【Ding——】
【Character information loading...】
【Target: William Henry Cornelia】
【Confession to host successful】
【Judged as the target's voice, but not a face-to-face confession. Reward downgraded. Future rewards of this type will continue to diminish.】
【Congratulations to the host for receiving a B-level confession.】
【Random attribute point +1——】
【Host's attributes have changed】
【Stamina: 7】
"Indeed, I shouldn't have expected too much."
Su Cheng looked at the system notification and shook his head helplessly.
He had originally thought it would definitely be either intelligence or charm, but clearly, he had overestimated his luck.
"But this isn't bad either!"
He sat up on the bed, ran his fingers through his hair, and then closed his eyes to feel the surging power within him. He couldn't help but feel a little excited.
He had grown stronger again!
And he hadn't gone bald!
After testing his abilities in the living room, he was quite satisfied with the results.
If 6 points were already beyond human limits, then he felt like he was now a complete monster. His strength, agility, explosiveness, endurance, and reflexes had all reached a peak!
He even felt a bit of an inflated ego.
Now, he could arm-wrestle Ji Qingyi without losing.
She only had 8 points, right?
Hmph!
"What kind of talent skill will I get when my stamina reaches 8 points?"
Su Cheng stared at the recorder, lost in thought. If the rewards kept diminishing, would listening to it tomorrow downgrade it to a B-?
Would a B- still give attribute points?
It seemed he would have to wait until tomorrow to find out.
With that thought, Su Cheng lay back in bed, feeling quite pleased, but sleep eluded him.
His mind was a mess, constantly flashing with the image of Ji Qingyi's angry face.
The usually dignified and elegant Ji Qingyi showing such rage...
What on earth had Liu Qingyue done to provoke her to this extent?
Ah, he was dying of curiosity.
Su Cheng sighed and began tossing and turning in bed. Staring at the ceiling, he was dying to know, so much so that he started analyzing the details, trying to piece together what had happened.
He remembered asking his senior about it earlier.
But the senior had said that if she told him, it would cross Ji Qingyi's bottom line, which was quite clear.
If she didn't tell him, it would remain an internal matter between them, something they could handle on their own. But if she told him, it might become irreparable.
Thinking this way, Liu Qingyue must have done something truly terrible.
After all, who could tolerate being manipulated by someone they trusted the most?
Even if they were as close as siblings, they would undoubtedly choose to cut ties.
Especially since one was the master and the other the servant.
In such a semi-feudal family structure, there were unbreakable hierarchies and rules.
So, this kind of insubordination was no small matter. Using something that could manipulate someone's mind...
If it were easily forgiven, what kind of master would that make?
The senior's overstepping of boundaries, regardless of status, must have deeply hurt Ji Qingyi's pride. Even if they were close, Ji Qingyi had to make a stern example out of her to prevent it from happening again.
"Monkey?"
Suddenly, Su Cheng shot up from the bed, as if he had just realized something. His eyes widened in shock as he stared ahead.
Idiot~ Idiot~ Idiot~
At that moment, it felt like countless voices were ringing in his ears.
"I remember the cigarette prop's setting was that after it was used, the target would forget the user and what happened during its effect. So how did Ji Qingyi find out?"
"Did Ji Qingyi notice she was missing three minutes and then quickly figured out what happened?"
Su Cheng recalled explaining to Ji Qingyi before that the prop could control someone for three minutes, and she had looked quite shocked at the time.
"No, no!"
Then his mind flashed to Liu Qingyue...
"She's usually a troublemaker, but she's always meticulous. Even if she did something, she wouldn't let Ji Qingyi find out so easily. And while the cigarette makes you forget the user and the events during its effect, the smell of smoke and the ashes could still be traced. Besides, she's not the type to act impulsively. How could she get so provoked by Ji Qingyi's scolding that she would use the prop?"
The more Su Cheng thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He realized that today's incident was far from simple. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a play orchestrated by the master and servant duo.
But if that were the case...
What was the purpose?
Even Ji Qingyi was willing to go along with it.
What were they trying to achieve?
Was it to stop him from casually giving out props to others?
No, that wouldn't require such an elaborate scheme.
Su Cheng's forehead broke out in a cold sweat. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off. It all seemed a bit too strange.
If his guess was correct, then this matter was far from over. It would continue to develop.
