Shu Ran patted the System on the back before asking in confusion, “System, where are we?”
Hearing Shu Ran’s question, System wiped away its tears and flew onto her shoulder, immediately beginning its dutiful explanation.
“This is my system space. Every time you complete a mission in a world, you’ll be transported here first…”
“Ah! I almost forgot!”
System waved its paw, and in an instant, a flash of blue light swept across the vast white space. Several pieces of furniture that looked incredibly comfortable suddenly appeared out of thin air.
“Ranran, if you’re tired, you can rest here. There’s no need to rush into the next realm until you’ve rested enough.”
Shu Ran nodded and reached out to poke System’s little head with one finger.
“Thanks.”
System smiled shyly, then quietly erased all the discomfort from Shu Ran’s body.
【Ding! System notification: Divine soul fragment—Yu Yan has been successfully collected…】
Amid the notification that continuously echoed within the System, a golden fragment resembling a feather quietly floated before Shu Ran.
The moment it came completely close to her, it seemed incredibly happy. It circled around her once, then gently rubbed its soft, feather-like body against her cheek.
The sensation tickled, and Shu Ran brought both hands together, carefully cradling it in her palms.
This was the fragment that belonged to Yu Yan…
She stared blankly at the golden fragment resting in her hands, yet for some inexplicable reason, a faint sourness rose in her heart.
It was a strange feeling.
She had never experienced it before.
“Ranran, you can just put the collected fragments over here.”
As if startled, Shu Ran quickly looked away. Holding the fragment in her hand, she followed the System’s pointing paw and looked over.
There was a silver-white box engraved with intricate runes. It looked both luxurious and elegant.
And just as Shu Ran looked toward it, the box slowly opened on its own.
In the next moment, a man appeared in its place.
He wore a black-and-gold long robe. His features were noble and sharply defined, his tall, slender figure exuding an intimidating authority without even trying. Yet his eyes remained tightly closed.
“Shen Yi!”
Shu Ran instantly went on high alert, so startled that her beautiful fox tail popped out!
The fluffy tail stood rigidly behind her, not daring to move an inch.
Why was he here?
System was startled as well.
Why had the Supreme God suddenly appeared inside its system space?
Its paws flew frantically through the air as it worked through the system, and after a moment, it finally figured out what was happening.
“Ranran, this isn’t the Supreme God. It’s only a projection belonging to the Supreme God. This projection also has the ability to collect the fragments. You just need to put the fragment inside it.”
Hearing that this wasn’t Shen Yi himself but merely one of his projections, Shu Ran finally tucked away the tail that had been frightened out of her.
She cautiously took a few steps forward. Seeing that nothing happened, she finally held Yu Yan’s fragment out and tossed it toward the projection.
The moment the fragment entered the projection’s range, it was instantly absorbed, completely merging with it.
After briefly manifesting, Shen Yi’s projection slowly disappeared as well.
“Ranran, are you going to rest for a while, or go directly to the next world?”
Shu Ran sat on the sofa, resting her soft cheek in one hand as she thought for a moment.
“I’ll just go directly to the next world.”
If she rested, she didn’t even know what she would do.
She might as well go straight to the next world.
System nodded and opened the system screen.
“Okay, I’ll prepare the transfer right away.”
…
At the same time.
Deep within a dark and secluded sea of consciousness, a figure that had been sleeping there slowly opened his eyes.
He stared into the void for a moment before blinking his long, dark eyes and looking to the side…
【Ding! Target’s heart-flutter value has increased! Current heart-flutter value: 2】
His lowered gaze remained fixed on the number displayed after the heart-flutter value.
In a deep voice, he murmured, “Pathetically low.”
Still, it was better than having nothing at all.
The corners of his lips curved upward slightly, as though he were savoring some memory.
But soon, some kind of energy caused him to close his eyes once again, plunging him back into a new slumber.
*
【The host’s sensitivity value has changed. Recalculating attributes…】
【Match successful.】
【Sensitivity value increased from C to B- (Please keep working hard, host, and continue improving your attributes!)】
【Successfully linked to the world. Loading…】
…
“Welcome, everyone, to the live broadcast of Heart to Heart: Season 2!”
“I’m sure that after watching all the guests’ voice-changing, masked interviews, everyone is already dying to know who they are!”
“But unfortunately~ We still need to play one game before everyone gets to see the guests’ true appearances!”
Shu Ran had only just opened her eyes when she heard the conversation coming from the speakers around her.
She blinked in confusion before realizing that she was sitting inside a room with a camera set up nearby.
There was no one else around her, only the camera.
She curiously stared at it for a while, then suddenly felt that something was wrong with her face.
When she reached up to touch it, her fingers met something cold and hard.
She was wearing a mask.
She was about to ask System what was going on in this realm, but before she could say anything, the door in front of her was opened from the outside.
A staff member dressed entirely in blue walked in.
Then the voice from earlier sounded again.
“Now, we’ll begin our first game—Fated Connection.”
“From this moment onward, all the guests will be brought before several doors, where they’ll make a choice dictated by fate.”
“Once a guest chooses a door and follows the instructions inside, they’ll meet another fated connection who chose that same door—the one and only heart-fluttering partner meant for them!”
At the same time, comments rapidly flooded the live-stream chat:
[Good grief, the first game is finally starting! I’m already dying to see our baby’s gorgeous face!]
[I heard that Shu Ran is participating this time. Tsk, couldn’t they have picked someone else? I’m already annoyed just hearing her name.]
[No way! Didn’t they say she was practically about to leave the entertainment industry? How does she still have the nerve to participate in a mega-hit variety show like this?!]
[People still haven’t forgotten how she used her status to bully Su Ning. And now she actually dares to come on a variety show? She’s got some nerve, haha.]
[Nooo, my favorite comfort show is going to be ruined by her, sob sob…]
Shu Ran had no idea what the comments were saying.
She was following the staff member outside while listening to System’s explanation.
【This realm is a world formed from an entertainment-industry novel, so no matter where you are or which character you encounter, they’ll more or less have something to do with the entertainment industry.】
【And Ranran, you’re currently participating in a very popular live-streamed dating variety show in this world. It’s just that your identity here is… not particularly good.】
System pondered for a moment before continuing.
【You’re the comparison-target female supporting character personally chosen by the Heavenly Dao to contrast against the male and female protagonists of this world.】
【Ah, it’s hard to explain it properly like this. I’ll just send you the plot directly!】