Liang Sheng had won this round once again.
But the Green-haired Girl was terrified. She feared that Su Ze, having lost, might snap and come strangle her a second time.
“Don’t worry, Liang Sheng. He won’t come again,” Akino Kazuko said, picking up on her host’s inner worries.
“Why not?” Liang Sheng asked, her face etched with concern.
“Because hosts aren’t allowed to fight each other. If he strangled you to death, he’d be punished with death too.”
“Huh?” Liang Sheng turned to Akino Kazuko, frowning in mock reproach. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? You’ve had me worried sick for nothing. But… what if he knows he’s going to lose and decides to go down fighting together anyway?”
The Favorability System paused for a moment. “Well… that’s not impossible.”
“Right?!” Liang Sheng deflated again. “God, I’m really scared he’ll hire some hitman or something and sneak into my house at night to choke me out. What then?”
“Uh…” Akino Kazuko rubbed her chin. It did seem plausible.
Suddenly, inspiration struck her—a rotten idea (crossed out) brilliant one. “Hey!” She nudged her host’s shoulder. “If you’re that scared, why not have Little Yandere Hana come sleep over with you?”
“Hah?” Liang Sheng’s eyes went wide.
Wasn’t that just inviting the wolf into the fold?!
“You’re talking nonsense!” Liang Sheng panicked and hurled a pillow at her. “Sure, my life might be safe, but my virtue? Gone!”
The pillow passed right through Akino Kazuko’s body. She grinned. “Which is more important, your virtue or your life?”
Liang Sheng: “…”
“My life,” she forced out through gritted teeth.
With Akino Kazuko’s suggestion planted, Liang Sheng started seriously considering having Hana sleep over. After all, someone showing up in broad daylight to commit murder was pretty unlikely.
“But… if I have the Little Yandere come sleep over at night, how am I supposed to…” How was she supposed to flirt and banter with all those girls on her phone?
Liang Sheng—the Green-haired Girl—was a busy woman. Every night, she juggled chats with several girls at once, typing up to a hundred words a minute. She was on the verge of evolving into some kind of tentacle monster.
With Hana’s vicious little temperament, if she saw Liang Sheng chatting so happily with other girls, she’d probably slit their throats!
“Hahaha~” Akino Kazuko egged her on, loving the drama.
Liang Sheng thought back to all the ways Su Ze had tried to kill her, and the dangers she’d faced on her last outing. Soon enough, she steeled her resolve. She’d push hard to conquer one more girl tomorrow, then have Little Yandere Hana sleep over that night!
“Kazuko, who haven’t I fully conquered yet?” Liang Sheng asked from her bed.
Akino Kazuko glanced at the data.
“Three girls left.”
“Mo Qingrou, Cha Susu, and Ou Lu.”
“Mo Qingrou’s favorability toward Liang Sheng: 135.”
“Cha Susu’s favorability toward Liang Sheng: 130.”
“Ou Lu’s favorability toward Liang Sheng: 142.”
“Argh…” Liang Sheng buried her face in her hands as heat rushed to her cheeks. “Why the huge gap? Are you sure all the others are maxed out?”
Akino Kazuko shrugged. “Yep. Your conquests are way uneven.”
“What now?”
Liang Sheng slumped against her lazy slacker dakimakura, swiping through her phone screen. “First off, no dating Mo Qingrou tomorrow. She’s the toughest nut to crack. Boosting her favorability a ton short-term? Impossible. Needs slow simmering. Even Su Ze had a hard time with her—she doesn’t fall easily.”
“Fine, unless that dog Su Ze pulls out Canon Law again.” The Green-haired Girl rolled her eyes dramatically.
Akino Kazuko kept reassuring her. “Relax. The Heartthrob Value System isn’t as overpowering as it used to be.”
Liang Sheng nodded and continued. “Yeah… so I pick between Cha Susu and Ou Lu, conquer one in one go—argh! Those numbers are miles from two hundred. Way too hard!”
She ruffled her green curls, wriggling and squirming on the bed into bizarre poses, her face a picture of utter despair.
“Fine! Cha Susu it is!” Liang Sheng finally decided to reach out to her first.
The girl was filming dramas, always on the go—much like Ou Lu. Why not Ou Lu? She’d been too swamped lately to even reply, leaving Liang Sheng feeling like some neglected grandparent.
“Pretty please, pretty please, pretty please—have time, have time, have time!” Liang Sheng clasped her hands in prayer, eyes squeezed shut, head tilted toward the ceiling.
She held the pose for a solid two minutes. No phone notification. She deflated.
“Heh heh heh, heh…” She scrolled to another leggy beauty, wiping drool from her mouth. “Hmm, not as long as Senior Sister Yuqi’s legs, not as pale as Senior Sister An Hua’s, not as slender as Sister Mo Qingrou’s~ Just average.”
“Average and you’re still staring?” Akino Kazuko snorted.
“Waiting for messages is boring.” Liang Sheng kept scrolling videos.
Over an hour had passed since she’d messaged Cha Susu.
Just as the Green-haired Girl lost herself in acres of pale thighs and swaying hips, her phone dinged.
“Ding-dong~”
“Finally!” Liang Sheng bolted upright like she’d been shocked back to life.
That sound beat the hell out of that girl’s moans from earlier.
Her hands shaking, she tapped the message.
“Shengsheng, did you miss me?”
Liang Sheng fired back. “Wuwu~ I miss you so much, Susu~ It’s been days since we ate together last time~”
Cha Susu was in the middle of recording a variety show, a regular guest on the panel. Backstage, she was touching up her makeup and stole a glance at her phone.
A blissful smile bloomed on Cha Susu’s face at the message.
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Cha Susu’s favorability toward Liang Sheng: 132.”
“I really want to see you~” came the next message.
See her? Cha Susu wanted that too, but with the variety show taping, she had no time… Wait! Cha Susu’s eyes lit up.
“Sister Jin!” She whipped around, draping herself over the back of her chair. “Next episode of this variety show—isn’t it the one with interactions and battles between guests and random fan stand-ins?”
Her manager twisted around, puzzled. “Yeah, what’s up, Susu?”
“Ah! So those fan stand-ins…” Cha Susu’s eyes sparkled with greed.
The manager frowned. “Mostly locked in already. Why?”
“Oh…” Cha Susu’s voice dropped. “I have a teensy little request.”
