[Ding - Favorability rating of the target has exceeded 50%. Congratulations, host, you have completed the second phase of the main mission: Love's Unknown Beginning. It was your persistent pursuit, your love and gentleness transformed into spring breeze, that melted the ice in the target's heart, showering it with sunshine and dew, planting the seed of love within.]
Xue Chenjing was suddenly awakened by the voice in his mind. Those fragmented, sweet-scented images in his consciousness instantly dispersed. He abruptly opened his eyes and said irritably, "You're so noisy."
The system innocently replied, "Master, you've been sleeping here for a day and night. Soon, dawn will break again."
Xue Chenjing closed his eyes; the ambiguous dream in his consciousness had been shattered by the system's voice, scattered with nowhere to savor.
He licked his lips, still annoyed, and asked, "What did you just say?"
The system cheerfully repeated, "The target's favorability rating has exceeded fifty percent. Congratulations on completing the second phase of the main mission."
Xue Chenjing stared at the old beams above. In this ancient farmhouse that had weathered many years, the beams had long since decayed, covered in holes from wood-boring insects. The "tap-tap" sound of insects gnawing at the wood could be heard from the darkness.
For a moment, he felt as if these wood-boring insects were also gnawing at his brain, causing it to throb with pain. He uncertainly asked again, "What did you say?"
The system said, "Master! You've successfully completed the second phase of the main mission, much faster than the system's calculated predictions!"
Xue Chenjing remained silent for a moment, then covered his face with his hand and laughed in the darkness.
He laughed for a long time, almost to the point of breathlessness. A metallic scent of blood spread through the darkness. The system nervously asked, "Master, are you not happy?"
"Happy? I'm overjoyed," Xue Chenjing said between laughs. "I barely did anything, yet her favorability increased. Why wouldn't I be happy?"
After a pause, he suddenly said, "Repeat what you just said."
The system asked, confused, "Which part?"
Having finished laughing, Xue Chenjing calmed down. His tone carried a patience he had never shown before as he said, "The part after the 'ding.' I was asleep and didn't hear it clearly."
The system had no choice but to broadcast it again.
[Ding - Favorability rating of the target has exceeded 50%. Congratulations, host, you have completed the second phase of the main mission: Love's Unknown Beginning. It was your persistent pursuit, your love and gentleness transformed into spring breeze, that melted the ice in the target's heart, showering it with sunshine and dew, planting the seed of love within.]
Love and gentleness.
Love and gentleness.
Xue Chenjing laughed bitterly. He knew exactly what kind of person he was - someone without any love or gentleness, let alone capable of showering anyone's heart with sunshine and dew. But while he lacked these qualities, Xue Mingyuan had them in abundance - pure in both body and soul, overflowing with love.
He should have realized it earlier - the one who would end up with Yu Yi wasn't him, but Xue Mingyuan. That damned Xue Mingyuan!
How could Yu Yi possibly like me? She could never like me.
"Love's unknown beginning..." Xue Chenjing murmured these words, tilting his head back and taking a deep breath of the room's air, isolating that lingering sweet fragrance. He laughed meaningfully and said, "Ah, I can't wait to see what she looks like when she's completely in love with me."
After lying there for a while, Xue Chenjing sat up and said, "Show me that beginner's guide tutorial of yours."
The system, rarely seeing him so proactive, immediately complied and brought up the guide panel.
The light screen floated in the darkness, automatically advancing to the next phase after his completion of the second stage.
[Hundred-Day Conquest Plan, Days 30-60: Building on the foundation of the second phase, press your advantage and strengthen your offensive to become an "indispensable" existence in the target's heart.
Recommended best approach: Carefully discover what the target lacks most in their heart, and use any means necessary to fill that void yourself, catering to the target's preferences.]
At dawn, the sound of roosters crowing echoed through the mountain village as someone climbed up to the farmhouse halfway up the mountain. This was, after all, where Granny Li had lived her entire life, and after she moved away, many usable items remained.
For instance, the piles of dry firewood in the woodshed, the pots and pans in the kitchen, farming tools like hoes and winnowing baskets, and a pig in the backyard that couldn't be taken away.
