Chapter 30

The weather was gloomy, as if shrouded in a heavy haze; everything looked blurry through the eyes. October was growing colder, and the wind brought a chill when it blew.

Yan Qingqiu stood on the street with a bewildered look.

The System repeated in her head: 【Congratulations! Host, you're still the fastest person I've ever seen. No one has been this quick before.】

Yan Qingqiu asked in confusion: 【Why couldn't the previous ones get through?】

The System said: 【There are many reasons. Just like when you play games yourself—if you accidentally miss key information, it becomes very difficult to clear the level later. Moreover, if some NPCs' affinity isn't high enough, you can't extract important information points, and these all affect the plot.】

To help her understand better, the System added: 【If you hadn't pulled off the "bitch" stunt at the art exhibition and the "angry roll over 18 supermodels" livestream, making Luo Xi fear you, then when you bumped into her in the restroom yesterday, you two would most likely have come to blows, and you wouldn't have extracted any information points.】

Yan Qingqiu let out an "oh." She understood. 【I have a question.】

The System didn't respond to that question and directly pulled back to the previous topic. It said: 【You've gotten 50% of the plot points so quickly, why aren't you happy?】

Yan Qingqiu said: 【What's there to be happy about? Records will be broken by someone sooner or later. Besides, you might have said the same thing to others. This is just your promotional tactic.】

She had been through too many merchant tricks in her life; she was already immune.

The System got a bit anxious: 【Please don't misinterpret! We systems do have a certain judgment capability. Only when you trigger the plot and collect plot points, and the points you collect are correct, will you get a reward. The reward is not easily obtained!】

In other words, the "fight" did indeed happen, and the person who ratted was indeed Song Qingre? Yan Qingqiu was asking it back to confirm this matter, in case the System was just trying to frame Song Qingre, trying to make her misunderstand Song Qingre and thus oppose her. Then she really would be the vicious supporting female character! She'd die!

Heh.

A scheming System.

Yan Qingqiu thought to herself: So what if it's true? These are all things of the past. Am I supposed to go hold a grudge over things I never experienced? That would be so unreasonable.

Besides, as a CP fan like us, what's a little hardship? It's perfectly normal!

Yan Qingqiu wasn't that stupid. What good could come from truly opposing Song Qingre? No matter what game it was, following the protagonist was the way to survive. Opposing the protagonist would definitely get you killed.

Was she the kind of person who could be easily driven apart by instigation?

Definitely not!

After comforting herself, Yan Qingqiu let out a heavy breath.

I, Yan Qingqiu, from today onward, will purify myself into a loyal fangirl.

I am the master's little loyal fangirl.

The System didn't know about her inner transformation and asked again: 【Why aren't you excited yet? The gift, the gift, aren't you really looking forward to it?】

Yan Qingqiu didn't respond much to the System.

The System: 【This is your favorite thing, you know.】

Yan Qingqiu asked: 【What do you mean by my inner desire? I desire many things—beautiful women, houses, cars, money. What can you give me?】

The System suddenly fell silent and stopped talking.

Yan Qingqiu: 【Speak up. My desires are vast. You're not just spouting nonsense, are you? That would be infuriating. I'm going to make a fuss and file a complaint against you!】

How could the System possibly know what she wanted? Could it spy on her heart? That would be too terrifying.

【You're not going to take it back, are you? Why aren't you saying anything!】

The System: 【It was a happy occasion, but you ruined the mood, so I don't want to talk anymore.】

Yan Qingqiu: 【Fine. Come on, give me ten billion. That's my greatest inner desire.】

The System: 【Do you really still want ten billion now? Didn't you already earn a lot of money for your father?】

Yan Qingqiu: 【You have a point.】

【Then I'll take a hundred billion now. Let my father become the richest man. That way none of our family can ever die, and the bastard can't do anything to me. Please give me a hundred billion. Thank you, love you, baby.】

After saying that, remembering the little slave code, she added: 【Take back the "baby" part.】

The System: 【!!!】

It really wanted to scold this lunatic, this attention-seeking drama queen!

Yan Qingqiu laughed: 【As long as you give me this money, I can live happily until I'm 199!】

She wasn't the kind of person who didn't love money!