Because from this incident, he couldn't discern the deeper intentions of those two. It was even possible that his "fake kneeling" today had caught them off guard, causing them to temporarily halt their plans.
Moreover, today Ji Qingyi had unexpectedly replied, "Goodnight."
She had never responded to him like that before. Usually, she would just stop replying altogether. Now, he wasn't even sure if that message had really come from her.
"No, I can't stay passive anymore!"
Su Cheng curled up under the blanket, fists clenched tightly. Although he knew these two wouldn't harm him—in fact, they might even be doing this for his own good—he couldn't let them keep him in the dark like this.
Fortunately, his "fake kneeling" had bought him some time to think.
So now, he had to find a way to fight back!
This Sunday, he had already made plans to meet his "third force" at the hospital.
He planned to discuss this with her.
And if necessary, he would even seek Gu Ruoxue's help under the guise of a commission.
This was the true top-tier riddle master of Flame City!
Three against two—how could he lose?
The advantage was his!
With this determination, he fell into a deep sleep.
………………
Saturday
He got dressed and headed out to an open area to get used to his new state.
He needed to first master his new body with 7 points in stamina.
Why the urgency?
For example, if he didn't control his strength while using the bathroom, he might... injure himself.
Of course, he was just saying "if."
……………………
At the same time.
In the neighboring villa area, two little girls were chatting on the bed, discussing Su Cheng's birthday from the day before.
"I really didn't expect Su Cheng to be so close with Ji Qingyi. He even lit candles for her specifically!"
Ailiya pouted, "I don't know how he did it. He used to be the guy everyone hated, the confession maniac."
Yesterday, on Su Cheng's birthday, she had been invited by Cornelia in the morning. At first, she had felt a bit awkward since Su Cheng hadn't invited her himself, and their relationship wasn't exactly great.
Especially since she had been humiliated by the whole class before. How could she possibly go?
But Cornelia had eagerly begged her, saying that Su Cheng would be happy if she came.
She even said that if Ailiya didn't go, she wouldn't go either, leaving the decision to her.
So, Ailiya reluctantly went to join the celebration, and at noon, she bought a pen at the school counter as a gift, thanks to her connections.
But when she walked into the classroom, she was stunned.
There were so many people there, including Zhao Yan and Xuan Ying, those two annoying girls, and even Ji Qingyi.
Although Ji Qingyi didn't interact with anyone and just sat in the corner, it was still enough to shock her.
So the rumors were true.
Their relationship really was extraordinary.
As she scanned the room, she noticed that she recognized almost everyone except for one girl who felt both familiar and unfamiliar.
This girl wasn't wearing the Yan City School Uniform, and she looked incredibly cute and lively, like an angel.
Not only was Ailiya puzzled, but many others were also sneaking glances at this girl. Even Cornelia didn't know who she was.
Cornelia's eyes were filled with vigilance and hostility as she looked at the girl, as if she was afraid that she would snatch Su Cheng away from her.
Just as the two of them were about to approach the girl, they heard the sound of hurried footsteps, and a few boys ran in.
"Everyone, get ready! Su Cheng is here!"
At their words, the two girls gave up on the idea of approaching the girl and obediently stood to the side.
…………
"Su Cheng is really outstanding, and he even won the championship. It's only natural that the club president favors him!"
Cornelia, who was playing with her phone nearby, said nonchalantly, though her tone was clearly tinged with jealousy.
She was currently editing a photo.
The photo was a group picture taken during a birthday celebration.
She was in the process of erasing everyone else from the photo, leaving only herself and Su Cheng, and then bringing the two of them closer together to create a picture of just the two of them.
After working on it all morning, she finally managed to remove Ailiya from the photo. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she couldn't help but sigh, "That was exhausting."
It had been quite a task.
As soon as she finished speaking, Ailiya couldn't help but lean over, curious. "What are you playing with?"
"N-nothing," Cornelia quickly hid her phone behind her back, looking flustered. "I-I was just playing a little game."
She was lying, and it was a very clumsy lie at that. Anyone could have easily seen through it.
But between the two of them, it was a toss-up.
Ailiya didn't notice the lie, though she was a bit displeased. "It's just a game. Why are you being so secretive about it?"
By the end of her sentence, her gaze was fixed on Cornelia.
