Christmas held a status in the Western world comparable to the Chinese New Year. It was an extremely important holiday—a wonderful time for the whole family to reunite.
No matter how important something was, it could wait until after Christmas.
Even though this was the era of the Great Depression.
Perhaps the scarcer the material goods, the stronger people’s anticipation of such festivals became. It was much like how people nowadays always said that the New Year atmosphere was growing weaker. The reason was that all the good food and new clothes one could only enjoy during the New Year in the past were now available in everyday life. Naturally, there was no longer any need to count down the days in eager anticipation.
The Christmas atmosphere here was exceptionally strong.
Su Ning finally had some rare free time.
She cradled a teacup in her hands and gazed at the snowy scene outside the window. The flames in the fireplace were warm and bright, occasionally giving off a soft crackle.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Everyone else was busy decorating for Christmas as well.
In an environment like this, people’s thoughts seemed to slow down too.
Three years.
She had actually been in the Republic of China for three years already.
The System could not help sighing. “Yeah. Time really flies.”
Thinking back, it felt as though the host had only just been miserably gnawing on flatbread and washing it down with cold water… If only it had known, it should have recorded it.
“Time flies because we’ve been having such a good time.”
Su Ning said this with great seriousness.
“Think about it carefully. Don’t happy, carefree days always seem to pass in a flash? Unhappy days, on the other hand, have to be endured one by one… And why is that? Because your host is simply too outstanding—overcoming every obstacle, invincible wherever she goes. Gods who block my path get killed, and Buddhas who block my path get slaughtered. So, shouldn’t you give me a Christmas present? You can forget about making up for the presents you missed before. After all, I’m not the kind of host who likes asking for gifts.”
The System: “…”
“Have you not decided what to give me yet?”
Su Ning urged it on.
“Actually, I’m not picky. As long as it represents your sincerity, that’s enough… Besides, you’ve already admitted that I’m an excellent host. You’ve been saying it constantly these past two days, haven’t you?”
The System understood.
After hearing that last sentence, it finally realized that this woman was being sarcastic!
Calling her an excellent host and all that.
It had failed to notice the first one or two times.
After that, of course, it realized that she was venting her frustration. And since it had always suffered more losses than victories in its battles with its host, it… it simply couldn’t help mentioning it a few more times.
“Stop, stop, stop. I’ll give you something, all right?”
Seeing that it could not escape, the System unhappily produced an item.
[Hair for a Lifetime]
As the name suggested, its effect was very simple: it prevented hair loss. As long as the hair was not physically removed, then regardless of long-term lack of sleep, irregular meals, or hormonal changes, the user would retain exactly as much hair as before—not a single strand less!
Su Ning’s eyes lit up.
“Hmph. That should be enough, right? I traded for this with another system. Don’t be fooled by how simple and limited its effect is—it has absolutely no side effects. Once you use it, it works for life, so it’s very expensive…”
Su Ning understood.
No wonder the name had such a different style. She could even guess what kind of system it had come from.
“I never imagined you had such a wide circle of acquaintances, Sys. You’re amazing… Actually, I have a present for you too.”
At the first half of her sentence, the System had felt rather smug. But it coldly thought that a few sweet words wouldn’t be enough to fool it anymore. It had already outgrown that stage of being easily swayed by flattery…
Wait, what? A present?
“Ahhhhh! So many points! You’re really giving all of them to me?”
“Of course I am.”
Su “Moneybags” Ning raised an eyebrow.
“Hm? Do you think I’m the kind of host who only accepts gifts and never gives any in return?”
The System did not dare tell her the truth.
It responded with an awkward laugh.
These points had been exchanged from Su Ning’s lottery draws. Unlike other taskers, she had the critical-hit bonus, so her lottery draws accumulated incredibly quickly. Before she knew it, she had already amassed more than a hundred.
That was why she could “squander” points so freely.
Thinking of this, Su Ning casually asked the System, “How much money have I earned by now?”
The number was so long and full of digits that it made her eyes uncomfortable just looking at it. It was better to simply sit back and enjoy the benefits.
The answer was—
Nearly eight billion.
The System was also astonished, its voice dazed. “We’ve earned that much already? Could there be a mistake?”
It sounded just like someone who was shocked at the end of the month to discover how much money they had spent, despite having no memory of spending it. After carefully checking, they found that every single expense could be accounted for.
There really was that much!
The development of reward pools among non-plot characters in the United States and other countries, the steady accumulation from the domestic base, the continuous contributions from the plot characters, the surprises provided by the Su family and Lin Sen, along with the critical-hit effect—
All of these factors combined had produced this astonishing figure.
