Su Qi ultimately decided to exchange for the Ningling Earrings.
After all, having a system girl appear was already quite unscientific—one such product was probably enough.
With the system girl's crisp voice announcing the successful exchange,
A delicate red pouch and a stapler-like device appeared out of thin air.
Su Qi looked at the extra stapler-like object in confusion. Do earrings now come with staplers?
As Su Qi examined the device, the system girl spoke up: "Host, this is an ear piercing tool for making ear holes!"
Hearing this, Su Qi belatedly remembered that unlike necklaces or rings, earrings require pierced ears.
Although Su Qi had never gotten her ears pierced, she recalled some classmates in middle and high school describing the process as a quick "click" like a stapler.
Just thinking about it made Su Qi's skin crawl. It sounded quite painful.
Now she was starting to regret exchanging for these earrings, not realizing it would involve such suffering.
Su Qi hesitantly asked the system girl: "Is it too late to return them?"
"All sales are final!" came the crisp reply.
The thought of ear piercing was giving Su Qi a headache. But then the system girl added: "Don't worry Host, it won't hurt at all. This ear piercing tool is very user-friendly."
Hearing this, Su Qi examined the device more closely and was relieved to see no visible needle. She then asked:
"How do I use this?"
"Just press the button once, Host."
Su Qi was puzzled by these simple instructions. Shouldn't she have to aim it at her ear first? And why "press" instead of "staple"?
Although the instructions seemed vague, Su Qi decided to follow them and press the button, in case there were issues later.
As soon as she pressed it, she felt a stinging sensation in both ears. It was like the jolt of hitting a nerve at the dentist, or a quick static shock.
The sudden pain made Su Qi instinctively drop the device, but it vanished before hitting the ground, along with the lingering pain.
Was that it?
Su Qi touched her ears in disbelief but felt nothing unusual.
Confused, she slowly stood up and walked to the bathroom. After carefully examining her delicate earlobes from all angles,
Su Qi was stunned to find no marks whatsoever on either ear.
Was the pain just her imagination?
Just then, the system girl's crisp voice chimed in: "Host, the ear piercing tool is bundled with earrings from the system store. You won't be able to find the 'ear holes' unless you're holding earrings purchased from the system mall!"
Su Qi didn't quite understand this explanation—it sounded like some kind of puzzle game mechanic.
But practice is the best teacher, so to test this theory,
Su Qi opened the red pouch and took out one of the Ningling Earrings in her right hand.
To her surprise, she could now feel a tiny hole when touching her earlobe.
However, there was still no visible mark in the mirror.
Realizing this, Su Qi marveled at how the system girl had just been discussing science with her, only to immediately do something so unscientific.
It was like a Taoist priest telling her to believe in science before flying away on a sword.
Nevertheless, Su Qi appreciated this unscientific feature.
After all, she didn't usually wear jewelry, and real ear piercings required annoying maintenance to prevent closing up.
Most importantly, Su Qi knew that getting ears pierced normally was quite painful.
There was also risk of infection if proper care wasn't taken in the beginning.
In comparison, this "painless technology" was truly convenient. And there were no visible marks when not wearing earrings.
Although this setup seemed designed to force purchases from the system mall,
As a consumer, Su Qi approved of this attempt by the "system girl" merchant to fleece its sheep.
After praising the cute little system girl a few more times, Su Qi turned her attention to the newly exchanged Ningling Earrings.
These earrings weren't as gaudy as the ones worn by Su Daji in old TV dramas.
They were quite small and delicate, yet not cute—instead having a touch of allure.
The pair was symmetrical with a simple design—a thin gold wire with a small pearl, below which hung white tassels resembling fox tails. The tassels were shorter than Su Qi's thumb, yet eye-catching.
Su Qi looked at the small hook at the top of the earrings.
To be honest, she was a bit nervous, worried the hook would hurt her soft earlobes if she poked them.
But hesitation wouldn't solve anything. After taking a few deep breaths, Su Qi began cautiously trying to put on the earrings.
Since she could only rely on touch to find the holes, and this was her first time,
It took quite a while of fumbling before she succeeded.
The observing system girl couldn't help teasing in its cute voice:
"Host, how are you so bad at aiming?"
Hearing this suggestive comment, Su Qi didn't bother arguing with the little rascal.
After all, if she protested, the system girl might look up the reason online and learn bad things.
Finally, after 20 minutes of trial and error, Su Qi managed to insert the first earring.
With that experience, the second earring only took 5 minutes.
With both earrings on, Su Qi gently shook her head, feeling the novel sensation of the earrings swaying and the weight on her earlobes.
The fox tail-like white tassels swayed gracefully with her movements.
However, aside from looking more delicate, Su Qi didn't notice any other changes or the "enchantress" temperament mentioned in the description.
Just as she was puzzling over this, the system girl's crisp voice spoke up: "Host, try reciting Su Daji's lines from earlier again."
To her surprise, Su Qi found she no longer felt any embarrassment. In fact, she felt oddly in character, even thinking the script wasn't risque enough.
After reciting the lines, Su Qi looked in the mirror and noticed that under the earrings' influence, her pure eyes now held a hint of allure alongside their innocence.
These contrasting elements had unexpectedly merged.
Just as Su Qi was about to examine this more closely, there was a knock at the door.
"Sister Su, I'm here!" came Xiao Xiaoxiao's childish voice.
Though still soft-spoken, she sounded very happy and excited.
Su Qi opened the door to find the little girl in a pink dress with twin ponytails, staring at her in wide-eyed shock.
Only then did Su Qi remember she was still wearing the revealing "Enchantress Like a Dream in Rainbow Robes" outfit and Ningling Earrings.
Seeing the little girl's excited and incredulous expression, Su Qi gently tapped her nose and pulled her into the room, asking:
"Why are you so late today?"
Hearing Sister Su's question, Xiao Xiaoxiao snapped out of her daze. She hugged Su Qi's arm and happily said:
"I went shopping with Mom this morning. And Mom said I don't have to go home tonight!"
After saying this, Xiao Xiaoxiao's whole face flushed shyly as her bright eyes gazed at Su Qi.
Looking at Xiao Xiaoxiao's expression and the script nearby, an idea formed in Su Qi's mind.
Wouldn't it be fun to have the little girl play the role of King Zhou opposite her Su Daji for one night?