Salted Fish is a Rebellious Person – Chapter 27

The system was in a daze.

It was still reeling from the impact of the -2 favorability drop when Xing Shi suddenly triggered another wave of fluctuations. Before it could react, the juice bottle slipped from his grasp.

Then, both Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning instinctively moved to recover from the mishap, but instead of grabbing the juice, they accidentally clasped each other’s hands.

With a dull thud, the juice bottle hit the ground.

And just like that, the favorability value, which had dropped to the negatives, started skyrocketing at an insane rate.

The system sat in stunned silence, eyes glued to the continuous stream of notification sounds, until everything finally settled. Then, it erupted in sheer disbelief: “Ahhh! 10 points! It went up by 10 points—!”

“You were right! It really does take accidental contact to work! You’re a genius!”

“He’s so awkward, but he totally loves you!”

“I wish I could send a ‘you are all garbage’ meme in the group chat right now, hahahaha!”

The two individuals who had just reached an unspoken agreement quickly released each other’s hands, suppressing the emotions in their eyes amidst the system’s joyous exclamations.

Xing Shi coldly ordered, “Shut up.”

The system immediately zipped its mouth, but deep inside, it was practically exploding with happiness. If it had a physical form, it would be bouncing off the walls.

Meanwhile, Fu Xiuning lowered his gaze to the spilled juice at his feet.

The cap had been left slightly loose, causing the entire contents to leak out. Fortunately, it was only a small bottle, so the mess wasn’t too bad.

Fu Xiuning bent down, picked up the bottle, and tossed it into the trash. Xing Shi turned to fetch some tissues. After they quickly cleaned up, he went to the fridge, grabbed another bottle, and handed it to Fu Xiuning before sitting down beside him again.

The system, still on high alert, immediately warned, “Don’t drink his juice this time. Just drink your own, behave.”

Xing Shi replied innocently, “I didn’t expect him to be so particular. He actually got mad over juice.”

Fu Xiuning unscrewed the cap and took a sip of the new juice, casting a sidelong glance at Xing Shi.

He hadn’t expected this troublemaker to casually chat with his system—where he couldn’t hear it—and then deliberately bring the conversation into his presence just to test him.

He had always been indifferent to human nature. Over the past five years, countless hosts had plotted against him, and no matter how vicious their schemes, he remained unaffected.

Yet, he had to admit—when he first overheard Xing Shi talking about drugging him, a flicker of disappointment crossed his heart. But it lasted only a moment before reason set in. Xing Shi had no logical motive to harm him.

Still, it was already too late. That moment of hesitation had exposed him. Xing Shi then used his actions to prove there was nothing wrong with the juice, and his system outright declared that it was just a hypothesis.

Fu Xiuning immediately understood—Xing Shi had discovered his secret and was deliberately testing him.

This guy… really knew how to stir things up.

He thought to himself, Smart.

Fu Xiuning took another sip of juice. As he reflected, he deduced that the suspicion must have started after the Yu Shu incident, when he gained 1 favorability point. Xing Shi had been probing him more often recently—this was clearly no coincidence.

His gaze lingered on the young man beside him.

Noticing his stare, Xing Shi took the opportunity to press further, “I don’t think he really loves me. He loves juice more. If juice and I fell into the water at the same time, he’d definitely save the juice first.”

Fu Xiuning: “…”

The system vehemently objected, “That’s impossible! He definitely loves you more!”

Xing Shi sighed dramatically, “I hope so.”

Fu Xiuning calmly picked up his book, clearly uninterested in entertaining this nonsense.

Undeterred, Xing Shi scooted closer, “Brother, stop reading. Let’s talk about life.”

Fu Xiuning humored him, “What do you want to talk about?”

Xing Shi pretended to ponder before bringing up a seemingly unrelated topic, “I don’t know… Oh, by the way, my desk was bought by your assistant, right? I really like it. Can you ask him where he got it? I’d like to get one for myself in the future.”

At the mention of his assistant, Fu Xiuning turned his gaze toward him, eyes probing.

