Chapter 720: Come Clean
Gu Qiuxia was delighted. "Then they’re all for me! Let me get a glass of water first. Eating just shaomai will make my mouth dry."
Tan You glanced at the time and stood up. "You go ahead and eat. I’ll get the water for you. Once you finish those six shaomai, it’ll be time for class."
Gu Qiuxia said smugly, "No way. I’ll show you what ’inhaling your food’ really means."
Tan You frowned. "Don’t do that, it’s bad for you. I’ll go get your water."
By the time Tan You returned with Gu Qiuxia’s water cup, she saw that Gu Qiuxia had already downed two shaomai. Seeing her bulging cheeks, Tan You could only sigh and hold the cup out to her.
All the surrounding students were dumbfounded. Seeing Tan You approach, Gu Qiuxia’s deskmate said with a dazed expression, "Can you believe it? She swallowed the entire shaomai in one go."
Tan You...
’What am I supposed to say to that?’
Thankfully, Gu Qiuxia’s showboating only lasted for two shaomai. After that, she slowed down. But it was only by a fraction, and to everyone else, she was still eating at a breakneck pace.
Eventually, some boys even gathered around to watch Gu Qiuxia demolish the shaomai. All six were devoured by her. She finished by downing a large cup of water, yet she still looked as if she wanted more.
The sports committee member straightened up. "And here I thought eating four steamed buns and two bowls of congee for breakfast meant I had a big appetite..."
"But I never expected Gu Qiuxia to be so impressive."
"Hey, how much do you think she eats in the morning?"
Yin Xiu thought for a moment. "This morning we had steamed dumplings, shaomai, and potstickers... I remember Qiuxia had six shaomai, too. I didn’t count how many dumplings and potstickers she ate, but she also had a bowl of congee."
The students’ eyes widened. They looked at the slender Gu Qiuxia and once again marveled at how you can’t judge a book by its cover.
"You guys eat that well where you live? You even get steamed dumplings and potstickers?" one student asked enviously, already starting to plot a dorm change for the next semester.
Someone in the know couldn’t help but laugh. "Don’t even think about it. Tan You made all of it. She sometimes eats breakfast with them. Those shaomai—you can tell just by looking that the landlady didn’t make them. When has she ever had skills like that?"
"Our class monitor is amazing. She can do anything."
"But our class monitor does have one weakness. Her stamina is terrible. The moment we have to run in PE class, she’s completely hopeless."
The sports committee member was speaking casually, and just as the classroom fell silent, his words rang out with perfect clarity. Tan You looked up at the sound, her eyes meeting his.
The sports committee member instantly deflated. He clasped his hands together and bowed repeatedly at Tan You. "Class monitor, I misspoke! Please don’t hold it against me."
Tan You raised an eyebrow. "Am I that petty?"
"No, no, no! Class monitor, you’re not petty at all. You’re the most magnanimous person I know..." The athletics rep looked like he was about to launch into a full-blown laudatory essay, terrified that Tan You would get back at him by calling him to the board to solve a problem.
Tan You smiled, letting the matter drop. While everyone was laughing and joking, the bell for class rang, and Huang Ruixiang walked in with his lesson plan. He had just reached the door when he saw Gu Qiuxia shoving a thermal food jar under her desk.
A hint of amusement flashed in Huang Ruixiang’s eyes; he could tell at a glance she had just finished an extra meal. The thought of it reminded him of breakfast that morning. He had to admit, Li Fugui was quite generous, not one to keep good food to himself.
The days passed as placidly as still water. The increase in her Intelligence Value wasn’t outwardly apparent; no one could tell that Tan You now had 80 points in the stat.
After raising her Intelligence Value, Tan You had run a few tests on herself. There was no sign that the increased stat had negatively affected her writing skills. She could still compose eloquent prose, but she had a vague sense that her mind was now clearer and more logical.
Her spatial reasoning had also become more acute. Solid geometry had always been one of Tan You’s weaknesses. But after the increase in her Intelligence Value, Tan You found she could now construct these geometric solids in her mind.
It was effortless, a stark contrast to how difficult it had been before.
After finishing another math competition problem, Tan You closed her scratchpad in satisfaction. ’Looks like this Intelligence Value really is a game-changer.’
While Tan You was focused on grinding through practice problems, other high schools had naturally started asking about her. For now, though, everyone was in a wait-and-see mode. Who knew if her reputation was just hot air, puffed up by her own small-town school?
The joint exams would reveal whether she was the real deal or just a fraud. If Tan You performed exceptionally well, those schools probably wouldn’t be able to sit still any longer.
Tan You was completely unaware of the stir she was causing in the outside world. After receiving the competition notes from that teacher, she had thrown herself into studying them. She even rarely went up to the front to explain problems during the evening self-study sessions anymore, spending most of her time diligently working through problems.
Seeing Tan You in such a frenzied state, the Beauty System grew a little worried. "Host, you’re working too hard. How about we go out and do a quest to relax a bit?"
Tan You had just finished an analytic geometry problem. Hearing the little system’s words, she narrowed her eyes. "Getting bored just sitting around?"
"Not exactly. It’s just that you’ve been grinding through problems constantly, Host. It’s too much work. Why don’t we go out and relax? You’re too tense." The Beauty System tried to act cute and win her over, but perhaps because it knew it had gotten into trouble, its tail wags were somewhat unnatural.
Tan You twirled her pen. "Spit it out. You know I don’t like being lied to."
"Oh," the Beauty System’s ears drooped. "Host, I messed up."
"What kind of mess? Is it something I can handle?" Tan You twirled her pen again, spinning it so deftly in her hand that it was almost a blur.
"When I was updating the prize pool, I accidentally hit the random quest button." The Beauty System stood up on its hind legs, resting its front paws on Tan You’s arm. "And then... I drew a beginner-level quest."
"Oh? A beginner-level quest?" Tan You raised an eyebrow. "And it’s another one we can’t refuse, so you tried to convince me to go out and ’relax’?"
The Beauty System nodded weakly. "This is a system issue. Because I drew it by accident, you can actually refuse to accept the quest... but it will cost Energy Points."
"How many?" Tan You was curious. ’I never knew you could refuse quests.’
"Quests drawn by the Host can’t be refused, but this was my mistake. You can refuse it, Host, but it’ll cost a huge amount of Energy Points."
The Beauty System said listlessly, "It costs 100 Energy Points, and I have to cover it myself. I’ll also have to write a self-criticism report and then read it aloud in front of all the high-level systems."
"Well, that’s certainly social suicide. I couldn’t bear to see you humiliated like that." Tan You finally understood. The little system had gotten into trouble it couldn’t get out of on its own, and it was desperate not to lose the Energy Points.
To be honest, Tan You didn’t want to lose the Energy Points, either. She worked hard for every single one—was it easy? One hundred Energy Points was enough to complete three intermediate-level quests. Rather than just lose them, she might as well take a trip to the quest world.
Besides, the system was her property. If the Beauty System was disgraced, wouldn’t that reflect poorly on her, too? Still, a lesson needed to be taught. Tan You pinched the little system’s ear. "Pay more attention next time."