Treatment Plan for Emotional Deficits
Chapter 9
If Shang Rong were to rank all the potential targets he had seen so far in terms of appearance, Su Muqiu would definitely be number one, excluding Shang Muhe, who was as dazzling as the Morning Star.
Not only was his appearance outstanding and exquisite, but he also gave off a different vibe.
From Shang Rong's personal point of view, if seeing Shang Muhe gave her a sense of appreciation for beautiful things, then when she saw Su Muqiu, she would have an indescribable feeling of wanting to get close to him. Perhaps, this was his innate affinity.
Shang Rong was still a little concerned about the Favorability Points. She thought for a while and asked him with a smile, "Muqiu, have we met before?"
With such a high initial Favorability Points, even if she directly called his name, Su Muqiu wouldn't care too much.
As expected, not only did Su Muqiu not care, he even smiled at her. His smile seemed to contain some sort of understanding, "Xiaoshang Rong, have we met before?"
From his expression and answer, Shang Rong thought back to her own memories. It was obvious that she had never met him before.
As she thought of this, she was still haunted by a strong sense of familiarity. She said without batting an eyelid, "No, but I feel that Muqiu gives me a very familiar feeling. It makes me care a lot."
… Moreover, she felt that she had heard the name Su Muqiu somewhere before.
[Heartbeat fluctuation index has reached 14%, please note!]
The System suddenly popped out a sentence without rhyme or reason.
Shang Rong was slightly taken aback. She immediately lowered her head to look at the electronic meter on her left wrist. She saw that the usually pitch-black LED screen had lit up with pink numbers. She couldn't help but be astonished.
— Heartbeat fluctuation index. According to the guide's title page, this was one of the game's additional functions. It could be used to measure the ups and downs of one's emotions, and thus determine the extent to which the player is enjoying the game.
"What a coincidence." Su Muqiu couldn't hear the System's notification, so naturally, he didn't feel anything. He winked at her and lowered his voice.
"I have the same feeling."
Shang Rong recovered from her initial shock. She looked at his smiling brown eyes and subconsciously looked at the favorability rating above his head.
Just as she expected, the value had risen to 90.
Shang Rong stared at the numbers. Her feelings were indescribable.
According to her personality, she shouldn't be interested in a male lead who was so easy to capture and had a high possibility of reaching an ending quickly.
But it seemed to be directly caused by Su Muqiu. The ups and downs of her emotions seemed to be more important.
After all, her original intention of entering this game was to use it to treat her emotional loss.
"Muqiu, stop looking at me like that."
Shang Muhe was not willing to let his presence be taken away. In an unknown corner, he held Shang Rong's hand and gently squeezed it.
"Our little girl is only sixteen. You're already twenty-six … Three years is a generation gap."
"Go to hell," Su Muqiu scolded jokingly. He turned to look at Shang Rong with a gentle expression.
"Muhe and I are very good friends. We're also in the same year, so you're equivalent to my sister.
If you run into any trouble, you can come find me at Jiashi. "
Shang Muhe seemed unconvinced. He put his hands on his hips and muttered indignantly, "And you say you don't have any ulterior motives. I'm not blind …"
Shang Rong calmly ignored his nagging. After thinking carefully, she asked Su Muqiu curiously, "So, you're also a professional esports player?"
"… Also?" Su Muqiu only smiled, his tone subtle as he repeated her choice of words.
Shang Rong inwardly criticized herself. Once wasn't enough for her to be taken advantage of by Ye Xiu. She actually had to be taken advantage of a second time.
Fortunately, Su Muqiu wasn't as eccentric as Ye Xiu. Instead, he considerately gave her a way out. "Yes, I'm also a professional esports player.
To be exact, I'm the team leader of Jiashi. "
"Team leader?" Shang Rong chewed on this word. Her eyes slightly lit up.
"Then you must be very good?"
"You flatter me." Su Muqiu thought of something and shook his head gloomily.
"Probably not as good as a friend of mine … He's very good at Glory."
Shang Rong saw the worry between his brows. Just as she was about to say a few words of comfort, she was interrupted by Shang Muhe's complaints. "Hey, you guys, can't you see where you're meeting?
At least don't ignore me … "
Shang Rong was very used to Shang Muhe's coquettish behavior in front of his family. She helplessly smiled.
Then, she turned to look at Su Muqiu. The helplessness in his smile was exactly the same as hers.
The two smiled at each other and suddenly felt a sense of empathy.
Shang Muhe saw their "flirtatious" expressions and was so depressed that he almost stomped his feet. But before he could — — at this crucial moment, his phone rang.
