C10 System You Are Going to Leave Home!

On the other end of the line, there was a brief pause before the system said, "Given your tendency to forget, it's necessary to remind you that the task assigned this morning required you to exercise for an hour. While you did stay at the gym, your total workout time was far less than an hour, so you're about to face a penalty..."

Even though it was a flat electronic voice, Ruan Shiyu could still detect the disdain in it!

"The penalty will begin in five, four, three..."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Hearing that the system was about to activate some punishment, Ruan Shiyu quickly waved her hand and said, "How can you say I didn't have enough time? I was at the gym all morning, right up until lunchtime!"

Ruan Shiyu felt wronged. She hadn't even had time to paint today because she went to the gym!

The system, however, immediately pierced through her grievance: "It seems you not only have a bad memory but also aren't thinking straight."

Ruan Shiyu's eyes widened. "What's with this system? Why are you getting personal?!"

The system's flat electronic voice remained emotionless: "You left home at 6:40 a.m., spent an hour and a half jogging at the park entrance, and when your friend came to find you, it was already 8:10. You spent twenty minutes freshening up at home, left at 8:30, waited for the trainer at the gym for twenty minutes, and talked for ten minutes..."

The system laid out everything Ruan Shiyu did yesterday. The facts showed that, excluding the waiting time, she spent a total of fifty-nine minutes at the gym, with actual exercise time being less than half an hour.

With solid evidence in front of her, Ruan Shiyu couldn't deny it, but she didn't want to accept the penalty either. She couldn't run away, so she sat on the bed, playing the victim. "You're a fitness system, not a punishment system. How can you just penalize people like this? What's your customer service number? I want to file a complaint!"

As soon as she said this, the system went silent. Thinking she had hit a sore spot, Ruan Shiyu softened her tone and continued, "Can't we just let this go? I did work out, and this morning was really a special case. How can you deny someone lunch..."

The system remained silent. Ruan Shiyu thought it was about to give up. Just as she was about to speak again, the system said, "User, the fitness system is just a support tool. Our purpose is to help you exercise and improve your quality of life. If you keep resisting like this, I might have to report to headquarters and terminate our contract."

"Uh..." Ruan Shiyu hadn't expected the system to say that. Hearing the words "terminate the contract," she should have been thrilled, but instead, she was stunned, opening her mouth without knowing what to say.

The system calmly replied, "I wish you a pleasant life ahead. Goodbye." Then it hung up, never mentioning punishment again.

Even though she avoided the punishment that should have been hers, Ruan Shiyu didn't feel the slightest bit happy. She set her phone aside, a bit distracted, and wandered into her study. She opened her computer and took out her digital panel to start drawing.

The pen scratched the digital panel a couple of times, but she couldn't form a complete image. Ruan Shiyu sat there blankly for a while before finally gritting her teeth and standing up. She returned to her room, picked up her phone, and said, "Fine, call me a glutton for punishment. 3075, come out. I'll accept the punishment. Just don't go terminating any contracts."

Those words hit too close to home! They made her feel like a lazy slacker, but she was just a bit lazy, not a hopeless case!

The phone remained unresponsive, as if it were just an ordinary phone and the so-called fitness system didn't exist at all.

Did she really manage to upset the system so much that it left?

"Hey, hey, hey! 3057, you're a system! How can you be so sensitive, leaving just because I said a few words?" Ruan Shiyu shouted at her phone a couple of times. When it still didn't respond, she grew increasingly anxious, dropping her bravado. "I was wrong, punish me if you want. Whether you want to zap me or tie me up, it's up to you. Just say something!"

"I really know I messed up!"

No matter how much Shiyu pleaded, her phone stayed silent. With a defeated look, she tossed it aside. She had really upset the system this time! Even though it was just a system, she couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

As Shiyu sat there, head in hands, the phone suddenly rang. Startled, she quickly grabbed it, and when she saw the familiar interface on the screen, a huge smile spread across her face. She eagerly pressed the answer button and, before the other side could speak, she rushed to say, "System, is that you? I knew you wouldn't leave me! You were just kidding earlier, right? You're not really going away, are you?"

After her rapid-fire questions, the system finally responded with a simple, "Yes."

Oh, this system had a bit of an attitude, didn't it?

Overjoyed to have it back, Shiyu didn't mind. She reached out her hand, closed her eyes, and declared confidently, "You wanted to punish me, right? Go ahead!"

