Early morning
Su Cheng woke up early, gave himself a neat haircut, and took a shower.
Finally, he put on the brand-new outfit he had been saving for special occasions and stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection.
He gazed at the handsome, radiant version of himself in the mirror.
"Not bad—just as dashing as ever! Definitely protagonist material!"
Su Cheng grinned in satisfaction.
This was the new outfit he had bought a while ago, originally meant for the Lunar New Year.
Of course, there were new shoes too.
Head to toe, everything was fresh and stylish!
"Honestly, I should start investing more in my appearance from now on."
He narcissistically adjusted his hair before heading out. In the past, he would never have spent time or money on dressing up.
But now, things were different—he had friends.
He couldn’t embarrass them, after all.
That’s why this outfit and shoes, bought last month for the New Year, finally came in handy. He had to make sure he looked clean, polished, and presentable.
After putting in the effort, his looks instantly leveled up. Even in school, he’d easily rank among the most eye-catching.
Normally, he didn’t bother styling his hair, wore outdated clothes, and kept to himself—effectively hiding his good looks.
After all, being too handsome came with its own set of troubles.
As a top-tier transmigrator, he naturally possessed both looks and talent—but he also knew how to keep his overwhelming charm under wraps.
"Wow, where did this hottie come from?!"
The moment Su Cheng stepped outside, a surprised female voice rang out from next door.
He turned to look.
Xue Yi sat in her wheelchair, dressed in a pink padded jacket, khaki casual pants, and white sneakers, her hair tied in a ponytail. Her youthful, delicate features were accentuated by her sparkling eyes, which now widened in shock as if she’d seen something unbelievable. She covered her mouth in surprise.
Current Version: Su Cheng
Increased handsomeness = Increased confidence and boldness.
"What do you think?" Su Cheng stroked his chin, wearing a teasing smirk that suggested he had his prey right where he wanted them. His gaze was sharp and unyielding.
"You… aren’t you supposed to be at school today?"
Xue Yi instinctively wheeled her chair back slightly, her cheeks tinged with shyness.
"I took the day off. Planning to hit the mall for some shopping."
Su Cheng chuckled, his eyes never leaving her.
"You’re not… getting a girlfriend, are you?"
Xue Yi suddenly froze, her eyes widening as she stared at him.
Su Cheng, who usually couldn’t care less about his appearance, had gone all out today—even wearing a completely new outfit. This was definitely not normal!
There was no way her little brother could be this handsome!
Normally, he only wore new clothes during the Lunar New Year. This made her feel like the holidays had come early!
And this time…
He looked even more stylish and attractive than during the New Year.
"Nah, girlfriends are too much trouble. Time-consuming, energy-draining, and expensive. I’d rather spend that time doing homework."
Su Cheng shook his head.
"But… you’re really going out like this?"
Xue Yi studied his outfit—black casual pants, a white dress shirt layered under a sweater, topped with a black overcoat, and black loafers. His sharp features and well-put-together look gave off an effortlessly stylish vibe.
She couldn’t help but worry.
What if some scheming woman tried to take advantage of him?
"What’s the problem?" Su Cheng tilted his head.
"N-Nothing…" Xue Yi shook her head, hesitating.
Finally, she sighed and turned her wheelchair around, heading back to her room. Over her shoulder, she said, "I finished making those little panda and cat figurines. Want to see how they turned out?"
Su Cheng blinked, then his face lit up. "You finished them already?!"
"Mhm."
Xue Yi responded casually.
Su Cheng followed her inside and saw a dozen or so tiny figurines arranged on the table—adorable black-and-white pandas and multicolored cats, all crafted from lightweight clay.
Each one was only a few centimeters tall, chubby and lifelike, small yet exquisitely detailed.
They were undeniably cute and charming.
"These…"
Su Cheng picked up a panda, examining it from all angles before whistling in admiration. "The craftsmanship is amazing. And they’re so cute!"
"If you need more, I can make another batch."
Xue Yi nodded slightly, a faint smile on her lips.
"No, this is plenty."
"Then take them. They’re just taking up space here."
