Two days remained until the mission.
Noon.
After a morning of tedious classes, he once again found himself in the music room at noon.
As always, Gu Ruoxue was there.
As always, she sat in the back row by the window, quietly flipping through a book. The winter sun filtered through the curtains, casting a slanted beam of light onto her, creating a serene and warm tableau.
It was as if she would always be there.
On the table were a tea set and some pastries, among which a certain mug stood out conspicuously.
It was the one he had used the day before.
This time, Su Cheng didn’t sneak in or act furtively. Instead, he pushed the door open and strode in directly.
Gu Ruoxue first observed the way he walked before lifting her gaze, her clear eyes meeting his. She gave a slight nod and said, "Sit."
Her tone was still cool and detached, devoid of any emotion, yet Su Cheng sensed something unspoken beneath it.
The moment he entered, she had been scrutinizing his gait, seemingly very concerned about the injury from the night before. Her posture and demeanor were so clinical, like a doctor assessing a patient, that it left a deep impression.
Su Cheng didn’t sit down. Instead, he stood a short distance away, looking straight at her. "Same dishes as yesterday?"
"Didn’t you promise to treat me to a lavish meal?"
Gu Ruoxue rested a finger on her lips, tilting her head slightly, an unexpectedly playful and adorable gesture.
Su Cheng was taken aback before remembering—during their phone call the previous night, he had mentioned treating a friend to a feast.
The so-called "friend" was, naturally, Gu Ruoxue.
"But there’s nothing lavish at school. How about I take you to a nice restaurant after classes this afternoon?" he suggested tentatively.
Gu Ruoxue parted her lips slightly and enunciated clearly, "No need for the trouble. I’m quite curious about the rice with toppings you mentioned yesterday. That will do."
Su Cheng almost shook his head on reflex. Rice with toppings was a single-dish meal, and Gu Ruoxue preferred light flavors. He couldn’t just serve her plain rice with a few greens, could he?
But under the weight of her clear, unwavering gaze—as if refusing to buy her a simple meal would earn her displeasure—he reluctantly conceded. "Alright, but this doesn’t count as a feast!"
"In that case, go ahead and buy it first."
"Sure."
About ten minutes later, Su Cheng returned with two servings of chicken rice and two bowls of rib soup.
After much deliberation, he had settled on this relatively mild option, hoping it would suit her palate.
Chicken leg, egg, cabbage, and pickled vegetables.
To him, it was a hearty meal.
But he was still nervous, afraid she might turn her nose up at it.
"This is pretty good. Tastes decent," he said, placing the two boxes in front of Gu Ruoxue before sitting across from her. "Try it."
Gu Ruoxue didn’t pick up her chopsticks immediately. Instead, she studied the two large portions carefully before finally opening them. She then transferred the chicken leg and egg from her box to his and pushed it toward him. "The vegetables are enough for me."
Su Cheng was surprised by her actions, but before he could protest—
Gu Ruoxue even scooped out half of her rice and added it to his portion.
And before he could say anything else—
She preempted him. "I can’t finish this much."
Staring at the double portion in front of him, Su Cheng froze before blurting out, "Do you eat pickled vegetables?"
Gu Ruoxue paused, looking down at her own bowl, now holding only cabbage and pickles. After a brief silence, she moved to dump the pickles into his box as well.
Thankfully, Su Cheng snapped out of it in time and stopped her. "No, no—that’s not what I meant! I was asking if you like pickles since they’re a bit strong. If you do, I can get some for you next time."
"Let me try first."
She picked up a small portion with her chopsticks and chewed thoughtfully.
Though she didn’t comment, a faint flicker of surprise crossed her brows.
"Quite appetizing. Stimulates the palate," Gu Ruoxue remarked, setting her chopsticks down like a food critic delivering a verdict.
"Let’s eat before it gets cold," Su Cheng said, relieved. He had worried her refined tastes might reject such humble fare, but contrary to expectations, this young lady wasn’t the least bit fussy.
Not only could she stomach tofu pudding, but she didn’t even balk at pickles—clearly a woman who knew how to live simply.
And on top of that, she was a stunningly beautiful heiress…
A rarity on par with an SSS-tier treasure.
Perhaps one of a kind in this world.
The two ate in comfortable silence, though the chicken rice, now stripped of flavor and overloaded with plain rice, was proving hard to swallow.
Su Cheng glanced around, checking for surveillance cameras in the music room.
Gu Ruoxue paused mid-bite, watching him curiously before realizing his intent. "There are no cameras here," she explained.
"Oh."
With that reassurance, Su Cheng reached under the table. Under Gu Ruoxue’s intrigued gaze, he produced a red glass jar.
"Chili sauce. For the rice."
He had bought it on a buy-one-get-one deal at the convenience store earlier, thanks to the ten steamed buns still occupying his inventory space.
Gu Ruoxue nodded in understanding.
But the next moment—
Su Cheng’s face turned red as he strained to open the jar, to no avail. "What kind of sadistic design is this? No wonder it was on sale," he grumbled, embarrassed.
"Let me try."
Gu Ruoxue reached out and took the jar from his bewildered hands. With a gentle twist—
Pop.
The lid came right off. She then carefully screwed it back on and placed it in front of the stunned Su Cheng.
"?"
A question mark floated in Su Cheng’s mind.
It wasn’t him—something was off about this Gu Ruoxue.
He had used every ounce of strength and failed, yet she opened it effortlessly with one light turn?!
This defied all logic!
A century-shocking moment for Su Cheng!
He swallowed hard, staring at her fair, slender fingers in disbelief. The more he looked, the more his worldview crumbled—this simply wasn’t scientifically possible!