The System snorted and ignored her.

Yan Qingqiu gathered that this gift had nothing to do with money and felt a bit disappointed. She popped a candied hawthorn into her mouth. After eating for a while, her mouth went slightly numb.

She nudged the person beside her with her elbow and said, "Dong Shu, have some too."

The butler had originally wanted to wait for her to talk about the psychological journey of cursing Song Qingre, but seeing her keep stuffing her mouth, he reminded her not to eat too much. "Miss, let me find a chair for you to sit on for a while."

Their car had broken down on the road. Fortunately, the butler had noticed the problem early and managed to pull over into a nearby parking spot.

There was a bubble tea shop nearby. Yan Qingqiu carried her hawthorns inside. There were quite a few people queuing to order, and the butler asked her to put on her mask.

Seeing her expression wasn't good, thinking that he might have spoken too harshly earlier, the butler said, "The past is all over now. If you say sorry to Miss Song, maybe she won't be angry anymore. She's always treated you well."

Yan Qingqiu didn't respond. Her teeth bit into the hawthorn flesh, the sourness making her salivate continuously. She swallowed the hawthorn, her tongue sweeping across the lingering sour-sweet taste.

"Miss?"

Yan Qingqiu said, "I don't remember much of what happened back then. Apologizing now would be too late for regret. Besides, my relationship with her is already easing up. If I apologize now, wouldn't I be raking up old scores and tearing the rift open again?"

This matter... she hadn't done it. She wasn't going to apologize.

Why should she pay for someone else's mistakes?

Yan Qingqiu had her own little temper. If she admitted fault and said sorry, it would mean all the harm done to Song Qingre before was her doing.

The butler didn't understand the reasoning behind this. Seeing her expression, he guessed she didn't want to apologize. In his heart, he felt it wasn't right, but he indulged her personality.

Yan Qingqiu started looking at the menu, picking and choosing until she selected a matcha one. She asked the butler, "What would you like to drink?"

The butler glanced over, seemingly not intending to order.

Yan Qingqiu let out an "aiya" and said, "Don't say coffee, that's boring. Here you'll drink bubble tea. In formal settings, you can pretend to be sophisticated and drink coffee. Don't be so stiff—you need to enjoy life."

The butler's attire was quite conspicuous in the bubble tea shop: a white shirt under a black vest. Middle-aged but dignified and handsome.

Seeing how proper he was, Yan Qingqiu made conversation and couldn't help prying. "Do you have someone you like? Why haven't you gotten married? Why did you want to become a butler? You must have had many suitors when you were young, right? Have you ever had someone in your heart?"

The butler didn't answer. He adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, looked at the menu, then pulled two short sleeves onto Yan Qingqiu's arms, saying, "Is miss unhappy? In a bad mood?"

Yan Qingqiu snorted and tugged at her sleeves.

"Miss talks more when in a bad mood," the butler said. "Is it because of Miss Song's matter that you're feeling uncomfortable?"

Yan Qingqiu immediately fell silent. She propped her chin on her hand and played with her phone. After a while, she sensed someone staring at her.

She glanced over—a few girls were taking photos of her. Yan Qingqiu pulled down her mask and blinked at them.

The girls were charmed, covering their mouths and smiling at her, then held up their phones even more boldly. Yan Qingqiu pursed her lips slightly and leaned back, saying to the butler, "You're in luck. Today you get to appear on camera with this beauty."

"Then I am truly honored."

When the bubble tea was ready and her name was called, the butler got up to fetch it. They each had one cup. The butler didn't drink his own; he just held it and stood beside her. "Miss, do you want to change locations? There are too many people here. If someone comes to gawk, it'll be bad."

Yan Qingqiu stabbed her straw into the cup forcefully. She was drinking the matcha flavor—astringent and sweet. She liked eating the taro paste inside. She recalled how she used to try making taro paste in the real world, but it always came out terrible, and she couldn't bear to throw it away, so she'd mix it with flour and fry it into pancakes to eat.

Her phone kept buzzing with incoming messages. Fu Ye sent her messages asking when he could come see her, and Su Xingjie also asked how she was doing.

