(End of text)
A note from the author:
That's all for the main story. The rest are super sweet side stories, with significant jumps in time and events.
My next book is "Transmigrated into a Princess Married to a Tyrant," a story of a naturally cunning and ruthless doctor and a stubborn, arrogant tyrant from the Feather Clan. You can find more details in my author page.
Because I need a long vacation to rest and recuperate, I can't confirm when this pre-order will be published. I won't go into the specific reasons, just consider it a trip to a faraway place for me~
Chapter 54 Extra 1
After spending half an hour figuring out the new page, Wen Yun confirmed that the Green Tea System had indeed changed.
—It's changed from a "green tea" system to a romance system.
The previous limit on her survival time has disappeared. After midnight today, the remaining survival time will be converted into three times the value of tea flavor.
The store's updated inventory consists almost entirely of gifts related to romance. In addition to the usual bouquets of roses, movie tickets, Valentine's Day limited edition chocolates, couple outfits, heartwarming fabrics, and instant cameras to capture beautiful moments, there are even diamond rings, tokens of love, and various expensive couple jewelry.
According to the system's prompts, giving these gifts will increase the protagonist's affection level. As the affection level increases, the relationship between her and the protagonist will become closer.
However, the tea flavor required to redeem these gifts is extremely high. With her current "assets," she can only freely redeem regular gifts such as chocolates and roses, which is more cost-effective than simply buying them on the street.
In addition, Wen Yun noticed that the system's voice had also changed, and it had become He Sheng's voice. However, compared to He Sheng himself, the system's new voice sounded much stiffer.
This subtle change baffled Wen Yun. Could it be that just because He Sheng liked shipping yuri couples, the system would adopt her as its new voice? And what was the point of changing the voice anyway?
Freed from the constraints of using tea-related words to prolong life, Wen Yun tried asking the system, "Can I explain my origins to the protagonist now?"
She hadn't held out much hope, but the system said, "Your favorability isn't high enough, host. You need 19,999 favorability points to unlock this topic~"
Ruan Yu's current favorability rating for her is at the peculiar number of 13145. After hearing the system's assurance of the chance to lift the ban on certain topics, Wen Yun breathed a sigh of relief, got out of bed, and prepared to go find Ruan Yu for her usual morning exercise.
Because of that unknown future, even after the college entrance examination, they stayed at the Wen family's old house to spend their last moments together.
Now, witnessing the changes in the system, Wen Yun finally felt relieved.
At 6 PM, the results page unsurprisingly froze.
Wen Yun patiently refreshed the page again and again, and suddenly a glass of juice was placed next to her with a few ice cubes added.
Ruan Yu sat down beside her, holding the cat, and said while grooming the cat, "Let's check again in an hour or two?"
"It's okay, I have nothing to do anyway." Although Wen Yun said that, her hands honestly left F5 and the mouse, picked up the juice, and even petted the cat.
The calico cat had been with them for more than half a year and was very familiar with some gestures. When Wen Yun touched it, it lay down in Ruan Yu's arms, deliberately trying to get petted.
Wen Yun sipped her juice and petted the cat, a smile unconsciously spreading across her face. Just as she was about to ask Ruan Yu about her plans for next week's birthday, a system notification suddenly rang in her mind: "If you give Ruan Yu a special gift on her birthday, Ruan Yu's favorability can increase by up to 999 points!"
"Before you 'evolved,' you taught me the art of conversation, and after you 'evolved,' you started teaching me how to date?" Wen Yun couldn't help but tease, but then she earnestly asked, "What do you mean by 'special gift'?"
"For example, a token of love that holds significant meaning," the system replied. "It doesn't necessarily have to be expensive; it just needs to suit the protagonist's taste."
“…This is much harder to prepare than an expensive gift,” Wen Yun complained.
Despite her words, she took the system's reminder to heart and, after refreshing the page, began to think about the problem.
Another hour passed, and Ruan Yu had already returned the cat to its room when the page finally refreshed.
Wen Yun entered Ruan Yu's ID number first, and with the system notification sound of "[Ruan Yu's favorability +2]", she saw the ridiculously high, yet reasonable, score.
She paused for a few seconds, then let out a triumphant "Aww!" and clapped her hands incessantly. Then, with her hands, red and numb from clapping, she placed them on Ruan Yu's shoulders and exclaimed excitedly, "I dare say! You're the top scorer in Z City's college entrance exam this year!!!"
Ruan Yu had already seen the results. Even though she had expected it beforehand, she was still so shocked that she couldn't speak. Her mouth was slightly open, and it took her a long time to regain her composure before she smiled and replied, "Thank you for your kind words!"
