8 15 Affection points

Arriving at the Wen Family's main house, Wen Fei smoothly parks the car outside. As members of the Wen Family, they, of course, lived in an incredibly upscale community. To their left was a famous politician's house, and to their right was a mansion belonging to the Ming family, who built the programming for a famous food delivery app. 

However, Wen Fei wasn't very satisfied with this place and already had ideas about moving out. 

The first reason is that there were and will be too many people. To be honest, for such a wealthy family, it was a bit unscientific for so many to live in one house, regardless of how big it was, especially given that everyone was an adult with their own family. 

However, in their case, it also made sense. The patriarch and matriarch of the family were still alive and relatively healthy for their age, albeit still quite frail. At that age, they have naturally become more nostalgic and wouldn't dislike the company of their children. Two of the three brothers were competing for the biggest share of the company and thus wished to live as close as they could to their parents to showcase their best, whether in the company, their wives or through their children. And the youngest brother was present because he wanted to be doted on by the parents but also pander to the elder brothers. 

In this way, such a household was formed. 

But given that Wen Fei's two main goals were to help his son become more independent and date Ye Lan, he really couldn't be readier to leave. Fortunately, it will be pretty easy to accomplish now since Wen Huang's actions would serve as a good reason for them to move out. The biggest issue was probably his son's opinion. After all, even if Wen Muchen hated Wen Huang and disliked his fake white lotus cousin, moving would be a huge and scary change for a teenager who's never moved before. 

Wen Fei believed that it was important to consider the child's opinion as much as possible, especially for large decisions. Sometimes, it really can't be helped to overlook them and even easier to ignore them, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt for the child in question. 

Children were raised to trust their parents, but parents were not necessarily trained to trust their children. Even if the child's opinion was objectively wrong, as long as one is patient enough to talk it out and acknowledge their ideas, then the rejection is not so painful. Unfortunately, it is hard for a well-educated person to truly comprehend the struggles of the illiterate, and brushing things off with sentences like 'when you're an adult, you'll understand,' or 'it's just what it is,' was just much quicker and easier. 

Parenthood is difficult, stressful and you really only get one chance per child. What was worse was each child was different so maybe the failed method in raising the first child would actually benefit the second child, but because of the fear of making the same mistakes a different, opposite method is applied. This resulting in the second child also straying in a different way and maybe the first child growing even more resentful as they watch their parents treat their sibling in a completely different way, one they themselves had once craved for. 

Even Wen Fei, with his numerous worlds' worth of experience and knowledge cannot be confident in raising a kid right. Not only is the journey full of unknowns, even the end happiness and definition of 'success' falls under question. Many tend to believe their child should be rich enough to own some property, be talented enough to stand out, smart enough to get into a good university, charismatic enough to have many friends and connections with useful people, have a decent job, get married to a good spouse, have kids, and so on and so on. And this isn't wrong necessarily. 

It's a very textbook standard and safe template to aim for. However while many people will naturally fall into this standard normalcy there are also many who fall out of it, and for many parents, this was the hardest to accept. They would rather their child to be mediocre and safe than strange and incomprehensible, even if they're happy and successful. 

Fortunately, in that matter, Wen Fei can at least confidently feel that he was pretty good in this aspect. Whether Wen Muchen chooses to become an actor, an artist, or a sheep herder, as long as he isn't a useless, ungrateful leech who sucks blood or a scum who hurts others, Wen Fei will do his best to sincerely support him. And if Wen Muchen chooses to not move, Wen Fei will also agree. However, he will bluntly lay down all the pros and cons of the situation before him as well as his own thoughts and opinions to give the child the best understanding possible. 

After all, it's good to allow the young man to understand he has a voice, but it needs to be done slowly without throwing him into the deep end without a lifeline. Wen Muchen loves his father very much, to the point even if he hated his treatment from Wen Huang he still endured it because he believed in the original body's decisions. This was both good and bad; after all, in this complex human society, obedience needs a limit just as wildness needs a leash. 

Maybe just to make Wen Fei happy, Wen Muchen would choose to insist on staying in the Wen family, enduring it to the end. There is a sense of pressure and guilt in changing their usual life because of one person, and no one wants to be that person even when everyone else is willing. In fact, under the face of said kindness, some people may feel even more reluctant to burden them. 

Open communication and bluntness, preferably wrapped up in a gentle and neutral tone, are the best ways to try to mitigate this problem. Of course, for many, that is simply easier said than done. 

Wen Fei sighs emotionally, quietly leading his son into the house and urging him to clean up while he fixes them both with some dinner. Once their stomachs were sated then it was best to bring up the topic. That way, Wen Muchen won't be too absentminded in eating and will have time to sleep on his decisions. 

