After Being Bound to the Scummy Alpha System, I Became Famous Thanks to My Face Blindness - Chapter 63

Tang Ling finally understood what Tan Shiyi meant. Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at her, dazed.

After speaking, Tan Shiyi also grew shy. She avoided Tang Ling’s gaze and pushed the mung bean ice drink toward her. “It’s melted already. Do you still want it?”

“Yes, of course,” Tang Ling replied quickly.

She picked up the white plastic spoon that came with the drink and scooped up a mouthful of what was now more like sweet mung bean soup than ice slush, then put it into her mouth.

“Sweet?” Tan Shiyi rested her chin in her hand, watching her with a small smile.

“Sweet. Of course it’s sweet.”

Right now, even if someone gave Tang Ling a handful of salt, she’d still think it was sweet—let alone a mung bean ice drink.

Xiao Nan’s voice rang in her mind, full of emotion:

“Host, I hereby declare that my glorious and noble mission is complete! Along this journey, you and Shishi have had misunderstandings, distance, and pain, but under my tireless efforts, you’ve finally become true lovers, bound for a bright and radiant future! With that, I can depart at peace. May fate allow us to meet again someday.”

There were too many things wrong with that speech. Although Tang Ling truly hoped they wouldn’t meet again, she couldn’t bring herself to say so in a moment like this.

She could tell Xiao Nan’s voice was fading, replaced by a series of soft, overlapping notification tones—the sound of the system’s binding slowly dissolving.

About a minute later, her mind went completely quiet again.

Tang Ling tried calling out Xiao Nan’s name, but her thoughts were clear and still. The little AI’s sweet, clingy voice was gone for good.

She whispered a farewell in her heart and sealed that memory deep inside her.

The next morning, Tan Shiyi accompanied Tang Ling to the medical center inside the training camp for a full check-up.

The place was quiet, and the tests were done quickly. Before long, Tang Ling received her report—it confirmed she had successfully undergone a secondary differentiation, becoming an SS-Class Alpha.

“Why don’t you call Auntie and tell her? She must be worried,” Tan Shiyi suggested gently.

Tang Ling knew that was the proper thing to do as a daughter, but she wasn’t sure how far things had progressed on Ah Tong’s end, and she feared it might not be the right time.

Sensing her hesitation, Tan Shiyi said softly, “It’s fine. I’ll be right here with you.”

Tang Ling nodded and dialed the number.

It connected quickly.

Tomorrow was her birthday banquet, and mother Tang was at the hotel with her friends, inspecting the venue. The background was noisy when she answered.

“Lingling, sweetheart! Did you see the photos I sent you of the dessert tables? Which one do you like best? I think the green theme looks lovely—it’s so fresh and summery. What do you think?”

In her original world, Tang Ling had celebrated birthdays before, but never with a full banquet. As she grew older, she’d stopped even having cake. This kind of extravagance was completely foreign to her.

Guilt pricked at her for taking someone else’s place—but mixed in was a deep, inexpressible warmth.

“You can decide, Mom,” she said softly. “Oh, and I’ve completed my second differentiation. I’m an SS-Class Alpha.”

Her mother froze for a second. “You finished? Why didn’t you take leave and come home, silly girl? Are you feeling all right?”

“I’m fine,” Tang Ling replied, glancing at Tan Shiyi. “Shiyi’s been with me the whole time—she really took good care of me.”

“Then you must thank Shiyi properly,” her mother said, her voice full of fondness. “Your birthday’s tomorrow—when are you coming home today? Bring Shiyi with you. I’ll come pick you both up myself!”

“There’s no need to trouble you, Mom. Just ask Ah Tong to come. You’re not familiar with the roads here,” Tang Ling said quickly.

“Nonsense! Picking up my daughter is only right and proper. And I’m not that old yet—I can still find my way. I’ll make an early dinner this afternoon. Ask Shiyi what she likes to eat so I can prepare in advance—don’t let it be like last time when I ran out of time to cook properly.”

Tang Ling’s chest tightened with emotion. She couldn’t bear to keep lying to her any longer.

“Mom, thank you, for everything you’ve done for me all these years.”

Her mother chuckled in mild exasperation. “What’s gotten into you today, talking all sentimental? Who else would I take care of if not my own daughter? Did the secondary differentiation fry your brain a little?”

Tang Ling couldn’t help but laugh. “No, it’s just, I really am grateful.”

“All right, all right, enough mushiness,” her mother said, amused. “You probably haven’t eaten since the blood test, right? Go grab breakfast with Shiyi, drink plenty of water, it’s hot out—don’t get heatstroke. Oh, and I’m picking the green dessert table for you, okay?”

“Okay, Mom. See you this afternoon.”

Tang Ling and Tan Shiyi exchanged a glance, silently agreeing to end the call.

They still had time to make it to the morning class, so they hurried to the practice hall.

It was Tang Ling’s first time seeing so many girls since her face-blindness had been cured—and she was amazed to find that everyone really did look different from one another. No longer were they the same indistinct blurs she used to see.

