Chapter 35: Breaking Through the 90 Favorability Threshold
Sunlight filtered through the dappled shade outside the window, casting a warm glow across the room. Feeling the heat on her face, Fang Lian slowly opened her eyes.
The person who had been beside her was gone, but her body still ached with the lingering soreness and tenderness he had left behind. Even the slightest movement caused her to let out a soft, involuntary whimper.
"Godfather is really something else."
Fang Lian couldn't help but murmur a complaint, her mind drifting back to the scenes from the night before.
"He seemed a bit too experienced..."
Regardless of gender, everyone has some level of curiosity or preconceived notions about such intimacy. Fang Lian had mentally prepared herself for this, yet the memory of Yan Xuan’s skillful, practiced maneuvers on her body still left a faint, bittersweet sting in her heart.
"I’ll just tell myself he was practicing his technique in advance," she consoled herself. She reached for her phone and saw that it was already twelve-thirty in the afternoon.
Turning her head to survey the room, she looked around the bedroom where she had lived for eighteen years, finally letting her gaze settle on the high school uniform lying on the floor.
In the past, this cramped, narrow bedroom and the baggy, ugly uniform were the things she hated most. She had yearned for a bedroom of over a hundred square meters, with a walk-in closet filled with endless clothes and jewelry. She never could have imagined back then that one day, she would be wearing that very uniform in this very room, completing her transformation from a girl into a woman.
But none of that mattered now.
Judging by the force and stamina Yan Xuan had shown last night, he must have been quite satisfied with her attire and her performance.
"The delivery is here. Are you up, Xiao Lian?"
Yan Xuan’s voice called out from outside the room. Fang Lian got out of bed, put on her pajamas, and went to the living room.
Instead of washing up, she collapsed into Yan Xuan’s arms on the sofa and opened her mouth, waiting to be fed.
Yan Xuan gently tapped her cheek and urged, "Go wash your face and brush your teeth first."
Fang Lian didn't budge. Instead, she snuggled deeper into his embrace and pouted coaxingly, "Feed me first, Godfather, and then I’ll go..."
"You still have morning breath."
"I swallowed everything last night, so what’s a little breath?"
"You, oh you... are you still hurting?"
Yan Xuan sighed in resignation, picking up the chopsticks to feed her while asking with genuine concern.
Fang Lian playfully countered, "Godfather, do you want me to say it hurts, or that it doesn't?"
To say it hurt would be a reproach, but to say it didn't might bruise a man's ego.
Yan Xuan fell silent, and Fang Lian lay contentedly in his arms, enjoying the meal. The experience yesterday had been surreal for her—a volatile explosion of emotions followed by an intense physical impact. It felt as if she had been reborn.
Her courage grew, and she asked him bluntly:
"Godfather, I wasn't your first, was I?"
"No."
Yan Xuan nodded, his expression remaining neutral. Fang Lian pressed on.
"Then how many women have you been with?"
"Two."
"And the first one... was she your ex-girlfriend?"
Yan Xuan stopped feeding her mid-motion. After a long silence, he replied coldly:
"No."
"Huh?"
Fang Lian was taken aback, her mind racing to process the information.
First, the Godfather had never slept with his ex-girlfriend. Second, he had been with a woman in the past—likely the one he had practiced his skills on—but she wasn't his girlfriend.
Could it be that he had made a mistake in the past, or perhaps he had a casual fling?
No, that couldn't be right! If the Godfather were that kind of frivolous person, he would have taken her long ago; there would be no reason to wait until now.
Fang Lian wanted to get to the bottom of it, but seeing that Yan Xuan’s expression had darkened, she wisely shut her mouth.
"I'm full, Godfather. Wait for me to take a shower, and then we’ll go to the hospital to see Grandma."
Fang Lian ran into the bathroom. Yan Xuan bowed his head to eat the leftovers, taking the opportunity to check the app.
The data showed that Fang Lian’s affection level had finally broken through 90, reaching 92.
[Affection Level: 92 (The best way to truly open a woman's heart is to first knock down the gates of her body.)]
Yan Xuan was speechless at the app’s crude humor. Furthermore, a score of 92 was far below his expectations. He had done everything he could; he had assumed that breaking 90 would push her affection straight to 99 or 100.
What else could he do to increase it?
[Affection level 90 reached. Status Bar unlocked.]
[Affection level 90 reached. Relationship Map unlocked.]
Two notifications popped up on the app, and two new options appeared next to Fang Lian’s profile picture.
Yan Xuan clicked on the Status Bar first and was stunned.
[Status: XX-XX-XX (Selectable)]
There were thousands of options in the drop-down menu, allowing for three combinations at a time. It included emotions like "Happy," "Angry," and "Melancholy," but also things like "Cancer," "Amputation," and "Blindness." A chill ran down Yan Xuan’s spine.
This was absolute manipulation of a human being!
After the initial shock, Yan Xuan felt this function was somewhat useless. It required 90 affection to unlock, but if a girl already liked him that much, how could he bear to intentionally manipulate her? Even positive terms like "Happy" felt wrong. Imagine someone sobbing in grief, only to instantly switch to a joyous smile without any warning... The thought made his skin crawl.
Besides, wouldn't forcibly changing someone's emotional state have side effects?
Just as he was about to exit, he accidentally tapped "Diarrhea." Within seconds, Fang Lian’s voice rang out from the bathroom in complaint.
"Oh... Godfather, did you order that cheap takeout for lunch?"
Yan Xuan quickly cleared the status and then opened the Relationship Map.
In the center of the map was Fang Lian’s portrait, connected by a single line to her best friend, Yang Qingqing. Clicking the line revealed a prompt:
[Best friends. Current status: stable.]
Why was only Qingqing shown? Yan Xuan clicked on Yang Qingqing’s portrait, and to his surprise, a profile interface identical to Fang Lian’s appeared.
[Name: Yang Qingqing]
[Quality: ??]
[Affection: 33]
[Age: ??]
[Body Data: ??]
[Relationships: ??]
[Profile: ??]
Only her name and affection level were visible. Yan Xuan pondered. If this app worked like a gacha game, characters filled with question marks were likely locked. This meant Yang Qingqing was in the "Cyber Girlfriend" pool, and there was a chance she could be his next target?
The probability was probably low, but as time went on, he might eventually pull her...
Yan Xuan exited the app and returned to his food. He would cross that bridge when he came to it; besides, obtaining pulls wasn't easy. It was unlikely to be such a coincidence.
"Godfather, come help me up."
The bathroom door opened. Fang Lian was leaning against the doorframe, her legs trembling.
"Are you okay?"
Yan Xuan walked over, swept her up in his arms, and laid her back on the sofa, feeling a pang of guilt. The app’s effects were indeed potent; if he hadn't changed it back in time, she might have actually collapsed from exhaustion.
"My legs are numb. I need a kiss from Godfather to stand up again."
Fang Lian opened her arms, acting coquettishly. Having just showered, her pajama collar had slipped down to the third button, and tiny water droplets rolled down her fair, deep cleavage, leaving Yan Xuan feeling parched.
Yan Xuan picked her up, his rough hand sliding beneath the hem of her pajamas, inching upward.
"Your mother won't come back suddenly, will she?"
"Don't worry, Godfather. My mom might be unreliable, but she has enough social awareness to stay away."
"Then we won't go back to the bedroom?"
"Isn't it up to you, Godfather, to decide where we go..."
Just as his palm was about to reach the peak, an ill-timed phone call rang out.
The caller ID read: Yang Qingqing.