Anna's Story

As the saying went,

A round face brought wealth; even if you weren't rich, it kept the house safe.

A sturdy build meant plenty of fat; it shaved ten years off your life.

"Did they get the vibe wrong? This rich woman is nothing like I imagined."

Li Ran stared at the woman approaching, astonishment and a hint of admiration showing in his eyes.

Her swaying waist was like a butterfly dancing among flowers, and she radiated a unique feminine charm from within.

The three men beside him were completely captivated, gazing at her in a daze.

The woman came over and sat in a booth in front of them, perched on the edge of the seat. The slit in her qipao was just right, perfectly showing off her long, fair legs.

She took a slim cigarette from the pack on the table and elegantly held it between her red lips. Her alluring silhouette was like a wild rose blooming in a corner.

But they all understood that this woman was both beautiful and dangerous.

Just then, Xiao Yi nudged Chen Jiabin and whispered, "Go on, hurry up. Don't forget what I told you."

Chen Jiabin nodded firmly. With his severed arm hanging at his side, he puffed out his chest and strode toward the woman.

"Click!"

Chen Jiabin lit her cigarette for her.

Then he reached out his hand and said, "Hello, beautiful. May I buy you a drink?"

The woman gave Chen Jiabin, who was staring at her lecherously, a scornful, indifferent glance and didn't respond.

He'd been rejected right off the bat, and Chen Jiabin was mortified. He immediately recalled Xiao Yi's advice: to win over a rich woman, he couldn't play by the rules. Only an unexpected approach could bring victory.

Then Chen Jiabin seemed to think of something, and a more lecherous smile spread across his face. "I just can't understand how a beautiful woman like you ended up on this kind of path. Where's your morality? Where's your dignity? Where's your address? Where's your Feixin?"

At that, Li Ran and Lu Zhaohui spat out their drinks at the same time.

Xiao Yi covered his head with one hand. "Th-this definitely wasn't what I taught him. I'll penalize myself with a drink."

The result was obvious. The woman finally responded.

"Get lost!"

Chen Jiabin slunk back in disgrace and hid his face behind the sofa, too ashamed to show himself.

In a commanding tone, Xiao Yi said to Lu Zhaohui,

"You're next. Go on."

"M-me? I can't. I'm afraid of dying."

Lu Zhaohui waved his hands repeatedly, showing how scared he was.

"Don't worry. There's no danger even if you fail. We've been doing this for three days," Xiao Yi said.

Knowing there was no danger reassured Lu Zhaohui. He finally stood up, downed a drink to work up his courage, and went over.

Think big. Show off your unique charm to catch the rich woman's attention, Lu Zhaohui encouraged himself.

He nervously walked over to the woman, too tense to utter a sound.

"B-beautiful... you're... you're so beautiful."

The woman smoked elegantly, not even raising her head. Her gaze was distant, as if she were lost in thought.

Lu Zhaohui, what are you doing? You said you'd think big, that you'd win by being unexpected. Why can't you even get the words out?

After being ignored, Lu Zhaohui straightened up again, took a deep breath, and continued, "Beautiful, I... I'll tell you a joke."

The woman gave no response, and Lu Zhaohui rattled it off at top speed:

"An old man was riding a camel through the desert and tried to do something indecent to it, but the camel fought back desperately, so he had to give up. After walking for a while, he found a beautiful woman unconscious in the desert, barely breathing. The old man went to great lengths to save her. The woman looked at him, then at the endless, barren desert, and sighed. 'We're going to die in this desert anyway, so do whatever you want.' Guess what the old man said to her?"

Smoke swirled through the air, making the woman's stunning face look a little indistinct. She had no interest in the man before her, let alone his stupid joke.

When he finished, she still didn't respond, leaving the atmosphere awkward.

"You'd never guess. The old man said, 'Beautiful, help me hold the camel down...'"

"Hahaha, isn't that hilarious?"

Lu Zhaohui had cracked himself up, laughing like an idiot.

"..."

Li Ran, Xiao Yi, and Chen Jiabin truly hadn't expected Lu Zhaohui to come up with a joke like that...

But in the end, Lu Zhaohui felt like a clown and was overwhelmed by a sense of failure. He covered his face and ran back. "I-I really am no good at pursuing women."

Li Ran patted Lu Zhaohui on the shoulder and comforted him. "Don't lose heart. You went straight for the highest-level challenge. Anyone would feel defeated. Why not start with your own guidance mission?"

Xiao Yi sighed. "Looks like we're doomed to fail again today. We've tried everything, from normal pickup lines to the bizarre approach today, and still haven't triggered the rich woman's mission."

"Li..."

Xiao Yi turned to Li Ran, wanting him to give it a try. But the moment he opened his mouth, the words caught in his throat. He poured himself a drink and downed it in one gulp instead.

He tidied his appearance and hair a little, exhaled, then walked toward the woman with the utmost courtesy.

Xiao Yi spoke very softly and behaved like a gentleman.

