Fishing required patience, and coincidentally, the one thing Ning Xiaoyu had in abundance was patience.

After casting her fishing rod, she paid it no further attention.

Somehow, she had managed to find another stool and settled onto it comfortably. Her right hand loosely rested on the rod as she waited for the fish to bite. If they didn’t take the bait……

Well, there was nothing she could do about it.

But to Ning Xiaoyu, whether she caught a fish was unimportant. What mattered was the process of waiting for the fish to bite. During this time, she could openly slack off.

Yes, that last point was precisely what made fishing so appealing to her.

As she basked in the sun, waiting for a fish to take the bait, she paid no mind to whether this activity would attract the movie king’s attention. Either way, she quite enjoyed it.

So, while the other guests chatted and played mobile games together, Ning Xiaoyu leisurely fished by the lake in the park.

Because she was so unpredictable, the audience grew increasingly curious about her.

As for Mu Jiajia, who was lying on the grass napping, few people paid her any attention.

【Fishing, hahaha! This is so Xiao Yu’s style!】

【Xiao Yu: I hope the fish take their time biting so I can sit here longer.】

【Xiao Yu: Kicking back with both hands behind my head. Who needs love?】

【This is literally Jiang Taigong’s^[1]Jiang Ziya; a military strategist and statesman who played a key role in the overthrow of the Shang Dynasty and the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty fishing— whoever is willing shall bite!】

The audience had seen patient people before, but never someone as patient as Ning Xiaoyu. Before long, more and more gossip-loving bystanders flooded into her livestream.

【Came here out of curiosity.】

Mu Jiajia lay on the grass. The ground was damp and thick with grass, making it uncomfortable to lie on. She was used to her soft and cozy bed, and there was no way she could fall asleep there.

She had no idea how Ning Xiaoyu had managed to sleep in such a place before.

She, for one, couldn’t endure it for even a minute longer!

【Let’s bet on how long it’ll take Xiao Yu to catch a fish. I bet an hour.】

【I bet she won’t catch anything.】

【She won’t catch anything +1.】

The viewers didn’t think she’d fail because there were no fish in the lake. In fact, many older fishing enthusiasts frequented this spot— otherwise, Ning Xiaoyu wouldn’t have been able to borrow a rod in the first place.

To make things more entertaining, the park periodically stocked the lake with small fish.

There were plenty of fish in the lake, but……

Ning Xiaoyu clearly wasn’t an experienced angler, and she was way too casual about it. The chances of her catching anything were slim.

Mu Jiajia gave up on lying on the grass and instead joined Ning Yuwei, standing not far from Ning Xiaoyu to watch her fish.

Ning Yuwei smiled sweetly. “Teacher Ning, do you think you’ll catch a fish?”

Ning Xiaoyu replied, “No.”

Her blunt honesty left Ning Yuwei at a loss for words.

Mu Jiajia, still annoyed from lying on the grass, deliberately said, “Teacher Ning, you’re being too modest. With your patience, how could you not catch a fish?”

〖Love System: That’s a classic case of setting someone up for failure!〗

Ning Xiaoyu responded, “System, your vocabulary has expanded again.”

The love system blushed. 〖I update my database daily.〗

Ning Xiaoyu let out a casual “Oh” and reminded it flatly, “But that’s not the right use of ‘setting someone up for failure.’ It doesn’t quite fit here. You should keep learning, System.”

〖Love System: ……〗

As it turned out, the viewers were right.

Ning Xiaoyu didn’t catch a fish.

However, she didn’t give Ning Yuwei and Mu Jiajia a chance to gloat either— because she reeled in a movie king instead.

Twenty minutes later, having just finished a game of chess, Lu Jingdu arrived with a fishing rod, bait, and a stool, and calmly joined Ning Xiaoyu.

Both of their rods were already in the water, just waiting for something to bite.

Mu Jiajia looked completely incredulous. “Why is the movie king fishing too?”

Ning Yuwei bit her lip hard. Mu Jiajia had asked her, but how was she supposed to know? If she did, she would’ve gone fishing too!

