Help! I'm the Plot Device: Just Here to Save the Heroes

Three Offerings and a Very Stressed System

Jerry blinked. “…So what?”

Xu Ming reached again, undeterred. Yan pulled the bag out of reach, jaw tightening. “Stop. I’ll buy another if you want one.”

“I don’t," Xu Ming replied smoothly. His eyes narrowed. “You’re frowning.”

Jerry squinted too. “Why are you acting so mean?.”

Yan’s teeth clicked once. Then he forced a smile sharp enough to cut glass. “…I’m not frowning. Just take it. And leave.”

Xu Ming smirked and accepted the bag with a shallow bow.

The system window chimed: Third offering accepted. 3/3 complete.

Xu Ming’s gaze softened as he glanced back at Jerry.

Jerry bobbed his head quickly. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Xu Ming blinked once, then his eyes fluttered shut.

Jerry wasted no time—he tugged Yan’s sleeve hard, hurrying him into the crowd. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

Behind them, the real Xu Ming opened his eyes, blinking at the candied fruit bag in his hands. He scratched his head, bewildered.
“…Why am I here? What is this?”

The festival noise swallowed his question.

🐱

Jerry and Yan An walked on, weaving through the crowds until they reached the lake-side bridge. Lanterns floated along the water, their reflections breaking in soft ripples. Jerry leaned on the railing, the peach-blossom lantern cradled against him.

And then, in the rush of drums and fireworks, Jerry’s system chimed back into his thoughts: Host—I’m back.

Jerry’s lips curved, a smile blooming despite himself.

The system’s voice chimed warmly in Jerry’s head. Host..Thank you… really, thank you. You are the best host, host.

Jerry smiled before he could stop himself.

Yan An caught it instantly. “What’s with that look?”

Jerry startled, waving his hand. “Ah! Nothing. Just—” he fumbled for a safer answer, “I had a great time with you, Yan-daren. I think… I shouldn’t trouble you anymore.” He made to turn away.

Why? the system protested. Why are you leaving? Just spend a little more time together, host!

Jerry’s mind snapped back: System, shut up—I’m burning down in here!

But Yan’s voice cut across his thoughts. “You said dinner. And now you’re leaving before the fireworks?”

Jerry blinked. “…I already gave you enough trouble. Better not add more.”

Yan stepped closer, gaze steady. “Who told you I was troubled?”

Before Jerry could find a reply, the first explosion cracked the sky. Fire bloomed in red and silver above them, and the crowd surged toward the bridge, bodies pressing close. Someone knocked into Jerry, nearly sending him into the rail.

Yan caught him and pulled him out of the crush, setting him against the railing. Then Yan braced one hand on the wood beside him, leaning close, his body a shield against the crowd.

Jerry’s throat bobbed. Yan’s face was right there—sharper in the flare of the fireworks, his breath brushing Jerry’s skin.

Host, the system whispered urgently. Your pulse is spiking.

Jerry swallowed hard, whispering back, “I know.”

Yan’s eyes flicked down—brief, fleeting—toward his lips.

Jerry’s thoughts scattered. What are you looking at…?

The system’s voice turned sly. Host… do you want to try-

Jerry panicked. No! No, no, nooo!

Have you had one before, host.

NO!!

The system broke into helpless laughter in his head.

Flustered, Jerry snapped his face away. “…System. Am I underaged in here?”

Nope. Absolutely not, the system chuckled. Perfectly legal.

Jerry exhaled hard, then turned back to Yan with a forced brightness. “Should we… move out of here? It's too crowded and I’m kind of hungry.”

Yan studied him for a beat, unreadable. Then he nodded. “We should.”

Together, they slipped free of the crush, walking side by side until they reached a riverside inn. The attendant led them upstairs, to a balcony table that jutted out over the street.

From there, the fireworks bloomed across the night sky, their reflection burning on the water.

Jerry leaned forward over the railing, lantern-light painting his face, lips parted in awe. While the sky bloomed and cracked in color. He leaned forward, eyes wide, lips parted in awe.

Yan An, however, never once looked at the fireworks. His gaze stayed on Jerry—soft, unguarded—for the first time in ten years. And under the lantern light, with the thunder of the San Yue Festival burning the sky, Yan An smiled.

🐱🧶🐱