If life had fooled you, don't make a peep, don't kick up a fuss, and don't grumble. Just find a little slope, lie down on it, and start wriggling your way uphill like a caterpillar. Keep wriggling, and one day you'll wriggle yourself into a dazzling moth—Pushkin.
Drink down a bowl of Old Pushkin's poisonous chicken soup, and you might just become Li Xian.
Of course, without a cheat, all that talk is pointless!
Just keep wriggling slowly. Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, one day...
Li Xian had just come out of the bathroom when the system notification appeared.
[Task complete: Time taken: 48 minutes and 25 seconds.] [Task reward: Character Attribute Points +1, one lottery draw, item: Lazy Scrubbing Towel. Please check your inventory.]
Damn it!
I eagerly checked my rewards.
System, you gave me this pile of junk?
What, couldn't you sell the stuff at home, so you're pawning it off on me?
Li Xian's mouth twitched. He'd been in a pretty good mood, but now it had taken a turn for the worse. Did he look like someone who needed a scrubbing towel? What he needed was a masseuse—a female one...
He took a bottle of beer from the fridge and glumly gulped some down. Back on the sofa, Li Xian took the scrubbing towel out of his inventory.
It looked much like an ordinary scrubbing towel, though the material was quite soft.
He tried it on his arm. A gentle rub brought up a layer of grime. It worked well, and it didn't scrape his skin, either.
Li Xian stared at the grime on his arm and suddenly understood. So, System, you're trying to tell me that girl was bad at her job... Never mind. I'm the bigger person.
The task was complete, anyway, and he couldn't be bothered to fuss over it. He tossed the towel into his inventory and wondered how to assign his point.
He couldn't decide whether to put it into his looks or his stamina.
He'd have to use the old method.
"Eenie, meenie, miney, moe. A pig stir-fried with meat, the more you fry, the stinkier it gets..."
In the end, fate made the decision for him. The point went to his looks.
His looks were now at 61. Nothing much had changed. He was still just as handsome!
After assigning his point, he started the lottery. With only one chance, Li Xian didn't expect to get anything good.
Sure enough, the system didn't do him any favors.
[Congratulations! You have obtained Strong Digestive Pills +1.]
Damn it, did they have a general store and a pharmacy at home, or what?
Li Xian grumbled to himself. This system specialized in products with no brand, no manufacturer, and no guarantees. He had no idea whether they came with toxic side effects.
He put that aside for the moment and took out the can of Calming Drink again. It tasted like lactic acid bacteria drink, but smoother. It was supposed to treat neurasthenia, insomnia, and vivid dreams... The effects sounded an awful lot like sleeping pills.
Would it be a bad idea to give Little Xue'er this stuff?
But without it, my task was sure to fail.
After a second of inner turmoil, Li Xian got a glass, poured in the drink, and went to find Cao Xue.
The task mattered more...
Cao Xue was taking photos by the bar. When she'd come out of the bathroom, she'd been so tired she could barely stand, but before long she'd perked right back up.
Women really did have good stamina.
He went over to the bar.
Li Xian smiled warmly. "Little Xue'er, you must be exhausted. Have a drink." His gentle tone made him sound like a different person.
Cao Xue gave him a surprised look, then glanced at the glass in his hand. Did the sun rise in the west?
All day, the fatso hadn't given her the time of day. Had scrubbing his back changed his opinion of her? That didn't make sense. She'd been paid for it.
Cao Xue grew suspicious. Tilting her head, she stared at the drink and asked instinctively, "Why are you being so nice? Did you put something in it to mess with me?"
Oh, no!
Too obvious!
Seeing Cao Xue's reaction, Li Xian immediately realized he'd rushed things. This sudden switch from being cold to being kind was totally out of character for him.
To put it bluntly, it was like a weasel bringing New Year's greetings to a chicken. He had ulterior motives!
Well, he did have ulterior motives, but the system had forced his hand.
