“Don’t tell me this is just a three-minute burst of enthusiasm?” The other three weren’t nearly so optimistic. After all, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
The cute animal forms were the skins of the four systems. Changing into an adorable skin could both raise their hosts’ favorability and reduce the likelihood of their hosts hurling abuse when they got angry.
Yes, although they looked carefree on the surface, the truth was that they had run out of options.
The days when hosts had no choice but to obey their systems, or die if they failed to complete their missions, had long since passed. These days, nine out of ten hosts were either slackers or professional quitters, while the remaining one was an extreme contrarian.
Hosts bound to the Top Student System complained that studying was too hard and the missions were too difficult, blaming the system for not giving them cheat abilities such as perfect memory or a super brain.
Those bound to the Comeback System didn’t want to work hard. Instead, they either clung to the protagonist’s coattails or latched onto the second male or female lead. As long as the young master or lady paid them, they would cry out, “This old servant arrived late!” They couldn’t make a comeback to save their lives.
As for the hosts of the Villain System, there was even less to say. One would crush the male lead, another would become everyone’s unattainable first love. They had absolutely no sense of villainous professionalism.
Even the seemingly universally beloved Tycoon System had suffered through an unfortunate past.
Tycoon was a newly born system. In its first world, it had accidentally ended up in a post-apocalyptic setting. Every day, it gave its host money, but the host couldn’t spend a single cent and cursed the system as useless from morning till night. Its second host could at least spend money, but he spent it far too ostentatiously and was also far too fond of provoking people. As a result, he made enemies everywhere and was killed before he could enjoy himself for more than a few days.
The previous host had been the cruelest of all. They had gotten along wonderfully during the early and middle stages, right up until the host grew old. In pursuit of his enormous fortune, his children brought every trick in the book into play, making the whole scene resemble a battle among imperial princes for the throne. In the end, some were sent to prison while others ended up in pieces. The host was heartbroken. On his deathbed, he said that he regretted binding himself to Tycoon and hated Tycoon. If it hadn’t been for the system, how could he have ended up with no one to attend his funeral? He left Tycoon a truly terrible review.
Tycoon: Cheerful and outgoing? I’m just putting on a brave face.
This time, the four systems had bound themselves to a host together and accepted a mission involving a fused world. This was their final struggle. If things didn’t work out this time, they would be sent back to their crummy factory. They really didn’t want to live this miserable life for even one more day.
The Top Student System knew that the other three didn’t believe it and tried to prove its point. “Really! I only took a quick look this morning, and she was memorizing her lessons too. She used the money she got from Little Tycoon today to hire an assistant and a tutor. She hasn’t wasted a single minute!”
The Lucky Cat’s ears twitched. It had just completed another winning hand and secretly took a look. Of the hundred thousand yuan, only ten thousand remained. Every sum had been spent reasonably, with nothing wasted. The remaining ten thousand even included the tutoring fees. The tutor was expensive, charging eight hundred yuan an hour.
She looked like a very organized host. But at the thought of its previous host, Tycoon’s ears drooped again. If it didn’t hold out any hope, it wouldn’t be disappointed.
The other two systems were still battling it out, completely uninterested in listening.
Seeing this, the Top Student System stopped saying anything more and simply moved all the study-related items in the shop closer to the front, ensuring that its host could find them at a glance. Not to mention the sheer number of messages and calls on her phone, several of which clearly contained parts of comments unfavorable to her. Yet the host hadn’t paid them any attention, leaving everything until after her studies. With an attitude like that, it was difficult for the Top Student System not to feel excited.
Mu Yue had no idea that the systems were secretly keeping an eye on her. She took another sip of warm water and continued listening to the lesson. The tutor was expensive for a reason. The teacher was quite capable, quickly assessing a student’s level of understanding and adjusting the pace accordingly. The more Mu Yue listened, the more engrossed she became.
The IV infusion had already finished, but Mu Yue showed no intention of leaving, so the lesson continued.
Qianqian stayed quietly in the room and had long since put both her phone and computer on silent. Mu Yue gave her two new assignments. The first was to make an appointment at an optical shop for the next day because Mu Yue wanted a new pair of glasses. The second was to find a place for her to live: a short-term rental lasting three to six months, with a monthly rent of between one hundred and two hundred thousand yuan, to be arranged within half a month.
This period covered the college entrance examination and summer vacation. Mu Yue estimated that she wouldn’t have much time to spend money while preparing for the exam, but raising Tycoon to Level One wouldn’t be difficult. She could afford the rent. Once these few months passed, she would be going to university, and she would be moving to a new residence then as well.
Given the property prices in H City, homes renting for more than one hundred thousand yuan a month were luxury mansions worth hundreds of millions. With two hundred thousand yuan, one could rent a mansion or penthouse apartment worth over a billion. Renting such luxury homes was no simple matter. Short-term rentals were difficult to find, and the property also had to be within a reasonable distance of the school. Then there was the rent itself.
At first glance, the rent seemed like the easiest part. In reality, it was the most demanding.
The employer was wealthy, but that didn’t mean they could be treated like fools with money to burn. Empty houses were relatively straightforward, but if a property came furnished, Qianqian needed to understand the value of every piece of furniture. She couldn’t simply believe whatever the agent or landlord claimed, only for the employer to discover upon moving in that everything was cheap junk. Even if she managed to keep her job, it would still cost her points in the employer’s eyes.
Fortunately, Mu Yue had given her plenty of time. Otherwise, this might not have been settled in just a day or two.
