"There's one more thing," Liang Sheng suddenly turned serious. "Why can I see the affinity levels of those main characters... no, wait—just certain people toward me?"
"Huh?" He Zi's voice brimmed with confusion. "I don't know. Can't you see everyone's affinity toward you?"
"I don't know either... Maybe... maybe it's another glitch with me." He Zi's voice trailed off.
Liang Sheng sighed. Why did this system always take the blame? This could easily be a transmigration glitch—not necessarily the system's fault.
The class bell rang. The middle-aged, bald geography teacher strolled in slowly, a book tucked under his arm.
Liang Sheng had zero focus on the lecture. She turned back to He Zi. "Well... how exactly did the other three systems break down?"
He Zi stammered, "I... I really don't know..."
*Liar.* This system definitely knew. But you couldn't force a person... wait. It wasn't even human. So why *not* push it?
"Spill it! Or I'll drop your affinity straight to zero." Hmph. Pure threat.
"Don't bully me!" He Zi cried out, flustered.
Seeing He Zi rattled, Liang Sheng switched tactics. "Well..." Wait. Hold on. Had she missed something from the very start?
"I'm asking—you *can* see others' affinity toward me, right? Then why were you so shocked when I said I couldn't see *everyone's*? Can't you see it either? Or are you deliberately playing dumb?!" Liang Sheng shouted inwardly, pulse racing.
He Zi fell silent. The air turned heavy.
"Liang Sheng," He Zi's voice came slowly, "some things cannot be spoken. Remember—I'm just a system... created by someone else."
So a hidden figure still lurked in the shadows.
"As for whether you're Liang Sheng or Liang Sheng... you know that better than I do."
A soft sigh. "It's not that I won't tell you... but if I did, I might self-destruct."
Liang Sheng went quiet.
"Fine. I'll find out myself." She conceded.
"Oh, right. A task for you."
Liang Sheng blinked. "There are tasks? What is it?"
"Raise Su Ze's affinity toward you by at least five points."
Silence stretched.
"OH! SHIT! You ridiculous system—doing this on purpose?!" Liang Sheng roared, slamming her palms on the desk and leaping up.
Dead silence.
"..."
"Student Liang Sheng? Are you alright?"
*Oops.* She looked up—straight into the geography teacher's resentful glare. Bald. Very bald.
She'd shouted out loud in the heat of the moment.
Standing there, blinking at his gleaming forehead, a thought flickered.
"Teacher... you look exactly like the bald school nurse downstairs," Liang Sheng blurted. She swore—her brain had just taken an unscheduled vacation.
A vein throbbed on the teacher's temple. *Oh, so the little brat's dodging blame?* And dare she compare *him*—a distinguished, forty-year-old gentleman—to *that* ugly bald nurse?!
"YOU! OUT!" He swept a hand, shooing her from the room.
"This is ALL your fault!" Liang Sheng hissed once outside. "Was that task a joke? Not funny at all."
"I'm not joking," He Zi replied, dead serious.
"Well..." He Zi paused. "Then raise Dong Yue's affinity by twenty points instead!"
*Ugh, you crafty old trickster.* Setting traps for your innocent, pure, naive me? Still—winning over Dong Yue beat dealing with Su Ze by a hundred miles. After seeing Su Ze's true colors, Liang Sheng couldn't stand being near him for a second.
"Wait... you just made this up on the spot, didn't you?" Suspicion sharpened her tone.
"Yep. Absolutely. Totally. What're you gonna do about it?" The smug rhythm was *painfully* deliberate.
Liang Sheng gritted her teeth. "I'll take the second task..."
"Admirable courage, young lady! Go get 'em!" He Zi vanished the moment her goal was met.
Liang Sheng grumbled, "Should've never upgraded you, you cursed system."
"Is there a reward?"
"Of course~"
Liang Sheng perked up instantly, eyes wide. "What is it?!"
"Uh..." He Zi stuttered again.
Liang Sheng let out a dry chuckle. "Knew it. Go on—make one up right now."
---
After school, Liang Sheng trudged into Dong Yue's office with visible reluctance.
Dong Yue was meticulous. Her desk gleamed spotless; textbooks and notebooks stacked perfectly, not a corner askew.
"Um... Teacher?" Liang Sheng murmured.
Dong Yue looked up from grading papers. Her face was weary, dark circles framing tired eyes. She let out a soft breath and stretched slightly. "Hmm? What is it?"
Liang Sheng's palms grew damp. First time deliberately flattering someone. Sure, she'd played lapdog before to win favor—but failure then just meant retrying. This time? Who knew what chaos the system would unleash.
"Teacher... I don't get this problem." Her only excuse to get close. Teachers loved eager students, right?
"Oh?" Dong Yue blinked in surprise. Liang Sheng was sharp—but in class, she napped or snacked. Never studied. *Sun rising in the west today?*
*Ding~* Affinity increased.
*Dong Yue's affinity toward Liang Sheng: 18*
Dong Yue leaned in curiously. Liang Sheng slid the workbook closer—half a self-study period picking this "hard" problem, another period and a half solving it herself. All to fake prodigy energy.
"Hmm..." Dong Yue narrowed her eyes, then pointed behind Liang Sheng. "Bring the stool. This one's tricky—needs a proper walkthrough."
Heart leaping, Liang Sheng scurried to sit. Closer now. Affinity-boosting should be easier, right?
Dong Yue pulled out scratch paper and began explaining. Liang Sheng nodded vigorously, murmuring "Mm-hmm" on loop. Whether she was listening? A deeper mystery.
Mid-explanation, Dong Yue sipped coffee from her mug.
"Teacher... why no tea anymore?" Liang Sheng asked idly.
Dong Yue rubbed her temples with a quiet sigh.
*Ah.* Pulling all-nighters again. Sigh. No job's easy.
"Teacher, please don't rely on coffee or skip sleep. If you collapse... how will you teach us?" Liang Sheng said gently—the same polite script she'd recited during holidays back in her original world.
