Chapter 127: I Am the Plot System That Replaces Your Body [Updated]

The dream came so suddenly that Shen Linyan didn't even know if it was real or fake.

The dark night swallowed his senses.

In the pitch-black environment, only the sound of heavy, violent panting remained.

His breathing was erratic. He closed his eyes, trying to recall what had just happened in the dream, only to find that he couldn't remember a single thing.

His heart was occupied by an unprecedented sense of panic.

What did he dream about?

Why couldn't he remember?

Shen Linyan frowned deeply.

At this moment, his cheek was gently stroked by a woman, and the sweat on his forehead was tenderly wiped away.

"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Coming back to his senses, he opened his eyes and wrapped his arms around the woman's waist, tightening his grip slightly.

Burying his face in the crook of her neck and breathing in her faint fragrance, the panic in Shen Linyan's heart finally began to dissipate. "It must have been a nightmare. I don't really remember it. Did I wake you up?"

An Ling hugged his waist. "Do you want me to comfort you?"

The man seemed to chuckle. His hoarse laughter carried a gravelly texture, adding a touch of sexiness. "Yes. How is my wife going to comfort me?"

An Ling cupped his face, kissed him on the lips, and then kissed his cheek. Her tone was like coaxing a child. "Don't be scared, don't be scared. Dreams are all fake."

Shen Linyan smiled and nuzzled her cheek. "Wife."

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

An Ling paused. After a moment of silence, her eyes slowly curved into a smile. "I love you too."

The night was deep, and the clock in the living room pointed to two in the morning.

An Ling opened her eyes, gently broke free from the man's embrace, got out of bed, put on a coat, and walked out of the room.

She walked to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and brought it to her lips but hadn't drunk yet.

A mechanical voice instantly sounded in her ear.

[Can you pay attention to me today?]

She paused but quickly returned to normal, continuing to drink water as if pretending she hadn't heard it.

[You can continue to pretend you can't hear my voice. I will come to find you every day, and then every day I will make your husband dream of the scene of your death.]

"..."

An Ling instantly frowned and put down her glass. "So you were the one who caused Shen Linyan's nightmare tonight?"

[Yep.]

[But you don't need to worry. After he wakes up, he won't remember it.]

An Ling: "..."

One night, after the Shen family officially announced their bankruptcy, this system suddenly came to her.

Its opening sentence was:

[Hello, An Ling. I am the plot system that took over your body.]

Hearing this out of nowhere in the middle of the night was like an evil spirit coming to claim her life.

There was no way An Ling would pay attention to it; she would rather believe she was having auditory hallucinations.

Unexpectedly, this system was quite persistent, showing up every single night.

An Ling sat back on the sofa and pulled her coat tighter around herself.

"What do you want from me? Hasn't the plot already finished? Or do you want to borrow my body again? How many years will it be this time?"

[You misunderstand. I do not wish to use your body again. I came this time to apologize to you. I am very sorry for taking up two years of your time.]

"?"

An Ling twitched the corner of her mouth. "You inexplicably made me a vicious supporting female character and made me go through so much, and now you know to come out and apologize? I don't accept it. You can leave."

[I know you won't accept it, but for the sake of the plot's completeness, I had to do so.]

The completeness of the plot?

An Ling's expression looked strange. "Are you sure it's complete? Do you mean... Zhou Wen and Lu Jingshen? They are practically enemies now."

Tonight, those two almost got into a physical fight at the entrance of the clubhouse.

[I am only responsible for perfecting the plot during the course of the novel. What happens afterward has nothing to do with me.]

So, the moment the mission was completed, the system never appeared again.

Even when the ending changed multiple times later on, it never showed its face.

[I came to find you again this time simply because I detected that you are about to die, and I wanted to specially offer my apologies.]

An Ling was stunned. "I'm really going to die? Hasn't the plot already changed?"

[Are you sure it really changed?]

Hearing this, her expression froze, but the system's voice continued to ring in her ears.

[Miss An, haven't you noticed it too? No matter how much you try to avoid it, certain scenes will still occur, just in different forms or at different times.]

[The plot will not change; it will only adjust according to your actions.]

As its voice fell, An Ling pursed her lips and said nothing.

Sensing that the atmosphere had grown a bit cold, the system's tone changed.

[That's why I am needed to sort out the plot!]

[To express my apology, as compensation, I can help you transfer this death.]

An Ling's eyes widened in shock.

"...What do you mean?"

