The System hadn’t been called out by Su Mi for quite a while. It had many hosts under its care, and Su Mi’s task of reducing the Blackening Value had been progressing steadily, so the System had shifted its attention to other hosts with more difficult tasks.
When Su Mi suddenly called it out, it was a bit dazed at first. It checked the Blackening Value before noticing her question.
“It’s not impossible. We don’t restrict the methods hosts use to complete their tasks,” the System said with some hesitation. “It depends on your analysis^^. Generally speaking, the core of this world is a romance novel, so the key to completing the task often revolves around love. However, since the world consciousness hasn’t provided a specific explanation for the Blackening Value, we can only recommend that you explore freely.”
Su Mi: “……So it’s still possible?”
System: “……Yes, I suppose.”
Su Mi pulled a long face. “Don’t say ‘I suppose.’ Give me a straight answer.”
System: “Has something happened O.o? Your Blackening Value has been dropping steadily. You might even complete the task in less than a year. Are you thinking of changing your task approach now?”
Su Mi felt the same way.
She would rather keep things steady and complete the task this way.
But…
Su Mi said awkwardly, “……Today, it seems like, maybe, possibly, the Antagonist……wanted to kiss me.”
System: “Ah, hasn’t she kissed you before?”
“……” Su Mi defended herself. “That time before, she wasn’t conscious. It doesn’t count.”
The System fell silent for a moment before asking hesitantly, “Host, what……did you do?”
Su Mi felt wronged. “I didn’t do anything QAQ. I’ve been seriously completing my task the whole time. You know that.”
System: ……Indeed, this host was a bit dumb, but she was always diligent with her tasks.
Could it be that the Antagonist had really taken a liking to her? It wasn’t impossible.
Seeing that the System wasn’t responding, Su Mi muttered softly, “System, can you give me some inside info? Does the Antagonist like the Female Lead right now? Or does she like multiple people at once? Is there some setting in the Original Plot that we overlooked?”
The System hesitated. “Liking multiple people at once……is possible too.”
It started digging through the data. After checking, the System said, “Based on our initial speculation, the Antagonist fits the most common trope of blackening because the Female Lead doesn’t reciprocate her unrequited love. But you’re right—from a character design perspective, the Antagonist isn’t some lovesick male or female side character. She won’t necessarily stick to tutoring the Female Lead. It’s entirely possible for her affections to shift midway.”
Su Mi: “……”
She had wanted the System to refute her, but instead, it agreed.
How could that be? So the Antagonist kissing her tonight meant she had feelings for her? But why a stolen kiss?
Su Mi’s mind was a mess. She couldn’t quite believe it. She was already clueless about romance, and this complicated situation was completely outside her knowledge.
What about the Female Lead then? Did the Antagonist like her too, or had she already moved on?
She spiraled in confusion.
The System said hesitantly, “Why don’t you……give it a try?”
Su Mi was shocked. “Try what?”
The System explained, “Your previous method was always to pair up the Female Lead and the Antagonist. But if the Antagonist’s current target is you—if she really has feelings for you—then you could try……helping her reduce her Blackening Value that way.”
Su Mi: “……”
Leaving aside whether the Antagonist actually felt that way.
She raised her hand. “I have a question. Can I really reduce the Antagonist’s Blackening Value?”
She recalled their past interactions. She had never succeeded in lowering the Antagonist’s Blackening Value herself—it was always Xu Nanqiao who made the difference.
Not to mention today… Su Mi glanced at the Blackening Value. It was exactly the same as that morning, unchanged.
She had been kissed, but the Blackening Value hadn’t budged even a little.
No matter how she looked at it, she had no effect on the Blackening Value.
Su Mi didn’t think she could do it. She said softly, “In all my previous interactions with her, I’ve never lowered her Blackening Value. Even today, when she……did that, it didn’t move at all. I probably can’t do it.”
The System encouraged her. “It’s fine. You can try first, Host. We’ll control the variables—try giving her some warmth when you’re alone with the Antagonist and see what happens. If it works, we can switch up your task method.”
Su Mi hesitated. “Should I read to her then? Or how do I give warmth? I’m not good at that……”
The System was stumped.
Host and System stared at each other blankly.
The System quickly sent a bunch of study materials to Su Mi.
Before, those were about matchmaking. Now these are about capturing the Antagonist. Take a look^^.
Su Mi stared at the sudden influx of materials, dazed but obedient. “Okay, I’ll check them out.”