Gu Ruoxue, however, acted as if nothing unusual had happened, resuming her meal and taking a sip of soup.
"Hm?"
She seemed oblivious to the earth-shattering implications of her feat.
Su Cheng promptly retrieved the second, unopened jar from his inventory and slid it toward her.
Without hesitation, she grasped the red chili sauce jar with her delicate fingers and twisted.
Click.
The lid opened again.
Su Cheng’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "How are you so strong?!"
"Well… my muscle fibers have greater explosive power than average, and my nervous system can activate them more efficiently. That’s why I can exert greater force," Gu Ruoxue explained matter-of-factly.
"What kind of nonsense is that…?"
Su Cheng was completely stunned, still processing her words with an expression of disbelief.
This was…
Innate superhuman strength!?
Realizing this, he instinctively lowered his head and began shoveling rice into his mouth, eating much faster than usual as he tried to digest the shock.
Meanwhile, Gu Ruoxue looked up at him, her expression pausing for a brief moment.
“You don’t need to find it strange,” she said after a pause, adding, “In this world, there are a very few people with extraordinary physical abilities.”
“Have you met others with this kind of power?” Su Cheng suddenly thought of something and pressed further.
“Of course, I know several myself. But generally, most of them belong to special organizations…” Gu Ruoxue replied leisurely.
After a long silence…
Su Cheng sighed, “This world is far more complicated than the one I knew before.”
At the same time, a surge of intense curiosity welled up inside him—he suddenly felt an eagerness to understand this world.
But reality dealt him another blow.
There were only two days left until the task deadline.
“Come to think of it, you’ve never really talked about the world you came from before,” Gu Ruoxue asked proactively.
“Well, it’s basically the same as this one, yet completely different. The culture and history are similar, but some things aren’t quite the same—social hierarchies, nationalities, customs…” Su Cheng explained between bites.
Gu Ruoxue listened with great interest, occasionally showing surprise, and the conversation between the two flowed naturally.
Notably, as they talked, the topic shifted to fables from his past life. To his surprise, this world didn’t have the stories he knew.
When he casually recounted the tale of “The Three Monks,” Gu Ruoxue even took out a notebook to jot it down.
“Profound meaning…” she murmured after finishing, looking up in admiration. “A story rich in philosophy and childlike charm.”
As her words faded, they realized it was almost time for class. They packed up and prepared to leave, but before they did, Gu Ruoxue handed him a piece of fruit.
Su Cheng thanked her and took it, then voiced the question that had been on his mind since yesterday.
“By the way, why were you in that alley last night?”
The incident had lingered in his thoughts.
What was she doing in a dirty alley in the middle of the night?
Gu Ruoxue hesitated for a moment before answering calmly, “I took Orange Cat to the vet for deworming and vaccinations yesterday. On the way back, I lost sight of it for a second, and it ran into the alley.”
Her tone was composed, but Su Cheng felt a surge of irritation—that damn stray cat deserved to stay a stray if it was going to put its owner in danger.
Wait.
Danger?
Couldn’t this person in front of him flip a dog’s skull open with ease?
However, Gu Ruoxue seemed to sense his thoughts and added, “After what happened yesterday, it’s become much better behaved. It won’t run off again.”
Hearing this, Su Cheng relaxed slightly. He took a bite of the apple and asked, “Are you taking it to the vet again tonight? Do you want me to come with you?”
Gu Ruoxue shook her head. “There’s no need anymore, so don’t trouble yourself.”
……………………
Nighttime.
Su Cheng sat on the lawn of the orphanage, gazing up at the starry sky, lost in thought with his cheeks cupped in his hands.
The task deadline was approaching.
He didn’t know if Gu Ruoxue had found a solution, nor did he know what to do tomorrow. An inexplicable restlessness and tension gnawed at him.
So, sleep was out of the question.
Become a couple?
Could this kind of relationship even be called a couple?
At its core, it was just a bond forced by the system. Though verbally acknowledged, it was far from a real romantic relationship—just a reluctant compromise.
“Ring, ring, ring—”
A rapid series of phone chimes shattered the quiet night.
Su Cheng jolted awake, rubbing his tired eyes before scrambling to his feet and fishing his phone out of his pocket.
When he saw the caller ID, he froze.
Because the name on the screen was… something else.
It looked familiar, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember how to pronounce it.
Incoming call—『Li Zhao.』
He stared at the name, his brain struggling for a good ten seconds—until the call stopped ringing.
Only then did he snap out of it.
He quickly dialed the hotel’s number.
A few seconds later,
Gu Ruoxue’s cool yet slightly hoarse voice came through the receiver.
“What is it?”
Hearing her unique tone, Su Cheng inexplicably felt a warmth in his chest. He explained, “Someone named Li Kong called you.”
When in doubt, read half the character.
Silence followed on the other end.
In that awkward pause, Su Cheng realized his mistake and hurriedly corrected himself, “Wait, no—I misread it! It’s Li Ming! Oh, no—Li Mingkong!”
After a long pause,
Gu Ruoxue’s voice returned, sounding like she had sighed in resignation. “I understand. I’ll call her back. By the way, that character is pronounced ‘Zhao.’”
“Beep, beep, beep…”
The call ended.
Su Cheng blinked, his face burning with embarrassment. He let out a self-deprecating chuckle before sitting back down to resume his brooding, deciding to ask Gu Ruoxue properly tomorrow.
Just then, his phone rang again.
The caller ID showed the hotel’s number.
He immediately answered.
“Hello?” he said, pressing the accept button.
“Take tomorrow off. Meet me at the breakfast shop at seven in the morning.”