Su Yu finally realized that something was off when she encountered the twin brothers from the Ye family. She had always thought that the high ratings given to the Gong family's three brothers, Ling Tianche, and others by the system were due to its assessment based on normal aesthetic standards. People who were extremely handsome in her eyes were considered extremely ugly in this world's standards. After all, she had personally verified this.
However, what she didn't expect was that when she met the twin brothers from the Ye family, the system's ratings were both 97 points, which belonged to what she considered top-tier level of handsomeness. According to this world's standards, they should have been considered extremely ugly, even hideous. But to her astonishment, before she could even formulate a strategy, she heard passing girls excitedly discussing while stealing glances at them:
"Ah! They're so handsome!"
"No wonder they're ranked second among the top ten school heartthrobs!"
"But I still like Ling Tianche the most! In my eyes, he's the most handsome in the universe!"
"The three brothers of the Gong family are quite good too! Their looks are all so stunning, really pleasing to the eyes!"
"I prefer the refined and elegant type like Teacher Rong, so charming!"
...
Su Yu was left dumbfounded. Wait, what happened to the reversal of beauty and ugliness? Their opinions were no different from hers!
A sense of unease crept into Su Yu's heart. When she had previously encountered the Gong family brothers, Ling Tianche, and Rong Yi, there happened to be no local residents around, and she didn't have a chance to hear their opinions. That led her to naturally assume that the Gong family's three brothers and others were considered extremely ugly by the locals, because she had personally experimented with this world's inverted beauty standards...
But now, she heard what? The Ye family's twin brothers were very handsome! The Gong family brothers were also handsome! Ling Tianche and Rong Yi were equally handsome!
Su Yu's mind snapped, like a string breaking. She took a swift step forward, intercepting the group of girls. Anxious, she asked, "What did you just say?"
The girls were startled by her sudden appearance. When they saw her demeanor, the timid ones instinctively huddled together. Su Yu grabbed one of the girls by the shoulder and shook her forcefully. "I'm asking you a question! Speak up!"
At this moment, Su Yu had forgotten everything else. She just desperately wanted to know the truth.
The girl was trembling in fear of Su Yu's fierce expression. Her voice quivered as she said, "The three brothers of the Gong family are very good-looking..." She was the one who had praised the Gong family brothers just a moment ago.
Su Yu's expression turned somewhat ferocious. "And?"
"Ling Tianche is the most handsome in the universe..." Seeing that Su Yu kept asking, the girl thought her answer wasn't satisfactory and quickly changed her words.
Su Yu's expression grew even more ferocious. "And?"
The girl was on the verge of tears. Big sister, whose fan are you? Can you just say it? I can exaggerate his looks like a flower!
"Ye family brothers are the campus idols..."
Su Yu finally released her grip on the girl. The girl dared not even catch her breath and quickly dragged her friends away. Once they reached what they thought was a safe distance, they began discussing:
"Oh my god, she scared the life out of me. I thought she was going to eat me!"
"I've never seen anyone look so ugly before!"
"So frighteningly ugly! I'm sure I'll have nightmares tonight!"
…
Su Yu had excellent hearing, so she caught every word without missing a beat. Her complexion turned terrifyingly dark, her hands clenched tightly, and her nails were almost digging into her flesh, yet she couldn't feel any pain.
The system's weak voice sounded,
[Um, it seems like we messed up...]
*
Wen Qing got to witness Su Yu's expression after learning the truth and couldn't help but chuckle unkindly. She couldn't believe that the protagonist who had traveled through so many worlds would make such a basic mistake, but considering everything, it didn't come as a surprise either.
Su Yu was never someone with a calm temperament to begin with. After traversing through so many worlds, experiencing and gaining much, she had developed a somewhat inflated self-esteem and a more restless state of mind. Her refusal to heed the system's advice was a glimpse into that mindset. Additionally, since she could entirely manipulate her appearance, she didn't value it as much. So what if she became ugly? She could change back in a minute, just like going out without makeup one day. Therefore, she easily changed her face.
Wen Qing had nothing left to do but observe how Su Yu would navigate finding true love with her current appearance. If she succeeded, Wen Qing would offer her blessings.
For Wen Qing, there was no next life. Her quick transmigration journey was coming to an end.
After knowing the truth, Su Yu was nearly about to explode with rage. If she were fooled again without realizing it, then what had she lived through all these lifetimes for? But who exactly was playing her like this? What was their intention? Did they want something from her? Su Yu had no clue, and even the self-proclaimed all-knowing system couldn't make sense of it.
[Perhaps... it's because when we first arrived, our magnetic field didn't align with this world's, causing the malfunction?]
"Heh," Su Yu sneered coldly. "It's precisely because of your baseless speculations that I've ended up in this situation! Aren't you a system? Aren't you all-powerful? Quickly figure out what we should do now! With this monstrous face, who do you expect me to seduce?"
Su Yu had lost her rationality, shouting at the system. The system was also quite helpless; it was merely a system, not a god. Even it was bound by rules. It couldn't do much about the situation. It couldn't identify the person behind this scheme, and this world had already changed their appearance once; there was no chance for a second alteration. Moreover, looking so ugly, even if it wanted to advise Su Yu to pursue heartfelt seductions, it couldn't do it!
However, without completing the seduction tasks, they wouldn't be able to leave. Without leaving, they couldn't revert to their original appearances. Without the original appearances, they couldn't complete the seductions... They were trapped in a catch-22 situation with no solution.
When Su Yu finally emerged from her agitated state, nearly a month had passed. She felt waiting passively wasn't a solution. She decided to take the initiative and try to seduce at least two men. After that, she could quickly leave this world.
Two men—this wasn't her greed; it was a hard rule set by the system. In each world, she had to seduce at least two high-quality men with a system rating of above 90 points. No subpar candidates, let alone average men, would do.
Su Yu felt the rule for seduction was absolutely twisted, incredibly twisted!
But she had no choice; she had to muster the courage to go through with it!
And so, with an appearance that even she found eye-searing, Su Yu embarked on her journey to find true love.
By the time Wen Qing finished a semester, Su Yu was in the midst of her seduction.
When Wen Qing graduated high school, Su Yu was still in the midst of her seduction.
As Wen Qing graduated from university, Su Yu was still in the midst of her seduction.
When Wen Qing succeeded in her career and her family began urging her to marry, Su Yu was still in the midst of her seduction.
Wen Qing was moved by Su Yu's relentless determination, well, moved only in a manner of speaking.
The tragedies of the Gong family and several other families were all caused by Su Yu's seductions. Now, with Su Yu's absence, Ling Tianche and the others didn't have their minds clouded by infatuation for the same woman, didn't forsake everything to possess her together, and weren't driven mad by her disappearance. Everyone lived peacefully, going to school, working, getting married, having children, leading ordinary yet stable lives.
This was for the best.
Wen Qing's engagement with Ling Tianche was peacefully dissolved because they realized they weren't each other's preferred type. The Gong family didn't need her to pursue an alliance for the family. If it weren't for the arranged engagement from the older generation, the Gong parents wouldn't have rushed to settle their daughter's marriage so early.
Gong Wenqing's parents and her three brothers doted on her immensely. Even when she declared her intention to stay single for life, they compromised. With three capable brothers to handle the family's affairs, she didn't need to worry about the family business. Thus, she lived a life of leisure, indulging in food and drink, while also observing Su Yu's path of true love from the sidelines.