With such a plan in mind, Wen Fei uses the original's memories to stride into the kitchen. 

In his many missions, Wen Fei had become a renowned chef multiple times over and learned to master hundreds of dishes, from the highlights of the Manchu-Han imperial Feast*, to the simple but addictive greek gyros, and even how to make interstellar nutrient solution that didn't taste like steamed garbage. Therefore, making some noodles to satisfy his son was not difficult at all. 

*Manchu–Han Imperial Feast refers to a style of cooking and a type of grand banquet that combines elements of Manchu and Han's Chinese cuisine developed in the Qing dynasty of China. With dishes including sea cucumber, wild goose, pigeon egg, leg of water turtle, and bird's nest soup. 

Looking at the ingredients available and recalling his son's tastes as well as his own preferences, Wen Fei decides to make some Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles. To be a bit quicker, instead of hand-pulled biang-biang noodles that he personally preferred, he would use hand-torn noodles*, which while less attractive was chewy and hearty due to it's irregular shaping. 

*Known as Mian Pian (面片) in Chinese, hand-torn noodles are very popular in northwestern regions of China. My grandmother used to make them in clear broth, and I would often prefer it over normal noodles as a child :3



Wen Muchen who was sticky all over, with a back soaked with cold sweat and the syrupy cocktails still clinging onto his arms which he couldn't fully wash off in the Jade Star bathroom, would take quite a while in the shower. 

Even if he was fast, Wen Fei would just force him to go back again as long as he still smelled like a drunkard who slept in a winery. Fortunately the child's sense of cleanliness was probably better then himself, so there was no worries there. At minimum he would take about twenty minutes, maybe forty if he was going to contemplate in the shower and cry again. 

That was enough time.

With skilful, quick and proficient movements, Wen Fei mixed together and kneaded a dough, while making a savoury soup with chicken stock, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and chilli among other things. 

The smell emanated throughout the room, fortunately at this late time in the evening most residents of the house had either gone out or were comfortably in their rooms, including most of the servants. Otherwise those who were around would be unable to stop salivating pitifully. 

With the lamb sizzling in the pan and the noodle dough being torn into pieces to boil in the soup stock, allowing the flavour to permeate into the noodles, Wen Fei took the time to discuss a few more details with his new system. 

'Is there anyway I can file a report about the love interest options if it turns out I really can't be with a man?' He asks seriously. Even if Wen Fei felt he was open to it, and maybe even a little intrigued and tentatively excited by the idea, he had been straight for a long time and it was still quite daunting. Besides, his sense of interest could be like Lord Ye's love of dragons*, and it was unknown if he would balk when personally faced with a huge, throbbing… dragon. 

*the story goes Lord Ye loved dragons, had a lot of dragon merch and designs etc and a dragon was so touched by his love for them the dragon came down to bestow the honour of visiting Lord Ye. However Lord Ye was so terrified he ran away, as what Lord Ye loved was not really dragons but the appearance of the dragon. When used it's usually to describe a false or shallow affection for something or the idea of something. Like being hyped to do bungee jumping and saying your wanting to do it your whole life but chicken out when offered.

Wen Fei had lived various lives in various worlds which has had various different worldviews. There are times when he has to love someone for a mission but generally if it wasn't required Wen Fei generally preferred the single life and often would choose just to adopt a child should he be living until old age, as he did inevitably get lonely. 

Rarely did he find someone of interest that he would choose to accompany outside of the mission but when it happened, Wen Fei wouldn't hesitate to spend the necessary points to live out his life in the world. After all it wasn't often his heart can be moved by someone naturally. It could be a lover or a friend or even a rival, as long as his tired heart becomes energetic he doesn't mind straying a little on his usually steadfast path.

Living as a system host was better then living as an immortal since a system host can have the opportunity to experience so much but overtime it's hard not to grow tired. Even once new worlds become repetitive and overly familiar. A life is no longer as precious as a life use to be perceived as, and it's inevitable the mind will distort into something colder and more pragmatic. 

Wen Fei had long sensed his own mental fatigue. His biggest pleasure had become to dominate and faceslap, watching annoying people break down and cry, seeing their stupid faces dumbfounded and their arrogant looks crack like delicate porcelain vases hiding shit. His joy was to rise up and be the greatest in whatever field he set his mind to, to turn looks of scorn into jealousy, indifference to awe and disgust to obsession. And his pride was on the knowledge he earned, the points he gained. 

But if these things become dulled, if he no longer found excitement and satisfaction… it was hard to say what he would do. Wen Fei believed in having a bottom line in everything he does. But he was self-aware. Maybe he will continue to live his his life without this satisfaction for a hundred more worlds, doing his duty, completing missions honestly and receiving points with a smile.

