Mygo, you guys seem to be getting a bit heavy-hearted.

“…Takamatsu Tama? That’s her real name, isn’t it?” Yanming read out the few delicate characters written on the cover. Even if he had the idea of ​​returning the item to its rightful owner, he felt that he should at least open it and take a look before deciding what to do with it.

At the same time, on the other side

A petite girl with short, light gray hair was anxiously rummaging through drawers in her home.

“…It’s gone, it’s really gone… Waaah—” Finally, the girl, who had suffered the double blow of losing a friend and losing something important in one day, buried her head under the covers.

……

“Swish—”

Yanming opened the notebook to the first page, and the first thing he saw was a childlike doodle.

"Stones, flowers, pill bugs, ladybugs, and... speaking of which, this is an emperor penguin, right? But compared to the children in kindergarten, your drawing skills are so exquisite. You're really amazing, Takamatsu-kun." Yanming flipped through the pages with great interest, not missing a single corner.

There was a tiny, minor mistake in judging the age of the laptop's owner.

Until he turned to a page filled with writing

"This is it, let me see, 'Spring Shadows,' hmm..." Yanming was immediately drawn to its contents.

He's not good at writing lyrics, but he can still manage simple appreciation.

After reading it, Yanming gave his evaluation: "It's more like a poem than lyrics. Is the child who can write this kind of poetry... Gao Songdeng? I'll remember that."

Unfortunately, there are only lyrics and no sheet music, otherwise Yanming really wanted to hear what it would be like to hear this poem sung.

Judging by the time, Xiangzi should be out by now.

Yanming stood up from the sofa, put away his notebook, and planned to make two cups of hot cocoa to warm Xiangzi up.

As for the reward for completing the task, to be honest, he didn't care at all. Compared to all the random rewards, getting to know Xiangzi himself was much more important.

Yanming never considered the strategy system as a tool to profit from it.

In his eyes, this eccentric and immature system was more like a companion... If there was anyone who could say one last thing to him before he died, it would probably be this guy.

[Host, host, what are we going to do?]

"None of your business, you can't help anyway."

I'm so sorry I'm a good-for-nothing! (?д?; )

The system went into a crying emo state. Generally speaking, after being hit like this, it would take at least several minutes for it to return to normal.

They have a fragile mental resilience, but their recovery efficiency is off the charts.

Suitable for being assigned to the jungle role to farm the B-site and three wolves.

However, not long after Yanming had just finished brewing the hot cocoa and placed it on the coffee table...

[System rewards have been pre-loaded and are being distributed. Please check your account. No after-sales service will be provided if you miss them.]

Startled by the sudden notification sound, Yanming's hand holding the plate trembled, and the drink on it almost spilled, but he managed to steady it in time.

Just as he was about to ask the system what this after-sales service, which he had never heard of before, was all about, a crisp voice rang out from the bathroom:

"Yanming-kun, I think I forgot to bring a towel. Could you please bring it to me?"

"?" Yanming stared blankly at the towel that had suddenly appeared in his hand.

He clearly saw that Xiangzi brought this towel into the bathroom.

No, system?

[Congratulations, host, you have acquired the passive aura skill: Lucky Pervert Lv.max]

[Skill Effect: This skill makes it easier to trigger specific CGs when there are members of the opposite sex nearby.]

[Since this is your first time acquiring a skill, this system will kindly provide one free trial service to allow you to test the skill's effectiveness. We look forward to your positive feedback. Love you, muah!]

Your uncle's!

Who the hell would want this kind of skill...?

No? No won't help! As the ancients said, life is like building a strong body; crises won't wait for you to be prepared before they happen!

[Whispering: This is definitely not because the host said I'm useless that I did this...]

[*Very quietly: Saying sorry will make them forgive you...]

"...?"

Make him back down?!

What kind of bullshit are you talking about, you bastard!

It's just a debuff, right? I'll show you what true gentlemanly conduct looks like!

"Yanming-kun? Are you still there?"

Yanming lowered his voice and said calmly, "They're here."

Holding a towel, Yanming headed towards his bathroom like a petty thief breaking into a house, while cautiously checking every possible element that might lead to his "lucky event."

You'd think he was playing Minesweeper if you didn't know better.

Although his actions were somewhat comical, Yanming was quite confident in his ability to observe his surroundings!

But... will things really go as smoothly as he expected?

Chapter Thirteen: The Giant Treasure Chest

In 1949, Edward Murphy proposed a law.

When there is a possibility that something will turn into something malignant, no matter how small the probability, it will eventually happen.

This is the famous Murphy's Law.

This perfectly explains Yanming's current situation.

Unfounded suspicion is a major taboo in ancient military strategy. Even the most composed person can become consumed by endless chains of suspicion, making it impossible to accomplish what could have been done smoothly.

