Chapter 6: An Unexpected Bonus

Room 702.

Mi Ke helped Song Jingyi through the door and settled her onto the bed. She was about to pull away when Song Jingyi

suddenly grabbed her hand, blinking sleepily up at her. "Keke, how did I get back to the dorm..."

Mi Ke paused, then replied evenly, "You got drunk. Jiang Muye carried you back."

"Jiang Muye?" Song Jingyi drew a sharp breath, her grip on Mi Ke's hand tightening. "Keke, I'm sorry, I was completely

out of it-he carried me back... you're not upset, are you?"

Looking at the genuine remorse on Song Jingyi's face, Mi Ke smiled, a fleeting glint of mockery passing through her

eyes.

Completely out of it. Their heroine truly never let a single stain touch her morals or motives.

"Why would I be?" Mi Ke matched her hypocritical sweetness with an equally sincere-looking smile. "You're my best

friend. I trust you wouldn't have any improper thoughts about my boyfriend."

Song Jingyi studied Mi Ke's gentle expression, finally relaxing. She nodded and said sweetly, "That's good then. You

must be tired tonight too. Get some rest."

"Okay."

Mi Ke stepped back from her bed. The instant the curtain fell, her expression went flat and unreadable.

Just as she picked up her toiletries and headed for the bathroom, a notification chimed in her mind.

[Received transfer from sucker (Jiang Muye): 666.00 yuan. Current system balance: 13,186.00 yuan.]

Mi Ke checked her phone and saw that Jiang Muye had indeed sent a red packet. She raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised.

The question she'd posed downstairs earlier had been deliberate. But not because she wanted to keep stringing Jiang Muye

along.

She'd simply wanted to test whether, after her appearance upgrade, people's attitudes toward her would shift.

True, she'd only gone from a four-star ugly girl to a seven-star ugly girl. But there should be at least a slight

difference in how others treated someone who was extremely ugly versus ordinarily ugly.

Consider a spider. No matter how desperately it begged for mercy in front of a human, the only response would be horror

and a shoe coming down to squash it.

But a mouse raising its tiny fists in surrender? That might earn a flicker of pity, a wave of the broom to shoo it away.

The old Mi Ke had been the spider-the kind of presence so unbearable that even if she'd hanged herself in a grove of

trees, people would've just thought she was swinging on a swing.

But now...

Looking at the 666-yuan red packet Jiang Muye had inexplicably sent, and comparing it to her previous life, where he

wouldn't even buy her a cup of Mixue Ice Cream...

Mi Ke grew even more certain of one principle.

Perhaps the world didn't actually contain that many bad people. But ugly people simply attracted more malice. Even being

just a little bit prettier could make a world of difference.

She gave the softest laugh and tapped to accept the payment.

By the time Mi Ke finished washing up, she was the last one to climb into bed. She turned off the dorm lights and felt

her way up to her bunk in the dark. Finally, she had a moment to summon the system.

"System upgrade."

[Host: Mi Ke. Tier: Ugly Girl. Charm: 7 stars. Use balance to upgrade?]

"Yes."

[System converting charm value...]

[Congratulations! Upgraded to Ordinary Girl 1 Star!]

[Congratulations! Upgraded to Ordinary Girl 2 Stars!]

[Upgrade complete! Current tier: Ordinary Girl 2 Stars. Balance: 3,186.00 yuan. Congratulations! You've earned: 1 VIP

Reward Voucher + 2 Beauty Reward Vouchers! Total: 3 vouchers!]

"A VIP Reward Voucher?" Mi Ke caught the keyword and blinked in surprise.

[Yes, Host. Each major tier upgrade grants one VIP Reward Voucher. This voucher grants double-value beauty redemption!

For example: weight reduction of 20 jin, or skin lightening by two shades.]

This was an unexpected bonus.

Mi Ke had originally planned to use all her Ordinary Girl 2-Star reward vouchers on weight loss. But with an extra

double-value voucher, she suddenly had more options.

"Redeem vouchers!"

[Understood, Host. Available redemption items: 1. Personal charisma +5! 2. Skin lightening by one shade! 3. Weight

reduction of 10 jin! Proceed with redemption?]

Mi Ke was about to tell the system to put all three vouchers toward weight loss, which would drop her from 170 jin to

130 jin in one go.

But then she noticed the new option she hadn't seen before, and hesitated.

"System, what does charm value do?"

[Charm value: Personal magnetism beyond physical appearance. The higher your charm value, the more positively others

perceive and respond to you. Host's current charm value: 53. Grade: Below passing.]

Mi Ke thought she was beginning to understand what charm value really meant.

It was like how some people were beautiful but inexplicably disliked and isolated. Others were plainly unattractive, yet

universally popular-their personal magnetism acted as a filter, subtly coloring how people saw them, even affecting how

their looks were perceived.

In social interactions, charm value was sometimes the deciding factor in whether someone took to you at first glance.

After considering, Mi Ke said: "Three vouchers. I want to redeem them for: weight reduction of 20 jin, skin lightening

by one shade, and charm value +5."

This time she waited over ten minutes. She was nearly falling asleep when the system notification suddenly chimed.

[Congratulations, Host! Beauty upgrade successful!]

[Current parameters: Age 19, Height 168cm, Weight 150 jin, Skin tone: Cool red-toned Fair 2, Charm value: 63.]

[PS: Charm value max: 100. This world's female lead, Song Jingyi, has a charm value of: 160.]

Mi Ke had actually struggled with the decision for a long time. She'd been sorely tempted to dump every single voucher

into weight loss.

But considering that she'd soon need to start pursuing male leads, even if she dropped to 130 jin, she'd still be just

an ordinary girl-unlikely to easily win anyone's interest.

Better to let her parameters grow in a balanced way. At the very least, she could be an ordinary girl who came across as

approachable and likable.

Fortunately, Mi Ke was tall for a girl. At 150 jin, she'd finally shed the "fatty" label and entered the "chubby" range.

It was still spring, and she usually wore a light jacket when going out, which made her figure less conspicuous.

In the darkness, Mi Ke slipped her hand under the blanket and pinched the flesh at her waist.

The once-soft, bloated texture had, after losing 20 jin, not only firmed up considerably but also begun to show

definition. For the first time, she could feel the curve of her own waist.

In the dark, Mi Ke rested her hand against her stomach and slowly closed her eyes.

Half-asleep, she dreamed the recurring nightmare from her childhood.

In the dream, faceless classmates surrounded her, jeering and taunting.

"Pig Mi!"

"Fat cow!"

She ignored them and pushed through the crowd to get food at the cafeteria, only to have someone knock her tray to the

ground. The person turned, saw Mi Ke's furious expression, and rolled their eyes impatiently. "You're that fat. Skip a

meal and call it a diet!"

She opened the class group chat and saw her classmates had photoshopped her face onto a pig's body, flooding the chat

with it as a meme.

She confronted them, demanding justice. In return, the boys shoved each other around, snickering.

"Your wife's crying! Go comfort her!"

"Your wife, your wife!"

...

In the darkness, a single tear traced down the corner of Mi Ke's eye, catching the moonlight like a falling star.

She clutched the blanket and, even in her dream, wrapped her arms around the helpless, alone girl she'd once been.

Never again, Mi Ke.

This time, I won't let you suffer like this again.