After processing the memory files, Su Mu raised a slender hand to beckon a nearby server over.
“Bring me a cappuccino, and prepare a bowl of ice cubes as well.”
Given her high-profile status, neither the server nor the store manager had dared to approach her hastily until now.
In the original timeline, Su Mu and Xiang Qing had only recently fallen out. The heiress had initially intended to have a reasonable talk with her here at the café.
Who could have guessed that Xiang Qing would come over carrying a cup of hot water and accidentally spill it right onto Su Mu’s hand? Su Mu’s skin had turned bright red from the burn. Yet Xiang Qing hadn’t offered a single apology; instead, she had just stared back with pathetic, tear-filled, victimized eyes.
That had only infuriated the original Su Mu even more. She wasn’t a man—what was the point of fluttering her lashes at her? Could she not even say a simple ‘I’m sorry’?!
In her blinding rage, Su Mu had thrown her coffee straight at Xiang Qing. But right at that precise second, Shen Yeyi had walked through the door.
Haughty by nature and ill-accustomed to defending herself, the original Su Mu had stood her ground, fuming with quiet rage. Paired with Xiang Qing’s soft whimpers of “It was an accident, don’t blame her…”, Shen Yeyi had misjudged the situation entirely.
Su Mu lowered her eyes, leaning back into the plush leather booth with her eyes half-closed as her fair, jade-like fingertips lightly massaged her temples.
“Little Cutie, what’s your name?”
“H-Host…? Are you asking me?”
w-444 stared at the lazily lounging Su Mu in utter delight.
She’s clearly so gentle! She even called me ‘Little Cutie’! Why on earth did the guys in the chat group say she was a ruthless monster?
They’re definitely just jealous of me!
(▔,▔)v
“H-Host, my system designation is w-444!”
“Hmm?”
The pitch of Su Mu’s voice lifted slightly, and her fingers paused mid-stroke. She distinctly recalled that systems assigned to the Romance Department carried the prefix Y.
“Brainless Romance Novels? A brainless system?”
w-444: “…”
(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ
No—!
“I am NOT—”
w-444 was about to vigorously object, but for some reason, w-233’s ominous warning echoed loudly inside its head: What if she tears you apart the second she gets annoyed?
Hiss…
w-444 sucked in a sharp breath of virtual cold air. It definitely didn’t want to be torn apart!
“…I mean… I guess we do deal with a fair share of brainless romance stories, ah, haha…” w-444 stammered, completely spineless and dripping with flattery.
Su Mu cast a cool glance at it just as the server nervously approached, carefully placing a bowl of ice and two strips of clean gauze on the table.
She picked up an ice cube, wrapped it in gauze, and gently pressed it against the red, scalded skin on her hand while continuing her internal query.
“What is the primary wish?”
By fulfilling the original host’s core wish, they could harvest Soul Power and gain the right to inhabit the body.
Systems and hosts relied on this Soul Power to survive. For every completed mission, the harvested power was split three ways: Su Mu would take 50%, her system got 20%, and the remaining 30% was remitted to headquarters.
Mission completion rates were tied directly to reward points. The higher the evaluation, the more points earned. These points could be used in the System Mall to exchange for items to assist in future assignments—an extremely beginner-friendly setup.
“…Well, our basic mission is to keep the male lead constantly yearning for you while never actually being able to possess you. It would be even better if you could achieve a Happy Ending with one or two of the male supporting leads! That would yield a ton of points, haha…”
w-444’s voice grew increasingly timid and guilty as it spoke.
Su Mu dropped the half-melted ice cube back into the bowl before remarking indifferently, “Little Cutie, I feel I may have misjudged you earlier. ‘Brainless’ doesn’t quite suit you.”
“Really?!”
w-444’s eyes lit up instantly. Had its host finally recognized its brilliant intellect and viewed it in a new light?
“Really. ‘Shameless’ suits you much better.”
If a mission parameters like this had been handed to her previous system, it would have been a bloodbath—a swift blade to the neck, leaving no survivors.
w-444: “…”
The mental space fell dead silent.
w-444 felt so wronged it wanted to curl up and sob.
Recognizing that now was the time to build a better relationship with its host, w-444 quickly scrambled for a safe topic of conversation as its eyes landed on the cappuccino in Su Mu’s hand.
