The Second Chapter ended, and the task evaluation phase began.

'Completion of basic objectives—60 points.'

'Destiny's Favored Golden King—10 points.'

'Total score is 70 points, rated as quite excellent.'

'This task's score: 70 points (quite excellent), highest task score: 70 points (quite excellent).'

'Since the Player has achieved a quite excellent rating, meeting the hidden requirements, you will receive information about a hidden side quest in this game.'

'Side Quest 1: Treasure Hunter. Unveil all Destiny Cards.'

'Side Quest 2: Thorn-Striding Black King. In all Destiny determinations, draw only 'Despair' or 'Great Despair'.'

'Task evaluation upload complete. You have earned 15 Merit Points. Please use them wisely.'

In the recent battle, during all of Ren Suo's Resurrection Destiny determinations, because Ren Suo had spent 2 Seeds of Destiny for each, all determination cards only showed 'Hope' and 'Great Hope.' Thus, he unexpectedly met the criteria for the Golden King achievement.

However, since there was only a boss fight and no Destiny Cards were unveiled, the 'Treasure Hunter' achievement was not completed.

Sixty points only get you 10%, but seventy points get you 30%...?

Ren Suo discreetly recorded this data, then calculated his earnings for the day. It'll be a major loss if I can't clear this game—'Struggle Warrior (Incomplete)' is unusable today. That's one loss. But the biggest loss is 'Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart' entering an 88-day cooldown!

Ren Suo stared at the Bond System, where 'Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart' had turned gray, a flicker of unusual light in his eyes.

***

"Big Brother, Big Brother."

After lunch, while Ren Suo was washing the dishes, Little Jiu came over and tugged at his clothes.

He turned his head and saw Little Jiu handing him her phone.

"You want me to play ranked matches? Then you've found the right person. My hand speed is wicked fast right now. But hold on, I haven't finished washing yet..."

"It's not that, Big Brother," Little Jiu shook her head, pouting as she said, "The teacher is tattling."

The teacher is tattling? Ren Suo found it curious. He shook his hands vigorously to dry them, like a cat flicking water from its paws, then took the phone. A glance showed it was a parent group chat: 'Heavenly Lotus Primary School Grade 3 Class 2 Parent Group'.

'Math Teacher Luo: @Ren Xiaojiu's parent, please do not ask Heavenly Lotus Academy's Transcendent star Teacher Bai to pick up Little Jiu anymore. It encourages a spirit of comparison among the children, which is detrimental to their education.'

'Xie Jin's parent: Indeed, that's not appropriate. Even if you're familiar with a Transcendent star, you should be more low-key. You're not a Transcendent star yourself.'

'Suo Tian's parent: Right, it's just picking up a kid. Parents should do it themselves. /picks nose'

'Suo Tian's parent: Anyway, I heard you have plenty of free time.'

Ren Suo looked at Little Jiu, puzzled. Little Jiu pouted and said, "For a few days before the long vacation, Little Bai picked me up to go see Sister Ling. Then, other students' parents and teachers recognized Little Bai. Every time I went home, crowds would gather to see if Little Bai was the one picking me up.

"Today, during the parent group chat, someone suddenly brought it up, and then this Teacher Luo..."

Ren Suo recalled that on those afternoons, Little Jiu had indeed come directly to his house after school instead of going to the Dong Chengling Family home—he had assumed Little Jiu walked back by herself.

Ren Suo then had another question. "Why would Bai Ji pick you up? And why do you call Bai Ji 'Little Bai'?"

"Sister Ling was very busy those days and couldn't pick me up on time. So Little Bai volunteered to pick me up from school and dropped me off downstairs," said Little Jiu. "Little Bai said we're family and should help each other. That's why he asked me to call him affectionately; he hopes to be considered my family."

Little Jiu then pointed to herself. "Big Sister calls me Little Jiu, and I call him Little Bai. Doesn't that feel very much like family?"

