Chapter 76: A Great Xia Girl in Nihon

In the gap of waiting for food, Xu Yunzhou finally had time to handle the messages he didn't have time to attend to just now.

Real estate agent Shen Jie sent a message:

"Brother Zhou, do you still want me to save the infield ticket for Heavenly Queen Song's concert tomorrow night for you? It was really hard to get!"

The corners of Xu Yunzhou's lips rose slightly. Where does he need a ticket to go now? Song Jiaru would probably personally hold his hand and pull him in.

"No need, you go with Sister-in-law, have fun."

Shen Jie replied somewhat regretfully:

"Brother! Do you know what Song Jiaru just posted on Weibo? The silhouette of a diamond ring! With the caption 'Tomorrow, I will wear the most beautiful wedding dress'!"

"The whole internet exploded! Six of the top ten hot searches are her! Everyone is digging to find out who exactly that man she hugged tightly by the West Lake today is!"

"This is absolutely the most explosive official announcement in the entertainment circle this year!"

There were also several messages sent by Song Jiaru herself, carrying cautious expectation:

"Big Brother, can you guess why I want to wear a wedding dress at the concert?"

"Tomorrow night... you will come on time, right? This concert, from the lighting to the tracklist, every single detail is prepared for you..."

Just as Xu Yunzhou was about to reply, the study door was knocked gently.

Wen Yu personally pushed a dining cart in, followed by two servants.

Neatly arranged on the dining cart was exquisitely cut top-grade beef and various functional drinks.

"Mr. Xu, everything you asked for has been prepared."

Wen Yu said respectfully.

Xu Yunzhou nodded, his expression solemn:

"Auntie Wen, next I will conduct an important 'cultivation.' Unless the sky collapses, absolutely no one is allowed to disturb me."

He specifically emphasized,

"Even if Ruoxuan returns, please pass a message to her, if there's any matter just send a message, absolutely do not knock on the door or call."

Wen Yu bowed her head understandingly:

"Understood, absolutely will not be disturbed."

After arranging all this, Xu Yunzhou closed the heavy solid wood door and locked it from the inside.

He sat peacefully in the quiet and luxurious study with curling sandalwood smoke, opened the laptop he carried with him, and prepared to welcome the next battle spanning across dimensions.

The icon of the "Goddess Nurturing Game" quietly flashed with an alluring faint light on the screen.

After opening the game, Xu Yunzhou first looked at the new female lead's information panel:

[Current Female Lead: Xu Nuo]

[Time Anchor: December 9, 2015]

[Location: Nihon, Sukima Bar]

(TL: Nihon = Japan.)

[Birth Year: 1999, Current Age: 16, Height: 158cm, Weight: 48kg, Current Education: Middle School Graduate]

[Appearance: 88/100 (Natural beauty, but long-term malnutrition and overwork cover up some of the radiance)]

[Figure: 68/100 (Not yet fully grown, slightly thin and green)]

[Knowledge: 32/100 (Great Xia compulsory education level, and self-taught network security technology)]

[Temperament: 48/100 (Aloofness bred in despair, tempering a resilience unsuited for her age)]

[Influence: 1/100 (Like moss in a dark corner, nobody cares to ask)]

[Comprehensive Charm Value: 47.4/100 (A rare unpolished jade urgently awaiting carving)]

[Hidden Talent: Limitless Will (Unactivated)]

[Currently Available Wealth: 20,000 Yen (The remainder of a meager bar salary after satisfying hunger)]

(Author's Note: For the convenience of reading and calculation, the exchange rate between Yen and RNB(Yuan) in this book fluctuates around 20:1. After all, it's a parallel world, this detail can be considered reasonable...)

"A Great Xia girl in Nihon? Somewhat interesting."

Xu Yunzhou muttered to himself, casting his gaze toward the game footage.

The scene was a typical small Japanese-style bar named "Sukima," permeated with a decadent atmosphere.

His perspective locked onto a young girl wearing a noticeably oversized, washed-out waiter uniform.

