“They’ve gone back to their rooms,” An Siyao replied.
“Then we’ll see them tomorrow,” Xia Yu said. After blow-drying his hair, he strode back to the bedroom.
After lying in bed for a while, he stood up again.
Sleeping in An Siyao’s body still felt a bit unfamiliar to him.
He approached the desk, randomly picked a movie to watch, and began conversing with An Siyao.
“What kind of people are your stepmother and younger brother?”
“Mom doesn’t interact much, and An Feixiong is… somewhat annoying.”
An Siyao’s response surprised Xia Yu; it was the first time he had heard her explicitly call someone annoying.
An Feixiong was Luo Yali’s son—was he an excessively troublesome brat?
No, for An Siyao to express dislike, it might not be because An Feixiong was particularly bad, but rather because An Siyao was now more willing to express herself.
To test this, he asked, “What was your impression of Auntie Dong before?”
Auntie Dong was the head maid’s name; previously, An Siyao had never spoken ill of her.
Now, An Siyao answered, “She always stares at this part, which is a bit annoying.”
Indeed, it was due to a change in affection level.
Thinking back, a few days ago An Siyao had directly asked Wen Ziying if she was pretty, something she would never have done before.
Had this girl finally begun to open up a bit?
“How is that brat annoying?” Xia Yu continued.
“He’s always dirty, noisy, runs around everywhere, and likes to scribble with paints,” An Siyao replied with a hint of grievance.
Xia Yu relaxed. Although somewhat troublesome, it was still within the range of a typical mischievous child.
“What about Luo Yali? Do you know what her family does?” Xia Yu started gathering information on Luo Yali.
To deal with that brat, he must first get past Luo Yali’s interference.
Previously, they had lived in Fangzhang City, and Xia Yu had been too lazy to interfere. But now, they were in his villa and had to obey.
“I don’t know,” An Siyao replied.
After watching a movie, Xia Yu went out again, wandering through the corridor.
He arrived at the greenhouse.
This was where An Siyao practiced flower arranging. Although the girl hadn’t done it in a long time, there were still some fresh flower branches inside.
It was the maids who placed them there. As for why the maids did this, it was probably a matter of habit.
They had been placed like this for so long, and An Siyao hadn’t asked them to stop, so it continued.
Picking up a flower, Xia Yu casually placed it into a vase nearby.
An Siyao’s flower-arranging bonus was called “Kadō,” a skill that wasn’t particularly useful on him. However, whether male or female, if someone of the opposite sex possessed the Kadō skill, they would be greatly appreciated.
Kadō, Chadō (tea ceremony), and Kōdō (incense appreciation) were cultural practices popular in Asian regions, especially thriving in District One and District Eleven.
Due to some lack of entertainment, this world was deeply fascinated by traditional cultural crafts, filling the void in people’s recreational needs.
Although Xia Yu appreciated An Siyao’s flower-arranging demeanor, he refused to do it himself.
Practicing such things was less appealing than playing games with Xu Youxiang.
Come to think of it, practicing a skill only granted experience for that specific skill, which was quite inconvenient. It would be better if, like in certain games, practicing a skill dropped universal experience that could be allocated freely across all skills.
However, even if experience could be freely assigned, he wouldn’t use it to improve his Kadō level.
At this moment, a line of prompt text suddenly appeared before Xia Yu.
[Detected lv3 bonus: You have the option to upgrade a related bonus skill to lv3. Use it?]
“???”
Did the lv3 bonus actually have this hidden perk?
Recalling, Xia Yu determined the trigger condition: performing the skill while thinking about improving the level.
If he hadn’t touched the flower and thought about it, would he never have known?
Damn the game, always trying every trick to withhold his rewards!
Although lv3 wasn’t much, for simple skills under the guidance of a high-level teacher, even with only an lv1 bonus, it could reach lv3 in about twenty days. But free rewards were always welcomed.
He clicked “No.” Compared to flower arranging, An Siyao also had a painting skill, which was more practical.
