Afternoon
After Su Cheng taught Ji Qingyi how to use mobile payment, he rode his bicycle back to his neighborhood, only to find an uninvited guest at the entrance of his community.
It was Cornelia, carrying her laptop bag.
She had come to play games with him.
This time, she was completely unreserved about it, becoming unusually proactive.
And the reason for this?
Well, she likely felt that Su Cheng owed her this, so she was justified in her actions.
After all, who could blame her when Su Cheng had been so harsh on her in the past!
"Have you eaten yet?"
After parking his bicycle, Su Cheng asked.
"No,"
Cornelia averted her eyes from Su Cheng, her cheeks slightly red, as she replied, "I'll pay for the meal."
With that, she strode toward the entrance of Su Cheng's apartment, and Su Cheng, seeing this, had no choice but to push his bicycle and follow.
Once they arrived home, Cornelia, as if she were the mistress of the house, skillfully took out slippers and changed into them, then carried her laptop into Su Cheng's bedroom to start setting up.
"Let's eat first, then play,"
Su Cheng said, not stopping Cornelia, since he had previously agreed to let her come over to play, but it was already mealtime, so they needed to eat first.
When she heard this, Cornelia nodded and, feeling that it was fitting, went to the kitchen to fetch a small stool, retrieve two sets of chopsticks and bowls from the cabinet, and set them on the dining table. She then sat on the sofa and turned on the TV to start watching.
After some time,
Three dishes, one soup, and a few bottles of drinks were placed on the table.
"Don't just drink, eat some food!"
Seeing Cornelia chugging drinks, Su Cheng couldn't help but remind her.
"Bothersome,"
Cornelia, although displeased and impatient, still obediently put down her drink and picked up her chopsticks to pick a piece of meat into her mouth.
The walnuts at her house had been consumed during her last visit, which was why she had come to Su Cheng's place to mooch food, drinks, and entertainment.
Su Cheng saw this and also fell silent, eating quietly.
Cornelia also became silent and continued eating due to her short stature, her feet didn't reach the ground when sitting on the chair, and her adorable white stockings-clad legs kept swaying...
Although Cornelia was petite and had a small appetite, she never left any food uneaten, always finishing every bit of her meal.
This was perhaps due to Su Cheng's excellent cooking skills, or perhaps because it was Su Cheng who cooked, but either way, she always ate with satisfaction.
After finishing her meal, Cornelia laid on the sofa, rubbing her round, bulging little belly, while Su Cheng was in the kitchen washing the dishes.
She had planned to help, but after breaking a bowl, she could only sit on the living room sofa to rest.
When he finished cleaning the kitchen and came out, he found Cornelia rubbing her belly, looking quite bloated.
"I'm going for a stroll, you can start a game by yourself,"
he said, knowing that if he directly invited her for a walk, she would definitely refuse and demand they start gaming immediately.
"How troublesome, I'll come with you,"
Cornelia said, standing up from the sofa and heading towards the door with light steps.
In the park,
Su Cheng wore a mask, looking like a father taking his daughter out for a walk. With his high popularity, he had to wear a mask to avoid unnecessary trouble.
As for Cornelia, seeing some passing couples holding hands, she glanced at Su Cheng beside her, feeling a bit envious.
She pouted, kicking stones with her feet to vent her dissatisfaction.
Actually, during this period, she had been waiting for Su Cheng to express his feelings, but he had yet to do so, leaving her rather frustrated and anxious, yet powerless.
That's why she had proactively come to Su Cheng's place to play games and eat, partly to give him an opportunity.
Finally—
When another couple passed by, her impatience combined with her envy and various other emotions reached their peak.
Her emotions erupted!
So, she glanced at the small rubber band on Su Cheng's wrist.
Yes, that was the tipping point.
"Hey, how long are you going to keep that woman's rubber band on?"
An impatient Cornelia suddenly stopped, turned to face Su Cheng, and said angrily, "Do you want everyone to know you have a girlfriend?"
Hearing this, Su Cheng raised his right hand to look at the black rubber band on his wrist, then slowly raised his head, thinking for a moment, and decided to tell the truth, as she would eventually find out anyway.
