Chapter 220: Fifteen Minutes Back
Wang Gege turned toward Xie Rong, her eyes widening slightly as the meaning of Gemi’s words finally sank in. "Don’t tell me..."
Xie Rong’s expression had already turned serious. He nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on the holographic screen before shifting toward Mini. "Does... more than ten minutes pass since we redeemed the reward?"
Mini froze in midair. For a moment, the little golden bee said nothing. Then its tiny wings fluttered nervously.
"Host..."
Wang Gege’s heart sank. "What is it?"
Mini hesitated before answering, "Mm... yes... twelve minutes have passed."
The room suddenly fell silent.
Xie Rong’s eyes narrowed. "Then, Gemi... I want to use—"
"Wait, wait!" Wang Gege quickly covered his mouth with her hand, stopping him before he could finish.
"What are you doing?" she asked, staring at him in disbelief. "Are you going to waste the time just to return to before I redeemed the reward?"
Xie Rong lowered his gaze toward her, his eyes calm despite the urgency in his expression. "If this husband is correct, we only have three minutes remaining before the exchange expires."
Wang Gege’s eyes widened, "Exactly! So why are you trying to use it now?"
"So, we can use the reward again. If they are strict with the rules, we could trick their own rules..." Xie Rong said, his expression calm as though he had just discovered a loophole.
Wang Gege stared at him for a few seconds before slowly turning her gaze toward the two systems. "And you said that out loud in front of these two systems?"
Xie Rong paused.
Mini blinked innocently.
Gemi’s holographic screen flickered.
[THIS SYSTEM HEARD NOTHING.]
Mini immediately nodded, "Mini didn’t hear anything either!"
Wang Gege stared at the two systems, then slowly looked back at Xie Rong.
Mini immediately nodded. "Mini didn’t hear anything either!"
Wang Gege stared at the two systems, then slowly looked back at Xie Rong.
"All right..." She let out a weak exhalation. "Let’s use your time reward..."
Xie Rong nodded, his expression becoming serious as he turned toward Gemi.
"Gemi, activate the time exchange."
The holographic screen flickered.
[CONFIRMING TIME EXCHANGE.]
[CURRENT TIME EXCHANGE: 15 MINUTES.]
[HOST MAY REDEEM THE LAST 15 MINUTES.]
Wang Gege swallowed, trying to brace herself before her body was pulled back through time.
"Return to fifteen minutes ago..." Xie Rong’s voice was firm as he gave the command.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the air around them suddenly distorted.
Wang Gege’s eyes widened as a strange sensation swept through her body, as though the world itself had been pulled backward. The room, the holographic screens, and even the expression on Xie Rong’s face seemed to blur before everything disappeared in a flash of light.
"Furen!"
Wang Gege’s eyes widened as she looked at Xie Rong. At that very moment, she knew it.
She was back again.
Fifteen minutes earlier.
"Mini! Stop! I don’t want to claim the reward for now!"
Xie Rong, who had returned in time with her, was breathing heavily. His hand immediately reached for Wang Gege’s arm, as though making sure she was truly there and had not disappeared during the reversal.
Wang Gege hurriedly turned toward the little bee. "Mini, cancel the reward! Don’t redeem anything yet!"
For a moment, Mini remained completely still before tilting its little head to the side.
"Got it, Host... Your reward will be returned to your storage." It smiled innocently.
Suddenly, a holographic screen appeared before them.
[TIME EXCHANGE REDEEM]
[REMAINING TIME: 0]
Wang Gege pouted as she stared at the screen. "Ah... I guess it didn’t work for yours..."
Xie Rong reached over and lightly tapped the tip of her nose. "What? Do you expect this husband to still have those five minutes from before?" He chuckled. "My rewards are different from yours. I’m sure we can’t trick the system code with this one..."
Wang Gege rubbed her nose and glanced at him. "Well... it’s okay. We tried. At least, with your brain, we managed to save one reward..." She scrunched up her nose before suddenly tiptoeing and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you, husband..."
Xie Rong froze.
For a moment, he simply stared at her, as though his mind had completely stopped working.
Wang Gege lowered herself back onto her heels, a small smile playing on her lips as she watched his stunned expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Xie Rong slowly raised a hand to touch the spot where she had kissed him, his lips curving into a helpless smile.
"This husband was merely thinking..." He paused, then leaned closer to her. "Perhaps saving one reward really was worth it."
Wang Gege pushed his forehead back with one finger. "Don’t push it..."
Xie Rong straightened, then shook his head dramatically. "This husband should have thought harder about how to save my reward too... Perhaps Furen’s reward would have been worth more than a kiss."
Wang Gege rolled her eyes. "Are you always this perverted, Ethan Xu?"
He shrugged, looking completely shameless. "This husband doesn’t know. Perhaps being in this body has made me like this..."
Wang Gege stared at him for a moment before narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Don’t blame the body for your shamelessness."
Xie Rong’s smile deepened. "Then perhaps this husband should blame his wife instead."
"Me?" Wang Gege pointed at herself in disbelief.
He nodded solemnly. "Yes. Furen keeps kissing this husband, so how could this husband not become a little greedy?"
"When did I?" Wang Gege huffed.
Xie Rong raised an eyebrow, then pointed casually at his cheek. "Just now."
Wang Gege’s face turned slightly red. "That was only a thank-you kiss!"
"A kiss is still a kiss." He smiled innocently. "Whether it is a thank-you kiss, an affectionate kiss, or a loving kiss, the lips make no distinction between them." He leaned closer, his voice lowering. "Only the heart does."
"Ewww... Husband... that sounded so cringe..." Wang Gege tried to turn away, but Xie Rong quickly caught her arm.
"This husband could be even more cringe in bed..."
Before she could react, he swiftly wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her from the ground.
"Let this husband demonstrate..."
"Ethan Xu!"
Her startled cry echoed through the room as Xie Rong burst into laughter.