Granny Li had given all these things to Zhao Li as payment for helping her move to the city. Living in the same village, the two families were distantly related, and when he fattened up the pig and slaughtered it at year's end, he would send half of it to her in the city.
Zhao Li had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted. Two days ago, he had escorted Granny Li and Miss Yu to the city, staying overnight at Zhao Zhi's house, but hadn't slept well because her eldest daughter had cried all night.
The next day, after another full day of traveling back to Liuya Village, he thought he could finally get a good night's sleep, but lying in bed, his mind kept returning to the otherworldly Miss Yu, making sleep impossible.
He heaved a heavy sigh, yawned, and continued bustling about with his tasks. Suddenly, he heard the door of the west wing open and turned to see a strange man walking out of the room.
The man was very young, still in his teens, wearing a dark cyan robe. In the sunlight, the satin of his clothes looked smooth and delicate, with complex dark patterns printed on it - clearly not from an ordinary household.
He was exceptionally handsome, more attractive than any young master Zhao Li had ever seen in the county town. However, his face was pale, with blood-red lips, making him look more like a demon who had just finished feasting on humans than a person.
Zhao Li felt his scalp tingle when the man's chilling gaze swept over him, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his back.
"You... you..." Zhao Li trembled as he gripped his hoe tighter, his eyes filled with terror.
In comparison, his physique appeared much stronger, with arms muscled from years of manual labor, but now, facing this demon-like youth, even though the other hadn't done anything, he was already shaking with fear.
Xue Chenjing hadn't intentionally tried to intimidate him. He merely pointed at the room behind him and asked, "Have you seen her? The person who slept in this room?"
Zhao Li immediately recalled the scene from two days ago - at this same time of sunrise, a young woman wearing a moon-white gauze dress as ethereal as the mountain mist, with skin like pear blossoms and hair like crow's feathers. Her eyes were crystalline in the morning light, and though she wore no ornaments, she had appeared in his eyes like a celestial maiden.
The youth before him now stood in the same spot as she had then, looking up at him in the same way.
Zhao Li suddenly realized that whether it was the celestial maiden from before or the demon-like young master before him now, they were cut from the same cloth - worlds apart from a peasant farmer like himself.
Xue Chenjing, growing impatient at the lack of response, fixed his sharp gaze on Zhao Li's eyes.
Zhao Li immediately snapped out of his memories, fearfully stepping backward as he stammered, "She... she went to the county town, two days ago. She said she wanted to see the Autumn Moon Festival. The festival lasts three days, so she should still be in town."
Xue Chenjing asked, "Which direction?"
Zhao Li raised a trembling hand to point.
Xue Chenjing looked in the indicated direction but didn't immediately move. He turned back to scrutinize Zhao Li, his lips curling into a malicious smile as he said knowingly, "You like her, don't you?"
Zhao Li's eyes widened, his dark complexion instantly turning red. "No, no, how could I dare..."
Xue Chenjing gave a soft laugh, his eyes cold as his elongated pupils bore into Zhao Li's eyes like awls, effortlessly extracting the memories he sought.
The young woman in the moon-white gauze dress, wrapped in a layer of sacred light in the thin morning mist.
So this was how she appeared from another's perspective.
Xue Chenjing savored Zhao Li's memories bit by bit - from their first meeting in the morning mist, to her polite and gentle "Young Master," to her final "Take care" accompanied by a smiling wave goodbye.
Finally, her figure disappeared into the colorful lantern light.
In Zhao Li's eyes, she was too beautiful and radiant. Just one glimpse of her left him unable to forget, tossing and turning sleepless for two nights, yet he dared not harbor any improper thoughts.
Even so, Xue Chenjing remained displeased. In the void, snake-scale-covered sharp appendages were already pressed against Zhao Li's brow. He recalled Yu Yi's final words of "take care."
He paused his movements, glancing at the dark circles under Zhao Li's eyes. He withdrew the appendages and commanded in an tone that brooked no refusal, "For the sake of your future good sleep, I think it's better if you forget about her."