The System cautioned, “But take it slow for now. Leave yourself some room to maneuver. Tasks can’t be redone, so observe your influence on the Antagonist first. Don’t let her get a bad impression of you. Anyway, you’ve already disrupted the Male Lead and Female Lead’s romance line pretty well. The Blackening Value reduction isn’t that urgent.”
Su Mi agreed.
She thought it made sense too. Although Xu Nanqiao was still rather indifferent toward Shen Han right now, she was even more indifferent to the Male Lead. She seemed focused on her studies and career.
Su Mi thought that was pretty good. As for herself…
The System seemed to pick up a tricky host on its end. After chatting with Su Mi a bit more and confirming everything was fine, it logged off.
Su Mi rolled around on the bed, still hesitating.
On one hand, she lacked confidence. She figured Shen Han might have just been drunk and talking nonsense, or acted impulsively without thinking straight. She probably didn’t have any real feelings for her—after all, Su Mi couldn’t see anything about herself worth liking in Shen Han’s eyes.
On the other hand, if she approached the Antagonist just to reduce the Blackening Value, it would feel……weird.
If Shen Han really did like her, then getting close like that would be deceiving her, right?
Su Mi’s conscience couldn’t handle that.
What did the Antagonist really want? Sigh.
She rolled around on the bed twice more, then sprawled out flat, staring at the ceiling and wailing silently.
She hoped the Antagonist’s feelings for her were fake……otherwise, she really wouldn’t know how to handle it.
As she wailed, her Light Brain vibrated again.
Su Mi opened it with trembling hands. Sure enough, it was Shen Han.
Shen Han: Asleep so early?
Shen Han: [/tilting head emoji]
Seeing these two messages, Su Mi closed her eyes, opened them, closed them again, then opened them once more.
——Okay, not a hallucination.
Her inner self collapsed again.
Antagonist, you’re a perfectly fine Antagonist—why use emojis TAT!
Can’t you act normal!
Su Mi buried her head in the pillow and collapsed hard for a while before lifting it up and exhaling.
Setting aside the idea of switching task routes for now…
At the very least, she couldn’t let Shen Han think she was acting weird.
She replied shakily: Nah, I was just taking a shower.
After sending it, afraid Shen Han would find her tone stiff, she quickly added a cute emoji.
She also sent over her Class Schedule.
Then, she waited nervously for Shen Han’s reply.
She watched the “typing…” indicator for a bit, feeling inexplicably tense as she stared at the screen.
But Shen Han only replied: Got it. Sleep early.
……That was it?
No emoji this time either.
Su Mi blinked, a bit in disbelief.
But Shen Han really didn’t reply again. It seemed she just wanted a copy of her Class Schedule.
Su Mi waited in the chat for half an hour before huffing out a breath and forcefully turning off her Light Brain.
Fine then. Looked like she had misunderstood after all.
She flung herself into bed, lay on her side, and closed her eyes.
Good night, this world.
.
The next day, Su Mi went with Xu Nanqiao to a general education lecture in the morning.
After class, they followed the crowd out of the classroom and unexpectedly spotted a familiar face.
Secretary Zhuang again.
The last time they met was at the Campus Fair on enrollment day, when she went to the conference hall to pick up Shen Han.
Thinking back on it, Su Mi suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
At the time, she had been completely innocent, thinking of herself as nothing more than an upright little sister to Shen Han, with zero ambiguity between them.
But looking back now, she wondered……did Secretary Zhuang know something?
Why was he here now?
The man in his elite suit stood out sharply amid the crowd of freshmen, drawing gazes from passing students.
Su Mi held Xu Nanqiao’s arm, tensing up and gripping tighter. She whispered, “Why is he here?”
Xu Nanqiao made a questioning “Hm?”
They reached him.
Su Mi assumed Secretary Zhuang was there for her. She had a class in the early afternoon—did Shen Han want to grab lunch with her during the break? She didn’t know where; Shen Han had her Class Schedule now, so maybe they’d eat out?
N-not great.
As Su Mi racked her brains for how to refuse…
Secretary Zhuang greeted her, then turned to Xu Nanqiao all businesslike. “Miss Xu, shall we head out now?”
Su Mi blinked.
Xu Nanqiao said softly, “Okay,” then turned and mouthed a gesture to Su Mi: Part-time job.
Su Mi: “Oh oh!” So she was going to read today too? No more weekends only?
But she was still a bit stunned.
She followed Xu Nanqiao and Secretary Zhuang downstairs. Right before the car at the bottom, Su Mi wondered if Secretary Zhuang would invite her along.
He didn’t.
Secretary Zhuang closed the car door for Xu Nanqiao, walked to the driver’s side, and smiled farewell at Su Mi. “Miss Su, see you.”