"Fine, I'll stop playing then."
Cornelia put her phone in her pocket, acting as if she had given up on playing.
"That's more like it."
Ailiya, satisfied, turned her attention back to the previous topic, though Cornelia was clearly reluctant.
The truth was, last night Cornelia had planned to go ask Su Cheng about the girl whose birthday it was today. She even had the perfect excuse ready.
Her excuse was that she wanted to visit Su Cheng's sister!
But Ailiya had gone home with her yesterday and even stayed over at her place.
"Let's go out for breakfast."
"Okay."
Cornelia stood up, her snow-white legs stepping out in cute little steps as she followed Ailiya out the door. The two of them, small and doll-like, attracted a lot of attention as they walked.
It's worth mentioning that in just one year, these two little girls would become "legal lolis."
Along the way, Ailiya paid no attention to the gazes from others in the villa area. Instead, she directly got into her family's car, and Cornelia followed suit.
During the ride, Cornelia kept her eyes glued to Su Cheng's apartment building, hoping to catch a glimpse of a certain figure at the entrance.
But unfortunately, even as the car drove past, Su Cheng didn't appear.
Feeling a bit disappointed, the clever Cornelia suggested, "Why don't we invite Su Cheng to join us?"
Ailiya, sitting beside her, shook her head and refused. "Didn't you see how many gifts he received yesterday? They were piled up like a mountain. He's probably busy enjoying the fun of unwrapping them right now. Let's not disturb him!"
Hearing this, Cornelia immediately deflated.
She had also sent him a gift.
It was something she had spent a whole week thinking about before finally deciding on.
She had decided to give Su Cheng a custom-made bow and arrow set.
Su Cheng loved archery, but since the equipment was kept at the club and he didn't have any at home, she thought it would be the perfect gift.
She also hoped that Su Cheng would use the bow and arrows she gave him to show off his skills at the archery range, defeating all his opponents in one go.
"I wonder if he'll like it," Cornelia thought to herself, gazing out the window with a mix of anticipation and anxiety.
"You don't have to be so dramatic about it, do you?" Ailiya, seeing how Cornelia's entire demeanor had turned gloomy and her background seemed to darken as she stared out the window in silence, couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated.
"Then how about we invite him after all?"
Cornelia immediately turned to look at Ailiya, who sighed and nodded reluctantly.
As for why she didn't want to invite Su Cheng?
It was because she knew that whenever Cornelia was with Su Cheng, she would completely ignore her.
"Uncle Driver, could you turn around and go back to the apartment we just passed?" Cornelia said excitedly.
"Sure thing!"
The car slowly turned around and headed back to the apartment.
Once the car stopped, Ailiya muttered in frustration, "I really don't see what's so special about him that you're like this."
Hearing her words, Cornelia, who had just stepped out of the car, immediately brightened up and said, "You wouldn't understand. He's a very special person to me, like sunshine that warms my heart and makes me feel happy and content."
Her voice was sweet and adorable. After saying this, she immediately ran toward the building, muttering to herself, "I wonder if Su Cheng's sister has left yet?"
Since Ailiya already knew about her feelings for Su Cheng, Cornelia didn't bother hiding them anymore.
"So dramatic," Ailiya muttered, reluctantly following her out of the car. "To me, he's just an ordinary guy with some talent in archery."
As they chatted, they arrived at Su Cheng's door. Cornelia reached for her skirt pocket but realized she had forgotten her keys. So, she extended her small, delicate hand and knocked on the door.
Unfortunately, after knocking for a while, no one answered.
Cornelia couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Ailiya, on the other hand, looked pleased because Su Cheng wasn't home. This meant her Saturday with Cornelia wouldn't be interrupted!
"Since he's not here, let's go eat first?"
As she said this, Ailiya rubbed her stomach, indicating that she was already very hungry.
"Okay..."
Cornelia had no choice but to nod regretfully. The two of them then headed downstairs, though Cornelia still couldn't let it go and sent Su Cheng a message.
However, to Cornelia's surprise, shortly after they got back in the car and started driving, they spotted Su Cheng's figure at a vending machine at a nearby intersection.
At that moment, he was wearing a white tracksuit and was selecting a drink. His tall, slim figure stood out, and even though he was wearing a hat and mask, Cornelia immediately recognized him by the sunny aura he exuded.