[Just like in your past life when the An family was swallowed up and went bankrupt, so this time, the target of bankruptcy became the Shen family. And your destined death is equally unavoidable; this plot point can only be transferred out.]

[Therefore, I can help you substitute your destined death onto Shen Linyan.]

[Do you really not care? In your past life, he indirectly caused your death, and he was the one who destroyed the An family. He rightfully owes you a life.]

As the system's voice faded, An Ling sat frozen on the sofa.

She didn't speak, her gaze falling on the marble tabletop in front of her.

On it lay the flowers Shen Linyan had given her tonight.

The rosebuds were half-open, their fragrance cloyingly sweet, looking exquisitely beautiful in the night as crystal-clear water drops slid down their petals.

[You can give me your answer anytime within three days. Otherwise, once the time is up, I will assume you have agreed.]

An unknown amount of time passed before the bedroom door was opened again.

An Ling lifted the blanket and tiptoed back into bed.

As soon as she lay down, a scorching hot arm wrapped around her waist.

An Ling was long accustomed to Shen Linyan's muscle memory. She glanced at the man's face, then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep in his warm embrace.

Amidst the silence, Shen Linyan slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were completely clear and awake, emotions surging within his pitch-black pupils.

A strange voice sounded in his ear.

[On the day she gives me her answer, do you want to know what her choice will be?]

Shen Linyan lowered his eyelids, looking at his sleeping wife in his arms. He bowed his head and gently kissed her forehead.

"No need."

...

Morning, AL Group Building.

In the conference room, the atmosphere was heavy and quiet.

Everyone sat in their respective seats, holding their breath and concentrating.

The head of the marketing team was presenting at the front.

"For this quarter's marketing investment, the overall return on investment has increased by 12% compared to the previous quarter. The channel conversion rate is stable, and moving forward, we plan to continue using this strategy..."

Before he could finish speaking, the man lightly tapped his fountain pen against the tabletop.

"Click—"

A very soft sound, yet it instantly silenced everyone present.

For a moment, the conference room was so quiet that only the faint humming of the projector could be heard.

The man lazily lifted his eyelids and pointed at the data chart on the screen.

"Wait a moment. The parameters here are incorrect; the calculated improvement rate is invalid."

The team leader's expression instantly froze, and a thin layer of sweat silently seeped out on his back. "Apologies, Chairman Shen, this is..."

"Verify it again before presenting."

Shen Linyan's tone was calm. He lowered his eyes and said faintly, "That will be all for today. Good work, everyone."

The man's face went blank with shock.

He... was let off the hook!?

Obviously, he wasn't the only one dumbfounded.

Everyone even forgot to stand up and see their boss off. They sat in their seats, completely stunned. It wasn't until Shen Linyan left that they instantly gathered together to discuss.

"Damn, Chairman Shen is acting weird today. He didn't say a single harsh word."

"Scared me to death. I'm not exaggerating, the moment I saw the data error, my heart skipped a beat, but Chairman Shen actually didn't say anything."

"When I messed up the data last time, Chairman Shen definitely wasn't this gentle! Damn it, you got lucky!"

"When I saw Chairman Shen this morning, I thought he looked like he was in a bad mood and that whoever was presenting would be doomed. But nothing happened at all!"

"Maybe it's not a bad mood? I sneaked a few glances and noticed that Chairman Shen seemed to be spacing out."

"Spacing out? Really? Secretary Chen, did something happen to Chairman Shen recently?"

Secretary Chen, who was reviewing the assistant's meeting minutes, paused upon hearing this.

He looked up, pushed up his glasses, and slowly spoke under everyone's expectant gazes: "Chairman Shen, he..."

He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, then abruptly changed his tone, "He hates it when people pry into his privacy. If Chairman Shen hears you guys gossiping, I won't speak up for you."

Everyone instantly shut their mouths.

After packing up his things, Secretary Chen left the conference room. Standing at the door of the office, he raised his hand and knocked.

"Come in," a deep voice called out from inside.

Secretary Chen walked in and placed the documents on the desk. "Chairman Shen, this is last month's financial report."

Shen Linyan picked up the file. Sensing that Secretary Chen was still standing there, he looked up and asked, "Is there anything else?"

Secretary Chen fell silent for a moment. "Chairman Shen, you have another client to meet later..."

Shen Linyan paused, then pinched the bridge of his nose and gave a soft "Hmm." "When?"

Secretary Chen's expression was complicated. Those colleagues were actually right.

Having followed the young master for so long, he naturally noticed that his mood was a bit off today.

The only person capable of making the young master like this was probably his wife.

