Ji Xingzhu was so embarrassed her scalp tingled. She didn’t know where to look and stammered incoherently, “You… why are you taking a shower now?!”
Song Qingchi raised an eyebrow, almost laughing in exasperation at her unreasonable complaint, “You should ask yourself why you went online while I was taking a shower.”
His expression remained fairly calm, showing no embarrassment or shyness at being seen naked. However, the swiftness with which he grabbed a robe and wrapped it around himself revealed that he wasn’t completely unaffected inwardly.
Knowing she was in the wrong, Ji Xingzhu uncharacteristically didn’t argue back. Her mind was filled with the fleeting glimpse from moments ago. She only felt that the mist in this bathroom was too thick and hot, making her blush and feel dizzy.
Fortunately, Song Qingchi quickly walked out of the bathroom, and Ji Xingzhu finally let out a sigh of relief.
After that, neither of them spoke first, and the atmosphere became somewhat strange for a moment.
Song Qingchi tightened his robe and took a towel to dry his hair. Water droplets slid down from his hair, some even falling onto his firm chest before disappearing downward into his robe.
Ji Xingzhu had seen Song Qingchi’s upper body many times before and thought she had grown accustomed to it. But for some reason, now, just catching a glimpse of Song Qingchi’s collarbone made her avert her eyes as if burned.
Trying to cover up, she looked around the room while taking deep, frantic breaths, attempting to cool the heat on her cheeks.
“Host, I knew I was right!” Suddenly, 999’s excited voice broke the eerie silence between them. Song Qingchi’s hair-drying movement paused almost imperceptibly.
“Huh? What did you say?” Ji Xingzhu asked in confusion, still somewhat dazed.
The Cannon Fodder System said triumphantly, “You dared to slander our male lead as impotent earlier. Now you’ve seen it, right? Our male lead is so well-endowed! As expected of a man with a vast harem in the original novel. Now you can’t say he’s impotent anymore, can you?!”
Ji Xingzhu: “…”
Song Qingchi: “…”
Song Qingchi could only be grateful he wasn’t drinking water right now, or he might have choked to death. He silently lowered his head, drying his hair with very slow movements. Besides some embarrassment, what welled up in his heart was actually a subtle anticipation of seeing how Ji Xingzhu would respond.
After a long while, Ji Xingzhu finally managed a retort, “Are you crazy?!”
Cannon Fodder System: “?”
Cannon Fodder System, aggrieved: “Why are you attacking me?!”
Ji Xingzhu first sneakily glanced at Song Qingchi. Seeing him calmly tidying up as usual, her wildly beating heart finally slowly settled down.
Right, Song Qingchi couldn’t hear her conversation with 999. She didn’t need to be tense and embarrassed about it.
Thinking this, Ji Xingzhu felt in the mood to banter with 999 again. She snorted disdainfully, “So what if he’s well-endowed? Who knows if he’s any good!”
The Cannon Fodder System immediately grew anxious, promptly defending its male lead, “With that size, how could he possibly be no good?!”
“Hah, who says a big size can’t mean impotence?” Ji Xingzhu stubbornly refused to admit defeat in the argument.
“Based on my detection, the male lead’s body is EXTREMELY HEALTHY! No hidden ailments!” 999 yelled.
“Really? I don’t believe it.”
Cannon Fodder System: “#$%&…”
Listening to the noisy argument in his mind, Song Qingchi subtly rubbed his temple under the guise of drying his hair. His feelings were very complex, eventually transforming into a sigh full of resignation.
He couldn’t remember how many times he’d been left speechless. Perhaps this was the price of eavesdropping…
Seeing the conversation spiraling further out of control, Song Qingchi quickly but subtly interrupted, “System, are you still there? Why aren’t you speaking?”
Ji Xingzhu’s assessment of Song Qingchi as “someone who could act more than a trash bag” wasn’t wrong at all. Even though he had been eavesdropping for a long time just now, he could still ask Ji Xingzhu with a straight face why she had been “silent” for so long.
