However, in the next second, the girl's movements in the video suddenly froze!
Through the mirror's reflection, she widened her clear, bright almond eyes in horror, staring fixedly at the "camera" as if she could actually see Xu Yunzhou!
"Who are you? You... how are you in my room? Ah—there's a thief! Dad, come quickly!"
The girl's sobbing voice came from the speakers.
Stumbling and scrambling, she half-rolled and half-crawled out of the bedroom.
The video footage, maintaining a steady tracking shot perspective, moved synchronously right behind her.
"Xuanxuan, what's wrong?"
A middle-aged man and woman with anxious faces rushed over at the sound. The mother hurriedly hugged the shivering, pale-faced girl, who was scared out of her wits.
"Mom, Dad! In my room... there's a strange man! He's just standing there watching me!"
The girl spoke incoherently, tears falling like pearls from a broken string, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably.The father's expression froze. He rushed into the kitchen to grab a knife, then charged into his daughter's room with extreme vigilance, checking everywhere.
The windows were tightly closed. Behind the curtains, under the bed, inside the wardrobe... even the narrow balcony was rummaged through, but there was no one.
"There's no one, the doors and windows are closed tight. Xuanxuan, did your eyes play tricks on you?"
The father walked out, his brows tightly furrowed in confusion.
"Xuanxuan, did you have a nightmare? Or are you too tired and hallucinating?"
The mother sighed in relief, gently touching the girl's forehead.
"You don't seem to have a fever either."
The father checked inside and out one more time. Confirming there were no signs of intrusion, he shook his head with a helpless, doting smile:
"Is it because playing ball this afternoon tired you out too much? Come quick and drink some water to calm your nerves."
The girl, however, suddenly turned her head, her slender fingers trembling as she pointed at the empty space behind her, her voice shrill from fear:
"Him! He's been following right behind me! Can't you see him? He looks... he looks a bit like Edison Chen!"
(TL: Edison Chen / Chen Guanxi is a famous Hong Kong actor and singer, known for his good looks and a massive 2008 photo scandal.)
Outside the screen, Xu Yunzhou yawned, sinking back into his chair as he opened another can of beer:
"Tsk, so now it's an unskippable mandatory opening CG? The setting where only the female lead can perceive the player's existence? That's too cliché, isn't it."
He shook the beer can, his tone carrying the impatience of someone who felt teased:
"Can we hurry up and skip this boring foreplay and get to the main point? Like issuing a fanservice quest to change clothes or help the female lead take a bath?"
Seeing the family on screen still comforting the frightened little white rabbit, he lost interest in the drawn-out plot. He moved his mouse and clicked open the [Game Instructions] in the side menu bar.
[Goddess Nurturing Game V1.0]
[Core Objective: Guide the target character to increase their comprehensive charm value to 90 points, and after fully developing their talent, the next goddess can be unlocked.]
[Current Female Lead: Lin Ruoxuan]
[Time Anchor: August 3, 2008]
[Location: Songxi District, Huzhou, Sunshine Garden Residential Compound]
[Birth Year: 1990, Current Age: 18, Height: 168cm, Weight: 52kg, Current Education: High School (about to enter university)]
Xu Yunzhou looked at her age and the timeline, his brows furrowing:
"Birth Year: 1990? Shouldn't the female lead be a 35-year-old mature woman... Oh, I get it, the game background is set in 2008."
He continued scrolling down; it was Lin Ruoxuan's detailed attribute panel:
[Appearance: 90/100 (Note: Natural beauty, excellent foundation)]
[Figure: 78/100 (Note: Youthful vitality, well-proportioned physique)]
[Knowledge: 42/100 (Note: College freshman at Jingzhou University, foundation is passable)]
[Temperament: 48/100 (Note: Greenness has not faded, posture and aura still lack polishing)]
[Influence: 5/100 (Note: Limited to her class and small clubs within the school)]
[Comprehensive Charm Value: 52.6/100 (Calculation method: Average of all stats. There is still a significant gap from the target of 90 points, please guide proactively!)]
[Hidden Talent: Business Prodigy (Unactivated)]
[Currently Available Wealth: 5000 Yuan]
"Business Prodigy? Looks like the core is to nurture her into a future business queen. But how exactly do I do that?"
Xu Yunzhou muttered while stroking his chin, turning his gaze to the user interface.
The interface was very simple. Besides the attribute panel, there was only perspective adjustment, fast-forward/pause, and two rather striking icons:
A lightning bolt mark flashing with a dangerous red light [Punish], and a palm mark emitting a gentle green light [Reward], plus a dialogue box for input.
With no cash shop or top-up portal, it seemed to be a purely single-player game relying on strategy and active management.
"Can't control the female lead's autonomous actions... Hmm, but I can communicate through the dialogue box, and I can also apply rewards or punishments to influence her. Are there already AI games this smart? Whatever, I'll try greeting this student 'Lin Ruoxuan' first."
In the footage, Lin Ruoxuan was still terrified, glancing fearfully toward the 'camera' from time to time.
With great interest, Xu Yunzhou adjusted the perspective to be face-to-face with her, clicked the microphone icon in the dialogue box, and coughed lightly:
"Student Lin Ruoxuan, please calm down. I am not an evil spirit, I am your exclusive guide, you can call me 'System'. Currently, only you can perceive my existence. Now, go back to your room, we need to talk."
In the video, Lin Ruoxuan visibly trembled all over. However, her initial blind panic seemed to fade a bit, replaced by the sheer bewilderment of having her reality shattered.
Realizing she couldn't shake this phantom shadow, she could only force a stiff smile for her parents:
"I-it's nothing, Mom and Dad, maybe... maybe I really am too tired and just hallucinating. I'll go back to my room and rest a bit."
She walked quickly back to her room, closed the door, leaned her back against the door panel, and took several deep breaths before walking over to sit on the edge of the bed.
Her gaze met Xu Yunzhou's direction timidly, yet carrying a trace of curiosity:
"System? What... what exactly are you? Why did you seek me out?"
Xu Yunzhou stroked his chin, feeling that the realism and emotional feedback of this AI interaction were simply astounding.
Leaning into his drunkenness, he fully immersed himself in the role and began communicating with this 'game character' that felt incredibly alive:
"Have you read web novels? I am a similar existence to that, here to help you achieve a counterattack in life. As for why it's you..."
He deliberately paused, his line of sight sweeping across that pure yet panicky pretty face on the screen, as well as that high appearance score of 90 on the attribute panel, and said in an enticing tone:
"Probably because you are the one-in-a-million chosen daughter of heaven."
Lin Ruoxuan stared blankly. Then, her train of thought took a peculiar turn as she blurted out:
"Then that means, you will always be following me? Just like Fujiwara no Sai following Hikaru Shindo in Hikaru no Go?"
(TL: Hikaru no Go is a famous Japanese manga/anime about Go.)
Xu Yunzhou affirmed:
"If nothing unexpected happens, before you reach your goal, yes. I will always be 'watching' you."
Lin Ruoxuan immediately crossed her arms defensively over her chest, her face full of wariness and bashful anger:
"Then wouldn't I have no privacy to speak of?! Taking a bath, going to the toilet, sleeping, you'll... ! Also, since you're just a system, can you change your appearance? I don't like Edison Chen, I like Daniel Wu's type, more stylish and rugged!"
Xu Yunzhou blanked for a moment. He actually got his appearance insulted by an NPC?
Almost at the same time, the lightning bolt mark on the interface lit up, exuding a dangerous temptation to "do something."
"Little brat, still being picky? It seems we need to lay down some rules first!"