Chapter 3: Favorability

Chapter 3: Favorability Level

"Shocking Broken Engagement! Heiress Shen Nanxi Tears Marriage Contract, Liang Family Heir Liang Zeqian Suffers 'Ruthless Dumping'!"

"I'd Rather Die Than Marry Him! Shen Family's Jewel Publicly Slaps Fiancé Liang Zeqian and Flees Engagement Party in Tears!"

"Political and Business Worlds Rocked! Shen Nanxi's Breakoff Declaration Shocks Hong Kong, Liang Family Withdraws 1.8 Billion Funding Overnight!"

Shen Nanxi: "......"

If Shen Nanxi remembered the novel correctly, she definitely hadn't hit Liang Zeqian. Liang Zeqian might be an honest, even dull, man, but he was still the young master of an extremely wealthy family. How could she, a delicate shipping magnate's daughter, possibly overpower him?

Besides, having met him, Shen Nanxi knew he was at least 185 cm tall—a full head taller than her. She couldn't even reach his face.

Jump up and hit his knee?

From their first meeting, Liang Zeqian didn't seem particularly averse to Shen Nanxi. He had a "couldn't-care-less" attitude and genuinely didn't care about the engagement being called off. Even if this man was truly simple and wooden, he was still an Ivy-leaguer—his intelligence wasn't in question. Her hitting him was out of the question.

Damn media, never let up!

I wonder if suing would get me some compensation.

But with headlines like these appearing a hundred times a month, there's no way to sue them all.

As she lay in bed, Shen Nanxi fully recalled the memories of the original villainess and the plot of the novel.

The male lead Liang Zefeng's family would undoubtedly thrive and not go bankrupt. After all, the focus of wealthy family dramas is on the wealth. Even though she hadn't read to the end, she was certain they would remain rich. That wasn't a concern.

The key was Shen Hong, her father. To ensure the antagonist received her karmic retribution, the novel described the family's bankruptcy and acquisition in just a few lines. How exactly did they go bankrupt? Looking at the home's furnishings and decor, while not as extravagant as the Liang family's, they still had ten servants—Filipino maids, drivers, a butler... they had everything.

Shen Nanxi initially really thought about just staying home, eating, drinking, and relaxing. But she was afraid of going bankrupt, suffering hardship, and ending up on the streets. Her real life had been miserable enough; she had no desire to suffer like that in the book world too.

Shen Nanxi tried calling out to the system again: "System? System? Little system? Transfer to a live agent."

System: "......"

The system finally heard her intermittent, feeble calls after two hours and immediately emitted a static, crackling sound like a radio losing signal.

It was slightly grating.

The system spoke in a very mechanical voice: "Sorry, Host. I was in a meeting."

"A meeting? Systems have meetings?" Shen Nanxi bolted upright from the bed. "What kind of meeting? Annual Best System Awards?"

The system emitted an electronic cough: "Monthly progress reports. Successful case study sharing sessions. New feature training."

"What are the rewards?"

A recharge?

System: "New equipment, upgraded functions. Then System can communicate more smoothly with the host and provide more hints, thus increasing the probability of task completion."

Shen Nanxi's lip twitched: "Wait, so you're actually a real organization? With KPI assessments and everything?"

"Of course," the system said matter-of-factly. "Our 'Destiny Alteration Bureau' is a legitimate cross-dimensional agency responsible for providing qualified hosts with a second chance at life."

Shen Nanxi suddenly felt dizzy and reached out to brace herself on the nightstand.

"Host? Your heart rate is too high. I recommend taking deep breaths."

"......" Shen Nanxi continued asking: "Then you say my task is really to win over Liang Zefeng?"

System: "Yes, Host."

Shen Nanxi said disdainfully: "What happens if I don't win him over?"

The system thought for a moment: "Well... generally, if there's no success after too long, we would force a logout and restore the original body."

The original body was her dying one.

After two years of enduring suffering and pain, she really didn't want to experience that again.

Sigh. Success or failure are the only outcomes. If successful, then all is well—she could restore her health and receive the system's monetary reward.