"Okay, got it."
Su Cheng quickly gathered the figurines and hurried back to his room, storing them all in his system inventory.
---
After leaving the orphanage, he headed to a breakfast shop.
The morning sun was warm and bright—a rare treat in winter.
Humming cheerfully, Su Cheng strolled down the bustling street. A few female classmates in school uniforms spotted him and immediately did double-takes, their eyes glued to him.
Honestly, he was just too good-looking today!
Though his complexion was still slightly sallow, his facial features were sharp and well-defined, especially his eyes—piercing yet with a hint of endearing goofiness.
"Hey, doesn’t he look familiar?"
"Wait, you know someone this handsome?!"
Two girls whispered as they watched Su Cheng walk past.
"He seems familiar, but I can’t place him."
One of them wrinkled her nose.
The other girl nodded slowly. Now that it was mentioned, she also felt like she’d seen him somewhere. "Yeah, I kinda recognize him too, but I can’t remember where from…"
"Seriously, how can we forget a guy this good-looking?"
"Should we ask for his number?"
"You go first."
"Let’s go together."
The two girls chattered excitedly, pulling out their phones—but by then, Su Cheng had already vanished.
---
The breakfast shop was located at the end of the street.
Today, Su Cheng decided to treat himself—ordering a bowl of shredded pork with green pepper noodles, plus an egg.
The shop owner didn’t seem to recognize him either.
As he sat at a table near the entrance, waiting for his food, he glanced around, wondering if Gu Ruoxue was nearby.
Then he noticed a smartphone—a latest-model one—lying on the ground near the entrance.
He walked over, picked it up, and called out to the other customers, "Hey, did anyone drop a phone?"
The diners looked up, patted their pockets, then went back to their meals without a word.
Resigned, Su Cheng sat back down, planning to hand the phone to the shop owner once his noodles arrived.
But before he could take another bite, a heavyset woman in her twenties came rushing in, frantically scanning the floor.
"Is this your phone?"
Su Cheng held up the device he’d found.
The woman’s head snapped up. Her eyes darted between his face and the phone in his hand before lighting up with shock and delight.
Without hesitation, she snatched the phone from him, gushing, "Thank you! Thank you so, so much!!"
"Could you unlock your phone?"
"Mm, sure."
The woman obediently complied, quickly unlocking her screen before holding it up. "See? It's my phone!"
Su Cheng glanced at the screen, nodded, then averted his gaze without another word.
Yet the owner of the phone stood there, staring at him intently, her words tumbling out in an endless stream of gratitude.
"Thank you, really, thank you so much!"
"If it weren't for you, I might never have found my phone."
"Do you want to add me on WeChat?"
She extended her phone with a QR code, her face brimming with expectation.
Repaying kindness with schemes, huh?
Still…
He quickly shook his head. "I don’t think that’s necessary."
Unfazed by his refusal, the plump woman pressed on. "No, I insist. I want to send you a red packet as thanks. Just add me."
"Eh? A red packet?"
"Exactly. A beauty like me doesn’t leave favors unpaid."
Su Cheng shuddered internally before reluctantly explaining, "I didn’t find your phone. The previous diner asked me to wait here for the owner."
He pointed at an elderly man passing by. "That uncle over there was the one who picked it up. If you want to thank someone, go to him."
"Oh…"
The woman turned to look, hesitated awkwardly for a moment, then shuffled away without even approaching the old man.
A transmigrator never falls into a woman’s trap.
Just as he was patting himself on the back for his quick thinking—
"Hmm…"
A soft chuckle sounded behind him. Su Cheng turned to find Gu Ruoxue standing there, watching the scene unfold.
She stood poised, one hand lightly covering her lips as she smiled with effortless grace. The sight was enough to soothe the soul, as if washing away all worldly worries.
"Ahem."
Su Cheng coughed awkwardly, trying to mask his embarrassment.
Today, Gu Ruoxue was dressed stunningly—a fitted women’s blazer over a blouse adorned with a cute red bow at the collar, paired with a pleated skirt and her signature thick black tights, all completed with polished black loafers. Elegant and refined.
