C14 System Are You Kidding Me?

Ruan Shiyu gritted her teeth. "System, are you messing with me?"

She tapped on her phone’s ride-hailing app, but it wouldn’t respond. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the pesky system had locked it. Great, now her phone was useless, and she couldn’t hail a cab. Ruan Shiyu had no choice but to lug her bags down the street.

It was right after dinner, and the streets were bustling. Passersby couldn’t help but notice the petite girl struggling with all those bags, their glances filled with curiosity.

Feeling the weight of their stares, Ruan Shiyu was mortified but helpless. Just as she wished for the ground to swallow her up, a car pulled up beside her. The window rolled down, revealing a familiar face.

Hsu Xiangqian, dressed in a sharp black suit, sat inside. He looked slightly surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

He must have just gotten off work, looking particularly formal, his posture even straighter than usual. The streetlight cast a golden glow on his handsome face, making him look especially tall and striking.

Ruan Shiyu was momentarily dazed, but quickly snapped back to reality. "Oh, I was just out for a stroll, just a stroll."

A hint of amusement flickered in Xiangqian’s eyes. "With all those bags? You came all this way for a walk?"

This place was quite a distance from Ruan Shiyu’s home.

"Uh-huh." Caught in her fib, Ruan Shiyu coughed awkwardly and instinctively used the system’s excuse. "I’m just getting some exercise, you know, wanted to stretch my legs."

She immediately regretted it. Shopping with friends wasn’t something to be embarrassed about, so why couldn’t she just say that?

Xiangqian’s smile widened. "Want a ride? I can take you part of the way."

A ride sounded great, and Ruan Shiyu was about to nod when Xiangqian added, "Wait, aren’t you supposed to be exercising? Wouldn’t a ride interfere with your workout?"

"What?" Ruan Shiyu was momentarily stunned, quickly grabbing Hsu Xiangqian's car window, afraid he might just drive off: "No worries, no worries!"

After she spoke, she noticed a hint of amusement in Hsu Xiangqian's eyes. It dawned on her that he was teasing her! Hsu Xiangqian could joke around, and she had fallen for it!

Ruan Shiyu was caught off guard, so much so that she didn't even notice when Hsu Xiangqian opened the car door.

Hsu Xiangqian chuckled, "Not getting in? Planning to walk back on your own?"

Ruan Shiyu snapped back to reality, hurriedly got in the car, and sat obediently in the passenger seat.

After the joke, Hsu Xiangqian restarted the car, smoothly navigating a turn. Looking ahead, he casually remarked, "You haven't been working out for long, have you? Take it easy; you can't rush these things."

Hearing his concern, Ruan Shiyu felt touched. Her thoughts now clear, she explained, "Actually, I wasn't just out for a walk. My friend dragged me along..."

She went on to explain about Moo Xiaoxiao.

Hsu Xiangqian nodded, not saying anything further, and the car fell into a comfortable silence.

By now, dusk had settled in. While Ruan Shiyu had been talking, she had glanced at Hsu Xiangqian. The streetlights outside were on, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow across his face. She suddenly noticed how long his eyelashes were, gently fluttering with each breath.

What a strange thing to focus on.

Realizing her thoughts, Ruan Shiyu felt embarrassed and quickly turned to look out her window.

Just then, Hsu Xiangqian unexpectedly asked, "Do I look that bad?"

Ruan Shiyu froze. She thought she had only made a face, but somehow, Hsu Xiangqian had caught it.

"No, it's not..." Shiyu laughed awkwardly, unsure of what to say. What could she say? She couldn't possibly admit that she turned away because she found his profile too attractive to keep staring.

Thankfully, Xiangqian didn't press further, so Shiyu looked out the window, pretending she hadn't heard the question. Yet, the window's reflection showed Xiangqian's profile, and it seemed like he was smiling.

The car soon arrived at the apartment complex. Xiangqian went to park the car while Shiyu waited downstairs instead of heading up. About two minutes later, Xiangqian returned, surprised to see her still there. "You didn't go up?"

Shiyu smiled, "You brought me back; I couldn't just leave you behind, could I?"

"Are you sure it's not because you want me to carry your things?" Xiangqian joked, effortlessly taking Shiyu's bag and leading the way up the stairs with his long strides.

Shiyu hadn't intended that, but since he was already on his way, she followed, thanking him repeatedly.

