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Yu Qing felt as if she'd made thorough preparations and eagerly geared up to fight the enemy, only to be sent to the gate to pick a bean pod.

Xiang Changge nodded. Holding her phone, she casually placed the first piece on the board and replied calmly, "That's right."

What was the problem? Weren't Gomoku and chess both games?

Xiang Changge had chosen black, so she got to go first.

Looking at the board with its first piece already in place, Yu Qing felt as gloomy as if she'd put all her strength into punching Xiang Changge, only to discover that she was wearing twenty layers of padded clothing.

Yu Qing took a deep breath before she managed to calm down a little.

Fine. Gomoku it was. It was such a simple game—what was there to compete over?

Yu Qing was brimming with confidence, and Xiang Changge was equally sure of herself.

Life in the apocalypse was both dull and thrilling. When she wasn't killing zombies or searching through trash, Xiang Changge would find ways to entertain herself.

For instance, she'd draw a game board on the ground and play against herself.

She'd played plenty of games like Tic-Tac-Toe and Gomoku to amuse herself, and considered herself a seasoned player with a wealth of experience.

And yet, five minutes later, Master Xiang—so experienced in Gomoku—stared at the words "You have lost" on the screen, utterly bewildered.

She'd lost?

She'd lost?

How could she possibly have lost?

Yu Qing's pale little face had regained some color, whether because she was delighted or had finally recovered. She pressed her lips together to hold back a smile, then looked at Xiang Changge, who was staring at her in disbelief, with a haughty gleam in her eyes.

"Steward Xiang, you lost."

As she said it, Yu Qing felt a genuine rush of satisfaction. It was so wonderful that she almost felt dazed.

At first, she'd thought Xiang Changge was going easy on her. But seeing Xiang Changge still clutching her phone and staring at it in disbelief, Yu Qing knew for certain: Xiang Changge couldn't beat her.

Xiang Changge couldn't beat her, Yu Qing, at Gomoku!

Yu Qing spun her phone around in her hand, then tossed it onto the bed. Mimicking Xiang Changge's earlier pose, she gestured toward the door. "Don't let me keep you, Steward Xiang. I'm going back to sleep."

Even after she'd stepped outside Yu Qing's room, Xiang Changge still hadn't quite recovered.

As a warm and thoughtful system, the Plot Rewriting System tried to comfort its host, who had been unceremoniously chased out of Yu Qing's room. "It's okay, 8802. Take it slow. It's only the second day of the mission. We need to make gradual progress."

If the mission were that easy, there'd have been no need for it to show up in the first place.

Perhaps the system's voice had brought Xiang Changge back to her senses. She finally put away her phone, pulled out a boiled egg, and tapped it against her forehead.

Once a crack appeared, she started downstairs, peeling the egg as she went.

The system: "..."

Oh no. It seemed its precious host had taken the loss pretty hard.

Xiang Changge finished the boiled egg, smacked her lips as if they were a little dry, and sighed. "I can't believe I lost. Wasn't I a Gomoku expert? How could I have lost?"

The system, which had already started searching for "What to do when your host takes a loss too hard and starts acting strange," said, "..."

It quietly closed the search page and began gathering resources like Thirty Handy Tips for Becoming a Gomoku Expert and Gomoku: A Speedrun Guide to send to Xiang Changge.

Xiang Changge went into the kitchen and drank a carton of milk. Only then did she finally accept that she wasn't a Gomoku prodigy after all.

Yu Qing had won, so Xiang Changge couldn't make her get up early for breakfast today. But as a proper steward, Xiang Changge had the kitchen prepare several delicious, appetizing breakfast dishes and send them to Yu Qing's room.

She wouldn't force her. She'd just leave the food there, and Yu Qing could eat it if she wanted or leave it if she didn't. Either way, Xiang Changge still had to fulfill her duty.

Since Yu Qing wasn't getting up, Xiang Changge didn't feel like picking out shoes and accessories by herself. She told the brands not to come today and said she'd let them know when to come another time.

