Chapter 23: A melodramatic audiobook.

The following afternoon, the two sat outside in the sun after lunch.

The autumn wind was already a bit chilly on their faces this season, but in order to prevent electronic products from harming their health, Lu Yusheng still kept up this activity every day.

This proved to be somewhat effective; this morning she finally managed to get back into her biological clock and went downstairs at almost the same time as Hua Manlou.

As she leaned back in her chair, she mentally opened her "assistance system" page.

—Although in terms of strength and how much she likes it, this is the real main system.

After a night's rest, the experience bar displayed under her avatar was very close to the end, and she would soon achieve a major breakthrough from 0 to 1.

Unfortunately, it's still a little short.

"Master, remember to remind me when it upgrades."

Out of sheer curiosity about what kind of improvement he could gain, Lu Yusheng, after his initial disappointment, couldn't help but give the system a word of advice.

She put away the system, opened her eyes, and turned her head to look at Hua Manlou's lonely figure beside her, but she hesitated in her heart.

Does the danger Lu Xiaofeng spoke of really exist?

The fact that things have been calm for so many days suggests that he was probably just worrying unnecessarily.

If there's really no danger, should he leave too?

With the system's protection, she was naturally not afraid of any enemies coming to her door. However, after spending many days together, Hua Manlou appeared in the lobby at the same time every day, just like a fixed NPC.

She has gotten somewhat used to this kind of life.

By simply feeding her some food, she can experience games with this good-tempered, kind-hearted, and good-looking aboriginal.

At first, she didn't know what the consequences of the collision between modern and ancient technologies would be, but after a few days of experimentation, the good-natured young man had given her a lot of positive feedback.

Even knowing that it would be difficult for anyone to have the same level of acceptance as him, it still made her feel much more at ease.

Cooking isn't difficult for Lu Yusheng either; hopefully he can stay a few more days...

Otherwise, in this desolate place, she would be too lonely, just like an empty-nest old woman.

Upgrade successful.

—That's when the system's voice came through.

Lu Yusheng abruptly stopped his random thoughts and took a quick look at the auxiliary system page in his mind. The page displayed words such as "Personal attribute points +5, unlock level 1 skill..."

Before she could even feel happy, she saw the system's next sentence—

[Unlock Level 1 Skill: Elbow Strike; Damage dealt is doubled when attacking with the arm.]

She stopped the system from saying "That's all?" It was only then that Lu Yusheng remembered that before the class selection was unlocked at level six in "100 Days to Immortality", all that could be unlocked were some common basic fighting skills.

It's passable against ordinary people, but it's not up to par with these experts.

Haha, what a boring character development system.

【Hey, you?!】

The system seemed to sense something, but she just laughed it off and brushed it off.

Despite the fact that the upgrade was successful, Lu Yusheng, whose expectations were not fully met, still mustered his spirits and stood up.

Hearing the noise, Hua Manlou, who had his head down, asked her what was wrong.

Upon hearing the sound, Lu Yusheng stretched, and seeing his serene appearance, he couldn't help but slow down his voice and say, "It's nothing, I'll go get some drinks."

Seeing that the other person was about to get up, she quickly stopped him again: "No need for you to make tea, young master. Try the tea I made today."

She was so anxious that she almost pressed down on it with her hands, so Hua Manlou had no choice but to give up.

Determined to show off his skills, Lu Yusheng went back and rummaged through the beverage cabinet, buying milk, herbal tea, and a box of OOO drinks. He then rummaged around and thankfully found that he still had two presentable, pretty cups.

She poured several ingredients into the cups in a certain proportion, then picked up the two prepared drinks and handed one of them to Hua Manlou.

"Lou-chan, please have a cup of [unclear] delicious tea."

The two of them sipped their milk tea and started chatting casually.

Of course, the main issue is still Lu Yusheng's one-sided investigation of household registration.

"—Lou-chan... oh no, where does Young Master live?"

"How many people are in your family, young master?"

"Does the young master prefer sweet or savory food?"

"Then..." she paused, then asked, "When will Lu Xiaofeng and the others be back?"

Hua Manlou, who had been answering her slowly, was also taken aback and didn't know how to reply for a moment.

He also had his own worries. Although Lu Xiaofeng had Sikong Zhaixing accompanying him and later sought help from Ximen Chuixue, he still couldn't feel at ease if he didn't go himself.

However, sensing the girl's slightly nervous breathing beside him, he smiled in her direction and reassured her, "Don't worry, everything will be alright."

Lu Yusheng lowered his head and took another sip of milk tea, calming his breathing. He said somewhat embarrassedly, "They haven't come back, so you've been stuck here protecting me. It must be so boring, right?"

"How could that be?" Hua Manlou quickly interrupted her. He thought his behavior had made her overthink things, and he couldn't help but feel a little apologetic.

But she still said softly, "I heard from Lu Xiaofeng that you and Sikong Zhaixing have a good relationship?"

Lu Yusheng didn't know why he suddenly brought this up, but he still thought about it for a moment and said, "It's alright. He's the first person I've spent a relatively long time with since I came here, although at first he tried to fool me by saying he was Lu Xiaofeng's grandfather..."

Hearing this, Hua Manlou couldn't help but chuckle. After laughing, he continued, "Then do you consider him your friend?"