Xing Shi met his stare head-on, confirming his suspicions.

After a brief pause, Fu Xiuning replied, “If you like it, just take this one. Instead of worrying about desks, you should focus on your studies. I looked at your class notes earlier and found some mistakes.”

Xing Shi’s heart skipped a beat. Class notes?

So Fu Xiuning had checked his handwriting to confirm his identity?

When exactly did he start suspecting him?

Judging by the 2-point increase in favorability, Fu Xiuning was now certain that he was the original owner. That meant his previous instincts at the airport weren’t wrong—he really had traveled back in time.

Xing Shi responded smoothly, “Got it.”

Fu Xiuning didn’t know the extent of his memory loss, but seeing his calm response, he seemed to understand the implication. So, he continued, “Behave at school and don’t cause trouble. Has Lin Kecheng been bothering you?”

Xing Shi shrugged, “Not really, but I did break his leg, after all. I have to check on him occasionally, otherwise people might say I’m cold-blooded. Ugh, he’s so annoying. Are there more people like him at school? I need to know so I can avoid them.”

Fu Xiuning replied, “For now, he’s the only one I know of.”

Xing Shi understood the hidden meaning—aside from Lin Kecheng, there were no other hosts at the school. That meant the long list of suspicious names Lin Kecheng had sent him earlier was entirely fabricated.

“I hope there won’t be more like him,” he muttered.

Fu Xiuning simply nodded.

—

The next morning, both had classes.

Xing Shi watched as Fu Xiuning drove into the school. As they neared the academic building, he reached for his seatbelt, preparing to get out.

But just as the car approached the last turn, Fu Xiuning suddenly slowed down.

The next moment, a wheelchair shot out from the side, narrowly skidding past the front bumper before crashing into the curb. The person and wheelchair both tipped over.

Xing Shi: “Hiss…”

System: “Ah…”

Fu Xiuning calmly pressed the brakes, feeling a trace of regret.

If this had been before, he wouldn’t have bothered stopping at all. But now, he had to leave this matter to Xing Shi.

“It seems to be Lin Kecheng,” he remarked.

Xing Shi instantly switched gears, unbuckling his seatbelt and dashing out in a panic. “Senior, are you okay?”

Lin Kecheng had fallen hard. His arms took the brunt of the impact, sending sharp pain through his already broken leg. His nerves screamed in protest.

His face twisted in agony. “I… ah! You—you—don’t grab my arm!”

Xing Shi immediately retracted his hand, looking concerned. “Should I call an ambulance?”

Lin Kecheng took a shaky breath. “No need.”

By now, students had gathered around.

Fu Xiuning stepped out of the car. Lin Kecheng adjusted his expression, waiting for him to approach, before apologizing, “Sorry, senior. I was in a rush to get to class. I didn’t scare you, did I?”

Fu Xiuning gazed down at him, his expression as gentle as ever, but he made no move to help him. “Hmm. How are you?”

Lin Kecheng winced. “I’m okay.”

Fu Xiuning replied, “Don’t force yourself. If you need medical attention, go to the hospital.”

Lin Kecheng forced a bitter smile. “I think I’ll just stop by the infirmary first.”

Lin Kecheng sat up slowly as a few students lifted him into Fu Xiuning’s car.

The engine started, and the car smoothly turned towards the infirmary.

As a self-proclaimed kind and considerate person, Xing Shi naturally had to accompany him.

The system watched the entire scene unfold and asked, “Is he trying to scam me?”

Xing Shi replied, “Probably. Maybe he wanted Fu Xiuning to accidentally injure him, making it look like an accident so he wouldn’t be held responsible. That way, Fu Xiuning might feel guilty and visit him, giving them a chance to spend more time together.”

The system sneered, “Ugly people always cause trouble.”

Then, as if suddenly struck by inspiration, it added, “Should I send a message cursing him out? Let me flame him a little.”

Xing Shi stopped it. “Not yet. Wait a little longer.”

The system immediately backed down. “Okay!”

Lin Kecheng had indeed planned to go all in and let Fu Xiuning “accidentally” hurt him.

