A series of system prompts left Qin Luo pleasantly surprised. He had expected a single reward from the system, but instead, he received multiple rewards: an increase in three attributes, 100,000 yuan, and an opportunity to create a perfect song.

The value of the final reward alone was immeasurable; if handled well, it could lead to immense wealth. At this moment, Qin Luo felt like he had struck gold after months of mining.

The beautiful girl with long black hair in front of him suddenly seemed like a shining goldmine. He looked at her and said, “Gold… cough, Ji Yan, do you need something?”

Ji Yan didn’t speak; she just looked at Qin Luo with a complex expression—anger, guilt, and even a hint of shyness.

Qin Luo thought to himself, the old pie chart… Since Ji Yan wasn’t speaking, Hao Meng couldn’t help but step forward and ask, “Qin Luo, why didn’t you go to find Ji Yan today?”

Qin Luo looked at her curiously. “Why should I go find her?”

Hao Meng was at a loss for words, so Shi Yulu chimed in, “But you always went to confess to Ji Yan before. Why didn’t you go today?”

Qin Luo’s gaze grew even more puzzled, and he countered, “Isn’t it my choice whether I go or not? Has it become my task or obligation?”

Shi Yulu was also at a loss for words. The situation today was complicated. If Ji Yan hadn’t decided to be with Qin Luo, even if he hadn’t confessed today, they would have only been curious or a bit regretful. They wouldn’t have come looking for him.

But Ji Yan had made up her mind to accept Qin Luo, and the girls were eager for them to be together. Qin Luo not confessing today made them anxious.

However, hearing what Qin Luo said now, they had no way to refute it.

Instead, they felt embarrassed because, as Qin Luo said, it wasn’t his task or obligation.

He had persistently confessed because he liked Ji Yan.

Today, he didn’t go and now seemed indifferent, as if he had finally decided to give up.

Thinking of this, the three girls’ faces turned grim.

Jia Ting didn’t want her friend’s budding romance to end before it began and spoke up, “You should keep going. Ji Yan has already…”

“Enough,” Ji Yan interrupted Jia Ting coldly.

Her voice was clear and crisp, like the clinking of ice, instantly cooling the atmosphere. “Have you given up?” she asked, her icy gaze fixed on Qin Luo, her expression frosty but her eyes burning with intensity.

Qin Luo calmly met her gaze and said, “Yes, I’ve given up.”

This answer made the atmosphere even colder. Ji Yan’s three friends looked at her anxiously, while the onlookers tensed like watching a climactic movie scene.

Ji Yan bit her lip and asked softly, “If that’s the case, why… why did you confess so many times before? What was the point of all those confessions?”

Qin Luo looked at her for a moment and then asked, “Do you think all my previous confessions were meaningless?”

“…If you give up now, then yes, they were meaningless.”

“Is that so? That’s how you see it.”

Qin Luo suddenly smiled. Ji Yan thought he looked particularly handsome today. His smile was warm and his features had an inexplicable charm. But she had no time to think about that; she just wanted to know what Qin Luo was thinking.

Facing her cold, questioning gaze, Qin Luo spoke softly, “I confessed to you because I like you. From the first moment I saw you, I liked you. Maybe you’re used to this kind of thing, being so beautiful and surrounded by admirers. But for me, it was the first time I liked someone. I had no experience in relationships and didn’t know how to express my feelings.”

“But I knew one thing clearly: if you like someone, you shouldn’t hide it. So I looked up information online, watched videos, and learned how to gain a girl’s favor.”

“I heard girls like milk tea, so I brought you milk tea and confessed for the first time. Your response didn’t surprise me; you rejected me, but I didn’t think of giving up.”

“I heard you had a sensitive stomach, so I brought homemade chicken soup and confessed for the 12th time. You still rejected me, each time more coldly than before.”

“I heard girls like romantic roses, so I brought flowers and confessed for the 48th time. After that, I brought a bouquet of roses every time I confessed.”

“Until yesterday, I had confessed 99 times. You never accepted, nor did you ever take the flowers.”

His voice was gentle, his tone soft as he recounted his journey of confessions, laying his story bare for everyone, expressing his sincere feelings for Ji Yan. Just listening, people could picture the scenes of his shy but genuine confessions.

But each scene ended in disappointment. The onlookers felt a pang of sadness and looked at Qin Luo with sympathy. Ji Yan’s three friends also looked at him with complex expressions. They had witnessed many of his confessions, often with a spectator’s mindset, even betting on how many times he would be rejected. But now, they realized that what they saw as a joke was actually a young man’s most sincere feelings. That sincerity could be rejected but shouldn’t be ridiculed.

“I… I…”

Ji Yan wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat. She wanted to tell Qin Luo that she had long since started to like him, but in this atmosphere, she found herself unable to speak. Her throat felt like a rusty pipe, the words causing a sharp pain as they stuck.

Qin Luo quietly watched her and continued, “To you, my stopping means those 99 confessions were meaningless. But to me, they were my genuine expressions of affection. They contained my sincerest feelings for you, even if they went unanswered.”

“I never blamed you. Although I believe true feelings should be reciprocated, love shouldn’t be forced.”

“99 confessions were my way of honoring my feelings for you. Not confessing the 100th time is my way of explanation to myself. Goodbye.”

With that, Qin Luo gave Ji Yan a gentle smile and turned to leave.