"Today, I finally got to see your true colors."
Gu Ruoxue teased him, her eyes lingering on his handsome face.
"Guess I hid it pretty well. I thought you’d already figured me out, but it seems I overestimated myself."
Though internally cringing, Su Cheng forced a nonchalant expression and swiftly changed the subject. "So, uh, have you eaten yet?"
"I have. Meet me behind the school later."
With that, Gu Ruoxue walked away. Watching the elegant sway of her black-stockinged legs, an absurd thought popped into Su Cheng’s mind—
What would it look like if she were pedaling a tricycle?
"Why am I even thinking this?"
He shook his head, dispelling the ridiculous notion, then picked up his chopsticks and focused on finishing his breakfast.
After eating, he leisurely made his way to the small shop behind the school, run by an elderly woman.
Unsurprisingly, Gu Ruoxue was there, playing with the orange cat.
Speaking of which…
That cat’s name was still embarrassingly cringe-worthy.
A while later…
He arrived at the shop. The old woman was tending to customers while Gu Ruoxue sat in the backyard, feeding the cat some nutritional supplements.
To his surprise, the cat didn’t react aggressively as usual. Instead, it regarded him with aloof disdain, as if he wasn’t worth its time.
Su Cheng guessed that after his heroic dog-chasing incident, the cat had acknowledged him—but not enough to submit.
Noticing his arrival, Gu Ruoxue set aside the supplements and picked up a cat teaser, playfully waving it around. The orange cat leaped and pounced with glee.
But the sight of the cat’s blank expression made Su Cheng avert his eyes.
"Xue Yi, perfect timing. Could you watch the shop for me? I need to fetch something from Granny Wang next door."
The old woman stepped out, smiling warmly at Gu Ruoxue before giving Su Cheng a glance and heading out.
"Sure." Gu Ruoxue agreed, scooping up the cat and heading inside the shop.
Left alone in the yard, Su Cheng awkwardly settled into the chair Gu Ruoxue had vacated, picking up the cat teaser and waving it aimlessly.
Minutes later, the old woman returned, and Gu Ruoxue emerged with the cat in her arms.
What caught Su Cheng off guard was how both Gu Ruoxue and the cat’s eyes tracked the teaser’s movements in eerie synchronization. The bizarre sight left him baffled.
At this point, Gu Ruoxue might as well be renamed "Gu Miaoxue" (Cat-Snow).
"Ahem."
Gu Ruoxue cleared her throat, sensing the oddity, then set the cat down. "Let’s go."
"Mm, okay."
Driven by mischief and curiosity, Su Cheng nodded, casually holding the teaser behind his back as he approached her. Then, without warning, he started waving it in front of her face.
To his disappointment, Gu Ruoxue didn’t react like the cat—no pawing or pouncing. Instead, she fixed him with an icy glare, as if trying to murder him with her eyes.
Clearly, his antics had annoyed her.
"Did your optic nerves get soaked in catnip?"
Without hesitation, she delivered a sharp retort before brushing past him and walking away.
Su Cheng stood frozen for a moment before scrambling after her, whining pitifully. "I—I was just curious… Don’t be mad…"
He trailed behind her, apologizing profusely, drawing amused glances and hushed comments from nearby vendors.
The two of them no longer looked mismatched as usual. To onlookers, they resembled a picture-perfect couple in the midst of a lover’s quarrel—one pleading for forgiveness, the other coldly withholding it.
"You owe me a story."
Finally, Gu Ruoxue stopped walking.
"Sure, no problem."
Relieved, Su Cheng agreed immediately.
"Good." She nodded and resumed walking.
"Did we skip class today for something important?"
Gu Ruoxue didn’t answer.
Su Cheng had no choice but to follow silently until they stopped under a phoenix tree. As he opened his mouth to ask again—
Gu Ruoxue abruptly dropped a bombshell:
"Just for today, we’re in a relationship."
Her tone and expression were utterly calm, as if she’d just remarked on the weather.
But to Su Cheng, it was a thunderbolt. He gaped at her, speechless.
A relationship?
