[Ding! Congratulations, you successfully tricked the protagonist into spending money on Liu Ruyan!]
[You successfully caused the protagonist to waste energy and miss the best opportunity to meet the “Demon Ship”!]
[You have stolen three strands of the protagonist’s Destiny Luck!]
[Your SSS-grade talent “Dice of Fate” awakening probability +3%. Current awakening probability: 37%!]
After hearing the system notifications, Zheng Hao watched Zhou Hang retreat in embarrassment, and the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.
In the original novel, at this time after school, the original Zheng Hao really had been harassing Liu Ruyan.
Then Zhou Hang appeared with Mo Yurou, using “harassment” as an excuse to make the original Zheng Hao lose face while gaining Liu Ruyan’s favor.
But…
Today was different.
He was now the one bringing Mo Yurou, and Liu Ruyan had not been harassed by him at all.
“Has the script already started changing?”
Rubbing his chin, Zheng Hao truly could not understand what the original author had been thinking.
Damn it!
From childhood to adulthood, he had given gifts to Liu Ruyan. Just because of following her for one day, she became annoyed, the male lead stepped in and accused him of harassment to rescue her, and Liu Ruyan fell in love with him?
Seriously?
Then what was the “original Zheng Hao”?
Did honest men deserve to die?
Did those who were loyal and steadfast in their devotion deserve to be outshined by some stranger descending from the sky?
Little fairies always ask where the good men have gone.
In truth, good men were played into simps. After being worn out, they simply gave up.
“Tsk…”
“See that? In the future, stay away from men like that…”
“He’ll come up with any ridiculous excuse just to pilot Liu Ruyan…”
There were fewer and fewer people by the railing. Feeling bored, Zheng Hao started chatting with Mo Yurou.
Under her short yellow hair, Mo Yurou blinked. As if suddenly thinking of something, she stared straight at Zheng Hao. “You men… do you all want to pilot Ship Maidens with high initial grades?”
“About that…”
Under her sharp gaze, Zheng Hao thought for a moment before slowly replying.
“In terms of competitiveness, of course everyone would want a high-grade Ship Maiden…”
“But Ship Maidens are people too…”
“They have emotions and their own thoughts. Compared to a cold A-grade Ship Maiden who strings others along emotionally, a young master like me who doesn’t need to struggle might prefer a sensible E-grade Ship Maiden instead~”
His sly eyes suddenly met Mo Yurou’s directly.
“Mm…”
“You!”
Caught off guard by his gaze, Mo Yurou’s face turned red as she scolded softly, “Smooth talker!”
“Look…”
“Can’t we have a proper conversation?”
“Hmph~”
They stood quietly by the railing.
Finally, when evening came and no one else was around, the sea glowed under the setting sun, and fiery clouds spread across the horizon. Only then did Mo Yurou slowly steady her breathing and look toward the sea.
“Hey…”
“Let’s make this clear first…”
“Even if my ship body is shabby, you can’t ask for a refund now!”
Her timid eyes looked at Zheng Hao. She knew her ship could not compare to the Smoke Ship and feared he might suddenly change his mind.
“I won’t…”
“This young master treats every ship equally…”
“Hmph… I hope so…”
“Buzz buzz buzz~”
A black triangular mirror membrane slowly condensed over her chest. After Mo Yurou closed her eyes, a pitch-black shining eye suddenly opened within the membrane.
“Gurgle~ gurgle~”
As the dark pupil rotated, a pitch-black medium-sized ship about 15 meters long, 4 meters wide, with sails 15 meters high slowly projected onto the sea in the distance.
“Whoosh~”
What surprised Zheng Hao was…
The moment Mo Yurou projected the hull, a splash sounded in the distance. She had already transformed into a streak of black light and entered the Demon Ship’s [Captain’s Cabin].
“Damn!”
“That projection speed is fast!”
“2 seconds? 1.5 seconds?! It feels even faster than the Smoke Ship?!”
Only now did Zheng Hao realize that the Demon Ship might possess astonishing potential in other aspects as well.
“Rumble rumble~”
A heavy propeller sound echoed over the sea.
Compared to the light and elegant Smoke Ship, the Demon Ship felt heavy and oppressive…
Its entire body was made of black wood. Even the railings along the sides were pieced together from crooked, strange rotten wood.
The deck boards were dark purplish-black. The sail was tattered, bearing the image of a huge black eyeball.
The only commendable aspect was its decent space, with front and rear deck areas. The enormous [Captain’s Cabin] in the middle was piled up from warped black wood into a pyramid-like shape…
It had to be said, this ship had character!
In the eyes of people from Demon Sea Star, it might look shabby, old, disgusting, and bizarre…
But!
To someone cultured on Blue Star, wasn’t this an incredibly cool antique-style ancient ship?!
Zheng Hao’s eyes widened as he stared in awe.
“Is it very ugly?”
“Very shabby?”
“I’m used to it.”
“If you don’t mind, come aboard. I’ll take you home.”
“If you do mind, then I’ll pretend I never heard what you said today…”
A resentful voice came from the Demon Ship as the black medium-sized vessel slowly approached the Mountain Sea Merchant Ship.
Mo Yurou did not dare look at Zheng Hao’s face.
She was afraid…
Afraid of hearing insults and belittlement.
Afraid of seeing the disgusted stares directed at her.
She was too familiar with it…
Whenever people saw her ship, their eyes filled with revulsion and contempt.
Whether navigators, workers at the Black Shipyard where she worked part-time, or even laborers, none of them wanted to board a ship like hers.
But today!
The man she avoided looking at merely stood dumbfounded by the railing.
After a long while…
Praise slipped uncontrollably from his mouth. “So… so cool!!!”
“Huh?!”
Doubting her own ears, Mo Yurou mustered the courage to tilt the bow slightly and nervously glance at Zheng Hao.
The usually frivolous young master now had stars in his eyes, staring at her excitedly.
“You…”
“You don’t hate me?”
“Hate?”
“Are you kidding!”
“With your ship body, with this design! I’d love to hold you every day, even sleep hugging you!!!”
There was not a trace of falsehood in his blazing gaze.
Mo Yurou stared at Zheng Hao blankly as her heart thumped faster and faster.
“You…”
“You like this kind of me?”
“Are… are you sick?”
“Tsk…”
“Stop talking nonsense! Hurry! Bring it over!”
“I want to board and touch you properly!”
“Your railings, your deck, your Captain’s Cabin, and even that tattered sail, they’re all works of art!!!”
“Quick! Hurry over!”
He waved eagerly at the Demon Ship. Watching Zheng Hao’s excited expression, Mo Yurou hesitated before slowly steering the ship closer to him…