I Can Still Salvage It

Shen Mian had never imagined in his life that he would hold hands with his good friend Pei Zhiyi during Chinese class, right under the watchful eyes of their classmates and the enthusiastic teacher. They held each other’s hands tightly with their fingers intertwined.

Anyone who saw them would think they were a couple.

Shen Mian didn’t know whether to thank Pei Zhiyi for being considerate enough to change seats and successfully becoming desk mates. They sat at the last row by the window, away from everyone’s attention. They could do whatever they wanted without easily being noticed.

However, Shen Mian’s heart was pounding nervously. He kept his head lowered, only revealing his slightly reddened ears. Like a vigilant rabbit, he occasionally glanced at the teacher to make sure he was still standing at the front and not coming towards them.

In contrast to Shen Mian’s anxious demeanor, Pei Zhiyi remained calm.

Shen Mian’s palms were sweaty from nervousness, while Pei Zhiyi naturally had cool hands, providing a pleasant sensation in the scorching summer.

Pei Zhiyi held him with one hand while working on his math homework with the other, hiding the paper under the Chinese textbook. He remained composed and somewhat arrogant, as if challenging the teacher’s gaze.

Shen Mian couldn’t help but admire him. He shook the hand they were holding to get Pei Zhiyi’s attention.

Speaking in a low and sticky voice, he asked, “Brother, how can you be so calm?”

His composure was remarkable.

They were secretly holding hands under the desk, and even though they were covered by their school uniforms, there was still the risk of being discovered. The students next to them were distracted, and the teacher occasionally walked around at the front. If they were caught, their seventeen years of innocence would be ruined.

Pei Zhiyi’s expression remained unchanged. His fair face glistened in the sunlight. “What’s there to be nervous about? Haven’t you held my hand before to ask for snacks when you were a kid?”

Shen Mian had a toothache once as a child, so his mother didn’t allow him to eat snacks. He would sneakily go to Pei Zhiyi, and together, they would raid the snack cabinet.

Caught off guard by that statement from Pei Zhiyi, Shen Mian muttered with a pout, “Is it the same thing?”

But he quickly stopped speaking because he saw Pei Zhiyi solving the last few math problems. Shen Mian knew well that challenging math problems had a charm of their own for someone like Pei Zhiyi, a top student. So, he obediently closed his mouth and focused on drawing stick figures with his mechanical pencil in the Chinese book.

He glanced at his watch. There were still five minutes left until half past ten.

In five minutes, he and Pei Zhiyi would be released from that ordeal. They would let go of each other’s hands, temporarily completing another task.

Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi were holding hands in the classroom, not for fun or some boring truth-or-dare game.

If it were that simple, Shen Mian wouldn’t have to put on  a troubled and anxious expression.

That whole situation was so strange that Shen Mian seriously doubted whether it was just his imagination running wild, influenced by the countless manga he had read.

But Pei Zhiyi shared the same situation, so it couldn’t be explained as a mere hallucination.

Just a week ago, Shen Mian was hurriedly doing summer homework at Pei Zhiyi’s house when he heard an inexplicably cold electronic voice in his mind.

“Detecting host Shen Mian. Match rate with host Pei Zhiyi: 100%. Installation in progress.”

“Installation complete.”

“Host Shen Mian and host Pei Zhiyi, hello. I am Love Brain System, Model 007. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Our slogan is ‘Love Saves the World,’ and our goal is to unite all lovers in the world.”

The cold electronic voice didn’t sound cold at all; it was more like a crazy person speaking off the cuff.

Shen Mian held his head in horror, his voice trembling as he tightly grabbed Pei Zhiyi’s sleeve. “Brother, it feels like my brain is malfunctioning! I can hear someone talking inside my head!”

However, Pei Zhiyi was much calmer than him and said calmly, “I can hear it too. It calls itself 007.”

Shen Mian inexplicably felt relieved once he knew that Pei Zhiyi heard it too. Even though having a voice in his head was terrifying, knowing that Pei Zhiyi was experiencing it with him made him less panicky.

The self-proclaimed 007 system then briefly introduced itself to them.

