"His favorability has already increased by fifteen points."
"So how much was Su Peng's favorability toward me in the first place? Even after completing the mission, it probably won't go over eighty, right?"
An Han sat cross-legged on his bed, muttering softly to himself.
The system didn't explain much about the favorability scores — only that it was best not to let it exceed eighty, and definitely not one hundred. But the problem was, An Han didn't even know what these numbers actually represented.
In most games, favorability usually comes with descriptive stages — "Stranger," "Friend," "Like," and so on.
However, this system gave no such clarification.
"I just hope I don't end up failing with Long-ge's favorability and instead get Su Peng to fall for me."
A shiver ran down An Han's spine. The idea of being liked by another man made his scalp tingle.
Still, recalling his interactions with Su Peng yesterday, he was sure he hadn't done anything that could be considered selling his charm. At least, not consciously.
So it should be fine… right?
Anyway, once the mission was complete, he'd be able to check Su Peng's favorability directly — he could figure out what to do then.
He picked up his phone and glanced at the time, realizing he had slept all the way until 4 p.m.
Stretching lazily, he climbed out of bed, washed up, and eagerly ran over to knock on the door of the next dorm.
"Su Peng? Su Peng! Let's play games together!"
There were just five points left to reach the target favorability. Although he had already tried things like gaming, drinking, and showing care, as long as he spent more time with Su Peng — without doing anything annoying — he could probably rely on time and companionship to finish the job.
Spending time together naturally increases affection.
"Su Peng!" An Han knocked repeatedly on the door, calling out enthusiastically. "Let's grab dinner tonight!"
"Wanna go watch a movie? Or maybe hang out somewhere?"
"No one's in the dorm?"
After shouting for a while with no response, he twisted the doorknob — it was locked.
Seriously? Just when he was about to complete the mission, the guy disappeared?
His head was now completely filled with thoughts of finishing the task; even gaming didn't feel fun anymore. After pacing in front of Su Peng's dorm for a few minutes, he decided to head to the cafeteria for dinner — maybe he'd run into him there.
He had eaten steamed buns and soy milk in the morning, but after nearly ten hours of sleep, his stomach was already growling.
The rain had long stopped, the sun blazed in the sky, but the humid heat after the rain made the air feel suffocatingly warm. An Han was still wearing a jacket, and after barely ten minutes of walking, he was drenched in sweat.
"This won't do. I've got to think of something."
This was the southern coast — in other places, October meant autumn or even early winter, but here, it wouldn't start cooling down until November.
Thinking that he still had to endure another month of heat made An Han's expression look increasingly lifeless.
Truly, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
He had fantasized about relying on the system to reach the peak of life and achieve financial freedom, but in the end, he'd gotten himself trapped instead — with no benefits to show for it.
Drifting into the rather quiet cafeteria, An Han ordered a plate of fried noodles and sat under a fan, zoning out while waiting.
"Just five more favorability points…"
"An Han."
He flinched, startled, afraid that someone had overheard his muttering. When he turned his head, he realized that a man had sat down next to him.
"Counselor?" He froze — he hadn't expected to run into Ren Chi during the National Day holiday.
"Eating dinner this early?"
Wait — yesterday Su Peng had said Ren Chi was looking for him. He thought it was just an excuse, but it seemed to be true.
"I skipped lunch, got hungry," he replied.
But right after saying that, a memory struck him — the messy bed from the day before the break.
That day, Ren Chi had led an inspection of the dorms, and there was a very high chance that he had been the one to lift An Han's blanket… and seen the women's clothes hidden underneath.
His ears and cheeks flushed pink. Just the thought that his counselor — whom he'd only met once — knew his biggest secret made his face burn.
"Fever again?"
"N-no," An Han stammered, lowering his head quickly.
Ren Chi's expression didn't change much…
An Han stole a glance at him, trying not to look too obvious.
If he had seen the clothes, then as a counselor responsible for students' mental well-being, Ren Chi should've at least asked him about it, right?
Or maybe, to Ren Chi, cross-dressing wasn't a big deal?
They hadn't had a very pleasant first encounter, but surprisingly, Ren Chi didn't seem to have a bad impression of him.
Noticing An Han's sneaky glances, Ren Chi didn't comment. He simply waited quietly for his food.
"So, uh… you're not on break for the holiday?" An Han finally broke the awkward silence.
"I live on campus."
The school did provide staff dorms for young, single teachers — apparently quite comfortable ones — though most chose to live off-campus.
"Did Su Peng go to find you?" An Han asked hopefully. "Do you know where he went?"
"Why would he be looking for me? It's break time." Ren Chi stood up to grab his bowl of beef noodles from the counter.
An Han froze, realizing suddenly — maybe Su Peng had been avoiding him on purpose.
Yesterday, with the typhoon, Su Peng had nowhere to go, but now that the weather was clear again, he must've escaped at the first chance he got.
But… the favorability had been increasing.
Could it be that Su Peng's starting favorability toward him had been that low — so low that even a fifteen-point boost didn't make a difference?
That thought made An Han relax a little.
At least he didn't have to worry about being liked by Su Peng after all.
He glanced at Ren Chi's bowl — it was brimming with thick slices of beef — and muttered enviously, "When I buy noodles from that place, the meat's always pathetic."
"I added twenty yuan worth of extra beef," Ren Chi replied casually.
"…Respect."
Ah, the beauty of financial freedom.
An Han usually only splurged for an extra egg.
After all, his monthly allowance was just two thousand yuan. He wasn't stingy, but since it was his family's money, indulging too much felt a bit excessive.
Soon, his fried noodles were ready. He brought them back to the table, then glanced nervously at Ren Chi.
He wanted to ask — was it him who had lifted the blanket and found the women's clothes that day?
At the very least, the counselor should know who had checked his bed.
After a moment's hesitation, An Han lowered his head and asked softly, "Um… during the dorm inspection before the break…"
"Were you the one who lifted my blanket?"
Ren Chi turned his head, noting the deep blush on An Han's face, and calmly explained, "The school required neatly folded blankets. Yours wasn't folded."
He had only intended to help his student fold it properly as a reminder — but when he lifted it, he saw the entire set of women's clothing beneath.
There had been several members of the student council present, too — he couldn't describe how awkward it was. He could only pretend nothing happened and quietly cover the clothes back up.
An Han, embarrassed, averted his eyes and didn't bring up the subject of the clothes again.
"I see… I was just a bit uneasy about someone touching my bed, that's all."