〖※Wen Qing Favorability +10〗

“Nice! What did I say? Sincerity for sincerity, what’s a little bit of herbs? Favorability increased by 10, did you see that?”

[Why are you so excited about a guy’s favorability increasing by 10?]

[All three female leads together don’t even add up to 10, I’m speechless.]

[Yun Ling offered money and you didn’t sell, but here you are giving it to Wen Qing for free, 666.]

[Are we playing the same game?]

[Wen Qing’s favorability is too high. This hero saving the beauty plot should have automatically triggered with the female lead with the highest favorability.]

[Is the highest favorability really just 4 for a female lead? (laughs)]

[Yeah, yeah, later it’s supposed to be a confirm feelings plot, but it turned into a bromance confirmation.]

[Is the anchor gay?]

“No! I keep saying I’m not.” Song Hao stared at the scrolling comments, trying to argue.

[He’s getting anxious.]

[Hahaha, Wen Qing also poked him three times with ‘No’ when he asked.]

[Explaining is just covering up.]

[Covering up is just admitting.]

[Admitting means the anchor is gay.]

[Logical loop!!!]

〖New location unlocked, Wen Family – Private Library〗

“Let’s go, let’s check out the new location.” Song Hao was eager to shift attention, urging his viewers to focus on the new scene.

Entering the Wen Mansion, a servant greeted him with a lukewarm, “Scholar Yuan is here again, huh?”

Then Wen Qing quickly came to greet him, leading him to the library to sit.

The so-called library was a three-story building, packed with countless books.

Wen Qing gestured for Yuan Hao to pick any book he liked.

Clicking on the left-hand bookshelf on the first floor, three options appeared.

〖Choose the book you want to read: Zhou Yi / Sun’s Art of War / Etiquette Studies〗

Song Hao, of course, tried each one.

〖You chose to read Zhou Yi, ※Literary Talent +1, Calculation +2〗

〖You chose to read Sun’s Art of War, ※Literary Talent +2, Intelligence +1〗

〖You chose to read Etiquette Studies, ※Literary Talent +5〗

“Oh my… each one is so rewarding, and there are attributes I’ve never seen before. Is this a library? This is cheating, right?”

Before Song Hao could finish marveling, Wen Qing appeared in the game with a food box, three snacks, and a pot of tea, leading to another happy attribute-gathering session.

〖Homemade snacks from home, Brother Yuan, try them. You seem to love osmanthus cake, it’s the season now, won’t be available later.〗

Song Hao, of course, chose the osmanthus cake decisively, and sure enough, his literary talent increased by one point, totaling 6 points in literary talent this time.

“No wonder he could get first place the last two times, with this cheat I could too.” The new location was too useful, Song Hao was dizzy with happiness from the windfall.

“No fatigue added, free books to read, random attribute points, and snacks to eat, I should just live here.”

[Is this even reasonable?]

[New bromance storyline???]

[Could Wen Qing be a woman disguised as a man?]

[How did you unlock this? How much favorability do you need with Wen Qing?]

[Don’t love too much, just saying.]

〖Yuan Hao and Wen Qing exchanged insights, read poetry and books, and had snacks until evening before returning. On the way, passersby saw him coming out of the Wen family and whispered.

“Are they… yeah, yeah… I heard… oh my… it must be…”

※Reputation changed, female favorability growth halved, duration one year.〗

[Now it’s really a bromance.]

[Congrats 99]

[Give a gift [Heart x1]]

[Gift [Free Flower x1]]

[Gift [Lollipop x1]]

Song Hao was still stubbornly arguing, “No worries, career first, then family. When I become emperor, I’ll have a harem of three thousand.”

[Then hurry up, this game is almost over.]

[Heard they’re negotiating the price.]

[I heard that too, the greedy officials want three million, doesn’t seem worth it.]

[Don’t let them give up on the acquisition.]

[At this speed, the anchor might not even finish the game.]

“No problem, I go through the plot quickly.”

〖※Fatigue +3, Physical Strength +1, Tong Grass x4〗

“Four Tong Grass, not bad, take what you can get, I don’t have to reload…”

〖※Wen Qing Favorability +5〗

“Huh???”

[???]

[What did you do to get another 5?]

[Is it bugged?]

[Wen Qing is so strange, could he really be a girl?]

[Ugh~ if it’s true, I’m not shipping it.]

[Lord loves bromance.]

“It should be, it should be…” Song Hao was a bit at a loss for words, trying to make up for it, “Ah! His mother took the medicine, it worked, and he’s thanking me again. Never mind that, let’s keep gathering herbs.”

〖※Fatigue +3, Physical Strength +1, Tong Grass x2〗

“Why is it less? Again!”

〖※Fatigue +3, Physical Strength +1, Tong Grass x5〗

“Still no White Wei Zi, again!”

…

[Newcomer, politely asking if the anchor is stuck?]

[Watch a bit longer and you’ll know, he’s gathering herbs for his mother-in-law.]

[Hahahahahahahahaha]

[At this rate, it’s hard to say if he’ll even meet the emperor.]

