Heat period three

Shopping was a woman's forte, and salted fish were no exception.

Li Jia browsed one shop after another, with Hera following behind like an unfeeling bag-carrying machine. The token the merfolk chief had given them entitled them to discounts, making it the equivalent of a coupon.

"Ten percent off two items, twenty percent off three, thirty percent off four~"

"Limited stock, first come, first served~"

Each vendor hawked their wares more skillfully than the last. Li Jia went on a shopping rampage. She had already finished buying everything, only to charge back in for another spree.

The battle finally ended with seven or eight strings of shell bracelets, pearl necklaces, and some pretty stones.

Li Jia said contentedly, "Things really are cheaper where they come from. These would've cost dozens of gold coins in Fragrant City Spring Capital, but all this only cost us eighteen."

Fragrant City Spring Capital was an inland capital with no access to the sea, so seafood and shellfish were not abundant there.

Seeing her delight, Hera asked, "Do you like it here?"

Seeing how eager Hera looked, Li Jia had a pretty good idea that her boss had gotten the wrong idea again. She slipped a shell bracelet onto her wrist. "Your Majesty, I think this bracelet really suits you. As the saying goes, no wildflower smells as sweet as the flowers at home. No matter how nice other places are, Hot Spring Ravine is the only place I like."

The bracelet consisted of three natural shells of different shapes. The main shell spiraled, its surface covered in a fine, frosted texture. The first time Li Jia saw it, she thought it would suit Hera perfectly: simple, elegant, easy to match, and not out of place.

Hera was very susceptible to this sort of flattery. She raised her hand and examined the unremarkable bracelet under the overhead light. "You like it that much?"

Li Jia said, "Of course. I picked it out especially for Your Majesty."

Sure enough, the moment she heard "especially," her boss's mood improved considerably. She lowered her hand. "It's all right."

Goddammit.

What was she supposed to do with a boss who was such a die-hard tsundere?

With her fill of food and drink, sightseeing done, and shopping finished, Li Jia was terribly sleepy. She tugged on Hera's sleeve, wanting to return to their room.

Hera took her back. The moment they returned, Li Jia set her things on the table and collapsed onto the shell bed. Hera even had to take her shoes off for her.

As she drifted off, Li Jia sensed that her boss seemed to have gone out, but she could not be bothered to concern herself with it. She was a god. Who would be idle enough to mess with her?

Even married couples needed boundaries, let alone an employee and her boss. She certainly would not ask what Hera had gone off to do.

Boundaries were the highest form of respect.

By the time she woke, it was evening again. She opened her eyes to that familiar pair of red eyes.

"Your Majesty, you're back?"

Li Jia asked as a matter of routine. For some reason, the two of them were living like a married couple now. Sometimes, when she woke in the middle of the night needing to pee, if she could not smell Hera beside her or feel her back, she would inexplicably panic.

"Mm."

That counted as an answer. Only then did Li Jia notice that a bracelet identical to Hera's had appeared on her own wrist.

When she bought it, she had thought the design was very special. The vendor said it was the last one and there would never be another once it sold, so Li Jia had gritted her teeth and added another gold coin to secure ownership.

Li Jia reached out and held Hera's wrist, comparing them for ages. Aside from their size, everything else was completely identical. She could not spot a single difference.

"Your Majesty, where did you buy it? I knew that vendor was lying. How could there possibly be only one of this bracelet?" Li Jia grumbled. If she had known, she would not have spent that extra gold coin.

"I strung it myself," Hera said casually.

Seeing the little thing's incredulous gaze, she felt rather pleased with herself.

Li Jia was curious. Had she gone out earlier just for this bracelet? That did not seem very likely.

Li Jia said ingratiatingly, "I never knew Your Majesty could make bracelets."

Hera asked in return, "Is it difficult?"

Fine. She did not want to argue with a god who was so good at showing off.

Li Jia soon discovered what was different about this bracelet. In appearance, it was no different from the one she had given Hera. The difference was its scent.

It had an added metallic fragrance, salty and cold like seawater, cool and clean yet full of mystery.

"Why does mine smell so nice?" Li Jia held her wrist beneath Hera's nose, letting her smell the bracelet's fragrance.

Hera rubbed her earlobe without looking at her face, deliberately being cryptic. "You'll find out later."

All right, then. Li Jia understood Hera. If she did not want to tell her, Li Jia would not ask.

Because Li Jia knew that Hera never did anything she thought was wrong. Everything she did had a reason she wanted to do it, a basis for wanting to do it.

Many people felt that being in a relationship required getting to the bottom of everything.

What did you do?

Why did you do it that way?

And what was the result?

Li Jia felt that whatever form concern took, people should know how to avoid overstepping and respect limits, rather than probing others in the name of being friends, acquaintances, or coworkers and breaching their safe space. That was not decent.

Besides, as the ancients said: the more you knew, the sooner you died.

Something other people remained curious about might slip her mind the moment she turned her head. In life, it was a blessing to be a little muddleheaded.