He had tried many times to catch Fu Xiuning’s attention before, but nothing had worked. The only time he gained favorability was the day he became student council president—and that was just one measly point.

Now, the other known hosts were stronger than him, and his chances of success were slipping. After discussing it with his system, he decided to take a risk and go big.

But he never expected that despite his careful calculations, he would fail so miserably.

Not only did he miss his chance, but he ended up hurting himself even more.

And worst of all?

This kind of stunt could only be pulled off once. If he tried it again, people would start suspecting him.

His brain, muddled by pain, began spiraling. “Did Xing Shi warn him?”

His system was more rational. “We don’t share locations, and Xing Shi doesn’t know where we are. If he wanted to find us, he could just send a message directly. There’s no reason to waste energy checking on us, so it’s unlikely.”

It analyzed, “Your position didn’t fully block his view. Fu Xiuning might have seen something and slowed the car down.”

Lin Kecheng gritted his teeth in frustration. “Fuck!”

“Calm down,” the system advised.

But Lin Kecheng was too impatient and desperate to calm down.

As the car approached the infirmary, he forced himself to think rationally. Then, another thought hit him. “Xing Shi hasn’t responded at all?”

“No response,” the system confirmed.

Lin Kecheng hesitated. “Should we send him a message explaining? Say that we’re just trying to get closer to Fu Xiuning to better strategize against him and find the other hosts.”

The system agreed.

If their plan had worked, they wouldn’t need to explain anything. But now?

They had failed miserably—and looked like total fools in the process.

If they didn’t clarify their intentions, who would even want to ally with them?

So, the system quickly crafted a sincere-sounding message and sent it.

Meanwhile, Xing Shi got out of the car and helped Lin Kecheng into a wheelchair. He pushed him inside while listening to his system relay the message.

The system commented, “It sounds genuine. It also seems like he’s trying to make amends. How should we reply?”

Xing Shi said calmly, “Ignore it.”

The system promptly closed the chat window without hesitation.

Lin Kecheng waited and waited, but no response came.

He glanced at Xing Shi, who still looked as concerned as ever, as if he knew nothing.

Frowning, Lin Kecheng asked his system, “Did you send the message?”

The system was growing anxious. “Yes.”

Just as Lin Kecheng was about to ask it to send another one, the school doctor finished his examination and suggested he go to the hospital for an X-ray.

That was when they finally received a response.

It was a single, chilling message:

[Heh.]

A simple yet spine-tingling response.

And Lin Kecheng knew—this wasn’t Xing Shi replying. It was his system.

Then came a barrage of messages:

[Don’t underestimate me, host. We agreed that I would be the one to communicate with you from now on so you wouldn’t keep treating him like an idiot. Do you know what he just said? He was worried about your injury and wanted to share part of his personnel list with you. I didn’t even have the heart to tell him what you just pulled.]

[Last time, you sweet-talked my host, promising that we should communicate if anything happened. Was this your so-called ‘sincerity’? You’re something else—you break your leg and still cause trouble. I just asked you to confirm a list, and yet you’re dragging your feet.]

Lin Kecheng quickly typed:

[We were working on it!]

The reply came swiftly:

[Forgive me, but my eyesight must be terrible—I only saw you nearly throwing yourself under Fu Xiuning’s car. And tell me, can the efficiency be the same with or without injuries? You don’t even know who your enemies are, yet you’re in such a rush to start a fight? Fine then. No alliance. You’re on your own.]

Lin Kecheng panicked.

[It was a mistake this time.]

[Mistake? Don’t insult that word.]

System 99 was thrilled:

[This is what happens when ugly people cause trouble! Hahaha! Justice is served!]

The system was practically giddy. “Hahaha, that was so satisfying!”

Under Xing Shi’s instructions, his system continued to pressure Lin Kecheng until he promised to confirm the personnel list soon. Only then did Xing Shi let them off the hook.

He wheeled Lin Kecheng outside and turned to Fu Xiuning, blinking innocently. “Senior, is this class important to you? If you can’t skip, you should go back first. I’ll take Senior Lin to the hospital.”