But still—none were as beautiful as Tan Shiyi.

She sent a silent word of thanks to the system, grateful for the medical miracle it had left behind.

Tang Ling quickly matched everyone’s names with their faces. Since she already had a clear grasp of each trainee’s situation, she didn’t need to go up and instruct them one by one. Her concise, to-the-point manner made her seem even more decisive and efficient.

The girls whispered among themselves:

“Do you get the feeling Tang Ling’s deliberately keeping some distance from us lately?”

“I still like her gentle self from before, but honestly, this cool version of her hits different!”

“Has Tang Ling gone through secondary differentiation or something? She feels different somehow, but I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is.”

“She’s still super gentle with Shiyi though. Guess we’re just not worthy, haha.”

Despite their gossip, the girls all remained friendly toward Tang Ling and Tan Shiyi and practiced with serious focus.

That afternoon, Mrs. Tang arrived right on time to pick the two of them up. She’d even prepared birthday gift bags for all the girls—small tokens of thanks for taking care of Tang Ling.

The trainees were delighted, taking photos and posting them on social media to wish Tang Ling a happy birthday.

Before long, the hashtag “#HappyBirthdayTangLing” shot up the trending charts.

Tang Ling felt a bit embarrassed. To her, it was just a birthday—not something worthy of taking up public attention. She was about to call Ah Tong to have the hot search taken down.

But Mrs. Tang wouldn’t hear of it. “Absolutely not! My daughter’s birthday deserves to be celebrated grandly and proudly. We didn’t steal or cheat anyone—we’re spending our own hard-earned money. What’s there to be embarrassed about? Don’t you dare take it down. If you do, I’ll just pay to put it right back up. Your mother has plenty of money to spare.”

Tang Ling and Tan Shiyi exchanged glances and couldn’t help but laugh.

Seeing the two girls laugh made Mrs. Tang smile as well. She chatted happily with them about recent funny incidents, and the ride home was light and cheerful.

As soon as they arrived home, the first to greet them was Tang Doudou. When Mrs. Tang wasn’t around, the little dog had free rein of the entire estate—digging up the vegetable garden, chasing butterflies. The once pristine white pup had turned into a little black ball, wagging its tail excitedly as it bounded toward Tan Shiyi.

Tang Ling grabbed its muddy paws and lifted it up. “Alright, alright, that’s enough! Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

Tan Shiyi followed her into the bathroom, and together they gave Tang Doudou a bath. Once the pet shampoo foamed up into soft, fluffy bubbles and they rinsed it all off, the little dog turned back into its snow-white, sweet-smelling self.

The atmosphere was warm and peaceful—but Tang Ling suddenly sighed.

Hearing it, Tan Shiyi immediately understood. She stopped what she was doing and asked softly, “You still want to tell Auntie, don’t you?”

Tang Ling nodded. “If I don’t come clean with her, I won’t be able to enjoy this birthday at all.”

“Then tell her,” Tan Shiyi said gently. “I’ll go with you.”

As dinnertime approached, the servants were all busy, and the large villa felt unusually quiet—Mrs. Tang was nowhere to be found.

So, Tang Ling and Tan Shiyi made their way to Mr. Tang’s study. If they couldn’t find her elsewhere, maybe she was here.

But just as they approached, they heard Mrs. Tang’s voice faintly through the door.

Tang Ling and Tan Shiyi exchanged a look and leaned in to listen.

“No, I still can’t agree to this,” Mrs. Tang said firmly. “This birthday party was planned for Lingling. If you suddenly tell her she has an older sister and make them share the celebration, how do you think she’ll feel?”

“Tingting,” Mr. Tang replied, “Lingling already knows about Xiaoyu’s identity. There’s no need for us to keep it from her any longer. Why not use this opportunity to ease the tension between them?”

“I don’t think that’s wise,” Mrs. Tang shot back. “Just hearing what Ah Tong told me makes me angry. I don’t know how Xiaoyu’s adoptive mother raised her—but threatening others like that? I know you think Lingling’s a bit immature, but hasn’t she been improving lately? I raised her myself, and whether she’s my biological daughter or not, I can’t stand to see her being wronged.”

“That may be so,” Mr. Tang said patiently, “but isn’t it better than letting Xiaoyu cause trouble at Lingling’s party? She’s had a hard life too, growing up on her own. She’s still a Tang by blood, and sooner or later, she’ll have to be acknowledged.”

“These are two separate matters—don’t twist things around,” Mrs. Tang said sharply. “Of course, Xiaoyu will be recognized, and I’ll treat her well. But my Lingling is my Lingling. No one can take her place.”

Tang Ling listened quietly, eyes slightly misty. In her previous world, no one had ever cared about her feelings like this. It was the first time she had felt so deeply seen and cherished.

Tan Shiyi gently hooked her pinky finger around Tang Ling’s. “Shall we?”

Tang Ling drew a steadying breath and nodded. “Yeah.”