When the Side Character Gets a System and Travels through Difference Worlds

So, I still have to find a way to increase my Intelligence Value.

"Can you see other people’s Intelligence Value?" Tan You suddenly put down her book and asked the Beauty System, her gaze a little unfocused.

The Beauty System replied, "Yes, but it costs Energy Points. 1 Energy Point to look once."

Tan You wasn’t worried about the Energy Points this time. "Then check Lin Zhipeng’s Intelligence Value. The one who’s number one in the ninth grade."

With 1 Energy Point credited to its account, the Beauty System’s electronic voice seemed to gain a cheerful lilt. Soon, the stat for Lin Zhipeng’s Intelligence Value appeared before Tan You.

"63?" Tan You narrowed her eyes slightly. "As I recall, he was always first in our grade and got a very high score on the high school entrance exam."

The Beauty System bounced. "A score of 63 is considered very high among ordinary people, but of course, it can’t compare to true geniuses."

"So there’s only a two-point difference in Intelligence Value between me and the top student in our grade," Tan You muttered to herself. She asked no more questions and went back to working on the problems.

The Beauty System didn’t give up. "Host, are you sure you don’t want to permanently unlock the Intelligence Value status bar?"

Tan You glanced at her 13 Energy Points and refused flatly. "Not buying it. Can’t afford it."

The Beauty System tried to tempt her. "Host, you can buy it on credit and pay in installments later..."

Tan You had no interest in buying things on credit. Besides, she had always believed that hard work could make up for a lack of talent. Even if she was ordinary, as long as she worked hard and never gave up, she could still carve out a little world for herself.

"No need. Having reserves brings peace of mind." Tan You was like a hamster, hoarding every little thing she got. Even though she had no use for her Energy Points at the moment, she was reluctant to spend them. In fact, watching her Energy Points grow bit by bit actually put her in a good mood.

Failing to tempt Tan You again, the Beauty System felt a little discouraged. ’Why is my host so cheap?’ But then it thought about the posts on the forums from its system predecessors, who were constantly being pushed around by their powerful hosts, and the Beauty System quickly talked itself down.

’My host is already very good to me. She doesn’t look down on me for being a little good-for-nothing, she takes me around to do quests, and she even does raffles that give me Energy Points. It would be great if she gave all her Energy Points to me. It’s not like she needs them anyway.’

The Beauty System sighed plaintively and went to browse the forums again. ’My host won’t be doing any quests anytime soon, so I guess I’ll just have to find my own fun.’

The Tan family lived in a remote village. To the west of the house was a small river, and various trees were planted on both sides of Little He, such as metasequoias, paulownias, and mulberry trees.

Despite Xia Ji’s scorching heat, sitting in the shade of the trees brought a sense of calm. Tan You loved to nestle under a lush paulownia tree; even when faced with impossibly difficult math competition problems, she never felt that time was dragging.

Tan Deming also liked to spend time in the shade. With a lounge chair and a radio, he could while away an entire afternoon.

One listened to the radio while the other was absorbed in her problems. The grandfather and granddaughter didn’t disturb each other, and the atmosphere was especially peaceful.

"Tan You? Are you home?" A voice called out from the east just as Tan You was racking her brain over a problem. Tan You’s brow furrowed slightly. She knew from the voice that it was Tan Ying.

She was finding Tan Ying truly irritating these days. She had no patience to play along with the younger girl’s games. With a silent sigh, Tan You closed her math competition book and stuffed it into the compartment beneath Tan Deming’s lounge chair.

Then, from the same compartment, she casually pulled out another book: a popular story magazine.

Tan You was puzzled. "You read story magazines?"

Tan Deming replied with a sigh, "I just grabbed a random one for you to use as a prop. Who knew she’d come over every single day?"

That’s right. Tan Ying had come over for three days in a row now, and Tan You was sick of it. Her time was precious; she had none to waste on Tan Ying.

While they were talking, Tan Ying had already found her way to the west side of the house. She smiled. "I guessed you’d be here. Why aren’t you out playing? Everyone’s at the big river north of the village, catching fish and gathering snails. Want to go?"

Tan You glanced at Tan Ying’s Little Mai-colored skin. "I’ll pass. It’s so sunny out, I’ll get a tan."

Seeing Tan Ying’s expression falter, Tan You felt a flicker of satisfaction. Tan Ying was most self-conscious about her skin not being fair enough, so Tan You’s words were a direct jab at her insecurity.

Tan Ying didn’t give up. "Lots of people from the village are there. Are you sure you don’t want to go? I saw your grandma there, too."

Tan You shrugged. "One person from our family is enough. What would I do there? Besides, the adults don’t let us kids go in the river."

Tan Ying pressed, "So you just stay home all day? You still haven’t finished reading all these books?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the book in front of Tan You. Seeing that it was a popular story magazine, Tan Ying couldn’t help but smile. Apparently, Tan You was still engrossed in these frivolous magazines and novels, which made Tan Ying very happy.

Tan You said, "I’m bored. Since you’re here, you can give me a hand."

"With what?" Tan Ying was wary. She had come over for three days straight, and every single day Tan You had roped her into helping with some chore. The day before yesterday, it was helping make steamed cakes; yesterday, it was making steamed buns. What was it today?

Tan You smiled. "My grandma loves zongzi, and we happen to have leftover leaves that she gathered this year. I’m going to wrap some for her. Want to give me a hand?"

Tan Ying reluctantly relaxed. "Fine."

Ten minutes later, Tan Ying regretted her decision. While Tan You hadn’t asked her to do any heavy lifting, she had told her to trim the ends off the zongzi leaves and cut the cotton string into segments. Why would Tan Ying want to do that?

’It’s not like she actually wanted to help Tan You with chores.’

Seeing Tan Ying put down the scissors, Tan Deming took them and helped Tan You finish the prep work.

"There are savory zongzi, too? Are they good?"

Tan You replied, "Of course, they’re delicious. I cured a jar of salted duck eggs a few days ago, and they’ll be ready soon. Oh, right, Grandpa, the bread oven you’re helping me build will be ready in two days. I’ll make you roast duck when it’s done."

Tan Deming shook his head. "I’m not much of an eater."

Tan You giggled. "I know. It’s Grandma who’s the foodie."

Tan Ying sat to the side, her hands clasped in her lap. She wanted to say something but didn’t know what. Hearing talk of a bread oven, her curiosity was piqued. "Tan You, how do you know about bread ovens?"

Tan Deming said nonchalantly, "I asked around. It’s just an earthen oven, but it does the same job."

When Tan Deming spoke, Tan Ying deflated a little. She could act bossy in front of Tan You, but Tan Deming was an elder, and she didn’t have the nerve to challenge him.

Tan You didn’t coddle her. "I don’t have to report every little thing I know to you, do I? We’re not exactly at the stage where we share all our secrets."

"But you used to tell me everything," Tan Ying grumbled, clearly resentful.

Tan You kept her eyes down, focusing on wrapping a zongzi. "And then you’d take what I told you and run off to tell Tan Jin and Tan Tao an exaggerated version of it?"

Tan Ying stammered, "Well... we’re all childhood friends. When they asked, it was hard for me not to say anything..."

"You always have an excuse," Tan You said. "Didn’t you used to love hanging out with Tan Jin and Tan Tao? Why are you coming here every day now?"