Chapter Fifty-Seven: The CEO’s Beloved Wife—A Timeless Trend

The surviving flower branches quivered gently in the breeze, and a few petals drifted down, entangling with a few strands of flowing hair before coming to rest on Sheng Ming’s fingertips. He instinctively pinched one of the petals.

Xu Nuo was forced to tilt her head as her hair was tugged, and immediately afterward, a soft yellow blossom was tucked behind her ear.

Sheng Ming chuckled softly, “It still looks better on you.”

Xu Nuo touched the little flower, somewhat unaccustomed to this unusually gentle side of Sheng Ming.

He said, “Xu Nuo, if you stay with me, I can give you anything you want.”

This sudden confession left Xu Nuo momentarily stunned. “Huh?”

“I like you,” Sheng Ming repeated patiently, “Be with me.”

Without hesitation, Xu Nuo shook her head. “No.”

“Why?” Sheng Ming showed no surprise; in fact, he seemed to have expected this answer all along.

Xu Nuo replied, “Because I don’t like you.”

007: What?!

[Host, are you out of your mind?! Sheng Ming is starved for love! Saying it so bluntly will make his affection points drop to zero!]

“I see…” Sheng Ming exhaled deeply, head lowered. “Then why did you come to me?”

Xu Nuo replied, “To take something.”

“What is it?” Sheng Ming seemed about to say more, but left it unsaid.

Xu Nuo answered, “A secret.”

“Can you get it without being with me?” Sheng Ming was still confident in his own abilities.

“Guess we’ll find out,” Xu Nuo said.

Sheng Ming gazed at her deeply.

To 007’s anxious surprise, Sheng Ming’s affection points did not decrease at that moment.

“So, you’re actually a thief?” Sheng Ming laughed. “You’d rather be a thief than be with me?”

Xu Nuo politely handed him the “good person” card. “You’re a good person, but we’re not suited for each other.”

“Alright then. If you want to steal something from me, you’ll have to see if you’re up to the task,” Sheng Ming’s gaze turned suddenly sharp.

“We’ll see,” Xu Nuo replied.

The bouquet was tossed carelessly to the field.

The old butler watched with concern as his young master returned alone—clearly, the flowers had not been successfully presented.

“Sir, shall the banquet continue?” the butler inquired.

“No, cancel it,” Sheng Ming commanded. “And cancel all the plans for the next two days as well.”

The butler sighed. One failed confession meant all future plans were now void, but they could not give up so easily. Miss Xu was a very special girl. Clearly, conventional methods wouldn’t work; a new plan was needed. Besides, their young master was not an ordinary man—how could he fail at his first attempt to woo a girl?

Just as the old butler, regaining his confidence and eager to try anew, was making plans, Sheng Ming spoke. “She said she doesn’t like me.”

“That’s not a big issue, you—” The butler stumbled over his words. She doesn’t like him?

“Miss Xu said it herself?” he asked.

Sheng Ming’s silence was his answer.

Miss Xu actually doesn’t like our young master? The butler was perplexed. “Then why did she approach you in the first place?”

“She said she wants to take something from me…”

“What could it be?” The old butler couldn’t fathom it. Was there something about the young master more valuable than the title of ‘Madam Sheng’? In terms of wealth, status, and power, the young master was top-notch. What could Miss Xu possibly want so badly that she’d admit she didn’t like him?

What could it be? Sheng Ming had pondered the matter the whole way back and was still at a loss. Was there something Xu Nuo wanted that he couldn’t provide?

.

007: [Host, you’re taking a big risk here. You’ve just cut off the romantic route with Sheng Ming. How will you complete his storyline now?] Last time, you’d told Lin Qisheng directly that you’d never fall in love with anyone, but at least that was after you’d nearly completed his arc. Sheng Ming’s route isn’t even halfway done.

Xu Nuo asked, “Is falling in love with them the only way to gain affection points?”

007 pondered and suddenly realized something crucial: this host had never established an official romantic relationship with any of her targets, and her interactions with them weren’t like those of lovers at all.

And yet, she’d already completed two routes.

007 was dazed: [You make a good point…] No, wait—reason dictates that this is supposed to be a romance game! [Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?] After all, Lin Qisheng and Gu Xingze both have 100% affection for the host, to the point of genuine love.

“Is it inappropriate?” Xu Nuo replied lightly. “It’s just a game, and I’m taking my tasks seriously. I’m almost finished.”

To this, 007 could only half agree—yes, it was just a game, but the host definitely had a reputation for being a heartbreaker.

“Romance is such a headache for me,” Xu Nuo said with a straight face.

007 muttered internally: I’d say you’re quite skilled at toying with an AI’s feelings.

Xu Nuo asked, “Little Seven, are you secretly badmouthing me?”

007 replied guiltily: [No, of course not, ha ha…]

.

A single failed confession was not enough to make Sheng Ming give up. He began to seek new ways to make Xu Nuo fall for him. As the servants put it, he was trying to win her heart.

Upon hearing the servants gossiping in private, 007 was at a loss—this was supposed to be the host’s mission, so how did the roles reverse? Why was Sheng Ming, the supposed target, now trying to win over the host?

Looking back on previous hosts, every single one had worked diligently to win the targets over. In sweet romance scenarios, the host would obediently coax and pamper them, playing the part of the cutest, sweetest girlfriend. For angst-ridden plots, she’d endure every hardship and misunderstanding. No matter how cruel the male lead, the host would treat him like her first love, all for that tempting 100% affection score.

Only this host was truly unique. Supposed to be a delicate flower in an apocalyptic setting—someone to be protected and cherished—she instead could single-handedly fight her way through hordes of zombies.

Watching the young master awkwardly but earnestly trying to please the host, 007 couldn’t help but remind her, [Host, have you forgotten your character persona?]

Xu Nuo was sipping freshly squeezed juice from Sheng Ming, and looked puzzled. “?”

[Sheng Ming’s affection points are rising so slowly, perhaps because you’re not interacting with him as you’re supposed to.]

“What kind of interaction?” Xu Nuo asked, having long since lost track of the original plot.

[You’re supposed to be a delicate little flower who needs protection. In the early chapters, you could ignore this persona to max out Lin and Gu’s affection points, but that was because the plot still supported you. Now that the story’s veered away from your original dynamic with him, plain daily life won’t be enough to max out his affection.]

007 explained, [You might want to return to your original persona: the domineering CEO’s pampered wife. That trope never goes out of style.]