Inside the hovercar, the system was cheering on the sidelines, while Su Yin was utterly bewildered—she hadn’t done anything at all.
Su Yin asked the system: 【What stage is a 70 favorability rating?】
The system replied: 【The stage of deep affection, the kind where one gives their true heart.】
【Huh? If they can give their true heart, does that mean I can obtain the Main God fragment? How do I get it? This mission is so tricky!】
The system: 【I don’t know either. Why don’t you just try something random?】
Useless system, so unreliable.
Su Yin cautiously glanced at Lu Xingcun and tentatively asked, “Lu Xingcun? Has our relationship improved a lot now? Do you… have… something like wanting to give your true heart to me? Something intangible?”
Lu Xingcun was startled but quickly caught on, his ears turning red!
Was this a confession to him? Did she want his true heart, his affection?
Lu Xingcun: “Yes… Then, can I touch… your ears?”
Su Yin was taken aback. Could she really obtain the Main God fragment just by letting him touch her ears?
“Sure.” Who doesn’t love something fluffy? Even she couldn’t resist her own ears. With a “swish,” she let her ears out.
Lu Xingcun carefully reached out, afraid of hurting Su Yin. The soft sensation at his fingertips made his heart soften as well, pounding wildly in his chest. How could anyone be this adorable!
Favorability had already soared to 80!
However, Su Yin felt a shiver run through her body—being touched by someone else felt different from touching herself!
She endured it for a while but couldn’t hold back the discomfort.
Su Yin swatted away Lu Xingcun’s mischievous hand and extended her own hand in front of him: “Better to touch my hand instead. The ears feel weird, but my paws are also very nice to touch!”
Her clear voice snapped Lu Xingcun back to reality, and he looked down at her.
The girl’s eyes were utterly pure, filled with confusion and seriousness as she gazed at him, but there was no shyness or infatuation.
Lu Xingcun’s heart sank, and he fled in a panic, skipping dinner altogether.
Su Yin: Felt like she’d been taken advantage of for free… Where’s my fragment?..
That night, Lu Xingcun was wallowing in self-pity. Does she like me… Does she not like me… Does she like me… Who even said she liked me?
Suddenly, he remembered something important and hurried to see the old king.
The old king’s eyes lit up at the sight of him and quickly pulled out a small bottle to show off: “See this? This is a good thing, perfect for scheming against people…”
“Father!”
The old king was interrupted before he could finish: “What’s wrong?”
Lu Xingcun had no interest in hearing any of this now, even if it was related to Su Yin.
He awkwardly spoke up: “The other day, you mentioned introducing Su Yin to Second Brother… Did you actually do it?”
A gleam flashed in the old king’s eyes, and he immediately straightened up: “Yes, your second brother said he really likes that little girl!”
Lu Xingcun gave him a serious look, then turned away expressionlessly: “Then I’ll go beat him up.”
The king was shocked: “Hey, hey, hey? I was just joking! No, really, I didn’t! Your second brother is too weak to withstand even one punch from you!”
Second Brother had something to say: Damn it, what kind of misfortune is this?!
The triennial Diguo-Lianbang exchange competition was about to begin. Diguo would be represented by Su Yin’s Imperial Capital University, along with New University and Science University. The events covered multiple categories, including Zhandouxi’s mecha competitions and combat matches, Wenhuaxi’s calligraphy and painting, science categories like mathematics, physics, and chemistry, and medical categories such as traditional and Western medicine.
Although the Diguo and Lianbang had maintained peace in recent years, a faint undercurrent of tension lingered between them. This triennial exchange competition served as another form of covert rivalry. The previous competition was held on Longfa Star, a border planet of the Diguo, and this time it was Lianbang's turn to host on Baihui Star.
Su Yin, as a substitute for the traditional Chinese medicine project, also traveled to Baihui Star. However, a critical post soon appeared on the forum.
Title: Inside Scoop on the Exchange Competition
[Hah, I'm dying of laughter. A certain freshman surnamed S can actually be a substitute for the exchange competition? Is there some kind of insider deal? Must be nice to be close to the royal family, huh?]
[Huh? Who are you talking about? Stop speaking in riddles.]
