Chapter 47

999 points?
Full?
The perfection hit her like lightning out of a clear sky. Yan Xiao went completely blank.
She stayed frozen, still holding Qiu Li’s squished-up face in her hands.
After a long moment, Qiu Li lifted a hand and snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, mumbling through his mangled cheeks, “Alright, alright, I surrender, mercy”
Yan Xiao: “…”
She blinked, looked at him, looked at her hands, then back at him again.
Then she released him, stiff as a robot, and slid off to the side of the couch, still dazed.
At first, Qiu Li thought she was faking, just playing around, but when he saw her blank expression, he realized something was really off. He sat up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said quietly.
He pressed his lips together. “Still worried about the exam?”
Yan Xiao bit her lip and said nothing.
Qiu Li smiled softly. “Don’t worry. You’ll do great. My instincts are never wrong.”
Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
The points were maxed. She didn’t even have to wait for the results anymore. After all those years of effort, she’d accidentally triggered the final stage, she should have felt elated.
But instead of joy, all she felt was confusion and a strange emptiness.
Full points…does that mean I can go back now?
It was a question she meant only for herself, no one else could answer it.
But 007, more excited than she was, blurted out an answer before she could even finish the thought:
[Yes!!!]
Yan Xiao fell silent again.
[Aren’t you happy? You maxed out! Completely maxed out!]
Still no response.
The system babbled excitedly in her head for a while before finally quieting down. When it did, Yan Xiao let out a low sigh and asked, “If it’s full, then why haven’t I gone back yet?”
She felt lost, and she didn’t even understand why. Hadn’t she been waiting for this moment all along? If she could finally return home, shouldn’t she be overjoyed? Why… wasn’t she?
007: [Huh? Good question. Let me check the process.]
Her mind finally fell quiet. The silence steadied her a bit too.
Just as she was about to ask again, a warm hand suddenly pressed against her forehead.
“What’s wrong? Do you feel sick?”
Her entire body tensed instantly. After a long moment, she casually lifted her hand and moved his away. “No! You can’t tell temperature accurately just by touch.”
“Mm.” Qiu Li’s gaze lingered on her face. She clearly looked troubled but was trying to act fine. “Wanna play a game?”
When you’re absorbed in a game, time flies. It’d keep her from worrying too much, and before she knew it, it would be time for the results.
Yan Xiao didn’t really want to play, she was still waiting for the system’s reply. Usually, 007 responded instantly, even with complicated procedures, never taking more than thirty seconds. But this time, there’d been nothing. Not a sound.
A twinge of unease tightened in her chest.
What if the system’s broken? What if I can’t go back?
[No! Not broken!]
007’s voice suddenly popped up again, full of confidence. [Everything’s normal.]
“Then why am I still here?” she asked suspiciously.
[There must be a timing condition. When it’s the right moment, you’ll be sent back automatically. Please be patient.]
“...What?”
[Please be patient.]
Yan Xiao frowned. “Don’t tell me I have to wait until the day the original character was supposed to die?”
[No one knows what the ‘right moment’ is. Only when the system detects it will it activate the transfer immediately.]
“What kind of trash system is that?! That’s so scammy!”
007 sputtered for a bit before mumbling, [Not trash. Not scammy.]
Yan Xiao couldn’t even be bothered to argue anymore. A system that couldn’t give a straight answer, how was that not trash?
007 sulked into silence.
Between that silence and the strange emptiness in her chest, Yan Xiao felt restless. There wasn’t a trace of joy in her heart.
From the drawer, Qiu Li pulled out a controller. “What do you want to play?”
Yan Xiao, still cursing her system, looked up at him. “Boxing.”
The still-present 007: …
Qiu Li blinked. “Huh?”
“Boxing,” she repeated firmly.
“Alright,” he said immediately, opening the game and handing her the controller. “Let’s go.”
They played straight through the afternoon, and most of the evening.
By the time Yan Xiao’s head was spinning and her eyes were seeing stars, she tossed the controller and collapsed onto the carpet. It was almost eleven o’clock.
She peeked at the clock, then squinted at Qiu Li, who was still sitting there smiling at her. “It’s almost time to check the results.”
Qiu Li kept leisurely moving his in-game character, throwing slow, lazy punches as if demonstrating something. “Mm,” he hummed in reply, then added, “In two months, we’ll be going to college together.”