Moreover, the recent fluctuations in his intelligence had left him puzzled.
So he decided to test the waters.
Then, he raised both hands, saying, "Which one do you mean, the right hand or the left hand?"
"Hmm?"
Cornelia was instantly dumbfounded. Looking at the rubber bands on both hands, she discovered there were indeed two, and her face turned red with anger.
"You actually have two! She gave you two!!!"
Her voice was sharp and shrill, attracting the attention of passersby, but she didn't care, her eyes fixed on the rubber bands on Su Cheng's wrists, as if spewing flames.
She simply couldn't believe it, there were two!
She had originally thought there was only one.
This left her mind reeling!
Seeing her so agitated, the sincere Su Cheng quickly shook his head, denying, "No, no, you're mistaken."
"Then how did you get this one?"
Cornelia demanded.
"They're from two different women!"
Su Cheng answered honestly.
"What did you say?!"
Cornelia, hearing this, was once again stunned.
She stared at Su Cheng in disbelief, her mind replaying what she had just heard, "Two women... gave them?"
"That's right!"
Su Cheng confirmed.
"Who... who is the other one?"
Cornelia was frantic, stamping her foot in anger.
"Li Guanqi,"
Su Cheng answered truthfully.
"Her?"
Cornelia was surprised, recalling the young girl who had been at Su Cheng's house before.
Although Li Guanqi seemed ordinary and plain, Cornelia always felt that she was not as simple as she appeared.
Like this time, she even gave a rubber band.
The one from Ji Qingyi, she could somewhat understand, as their statuses were too far apart—even she believed that they could never be in a relationship.
And she had also inquired with Aria about Ji Qingyi, who had no friends at all, so the rubber band was likely not given with any other intentions.
But Li Guanqi?
What was her intention!
Seeing her expression change, Su Cheng continued to be honest, "Well, since they're gifts from friends, I naturally have to carry them with me, wouldn't it be rude otherwise?"
Su Cheng added, "After all, I don't have many friends, I treasure them."
"Curse it, curse it all!!!"
Cornelia stomped her feet repeatedly in frustration, her mind filled with assumptions of the scene where Li Guanqi gave the rubber band, making her want to rage.
"I don't care, I want you to take hers off right now!"
Cornelia, in her anger, demanded while reaching out to snatch the rubber band from Su Cheng's wrist.
But how could she be faster than Su Cheng?
Her movements were a bit too big, so Su Cheng dodged, taking the opportunity to run away, while Cornelia chased after him, cursing all the way.
A few minutes later, the two stopped at the park playground, where Su Cheng swung on a swing, opening his system panel.
[Target: William Henry Cornelia]
[Intelligence: 4.9]
[Charisma: 8]
[Stamina: 3]
[Status: Daughter of the British Commissioner to Flame Country]
Cornelia stood at the entrance, bending over and panting.
"Huff... huff..."
While catching her breath and adjusting her breathing, she was about to raise her head again when her cheek felt a metallic touch.
She turned her head to see Su Cheng holding a bottle of walnut milk against her cheek, smiling at her, "Looks like you've digested enough, have a drink."
"Hmph,"
With a dry mouth, Cornelia took the drink, opened it, and gulped it down. Afterward, she wiped the milk stains from her lips with her sleeve, her eyes revealing a strange light. Her previously angry face instantly turned extremely serious.
Su Cheng also opened his system panel.
[Target: William Henry Cornelia]
[Intelligence: 5]
[Charisma: 8]
[Stamina: 3]
[Status: Daughter of the British Commissioner to Flame Country]
"What's the deal with this drink!"
Su Cheng was amazed, having never encountered such a magical thing before: a drink that could instantly increase intelligence with just one sip.
Cornelia's sudden increase in intelligence once puzzled Su Cheng, as he understood it to be a result of playing together, since he always inadvertently imparted strange knowledge to her. But this time, after drinking a bottle of beverage, her intelligence shot up by 0.1 point instantaneously!
This was utterly beyond his expectations.
A mere beverage costing a few yuan had such an otherworldly effect...
"Are they all your friends?"
Cornelia looked at Su Cheng and asked.
Su Cheng nodded.
