Extra Chapter 1: This Year's Male Lead Can't Carry the Team
After the previous "bathing in the lotus pond" incident, Su Rou did not give up.
After all, she was bound to the "Childbirth Strategy System," and if she failed in her strategy, she would be eliminated by the system.
In order to survive, Su Rou gritted her teeth and spent 500 points to exchange for a [Forced Encounter Card].
A few days later, at the waterside pavilion of the Regent's Palace.
In the bright spring sunshine, Pei Yunjing was feeding the fish with Tang Li.
Tang Li held fish food in her hand, and Pei Yunjing held Tang Li's hand in his; the atmosphere was just right.
Big White was lying on the grass by the pavilion, sunbathing its belly and snoring loudly.
Just then, a figure in pure white, carrying a guqin, appeared "just in time" outside the pavilion, as delicate as a willow swaying in the breeze.
This time, Su Rou learned her lesson. Instead of rushing forward, she struck what she considered the most poignant pose, her fingers plucking the strings of her zither. Before she could speak, tears streamed down her face as she sadly recited:
"If life were only as beautiful as our first meeting, why would the autumn wind bring sorrow to the painted fan..."
This is a timeless masterpiece by Nalan Xingde. In countless time-travel novels, once this poem is recited, the male protagonist will inevitably be captivated by the female protagonist's talent and amazed by her extraordinary abilities.
After Su Rou finished reading, she looked at Pei Yunjing with deep affection, waiting for the classic line, "Who are you? How can you have such talent?"
However, Pei Yunjing didn't stop feeding the fish, and didn't even turn his head.
He merely frowned slightly and said to Tang Li beside him with a disdainful tone:
"Where did this crazy woman come from? This language is pretentious, affected, and doesn't even follow proper tones. It's utter rubbish."
Tang Li: "Pfft—!"
She almost shook all the fish food in her hand into the water.
Brother! That's Nalan Xingde! Although the timeline is off, your assessment is really harsh! But... well done!
Su Rou's hand froze instantly, and a string snapped with a "pop".
The system in her mind emitted a buzzing electrical sound:
[Warning! Warning! Target's aesthetic sense is abnormal! The "talented woman" persona strategy has failed!]
[Please activate Plan B immediately: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!]
Su Rou gritted her teeth. It's okay, she still has a backup plan!
She put down her guqin and, as if by magic, took out a small copper pot from the food box behind her, with charcoal burning underneath.
A spicy aroma wafted out instantly.
"Your Highness..."
Su Rou forced a smile, carried the copper pot forward, and thus demonstrated her virtuousness:
"I know I am not very talented, but this dish is a secret recipe from my hometown, called 'Spicy Hot Pot.' A bite of it on this chilly spring day is the perfect way to warm you up..."
She looked at Pei Yunjing with confidence.
People in ancient times definitely never ate hot pot! This kind of cross-generational taste stimulation would absolutely make him unable to resist!
Pei Yunjing finally turned his head and glanced at the pot bubbling with red oil.
He sniffed, and his overloaded sense of smell allowed him to instantly analyze the ingredients.
"Too much chili, not enough Sichuan peppercorns, and the butter wasn't rendered properly."
Pei Yunjing, expressionless, gave an extremely professional critique: "The base sauce was overcooked and has a burnt smell. And..."
He curled his lip in disdain, then turned to look at Tang Li, his eyes instantly softening:
"Compared to the 'nine-square grid' that my beloved concubine made last winter, this thing is practically dishwater."
He looked at Su Rou, his eyes suddenly turning cold: "This is your secret recipe? Are you trying to poison me?"
Su Rou: "..."
Her hands were trembling as she held the pot.
Why?! How would an ancient person know about the nine-square grid?! That doesn't make sense! The indigenous queen must have been wearing it too!
[Beep! Beep! Beep!]
The system in Su Rou's mind panicked completely:
[Warning! Warning! Target's taste buds are too sensitive! Food strategy failed!]
[Host! There's no other way! We have to use the ultimate item!]
[Do you want to use all remaining points to redeem the "Most Popular Aura (Extra Strength)"?]