It claimed to be a system specifically designed for love services. Detecting a 100% match rate between Pei Zhiyi and Shen Mian, it perceived them a perfect match destined to become an inseparable couple. Thus, it came from above to bind them together, initiating their love story and urging them to become a couple as soon as possible.

The system made a special note: Completing love missions would reward them generously. They were a legitimate system and wouldn’t withhold rewards.

Shen Mian: “…”

As someone who had read countless novels and manga, he wasn’t entirely unable to accept the situation before him.

But why did everyone else get matched with the “Dominating Dragon” system, gaining power and dominance, while he ended up with this odd Love Brain System?

It just didn’t sound serious at all!

Sincerely and politely, he asked the self-proclaimed 007 system, “Is your detection device malfunctioning? Pei Zhiyi and I are both males. Although we do share a strong bond, it’s a brotherly affection, you know.”

He patted Pei Zhiyi’s shoulder firmly to show the purity of their relationship. They had known each other since childhood, and their families had a close relationship. Pei Zhiyi had spent a significant portion of his childhood at Shen Mian’s house.

They were like blood brothers.

Pei Zhiyi remained expressionless, seemingly speechless about the whole system situation.

However, the system paused for a moment before stubbornly insisting, “True love knows no gender…Such a great example of love knows no gender. Should I send you a rainbow flag?”

“Sorry, I advise you to change your target. Pei Zhiyi and I won’t date,” Shen Mian said seriously, finding it a bit strange to negotiate with something in his own mind. “I have nothing against same-sex relationships, but Pei Zhiyi and I are true brothers. If our feelings could change, then there will be no pure friendship left in the world. So, I suggest you don’t waste your effort.”

It’s unknown which point of Shen Mian’s words touched the system, but that cold and expressionless Agent 007 made a mocking sound with an electronic tone.

After a moment, System 007 coldly asked, “Does the host confirm giving up on completing the love mission? If you choose to do so, you will face a life-threatening situation after six months.”

Shen Mian was stunned, “Why is this system threatening people?”

And Pei Zhiyi’s face also darkened.

But before they could inquire further, 007 cleverly explained.

“It’s not a threat. The system detected a tumor in host Shen Mian’s brain. Currently, it’s still in the early stages. If not dealt with in a timely manner, it will seriously endanger his life after six months. However, if the host completes the love mission and earns one thousand points, they can exchange for Ten Complete Pills in the system store and regain their health.”

While saying that, the system displayed a store page in their minds, and in the most eye-catching position of the store, there was indeed a sparkling and golden pill. Although there were many other exotic items beside it, none were as attention-grabbing as that pill.

That conversation directly stunned Shen Mian.

He looked at Pei Zhiyi in a daze, finding it hard to believe the system’s absurd claims.

Pei Zhiyi also didn’t believe it.

However, in the afternoon, Pei Zhiyi still accompanied him to the best private hospital in the area for an examination. Through connections, they managed to obtain the test results as quickly as possible.

The diagnosis report on that piece of paper was clear.

Shen Mian did indeed have a glioma at the age of seventeen.

It was still in the early stage, so the symptoms were not obvious yet. Lately, Shen Mian had been experiencing frequent headaches and nausea, all due to this.

Shen Mian was dumbfounded. He always felt energetic and lively. Just a few days ago, he was playing basketball with his classmates and jumping around, winning the game.

How did he suddenly become ill?

Meanwhile, Pei Zhiyi tightly held the diagnostic report, his expression extremely gloomy.

He gripped Shen Mian’s hand tightly, causing the bones in his palm to creak. But Shen Mian didn’t cry out in pain; instead, he pursed his lips, looking at Pei Zhiyi with concern.

Although he was the one who fell ill, Pei Zhiyi seemed more affected than him. He even wanted to touch Pei Zhiyi’s face, telling him not to be so sad.

The glass of the hospital was shining brightly in the sunlight, lighting the corridor.

As it was an expensive private hospital, there weren’t many people around, only the two young students, Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi.

Faced with such a devastating result, Shen Mian felt that he should be wailing and crying.

