EHW Ch68

Extra Story 1 · The Belated System

After morning court, Gu Fangzhi went to the Ministry of Rites. Pei Xin wasn’t idle either, he summoned a group of officials to the Imperial Study to discuss new policies.

And since it was a discussion, friction was inevitable.

Everyone’s opinions clashed; voices rose as each insisted on their own stance. The Imperial Study was noisier than a marketplace.

Pei Xin’s temper wasn’t bad by nature, but years beside Gu Fangzhi had polished his edges.

He wanted to slam the table in irritation, but then thought, there wasn’t really any need.

He wanted to scowl and lose his composure, but worried others would think their emperor a tyrant.

So instead, he gently stroked the table with his fingers, relaxed his brows, and said evenly:
“Let’s… discuss this slowly.”

Everyone froze.

They were used to the young emperor’s gloomy expression and had already steeled themselves to be scolded.

But this, this kind of Pei Xin, they had never seen before.

It was the eerie feeling of an executioner kindly applying medicine to your neck before beheading you.

Silence. No one dared speak. Someone even hiccuped from fear.

That loud hiccup snapped everyone awake; the next second, the officials all dropped to their knees with a clatter:

“Your Majesty, forgive us!”

Pei Xin: “……”

Fine.
No matter what he did, he still terrified people.

Not long after Pei Xin’s ascension, he had recently purged a batch of corrupt and disloyal officials and needed to recruit new talent.

Thus, Gu Fangzhi had been working with the Ministry of Rites on the upcoming imperial examination.

It was Gu Fangzhi’s idea to allow women to take the exam this time, and Pei Xin had agreed, making things even busier.

After court, Gu Fangzhi had planned to go home and sleep, but since Gu Huaiyu was out playing with Manman, the house was empty and dull.

So, he decided to find Pei Xin instead.

When he entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Pei Xin was lounging with one leg crossed, reading memorials.

Seeing him, Pei Xin beckoned: “Teacher, come here.”

As soon as Gu Fangzhi approached, something small was suddenly shoved into his mouth.

Pei Xin’s way of showing affection wasn’t too different from Snowball’s, when he liked something, he’d shove it into someone’s hands or mouth. Sometimes, when Gu Fangzhi stayed overnight in the hall, he’d wake to find a bone stick by his pillow (Snowball’s doing) and a golden leaf on the other side (Pei Xin’s doing).

Gu Fangzhi bent down, brushed his lips against Pei Xin’s cheek, and murmured wearily,
“Your servant will lie down for a bit…”

From behind came Pei Xin’s mock-annoyed voice: “You’ve gotten cake crumbs all over My face.”

After resting with his eyes closed for a while, Gu Fangzhi no longer felt so tired.

He heard Pei Xin instruct Eunuch Yang Luhai and the others to stand farther away, followed by soft approaching footsteps.

A moment later, the mattress beside him sank slightly.

Pei Xin: “Move inward.”

Gu Fangzhi didn’t move. Pei Xin clicked his tongue, muttered something, and climbed over him to lie on the inside.

Gu Fangzhi cracked open one eye to glance at him.

“Your servant observes that Your Majesty’s forehead is dark, your eyes are dark, and your complexion is dark. Who angered Your Majesty?”

Pei Xin: “……”

Why not just say he was black all over?

Pei Xin huffed. “The same people as always.”

“It’s no good for Your Majesty to be angry so often.”

Gu Fangzhi propped himself slightly, resting against a pillow, coaxing him gently:

“Come, repeat after me.”

Gu Fangzhi: “I am a good-tempered person.”

Pei Xin: “I am a good-tempered person.”

Gu Fangzhi: “I never lose my temper for no reason.”

Pei Xin: “I never lose my temper for no reason.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

This brat was born rebellious, wasn’t he?

After a pause, Gu Fangzhi added with subtle expectation: “I will receive many golden leaves.”

Pei Xin: “I will receive many golden leaves.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

He decided to end this nonsense.

Pei Xin watched his expression with amusement, twirling a lock of his hair. When he’d had enough, he tugged it slightly to draw Gu Fangzhi’s gaze and asked:
“I’ve been here this long already. Are you going to kiss Me or not? If not, I’ll go read.”

Gu Fangzhi blinked in surprise, then burst into laughter at the child’s bluntness.

He tilted his head toward Pei Xin, said nothing, but caught his sleeve with his fingers.

Pei Xin leaned down, half pressing over him. Gu Fangzhi’s hand slid upward, from his forearm to his upper arm, then along his smooth back, finally looping around his neck.

Pei Xin lowered his head, nipped Gu Fangzhi’s lower lip lightly, then pinched his chin and tilted it down, manually parting his mouth.

“Teacher…” Pei Xin’s voice was muffled and breathy. “Feels good? …ha… Teacher…”

Ever since Gu Fangzhi discovered that his “system” opposed teacher-student romance seven days a week and the eighth day double so, he had forbidden Pei Xin from calling him “Teacher” during certain times.

But a few days ago, Pei Xin had accidentally slipped, and the system didn’t trigger a Bad Ending.

So Pei Xin deliberately tried calling twice more.

The system stayed silent, but Gu Fangzhi reacted strongly, his pale skin flushed pink, his body
trembling, his breath ragged.

Pei Xin immediately understood: so his Teacher liked this kind of thing.

Perverted, yes, but who was he to judge, when he enjoyed seeing Gu Fangzhi’s usual composure melt into desire?

Gu Fangzhi shuddered again, fingers clutching Pei Xin’s back tightly, his long neck arched in a graceful curve.

Pei Xin slid a hand beneath his robe, frowning as he tried to recall the illustrations he’d skimmed in a certain picture album yesterday. He hadn’t studied them carefully and could hardly remember the sequence.

