Tan Lin: "That’s fine. The money is staying in the family, not going to some outsider."

"Do you think Tan Zhen knows about this?"

Cheng Wenhui had mixed feelings. "She definitely won’t tell Tan Zhen. Your dad isn’t a blabbermouth, either, so it’s only our immediate family who knows."

"I just never expected her to let her studies slide because of novels. And yet, it was those same novels that made her successful."

Tan Lin: "When you pressured her to study, you were just thinking about her future. For a family like ours, studying really was the only way for her to change her life. But now it seems there are other ways to change your life besides getting an education."

Cheng Wenhui: "But for a poor family like ours, with no connections and no money, education is the only choice. When you go out looking for a job, it’s almost impossible to get anywhere without a degree."

"Unless you choose to do our kind of work. You don’t need a degree for our profession, just a willingness to put in the time and hard work."

As she spoke, she stroked Tan Yue’s forehead. "You have to study hard in the future, too. Got it?"

Tan Yue smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I know."

Tan You had no idea Cheng Wenhui and Tan Lin were having this conversation. It wasn’t until after she had enjoyed a lavish dinner with Tan Deming and Wang Hunv that she finally turned her attention to her status screen.

For Lu Wen’s world, she received an S rating as usual, earning 10 base Energy Points. Lu Wen herself also gave a double-S evaluation, granting an additional 2 Energy Points.

Tan You now had a total of 20 Energy Points.

Her status screen updated as follows:

Appearance: 87 (Perfect Bone Structure, Flawless Jade-like Skin, Eyes as Clear as Autumn Pools)

Spiritual Power: 60

Intelligence: 61

Constitution: 40

Charisma: 32

Energy Points: 20

Beauty Value: 11 (Unavailable in current world)

All values above are based on a 100-point scale. The system reserves all rights of final interpretation.

Just as Tan You finished reading her status screen, the little milk-puppy system popped out. "Host, let’s do a lottery draw! A draw!"

Tan You said, "If I recall correctly, I told you last time that we’d do one draw for every two worlds."

The little milk puppy tapped its front paws together. It had thought the host had forgotten, but it turned out she was just waiting to bring it up. Knowing Tan You was a woman of her word, the little milk puppy wisely backed down.

’The host said one draw every two worlds... Does that mean she was also telling the truth about buying me skins in the future? And when I think about it... is there really much of a difference whether the Energy Points are with the host or with me?’

Even with this realization, the Beauty System had to try one last time. "Host, aren’t you going to draw for Beauty Value? It was pretty useful in the last world."

Tan You replied, "No, thanks. A beautiful face can certainly attract attention at first glance, but at the end of the day, it’s not so important that it makes people overlook everything else."

"Besides, in more dangerous worlds, greater beauty just means greater danger. Without powerful abilities to protect yourself, good looks are just a liability."

The Beauty System knew it couldn’t persuade Tan You. It let out a dejected "Oh" and was about to disappear when Tan You stopped it. "Are there any missions where the client is a police officer?"

The little puppy’s tail wagged, and a hint of joy flashed in its black-bean eyes. "Is Host picking a mission?"

The moment the little mutt wagged its tail, Tan You knew it was scheming for her Energy Points. She refused immediately. "No. If worse comes to worst, I can just find a teacher to learn from in a mission world."

The Beauty System was a little disappointed that its attempt to trick Tan You out of her Energy Points had failed. It wagged its tail. "So, is Host going to take a mission? You’ve already been back for three days."

"It’s *only* been three days," Tan You corrected. "Isn’t there supposed to be a two-week interval between missions?"

The Beauty System’s gaze flickered away. "Well, Host, you’re just sitting around doing nothing anyway."

"And I enjoy being idle." Tan You shut it down flatly. She enjoyed her free time. ’If I jump to do a mission every time this little system prods me, won’t that make me seem like a pushover?’

Since Tan You wasn’t going to do a mission, the Beauty System couldn’t force her and could only go dormant. Fortunately, Tan You had already accepted a mission, so it was only a matter of time before she set off.

That afternoon, Tan You was studying her problem sets in the shade of the trees on the west side of the house, as usual, when someone unexpectedly came over to hang out.

"Tan Tao? What are you doing here?" Tan You set down her workbook and looked at the tanned, skinny young man. She was on decent terms with Tan Tao; he was a good-natured person at heart, but he just wasn’t cut out for academics and had dropped out of school before even finishing his second year of junior high.

These days, Tan Tao just stayed at home or followed his father out to work sites. His dad was a bricklayer, and in just over a year of working with him, Tan Tao had become tanned and thin.

Tan Tao sat down in the chair next to Tan You and glanced at the workbook in her hands. "Still studying? Didn’t you already finish the high school entrance exams?"

"Yeah, just reviewing some things." Tan You looked at him. "You’re not with Tan Jin and the others? You guys used to hang out all the time, didn’t you?"

Tan Tao was silent for a long time before he spoke. "I don’t know how to put it. We’ve hung out a few times, but all they talk about is school. When I mention how hard it is working on the construction sites, they just laugh at me."

"Youyou, what can someone even do after dropping out of school? Become a bricklayer like my dad? It’s too tough, but I have no idea what else I could possibly do."

Tan You turned to look at Tan Tao. "So, why did you come looking for me? What did you want to talk about?"

Tan Tao said, "I don’t really know myself. I just wanted to see if you could give me some advice."

’So he’s unhappy with his current situation but doesn’t know what to do,’ Tan You realized. ’No education, no family support, and to top it off, no money. Coming to me is basically a last-ditch effort.’

She glanced at Tan Tao and suddenly smiled. "I made some ice jelly this afternoon. Want to try some?"

Tan Tao was baffled, but since Tan You was already heading to the kitchen, he could only follow. By the time he got there, Tan You was already setting out several small bowls filled with a crystal-clear, jelly-like substance.

Paying Tan Tao no mind, Tan You started adding toppings. "I have red beans, peaches, grapes, and watermelon. This is brown sugar syrup. Add whatever you want."

She then looked over at Tan Deming. "Grandpa, I put grapes in the one I made for you. Want to try it?"

Tan Deming took the bowl of ice jelly from Tan You. "What about your grandma’s?"

"I made Grandma the ’grand slam’—it has all the toppings," Tan You said, glancing toward the refrigerator. "I put it in to chill, so she can have it when she wakes up from her afternoon nap."

Tan Tao didn’t understand. ’I just came here to talk, so why is Tan You suddenly feeding me?’ He didn’t say anything. ’Well, if she tells me to eat, I’ll eat. It’s not like she’d ever try to hurt me.’

He had a sweet tooth, so he loaded his bowl with red beans and peaches, then added a generous amount of brown sugar syrup. After giving it a stir, Tan Tao put a spoonful of the ice jelly in his mouth and immediately closed his eyes in bliss.

"Delicious," was all he said before he slurped the entire bowl down in a few quick gulps.