That's all for today

"Ye Feng, I have a question for you."

Just as the atmosphere had begun to ease, Xie Yuyan suddenly spoke up.

But Ye Feng seemed to have guessed what she wanted to ask. Under Shen Mengli's gaze, he answered bluntly, "Yuyan, you were actually going to ask about the progress, weren’t you?"

"Y-Ye Feng... you already figured it out?"

Xie Yuyan was only slightly startled before quickly regaining her composure.

"Of course. You wanted to bring it up earlier in the garden, right?"

"Yeah..."

Seeing Xie Yuyan acting shy in front of so many people, Ye Feng couldn’t help but twitch his lips.

"Actually, the progress I mentioned is the reward for a hidden quest. And this reward, as you all probably know by now, is the removal of the so-called 'life timer.' Without that constraint, I won’t have to worry about the countdown to my life anymore."

"Then... then why didn’t you tell us, Ye Feng? If it weren’t for Shen Mengli informing us, we’d still be in the dark. If something had happened to you... I would never have forgiven myself."

Su Yuxin tightened her grip on Ye Feng’s arm, her pressure growing until he couldn’t even pull away.

"Yuxin, don’t get worked up. I’ve already come clean about so much now. I’ve made up my mind, so you don’t need to worry, okay?"

To comfort her, Ye Feng quickly reassured her. At the same time, he glanced at Su Yuxin’s golden ponytail resting on his shoulder, his expression reluctant as he answered carefully.

"O-okay... but you’d better mean it! If you dare hide anything from us again, I’ll... I’ll make sure you regret it!"

Su Yuxin raised a small, delicate fist in warning, making everyone present chuckle. Her cuteness wasn’t forced—it carried a pure, lively cheerfulness that none of the others possessed.

"Alright, alright. If I ever keep anything from you again, you can do whatever you want to me."

"You promise?"

After making his assurances to the others, Ye Feng continued explaining about the system.

"This so-called 'progress' has two parts. The first is essentially your affection toward me. The quest tied to the life timer is based on this affection. As for the second part..."

Ye Feng suddenly stopped, as if he’d touched on something unpleasant. Xie Yuyan and Li Mucheng noticed this and lowered their heads, avoiding his gaze. Meanwhile, Shen Mengli stayed quietly by his side, eyes narrowed as she watched the unfolding drama. After today’s events, she had realized she needed to gradually adjust her mindset—but that didn’t mean she’d pass up a chance to enjoy the show.

Ever the curious one, Su Yuxin took on the role of an inquisitive student, asking without hesitation, "Ye Feng, what exactly is this second part? Since you said you wouldn’t hide anything, you might as well tell us everything."

"Uh... the second part is essentially your individual 'corruption levels.'"

"Corruption levels? What’s that?"

"Let me put it simply. Yuxin, remember when you saw me with Mucheng before? Didn’t you feel terrible inside?"

"Yeah... like I was being stabbed by countless needles..."

Su Yuxin shuddered at the memory, nodding along with Ye Feng’s words.

"And then came this feeling like you were being taken away from me. Before I knew it, I just wanted to have you for myself, no matter what it took..."

"Right. That’s what I mean by 'corruption.' Basically, when you see me interacting with other girls, this feeling arises. I think the cause is a skill in my system panel called 'Charm,' which is described as increasing your affection toward me."

"Charm?"

Su Yuxin murmured the word in confusion. Ye Feng was undoubtedly handsome, but what she loved wasn’t his looks—it was the genuine kindness in his heart. That warmth was like a blade piercing through any barrier, effortlessly opening her heart.

But then again, that didn’t seem related to what Ye Feng called "Charm."

At that moment, Shen Mengli, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "Maybe this 'Charm' of yours isn’t just about appearance. Couldn’t it be charisma? Otherwise, how could we have all fallen so deeply into your trap?"

"Charisma... Is it really that exaggerated, Mengli?"

"Hmph. It’s already happened, and we’ve all seen it. Or are you saying... you just don’t want to admit it?"

"Ahem... Let’s not get sidetracked. We’re discussing something important here."

Ye Feng gave up on answering Shen Mengli and instead leaned close to whisper in her ear,

"Mengli, behave. We’re getting to the main point."

"I’m just stating facts. But since you asked so nicely, I’ll let it slide~"

"Thanks, Mengli."

"Back to the topic—I don’t think we need to worry about corruption levels anymore. Everyone’s already developed a new perspective on it. As for affection, that’s the key to breaking the chains."

Li Mucheng, whose affection had been the first to reach the threshold, naturally had her own interpretation. Ever since Shen Mengli’s remark, she’d already formed a theory. Now, she voiced her thoughts:

"I think the purpose of maxing out affection is to let us love Ye Feng without letting our desires hurt him. Of course, that’s just my guess. The specifics depend on how each of us feels."

"I... I’ll try to change. For Ye Feng’s sake... and for my own."

Xie Yuyan still couldn’t bring herself to meet Ye Feng’s eyes, but she feared that staying silent might cause misunderstandings—especially with him.

"Yuyan..."

Ye Feng murmured her name, watching her lowered head. Taking a deep breath, he decided to end the discussion.

"Let’s stop here for today. There’s too much to unpack all at once. Let’s all take some time to process things, okay?"

"Okay."

The others responded one after another.