Worse Than Beasts!

If life has tricked you, don't make a sound, don't shout, and don't grumble—just find a little slope, lie down on it, and wriggle your way up like a caterpillar. Keep wriggling, and one day, you'll wriggle yourself into a dazzling fluttering moth. —Pushkin.

Drink down this bowl of toxic chicken soup from Uncle Pu, and you might just become Li Xian.

Of course, without a golden finger, all talk is useless!

Just keep wriggling slowly. Maybe, just maybe, one day...

Li Xian had just stepped out of the bathroom when the system chimed in with a notification.

[Task Complete: Time taken 48 minutes 25 seconds.]

[Task Rewards: Character Attribute Points +1, one draw, Item: Lazy Person's Loofah. Please check and accept.]

Damn it!

He eagerly checked the rewards.

The system just gives me this junk.

What, can't sell the stuff at home, so you pawn it off on me?

Li Xian twitched the corner of his mouth. His mood, which had been decent, instantly soured. Am I the kind of guy who's short on loofahs? What I'm lacking is a masseuse (female)...

He grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge, took a gloomy swig, and flopped back onto the sofa. Then he pulled the loofah out of his inventory.

This loofah looked pretty ordinary, but the material was quite soft.

He tried it on his arm—a light rub and dirt rolled right off. Effective, and it didn't scrape.

Staring at the grime on his arm, Li Xian suddenly realized: Oh, so the system is trying to tell me that little girl's technique sucks... Forget it, I'll be magnanimous.

Since the task was done, he couldn't be bothered to fuss. He tossed the loofah back into the inventory and mulled over how to allocate his points.

He was torn between adding to appearance or stamina.

Time to fall back on the old method.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by the toe...

In the end, fate made the decision for him—the point went into appearance.

Appearance: 61. No big change—still just as handsome!

After assigning the attribute, it was time for the draw. Only one chance, so Li Xian didn't expect anything good.

Sure enough, the system didn't cut him any slack.

[Congratulations! You have obtained Strong Digestive Pills +1.]

Damn it, do you run a pharmacy on top of that grocery store?

Li Xian grumbled inwardly. This system specializes in producing unlicensed goods—who knows if they have side effects.

He set that aside for now and pulled out the can of Calming Drink. It tasted like lactic acid bacteria drink, but with a better mouthfeel. Its effect was to treat neurasthenia, insomnia, and excessive dreaming... It basically sounded like a sleeping pill.

Giving this to Little Xue'er to drink... wouldn't that be a bit off?

But if I don't use this trick, my task is definitely going to fail.

After a second of inner struggle, Li Xian grabbed a cup, poured the drink in, and got up to find Cao Xue.

The mission was more important...

Cao Xue was over by the bar, taking photos. When she came out of the bathroom, she was as exhausted as a dead dog, but after a little while, she was bouncing around again.

Gotta say, women have incredible stamina.

He walked over to the bar.

Li Xian put on a smile and said, "Little Xue'er, you must be worn out from earlier. Here, have a drink." His tone was so gentle, it was like he'd turned into a different person.

Cao Xue gave him a surprised look, then glanced at the cup in his hand, thinking: Did the sun rise from the west?

All day long, this fatty hadn't given her a single kind look. Could scrubbing his back have changed his opinion of her? No way—I got paid for that.

Suspicious, Cao Xue tilted her head and stared at the drink, blurting out, "You're being this nice? You didn't put something in it to mess with me, did you?"

Crap!

Too obvious!

Seeing Cao Xue's reaction, Li Xian immediately realized he'd been too hasty. This sudden shift from cold to warm didn't match his character at all.

To put it bluntly, it was like a weasel paying a New Year's visit to a chicken—no good intentions!

Well, he really didn't have good intentions, but the system forced his hand.

With that thought, Li Xian's smile faded, gradually tightening until his face went blank. The whole shift was so natural—it was a shame he wasn't an actor.

"Tch... Drink it or don't. I'm not even willing to give it to you." As he spoke, he picked up the cup and turned to leave, silently counting in his head: 1, 2, 3, 4...

"Hey... wait up."

Sure enough, the trick worked. He'd only taken six or seven steps when Cao Xue called him back.

"What? Something else?" Li Xian turned around, casually took a sip of the drink, then quietly spat it back onto his bathrobe sleeve.

It wasn't that close, and the wide sleeves of her bathrobe blocked her view, so Cao Xue had no way of spotting his little move.

A naked trap.

"Brother Xian, isn't that for me? Why are you drinking it?" Cao Xue said urgently, hurrying over, unaware that she'd already fallen for it.

Can't give her a good face.

This girl needs constant prodding.

Li Xian had found another weak spot in Cao Xue—besides loving money, she had a bit of a... submissive streak. Seemed she liked being pushed around.

Man on top, woman on bottom... she liked to slack off!

I'm lazy too...

Pfft, pfft... what am I thinking? Mission, mission!

He immediately cleared those unwanted thoughts, frowned, and forced himself to say, "You didn't want it, so why would I keep it?"

"Who said I didn't want it? Once you give me something, don't think about taking it back."

"Hey, now you're snatching it. Don't spill it."

Cao Xue grabbed the cup from his hand, looked at the small amount of milky-white liquid left, and thought: It's rare I get to take advantage of you. I've earned this.

So little—must be something good.

This fatty might have a foul mouth, but he's generous. He probably wouldn't fob me off with some junk.

With that thought, Cao Xue took a small sip.

"It tastes good! Nice texture, a little sweet. Brother Xian, what kind of drink is this?" Cao Xue said in surprise, then took another sip, nearly finishing it.

"A high-end lactic acid drink from abroad. Good for the body." Li Xian spouted nonsense without a hint of shame.

"Oh~ What brand? Got any more?"

"Brand? No brand. Want more? None left. I only had two cans, and the other's in my stomach. This is a newly developed drink from a foreign biotech company—they don't sell it outside. You know what that means? You can't buy it even with money. I was nice enough to share something good with you, and you doubted my motives..."

"I didn't mean that. Don't be mad, Brother Xian." Cao Xue said hastily. She was already dazzled by his talk of foreign companies and biotech. No matter what, this was definitely something good.

Cao Xue thought: If only he were a bit better-looking and not so blunt, I'd totally throw myself at him...

For a moment, Cao Xue felt a surge of determination to face the challenge, and her gaze toward Li Xian shifted.

Li Xian had no idea what she was thinking. He instinctively avoided her eyes, thinking: Don't ask, don't be curious. I'm not having an easy time either.

Making up one lie meant having to cover it with countless more. Li Xian really wasn't good at lying.

I'm such an honest Boy.

An hour passed quickly. Li Xian finished a round of gaming and closed his laptop. He crept over to the bathroom door and peeked inside.

There was no sound. Cao Xue was fast asleep in the bathtub, her arm draped over the edge, her head resting on her shoulder, her body starting to slide down.

The drink's effect had kicked in. Li Xian had waited a full hour, sneaking over several times to listen for movement.

She was really asleep.

Li Xian tiptoed to the tub, poked her arm with his finger, and whispered, "Little Xue'er, time to eat... Little Xue'er, time to make money. This time it's ten thousand."

After calling twice with no response, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up a bit.

A flash of pale skin was about to break the water's surface when he suddenly stopped. "No, better get a server to carry her to bed. I probably can't lift her." With that, Li Xian let go, and Cao Xue's body slid quickly back into the tub.

PS: Looking for investments, anyone?