The next morning, Qin Ze got up for his morning workout without fail, rain or shine. To his surprise, Wang Zijing was nowhere to be seen. His sister's bedroom door was shut, which struck him as odd, but he didn't feel right knocking to ask. So he went out to exercise alone.
When he returned at seven-thirty, neither of the two women had gotten up yet. Qin Ze sat in the living room eating breakfast and casually opened the system interface. Browsing the shop had become his daily entertainment, much like how he used to browse UC every day.
When he opened the system interface, he noticed an "exclamation mark" flashing in the upper-right corner. He tapped it lightly, and the screen changed: "Congratulations, Host, for completing five missions. Please claim your mission reward."
A mission reward?
What the hell!
Behind the notification was a gift box icon.
Three parts curious and three parts expectant, Qin Ze tapped the "gift box" icon.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have received one Facial Micro-Adjustment. It has been automatically applied."
Facial Micro-Adjustment?
Qin Ze froze. The next moment, his face began to burn, and his skin itched as though ants were crawling over it. What the hell was a facial adjustment? It couldn't be plastic surgery, could it? Don't turn me into some freak.
He sprang from his chair and dove into the bathroom.
Before the large bathroom mirror, Qin Ze stood blankly, like a statue.
At that moment, Qin Ze had only one thought in his head: Holy shit!
The mirror reflected a rather handsome young man with a tall, straight frame, a balanced and athletic build, and sharply defined facial contours. It was Qin Ze's face, but somehow different from before. His brows had become more striking, his eyes bright and spirited, his nose high and straight, his lips slightly thin. The acne marks on his face had disappeared too, leaving his skin smooth and delicate. If he had to describe it with one phrase: a face like polished jade.
It was still Qin Ze's face, but his features were far more refined than before. At best, he had once been mildly handsome. Now, he was undeniably School Hunk-level handsome. Even standing beside Zhang Mingyu, he wouldn't be inferior in the slightest.
His appearance had risen by at least two levels. Only now did he truly look like Qin Baobao's biological younger brother.
At last, no one could mock him as Tiger Sister Dog Brother anymore.
Not being handsome had always been Qin Ze's sore point. First, Qin Baobao was such a dazzling beauty. They had the same mother, so why was the gap so huge? Second, he was already nothing special to begin with, and he wasn't handsome either. What pretty girl would ever like him?
In truth, Qin Ze had regular features and was the type who grew on people. If he truly wanted a girlfriend, it wouldn't be impossible to find one. But Qin Baobao had raised his standards too high. He couldn't look twice at ordinary girls. Just imagine marrying a plain-looking wife and bringing her home for dinner, only for Qin Baobao to sit beside her. It would look exactly like a young lady sitting next to her maid.
Liu Ziqiang's motto was: A man must strive to become strong.
Qin Ze's motto was: Men don't make a living off their faces.
Look at that. Nothing but bitterness.
Qin Ze stood there dumbly for over ten seconds. Then his brows suddenly jumped, joy spreading across his face. He waved his arms and struck a pose like a serf overthrowing his master.
From now on, I'm handsome too.
"I stand atop the raging waves, gripping the turning sun and moon..." Qin Ze sang loudly.
"Why are you singing so early in the morning?" Wang Zijing's soft voice sounded from outside the door. She pushed it open. "You're done washing up, right? I'm coming in."
Without waiting for Qin Ze to answer, she pushed the door open and entered.
Their eyes met.
Wang Zijing froze. Her hair was messy, and her complexion was a little poor. She had looked sleepy just moments ago, but now her eyes abruptly widened as she stared fixedly at Qin Ze.
Qin Ze inexplicably felt guilty and joked, "What are you staring at?"
Wang Zijing opened her mouth. It took her a long while to react. She rubbed her eyes hard, then stared at Qin Ze again.
She rubbed them again, then looked again!
Qin Ze's thoughts raced as he considered an excuse.
Wang Zijing spun around and ran back toward the bedroom in her slippers, her footsteps clattering. "Bao Bao... Bao Bao, wake up! Hurry, wake up..."
Qin Ze looked at the mirror, stroked his chin, and fell silent.
Was that really such a big reaction?
A moment later, Wang Zijing dragged over the groggy Qin Baobao. Qin Baobao followed along step by step with her eyes half-closed, while Wang Zijing pulled her right sleeve so tightly that her snow-white, rounded shoulder was exposed.
"Slow down, slow down... What's so special about Qin Ze? It's not like he's some handsome guy."
"H-He-He..." Wang Zijing was incoherent. "Am I seeing things? Am I nearsighted? Your brother got handsome. He got really handsome. This isn't scientific."
"Are you crazy..." Qin Baobao muttered. "Stop messing around, okay? Qin Ze, handsome? I think your eyes are really failing you..."
Qin Baobao shut up, because she saw Qin Ze standing in front of the mirror. Her bleary eyes instantly cleared, and her expression was exactly like she had seen a ghost.
She was even more shocked than Wang Zijing. How long had Wang Zijing known Qin Ze? This was her brother of over twenty years. She knew Qin Ze too well, so well that she even knew how many acne marks were on his face.
