487: cheesy flattery

Candle Shadow Shaking Red: [There is no need to deliberately pinch your voice; that would only sound fake. Use your chest to generate power, lift your breath, relax your throat, slow down your speech, let the ends of your sentences trail off lightly, and just imitate the tone of a gentle, elegant woman.]

[I practiced this way back then, and after a few tries, I was able to get the hang of it.]

Key of the Abyss: [Your method is simple and practical, Your Excellency. I can no longer suppress the urge to try it! ˃ ʍ ˂ I wonder if you have any recommended beginner styles?]

[I want to find something easy to start with that also highlights a certain charm to try out.]

Candle Shadow Shaking Red: [For a beginner, choose a light cyan ru-skirt with a magnolia hairpin. The skirt hem should have subtle patterns; it's neither flashy nor ostentatious, but elegant. When walking, the patterns seem to flow, which perfectly matches a woman's gentle temperament.]

Key of the Abyss: [Praise to your generosity, Your Excellency! Your taste is like the most precise star-path guidance in the Abyss; just hearing about this style makes my heart yearn for it!]

[By the way, Your Excellency, are there any specific requirements for a woman's walking posture or how she sits?]

[...]

The two continued to chat. Star asked about everything from fabric care to cleaning hairpins, from walking etiquette to proper sitting posture, and even meticulously sought advice on "how a woman should gracefully pick up a dropped object."

He had pushed the "novice" persona to the extreme.

Every sentence was filled with undisguised flattery, the mushiness comparable to a love song confession.

Between the lines were sprinkled Western fantasy religious expressions like "Divine Gift" and "Eternal Radiance."

Xiao Si was amazed, her light orb floating back and forth in the System Space, her claws (if she had any) quickly taking screenshots to save them, fearing she might miss any "iconic moments."

She muttered to herself: "With flattery skills like this, it's a pity he's not in the Underworld's Propaganda Department."

After taking the last screenshot, she excitedly bundled the chat history and sent it to Shang Wan Ning, along with a snarky comment.

[Host, Host, look quickly! Star is too good at talking! These flattering words come one after another, mixed with church terminology; I have goosebumps, and Candle Dragon actually buys it!!!]

At this moment, Shang Wan Ning had just finished reviewing a stack of official documents regarding tax adjustments in the Xia Kingdom and was holding a cup of clear tea to moisten her throat. Seeing the message from Xiao Si, she casually opened the chat history.

At first, she read it quite calmly, even feeling that Candle Dragon's guidance was quite professional, but as she read further, her eyebrows rose higher and higher.

By the end, she simply put down her teacup, rested her chin on her right palm, and scrolled down with great interest.

Her fingers tapped unconsciously on the light screen, and the curve of her lips carried a hint of something indescribably subtle.

There was amusement at Candle Dragon's "serious teaching" and admiration for Star's "movie-star-level disguise."

"Praise to Your Excellency!"

"Divine guidance!"

"The brightest star in the Abyss!"

"Your wisdom rivals that of the Creator God!"

...

Dense lines of flattery occupied more than half the screen. Star's appearance of being so pious it was almost worshipful was a complete contrast to the lively, "Brother, you smell so good" demeanor Shang Wan Ning remembered.

Especially when reading lines like "The greatest honor of my life is to receive personal guidance from Your Excellency" and "I wish to proclaim your supreme contributions to all Shadow Believers," Shang Wan Ning couldn't help but chuckle softly, picking up her teacup to take a sip, and nearly choked.

She had truly witnessed Star's "ability to bend and stretch" for the first time.

To get close to someone, he could say such mushy words without even changing his expression.

"He certainly knows how to find an entry point." Xiao Si floated over to the light screen, her light orb wobbling.

"Knowing that Candle Dragon has experience in shapeshifting and disguise, and is also vain, he deliberately pretended to be a novice to ask for advice, using flattery to coax the other party into comfort, step by step drawing closer."

"It doesn't seem deliberate, yet he can naturally build a rapport; his methods are truly clever."

"Host, it seems Chen Yu's suggestion to have Star contact Candle Dragon this time is really excellent!"

"Xiao Si."

"Yes, Host, go ahead."

"Star is working so hard. As his boss, shouldn't I show some appreciation?"

Xiao Si's light orb paused, the flashing light points clearly stunned for a moment: "Show appreciation?"

"How does the Host want to show it? A bonus? A promotion? Or reward him with some Underworld specialties, like pearls from the Wangchuan River or willow branches from the Bridge of Helplessness?"

Shang Wan Ning tapped on the desk and replied: "Help me check Star and You Wu's recent social media feeds, as well as their posting history on the official Underworld forum."

"I want to see what they want most."

Xiao Si said "Oh," data streams flashing rapidly across the surface of her light orb, not forgetting to quip: "You Wu is easy to check; his feed is like a dedicated zone for showing off his kid. Star is hard to say; his previous records have all been quite aloof."

After a few breaths, the system voice sounded again, filled with unbelievable surprise: "Host, I found it!"

"Star's feed... is basically empty. He only forwarded two internal Underworld notices: one about the flood prevention drill during the Wangchuan River flood season, and one reminding ghost messengers to pay their social security in incense points on time."

"His forum posting history is quite extensive, but it's all work-related. In the Department of Reincarnation technical support section, he has replied to over a hundred threads; in the Department of Judges case study section, he has posted over thirty analytical posts."

"Even in the 'Fengdu City Life Gossip' section, a place for random chatter, the posts he made were asking things like 'Which incense shop in the Underworld Market has the highest purity cinnabar?'"

Shang Wan Ning laughed: "He really is a workaholic now!"

"What about You Wu?"

"You Wu, huh..." Xiao Si's light orb spun in a circle, and another wave of data streams flashed by.

"He posts frequently on his feed, showing off his kid every few days. It's the one he and Star have, a five-year-old little boy, nicknamed 'Anan.' The latest post was from yesterday, a nine-grid photo collage, all pictures of the child, with the caption: 'Anan's cuteness for today, please accept.'"

"As for forum records!"

Xiao Si paused, her system voice laced with suppressed laughter. "You Wu posted a rant in the 'Fengdu City Life Gossip' section, and the popularity is almost topping the chart!"

"The title is: 'Is the price of the seventeenth phase of the Earth God Temple housing too outrageous?'"

Shang Wan Ning became interested and leaned forward slightly: "What exactly did he say? Is he also complaining about Underworld housing prices?"

Xiao Si opened the post and read it word for word with vivid expression: "'I had my eye on a two-bedroom apartment in the seventeenth phase of the Earth God Temple. It's close to the Nether Elementary School that Anan is going to attend, just a ten-minute walk away, and the environment is decent.'"

"'But when I went to ask for the price, good heavens, it's 82,000 incense points per square meter! My savings from all these years of salary, plus the bonus from helping handle the R-Country soul tide last time, would only be enough to buy a toilet!!!'"

"'And that's the kind without windows, where you can only fit one toilet!'"