Perhaps her willingness caught the system off guard, as there was no immediate response. Just as Shiyu was about to peek, she felt a slight tingle at her fingertips, like a tiny static shock on a dry winter day.

Before she could fully process it, the sensation was gone. She waited a bit longer, eyes still closed, but when nothing else happened, she opened them in surprise. "That's it? You're done punishing me?"

This was nothing compared to the struggle of getting out of bed in the morning!

The system, sounding a bit bashful, replied, "3075 exists for the host's health. If the host is willing to exercise, punishment isn't necessary."

It seemed the system wasn't entirely inflexible!

Hearing this, Shiyu felt even more embarrassed and scratched her head with a sheepish grin.

The system chimed in, "Since you're being so cooperative, I'll go ahead and announce the next step in your fitness journey. From today, you need to start going to bed early and waking up early to maintain a healthy body. That way, you'll get better results from your workouts!"

Even though Ruan Shiyu knew the system meant well, she couldn't help but groan, "I have to wake up early? What time counts as early?"

"Science shows that the optimal sleep schedule for humans is going to bed at 10:30 PM and waking up at 6:30 AM. You can do it!"

Hearing the system's cheerful tone, Ruan Shiyu tried hard to suppress her reluctance and said, "Alright then... Is there anything else? I'm about to hang up."

"Okay, goodbye!" the system replied.

Ruan Shiyu moved the phone away from her ear, ready to hang up, when the system suddenly added, "Oh, I forgot to mention something."

"What?"

"Once the contract is signed, there's no way to cancel it. Alright, I'm hanging up now. Goodnight!"

Ruan Shiyu was stunned as the system promptly ended the call, leaving her with the dial tone. After a long pause, she threw her phone back onto the bed, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "So, it was all a trick?!"

They could never actually cancel the contract, and the system pretended to leave just to make her feel guilty? This system is so sneaky! Ruan Shiyu clutched her chest and collapsed onto the bed, lamenting, "My heart hurts! System, my heart is broken!"

She wished for a little comfort to get back on her feet. However, the system ignored her playful whining, hiding in the phone and playing dead. After rolling around on the bed for a bit, Ruan Shiyu realized she was being childish and got up to return to her study.

Her editor had been pestering her for a while, and she hadn't finished this month's comic yet! With the digital panel in hand, Ruan Shiyu transformed into a different person—focused and serious. She spent the entire afternoon drawing in her room, only remembering to head downstairs for dinner when the system reminded her.

After an entire afternoon of drawing, Shiyu still had a lot to finish for this month’s illustrations. Staring at the completed sections on her computer, she frowned, clearly dissatisfied.

As Shiyu was lost in thought, the system called again. "Host, it's already past ten. You should wash up and get to bed."

"Hey, wait," Shiyu protested, furrowing her brow. "I haven't finished this piece yet. Let me complete it."

The system, being a fitness system, didn't quite understand this aspect of her work. After a moment of silence, it asked, "How much do you have left to do?"

Shiyu hesitated. "Seven pages."

She had only managed to revise and draw seven pages this afternoon. How could she possibly finish seven more in one night?

"But this part is a complete scene. If I leave it for tomorrow, I won't capture the original emotion, and it will affect the story's flow," Shiyu pleaded softly. "Please, just this once, let me finish tonight. I promise I'll get up early tomorrow!"

The system was in a tough spot, seeing Shiyu's expression. Finally, it relented. "Alright, go ahead and finish."

"System, can you stay on the line? Just talk to me?" Shiyu asked. "I feel like something's off with my drawing. What do you think?"

Shiyu had been working alone at home for years, and whenever she hit a creative block, she was used to dealing with it in solitude. This was the first time she had someone—or something—to talk to, even if the system wasn't human. She didn't want to return to that lonely silence, so she made this bold request.

The system didn't refuse. Instead, it suggested she put her phone aside and continue talking while she worked.

Though the system didn't understand art, it watched as Shiyu struggled, unable to offer a solution.

As the night wore on, the room was filled with the soft sound of her pen on the tablet and the occasional exchange between her and the system. "Hey, do you think this line is crooked?"

"Host, my name is 3075, not 'All of it.'"

"Oh, okay."

"..."

"All of it, I'm so tired, but I can't sleep..."