Yanming hadn't expected the system to play dirty tricks on him, and he had no idea how the so-called [Lucky Pervert] skill would be activated.

In other words, he's starting to become paranoid, even getting distracted by a mosquito just passing by.

The mere ten-meter distance to the restroom took Yanming almost a minute to walk, but nothing unexpected happened until he reached the door. All that occurred was a line of text highlighted in red by the system in mid-air.

[The reward is being distributed; please check it promptly.]

This damn system even knows to highlight things in red to scare him. It never did this when we first met. I don't know which idiot it learned this little trick from.

Yanming held up two fingers and knocked twice on the bathroom door, saying, "I've hung the towel by the door for you. Come out and get it when I'm a little further away."

This was his solution: as long as the two people maintained a sufficient distance, there shouldn't be any problems.

Could a mere system possibly have the power to make him slip on a banana peel, fly 20 meters through the air, and then fall into Xiao Xiang's arms?

Don't be ridiculous, systems also have to follow physical laws.

“Huh?...Okay.” Although Yanming’s suggestion was reasonable, Xiangzi, as the person involved, still had some strange thoughts.

That's certainly a gentlemanly thing to do, but it feels like Yanming is looking down on me...

Upon hearing her agree, Yanming hung the towel on the door, then turned and left without looking back, hurrying away from this troublesome place.

【Host, you can't escape.】

Yanming ignored it and continued walking towards the living room.

"...!?"

Hey!

Yanming slipped, and a white cotton rag he had just seen was flung through the air by his weight.

When did this fall here?!

[When you stood up, it was already hanging on your lower back. You were too alert to your surroundings, so much so that you didn't even notice the object falling off you. You were too careless, host.]

The system was explaining in a timely manner, but Yanming, who was falling backward, couldn't hear what it was saying at all.

In the typical plot, at this point, Xiangzi would just happen to push open the door to get a towel, and then Yanming would just happen to fall on top of him, thus activating the skill effect.

however……

"Snapped!"

"Holy crap!" The next second, Yanming's butt and back made intimate contact with the ground, but fortunately, thanks to the system's external protection, he didn't hit his head or get seriously injured.

But it will still hurt.

My ass! My back!

fuuuuuu——*k!

"Hiss—" Yanming gasped in pain.

He's really done wrong this time, but he's mostly done wrong by his own hand.

The dog system is playing psychology with itself!

It's not fair to call it a dog system; it gets hurt too.

Dog system dog system dog system——

【o(╥﹏╥)o】

"Yanming? Are you alright?"

I'm fine! Don't open the door!

Just as Yanming was about to say that, the bathroom door was quickly opened a crack by Toyokawa Shoko, who was worried that something might have happened to him, to check the situation.

Although it's just a tiny crack, don't forget that as long as there's an additional possibility for the two to come into contact, that possibility will be amplified dramatically with the support of the system's skills.

Upon realizing this, Yanming closed his eyes in despair the next moment.

Sure enough, Xiangzi slipped on the wet bathroom floor, as was his fate. But there was another cunning fellow, Yanming, who wouldn't say who it was.

[Hehehehe... I want to see these teeth!]

After following my host for so many days, I'm finally getting a storyline that fits the tone of a Japanese light novel!

...Although I feel a little embarrassed that the host took a hard fall.

The original plan was for the host to fall on Miss Xiangzi, but who knew he would be so cautious...

"Yanming, are you alright...? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Yanming said peacefully with his eyes closed. His vent was blocked by two simple, unadorned mounds, so he could only breathe and speak through his mouth. Even his mouth couldn't be opened too wide, or he might accidentally taste the saltiness of the octopus sauce.

"Don't worry, I didn't see anything. Xiao Xiang, get off me now, then go back to the bathroom and close the door."

But seriously, do all middle school students these days eat this well?

Yanming suspected that if a few more minutes passed, he really would suffocate.

Despite looking thin and malnourished through his clothes, Yanming became the first victim when the meme of "a huge treasure chest inside" came to life.

“…Okay.” Even though he was still a little shy, Xiangzi was Xiangzi after all. After the initial panic, he quickly calmed down, found a support point to support his body, and slowly got off Yanming, who was being pinned down by him.

During the process, there were bound to be some unintentional bumps and scrapes. However, since the accident was caused by Xiangzi slipping and falling in the bathroom, not only her but also Yanming remained silent... Of course, the two of them were mostly just embarrassed.

It's all that damn system's fault!

……

After hearing the bathroom door close again, Yanming opened his eyes, which were filled with murderous intent.

【…Huh?】

The strategy system's heart skipped a beat.

Yanming didn't react immediately. Instead, he silently left the bathroom and only let out a long sigh of relief after sitting down on the sofa.

【…】

Is it going to fail?

The very next instant the system had this thought.

"You're finished," Yanming said coldly.

【? ! ! 】