1.26

Without paying any more attention to the leads' situation, Xu Jiaqi went ahead and built good feeling with Qin Zicheng, forming a bond with the man. She was almost certain that she would be content with spending a lifetime with him to fulfill her missions. The only remaining trouble was the question of whether or not Qin Zicheng would reciprocate that sentiment.

Sure, Qin Zicheng was interested in her right now. But they were just in the initiation phase. Who knew how the man would feel a month, two months, or a year later? A lifetime was quite the long time unless you died in early age. To make such a long lasting, large decision was not an easy feat for most people.

Life was filled with unpredictable variables, and it would be hard for anyone to live through it smoothly without any rocky segments, even as an influential and privileged person. Life would fluctuate at any time and create new scenarios for you to go through every day, whether you like them or not.

Xu Jiaqi's captivating eyes looked at Qin Zicheng passionately. Her gaze was caught by the man, who began to feel an amorous feeling brimming inside of him again. After being coached by his mother repeatedly, he had grasped the basics of romance, and knew that what he was feeling was normal for a person in love. It wasn't a heart disease.

He was originally prepared to leave Xu Jiaqi if he truly had a terminal illness or something serious because he did not want to reel the woman only to leave her with pain after he suffers a great trouble, so he was extremely relieved after learning that he was all clear in his physical health checkup, and everything laid within his feelings. Towards Xu Jiaqi.

His strong, sharp eyes locked gazes with Xu Jiaqi. The food had been finished, so they were just chatting until they decided to leave the restaurant for good. Qin Zicheng did not know what to do, but he went along with her flow, wondering what the woman was trying to probe on with her beautiful eyes.

"Say, Zicheng ge, do you like me?" Xu Jiaqi twirled her slightly curled hair as she spoke.

"...Why do you ask that?" Qin Zicheng's adam apple bobbed as he felt like a knot was forming in his throat, making his voice a bit hoarse and hard to speak. His eyes grew a little bit expectant as Xu Jiaqi giggled, her voice as charming as chiming bells.

"Zicheng ge, I think I like you. Do you feel the same as me?" Xu Jiaqi suddenly confessed. Since she was playing the bold character with Qin Zicheng, she felt like this was the best course of action.

She had analyzed Qin Zicheng's likes and dislikes over the course of her monitoring every single time she was with the man. She began to pick up the man's little gestures and tendencies. Although Qin Zicheng did not know this fact, Xu Jiaqi's actions were actually very well maintained and controlled within her acting realms in order to maximize favorability.

Just like the other times, Qin Zicheng's infatuation began to spike up after hearing Xu Jiaqi's confession.

Ding!

[Side Quest: A Thousand Years Worth of Love.]

Details: Xu Jiaqi, the unloved woman, has never experienced what it feels like to be cared for to the point of 'until death do us part'. Although many people voice out that line in their vows, who would actually dare to do it in case of danger? A Thousand Years Worth of Love, a true couple should stay together no matter what happens, never to be separated by trivial matters.  Dangers, trials, and tribulations are things that are meant to be shared. Reach the Favorability Peak and make your target sacrifice his life and death for your sake.

Target: Qin Zicheng, Favorability: 50.

Xu Jiaqi's brows rose when she saw the notification pop up.

'Oh? The side quest finally arrived?' Xu Jiaqi asked the System.

[Yes, Host. It was triggered since Qin Zicheng finally broke the meter of favorability points, going over the fifty count. The side quest isn't entirely relevant to your work, but you will get a good reward if you complete it. You won't really suffer if it's not completed. However, in order to get an SS grade in the System, you will need to complete every single quest. For this world, there are only two, the previous main quest and this one. The System has decided that Qin Zicheng is your target because of the existing bond you now have.]

'I see.. Well, this makes it even more important for me to snatch and grab onto Qin Zicheng forever. If I fail with him, can I change my target?'

[For this world, yes. You are eligible for reaching fifty points of favorability with another man, from where you could start to redo the mission progress and complete it. However, for some worlds, special criteria might be applied, some of them being a 'forceful bond' or tie with a character that would not allow you to change your target once the System set it up.] The System explained.

'I see.. That's good. My confession propelled Qin Zicheng up to fifty points? Hays, he is actually quite an easy man. Just this little amount of time and he's already trapped. It's quite adorable, so to say.' Xu Jiaqi laughed internally.

"Qiqi... I, too.." Qin Zicheng coughed, clearing his throat as he spoke. He was an outspoken person, so anything that crossed his mind were usually able to be said without any blockages stopping them. However, this time, something seemed to be blocking his speech, making it hard for him to portray his feelings.

However, he pressed through, knowing that these things had to be said right now. Xu Jiaqi already said her part, how could it be that he was struck by nervousness and ended up not being able to reach her? He took a deep breath as he continued to speak.

"I too like you very much." Qin Zicheng confessed. "Would you be my partner?" he asked, watching as Xu Jiaqi's expression melt into a sweet smile that he loved to see a lot.