Gu Ruoxue noticed Su Cheng frozen in place and assumed he had entered the system panel again, just like last time. She subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
Just as she thought this reward might be the key to solving their predicament, she saw Su Cheng snap out of his daze, his face filled with confusion. "The system… the system isn’t responding."
Hearing this, Gu Ruoxue immediately frowned.
"It didn’t work? Was I too deliberate?"
She muttered to herself, though she wasn’t entirely surprised. She had spent the past few days analyzing and pondering this very issue.
After the initial shock wore off, Su Cheng took a moment to think and quickly grasped Gu Ruoxue’s current mood and state.
He let out a self-deprecating sigh, raised his eyes to meet hers, and said seriously, "Seems like you don’t have a solution either. In that case, let’s stick to our original agreement and fulfill our promise."
What he referred to was their initial deal—if they truly ran out of options, they would part ways, and Gu Ruoxue would donate to the orphanage.
This was clearly that scenario. She had even resorted to pretending to be his girlfriend. Given that Gu Ruoxue was an upright, intelligent, and rational person, the fact that she had made such a decision meant she was truly out of ideas.
"How pathetic. You’ve reverted to your old self again."
Gu Ruoxue’s expression hardened as she watched Su Cheng’s ever-changing expressions—shifting between joy and sorrow like a magician’s trick—and couldn’t help but mutter in disdain.
Su Cheng’s lips twitched at her words.
"Are you planning to break our agreement?"
He stared at Gu Ruoxue. While he didn’t mind playing the fake boyfriend, it clearly wasn’t working now. In this situation, the only option left was to separate.
He had already braced himself for the worst.
"Who said I don’t have a solution?"
Yet Gu Ruoxue crossed her arms and looked down at him with a sly glint in her eyes.
"Huh?"
Su Cheng froze for a moment before widening his eyes in surprise. "What solution?"
"Of course." Gu Ruoxue tilted her head slightly, clearly pleased by his reaction. "After spending these past few days together, I’ve figured out your temperament. And I’m sure you’ve gotten to know me a little better too."
Su Cheng blinked and nodded vaguely, too eager to dwell on it. "So, what’s this solution you’re talking about?"
"The one who can save you is still yourself." She pointed a slender, jade-like finger at him.
Su Cheng narrowed his eyes, trying to decipher her words, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t grasp what she meant.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
After a moment of contemplation, he still couldn’t unravel the deeper meaning behind her words.
"It means exactly what it sounds like."
Gu Ruoxue shook her head, then reached up and unhooked the ring necklace from around her neck, handing it to Su Cheng.
Su Cheng took it in confusion. "This is the reward from the second stage. Is there something wrong with it?"
Gu Ruoxue gave him a sidelong glance and reminded him in a neutral tone, "When you completed the second stage of the mission, what were you thinking? Or rather, what did you want at that time?"
"What I was thinking back then…"
Su Cheng fell into deep thought, slowly recalling the moment.
He remembered when Gu Ruoxue had said they had become friends. At the time, he had felt an inexplicable surge of emotion, a strong desire to give something to his first real friend—something to commemorate their friendship.
"I wanted to give you a gift, but I had nothing to offer…"
Su Cheng murmured to himself before looking up at Gu Ruoxue. "The only valuable thing I had was the system space, but that couldn’t be given away…"
At this point, his words caught in his throat as a sudden realization struck him.
Didn’t this mean the reward was granted based on his own desires?
In other words, he had wanted to give the system space to Gu Ruoxue, but since that was impossible, the reward had instead manifested as a spatial ring!
"It’s not just the rewards. Your entire system is deeply connected to your will—even the punishments stem from your own thoughts. So… do you understand now what you need to do?"
Gu Ruoxue finished speaking and waited quietly for Su Cheng’s reaction.
But instead of clarity, Su Cheng was plunged into unprecedented confusion.
How could this punishment be something he had brought upon himself?
Wasn’t it just the system’s ruthless method of forcing him to complete tasks?
This made him question everything—his own values, his nature. Was he truly such a selfish person that he had unknowingly imposed these punishments on himself?