Ren Suo patted Little Jiu's head and sighed. Bai Ji really is a good guy.

But Ren Suo still had doubts. "But why would any teacher dislike you?"

This wasn't Ren Suo being one of those doting parents who think their child, being so incredibly cute, can do no wrong; his confusion was genuine. By now, Little Jiu should have completely conquered the 'mini-map' that is her elementary school. Everyone from the principal down to the cafeteria ladies ought to be under her spell. How could one have slipped through the cracks?

Little Jiu thought for a moment and said, "Teacher Luo seems to like Teacher Chen, the English teacher. Ever since Teacher Chen saw Little Bai, she's been asking me every day if Little Bai is picking me up from school..."

Ah, I get it now—it wasn't about Little Jiu; it was about Bai Ji! Thinking about it, those other two fathers who chimed in were probably targeting Bai Ji too. A handsome, unmarried Transcendent star who also clearly likes children (since he picks up Little Jiu) is too much of a threat to other men. If Bai Ji were a parent himself, that would be one thing, but he isn't. Naturally, they'd want to chase him off quickly. Otherwise, if Bai Ji became the 'rain' that 'watered their green pastures,' they'd have no tears left to cry. Ah, Bai Ji, this is all your fault for being too captivating, you troublemaker!

However, after some thought, Ren Suo took out his phone and sent a message to Bai Ji: "Alright, spill the beans. Have you taken a liking to one of the teachers or someone's wife?"

Bai Ji: "...No."

Ren Suo: "Then why do you so often use picking up Little Jiu as an excuse to go to the elementary school?"

Bai Ji: "...I just go to pick up Little Jiu. I genuinely like Little Jiu and want to be like family to her."

Ren Suo: "You really don't have a crush on any of the female elementary school teachers or some married woman?"

Bai Ji: "...Absolutely not. You can rest assured."

Ren Suo: "By the way, you didn't come over for dinner today. Are you busy?"

Bai Ji: "Writing a paper."

Ren Suo: "Good luck! /heart"

Confident that Bai Ji didn't have any ulterior motives, Ren Suo didn't bother asking for his input anymore. He looked down at Little Jiu and asked, "So, how do you want me to reply to them?"

Little Jiu blinked, tugged at Ren Suo's sleeve, and said, "When Sister Ling isn't free, how about you pick me up from school, Big Brother?"

"Well, that's not out of the question." Ren Suo gently poked Little Jiu's forehead. "But... why is this parents' group chat on *your* phone~?"

Little Jiu's expression froze.

"This group is supposed to be for me or your Sister Ling to join, right? Let me see... Hmm, the parent profile is quite convincing. Name: 'Big Brother Ren Suo,' male, 24 years old, student... The Moments feed even has a few scenic photos of foxes. Claims to love foxes, and their favorite food is black tea..."

Ren Suo ruffled Little Jiu's hair. "Trying to block the information channels, were you? What, you don't want me or your Sister Ling knowing what's going on with you?"

Little Jiu wriggled her head under his palm and muttered softly, "I... I just forgot..."

Ren Suo glanced at the messages in the parent group. Hmm, it seems notifications for all sorts of expenses, like autumn outings and book fees, are posted in this group. If she hid this group, she could decide for herself how much all the related fees would be when the time came. The motive is crystal clear.

Ren Suo looked at Little Jiu, sighed, then squatted down and said, "From now on, if Sister Ling is busy, just message me directly, and I'll pick you up. Or, if you just want me to pick you up, you can message me then too."

Little Jiu had plenty of ways to respond to the messages in the group herself. She had shown it to Ren Suo specifically because she wanted to use this opportunity to make her request to him.

Ren Suo understood this kind of thinking perfectly. It was like when a younger sister said she was scared of thunderstorms and insisted on squeezing into her older brother's bed—wasn't she just trying to use him as a human teddy bear to hug for a better night's sleep?

