episode_0018
by fnovelpiaWhere did that frog croak come from?
Su Qingya still paused her movements.
A bit of childish venting was enough—now that the dishes were all served, it was time to eat.
The waitress tactfully left the private room.
Perhaps she suddenly remembered the rumors among her coworkers about two exquisitely beautiful girls doing that kind of thing at the lobby entrance, and couldn’t help but associate them with the pair before her.
She was a girl too, and her cheeks flushed uncontrollably.
Goodness, young people these days are just too bold.
Not just kissing, but even doing it in a place like this…
But Su Qingya was really just stroking Xu Nian’s leg—albeit a little too fast and in a slightly unconventional spot.
Xu Nian covered her mouth, her ears standing straight up, her snow-white fluffy fox tail swishing back and forth against the chair’s backrest. She hadn’t quite recovered yet.
Su Qingya paid no mind to Xu Nian’s state and just kept enthusiastically serving herself, though she had no intention of refilling her rice bowl.
Of course, she hadn’t forgotten about Xu Nian.
She peeled a shrimp for Xu Nian, dipped it in sauce, then held it up to Xu Nian’s lips with one hand.
Xu Nian only took a small bite, leaving the rest for Su Qingya to take back.
“Why didn’t you let me finish it?”
“This is called Nian Nian sauce—you wouldn’t understand.”
“What even is Nian Nian sauce?! Pervert, pervert, mega-pervert!”
“Alright, don’t be stingy. The one who forcibly kissed me in public has no right to say that. If you want it, then here, have it.”
With that, Su Qingya leaned in for a kiss.
The remaining shrimp tumbled between their lips, eventually disappearing into someone’s stomach.
Xu Nian felt like she might not be able to finish this meal today.
If things kept going like this, she might starve to death in front of a full banquet.
Xu Nian also understood that Su Qingya wasn’t a dull person—she was just often gentle.
Gentle yet resolute.
It was impossible to fathom how two completely opposing traits could coexist in one person.
But now, the moment Xu Nian remembered that Su Qingya was the real young mistress,
she couldn’t help but recall the plot of the original short comic.
Would a girl like her really do that kind of thing? Wasn’t it somewhat illogical?
A girl like this actually sending a group of burly men to turn the fake young mistress into a cream puff or something?
Absolutely impossible!
Su Qingya wasn’t that kind of person.
So, reality and comics couldn’t be lumped together.
Fortunately, the two were genuinely starving, having eaten nothing since noon the previous day. After a bit of bonding, they immediately dug in with gusto.
Su Qingya would occasionally pop a bite into her own mouth, savor it, then immediately pick up another portion with her chopsticks and bring it to Xu Nian’s lips.
Xu Nian’s mouth was already stuffed like a hamster’s.
She had no choice but to chew faster.
“Why do you keep feeding me like this?”
“Because Nian Nian looks adorable when she eats. Besides, these are all dishes you ordered—of course I should make sure you eat more.”
“Stupid Qingya! Don’t tell me you’re worried about the money, you small fry~”
Xu Nian giggled, not forgetting to press her advantage.
“My, my, these are all dishes I perfectly replicated from what your savior ordered. If it were him…”
“Nian Nian, you’re getting jealous again. I know, I was wrong, I won’t do it next time, okay? Forgive me?”
“Next time? You think there’ll be a next time?”
Xu Nian deliberately played the unreasonable little girlfriend.
“Eh?!”
Su Qingya panicked, completely at a loss for how to respond.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
Too hard to solve.
“Ah—”
Xu Nian opened her mouth, then pulled back the hand holding her bowl and chopsticks.
“Feed me. Feed me, and I’ll forgive you.”
With a solution in hand, Su Qingya happily picked up food and began feeding Xu Nian nonstop.
Suddenly, Su Qingya leaned in again, licking the corner of Xu Nian’s lips.
Xu Nian’s face flushed.
“W-what are you doing? E-eat properly! Now’s not the time to eat me—if there’s an appetizer, that should be enough, right?”
“Hehe~ Because there was a bit of meat juice on Nian Nian’s lips. Can’t let it go to waste.”
“Don’t normal people just wipe it off with a napkin?”
“That’s normal people. For me, how could I possibly pass up food infused with Nian Nian’s essence?”
Xu Nian’s face reddened again.
“Idiot! Pervert! Small fry!”
Though she kept feeding Xu Nian, Su Qingya didn’t neglect her own meal.
Between bites, she began chattering about what she knew regarding Emotions—surprisingly similar to what that President Lin had just told Xu Nian.
But Su Qingya was still a novice herself and didn’t know much.
“By the way, what exactly is an Emoter?”
This question had been lingering in Xu Nian’s mind.
“An Emoter? They’re essentially humans who harness emotional energy. Just like Emotion Beasts—they use emotional power to create disasters, incite corresponding emotions in others, and absorb them. The only difference is that this power now resides in humans. In a way, Emoters are just humanoid Emotion Beasts.”
“Humanoid Emotion Beasts? So, if an Emoter wants to grow stronger, they have to learn from Emotion Beasts and gather the corresponding emotional energy?”
“Right. If we’re talking about tangible manifestations… occasionally, you can see corresponding emotional values.”
“Corresponding emotional values?”
Xu Nian understood this part.
Her vision had always displayed a crimson numerical value.
[Joy: 43%]
“Qingya, I see something strange—Joy, 43%. What does this mean?”
Xu Nian held nothing back, tapping her chopsticks against her lips as she voiced her curiosity.
“Eh? You can actually see it? Joy… does that mean Nian Nian has become an Emoter too?”
“J-just like that?”
Xu Nian froze. It seemed the system’s reward, Gaze of the Emotion Beast, was actually the catalyst for her becoming an Emoter.
Otherwise, based on what that Lin guy said, she shouldn’t have had the potential to become one.
“Mine is [Fear], so I can see Fear values. If yours shows Joy, then your emotional pathway is [Joy].”
“[Joy]? Then, what does the percentage mean?”
“It’s the emotional value—a threshold for emotions. The higher the number, the more you can harness that emotion’s power, but also the more susceptible you are to its influence. Generally, as long as it doesn’t hit 100%, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”
“Why can’t it reach 100%?”
“Because once it maxes out, the person loses all control—no room for recovery. No matter who it is, they’ll descend into madness, becoming a slave to their emotions… and turn into a true Emotion Beast.”
“Lose control…?”
For some reason, a phrase surfaced in Xu Nian’s mind:
Emoters are pitiful creatures who stole power but are forever accompanied by madness and danger.
“Also, Emoters have tiers—ten in total. At the start, a four-pointed star appears somewhere on the body. Each tier adds another star adjacent to the first, and the Emoter’s base emotional capacity increases accordingly.”
“Once you reach three stars, an Emoter can perceive others’ emotions and start drawing power from them.”
“So, if you can see someone’s emotional value, you can draw strength from them?” Xu Nian asked, puzzled.
“Exactly. At the same time, the power you exert on them will also fluctuate based on their emotional value.”
Su Qingya stared straight at Xu Nian.
In her eyes, a line of crimson text hovered above Xu Nian’s head:
[Fear: 67%]
0 Comments