[Oh, I know who the OP means. She pushed aside a bunch of seniors? Who even knows what her actual skill level is?]
[I know her, but she scored perfect marks on all her major-related exams during finals, ranking first in her year. Maybe she really is talented? No need to be so sarcastic.]
[She's only studied for half a year. One set of final exams makes her amazing? No matter how good she is, she hasn't even touched advanced-level knowledge yet.]
[Was that her just now? Defending herself so hard?]
[What's the tea? Spill more details!]
[So much jealousy. Are you all just bitter because you couldn't make it? No skills but plenty of gossip—have the guts to reveal your names?]
"But… still… she's connected to the university professors too, right? It's really hard not to be suspicious."
[Here for the drama, keep it coming!]
[Spreading rumors costs nothing, huh? Can someone dig up who the OP is? Hiding behind anonymity—brave enough to slander but not to show your face?]
No one believed Su Yin was truly selected based on merit. To protect her, all her research achievements within the Diguo were kept confidential.
Meanwhile, the Diguo's team of competitors had already arrived at their destination.
Baihui Star enjoyed perpetual spring-like weather. By the time the group arrived, dusk had settled. The evening glow painted the horizon in soft shades of crimson.
The competition would officially begin after the opening ceremony the next day. After settling into the hotel, Su Yin was pulled out by Lu Xingcun for a stroll.
Lu Xingcun was clearly excited. "This is Huasheng Commercial District—it's incredibly bustling, especially during the competition when foot traffic multiplies. You might find all sorts of unusual things around this time. When I heard you were coming, I knew I had to bring you here to explore."
Both Lu Xingcun and Yi Shang were participants in the mecha competition and had come along as well.
Su Yin nodded and pointed toward the most crowded area. "Sure. Let's check over there—it looks packed."
"That's the most famous pedestrian street here. Come on, stick close so we don't get separated in the crowd." With that, Lu Xingcun took hold of Su Yin's wrist.
Su Yin lowered her gaze, suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, and nodded as if unaffected.
Just as Lu Xingcun had described, the place was filled with all sorts of peculiar items—from large diamonds and antiques to food, drinks, and entertainment, along with many goods touted as local specialties from various regions.
For instance, the snowman crab Su Yin was holding had pincer claws covered in hair-like fine fuzz, legs longer than its body—a complete hairy oddity. Though snow-white and not exactly ugly, Su Yin couldn't help feeling a slight creepiness as she looked at it.
Shivering slightly, Su Yin ignored the seller's enthusiastic pitch and gently set it back down. The thought of cooking it felt too daunting—better to stick to more earthly fare.
Lu Xingcun watched her playful little movements, his gaze unconsciously growing even gentler. "Let's go, let's get something to eat. Although it definitely won't be as good as what you make, some of the snacks here are quite unique."
The two walked and ate their way along the street. Lu Xingcun had a big appetite, stopping at every stall to try something, and if he found it tasty, he would buy another portion for Su Yin.
Su Yin watched the man, with his serious expression and noble young master demeanor, eating street food, and couldn't help teasing him. "Must be tough coming down to earth."
Lu Xingcun ruffled her hair. "You might not even need to compete in the match. When the time comes, just watch the competition properly and don’t run off. The Jijia competition is at the end, and I’ll be training these next few days, so I won’t have much time to spend with you. Will you be okay on your own?"
"Don’t worry, I’m not a child anymore. I’ll just watch the matches quietly and promise not to wander off."
Between the hand-holding and head-patting, Su Yin wasn’t actually that oblivious. Even if she hadn’t realized it before, she was starting to now.
[System, does Lu Xingcun like me?]
[At 60 favorability, it’s considered liking. Now it’s 85, so he really likes you.]
Su Yin was speechless. [That’s not what I meant. I mean romantic interest. I see him as a mission target, but he wants to pursue me.]
The system was taken aback, and after thinking about it, it seemed true. [We were so focused on the fragments of the main god that we were too slow to notice! How embarrassing! So… Master… will you accept him?]
[I was originally planning to leave this world after graduating and finishing the mission to move on to the next one…]
The system felt a bit uneasy—how could she just flirt and run? [Maybe you should stay. Besides, you still have over three years to think about it…]