Lin Kecheng glanced over hopefully.

If Fu Xiuning stayed, they’d have more time together—maybe some kind of progress. Otherwise, this whole day would be an utter disaster.

Unfortunately for him, Fu Xiuning not only had zero intention of staying, he also didn’t want Xing Shi to waste time on Lin Kecheng either.

Without hesitation, he called the student council president, briefly explained the situation, and asked her to send a few students who were free.

The moment they arrived, Fu Xiuning dumped Lin Kecheng on them and promptly left with Xing Shi.

As they walked back to the teaching building, Fu Xiuning asked, “Will you head back to the company alone after class, or wait until noon to leave with me?”

Xing Shi thought for a moment. “I’ll go back by myself.”

Then he added, “The weather forecast says it’ll rain tonight. If it’s bad, I’ll sleep in the apartment.”

Fu Xiuning nodded gently. “Alright.”

The two parted ways and went to their respective classes.

—

Xing Shi attended classes and training as usual.

That evening, he was added to the student council and internal chat groups by the president. Soon, he saw an update on Lin Kecheng—his injury was diagnosed as a soft tissue contusion, a more serious type, requiring rest for a while.

Xing Shi sent a generic, “Take care” message like everyone else, then turned off his screen, hoping Lin Kecheng would finally behave.

The forecast was accurate—it rained that night.

It wasn’t a storm, but Xing Shi decided to stay at the apartment anyway.

Yu Yi was thrilled. He shut the door and grinned. “Finally, I’m not alone!”

Xing Shi chuckled. “Feng Zifan and the others don’t hang out with you?”

Yu Yi sighed. “Sometimes, but we get back late and everyone just showers and sleeps.”

Xing Shi hummed in response and motioned for him to shower first.

When both were done, Xing Shi, drying his hair, glanced at Yu Yi playing on his phone. “Have you read any novels or watched any anime lately?”

Yu Yi’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! There are a few good ones. Want some recommendations?”

Xing Shi nodded. “Sure. Something fantasy, preferably with superpowers, magic, or a protagonist leveling up by defeating monsters. An anime would be best.”

Yu Yi wasn’t particularly familiar with fantasy stories, but he was willing to help. “I’ll find some for you.”

Xing Shi asked for the name of the platform Yu Yi used and searched alongside him, also instructing his system to assist.

As the system worked, it asked, “Why are you suddenly interested in this? Does it have any special purpose?”

Xing Shi replied, “I just had a feeling.”

The system was confused. “What kind of feeling?”

Xing Shi answered seriously, “Look at Fu Xiuning. He’s busy all day but still makes time to read books at night to enrich himself. Meanwhile, I just sit next to him, playing on my phone or bothering him. That makes me seem really unsophisticated.”

The system was even more baffled. “…Does watching anime suddenly make you cultured?”

Xing Shi explained, “At the very least, it gives me something to do. If I find a good one, I can share it with him. We could watch it together and have more common ground.”

The system immediately agreed. “You’re absolutely right.”

Since it could search more efficiently than either of them, the system quickly found some recommendations.

Xing Shi had just begun browsing two of the titles provided when Feng Zifan walked over. Yu Yi paused his own search.

Feng Zifan looked at Xing Shi, sitting comfortably, and sighed. “It’s rare to see you here again.”

Yu Yi nodded enthusiastically.

Xing Shi smiled. “I wasn’t gone that long.”

Yu Yi asked curiously, “Did you finish all your schoolwork?”

Feng Zifan hesitated upon hearing this.

He had always felt that Xing Shi didn’t seem to have much to do at school. Their training sessions ran late, and yet Xing Shi still managed to stay out even later. What exactly kept him busy? Plus, their apartment didn’t have a curfew like the university dorms, so it was more convenient.

But Feng Zifan never dared to pry.

Even though Xing Shi had a good temperament and was friendly with everyone, he wasn’t the type to casually open up. Only Yu Yi could ask so naturally.

Xing Shi usually avoided the truth because it was a hassle.

