C18 Chapter 18

“I like you. I just do. I like everything about you—your flaws and your strengths. Liking you is my business, so why should I care about anything else? Liking someone is just liking someone. Since when does it need a bunch of reasons to get in the way?” Duu Luo practically cringed at how cheesy she sounded. If someone said that to her, she was sure she’d get goosebumps. “It’s fine if you don’t like me. It’s fine if you turn me down. As long as I like you, that’s enough.”

“You’ve been listening to too many love stories, huh?” Boyan reached out and flicked her forehead, teasing her.

“Liking someone is something that happens naturally, from the inside out. What good are stories? A storyteller can’t teach us how to like someone, or how to make someone who doesn’t like you fall for you.” Duu Luo pouted, putting on a cute face. “And I know the Lin family isn’t still coming after you just because you hurt their young master. I’m guessing you found out something they don’t want anyone to know, so they’re trying to silence you. Am I right?”

“You really don’t have to be that smart,” Boyan said, confirming exactly what she’d been thinking.

“If I weren’t smart, how could I stay by your side? I’m going to be with you for a long time. If I don’t get a little sharper, you’ll start looking down on me.” Duu Luo kept her eyes locked on him, never looking away. Under that unwavering stare, Boyan felt a little self-conscious. “If I don’t want you to look down on me, I have to work hard and make myself smarter—so I can stand next to you, not give you a reason to dismiss me. I know I gave you a hard time a few times before, but I only did it to get your attention. Now I get it—if you want someone to like you, you can’t do things like that. All it does is make them like you less. So, if I want you to like me, I’m going to work hard to become better—better enough to deserve you.”

Boyan didn’t know what to say anymore. It felt like every time he opened his mouth, Miss Duu had a dozen lines ready to shut him down before he could even argue back.

“Someday you’ll regret it,” Boyan said anyway, still not quite able to be completely cold about it. What he was doing now was dangerous—maybe not in any obvious way yet, but still. Miss Duu had nothing to do with him. He didn’t have to wade into this mess for his own sake. “I’m a lot more ruthless than you think.”

“So what?” Miss Duu grinned as she hooked her arm through Boyan’s, the move so smooth it was like she’d done it a thousand times. “At least if I’m with you, nobody’s going to mess with me.”

Boyan wanted to say that even if she wasn’t with him, nobody would dare mess with her—unless they had a death wish.

But he wasn’t about to say that out loud.

“System mission issued. Player, please go on a date with Boyan tomorrow. Time and location are up to you. During the date, situations of varying severity may occur; please handle them on your own. After completing the mission, the appropriate Male Lead Impression Value and Favorability Value will increase. Current Male Lead Impression Value: 10. Current Favorability Value: 0. Once Favorability Value reaches 100%, the Player may choose to end the攻略 mission early or continue. Please take your missions seriously. Looking forward to our next meeting. Enjoy your game experience.”

When Jiuyou’s voice faded, Miss Duu looked like she’d just been handed a reason to keep going.

As long as Boyan’s Favorability Value hit 100%, she could wrap up this character’s mission early and move on to the next one. If she cleared every mission in the route, she could get back to real life. It was that simple—and she wasn’t stupid enough to quit now.

Boss, looks like we won’t be seeing each other after all.