It's Okay Even Without Your Dad!

That night.

Zhang Tianyu, Xiao Wu, and Tang San sat around the dining table, eating the dinner Tang San had made.

"I never knew you were such a good cook, Xiao San!" Xiao Wu said.

Tang San smiled bashfully. "I used to make most of the meals at home."

"No wonder!"

Tang San looked at the two of them with a wistful expression. "Thank you. Thank you for keeping me company."

"What are you thanking us for? We're the best of friends!" Xiao Wu said. "Don't be so down. Your dad's only left for now. One day, you'll see each other again. Maybe he left so you could grow better and become stronger. If you keep feeling this way, won't you be letting all his good intentions go to waste?"

A bitter smile appeared on Tang San's face. "Maybe. But why wouldn't he even let me see him one last time? Xiao Wu, do you know? Dad's my only family. Without Dad, our house isn't a home anymore."

Xiao Wu smiled. "Even without your dad, you still have me as your friend. If you really want a family member, I don't mind being your big sister. Come on, let me hear you call me Sister Xiao Wu. Everyone calls me that; you're the only exception."

Zhang Tianyu thought, Xiao Wu, you sure know how to talk. Your little mouth's practically coated in honey!

What did she mean, "without your dad"?

Good grief!

Was it really okay to just tell him his father was gone?

Of course, I also think Tang San's better off without his dad!

Zhang Tianyu couldn't let that pass. He immediately chimed in, "That's right. Even without your dad, you've still got me, your brother! Let me hear you call me Big Brother Tianyu!"

Tang San smiled. Though he didn't reply, his expression and eyes clearly looked much better than before.

Zhang Tianyu thought, Tang San really is such a filial son.

He heard the words "without your dad" and didn't even seem to have much of a reaction.

So do you really not hear how wrong that sounds,

or are you pretending you don't?

Zhang Tianyu remembered it clearly.

In the original story,

Xiao Wu really had said, "Even without your dad, you still have me as your friend."

And Tang San had genuinely failed to realize there was anything wrong with that.

So "without your dad" was actually something Tang San expected to hear, huh!

Tang San had recovered his spirits and started clearing away the dishes.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tianyu took Xiao Wu to the hill where Tang San had captured her back then.

That's right.

He was going to pick up Tang San's girl at Tang San's own flirting sanctuary!

That was the kind of ritual a romantic conquest deserved!

Bathed in moonlight, Xiao Wu looked like a goddess—though, of course, an underage goddess.

Just as Zhang Tianyu was wondering what approach he should use this time to win Xiao Wu over, the system suddenly issued a prompt:

"Notice: Quest received: [Hardcore Flirting]. Quest requirements: Set Xiao Wu up, while also winning her favor and making her willingly become someone close to you. No restrictions on method, means, or consequences, but avoid killing her if possible; otherwise, the quest will fail. Quest rewards: Soul Power Level +2, Reward Points +20, Random Soul Bone unlock progress +50%."

Zhang Tianyu had been about to complain that the system was cruel enough to make him set up even Xiao Wu.

But as soon as he heard the quest rewards, he became interested. "Random Soul Bone? First tell me, is it random across every type and grade, or random from the Soul Bone set I had last time?"

In his previous life, he had been on the verge of completing a full set of Soul Bones, but then something unexpected had happened. Everything had reset, gone back to zero, and he had had to start over.

So even though he'd never mentioned it aloud, the Soul Bone set had always been a considerable regret of his.

"Notice: I cannot disclose that, dear host. You'll find out once you complete the quest."

Zhang Tianyu shrugged.

Fine. Whether it was a set of Soul Bones or not, he had no choice in the matter anyway. He couldn't decide what the quest rewards would be.

All he had to do was figure out how to complete the quest and claim the rewards.

So this quest was about setting Xiao Wu up?

Good grief!

In his previous life, he'd complained about the system giving him a quest to set Xiao Wu up when it had just been a misunderstanding.

But this time, there was no need to complain—it had given him that exact quest!

Set Xiao Wu up while also winning her favor. Tsk, tsk, tsk. They really did think Xiao Wu was a complete fool.

Still, though the quest sounded absurd, it would actually be easy to pull off.

Because when he thought about it, wasn't this just the kind of plot where—

'The male lead gets someone to pretend to be a thug and bully the female lead, then steps in to chase the thugs away and save her, and the female lead falls in love with him after he saves her'?

Here, the "thugs" would just be invisible misfortune and trouble.

The basic idea was the same.

Zhang Tianyu quickly came up with a simple, crude plan.

The night breeze swept over them, stirring their hair and clothes. Xiao Wu lay among the flowers and grass at the hilltop, enjoying the gentle breeze as she gazed at the clear, enormous moon in the sky. She took several deep breaths and said, "Wow, it feels so nice lying here!"

Zhang Tianyu nodded. "Yeah."

At the same time, he chuckled to himself. Feels nice, huh? Just wait. It'll feel even better in a moment!

The very next second,

Xiao Wu's relaxed expression suddenly changed. She furrowed her brow and abruptly sat up.

Her sudden movement startled Zhang Tianyu. "What's wrong?"

Xiao Wu frowned but didn't say much. She shook her head. "It's nothing."

Zhang Tianyu nodded. Xiao Wu lay back down, and Zhang Tianyu lay beside her again.

But they hadn't chatted for long when

Xiao Wu suddenly sat up again and turned her head, staring with a furrowed brow at the spot on the ground where she'd been lying.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Tianyu sat up too and looked back at the spot where they'd been lying. "What's going on?"

After a few seconds of silence, Xiao Wu's expression still hadn't relaxed. "Did you feel anything moving around underneath us just now?"

Zhang Tianyu scratched his head and looked at the ground.

The flowers and grass where they'd been lying had been flattened,

but there was nothing else underneath them.

"No. What's wrong?" Zhang Tianyu asked.

Xiao Wu was silent for several seconds, then shook her head. "It's nothing. Maybe I imagined it, or maybe there was a bug."

So the two of them moved to another spot and lay down again, watching the moon, enjoying the night breeze, and chatting.

What Xiao Wu didn't know was that Tang San was standing not far away, watching them with a deeply conflicted expression.

He'd trained here ever since he was little, and he loved the beautiful scenery.

He'd always thought that someday he would bring someone he was close to here and share the view with them.

But he never expected

that the person he was close to would come, but he wouldn't be the one by their side.

How painful!