After the Secrets of the Passerby Were Leaked, He Was Cherished by the Entire Family of Antagonists-Chapter 90

The plot of S20070501 could be summed up in one sentence: a "koi" protagonist wins at life effortlessly.

The protagonist of that world was named Cheng Fei, but L1’s favorite character wasn’t him. It was a character who died unexpectedly midway through the story—Ye Fan.

All regulatory systems had absolute control over the small worlds they managed. They could correct errant plots or modify predetermined events.

The former earned the system points from the main god system, while the latter could result in point deductions, depending on the severity of the plot’s deviation.

Points were akin to currency and could be used within the system space.

And when a system accumulated enough points, it was granted a choice:

It could either remain a system, under the supervision of the main god system, or it could relinquish its system status and enter one of the small worlds as a human.

L1 had amassed more than enough points a long time ago, though he couldn’t even recall how many digits his point total contained.

Despite having plenty of points, L1 had chosen not to become human.

The system administrator, Qiu, had once asked L1 why he didn’t want to become human.

L1’s response was simple: “I am the top system in the regulatory department. I am omniscient and omnipotent. Why would I give up these abilities to become a weak human?”

Qiu had been taken aback. After a long pause, she smiled and said, “L1, humans are not weak. The reason you see them that way is because you’ve never experienced their vibrant, colorful lives. You’ve never felt the most beautiful emotions in the world, so you don’t understand yet.”

L1’s tone remained unchanged. “I don’t understand why someone would willingly abandon everything they have to become insignificant. But I am certain I don’t want to experience such a life.”

Qiu was surprised. “So, you’ve never been to the human world in your true form?”

L1 shook his head.

Systems did not have physical bodies. They were merely data—vast and complex data.

But the main god system had given all systems the ability to obtain a physical form.

All it took was a visit to the points marketplace, where they could exchange hundreds or thousands of points for a body of their choosing.

For instance, the L2 system thought cats were cute, so he used his points to acquire the body of a cat.

L1 had seen it—it was a chubby orange tabby with a pair of large, jingling bells tied under its tail.

Every time Qiu saw L2, she would ask, “Are you sure you don’t want to get neutered?”

And every time, L2 would get so furious that he’d lash out: “Qiu! How many times do I have to tell you, I’m a system! Besides, don’t my bells look great? Every time I visit a small world, humans compliment me, and even the female cats approach me to flirt—though I’m not attracted to cats!”

As their arguments continued, L2 would eventually run over to L1 and plead, “Tell me, doesn’t my bell look great? Why is she so obsessed with getting me neutered? Help me out here!”

L1 couldn’t help but glance at the two large bells, and after a moment of thought, he asked, “Do you use them?”

L2’s cat eyes widened in disbelief.

Qiu was equally stunned. “Is that something you should ask?”

L2 was too angry to respond but knew that L1 didn’t understand, so he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he gritted his teeth and muttered, “Of course I don’t use them! I’ve said it a million times—I’m not into cats!”

L1 responded, “Then just remove them.”

L2 was dumbfounded. “Huh?”

Qiu covered her mouth, stifling her laughter.

L1 continued, “If something is useless, keeping it is a burden. You should just get rid of it.”

That conversation ended with L2 fuming and Qiu laughing uncontrollably.

L1 never understood why L2 kept those bells despite not using them, but he didn’t dwell on it either.

His daily routine was simple: monitor the small worlds, complete the storylines, seal the worlds, and move on to the next.

However, that particular conversation planted a seed of curiosity in L1's mind. It wasn’t until he took over world S20070501 that, during a routine plot check, he inadvertently spotted two stray cats playing in a garden.

It was also there that L1 saw a young Ye Fan for the first time.

Ye Fan was just an elementary school student at the time, and this park was part of his daily route to and from school.

L1 had been observing the two stray cats from an omniscient viewpoint when the dirty, scruffy Ye Fan walked over, carrying his school bag.

L1 wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about cats, but he knew that most creatures would instinctively avoid unfamiliar animals. However, these two cats didn’t run away.

