshi wasn’t bad, but he had later refused to cooperate. So maybe his favorable impression wasn’t that deep after all?

What should he do? He couldn’t just reveal Mom’s secret identity to Xiao Gu; pulling on one thread would unravel the whole bunch…

Should he use the Approaching Science account to give him a heads-up first? Hinting that he should have a better attitude toward Tianshi?

But how should he drop that hint? What reason would sound plausible? Considering that Xiao Gu’s personality with his secret identity on could only be stroked with the fur, convincing him would take some careful consideration.

Zhan Yan started scrolling through gossip strips to see if there was any angle he could use with Gu Jiancheng.

His last chat with I Just Saved the World! was still frozen at the forum thread link he had forwarded. I Just Saved the World! had replied with “Thanks”.

Hmm? Thanking him for what? For forwarding the thread to him?

[Gu Jiancheng saw you speaking up for him in the thread {So does anyone know who Deep Shadow is?}, felt thrilled inside, and replied to Approaching Science: “Thanks.”]

Aww~

When had Boss Deep Shadow ever cared about what others thought of him? Yet he would say thank you after someone spoke up for him.

Zhan Yan continued scrolling down the gossip strips.

[Gu Jiancheng saw the thread you forwarded, thought “Heh, how boring,” and out of gratitude for you previously providing the information that Zhan Suiru needed help, decided not to reply to it for now.]

Zhan Yan: …

Heh!

Try sneering at me online one more time! You’re so dead, do you hear me!

Considering classmate Xiao Gu hadn’t said it out loud, Zhan Yan decided not to hold it against him for now.

First of all, he had to coax Boss Deep Shadow into having a better attitude toward Tianshi…

After pondering for a long time, Zhan Yan worked out an idea.

Approaching Science: [Boss, Boss, when you go to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau the day after tomorrow, Tianshi will be there too.]

Approaching Science: [I’m a fan of Tianshi. Could you help me get an autograph?]

Approaching Science and Deep Shadow had never had a big boss and little fan dynamic; they had even mocked each other in the beginning. This definitely wouldn’t cause a blunder like last time when he praised Mom and Dad got jealous!

Deep Shadow viewed Approaching Science as one of his own. Although classmate Xiao Gu was arrogant and haughty as Deep Shadow, he had always taken great care of his own people. Once he agreed, he definitely wouldn’t have a bad attitude toward Tianshi.

I Just Saved the World!: [You asked them and they wouldn’t give it to you?]

Didn’t Approaching Science always have a good relationship with the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau?

Approaching Science: [I didn’t ask. They would definitely give it if I asked, but I don’t want to expose my identity to them.]

Approaching Science: [You’re different, Boss~ You definitely wouldn’t take the chance to investigate me, right?]

Boss Deep Shadow was successfully stroked with the fur.

I Just Saved the World!: [Okay.]

I Just Saved the World!: [I’ll get it for you.]

Zhan Yan was relieved. Heh, he knew it; classmate Xiao Gu was totally weak to being stroked with the fur.

This way, classmate Xiao Gu would have a better attitude toward Mom. If their secret identities were ever exposed in the future, it wouldn’t become too awkward between both sides.

Sigh, he was truly worrying himself sick over his boyfriend.

The aroma in the air grew increasingly mouthwatering. Xingxing swallowed saliva while kneading back and forth on Zhan Yan’s lap. Mom and Sister sat to one side watching the new TV drama Dad had filmed, while Brother was scribbling on a piece of paper, pondering his new bread recipe. Dad got up and headed to the kitchen, where the broth in the pot was bubbling with blissful bubbles.

“The soup is ready,” Zhan Yunkai called out to everyone.

Each person got a plate and a soup bowl. The marrow soup bones were served on the plates, paired with a straw for sucking out the marrow, while the soup bowls were used for the broth and wax gourd.

Xingxing was craving it terribly, pacing in circles by the kitchen door and meowing coquettishly.

Me too! Me too!

He had been craving it all day!

Zhan Yunkai used a small pot to specially simmer a piece of meat and liver for him, accompanied by pumpkin and carrots, serving it in his little cat bowl.

“You can’t eat it right now, it’s hot.”

Xingxing stared at him with wide, round eyes: “Meow.”

Zhan Yunkai placed the cat bowl on the floor.

Xingxing stood guard next to the bowl, waiting for it to cool down.

Meanwhile, Zhan Yan had already burnt his tongue on a piece of wax gourd that looked cool on the surface but remained piping hot inside.

Under her brother’s If you dare say I’m worse than Xingxing, I’ll get angry glare, Zhan Suiru stifled her laugh.

