In a high-end villa, in front of a storage room on the second floor.
Su Nian, who had just finished a hot bath, wrapped herself in a bath towel and pulled her vibrating phone from her pajama pocket.
Her porcelain-white face, initially indifferent, blossomed into a smile after she saw who sent the message.
Her slender fingers tapped on the keyboard as she replied.
“Of course, baby daughter. I have a house near your school that I don’t use much. I’ll have a moving company bring in some furniture for you tomorrow. It’ll take about one week to air out the formaldehyde. For safety’s sake, stay in your original apartment for a few days first. Speaking of which, has your father come to trouble you lately?”
Jiang Ran, foolishly clutching her phone, looked at the new reply and carefully typed, “No…”
She didn’t plan on telling Su Nian about her biological mother for the time being.
For one, she didn’t dare trust Su Nian easily, and secondly…
Gu Ge had somehow scared her mother off today with something.
This point had raised her suspicions.
Jiang Ran felt that the situation here was likely very deep, and it was better not to stir up trouble unnecessarily.
She just wanted to be a “little transparent” and do her best to make the heroines let her go.
“If he comes, just tell me. I’m your guardian now. As for the procedures, you don’t need to worry; I’ll handle them for you in a few days. As for your Sister… she hasn’t been in a very good mood lately, so it’s better if you avoid each other for a while. When the time is right, I’ll take you to meet her.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Ran replied briefly with a single word.
Holding her phone, she quietly looked up at the ceiling, her heart beating fast.
She couldn’t help but open the **[Sick Love Manual]** again.
Seeing the words **[Administrator: Jiang Ran]** made her feel a bit breathless.
She tried to recall everything she had experienced today.
From receiving that trash pop-up ad to truly becoming a member of this world, only one day had passed, but her chest felt incredibly tight.
This sickly body simply couldn’t withstand a single blow from a yandere.
If Gu Ge’s knife-wielding hand had strayed just a bit further today, she would have had to restart her life.
If this really was a Gala Game, the purpose of its design was likely to have the Heroine slowly destroy her pride and self-esteem…
After all, only then would players feel a sense of satisfaction.
Nothing was more bizarrely fascinating than destroying someone’s beliefs and the lines they refused to cross.
Some players would even turn up certain stats to explore hidden endings.
Her vision blurred for a moment.
Jiang Ran couldn’t help but rub her eyes, and just then, that familiar young girl’s voice rang in her mind.
At the same time, her phone screen lit up as the APP popped up a series of new messages.
**[Daily Settlement: 3 random attribute points]**
**[Charm +2]**
**[Endurance +1]**
**[Your body affinity seems to have increased. Physical coordination has improved.]**
**[One day of perfect survival. Hidden reward unlocked: Flexibility Master. Flexibility increased. You are suited to mastering more high-difficulty movements.]**
Looking at the added attribute points, Jiang Ran felt dizzy.
What kind of trash attributes were these?
No serious Gala Game would dump points into the Charm attribute like this.
And this talent—was it encouraging her to become a slippery loach?
The System said she was supposed to influence the yanderes, but what exactly was she supposed to use to influence them!
However, before she could continue being angry, her finger accidentally clicked on a new Penguin message.
The sender was Su Wanqing, and it was a photo of a bibimbap meal.
“Student Jiang Ran, this duck meat is actually quite delicious. Have you eaten yet? How about I give you a portion too? After all, you can only finish tomorrow’s filming work once you’re full.”
“I’ve already eaten. You can eat this much at night?”
“It’s not as exaggerated as you say. I… I just have a craving, okay? Who told them to make it so delicious? If I gain a little weight, then I gain a little weight.”
“You definitely won’t get fat from eating,” Jiang Ran replied casually.
Reading Su Wanqing’s messages gave her a strange sense of peace.
The little Yellow Hair who should have been at odds with the Heroine at every turn was now chatting warmly with her.
Jiang Ran didn’t know if this was a good thing, but regardless, it was great that the Heroine wasn’t coming to find trouble with her.
Without her interference, the Heroine would surely slowly improve her relationships with the other main characters and walk toward the ending step by step.
By then, she probably wouldn’t unlock the **[Cos Weathering Doll]** ending, right?
After all, she was quite afraid of getting a bad end in a Gala Game.
Generally speaking, as long as it wasn’t a developer full of pure malice, it was hard to hit a bad ending in a Gala Game.
Usually, it only happened when players got tired of other characters and decided to see what would happen if they chose all the worst options.
Some developers even made bad endings that were just forced game interruptions without real punishments.
In contrast, the Gala Game she had loaded was practically overflowing with malice.
At the thought that the ending for not saving herself would be hanging dead on the Football Field, her body couldn’t stop trembling.
If that day really came, it truly would be like Louis XVI trying to wear a hat—nowhere to put it.
