149: I'll help you register

The system spoke up again of its own accord.

Gao Xiaofan had never thought of the system as an emotionless existence; he had understood this ever since the system stopped him when he received his first mission reward and planned to treat himself well.

"I say, you are completely different from your father!"

Hearing these words in his mind, Gao Xiaofan could no longer hold it together, and tears streamed down his face as he faced himself in the mirror.

The system... was not his father!

His fantasies were just fantasies after all!

From the very beginning when it stopped him from seeking pleasure outside, to the dialogue between his father and the system in his dreams later on, and then to that call of "Xiaofan" when binding the Sheathed sword position!

All of it had given him a glimmer of hope in his heart that his father had become the system in his mind!

But a single sentence from the system today had completely shattered the last bit of hope left in his heart.

In the mirror, the young man with short, messy hair slowly stopped his tears, the redness in his eyes gradually faded, and his mood slowly calmed down.

"Why do you say that?"

"I just couldn't help but sigh. You can pretend I didn't say anything."

The system's voice was full of sighs, and the rich emotion in those words sounded exactly like a middle-aged man who had been through many hardships.

"Can you tell me what happened between you and my father? Why did you treat him that way?"

His mind fell silent again, and it was a long time before a voice responded.

"As for what specifically happened, that's a private matter between me and your father; I won't tell anyone. But one thing's for sure: I never did anything to your father. Why do you think your father was in the right?"

This voice carried a hint of sorrow, even making Gao Xiaofan start to doubt his own deductions.

"My father really..."

"He's really dead. Don't think about those unrealistic things anymore."

Hearing this, the tears Gao Xiaofan had been holding back surged out again like a burst dam, completely uncontrollable. Hot tears slid down his cheeks, bringing a touch of warmth, yet his heart felt like it had been stuffed into an ice cellar, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

The existence in his mind seemed to sense that Gao Xiaofan was on the verge of a breakdown and sighed.

"Sigh, alright. If there's a chance, you'll know everything that happened back then one day, though it's very likely not going to be what you want it to be."

"When will that day be?"

Gao Xiaofan's follow-up question received no response, as if everything that had just happened was merely a hallucination.

Sighing, he slowly stopped his tears.

"Can you tell me what kind of person my father was?"

Gao Xiaofan tried asking again, but at this moment, his mind was deathly quiet. No matter how much he called out in his head, there was no response!

Dejectedly, Gao Xiaofan turned on the faucet and splashed water haphazardly on his face, the surging water washing away the tear stains.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he calmly took a towel and carefully dried every trace of water on his face.

Since the system said he would know everything that happened back then one day, then he would just wait!

Gao Xiaofan opened the bathroom door and walked out.

Deep in his mind, there was a faint, imperceptible sigh.

Qiu Gu was holding his phone and looked at Gao Xiaofan as he walked out, feeling that something was slightly off, yet not knowing what had happened.

"What's up? You seem a bit off."

"It's nothing. I'm going to sleep for a bit. Remember to wake me up tonight."

Gao Xiaofan shook his head, lay down on the bed with his phone, and buried himself under the covers.

There were a few messages on his phone from Zhao Yuling.

Opening them, he saw a picture: four little goldfishes blowing tiny bubbles in a small fish tank.

"Brother Xiaofan, look at my new fish tank. It's nice, right~"

Looking at his phone, the corners of Gao Xiaofan's mouth couldn't help but curl up; his wandering heart seemed to have settled down.

"Not bad, it's very pretty. Changing the tank first and then the fish is perfectly reasonable~"

"Brother Xiaofan, you're so annoying!"

After replying to the message, Gao Xiaofan set his phone down and fell into a deep sleep.

Too many things had happened in one morning, causing his mind and spirit to fluctuate violently. By the time he was groggily shaken awake, Qiu Gu was sitting by the bed looking at him with tender affection.

"Holy crap, what are you doing!"

Qiu Gu's face darkened. "You were sleeping so soundly. I called you several times and got no response. It's already eight o'clock in the evening!"

Gao Xiaofan propped himself up against the bed and took a breath.

"That look of yours scared the daylights out of your 'father'~"

"Get lost! I'm going to order takeout. You should check the internet; it's absolutely exploding!"

Gao Xiaofan curled his lip. He first lit a cigarette for himself and then picked up his phone to slowly scroll through it.

Teacher Liu posted a video~

Zeng Daping posted a video~

Liu Song posted a video~

...With the release of videos from the Competition Organizing Committee and the heavyweight figure of the fishing world, Deng Yuan, various big shots in the fishing industry stepped up one after another, calling out Gao Xiaofan from afar.

They knew very well that wild fishing and competitive fishing were completely different. Moreover, Brother Wo Zi was just a contestant who liked Creating Hype; if it weren't for the corpse incident and the natural disasters that erupted in the variety show, Brother Wo Zi wouldn't even be fit to carry their shoes when it came to actual fishing.

Now that Kings Battle and Deng Yuan had stepped into the fray, they could no longer hold back and joined in one after another, starting to ride his coattails!

After all, he had 50 million followers; even a small bite would mean massive wealth!

The spat between Gao Xiaofan and Kings Battle—or more accurately, with the big shots of the fishing world—had now reached the peak of TikTok's trending charts!

Gao Xiaofan calmly watched the videos on his phone, occasionally scrolling through the comment sections below.

"Terrifying! Absolutely terrifying! All the big shots of the fishing world have come out, haven't they!"

"It's tough~ Brother Wo Zi is in a real bind now!"

"A bunch of seniors bullying a junior, they really have no shame~"

"No way, double standards? Only Brother Wo Zi is allowed to fire shots, but no one else can strike back???"

"Where's Brother Wo Zi? Fired his shots and then left? Playing the turtle and hiding, is he scared???"

Gao Xiaofan watched for over half an hour until the takeout arrived. Only then did he jump off the bed and slowly walk over to the table to sit down.

"See that? Scary~ I just realized that you Anglers are also so competitive~"

Qiu Gu sighed as he unpacked the takeout. Scrolling through videos in the afternoon had really spooked him. Because he had been watching fishing videos lately, the big data recommendations meant that for every three videos he scrolled through, one would be a fishing master calling out Gao Xiaofan.

"In any industry, once interests are involved, things become impure~"

Gao Xiaofan shook his head casually and spoke nonchalantly.

"By the way, when I sign up, I'll sign you up too~"

Qiu Gu looked shocked, and his movements came to a halt.

"What the heck?"

Gao Xiaofan glanced at him and said with a grin.

"To participate in Kings Battle!"