“There won’t be this much later on,” Su Ning said.
Reviewing everything, she had already squeezed out nearly all the rewards that could be obtained. This was true of both the non-plot characters and the plot characters.
“Ah, we’re getting closer and closer to ten billion, but the progress on the billion-spending task is moving as slowly as a tortoise. We haven’t even spent half of it yet,” the System could not help sighing.
Such a situation was actually quite rare.
For ordinary taskers, earning money and spending money were roughly equal in difficulty. Sometimes, the former was even harder.
“There’s no need to rush. We can take it slowly.”
Su Ning remained calm and composed.
At worst, she could grind it out over time. Of course, that was the choice of last resort.
Didn’t she still have Huo Xiang as an experience pack?
Several months had passed.
The leek—no, the reward pool attached to him should have accumulated quite a bit again. Su Ning sincerely prayed that he would develop well and win over a few more plot characters…
For example, Guan Jixing and Mu Wan.
Those two were both extraordinary characters. They were easy to make lose their composure, but their mental attacks were simply too powerful.
She was afraid of catching it.
…………
Achoo!
Guan Jixing sneezed, and Mu Wan immediately turned toward him with concern.
“What’s wrong? Have you caught a chill? It may not be snowing here, but it’s still winter. You should wear more clothes. It’s also my fault for not reminding you. Why don’t you take a few days off and rest properly?”
“No need.”
Guan Jixing put an arm around her, full of confidence and ambition.
“Work is important. I have too much on my hands. A whole batch of chickens has grown enough to be sold, and we also need to prepare to expand the scale of the farm. This time, we’re going to increase it at least tenfold. Mr. Huo can’t manage without me right now. If I take time off, everything will fall into chaos.”
“But…”
Mu Wan furrowed her brows slightly.
Before she could finish, a passionate kiss descended upon her. She lifted her eyes and met her lover’s gentle yet domineering gaze, and her body immediately went weak.
The two of them kissed for a long time before finally parting.
“I know you’re worried about me, Wan’er.” Guan Jixing lowered his head, his expression overflowing with tenderness. “But a true gentleman should die for the one who recognizes his worth. I finally have a chance to prove myself, so I must make something of it. I’ll make all those who once looked down on us regret it. I’ll show the entire world that the man you married isn’t a good-for-nothing!”
Hearing this, Mu Wan was deeply moved.
“I understand now. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stopped you from pursuing your ambitions. You’re so wonderful, so capable. You were meant to make a name for yourself in the world.”
She happily buried herself in her lover’s embrace and complained unhappily:
“If it weren’t for Su Ning, you would have already made a name for yourself in Beiping. Instead, you were forced to leave your homeland. Although Mr. Huo values you, at the end of the day, you’re still working under someone else. I actually think you’re far more capable than Mr. Huo. If it weren’t for you, he couldn’t have developed his business so smoothly. I honestly feel it’s a waste of your talents.”
“Enough. No matter what, Mr. Huo gave me an opportunity. A true gentleman dies for the one who recognizes his worth—that’s a matter of honor. I’ll do my best to help him build his business. I won’t leave until I’ve repaid him sufficiently. But there is something I’m worried about…”
Guan Jixing frowned.
“Worried about what?”
“Su Ning.”
Mu Wan immediately understood. She asked nervously, “Could it… be true?”
“Mm.”
Guan Jixing nodded heavily. “At first, it was only a suspicion, but now I can confirm it. Mr. Huo is in love with Su Ning!”
He proceeded to list his reasons.
For example, Huo Xiang’s unusual concern for Su Ning, his abnormal emotional reactions whenever Su Ning was mentioned, his refusal to let anyone bring up Su Ning’s name, and the way he instinctively looked over whenever he saw the character “Su” or “Ning”—even when he heard words with similar pronunciations…
Wasn’t that enough to prove it?
“How could Mr. Huo possibly fall for someone like Su Ning?” Mu Wan said indignantly.
“No. Love isn’t rational.”
Guan Jixing shook his head, then continued, “Wan’er, you should understand that.”
Mu Wan froze.
Then she let out a faint, melancholy sigh.
That was right. Love was the most unreasonable thing in the world.
The two of them sank into gloom.
They mourned the fact that their superior had fallen in love with someone he shouldn’t love—someone unworthy of his love and undeserving of being loved.
And then they contributed another batch of rewards to Su Ning.
Su Ning: …What???
The System’s resident lunatics having a breakdown was nothing unusual.
She paid it no mind.
A few months later, filming was finally complete, and the movie was about to be released.