[Harem~ Three~ Thousand~]

After repeating this, Song Hao finally dug up some White Wei Zi. The game schedule became regular. At the beginning of the month, he attended classes at the academy, mid-month he went to the back mountain to gather herbs, and at the end of the month, he visited Wen Qing’s house to read, forming a triangle routine.

Soon, the Qixi Poetry Festival arrived.

The theme was love poems, and as a bonus event, it offered a prize of 1000 for first place, 500 for second, and 200 for third.

Song Hao, of course, wouldn’t miss it. When he went to Wen Qing’s house to pick books, he crazily read the archives, striving to find books related to love poems.

He searched high and low, first floor, then second, second floor, then third, high places, then low places, low places, then corners, because it was 1000 money!

Finally, he found a deeply hidden book in the corner, plain cover, opening it, the front page was filled with large crooked characters that read ‘Zi Min Zi.’

Song Hao examined it, guessing, “…Mencius?”

“So ugly, but so familiar, it seems like the one I wrote.” Song Hao stared at the ugly characters with a strange expression, suddenly having a flash of inspiration, guessing, “Could it be that Wen Qing bought my lousy book?”

“What… the… heck…” Song Hao was speechless.

[Those ugly characters are definitely yours.]

[??? Why am I a bit touched?]

[Yuan Hao Favorability +10]

[Yuan Hao Favorability +500]

[Now we really have to call him sister-in-law.]

〖Wen Qing walked into the library, carrying a food box, and asked, “What book did you choose to read today?”〗

Song Hao’s brain was running wildly, finally decisively clicking to load a save, saying, “Load first!”

[Why are you feeling guilty?]

[Afraid to face your bromance brother?]

[Reading your own lousy book doesn’t give attributes, right?]

[So suspicious.]

[Doesn’t seem straight.]

After loading, Song Hao randomly clicked a bookshelf, and the system popped up new options.

〖Choose the book you want to read: Bian Er Chai / Yi Xiang Chun Zhi / Mandarin Duck Poetry Collection〗

〖You chose to read Bian Er Chai, ※Charm +3〗

〖Yuan Hao replied: Just picked one randomly, I’ll read it to you, ‘Gently, I’m suddenly inspired, want to play with you…’〗

“Damn! It’s an erotic book!!!” Song Hao grabbed his hair and loaded again.

〖You chose to read Yi Xiang Chun Zhi, ※Charm +5〗

〖Yuan Hao replied: Just picked one randomly, I’ll read it to you, ‘Do whatever he says, or it’s against the rules, breaking the rules gets punished with three spanks…’〗

“Even more erotic ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! Don’t read it out loud!!! Brother, does your mom know you have these things at home? Help ahhhhh don’t let my stream get banned for violation…”

Song Hao covered his ears and started screaming, feeling dirty and wanting to wash his eyes.

〖You chose to read Mandarin Duck Poetry Collection, ※Charm +1, Literary Talent +2〗

〖Yuan Hao replied: Just picked one randomly, I’ll read it to you, ‘Exquisite dice filled with red beans, do you know the longing that goes to the bone?’〗

Song Hao slumped in his chair, weakly saying, “Thank goodness… it’s normal stuff…”

[So thrilling.]

[I screamed along too.]

[Wen Qing must be into bromance, I know what those two books are.]

[The scale is huge…]

[I’ll send a hot air balloon, can the anchor choose the first book?]

“No way! I have principles, just this one, no more changes, my heart can’t take it.”

〖Wen Qing smiled, “I didn’t know there was such a book, a large part of the library’s collection was randomly bought by the servants, I haven’t read them.”

Yuan Hao said, “With the poetry festival coming up, let’s read together, maybe we can win a prize.”

Wen Qing nodded in agreement, and they sat together reading the poetry collection, taking turns reciting.

“When will we meet again? Tears stain my sleeves, looking from the high city, the lights are already dusk.”

“Only wish your heart is like mine, never failing the longing.”

“Fish sink and geese vanish on the road to the ends of the earth, finally believing the pain of separation in the world.”

“Life and death are fated, with you I made a promise. Holding your hand, growing old together.”

…〗

In the game interface, the two were in the quiet and peaceful library, sunlight spilling on their sleeves, each holding half of the book, alternately reciting the love poems.

Even though there was no sound, Song Hao seemed to hear the rhythm and gentle reading.

At this moment, Song Hao wasn’t in a hurry to progress the plot but carefully read each line before clicking the next. When it was the protagonist’s turn to read, he silently repeated it, and at the end, he subconsciously read aloud, “…holding your hand, growing old together.”

His gaze was more focused on Wen Qing, whom he had never looked at closely before. Now, looking seriously, he realized he was truly… good-looking.

With handsome features, fair skin, black hair reaching the elbows, not overly striking, but like a cluster of green bamboo, natural, sharp, gentle, pleasing to the eye? Song Hao couldn’t quite put it into words, just felt that such a face should be the protagonist of the world.

Additionally… Song Hao leaned closer to the screen, blinking hard, he seemed to see, when Wen Qing lowered his eyes, on his eyelid, at the corner of his eye, there was a small mole, tiny, like a pixel dot, so cute.