In fact, instead of leaving, they stood up upon hearing Ye Fan’s voice and ran over to rub against his pant legs.

The filthy little boy crouched down, patting their heads and scratching their chins before pulling out a stash of cat food from his bag to feed them.

L1 found the scene fascinating. For the next few days, whenever he monitored the plot, he couldn’t help but divert his attention to those two cats and watch as Ye Fan fed them.

L1 grew curious—what did the cats feel like?

Why did Ye Fan smile with such joy while petting them, and why did the cats purr in contentment?

It would have been easy for L1 to find out. All he needed to do was exchange points for a physical form.

But L1 didn’t.

Spending points just to pet a cat seemed excessive to him.

Besides, there was another reason—once a system acquired a physical body, they had to wait five years in the time stream of the Temporal Bureau before they could exchange it for a new one.

L1 didn’t see the point.

After all, physical bodies couldn’t be swapped out at will, but as data, he could transform into any non-physical form he wanted—be it a small animal, a strange object, or even a human.

So, one afternoon, while monitoring the plot, L1 created a virtual body and went to the garden to watch Ye Fan feed the cats.

He kept his distance. Ye Fan could see him, but as long as he didn’t approach, he wouldn’t realize L1 wasn’t human.

Watching Ye Fan feed the cats from this angle was a novel experience.

So, for the next few days, L1 continued to visit.

Until one Friday, Ye Fan suddenly turned to him and said, “Little brother, do you like cats too?”

For convenience, L1 had given himself the appearance of a child, younger than Ye Fan. But that didn’t mean Ye Fan could call him "little brother." L1 didn’t respond.

Ye Fan wasn’t bothered. He smiled at him before skipping home.

...

For a long time after that, L1 kept visiting the cats whenever he had the chance.

Then, six months later, a sudden snowstorm hit, and one of the little tabbies passed away.

The next day, Ye Fan carried the remaining calico cat home in his school bag.

After a heated argument with his family, the calico was allowed to stay.

Ye Fan was thrilled.

As for the deceased tabby, Ye Fan buried it in the park.

The calico had found a home, and both Ye Fan and the cat were happy.

But L1 didn’t feel particularly pleased, as it meant he could no longer watch the stray cats through his virtual body.

However, L1 didn’t dwell on it for long.

Afterward, during his routine monitoring, he would occasionally check in on Ye Fan and his cat.

Out of the stray environment, the calico lived a much more comfortable life.

It spent its days eating and sleeping, growing plumper. When Ye Fan returned home, it would rub affectionately against his legs, purring contentedly.

But in Ye Fan’s final year of elementary school, on an otherwise quiet night, the calico cat suddenly died of heart failure.

Ye Fan had no idea why the cat passed away; all he knew was that when he woke up the next morning, the once lively calico was stiff and cold.

L1 scanned the cat's body with his data and determined that it had died of sudden heart failure.

L1 felt a little regret, but the incident didn’t affect him much.

Ye Fan, on the other hand, was devastated. He cried for an entire day, and it even affected his performance in his entrance exams.

After the exams, L1 watched as Ye Fan buried the calico in the same park where the tabby had been laid to rest.

But in the years that followed, Ye Fan never returned to visit the cats’ graves.

L1 didn’t understand. He asked L2 why Ye Fan had bothered to bury the cat if he wasn’t going to visit.

Why not just dispose of the body?

L2, still in his orange tabby form, furrowed his brow at the question.

After a long pause, he said, “Maybe because it’s too painful?”

“Hm?” L1 was puzzled.

L2 explained, “When life leaves, it’s gone forever. Maybe that kid found it too heartbreaking to return and see their graves.”

Then L2 asked, “By the way, does he have any more cats?”

L1 replied, “No.”

Ever since the calico passed away, Ye Fan hadn’t adopted another cat.

He would still occasionally feed strays, but he never took another one home.

After that, L1 rarely checked in on Ye Fan. However, since he was the regulatory system for that world, he would still receive updates about him from time to time.

For instance, Ye Fan consistently ranked at the top of his exams.

Or how he was accepted into the city's top high school.