This... Lu Yusheng hesitated, but after recalling their time together, he firmly said, "I don't know what he thinks, but for me, it's over."

“That’s it.” Hua Manlou nodded upon hearing this.

"What is it?" Lu Yusheng asked, puzzled. Then he heard him continue, "After spending so many days together, I've come to regard you as a friend."

She was somewhat surprised and delighted, never expecting him to think that way.

"Really?" Lu Yusheng was a little embarrassed. While she was still worrying about whether the two of them would protect each other and when the other person would leave, it turned out that she had already been treated as a friend.

After receiving his affirmative answer, Lu Yusheng did not ask any more questions, but for no reason, he thought to himself, "If that's the case, even if he leaves... he should come back again in the future, right?"

Her mood improved considerably. Since it was getting late, she thought for a moment and then firmly left Hua Manlou behind while she went to prepare the meal herself.

Seeing the other person's guilty expression, she took the initiative to comfort him, saying, "Young master, we are friends now, and friends don't need to be so polite."

After saying that, fearing the wait would be too long, he took out his phone again before leaving.

"Would you like to hear some opera, young master?"

"Now?" Hua Manlou was somewhat surprised to hear this, but after the initial surprise, he roughly guessed that Lu Yusheng was afraid that he would be bored while waiting and wanted to pass the time.

In fact, he had no shortage of patience, but remembering the expectation in the girl's words and her sincerity, he readily agreed so as not to disappoint her.

As Lu Yusheng fiddled with his phone, searching through various platforms, he gradually became curious about how the other party intended to get him to listen to opera here.

The girl's voice came to him as he had been waiting.

"Actually, it's similar to the games I played before."

Seemingly hearing his question, Lu Yusheng, after downloading the software, casually explained, "It's about having someone read out the dialogue and narration from the storybook and record it, just like in that game I took you to play before."

Hua Manlou nodded, having experienced it before, and thus understood what she meant.

"Here—" Lu Yusheng randomly selected an ancient-themed novel that wasn't ranked too low on the audiobook app's charts and handed over his phone.

Although the data on the list is not real-time, the content is at least a replica of the rankings from before she transmigrated.

Leaving the plot aside for now, it should at least not contain any elements that are out of step with the historical context.

Hua Manlou then extended his palm toward her as instructed. Lu Yusheng was very careful, partly because he was afraid that too much physical contact in this era would cause misunderstandings, and partly because he was afraid that he might drop it.

Although it wasn't quite appropriate, when the phone was taken from her, she genuinely felt like an irresponsible and perfunctory parent.

Almost the instant he held it firmly, the originally gentle and calm background music gradually ended, and the narration began in his hand.

—[The third daughter of the Minister's family, from the age of coming of age, had her doorstep nearly worn down by suitors.]

A girl's perspective...

Lu Yusheng, who hadn't yet left, frowned, wondering if an adult man would be too interested in this.

But after carefully observing Hua Manlou's expression, which seemed to show no aversion, she became too lazy to continue searching for treasures on the leaderboard and hurriedly went to the stove.

At this point, Hua Manlou was indeed just looking to pass the time and had no complaints about the content of the story. He was more curious about the form of expression.

As he listened, he felt around to locate the source of the sound from the "iron block" in his hand, feeling the rhythm of its gentle vibrations in response to the sound.

However, not long after Lu Yusheng's footsteps disappeared, before he could even figure out the underlying principle, the content from the speaker began to become increasingly absurd.

[...She possessed an exquisitely beautiful face, long eyes, and large hair; all who saw her were captivated, yet no one knew the subtle sorrow and grief hidden beneath that breathtaking beauty.]

Hua Manlou was stunned by the description, and his hands paused slightly.

Then a continuous sound could be heard from the "iron block":

Her father was the most handsome man in the previous Liang Kingdom, and her mother was the most beautiful woman in the previous Liang Kingdom. The Third Miss's appearance was inherited from them, and she has now naturally become the most beautiful woman in the current Liang Kingdom.

He couldn't help but frown slightly upon hearing this, but it was clear that the book wasn't going to let him off so easily.

[Beneath her beauty, few know that she has a hidden identity—the chief assassin of Tianji Tower, the number one assassin organization in the Liang Kingdom.]

If I remember correctly, wasn't this woman originally the daughter of a high-ranking official?

Hua Manlou almost subconsciously lowered his head, "gazing" at the direction of his palm, and began to wonder what kind of magical person could have written the story inside this iron block.

If that were all, it would be one thing, but the subsequent reversals were even more numerous.

During an assassination attempt on a foreign envoy, she was injured and the mission failed. However, she unexpectedly overheard her true identity while hiding in the cold palace.

She was born to the emperor and the most favored concubine of yesteryear! Her birth mother was assassinated by other concubines in the harem, and to save her life, she had no choice but to have her escorted by a loyal servant to be raised by her twin sister, who is now the wife of the Minister.

What a wonderful plot!

For some reason, upon hearing this, Hua Manlou felt a sense of helplessness mixed with a touch of relief.

When he heard that the third young lady had met the current most handsome prince in the world who was hiding his identity and came from a foreign country, he seemed to be able to ignore logic and find the pattern in the story.