Newcomer One-Point Exchange

Huh? Why had the System Shop suddenly opened?

Chu Siqing, who had been drifting off to sleep, instantly perked up and began communicating with the system in her mind.

[Open it, quick! I want to see what's in there right now!]

The system: [Close your eyes, host, and the System Shop interface will appear.]

Chu Siqing hurriedly closed her eyes. Thinking she had fallen asleep, Nanny Li stopped speaking.

She placed the little princess in her crib, tucked her in, and sat beside her to keep watch.

The moment Chu Siqing closed her eyes, the darkness in her vision gave way to the System Shop interface.

She looked around curiously and spotted a ghostly figure floating beside her.

[Aaaah! System, there's a ghost in here!]

The system: ...

The system: [Host, I am the system. This is the System Space, and we're both in spectral form.]

Chu Siqing looked down at herself. Sure enough, she was floating in midair too. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

[Honestly, couldn't you have warned me? You nearly scared me to death!]

The system: [How was I supposed to know you were afraid of ghosts, host?]

Chu Siqing stubbornly denied it. [Don't talk nonsense. I'm not afraid at all.]

The system: ...

Seeing that the system was a translucent blob, Chu Siqing asked curiously, [System, do you have a physical form? What do you look like?]

The system: [Not at present. After an upgrade, I might be able to take on a physical form, such as a kitten or a puppy.]

Chu Siqing said happily, [Wonderful! Then I can take you out on a leash to play!]

The system: ...

The system: [Host, weren't you going to look at the System Shop?]

Only then did Chu Siqing remember why she was there, and she hurriedly floated over to the shop interface.

It looked much like the points redemption pages on the various apps on her phone in her previous life, except that the items on offer were rather special.

At the thought of redeeming some cheat-like advantages, Chu Siqing couldn't help rubbing her hands together like a fly as she enthusiastically browsed the items one by one.

[Hybrid Rice, Potato, Sweet Potato... Hmm, why are there so many books? Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People, Compendium of Materia Medica, The Exploitation of the Works of Nature...]

Chu Siqing was speechless. [System, you're not expecting me to develop infrastructure, are you? I just want to lie flat and be a salted fish!]

The system: [Host, think about it. This is a backward world. Your happiness index can only rise if productivity improves!]

Chu Siqing understood that too, but she was only a baby right now. Even if her heart was willing, her strength was lacking!

She stretched out a translucent finger and scrolled farther through the shop interface. Fortunately, there were other things as well.

[Painkiller, Evil-Repelling Jade, Protective Talisman, Beauty Pill, Fertility Pill...]

Now these were the things she wanted to see!

The more Chu Siqing looked, the more excited she became. Yet when she glanced at the redemption costs, she discovered that every item in the shop started at 100 points. The 30 points she had just earned were a pitiful pittance!

[System! Are you messing with me? I can't afford anything in here!]

The system: [Don't be angry, host. We currently have a "Newcomer One-Point Exchange" benefit.]

Chu Siqing was overjoyed. [Then doesn't that mean I can redeem 30 items?]

The system: [No. The newcomer benefit is limited to one item.]

Chu Siqing was a little disappointed, but she soon cheered up again. Having something was better than having nothing, after all!

Yet after looking everything over, she found it terribly difficult to choose.

She only had one chance, and there was nothing Chu Siqing particularly needed at the moment, so she asked the system:

[System, are these the only things in the shop?]

The system: [Here's how it works, host. The shop's items are updated at irregular intervals. For now, these are all we have.]

Chu Siqing thought for a moment. [System, could I wait a while before using this newcomer benefit?]

The system paused, which was rare. [...Host, the newcomer benefit is only valid for one day.]

Chu Siqing caught that suspicious pause and immediately pressed further. [System, do you have a way to extend it by a few days for me?]

The system: [Uh...]

Chu Siqing kept at it, wheedling, "A-Tong, you're one of my people now. You have to help me!"

The system: ...

Before, she called me "chicken ribs"-not worth much, but too good to throw away. Now she calls me "A-Tong." My host certainly knows when to bend and when to stand tall.

The system: [All right, host, but my authorization only allows me to extend it by three days.]

Chu Siqing waved a hand. [That's fine. Three days it is!]

In truth, she had mainly been testing whether the system could give her any extra benefits.

Now that she knew it could, Chu Siqing decided to build a closer relationship with the system from then on, starting with how she addressed it!

After browsing the System Shop, Chu Siqing finally considered the question she had overlooked earlier:

[A-Tong, my body is still just a baby's. I didn't really do anything to help recover the Jade Bracelet you mentioned, so where did those 30 points come from?]

The system: [I checked. For some reason, Prince Yu and the princess can hear your thoughts, so you also deserve credit for recovering the Jade Bracelet.]

Chu Siqing was shocked. [What?!]

When she thought about how her parents in this life had heard everything she had said in her mind, she felt utterly mortified.

[I'm doomed, I'm doomed! A-Tong, they won't think I'm a monster, will they?]

The system: [Don't worry, host. If they thought you were a monster, you would have been burned to death already.]

Chu Siqing immediately breathed a sigh of relief. [True. I haven't noticed anything unusual all this time. Maybe their love for their daughter lets them accept it.]

The system: ...

Now that she knew her parents could hear her thoughts, Chu Siqing stayed as quiet as a chicken for the next two days.

Both Prince Yu and the princess found it rather strange.

In private, Chu Hongle said to the princess, "Wanqing, I haven't heard our daughter speak these past two days. Have you?"

Han Wanqing shook her head. "Neither have I."

Chu Hongle said regretfully, "What a shame. I wanted to hear more of what our daughter had to say. It was quite entertaining."

Han Wanqing said solemnly, "Your Highness, whether Siqing has anything unusual about her or not, I see her only as my daughter, and I will raise her just as I normally would."

Chu Hongle hurriedly said, "Wanqing, I didn't mean anything else by it. I love Siqing too."

Han Wanqing smiled. "I know. I'm saying we might as well let things take their course."

Chu Hongle drew her into his arms and said quietly, "All right."

Keeping quiet for two days had nearly driven Chu Siqing mad.

That day, as she dozed in Princess Yu's arms, she heard a maid announce from outside, "Your Highness, the Han family's second young master is here."

Han Wanqing's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly said, "Quickly, show my brother in."

After her mother passed away, her two younger brothers had become her greatest concern.

The siblings had always been very close.

Unlike when Han Xiangru visited, Han Wanqing felt genuine joy when her second younger brother, Han Nanxing, came to see her.

Sensing Princess Yu's excitement, Chu Siqing grew a little curious about this second maternal uncle as well.

To her surprise, she immediately got a juicy piece of gossip from the system.

[What?! My second uncle was kicked out by the academy's headmaster?]

Hearing her daughter's thoughts, Han Wanqing's brow instantly furrowed.

She remembered too: today certainly wasn't a rest day at the Ten Thousand Pines Academy!