Yan Qingqiu replied to Su Xingjie, telling her she was fine. She sat for a while, drank half of her bubble tea, then got up and said, "Let's go outside. Have the car shop people come yet?"

"They need ten more minutes."

Outside, the butler led her to the coffee shop next door to sit. It was quieter inside, mostly office workers sitting with laptops, tapping away at keyboards.

"Are you planning to go see him?"

"Why would I go see him?" Yan Qingqiu sneered. "Pretending to be sick just to get me to visit? Dream on."

The butler let out an "oh" and said, "Like you did before?"

"Huh?"

"You used to fake being sick to get Fu Ye to come see you, but it seemed like he saw through it every time."

Yan Qingqiu's mouth twitched.

Wow. So she'd done the same thing before. What goes around comes around. Too bad she really didn't want to go. Whether Fu Ye was sick or dying, what did it have to do with her?

Yan Qingqiu suddenly thought of what "she" had done to Song Qingre—it seemed just as heartless...

She wanted to eat again. She picked up a hawthorn and put it in her mouth, stuffing her cheeks full. The butler took the hawthorns away, giving her a warning look—no more eating, or he'd tell her father.

She bit her lip, worried he might see her medicine, and pursed her lips, letting it go.

The sweet powdered sugar couldn't mask the hawthorn's sourness; it was so sour it was astringent.

The car shop called, saying their boss had brought tools to fix the car. If they couldn't repair it, they'd arrange a car to take them back.

Yan Qingqiu said to the butler, "Let's make a bet. Fu Ye's car is definitely going to pass by here in a bit."

"Why do you say that?" The butler didn't understand.

Yan Qingqiu continued, "And it's going to be a tragic love scene. He chases me, I don't look back, we sprint down the road, I'm heartless, he's heartbroken."

The butler didn't understand what she was talking about, but he understood soon enough, because the car shop people arrived. Leading them was a young man with red hair.

The redhead first looked at Yan Qingqiu with a sloppy, insolent air, then clicked his tongue. Yan Qingqiu guessed this was some friend of Fu Ye's, because his looks were passable.

Novel logic said that anyone good-looking was an important character, most likely a supporting male lead.

The supporting male lead leaned against the car in a ruggedly handsome way, staring at her the whole time, a cigarette burning with a lit ember between his fingers. He looked like a playboy. Yan Qingqiu looked at him and said, "What are you looking at? This is my natural hair color, naturally curly. Who's like you with that ridiculous mop?"

Zhao Jiayu's smoking motion paused. "Miss Yan, what did you say?" He flicked his ash, feeling like his ears had gone deaf. Yan Qingqiu used to go out of her way to please him when chasing after Fu Ye. Now she was hurling insults at him.

Yan Qingqiu repeated, "I said, if you dare tell Fu Ye I'm here, you're Fu Ye's dog. A sycophantic lapdog."

Zhao Jiayu was completely dumbfounded.

"Hurry up and fix my car," Yan Qingqiu urged impatiently. "You're coming this late just to fix a car. Get it done quickly so I can go home. With service like this, you'll go out of business soon."

Zhao Jiayu felt she was extremely angry, like she'd been wronged somewhere and was now venting on him. He was also quite unhappy, but when he tried to say something, Yan Qingqiu ignored him.

Zhao Jiayu tinkered with the car while smoking, and found it couldn't be fixed on the spot—it needed to be towed back for inspection. He had someone tow the car away and arranged another car from the shop for them to drive.

Yan Qingqiu got in the car without saying a word to him.

Not long after their car drove off, a car really did chase after them from behind. Judging by the car, it should be Fu Ye's.

Yan Qingqiu reclined slightly in the back seat, playing a game on the small TV, pressing buttons randomly. The butler in front took a glance in the rearview mirror—Yan Qingqiu had actually called it right.

Fu Ye's face was frighteningly pale, looking seriously ill. Apparently he had a severe stomach perforation and had run straight off the operating table just to see Yan Qingqiu.

"Dong Shu, drive faster."

"Mm." Once the road conditions improved, the butler accelerated directly, leaving the car behind far in the distance.