She was lowering her head mechanically wiping a wine glass.

The outline of her side profile appeared exceptionally clear and beautiful in the dim light, but those lowered eyes were full of a deathly silence and detachment completely inconsistent with the flowering age of sixteen.

"She is Xu Nuo?"

Xu Yunzhou thought in his heart,

"This face full of unruliness and sense of story... seems to have experienced quite a lot."

With a thought, he adjusted his perspective. His virtual body sat boldly on a somewhat greasy high stool in front of the bar counter.

Almost the instant he sat down, the movement of Xu Nuo wiping the wine glass paused imperceptibly.

She raised her head, those cold eyes carrying a trace of doubt, sweeping sharply toward the door—the old wind chime hanging there hadn't moved an inch.

But she still walked over holding a simple menu, and asked routinely in fluent yet temperatureless Japanese:

"Okyakusama, gochumon wa?" (Sir, what would you like to order?)

Xu Yunzhou blanked, then reacted. This game actually comes with simultaneous interpretation, advanced!

He was just about to respond, but saw Xu Nuo abruptly take two steps backward, as if seeing something extremely discordant.

Her distinct black and white eyes first stared fixedly at the place where the chair beneath him should have cast a shadow—it was completely empty!

Immediately after, her line of sight swept over a few drunken customers nearby who were looking at her "talking to the air" with surprised eyes.

There was no panic on her face, only instant realization.

Then, without saying a word, she decisively turned around and returned behind the bar counter.

Curiously, Xu Yunzhou followed her:

"Why did you run away? I haven't ordered yet!"

Xu Nuo lowered her head, continuing to forcefully wipe that glass that seemed like it could never be wiped clean. Her voice was suppressed extremely low, terrifyingly calm:

"Because you are not human. No shadow, and the drunks nearby think there is something wrong with my brain. They can't see you."

This time Xu Yunzhou was truly somewhat amazed.

This observation power, this instantaneous judgment...

And in this dim and noisy environment!

"Tsk, then aren't you afraid of me?"

Xu Yunzhou gained interest. This kind of opening was much more exciting than the crying and making a scene of the first two.

Xu Nuo finally deigned to lift her eyelids. That gaze was like looking at a stone by the roadside, her tone so flat there wasn't a single ripple:

"Afraid? In this world, living people are the most terrifying."

She twitched the corners of her mouth, an almost mocking arc,

"Can a ghost be more disgusting than those hypocritical living people who eat people without spitting out the bones?"

Xu Yunzhou choked. What exactly has this little girl experienced to have tempered out this "seeing through the mortal world" virtue?

He cleared his throat, trying to regain a bit of the "System's" imposing manner:

"Cough, to make a long story short. You can understand me as your 'exclusive System,' or like Fujiwara no Sai in Hikaru no Go. Only you can perceive me. I am an existence here to help you ascend to the peak and change this fucked-up destiny."

Hearing this, Xu Nuo squeezed out an extremely light sneer from her nose:

"I don't need it."

"Why?"

Xu Yunzhou felt his dignity as a "System" was challenged.

Xu Nuo finally looked at him squarely,

"Living people have mouths full of lies, deceiving me, bullying me, insulting me. You are a ghost of unknown origin, on what basis should I believe you?"

Xu Yunzhou:

"..."

He felt his chest a bit blocked.

This hard bone that accepts neither oil nor salt, fine, consider yourself ruthless!

(TL: "Accepts neither oil nor salt" means stubborn and refusing to listen to reason.)

Whatever, a forcibly twisted melon is not sweet, and you can't eat hot tofu if you're anxious.

(TL: "Can't eat hot tofu if anxious" means haste makes waste.)

He wanted to see how long this girl could remain stubborn!

He didn't speak more nonsense. His virtual body simply leaned back, floating to the side, quietly watching her busy herself in this narrow, filthy bar.

Her movements were unbelievably nimble, silent as a stone, completely ignoring the filthy words and probing hit-ups from those drunken customers, her whole body emitting a cold aura of "strangers keep away."