Xiang Changge was the sort who couldn't sit still. Besides taking care of Yu Qing, she still had to handle hiring and training the Yu Family's servants.

She'd also found two new counselors and mentors, planning to find an opportunity for them to talk with Yu Qing and see whether it helped.

As for Yu Qing's physical health, the wellness and nutrition consultants couldn't afford to slack off, either.

Xiang Changge had the system, which could provide detailed information about Yu Qing's condition. The nutritionist would use those records to coordinate with the kitchen, making sure the meals were delicious while also meeting Yu Qing's nutritional needs.

The only uncertainty was Yu Qing's appetite.

But the principle remained the same: Yu Qing could refuse to eat or do anything, but she still had to be provided with everything she needed.

Xiang Changge was still trying to think of something Yu Qing might find interesting.

People really couldn't spend all their time with nothing to do. They needed something to occupy them if they were going to find life meaningful.

As far as Xiang Changge was concerned, every second of life was interesting.

There was so much to eat, drink, play with, use, and do. She was interested in all of it.

Xiang Changge stayed busy, while Yu Qing took it easy.

Yu Qing had always had trouble falling asleep. After being woken up that morning and then sparring with Xiang Changge over a game of Gomoku, her body was exhausted, but her mind was still quite alert.

After Xiang Changge left, she opened the Gomoku app again.

There was no one to play with this time, so she chose to play against the computer.

She beat both the easy and hard levels, so Yu Qing eagerly chose the master level.

After five straight losses, Yu Qing got annoyed. She carefully analyzed the computer's moves and finally won in the eighth game. From then on, she won more often than she lost.

After winning five games in a row, she tossed her phone aside, bored.

What a bore. Even the computer was nothing special.

She was alert, but her body was tired. Yet when she lay in bed, she couldn't fall asleep.

She couldn't sleep, and she didn't know what else to do.

Just as Yu Qing's mood was about to sink again, someone knocked on her door.

Yu Qing jumped. She wondered if Xiang Changge was going back on her word and coming to force her out of bed again.

She hesitated, wondering whether to pretend to be asleep, when she heard the door open.

Without thinking, Yu Qing closed her eyes.

Soon, a familiar set of footsteps approached, accompanied by the aroma of food.

It was Aunt Yang.

Aunt Yang was one of the people who'd been by her side the longest. Yu Qing could recognize her footsteps just by listening.

But to be safe, Yu Qing still kept quiet.

She heard Aunt Yang bring something to eat inside and set it on the little table by the floor-to-ceiling window. Not long afterward, Aunt Yang left.

Yu Qing's room was very large, with a broad, semicircular window area. Near the bed was a huge floor-to-ceiling window, with a fabric sofa in front of it and a small table in front of the sofa.

Off to the side was a bay window, its seat covered with thick cushions. Yu Qing loved curling up there at night to gaze at the darkness outside.

Only after the door closed again did Yu Qing open her eyes and look toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

Xiang Changge had drawn back the thick blackout curtains that morning, leaving only the white sheer curtains hanging down. It was still raining today, and the sky was gloomy, but with only the sheers drawn, the light outside wasn't too harsh.

By the light of day, Yu Qing saw that the little table was crowded with food.

The aroma in the air seemed to include something fried, too.

For some reason, Yu Qing thought of the smell of fried chicken again.

Maybe all that scheming and sparring with Xiang Changge last night had taken too much out of her. Yu Qing's stomach was already empty, and when she smelled the food, her mouth—which had seemed to have no appetite at all—suddenly started to crave a little.

She lay in bed for a few more minutes, making sure no one else was coming in. Then, at last, she slowly got up and padded barefoot to the little table.

She looked down. Several different breakfast dishes filled every inch of the table.

Oatmeal, sweet potato and millet porridge, steamed egg custard, wontons, steamed dumplings, noodles in clear broth, spinach and tofu soup, toast toasted golden brown on both sides... It was like a hotel buffet spread out before her.

