Along with the messages, one more notification popped up:
【XX Bank】Your account ending in 3677 received a transfer of RMB ¥1,000,000.00 via UnionPay online transaction at 16:28 on August 21.
The system was stunned: [O-one million?! Baby, did Gong No.1 send you that??]
Lu Chi: [Yup.]
The system was nearly clawing at its digital scalp, trying to make sense of the situation: [But in the original plot, even when the Shou was poor and miserable, the Gong never gave him any financial help!]
[Why would he suddenly send you so much money?! Is he trying to hurt you?!]
After last night’s trauma, the system had become more paranoid than a middle-aged man with erectile dysfunction.
Lu Chi couldn’t help but laugh, sounding like a calm wife trying to soothe her hysterical husband: [Hurt me? Not likely.]
[Relax. He just wants to get in my pants.]
The sun outside was blindingly bright, hot enough to sting his skin as Lu Chi left the hair salon. However, he was now prepared to deal with it, raising his parasol and strolling down the sidewalk, his silhouette looking like a careful cat who tried not to burn its paws on the pavement.
[You wanted me to seduce the leads, right?], he asked the system in his mind.
[Well, I have to screen their personalities first. Let’s consider this million as… Liang Jiashu’s entry fee.]
It didn’t matter whether he was dealing with a control freak, an ascetic monk, a sweet little white flower, or a non-mainstream rebel… Lu Chi was extremely adept at messing with all kinds of men, but there was one type he could never swallow.
Stingy men.
Lu Chi had only one rule when it came to men: never deal with penny-pinchers.
It was truly sad.
In his mind, the system gasped, asking: [Baby, does this mean… You’re finally willing to seduce the leads?!]
[When did I ever say I wasn’t?] Lu Chi answered while raising an eyebrow.
Arriving home, his apartment door opened. Lu Chi stepped inside, put away his parasol, turned on the air conditioning, pulled out his phone, and added lazily:
[Humans… When we get bored, we want someone to play with.]
[Feelings, I mean.]
Then, Lu Chi typed casually, first replying to Liang Jiashu’s message.
LJS: [You resigned?]
EatSleepDance: [Weren’t you standing right there?]
EatSleepDance: [So scary, Young Master Liang. Manager Zhao sounded like he was about to cry.]
Liang Jiashu paused for a few seconds. Realizing that Lu Chi wasn’t interested in playing games, he went full AI-mode, texting like a robot.
LJS: [Lu Chi. Age: 27. Birthday: October 22.]
LJS: [Raised in Hongxing Orphanage. Graduated from A University’s Art Department. No hobbies. No dating history. No close friends. Started frequenting Haoman Casino a month ago, incurred gambling debt. Applied for work at FOM one week ago. Paid off ¥5 million during that time.]
LJS: [Your life trajectory is too perfect.]
LJS: [So perfect it’s fake.]
LJS: [Do you know that, Lu Chi?]
Here it was again.
That obsessive, clinical need to pin down anything that strayed out of line, only to strip it bare, study it under a microscope, and own it. It oozed from the screen, cold, suffocating, and unstoppable.
Liang Jiashu had clearly spent too much time in the lab. Even now, Lu Chi could practically hear him whispering through the network:
I can uncover everything about you. I can control everything about you. You won’t escape me.
So don’t even try.
Lu Chi let out a soft chuckle, figuring it was time to poke the wild beast a little bit. Lifting his phone, he snapped a selfie and sent it without hesitation.
EatSleepDance: [image.jpg]
EatSleepDance: [New hair color. Do I look good?]
The man in the photo was striking, so striking that lying was impossible.
LJS: […]
LJS: [You look good. Black suits you.]
LJS: […You’re very good-looking.]
EatSleepDance: [kitty_purring.jpg]
EatSleepDance: [Still gonna interrogate me, little Young Master?]
That cheeky nickname and flirty emoji must’ve short-circuited something on the other side since it took a while for Liang Jiashu to reply.