Yan Qingqiu played a round of the game. She hadn't deliberately lashed out at Zhao Jiayu, nor was she stupid enough to directly make enemies. She was testing whether Zhao Jiayu would tell Fu Ye she was here, and whether Fu Ye would still show up even if Zhao Jiayu didn't tell him.

Now Fu Ye still appeared.

It seemed some specially arranged plot points she couldn't avoid.

The question was, whose CP was the System shipping?

Male lead and female lead? Or male lead and supporting female character, or supporting female character and supporting female character?

The System really was weird.

·

Back home, Yan Qingqiu took out her little notebook from her pocket. She sat at the dining table and seriously began writing out the plot. She had to relieve the sourness in her chest.

Yan Qingqiu wrote: 【Miss Yan said: "You're gay?"

Miss Song stepped closer step by step, grabbed her hand and pressed her against the wall. "Yes, I'm gay. What about it?" She looked at the person before her with a sinister gaze, her words falling into her ears. "What, does being fucked by a gay woman not feel good?"

With that, Song Qingre slapped her ass, firmly pinning her wrist, while the other hand grabbed her pants and yanked downward...】

Writing that felt pretty spicy. Yan Qingqiu read it over to fix typos but found she couldn't continue. She tore that paper into shreds, picked up her pen, and kept writing.

She wrote and wrote until she broke out in a cold sweat. She quickly snapped back to reality and raised a hand to pat her face. Dude, what am I writing?

If someone saw this...

She wrote for a full hour—tearing up, writing, writing, tearing up. Several crumpled balls sat in the trash can. No matter how she wrote, she wasn't satisfied, so she simply went out of the living room.

"Dong Shu, teach me how to drive!"

The butler was standing under the streetlight on the phone with the car shop and was puzzled. "Miss, don't you already know how to drive? You even ordered a car before. By the schedule, it should be arriving around the end of the month."

"I crashed the car last time chasing after Fu Ye, so I don't dare drive anymore." Yan Qingqiu was talking nonsense. "Don't tell my dad about this. After the crash last time, I haven't dared to drive. I haven't even told Xing Xing. I'm telling you because I trust you. If you leak it, I'll never talk to you again. You remember to keep it secret."

"...Okay." The butler didn't suspect anything. He got in the car and asked with concern if she was in pain, if it was serious, and if she'd had a check-up. Yan Qingqiu nodded. "Don't talk about that. Every time I do, I don't dare drive. You teach me."

She asked another question. "Was that car bought at Zhao Jiayu's place?"

The butler nodded.

"Help me return it and get the money back. However it's most cost-effective to return it, do that. I don't want it anymore."

The butler didn't overthink it and taught her to drive step by step. He drove a lap first, then had Yan Qingqiu sit in the driver's seat. She drove very slowly, completely different from her previous style.

Before, she was a speed demon, and had spent plenty of nights racing after Fu Ye at full speed.

Yan Qingqiu's restraint wasn't because she didn't know how to drive at all—she was just timid, afraid of denting the luxury car.

A person who'd been poor for a long time would instinctively be nervous doing anything new.

At five in the evening, SendAutumn Studio got off work right on time.

Soon, a continuous honking sounded at the entrance of the building.

Looking out, the car window rolled down. Yan Qingqiu's arm rested on the window frame, and she crooked a finger at Song Qingre, calling out, "Get in, I'll take you home."

Sheng Huajian bent down slightly to look and saw her shiny golden hair and bright eyes. He praised in his heart, this Alpha is pretty good-looking, slightly roguish. Indeed, beauties and luxury cars are the best match.

Song Qingre raised her eyes and answered with a simple "okay."

Sheng Huajian couldn't help asking, "Miss Yan, can you actually drive?"

"Of course I can." Yan Qingqiu looked at Song Qingre. She turned her body and stared at Song Qingre, asking, "Want me to open the door for you?"

Song Qingre said no need. She walked around to the other side, opened the passenger door, and got in. She also looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Can you really drive?"

"Who are you underestimating?" Yan Qingqiu gripped the steering wheel. She'd at least gotten her driver's license. "Don't worry, I drove here by myself just now."

