Ruan Shiyu gnashed her teeth. "System, you've got to be kidding me!"
She tapped the ride-hailing app on her phone, only to find it completely unresponsive. Without even guessing, she knew that cursed System must have locked it! Great. Now her phone was useless, she couldn't hail a cab, and Ruan Shiyu had no choice but to lug bags and bundles of all sizes as she walked down the street.
It was right around dinner time, and the streets were crowded. Passersby noticed such a petite girl hauling so many things along the pavement, and their gazes inevitably filled with curiosity.
Feeling the strange looks from the people around her, Ruan Shiyu wanted to die of embarrassment, yet she was utterly helpless.
Just as she was wishing a crack would open up in the ground so she could crawl into it, a car pulled up beside her. The window rolled down to reveal a familiar face.
Xu Xiangqian sat inside wearing a black suit. Seeing Ruan Shiyu, he asked with mild surprise, "What are you doing here?"
Xu Xiangqian had probably just gotten off work. His clothes were exceptionally formal, and his posture was straighter than usual. His handsome face was turned away from the street lamp, cast in a glowing golden rim.
He looked remarkably handsome and tall! Ruan Shiyu fangirled for a full second, then snapped back to reality upon hearing his question and hurriedly replied, "Me? Oh... I'm just out for a stroll, just taking a walk."
A hint of a smile crept into Xu Xiangqian's eyes. "Carrying this much stuff all the way out here for a stroll?"
This place was quite a distance from Ruan Shiyu's home.
"Cough, cough." Busted by Xu Xiangqian, Ruan Shiyu gave two guilty coughs and instinctively fell back on the excuse the System had fed her earlier. "I'm just working out, you know? Thought I'd come out for a walk."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted them. Going shopping for clothes with her best friend wasn't anything shameful—why couldn't she just say so!
The smile in Xu Xiangqian's eyes deepened. "Want a ride? I can drop you off."
A ride! Now that was fantastic. Ruan Shiyu was just about to nod when she heard Xu Xiangqian add, "Wait, no. You're trying to stay fit and exercise. If I give you a ride, won't that interfere with your workout?"
"What?" Ruan Shiyu was dumbfounded for a second. She quickly grabbed onto Xu Xiangqian's car window, terrified that he would just drive away. "Not at all! Not at all!"
Only after saying it did she notice the amusement gradually welling up in Xu Xiangqian's eyes.
It was only then that she belatedly realized this man had done it on purpose!
Xu Xiangqian actually knew how to tease people, and she had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker!
Plunged into a double blow of mortification, Ruan Shiyu didn't even notice when Xu Xiangqian opened the car door.
Xu Xiangqian chuckled. "Not getting in? Planning to walk all the way back by yourself?"
Only then did Ruan Shiyu snap out of it. She hurried into the car and obediently buckled herself into the passenger seat.
After the teasing concluded, Xu Xiangqian restarted the car. As the vehicle smoothly navigated a turn, Xu Xiangqian looked at the road ahead and asked casually, as if by chance, "You haven't been working out for very long, have you? You still need to take it steady. You can't rush into these things."
Hearing Xu Xiangqian's words of concern, Ruan Shiyu couldn't help feeling touched. By now, her brain had sorted itself out, so she explained, "Actually, I didn't come out specifically for a walk. A friend of mine dragged me along..."
Ruan Shiyu went on to explain what had happened with Mu Xiaoxiao.
Xu Xiangqian nodded without saying anything further, and the interior of the car fell quiet.
By now, the sky had grown dark. While speaking earlier, Ruan Shiyu had turned her head to look at Xu Xiangqian. Street lamps outside were lit now, weaving light and shadow that continuously swept across Xu Xiangqian's face. Ruan Shiyu suddenly noticed that his eyelashes were very long, trembling slightly with each breath.
Hey, what kind of ridiculous focus was this?
Realizing what she was thinking, Ruan Shiyu wore an expression as if she had seen a ghost. She hastily turned her head back and stared out the window on her side.
Just then, Xu Xiangqian suddenly asked, "Do I look that terrible?"
Ruan Shiyu froze instantly. She had thought she was just making a mental face, but who would have thought Xu Xiangqian actually caught her expression?
"No, it's not..." Ruan Shiyu gave two awkward laughs, completely at a loss for what to say.
What could she say? She certainly couldn't tell him that his profile was so drop-dead gorgeous that she had too little face left to keep fangirling, which was why she turned away!
Fortunately, Xu Xiangqian didn't press the matter. Ruan Shiyu simply gazed out the window, pretending she hadn't heard the question.
Yet her reflection in the car window showed Xu Xiangqian's profile; it seemed he was smiling.
The car quickly arrived downstairs at her apartment building. Xu Xiangqian went to park, while Ruan Shiyu didn't head upstairs immediately, choosing instead to wait for him by the entrance.
About two minutes later, Xu Xiangqian returned. Seeing Ruan Shiyu waiting, he looked genuinely surprised. "You didn't go up?"
Ruan Shiyu smiled. "You were kind enough to give me a ride back, how could I just ditch you and go inside first?"
"Are you sure you didn't just want me to help you carry your bags?" Xu Xiangqian teased, though he smoothly took the bags from Ruan Shiyu's hands and took the lead, stepping up the stairs with his long strides.
That really hadn't been Ruan Shiyu's intention, but since he had already taken the bags and started walking, she had no choice but to follow, offering repeated words of thanks.
Halfway up the stairs, Ruan Shiyu suddenly thought of a question. "I seem to have run into you quite often these past couple of days. Did you move back here?"