But since they already knew Fu Xiuning was protecting him, adding one more detail wouldn’t hurt.

He said casually, “There’s nothing much happening at school. I live with my boss now.”

Feng Zifan & Yu Yi: “???!!!”

Xing Shi saw their shocked expressions and gave a simple explanation. “My dad is his elder. He found out I signed with his company and asked him to take care of me. So, I moved in.”

Feng Zifan was stunned. “Oh my god… So you’re actually related?”

Xing Shi shook his head. “No, we only got to know each other recently. I only found out about this connection not long ago.”

He added, “Anyway, that’s all there is to it. Keep it to yourselves.”

Feng Zifan and Yu Yi quickly nodded.

That night, Xing Shi stayed at the apartment.

The situation was better than before, but the instincts he had developed in high-risk environments were deeply ingrained. No matter how safe it was, any small noise still woke him up.

The next morning, he yawned as he walked into the dining hall.

Taking advantage of the moment, he asked his system, “Give me a second-level punishment.”

The system was caught off guard. “Huh?”

Xing Shi said, “I’m sleepy.”

The system responded, “Just do some jump training, and you’ll wake up.”

Xing Shi countered, “But I don’t have the energy. Let me take a short nap to recharge.”

The system hesitated. “That’s not within the rules.”

Xing Shi argued, “What’s the problem? If I have more energy, I can train better, be in a better mood, and even look more refreshed. Our goal is to use my good looks to win over Fu Xiuning, right?”

The system: “……”

Xing Shi pointed to his +10 favorability score.

The system: “Fine, I’ll give it to you.”

Three seconds later, a familiar surge of energy flowed through Xing Shi’s body, making his exhaustion fade.

Unfortunately, he still couldn’t absorb the source of the system’s energy.

He made a mental note to talk to Fu Xiuning about it later. Then, he took his food tray and found a seat.

Yesterday, he had been too focused on chatting with Feng Zifan and Yu Yi to look into the anime recommendations.

Today, during his break, he searched through the system’s list and Yu Yi’s suggestions, quickly settling on one.

The setting perfectly fit his criteria. The only downside?

The animation style and voice acting were absurdly childish. The battle scenes were laughably simple, clearly aimed at young children.

Seeing him staring blankly at the screen, the system suggested, “Change it. This one won’t work.”

Xing Shi, in all seriousness, replied, “It’s great.”

The system: “?”

It stared at the screen—a chubby cartoon bear holding a Philosopher’s Stone—and felt a deep sense of “Huh???”

Xing Shi was watching with genuine enthusiasm. “I really like it.”

The system was bewildered. But then it remembered something—

Xing Shi had amnesia.

Since arriving in this world, he had been constantly attending classes and training. He had no real entertainment. This was probably the first time he had ever watched an anime.

Immediately, the system felt a wave of pity. “Poor child… Alright, I’ll find you a better one.”

Xing Shi refused. “No, I’m sticking with this one.”

The system tried persuading him, but he was unmovable.

Seeing no other option, the system gave up.

The rest of the day, Xing Shi stubbornly watched the childish anime, much to the confusion of both his system and Feng Zifan.

That evening, after showering, he rushed into the living room to find Fu Xiuning.

Excitedly, he said, “Brother, I found a really good anime today! Let me share it with you!”

The system: “?!”

Panicking, it cried out, “NO! This one really won’t work!”

Xing Shi immediately argued, “Who said that? It’s amazing!”

The system desperately insisted, “Fu Xiuning will think it’s childish. Listen to me—pick another one to share with him, okay?”

Xing Shi refused. “Nope.”

The system: “……”

It nearly forgot how stubborn Xing Shi was.

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, Xing Shi looked at Fu Xiuning expectantly. “My phone’s charging, and I didn’t bring my tablet. Do you have one?”

Fu Xiuning wordlessly retrieved a tablet from his study and handed it to him.

Xing Shi eagerly typed into the search bar: The Adventures of the Magic Bear.

The system wanted to die.

Clicking on the first episode, Xing Shi enthusiastically explained the plot.