Song Qingre parted her lips as if to say something, but thought better of it and stopped herself, finding it unlucky. She fastened her seatbelt. "Go ahead then. This is the first time I'm riding in a car driven by Qiuqiu."

Yan Qingqiu huffed. She started the car and merged into the lane. Very quickly... Sheng Huajian's car pulled out from the parking spot and passed her. And very quickly, assistant Xiao Fu's car also passed her.

Song Qingre looked out the window, unsure what to use as a reference point. The speed was truly too slow. She asked again, "Is the car broken again? I heard from the butler this morning that your car broke down on the way back."

"It's not broken. I'm just... driving slowly." Yan Qingqiu said seriously. "Besides, it's not that slow. Can you stop exaggerating?"

"Mm, we just haven't moved."

Yan Qingqiu pretended not to hear. Once she got the hang of it, she sped up just a tiny bit. "What's the rush in driving so fast? Driving needs to be steady, to be safe."

Song Qingre said, "It's not that I'm rushing you or anything. I was just thinking—by the time we get back, won't the food at home have gotten cold?"

"It won't." Yan Qingqiu said seriously, "Dong Shu is in the car behind us."

Song Qingre smiled and turned her head to look. "Oh..."

The car behind slowly followed. The butler gave them a slight nod. He was very dutiful, trailing along.

"Mm, it's fine. No need to rush. I'd like to enjoy the scenery anyway." Song Qingre said.

"Oh." Yan Qingqiu thought to herself, you really don't understand at all. Driving slowly is what makes it steady. I'm afraid you'll get into an accident riding with me.

She muttered, "I came to pick you up as soon as I learned to drive."

"Ah? Then I should thank Qiuqiu."

"From three in the afternoon to four-thirty!"

Song Qingre's eyes showed a smile. She occasionally turned her head to glance at her.

Occasionally she'd offer a word or two of driving advice. "Mm, I feel honored."

Yan Qingqiu was in a great mood from the praise.

Soon came the evening rush hour. Everyone was driving at similar speeds, and Yan Qingqiu reached the average.

"Give me two more days, and I'll be a complete driver." Yan Qingqiu said smugly.

No response came back. Yan Qingqiu glanced over and saw Song Qingre leaning against the car window with her eyes closed. At a red light, she reached out and pulled the woman closer to her, thinking that if the driving got unsteady, it'd hurt if she bumped into something.

She continued driving, getting steadier and steadier.

They arrived home in an hour and a half. Yan Qingqiu let out a heavy breath.

The maid came to open the car door. Yan Qingqiu pressed a finger to her lips, signaling the maid not to wake Song Qingre. She carefully prepared to get out. She'd just stretched her foot outside, not yet touching the ground, when her hand was grabbed—gripped so tightly that her knuckles felt like they were being tortured.

Yan Qingqiu turned her head to look. Song Qingre was still asleep, yet she was gripping so hard, as if her body's instinct wouldn't allow her to leave, wouldn't let her go.

Where she was held felt like it was burning. "Song Qingre..."

Song Qingre didn't respond. Yan Qingqiu couldn't help her loose tongue and whispered, "Song Xiaore..."

"Mm." Song Qingre responded.

Yan Qingqiu immediately didn't know what to do. Her whole body went stiff, and she stared blankly at her.

She actually answered! Responded!

Yan Qingqiu quickly looked out the window. Even worse, she'd called out again. Yan Qingqiu, Yan Qingqiu, you're really too deep into CP shipping—you've shipped your brains away!

Song Qingre was sound asleep, her breath stirring the long hair on her cheek. Yan Qingqiu stared for a long time, wanting to pinch Song Qingre's cheek.

Every time she reached out, she quickly pulled her hand back. She didn't dare touch.

Yan Qingqiu glared out the window. The butler walked over and bowed his head to her. Yan Qingqiu frowned, not understanding what he meant.

The butler pointed at her cheek and said in a low voice, "Miss, your face is so red. Are you running a fever? Want to see a doctor?"

Yan Qingqiu thought, what a lack of tact. She ignored him. A fever? She was feeling horny!

The butler looked further inside, saw their connected hands, and understood. He nodded, straightened up, and walked away.

