“…Hmm.” The man responded vaguely, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Gu Qingqiu reached out and pinched the man's cheek hard: "I'm giving you one last chance. Confess honestly! Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"
The man looked down and saw Gu Qingqiu's wide eyes. For some reason, he felt that she looked like a little kitten who thought she was very fierce.
"Ask whatever you want to know."
Gu Qingqiu pondered for a moment: "Those systems, such as the system that makes the villainous female supporting character an obstacle in the protagonist's love life, the system that makes the protagonist die if she doesn't get close to the male lead, and System No. 057, are they all controlled by you? Are they AIs you created?"
"Yes," the man admitted readily this time.
"What's the purpose?" Gu Qingqiu rubbed her fingers nervously. "...You're not going to tell me it's just for fun, are you?"
“…I’m sorry,” the man replied.
"You really think this is funny?" Gu Qingqiu felt a sinking feeling in her heart. Although her intuition told her that the man was lying, but...
"No!" the man immediately denied. He seemed to know that this might be his last chance. He closed his eyes, steeled his heart, and simply told the truth: "I just want you to fall in love with me, to experience what it feels like to be won over by you, to be cared for by you, and to be loved by you."
"What?" Gu Qingqiu was stunned; she hadn't expected to hear such an answer.
The man's eyes dimmed slightly: "I saw it. You had dinner with three different men on the weekends of the past two weeks."
"Uh..." Gu Qingqiu's eyes instantly became a little embarrassed: "My relatives and friends insisted on introducing me to blind dates, and I couldn't refuse, so I had to go. But I made it clear to them that I am currently working hard on my career and have no intention of dating."
"Oh, you don't want to be in a relationship..." Hearing this explanation, the man felt even more upset instead of comforted.
"No... oh... never mind... we'll talk about this later!" Gu Qingqiu stammered for a while before continuing to ask questions: "Didn't you say you wanted to experience what it's like to be conquered by me, cared for by me, and loved by me? Then why did you give me a female supporting character system in the first place?"
The man's eyes darted around: "I was afraid of making it too obvious right away, afraid of arousing your suspicion. Besides, the Female Supporting Character System isn't entirely useless. Didn't you feel that the Female Supporting Character System didn't assign you any tasks? You have a very easy life every day, and you can do whatever you want after acting for a while? I'm using it to collect information about your daily routine, dietary preferences, and so on. With this information, I can design the male lead's image to suit your tastes."
"...Are you stupid?" Gu Qingqiu was shocked and could only come to this conclusion.
“Who says otherwise?” The man chuckled bitterly. “Because of you, I’ve probably done every stupid thing in the world.”
Gu Qingqiu looked at the man's handsome, slender profile and smelled the faint sandalwood perfume on him: "That's true, you're obviously smuggling in your own ideas. Actually, every male lead has a bit of your personality in him, right?"
"Yes, otherwise why would I go through all this trouble?" the man sighed. "I think if you can fall in love with a man, and I happen to have the qualities of that man, wouldn't the chances of you falling in love with me be a little higher? If you can fall in love with many men, but I have the qualities that you would fall in love with many men, wouldn't the chances of you falling in love with me be even greater?"
“You really are…” Gu Qingqiu suddenly sighed, “If that’s the case, why did you lie to me in the first place? Do you know what I was thinking back then? You approached me with an identity that didn’t exist, which meant that we were destined not to have a formal relationship.”
The man fell silent. Both of them knew at that moment that Gu Qingqiu was not talking about the story that happened in the system world, but about a few years ago.
At that time, Gu Qingqiu was not yet a corporate slave, but a real female college student. The man was the same, except that he was two years older than Gu Qingqiu and came from the neighboring university. He was not exactly her senior, and they were not in the same major. It was just that the two universities were very close to each other, so students from both schools often interacted, and the schools often organized official social events.
Over time, the two became acquainted and added each other as friends. The man told Gu Qingqiu that his name was "Zou Jingxi," so Gu Qingqiu called him "Senior Zou."
Zou Jingxi was very handsome, so he naturally became the center of attention at the event. In addition, his expensive clothes and excellent conversation made him the object of pursuit for all the girls in the school. Every time he participated in an event, many girls would rush to attend.
Gu Qingqiu naturally admired outstanding and handsome boys, but she wasn't as enthusiastic as other girls. She knew very well that compared to Zou Jingxi, she was just too ordinary. Although she was pretty and could be called a beauty, she wasn't at the level of a school beauty.
Needless to say, her family's financial situation was not good. Although they were not poor, they could only be considered moderately well-off. Her parents were divorced and had remarried. After Gu Qingqiu went to university, they could only take turns sending her living expenses. This is why Gu Qingqiu had to frequently participate in various campus activities, which would be more effective in applying for scholarships and outstanding student representatives.
But the transformation happened during one event.
It was a seaside camping activity, originally organized by Gu Qingqiu's own school, but many students from the neighboring university also wanted to come, so the student council agreed to their request, although they naturally had to pay for it themselves.
Gu Qingqiu wasn't exactly a loner; she just always liked to be alone and quiet after an event. So, in the evening, she took off her shoes and walked barefoot on the beach, feeling the sand still warm from the sun.
A few girls' laughter came from afar. Gu Qingqiu turned her head and saw Zou Jingxi surrounded by several girls. He had a gentle smile on his face, but when he met Gu Qingqiu's gaze, he suddenly froze and even the smile on his lips faded a little.
Gu Qingqiu felt that perhaps her gaze had disturbed them, so she smiled apologetically and continued to walk along the sand, following the coastline. She walked further and further away, almost away from the crowd, until she could no longer hear the people talking.
As darkness fell, the sea breeze brought Gu Qingqiu a sense of comfort. She stretched and felt a little listless. Suddenly, the tide seemed to be rising, rising from Gu Qingqiu's ankles to her calves.
To be honest, this was indeed Gu Qingqiu's fault. She underestimated the power of nature. She thought that how could a nearly 100-pound adult be swept away by a few waves?
Moreover, the seawater was icy cold, which made her feel quite comfortable. She even thought about changing into her swimsuit and swimming around for a bit. But suddenly, a big wave surged towards Gu Qingqiu, directly wetting her clothes at the chest. She finally realized that something was wrong, so she tried to turn around and walk towards the shore. But the moment she turned around, another big wave surged from behind, like a giant hand pushing her down into the seawater.
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