But eventually, whether it's a hundred and one worlds after, or three hundred worlds after, Wen Fei can't guarantee he won't lose his morals in order to seek new pleasures. The meaning of things is often lost over time, and accountability and responsibility can also be one of them. 

Both Wen Fei and his previous system knew that if he broke down and became a Worldbreaker the results could very nothing short of devastating. After all he was indeed an ancient monster at this point, and one who had garnered a lot of merit and fame. Many hosts would not be able to take him down once he lost himself and it may even result in the royal systems who don't usually appear to step in to stop himself. But by then how many people would have been hurt and how many innocents would have perished in the process?

Wen Fei didn't think he was being narcissistic in thinking he was capable of such a thing. Once you reach a certain point in your career as a system host you're given an offer to retire, to go back to your original world or to go back to any previous world of your choosing. Another option was to change systems to something milder in exchange for a relatively high cost. This was in order to prevent this exact problem, and if the host's previous conduct was too worrying, the system administrators could only forcibly retire someone.

It was normal to already be weary from system host life to wish to leave it by the first offer. It was rare for a host to not be forcibly retired after rejecting this offer three times. It was nearly unheard of for a host to stay much longer after the fifth rejection. 

Before changing to a new system Wen Fei had rejected this retirement offer for the eighty-sixth time. 

Of course in the end that was neither here nor there now. The past was the past and he had chosen this path to be his future. Everyone involved understood that while the mission was important the most vital thing was to ease Wen Fei's soul and make his heart enjoy the feeling of beating. 

System TangTang was also aware of this, while it couldn't comprehend his host's previous mental state as well as the last system he at least understood that he must consider Wen Fei's emotions carefully. 

So after a moment of deliberation TangTang cautiously said, 'Of course you can do so host, but TangTang would like to ask you to seriously give it a chance. You would not be accepted by me in the end, much less even be recommended by System 9831 to me if, under our near flawless mathematical analysis and deep considerations, we felt you couldn't form a meaningful romantic relationship with those of the same gender.'

Wen Fei: '…' It makes sense but somehow I'm a little pissed off that I've essentially been calculated with some sort of dick-sucking algorithm and came out positive. 

Unaware of Wen Fei's complicated emotions the system continues, 'Since you have special circumstances TangTang is also allowed to give you a lot more freedom. If you find a more suitable person in line with your current heart, it is also okay as long as you report your changed intentions in advance.'

'The system administrators have also recognised you tend to feel more joy in child-raising in your previous worlds so if you find the romance line isn't suitable TangTang can also pass you on to the next best choice System BaaBaa of the Villainous Cub Reformation system.' 

Wen Fei's mouth twitches. 'No need for that for now. I trust System 9831's ability to know myself so I'm willing to believe you are the most suitable system for me TangTang. If I really can't do it I will make sure to inform you. I just needed to know the flexibility of these arrangements.' 

The most important thing is while he liked the accomplishment of raising children, it was too stressful to have that as a main task! Not to mention, it is not unheard of where male hosts under childcare systems will experience the unique joy of not only being a single parent to over five children but even the fresh experience of birthing in the male pregnancy worlds! This was too scary! Wen Fei would sincerely prefer seriously exploring his sexuality instead! 

At this time, Wen Fei had overlooked the fact that while entering an already pregnant body was very low, the chances of getting impregnated in a male pregnancy world with a BL promoting system was better than the odds of getting tails in a coin flip. 

However thinking of the handsome men on the list of possible targets, Wen Fei still couldn't stop his heart beating anxiously. It was truly a new world to step into, and Wen Fei, while not particularly disgusted, felt he needed to mentally prepare. Fortunately there was a female option this time as well as the assurance he can always opt out if he truly didn't make a heartfelt connection. 

Wen Fei's eyes flash with a thoughtful light. To be honest he was a little shocked at the indulgence of the system's rules for him. Even if hosts consider this the best retirement system there was still a lot of rules and regulations that need to be followed. To his understanding, hosts with this sort of system will rarely receive the leeway that he is getting. 

He has been a system host for a long time and wow Wen Fei does have a few complaints about the systems, both major and minor ones he still has a strong trust in their judgements. While he was a bit suspicious about how good the treatment was, Wen Fei didn't believe anything as far as trying to trap or harm him. Otherwise, how could he still be a system host for this long?

Thinking too much into something that couldn't be changed wasn't really Wen Fei's style. So after a bit more thought he put it aside in favor of asking a bit more of TangTang's capabilities.