Yan Qingqiu kept a straight face, looking front and back.

The maids in the house were all a bit tactless, like little bees, buzzing around now and then. When they came over and saw the scene in the car, they'd link arms and walk away together, grinning ear to ear.

Unbelievable. These people!

Yan Qingqiu sat in the car, sat and sat, waited and waited, whiling away the time watching how autumn nights arrived.

First they tinted a small edge of the sky, then layered on a grayish hue. The sun tucked in the clouds would sink, sinking until it disappeared below the horizon. Then the yard lights, sensing the darkness, would turn on one by one.

When Song Qingre woke up, she gave a soft groan, moving her stiff body. She realized she'd fallen asleep in the car. She turned her head to look at the person beside her—Yan Qingqiu's eyes were fixed on her, bright as light bulbs in the night.

She took out her phone to check the time. It was already nine-thirty.

She said in a daze, "It's this late already? Did we walk home?"

Yan Qingqiu shook her head. "I carried the car on my shoulders and sprinted the whole way back."

Song Qingre laughed at her joke. She turned sideways to look at her, arm propped against the seat, her eyes seeming to ask: were you waiting in the car the whole time for me to wake up?

Yan Qingqiu turned her head away, not looking at her.

Song Qingre squeezed her phone and pushed open the car door. "Thank you, Qiuqiu, for driving me home. I've had a lot of work piling up these past two days, so I've been busy and a bit exhausted."

Understandable.

She was on the rise in her career, and because of the livestream, she'd taken two days off to keep her unworthy little slave company. Hard work, hard work.

Yan Qingqiu got out of the car too. She pulled the note from the morning out of her pocket, crossed out a few lines, and said deliberately, "It's just the master's orders!"

"Then, let me give you a score." Song Qingre said, "You did well today. Fifty points."

Hearing that fifty, Yan Qingqiu looked at her twice, almost thinking Song Qingre had seen through the things in her head.

"Miss, dinner's ready." The butler stood at the door calling them.

The sky was pitch black now, and the chill had risen. The warm light from the living room illuminated the steps. Yan Qingqiu rubbed her arms, feeling like she'd need long sleeves soon.

Today, Yan Fu was also home for dinner. He was already seated at the table, the dishes laid out being the ones they usually ate. Hearing she'd caught a cold today, he asked with concern, "Did you take your medicine on time? Before or after meals?"

"After meals. Don't worry." Yan Qingqiu took her seat. "Oh, by the way, Dad, arrange some bodyguards for me after this."

"What's wrong?" Everyone looked at her.

"I'm busy with things. I've offended too many people lately. I'm afraid of getting beaten up outside."

"Alright." Yan Fu nodded. Looking at the two across from him eating in almost perfect sync, the smile at the corner of his mouth couldn't be contained. Progress. The relationship line was progressing.

After that, he'd plan some holiday or another, and there was sure to be major progress.

Yan Qingqiu finished eating first. Worried about exposing her alpha identity, she secretly opened her medicine boxes upstairs.

The System asked: 【Do you want to redeem your gift now?】

Yan Qingqiu wasn't in a hurry. She knew her own brain too well—it definitely wasn't anything respectable. Even if she were to redeem it, it would be in the dead of night, when everyone was asleep.

Yan Qingqiu asked: 【Forget the gift. I'm pretty rich now. I can buy myself a gift. Help me redeem something else.】

The System: 【What is it? Tell me.】

Yan Qingqiu said: 【I remember, when I first answered the questions, a lot of them were censored. Help me reveal what those questions were. I want to see what kind of wild questions they were. I'll prepare myself mentally.】

The System was silent for a few seconds, as if it had specially searched for it, then said: 【Sorry about that. That's not really possible.】

Yan Qingqiu suppressed her urge to curse it and said sarcastically: 【Then how dare you call it a reward? You didn't understand my desires at all. Money won't work, this won't work, that won't work. What else do you have?】

The System was hurt: 【Isn't what you want most some good fun?】

Yan Qingqiu was startled. System, can you not drop bombshells like that!

The System: 【When I said 'thirst,' I meant that kind of thirst. What did you think I meant?】

Damn. It had seen right through her.