“…Host, do you like frothy coffee too? I love it! The soft, sweet milk foam is the absolute best part.”
“I simply appreciate that its taste never changes.”
Su Mu gently set her cup down and drew out a napkin to dab at her lips. The coffee was completely gone, leaving only the original layer of foam clinging to the bottom of the mug.
w-444: “…”
That brown-nosing attempt went terribly…
Sob sob sob.
(ಥ﹏ಥ)
After purchasing a tube of burn ointment from a nearby pharmacy, Su Mu returned to the family estate.
The original Su Mu’s parents were a genuinely affectionate couple who shared only one daughter. Naturally, as a wealthy, elite dynasty, they would have preferred a son, but biological limitations got in the way.
The issue lay with Su Mu’s father. A notorious playboy in his youth, he had settled down only after marriage, but his reckless years had left him infertile—otherwise, illegitimate children would have been running rampant.
Because of this, fifteen years ago, the couple adopted an orphan boy and named him Su Chen. Two years older than Su Mu, he was raised as her elder brother.
The parents had briefly entertained the idea of pairing Su Chen with Su Mu, but since Su Mu had already been pledged to Shen Yeyi in an informal childhood betrothal, they abandoned the thought.
“Dad, someone beat me up.”
The moment Su Mu walked through the front door, she lodged her complaint directly with her father, who was sitting on the living room sofa.
In his youth, Su Hongbo had been dashing and suave, but middle age had brought the inevitable waistline expansion. Yet as men age, they often grow softer toward their children. As the only daughter of the household, Su Mu was naturally spoiled endlessly.
Su Hongbo, who was reading the morning paper, froze. When his eyes caught the angry red handprint on Su Mu’s face, his expression instantly turned thunderous.
Slap!
Su Hongbo slammed the newspaper heavily onto the coffee table. He sprang to his feet, aching to touch Su Mu’s swollen cheek yet terrified to hurt her, his hands trembling in the air.
“My poor sweet girl, does it still hurt?! Nanny Liu! Nanny Liu! Bring the first aid kit out here, quickly!”
“Dad, my hand too…”
Su Mu pouted with an aggrieved expression, holding her bright red, scorched fingers out in front of Su Hongbo. Even after being iced and treated with ointment, a row of painful blisters had bubbled across her skin, looking particularly alarming on such a fair, delicate hand.
Seeing his darling daughter’s hand burned to this extent, Su Hongbo almost passed out from heartbreak.
“Oh, sweetheart, that must hurt so badly! I’m calling Dr. Zhu right now to take care of it!”
Su Hongbo helped Su Mu sit gently on the sofa, took the medical kit from Nanny Liu, and carefully tried to apply ointment to her swollen face.
Shen Yeyi had held nothing back; the force behind his slap had been brutal, leaving half of Su Mu’s face alarmingly puffy.
Su Hongbo’s hands shook so badly as he tried to apply the cream that Nanny Liu couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She took the tube from his hands and took over with gentle, practiced care.
“Whoever did this was far too cruel!” Nanny Liu muttered through reddened eyes.
Having watched the young mistress grow up from childhood, Nanny Liu’s heart was breaking for her.
Her words only made Su Hongbo’s expression darken further.
A short while later, the family physician arrived. One by one, he carefully popped the blisters on Su Mu’s hand and dressed the wounds.
Su Mu herself barely flinched, but Su Hongbo—watching from the side—twitched with every prick of the needle, his heart bleeding for her.
“Can’t you be a little gentler?!” Su Hongbo snapped, barely suppressing his explosive temper.
Dr. Zhu: “…”
How much gentler could he possibly be?!
Once Dr. Zhu finally finished treating the burns and rattled off a list of care instructions, Su Hongbo leaned in eagerly.
“My sweet girl, tell Dad—who did this to you?”
“Shen Yeyi hit me. So Dad, I need to borrow the bodyguards under your command.”
Su Mu lifted her eyes slightly, her face completely void of emotion. To Su Hongbo, her quiet demeanor made her look all the more pitiful and heartbroken.
“I’ll have them report to you immediately! How many do you need? Oh, and by the way… just try not to beat him to death!”