[Beep! Respected Lord Heavenly Dao, Sub-System 001 reporting for duty! The strategy target's data has been replaced with Lord Heavenly Dao. Name: Qin Jiujiu. All physical indicators have been compressed to comply with the laws of this world. Divine power compressed. Transmission of memories for the first world is now commencing.]
As Qin Jiujiu opened her eyes, a sweet, milky voice sounded in her mind, accompanied by a massive influx of memory fragments.
She felt no discomfort whatsoever; the tolerance of a mighty divine soul was not to be underestimated.
Yet, after reviewing the original host's memories, Qin Jiujiu was indeed left somewhat speechless.
[001's mission is to assist Lord Heavenly Dao within the bounds of world laws. 001 will not appear proactively. If Lord has any needs, please summon 001 at any time!]
The car drove smoothly. Qin Jiujiu sat in the back seat, sensing the driver's gaze occasionally falling upon her.
Their eyes met in the rearview mirror. The driver hurriedly fumbled for something, handed it back, and said, " Eldest Miss, this is a new phone President Qin had prepared for you. There's a new SIM card inside, and the frequently contacted numbers are already saved. Please have a look."
Qin Jiujiu took the brand-new, pure white phone and swiped the screen. The desktop was so clean it only had a few default apps, and there were precisely four contacts: Dad, Mom, Little Uncle, and Teacher Huang.
Among the messages was an unread one from her mother. Opening it, she found it read like a short essay. Qin Jiujiu scanned through it; the gist was to admonish her to be a good girl and stay out of trouble after transferring to the new school, to look for Little Uncle if anything came up, and mentioning that she had secretly tucked two thousand yuan into the suitcase. Finally, there was the usual reminder for a young woman to practice self-respect and keep herself pure.
She paused at the words "practice self-respect," as her memories automatically conjured up an image of a row of pale-skinned male models wearing only underwear standing inside a bizarre, kaleidoscopic club private room.
Qin Jiujiu gritted her teeth. Words simply could not describe it...
The morning mist swirled.
The streamlined Rolls-Royce resembled a dormant beast as it came to a halt at the gates of Qingshui No. 1 High School. The driver, wearing white gloves, dutifully stepped out to open the door.
Nearby students in school uniforms walked toward the school in twos and threes. Catching sight of the rare double-R car emblem, their pace naturally slowed down by a beat, and they cast curious glances over from time to time.
Teacher Huang had already been waiting at the school gate for a while.
Yesterday, he received a notification that higher-ups had arranged a transfer student from Jingbei Affiliated High School to enter Class 1 of Senior Year 3, which he was in charge of. This transfer student apparently had connections of unfathomable power, causing the school leadership to disregard even university admission rates and grant a straight green light for her official enrollment starting today.
During a phone call, he had even obliquely inquired about the student's academic performance. After all, the college entrance examination was just around the corner, and given such strong backing, he wondered whether he needed to pay extra attention to her grades or have more heart-to-heart talks with her.
The leadership had replied as follows: "It's the upper management's wish. If the child has educational needs, satisfy them; don't ask or inquire about anything else, just make sure she doesn't suffer any grievances."
Huang Mingde understood immediately.
Receiving her now, he saw a girl dressed impeccably in her school uniform. Huang Mingde greeted the driver who brought her with neither servility nor arrogance, took the suitcase, and led her into the school grounds.
"Qin Jiujiu, right? Just call me Teacher Huang."
"Hello, Teacher Huang."
"Mm," Huang Mingde's expression revealed nothing as he spoke in a strictly businesslike manner, "Welcome to Qingshui No. 1 High School. Here, wearing the school uniform is mandatory every day. Your textbooks and student handbook will be issued to you shortly. The school has also arranged a dormitory for you; later I'll find someone to take you there to get familiar with it, and we'll need to change the door's password."
Qin Jiujiu offered her thanks. Taking a few turns through the senior high teaching building, the two of them ascended to the third floor.
As she followed Teacher Huang into the classroom, the room, which had previously been filled with the sound of quiet recitation, suddenly fell silent as if someone had hit the mute button.
Pairs of curious gazes abruptly turned toward her, then froze for a fraction of a second due to her extraordinary looks, their dull eyes following her movement mechanically.
