The fervent entanglement and Qing Xinxue’s promise on the rooftop, like a potent shot of adrenaline, surged through Lan Yucheng’s near-shattered body. Despair hadn’t vanished; instead, it had been forged into a cold, unyielding resolve.
Weeping and pleading were the weapons of the weak. She, Lan Yucheng, would be the hunter, not the hunted. To return to Xiao Xue’s embrace, she would willingly descend into any abyss, don any mask.
Su Yiyi’s gentle world was no longer a fragile bubble to be delicately maintained in her eyes. Instead, it was a ‘mission scenario’ that demanded thorough analysis, infiltration, and ultimate control.
This time, she wouldn’t be the clumsy actress; she would become the director pulling strings from the shadows.
“System.”
She returned to her empty, cold home and locked the door. Her voice was utterly calm, without a ripple, a stark contrast to the frenzy she had displayed on the rooftop moments before.
[I’m here.]
Little Sprite’s voice remained languid, yet it seemed to hold a hint of imperceptible… interest? As if anticipating her next move.
“I need help.”
Lan Yucheng walked to the window, pulling back a corner of the curtain. Her gaze landed precisely on the lit window of Su Yiyi’s apartment across the way. The light was warm, yet it failed to illuminate the chill in her eyes.
“I need to know everything about Su Yiyi. Not just a rough background outline, but every single detail. Her daily routine, her preferences, her fears, her relationships, the hidden desires and weaknesses deep within her heart.”
[Oh?]
The system seemed to perk up. [Finally planning to seriously strategize? But, a reminder, over-reliance on external information might affect your mission rating…]
“Rating?”
Lan Yucheng curved her lips into an arc devoid of warmth. “That’s your concern. I only want results. The most efficient way. Tell me, what can you do?”
[Tsk, fine. Given your… unusual performance in the previous phase, and the severe impact of your current mental state on mission completion, this system can temporarily enable ‘Deep Observation’ auxiliary permissions.]
Little Sprite snapped its fingers. [Permissions unlocked. You can directly access Su Yiyi’s ‘Basic Behavior Pattern Database,’ ‘Real-time Location Tag,’ and ‘Shallow Emotional Fluctuation Monitoring’ through your consciousness. More in-depth information requires a boost in favorability or the triggering of specific plot points.]
That was enough.
Lan Yucheng closed her eyes, her consciousness sinking into a cold stream of data. No longer vague textual descriptions, but a concrete torrent of information:
[Target: Su Yiyi]
[Basic Behavior Patterns]:
*Waking: Weekdays 6:30 AM ± 5 minutes, Weekends 7:45 AM ± 15 minutes. Alarm ringtone is a soothing piano piece. Stays in bed for 5-10 minutes after waking, browsing phone news.
*Morning: 15 minutes for washing up, prefers mint toothpaste. Breakfast is consistently coffee (black, no sugar or milk) with whole wheat toast or a boiled egg, consuming 20 minutes. Listens to financial radio simultaneously.
*Commute: Drives, fixed route, prefers classical music stations. Commute time approximately 35 minutes (without traffic).
*Work: Project Manager at a design firm. Cubicle by the window. Frequent use of office software and frequency analysis… (a vast data stream flashed by)
*Lunch Break: 12:00-13:00. Usually brings lunch (mostly vegetarian), or purchases from the salad shop downstairs. Occasionally dines with two specific female colleagues (social frequency analysis…).
*Evening: End-of-work time varies significantly, average 6:45 PM. Stops at a regular supermarket on the way home for groceries (shopping list preference analysis…). Cooks dinner herself, taking about 40 minutes. Post-dinner habits: Tuesdays and Thursdays gym (yoga/jogging), Wednesdays online painting class, Friday evenings usually social activities (frequency and contacts analysis…), Mondays, Saturdays, and Sundays at home (reading/watching movies/organizing).
*Bedtime: Usually before 11:00 PM, reads a physical book before sleep (recent book list…) or listens to sleep-aid music. Lights out 11:15 PM ± 10 minutes.
