Mygo, you guys seem to be getting a bit heavy-hearted.

Hmph... Just you wait! I'm pretty good at judging people.

Does having a good eye for people mean that he almost lost his first job because his host family chose him?

This kind of system is likely to get scammed someday and still be helping people lose money. It's just lucky that it has encountered its own host; otherwise, who would tolerate it like this?

Hmm, although I've become friends with Miss Xiangzi, there's still no progress on the mission after all this time.

[Completion rate: 30%]

[It must be because the host is slacking off too much!]

Yanming's face darkened: "Have I been giving you too much face lately?"

I was wrong!

[It's their problem, it has absolutely nothing to do with the host!]

The system's sliding rail speed has already surpassed that of light.

[Oh, right, host, it's time to take your medicine.]

After the slide rail is completed, the system thoughtfully provides a reminder.

After spending some time together, not only was Yanming trying to accept it, but it also gradually came to understand what kind of person its host really was.

The most immediate impression it gives is that it's stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside.

But this mouth... it's not just hard, it's harder than diamond. Even if you tried to pry it open with a stick that could move the earth, you might not be able to.

She's incredibly soft-hearted. Take Miss Xiangzi for example. Ever since the host learned about her financial difficulties, she's been pretending to stroll around the neighborhood, looking for anything she can do to help... Hehe, she even said she didn't want to win her over. How tsundere!

The system had a secret it didn't tell Yanming: among the rewards it could issue from its inventory were items that could restore health and cure terminal illnesses.

Although obtaining it might be very difficult, well... it's at least a reward that only appears after completely conquering one beautiful girl, and considering the probability of winning in a lottery... oh well, let's not think about that! The host will reward good deeds!

All I need to do is guide the host through the strategy!

...The reason the system didn't tell him these things directly was because Yanming's attitude towards life was somewhat... pessimistic.

"Whether I eat or not doesn't really matter, right? There's no point in clinging to life for another year or two." Yanming slumped on the sofa, continuing to watch the relentless downpour outside the window, wondering whose image would next surface in his mind.

But it certainly won't be him.

The band at the end of Chapter Nine

【It's not that I don't care! Let's go quickly!】

[Hurry, hurry, hurry... ×100]

Until Yanming finally snapped, "I know! Stop arguing, are you my mom?"

I won't listen, I won't listen, I won't listen...

With no other option, Yanming had to follow the system's instructions. Reluctantly, he got up from the sofa, walked to the drawer where the medicine was kept, and pulled it open, revealing a drawer full of bottles and jars.

Under the system's supervision, Yanming took various pre-mixed medications with hot water, all the while muttering curses under his breath:

"Byd, I've taken you in for a while, and now you dare to discipline me? I'll find a way to get rid of you sooner or later."

[Hehe, we promised to be together forever, so I'm not leaving~]

"You're crazy, delusional. Nobody ever said anything to you." Swallowing the last capsule, feeling the warm current rising in his stomach, Yanming felt inexplicably lighter.

Perhaps getting to know this seemingly useless system isn't entirely a bad thing for him?

It certainly made this excessively quiet house... a bit more lively.

"Wow---"

The rain is getting heavier again.

[However, for humans staying at home, a rainstorm like this should be quite comfortable and cool, right, Host?]

Yanming shook his head and said, "Not everyone is like that. I hate rainy days."

Because I hate myself so much, I even resent the weather, which is always so similar to my inner world.

Ah...that's true, after all, the host is completely different from the "ordinary human" I know.

Humans are social animals, that much is certain, yet Yanming's need for social interaction is almost negligible.

Yanming felt offended by the system's evaluation of him: "Are you saying I'm not human?"

【Hmph, I wouldn't dare!!】

The system was so cowardly yet so self-righteous, its words revealing its true intentions.

However... let's put aside the question of whether they're human or not; what I'm trying to express is actually something else entirely.

[Logically, when "ordinary people" become aware of their differences from others, they usually choose to conform to others in order to satisfy their social and expressive desires, thereby changing their own differences. In other words, those people want to "become human."]

[But host... you are the opposite. Rather than wanting to "become human," everything you do reveals one thing—you are "running away from humanity."]

[Having severed ties with the people and life of the past, cutting off most social interactions, like a soul bound to the earth, if it weren't for Miss Xiangzi and me causing some changes in your life, I think...]

"Clang... Clang clang."

On a rainy day, a sudden knock on the door would likely put most families on alert, or even cause them to become suspicious.

But Yanming's family clearly cannot be considered an ordinary family.

What I want to say is...

"Excuse me... is anyone home?"

The faint, low female voice came from behind the door, interrupting the system's words once again.

[...That's Miss Xiangzi's voice. Host, please go open the door quickly. We can talk later.]

Yanming also noticed it, but... something was off.

It's not right.

During these days together, the emotions expressed by Toyokawa Shoko had never been as intense as they were now. Their communication had always remained on the surface, never touching each other's hearts, nor revealing their inner thoughts in an excessively self-conscious manner.

But now, the voice outside the door is radiating a certain emotion towards him with great intensity, an emotion that Yanming is all too familiar with.