Standing up, he prepared to leave, but after taking a couple of steps, he thought of a blind spot.
The lv3 bonus had an opportunity to upgrade a skill to lv3. Then, did the lv2 and lv1 bonuses have similar functions?
He sat back down and picked up the flower again.
He thought in his mind: increase the level.
[Detected lv3 bonus: You have the option to upgrade a related bonus skill to lv3. Use it?]
He then thought: switch to lv2.
The prompt changed accordingly.
[Detected lv2 bonus: You have the option to upgrade a related bonus skill to lv2. Use it?]
Xia Yu clicked “Yes.”
[You have obtained Kadō lv2.]
Leaning against the table, Xia Yu felt a bit melancholic.
He had already worked hard practicing skills, and now he had to outwit the system as well.
He recalled all the system’s functions again, ensuring there was nothing else missing, then stood up and went to the bedroom.
He took out a pen and paper, casually sketching a bit, but failed.
The system’s judgment was still somewhat strict.
He then seriously drew a five-pointed star, successfully upgrading Painting to lv3.
“Do you want to continue learning painting?” An Siyao asked with some anticipation as she watched Xia Yu’s actions.
This past month, Xia Yu had lost interest in playing the piano. Although he spent more time with her, it made her feel uneasy.
It felt like her cat had lost interest in the cat toys she bought.
“No more comics,” Xia Yu wanted to give the girl a little shock.
He stood up and went to the art studio.
Upon seeing the canvas and paints, various techniques popped into his mind.
Assuming he wanted to learn, after Xia Yu prepared himself, An Siyao was about to start explaining when Xia Yu began painting on his own.
Watching Xia Yu’s skilled techniques, the girl was astonished. When Xia Yu first entered her body, she had taught him comics once. Back then, Xia Yu had known nothing.
Fluently wielding the brush, watching the colors appear on the canvas, Xia Yu felt extremely satisfied.
Just like handsome people looking at their reflections, growing happier with each glance, skilled artisans also grew increasingly pleased with their creations.
He paid attention to An Siyao’s reaction, waiting for the girl to exclaim at his sudden improvement.
However, An Siyao’s words carried a hint of grievance: “Did you go find another woman again?”
“???”
The girl believed this was an oil painting Xia Yu had learned from another woman because she had never taught him, Xu Youxiang didn’t know either, and judging from Xia Yu’s previous comic-drawing level, he hadn’t learned it before.
Xia Yu explained that this skill came from her.
“From me?” An Siyao was puzzled.
“I won’t tell you the specific reason, but there’s definitely no other woman,” Xia Yu said.
“Okay,” An Siyao calmed down.
She watched Xia Yu finish the oil painting, which was her face.
Sweetness filled the girl’s heart.
Spending the night in An Siyao’s body, the next morning Xia Yu returned to his own.
He planned to first investigate the situation himself. If convenient, in the afternoon he would log into An Siyao’s body to visit Zhong Yunxin and collect some results.
After he finished washing up, Xia Nianhong called him for breakfast, and You Xue was already at the table.
It was rare not to have to cook breakfast himself, so You Xue was quite excited.
The breakfast was noodles with fried eggs and ham.
When Xia Yu sat down, Xia Nianhong said, “You’re back just in time. The girl Han Han is here too; you two can play together.”
“Didn’t she move away?” Xia Yu was surprised.
Han Han’s full name was Kong Han, a childhood friend of Xia Yu’s, whose family had moved to the city later.
“Their grandfather passed away, and the grandmother missed the hometown, so they came back,” Xia Nianhong said, “That little girl used to follow you around all the time when she was little. You can… give it a try.”
Xia Yu paused with his chopsticks.
After Xu Youxiang was pressured into marriage, was he now facing the same situation?
“They say her family opened a store in the city,” Xia Nianhong hinted to Xia Yu.
“I’m only in my third year of high school,” Xia Yu sighed.
However, he didn’t say he wouldn’t meet Kong Han. They had been close friends as children, and he also wanted to see how the girl was doing now.
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