Reborn, I Became a Male God - Chapter 47

The girl’s lips were as soft as flower petals, carrying a light, sweet scent. The moment they touched, they parted.

“I like you too,” she said softly.

Jing Ling was momentarily dazed. Because of the kiss, and because of those words.

From the moment he bound with the system and began his first mission until now, he no longer remembered how many years had passed. One mission after another, one world after another—each lasting at least half a year, sometimes several years. There were even times he stayed in a world for more than ten years, and not just once or twice.

The system’s missions were to help the female lead become a top industry elite, standing at the peak of the pyramid, admired by all. The girls selected, while exceptionally gifted, were not alone—when had this world ever lacked geniuses? Only a select few are ever remembered. Like jade or emerald, while natural quality is important, what truly determines if it becomes a treasured heirloom is the craftsmanship of the artisan.

A teacher is someone who imparts knowledge and resolves doubts. Even teaching average students is not something just anyone can do, let alone grooming a student who will become famous throughout the world. If one’s own level isn’t high enough, it’s more realistic to just keep dreaming.

So before every mission, he had to study all the relevant knowledge and skills in advance, only then could he perfectly fit into the identity assigned by the system. Although the system could exchange many things, it could only assist him in learning better, not directly pour the knowledge into him. If it could do that, there’d be no need for him to do the missions—just directly enlighten the female lead in a crude but effective way.

Calculating it this way, the time he spent completing each mission only increased further.

At the beginning, his emotions were still easily influenced by the outside world—sometimes happy, sometimes angry. But as the missions accumulated, he gradually reached a state of inner peace, rarely moved by people or events.

Even when the system changed his identity and gender, he accepted it calmly. Only what happened today had completely caught him off guard.

In fact, when Yunshu asked him whether he liked her, he had already realized something was wrong. He liked her, without a doubt—but not in the way she thought. In his understanding, Yunshu was part of his past, filled with regret and unwillingness. Now that he had the chance to make things right, of course he would give it his all. But he had overlooked one thing—Yunshu didn’t know any of this. And that was what led to today’s misunderstanding.

But it was already too late. She had only given two choices: yes or no. 

Influenced by her upbringing and environment, she had always been cautious in matters of the heart, sensitive and fragile. For her to express herself so boldly and proactively today was because she had gained enough confidence and security from him.

If his answer had been no, it was easy to imagine her hard-won courage crumbling in an instant, retreating and sealing off her heart even tighter than before.

So he could only say yes.

He hadn’t expected her to suddenly kiss him.

What does it feel like to be kissed by yourself? At that moment, Jing Ling only felt deeply conflicted inside—but he couldn’t let any of it show.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

“Public display of affection, huh? Believe it or not, I’ll call the cops and have them arrest you!” Yang Xinyao suddenly said, glaring at the two of them with her almond-shaped eyes. “I just got off the plane and already got force-fed dog food. I’m suddenly very worried about this trip.”

Tan Yunshu finally realized what she had just done—not only had she confessed to Jing Ling, she had also kissed him in public… She froze in place, her whole body’s warmth rushing to her head, face so hot it felt like it might burst into flames the next second.

She always thought of herself as quick-witted, but in this crucial moment, her brain shut down. After trying hard for a while, she only managed to come up with a clumsy excuse. “Xinyao, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat something!” she said, and immediately dragged Yang Xinyao away.

“Hey, hey, the luggage! And Jing Ling!” Yang Xinyao reminded.

“Don’t care, food first!”

“…Alright then.”

She said they were going to eat, but in reality, she only dragged Yang Xinyao out of Jing Ling’s sight and stopped in a quiet corner, placing a hand on her chest and letting out a long sigh.

“Yunshu, don’t tell me you’re feeling shy now?” Yang Xinyao finally caught on, looking shocked. “The moment you saw him, you just straight-up asked whether he liked you, then kissed him without hesitation—the whole thing was fast and clean! You didn’t see it, but Jing Ling froze on the spot. He’s the type who can stay calm while making phone calls in the middle of gunfire! And now you’re telling me you’re feeling shy? That’s some serious contrast!”

Tan Yunshu said, “…I don’t even know what I was thinking. The whole way here, I was worrying about what he might’ve gone through these past few days—if he was okay, if he got hurt… But the moment I saw him, all those thoughts just vanished…”

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her bag—it was a call.

