Chapter Eight: The Truth Is Somewhat Cruel-A verdadeira filha excêntrica treina cachorros, enquanto o falso cão leal abana o rabo loucamente(Quinto dia do Ano Novo.)

"Click." With a soft sound, a round glass marble fell into his hand.

The shouting of Si Ming still echoed in his ears, but Nan Xian, having obtained the rare treasure, unilaterally severed the connection.

"Divine AI? Is this little thing it?"

"Greetings, Divine Lord. I am the 690th generation intelligent system developed by the Hall of Destiny. My primary duty is to assist deities descending to the mortal realm in overcoming tribulations; my secondary duty is to write scripts for the Hall of Destiny."

"Oh? It can talk?" Nan Xian, fascinated by his new toy, stroked his chin with one hand. "Then tell me, how does one overcome a romance tribulation?"

"In response, Divine Lord: when descending to the mortal realm, remember that humans are a species particularly adept at bewitching deities. One must not be easily deceived."

"Hmm, that makes sense." Nan Xian nodded in contemplation. As if struck by a thought, his eyes lit up. "69, do you think forming a bond with a human could also be a way to successfully pass a tribulation?"

69: "..."

"Fine, you really are just a piece of Divine Artificial Idiocy. You're not even as flexible as I am."

...

Xu Si, who had finished preparing instant noodles according to her memories, happened to see Nan Xian clutching the glass marble, his face full of disdain.

'A divine artifact? Is he here to take over my body?'

Xu Si’s gaze darkened as she picked up her phone.

Search: How to make a male creature willingly give his life for you?

Answer: First, be kind and fragile; studies show that male creatures have an innate desire to protect the weak. Second, be sincere; demonstrate genuine emotions and warm care. Let the other party feel love through small details and actions to touch their heart.

'Small details? Feeling love?'

Xu Si silently swapped the positions of the two bowls of noodles.

She cleared her throat and coughed twice. "Divine Lord~ The noodles are ready!"

"Yikes!" Nan Xian jumped in surprise, stood up, and hid 69 away, muttering in confusion, "Humans are truly magical. Do they have multiple voices?"

"Cough, cough!" Xu Si choked on her own spit, grinding her teeth in silence.

"Oh? It changed again?"

"Eat!" Xu Si gritted her teeth.

In the next second, Nan Xian teleported directly to the table, picked up his chopsticks, stirred his bowl, and then peeked at the little vengeful spirit's bowl.

She looked so pitiful—plain broth and noodles, not even an egg... Wait? An egg?

Staring at the egg in her bowl, the expression on Nan Xian’s face froze completely.

Xu Si stirred her noodles and stuffed a large mouthful into her mouth. 'Heh, I am the smartest leader in the interstellar federation; how could I not win you over?'

Nan Xian watched her eat, and the pity in his eyes deepened.

'Instant noodles—as far as he knew, this was a low-grade food that humans only ate when they were broke. Yet now, she was eating it with such satisfaction! And that last remaining egg was actually in her bowl. How hateful! He had actually been doubting the little vengeful spirit’s feelings for him just a moment ago!'

'If this isn't love, then what is? He decided that once his tribulation was over, he would take the little vengeful spirit to the Divine Realm to eat and drink the finest offerings!'

With a firm heart, Nan Xian picked up his egg and, with lightning speed, dropped it into Xu Si’s bowl.

'This is it!'

Xu Si screamed internally. She lifted her palm-sized, smiling face from the bowl. Her eyes, usually cunning, were now filled only with surprise, daze, and emotion. Her deer-like eyes were shimmering, reflecting nothing but Nan Xian’s image.

It was his first time being stared at with such fervent intensity, and the tips of Nan Xian’s ears turned red involuntarily...

"Cough, cough. What are you looking at? I don't like eating eggs."

"Th-thank you." Xu Si lowered her eyes, staring at the egg. "You're the first person who has ever been this good to me."

Her soft, sweet voice made the tips of Nan Xian’s ears burn red.

Just as he was about to offer a few words of comfort, he saw the little vengeful spirit open her mouth wide and take a huge, impatient bite of the fried egg. 'Damn it, I almost didn't get to eat it!'

