After a whole lot of fussing and tinkering, she was refined from head to toe. She even used a foot file to buff away the dead skin on her heels.
Jiang Ye also took the opportunity to examine herself in the mirror. This was the first time she had seen the original host’s appearance clearly; after all, descriptions in a book were always one-sided and couldn’t compare to seeing it with her own eyes.
To her astonishment, she discovered that the original host’s face looked identical to her own—what an incredible coincidence.
Jiang Ye’s heart felt gently ironed and soothed.
Walking around in a stranger’s face was uncomfortable in the long run. Even though she wasn’t an absolute top-tier beauty, she loved her own face.
Seeing her look in the mirror, the system immediately seized the chance to pitch its perks.
[Host, if you do a good job with missions from now on, there’s a chance random rewards like skin-whitening pills, bust-enhancing elixirs, and scar-removal ointments might drop! The rewards are super generous~]
Jiang Ye: “…”
She didn’t look particularly moved.
Jiang Ye was already quite satisfied with her appearance and had no desire to change it.
Of course, she didn’t voice this thought aloud, nor would she ever.
After all, who would ever turn down extra rewards?
With just one minute left on the clock, she began blow-drying her hair with the bathroom’s hair dryer while negotiating with the system.
“Dear~”
System: [?]
Weren’t those its lines?
Jiang Ye glanced over at Lin Hui’s outer jacket, which she had casually tossed to the side.
“System-kun, could you help me swap this jacket for something else a bit thicker?”
[According to the rules, that’s not allowed.]
Hearing that, Jiang Ye knew there was still room to negotiate and instantly flashed a flattering, ingratiating smile.
“Let’s just do it on the sly, you won’t say a word, I won’t say a word, and not a third soul will ever know. I know you’re the best! Dear~”
Being able to bend and stretch when needed—now that was a true heroine!
[……Fine. Considering you’re a newcomer, just this once, alright? Don’t expect this kind of good fortune in the future.]
“Mm-hm! Thank you!“
Jiang Ye nodded eagerly, looking as though she was terrified that a moment’s delay would fail to convey her sincerity and gratitude.
The system felt quite gratified, thinking that being able to bind such an obedient host would save it so much trouble.
Meeting Jiang Ye was truly its blessing.
Little did it know just how innocent its current thoughts were, and just how much of a breakdown it would suffer in the future.
[I’ve swapped it for you, but you have to complete a mission in return.]
There was no such thing as a free breakfast, lunch, dinner, or midnight snack in this world.
Jiang Ye’s face instantly fell.
Thanked it too early.
[The clothing item was originally a reward for a Level 2 mission. Considering you’re a rookie and even used another piece of clothing to trade for it, you only need to do a Level 1 mission.]
With the system putting it that way, Jiang Ye reluctantly accepted.
The bathroom countdown reached its end.
All the surrounding comfort vanished, and Jiang Ye found herself back in the dark, foul-smelling restroom stall.
She sighed.
The drop in quality of life was way too drastic; she couldn’t take it~
Fortunately, Lin Hui’s jacket left behind on the floor had been replaced by a new, thick piece of clothing.
The price tag was still hanging right on the new coat.
Jiang Ye picked it up and put it on, shielding her curvaceous figure as warmth instantly enveloped her entire body.
Pushing open the door, she stepped outside and spotted a dark silhouette standing not far from the restroom entrance.
Jiang Ye slammed to a halt.
A zombie?!!
Didn’t the system say there were no zombies nearby?!
[Ding-dong~ Mission online: Hug the target character, Zhou Yan, for one minute. Reward has already been issued.]
The system’s voice instantly soothed Jiang Ye’s heart, which had been pounding from unease.
Turns out it wasn’t a zombie at all—it was Zhou Yan.
The corners of her mouth hooked up; the reward had delivered itself right to her doorstep.
Hearing the movement behind him, Zhou Yan turned around and watched the figure gradually approach. Before the person herself arrived, a faint, fresh scent of oranges reached him first.
Jiang Ye stopped right in front of him, the distance between them closing to a mere fist’s length.
Too close.
The fragrance of oranges mingled with a subtle natural body scent and the lingering moisture of a recent bath washed over him.
Zhou Yan frowned, his parched throat bobbing up and down. He took a step back, widening the distance between them.
Wrapped entirely in the thick jacket, Jiang Ye had a pair of upturned, peach-blossom eyes that stood out sharply in the dark. She looked captivatingly ethereal, like an elf emerging from the shadows, yet her eyes remained pure and bright.