With Lu Jingdu joining in, even more people started paying attention to Ning Xiaoyu. Even the retired elders nearby gathered around.

“I didn’t expect young people to be into fishing these days.”

“Not many young folks have the patience for this anymore.”

“Young Lady, don’t you find fishing boring?”

Hearing herself being addressed, Ning Xiaoyu shook her head. “Not boring.”

One of the elders chuckled. “How old are you, Young Lady?”

These retired elderly didn’t follow the entertainment industry, so they had no idea who Ning Xiaoyu was.

She answered, “Twenty-three.”

The old man grinned. “Twenty-three, huh? Do you have a boyfriend?”

Ning Xiaoyu knew that elderly people liked gossiping about relationships. If she said no, there was a good chance they’d start matchmaking, introducing their nephews or sons to her. They meant well, just looking for something to do, but it could be awkward for the person being set up.

She was just about to reply that she didn’t have one when the love system, which had been quietly observing, suddenly spoke up, 〖Girl, after asking your age, this old man is very likely going to introduce you to someone! If it’s not his nephew, it’ll be his son. But you and those guys are doomed to have no future. At this moment, you can:

A. Bring up the movie king’s name.

B. Clearly state that you already have someone you like, so the old man will have to be disappointed.

C. Take the movie king’s hand and use your actions to make your stance clear!〗

Seeing these three options, Ning Xiaoyu’s face instantly took on the expression of the subway grandpa looking at his phone^[2]squinting hard.

What is all this?

〖Love System: Go, Girl! Crush the old man’s idea before it even sprouts!〗

As soon as the love system finished speaking, the old man indeed spoke up, “I have an unmotivated son at home. He just returned from studying in M Country last year and is now a researcher at an institute. Do you think you could exchange contact information and chat for a bit?”

The guests present, except for Ning Xiaoyu herself, all looked stunned.

Ning Xiaoyu had already guessed what was coming when the love system assigned the mission.

At this moment, Shen Yueyue, who had just come over to find Ning Xiaoyu, overheard the conversation and couldn’t help but gossip, “Old Sir, have you…… taken a liking to Xiao Yu?”

The old man stroked his chin and said, “This young lady has a good temperament, very patient. Quite nice.”

After speaking, he looked at Ning Xiaoyu expectantly, waiting for her response.

Ning Xiaoyu glanced over the three given options but couldn’t find a satisfactory answer. In the end, she simply gave up on choosing and directly refused, “Sorry, right now, I just want to focus on my career （aka slack off）.”

Hearing her response, the old man, though a little disappointed, understood.

“Focusing on your career is good.”

With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and left without pressing further.

The love system sighed faintly. 〖Girl, you just gave up the choice. You are about to receive a punishment.〗

Wuuwuuwuu, the host rejected the old man so easily and didn’t get involved with the movie king, so now it didn’t get to enjoy any romance. It felt so bitter inside.

The next second, Ning Xiaoyu was thrown into the punishment space.

Fortunately, it seemed that only her consciousness had entered, so no one would witness a sudden disappearance.

However, after being locked in, Ning Xiaoyu quickly realized something was wrong.

Never mind the unfamiliar environment— why was her perspective so low?

Did she…… turn into a child?

But considering the love system’s obsession with romance, how could it possibly let her play the role of a child?

At first, Ning Xiaoyu was confused, but when she received the script, she immediately understood.

This time, she had been given a fantasy script. The protagonist of this story is a cat. Because of its good fortune, it was picked up by the villain and fed countless rare treasures, which eventually allowed it to take human form. Without the villain, the lazy and talentless little cat would likely never have succeeded in transforming.

So…… the so-called ‘sweet script’ the love system mentioned was this?

Although Ning Xiaoyu couldn’t figure out where the sweetness was, since the system said it was sweet, then so be it.

She was currently acting in the first episode, which meant the protagonist had not yet transformed and could only exist in its original form.

Only by successfully being picked up by the villain would the first episode be considered complete.