With the bracelet on her wrist, Hera forbade her from taking it off. Li Jia could only nod in agreement. The bracelet's fragrance really did smell lovely.

She lay in Hera's arms. Her boss had her eyes closed and said nothing. Li Jia could hear her breathing and feel the pulse beating so close to her.

The next second, a familiar AI voice sounded in Li Jia's mind.

"Good evening, Master."

It was the system!

Her beloved support system had finally returned!

Unable to contain her excitement, Li Jia chatted with the system through her thoughts and learned that it had gone for training.

Its performance had been so poor that the Book Transmigration Mission Bureau had sent it to shadow another system, a top sales performer, for a while.

That top performer had previously traveled through all kinds of smut novels and had its own set of unorthodox cultivation methods. Though the process was full of stumbles, the endings always reached the intended BE or HE.

After learning from the top performer for a while, the system had a complete revelation.

Good, bad, green, or white-couldn't you just turn it all yellow and be done with it?

Sex and love were inherently inseparable. Platonic romance was too far removed from ordinary people. Once even a little of it was involved, one would find that all grudges and hatred ceased to matter. Physical attraction would break every principle.

"Master, the affection between you and the target has stalled at a critical point. This relationship is extremely dangerous. Whether it can move forward depends entirely on a single thought. One step forward, and you will be the closest people in the world. One step back, and you will become the most familiar strangers."

The system coldly reviewed the changes in Hera's numerical values regarding Li Jia during its absence and arrived at a less than satisfactory conclusion.

A mortal's life was short and fragile. If this dragged on, Li Jia might perish from the world before the day she completed her mission ever came.

"Master, you can choose to use the support function. This is a result you have earned through your continued efforts during this time."

Li Jia was still turning the phrase "the most familiar strangers" over and over in her mind.

In that instant, her heart missed a few beats, just like the extra beats it had taken when she first met Hera. It hurt and tingled, leaving her breathless.

So what should I do?

What should I do?

The system had also asked the top performer about the plot and mission objectives of its book. The top performer had said bluntly:

"Since your main mission is to stop the target from marrying anyone else, why don't you simply get your own name into her marriage history first? Wouldn't that complete the mission as quickly as possible?"

Unorthodox cultivation really was unorthodox cultivation, accomplishing everything in one step. This was a perspective the system had never considered before.

While taking notes, the system had also asked the top performer what Party B should do if Party A was unwilling.

Gratified to see it so eager to improve, the top performer had brought out everything it had learned over its lifetime. The two brainwaves chattered away at length, and the system's waves lit up again and again. So it could be done like that, too.

Before it left, the top performer had even highlighted a key point:

Remember, make it happen without the host realizing it. The process doesn't matter; the result does!

If you tell the host the process, she might not cooperate, and she has the right to refuse. She might feel guilty toward the target and prefer to destroy herself rather than complete the mission.

That can also prevent the plot from advancing, or slow its progress until it dies in the womb. Better to administer a strong dose.

A forcibly twisted melon may not be sweet, but it certainly quenches thirst!

Hearing the top performer's words was worth ten years of study. The system decisively wrote in its little notebook: twist by force.

The system suddenly developed its own subjective consciousness, something even the system itself had not expected.

Hearing Li Jia ask what she should do, the system frantically cross-referenced the plot it could perceive within its database and analyzed the surrounding environment.

"The target's affection has remained stagnant, but your life is rapidly slipping away, Master. To prevent all your previous efforts from being wasted, the system will provide you with a support function."

"However, the system is not one hundred percent effective. If you activate the support function, it may also cause your relationship with the target to return to square one."

"Master, would you like to activate the support function?"

Only after the system's reminder did Li Jia belatedly realize something: her identity in this world was merely that of a mortal. She had no eternal lifespan. Even without illness or disaster, she could live to a hundred at most.

If I die before completing the mission, will she repeat the same mistakes and marry that scumbag?

The system was stunned for a few seconds before responding coldly.

"Yes, Master. If you cannot complete the mission before you die, the target will continue her fate in the book and fulfill her duties as the divine queen."

What are the chances of success if I activate the support function?

Li Jia's voice was muffled. She really could not accept it, could not accept letting Hera marry such an awful man.

"The chances of success and failure are fifty percent each."

After a long while, Li Jia suddenly smiled and said softly, "All right. Activate it."

"Master, are you all right...?"

The system felt that its host was behaving a little strangely. Before, no matter how serious the situation, Li Jia always put her own interests first. She was a salted fish through and through.

Li Jia shook her head, and the system vanished from her mind.

She nestled against the blonde woman's chest and pinched a lock of her hair. The strands wound around the ring they shared, its ruby vivid in the darkness.

Li Jia buried her face deeper. The familiar woody scent of Hera's body lingered around her nose. Her breath mingled with a smile, her voice frighteningly soft. "Your Majesty, you are the best person I've ever met."

"May I be a lamp, keeping your light burning."

"May I be firewood, sustaining you through eternal night."

"Your disciple asks for nothing else. May all gods and demons treat my lord's soul kindly, shield her from sorrow and trouble, and bless her with light once more."