“So, this is a magical world. This little bear can use magic, but he needs to recharge first before casting spells. Got it?”

Fu Xiuning, of course, understood immediately.

He had long suspected that Xing Shi could absorb energy. Now, the guy had essentially confirmed it through this ridiculous cartoon.

Fu Xiuning simply hummed in acknowledgment, trying to glance away.

But Xing Shi grabbed his arm.

“It’s not over yet! You have to watch it with me!”

Fu Xiuning said, “Any other settings? Just tell me.”

Xing Shi shook his head. “No, you have to watch it for a while to really feel it.”

Fu Xiuning sat down beside him and continued watching.

The system: “?”

It silently observed, waiting for Fu Xiuning to give up. But after three episodes, the man was still watching.

The system started doubting itself. “Did I miss something? Is there actually something deep about this?”

After two more episodes, Xing Shi turned to Fu Xiuning and asked expectantly, “What do you think?”

Fu Xiuning had only noted that the little bear needed to recharge before using magic. Nothing else stood out to him. He simply looked at Xing Shi, waiting for the real reason behind this whole setup.

Xing Shi continued, “Do you think it’s decent?”

He pulled up the episode list, showing the other man the breakdown. “In the first few episodes, the bear can only recharge a little, so his magic is average. But I heard that later on, it gets really awesome. The problem is, there are 86 episodes in total. It takes way too long to reach the good parts. So slow.”

Fu Xiuning immediately understood the real message.

The alliance’s energy was still too little, and Xing Shi was growing impatient with the slow progress.

That was easy to fix.

Every time a system separated from its host, it created an energy fluctuation—essentially their remaining reserves. Fu Xiuning wasn’t sure if Xing Shi could absorb that energy, but they could try it out.

And to test it, they’d need to get rid of one host.

Fu Xiuning mentally went through the list of hosts and selected Lin Kecheng.

Among them, Lin Kecheng was the only one who knew Xing Shi was a host. He was also narrow-minded, loved stirring up trouble, and served no further purpose. It was time for him to go.

Fu Xiuning glanced at Xing Shi. “You can also just skip to the later episodes.”

Xing Shi wasn’t sure if that was a hint. He asked, “Really?”

Fu Xiuning nodded.

Xing Shi smiled. “Do you think it gets more exciting later on?”

Fu Xiuning replied, “Maybe.”

Xing Shi’s eyes lit up. “So that means you also think this anime is good? I watched it all day, and everyone said it was childish.”

He was deeply moved. “Brother, we’re really brothers. We have the same taste. Will you watch it with me tonight?”

Fu Xiuning: “…”

So this was why he made me sit through five episodes before getting to the point…

The two stared at each other in silence.

One trying hard to rope the other in, the other wanting him to fend for himself.

At this moment, the system, which had also suffered through five episodes, suddenly spoke up. “Why are you hesitating?”

It had been questioning Xing Shi, understanding Xing Shi, and now becoming Xing Shi.

Looking at the screen, it found itself accepting the situation. “Well… it’s not that bad. Okay, next episode.”

Xing Shi snapped back to reality and reached out to tap the screen.

Fu Xiuning, meanwhile, adjusted the tablet upwards at the same time.

Their fingers accidentally brushed against each other.

Xing Shi instinctively withdrew his hand before clicking the next episode.

The system saw everything and immediately became excited. “Unexpected contact!”

It waited for the notification.

Nothing.

The system: “Wait, why aren’t there extra points?!”

Xing Shi said, “Maybe he saw me reaching out.”

The system hesitated. “Really? But he saw you reaching for the juice too, and that worked.”

Xing Shi reasoned, “The contact area was too small.”

The system thought about it. “…That makes sense.”

From the corner of his eye, Xing Shi saw Fu Xiuning’s fingers and couldn’t help but add, “Alas, all men are like this. After having a big meal, they don’t want the small dishes anymore.”

The system nodded in agreement. “So true.”

Fu Xiuning: “…”

Very good.

The crickets in Xing Shi’s system were getting more and more excited.