Ning Xiaoyu couldn’t help but think, Isn’t this easy? Lu Jingdu should have also received the script. He just needed to pick her up, and then they could both leave the punishment space.

But she soon realized things weren’t that simple.

It turned out that this time, Lu Jingdu hadn’t received a script at all, and she couldn’t speak— she could only, “Meow meow meow.”

They were destined to have no way of communicating.

Forget it. Too tired. Time to lie down. No more effort.

The forest was so vast, and she, as a cat, only had four short legs. How could she possibly find the villain and successfully get adopted?

Since that was the case, Ning Xiaoyu decided to just lie down and accept her fate.

As a human, she had always been lazy— sunbathing, snacking, and taking life easy. Now that she was a cat, she simply flopped down like a pancake.

So this was what being a cat felt like.

It was…… pretty nice?

Thinking that, Ning Xiaoyu lay comfortably on her back, exposing her fluffy little belly.

Her tiny paws were soft and pink.

She closed her eyes in contentment, her long, fluffy tail swaying lazily behind her. Her whole appearance screamed relaxation and enjoyment.

The love system, hiding in the shadows and eager to witness its perfect love story unfold, fell into silence once again.

Why had it chosen this script?!

This script had a high degree of freedom and only set a loose framework. In its vision, the protagonist, eager for food and comfort, would meow cutely, while the villain, who loved fluffy creatures, would take the opportunity to pet the cat.

One would act cute, and the other would pet.

One wanted to get adopted, and the other was more than happy to adopt.

They were a match made in heaven!

It had been so excited to see the villain pet the cat!

But its vision had fallen apart from the very start!

Because! Ning Xiaoyu never played by the rules! She had turned herself into a cat pancake!

Playing cute?

Meowing non-stop?

Not happening.

The cat pancake lay motionless, with only her tail swaying gently behind her, revealing her good mood.

Rather than rushing to complete the plot, Ning Xiaoyu was thoroughly enjoying being a cat.

Her big fluffy tail swayed back and forth, until eventually, as she got drowsy, the movements slowed.

Ning Xiaoyu didn’t know how much time had passed. She had even taken a nap and was getting ready for a second one.

But just then, someone gently wrapped her entire body in a coat and carefully lifted her up.

The cat blinked in dissatisfaction.

The next second, she found herself staring directly into Lu Jingdu’s lowered gaze.

Through the coat, he casually scratched her little chin.

A moment later, the system’s prompt announced that the scene was complete.

The cat had successfully been picked up by the villain, so both of them were freed from the punishment space.

〖Love System: Girl, although your initial actions were quite bold, fortunately, things turned out sweet in the end! The movie king scratched your chin. Even though it was through the coat, rounding it up, it was as if the coat wasn’t even there.〗

Ning Xiaoyu: “You can use rounding like this?”

〖Love System: Of course.〗

But the movie king didn’t receive the script, so why did he choose to pick up the cat?

Could it be that he saw the shadow of its salted fish host in the cat?

The love system didn’t know that it had just accidentally hit the truth.

When Ning Xiaoyu blinked again, only two minutes had passed in reality. She remained composed, waiting for the fish to take the bait, with no one around to talk to her. Ning Xiaoyu started feeling lazy again. No wonder— she had just been locked in the punishment space, turned into a cat for a while, and had completely sprawled out like a flattened cat pancake. It was way too comfortable.

Now that she had turned back into a human, she was having a hard time adjusting.

────ρя


After the afternoon trip to the park ended, the guests returned to the Friendship House.

The others spent the entire afternoon playing games, while Ning Xiaoyu spent the afternoon fishing.

Even though she didn’t catch a single fish in the end, the time spent idling was still enjoyable.

All the guests had dinner together.

Just as Ning Xiaoyu was about to put down her chopsticks after finishing her meal, she saw Mu Jiajia, who had finished eating before her, rubbing her stomach as she lay down on the sofa.

Mu Jiajia said, “I’m full. I’m gonna lie down and rest for a bit.”