And then, on the day before Ye Fan’s college entrance exam, he was tragically killed in a car accident. The top scorer honor that should have belonged to him went to the protagonist of the world, Cheng Fei.

That was the first time L1 felt that something about the development of the story was off.

He even went to ask Qiu, “Why did Ye Fan have to die?”

Qiu, who had taken on the form of a composed and intellectual woman, with features that weren’t particularly striking but overall pleasant, frowned at his question. After a long pause, she asked, “L1, do you like that boy?”

L1 shook his head without hesitation.

He was just a regulatory system. He had only observed Ye Fan out of boredom. Perhaps he had watched him a little too often, which was why Ye Fan’s death left a small impression on him.

Seeing L1’s answer, Qiu sighed in relief and said something that L1 didn’t understand at the time: “I’m glad you don’t like him, so I won’t have to lie to you.”

Qiu continued, “Ye Fan’s death was predetermined. Only by dying could Cheng Fei become the province’s top scorer through good fortune, ensuring that the plot would be logical and complete.”

L1 was confused. “So it was just to ensure the plot made sense?”

Qiu nodded. “Yes.”

“But Ye Fan wasn’t a bad person,” L1 argued.

Qiu’s tightly furrowed brow softened. After a while, she smiled and said, “I know, but that’s just how this world is set up. Since Ye Fan wasn’t the protagonist, for Cheng Fei to smoothly rise to the top, Ye Fan had to die here.”

“But that doesn’t seem fair…” L1 began, wanting to defend Ye Fan. He wanted to list all of Ye Fan’s good qualities, but he quickly realized something—

Why was he so concerned about Ye Fan’s death?

Qiu’s sharp black eyes quietly observed L1, and she asked, “Do you not want Ye Fan to die?”

L1 said, "He isn't a villain. In the small worlds, only villains are supposed to die. This is wrong."

Qiu suddenly chuckled.

L1 was puzzled.

Qiu said, "I'm really happy. I never expected our cold and emotionless L1 system would get upset over a supporting character's death! I need to tell L2 about this immediately!"

L1 tried to explain, "I am not upset. And please don't describe me as cold and emotionless."

Qiu was already too excited, sharing the news with L2, completely ignoring L1's attempts at clarification.

After delivering the message to L2, Qiu looked at L1 with a playful smile. "So, do you want to save him?"

L1 frowned. "Why would I want to save him?"

The excitement in Qiu's eyes slowly faded as she responded, surprised, "So you still don't understand, do you?"

Just then, L2 arrived, equally thrilled. "Our cold and emotionless number one system is finally starting to grasp feelings, huh?!"

L1 remained calm. "Please stop using 'cold and emotionless' to describe me. It's quite impolite."

L2 was left speechless. "..."

Qiu couldn’t hold back her laughter.

L2, still in his orange tabby form, sighed dramatically, "Well, I guess he still doesn’t get it."

Qiu said, "It seems so. So, L1, are you interested in exploring emotions a bit more?"

Time flowed differently in the Temporal Bureau compared to the small worlds. During their short conversation, the story in S20070501 had already reached its conclusion.

Even though L1 had been chatting with Qiu, as a system, he was capable of multitasking. While talking, he confirmed the perfect ending of the small world on his system panel.

A new prompt appeared on the screen:

**"Small world S20070501 conclusion completed. Please confirm for finalization. Once confirmed, the world will be sealed."**

Sealing the world meant its timeline would no longer be reset. The world would continue according to its natural laws until the next significant plot event, at which point the timeline might reset. However, the sealed storyline could never be reset again.

In other words, if L1 confirmed the world’s conclusion at that moment, Ye Fan’s death would remain unchanged forever.

For the first time, L1 hesitated.

As the head of the regulatory department and L1's superior, Qiu immediately noticed his hesitation.

"Why aren’t you confirming it?" Qiu asked.

L2 also glanced over.

L1 stared at the confirmation panel for a long time before finally saying, "I don't know."

L1 didn’t understand why he hesitated, nor why Ye Fan’s death left him with a sense of regret.