'TangTang has very basic abilities for now~' The Side CP system answers sweetly, 'However all Side CP systems will be able to unlock some task-related functions that will only be available once your the target's affection increases a certain amount. For example once the target's affection level reaches 25 the monitoring system can be unlocked. While you can't see what he's doing, TangTang will be able to report his whereabouts and his current health status.'

Wen Fei frowns. 'Isn't that quite simple?' He can't help but point out. 

Don't say he's looking down on TangTang, it was just he's met many other hosts of various types in his life. Romance-based systems were very high in number so it was naturally to hear some details. Some systems choose to purely go by giving their host points and a small, very basic item from the system shop once they reach certain milestones in a target's affection. Others may be able to give their host a temporary golden finger, which can be improved as the target's affection improves. There are also others who want to be more entertaining and gacha the rewards, from trash items to OP skills or cater to the host's needs and giving them something super convenient to their current needs which was akin to cheat plot armor. 

Generally the romance systems are more doting relative to most other systems like Wen Fei's counterattack system. 

This is mainly because what the hosts have to do is more emotionally draining, getting people to fall in love with them, sometimes even multiple people at the same time, it uses up a lot of heart. And they're also many targets are also not to the host's tastes as everyone has preferences, such as preferring pretty boys or rugged wild boys or domineering CEOs. While the targets are all handsome or beautiful in their own right this sense of forcedness especially for systems who demand missions to be completed within a timeframe will cause a host to accumulate fatigue and stress faster even if they don't notice it. 

So to try counteract this, it was decided that romance systems will usually have milestones rewards that, while less permanent, can make it easier on the host, more interesting and also ground them into remembering their mission and not get too lost in love. Not that they can't fall in love per se, but it's just best to still remind them in a subtle way of the impermanence of this love. 

Wen Fei prefers not to heavily rely on these sort of things but that doesn't mean he wasn't a little expectant on the milestone rewards a well-praised system like the Side CP system would have. 

For example, even if you don't like sweets, if you go to a high class restaurant you'll still want to see them offer gorgeously plated and delectable desserts. It wasn't as if he would necessarily order the metaphorical sweets but just having them present showcased the quality of the place and made one feel satisfied in getting their money's worth. 

'Hey, hey~' TangTang objects angrily however the system's cute voice just sounded like a little lover pouting, very cute and coquettish. "Don't look down at TangTang, originally TangTang had amazing things ah. However, because you have shown a tendency to not rely on these rewards and have become capable enough to not need almost half of the general skill rewards we can offer, it was decided to scrap these functions and allow you to still retain a little sense of challenge!"

Wen Fei: '…' You guys really thought a lot, huh. 

After a bit of contemplation, Wen Fei also didn't feel they did anything wrong. After all, while curious he was fairly self aware and knew he probably wouldn't utilize it that well, so it was a waste of resources and programming space overall. The things he may want are things he can generally grasp himself, is capable of making, or can afford in the system shop. There was no need for frivolities like colorful milestones to encourage him.

Wen Fei comforted himself like this, and quickly his slightly disappointed mood faded back into calmness. 'Then what's Ye Lan's current favourability for me?'

A small pink screen immediately popped up like a little bubble, there was Ye Lan's portrait and next to the photo was a bar. A small part of it was filled a deep hot pink but the majority of the bar was white.

[Ye Lan: 15 affection points]

'This is pretty good, host!' TangTang can't help but exclaim in surprise. 'Zero affection is the baseline for a complete stranger. This means Ye Lan already has a good impression of you. Either Ye Lan has seen you before or has heard of your reputation and felt fondness for you as a result.'

Thinking of the original body's reputation as a poisonous tongued gossipmonger, Wen Fei's mouth twitches. It was most likely the former option. However, he was fairly sure he hadn't met the other before. 'Was it always fifteen points or did this change recently?'

'It increased when you were inside the Jade Star. As for the exact time… sorry, host I'm not sure.' The system sheepishly reports. 

Wen Fei stirs the noodles absentmindedly, while his focus was distracted his body naturally moved like a trained chef. The system wouldn't lie about this, so does that mean he had bypassed Ye Lan at that time and not noticed? It's a bit of a pity to miss such an opportunity. However at that time, Wen Muchen was the priority.

It could be said, even if he could do it all again, Wen Fei would still unhesitatingly go help his son. This system was catered so carefully to him, and thus his mission can be considered secondary to his heart's desires. While there was some things he will follow for the sake of upholding his own professional standards, his priorities can now be arranged to his tastes. 

Lowering his eyes in thought, it was hard to tell what exactly he was thinking. However after a moment his gaze fell back onto the dish his hands had created. 

It was time for dinner.