So gorgeous! She was a direct victim of a visual critique!
Morning sunlight streamed through the glass windows.
Senior high students were already burdened with heavy coursework, and being in the sprint phase of preparation for the college entrance examination—combined with the emotional turbulence of puberty and long-term academic stress—resulted in a sea of gloomy, raw faces.
Only the young woman standing in the soft light appeared so exquisitely out of place among the rest of the students in the classroom.
Qin Jiujiu glanced toward the blackboard. Above the class schedule, a few bold characters were written: 66 Days to the College Entrance Examination.
Huang Mingde stepped onto the podium and clapped his hands to draw the students' attention downward. Skipping the usual routine of letting students introduce themselves, he introduced her on his own accord:
"As everyone can see, a new classmate has joined our class today. Her name is Qin Jiujiu. I hope everyone will take good care of the newcomer from now on, studying and making progress together."
Pausing, he swept his gaze across the classroom, then pointed toward the sole empty seat in the very last row, and said to Qin Jiujiu, "Go ahead and sit in that empty seat for now. Class will begin shortly, go on."
Hearing the teacher's arrangement, a clear wave of commotion stirred through the classroom.
Huang Mingde paid it no mind. The students in Class 1 were elite selections chosen from all thirteen senior high classes and had always been self-managed. Having made the arrangements, he pulled the suitcase away and left.
Bearing the varied and unfathomable gazes cast from all directions, Qin Jiujiu slowly walked over to the empty seat in the last row.
The desk with the empty seat was by the window. Her new deskmate sat on the window side, occupying the majority of the space, leaving the outer side for her.
Their eyes met for a fleeting second before parting ways.
[Ding! Detected soul fragment of Lord Evil God. Information retrieval in progress, strategy mission retrieval in progress...] 001's automated voice echoed in her mind.
[Retrieval complete. Name: He Yi, new deskmate in Class 1 of Senior Year 3, just participated in the basketball league where his team won the championship, and has already been recommended for admission to Beijing North Sports University. Family background is as follows...]
[Strategy requirement: Obtain the affection value of Lord Evil God. Initial affection value is 0. Once the progress bar reaches 100%, you may leave.]
Qin Jiujiu: ......
Date? Love?
For a split second, Qin Jiujiu's brain stuttered like a rusted machine, recalling the solution the Main System had originally provided, which only mentioned the need to complete various strategy missions.
Back then, she must have been far too confident and failed to ask about the mission details. After all, given her capabilities, what could she possibly fail to accomplish?
She had completely forgotten about love—that complex factor combining physiological, psychological, and subjective emotional elements.
001 sensed a rising wave of irritability emanating from Lord Heavenly Dao's divine soul and nervously rubbed its fingers together, not daring to utter a sound.
It was merely a tiny sub-system; it simply could not withstand the wrath of Lord Heavenly Dao! All things in the universe operated by their own laws, and there was nothing it could do to change that!
Fortunately, Qin Jiujiu reasoned with herself; since she was already here, she might as well accept it.
Slowly, she fished a new notebook and a gel pen out of her carry-on backpack, placed them on the empty desktop, and amidst the surrounding whispering, recalled the appearance of her new deskmate she had just seen.
First impression: A dashing, hot-headed punk.
Just a few minutes after she sat down, Huang Mingde returned to the classroom, placing a stack of new textbooks on Qin Jiujiu's desk: "These are the senior high textbooks. They aren't the same version as the ones from your previous school. There are also the school rules and disciplinary codes—look through them all."
Following that, he reached out and rapped his knuckles against He Yi's desk. Seeing He Yi look up, he placed an electronic password lock manual in front of him and said:
"He Yi, do me a favor and look after the new classmate. When class dismisses at noon, come to my office to pick up her suitcase, take her to the dormitory to change the door password, and study this manual. Oh, right, take her around the cafeteria on the way."
He Yi frowned.
Noticing his reluctant expression, Huang Mingde understood, chuckled, and scolded him in a low voice: "You brat, your status is different now anyway. Show some gentlemanly manners, care a bit more about your classmate, and that settles it."
Qin Jiujiu then heard a faintly rebellious low snort from beside her, accompanied by a sarcastic, "Sure, ta-ke ca-re of the cla-ss-ma-te!"