LJS: [.]
LJS: [That’s not what I meant. Sorry.]
EatSleepDance: [Mm.]
EatSleepDance: [Apology not accepted.]
And the next moment, Lu Chi tapped and held the screen, choosing to “delete the contact” without blinking.
For the first time in probably his entire life, Liang Jiashu moved sharply, standing up with a rare jolt. His eyes were as dark as ink as he stared at the red exclamation mark in the chat window.
There were still stacks of files spread all over his coffee table: documents on the Hongxing Orphanage, A University’s last six graduating classes, Haoman Casino’s entire roster of enforcers…
He still had so much to say!
He hadn’t even told Lu Chi yet that… He was learning about him fast, hard, and with ruthless efficiency.
So why delete him?!
After a long pause, Liang Jiashu slowly sat back down. His face remained impassive as he picked up his phone, trying to send a friend request again.
Again.
And again.
Still no reply.
Maybe Lu Chi was busy.
Like “chatting with someone else” kind of busy…
Like his pig-brained, flesh-and-bone waste of a cousin. Or that overly ambitious Gu-surnamed idiot. By now, both of them had probably wormed their way in through Manager Zhao, clinging to Lu Chi like parasites.
Liang Jiashu lowered his gaze, pressing his pale knuckles until they clicked faintly.
He hadn’t felt like that in years, filled with an itch to break something. To explode.
His home lab was right down the hallway, but for the first time, he had no desire to go near it. What he wanted wasn’t in the lab.
It was on the other side of that screen!
Liang Jiashu’s thoughts turned cold, analytic, the way they always did when he processed raw data. He stared at nothing for a long time, then expressionlessly… Transferred another million.
No reply.
He transferred again.
Still no reply.
By the time he’d sent five million in total—
Buzz.
Lu Chi finally accepted his friend request.
EatSleepDance: [?]
EatSleepDance: [Little Young Master, do you just have too much money or what?]
His avatar was a fluffy, disheveled kitten with round, puffed-up eyes, head tilted to one side while it glared at the camera. Liang Jiashu stared at that little cat as if he were staring straight through the screen at Lu Chi himself.
Only then did he exhale softly and begin to type.
LJS: [Yes. I have too much money. Sorry about earlier.]
He still didn’t know why he’d been deleted. But an apology, at least, was something that couldn’t go wrong.
Almost as if Lu Chi knew what he was thinking, another buzz came through, and with it, a second selfie. This time around, the man with black hair leaned in close to the front camera. He tilted his head lazily, so close that you could count every single one of his eyelashes. A soft fringe fell over his brows, and his light brown, upturned eyes stared out with a cat’s quiet mischief.
And the smile on his lips was absolutely lethal.
EatSleepDance: [You’re forgiven.]
EatSleepDance: [Here’s your number. You may now get in line.]
……..
Liang Jiashu stared at the photo. For a second, he could practically smell Lu Chi’s shampoo and feel the warm breath that came with being close to him. He sat there for a long time. Then, without a word, he glanced down at his own body’s reaction.
As expressionless as ever, he stood up and walked toward the bathroom.
Water gushed and steam rose, while no one knew how long it lasted.
On the tablet screen lying beside the sink, the photo remained open, with Lu Chi’s pretty face still damp and glowing under soft bathroom light, half wild with heat.
Suddenly, a pale, callused hand reached out and pressed hard against the lower half of the screen, covering Lu Chi’s lips and jaw like it wanted to pin him down, twist his head away from everything else.
You’re only allowed to look at me.
Water continued to pour, echoing across the tiles.
The sound of it lingered.
And didn’t stop.
………………..
On the other end of the line, the system swallowed a nonexistent lump in its virtual throat and asked nervously: [That’s it? That’s how it ends?]
Lu Chi closed the chat with Liang Jiashu, replying: [Yep. That’s it.]