She furrowed her brows slightly: "Then am I also your friend?"
"Yes," Su Cheng nodded again.
"In that case..."
As she spoke, Cornelia took off the two golden hairbands from her twin tails and handed them to Su Cheng. "I'll give these to you too."
With the headbands removed, her hairstyle transformed into long, straight golden hair. The haughty demeanor she previously exuded had now given way to the aloof appearance of a cool beauty, completely different from before.
"Do you want me to wear them for you?"
Seeing Su Cheng standing there in a daze, Cornelia raised her eyebrows and asked.
Before he could answer, she continued: "Don't dawdle, hurry up."
Su Cheng glanced at the two small hairbands in her hand and then at her long, straight golden hair. He nodded, took them, and replied, "Alright."
"Wear one on each hand, and don't take them off normally!"
Seeing him accept the hairbands, Cornelia instructed.
"Okay."
Su Cheng lowered his head, glanced at the hairbands radiating a sense of wisdom, and then wore them on both wrists.
At this moment, his wrists each had two hairbands.
After marking her territory and asserting her dominance, Cornelia crossed her arms, looked at him contentedly, and her eyes brimmed with mischievousness and triumph.
Since Su Cheng didn't want to take them off, she made him wear hers instead.
Li Guanqi only gave him one.
She gave him two, one for each hand.
Therefore, Cornelia > Li Guanqi.
This was her major triumph.
By tomorrow, when Li Guanqi discovered this, he would definitely know, but whether he would be as furious as she was now, she wondered.
"Hahaha, hahaha."
Thinking about it, Cornelia couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, her eyes sparkling with cunning and excitement, her mouth nearly splitting from ear to ear.
Seeing this, Su Cheng opened the system character panel.
[Target: William Henry Cornelia]
[Intelligence: 4.8]
[Charm: 8]
[Stamina: 3]
[Status: Daughter of the British Commissioner to Flame Country]
"Huh, it suddenly dropped by 0.2?"
Su Cheng's eyes flickered with confusion as he glanced at the hairbands on his wrists and thought to himself, "Could it be that these hairbands hold 0.1 point of Cornelia's intelligence?"
"Alright, let's go back and play games!"
Seeing him look at his wrists, Cornelia felt very satisfied but still urged him.
Just as Su Cheng was about to nod and agree, he suddenly felt a subtle change in the air around him. Then, an entirely "mediumless" perception emerged, causing his body to react instinctively.
This signaled an imminent danger.
Even the direction of the attack and its general shape flashed into Su Cheng's mind.
He could choose to dodge, but if he did, Cornelia beside him would be the one to suffer.
"It's a car!"
His eyes hardened with determination, and he instantly retrieved red potion from the system space. With the red potion, he feared nothing.
As long as there was a breath left, the red potion could save him.
"What was that sound?"
Cornelia was startled. Before she could figure it out, she was pushed by Su Cheng beside her. While in mid-air, her eyes widened in horror, as she saw a palm-sized black toy car smash into Su Cheng's shoes.
Why was she horrified?
Because she was about to fall into the grass, and that scared her.
"Boom!"
The frightening impact caused the toy car to flip over, losing momentum and landing on the ground. Su Cheng looked at the toy car on the ground and was utterly speechless.
"Ouch, what are you doing?"
Cornelia leapt out of the grass, looking utterly displeased as she chided, "Why did you suddenly push me into the grass? Don't you know how dirty the grass is?"
Hearing her words, Su Cheng lowered his head and apologized, "I'm sorry, I thought there was a car..."
"Pfft... A car in the park? A car..."
Looking down at the toy car on the ground, Cornelia couldn't help but burst out laughing: "It really is a car. You’re too scared, haha, hahahahaha!"
"Come on, stop laughing!"
Su Cheng felt very embarrassed.
He had just experienced his first dose of this ability, so he hadn't had time to think.
He could only react immediately.
Having laughed enough, Cornelia addressed Su Cheng, "Alright, thanks for saving my life. Let's go back and play games!"
As soon as she finished speaking, several children appeared beside them, picked up the toy car, and ran away.
"Don't play with such dangerous things in the park. You might scare people!"
