"You must be really out of sorts this year. Did you talk things through with your family?"
Two seconds of silence hung in the air.
Ye Wan quietly twisted the hem of her jacket, swallowing the words "Mom doesn't have a phone, there's no way to call."
Seeing Ye Wan lapse into Little Mute mode again,
Jiang Cheng slid a spare-rib into her bowl.
Moments later Wang Jian and the others came over, each balancing two trays.
The three of them had seen Jiang Cheng and Ye Wan eating together before.
None of them knew exactly what Jiang Cheng's intentions toward Ye Wan were,
but since he'd asked her to join them, they eagerly set their dishes beside the pair.
"Cheng, the school's spicy dry duck and stewed beef are actually decent."
After Wang Jian put his plates down, Wu Kun added his own.
"These fried spring-rolls and cola chicken wings are my favourites—try one. You too, classmate Ye Wan."
They piled the food from their trays onto the empty space in front of Jiang Cheng and Ye Wan; in no time a small mountain formed before her.
Ye Wan stared at the heap, chopsticks frozen mid-air, cheeks blazing right to the tips of her ears.
She instinctively looked across the table at Jiang Cheng, a plea for help flickering in her eyes.
When she found him looking back, she hastily dropped her gaze and nudged the spare-rib plate toward him,
her voice a mosquito-whisper: "Thank you, I'm fine. You eat… don't worry about me, vegetables are enough."
Wu Kun, taking in the scene, murmured with a grin, "Cheng, it looks like classmate Wan's afraid you'll go hungry."
Jiang Cheng said nothing; he simply slid the spare-rib plate back toward her,
then dropped a chicken wing into her bowl. "Eat some of this—don't just pick at greens."
It felt exactly like being taken to a group dinner by a boyfriend who notices your embarrassment and starts serving you food.
Ye Wan's face flamed even hotter; her chopsticks trembled, yet she managed, "N-no need… you eat."
Even as she protested, she didn't return the wing, just spooned rice into her mouth and sneaked a tiny bite of the chicken.
Across the table Jiang Cheng studied her seriously.
Her complexion looked better than the last time he'd seen her.
As the corner of his mouth lifted he opened the Character Scanning System.
[Name: Ye Wan]
[Age: 19]
[Height: 162 cm]
[charm: 78]
[Figure: 72 (mild malnutrition)]
[favorability value: 86]
It had been a while since he'd topped up her meal card.
Since then the only numerical change was her figure—up two points,
shifting from "malnourished" to "mild malnutrition."
Her favorability value had also crept up by one.
All other stats stayed the same.
Malnutrition, it seemed, was stubborn.
After long-term deficiency the body develops minor problems—
vitamin shortages, iron or zinc deficiencies, that sort of thing.
Ye Wan's figure still sat at seventy-two. Better, but still below normal.
At this rate, even fully recovered, she'd peak around seventy-five.
Just as Jiang Cheng had guessed:
Once nutrition caught up and fat increased,
the pandas on her chest wouldn't balloon—they'd grow only a smidgen.
Breasts are set by genes,
or by hormone boosts during puberty.
Trying to enlarge them through diet after adulthood rarely works.
The idea that getting a boyfriend would help was even more absurd;
any perceived swelling is just inflammation… so without future system rewards
Ye Wan would cap at seventy-eight for charm, seventy-five for figure.
In an ordinary crowd that charm score made her a pretty girl.
Sadly, her figure would top out at seventy-five—still in the airport league.
While he was mulling over the numbers, the system chimed.
"Host attention on Ye Wan detected—issuing special mission." The sudden alert caught Jiang Cheng off guard.
"Ugly Duckling's Transformation…"
"No fixed tasks; every intersection between Host and Ye Wan will shape her future…"
"Note: proceed along your normal path—do not force events. Let her change unfold naturally."
The random prompt made Jiang Cheng frown.
Huh? Ugly Duckling?
The fairy-tale from childhood?
Could the reward really turn plain Ye Wan into a beautiful swan? he wondered.
Reading further, he saw that every interaction with her nudged her destiny and triggered her transformation.
Why had the system given this task the moment he checked her stats?
Right now what he felt for her was mostly pity and instinctive protectiveness—
nothing remotely wicked.
Since the system insisted, he could only go with the flow.
Opposite him Wu Kun caught her expression and remembered the oversight he'd spotted that morning.
He lowered his chopsticks, smiled at Ye Wan and said gently, "Classmate Ye Wan, I just checked the submission list for last week's Marketing Case Analysis assignment. I didn't see your name. The deadline's tomorrow—did you forget to hand it in?"
As class monitor he kept track of every girl's homework.
Seeing her now, he brought it up.
At the words "computer assignment" the flush faded from Ye Wan's cheeks.
Her eyes dimmed; her grip on her chopsticks tightened unconsciously.