Su Qi had never seen such a ceremonial lunchbox before. It was wrapped in a square embroidered cloth patterned with dark plum blossoms. Only after unfolding the cloth could she see the neat, square lunchbox beneath. It looked exceptionally clean and had been polished smooth, with a design of falling cherry blossoms printed on the front—elegant and serene.
Though she had not yet glimpsed the food inside, Su Qi already felt that the Bulgogi Bibimbap by her left hand no longer smelled appealing. Even though it came with an extra serving of her favorite salad dressing.
Looking at the lunchbox, Su Qi could not help thinking of Japanese anime. Usually, only Female Protagonists from Rich Family households could enjoy lunches with this much ceremony. And whenever the male lead saw such an extravagant lunchbox, he would usually let out an excited cry.
Su Qi had assumed that was just an exaggerated storytelling device, until she opened the lunchbox herself. Seeing the ingredients inside, her mouth fell open in surprise. At that moment, she felt she was no less dramatic than an anime male lead.
What Su Qi did not understand, however, was that exaggeration in anime was merely exaggeration. Real men found it truly difficult to make such exaggerated expressions.
As for the reason, men were rational creatures while women were emotional. That was also why emotional management was more difficult for women than for men.
From the Female Protagonist System's third-person perspective, this was a sign that the host was gradually becoming more feminine and emotional. The host simply had not noticed it yet.
Of course, seeing her inch a little closer to becoming a Female Protagonist, the system was quite pleased and did not remind her.
"Can I really eat this?" Su Qi stared greedily at the colorful ingredients in the lunchbox. Four cooked red prawns, lightly dusted with seasoning, had been placed on a small dish. The presentation was exquisitely arranged and pleasing to the eye.
Shrimp was Su Qi's favorite food. Even if it was simply steamed without seasoning, as long as the vein had been removed and there was no bitter taste, she felt she could eat an entire plate.
She picked up a shrimp. It was still faintly warm, yet lacked the watery dampness of something steamed through with vapor. Su Qi could not help thinking that being rich was wonderful. This lunchbox must have been expensive!
The shrimp's back had been cut, so with a gentle pull, the shell came off easily. Su Qi did not throw the shell away; the roasted prawn shell was crisp as well and covered in seasoning, so discarding it would have been wasteful.
She did not even waste the shrimp head, swallowing it all in one bite. Afterward, Su Qi licked the fingers of her right hand that had held the shrimp. A blissful expression spread across her palm-sized face, and her eyes narrowed slightly from the delicious taste, like a cat that had stolen something fishy.
Having finished that one, Su Qi turned her gaze toward the remaining three.
"Just... just one more! Really, the last one." Su Qi swallowed and spoke as though comforting herself.
Three minutes later, every shrimp on the small dish had mysteriously vanished.
The system watched its host stare at the empty plate, curious about what she would say next.
Then Su Qi secretly switched the position of the empty little dish and the Takoyaki beside it. She let out a sigh of relief.
System: Well, damn. Covering her ears while stealing a bell.
The system could not understand Su Qi's train of thought. Since she had already secretly eaten some, was there really any difference between stealing Takoyaki and stealing prawns?
What remained in the lunchbox were small Japanese-style pastries, Takoyaki, Tamagoyaki, salmon, Sushi, and the like.
Though they looked especially exquisite, colorful, and incredibly enticing, they were far less appealing than the prawns.
Reluctantly, Su Qi wrapped the lunchbox back up in its cloth, intending to return it. However, she learned that Bai Miao had already gotten off work early. The security guard also reminded Su Qi to wash the lunchbox and give it to Bai Miao tomorrow; there was no need to save it for her.
After returning home, Su Qi reopened the lunchbox with a broad grin and ate every item inside one by one.
That foolish smile made her look exactly like the silly son of a rich landlord. No, she should be the silly daughter of a rich landlord now.
Looking at Su Qi smiling foolishly, her eyes curved into crescents. Anyone could clearly see from those eyes just how high her spirits were.
She appeared innocent and guileless, inexperienced in worldly matters. At first glance, she looked pure; at second glance, she looked easy to trick.
The system could not help sighing. They were both human beings, so why had she changed so quickly?
Su Qi had looked so composed on the first two days. How could someone change just like that? Or was it that after putting on Innocent Eyes, even this system received some kind of bonus when looking at her? No, that could not be right. I am not even a living creature.
I am a system!?
Hic! Having eaten and drunk her fill, Su Qi let out a burp.
After burping, Su Qi instinctively covered her mouth with her right hand, her eyes widening at the same time. Against the spotless whites of her eyes, her ink-black pupils appeared even brighter, and her entire body gave a little jump.
If Su Qi could have seen that little movement of hers, she would have had to praise herself: Damn, am I really this cute?
Su Qi herself was stunned by that instinctive little movement, so full of adorableness. She had practiced the gesture before while drawing comics, so it was not entirely unfamiliar.
But she had deliberately practiced it to draw adult comics. Just now, though, it had been instinctive. Could there be something wrong with her mind?
That would be absolutely terrifying!!
If I really turned into a girl, would I start liking boys in the future? Su Qi shuddered at the thought. Impossible, impossible!
"System, System, what is going on? I feel like something is seriously wrong with me!?" Su Qi hurriedly asked.
"System scan indicates that the host is not suffering from any terminal illness, nor does she have any serious disease!?"
Su Qi hurriedly shook her head and continued, "Not that kind of problem. Mentally—no, my way of thinking. I feel like my thought patterns are getting messed up. Lately, I keep doing strange things for no reason."
"The Pure Hearted Eyes worn by the host have the effect of increasing the purity attribute. Purity is defined as uprightness, cleanliness, and innocence of thought. Clean thoughts mean having no distracting thoughts whatsoever. In other words, many of the host's instinctive little actions originate from the host's inner heart. The previous host was merely disguising her true self."
Hearing the system's answer, Su Qi was stunned. Could it be that deep down, I am actually a crossdressing big shot?
Su Qi was shocked for an entire year after receiving that answer.
I am an adult-comic author, the founding patriarch of H-games, and you are telling me that deep inside, I am a cute girl.
System: "Forty percent of people imagine themselves as female characters when reading adult comics. The host has researched this before and should know it better than I do. Or could it be..."
Su Qi: "Do not say another word..."
System: Shocked face.jpg
I think I just discovered some earth-shattering secret.
Before you continue