Since there was plenty of time, Qianqian naturally intended to put in twice the effort and find something truly worth the money. Although Mu Yue had only hired her as a temporary assistant, who said she couldn’t become a long-term employee? Even if that didn’t happen, leaving a good impression on her employer could still prove useful. In circles like theirs, if someone they knew needed an assistant, a good recommendation might be enough to win her the opportunity. Seizing every chance was basic practice for any ambitious wage earner.
Mu Yue studied continuously for three hours that afternoon and felt quite good afterward. Once she left the hospital and got into the car, she decided on the evening’s schedule.
“Finish dinner before seven. Start today’s class test at seven. The teacher will come over at eight to mark it, explain the mistakes, and give a summary. After that, continue studying new material and finish at ten.”
After hearing the schedule, Qianqian couldn’t help asking, “Miss Mu, shouldn’t you take a little more time to rest?”
Mu Yue opened her phone without even looking up. “It’s only five. There are still two hours until seven. That’s enough.”
It really was enough. If she were at school, she wouldn’t have this much time to rest at all. Evening self-study sessions also lasted until ten. It was Friday, and there was only one week left until the exam the following Friday.
The first study mission, unlike the second, had no specific score requirement. She had to move up one hundred places. What if quite a few students performed well this time? What if the hundredth-place score ahead of her was higher than 437? The probability wasn’t zero.
Qianqian could also tell that this young lady had a mind of her own, so she said nothing more and silently began arranging everything for the evening.
Mu Yue scrolled through the messages on her phone, starting with the ones from the female lead. The female lead had sent sixteen messages. The first two had come that morning, asking how Mu Yue was doing, whether she was still feeling uncomfortable, and saying that she would visit her the next day once they were on holiday. The other fourteen had been sent around noon, far more than the morning messages.
In summary, a boy from the class next door had filmed her getting into a luxury car at the hospital. Everyone now knew that she had suddenly become rich, and all sorts of speculation were circulating in class. Some people had said extremely nasty things. The female lead had argued with them, but she hadn’t been able to win.
[Yueyue, I think I saw Leng Ming when I was arguing with them, but he didn’t even help me say a word.]
Mu Yue replied briefly, “I’m fine, so don’t worry. If you can, could you record it next time they mention me by name? I’ll treat you to a big meal this weekend.”
Lin Xiaoxiao—the heroine—replied almost instantly: “Of course!”
Mu Yue skimmed through the other messages. Some people were asking out of curiosity, while others were mocking her. She didn’t reply to any of them. As for the missed calls, they had all come from her “family.” They had heard about what happened today and were either calling to question her or fish for information.
Mu Yue added every member of her “family” to her blacklist, closed her eyes, and rested. Before long, she arrived at the hotel.
She took the VIP elevator straight to her floor, where dinner was already prepared. While eating, Mu Yue reviewed the campus romance novel in her mind. It helped her relax, and it also allowed her to learn more about the situation.
No. 7 High School in H City was famous throughout the province. It had first-rate educational resources and produced a provincial top scorer in the gaokao at least once every three years, sending countless students to the nation’s top ten universities. At No. 7 High, anyone who couldn’t even get into a regular university was considered the worst of the worst academically.
The original owner and Lin Xiaoxiao both belonged to that category. The original owner had tested her way in, while Lin Xiaoxiao had bought her admission points. The original owner’s grades had declined so drastically for many external reasons. In Lin Xiaoxiao’s case, external factors played a part, but internal ones mattered even more. She didn’t want to study, didn’t like studying, and her mind wasn’t on school at all.
The Lin family had once been a fairly wealthy household. But just after the heroine started high school, her family’s company went bankrupt. Their small villa was sold, and they had only just moved into a new apartment when someone in the unit below committed suicide, blowing up half the building. To make matters worse, the heroine’s mother died in the explosion. The family responsible couldn’t afford to pay enough compensation, and the Lin family lost everything.
Overwhelmed by grief, Lin’s father and his daughter sat on the street with their heads in their hands, crying. That was when they ran into one of Lin’s father’s close friends. Feeling sorry for what had happened to them, the friend took the father and daughter into his home. As it happened, his own son also attended No. 7 High and had excellent grades.
Thinking of his daughter, Lin’s father pulled himself together and began looking for work. His daughter, meanwhile, moved in with his friend. And so began the rather silly, adorable heroine’s semi-cohabitation with the aloof male lead.
After finishing the plot summary, Mu Yue commented, “I’ve seen this one before—It Started with a Kiss.”
It was a little old-fashioned. Then again, in modern campus romance novels, it was becoming rare to see a heroine who was a poor student. And there was even less chance of finding a plot where the characters spent all their time dating instead of studying while still in high school.
Perhaps some of that had to do with the plot itself. No. 7 High didn’t require seniors to live on campus, and the school wasn’t particularly strict about students using their phones. That gave the protagonists more opportunities to interact.
This was quite important to Mu Yue. The original owner was a boarding student, and she would need a compelling reason to apply for day-student status.
Mu Yue thought of something, tapped her phone, and opened several new unread messages.
[I heard the rich young lady has money now? You even bought the latest phone from Brand X? Let me play with it, will you?]
[Mu Yue, meet me at our usual place after evening study next Monday. If you don’t come, I’m going to be angry.]
[Mumu, I’m trying to get some merchandise from my favorite celebrity. Considering our relationship, I’m sure you’ll help me out, right?]
Perfect. These were more than sufficient reasons.
With a little more maneuvering, she wouldn’t even have to attend evening study anymore. By then, she could hire private teachers to come teach her.
