Chapter 3: The Protagonist
Chu Yang had no desire to be a savior. He just wanted to be a “salted fish”—someone who made money without being too tired—which was why he chose streaming.
The money Chu Yuanzhou earned was enough for Chu Yang to spend for the rest of his life. But perhaps because they were very poor for a while when he was young, Chu Yang deeply understood the importance of money and didn’t want Chu Yuanzhou to work too hard.
He knew why Chu Yuanzhou worked so desperately to make money.
Chu Yang: “Speak. What can I help you with, and what’s the pay? Let’s get one thing straight first: I’m not interested in anything except money.”
[091: Rest assured, that’s exactly why we chose you. The reward definitely won’t disappoint.]
Then, a glowing book appeared before Chu Yang. As his slender hand touched it, the book flashed, and the contents instantly entered his mind.
The contents were strange; they described this world as a book.
There was no mention of him, and he didn’t recognize a single name. It felt very detached, exactly like reading a novel.
The protagonist was named Pei Xilin. He was the classic “poor little thing”—abused by his father as a child, framed by an illegitimate elder brother when he grew up, and killed by a business rival later on.
According to typical plots, the protagonist should have been reborn. But no, he was dead for good, the kind who had zero will to live.
Chu Yang: “And the sequel?”
[091: None. Pei Xilin is dead. The order of this dimension was destroyed, leading to various anomalies and making this world a mess. So, we hope you can save him and change the course of events.]
“…”
Chu Yang was silent for a moment. He didn’t really believe that a single person’s absence would cause problems for a massive world. Even if the world needed people to support it, it should be many people… right?
Seeing his skepticism, the golden piggy bank zipped around. Then, several scenes appeared before Chu Yang. The more he looked, the more shocked he became.
The system was showing famous landmarks of this world. Chu Yang saw these places being overrun by eerie vines, the water sources becoming turbid, and one was even… Chu Yuanzhou’s workplace!
He didn’t see Chu Yuanzhou’s figure, but in that office building, there were distorted shadows, plus the eerie vines and black water… it was clearly the look of an apocalypse.
Furthermore, with the AC on a low setting and the flickering images, his heart tightened.
Chu Yang took a deep breath and asked, “Is this just something you made up to fool me?”
The system knew this was hard to believe, but it didn’t explain. Instead, it said: [The scene just now didn’t have Chu Yuanzhou because he is dead.]
Chu Yang’s breath hitched, and he instantly clenched his fists.
[091: I am telling the truth; I’m not lying. Right now, nothing has happened yet. There’s still a chance to fix it.]
Chu Yang gritted his teeth. “What kind of protagonist is this? He’s clearly a world-destroying villain, and I have to save him. You might as well say I’m the protagonist.”
The system spat out a gold coin as if in agreement and immediately said: [You’re not wrong… So for the sake of the world, stop Pei Xilin from becoming a villain!]
Chu Yang: “If I stop Pei Xilin from dying, my… my brother can live?”
Just moments ago, he said he wasn’t interested in anything but money, and now he was eating his words. He no longer wanted money as a reward.
[091: Theoretically, yes.]
Chu Yang: “Theoretically? Can’t you just let my brother live to be a hundred?”
He was already starting to find this Pei Xilin guy annoying.
[091: It is confirmed that Chu Yuanzhou did indeed meet with an accident due to the world’s deterioration. But… it doesn’t mean that changing the course of events makes Chu Yuanzhou completely safe. Other things might happen.]
Chu Yang: “So the reward you’re giving me is that my brother lives? What if you’re lying?”
If Pei Xilin lived but Chu Yuanzhou still died, was he supposed to go kill Pei Xilin to restart the world?
[091: This isn’t the only reward. I am the Get Rich System. As long as you save Pei Xilin, you will surely be wealthy beyond measure, and those you care about will be fine.]
Chu Yang: “I can’t trust you.”
The system’s words were too vague, but… he couldn’t gamble with Chu Yuanzhou.
[091: You are saving the protagonist, which means saving the world. Once the world stabilizes, its power will continuously give back to you. Those you care about will have good endings. We can even sign a soul contract.]
Before Chu Yang could agree, a faint light entered his brow. Immediately, his spirits were lifted, and he felt a sudden resonance with the higher-dimensional being before him.
Vaguely, there was a sense of being linked… Chu Yang inexplicably believed it.
But—
“How am I supposed to sleep like this? I have an 8:00 AM class tomorrow.”
[091: …I have hypnosis.]
Chu Yang didn’t expect it to be so advanced. His eyebrows rose. “Then let’s talk about how to save Pei Xilin.”
091 immediately listed a huge amount of information, making Chu Yang’s brow furrow. 091 had listed almost every point where the male lead could get into trouble and wanted Chu Yang to intervene.
Chu Yang couldn’t understand at all. “Even if he’s just getting beaten up, I have to save him? I thought he only died in the later stages.”
The golden piggy bank swayed. [It’s useless to wait until the end. Actually, we have a way to revive Pei Xilin, but he has a death wish. He either wants to perish with everyone else or destroy the world.]
[So, we believe it’s the accumulation of earlier events that made him lose all hope in life.]
Chu Yang: “You really think highly of me.”
“So you want me to go save him now?”
[091: Not now. I’ll notify you when something happens on his end.]
Chu Yang didn’t ask further. Lying on the bed, he couldn’t fall asleep. Once it was quiet, his head was full of the scenes 091 had shown him.