"sad".

...Has something happened?

[Host, don't just stand there! It's still raining heavily outside!]

It's right.

"Squeak-"

Yanming stopped thinking about it and quickly walked to the entrance hall, opening the door.

Then, his pupils contracted sharply, his language system became disordered in an instant, his mouth and tongue moved incessantly, and his thoughts came to a standstill.

Yanming asked uncertainly, "Is it... Xiangzi?"

The delicate figure of the blue-haired girl was reflected in her pupils.

...But what he saw was clearly himself from a year ago.

The same dejection, the same bewilderment.

The same.

If she herself destroyed her cherished home with her own hands, then what about this girl who was soaking wet?

And why?

"What happened?" Yanming didn't know why he was so agitated. Perhaps it was because he saw a shadow of his past in Xiangzi, or perhaps it was just a resurgence of his lingering kindness...

But regardless of the reason, the urge surging in one's chest is absolutely undeniable.

Yanming wanted to comfort the girl who was crying silently in front of him.

This is an undeniable fact.

Toyokawa Shoko seemed to have lost her soul. Even though Yanming thought she was on the verge of collapse, her face remained expressionless... It should be said that the blow she suffered was too great, and she was completely numb.

She stood there, her figure slender, under the eaves, her Tsukimori school uniform soaked through with cold raindrops, as if she had just been pulled from the water.

"Yanming-kun... could I come in and stay for a little while? Just a little while, just let me stay in the entryway... I'll be right back, I won't make the floor dirty..."

Xiangzi didn't want to go home, at least not now. She didn't want to see her father, or face the beer bottles scattered on the floor and the drawn curtains.

But after she destroyed even Crychic, which she considered her second home, with her own hands... Xiangzi discovered that Yanming was the only friend she could still talk to.

Perhaps it was this subconscious influence that led Xiangzi, still lost in thought, to bypass his own home, walk to Yanming's room, and knock on the door.

This young man doesn't understand me as well as Deng Hemu does, nor is he the type to ask a lot of questions. If I just accept a little bit of his help, won't it have too much of an impact on my carefully maintained self-esteem...?

That's not right.

When did she become so despicable...? She and Yanming are just a landlord and tenant, yet she presumptuously expects him to comfort her...

It's so ugly, so incredibly ugly...

Turn around and leave, then pretend you never said anything.

Shoko Toyokawa thought this, but her legs had become unresponsive due to prolonged hypothermia, making it extremely difficult to even move, let alone take a step.

【Host, dear host…】

"……Ugh."

The next second, Xiangzi was lifted up in mid-air.

Chapter Ten Taking Advantage of the Auspicious Omen

"Jun Yanming..."

The frail girl accepted the other party's kindness almost without any resistance.

Was that soft call due to panic, or something else?

Ignoring the open door and the increasingly torrential rain, Yanming carried Xiangzi to the sofa and laid him down before speaking:

"Stop talking and calm down. What you need most right now is to try to calm yourself down... I know it's hard to do, but if you keep being sad like this, your spirit will definitely break down before your body."

He understood how to deal with people in Xiangzi's situation; Yanming himself was the best example. He had already walked the same path Xiangzi had taken a year ago.

Yanming found a blanket and draped it over her, then sat down beside her and said:

"Can you still cry out loud? Try it. It would be bad if you couldn't even cry."

"..." Xiangzi felt incredibly cold; she had never felt this cold before in her entire life. "I can't do it..."

Not only could he not control his tears, but Xiangzi was also unwilling to show such weakness as crying in front of his friends.

"It's okay, take your time, don't rush, I'll be with you." Yanming tried his best to express the comfort he hadn't received a year ago to the girl before him.

He had no idea what had happened to Xiangzi, he was completely clueless, and the girl would never tell him even the slightest clue that he could follow.

...But fate is always so wondrous.

A resonance that stemmed from the soul filled the information gap, allowing Yanming to empathize with Toyokawa Shoko at that moment.

Even if the roots of their sorrow may differ, these two, both prisoners of their emotions, have truly become a "community of shared destiny" at this moment.

They are not a community that plays music together, but rather temporary companions who lick each other's wounds through instinct and intuition, thus offering each other comfort.

It wasn't just Yanming comforting Xiangzi; it was also his way of making amends for his past actions... at least he couldn't let this girl repeat his mistakes.

Even if their souls part ways after today, Yanming will not waver in the slightest.

Seemingly finding a sense of shared suffering in him, Xiangzi's tone, though still trembling and thin, was at least not as devoid of warmth as before:

"Yanming-kun...your home...achoo!"

This was her first time visiting Yanming's home, and it ended in such an embarrassing way...

Yanming poured a cup of leftover hot water from when she took her medicine and placed it against Xiangzi's body through the blanket to warm her up a bit. Then he told her:

"This is not my home, it's just my house."

A temporary haven made of reinforced concrete cannot be called a person's final destination, and Yanming's final destination no longer exists.

Now he deliberately reveals part of his wound to Xiangzi, hoping to indirectly learn about what happened to her.