He tricked the female lead into becoming his boyfriend, but then went on to criticize the male lead.

System 438: [No, there are side effects too. If I can't send it out, I'll have to transform into Totoro form for a month.]

"Alright! That's settled!" Hearing that she wouldn't suffer any backlash, Su Qingyan immediately agreed in her heart, a confident smirk playing on her lips. "Sang Jiuning, this time, I'll see if you can still be invincible."

Having finalized the plan, Su Qingyan immediately composed herself, adopting a gentle, harmless, kind, and innocent sweet demeanor, and quietly awaited the opportune moment.

At noon, when classes ended, the sun was shining brightly, and people were coming and going in the dormitory building, filled with the laughter and playful noises of college students.

Sang Jiuning, carrying a simple backpack, stood tall and aloof, her eyes gentle and serene, slowly walking back to her dormitory alone.

She had just returned from the library, her eyes showing a hint of languid weariness, yet she was still strikingly beautiful, drawing frequent glances from passing students.

Su Qingyan spotted her in the crowd at a glance, and immediately strode forward to meet her, a perfectly appropriate intimate smile on her face, blocking her way.

She held a delicate, transparent pet cage in her hands. Inside the cage lay a palm-sized, purplish-gray chinchilla with fluffy, soft fur and round, innocent black eyes. It looked docile and comforting.

"Ningning! You're finally back!" Su Qingyan's tone was light, gentle, and warm, like that of a very close best friend. "I've been waiting for you here for ages!"

Sang Jiuning stopped, her eyes falling on the cage in the woman's hands. Her eyebrows curved into a smile, and her voice softened: "What's wrong? Did you need something?"

Su Qingyan handed the pet cage forward, her eyes full of sincerity, looking like she was thinking of her daughter: "Ningning, I remember you've always loved chinchillas, right? I passed by a pet store outside the school after class today and saw this little guy right away. He's so cute, I bought him for you right away! Consider it a little gift from me."

Sang Jiuning looked down at the little guy in the cage: "This little thing is really cute."

At this moment, inside the cramped cage, System 438, transformed into Totoro, was already roaring wildly, surging with resentment.

【!! What do you mean "little thing"?! I'm a high-end system! And I'm not "little" at all! You'd better accept this! I need to infiltrate your inner circle!】

Its small body remained stiff in the cage, trying its best to maintain an adorable and obedient appearance.

Sang Jiuning lowered her eyes, carefully examining the purplish-gray chinchilla in the cage.

The little guy is only the size of a palm, with soft fur and round, wet eyes. He is indeed cute and well-behaved, with no aggression whatsoever. Anyone who sees him will fall in love with him.

Seeing her focused expression, Su Qingyan was certain that Sang Jiuning would accept it.

She knew all too well; everyone in the dorm knew that Sang Jiuning's favorite character was Totoro. As long as she accepted this gift, the system would be successfully bound, and her plan would be a complete success!

Su Qingyan's smile deepened, and her tone became even gentler: "Look how cute it is, so soft and fluffy. I thought you work so hard in class, having a little pet in your dorm would help relieve your boredom and soothe your mood. Since you like it, then it wasn't a waste of my money to buy it."

Just when Su Qingyan was confident of victory and full of anticipation, Sang Jiuning slowly raised her head, her eyes still gentle.

She gently shook her head, polite yet firm: "Thank you for your kindness, Qingyan."

She paused slightly, noticing Su Qingyan's suddenly stiff expression, and slowly added, "But I can't accept this Totoro. I don't want it."

In one sentence, all of Su Qingyan's plans were completely disrupted.

Su Qingyan's smile froze instantly, her brows furrowed tightly, her eyes filled with disbelief, and her tone was tinged with urgency and confusion: "Why, Ningning? Haven't you always loved Totoro? Your profile picture is Totoro, your WeChat name is Totoro, your phone case is Totoro, why don't you want it?"

She couldn't understand it at all.

Even though all the groundwork had been laid, and Sang Jiuning clearly preferred healing animals like Totoro, why would she directly refuse?

Could it be that I've given myself away somewhere?

Su Qingyan was instantly filled with suspicion and completely stunned. Her carefully planned scheme had collapsed right from the start.

Meanwhile, System 438 inside the cage also completely crashed.

[What?! What's going on?! She didn't want it?! I was all prepared to infiltrate her, eavesdrop, and report back! And the protagonist just refused the gift?! This isn't how the script is supposed to go!]

Each person and each system fell into utter silence and bewilderment.

Seeing Su Qingyan's confused expression, Sang Jiuning didn't hide anything and frankly expressed her thoughts, her eyes clear and insightful, open and sincere.

"I do like Totoro, but I've never liked any real-life small animals."

She smiled slightly and explained, "I like Totoro from Miyazaki Hayao's animations."

"But real-life chinchillas require careful feeding and meticulous care, as well as cleaning and maintaining their cages, which is quite troublesome. And to be honest, I only have a slight preference for dogs and cats among real small animals; I don't want to spend the energy taking care of others."

In just a few simple words, he was straightforward and honest, without the slightest perfunctoriness, so frank that no one could find any fault with him.

Su Qingyan was completely speechless. The gentle smile on her face vanished, leaving only embarrassment and awkwardness. The pet cage in her hand instantly became unbearably hot.

The meticulously planned scheme and the carefully prepared undercover operation all came to nothing.

Su Qingyan gritted her teeth inwardly.

System 438 lay paralyzed in its cage, its heart filled with utter desolation, fully experiencing what it meant to have everything collapse and lose everything.

Meanwhile, Wen Zhaoci gently rubbed the corners of her slightly sore eyes with her fingertips. All the fatigue from spending the past few days in the laboratory dissipated, leaving only a soft and tender smile in her eyes.

After three whole weeks, he finally finished making a special birthday surprise for Sang Jiuning—a one-meter-tall robot wearing a custom-made Totoro shell, which looks a lot like Totoro from Miyazaki Hayao's anime.

Holding the slightly cool phone between my fingertips, I quickly tapped the pinned chat window on WeChat.

The pinned spot is always clean and uncluttered, with only one person's WeChat contact labeled "Baby".

He hesitated for two seconds, then instead of writing a long message, he simply picked out an emoji he had saved a long time ago and sent it over.

[ZC: A picture of an adorable husky lying on a table, its round eyes looking innocent and bewildered, with the playful words "Missing You" above its head.JPG]

The moment the message was successfully sent, Wen Zhaoci's lips unconsciously curled up slightly.

Just a few seconds later, the words "The other party is typing" popped up at the top of the chat box, followed by a lively emoji.

[A GIF of two fluffy little kittens snuggling together, rubbing their faces and sucking their cheeks.JPG]

She's so vibrant and adorable, just like Sang Jiuning herself.