Huang Shi maintained his silence as he stared straight into Qiao Fenyi's cold eyes.
Clearly, all of the good feelings she previously felt about him had suddenly disappeared because of a miscalculation on his part.
Fuck... alright, I admit it, he thought bitterly. I genuinely believed that with my charm skill and my flirting, I could get any girl I wanted. Smite me...
Huang Shi's thoughts went into overdrive as he realized that he had relied too much on his charm skill.
He had started to treat these girls as quests to earn more scum points instead of genuine people. This natural contradiction between how he truly felt inside about these women and his actions made him seem fake.
Huang Shi looked into Qiao Fenyi's eyes, trying to find some other emotions hidden deep inside her icy exterior, he found it. Deep inside her icy façade was a budding emotion of hurt.
Let's let the mask slip then...
Huang Shi took a deep breath before carefully choosing his words for the last time, finally opening his mouth and speaking his truth.
"Fenyi, let me be blunt with you then. No more playing games, no more lies."
Qiao Fenyi continued to stare straight at him, but her expression subtly shifted, waiting for his next words.
"I think you're beautiful and I want you for myself," he stated firmly. "If that seems too forward, I apologize, but that's just how I am. If I see something I like, I want to have it for myself—but I will never force another person to be with me. If you truly don't like me, then I will stop whatever it is I'm doing and we can remain friends, if that's what you want."
Qiao Fenyi looked at him in shock as her icy expression broke, her face turning crimson red. In fact, she was blushing so hard it looked like she was about to faint.
"Y-you... aren't you engaged? Do you have no shame?"
[Qiao Fenyi Affection: 40/100]
"Who cares about my engagement?" Huang Shi countered. "I don't even know that girl, nor do I know what she looks like. In fact, I'm pretty sure this entire arrangement is some sort of political scheme to forward the sects' interest."
Qiao Fenyi continued to stammer as her heart beat furiously inside her chest. She looked left and right, trying to check if there was anyone who had heard their intimate exchange before looking up at him in mock anger.
"What do you even know about me? Like I said, we just met today! How do you even know you like me?"
Huang Shi, with a completely nonchalant look, spoke with conviction as if he was offended by the accusation.
"Your name is Qiao Fenyi. You are a kind person that hides under a mask of a bad temper. The people around you respect you because they see through your mask. That is why, despite them seeing the two of us together on the first and second floor, they choose not to say anything—because they respected your decision."
This time, Qiao Fenyi seemed genuinely shocked, as if she didn't expect that Huang Shi had observed her with such intensity. Yet, before she could speak up in protest, he continued to speak.
"I also know that you feel insecure," Huang Shi continued, his voice dropping an octave. "You hate the fact that you are constantly being compared to Yan Fei just because of your looks and because of your lower cultivation base you are treated as her inferior. You despise that feeling, and yet you still work hard to try and live up to the expectations people see in you. That is why you wanted those Qi Nurturing Pills so badly."
[Qiao Fenyi Affection Level: 50/100]
Qiao Fenyi tried to retort, her voice carrying a clear, undeniable tremor. "Y-you don't know me! Who are you to make baseless assumptions about me?"
Huang Shi didn't seem to mind her outrage. Without even blinking, he suddenly took hold of her hand, wrapping her dainty fingers in his before she could even think to react. Once again, he spoke with absolute conviction.
"It's fine if I'm wrong about you, and it's understandable if you don't trust me since we haven't spent much time together. But we can fix that, can't we? Time is something we have plenty of, Fenyi."
Qiao Fenyi stared straight into his eyes, searching desperately for some level of falsehood she could use as a retort—anything to mask the budding emotions swelling in her chest for this stranger she had only just met.
And yet, for the life of her, she couldn't find a lie. She could feel his eagerness; she could feel his desire for her and his raw possessiveness.
He didn't try to hide it like her other pursuers. He was open about it, bold and confident, and yet he still gave her the option to choose—to back out if she felt it was too much.
[Qiao Fenyi Affection Level: 60/100]
Finally noticing that Huang Shi was still holding her hand, she quickly yanked it back, her voice trembling.
"Give me the Qi Nurturing Pills..."
When Huang Shi saw the mix of confusion, joy, and fear swirling in her eyes, he knew—even without the system's acknowledgement—that he had taken a major step in winning this girl over.
This is enough for now, he thought. I don't want to scare her off.
Huang Shi gave a small, genuine smile as he placed the three Qi Nurturing Pills into her outstretched palm. He leaned in, his voice softening.
"Fenyi, I want to be able to contact you privately. Can you give me a way to reach you through your communication talisman?"
Qiao Fenyi wanted to scream. She wanted to say no; she wanted to reject him with all of her heart.
And yet, when she saw the look in his eyes—the hunger to have her, to cherish her, to make her his—those defensive feelings vanished. She gave a soft, defeated murmur.
"Alright..."
When Huang Shi saw how docile the girl had become, he gave an inward smile, feeling a profound sense of accomplishment.
[You have increased Qiao Fenyi favorability exponentially!]
[+5,000 Scum Points]