Jiang Ye lazily flicked a strand of long hair with her fingers, making the orange scent grow even stronger. She asked deliberately, “Did you come out specifically to pick me up?”
Zhou Yan’s gaze swept over her for a split second before he bypassed her question entirely.
Instead, he countered, “You found fresh water?”
Jiang Ye clearly looked like she had just taken a bath, and even her jacket was brand new.
If they could secure a source of fresh water, that would be fantastic.
Zhou Yan and the others hadn’t swallowed a single drop of water all day long, and every time they swallowed, it felt like a form of torture on their raw throats.
Jiang Ye smiled and nodded, “Mm-hm.”
She had never intended to hide it. But before Zhou Yan could even feel happy, he heard her say something that could infuriate a person to death:
“But it’s gone now. I used it all up for my bath.”
Zhou Yan: “…”
She didn’t care in the slightest how selfish people would think she was upon hearing that.
The man turned on his heel and walked away.
Zhou Yan felt thoroughly depressed; someone like this really didn’t deserve to have anyone come looking for her—even a zombie eating her would probably end up with a bad stomachache.
Unbearably toxic.
Jiang Ye jogged to catch up to him, acting as though she hadn’t noticed the impatience and disgust in the man’s eyes.
She sweetened her tone and said, “Thanks for coming out to get me. I’m so happy.”
Zhou Yan had shown up at just the right time, and since it was just the two of them on the way back, it made it super convenient for her to make her move.
Zhou Yan cast an indifferent glance down at her feet.
He sneered, “Foot all better now?”
Just a moment ago she had been throwing a fit about not being able to walk and forcing him to carry her, and now she was fine?
With the look of someone inspecting a fraud, Zhou Yan stared at her. Jiang Ye didn’t feel a shred of guilt; instead, she pondered it seriously for a moment before replying, “Probably because I was too busy being scared to feel the pain. But now that you mention it, it really does hurt.”
Hearing her admit she was scared, Zhou Yan figured she wasn’t completely a lost cause.
“Since you know how to be scared, then…” Behave yourself.
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Jiang Ye step right in front of him, open her arms, and part her naturally red lips to speak.
“A-Yan, hug me.”
Bathed in the brilliant moonlight, her face looked extraordinarily holy.
Holy?
Zhou Yan shook his head, instantly tossing that ridiculous thought out the window.
Ever since he rescued Jiang Ye today, his brows hadn’t unknotted even once.
Feeling amused at his own fleeting thoughts, Zhou Yan looked at her sternly and said, “Jiang Ye, last warning: don’t ever use Jiang Xing’s tone to call my name again.”
How could Jiang Ye’s desecration ever be allowed to taint Jiang Xing’s sacred image?
Jiang Ye tilted her head in feigned confusion.
“What does Jiang Xing’s tone sound like?”
She was doing it completely on purpose, just to piss him off.
Zhou Yan kept silent, looking at the person who was playing dumb with deliberate clarity. Half of him felt helpless, and the other half was utterly speechless.
How could Jiang Xing have a sister like this?
Jiang Ye pestered him with another question: “Are you saying I can’t call your name? Then what should I call you?”
Impatiently, Zhou Yan spat out, “Just like before.”
“Before?”
Recalling the past, Jiang Ye replied, “Brother Yan?”
Her voice was soft, the tail-end of the word curling up as if hooked on a fishhook.
Even though the exact same name was spoken by the same person, Zhou Yan felt it sounded different—though he couldn’t quite put his finger on where the difference lay.
Zhou Yan felt a spike of irritability.
Yet Jiang Ye had to go and poke the bear, stepping closer with a deeply meaningful smile.
“Do you want me to call you ‘Brother’? So you actually wanted to play out this whole ‘darling brother and sweet sister’ scenario with me? Why didn’t you just say so earlier, Big Brother~”
Watching the stubborn person blocking his path and talking nonsense, Zhou Yan lost his last shred of patience. He meant to brush past her with his shoulder, but unexpectedly, she slipped to the side and crashed squarely into his arms.
The air froze instantly.
The collision happened so abruptly that Zhou Yan completely forgot to push her away.
Feeling the soft contour pressed against his chest, his heart skipped a beat entirely out of his control.
Jiang Ye wrapped her arms around his waist, burying herself entirely within his broad chest. Listening to the system’s countdown in her mind, she waited until the very final second when the system announced the mission was complete.
Only then did she lift her chin to look up at his stubbly jaw, reaching out to give it a light scratch.
“Zhou Yan, tell me, is my heart beating fast?”