Su Mi stepped aside for the car and waved goodbye.
As the car drove off, Su Mi headed to the cafeteria alone for lunch, still a bit dazed.
She ran into Ren Yue in the cafeteria, along with two female friends Ren Yue seemed close to. Left alone, Su Mi got pulled into eating with them, then they all went to afternoon classes together.
Ren Yue and her two friends were quite enthusiastic and didn’t leave Su Mi out, chatting with her the whole time.
Su Mi, however, kept spacing out. Her mind felt……off because Secretary Zhuang had picked up Xu Nanqiao.
Before, she would have been purely happy—it meant steady task progress. As a tool like her, she just needed to do her job and be Xu Nanqiao’s good friend at school.
But now…
Looked like Shen Han had sobered up. It wasn’t the “shift in affections” she and the System had imagined at all. Sure enough, reducing the Blackening Value still depended on the Female Lead. A cannon fodder like her was useless.
If she’d known, she wouldn’t have rushed to ask the System yesterday.
What if the System asked next time: Any progress with the Antagonist? How awkward would that be.
Su Mi touched her face and sighed at the podium.
She barely paid attention for most of the class. After it ended, she borrowed lecture notes from Ren Yue. She had planned to study at the library, but saw the Blackening Value had dropped another five points—nearly down to 60%.
Looked like they ate at Southern Garden first, then did the reading.
Su Mi felt happy about the task progress one moment—probably no need for a full year; half a year would do.
The next, she felt subtly unsettled, like her heart was in disarray.
She had no mood to go to the library. After hesitating, she wandered back to the dorm.
She sprawled on the desk for a while when her Light Brain vibrated.
Thinking it was Ren Yue sending the notes, Su Mi opened it and saw it was Shen Han.
Damn……Xu Nanqiao was still at Southern Garden, right? How could she casually message her like nothing happened?
Su Mi ground her teeth, opened the message, and saw Shen Han acting like everything was normal.
Shen Han: Class over?
Su Mi glanced and didn’t reply.
But seeing the “typing…” above, she didn’t close it right away. She wanted to see what medicine Shen Han was selling in her gourd.
The other side sent a parrot sighing emoji.
Shen Han: Have to go on a business trip to Zhong City tomorrow or the day after. Heading out tonight.
……So?
Su Mi stayed on guard, not moving.
Shen Han’s next message was actually an explanation: Originally planned to pick you and Xu Nanqiao up the day after tomorrow for Southern Garden—better food—but sudden business trip, so had to ask Xu Nanqiao to come early. Didn’t want to disturb your class.
Su Mi inwardly: ……
Fine.
She hadn’t wanted to reply, but after hesitating, she typed anyway, pretending to be perfectly normal.
No bother at all^^, but there’s a lecture on Wednesday afternoon I want to attend. Lately, it hasn’t been me taking Nanqiao there anyway. Southern Garden is too far TT. Wish you a smooth business trip~
Shen Han: You?
Su Mi’s heart skipped a beat.
Yeah, it seemed like it. It had been a long time since she last used that formal “you” with Shen Han.
When did that change? She couldn’t remember.
Su Mi stiffened a bit and sent a starry-eyed emoji to Shen Han to brush it off.
Shen Han didn’t pursue it. Instead, she sent two pictures to Su Mi.
Shen Han: Southern Garden is indeed a bit far from your school. These two houses are both near your school. Which one do you think is suitable?
Su Mi flipped through them. She didn’t understand the locations or anything, but she liked the duplex one.
What was Shen Han up to? Was she planning to let Xu Nanqiao study in the closer house from now on? She wouldn’t make Xu Nanqiao move there, right? Her own roommate.
Alright, it looked like Shen Han had really been quite drunk yesterday. In the future, she needed to tell Xu Nanqiao to keep an eye on Shen Han and not let her drink outside.
Xu Nanqiao might not agree, but what was this move by Shen Han called? A golden house to hide a beauty?
Su Mi shook off the messy thoughts and replied: The second one?
Shen Han inexplicably replied: Okay.
Su Mi’s mind was full of question marks.
She didn’t really want to talk to Shen Han anymore. She stood up and rummaged through her cupboard, planning to just boil some instant food for dinner to get by.
But when she turned around, she saw that Shen Han had sent another message.
Shen Han: You have no class on Friday. Shall I take you to handle the property transfer?
Su Mi nearly dropped the bowl in her hand onto the ground.
Her face stiff, she tremblingly set the bowl back on the table and tried to calm herself down a little.
Not very calm.
Ugh, I’m the beauty.
