“Street racing?”
Lan Yucheng felt as though she had misheard. Was this petite girl, a head shorter than her, actually suggesting they go street racing?
This… could this be right?
Seeing Lan Yucheng’s lack of response, Qing Xinxue pouted unhappily.
“Sister Cheng, are you not going to keep your promise?”
“Of course, I’ll keep it! Let’s go, Xiao Xue, take me street racing.”
Upon hearing this, Qing Xinxue’s brows immediately relaxed. She grabbed Lan Yucheng’s hand and excitedly pulled her outside.
Watching Qing Xinxue’s exhilarated expression, Lan Yucheng first let out a sigh of relief.
If she had lowered the favorability rating right from the start, it would have been difficult to progress later, let alone achieve a “perfect capture.”
Dismissing these thoughts, Lan Yucheng refocused her gaze on Qing Xinxue, who was waiting by the elevator doors.
She began to estimate Qing Xinxue’s favorability toward her.
‘Why does it feel… not very high?’
Qing Xinxue was indeed enthusiastic; there was no denying that. However, a feeling told her that this enthusiasm… felt a little suspicious!
Before she could ponder it further, the Little Sprite from earlier reappeared before her.
Everything around them seemed to pause.
[Xiao Chenzi! The新手礼包 (Newbie Gift Pack) is definitely useless to you, but I think, for a perfect capture, I have something better.]
Lan Yucheng instinctively wanted to refuse. At the same time, she was quite displeased with this entity that was supposedly her system.
Why was it calling her “Xiao Chenzi”? Had she agreed to that?
But when the Little Sprite produced the item, Lan Yucheng’s words caught in her throat.
A pink and white piece of broken jade floated silently in the air.
[This is Qing Xinxue’s “heart illness.” It will have a crucial role at certain moments.]
Lan Yucheng silently accepted it, tucking it into her bag.
“This thing…”
She instinctively started to ask a question.
[Capture failure… will result in death.]
The Little Sprite’s tone suddenly became serious.
[Once a perfect capture begins, it cannot be ended prematurely. One misstep, and you will die.]
Lan Yucheng gasped, sucking in a cold breath. If she had just rejected Qing Xinxue and her favorability had dropped, would that have counted as a capture failure? Wouldn’t that mean…
[A failed capture will lead to a decrease in favorability.]
The Little Sprite seemed to know what she was thinking and added a clarification.
The purpose and effect of this broken jade were now glaringly obvious.
It could keep her from dying!
However, it likely wouldn’t work many times. Otherwise, she could just keep making mistakes, and eventually succeed by sheer persistence.
“Thank you.”
Lan Yucheng felt the broken jade in her bag grow heavier. Such a life-saving item surely wasn’t abundant.
[It’s what I should do. Call me if you need anything.]
With that, the Little Sprite vanished again, and time resumed its normal flow.
“Sister Cheng, can I sleep at your place tonight?” Qing Xinxue suddenly turned, looking at her expectantly.
“Alright, but you’ll have to sleep on the sofa.” Lan Yucheng immediately slipped back into character, lightly poking Qing Xinxue’s forehead as she spoke earnestly.
“Hmph, sofa it is then.”
Though Qing Xinxue grumbled, the affection in her eyes was undeniable, practically overflowing.
Just then, the elevator doors opened, and she pulled Lan Yucheng inside.
As soon as they entered, Qing Xinxue leaned her head against Lan Yucheng, hugging her arm and murmuring things like how much she liked her and how good she smelled.
Such actions caused other people in the elevator to occasionally glance over, sizing them up.
Qing Xinxue, of course, didn’t care; she even hugged tighter.
But Lan Yucheng *did* care.
After all, she hadn’t left her home in five years. She was naturally a bit socially anxious, and being stared at by so many people undoubtedly made her uncomfortable.
Yet, she couldn’t possibly tell Qing Xinxue to stop, could she? What if the favorability dropped?
So, she dared not speak, dared not move. She could only silently pray in her heart for the elevator to reach their floor quickly!
Meanwhile, Qing Xinxue felt something strange. Her Sister Cheng seemed very nervous. Yet, in her memories, Lan Yucheng had never been nervous about anything. Was it because of her?
Had Lan Yucheng still not forgiven her?
Thinking this, Qing Xinxue quietly released her grip and moved a little further away.
“Why did you let go?”
Lan Yucheng turned her head to look, noticing that Qing Xinxue’s complexion was unusually poor, even hinting at tears.
‘No? What happened? I didn’t do anything that could have lowered her favorability, did I? Could doing nothing also be a mistake?’
By now, only the two of them remained in the elevator. Lan Yucheng glanced at the floor number, then silently pulled Qing Xinxue in front of her.
“Why are you about to cry?”
“Ugh… I’m sorry.”
Qing Xinxue’s sudden apology startled Lan Yucheng.
Had she done something terrible to her? Was it something in the elevator, or something she didn’t know about?
‘Damn, she’s playing a knowledge gap game with me.’
Lan Yucheng immediately called for the Little Sprite, but there was no response. This delay, however, only solidified Qing Xinxue’s belief that Lan Yucheng hadn’t forgiven her.
From merely on the verge of tears, she began to sob softly.
“No, don’t cry!”
Lan Yucheng was flustered; she truly had no idea what to do. As for her gaming experience… there wasn’t enough time to think about all that now. She regretted not taking that Newbie Gift Pack.
“Sister Cheng, I… I really didn’t mean it.”
“I know. Don’t cry first. Weren’t you going to take me street racing?” Lan Yucheng tried to change the subject.
“Oh, right, I’m taking Sister Cheng street racing.”
It was unclear whether Qing Xinxue genuinely didn’t care or was just pretending. At Lan Yucheng’s words, she actually stopped crying.
“Let’s just have fun today. Why think so much?” Lan Yucheng said, wiping her tears away.
“Mhm, I’ll listen to Sister Cheng.”
Qing Xinxue instantly reverted to the familiar self Lan Yucheng knew. She once again linked arms with Lan Yucheng, calling her “Sister” repeatedly.
Lan Yucheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, she decided that she would memorize every piece of information about each capture target! If she dared to treat this like a game now, she would probably fail the capture and collapse dead in the next second.
****
They quickly arrived at the basement. Qing Xinxue stepped out, pointing to a black motorcycle not far away. Lan Yucheng followed her gaze.
It was indeed cool, but there was a problem. Was this motorcycle… a bit too big?
Qing Xinxue led her to the motorcycle and handed her the keys.
“Sister Cheng! I’m leaving it to you today!”
Lan Yucheng stared blankly at the keys in her palm.
*She* was supposed to do the street racing?
To be honest, she did enjoy street racing, but only from first-person videos online. With no preparation whatsoever, she was expected to race?
And there was one crucial detail: she couldn’t even ride a bicycle!
Was she supposed to skip walking and running and go straight to flying?
She couldn’t possibly refuse, could she?
‘Isn’t this just a setup for me?’
Lan Yucheng seriously suspected the game was specifically targeting her. What kind of galgame had this level of difficulty in its newbie stage?
“Alright then.”
Lan Yucheng, at 165cm tall, just managed to sit on it. She gripped the handlebars, preparing to treat a dead horse as if it were alive. Now, she could only rely on her system!