Little Jiu immediately broke into a smile, hugged Ren Suo's neck, and nuzzled against him, saying, "Okay!"

Then Ren Suo smoothly picked her up and took her to find Dong Chengling.

...

When Ren Suo came out after finishing the dishes, he saw Little Jiu rubbing her eyes with her small fists, her voice thick with tears as she sobbed, "I won't dare to do it again." Dong Chengling, standing beside her, glanced at Ren Suo and gave a slight nod.

Ordinarily, Ren Suo would have gone straight home after washing the dishes, but this time, he asked, "Cheng Ling, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Hm?" Dong Chengling looked at him, somewhat surprised, then shook her head. "No."

"Really? Nothing at all?" Ren Suo said earnestly. "Washing clothes, cleaning toilets, sweeping the bathroom—I can do anything! Oh, but those more tiring jobs will have to wait until tomorrow. I'll switch into a silent but diligent work mode and be at your service then."

Eighty-eight days of cooldown for 'Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart'... Of course, I'm not going to just wait foolishly. Besides waiting for the cooldown to end, which would upgrade the Bond, I can also directly refresh the Bond Ability's cooldown. And since Bai Ji didn't come today, and Gu Yueyan and the other girls hurried back to write their papers after dinner, this is the perfect chance to try and earn some points with Dong Chengling. Anyway, only Little Jiu knows, so it's not embarrassing.

Dong Chengling continued to shake her head. "Really, there's nothing."

She paused, then said, "If I have to say something... I hope you'll continue to cultivate diligently and advance to the third turn."

Dong Chengling sat down, took Little Jiu into her arms, and gently caressed the spot where she had disciplined her earlier. She turned to look at the sky outside, her voice carrying an indescribable emotion as she continued, "These past few days, the Spiritual Energy of the world seems to have risen again... I feel that the bottleneck for the fourth transformation is no longer a challenge for me."

"'You're going to advance again?'" Honestly, Ren Suo wasn't too surprised. Apart from teaching and cooking, Dong Chengling spent all her other time studying or cultivating, even cutting her sleep down to five hours. With her perseverance and talent, she deserved such a reward.

"Yes." When facing those close to her, Dong Chengling was never falsely modest, nor did she put on airs like some academic poser. She admitted frankly, "So I really hope you can catch up soon."

"I will."

Back home, Ren Suo thought, Advancing to the third turn really needs to be put on the agenda. I can only obtain the Second Chapter of the 'Mysterious Sovereign's Secret Records' after reaching the third turn. And as for my Bond with Dong Chengling, advancing to the third turn seems like it would deepen our relationship further.

Ren Suo used the data stream to scout himself and discovered his Cultivation was already at 94.4% of the second turn.

The recent boss battle hadn't just caused Ren Suo's Qi Cyclone to cultivate passively. Given my Talent, I would have been lucky if my Cultivation had risen by even 0.1% in that short amount of time.

The Despair emotions released during that boss battle seemed to contain immense Energy, which was transmitted to Ren Suo even through the screen.

Because Ren Suo had the Bond System, several Bonds of Silk firmly anchored his mind, allowing him to fully absorb this Emotional Energy. This was the fundamental reason his Cultivation had surged by 4.4%.

If there are more boss battles to come, and if they can produce similar effects, reaching the third turn in ten days won't be just a dream!

Just then, Ren Suo's phone buzzed with a new message. His face instantly fell. I knew it! After tomorrow's livestream ends, there'll definitely be another research task. This time, I'm determined to refuse any research task, no matter what it is! I nominally still have two papers to deal with (though I've already finished and submitted the shortest one, a 5,000-word paper)!

However, when Ren Suo opened the message, his expression turned peculiar:

'Intranet: Level 3 Researcher Suo, a research request from the 'Ren Naiser, Fairy Palace, World Tree Project Group'—

'How to pursue the Nameless Greatsword Maiden from the "Destiny" livestream?''

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