Chapter 51

Yan Xiao stood there, completely petrified. It took her a long, long moment to even begin processing 007’s final words.
When her brain finally rebooted, she whispered in disbelief, What does “affection maxed out” even mean?
Ever eager to be unhelpful, 007 replied cheerfully: [It means he really, really likes you.]
Get. Lost. she hissed through clenched teeth.
007: […]
A warm, dry hand brushed against her forehead. The moment his skin touched hers, she jolted like she’d been shocked and instinctively backed away, her face still pale, eyes wide with disbelief.
Her reaction was too obvious. Qiu Li’s heart twisted sharply in his chest. For a second, he couldn’t even breathe, rage, panic, and pain surged through him, so strong it nearly tore him apart. But he forced it all down.
He didn’t want to scare her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked gently, voice low and soft. “Do you feel sick? Catch a cold?”
She looked awful, ashen, shaken, like she might faint.
Yan Xiao: “…”
She said nothing. She just stared at him.
He liked her.
Really liked her.
Not pretending. Not acting. Not scheming.
Even that confession at lunch, he’d meant it.
And all those moments before, every kindness she’d dismissed as manipulation, every small gesture she’d thought was a trick,
All of it had been real.
Every “ding” from the system wasn’t hatred. It had been him liking her more.
Suddenly, her chest hurt. It wasn’t just the pain of seeing all her effort turn to dust, it was something deeper, something heavy and nameless pressing against her ribs.
“You…” she breathed, her voice trembling as her eyes reddened. “Don’t, don’t touch me.”
Qiu Li: “…”
For a heartbeat, it felt like his heart exploded inside his chest.
But he still answered softly, “Alright.”
Then, after a pause, “But at least tell me what’s wrong, okay? Please?”
Yan Xiao: “…”
That only made it worse.
Why was he still being so gentle with her? Why was he still so kind? She’d done so many terrible things to him, treated him like an experiment, and he still pampered her like this?
The memories rushed in, one after another, every word, every look, every time he’d helped her, and suddenly her tears broke free.
Qiu Li, already panicked beyond reason, stepped forward, brows furrowed tight. “What’s wrong? Xiao-xiao please, tell me where it hurts, I’ll take you to the hospital”
He reached for her hand.
The moment he touched her cold, trembling fingers, his chest ached even more.
But that simple touch was the breaking point.
Unable to comprehend or accept what she’d just learned, unable to face how she’d treated him, Yan Xiao yanked her hand away, tears spilling over as she shouted, voice breaking:
“Stop, stop spoiling me already!”
Qiu Li: “…”
His heart went numb with pain. His dark eyes grew even deeper, almost frighteningly so. The rage he’d kept buried for years clawed its way up, seething under his skin, and for a split second he thought he might shatter apart.
The tears just kept falling. Yan Xiao couldn’t hold back anymore, she cried like the sky was collapsing.
“Why are you so good to me?!” she screamed.
It was between classes, but the university campus was still busy. Students hurried between classrooms, labs, the library, the cafeteria, the courts.
And when they heard that familiar voice crying out, they all turned to look.
After all, there wasn’t a single person on campus who didn’t know who they were.
When the onlookers saw Qiu Li’s dark expression and Yan Xiao’s full-on breakdown, they couldn’t help connecting the dots. The two had always been so close, inseparable, really, so this could only mean one thing…
They were fighting?!
Wait, Yan Xiao and Qiu Li actually fought?!
That realization alone was enough to shock every top student in sight. A few even stopped walking just to see what was going on between the campus’s golden duo.
But in the end, Qiu Li forced down the violent turmoil clawing at his chest.
She was crying so hard, so heartbreakingly, that he honestly didn’t know what to do. After a long moment of hesitation, he carefully reached out, brushing away her tears. His voice softened to a whisper. “Don’t cry.”
That tone only made her cry harder.
Seeing that she didn’t pull away this time, some of the pain in Qiu Li’s eyes finally eased. He kept trying to comfort her, murmuring gently, but she just cried and ignored him completely.
He coaxed her for what felt like forever, but nothing worked. Sweat beaded on his forehead from sheer anxiety. Then suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind, years ago, she’d cried like this too, and back then he’d…
The crowd around them was growing. Qiu Li clenched his jaw, desperate, and finally said the first thing that came to mind. “Stop crying. I’ll buy you strawberry cotton candy.”
Her sobs faltered.
Tear-streaked, hiccuping, she blinked up at him, unable to get words out, so she just nodded dazedly.
Qiu Li took her hand, shielding her from the curious gazes as he led her off campus.
As he turned away, the evening light caught his downcast eyes, hiding the storm brewing within. And in the depths of his mind, he made a silent vow,
Now that I’m holding her hand, I’m never letting go.