Hearing this, Ji Xingzhu could only temporarily give up on 999 as an opponent and turn to brush off the male lead, “I’m here. I saw you were… uh, not in a convenient state, so I didn’t speak.”
Hearing that somewhat unnatural tone, Song Qingchi suddenly felt mischievous. He feigned confusion and asked, “Are you shy? Could it be… systems also have genders?”
Ji Xingzhu: “…”
Ji Xingzhu chuckled dryly, “No, no. We systems don’t differentiate between male and female.”
Hearing the slightly guilty tone, Song Qingchi curved his lips meaningfully. He casually ruffled his half-dry black hair and asked, “Did you need something?”
Only then did Ji Xingzhu remember her actual business and hurriedly asked seriously, “Host, I asked you earlier to take the initiative to help the female guests with their luggage. But why did you end up helping Ji Xingzhu instead?”
Song Qingchi asked with a straight face, “Isn’t Ji Xingzhu a female guest?”
Ji Xingzhu was momentarily speechless but quickly retorted unhappily, “That’s different! I wanted you to be attentive to the female guests to win their affection and fully display your masculine charm!”
“But Ji Xingzhu… she’s always disliked you and can’t wait to break off the engagement. Trying to please her is useless; she’ll only humiliate you.”
Song Qingchi clicked his tongue and asked, “You mean, no matter how hard I try, my fiancée could never possibly like me?”
Ji Xingzhu secretly rolled her eyes and stated categorically, “Right! Ji Xingzhu absolutely, forever—could never possibly like you!”
Song Qingchi thoughtfully rubbed his chin, letting out an inexplicable light chuckle, and didn’t argue further.
Song Qingchi’s silence made Ji Xingzhu very irritable. She kept pressing, “Hey, did you actually listen to what I said or not? From now on, interact more with Cen Xuan and Bai Zhiyi. Don’t consider Ji Xingzhu or Wen Yajun at all!”
Song Qingchi smiled faintly and said, “What if I don’t listen to you?”
Ji Xingzhu was shocked: “How can you not listen? I’m a prescient system! As long as you do as I say, you’re guaranteed to reach the peak of life!”
Song Qingchi shrugged, unimpressed, “But so far, I haven’t gained any benefits from you. I’ve already done many things as you suggested before, but I’ve never seen any significant returns.”
“Since you want to cooperate with me, naturally you should show sufficient sincerity. Otherwise, why should I listen to you?” As Song Qingchi spoke, his smile gradually faded. His sharp features hardened, exuding a forceful, intimidating dominance that momentarily stunned Ji Xingzhu into silence.
Finally, Song Qingchi said with a half-smile, each word deliberate, “System, as a cooperator, you’re rather unqualified. If this continues, I’ll have to consider terminating our cooperation.”
Ji Xingzhu: “…???”
Ji Xingzhu was dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected that just urging the male lead to follow the plot would provoke such a strong reaction, even making him reconsider their cooperation.
However, Ji Xingzhu’s first reaction wasn’t fear but excitement as she said to 999, “Little Nine! The male lead says he doesn’t believe me. Does that mean I can quit?”
Yes! Whoever wants to be this damn system can have it! She certainly doesn’t want to do it anymore!
Song Qingchi: “…”
Song Qingchi nearly failed to maintain the cold curve of his lips, barely managing to keep his profound expression.
Fortunately, the Cannon Fodder System didn’t disappoint him. It immediately wailed, “No, host! The male lead’s real golden finger system hasn’t arrived yet. We must hold on a bit longer!”
The Cannon Fodder System pleaded desperately for a long time before Ji Xingzhu reluctantly agreed, “Fine, I’ll grudgingly keep at it for a while longer. But the male lead doesn’t believe me. What can I do?”
