<strong>Chapter 2 I Don''t Think Even Ghosts Can Stop Me</strong>


    Gu Siyin kneaded her small hands together and looked at Guo Fan with her misty eyes. The young man before her had jet-ck hair and raven-ck eyes. His expression was pensive. He eyed her in serious contemtion, which made her anxious.


    The day before yesterday, she hade to know that the Xue Family''s useless young master hade to propose marriage to her. She had been convinced that her father would not agree. However, Water Moon Dock, the cultivation sect backing the Xue Family, had sent two disciples to influence him. Today, the date had already been set for her to try on the wedding dress...


    But Gu Siyin''s heart had already been stolen by the young man presently in front of her.


    The man''s identity and background were still a mystery to her. All she knew was he was found in a grievously injured state on the mountain by a guest at their house. Regardless, she had already determined him as her future husband.


    The beauty sobbed softly and murmured, “Mr. Junxuan... What should I do? I... I don''t want to marry that trash from the Xue family... If it weren''t for the Water Moon Dock lending him support, he wouldn''t dare to return and propose marriage again...”


    As she spoke, she wept again, streaming tears. Her petite, fragile body shivered. She was timid like a rabbit, not daring to throw herself into Guo Fan''s arms. He appeared cold and distant. She merely extended her arm from within her sleeves and tugged at the edge of his shirt.


    “Uh...”


    Guo Fan was still in a trance, wondering if he was mistaken. However, when Gu Siyin tugged at his shirt, he looked at her properly again. There was a progress bar above her head indeed.


    To be specific, it hovered over Gu Siyin''s head, shifting along with her movements.


    It was a sharp 2D painting style. The exquisite color was rendered with special effects of fluttering peach blossom fluttering special effects. The overall effect was very feminine.


    “Hiss... Did I carry over the game system when I transmigrated?”


    Guo Fan''s eyes twitched. He was thorough with the gamey features. It was the favorability bar in Upper Center. More urately, it was the progress bar of the strategy quest.


    In the game, the strategy system was paired with a card collection system.


    The character handbook could be obtained by drawing cards, battle, and strategy gamey. The colors were gold, ck, and pink, representing the character''s different attitudes towards the yers.


    In Guo Fan''s handbook, the color was almost entirely pink. He had already sessfully conquered all the characters in his collection and maxed out their favorability.


    There were ten levels of favorability, but it was not cumtive. Instead, it was represented on a meter separated in the middle with five slots on either side.


    The Favorability Levels were as follows:


    -50: Deep-seated Blood Hatred


    -40: Bitter Enemies


    -30: Hostile


    -20: Mild Dislike


    -10: Disagreement


    0: Strangers


    10: Acquaintance


    20: Like-minded


    30: Peas in a Pod


    40: Sworn Partners


    50: Till Death Do Us Part


    One side of the bar was always lit up while the other was hidden. Guo Fan saw the favorability bar above her head was a positive max: till death do us part!


    “But... That doesn''t make sense. I don''t see any other options on the menu screen of the system.”


    Guo Fan dismissed his suspicions. He was still puzzled. There was only the lone progress bar hanging above the girl on his dashboard, with a caption that said ''till death do us part'' in bold.


    Attempting to call for any popups or system menus turned out to be futile. There was only one gnarled progress bar in his vision.


    It was clear that the favorability system was active. It was very likely that for all the characters whom Guo Fan conquered, covering over ten pages of character sheets, the favorability was maxed out for them!


    Guo Fan''s heart was pounding. ording to the present circumstances, wouldn''t he be invincible in the game?


    ‘Wow, I don''t think even ghosts can''t stop me now.''


    He took a deep breath. The most critical thing right then was to rx and make the best of the situation.


    After all, he had transmigrated into a highlyplex Xianxia online game with maxed-out stats. It remained to be seen whether he could stay alive long enough to see those characters.


    The reasoning helped him calm down. After favorability, another huge advantage was that he was thorough with the game storyline.


    Guo Fan''s gaze fell on the girl. He realized that in order to understand more of the situation, he had to start with her.


    However...


    There was a very tricky problem. He was really good at roley strategy games. But, he was severely handicapped when it came to dealing with people in reality.


    It wasn''t delightful to admit that even though he was 19 years old, he had never even held hands with a girl about his age...


    How could he speak in a more gentle and polite manner?


    Guo Fan mulled it over for a while.


    Silence. Dead silence.


    It seemed that he just couldn''t speak his mind...


    ‘I''m really sorry for being a socially-awkward otaku!''


    In front of theputer, he beamed ear to ear while talking to himself. In public, he was acting like an autistic person, in dire contrast to the so-called God of Strategy.


    If this was a game called ‘Defend Robo'', Guo Fan would definitely use no word as a reply to all those game characters.


    Gu Siyin sniffled and lowered her head. Her tears dripped on the quilt like loose money. Her voice came out muffled. “I know... I know Mr. Junxuan must be in a difficult position. Water Moon Dock is an immortality cultivation sect. Even the mighty Pool Feather Mountain Manor can resist them, let alone one person. I... I just...”


    She choked up and shook her head, “No, no...”


    The girl quickly used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears, but it was in vain. She was unsettled and could not help but me herself for everything. Wasn''t she unnecessarily burdening Mr. Junxuan by making a scene?


    But... she truly did not want to marry anybody other than Guo Fan.


    The young girl was overwhelmed by her tears, trying to wipe her running eyes while struggling to hold back. Guo Fan froze and could not figure out what to say.


    ‘Well, what should I do in this situation?''


    Guo Fan had a tingling feeling in his scalp. He was deeply conflicted. He felt as if he was facing a struggling lobster. Although he really wanted to grab and put it into the cooking pot, he had no idea where to start.


    He eyed Gu Siyin''s hand that was still hanging onto his shirt and refused to let go. He hesitated for a moment and reached for her tiny, cold hand. He handled her carefully as if he was grabbing a lobster with pliers.


    ‘So small, so delicate... so this is what a girl''s hand feels like?''


    Girls were not small lobsters, of course. They could neither sting people nor did they have a hard shell. They only had a tender and infatuated heart to offer.


    Guo Fan''s heart was suddenly touched. He naturally cupped the girl''s delicate hand.


    Gu Siyin stopped tending to the tears and raised her head deliriously. She saw Guo Fan sporting the hint of a smile. The young man reached out his other hand to touch her head and caress her hair.


    Guo Fan his face stiffen in tension. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he lowered his voice so as not to terrify the rabbit-like girl again. “I know, don''t be scared.”


    He had spoken only a few words, but the young girl seemed overwhelmed. Suddenly, she cried out and threw herself into Guo Fan''s arms. Her petite body curled up like a rabbit finding its nest. She snuggled up to him, arching her back.


    Guo Fan''s froze as a response to her actions. After what seemed to be an eternity, he gently patted the girl''s back.