Outside the campus, after finishing a caramel milk tea and a slice of tiramisu, Yan Xiao finally calmed down from that spiral of despair. But because she’d cried too hard, she still hiccuped between breaths, her eyes red and puffy.
She couldn’t quite look at Qiu Li. The memory of her meltdown, crying like a kindergartener while eating a giant pink cloud of cotton candy, was mortifying.
Just thinking about it made her want to dig a hole and disappear forever. But then, wait.
Something important hit her.
She straightened immediately and asked in her mind, 007, do I still have a chance to go back now?
007, still sounding weak after all the scolding, stammered: [Based on the current data…the villain boss’s affection level for you is extremely high. The odds of returning via negative points are very low.]
Yan Xiao’s heart sank. How low?
[Almost zero.]
Yan Xiao: “…”
It took her a long moment before she gritted her teeth and hissed, So everything I did was for nothing?!
007 hesitated. [At the moment, yes.]
Where’s the main system? she fumed. I’m going to blow it up!
Panicked, 007 squeaked: [W-wait, don’t be mad! It’s not all bad! You still have some advantages now!]
Oh really? What advantages?! she snapped.
007 hesitated again, then, seeing her about to explode, blurted out: [Y-you won’t die anymore! The villain likes you so much, there’s no way he’d ever kill you!]
Yan Xiao: “…”
Oh. Right.
The shock had come so fast and hit so hard earlier that she hadn’t even thought about that.
Sensing her softening, 007 hurried to add: [And look at it this way! The villain boss is completely smitten, wrapped around your finger! If you stay in this world, your life will be dazzling, glorious, full of luxury and adoration]
Yan Xiao’s face darkened. Stop. Talking.
Say one more stupid thing and I’m uninstalling you myself.
She was still mentally strangling 007 when a warm, low, magnetic voice brushed against her ear:
“Feeling better now?”
Her internal tirade froze mid-sentence. Every muscle in her body went tense. She sat there, rigid, refusing to move, or look at him.
They were sitting on a small two-person bench, close enough that he could feel every shift of her body. Her tension was obvious.
Qiu Li’s eyes narrowed slightly when he saw her grip on the cup, knuckles white from how tightly she was holding it.
That reaction, and what had happened earlier, told him everything. She wasn’t actually repulsed by him, she was just startled, overwhelmed, unsure how to process it all.
His lips pressed into a thin line. Then, without warning, he leaned in, his upper body tilting toward her,
Yan Xiao was already feeling awkward and nervous, not knowing how to face him. When she suddenly saw him lean in, she instinctively flinched away, only to hit the wall behind her. Wide-eyed, she looked up. “W-what are you doing?!”
Qiu Li reached past her, pulling a couple of napkins from the tissue box on the windowsill. The warm sunset lit his face in gold as he met her gaze, his smile faint and breathtaking.
“You got cream on your hand,” he said softly, dabbing at her fingers with a gentleness that made her heartbeat stumble. “Let me wipe it off.”
Yan Xiao: “…”

Author’s Note:
Yan Xiao: I think my heart just stopped…
Scheming Qiu (serious face): I’m not using a beauty trap or the “gentleman act.” I’m simply encouraging her to recognize her feelings for me.