Su Rou gritted her teeth and shouted in her mind: Exchange! Exchange now! I refuse to believe I can't win over this native man!
[Beep! Deducting points... Warning! Host's current points are negative! Insufficient points! Insufficient points!]
The system's cold, mechanical voice became shrill due to its anxiety.
Big White, who was sleeping on the grass, suddenly twitched his ears.
It couldn't understand what a system was, but its keen hearing caught the key word in the strange voice in Su Rou's mind—"integration".
Da Bai suddenly raised its huge tiger head, its dark green eyes filled with clear stupidity and greed, staring intently at Su Rou's head.
Points?
Big White tilted its head and let out a deafening inner voice:
What is that delicious food? Is it meat? Or bones?
Why do you have points but I don't? I want to earn points too!
Then, the king of beasts stood up, opened its blood-red maw, and let out a deafening roar at Su Rou and the system in her mind:
"roar--!!!"
Hand over your points! Or I'll bite you!
This shout startled Su Rou so much that she collapsed to the ground, slamming the hot pot she was holding onto the floor with a loud thud.
The system in her mind was even more terrified, displaying a jumbled mess of characters:
[Warning...Warning! A higher-dimensional being (tiger) has been detected demanding system currency!]
[Due to the inability to pay "points" to the tiger, a fatal error has occurred in the system logic! The system is currently frozen... forcibly restarting...]
[Forced activation of halo mode! A desperate measure!]
"Buzz—"
A crackling sound, audible only to Tang Li, flashed by.
Suddenly, an intense pink aura, invisible to the naked eye, erupted from Su Rou's body.
It was a blend of rose, musk, and some indescribably sweet scent—the legendary "charm aura."
For an ordinary man, this might be a fatal temptation. But for Pei Yunjing…
"vomit--!!!"
The regent, who had been sitting upright on the stone bench, suddenly turned pale, covered his mouth and nose, and let out a loud, earth-shattering retching sound.
"What...what is this smell?!"
Pei Yunjing's eyes were red from the smoke, and the veins on his forehead were bulging, as if someone had stuffed a basket of rotten eggs into his nose and stirred them.
"How can it have such a disgusting smell?!"
He pointed at Su Rou, whose face was full of anticipation (though she was terrified of the tiger), and who was about to receive the male protagonist's embrace. His voice became strange and angry because he was holding his breath:
"Did you fall into a cesspool?! Or haven't you had a bath in centuries?!"
"It stinks! It stinks so bad!"
Su Rou: "???"
system:"???"
Tang Li was laughing so hard she was lying face down on the stone table and couldn't get up.
She laughed and slapped the table:
"Hahahaha...points...the tiger wants to eat points...rotten eggs...hahahaha..."
"Guards! Guards!"
Pei Yunjing couldn't stand it anymore; the smell made him want to kill someone: "Throw this stinking woman out of here!"
"Where to throw it? Still in the lotus pond?" Han Zheng rushed in with his guards and asked familiarly.
"No!"
Pei Yunjing roared:
"Even the water in the lotus pond can't wash away this smell!"
"Throw her into the pigsty! Throw her into the stinkiest pigsty! Let the smell of pig manure cover up her stench! Don't let her stench ruin my queen!"
"yes!"
The fierce guards swarmed forward, grabbed the completely bewildered Su Rou, and ran quickly toward the pigsty.
In the wind, the electronic sound of a system crash could be heard:
Mission failed! Mission failed! This year's male lead is hopeless! I want to go home!
Big White was lying in the grass, licking his paws with a regretful expression: [Tch... stingy thing, won't even give Tiger a single point.]
Tang Li wiped away the tears that had come out of her laughter, looked at Pei Yunjing who looked pale and was still gagging, and went over to pat him on the back.
"Your Highness has suffered."
Pei Yunjing hugged her back, buried his face in her chest, and took a deep breath of her refreshing herbal scent, only then did he feel alive again.
"after……"
He said in a weak voice:
"These assassins who carry 'poison gas' on their bodies are simply shot to death with a hail of arrows. It's terrifying."
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