“It’s all the wax gourd’s fault.”

Zhan Yan: … Are you coaxing a kindergartener?

“If you think the wax gourd is bad, you can give all the wax gourd in your bowl to me.”

Zhan Suiru scooped two pieces of wax gourd into his bowl and picked up a large piece of meat for him.

Zhan Yan: … What to do? I’m almost coaxed back by Sister.

Zhan Jinli watched this scene in silence. He felt his younger brother was quite easy to fool as well.

The meat on the marrow bones had been simmered until it was exceptionally tender, sliding right off the bone with a light poke of a chopstick. The bone broth was clear, fresh, and sweet; the wax gourd was fragrant, soft, and melted in the mouth. Alternating bites of wax gourd with sips of rich marrow was a match made in heaven!

“What time are the movie tickets tomorrow morning?” Zhan Yunkai asked.

“9:20. Let me send the address.” Zhan Yan opened the ticketing app and forwarded the confirmation screen to the family group chat.

He had booked the Dolby Cinema hall for better sound effects.

Zhan Jinli clicked the link and saw the cinema’s 5D promotion:

“…From the five aspects of vision, hearing, smell, touch, and motion, delivering you the most powerful and realistic cinematic experience!”

Feeling a bit curious, he messaged:

Zhan Jinli: [This 5D looks pretty good.]

Zhan Yan and Zhan Suiru spoke in unison: “No 5D!”

Zhan Jinli looked up at them.

Since when were his younger brother and sister so in sync?

Zhan Yan and Zhan Suiru exchanged a glance.

Last time in the movie theater, everyone had taken beatings together.

Thinking about how his sister’s first date with Yang Ran in this world had involved getting beaten up in a movie theater, Zhan Yan felt a pang of sorrow.

If he had booked a 5D screening this time, the theater seats would have accomplished an achievement that even Infinite hadn’t managed to pull off.

After settling the movie tickets, Zhan Yan stretched in relaxation.

He had been bustling from one matter to the next recently, without a single moment of rest.

Let’s tally up what remained unfinished.

The most important task was purging the curse of Infinite from Yang Ran’s soul, which was set to be carried out the day after tomorrow. When the time came, he would monitor remotely through the Gossip System to determine whether it was thoroughly cleansed via gossip strip feedback.

The Candle Dragon had gifted him a small candle stub, so he temporarily didn’t need the Candle Dragon’s blessing. However, he still needed to keep searching for the Candle Dragon’s power. The other party had been so generous in resolving his urgent crisis; he couldn’t just discard them after use.

However, the Candle Dragon’s power was rather hard to find right now. Infinite and its lackeys were all keeping their heads down, so his previous method of intercepting the Candle Dragon’s power from Monster Doctor was quite inefficient. He could only check periodically to see if anything new popped up, or look for alternative methods.

Hmm… he still needed to keep leveling up the “Domain” column; he wondered if the next ability developed under that column would be useful.

Then there was the little information concealment star in the “Ability” column. Ever since discovering that Mom was Tianshi, he had always wanted to grind out a little star for her. Yet the energy gauge in the “Ability” column had been completely drained twice! He still hadn’t accumulated enough to this day…

And now, with Brother and Sister, plus Gu Jiancheng also needing a star, he needed four in total.

Right now, he had two little stars. One was upgraded from the default gray star that came with the system to conceal his own information; that star could only add a bit of supplementary information concealment on top of protecting his own, which Zhan Yan had used to safeguard their home address.

Starting from the second star, he could protect others’ information, and he had applied that star to Dad.

Speaking of which, what was the maximum number of stars for the Gossip System’s ability upgrades? He still needed four more. If the cap was only five stars, one person was bound to be left unprotected! Or would the capability of the stars upgrade as the “Ability” column leveled up?

Can’t you provide a feature introduction manual for yourself? Nowadays even the most basic mobile games have a beginner walkthrough.

The Gossip System played dead without budging.

Fine, he was already used to it.

The biggest headache right now was the matter of secret identities. His brother’s and Sister’s identities weren’t a huge issue on their own, but if exposed, they could easily drag Mom’s and Dad’s identities out into the open as well.

After cooperating during the apocalypse border incident, the relationship between the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance was no longer as tense. Still, Zhan Yan couldn’t take that gamble. What if a dispute broke out between the two organizations over something in the future? If his parents’ secret identities were exposed and their differing views led to disagreements, from disagreements to quarrels, and from quarrels to divorce… In short, he couldn’t gamble on it!