Yan Qingqiu tried to stay rational. Now wasn't the time for lewd thoughts. She continued: 【Since you can't wipe out the whole questionnaire, at least show me the censored parts of Song Qingre's personality. That should work.】

The System: 【Based on the principle that you are my host and as long as you don't die, we'll be cooperating for a long time, I'll tell you a secret in advance: when you reach 70% of the plot points in the first stage, we'll show them to you.】

Yan Qingqiu let out a snort.

What use was that?

By then, she'd probably have uncovered everything herself.

What use was the System anyway? It just refused to spoil.

Disgusting.

【Trash.】

The System played a burst of noise in her head, buzzing. Yan Qingqiu took a deep breath, took her medicine, and pressed her temples to soothe herself.

She still felt a bit unwell.

Yan Qingqiu leaned against the door, popped the pill into her mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp. Her nose was still a bit itchy. She took out her phone and texted Song Qingre: 【Master, do you need me to draw your bath? Should I continue my service today? I can come to your room early.】

After sending it, she pulled out the code again and snuck a glance.

She blushed. She blushed.

Downstairs, Song Qingre replied: 【No need. You have a cold today. Rest early.】

Song Qingre was still sitting at the table, drawing on her tablet with a stylus. She had to work a bit of overtime today. She worked for nearly an hour, and the butler brought her a plate of fruit.

She looked back at the screen, but her gaze first landed on the trash can beside her. There wasn't much in it—only a few crumpled up balls of paper. A maid was cleaning the trash.

Song Qingre called the person over, put on gloves, and picked out the several balls of paper. She unfolded them one by one. Seeing the contents, she couldn't help a soft laugh. She pressed a finger to her cheek, reached for the stylus to help edit, remembered that it couldn't write on paper, put it down, and then remembered these were drafts anyway.

She kept unfolding, all the way to the last one.

【Miss Yan held her wet face and said, "Good girl, I'm not saying you're gay. I actually love you so much I can't stand it."

Song Qingre turned her face away, gritting her teeth hard, stepped forward, and stubbornly turned her head. "Sorry, I don't like you anymore. You go. I won't be so pathetic anymore."

Miss Yan kept chasing her, coaxing her. "Baby, believe me. Though there are some things I can't say out loud, you listen..."

She caught Miss Song's hand and pressed it to her chest. The vigorous heartbeat represented her loyalty.

But Song Qingre didn't seem to want to hear her explanation.

Miss Yan didn't know what to do either. She raised her hand and pressed her against the wall. Then Miss Song's fingers clamped down on her fair neck, pressing down hard, venting her avoidance and hatred.

"Baby, how can you believe me?" Miss Yan was in despair, tears streaming down like rain. "I don't know what happened... Why did I hurt you? It's like my heart was controlled. I didn't mean to hurt you. Baby, forgive me, okay? I'll do anything you ask."

"No need for you to do anything." Miss Song's dark eyes looked at her.

"Just let me fuck you. As many days as you hurt me, that's how many days I'll fuck you. I'll tie you up, day and night, until I get bored."】

Song Qingre stared at the few words on the paper, her brow furrowed slightly. The curve of her lips wasn't quite a smile, more like she was pondering.

The maid beside her called out softly, a hint of panic in her voice. "Miss Song, will you be throwing that trash away?"

Song Qingre looked at the ball of paper in her hand and suppressed her expression. "No need."

Upstairs, Yan Qingqiu lay in the bathtub washing up. She hadn't washed her hair today, worried about making her cold worse. She continued negotiating with the System.

【You're not watching me bathe, are you?】

The System: 【I'm just an AI, I'm not as perverted as you.】

Yan Qingqiu rested her legs on the edges of the tub. After all, she wasn't a respectable person, so she caught the implication in the System's words. The gift it was going to give her definitely had to do with something lewd.

