Chapter 41 Chapter 41: Favorability 99
Qi Shaoyou spent the afternoon discussing with 0527 which functions to enable and how to fool the judgment system.
They each managed to figure out an escape button by exploiting a bug in the system.
Upon succeeding, 0527 felt incredibly accomplished for the first time. She wasn't just a gamer! She was actually quite useful to the experts!
Qi Shaoyou found her smugness somewhat amusing.
"Shaoyou, I'm back." Liang Man pushed open the door and entered, carrying some things in her hand.
Qi Shaoyou quickly went to greet her and took Manman's bag and other items from her hands. After putting the bag down, Qi Shaoyou naturally placed the other things on the coffee table.
As soon as she saw these things, she knew they were brought to her by Sister Manman.
"You bought so much stuff?" Qi Shaoyou looked at the things in his hands, then at Sister Manman.
"There's not much there. Open the rest and see for yourself."
After Sister Manman finished speaking, Qi Shaoyou became curious.
What is this? Qi Shaoyou first opened the ice cream that Sister Manman brought back, eating it while opening the gift box with one hand.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Liang Man looked at her flustered state, a smile appearing in her eyes. She reached out and took the things, slowly unpacking them.
With someone's help, Qi Shaoyou was finally able to properly enjoy the jasmine-scented ice cream that Sister Manman had brought her.
It must be said that the ice cream in her hand had a strong jasmine fragrance and was very sweet. Qi Shaoyou felt that his taste buds were extremely satisfied.
Once all the outer boxes were removed, the contents inside were finally revealed.
Liang Man was telling the truth; she didn't bring many things, only a small, elegant cake.
This is a cake from the Starry Sky brand, a French brand made with the finest ingredients, and it's not cheap. A tiny cake, about the size of a palm, costs three thousand. When Qi Shaoyou is broke, she feels like she's being robbed!
Now that he has money, Qi Shaoyou will only spend it on playing games or other things, and will not buy this cake.
What moved Qi Shaoyou the most was not the amount of money Liang Man spent on the cake. The Starry Sky shop was located in the opposite direction from where Sister Man was going today, requiring a long detour to get there to buy her the cake.
"Why did you buy me a cake?" Qi Shaoyou couldn't help but smile. She was really happy, not only because she could eat a delicious cake, but also because Sister Manman was willing to spend time for her.
"You bribed Shaoyou with just a cake?" Liang Man smiled and gently tapped Qi Shaoyou's nose.
"That won't do. Children will get tricked and kidnapped if they go out like that."
Liang Man's words were full of teasing, and Qi Shaoyou felt like a real child.
"I won't," Qi Shaoyou retorted, taking out the knife and fork that came with the cake and cutting a small piece for Sister Manman. She knew it was Sister Manman's birthday today, but Sister Fang had said that Sister Manman could eat a little cake, but she hated birthday cake the most.
Let her handle it then.
"Little glutton." Liang Man watched as the child quickly finished his popsicle and started digging into the cake. She shook her head; sure enough, Qi Shaoyou was still just a child at heart.
Thinking of this, Liang Man's heart couldn't help but clench again.
[It's gone down! Sister Manman's level of evil has dropped! 80! Now it's only 80!] 0527 was overjoyed, almost ready to sing a song on the spot. However, considering that her voice was closely related to Broken Gong's, 0527 chose to play "Good Luck" on the spot.
Qi Shaoyou took a bite of the cake, and while it was delicious, he was also overjoyed to hear the good news, which brought tears to his eyes.
"Is it really that delicious? Are you going to cry?" Liang Man took only one bite of her cake and saw that the child was already speechless.
“When I picked you up, your birthday had already passed.” What Liang Man didn’t say was that she knew no one had celebrated Qi Shaoyou’s birthday at that time.
Her mother was bedridden, and her father was the same old Liang Man. Just like when Liang Man was a child, birthdays weren't a time for celebration, but just an ordinary day when she would get beaten. Therefore, the thing she hated most was birthday cake, which represented the happiness she could never have.
However, she celebrated her birthday this way and didn't want Qi Shaoyou to do the same.
Some people in the world have experienced bad things themselves and wish that everyone else had the same experience.
However, there are also people like Liang Man. Because she herself has experienced bad things, she tries her best to prevent those around her from experiencing the same misfortunes.
Therefore, Fang Yuan sometimes felt that Liang Man was so sincere that she didn't seem like a person from this world.
Upon learning that this was the reason, Qi Shaoyou felt a surge of emotions.
"Sister Manman, wait for me."
She put down the cake she was holding and ran into her room.
Looking at the teeth marks on the cake, Liang Man realized she was probably beyond redemption. She even found the cake with a bite taken by a child somewhat adorable.
Qi Shaoyou took a box out of the bedroom and placed it in Liang Man's hand.
"Today is November 10th, and Sister Fang Yuan told me it's your birthday. So, I wanted to give this to you."
"I was planning to give it to you at midnight today, but I was afraid of disturbing your sleep. Then I thought I'd give it to you after dinner, but you went out."
Liang Man had long forgotten that today was her birthday; she always listed December 10th as her birthday on all her social media accounts. The only person who knew her birthday was Fang Yuan.
"Thank you." Liang Man found it hard to describe her current emotions; her joy was uncontrollable and rampant, like that of a fawn.
Liang Man took apart the things in her hands; what Qi Shaoyou had given her was a white porcelain cup.