If failed, still death.

Mainly, she had read many romance novels. If she exerted all her efforts and energy, the probability of success in one go wasn't even 20%. After finally getting a chance to transmigrate autonomously, doing this isn't ideal.

Anyway, the system helps so many hosts daily, it definitely wouldn't watch her and urge her to complete the task all the time. Forced logout might be years later. By then, she could decide after she'd had her fun in this world.

The original novel's ending only ended with the female lead's grand wedding, briefly mentioning children. What if they get divorced?

The author didn't write about the plot after the ending. Anything is possible.

However, come to think of it, Liang Zefeng is the ex-fiancé's older brother. Winning him over doesn't seem appropriate either.

Forget it, forget it. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

The choice given to her was one opportunity to enjoy life and another chance to survive again. Either one was pretty good.

Shen Nanxi continued asking: "But, I didn't apply for a system transmigration task. Why was I suddenly chosen?"

System: "It's like this, Host. Your original world's medical records showed that during your illness, you persistently donated to the children's ward, even though your own medical expenses were very tight."

Shen Nanxi didn't really mean to do that. She was donating society's money. Since it couldn't all be used and she was going to die anyway, she naturally had to donate the remaining funds. Otherwise, leave it in a will?

She had no family or friends.

Her mother was dead. Her father had remarried someone else when she was young, and she hadn't seen him for many years. Her grandmother who raised her had also passed away a few years ago.

"The Destiny Alteration Bureau's selection criteria are complex," the system continued, "but the core is to find those souls whose lives ended abruptly yet still have unfulfilled wishes. Your situation is a good match."

Shen Nanxi: "I have no unfulfilled wishes."

If there really were any, they would be to eat and drink well, have an appetite, travel to see mountains and rivers, bask in the sun daily, be free of illness, and maybe even experience a passionate romance.

She chuckled.

Putting away her fantasies, Shen Nanxi said: "Tell me the specific requirements of this romance task. What do I need to achieve? Make Liang Zefeng fall in love with me? Get married? Or what?"

"Reaching a favorability of 100 is sufficient," the system pulled up a virtual interface only Shen Nanxi could see. "Currently, Liang Zefeng's favorability towards you is 15, which is the baseline value of 'aware this person exists'."

15 is the baseline?

Shen Nanxi asked curiously: "Can you check other people's favorability towards me? What about Liang Zeqian?"

The system "hmm"ed, seemingly retrieving data, seemingly pondering.

System: "Apologies, Host. Liang Zeqian has not been assigned as a romance target. There are many male leads now; side characters aren't targets."

Even the system's ecosystem is discriminatory?

The system emitted a static-like buzzing: "The host misunderstands. Data on supporting characters is not within routine monitoring and requires additional permissions to access."

Wait, there's no signal here either?

Could it be that Shen Nanxi's system is a newbie setup?

Shen Nanxi got out of bed and walked barefoot on the soft carpet to the floor-length mirror to examine herself.

She had already looked at herself many times today. The girl in the mirror had hair black as a waterfall and large almond-shaped eyes, with skin so fair it was almost translucent—the typical appearance of a rich heiress.

Not that she was vain. Before she fell ill at eighteen, she had been just as beautiful. Though she hadn’t seen her own healthy-looking reflection in years and had avoided her teenage photos, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she looked like this girl—almost as if it were an illusion.

Their endings were similar too: both were side characters in others' stories.

No, actually, she was worse off than this villainous side character. At least the latter had been bold, bright, and cunning, and even made headlines. In contrast, aside from a bit of buzz from a donation, nobody really noticed or cared about her.

After all, she had always gone to the hospital alone for injections and medication.

Anyway, Shen Nanxi didn't want to dwell on the past. Seize the day—she was thrilled right now. She bit her arm, feeling how utterly real it was.

Earlier, she had eaten three bowls of rice and two steaks. The flavors were amazing, and she could actually taste things again.

"System, I want to see Liang Zeqian’s data."

The system remained silent.

Whether it was intentional or due to poor signal, she couldn’t tell.