But the problem was, it didn't look like they had a fight...

While he was still pondering, the man's voice rang in his ears.

"Prepare the car. We're taking a trip to the An Group later."

He was slightly taken aback, but quickly recovered and replied softly, "Yes, sir."

Sure enough, it was related to his wife.

Just as he was about to turn and leave the office, the man's voice sounded from behind again.

"Draft another contract for me."

...

An Group.

An Zhou had just finished a meeting when he saw an urgent message from his assistant.

[President An! Chairman Shen has made a sudden visit! He is in the reception room right now!]

He froze slightly, his brows furrowing.

He wouldn't visit without a reason.

Why did Shen Linyan come over so suddenly?

An Zhou: [Alone? Or is An Ling with him?]

Assistant: [Just him. No, to be exact, his company secretary is also here.]

An Zhou: [Got it, I'll head over now.]

Arriving at the reception room, An Zhou pushed the door open.

The man was sitting on the sofa. Hearing the sound, he looked up. His features were gentle and refined, his temperament noble, and his pitch-black eyes were as calm as water.

However, this man's terrifying abilities and ruthless methods had allowed him to break free from the Shen family and establish a new company in just a few days. It was no exaggeration to say that everyone was already wary of him.

An Zhou walked over to the opposite sofa and sat down. "A rare guest. What brings Chairman Shen to see me?"

Seeing this, Secretary Chen and the assistant tactfully retreated.

Shen Linyan pushed the contract forward.

"I came this time to sign a contract with President An."

"What contract?" An Zhou picked up the document.

Before he could even flip through it, he heard the man say:

"An entrusted operations management contract. The entrusting party is AL Group. After the entrustment, the majority of the company's shares and profits will still belong to Lingling. As the trustee, President An will help manage and operate AL Group."

"Huh?"

An Zhou looked confused. "Entrusted management? Why do you need me to manage it? Aren't you still around?"

Shen Linyan paused upon hearing this.

He lowered his eyes, gently rubbing the ring on his finger, and slightly parted his thin lips. "This contract... will only take effect after my death. If I die, the company will briefly fall into a panic, and Lingling might not be able to handle it."

An Zhou was even more bewildered.

Why was he suddenly talking about dying when he was perfectly fine?

Did he get sick? Or what?

His expression became complicated for a moment. "You... why do you sound so certain that you're going to die? Does An Ling know?"

Shen Linyan just shook his head, stood up, and slowly said, "She doesn't know, and I hope President An won't tell Lingling. I am merely securing a reasonable safeguard for my wife. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

An Zhou watched his departing back, then glanced at the document in his hand, completely baffled for a moment.

He took out his phone and sent a message to An Ling.

[Um... have you been very busy lately?]

An Ling: [What's up? Yes, I'm busy.]

On the other end of the phone, An Ling saw that everyone was eating their boxed lunches. After confirming there was nothing pressing, she walked over to a chair on the side to rest.

She unscrewed her water bottle and took a sip, just as a message from An Zhou came through.

[Oh, it's nothing major. I just feel that being too busy isn't good; it's detrimental to a couple's relationship.]

An Ling: [? Are you talking about me?]

This guy had just made Qin You angry yesterday, so why was he here claiming that she and Shen Linyan had relationship problems?

An Zhou: [I'm just saying. A friend of mine got into a fight with their partner because they were too busy.]

An Ling: [Shen Linyan and I have a great relationship. We haven't fought.]

As soon as the message was sent, a familiar mechanical voice rang in her ear.

[It's still hard to believe that you and Shen Linyan have such a good relationship. When going through the plot initially, I evaluated him as the type who has difficulty developing feelings, so I was especially worried that he wouldn't treat the female lead well.]

Hearing this, the expression on An Ling's face was hard to describe.

"You were worried about his character setting, and you were worried about mine, yet you ended up possessing me? Also, I've wanted to say this for a long time: they've all broken character, so why don't you go possess them to complete the plot?"

[I tried to correct it, but your likelihood of breaking character is greater than theirs. During the process, at least they can maintain the act. You are too true to your nature and can't pull it off.]

"..."

An Ling lowered her eyes and drank her water, ignoring it.

[Have you still not made up your mind about that decision from last time?]

She paused. Just as she was about to answer, her phone chimed again.

But when she clearly saw the contents, her eyes widened in shock.

An Zhou: [Sometimes it's not necessarily what's on the surface; it could be a psychological or physical problem. That's what I've seen people saying online.]

Psychological and physical problems?

Who? Shen Linyan?