[Real-time Location Tag]: (A light dot showed Su Yiyi moving in her living room at home)
[Current Emotional Fluctuation]: Stable, slightly fatigued (Index: 2.1/10).
Lan Yucheng opened her eyes, a flash of data-like light seemingly passing through the depths of her pupils. She walked to her desk and pulled out a brand-new notebook, completely devoid of personal marks. Opening the first page, she wrote the title in neat, almost rigid handwriting: ‘Su Yiyi Observation Log’.
She didn’t start recording immediately. Instead, she spent three full hours absorbing, memorizing, and understanding all the basic data provided by the system, like a sponge. She wasn’t just reading; she was dissecting. She broke down Su Yiyi’s life into time modules, behavioral units, and preference parameters. She wanted Su Yiyi’s image to transform from a vague ‘gentle neighbor’ into a complex model composed of countless predictable and manipulable variables.
At 6:25 AM, Lan Yucheng was already silently standing behind her own curtains, peering through the slats of the blinds towards the opposite building. Precisely at 6:30 AM, the light in Su Yiyi’s bedroom flickered on. Lan Yucheng could even imagine her reaching out to turn off the alarm, lazily turning over in bed.
She recorded in her notebook: “Day 1, 6:30, bedroom light on. Consistent with basic pattern.”
She watched Su Yiyi appear in the kitchen. Separated by distance and glass, she couldn’t hear any sound, but she could see her skillfully brewing coffee and toasting bread. Lan Yucheng’s gaze was like a precise scanner, recording the angle at which she held her cup, the subtle expressions on her face while eating toast, and even the duration of her occasional stares out the window.
“Breakfast took 18 minutes, 2 minutes less than average. Perhaps due to yesterday’s conflict, appetite slightly reduced?” She analyzed calmly, her pen never stopping.
When Su Yiyi left for work, Lan Yucheng didn’t follow her out. The system’s real-time tag showed her moving. Lan Yucheng used this time to ‘optimize’ her own environment. She put away all items in her home that might displease Su Yiyi or remind her of yesterday’s conflict.
She adjusted the angle of her sofa so that the sunlight could better illuminate the usual sitting spot, making it appear more ‘warm’. She even bought the same book Su Yiyi had recently read, according to the system’s information, and casually placed it prominently on her coffee table.
This wasn’t preparation to welcome a friend; it was setting up a more appealing and secure ‘observation point’ and ‘interaction field’.
In the evening, Su Yiyi’s car drove back into the complex. Lan Yucheng’s heart subtly accelerated, not from nervousness or guilt, but from the excitement of an experiment beginning. She watched Su Yiyi carry her shopping bags upstairs, open her door, and close it. Lights illuminated one by one.
Lan Yucheng didn’t immediately seek an excuse to approach, as she might have before. She waited patiently. According to the pattern, Su Yiyi would first change into loungewear, organize her purchases, and then prepare dinner.
Only at 7:30 PM did Lan Yucheng pick up her phone, carefully weighing her words. She didn’t call; instead, she sent a message. The tone conveyed just the right amount of fatigue, apology, and a hint of imperceptible vulnerability. She completely avoided mentioning yesterday’s conflict, only apologizing for her ‘loss of control’ and ‘strange words’ from the previous day, and thanking Su Yiyi for her past care, stating that she needed a little time to ‘be alone’.
After sending the message, she stared intently at the [Emotional Fluctuation Monitoring] interface on the system. The index fluctuated slightly from 2.1 to 2.8 (puzzlement, perhaps with a hint of relief?), then slowly dropped back to 2.3. Su Yiyi replied, her tone gentle, expressing understanding and telling her to rest well.
Lan Yucheng’s lips curled into a cold smile. Sure enough, maintaining distance and showing weakness was more effective than relentless pursuit. She had successfully conveyed the signal of ‘I need space,’ which would, in turn, make Su Yiyi lower her guard, perhaps even feeling a subtle sense of guilt due to the previous ‘rejection’.