The love system was so excited it could barely stop rubbing its hands together.

During its system upgrade, it felt like it was going to explode from holding everything in. The days without any sweet moments had been far too hard to endure. In that time, it had been completely cut off from the outside world, with no idea if its fellow CP fans were still active or not.

Its digital little heart was full of bitterness, desperately craving something sweet.

Thankfully, the system finally completed its upgrade.

Now, with a brand new look and even sweeter, more refreshing love missions, it was ready to embrace each bright and beautiful day. Let the sugar rush come even harder!

This version of the system was no longer the greasy, outdated one that used to hand out stale love missions.

Now it was Niohuru · System, issuing love missions that were romantic, heartwarming, and thrilling.

With a loud laugh, the love system shouted, 〖I, Hu Hansan, am back again〗 and immediately assigned a new love mission.

〖After days apart, I missed you dearly.

Girl, in this world, what brings the sweetest feelings?

It’s a fluttering heart.

It’s love.

It’s the sense that it must be you, and only you.

Within half an hour, please tiptoe and give the movie king a kiss.

Go for it, Girl!〗

Ning Xiaoyu: “???”

It took Ning Xiaoyu a few seconds to react. When she realized the system wasn’t providing any other options, she couldn’t help asking, “You spent days upgrading just for this?”

The love system replied sweetly, 〖Yes~ Girl, doesn’t it feel more thrilling and even sweeter now?〗

In the past, whenever it gave her a mission, it always came with three options.

At least she used to have some room to choose.

But now, after the upgrade, the system has removed all choices.

It gave her only one.

Was it planning to force-feed itself soft candy now?

Afraid that Ning Xiaoyu might go on strike, the love system quickly opened up the newly launched system shop for her to see.

Everything it had mentioned before, like the Misfortune Rebound Talisman and Misfortune Removal Talisman, was available now. And there were even more tempting items on display.

Rather than calling it a store, it was more accurate to describe it as a cheat menu for real life.

The only problem? Everything was incredibly expensive.

In fact, those earlier mentioned talismans were the cheapest things available.

If it had been anyone else, they would’ve gone wild with excitement after seeing things like the Youth +1 Talisman and Beauty +1 Talisman, eager to do missions nonstop.

But unfortunately for the system, it had bonded with the salted fish queen who had no ambition whatsoever.

Even worse, the salted fish queen was now worth hundreds of millions. She wasn’t short on money or attention.

She casually glanced through the shop, then closed it without hesitation.

The love system still sounded confident, 〖Hehe~ Girl, are you tempted?〗 Action speaks louder than heartbeats!

Before it could even finish its line, Ning Xiaoyu interrupted flatly with her usual deadpan expression, “Nope.”

〖Love System: ???〗

How could she not be tempted?! What kind of salted fish host had it bonded with?!

Still, the love system remained full of confidence. 〖Girl, someday, you’ll see the benefits of having me around.〗

In real life, no one could last eight times in one night.

That would be fatal.

But in the system shop? Not only could you go eight times in one night, it even had a Three Days and Three Nights Talisman!

What is eight times? ‘Seven Days and Seven Nights’ is the real king!

This was something the system had prepared especially for its beloved CP.

Only one store had it.

You wouldn’t find a second one in the entire world.

Ning Xiaoyu had no idea what kind of fantasies the system was dreaming up, nor did she care to guess.

“So, if I don’t do the mission, I still get punished?”

The love system chuckled mischievously. 〖How could that be called punishment? It’s clearly just some flirty fun between a couple!〗

Hearing that, Ning Xiaoyu had a hunch.

“So even the punishment missions got upgraded?”

The system rubbed its hands again. 〖That’s right! They’ll be more varied and more fun. Girl, hurry and give it a try!〗

Ning Xiaoyu didn’t respond. She simply opened the door and went to find Lu Jingdu.

It wasn’t that late, but most of the guests were already resting in their own rooms, not out and about.

She found Lu Jingdu’s room and knocked three times on the door.

A few seconds later, he opened it from inside.

Without even looking at him properly, Ning Xiaoyu tiptoed and leaned in.

The love system instantly transformed into a screaming chicken, 〖Aaaaahhhhhh! She’s gonna kiss him! She’s really gonna do it!〗

The newly upgraded love mission was so thrilling that the love system’s digital heart was pounding wildly.

But in the next second, its scream was cut off.

Huh?

That’s it?

You made me drop my pants, and this is what you showed me?!

All she did was slightly tiptoe and…… plant a kiss on the movie king’s pajamas.

〖Love System: ……〗

Wordplay? She was playing it like that?

Normally, when people saw the mission prompt, their first reaction would be to kiss the movie king’s lips.

At the very least, they’d kiss his cheek, his forehead, or the corner of his mouth.

Either way, as long as she kissed his skin, it would count!

Wouldn’t that have maxed out the sweetness level?

But what did its host do?

Its host had kissed the movie king’s pajamas.

Smile.jpg

No— the love system could no longer smile.

Who on earth would even think of doing such a thing?

Who would actually kiss pajamas, just like that?

Probably only its host was capable of such behavior!

Where was the sweetness it had been promised? Why, even after upgrading, was it still firmly under its host’s control?

Ning Xiaoyu had kissed the silky pajamas that Lu Jingdu wore.