"Uncle, please stop the car at the intersection ahead!"
"What's wrong?" Ailiya asked, confused.
"I found Su Cheng!"
With that, Cornelia got out of the car and headed toward the vending machine across the street.
"You go ahead. I'll call you if I need anything."
After saying this, Ailiya also got out of the car and instructed the driver.
"Understood, Miss."
The driver responded and drove off.
As the two of them waited at the intersection for the traffic light to change so they could approach Su Cheng, a group of young men who had just come out of an all-night gaming session at an internet café kept turning their heads to look at them, even starting to whisper among themselves without any attempt to hide it.
"Look! Damn, those two are ridiculously cute!"
"They're like the legendary lolis."
"Are you a lolicon or something?"
"Nah, I'm not into real-life lolis."
"But I'm suddenly wide awake."
"Go ask for their WeChat?"
"You go."
"No, you go."
"Let's go together?"
"Rock-paper-scissors, loser has to go!"
……
Ailiya's expression darkened. She hadn't expected to be the subject of such comments. Meanwhile, Cornelia didn't seem to care at all, her attention entirely focused on Su Cheng.
Just then, the light turned green, and the two of them started walking forward.
However, the group of young men continued to follow them, and even as Ailiya and Cornelia walked to the corner of the street, they didn't leave. Instead, they got closer and closer.
One of them even approached with his phone, flashing a bright smile. "Miss, can I get your WeChat?"
Cornelia immediately took a step back.
Ailiya, on the other hand, was visibly displeased and coldly snapped, "Can you overconfident jerks just leave us alone?"
"Ah, sorry," the young man awkwardly scratched his head and turned back to his friends, who burst into laughter at the scene.
Cornelia saw all of this.
"Are these guys sick or something?" she asked, unable to understand why they would laugh at their friend being rejected.
Ailiya didn't answer, just furrowed her brows and looked around. Soon, Su Cheng's figure came into view.
She quickly called out, "Hey, the guy over there with the drink!"
Cornelia also turned her gaze in that direction.
The group of young men followed the girls' line of sight and saw a tall, slender boy wearing a white tracksuit, a hat, and a mask, trying to pry open the top of a soda can with his fingers.
"Snap!"
Suddenly, something utterly baffling happened, leaving everyone present in shock!
The guy had actually managed to pry open the 'skull' of the soda can with sheer finger strength.
But his moment of coolness lasted less than a second. Due to using too much force, the can was crushed, and the cola inside spilled all over his face, instantly turning his pristine white tracksuit into a grimy black.
His mask was now completely blackened.
"Pfft—"
"Is he your friend?"
The group of young men couldn't help but burst into laughter, with one of them even mocking Ailiya.
"No, I don't know him!"
Ailiya's expression grew increasingly grim, and she eventually turned her body away, pretending not to know Su Cheng.
Cornelia, standing beside her, also couldn't bear to watch and turned her head away. But in the next second, she made a decision. She suddenly grabbed Ailiya's hand and pulled her into a nearby shop.
This was the first time she had seen Su Cheng act so foolishly, so she decided that today's activity would be to follow him and see what he usually does on weekends.
"What's wrong?"
"I want to follow him today and see what he does on weekends."
Cornelia looked at Ailiya with pleading eyes, making it hard for Ailiya to refuse.
In the end, the two of them entered the shop and sat in a corner, secretly observing Su Cheng's every move.
"Was that Ailiya and Cornelia just now?"
Su Cheng wiped the cola off his clothes and glanced curiously at the shop the two girls had entered.
He had just tried to imitate Liu Qingyue but failed due to not controlling his strength properly.
"Were those guys harassing them earlier?"
Thinking this, he looked toward the group of young men and noticed they seemed to be mocking his earlier actions. This made him feel displeased, so he picked up another cola from the vending machine and walked over.
No point wasting cola.
It's money, after all.
And since he hadn't had time to adjust to his current stamina, this was a perfect opportunity.
"Look, Su Cheng is walking over. It seems like he's going to teach those guys a lesson."
Cornelia exclaimed in surprise, tugging at Ailiya's sleeve and pointing toward Su Cheng's location.
"I see. I didn't expect him to have some backbone."
Ailiya nodded in approval, acknowledging Su Cheng's gutsy behavior.
