Awakening Zhongli Template, Retiring on Terra

Lin Yuxia, throwing caution to the wind, decided to lay it all out:

"He said he's doing well where he is and has no intention of coming to my place."

Hmph, thinking about bringing someone home before even dating? She must really like that man.

"And then you got rejected?"

"Yeah."

Upon hearing this, Lin Gerei immediately wrung his hands and stomped his feet, looking like he couldn't believe his own daughter's lack of foresight. Today, he would impart a lesson to his naive daughter as someone with experience:

"You'll definitely get rejected saying it like that. You probably haven't known each other for long, right? Isn't it a bit abrupt to say something like that right off the bat?"

Abrupt?

Lin Yuxia nodded to herself, thinking it made a lot of sense.

Shi Lei was doing fine at Penguin Logistics. Her coming right out and trying to poach him would indeed seem quite abrupt.

Seeing his daughter lost in thought, Lin Gerei's face broke into a proud smile. He stroked his beard with his right hand:

"I have quite a bit of say in these matters."

Back in the day, while he wasn't exceptionally handsome, he was certainly dashing and quite popular with the Feline women. He wouldn't elaborate on this here.

Mainly, he was afraid Lin Yuxia would tell her mother, and that would be difficult to handle. His unfilial daughter had done such things more than once or twice.

When explaining matters of romance later, it would be best not to use specific examples, lest he leave himself vulnerable.

Has quite a bit of say?

Hmm, that's true.

As the Emperor of the slums, what kind of people hadn't her father met? His experience in poaching talent must be incredibly rich.

"Then... what should I do?"

Lin Gerei stroked his beard with his right hand, trying to gather more information to offer a suitable plan:

"Let me ask you, after he clearly rejected you. Did you shamelessly try to win him over again?"

Lin Yuxia stared at her father, her expression complicated. After about five or six seconds, she chose to answer truthfully:

"Yes."

"That day must have been quite unpleasant, and then he never contacted you proactively again, right?"

"That's right, but he doesn't have a phone."

Lin Gerei shook his head and began to share his wisdom:

"No, no, no, my dear daughter, it has nothing to do with whether he has a phone or not. It's because you revealed your eagerness too early."

"Eagerness?"

Lin Yuxia found this confusing. What direct connection was there between poaching and eagerness?

Seeing his daughter's bewildered look, Lin Gerei, like a worried old father, wished he could step in himself:

"Yes, you were too eager, your intentions too obvious. Doing so can easily arouse the other person's aversion. You should think of it this way: is he indispensable to you right now? Absolutely not, right? The effective approach would be to first leave a good impression on him, at least make him not dislike you so much. Once you interact more and build a better relationship, other things will naturally fall into place."

Makes sense, it really makes sense!

With Shi Lei's special Originium Arts, he could work anywhere he wanted. The reason he insisted on staying at Penguin Logistics was perhaps because he liked the atmosphere there. Everyone eating, drinking, and partying together, happy every day.

Her directly stating her intention to poach him was indeed too hasty. She should have befriended Shi Lei first, slowly understanding his needs. Once they were familiar, getting him to jump ship to the Lin family would be as smooth as her father said.

After listening to her father's valuable 'poaching experience,' Lin Yuxia had an epiphany and clapped her hands in praise:

"So that's how it is! Dad, I understand! But our relationship is very strained right now. Should I buy some gifts and go apologize, or what should I do?"

She confessed her feelings to him just a few days after meeting him, and then kept pestering him after being rejected. How could their relationship not be strained?

Lin Gerei looked up at the ceiling, stroking his beard several times with his right hand, and offered his personal suggestion:

"He's already rejected you. If you go to his place with gifts now, he'll think you're pestering him and dislike you even more. Based on my experience, it's best to give him some space first. When the right opportunity arises, reappear with a fresh image and get to know him again."

Lin Yuxia pondered for a moment and felt it made sense:

"Sigh, I guess that's the only way."

039 Beauty, you wouldn't want this videotape...

December 2nd, 3:35 PM.

During lunch, Shi Lei didn't mention what he had discussed with Chen Hui Jie. Exusiai, wanting to dig for gossip, gave up when he didn't respond.

In the afternoon, without needing any instructions from the boss, Texas took Shi Lei out for regular delivery jobs as usual.

Unfortunately, there were no big orders today, and the regular orders were less than twenty. Half were given to Exusiai, leaving her with only ten, significantly reducing her workload.

It was the beginning of the month, and everyone had just received their salaries. Regular orders were optional, but Exusiai wasn't one to sit still; she'd rather deliver slowly than stay cooped up at the company.

It was so boring being alone.

Texas's delivery efficiency was very high. By 3 PM, all regular orders were completed, and she drove back to the company to rest. Passing by the street garden, Shi Lei unexpectedly found Croissant setting up a stall by the roadside. He figured she must be focusing on a side hustle because she felt regular deliveries didn't earn enough.

Fortunately, the boss was usually hands-off, basically letting subordinates do as they pleased. Otherwise, setting up a stall during work hours would definitely get someone fired in a normal company.

Back at the company, he brewed a cup of hot coffee.

Shi Lei leaned his body back, resting his neck against the chair, entering a leisurely state of having nothing to do.