Halfway up, Shiyu suddenly remembered something. "I've been seeing you around a lot these past few days. Did you move back?"

She had lived here for quite some time but hadn't seen much of Xiangqian before.

Xiangqian paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I'll be staying here for a few days. I've been busy with work and haven't had time to come home. Now that I have a break, I want to spend more time with them."

She hadn't expected this seemingly aloof guy to be so thoughtful. When Shiyu first met him, she thought he was intimidatingly cold, too daunting to even look at directly. But as she got to know him, she realized Xiangqian was just a regular person.

And a really nice one at that, having helped her so many times.

After Xiangqian finished speaking, he noticed Shiyu hadn't responded for a while. He glanced back to see her lost in thought, her mind seemingly wandering off to some distant place.

Such behavior might seem impolite or dismissive if it were anyone else, but when it came to Ruan Shiyu, it was oddly endearing. Hsu Xiangqian couldn't help but wonder if all comic artists were like her—dreamy, as if they lived in a fairy tale. Suddenly, he found himself intrigued by her work.

Hsu Xiangqian frowned slightly, puzzled by his own shift in attitude.

"We're here," he said.

Ruan Shiyu snapped back to reality, realizing she was already at her doorstep. Hsu handed her belongings back, and she accepted them with an apologetic smile. "Thanks for all your help today."

"No problem," Hsu replied, his demeanor calm once more. After she took her things, he prepared to leave. "Well, I'll head out now. See you later."

"Hey, wait a second." Not wanting him to leave empty-handed after all his help, Ruan quickly caught up with him and placed a large plush toy in his hands.

He stood there, bewildered by the unexpected gift.

Ruan smiled sheepishly. "It's a thank-you gift. See you tomorrow morning!"

With that, she turned, opened her door, and slipped inside, giving him no chance to refuse. Before closing the door, she stuck her tongue out playfully at him.

Hsu stood at the door for a while, holding the plush toy, and eventually chuckled. Looking at the innocent face of the toy in his hands, he shook his head. This girl... she's surprisingly amusing.

Inside, Ruan let out a long breath. She couldn't believe she had just handed him the plush toy! Her boldness surprised even herself. But thinking back, although Hsu had looked shocked and a bit helpless, he didn't seem inclined to refuse.

Thinking about this, Ruan Shiyu suddenly felt cheerful. She hummed a tune and skipped back to her room, putting away everything she bought today. After tidying up, she took a shower. The clock on the wall slowly ticked toward ten o'clock.

Ruan Shiyu wasn't used to the system's early bedtime rule yet. It felt like only half the day had passed, and she wanted to watch a couple of soap opera episodes on her computer. Just as she had that thought, the phone rang.

Sure enough, it was the system. She didn't need to guess what it wanted to say. Ruan Shiyu frowned and instinctively wanted to hang up. But before she could, the call connected on its own, and the system's distinctive electronic voice came through: "Host, your intention to hang up on the system is not acceptable. If it happens again, you will face consequences."

Consequences, really?

Ruan Shiyu groaned, "System, can't you be reasonable?"

The system remained silent, the quiet on the line feeling like it was judging her. Ruan Shiyu felt a bit annoyed. She did want to get fit and lose weight, but that didn't mean she wanted to change her whole routine. The system's actions felt like constant surveillance.

With a cooler tone, she said, "You set my bedtime for ten-thirty, and it's only ten now. What's wrong with watching some TV?"

The system's voice was flat, seemingly unaffected by her frustration: "The call is to ask what reward you would like. You've completed your tasks these past few days, and we offer rewards for that."

"What? A reward?" Ruan Shiyu had assumed the call was to push her to sleep, but instead, it was about a reward. Her earlier anger dissipated, and she quickly put on a conciliatory smile, "Oh, you should've said so earlier. I, uh, want... hmm... I want..."

She thought for a long time but couldn't come up with anything. Ruan Shiyu's family was middle-class. Her parents weren't big shots, but they were self-sufficient. Living alone, she had the luxury of being a bit indulgent, choosing to stay home and draw comics—a rather self-indulgent choice, to be honest.

After thinking it over, life seemed pretty smooth sailing, except for a bit of extra weight. There wasn't much else I wanted.

So, Ruan Shiyu found herself stuck.

After a moment of silence, still unsure of what she truly desired, Ruan Shiyu cautiously asked, "Could you... help me get rid of this belly fat?"