To be fair, the texture of the pajamas was incredibly smooth, and kissing it had felt surprisingly nice.

There was even a hint of fragrance lingering on it.

It wasn’t unpleasant. It was faint, cool, and elegant. Just like Lu Jingdu himself— cool and refined.

Ning Xiaoyu’s lips had only brushed the fabric lightly before she pulled back almost instantly. After completing the mission, she took a small step back.

Lu Jingdu had instinctively reached out his hand, then lowered it again quickly.

Before he could speak, Ning Xiaoyu said, “Oh right, thanks for the birthday gift you gave me.”

Lu Jingdu’s lips curved slightly. “You’re welcome. Do you like it?”

He hadn’t said ‘the gift’, but Ning Xiaoyu understood what he meant.

She nodded. “I like it.”

“As long as you like it.”

The love system hadn’t gotten the scene it wanted and had been sulking, but upon hearing this exchange, it wanted to say that it was back in business!

It really was back!

—Do you like it （me）?

—Yes, I like it （you）.

—As long as you like it （me）.

It was obsessed! After imagining the scene in its head, it was completely hooked!

Just then, an awkward voice sounded nearby.

The director spread his hands. “Uh…… did I come at a bad time?”

Ning Xiaoyu shrugged. “No. I was just about to leave.” Her love mission had been completed, so she could definitely make her exit.

The director made a gesture like he was ready to leave too. Honestly, he could go now as well.

But Ning Xiaoyu didn’t wait for them. She simply turned and left.

Once she was gone, the director let out a dry chuckle. He really hadn’t expected to walk in on that moment.

He truly hadn’t come to stir up trouble.

Lu Jingdu asked, “What is it?”

Even though there was no change in Lu Jingdu’s expression, the director knew to tread carefully and forced a laugh. “Actually, it’s nothing major. Just that the head chef of the five-star hotel is going overseas for a week. So for the next few days, there’ll be a different chef in charge.”

Lu Jingdu nodded. “Got it. Anything else?”

The director shook his head. “No, that’s all. Haha. I’ll get going then. Good night!”

It wasn’t until he turned the corner that the director finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Interrupting someone’s romance was definitely the kind of thing that would get you struck by lightning!

Elsewhere, the love system was drowning in its sugar high and couldn’t pull itself out of it.

Sure, this ‘sweetness’ was entirely imagined by itself. But even imagined sugar was still sugar, right?

────ρя


Ning Xiaoyu only heard the gossip about the Shen family from Shen Yueyue the next morning.

“Word is, the two of them had a huge fight. No one knows the reason, though. Kinda rare, right? Even the model couple in the industry is arguing now? With a fight that bad, the conflict must be serious.”

Shen Yueyue looked utterly amazed.

Ning Xiaoyu just listened to the gossip about Zhang Xue without much reaction.

Whether Zhang Xue was doing well or badly had little to do with her. After all, they hadn’t kept in touch over the past seven years.

The love system, on the other hand, had gone all in on the gossip. With its recent upgrade, its capabilities had expanded, and digging for gossip like this was child’s play to it.

With the air of someone ready for a good drama, it reported, 〖Girl, Zhang Xue’s visit to your father at the hospital was discovered by her current husband. CEO Shen is furious. He feels like he’s been cuckolded and totally lost face in front of his business rivals. They’re apparently separating now. Who knows, maybe they’ll even get divorced.〗

Misfortune had finally found Zhang Xue.

Upon hearing the news, Ning Xiaoyu didn’t feel particularly happy, nor was she completely indifferent.

After all, even if she was the ultimate salted fish queen, she was still human.

And humans have emotions.

If it had been two years ago, she might’ve laughed out loud and said something like, ‘She finally got what she deserved.’

But now, after seven long years of caring for her father alone……

Her father was finally awake.

Her naive teenage years were long behind her and she had grown a lot more mature.

So upon hearing the news, she neither gloated nor tried to kick someone when they were down. She simply nodded and gave a fair assessment, “Makes sense.”

Given Zhang Xue’s personality, how could she possibly not confront Ning Zhen in person after learning he was a rich second-generation heir? And if she did, it was only a matter of time before Shen Ke found out.

If they really did separate, then there was no way Zhang Xue wouldn’t start looking for a new partner.

And honestly, she might even try to get back with her ex. Some things did taste sweeter the second time around.

The love system found this delightfully entertaining. 〖Girl, who knows— Zhang Xue might even come crawling back to you someday.〗

Ning Xiaoyu didn’t comment on that.

────ρя


While Zhang Xue and CEO Shen were caught up in their drama, the show 《Hi, My Friend》 welcomed a new female guest that very day.

Mu Jiajia had officially withdrawn from the variety show. Maybe it was the snake bite, or the near-death experience, or maybe she’d just seen through Ning Yuwei’s true nature and didn’t want to keep pretending to be besties. Either way, she made a clean and decisive exit.

The new female guest was Ning Yuwei’s best friend— someone born into a wealthy family, pampered from a young age, and who held the script of a sweet romance heroine. A drama queen princess to the core.

The love system gave Ning Xiaoyu an enthusiastic pep talk, 【Girl, this is Ning Yuwei’s new backup and your biggest rival on the show. Salted Fish Queen vs. Drama Queen Sweetheart. I believe in you! You’re going to be way more popular! Let’s gooo!】