She took out her phone and saw that the caller was indeed Jing Ling. She stared at the screen for a few seconds, bit her lip, and swiped to answer.

The boy’s voice was as gentle as ever. “Yunshu, I’ll take the luggage to the hotel first, then come pick you two up.”

Not only gentle, but also thoughtful and considerate. He knew she was embarrassed right now, so he left first to give her time and space to calm down.

“…Alright. Be careful on the way,” she said, and then hung up immediately. Looking up, she saw Yang Xinyao staring at her curiously. “What did he say?”

“He said he’s taking the luggage to the hotel first, and then he’ll come back for us,” Tan Yunshu repeated Jing Ling’s words.

“Ugh, more dog food,” Yang Xinyao pouted. “Anyway, shouldn’t we get moving too? He already knows you’re not actually hungry. And I don’t have much interest in airport food. I looked it up before coming—if I remember correctly, one of Qin City’s top ten tourist spots, Hanyang Residence, is nearby. We’ve got time to kill—how about a visit to unwind?”

“Okay.” Tan Yunshu nodded in agreement. She wasn’t even remotely hungry, and even if she were, she probably wouldn’t be able to eat right now.

The two hailed a cab and headed straight to Hanyang Residence. They spent time there until around 4 p.m. when Jing Ling called to ask where they were and said he had booked a restaurant for dinner. The timing was perfect—by the time they got from the airport to the hotel, showered, and changed, it would be just about dinner time.

The restaurant Jing Ling booked was near the hotel—a private dining establishment with a nice ambiance and excellent food.

Even though the afternoon had passed, she still felt a little awkward when seeing Jing Ling again. But that emotion faded quickly once the dishes started arriving. This time wasn’t as exaggerated as their last meal at the hotel—where every dish had been her favorite—but still, half of them were dishes she liked, and they were all carefully placed in front of her.

Looking at the food, and recalling everything he’d done, she suddenly felt enlightened.

Liking someone just means liking them. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

Dinner turned out surprisingly pleasant. After eating, Yang Xinyao started considering where to go for fun in the evening. Since their host Jing Ling had only been in Qin City for less than a year, most of it spent on location shoots, she didn’t expect him to have good recommendations. So she took matters into her own hands and searched online for ideas.

After quite a bit of deliberation, she finally picked a few places and was about to ask Jing Ling’s opinion when his phone rang.

The caller was Shen Ze—his poor manager.

“My young master, your Weibo has been silent for almost a month. Your fans are all desperate for news! Can you at least consider appeasing them? Also, the movie  Island is premiering in less than a month. The other actors have all started promotion, but you’ve been completely MIA. And a few days ago, the official account tagged you, and you didn’t even respond. I tried calling, but your phone was off. The school said you took leave, but they couldn’t find you either. Where on earth did you go? Do you know how badly the trolls have been using this to drag you? Even your stronghold, the Nanzhou Forum, is almost overrun!”

Shen Ze had always been composed, but now his voice sounded nearly hysterical.

“Sorry,” Jing Ling apologized. It was indeed his oversight. This mission had been confidential and extremely dangerous. In theory, they weren’t allowed to carry their usual phones on such missions—if something happened and the phone fell into enemy hands, the consequences would be unthinkable.

But it just so happened that Yunshu’s birthday fell during the mission. He negotiated with Old Man Jiang for quite a while—while he was allowed to bring his phone, he could only turn it on that day, and it had to be destroyed immediately after the call.

He hadn’t expected the official account to tag him during that exact period, making Shen Ze unable to reach him.

“Forget it. It’s already in the past—no use dwelling on it. There’s still a bit of time before the movie comes out. Make the most of it and show some initiative. We might be able to salvage something. As for the rest, we’ll deal with it later.” Shen Ze quickly calmed down, his tone returning to normal.

“By our agreement, I wasn’t supposed to ask about your private matters. But given the current situation, we have to give the public an explanation about Weibo. So can I ask—where have you been these past few days?”

“Sorry, I can’t say.”

Shen Ze: “…Fine. In that case, either you give me a plausible excuse, or I’ll make one up for you. Your choice.”