The willpower of ordinary people is as fragile as window paper. Zhao Li's pupils dilated, and that figure standing before the west wing room in his memory dissipated like morning mist.
Xue Chenjing turned his gaze away, took out a spirit carpet from his storage bag, and flew away.
After a long while, the person standing woodenly in place finally shuddered and snapped awake. Zhao Li touched his aching head, feeling as if he had forgotten something, but unable to recall exactly what it was.
Right, someone had come out of the west wing room earlier. Zhao Li quickly walked to the west wing room, opened the door and looked inside, only to see wood shavings crushed all over the floor.
The Autumn Moon Festival in Fengsheng County was at its liveliest. Last night's colored lanterns had illuminated the entire county in brilliant splendor, with jubilant street performances lasting through the night.
Today, after a full day of celebrations, by dusk, people gathered in groups, following the musical procession ahead, carrying lotus lanterns and sky lanterns, holding wish cards as they headed out of the city to pray and make wishes.
Yu Yi was among the crowd, holding a sprig of osmanthus flowers. Her crane senior brother's original form was too eye-catching, so Yu Yi had transformed him into a small bird. He fluttered his wings, flying back and forth through the crowd, occasionally drawing laughter from the girls.
Seeing how adorable and human-like it was, some people jumped up, wanting to catch and keep it as a pet.
Crane senior brother weaved through countless grasping hands reaching for him, navigating through multiple challenges before finally managing to flutter back into Yu Yi's arms with great difficulty.
"You came back just in time." Yu Yi had just learned from a girl beside her how to weave a tiny wreath from osmanthus branches, which she placed around crane senior brother's neck - a perfect fit.
The girl admired it, saying, "Oh, so it's your bird! I was wondering why you were making such a small wreath that wouldn't even fit around a wrist - turns out it was for the little bird."
Yu Yi lifted the small bird, asking, "Sister, does it look good?"
The girl praised enthusiastically, "It looks wonderful! Now everyone will know this little bird has an owner."
Crane senior brother immediately wriggled out of Yu Yi's hands, flapping his wings to take flight, showing off his new wreath everywhere. Sure enough, with the wreath on, fewer hands reached out to grab him, though some children still chased after him trying to catch him.
Crane senior brother teased them, making them run in circles.
Yu Yi plucked another osmanthus branch and wove a wreath sized for a wrist, offering it to the girl beside her: "Thank you for teaching me, sister. This wreath is for you."
The girl giggled, "Oh, I can't accept this! This kind of wreath is meant to be given to the young man you fancy."
She reached out with her delicate finger, gently tapping Yu Yi's wrist, giving her a meaningful wink: "When you put it on his wrist, just like how you marked your little bird, it means he belongs to someone."
Yu Yi regretfully withdrew the wreath - it seemed she wouldn't be able to give this one away after all.
Near the Moon Goddess Temple outside the city, there was a large grove of osmanthus trees, their branches already decorated with numerous red silk ribbons and wish cards, their rich fragrance wafting through the air.
Yu Yi wandered through the osmanthus grove, then went to the Moon Goddess Temple. After queuing and paying two silver coins, she dipped a brush in the golden ink that was said to have been blessed by moonlight, and wrote "Peace and Joy" on her wish card.
Holding the wish card, she found the sturdiest osmanthus tree and tried to hang it on a high branch.
She was just a bit too short, but to show proper reverence, Yu Yi didn't want to use magic. Her crane senior brother, now a small bird, had darted off somewhere at this crucial moment, so Yu Yi had to manage on her own, standing on tiptoe and stretching to reach the branch.
Suddenly, a slender hand reached over from behind her, taking the wish card from her fingertips and hanging it on the osmanthus branch.
Warm breath brushed over the top of her head. The person behind her had approached so silently that Yu Yi only now noticed someone had come so close. Her figure flickered as she quickly teleported away, reappearing on the other side of the osmanthus tree, watching vigilantly.
The person lowered his hand, fingers smoothing the silk ribbon hanging from the wish card. He turned to look at her with a gentle smile, apologizing, "I'm sorry, did I startle you?"
Yu Yi met his clean, clear eyes and froze for a moment.
Xue Mingyuan?