Qin Baobao stared at him hard, her sharp gaze making Qin Ze's skin crawl.
You couldn't blame Qin Baobao for reacting that way. Anyone would. A relative by your side had been a loser the day before, then after one night, he fucking turned into a male god.
"You're Qin Ze, right?" Qin Baobao asked in a low voice.
"What are you trying to say?" Qin Ze asked expressionlessly.
Qin Baobao's eyes were sharp, like a Japanese devil interrogating an underground operative, trying to find a flaw in Qin Ze. But she failed. Qin Ze was still Qin Ze. His face was the same as ever, only more refined and better-looking.
"What do I love eating most?"
"Chicken stewed with mushrooms."
"My dream?"
"To become a celebrity."
"The greatest humiliation of my life?"
"Your name."
"What color is my underwear?"
"Now that's a good question. When you were in middle school, your panties had cartoon patterns and were mostly white. In high school, you mostly wore white and yellow. After college, the colors and styles increased, but white and yellow were still the most common. After graduating, aside from thongs and sexy lingerie, you basically had a few of every style. Oh, you do have sexy lingerie too. I don't know which man gave it to you on your birthday. Mm, black."
Wang Zijing was dumbfounded. What kind of twisted younger brother was this? He knew his sister's underwear like the back of his hand and recited it all so smoothly...
But Qin Baobao let out a sigh of relief and patted Wang Zijing's shoulder. "No need to doubt it. This is my brother."
She stepped forward, cupped Qin Ze's face, and said, "How did this happen? After one night's sleep, my loser brother turned into a male god. It feels like you've changed so much, yet also barely changed at all. This face is still my brother's."
Wang Zijing looked uncertain. "Qin Ze, did you secretly go get plastic surgery this morning?"
"Bullshit. Plastic surgery needs a recovery period too, okay?" Qin Ze broke free from his sister's hands and complained.
"What's the big deal? Don't I just look like this? I think it's perfectly normal. Maybe there's something wrong with your eyes."
Qin Baobao scratched her head. "Could it be that I just haven't paid enough attention to you normally?"
Wang Zijing pondered. "From a biological perspective... forget it, I don't understand biology. But it just doesn't seem scientific. They say girls change eighteen times as they grow up, but I've never heard of someone's appearance changing overnight."
Qin Baobao made Detective Conan's chin-holding deduction pose. "It's not exactly a drastic transformation. His nose, eyes, and mouth are still Qin Ze's. It just feels strange..."
"Makeup techniques are so advanced these days. What's so strange about this?" Qin Ze joked. "I run and exercise every day. My complexion just improved. When you're refreshed and full of energy, you naturally look more spirited. That makes you look more handsome."
After rambling for a long while, he finally muddled through. His sister reluctantly believed that her younger brother had been naturally good-looking all along, only previously "buried." Wang Zijing also reluctantly believed she simply hadn't paid enough attention to Qin Ze before. He had always been this handsome...
After breakfast, Qin Baobao had to go to work. Before leaving, she held Qin Ze's face and stared at it for a long time. When she turned away, she muttered something under her breath before heading out to work.
Ten in the morning.
"I'm going to the market. Want to come?"
"No, I'm not feeling well."
Qin Ze's heart stirred. "Did your great aunt come?"
Wang Zijing's dignified oval face reddened slightly. She shot him an irritated glare. "No."
"But I can smell the faint scent of blood on you. And I can tell from your complexion." Qin Ze openly discussed Great Aunt with his sister's bestie.
"Bao Bao told you?" Wang Zijing had an open-minded personality and wasn't angry at Qin Ze's bluntness.
"I understand traditional Chinese medicine."
"You're bragging."
"Believe it or not, I'm telling the truth. Luckily, you don't suffer from menstrual cramps. You're not like Qin Baobao, otherwise you'd really be in for it." Qin Ze wore an expression that said, I may not have read much, but you can't fool me. "Besides, you haven't even showered. If it's not Great Aunt, what else could it be?"
Wang Zijing blushed furiously and glared at him. "Can we not talk about this?"
"Fine, fine. I'm heading out."
The effects of the system reward's Facial Micro-Adjustment were immediate. Qin Baobao and Wang Zijing's reactions made that clear. As Qin Ze walked down the street, he experienced the change once again.
A young married woman was walking toward him on the sidewalk ahead. While they were still more than ten meters apart, she began staring hard at his face. Even when they passed each other, her gaze remained fixed on him.
For example, while waiting at a traffic light, several schoolgirls in uniforms—middle school students—chatted and laughed while their watery eyes kept sneaking glances at Qin Ze.
Qin Ze remained exhilarated all day. He had finally received the same treatment Qin Baobao did. Wherever he went, he was the center of attention. There were always girls and women sneaking looks at him.
He had a tall, well-proportioned physique and a handsome, striking face. He was every bit the Long-Legged Oppa in women's eyes.
If he had to pick out a flaw, it was probably the ordinary aura he had developed over more than twenty years of being average. That was difficult to change in a short time.
Before you continue