'Under Control?'
His intuition told him her words were just a lie she'd made up on the spot. He absolutely couldn't believe her. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder—if that wasn't the case, why would she have returned his inner core?
"I know what happened hurt you deeply, and you'll never forgive me. But that's okay. Even if you don't, I'll make it up to you, bit by bit."
A voice full of remorse suddenly sounded beside him, interrupting his thoughts.
Before he could react, a soft palm pressed against the wound on his abdomen. A mysterious, warm power spread from it, and the agonizing pain that had been tormenting him instantly vanished.
Touching the wound didn't hurt at all. In fact, it felt remarkably comfortable. Jun Yao's gaze shifted, his eyes filling with profound shock.
'It's Healing!!!'
'This woman clearly has no powers. How can she possibly use Healing?'
"Who are you?"
He shot up and grabbed her slender, soft wrist. His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, bore into her with a cold, probing gaze, as if trying to see through her disguise.
"You injured your inner core, not your brain. How can you not even recognize me?"
Hearing his question, Jiang Yunnuan blinked, raised an eyebrow, and leaned closer so he could get a better look at her. She showed no hint of nervousness at his suspicion.
'This body is the real deal, anyway. I doubt he can find anything wrong with it. What do I have to fear?'
"You're not her!"
'Her personality is different. Her eyes are different. Her expressions and actions are different. Even the feeling she gives me is completely different. More importantly, this woman has a Healing Ability. How can I believe she's the same person as that good-for-nothing?'
'She's definitely an imposter!'
His voice was cold and certain, but Jiang Yunnuan remained unruffled. She still had a card up her sleeve.
She smiled faintly. "There's a contract between us. A person can be an imposter, but a contract can't be faked. Why don't you try to sense our contract before you say anything else?"
At her words, Jun Yao froze. 'That's right, a contract can't be faked.'
The next moment, he activated the contract within his body. A gentle light glowed from the space between his eyebrows. As if pulled by some unseen force, a strange, mysterious mark slowly appeared on Jiang Yunnuan's forehead. It was the mark of the Master of Contract.
'That's right. She really is my Contract Master. The same good-for-nothing from before.'
'But how did she suddenly awaken an ability?'
Jun Yao stopped channeling the Power of Contract, his mind a chaotic mess. He tried to sort out his thoughts for a long time, but couldn't make sense of anything.
"Well? Have you confirmed who I am now? So, can you let go?"
'This guy's grip is so strong.' Her wrist had been held for only a moment, but it was already so numb she was about to lose all feeling in it. Jiang Yunnuan couldn't help but wiggle her captured wrist and protest in discontent.
Only then did Jun Yao realize he was still gripping her wrist, and he let go. A moment later, the familiar, sharp pain returned to his abdomen. 'No, wait... it doesn't seem as unbearable as before.'
Seeing his reaction, Jiang Yunnuan quickly explained, "Sorry, my power is very weak right now. I can only ease the pain, I can't heal you completely."
'I only sensed my Superpower last night. Even though I managed to awaken it, it's still very weak. Just being able to ease his pain is already quite an achievement. There's no way I can heal him completely in one go.'
'But that's okay. As long as I do it a few more times each day, it's bound to have an effect.'
Jun Yao didn't speak. He took a breath and lay back down on the bed, but his mind was racing. 'When exactly did this woman awaken her Healing Ability?'
'Wait a minute. When she awakened her power, or what kind of power she awakened... what does that have to do with me?'
'Why am I thinking so much about it?'
Closing his eyes, Jun Yao tried hard to force all thoughts related to that woman out of his head.
He wanted to ignore her, but a faint, sweet fragrance lingered in the air, a scent that was surprisingly pleasant. 'Strange... I feel like even her scent has changed. Is it just my imagination?'
"Oh, right, I came to bring you an Energy Liquid."
Her stomach started rumbling again, and Jiang Yunnuan finally remembered her reason for coming to find him. She thrust an Energy Liquid into his hand and opened another for herself, drinking it down.
The liquid was sweet and sour as it went down, a bit like glucose. It was actually pretty good. Her energy was quickly restored and her hunger vanished, but she felt deeply unsatisfied. A wave of disdain washed over her.
'Sigh... what's the point of drinking this stuff?'
'I want to eat roast goose, roast duck, big plate chicken, hot pot, barbecue, crayfish... If I can never eat all that delicious food again and can only drink this stuff, what's the point of living?'
As she was wallowing in melancholy, a thought suddenly struck her. She remembered the Full-level Chef God Guide she'd gotten from her check-in.
'The Chef God Guide?'
'I need to take a good look at this thing.'
She sent her consciousness into the system's rewards section and discovered that in addition to the Chef God Guide, there was also a packet of hot pot soup base and a packet of barbecue seasoning. 'Where did these two come from?'
'I have no memory of these at all.'
She wracked her brain for a while before opening her task log. It turned out they were random rewards from a previously completed task. She had been so focused on earning Points that she hadn't noticed them at all.
"System, I freaking love you!"
Jiang Yunnuan declared excitedly in her mind.
'This is fantastic! These things are lifesavers for my cravings. It doesn't matter if this world has no good food. As long as I have the skills and ingredients, I can just make it myself.'
She immediately clicked to use the Chef God Guide. Countless recipes instantly appeared in her mind. No matter what dish she thought of, a corresponding secret recipe would appear, as if she had been possessed by a chef god.
[Host does not need to love me. Host only needs to complete more tasks.]
'When I'm useful, it's "I love you." When I'm not, it's "useless system."' The system was at a loss for words. It had no need for something as fickle as love; it only needed tasks.
"I'll do them! I have to! I'll do them right now!"
Jiang Yunnuan excitedly opened the task panel and accepted several missions in a row. With nothing else to do, she decided she would complete a few more missions to earn Points and rewards for a rainy day, and to pave the way for her future culinary adventures.
The first task was still check-in. A continuous month of check-ins would result in a surprise gift package and a large amount of Points. If she broke the streak, the progress would be reset to zero.
'So, if I want to get that surprise gift package and the big pile of Points, I have to check in every single day without fail.'
[Please go to Ming Ye's room to complete the check-in.]
'Oh boy. Ming Ye's room?'
'Given our tense and awful relationship, there's no way that guy will let me set foot in his private domain. This task looks simple, but it's going to be a real pain to pull off!'
"System, can we change the check-in location?"
[Nope, Host. The check-in location is random and cannot be altered.]
Jiang Yunnuan: "..."
'Alright, then. Looks like I'll just have to bite the bullet.'