【Hahahaha, has Mu Jiajia been led astray?】

【Is she being influenced or just imitating?】

【Clearly being influenced! When someone is lazy every day, it’s only natural for others to be affected!】

【Mu Jiajia is obviously envious of Xiao Yu’s popularity and is deliberately copying her!】

While the livestream chat was in a heated debate over Mu Jiajia’s behavior, the love system spoke with righteous indignation, 〖Girl, she’s competing with you to see who can be lazier!〗

Ning Xiaoyu: “…….”

Was this supposed to be a good thing? Was there really a competition for who could be lazier?

She couldn’t be bothered with what others did. Mu Jiajia could do whatever she wanted as long as it didn’t affect her.

────ρя


Mu Jiajia’s actions didn’t have much impact on Ning Xiaoyu, except that overnight, the Friendship House became filled with salted fish decorations.

There were salted fish pillows and even headbands.

Whenever the show didn’t assign tasks, Mu Jiajia would lounge on the sofa with a salted fish pillow in her arms, doing nothing.

Admittedly, her behavior attracted quite a few fans.

【That salted fish pillow looks so cute! I want to buy one!】

【Ahhh, a salted fish headband! I need it!】

【LOL, even her bracelet is salted fish-themed. Is Jiajia covered in salted fish accessories?】

During her interactions with the audience, Mu Jiajia noticed these comments and laughed. “Not completely.”

【Why does Jiajia suddenly have so many salted fish-related items?】

【Does Jiajia like salted fish?】

Mu Jiajia nodded with a bright smile. “Yes, I really like them. I think this fish with its dead-fish eyes is really interesting. Don’t you like it too?”

Mu Jiajia’s viewers were very supportive.

【We love it too!】

She didn’t avoid mentioning Ning Xiaoyu at all during her livestream interactions. In fact, she deliberately made sure Ning Xiaoyu could hear her.

Who said only Ning Xiaoyu could be popular? Wasn’t Ning Xiaoyu just acting like a salted fish? She could do it too!

Hearing that green tea remark, the love system could no longer hold back.

〖Love System: She doesn’t even like it! She’s lying!〗

Ning Xiaoyu, who had just eaten her fill, was preparing to return to her room.

She couldn’t be bothered.

But just as she was about to head inside, the love system’s childish, screeching voice rang in her ears again, 〖Girl! Mu Jiajia is challenging you in laziness! You have to out-laze her! Make the imitator feel so ashamed she gives up on copying you! You can:

A. Tell her to wash up and go to sleep^[3]stop babbling nonsense and just go to sleep, exuding an air of effortless dominance.

B. Tell her that you only represent yourself and won’t be easily surpassed by an imitator!

C. Act pitiful in the livestream and let your fans fight for you, tearing Mu Jiajia apart with insults!〗

Ning Xiaoyu who was looking at the childish, bickering-style options: “……”

As expected of the love system.

Just then, Mu Jiajia, who was lying on the sofa, called out to Ning Xiaoyu, “Teaching Ning, do you want to lie down too? I just bought these salted fish pillows— there are several of them. If you like one, I can give it to you.”

〖Love System: She’s blatantly copying you, yet she acts all high and mighty as if she’s the original! So many of her actions are just imitations of yours, Girl!〗

Ning Xiaoyu shrugged. She truly didn’t care about Mu Jiajia, but since Mu Jiajia had come up to provoke her directly, she wasn’t one to just take it lying down.

She walked up to Mu Jiajia and said coldly, “Wash up and go to sleep.”

Love System: !!!

As expected, its host could still hold her ground!

Ning Xiaoyu went to the first-floor bathroom, filled half a footbath with a mix of hot and cold water, and then carried the heavy basin back to where Mu Jiajia was lounging. With a loud thud, she set it down right in front of the other party. Finally, she sat down and, right in Mu Jiajia’s face, began to soak her feet in pure comfort!

Mu Jiajia, who almost got splashed by Ning Xiaoyu’s feet: “……”

The childish love system: Girl, well done!

The livestream audience after witnessing the scene: Indeed, Ning Xiaoyu is the one true salted fish queen!