But he didn't have a phone, so he couldn't watch videos or read the news. He just sat quietly at his workstation, like a deflated fish with no motivation.

"Texas, what do you usually do to pass the time when you're not busy?"

"Play on my phone, smoke," Texas paused, then added, "But I've quit smoking now."

The mention of smoking just now made her crave a cigarette. She immediately opened her drawer, unwrapped a snack, and put a chocolate bar in her mouth.

"I see..."

"If you're bored, you can wander around like Exusiai. We're messengers; there's no mandatory requirement to stay at the company. There won't be any big orders at this time. Just remember to clock in at five."

When the company was doing poorly, there were often only a few orders a month, but the reward for a big order could make up for several months' worth.

Ever since she entrusted the money to Texas for safekeeping that day, Shi Lei felt like she had started talking more. Although it was still far from Exusiai's level, there was definitely some change.

"Okay, thanks for the suggestion."

"You're welcome."

After speaking, Texas buried her head back in her phone.

Shi Lei took out a map, silently noted the location of the nearest library, and got up to leave the office area.

He was penniless right now, so many activities were out of reach. Reading books was a good alternative.

At five o'clock, Shi Lei returned to the company to clock out. He saw several young people gathered around a creature with an animal head and a human body, seemingly a tiger-like beastgirl.

He rarely saw people whose heads were fully animalized. Usually, they just had animal ears and tails, or they were pure animals like the Emperor.

Seeing the beastgirl looking reluctant but still following the crowd into a secluded alley, Shi Lei instantly smelled danger.

Without hesitation, he quickened his pace. Just as he reached the alley entrance, he heard a man's voice from inside:

"Beautiful, stop resisting. You don't want that videotape released online, do you?"

Tsk, why does this have such a familiar hentai vibe?

So, because someone has leverage over you, you have to do things against your will from now on, right?

"Ouch!"

Just as Shi Lei was about to intervene, the beastgirl suddenly made a move. She punched the speaking man in the nose, and he immediately fell to the ground, blood gushing from his nostrils.

Her tri-colored hair of orange, brown, and white was incredibly eye-catching. Her tiger-like eyes, with their orange pupils, were exceptionally sharp.

To everyone's astonishment, she struck a classic Wing Chun starting stance, "Bong Sau."

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and attack!"

The youth on the left delivered a high front kick, and the one on the right performed a spinning back kick. Their stances suggested they weren't ordinary people.

The beastgirl

calmly responded, blocking their attacks by striking them, deflecting their force before counter-attacking.

A backward dodge followed by a straight punch!

A reverse knife-hand strike!

A palm strike to the jaw!

After instantly taking down two opponents, she quickly ran deeper into the alley. Using the narrow confines to her advantage, she managed to engage only two or three attackers at a time. The others could only watch from behind, unable to squeeze into the fight.

Whoa, that straight punch was beautiful!

Shi Lei's eyes lit up. It felt like watching a movie. The sounds of the fight attracted passersby, who eagerly took out their phones to take pictures.

The beastgirl's skills were outstanding; she didn't need his help at all. But he still had to be ready in case someone decided to be dishonorable and resort to dirty tricks.

A mid-level front kick!

A palm-out block!

A hammer fist followed by a centerline kick!

The ten youths were no match for the beastgirl, falling within two or three moves. As the fight progressed, it became a comical scene of one person chasing ten.

She grabbed one of the men by the collar and said sternly:

"Hand over the videotape!"

The Feline, who was caught, wiped the blood from his nose but remained defiant:

"You're good at fighting, aren't you? What good is fighting? When you're out here, you need influence and connections. You injured my senior brother first, and now you've injured us. Do you think this matter is over just like that?"

The beastgirl's face contorted in anger, baring her tiger fangs:

"That's slander! We were sparring then, and I wasn't even using full force. How could I have injured him? I'll say it one last time: hand over the videotape!"

The Feline seemed confident he had her cornered, completely unfazed:

"You expect me to just hand it over? Then my senior brother and I took a beating for nothing! Today, you either pay for the medical expenses, or you can look forward to a prison cell!"

The beastkin's grip loosened, her tone softening considerably:

"Then... how much are your medical expenses?"

The man tugged at his loosened collar and raised his right index finger, gesturing.

"One million Lungmen Dollars. Not a single cent less."

The beastkin's face contorted with distress, looking extremely troubled. The aggressive spirit she had moments ago was completely gone:

"One million? But I don't have that much money."

"What does it matter to me if you don't have money? You made a mistake, and you should pay the price. Either..."

Seeing the other party sizing her up with a frivolous gaze, she clenched her fists, cutting him off directly:

"Impossible, don't even think about it!"

The Feline let out a scoff, as if amused.

"Don't think about it? Then pay up! If you can't pay, our gym will sue you for assault!"

Shi Lei stood on the periphery, observing. He had a rough understanding of the situation, and in simple terms, it was this:

They were being extorted.

However, there were many pedestrians taking pictures, and these potential threats needed to be dealt with first.

He pulled up his hood and stepped forward. At the same time, he spread his hands, using two Rock Spines to block the road.

The light in the alley suddenly dimmed.

"Originium Arts? Who's there!"