"But there are so many of them! Shouldn't we stop Su Cheng?"
Cornelia worriedly reminded her from the side.
Ailiya didn't respond. She looked at Su Cheng, who was slowly walking toward the group. However, the young men, emboldened by their numbers, stood their ground without backing down. Two of them even started talking to Su Cheng, and they seemed a bit cocky.
Suddenly—
Su Cheng moved.
With lightning speed, he pried open the 'skull' of the cola can and swung it sideways, splashing the entire contents onto the faces, bodies, and heads of the three men.
This unexpected turn of events left Cornelia, Ailiya, and the three men utterly stunned.
By the time they fully processed what had happened, Su Cheng had already turned around and started running away, laughing uncontrollably as he went: "HAHAHAHAHAHA—"
"Damn it!"
"Chase him!"
"You bastard, don't you dare run!"
The three men roared in anger and, without caring about the cola still dripping from their bodies, started chasing Su Cheng while shouting curses. One of them even lost a shoe, picked it up, and hurled it at Su Cheng.
"Is he always this mean?"
"No, he just likes to give as good as he gets."
The two girls in the shop exchanged glances, then quickly stood up and rushed out the door to follow the commotion.
At that moment, they had found their entertainment for the day.
However, they soon lost sight of Su Cheng. Fortunately, the clever Cornelia suggested, "Su Cheng's clothes are dirty. He'll definitely go home!"
So the two of them headed toward the apartment.
Soon after arriving at the apartment, they found Su Cheng sitting on a stone bench, waving at them. He had already shaken off the three pursuers.
Realizing they had been spotted, Cornelia sighed helplessly and walked over, with Ailiya following closely behind.
"Senior Ailiya, we meet again."
Su Cheng smiled at Ailiya. He remembered she had been there at his birthday celebration yesterday, so it was only natural to greet her warmly today.
Ailiya, noticing that Su Cheng hadn't ignored her this time, nodded and replied, "Yes, we meet again."
"So, what did you want to call me for earlier?"
Su Cheng glanced at Ailiya and then at Cornelia, curious about their intentions.
"Nothing much. We just happened to run into you and thought we'd say hi. What about you? What are you planning to do today?"
Cornelia also looked at Su Cheng, curious about his plans for the day.
Su Cheng shrugged. "Nothing special. Just planning to work out a bit and maybe wander around."
"Got it."
Cornelia replied, then suddenly remembered something and pressed further, "Who was that strange girl at your birthday party yesterday?"
"Strange girl?"
Su Cheng frowned, momentarily confused.
Both Ailiya and Cornelia looked at him with curiosity, especially Cornelia, who seemed a bit nervous. This only added to his confusion. "I don't know who you're talking about."
"This one!"
Cornelia pulled out her phone, scrolled through the group photo from yesterday, and pointed to a specific spot. "This person right here."
She had been so fixated on it that she had memorized the exact position where the strange girl had been standing.
"Huh?"
Su Cheng looked at the 'group photo' that only showed him and Cornelia, completely baffled as to why Cornelia was pointing at empty space.
Was this some kind of supernatural event?
"Ugh, she was standing on the far left, next to Li Guanqi!"
Cornelia grew even more impatient, urging Su Cheng to take a closer look.
Ailiya, curious as well, leaned in to see. But the moment she looked, her expression changed drastically. The photo only showed Cornelia and Su Cheng. The girl who had been intimately holding Cornelia's arm had mysteriously vanished!
"Ah!!"
Cornelia let out a startled scream, her face turning bright red. She quickly snatched her phone back and looked up at Su Cheng, who was now wearing a puzzled expression.
Meanwhile, Ailiya's face had turned ashen.
She suddenly found Cornelia terrifying.
In the next second, Ailiya shook off Cornelia's hand and ran away.
Cornelia, realizing what had happened, instinctively turned to Su Cheng for help. But Su Cheng simply shrugged, indicating he had no idea what was going on.
"Though I don't know what happened, I think you should go comfort her. Otherwise, she might overthink things."
Su Cheng advised Cornelia, who nodded and immediately chased after Ailiya.
Su Cheng watched the two girls disappear into the distance and let out a sigh of relief. It seemed he wouldn't have to deal with these two tsunderes today.
"That strange girl standing next to Li Guanqi?"