[Erm, that's not allowed. The system has restrictions.]
"Then let me borrow one."
'Other systems let you owe Points, so it shouldn't be a problem if I owe a few, right?'
[That's not allowed, you know. It's against the rules. But Host, you can do missions!]
[Missions have already been posted. The Host just needs to pick a few to complete, and you'll get Points! Besides Points, there are extra rewards, too.]
Jiang Yunnuan: "..."
"Fine, fine."
She gritted her teeth and agreed.
'I'm so sick of this system and its 'not allowed' this and 'not allowed' that. If I didn't need it for my Rebirth, I swear I'd quit right this second.'
Her consciousness entered the mission panel. She immediately saw a long list of pending tasks: seduction missions, collection missions, missions to generate disgust, and sign-in missions. The variety was dizzying.
Jiang Yunnuan skimmed the list and picked the easiest one: the sign-in mission. A notification promptly appeared.
[Ding! Host, please proceed to the garden to complete your sign-in.]
"Hey, just lie here for a bit. I have to take care of something, but I'll be back soon."
After a hasty word to Jun Yao, she got up, slipped on her shoes, and hurried out the door.
Watching her leave, Jun Yao noticed that his inner core had vanished. A cold, mocking glint flashed in his eyes.
'Is she that eager to give my inner core away?'
Heh, he knew it. A leopard can't change its spots. Everything she'd said before was just part of her ploy.
'As long as I survive this, I will make her suffer the cruelest torture imaginable until she begs for death.'
...
'Hss!'
The moment she stepped outside, Jiang Yunnuan suddenly shivered.
The sun was bright and warmed the skin, but a strange chill shot up from the soles of her feet, raising goosebumps all over her body. A powerful sense of crisis washed over her.
'I don't even have to think about it. It must be Jun Yao, mentally plotting ways to torture and flay me alive.'
'He despises me. He wants to skin me, pull out my tendons, and cut me into a thousand pieces. And yet here I am, racking my brain to save his inner core and curry favor with him.'
'Sigh. How did my life get this miserable?'
Jiang Yunnuan sighed, then resignedly descended the steps and headed toward the garden.
"Jiang Yunnuan, what took you so long? Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?"
A shadow fell over her, blocking her path. Jiang Yunnuan looked up to see a man.
He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. She estimated he was over 185cm tall, with an incredible physique. He wore a striking interstellar combat suit. His hair and eyes were brown, a pair of beast ears sat atop his head, and his face was undeniably handsome.
But the way he looked at her was filled with loathing and disgust, as if she were some kind of filth too foul to look at.
"So what if I'm only coming out now? I'll come out when I feel like it. Who are you to tell me what to do? You waited for me because you wanted to. You're just pathetic. What's that got to do with me? Did I force you?"
Recognizing him, Jiang Yunnuan's heart sank, and her expression instantly soured.
'I was so focused on the mission that I completely forgot about this obnoxious guy.'
"You..."
Hearing her words, Ling Ze's expression changed in a flash. His eyes filled with complete disbelief before he let out an enraged roar.
"Jiang Yunnuan, what the hell is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what you're saying?"
'In the past, wasn't this ugly hag always groveling and shamelessly fawning all over me every time she saw me?'
'No matter what horrible things I said, I could never shame her into leaving. Why the sudden change today?'
'It's only been half an hour. How can this hag seem like a completely different person?'
Ling Ze was angry and shocked, but more than anything, he felt a profound sense of unease.
"No, no, no. My brain is finally working right, that's why I'm cursing you out. The me who used to be your pathetic bootlicker—*she* was the one with the broken brain."
Jiang Yunnuan crossed her arms and scoffed.
'That's right. This was the guy the original owner of this body had been pathetically obsessed with—the one she'd planned to give Jun Yao's Inner Core to. He was one of the original female lead's men.'
'I have no idea where the original owner got the confidence to think that if she just tried hard enough, she could steal the female lead's man and piss her off in the process.'
'So she did everything to please this guy, only to be played for a fool, led around like a dog on a leash.'
'Unsurprisingly, she failed to steal anyone's man, and instead, her own house went up in flames. Now, every single one of her four Beast Husbands wants her dead.'
Jiang Yunnuan couldn't help but sigh. 'If it weren't for the state's policies, someone as stupid as the original owner would never have lived to this age.'
"Hmph. You don't seem crazy, just calculating. Let me guess: your old fawning tactics weren't working on me, so you decided to change your strategy, is that it?"
"You might as well give up now. No matter what tricks you pull, I will never like you. Now hand over the inner core. I have to go see Wanwan, I don't have time to play along with your 'hard to get' act."
Ling Ze suddenly calmed down. He looked at her with cold, impatient eyes, his expression haughty as if he had seen through her entire act.
'This woman groveled at my feet for so long. How could she possibly change so suddenly?'
'This must be another one of her tricks to seduce me. I won't fall for it.'
'As long as I don't take the bait, she'll realize this trick isn't working and go right back to her old, disgusting, fawning self within a few days.'
Jiang Yunnuan: "..."
'Wow, these lines sound a little familiar.'
Seeing his confident, superior look, a classic line inexplicably popped into Jiang Yunnuan's head: 'Woman, are you playing hard to get?'
A subconscious shudder of revulsion went through her. She was so grossed out by her own cringey thought that she felt an urge to punch someone.
"Come here a second."
Jiang Yunnuan composed herself, gave him a small smile, and crooked her finger. Seeing this, Ling Ze sneered inwardly, his contempt for her growing.
'Heh, just as I thought. I knew it. She's playing hard to get. The second she saw I wasn't taking the bait, she changed her tune.'
Although he was reluctant, he wanted what she had. So, he suppressed his disgust and took a step forward. His expression was impossibly arrogant, as if merely approaching her was an act of supreme charity on his part.
But then, the unexpected happened.
A small fist slammed right into his eye. Ling Ze cried out, clutching his face in pain, then roared in furious disbelief.
"Jiang... Yun... Nuan! You hit me?"