It was such an ordinary sentence, but it made her heart stop.
She didn’t answer.
When he turned his head and met her gaze, she quickly looked away and changed the subject. “I want ice cream.”
“It’s too late.” His tone was firm, though he said it with a small smile. “No.”
Yan Xiao: “…”
Qiu Li paused, then said, “Wait here.”
He got up and went to the kitchen.
Yan Xiao lay there staring at the ceiling, stewing. When exactly is this so-called ‘right moment’?
007: [The exact conditions vary for each host, so it’s hard to determine. You see, depending on your personal circumstances, the moment could,]
“Shut up!”
007 made a few fizzing sounds, then disappeared.
A few minutes later, Qiu Li returned with a glass in hand. “Here.”
It was milk, blended with strawberries and a sprinkle of sugar, sweet and fragrant.
Yan Xiao sat up, took a sip, and suddenly remembered something.
She glanced at Qiu Li. He was eating slices of cantaloupe, and when he noticed her looking, he arched a perfect eyebrow.
“..You said before that you don’t like milk. Why’s that?” she asked.
His hands stilled for a second before he smiled lightly. “I just don’t. Maybe I’m picky.”
He couldn’t exactly tell her it was because of Qiu Zhan. He didn’t want to drag any of the Qiu family’s mess into her world.
Yan Xiao took another sip of the sweet, creamy drink. “Then you’re definitely picky.”
She didn’t bring up what he’d once said, that if it was from her, he’d drink anything.
Just as she was drinking,
[Ding!]
Yan Xiao: Huh?
She blinked and stared at Qiu Li, then shouted in her head, What’s going on now?!
She’d already maxed out his points! How was this petty villain still fluctuating like a stock market?!
007: [Once a value hits the recorded maximum, it can still increase beyond that, but the specific numbers won’t display anymore.]
It was like a messaging app, once unread messages exceeded ninety-nine, it just showed “99+.” She understood the logic, but not why Qiu Li’s favorability was still going up.
What’s wrong with this man? How many points has he gained tonight already?
As both of them quietly waited for midnight, each lost in their own thoughts, the clock finally struck twelve.
Even though she’d already maxed out her points and wasn’t supposed to care anymore, Yan Xiao’s heart started pounding all over again.
This year, she’d given it everything, blood, sweat, and sleepless nights. Even if she was going to vanish in the next second, she had to know how it all turned out.
“Hurry, hurry!” she urged, sitting cross-legged beside Qiu Li on the carpet, practically glued to the computer screen. “Are we in? Is it loading? Can you see it yet?”
Then, the website crashed.
Yan Xiao: “…”
Her family had offered that morning to check through their internal contacts, but she’d refused.
It wouldn’t feel the same, she’d said, as waiting for the official site to refresh with everyone else.
Now she regretted everything.
Just as she was about to call her father,
Qiu Li’s calm voice came from beside her.
“It’s up,” he said.
Yan Xiao froze. “How much?”
“Seve-”
“I’ll see for myself!” she cut him off and shoved her face right up to the screen.
The first thing she saw was the total score: 722. Provincial rank: 1st.
Yan Xiao: “!!!”
She did it!
Clenching her fists, she couldn’t hold back a loud, triumphant cheer. “Yes!”
Qiu Li watched her two tiny fists pump in the air, his smile softening, eyes glowing with warmth. How can she be this cute?
[Ding!]
Yan Xiao: “???”
This manipulative villain, unbelievable!
She turned to glare at him, but froze when she met his gaze. His eyes were shining with laughter.
“Congratulations,” he said softly. “My little princess really is the best.”
Yan Xiao: “…”
Too smooth. Too dangerous. What was she supposed to do with that?
She stared at him for a long moment before finally coughing and changing the subject. “What about you? Check yours!”
His smile didn’t fade as he turned to the computer. He looked perfectly calm, not worried in the slightest.
Ten minutes past midnight, the site finally stopped lagging.
When his result appeared, Qiu Li paused, eyes flickering in surprise.
Yan Xiao leaned closer. “???”
She craned her neck to see,
Total score: 722. Provincial rank: 1st.
Yan Xiao: “!”
[Ding!]
Yan Xiao: “!!”

Author’s Note:
Xiao-xiao: We tied?! That doesn’t count as beating you! Hmph! (╯^╰)
Qiu Li: We tied. How perfect. (^▽^)