Having lived here for so long, she had rarely seen Xu Xiangqian around before.
Xu Xiangqian paused slightly, then nodded. "Yes, I'll be staying around here for the next couple of days. I was too busy with work before and didn't have time to come home. I wanted to take advantage of the break to spend more time with my family."
She hadn't expected this cold-faced male god to have such a dutiful, filial side. When Ruan Shiyu had first met him, she had thought he was exceptionally aloof and intimidatingly imposing—she hadn't even dared to look him straight in the eye. Who would have thought that as they grew more familiar, she would realize Xu Xiangqian was just an ordinary person after all! And a really good person at that, who had helped her so many times.
After Xu Xiangqian finished speaking, he received no response from Ruan Shiyu for a long moment. He couldn't help turning his head to look at her, only to find the young woman completely lost in space, her thoughts wandering off to who-knows-where.
Such behavior from anyone else would certainly have felt impolite and dismissive, but coming from Ruan Shiyu, he actually found it a little endearing.
Xu Xiangqian couldn't help wondering if all young women who drew manga were like her—scatterbrained and living as if they were inside a fairy tale.
Suddenly, he found himself growing curious about the comics she drew.
Xu Xiangqian frowned, failing to understand this shift in his own mindset.
"We're here."
Ruan Shiyu had no idea how long she had been drifting off until she heard Xu Xiangqian's calm voice ahead of her. She hastily looked up and saw that she was already standing right at her own front door.
Xu Xiangqian handed her belongings back to her. Ruan Shiyu hurriedly took them and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry to have bothered you today."
"It's no bother." Xu Xiangqian had already resumed his usual calm demeanor. Seeing Ruan Shiyu take all her things, he prepared to take his leave. "Well then, I'll head back first. See you."
"Hey, wait a second." Since he had helped her out so much, Ruan Shiyu felt bad letting him leave empty-handed. She took two steps forward to catch up with Xu Xiangqian and shoved a large plush toy directly into his arms.
The man was suddenly handed such a bizarre item and stood holding it looking slightly bewildered.
Ruan Shiyu gave an embarrassed smile. "This is a thank-you gift. See you tomorrow morning!"
With that, she turned and unlocked her front door, ducking inside before Xu Xiangqian even had a chance to refuse. Right before closing the door, she made a funny face at him.
Xu Xiangqian stood at the doorway holding the plush toy for a long time, finally letting out a helpless chuckle.
Looking down at the innocent-looking stuffed toy in his arms, Xu Xiangqian shook his head. This girl... was truly unexpectedly amusing.
Inside the apartment, Ruan Shiyu let out a long sigh of relief. She actually just shoved a plush toy onto Xu Xiangqian! How had she managed to be so bold just now? Yet looking back on it, even though Xu Xiangqian had been full of shock and helplessness, he didn't seem to have any intention of refusing.
At that thought, Ruan Shiyu suddenly felt cheerful. Humming a little tune, she skipped back to her room and put away everything she had bought today.
After tidying up, she went to take a shower. When she stepped out, the hands on the wall clock were slowly pointing toward ten o'clock.
Ruan Shiyu still hadn't gotten used to the early bedtime mandated by the System. She felt like her day was only half over, and she really wanted to turn on her computer and watch a couple of episodes of a soap opera. But the moment the thought crossed her mind, her phone rang.
She picked it up and saw, predictably, that it was the System calling.
Without guessing, she knew what the System wanted to say. Ruan Shiyu frowned and instinctively wanted to reject the call.
Before she could even lift a finger, however, the call connected itself, and the System's signature electronic voice rang out from the phone: "Host, your attempt to hang up on a call from the System is a severely negative behavior. Should there be a next time, you will face a penalty."
A penalty for this too!
Ruan Shiyu wailed aloud on the spot. "System, are you even reasonable?!"
The System remained silent. The stillness on the line seemed to radiate pure contempt for Ruan Shiyu.
Ruan Shiyu couldn't help growing irritated. Sure, she wanted to work out and lose weight, but that didn't mean she wanted to completely overturn her daily routine. What difference was there between the System acting like this and constantly spying on her?
Her expression turning cold, she retorted, "You set my bedtime for ten-thirty at night, but it's only ten o'clock right now. What's wrong with me watching some TV?!"
The System's voice remained flat, seemingly entirely unaffected by Ruan Shiyu's emotions: "Calling the Host was merely to ask what kind of reward you would like. You have successfully completed the tasks I assigned you for the past two days, and upon task completion, we issue certain rewards to the Host."
"What? A reward?" Ruan Shiyu had thought the System was calling just to rush her to bed, but the other party was actually talking about a reward! The fiery anger she had felt a second before instantly deflated. She hurriedly put on a flattering smile and chirped, "Oh, why didn't you say so earlier! Well... I want... um... I want..."
She thought for a long time, but couldn't think of a single thing she wanted.
Ruan Shiyu came from an ordinary, comfortable middle-class family. Her parents weren't big shots, but they were self-sufficient. As a single gal who ate enough to feed herself and had no dependents, choosing to hole up at home drawing comics was, to a large extent, a pretty willful choice.
Thinking it over, her life seemed to be sailing along smoothly. Aside from her figure getting a little out of shape, there wasn't really anything else she desired.
Thus, Ruan Shiyu successfully stalled out.
After a moment of silence, still unable to think of anything she wanted, she could only ask cautiously, "Can you... make the belly fat on my lower stomach disappear?"