“Jiang Ran, why aren’t you replying to my messages?”
A new message flashed before Jiang Ran’s eyes.
She hurried to open her phone, only to find that Su Wanqing had chattered a whole bunch of messages, many of which had been retracted.
Jiang Ran glanced at it and realized nearly everything she had sent was retracted.
What was she supposed to look at?
“What did you just send? I didn’t see anything; you retracted them all.”
“You didn’t see it?”
“Yeah, you pulled them all back. I was spacing out just now and didn’t see a single one.”
“Fine, then I’ll send it to you one more time. Only once. If you don’t see it this time, I won’t send it again, just in case you’re tricking me.”
“No problem.”
Jiang Ran stared at the screen.
Half a minute later, the messages were re-edited and sent over.
“I want to ask you something. If one day a stranger came to your house and wanted to become family with you, what would you do?”
Holding her phone, Jiang Ran froze.
She never expected it would be this kind of emotional question.
According to the prompts in the APP, Su Wanqing should be a perfect girl.
There was almost nothing she couldn’t solve, so why was she suddenly asking this today?
Could it be that the Heroine was finally about to appear!
Was Su Wanqing about to meet the Heroine?
Jiang Ran’s heart thundered.
She understood that what she said now was very important.
To be a “little transparent,” the best way was to avoid entanglement.
If she gave too obvious an answer, Su Wanqing would just come back to ask her again in the future.
Therefore, Jiang Ran slowly typed, “Ah, I’m not very good at these kinds of emotional questions. I believe Student Su can handle these issues well.”
Jiang Ran searched through the chat options and finally sent a sticker of a cat grabbing its tail.
“That… really sounds like something Student Jiang would say. But thank you. Get some rest early. We still have rehearsal tomorrow. If you’re sluggish because you’re sleepy, I won’t show you any mercy. Please be sure to take it seriously.”
“Sweet dreams.”
After Jiang Ran replied, she put the phone aside.
Her eyelids began to fight.
She simply took off her coat, crawled into the blankets, and fell asleep.
***
In the study, Su Wanqing put down her phone and let out a heavy sigh.
As expected… private matters like this had to be handled by her personally in the end.
However, talking with Jiang Ran today had felt surprisingly relaxing.
Su Wanqing let out a yawn, planning to go downstairs for a glass of milk before brushing her teeth and going to bed.
Unexpectedly, as she went down, she ran right into Su Nian coming out of the kitchen, holding a glass of hot milk in her hand.
This instantly killed Su Wanqing’s desire for milk.
Although she really didn’t want to admit it, she really was quite similar to her mother in her habits…
“What are you doing up in the middle of the night?”
Su Wanqing crossed her arms, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder.
“That question should be for you instead. It’s already ten o’clock. Are you planning to stay up all night?”
Su Nian pressed forward step by step, not giving Su Wanqing any time to make up an excuse.
“Che. I’m not a three-year-old child anymore. I just thought of some happy things and came to get something. What about you? One look at you and I can tell you’re up to no good.”
Su Nian lightly caressed her face and smiled sweetly.
“Me? I was just chatting with your Sister. She really is like a little angel~”
“Sister this, Sister that. God knows if it’s true or not. If I find out you’re lying to me then, I won’t forgive you. But I’ve also met a nice little thing recently, and we chatted through a wonderful evening together too.”
Su Nian wasn’t angry; instead, she laughed.
“Is that the source of your confidence to challenge me? Before your Sister went to sleep, she didn’t forget to say goodnight to me. By contrast, daughter, I’ve raised you for so long, yet I’ve never seen you say such tender words to me.”
“Tsk, it’s not like you’re the only one. My classmate also said a lot to me just now. But I won’t be like a certain someone, getting all fluttery just because of a ‘goodnight’.”
“Then why did you come to the fridge for milk, daughter? I remember you only drink hot milk when you’re in a good mood. So… who is the person who actually cares about the messages?”
Su Wanqing’s eyes widened.
She met Su Nian’s meaningful gaze, and the words she was about to say got stuck in her throat.
“Why aren’t you talking? Do you not like to speak? I see. You must be trying to figure out a way to strike back at your old mother, but you failed. What a shame. Defeated by your pride. Or should I say, was your pride something that needed others to prove it from the start, or did it simply not exist at all?”
Su Nian’s beautiful eyes opened slightly.
Her originally clear and clean gaze instantly turned into a bottomless, muddy swamp as she looked down upon her daughter.
Meeting her mother’s mocking expression, Su Wanqing clenched her hands and raised her head.
“Not at all. My philosophy on friendship isn’t something that will change just because you force me. I have people I want to know. Even if you bring in a Sister I don’t know at all just to suppress me, I won’t acknowledge her.”