Wen Yun took a picture of her score and sent it first to He Sheng, who was closest to them, then to Lin Qiqi, and finally to Old Master Wen and Lawyer Wen.
After the results were released, she looked up and found that the score release page had been replaced with her own information!
Wen Yun was actually hesitant to look at her results, fearing that she hadn't performed well enough and would miss out on C-level finance. But under Ruan Yu's encouraging gaze, she took a deep breath, held it, and stared intently at the screen.
—She exceeded the limit!
You scored 120 points above the cutoff score!
"I'm practically a C-class person now!!" Wen Yun couldn't hold back any longer and screamed as she hugged Ruan Yu.
The news that they had both secured admission to C-level finance colleges quickly reached Mr. Wen's ears. This Saturday, June 25th, he personally hosted a celebration banquet for them and reminded them to invite their friends over to his home.
Since transmigrating into the book, this was the first time Wen Yun had experienced a celebration banquet organized by her family. Since Old Master Wen had said so, she certainly couldn't be polite.
But in this world, her only true friends are He Sheng and Lin Qiqi. The others are basically just nodding acquaintances. After thinking it over, she finally only sent messages to them.
Coincidentally, Ruan Yu only invited the two of them, so on Saturday, at the huge celebration banquet, the only real guests were He Sheng and Lin Qiqi.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I always get to eat and drink with you guys." He Sheng greeted them politely as he entered, but soon followed them to pet the cat. He even asked the butler for a glass of high-end juice without any hesitation and drank it heartily.
Lin Qiqi is afraid of cats but likes to virtually pet them. When the three of them were playing with the black and white cat, she stood at the doorway away from the cat, holding a drink straw in her mouth. As soon as the cat approached her, she turned pale with fright, but she didn't leave. Instead, she quickly moved to another spot and continued to "observe secretly".
It's unclear whether Grandpa Wen anticipated this situation, but he specifically called over Mr. Wen, Mrs. Wen, and Wen Lu. Even Ruan Yuyuan's grandparents in the countryside were brought to the old house by his driver early on.
Three days after the scores were released, major news media outlets began reporting on the top scorers in the college entrance examinations of various provinces. Grandpa Ruan and Grandma Ruan also saw the interview with Ruan Yu on TV. When they saw Ruan Yu in person, they were so excited that tears streamed down their faces. They held Ruan Yu's hand and kept asking her how she was doing.
"Both of them are such good children!" After the banquet began, Grandpa Wen laughed heartily and stood up to toast everyone. "This old man wants to be the first to wish them a bright future!"
When Wen Yun's parents heard him refer to Wen Yun and Ruan Yu as "two good children" instead of "the children of the Wen family," their expressions changed instantly.
However, since guests from the He and Lin families were also present, they had no choice but to force a smile and agree with Old Master Wen's words, drinking the bitter wine in their cups.
After the meal, He Sheng and Lin Qiqi left one after the other. As Wen Yun saw them to the door, she didn't forget to remind them, "You must come to the birthday party in two days!"
"I'll definitely come!" He Sheng turned around, smiling and waving at her. "By the way, I want to tell you a secret then, and I hope you can spare some free time for me~"
She was speaking in a very relaxed tone, but Wen Yun inexplicably felt intimidated. She was stunned for a few seconds before she came to her senses, but then she was confused again.
Thinking back to the system's recent "voice change," she seemed to understand something.
-
As soon as the guests from the He and Lin families left, the atmosphere in the old house quickly became serious due to the emotional fluctuations of Mr. and Mrs. Wen.
But this oppressive atmosphere was quickly broken by Old Master Wen: "I know what you want to say. But now, instead of saying more, let's respect the children's wishes!"
Wen's mother immediately became anxious: "Dad! Yunyun and Xiaoyu are still young and don't understand..."
"In two or three days they'll be eighteen, and Xiaoyu is the top scorer in Z City's college entrance exam," Grandpa Wen said unhurriedly. "You call that too young? That they're immature?"
Sensing the dissatisfaction in his words, Wen's mother immediately fell silent and helplessly gave Wen's father a meaningful look.
Mr. Wen's face was grim, but his voice remained calm: "Tell me, what do you want?"
“I will still stay with the Ruan family from now on,” Ruan Yu replied in the same calm voice. “After the admission notice from C University of Finance and Economics arrives, my aunt will come to pick me up and take me to C City.”
Grandpa and Grandma Ruan, who had been unable to get a word in edgewise, changed their expressions upon hearing this. However, they knew that their adopted granddaughter was quite opinionated and must have her reasons for doing so. They opened their mouths but ultimately said nothing, choosing instead to listen silently.
Mr. Wen frowned, nodded reluctantly, and turned his gaze to Wen Yun.