She finished washing, wrapped herself in a towel, and returned to her room. She closed the door tightly and asked: 【You're not going to give me some lewd little toys, are you? Forget it. I've got my own money. I just don't dare buy them myself. Giving me those is meaningless. It'd only bring me endless embarrassment, and besides, they're not even worth that much money.】

Yan Qingqiu knew it well. 【People like me will die of embarrassment. If you buy them, someone will definitely see. Maybe when I go to pick them up, they'll come tumbling out noisily, and the person who sees it will say, 'Little Qiuqiu likes these? I'll put them in for you.' I've read way too many of these erotic stories. In the end, I'd have to use them all myself, and it's not even that cost-effective. Not worth it. Better exchange for something else.】

The System: 【You're underestimating our power.】

Yan Qingqiu thought it over. Besides that...

She couldn't think of anything else she desired. She opened her shopping cart and looked at the things she'd wanted to buy but hadn't, and asked: 【Then what else can you do? Give me the 'Alpha Manual' and 'Ten Classic Videos on Alpha-Omega Communication'? That's just pocket change.】

The System: 【It's definitely something you can't buy. Of course, if you want to buy it, that's fine too.】

Chatting like this, Yan Qingqiu actually got curious. She asked: 【Is it decent?】

The System: 【Rather than decent, I'd say it's to the point.】

Yan Qingqiu: 【...】

The System said: 【From your livestream content, it's clear you really want to challenge your soft spot and you desire this very much. So when we learned you especially crave having 365 wives, we immediately applied for a bonus for you! So this time I specially applied for double—365 wives! Isn't that exciting? Do you like it? 365 wives, each with a different style!】

Yan Qingqiu was lucky she'd already climbed out of the bathtub, or she'd have choked on the bathwater. She couldn't help cursing: "Are you insane! 365 wives? Who could handle that! I was just saying that!"

The System: 【Each one is a beauty, sexy and slim! They can satisfy all your fantasies~ You can even do whatever you want~】

Yan Qingqiu was scared silly by it. This stupid System. Luckily she'd been smart and hadn't chosen to redeem directly. If she'd redeemed that, it would've been a disaster: 【You can actually create 365 people?? You have that much authority! You guys are terrifying!】

She wanted to curse!

But, damn, her curiosity had been piqued. What if she actually wondered how it would legally give her 365 wives? What kind of hellish scene would that be? Damn.

The System: 【Don't worry. As long as you need it, I can redeem it for you immediately—legally 365 beauties, all grown to your liking, exactly the 365 wives your heart desires~ Do you want it? Is your heart moved? The kind that lets you do anything~ And they'll love you devotedly.】

Damn.

What kind of messy advertising slogan was that? It's a lewd game!

Yan Qingqiu's curiosity was piqued by it. It wasn't that she actually wanted these 365 wives, mostly she was curious how the System would conjure up 365 wives for her!

She bit her finger, laughing to herself.

She thought the System was being deliberate. It clearly knew she'd already been tagged with the "little slave" label by Song Qingre, and still used this to tempt her. "Then, then, can I at least see some photos first? AI aesthetics differ from human ones, right? What if you give me 365 robots? That would be... too cold."

The System: 【You can decline the gift. Photos can't be shown—it's related to the setup. If you don't want them, I can withdraw them.】

This was really difficult. She'd only gotten to play a game a few times and had never seen a scene of 365 wives chasing after her. She felt reluctant to give up.

So infuriating.

This game really had her in its grip.

Indeed, she did have a bit of longing.

Yan Qingqiu gritted her teeth and said: 【Trash game! Give me 365 wives, and I'd become a human trafficker. I feel like your double reward isn't even as good as just giving me the toys!】

The System was silent for a moment, got angry from her repeated insults, and said in a very cold tone: 【Please keep a clean mouth. We are a proper lewd game, not a trash game. Don't insult us.】

Yan Qingqiu pursed her lips, then heard the System deliberately say: 【Fine, I'll immediately switch for you to 360x2 toys! Please be ready to accept!】

【...】

【Fuck you! Fuck your whole family! People will think I'm stocking up on goods! You bitch! Wait a second!】

Yan Qingqiu cried out in anguish: "Even for livestock, that's too many!"

The System said coldly: 【Last chance. So, please choose—what exactly do you want!】

Outside the door, Song Qingre, who was about to knock, raised her hand... then lowered it. "Livestock?" Who was the livestock?