Shen Nanxi said coaxingly: "System, baby, I really want to check Liang Zeqian’s favorability rating."

After a few seconds of silence, the system replied: "Request submitted, but a reason must be provided."

Shen Nanxi spun around, her skirt flaring, still admiring herself: "I want to know what my ‘publicly slapped’ fiancé thinks of me now."

The system emitted a beep: "Reason approved. Liang Zeqian’s current favorability toward you is 0."

Shen Nanxi: "......"

If 15 is the stranger level, what does 0 mean?

Unlike with Liang Zefeng, the system didn’t explain the meaning of the 15 rating. No matter how much Shen Nanxi called out, it refused to respond.

Wait, even strangers get a 15, and this thing is like movie ratings—the lowest is usually 2, never negative. Could it mean disgust, disgust, or dislike?

If he’s disgusted by her, why would he agree to marry her? And they were engaged once—though it was broken off, hadn’t they reconciled now? At the very least, they knew each other, right?

What a strange man.

The system suddenly spoke up: "The database shows that typically, two people with an engagement history should have a favorability level of no less than 30."

Shen Nanxi suddenly stopped and narrowed her eyes: "System, are you defective? Poor signal, incomplete functions, and now even data inaccuracies?"

The system interface suddenly turned a bright red: "Warning! The host has made a personal insult against the system!"

Shen Nanxi: "......"

The system might have gotten angry and shut itself down.

So it really does have feelings.

Thinking it over, someone who should at least have basic polite regard for her had given a zero rating. She counted on her fingers, analyzing: either the data was wrong, or Liang Zeqian, this ‘wooden man,’ had some hidden secret.

Shen Nanxi hated that she was a main character stan who usually skipped side characters’ parts—she’d even told authors not to pad with side characters because no one cared.

In comparison, why was Liang Zefeng’s favorability higher?

But she had already gone to Hong Kong in person to announce that the engagement was back on. They were getting married next month. Backing out now might lead to a worse ending than the original villainous side character.

She definitely didn’t want that.

Shen Nanxi wasn’t sure what Hong Kong society was like in the '80s or '90s, but based on TV dramas and news, it seemed to be half traditional Chinese and half Western influence.

So she debated whether to try building some rapport with Liang Zeqian before the wedding. After all, they’d be living together for months or even years until forced exit—it’d be good to have some psychological preparation for whatever might happen.

While her family was busy preparing the dowry and her wedding dress, she decided to call Liang Zeqian.

The first call went unanswered.

This era was so inconvenient—only landlines existed, and worse, the phone was in the bedroom. Who could stay in bed all day waiting for calls?

She tried again shortly after. Just as she was about to hang up after no answer for a long time, the call suddenly connected.

"Hello?" Liang Zeqian’s voice came through the receiver, deeper than she remembered.

"Um, it’s me, Shen Nanxi." She instinctively straightened up, as if he could see her posture through the phone. "So... are you free? I was thinking..."

"What is it?" Liang Zeqian cut her off.

She hadn’t even finished speaking, and this man had already interrupted her so directly. Shen Nanxi felt a bit guilty—now she understood the power of a zero favorability rating.

Shen Nanxi twisted the phone cord, putting on her brightest voice: "Mr. Liang, since we’re getting married next month, shouldn’t we have a meal together and chat first?"

There was three seconds of silence on the other end.

Well, she had done plenty of villainous side character things—she probably owed him an apology. Shen Nanxi refused to believe that with such a cute face and sweet tone, she couldn’t soften him up.

You’re just a supporting character without any buffs—what are you trying to prove?

Shen Nanxi continued smilingly: "My... my dad said we should work on getting to know each other!"

Liang Zeqian suddenly let out a light laugh, sending chills down Shen Nanxi’s spine: "8 tonight, NUL Coffee. If you’re late, I’ll take it as you standing me up."

Wait, bro, just the ferry ride takes almost two hours, and it’s only three hours until 8 p.m.?

But the dial tone blasted her eardrum. Damn wooden man—who asks a girl out with that attitude!