But he couldn’t.

He was still in shock, his eyes dry, and his whole being in a daze.

He even clung to a glimmer of hope. Could the hospital have made a mistake?

After a long silence, Pei Zhiyi suddenly embraced Shen Mian gently.

He asked the system in his mind, “Are you called 007? How can you guarantee that you can cure Shen Mian?”

System 007, calm, seemed to have anticipated this.

“As long as the host, Shen Mian, decides to accept the connection between you two, I can revert his body back to a healthy state in six months. During this period, he won’t suffer from the illness. However, the host needs to gather points by completing tasks issued by the system. Upon earning 1,000 points or achieving a heart-to-heart connection with mutual life-or-death commitment, he can exchange for life-saving pills.”

The system efficiently projected the ways to earn points into Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi’s minds.

Task Points Exchange Guidelines:

Sharing the same bed: 1 point. Kiss: 2 points. Going on a date: 2 points. Random tasks vary in points, ranging from 3 to 10. Special tasks vary in points, ranging from 10 to 100. The first three items are basic tasks, and the highest cumulative points for basic tasks within a week should not exceed 5 points.

Although Shen Mian was not good at math, he could see that these task points were extremely stingy. It would be extremely difficult to accumulate 1,000 points in six months.

Moreover, as two heterosexual males, Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi probably wouldn’t be able to achieve a heart-to-heart connection.

Acquiring that life-saving pill seemed incredibly difficult.

At that moment, he felt truly sad. He started imagining what he would look like with no hair. He even started to feel fortunate that he wasn’t an only child. He had a younger sister who was well-behaved and adorable, providing some solace for his parents…

But before he could finish his thoughts, he heard Pei Zhiyi say, “We accept the mission.”

Shen Mian raised his head abruptly, his eyes widened.

Pei Zhiyi lowered his head and gently touched Shen Mian’s head. Shen Mian had a nice head shape, round and with soft hair that had a light chestnut color under the sunlight.

Pei Zhiyi had just quickly calculated that even with random and special tasks, the maximum accumulation of basic points within a week would not exceed 5 points. It would be very difficult to earn 1,000 points within six months.

But just like the system that appeared out of the blue said, this was his and Shen Mian’s only chance.

“We have to give it a try,” he said to Shen Mian. “Even if I can only fight for six months for you, it’s better than nothing.”

Shen Mian was deeply moved and tears welled up in his eyes.

As the one who was ill, he naturally didn’t have the courage to refuse. But Pei Zhiyi was different. Pei Zhiyi wasn’t sick, yet he was sacrificing himself to save Shen Mian’s life.

He was incredibly touched and hugged Pei Zhiyi’s waist.

“Brother, you truly are my dearest  brother. The best thing my mother ever did was become good sisters with Aunt Lian.”

He rubbed against Pei Zhiyi’s waist, his tears smearing on Pei Zhiyi’s shirt. “Brother, from now on, I’ll listen to you. If you tell me to go east, I won’t go west. I’ll never go against you.”

Pei Zhiyi lowered his eyes and gently embraced Shen Mian, patting his slender back.

“I’ll remember that.”

Three days later, Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi formally accepted the binding of System 007.

Shen Mian changed hospitals and underwent another physical examination.

This time, he was perfectly healthy and had no problems whatsoever.

He had to admit that that love brain system, although sounding unreliable, was quite capable.

And a week later, 007 issued their first random task.

Although they were bound by 007, it rarely spoke, unlike the setting of a system that was frequently causing trouble. That system hardly had any presence.

So when Shen Mian suddenly heard the task sound, he was startled.

“Random Task: Both hosts, please hold hands for twenty minutes during class. Reward: 2 points.”

That task was probably because they were beginners, and it could be considered simple. But Shen Mian hesitated to extend his hand.

He anxiously looked at Pei Zhiyi, unsure if Pei Zhiyi truly didn’t mind helping him in this love task.

But soon, Pei Zhiyi’s cool palm covered his hand. Taking advantage of the cover provided by the desk and their school uniforms, they held hands in the classroom.

For a moment, even the crickets outside the window quieted down.