This question actually caught Qi Du a little off guard. After all, he and 0617 had only just teamed up as mission partners. Aside from communicating a lot about the mission itself, neither of them had really taken the time to understand what the other was like as a person.
As soon as the little male lead’s question came out, Qi Du fell silent. He prodded 0617 in his mind. “Why don’t you tell me yourself… what kind of person are you?”
0617: …
『Just say whatever you want. As long as you don’t make him dislike us, that’s fine.』
Qi Du curled his lips slightly. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll spread rumors about you? I can say anything, you know.”
0617 ignored him, and Qi Du didn’t act up either. After thinking for a moment, he still spoke in a gentle voice. “You’re a gentle and attentive person, I think.”
“He has a pretty good temper. You don’t have to worry that he won’t like you. From now on, you’ll be the little young master of this family, so there’s no need to be so worried.”
Xu Yangxia looked at him and asked seriously, “Then do you like him?”
Children speak without a filter. He felt that two people being together should be as loving as his parents.
Since Qi Du had already said he would be his dad, then this future new mom must definitely be someone he liked.
But neither Qi Du nor 0617 could really answer that. For some reason, both of them felt a little embarrassed. Qi Du coughed twice, his tongue stiff, his voice slightly unsteady. “L-like him, of course I do.”
“Don’t worry. Your stepmother and I will care for you and love you just like your real parents.”
Their mission was to help the little male lead achieve happiness, so that last sentence was said with great seriousness. Xu Yangxia was still young, after all. As long as you comforted him sincerely, he would be very happy.
Hearing Qi Du say that, his eyes immediately grew warm.
『Target character happiness index +1, +1, current value 12』
Qi Du froze for a moment. He hadn’t expected the happiness index to rise at this crucial moment. He had originally thought it would take a bit longer, but he hadn’t expected it to work so quickly.
0617 was excited too. 『Wuwuwu, Xiaxia is such a good baby~』
Qi Du hid his delight on his face and pulled the blanket up for Xu Yangxia, telling him to hurry up and sleep.
Only after leaving the room did he finally complain to the system, “Even so, isn’t it increasing way too slowly? Only +2?”
『Any progress is good. You can’t expect to get fat in one bite, right? You need to be patient.』
“But his base value is way too low. It’s only 12 now. When will it ever get above 90?”
The task of making the Small World male lead happy only counts as a success when the happiness index reaches 90 or higher.
The main god believed that things like darkening value and affection value couldn’t really be measured accurately with numbers. A person’s hatred and love both change, and there shouldn’t be any upper limit.
So if this happiness index can rise to 90 or above, it means the target character is already living a very comfortable and joyful life. He will live out his life happily.
0617 wasn’t as impatient as Qi Du. After soothing him with a few words, he still prepared everything according to plan.
Qi Du couldn’t possibly bring 0617 home in one go, so their first meeting was still at a blind date banquet arranged by the family.
“What do you call this identity again?”
『0617.』
“Pfft… you’re really just using a code name on the field?”
0617 felt a little embarrassed by the mockery. 『It’s already good enough to have an identity. What are you being picky about!』
『I heard he’s the 17th illegitimate son of the Lu family. That’s how the name was picked. It’s pretty simple. I don’t know the details either.』
Qi Du felt a little sorry for him. “That’s way too miserable. Why didn’t you give yourself a better identity?”
0617 didn’t care much. 『It’s fine. It’s enough to get a good one for you. I’m just support anyway, so it doesn’t matter if mine is a little worse.』
Qi Du wasn’t happy. “How is that just a little worse? This is clearly much worse. Do you know how little an illegitimate son is valued in a family?”
“And you don’t even know which branch’s child you are, and you’re already number 17… The Lu family really is a mess.”
『Ah, don’t be so upset. You’ll know once we meet.』
Qi Du didn’t say anything else, but his expression was clearly a few shades darker.
The Lu family was also considered a major family in X City, but as Qi Du said, families like that had thriving bloodlines and many descendants, so the open and covert power struggles and internal infighting were pretty terrifying.
This blind date banquet wasn’t just attended by 0617. The Lu family seemed to be worried that one child wouldn’t be enough, so they called in almost all the boys in the family who were about the right age.
After all, Qi Du’s identity as the head of the Qi family was truly quite impressive. If they could marry Qi Du, the benefits to the family would definitely be enormous.
The Lu family had done their calculations well, but Qi Du had no interest in them.
0617 was a system, and he was somewhat special. After the two of them each had their new identities, they could still communicate through brainwaves, so Qi Du wasn’t worried about mistaking the wrong person at all.
But once he entered the room, his eyes were still drawn to 0617 at first sight.
0617 was actually standing very far away. Normally, Qi Du shouldn’t have noticed him right away, but he still saw him and, without any conversation to confirm it, recognized that he was 0617.
He was wearing a simple white shirt and black pants, with a pair of clean white sneakers on his feet. His black hair was a little long, soft as it lay against his scalp. His skin was very fair, so fair it seemed to glow under the light.
He was clean and beautiful all over, with polished and delicate features. Just looking at the pair of hands he had exposed, Qi Du couldn’t help but swallow twice as his Adam’s apple moved up and down.
0617’s appearance perfectly matched the kind of person he had imagined: refined and handsome, with gentle, attractive features. The type who would be shy and embarrassed, and would blush with just a little teasing.
His eyes were especially beautiful, bright and clear like water. Even when he was simply looking at you, it felt as if he were saying a thousand words.
Qi Du’s heart churned nonstop. “You brat… you really know how to look good~”
0617 didn’t catch the teasing in his tone and was a little confused. 『I’m using my previous appearance. Can’t you accept that?』
Qi Du laughed. “No way, ally. I’m absolutely satisfied with you right now!”
“When are we getting married?”
『Wake up. We don’t even know each other yet.』
Their conversation was all in their heads. In reality, they still had no interaction at all. Qi Du patiently exchanged a few polite words with the people beside him, but his peripheral vision had actually been following 0617 the whole time.
0617 was an illegitimate son of the Lu family. His treatment in the Lu family was actually not good, and he had only been brought back from outside recently.
The purpose was to help the family with a marriage alliance and consolidate their power.
Fortunately, this identity was fabricated, and 0617 didn’t care much. He and Qi Du were here for Little Treasure. It didn’t matter to him if he lived a rougher life himself.
He treated whatever those Lu family people said as nonsense and didn’t listen at all.
This time, quite a few Lu family descendants had come. Several legitimate young masters who had been groomed by the family were also present. They noticed the look Qi Du had just given 0617, and now they were looking over with rather unfriendly expressions.