L2 leaned over to Qiu and whispered, "Why does he seem so confused?"

Qiu thought for a moment before asking, "So, will you reset the timeline and change Ye Fan’s fate?"

For the first time, L1 didn’t question why he should do that. Instead, he asked, "Why would I want to do that?"

L2’s eyes widened in excitement. "See! He’s starting to understand emotions after all!"

L1 frowned.

Qiu considered it for a moment, then suggested, "After the storyline is completed, there’s a three-day window for confirmation. Would you like to use that time to understand your reasons?"

L1 asked, "How should I understand it? By resetting the timeline?"

"No," Qiu replied, "I’ll send you to a new world. It’s a storyline that’s never been activated before. I was the one who hit pause on it originally. I’m not sure if this will help you understand emotions, but I think it’s time."

L1 didn’t fully grasp the meaning behind Qiu’s words, and L2 seemed just as puzzled.

Qiu continued, "However, in this new world, L1, you won’t be able to use a virtual body, and you won’t be allowed to observe the world from a god-like perspective. You’ll have to experience it firsthand."

"Experience?" L1 asked, confused.

Qiu nodded. "Yes, you’ll experience human life and human emotions, but with your true self."

"And you’ll need to interact with every character in the world, including the supporting characters and the villains," Qiu added.

L1 was even more confused. "I understand interacting with supporting characters, but why do I need to interact with villains? Aren’t villains supposed to be bad people?"

Qiu shook her head, smiling. "L1, not everyone in the world is purely good or evil. Not all villains are bad people. You’ll need to understand that for yourself."

With that, Qiu unlocked the access to world A20231007.

"Go ahead and exchange for a body, and experience human life for yourself," Qiu said.

Following her advice, L1 went to the points marketplace to exchange for a body.

Instead of selecting an adult form, he chose the body of a five-year-old child, with a randomly generated appearance. With that, he entered world A20231007.

For the first time, walking, talking, and experiencing life as a human was a novel experience for L1.

He spent the first day studying himself and the people around him, then decided to start by observing the protagonists of this world.

After all, Qiu had told him beforehand that this world was a fusion of multiple storylines, meaning there wasn’t just one protagonist in the world.

L1 had managed similar worlds before, so he figured this world wouldn’t be much different. He didn’t expect it to be particularly challenging.

The next day, L1 went to find Su Rui.

At that time, Su Rui had just entered the entertainment industry. When L1 arrived, Su Rui was sitting alone under the apartment building, crying.

L1 stood at a distance, observing him. Remembering Qiu’s advice, he decided to approach Su Rui.

But before he could get close, Su Rui’s cold voice rang out, “Brat, what do you want?”

L1 paused, caught off guard. "I..."

"Get lost!" Su Rui wiped away his tears and spoke coldly, "Stupid kids are annoying!"

L1 froze in place.

He wanted to explain that he wasn’t some “stupid kid,” but the regulatory system of this world.

But Su Rui didn’t give him a chance to explain and turned to leave.

Watching Su Rui’s retreating figure, L1 was left more confused than ever.

This didn’t seem right.

Regulatory systems could see the end of every person in the small world, and L1 already knew Su Rui’s ending.

Su Rui, in the end, had a child and loved him dearly.

So why did Su Rui dislike children now?

L1 didn’t understand, so he decided to check on Su Rui again the next day.

Initially, L1 was planning to visit Su Rui’s home directly, but then he remembered the laws of this world, so he decided to wait outside his apartment instead.

After waiting for half a day, Su Rui finally returned home. As soon as he saw L1, his expression darkened, and he angrily shouted, "Who the hell are you? Are you stalking me?!"

L1 explained, "I’m not stalking you. I know you live here, and I came specifically to find you."

"Who are you, and why are you looking for me? Get away from my door, or I’ll call security!"

L1 tried to communicate with Su Rui again, but Su Rui refused to listen and even cursed him with profanities.

L1 was dumbfounded.

Why was this happening?

Was Su Rui just in a bad mood?

That seemed possible.

But that didn’t justify using such rude language.