Apocalypse…
Chu Yuanzhou’s physical fitness was much better than his. If he could survive, there was no reason Chu Yuanzhou couldn’t, unless… if he died, Chu Yuanzhou followed him…?
It wasn’t impossible. He kicked the blanket in frustration and felt even unhappier seeing the gold-glittering thing.
“Go back already. How am I supposed to sleep with you glowing?”
091 could sense Chu Yang’s displeasure. Its round body spun once, the light dimmed, and it flew to Chu Yang’s bedside table, looking just like a normal ornament.
Chu Yang felt a bit stuck. 091 sighed sagely with its mechanical voice—how creepy. [Sigh—I’ll use hypnosis on you.]
Before Chu Yang could object, a white light entered his brow, and he instantly fell into a deep sleep.
This wasn’t hypnosis; this was a “one-second knock-out”!
But this became extremely painful the next day when 091 woke him up in a second. The system kept pestering him while his consciousness was still fuzzy, making him feel exceptionally tired.
In the end, it was a call from Chu Yuanzhou that actually woke Chu Yang up. Thinking it was an emergency, Chu Yang jolted and answered immediately. “What happened?”
Chu Yuanzhou was a bit surprised. “You’re actually awake? Nothing, just feared you wouldn’t get up.”
“I’m up, I’m up, Dad. I’m an adult, stop worrying so much.” Chu Yang climbed out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom in his slippers.
Chu Yuanzhou chuckled. “Good baby.”
He listened to the noise on the other end. Once Chu Yang finished washing his face, he asked casually, “The auntie said you asked for two servings of breakfast. Who’s it for?”
“A girlfriend?”
Chu Yang: “Where would I get a girlfriend?”
Chu Yuanzhou’s voice instantly dropped ten degrees. “A boyfriend?”
“…Are you crazy? I don’t like guys. Just because you want to find a boyfriend, don’t keep hinting at me. I can accept it if you do; I’m not prejudiced. I’d be happy for him to join the family, really!”
Chu Yang was truly annoyed by Chu Yuanzhou bringing this up. The first few times, he could calmly explain he didn’t like men, but later he felt Chu Yuanzhou was testing his limits.
He figured his previous answers might have been too “firm,” so Chu Yuanzhou thought he was anti-gay and kept asking to make him slowly accept it. He thought he understood his brother’s hints now.
His brother might be gay!
Chu Yuanzhou’s thoughts were completely different. Hearing Chu Yang’s denial, he truly relaxed, and his mood improved. “Gege doesn’t like men, just like you.”
Chu Yang: “Heh.” He didn’t believe it for a second.
After a pause, Chu Yuanzhou asked again, “Then who is it for?”
“…A roommate.”
Chu Yuanzhou’s heart hung in suspense again. He had always felt something was wrong with Chu Yang’s roommates. He couldn’t put his finger on it—maybe their signs clashed or something—anyway, they were very eyesore-ish, but unfortunately, Chu Yang got along well with them.
He couldn’t make his “baby” lose friends just because he didn’t like them.
“Which roommate? The one acting cold, the one always touching you, or the one always doing your homework?” Chu Yuanzhou pressed on.
Chu Yang refused to answer. He sat at the dining table and started eating, with the other serving already packed on the table.
After eating, he grabbed the bag and left, leaving a word for the dog: “I’ll walk you tonight.”
Then he said to the other end of the line, “Leaving for school. Hanging up.”
“…”
During breakfast, Chu Yang hadn’t said a word, but Chu Yuanzhou hadn’t hung up either. Heaven knows what he was listening to.
Chu Yang was completely used to their way of interacting. Thinking about walking the dog tonight, he rarely drove his own car to school.
In the dorm, only he and Lin Zhiheng had an 8:00 AM class today. With Lin Zhiheng bringing his textbooks, he saved some trouble and went straight to the classroom.
He didn’t expect that fifteen minutes before class, the room would already be so full. People were too enthusiastic about class.
Lin Zhiheng was tall and sturdy; Chu Yang spotted him immediately and walked toward him carrying the food container. He didn’t notice that as he entered, the atmosphere in the room paused for a moment before the noise returned, significantly quieter. Everyone’s gaze drifted over him.
Chu Yang placed the container in front of Lin Zhiheng and sat down beside him. Everyone’s eyes instantly locked onto that container. The container itself was nothing special; what mattered was that Chu Yang brought it.
Lin Zhiheng knew what they were thinking. He opened it slowly and was also surprised—it was exceptionally lavish and exquisite.
Then someone said sourly, “Which restaurant did you buy this from? You must have gone early and queued up, right? You like this kind of stuff? Why did you only bring it for him?”
Chu Yang glanced at him and simply said, “Got it from home. No queuing needed.”
But surprisingly, after saying this, the person’s expression worsened. His tone was extremely bitter. “Why would you bring him something from home? I don’t see you bringing anything for others.”
His tone was weird. Chu Yang looked at him, found it strange, and squinted to get a better look.
Those peach-blossom eyes made the other person’s heart throb. He couldn’t control his smile, and the muscles on his arm even twitched as he waited for Chu Yang to speak.
In the end, Chu Yang just glared at him and said nothing. Ke Yuan’s heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat—it was incredibly itchy. He immediately stood up and sat in front of Chu Yang, asking cheekily, “What’s with the glare?”
Side Theater
Pei Xilin’s Diary: Day 1 of being disliked by my wife without even appearing. My wife cares about his brother so much. After we get married, he won’t make his brother live with us, will he? (…)
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