Shang Muhe glanced at the screen and his face became dejected. When he picked up the phone and heard a few words, his dejection became even more obvious. "Forget it. The company's calling me. I'll go first."
Shang Rong raised her hand to say goodbye. Before she could say "Goodbye", she received a warning look from him. "Little brat, hurry up and go back to school to rest. Be careful when I check on you — — I'll call your roommates."
Shang Rong shut her mouth obediently, but she had an inexplicable feeling … Maybe it was because she was wronged?
"Muhe, don't you …" Su Muqiu couldn't bear to see the innocent look in the little girl's big, maroon eyes. He hurriedly tried to persuade her.
Shang Muhe snorted. His Young Master's temperament was on full display as he glared at Shang Muhe. "And you!
That's my little sister! "
"You've really misunderstood." Su Muqiu sighed.
"Xiaoshang Rong is younger than Mucheng. To me, she's just a little sister. Don't you think too much?"
"In that case, remember what you've said."
Shang Muhe didn't seem to believe her. He glanced at Shang Rong cautiously before turning around and leaving with the umbrella.
Hearing Shang Muhe walk away with splashing water, Shang Rong remembered that he seemed to have mentioned a name — — "Mucheng".
"Mucheng?"
With a strange feeling, Shang Rong repeated the name. When she thought of Su Muqiu, she subconsciously added another surname. "Su … Mucheng?"
[Heart rate fluctuation index has reached 26%. Attention please!]
The system suddenly notified her again.
Shang Rong ignored it. She vaguely felt that something was wrong. It was just a name. How could it affect her emotions?
… Unless, of course, she liked Su Mucheng, but that was unlikely.
She had never liked any man, let alone a woman.
So, maybe the system malfunctioned.
With this thought, Shang Rong frowned slightly. She decided to note it down and ask the system after she logged out of the game.
"Mucheng is my younger sister."
Misunderstanding that she was curious, Su Muqiu gently explained to her. His brown eyes were curved with a doting smile.
"But she's a few years older than you. She's already twenty-two this year."
"Is that so …" Shang Rong didn't say the words "So the young lady that day is your sister". Instead, she pondered for a moment and smiled as if nothing had happened. "If there's a chance, I really want to meet her."
"You'll get the chance," Su Muqiu said, seriously thinking about it.
"Next time, I'll bring you to Jiashi. She's also a Jiashi player."
"Sure." Thinking that she had already met him, Shang Rong agreed obediently on the surface.
"It's a promise."
At this moment, Shang Rong's phone in her pocket suddenly made a "ding dong" sound.
She felt it was strange. She couldn't figure out who would send her a message at this time, so she casually lowered her head to take a look.
[Muhe Brother: Little Rongrong, Muqiu is a good person and will make a very good boyfriend, but you're still young and still studying. Mom and Dad both hope that you can achieve the results you want and not waste time on other things.]
… Was this also part of the system's actions and lines?
Shang Rong thought quietly. Her finger hovered over the screen. She couldn't think of a good reply for a long time.
Seeing her hesitation, Su Muqiu smiled and asked her: "Do you have something important to take care of?
Then I'll be leaving first. See you next time. "
Shang Rong quickly locked her phone and looked up to say goodbye: "Okay, goodbye."
Su Muqiu said goodbye to her, but he wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, he paused his steps and looked thoughtfully at the orange signboard with the words "Happy Internet Club" written on it.
Shang Rong didn't understand. Following his gaze, she inadvertently thought of Ye Xiu — — out of all the male leads that had already appeared, he was the one who had the lowest favorability towards her and the one who didn't buy into her.
Moreover, he had an indescribable resemblance to the Su Muqiu in front of her — — whether it was in terms of appearance, figure, or personality, there was no resemblance.
Blinking, Shang Rong couldn't help but ask: "What are you looking at?"
"I just remembered that I used to go to the Internet Club a lot." Su Muqiu shook his head. Unexpectedly, he sincerely explained to her.
"Ever since I signed the contract, I haven't gone there again … … I really miss that feeling."
"Is it because you're a big star now?"
Shang Rong's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of the face of the person in front of her on the billboard and asked him with a smile.
— — That commercial was very well shot. It should be an ice cream commercial. The picture showed two young men.
One was Su Muqiu. The other had long black hair and a pretty face, but she didn't recognize him.
"Crap, you saw me." Su Muqiu first pretended to be surprised, but then he couldn't help but laugh.
"Maybe. Even though most people don't recognize me, most of the Glory players in the Internet Club do.
If you go there, you'll probably cause a commotion. "
"If you're afraid of being recognized, then go secretly." Shang Rong seriously suggested.
"Thank you." Su Muqiu chuckled and patted her on the head.
"Mm, you really are a little girl."