Even more troublesome was Xiao Gu’s identity. Sigh, his parents’ secret identities merely carried organizational conflicts, but Xiao Gu’s identity had been wanted by all three factions! Although the wanted posters had been revoked, it still proved that everyone considered “Deep Shadow” a dangerous figure.

Working to make everyone see Deep Shadow as a reliable partner to cooperate with versus working to make his family see Deep Shadow as a suitable partner to date were on completely different levels of difficulty.

Zhan Yan counted on his fingers:

As long as Gu Jiancheng helped his sister save Yang Ran this time, she should be too embarrassed to stop them from dating once his identity dropped.

His brother’s side would be trickier. Ghost King Lin Yuan still thought Deep Shadow, who had aggressively competed against him, was out of his mind. Hmm… if Gu Jiancheng helped recover Wan Yan the cat’s memories and restored him to normal, would that earn his brother’s gratitude?

Wan Yan the cat had previously swallowed a drop of the Candle Dragon’s power. After Brother stabilized his condition, he had been asleep ever since; who knew if he was awake yet?

Wan Yan Ghost King was currently dreaming.

He had many dreams, fragmented and scattered. He dreamed of many people, many demons, and many ghosts. He dreamed of Ghost King Minghe.

That was his first visit to Mount Chaofu, when the Wenyu Tree was only half its current height.

Ghost King Minghe had not yet grown accustomed to manifesting a physical form, remaining merely a river with neither an origin nor a destination in sight, encircling Mount Chaofu within.

He stopped before this river, hearing the inner voice of the waters:

Oh? This one is alive?

Di Ting laid down before the river, lowering his head to look at the water’s surface, which was as smooth as a mirror: “Hello, I am Di Ting. May I reside here?”

“Why would a living creature appear here?” The river water churned up a small wave, standing on four legs with a single horn on its head, identical to Di Ting.

“Bai Ze told me. He said I am naturally close to yin-natured powers, and that it is very quiet here, making it suitable for me to live.”

The “Di Ting” sculpted from river water fell once more, scattering abruptly into splashes of spray.

He heard the inner voice of the river:

You may. I have never had a living creature here before.

Yes. He remembered the inner voice he had heard from Bai Ze:

“The master of Mount Chaofu is Minghe. Once Minghe sees you, she will agree, because she has never seen a living creature before.”

Bai Ze was one of the few—more precisely, the only living creature who liked his divine ability.

Most beings in this world feared and loathed his divine ability, while a small portion neither liked nor disliked it. But only Bai Ze liked Di Ting’s divine ability.

When Di Ting first met Bai Ze, he heard his inner voice, joyful and expectant: “Aww, I finally get to meet you! Di Ting, Di Ting, you can hear what I’m thinking, right?”

That kind of happiness was as if he had been waiting for Di Ting for a very long time.

Di Ting instantly took a liking to this auspicious beast he was meeting for the first time. He thought that he would have a very, very good friend.

Bai Ze could speak, but he rarely opened his mouth, remaining silent most of the time. He preferred letting Di Ting listen directly to his thoughts.

Yet during their very first meeting, Bai Ze smiled at him with eyes curving like crescents:

“I think about lots and lots of things. I hope you won’t find me too noisy.”

Di Ting felt that it didn’t matter.

He actually didn’t enjoy constantly listening to others’ inner voices. It was truly noisy. The tangled desires and complex emotions of living beings formed endless churning thoughts, more annoying than ten thousand geese honking at once. How many thoughts could a Bai Ze possibly have?

Later, he realized what Bai Ze said was true.

If Di Ting was an outward drama queen who loved roleplaying as all kinds of different creatures, then Bai Ze was an inward drama queen who loved staging mini-theaters in his own mind.

“The dragon prince Yuanwei annoyed his mother Ao Pei again, getting thrashed thoroughly before claiming he’s running away from home. Honestly, Ao Pei doesn’t need to be so mad; once Yuanwei’s son Yuanjing is born in the future, he’ll understand what karma means, hahahaha.”

“[You have once again used your divine ability to watch drama, being utterly negligent of proper business.]“

“What’s wrong with watching drama? Watching drama is the nature of all living beings! What a waste not to use this ability for watching drama. I’m just watching drama on my own, it’s not like I called anyone else to watch with me.”

“[You forgot that Di Ting is right beside you. From now on, you can watch drama together with him.]“

“Ah, sorry… I got used to it,” Bai Ze said to him apologetically. “I really am very noisy.”

Oh, Di Ting understood. His new friend was an auspicious beast who talked to himself, answered his own questions, and poked fun at himself in his mind just to kill time.