Chapter 3: A Material Girl Who Isn’t Materialistic

On the first day of university, Fang Lian got up very early.

In the past, she would spend a full hour on makeup and dressing, but today, for some reason, the moment she saw that pile of designer clothes, handbags, and jewelry, she felt a wave of nausea so strong she even wanted to set the whole lot on fire.

“What am I thinking?”

Fang Lian smacked both cheeks hard, trying to bring herself back to normal.

In the end, she changed into a loose tracksuit, washed her face simply, and went out barefaced.

After buying breakfast at the cafeteria, Fang Lian came to the front of the men’s dormitory to wait.

Though she wore no makeup, it did nothing to diminish her allure to the opposite sex. In the eyes of some boys, her unadorned face was even an advantage.

The boys coming and going from the dormitory kept sneaking glances at her, and more than a few recognized her at once as the newly risen campus goddess.

“Is she here to bring someone breakfast?”

“Damn, does she already have a boyfriend?”

Soon after, Yan Xuan came downstairs yawning. Fang Lian bounced over to him and handed him the breakfast in her hands.

“Here, godfather! I didn’t know what you liked, so I bought a little of everything.”

The word “godfather” startled Yan Xuan wide awake.

There were quite a few people coming and going nearby, and he had no idea whether anyone else had heard it.

Yan Xuan took the fried dough sticks and soy milk from Fang Lian and asked in surprise, “You came to bring me breakfast?”

“Yes, yes!”

Fang Lian nodded vigorously, obedient and adorable as a little chick pecking at grain.

Yan Xuan bit into the fried dough stick, and a thought quietly rose in his mind.

He was not surprised that Fang Lian had come to bring him breakfast. After all, her favorability had already been raised to seventy-two, the kind of level only lovers in the throes of passion should have, and the app was designed so that favorability would never decrease no matter what.

But why was she still calling him “godfather”?

That was not a word that should be coming out of the mouth of a fine young builder of the new motherland, or an independent woman of the twenty-first century.

Could it be that the modification had not worked?

To verify the effect, Yan Xuan took out his phone and transferred 8,888 to Fang Lian.

Seeing the transfer, Fang Lian frowned and asked, “Godfather, why are you sending me money?”

Yan Xuan smiled. “A good daughter being so sensible deserves a reward, of course.”

“I...”

Fang Lian was immediately thrown into turmoil.

If this had been any other day, she would have accepted the money without the slightest psychological burden, but today was truly bizarre.

Guilt, shame, disgust, all sorts of emotions spread through her heart, as though a little black figure and a little white figure were fighting above her head.

I don’t want to pay it back!

But godfather has already spent so much money on me. Don’t I feel even the slightest bit ashamed!?

What’s there to be ashamed of? I got up early to buy him breakfast, didn’t I just want his two bucks?

No, no. I bought breakfast for godfather because I like him.

...

In the end, shame still overcame greed, and Fang Lian returned the money to Yan Xuan in full.

“Godfather, I won’t use your money anymore. As for the money you spent on me before, I’ll find a way to pay you back slowly!”

Fang Lian, are you crazy? That’s nearly a million. What are you going to repay it with!?

What do you mean, a million? Debt must be repaid. It’s only right and proper!

The two little figures began fighting above Fang Lian’s head again, leaving her dizzy and dazed as she toppled forward.

Meanwhile, Yan Xuan’s attention was entirely elsewhere. The transfer he had just made to Fang Lian had come right back, and his account balance had instantly increased by more than eight thousand, with no warning from the system.

So this bug could be exploited like that?

Excitement flickered in Yan Xuan’s eyes. He was about to transfer money to Fang Lian again when the girl had already collapsed into his arms and lost consciousness completely.

No one knew how much time passed before Fang Lian woke to the smell of disinfectant. She turned her head and saw Yan Xuan smiling at her.

“You’re awake?”

Yan Xuan helped Fang Lian sit up and handed her a cup of brown sugar water. “The campus doctor said you have low blood sugar. You need to rest more.”

“Thank you...”

Fang Lian took the brown sugar water and sipped it lightly, stealing glances at Yan Xuan from the corner of her eye.

Yan Xuan said bluntly, “If you have something to say, just say it.”

“Godfather, how did I get here?”

“What do you think? Of course I carried you here.”

“Oh... Godfather, you’re really strong.”

The infirmary was two kilometers from the men’s dormitory. Imagining herself being carried off in Yan Xuan’s arms the whole way, Fang Lian could not help but feel her cheeks grow faintly red.

“Oh, right, this is for you.”

Yan Xuan suddenly took out a brand-new triple-folding phone from behind his back. “Didn’t you say last time that you wanted to switch to this phone? I specially had someone help buy one for you.”

Of course, he would never willingly play the fool and buy Fang Lian a phone. He only wanted to see what effect last night’s text modification had produced.

“I... I... ugh!”

Seeing the phone, Fang Lian once again fell into conflict. Her eyes were filled with longing, yet her body resisted it violently. In the end, she could not help bending over the side of the bed and retching dryly.

Was it really that unbearable?

Yan Xuan now understood. This thing was like breaking an addiction: it would not be easy to adapt to overnight, and in severe cases the body would even show adverse reactions.

For the time being, Fang Lian was still Fang Lian.

Her preferences, habits, personality, and thoughts had not changed much; the app was merely forcing her to transform in an almost brutal fashion.

Yan Xuan tested her again. “If you don’t like it, then I’ll keep it for myself?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Fang Lian nodded in agreement, though her heart hurt as if it were being twisted by a knife.

Yan Xuan put the triple-folding phone away and did not continue stimulating her. Instead, he stepped forward and gently patted her back.

“Student, is your girlfriend feeling better?”

The curtain was suddenly pulled aside, and Zhao Mei, the campus doctor in her fifties, had come to check on Fang Lian.

“Why is she retching?”

Zhao Mei’s brows tightened.

Fainting in the morning, nausea, dry heaving, weakness in the body—combined together, they led the doctor of twenty years to make a bold judgment.

“You young people are becoming more and more outrageous. She’s only a freshman!”

Yan Xuan was completely baffled. “Doctor Zhao, could you please make yourself clearer?”

“What are you pretending ignorance for? As the man involved, do you still want to shirk responsibility?”

Zhao Mei said irritably, “Take her to a proper hospital and deal with it early so it won’t delay her classes later. As for military training, I’ll figure out a way to get her an excuse note.”

Now Yan Xuan finally understood. He had wanted to explain on his own, but Fang Lian raised a hand to stop him.

Half an hour later, Fang Lian walked out of the infirmary with the note issued by the campus doctor, unable to suppress a little secret delight in her heart.

Misfortune can be a blessing in disguise. She had never imagined she might actually get a chance to escape military training.

As for the misunderstanding?

What did it matter if some insignificant campus doctor misunderstood however she pleased!

Beside her, Yan Xuan sneered. “Good daughter, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Doctor Zhao has a nickname at our school.”

Fang Lian turned to him. “What nickname?”

“Big-Mouthed Zhao! Once she learns anything, within three days the whole school will know!”