Before the Cannon Fodder System could help strategize, Song Qingchi already spoke up, pretending to be offhand, “It’s not impossible for me to keep listening to you. But you must prove your capabilities to me.”
Ji Xingzhu asked cautiously, “How do I prove it?”
Song Qingchi smiled slightly and leisurely said, “I remember you mentioned earlier that you’re an artificial intelligence, even claiming to be omnipotent?”
Ji Xingzhu felt a bit guilty: “…M-more or less.”
Song Qingchi thought for a moment and said with a smile, “I have a project still lacking funds. How about you casually invest a billion for me to see your strength?”
Ji Xingzhu was so angry she nearly cursed out loud. With great effort, she restrained herself and righteously refused, “Isn’t that equivalent to asking me to privately print currency? That would disrupt the market! We can’t do illegal things!”
She didn’t have that much money! Even if she did, she wouldn’t give it to that damn male lead!
Song Qingchi rubbed his chin and made another suggestion: “Our company is researching a core technology. How about you help improve it?”
Ji Xingzhu: “…” She was just an ordinary person. What could she possibly know about core technology?!
Ji Xingzhu rolled her eyes irritably, but her words were righteous as she saved face, “My task is to guide you to strive hard and reach the peak of life, not directly help you cheat!”
Song Qingchi sighed faintly, “Actually, I’m not trying to get benefits for nothing. I just want to confirm that you truly have capabilities, not just rely on empty talk to deceive.”
Ji Xingzhu: “…”
How to put it… she really was relying entirely on empty talk to deceive.
After sufficient groundwork, Song Qingchi finally revealed his true intention: “Alright, I’ll make one last request, guaranteed to be reasonable and legal, not putting you in a difficult position. As long as you can do it, I’ll believe in your capabilities. In the future, I’ll listen to your suggestions. How about that?”
Ji Xingzhu instinctively held her breath, preparing seriously: “Tell me.”
Song Qingchi smiled gently, his deep eyes narrowing slightly, filled with glimmering light. He said leisurely, “Make my fiancée… Ji Xingzhu, like me.”
“Just for one day tomorrow. Make her like me. How about that?”
Ji Xingzhu was shocked: “Are you crazy? How is that possible?”
Just as Ji Xingzhu was about to argue with him, 999 suddenly said, “Wait, host, this request… you can do it!”
“You are Ji Xingzhu herself! Since the male lead says he wants you to like him, then just pretend to fool him! That way, you can prove your capabilities as a system!”
Ji Xingzhu: “…”
That’s utterly ridiculous!!!
But after Song Qingchi had just made two even more ridiculous requests, Ji Xingzhu actually felt this request wasn’t so unacceptable…
Song Qingchi truly lived up to being a shrewd businessman, deeply understanding the principle of asking to tear down a door first if you want to open a window.
Ji Xingzhu was silent for quite a while before suddenly asking 999, “Do you think he’s doing this on purpose?”
The Cannon Fodder System asked back in confusion, “What?”
Ji Xingzhu said through gritted teeth, “I just said earlier that ‘Ji Xingzhu could never possibly like him’ and the like. Now he specifically asks me, as the system, to find a way to make Ji Xingzhu fall in love with him…”
“Is he deliberately opposing me?!”
The Cannon Fodder System said weakly, “P-probably not… just a coincidence, right?”
Song Qingchi lowered his head slightly, a meaningful smile curling his lips. Then he leisurely asked, “So, can you do it?”
Ji Xingzhu was quiet for a long time before suddenly asking, “If I can do it, will you obediently listen to me from now on?”
“Yes.”
Ji Xingzhu gritted her teeth, “As long as I make Ji Xingzhu like you… just one day is enough?”
“Yes, just one day.”
Another silence ensued. Finally, Ji Xingzhu spoke again, her tone much calmer, “Alright, I agree.”
She suddenly let out a light chuckle, her voice carrying the unique arrogance of a young lady, “But… you’d better not regret it.”