Taoqi, seemingly out of nowhere, pulled out a handful of popcorn and settled to the side, looking like someone who couldn't wait to stir up trouble.
Rover pouted in dissatisfaction. "No matter what, I was the first one here, okay? I was the first person Lucian met on this planet!"
Lucian coughed lightly upon hearing this and corrected, "To be precise, Baizhi was actually the first person I met on this planet."
Rover waved her hand dismissively. "Those are just trivial details. The point is, I definitely met Lucian before Jianxin did!"
Jianxin, hands on her hips, also looked displeased. "Why does meeting him first mean you have to marry him?"
"Even if you met Master before I did, I was the first one to make a vow with him!"
As the two continued to argue, Lucian clutched his head in agony. "Stop fighting, please—"
Jianxin turned to him, her eyes tinged with sorrow. "Master, what exactly is going on here?"
In her memory, Rover and her master didn't have this kind of relationship.
At most, they were just close friends.
Who would've thought that after all this time apart, her master had become Rover's fiancé? But someone like him—a man who cared for the world in great matters and paid attention to the smallest details in trivial ones—couldn't possibly be at fault here!
It had to be Rover who seduced him!
There was no denying that Jianxin's misunderstanding of Lucian ran deep.
But this was also because Lucian had spent so much time sweet-talking her to raise their affinity, to the point where she'd been completely fooled.
However, since he'd done it, he had to own up to it. As the saying goes, one lie begets a thousand more, so Lucian decided he wouldn't hide anything anymore. He would tell Jianxin the whole truth and let her make her own choice.
But just then, the system's voice rang out.
[Option 1: Abandon Jianxin and choose Rover. Reward: 5,000 points.]
[Option 2: Abandon Rover and choose Jianxin. Reward: A Jiao-Jiao-brand urn, so you can rest in peace.]
[Option 3: Only children make choices—I'll take them all! Reward: Randomly obtain one of the Twelve Talismans!]
[Option 4: Only children make choices—adults know their limits! Abandon both! Reward: A premium Jinzhou cremation service. Your glorious deeds will be forever recorded in Jinzhou's archives.]
Lucian: "…"
He was genuinely torn. Even though failing to complete a system option wouldn't result in punishment, he really wanted the reward.
If these Twelve Talismans were the ones from that childhood cartoon he remembered, then they were incredibly valuable.
Especially the Dog Talisman—that thing granted immortality.
Under everyone's expectant gazes, Lucian fell silent for a moment.
Then, with a long sigh, he decided that even if he couldn't complete the option, he would still tell Jianxin the truth. After all, he was no enlightened sage—he'd just been spouting nonsense back then. But since Jianxin had taken it seriously, she deserved to know everything.
So, Lucian confessed that he'd just been bragging at the time.
Jianxin fell into stunned silence. Master… lied to me?
Beside them, Rover patted Lucian's shoulder. "That's more like it! None of us took it seriously—only Jianxin did. Since things have already come this far, you shouldn't keep lying to her."
Abby suddenly popped out of the Tacet Mark. "Wait, something's not right here."
Rover blinked. "What do you mean?"
Abby rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Knowing Lucian, shouldn't he be doubling down on the lies and adding Jianxin to his collection? Why isn't he doing that this time?"
Rover looked surprised. "…Even Abby knows what kind of person Lucian is?"
Lucian: "?"
Lucian straightened up with a serious expression. "As an upright Resonator, I never deceive people. Everything I do comes from the purity of my heart!"
Taoqi, standing nearby, blinked innocently. "But you're lying right now."
Lucian: "…"
Abby sighed helplessly. "Ah, you should've just let it slide. Now you've made things awkward for Lucian."
"Speaking of which, Lucian has fooled so many women—Chixia, Changli…"
Before Abby could finish, his voice gradually faded away as Lucian forcibly dragged him back into the Tacet Mark.
But Jianxin, having heard Abby's words, suddenly had an epiphany.
"I understand now!"
Everyone: "?"
"I believe that even though Master says he was lying, his heart has always been filled with compassion for all living beings!"
"This must be what they call 'great virtue hidden in humility'!"
"No wonder so many women adore Master. Even though he talks big, his actions speak even louder!"
"So, Master—Jianxin still has much to learn from you. No matter what, please continue teaching me the meaning of 'great love' and 'lesser love'!"
Everyone: "…"
Lucian was utterly dumbfounded. What exactly did Jianxin just realize?!
Then, the system's voice rang out again!
[Option 3 has been completed. Drawing one of the Twelve Talismans…]
[Ding! Obtained Talisman: Sheep Talisman!]
[Sheep Talisman: Soul Projection · Astral Projection Power—The Sheep's mystical power of spirit projection allows the user's soul to leave their body. After separation, the soul can wander anywhere in the world, invisible and silent, capable of spiritual communication.]
[Without the soul, the physical body cannot move. The soul can enter the body of a sleeping person to deliver dreams or possess an empty vessel to control it.]
The Sheep Talisman, huh…?
Compared to the immortality-granting Dog Talisman, this wasn't Lucian's first choice.
But he was still very satisfied.
After all, some of the Twelve Talismans overlapped with abilities he already had—like the Horse Talisman, which could cure all illnesses, or the Monkey Talisman, which granted shapeshifting.
Not getting a duplicate was already pretty lucky.
Besides, such an esoteric ability was bound to be incredibly powerful—especially for someone like him, who took on missions like Yinlin's. It was practically a divine skill. The only downside was that his physical body would be left defenseless.
So, if he ever used this ability, he'd need someone he trusted to guard his body—someone like Rover…
Rover, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow. She sensed a shift in Lucian's frequency but didn't dwell on it.
Rover sighed and looked at Jianxin. "Is this what they call 'winning by letting your opponent overthink'?"
Jianxin huffed. "Rover, no matter how strong you are, don't think you can fool me."
Rover: "???"
Who's fooling who here?!
Without another word, Jianxin eagerly threw herself into Lucian's arms—arms that felt both familiar and strange to her.