"I plan to go with Xiaoyu to familiarize myself with the environment of City C in advance," Wen Yun frankly explained. "Besides, I should get married during university... with Xiaoyu."
As soon as she said that, everyone's eyes were on her.
Wen Yun was both nervous and excited. From the moment she revealed her marriage partner, the system had been notifying her that Ruan Yu's favorability towards her was soaring, reaching a full 968 points before stabilizing.
"What right do you have to make decisions on your own?!" Mrs. Wen suddenly lost control of her emotions. If the housekeeper hadn't stopped her in time, she would have almost rushed towards Wen Yun. "All these years, what has the Wen family ever owed you?! Why do you still want to go back to that little country house?!"
“You and Dad certainly don’t owe me anything.” Wen Yun shook her head. “But… you don’t treat me as family either, do you? If I don’t take matters into my own hands, I’m afraid you’ll push me out for a marriage alliance at some high-society banquet to consolidate your family interests. To you, I’m just a convenient tool.”
"You are the daughter raised by the wealthy Wen family! This is clearly what you should do!" Wen's mother shouted angrily.
“…It’s so ugly, Gu Tingrou!” Old Master Wen shook his head regretfully and stood between them. “I’ve said it before, your parenting methods have always been problematic, but neither of you will listen!”
The scene immediately descended into chaos. Fearing that her grandparents would hear more harsh words, Ruan Yu hurriedly pushed her grandfather's wheelchair and took her grandmother's hand as they walked out.
Once inside the courtyard, the arguing subsided, and Grandma Ruan couldn't help but murmur, "My little girl..."
“I’m listening, Grandma,” Ruan Yu replied quickly.
"You've suffered so much in the city!" Before Grandma Ruan could finish speaking, tears streamed down her face. "Your grandfather and I only thought that wealthy families would look down on people from the countryside, but we never imagined that they wouldn't even care about their own daughter!"
"Don't worry about me!" Ruan Yu smiled and shook her head, took out a tissue to wipe her tears, looked down at Grandpa Ruan's worried gaze, and gently reminded her, "Isn't there still someone who cares about me?"
Chapter 55 Extra 2
The day after the deadline for the first round of college application submissions was Ruan Yu's birthday, and also Wen Yun's birthday in this world.
Because of He Sheng's previous reminder, Wen Yun was nervous as soon as she opened her eyes that day. She was also a little uneasy when helping to decorate the small courtyard. She was not careful and cut her hand on a leaf, and gasped.
Ruan Yu was pruning flowers not far from her when she heard the noise and quickly dropped her scissors to come over. "What happened? Where are you hurt? Uncle Li! Yunyun is hurt!"
"It's nothing, it's just a little injury!" Wen Yun quickly waved her hand, stopping her from calling the housekeeper, and turned on the tap to rinse the wound.
However, the butler, Uncle Li, with his sharp ears, rushed over upon hearing the commotion and earnestly yet tactfully advised, "Ladies, please go back to your rooms and rest. You are the birthday celebrants today, so there's no need for you to bother with anything!"
Since he had already said so much, Wen Yun couldn't refuse. She was gently pushed back to her room by Ruan Yu, and her finger, whose wound was almost invisible, was quickly covered with a band-aid.
"It's unnecessary, really unnecessary." Wen Yun looked helplessly at her fingers, then looked up and met Ruan Yu's concerned gaze.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Ruan Yu suddenly asked, "Guess what day it is for me today?"
Her voice was soft, as if she were talking to herself.
Wen Yun almost blurted out "birthday," but then she remembered the tragic ending in the original story and vaguely realized what Ruan Yu wanted to say to her. She frowned slightly and shook her head: "I don't intend to guess..."
“Because you’ve already guessed it, haven’t you?” Ruan Yu continued, gripping her wrist tightly and looking intently into her eyes. “Actually, I’ve been afraid to tell you because I was afraid that if you knew the truth, you would be angry with me and think I was fake and bad, a liar.”
"I can't." Wen Yun shook her head firmly.
She could understand Ruan Yu's fear and pretense. If it were her, she would also choose to do so before she could get enough security from others.
“I know you won’t now.” Ruan Yu smiled and continued calmly, “This day in my past life was both my birthday and my… death anniversary.”
She said that since coming to the Wen family, it was as if she had fallen from heaven to hell, and all the beautiful memories she had were false, a deception and trap set by Wen Yun.
Her grandparents' words before she left made her grit her teeth and persevere, no matter how much she missed home, trying her best to keep a smile and face everyone's disgusted and hateful looks.
“I have asked myself more than once why I came back, why I am alive. But I am not willing to die like this. I would be letting myself down, and I would also be letting down my grandparents.”