The smell that had drawn Yu Qing over came from a tiny stick of fried dough.

It was so small that someone might mistake it for a lighter.

Maybe they'd deliberately made it so small because they were worried that eating too much greasy food would be bad for Yu Qing's health, or because they didn't want her to waste what she couldn't finish.

Beside the fried dough was a bowl of steaming soy milk.

The aroma of fried food was always especially powerful. For the few seconds Yu Qing stood by the table, that rich, oily smell kept drifting into her nose.

"..."

So Xiang Changge couldn't beat her at Gomoku and couldn't legitimately force her out of bed for breakfast, so she'd resorted to this trick to tempt her?

Hmph.

She'd succeeded.

Yu Qing turned and went into the bathroom to wash up.

Five minutes later, Yu Qing sat down on the fabric sofa. She first picked up the warm water beside her and took a few sips, then picked up her chopsticks.

There were so many choices in front of her, but Yu Qing still picked up the fried dough first.

Aunt Yang must have brought it up just after it came out of the fryer. It was now at the perfect temperature to eat.

Yu Qing took a gentle bite. The crisp outer layer gave way, revealing the soft inside.

It was delicious, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside—a taste Yu Qing hadn't had in a long time.

At first, her taste buds registered the fried dough as savory. As she chewed, the enzymes broke down the flour, and sweetness began to spread through her mouth.

After another bite, Yu Qing glanced at the bowl of soy milk beside the fried dough.

She hesitated for a moment, then dipped the fried dough into the soy milk.

When she took another bite, the dough had soaked up the soy milk. It was soft and moist, with that rich soy flavor nestled inside—a whole different taste.

Chapter 14: Deliberately Tempting Someone

Maybe all that scheming and sparring with Xiang Changge last night had taken too much out of Yu Qing. Her stomach was already empty, and when she smelled the food, her mouth—which had seemed to have no appetite at all—suddenly started to crave a little.

She lay in bed for a few more minutes, making sure no one else was coming in. Then, at last, she slowly got up and padded barefoot to the little table.

She looked down. Several different breakfast dishes filled every inch of the table.

Oatmeal, sweet potato and millet porridge, steamed egg custard, wontons, steamed dumplings, noodles in clear broth, spinach and tofu soup, toast toasted golden brown on both sides... It was like a hotel buffet spread out before her.

The smell that had drawn Yu Qing over came from a tiny stick of fried dough.

It was so small that someone might mistake it for a lighter.

Maybe they'd deliberately made it so small because they were worried that eating too much greasy food would be bad for Yu Qing's health, or because they didn't want her to waste what she couldn't finish.

Beside the fried dough was a bowl of steaming soy milk.

The aroma of fried food was always especially powerful. For the few seconds Yu Qing stood by the table, that rich, oily smell kept drifting into her nose.

"..."

So Xiang Changge couldn't beat her at Gomoku and couldn't legitimately force her out of bed for breakfast, so she'd resorted to this trick to tempt her?

Hmph.

She'd succeeded.

Yu Qing turned and went into the bathroom to wash up.

Five minutes later, Yu Qing sat down on the fabric sofa. She first picked up the warm water beside her and took a few sips, then picked up her chopsticks.

There were so many choices in front of her, but Yu Qing still picked up the fried dough first.

Aunt Yang must have brought it up just after it came out of the fryer. It was now at the perfect temperature to eat.

Yu Qing took a gentle bite. The crisp outer layer gave way, revealing the soft inside.

It was delicious, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside—a taste Yu Qing hadn't had in a long time.

At first, her taste buds registered the fried dough as savory. As she chewed, the enzymes broke down the flour, and sweetness began to spread through her mouth.

After another bite, Yu Qing glanced at the bowl of soy milk beside the fried dough.

She hesitated for a moment, then dipped the fried dough into the soy milk.

When she took another bite, the dough had soaked up the soy milk. It was soft and moist, with that rich soy flavor nestled inside—a whole different taste.