Nan Xian: "..." What went wrong?

He looked at Xu Si suspiciously, but could only see the top of her fluffy head.

'Forget it, forget it. A little vengeful spirit who can eat even low-grade food so happily, what kind of bad intentions could she possibly have?'

He picked up a mouthful of noodles and put them in his mouth...

His eyes widened suddenly. *This is delicious? Who said it was low-grade food? Slurp, slurp... Hmm! Humans are indeed cunning.*

Xu Si, who had only ever consumed nutrient paste in the interstellar era, found it equally delicious.

Seeing Nan Xian bury his face in his bowl, she didn't want to be outdone and quickly lifted her bowl to drink the soup!

The meal was devoured with whirlwind speed.

By the time they had both licked their bowls clean, they sat side by side, blushing, and picked up tissues to pretend to wipe their mouths.

"You—"

Human and deity spoke simultaneously.

Looking at his own clean bowl, Nan Xian realized what he had done and turned red with embarrassment...

He snatched both bowls and stammered, "Um, you worked hard cooking. I should wash the dishes. It’s... it’s only right."

With that, he scurried off to the kitchen.

Xu Si was left blinking in place. "Hmm? An unexpected harvest? My memories didn't lie to me; this software actually has some use."

As the saying goes, after a good meal comes... thoughts of...?

Xu Si’s eyes brightened repeatedly. "If even instant noodles are this good, how delicious must the barbecue be that the original owner could never bear to eat?"

...

In the kitchen, Nan Xian cast a cleaning spell and impatiently pulled out 69.

He said triumphantly, "See that? She was willing to give me the last egg. She loves me!"

69: "Report, Divine Lord. The Divine AI can detect the level of human love for you."

"Really? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Nan Xian put 69 away and marched proudly back to the living room.

"Little vengeful spirit~"

"Hmm?" Xu Si, who was lounging on the sofa, lifted her eyes and quickly put on a smile.

Unexpectedly, in the next second, 69 flew out from Nan Xian.

A cold, emotionless mechanical voice rang out.

"Warning, warning. Detected: the love value of the human opposite you for the Divine Lord is zero. Warning, love value detected at zero. Warning, final confirmation: love value is zero!"

"Zero?" The word was squeezed out of his throat. "Zero?"

Nan Xian’s world collapsed.

Xu Si’s composure also teetered. She narrowed her eyes at the glass marble.

Nan Xian, oblivious, grabbed 69 and rushed back into his room.

"Don't call me. I'm not hungry for dinner."

"Bang!" The door slammed shut.

Xu Si: "..." That thing is an eyesore; it must be destroyed!

Inside the room, Nan Xian was shaking 69 violently.

"No, how can it be zero? Is there a lag? Is the connection bad? Ha, I knew nothing good could come out of the Hall of Destiny."

"It's impossible, impossible! Her love is overflowing; how could it be zero!"

Nan Xian, his neck flushed with anger, ran to the room's only money tree and started plucking leaves.

"She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not... She loves me not?"

Nan Xian widened his eyes, grabbed the potted plant, and frantically searched through the branches, finally pulling out a tiny, pin-sized sprout.

"Ha! I knew it! She loves me!"

Xu Si, who had been standing at the door watching Nan Xian for a long time, finally realized that she might have actually hooked a god.

But there was bad news: she had hooked him into stupidity...

"You..."

The sudden voice gave Nan Xian a fright.

He turned back, feeling guilty. "Cough, cough. Don't overthink it. I definitely don't like you."

"I didn't say anything," Xu Si said, expressionless.

Nan Xian slumped his shoulders. "Fine, I like you just a little bit."

"But how can your love value for me be zero? I am the most noble second-generation god; not loving me is your loss!"

Xu Si nodded in agreement. "It is indeed my loss."

"Actually, I still have a little..."

Before he could finish, the familiar vibration came again.

Nan Xian glared viciously at the object in Xu Si’s hand: 'One day, I will smash that thing!'

"Hello."

"Xu Si, I give you one hour to get over here and apologize to A-Yi, otherwise..."

Xu Si moved the phone away and hung up decisively.

"What a lunatic. Who knows any A-this or A-that!"