Su Cheng hurriedly shouted to the children's retreating backs.
"Nah-nah-nah~"
"We'll play, what's it to you!"
"Wearing a mask, you must be a bad guy!"
The elementary school students turned back, sticking out their tongues and making faces. One of them even flipped the middle finger before continuing to dash forward at an astonishing speed.
"Tch!"
Seeing the children disappear into the distance, Su Cheng snorted unhappily, not wanting to bother with these kids and instead turned back to Cornelia.
"Look, even the kids aren't afraid of you."
Seeing this, Cornelia couldn't help but chuckle behind her hand, her eyes full of amused mischief.
Su Cheng glared at her and said, "Let's go back."
"Okay."
Cornelia didn't continue teasing Su Cheng but obediently nodded.
The two then walked side by side out of the park, only to take a few steps before spotting a familiar figure.
"It's the big yellow dog!"
Upon seeing the yellow dog, Cornelia exclaimed excitedly and quickly pulled Su Cheng forward, shouting as she ran, "Big Yellow! Big Yellow!"
The dog heard her call and immediately sprinted over, rubbing against Su Cheng's trouser legs. Cornelia crouched down to pat the big yellow dog's head.
"Big Yellow? Did you name this dog?"
Surprised, Su Cheng watched the interaction between Cornelia and the big yellow dog.
He remembered that Big Yellow used to bite Cornelia.
It was only a few days ago, but now the two seemed to have become good friends.
"Yes!"
Hearing Su Cheng's question, Cornelia immediately nodded and continued to stroke the big yellow dog.
This dog could find Su Cheng.
She originally wanted to adopt it, but the dog already had an owner.
So whenever she saw the dog, she would buy canned food for it, and over time, they became familiar with each other.
"Wait here, I'll go buy a few cans for it!"
After saying that, Cornelia didn't look at Su Cheng anymore but turned around and ran towards the supermarket.
"Alright."
Su Cheng answered and then lowered his head to look at the big yellow dog that had rolled over, showing its belly to him.
He had almost figured out his first innate skill.
Whenever he used his gaze on animals, they would first feel fear, then become obedient, friendly, and affectionate, and even understand some simple instructions he gave.
However, this ability only worked on animals with a certain level of intelligence.
Otherwise, the skill was useless.
If used on humans, it would only elicit fear and dread.
Thinking of this, seeing that there was no one around, he suddenly picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at a crow perched on the nearby telephone pole.
The crow was startled and instantly flew up, letting out a shrill cry in the air.
It stared at Su Cheng's face in mid-air, as if it was trying to memorize his appearance and convey its anger.
The big yellow dog at his feet also barked incessantly at the crow.
Seeing this scene, Su Cheng couldn't help but smile because his body had already given an early warning, an instinctive reaction, signaling imminent danger.
As expected, the next second, the crow swooped down at Su Cheng, but he casually tilted his head to dodge the crow's attack.
He could now predict the trajectory of the crow's attack beforehand.
The crow didn't give up and tried again.
However, once more, Su Cheng dodged, making the crow miss. It squawked in place, flapping its wings.
Seeing this scene, Su Cheng activated his eye ability, but the crow showed no reaction, which made him wonder if it simply didn't work on crows.
Or was it because the distance was too great?
Thinking of this, when the crow attacked again, he dodged once more. This time, however, he reached out and grabbed the crow by the neck, using his ability at close range by locking eyes with it.
In the next moment, the crow let out a sharp, piercing scream. Su Cheng let go, and the crow fell straight to the ground, motionless.
Seeing this, the big yellow dog pounced on the crow, biting it and presenting it to Su Cheng as if to show off its achievements.
"Good boy."
Su Cheng ruffled the dog's head and retrieved the crow from its mouth.
Fortunately, the dog hadn't bitten hard, and the crow wasn't injured, just knocked out.
He kept shaking the crow.
Since this crow might become affectionate towards him, Su Cheng decided to take it in as his new underling.
Soon, the crow regained consciousness. It looked at Su Cheng and gently rubbed its head against his palm.
"Alright, go sit on the power line."