Where was he supposed to touch first…?

While he was hesitating, Gu Fangzhi’s expression suddenly changed. He jolted upright.

“What, ” Pei Xin began to ask, but Gu Fangzhi blurted, “Who?!”

“Someone’s here?”

Pei Xin narrowed his eyes. Though he sensed no other presence, he still drew the silver sword hanging at the bed’s end and swept a wary gaze around.

Gu Fangzhi, however, waved his hand and spoke, to seemingly no one.
“System?”

Pei Xin: “……”

Great. Was he going insane before Gu Fangzhi now?

【Beep beep, can you hear me?】

The sudden mechanical voice in his head made Gu Fangzhi jolt.
“Who?!”

【I’m your host system, Game System No. 002, sorry, I’m a little late.】

Gu Fangzhi froze. “…System?”

【Yes, Host! I’m your system. Because we’re a newly established service and our equipment is outdated, I arrived just a little bit late.】

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

A little bit late?

You call this a little?

【One moment, Host, I’ll check your mission list, 】

Then came the sounds of flipping pages and frantic keyboard tapping in his mind.

While waiting, Gu Fangzhi quickly told Pei Xin what happened.

He often liked sharing random tales with Pei Xin, from “Little Worker” cartoons to “Bald Strong.”
Probably a side effect from telling bedtime stories to little Manman too often.

Pei Xin always listened with a “how could such absurd things exist” expression.

But perhaps thanks to those stories, he readily accepted that “a system suddenly spoke in Gu Fangzhi’s head.”

With a metallic clang, Pei Xin sheathed his sword.

“What did it say to you? Why can’t I hear it?”

Gu Fangzhi asked, without much hope, “Can you broadcast out loud?”

【I can, but I don’t recommend revealing my existence to others, because in other novels, that never ends well.】

“It’s fine, he’s not ‘others’.” Gu Fangzhi smiled. “Go ahead and broadcast.”

A pause. Then the flat electronic voice echoed faintly around the entire chamber, quiet but distinct, as though vibrating in the air itself:

【Can you hear me?】

“Yes.”

【Found it!】 The rustling stopped. 【When the world of a game becomes real, no one wishes to see chaos. Host, your mission is to help the Great Qi, 】

Gu Fangzhi interrupted sharply: “Wait.”

System: 【Hmm any problem?】

Gu Fangzhi took a deep breath. “The way you talk… kind of makes me feel short of breath.”
That strange suffocating rhythm finally eased once he’d said it.

He patiently explained, “Normally when we talk, we pause according to sentence structure and emphasize key words. Want to give it a try?”

【Okay I’ll try.】
System: 【Like this, is that okay?】

Gu Fangzhi nodded in approval. “A bit like a foreign friend, but a big improvement!”

System: 【Thank you!】

Gu Fangzhi smiled. “Keep practicing and you’ll definitely get even better!”

Pei Xin: “……”
Wow. Such a diligent teacher, should he take him home and let him teach there too?

He snorted. “Continue.”

System: 【Continue what?】

Pei Xin: “…Continue saying what you wanted my Teacher to do.”

System: 【Oh!】
System: 【Host, your mission is to assist the Little Tyrant, to turn the Little Tyrant into a wise and benevolent ruler, for example by helping him stop killing so many people, and ultimately achieve our final goal: to help the Great Qi avoid destruction!】

Pei Xin: “……”
Who are you calling a Little Tyrant?

His face visibly darkened. Gu Fangzhi quickly patted his hand again and again in a soothing rhythm.

As he did, he asked the system, “Since you’re a system, you should be able to see the mission’s progress, right? Why don’t you check again?”

System: 【Hmm? I can see, why?】

Then came a click, and the system suddenly went silent,
followed by a shrill cry:

【Completed？？！ Mission completed？！ What happened？ Why does it say I’m bound to TWO hosts？！ Wait, this person is the Little Tyrant？！】

Pei Xin froze, then reached for the silver sword hanging at the foot of the bed again.

Gu Fangzhi grabbed his hand and pulled him back down.

System: 【I… Host, wait a moment. I’ll go check what’s going on…】

Its voice faded, like it was walking away into the distance.

Pei Xin muttered, “You spell-casters, every word out of your mouths is irritating.”

Gu Fangzhi stifled a laugh, running his hand soothingly down Pei Xin’s back like calming a ruffled cat.

At the same time, he opened the save screen and created a new save.

Ten minutes ago, he’d been convinced his system couldn’t talk. Turns out, the part that could just arrived late.

The save interface, however, still looked the same, four plain, empty save slots.

He exited the menu, just as the system’s voice returned:

System: 【I’m back.】

【After carefully reviewing the logs,】

System: 【It was our fault, technical malfunction.】

【I arrived too late and failed to give you any guidance. But you’ve already finished all the missions on your own. Congratulations!】

【Additionally, the Little Tyrant, Pei Xin, should also be experiencing awareness of the system’s existence, right?】

The moment it mentioned that, all of Pei Xin’s recent experiences replayed in his mind like a montage.

He pressed his fingers to his temple and exhaled through his nose: “…Mn.”

System: 【We made a data-entry error. The “Target of Strategy” field was left blank, but the “Bound Host” field… somehow has you recorded in it.】

【This counts as a severe mistake! It’s due to our mishandling and outdated system!】

System: 【Therefore, Host, and the other Host, you may each make one wish. As long as it doesn’t violate regulations, we will fulfill it.】

Gu Fangzhi and Pei Xin exchanged a glance, then spoke in perfect unison,

Pei Xin: “Then, for my first wish, I want another wish.”

Gu Fangzhi: “My first wish, ten thousand more wishes.”

Pei Xin: “……?”

Wow.

So greedy.

What a sly, shameless man.