Gu Ruoxue seemed to have anticipated this reaction. She sighed softly before dropping a bombshell.
"How did you die in your past life?"
Su Cheng stiffened, his eyes widening in shock as he stared at her. "You… how…?"
He had never once mentioned the cause of his death to Gu Ruoxue, yet she seemed to know. The revelation left him utterly stunned.
"Yesterday at noon in the music room, we didn’t discuss it, but whenever the topic even slightly brushed against it…"
Gu Ruoxue’s gaze bore into him. "You’d sink into a dark recollection. Your emotions would fluctuate wildly, a mix of despair and panic. But the most telling part was your eyes—they became a vessel for all the darkness inside you, radiating intense hatred and fury…"
Her words left Su Cheng in prolonged silence. Eventually, he sat down on a nearby rock, closing his eyes and saying nothing.
From the moment his memories as a transmigrator merged with this world, he had possessed extraordinary memory, insight, and a maturity beyond his years.
But at the same time, the resentment from his unjust death in his past life had taken root in his heart. Could someone who died unfairly still cling to kindness and righteousness?
Fortunately, the warmth he found in this world had been enough to suppress that darkness, burying his grudges deep within.
According to Gu Ruoxue, this so-called system had emerged alongside his awakened memories—a construct shaped by his dying will from his previous life. In other words, it was a product of his unresolved resentment.
Gu Ruoxue sat down beside him on the rock, gazing at the river as she sighed softly. "I’d like to hear that story someday. But right now, I think you need comfort more than anything."
"So, the solution you’re suggesting is to change this unresolved resentment?"
Su Cheng opened his eyes, his gaze calm as he looked at her.
"Yes. As long as that hatred remains, nothing will change."
Gu Ruoxue nodded. "Using an item might not directly affect the system, but it can influence you—and through you, the system. So, the next reward just needs to be something capable of erasing, separating, storing, or altering memories."
She paused briefly before adding, "And since you inherently have two sets of memories, this plan might just work."
Hearing these words, Su Cheng understood—if he could erase his memories as a transmigrator, perhaps the system would change its rules.
Maybe it could even destroy the system altogether?!
“Then what’s your reasoning for this?”
Su Cheng pressed the question.
There was still a risk of failure, and he needed to know the logic behind it.
Gu Ruoxue fell silent for a long moment because she wasn’t entirely sure if this method would work. But even if it failed, she had a backup plan.
A final chance.
The plan was—
If the system lost its target…
Wouldn’t the missions simply stop?
If they failed, she would immediately force Su Cheng into exile, sending him to a remote countryside far from the chaos of the city.
That way, this so-called system would never be able to stir up trouble in this world again.
Of course, she was also forcing the system to compromise.
Though the system seemed emotionless, like a mere virtual device, she was certain it had self-awareness.
Last time, when she was cornered by a dog in an alley, the system had proactively issued a mission for Su Cheng to rescue her, bringing the two closer.
It was clear this so-called system could make its own judgments, knowing when and how to act.
Everything hinged on Su Cheng’s willingness and the completion of tasks!
“How will we know unless we try?”
“Then I’m willing to give it a shot.”
Su Cheng stood up, his gaze resolute, agreeing without hesitation. He didn’t even consider that losing his transmigrator memories might mean losing himself.
“Good.”
Gu Ruoxue smiled in relief and rose as well, only to notice Su Cheng’s shirt collar was folded inward. Instinctively, she reached out to straighten it.
As their fair, slender fingers brushed, a subtle tension quietly filled the air.
The bold, unexpectedly intimate gesture left Su Cheng frozen, too stunned to react as he let her adjust his clothes.
Once done, Gu Ruoxue’s cheeks flushed slightly. She lowered her eyes, and the two stood in silence, neither breaking the stillness.
After what felt like an eternity, Su Cheng finally spoke up, clearing his throat and feigning seriousness. “So… should we… now…”
“First, we go on a date. Then we become a couple.”
And just like that—
Two people who had never been in love, armed with nothing but a resolve to face death, embarked on an unconventional romantic journey.