The others couldn't make out what Xiao Yi was saying. They only saw him sitting courteously across from the woman, talking animatedly as if showing off something.

Throughout the whole thing, the woman kept smoking, ignoring Xiao Yi.

Ten minutes later, apparently worn out from talking, Xiao Yi returned, poured himself two drinks in a row, and downed them.

"What the hell is she acting so high and mighty for? If this were the real world, I wouldn't give her a second glance," Xiao Yi said furiously, as if he'd suffered a crushing defeat.

What kind of woman could turn down three men in a row?

Li Ran suddenly became deeply interested.

His gaze fell on the woman's alluring silhouette.

(Bar owner: Anna)

(B-Class Mental Infector)

(Mysterious Power: 280)

(A woman who had been through a lot. She had seen through society and life, and taken everything in stride.)

(Don't try to have fun at her expense, and don't try to hurt her. Just sit quietly with her, and she might take an interest in you.)

After seeing the prompt, Li Ran understood.

A woman's mind was like a book that was hard to get through. The more you tried to read her, the more you found yourself faced with obscure, impenetrable words.

Better to stay calm and let her become curious about you.

After downing three drinks, Xiao Yi looked at Li Ran. After what had happened before, he didn't dare ask Li Ran to try. What if that kid completed the mission again? He'd lose another chance at one.

Chen Jiabin was the same; he was afraid Li Ran would steal his mission.

But Lu Zhaohui was curious. "Li Ran, aren't you going to try?"

"If I do, someone might be unhappy."

Lu Zhaohui was too dense to understand what Li Ran meant. Confused, he asked, "Why would anyone be unhappy? We're all teammates. We should help each other. If you complete it, you'll have to treat us all to a meal, right?"

Li Ran thought Lu Zhaohui was an interesting guy.

"Fine. If I succeed, I'll treat everyone to dinner," Li Ran said, standing up.

Xiao Yi and Chen Jiabin kept their heads down and continued drinking, as if they hadn't heard.

Only Lu Zhaohui, unaware of the situation, cheered Li Ran on.

Li Ran didn't drink or tidy his appearance. He picked up a fashion magazine from a nearby bookshelf, walked over, and sat down naturally across from Anna, the bar owner, then began reading it attentively.

Anna continued smoking elegantly, her gaze distant, as if nothing in the world had anything to do with her.

In this dusty world, in this filthy and ugly place, all the men lusted after her. Every man who saw her tried to curry favor with her, and when they couldn't have her, they slandered her with vile words behind her back.

The women, meanwhile, hated her with a passion.

The three men in the booth were puzzled by Li Ran's behavior.

"What's he doing? Reading a magazine?" Chen Jiabin asked.

"He got rejected and is just killing time. Looks like he was only lucky the previous times. He's nothing special," Xiao Yi said disdainfully.

Li Ran's behavior was the exact opposite of his. Xiao Yi had constantly tried different ways to sweet-talk his way into the rich woman's heart.

Li Ran, on the other hand, didn't say a word. He simply sat quietly across from her.

He did nothing at all, only focusing on the fashion magazine in his hands. He didn't even look up at Anna.

And so Anna and Li Ran sat facing each other.

Before they knew it, Li Ran and Anna had been sitting there quietly for three hours.

Xiao Yi, Chen Jiabin, and Lu Zhaohui had unknowingly finished all the drinks on the table.

"I'm done waiting. I still have a deal to finish with the doctor, and I don't want to waste time here."

Chen Jiabin had grown impatient waiting. He had no idea what Li Ran was up to.

"Li Ran's ridiculous, thinking he can attract a rich woman's attention like this. He's only fooling himself. In this woman's eyes, everything is fleeting," Xiao Yi said.

Lu Zhaohui sighed. "Sigh, looks like we're not getting that meal."

The three of them decided not to wait any longer and stood up to leave.

But just then, a proud, cool voice rang out, making the three men turn around in disbelief.

"Is that magazine more interesting than I am?"

Anna's gaze was no longer distant. Curiosity showed in her cool eyes as she watched the man across from her.

Ever since he sat down, all the man's attention had been on the magazine. For three whole hours, he hadn't looked up at her even once!

Anna found it incredible.

The men around her had always eyed her greedily. She could rely on her beauty to make anyone jump at her command.

She was already sick of that kind of life, sick of this ugly world.

Li Ran kept his eyes on the magazine. His cool voice came from behind it. "Some things are worth seeing only once."

Anna was surprised. She had never heard anyone describe her that way before.

What did he mean?

Was that a compliment, or wasn't it?

What did he mean by saying some things were worth seeing only once?

Anna's curiosity was piqued. She smiled seductively, her eyes playful, and asked, "Would you like to hear my story?"

[Mission triggered: Anna's Story]

[Mission reward: Mysterious Power +100, Points +1000]

Hearing that the mission had been triggered, Li Ran closed the fashion magazine and set it aside.

Meeting Anna's gaze, he smiled faintly. "Would you like a drink?"