He didn’t yet realize he’d already become someone’s private fantasy material. Still, he patiently explained to the system: [Liang Jiashu is cold by nature. He doesn’t like being disturbed too often. Push too hard and it backfires. If I kept teasing, that’d just be rude.]
The system had been watching him seduce men all day long. It still didn’t really get what was going on, but relied on instinct to mutter: [But you’re treating him like a… Pet or something. And Gong No.1 looks pretty happy about it, too. Hmph.]
Then it asked, concerned: [So does this mean, Host Baby, that you’ve chosen to seduce Gong No.1? What about the main Shou and Gong No.2? Can we ignore them now? Maybe you can rest a bit!]
However, Lu Chi raised his brows in surprise, answering: [Who said I could only seduce one? Weren’t you supposed to be a Professionally Immoral system? Only playing with one man is hardly immoral.]
[As an adult, I must, of course, go all in.]
System: […]
So Lu Chi opened his photo album, pulled up the same selfie he’d just sent Liang Jiashu, and casually forwarded it to the other two neglected leads.
Equal opportunity for everyone, after all~
His face was striking and delicately sculpted, almost sharp in its beauty. When not smiling, his expression could turn cold, but his upturned, affectionate eyes softened the look, making him appear quietly seductive, even without a smile.
Across town, Liang Zhiyu jolted awake from his hangover the moment he saw it. Staring at that face, he took the bait and bit hard, immediately hitting the “voice call” button.
But of course, Lu Chi declined without hesitation.
Then came a barrage of angry, rambling voice messages, each stacked with money transfers in between lines.
Life Is Wild: [You there? Let me see your legs.]
Life Is Wild: [That photo’s gorgeous. Stunning, really.]
Life Is Wild: [Where are you???]
Life Is Wild: [Transfer: ¥50,000.00]
Life Is Wild: [Your hands are so pale and delicate. Beautiful.]
Life Is Wild: [You like cats? Me too. Wanna raise one together sometime?]
System: […]
Still drunk, huh? How many pickup lines could that boy pull out of his ass alone?!
Lu Chi pocketed the cash and, without blinking, blocked Gong No.2.
Then he tapped open the chat with Gu Yanyan, realizing that the boy was rambling in fragments. Somewhere along the way, he even dropped the “Senior” and started calling him “Chi-ge” instead.
AAA VIP Booth Booking – Xiao Yan: [Chi-ge, did you send this photo to the wrong person? …You look really good with black hair.]
AAA VIP Booth Booking – Xiao Yan: [By the way, Chi-ge, who were you trying to send it to? Your lover?]
Lu Chi raised an eyebrow, already sensing the quiet, clingy vibes rising from the main Shou.
EatSleepDance: [I sent it to you.]
AAA VIP Booth Booking – Xiao Yan: […Really?!]
AAA VIP Booth Booking – Xiao Yan: [So it was meant for me… Hmm. Chi-ge, you’re really good-looking. I heard you quit the club. Did something happen? If you need help, I can lend you some money first if you don’t mind…]
AAA VIP Booth Booking – Xiao Yan: [Transfer: ¥5,000.00]
The system watched as every protagonist lined up to offer their tribute, shocking it enough to… Shut down emotionally. Pretending to be calm, it lit a cyber cigarette and exhaled a long stream of digital smoke: [ATM subs… They’re all just my Baby’s ATM subs now…]
However, Lu Chi didn’t accept Gu Yanyan’s money.
EatSleepDance: [Nothing happened. I’ve just turned over a new leaf.]
Turned over a new leaf?
Even the system blinked. Then, it watched, dazed and confused, as Lu Chi set down his phone, opened his laptop, and clicked into the A University’s Art Department hiring page. He refreshed at exactly the right time, watching the results load and…
…The next second, his name popped up on the acceptance list.
Lu Chi nodded in satisfaction. With a poised and pretty smile, he said:
“Turned over a new leaf indeed. It’s time for me to go legit.”
………………………………..
Enjoyed this chapter? You can now read up to Chapter 17 here
Happy Reading!