Su Cheng tossed the crow into the air. The crow flapped its wings in mid-air, staring at Su Cheng before seemingly understanding his instruction and flying straight to the power line. Its eyes, however, remained fixed on Su Cheng.
Su Cheng nodded with satisfaction, thinking to himself that crows truly are the smartest birds.
He crouched down and stroked the big yellow dog's head, while it affectionately rubbed its nose against him. He teased, "Big Yellow, can you do a backflip?"
………………………………
Meanwhile,
Cornelia had just returned from the supermarket with two cans of food, ready to head to the park to feed Big Yellow. Suddenly, something bumped into her foot.
This caused her to stumble, nearly falling onto the grass. Irritated, Cornelia turned to see a group of elementary school students a short distance away, whispering among themselves. One of them, holding a remote control, shouted loudly, "Hey, little girl, could you please flip my car over for me?"
"Huh?! Little girl?!"
Cornelia clenched her fists in annoyance.
How did she look like a little girl? She was obviously a big sister!
After all, she was Su Cheng's senior!
Thinking of this, she bent down to pick up the toy car, then walked angrily towards the group of children, trying to act serious as she said, "Call me sister, and I'll give it back to you!"
"Huh?"
"Ah?"
The children looked at each other, momentarily stunned by Cornelia's height, which was similar to theirs. Then they burst out laughing.
"What are you pretending to be an adult for? You’re obviously the same as us—an elementary schooler!"
One of the children scoffed.
"That's right, that's right!"
"Hurry up and give us the car back!"
Hearing this, Cornelia became even more furious and explained, "I'm much older than you! I'm not a little girl at all!"
"Much older?!"
The children's laughter grew even louder, with more mocking remarks. One child even pointed at his own chest with malicious intent and said, "Adults have big chests and wear bras, but you don't. Don’t lie without even making an effort!"
Seeing this, Cornelia's face turned scarlet, and she quickly lowered her head to check her own, as-yet-undeveloped chest.
"Hahaha~"
"What a fake!"
"If you're going to pretend, at least stuff a bun in there to make it more convincing!"
"Right now, you're only fit for a band-aid!"
The children, seeing Cornelia's reaction, laughed even harder, mocking her without restraint.
Cornelia's anger and humiliation grew, and she glared at the group of children before her.
"Hmph!"
With a face full of humiliation, Cornelia tossed the toy car to one of them and turned to leave, her eyes brimming with tears that fell one after another, finally dripping onto the ground.
Arriving at the park entrance, she wiped away her tears and walked towards Su Cheng, who was playing in the sandbox with the dog, seemingly teaching it how to do a backflip.
Feeling Cornelia's presence, Su Cheng immediately stopped his actions.
He looked at Cornelia, whose eyes were red and puffy, and frowned, asking sternly, "Who bullied you?"
"No… no one."
Cornelia shook her head, holding back her tears, then opened the can and handed it to the big yellow dog at her feet. She crouched down and fell silent.
Seeing her not speak, Su Cheng's mind began to race, because Cornelia's appearance clearly showed she had been bullied…
At that moment, a group of elementary school students appeared at the park entrance. Seeing Cornelia, they gathered and whispered among themselves, laughing.
Hearing the familiar voices, Cornelia's body trembled with anger. She clenched her fists tightly, remaining motionless on the ground like a statue.
Then, Cornelia subconsciously glanced at Su Cheng, wanting to see his reaction, but she was stunned.
Because at some point, a crow had appeared on Su Cheng's shoulder. He had his hands in his pockets, slightly tilting his head, and was saying something to the crow.
Then, the crow took off, flying towards the group of children, and began pecking at them with its sharp beak.
The children, crying and screaming, began to run for their lives.
"Woohoo～"
"Help!…"
They ran, crying and yelling in pain.
Su Cheng turned his head to look at Cornelia, only to find her mouth slightly open, her eyes fixed on him without blinking.
Her expression was one of extreme shock, as if she had just witnessed something incredible.
"What did they do to you?"
"They said I only need a band-aid, but band-aids aren't breathable and can't be used like that."
Cornelia was still in shock, answering Su Cheng's question instinctively and absent-mindedly.
"Huh? How do you know they aren't breathable?"