And wasn’t Su Rui supposed to be the most gentle protagonist?

Once again, L1 felt that something was off, but he wasn’t ready to leave yet. He wanted to stay and observe.

As a regulatory system, L1 knew how to avoid detection. So, for the next few days, he didn’t appear in front of Su Rui again, but he remained close by.

During that time, L1 witnessed several things: Su Rui, without reason, losing his temper at his assistant, throwing a cup of boiling water on him. Su Rui, dissatisfied with a fellow artist, secretly hiring trolls to spread malicious gossip. Su Rui, kicking a stray cat in passing...

After Su Rui left, L1 appeared and picked up the stray cat, which was bleeding from its mouth, and took it to the pet hospital in that world.

The vet asked where the cat had come from, and L1 truthfully answered that he had found it.

The vet asked how the cat had been injured.

L1 said someone had kicked it.

The vet frowned and asked if L1 had any money.

L1 shook his head.

The vet sighed but didn’t give up on treating the cat just because L1 didn’t have money.

L1 watched as the vet took X-rays of the cat, performed surgery, and placed it in a cage to receive an IV.

The vet said, "It’s getting late. You should go home. If you’re able to adopt this cat, come back in two weeks with your parents to claim it. If not, I’ll find it another home."

L1 thought for a moment and said, "You can give it to someone else."

He was just a system sent to experience human emotions. He didn’t have time to take care of a cat.

The vet smiled and waved L1 off, telling him to head home.

But L1 didn’t have a home to return to. For the past few days, he had been staying

outside Su Rui’s apartment complex.

However, after this incident, L1 suddenly didn’t feel like following Su Rui anymore.

He recalled what Qiu had said—that not all villains were bad, and he should try to understand these so-called villains.

So he decided to check out one of the villains next.

Since villains were generally the most dangerous characters in the previous worlds, and considering how strange this world was—where all the villains seemed to live together as a family—L1 decided to proceed with caution.

After leaving the pet hospital, snowflakes began to fall heavily from the sky.

He quietly sneaked into the Huo family estate, hiding among the flowers under the cover of night.

That evening, all of the Huo family members were at home.

L1 watched as they happily skewered meat together. Father Huo helped Mother Huo tie her apron, Huo Jing put down his computer to help carry the plates, and Huo Ze pestered Huo Yan with a series of questions.

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Even though Huo Yan didn’t know much about certain matters, particularly when it came to team-related issues, he patiently helped Huo Ze contact his friends for advice.

Once the grill was set up, the family gathered around to barbecue.

The skewers sizzled on the fire, the oil crackling as it dripped, and they sprinkled various seasonings, filling the air with a delicious aroma.

L1 swallowed unconsciously.

The moment he did so, he quickly realized that he wanted to try the barbecue.

What did barbecue taste like?

L1 didn’t know, but he had seen countless people in the small worlds claim to love it.

He decided that if he ever had the chance, he would give it a try.

The snow outside grew heavier, but the Huo family remained huddled around, chatting about mundane topics.

As they spoke, they would burst into laughter from time to time, though L1 couldn’t quite understand why they found it so amusing.

Eventually, his eyelids grew heavier, and L1 realized he was starting to fall asleep.

This was another novel experience. Since acquiring a human body, he had encountered many sensations he didn’t fully comprehend.

Sleeping seemed pleasant enough. Since he didn’t understand what the Huo family was talking about anyway, he figured he might as well take a nap.

Perhaps, when he woke up, they’d move on to a topic he could understand.

However, it seemed like this nap was longer than usual.

The next morning, when the sun was high in the sky, Father Huo went outside to tend to his flowers and discovered a child curled up in the snow.

Father Huo let out a startled cry.

The commotion woke L1.

Feeling Father Huo pick him up, L1 noted how warm the embrace was and, sensing no malice, didn’t struggle. He allowed himself to be carried inside to the warmth of the house.

Su Rui had been rude and aggressive when he first saw L1. The second meeting hadn’t gone well either.

So L1 wondered, how would these "villains" treat him now that he appeared "unconscious"?