Starting from the second day of the National Day holiday, Tan You found a new pastime. She had always been enthusiastic about dressing up dolls, and as it happened, Tan Yue had loved looking pretty since she was little. The two hit it off immediately, and Tan Yue became Tan You’s living doll.
Clothes for a little girl were quite easy to make. Tan You went from making T-shirts to shorts, then from shorts to dresses. In the end, she even created a few sets of Hanfu, leaving the Tan family completely dazzled.
Later, when Tan You began tackling the pile of woolen fabric, even Cheng Wenhui made a special trip back from the factory just to follow Tan You around and learn a few tricks.
After all, the stitching for woolen fabric was different from other materials. Moreover, Tan You was working with double-faced wool, which had completely different requirements.
Tan Lin, meanwhile, came over to report for duty every single day. His visits were a good thing, as he could keep Tan Desheng occupied, saving her from having that old coot loitering nearby and staring at her all day.
Tan You was more than happy to see it happen. She really didn’t want to deal with Tan Desheng. That man was truly rotten to the core.
’Sometimes Tan You had to wonder, how did someone as thoroughly depraved as Tan Desheng manage to become a division-level cadre? And how did he actually manage to retire safely?’
Cheng Wenhui stared at the few woolen garments hanging to one side. "President Yang is going to be paralyzed by choice again."
Tan You was unconcerned. "Actually, for this type of clothing, classic styles are more durable and timeless. Overly flashy designs just end up looking tacky later on."
Cheng Wenhui nodded. "You have a point. That’s true. So, should I take these to the factory tonight?"
Tan You waved her hand. "Mhm, I made them for you guys anyway. Do whatever you want with them."
Once the novelty of the sewing machine wore off and she had worked her way through most of the fabric she’d brought back, Tan You set it all aside and started studying her Math Olympiad problems. An Intelligence Value of seventy wasn’t enough for her to completely dominate, but it had certainly helped things click into place.
It was like right now, for instance—Tan You felt that the more she used her brain, the sharper it became.
Just as Tan You was immersed in the Math Olympiad problems, the Beauty System, which hadn’t popped up in a long time, spoke. "Host, aren’t you going to do any tasks? Aren’t you going to try the prize draw?"
Tan You glanced at her pathetic 16 Energy Points. "And you’re still trying to trick me into the prize draw? You completely emptied my Energy Points last time. I need to save up some more."
The Beauty System’s voice dropped, clearly feeling a little guilty. "Host, I... I didn’t do it on purpose! It’s the prize draw mechanism... It’s an issue with the probability!"
Tan You looked at this stubborn little puppy-dog persona and suddenly raised an eyebrow with a smile. "You skimmed so many Energy Points off me. Why haven’t you changed your skin?"
"I’m not changing," the Beauty System said, wiggling its little butt. "I’m saving my Energy Points to get the Elf skin later."
Tan You immediately thought of the 20,000 Energy Points required and suddenly felt she’d been truly naive before. She had only gotten 37 Energy Points for a medium-difficulty task, and that had been incredibly hard.
’Even if the return rate for high-level tasks is higher, how much higher could it be? Saving up 20,000 Energy Points is going to be a long, arduous journey.’
’Thinking of this, Tan You couldn’t help but feel that ignorance truly is bliss. She’d dared to make such a grand promise without knowing a thing, and the little system had actually believed her. One of them was bold enough to promise, and the other was bold enough to believe.’
’Since the little system had appeared, Tan You decided to study it a bit. In her last world, she’d had a stint in the entertainment industry, and her Charm Value had jumped from 39 to 49. Could it be that the way she acquired Charm Value was related to her profession?’
’Pushing that speculation to the back of her mind, Tan You tried to figure out the source of those 9 Intelligence Value points. But honestly, she couldn’t make sense of it. All she did was unravel the Magic Array that sealed the Dark God. She hadn’t done anything else, so why would she receive such a generous reward?’
’Unfortunately, the Beauty System was a useless little thing, and it was constrained by its programming. Even if the little guy knew the inside story, it would never be able to tell her. However, Tan You herself had a vague guess. As for whether she was right, she would just have to wait and see.’
Her eyes swept calmly over her status bar, and her gaze finally settled on the big prize wheel.
The Beauty System sidled up to her. "Host, which one do you want?"
It felt guilty for having wasted so many of Tan You’s Energy Points and was now thinking of pulling some strings for her. As long as what Tan You wanted wasn’t too outrageous, it would make sure she won it.
Tan You pointed to a space next to "Perfect Body." "This one, ’Strength of an Ox.’ Can you get that for me?"
The Beauty System’s voice went up several octaves. "Host, there’s ’Slender Jade Fingers,’ ’Perfect Body,’ ’Alluring Fragrance’... You don’t see those?"
Tan You rolled her eyes. "I’m nearsighted, not actually blind. I saw them, but they’re useless to me. After looking them all over, this ’Strength of an Ox’ seems pretty useful."
"With my current constitution of 39, how long would I have to train to reach Tang Jing’s level?"
The Beauty System’s voice grew quiet. "I’ve assessed it... The host is congenitally weak..."
Tan You held up a hand. "That’s enough. Don’t say any more. Just tell me, can you get it or not?"
The Beauty System glanced at Tan You’s 16 Energy Points and drooled shamelessly. "I can get it. I want Energy Points."
Tan You was unconcerned now. "Then get it for me. If you succeed, great. If you don’t, then you and I are going to have a long talk. How many Energy Points did you scam me out of last time?"
The Beauty System was terrified of Tan You bringing up the past. The moment she mentioned it, it immediately puffed out its little chest. "I... I guarantee I’ll get it in one try!"
Tan You smiled. "System, I’m putting all my faith in you. You’d better not let me down."
Her mix of threats and encouragement clearly worked. The Beauty System took it to heart, and Tan You got the "Strength of an Ox" she wanted. However, when she saw the reward that refreshed in its place, Tan You paused. "There’s an ’Advanced Strength of an Ox’?"
"Is the one you got me a defective version?"
The Beauty System immediately cried foul. "Of course not! A skill like ’Strength of an Ox’ is equivalent to improving the host’s physical attributes. It’s a completely different category from skills like ’Icy Skin and Jade-like Bones.’ It’s divided into several levels."
"What you just won is the most basic level. Your strength should now be equivalent to that of three adult men."
Tan You glanced at her status bar. "But it didn’t increase my constitution."
The Beauty System had an answer for that. "Once you completely master this new strength, your constitution will improve."
Tan You was barely satisfied. She really didn’t want to keep panting like a bellows just from climbing a flight of stairs. Besides, having all this strength paired with the constitution of a frail maiden felt... disconnected. Like Lin Daiyu uprooting a willow tree with her bare hands.
’Though comparing herself to Lin Daiyu was a bit of a stretch.’
Having gotten "Strength of an Ox" as she wished, Tan You started providing some emotional value for the Beauty System. "System, you’re really the best! What would I do without you? Where else could I find a system as amazing as you?"