At that thought, Li Xian's smile faded and gradually disappeared. At last, his face went blank. The whole transformation was so natural that it was a shame he wasn't an actor.
"Hmph... Drink it or don't. It's not like I'm eager to give it to you." He picked up the glass and turned to leave, silently counting, One, two, three, four...
"Hey... wait..."
Sure enough, the trick worked. He'd only taken six or seven steps when Cao Xue called after him.
"What? Need something?" Li Xian turned around and casually took a sip of the drink, then secretly spat it into the wide sleeve of his bathrobe.
They weren't close, and the roomy sleeve blocked Cao Xue's view. She had no chance of noticing his little trick.
That was a textbook bait-and-switch.
"Brother Xian, wasn't that for me? Why are you drinking it?" Cao Xue said anxiously as she hurried over, completely unaware she'd taken the bait.
There was no point being nice to her.
This girl needed constant prodding.
Li Xian had found Cao Xue's other weak spot. She liked money, but she also seemed a little... submissive. Apparently, she liked being dominated...
Man on top, woman underneath... She liked to take it easy!
I like taking it easy, too...
No, no, no... What was he thinking? The task, the task!
He immediately cleared those inappropriate thoughts from his mind and frowned, forcing out the words, "You said you didn't want it. What was I supposed to do, keep it?"
"Who said I didn't want it? You gave it to me, so don't think you can take it back."
"Hey, you're snatching it now. Don't spill it."
Cao Xue snatched the glass from his hand. Looking at the half-glass of milky white liquid, she thought, It's not easy getting a little something out of you.
There wasn't much. It must be something good.
The fatso had a sharp tongue, but he was generous. He probably wouldn't try to fob off some random junk on her.
Thinking this, Cao Xue immediately took a little sip.
"Wow, it's good! Nice and smooth, a little sweet. Brother Xian, what kind of drink is this?" Cao Xue exclaimed in delight, then took another sip. The glass was almost empty.
"It's a high-end lactic acid bacteria drink from overseas," Li Xian said without batting an eye.
"Ohh... What brand is it? Do you have any more?"
"Brand? It doesn't have one. You want more? There isn't any. I only had two cans, and the other one's in my stomach. It's a new drink developed by a foreign biotech company. They don't sell it to the public. Do you understand what that means? You can't buy it even if you're rich. I was kind enough to let you try something good, and you actually suspected my motives..."
"I didn't mean it like that, Brother Xian. Don't be mad," Cao Xue said hurriedly. His talk of overseas biotech companies had completely confused her. Either way, it had to be something good.
Cao Xue thought, If only he were a little more handsome and less blunt. I'd throw myself at him in a heartbeat...
For a moment, Cao Xue felt like going for it despite the odds. Even the way she looked at Li Xian had changed.
Li Xian had no idea what she was thinking. He instinctively avoided her gaze and thought, Don't ask me, don't get curious. This isn't easy for me, either.
One lie needed a dozen more to prop it up. Li Xian really wasn't good at lying.
I'm such an honest boy.
An hour passed quickly. After finishing a round of his game, Li Xian closed his laptop and quietly crept to the bathroom door to look inside.
There wasn't a sound. Cao Xue was fast asleep in the bathtub, one arm draped over the edge, her head resting against her shoulder. Her body was starting to slide down.
The drink had kicked in. Li Xian had waited a full hour, sneaking over several times to listen for any movement.
She was really asleep.
Li Xian crept over to the tub, poked her arm with a finger, and called softly, "Little Xue'er, time to eat... Little Xue'er, get up and earn some money. This time, ten thousand yuan."
When she didn't react after two tries, Li Xian grabbed her arm and pulled her upper body up a little.
A glimpse of pale skin was just about to break the surface when he stopped. "No, I'd better have a hotel attendant help carry her to bed. I might not be able to lift her." With that, Li Xian let go, and Cao Xue slid quickly back into the tub.
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