Chapter 3—Paper Man (Part 2)
Su Tang saw the glowing screen materialize in mid-air, its surface inscribed with words.
His eyes widened instantly, a stream of profanities nearly escaping his lips.
Holy shit, how can this world tolerate such a shameless person?!
With a pair of dead-fish eyes, Su Tang silently pleaded to the system, “Can I kill him? Why didn’t you mention the villain was a complete creep in the plot you gave me?”
The system responded with uncertainty, “Uh, the villain isn’t exactly a creep… right?”
Su Tang pressed, “Think about it! Who would make their game lover call them ‘Master’? Is this even remotely normal? Even your own tone sounds doubtful!”
The system fell silent.
Su Tang sighed, his face a mask of melancholy. “System, forgive my frankness, but I can’t complete this mission.”
The system panicked. “Host! Don’t abandon me! I… I still have the Great Fortune Bag of the Lucky Emperor! It’s full of exotic foods you’ve never tasted, stunning clothes, and holographic games to play!”
Su Tang froze. Right, he still needed to accumulate points.
Thus, after Luo Yuan entered his name, the small window vanished. The figure in the center of the screen stood motionless, its blank expression making Luo Yuan frown. Is it stuck?
Just as he was about to exit the game, the little figure moved. With a smile that curved his eyes, he said, “Master, what a lovely name! I like it very much.”
At the same time, Luo Yuan saw a small number pop up above the figure’s head:
[ -100 ]
A notification window also appeared on the right side of the screen:
[ Su Tang’s favorability toward you: -100 ]
[ Su Tang is very shocked. ]
[ Su Tang is very angry. ]
[ Su Tang is viciously cursing you as a pervert in his mind. ]
Luo Yuan watched as the messages popped up one by one like a scrolling commentary, completely exposing the true thoughts of this smiling, adorable little figure.
He actually hates a paper-thin character?
Why?
Just because he made it call him master?
Luo Yuan was somewhat surprised. Aren’t a paper-thin character’s lines and actions pre-set? How can it be so intelligent, acting like a real human with its own thoughts?
Because his favorability had been deducted, Luo Yuan finally paid attention to the pink heart-shaped progress bar in the upper right corner, which displayed the lover’s affection progress. Now it was completely empty, and a bright red number -100 had appeared above the leftmost end of the bar.
Is this game using the paper-thin character’s cute appearance and two-faced personality to attract players? Luo Yuan thought. This actually makes it somewhat fun to play.
Luo Yuan had initially opened the game just to see what tricks popular games used, expecting to lose interest and quit at any moment. Now, however, a faint sense of challenge had begun to stir in his heart.
Luo Yuan stared at the little person who spoke with such insincerity. Suddenly, he reached out and poked the figure.
In the game, Su Tang felt an invisible push against his body. He stumbled forward, then frantically regained his footing.
Su Tang wanted to strike back.
But to maintain his “paper-thin” persona, he had to keep up the innocent expression. “Master, is something wrong?”
[ Su Tang’s favorability towards you -10 ]
Luo Yuan raised an eyebrow and couldn’t resist poking again. The little person swayed like a child’s toy, wobbling before regaining balance. Soft and adorable, his face flushed red. “Master!”
But Luo Yuan knew better. This wasn’t embarrassment—the little person was clearly angry.
The -20 appeared above his head once more, clear as day.
Still… it was kind of fun.
The normally cold and work-obsessed Luo Yuan found himself amused by bullying a paper-thin character. Watching the little person’s puffed-up expression actually made him feel relaxed, like a weight had been lifted.
After playing with the paper-thin character Su Tang for quite some time, Luo Yuan suddenly proposed a new character concept during a game development meeting. He suggested a type of character who would smile on the surface while secretly cursing at players. The attendees were left utterly speechless.
What kind of bizarre concept was this? A character who verbally insults while maintaining a pleasant demeanor? An “o-tsukare” archetype? But that trope typically involves characters who pretend to dislike someone while secretly harboring affection—a shy, adorable contradiction. Some female players do indeed enjoy this trope, finding even occasional insults from their paper-thin companions sweetly endearing. But this… wasn’t it just a character smiling while internally cursing?
We could all pull that off! That’s exactly the daily resentment workers feel toward their bosses! If CEO Luo likes this concept, we’re all in! We’d happily curse the big boss eight hundred times a day in our heads. All that effort to please the boss, and we’d only ask for three words in return—
Raise. Our. Salary.
That would satisfy us completely.
Of course, all this would come much later.
For now, Luo Yuan was just beginning to play the game, still in the completely unfamiliar exploration phase. The system suddenly popped up another notification window.
[ Players can plant star grass seeds in the courtyard. The harvested star grass can be exchanged for items in the shop, which can increase your lover’s affection. ]
Luo Yuan glanced at the door leading to the courtyard in the corner, where a conspicuous arrow was blinking, guiding him outside. However, he wasn’t in a hurry to unlock new areas. Instead, he opened the shop to see what it contained.
The variety was extensive: food, clothing, furniture, seeds, gifts, and more.
Each item displayed the required amount of star grass. Naturally, there was also the option to pay with real money, with prices ranging from a few yuan to several hundred. For Luo Yuan, an heir to a major corporation, even buying everything in the shop would be trivial. Corporate projects often involve hundreds of millions or even billions of yuan. The game’s microtransactions were nothing compared to that.
However, Luo Yuan wasn’t one to spend money recklessly, nor would he be easily tricked into spending by competitors.
The small courtyard outside the house was just a paper-thin facade anyway. A few crops exchanged for items would suffice. He had far more important matters to attend to—he wasn’t the type to get lost in games.
As these thoughts swirled through his mind, CEO Luo Yuan found himself having “wasted” nearly half an hour on the game—a truly astonishing occurrence for a workaholic.
The small patch of land in the courtyard, left unseeded, had grown over with weeds. He’d need to clear them first before planting the star grass.
Luo Yuan couldn’t fathom what the game developers were thinking. Instead of simply swiping his finger to clear the weeds, he had to painstakingly pluck each one by hand and toss them aside.
Impatience began to creep in, but glancing at the -130 affection gauge in the upper right corner, he forced himself to continue. He had to raise that affection level quickly. How could a big CEO like him possibly lose to a silly game?
[ Your lover has jogged to the window. ]
[ Su Tang leans against the windowsill, peeking at you with a furtive glance. ]
[ Su Tang feels slightly pleased. ]
[ Su Tang’s affection for you +1 ]
Luo Yuan noticed the continuous pop-ups on the right side of the screen. His gaze instinctively shifted to the window of the small house, where he spotted a curious little figure peering out. The character had a Q-version body with a single fluffy hair swaying atop its head, looking quite adorable.
Finally, some affection points.
After deducting so many points earlier, seeing him weed now only adds a tiny bit. This little guy is hard to please.
Yet, for the first time, a faint smile flickered in Luo Yuan’s eyes.
Author’s Note:
Q-version Su Tang: I suspect you’re a masochist! And I have proof!
Mr. Luo: I will never be tricked into spending money on this game.
![Dissatisfied [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4997572.jpg "Dissatisfied [e-sports]")