"Sister Manman, look at it against the light." Qi Shaoyou took her hand and adjusted the porcelain cup to a different angle.
After the light changed, Liang Man saw jasmine flowers appearing on the originally white porcelain cup.
"This cup is really hard to make, but luckily I have a natural talent and I can learn it in no time! That's how I was able to make it in time for your birthday!" Qi Shaoyou looked at Sister Manman with joy in his eyes.
“You’re with me all day, where do you find the time to do these things?” Liang Man’s heart seemed to bloom with tiny flowers, just like the porcelain cup.
This wasn't the most expensive gift she had ever received, but it was her favorite.
"I contacted the shopkeeper and then... sneaked out in the middle of the night..." Qi Shaoyou only started to feel guilty at this point.
"You need to get enough sleep from now on, you can't hurt your body like this, okay?"
"Thank you for the gift, Shaoyou. I really like it, Sister Manman." Liang Man put the porcelain cup back into the box, her eyes shining with a warm light.
She found it hard to describe her feelings at that moment. If she had to say something, it would be something like: she realized that she could celebrate her birthday just like everyone else and receive birthday gifts from people she liked.
During her student years and later her working life, Liang Man secretly envied others who received such loving gifts.
But she never looked forward to it, because her mother would always have a mental breakdown on her birthday and then everything would become painful.
Now, someone has gently broken this curse for her. In a very gentle way, they've shown her that she can have what she wants.
[Good news! The corruption level has dropped again! It's only 50 now!] 0527's joy lasted only two seconds before it faded.
[Bad news... My affection level is now 99.]
[I knew it! If you keep doing this, everyone's going to love you! I don't want to be a corporate slave!]
The collapse on May 27th shocked Qi Shaoyou...
What to do? These questions swirled in Qi Shaoyou's mind, but he had no clue what to do.
"Why aren't you eating?" Liang Man looked at the dazed child, picked up a spoon and fed Qi Shaoyou a bite.
Qi Shaoyou instantly snapped out of her daze; she couldn't afford to enjoy that kind of treatment right now.
"Eat up, I really like it." Qi Shaoyou smiled slightly, trying his best to act like nothing was wrong.
In this situation, even if she suddenly went crazy, I bet Sister Manman would just take her to see a Taoist priest or a doctor instead of disliking her.
An afternoon passed in the blink of an eye. After washing up, Qi Shaoyou lay on his soft four-piece bedding and prayed.
Yes, she prayed earnestly to God that she would not dream of Sister Manman again tonight.
After losing consciousness and then reappearing, all Qi Shaoyou could think was: God! You didn't treat her like your granddaughter at all!
She was hanging in a cave, and golden light was still emanating from the cave's exit... It's a cultivation novel; Sister Manman is so suited to be an immortal.
Qi Shaoyou has staked everything on this world; it absolutely belongs to Sister Manman.
Feeling utterly hopeless, Qi Shaoyou could only look around to relieve his depression.
This cave is different from the cold and dirty caves in cultivation novels. Except for the area where Qi Shaoyou was hung up, the rest of the cave is well-furnished.
The soft bed, the tea set and table, and the clothes rack—everything here looks like it was carefully selected.
Qi Shaoyou tried to struggle for a moment, and some sparks appeared at his fingertips, but they were eventually extinguished.
Well, it seems Sister Manman probably used something to restrict cultivation. The escape plan instantly failed, leaving Qi Shaoyou in a real bind.
【Or let me see if that escape button we tinkered with this afternoon works?】 After thinking it over, 0527 remembered the thing they made this afternoon.
[Stop, don't try it.] Qi Shaoyou had a headache.
The world of cultivation is different from other worlds; using these methods rashly might lead to discovery.
When the dream world collapses, this world will collapse along with it, and we'll both have to go back to work for the main system.
The thought of becoming a corporate slave again made Qi Shaoyou shake his head violently.
Upon hearing the terrifying consequences, 0527 decisively suppressed her thoughts. Work? She'd already lived a semi-retired life with the big boss; did he really expect her to obediently return to being a slave?
Impossible! 0527 would never take such a risk!
Even though he couldn't use what he had tinkered with that afternoon, Qi Shaoyou looked around at the things around him and was thinking about how to escape from here.
The dream world within this small world is fragile; once someone escapes, the dream's owner will awaken, and the dream world will cease to exist.
Unfortunately, Qi Shaoyou looked around but couldn't find anything sharp enough to pick the lock.
Before she could find anything, she heard footsteps outside.
【Maybe it's not Sister Manman?】0527's hope left Qi Shaoyou speechless.
Unfortunately, the wish made on May 27th did not come true, and the person who arrived was Liang Man. She was dressed in white, her eyes and brows were cold and aloof, and her usual gentle smile was gone.
"Shaoyou, are you not going to speak today either?"
The white dress turned black in the blink of an eye, and Liang Man's left eye corner was covered with intricate red patterns.
Qi Shaoyou: Oh no, we're doomed. Based on her limited knowledge of cultivation novels, she guessed that Liang Man's inner demons had surfaced.
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Qi Shaoyou: How come the favorability rating is already 99? [Clown] Does favorability rating and corruption value always have to be inversely proportional?
Author: What are you saying? [Eating popcorn] We can even rise together, sending love. [Dog head emoji]
Qi Shaoyou: Get out of here! [Cracks open]
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