The Person He Liked

"Why are you sitting so far away?" Feng Ju brought the dishes over. Seeing the three of them forming a tripod-like standoff, she found it amusing. "Young Master, have you not seen Young Master Xiaoyu for so long that you're getting shy?"

"..." Chu Lan gave a dry laugh. Shy, my ass.

"Young Master Xiaoyu hasn't changed at all. He's still as well-behaved and handsome as he was when he was little." She beamed as she placed the dishes in front of Xia Yu. "Move a little closer, all of you, or you won't be able to reach the food."

Completely ignored, Xia Wanqing secretly gritted his teeth. Unable to endure it any longer, he stood up. "I'm going home first."

"Hm?" Xia Yu looked up, utterly puzzled. "Xiao Si, you're not eating? Aunt Ling went out and won't be back until tonight. There's no one at home to cook for you."

The hand hanging at his side clenched into a fist. He glanced at Chu Lan, who showed no intention of stopping him, and felt so wronged that tears nearly fell. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I'm not eating. I'm going home first."

With that, he knocked into the chair and ran out.

"Huh?" Feng Ju brought out the last dish and only caught sight of his retreating back. "Why did he leave? Didn't today's food suit his taste?"

Xia Yu chuckled. "It's delicious. He had something to do, so he isn't eating."

"Oh, then eat more, Young Master Xiaoyu. You're too skinny now. You don't have that chubby little look you had as a child anymore."

"Alright, I'll eat more. Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Feng. Sit down and eat with us."

"No, no, you two eat. I'll take a break."

The way the two interacted made them seem even more like master and servant than actual master and servant, leaving the true young master of this house sitting on pins and needles. He could neither eat nor dare to leave, so he could only sit there, counting grains of rice while waiting for Xia Yu to finish.

Half an hour later, Xia Yu put down his chopsticks and looked at him with a faint smile. "Brother, you seem to really dislike eating with me. Do you blame me for interrupting you and Little Five?"

Chu Lan shook his head frantically. "No, no. Are you full? Do you want me to cut you some fruit for after the meal?"

"No, I need to go back and open the door for Little Five. I forgot just now—I changed the lock and never told him the password. I wonder if he's stupidly waiting outside. If he gets sunburned, I'll be heartbroken."

The corner of his mouth twitched twice. He was doing this on purpose, wasn't he? His heart was far too black. If Qingqing did not move out soon, Xia Yu would kill him sooner or later.

"I'm heading back, Brother. Get some rest. You don't need to see me off."

"Alright..." He had not intended to see him off anyway.

After leaving the Chu Household, Xia Yu held a sun umbrella and slowly made his way toward the Xia Household villa.

"Host." System 001 appeared. "The protagonist bottom is squatting by the front door, curled up in a ball and looking especially pitiful. A paparazzo took photos, and they'll definitely post them online to play up his misery. When they dig you up, they'll say you abused him again."

He did not care in the slightest. "Let him play it up. I can make him look even more pitiful."

"Go, Host! Call me anytime you need something."

"Mhm."

When Xia Yu reached the front door, he saw Xia Wanqing curled up on the ground with his face buried in his knees. He exclaimed in surprise, "Little brother, what are you squatting here for? Performance art?"

Xia Wanqing raised his head. His eyes were red, but his gaze remained stubborn. Pressing his lips together, he climbed to his feet and stood to one side, waiting for Xia Yu to unlock the door.

"Oh dear, I forgot to tell you the new password. Sorry. It's four threes—easy to remember, right?" He opened the door and went inside, then reminded him, "Remember to tell your mother the password."

Xia Wanqing followed him inside without saying a word and headed upstairs. Before long, a series of noises came from above.

Xia Yu sat down on the living room sofa. Tangerine and Pomelo emerged from beneath the table, curled up on his lap, and affectionately rubbed against him.

"You've got some nerve." He pinched Tangerine's ear, his tone dangerous. "You dared to answer random calls. Do you think that because you're a little girl, you can act with impunity and skip getting spayed?"

"Meow..." Tangerine ingratiatingly scratched at his thigh. It really had not done it on purpose. A kitten had no bad intentions.

"If there's a next time, I'll skin you."

"Meow!" There would absolutely be no next time!

Xia Yu took out his phone and stroked the screen. "001."

"Host, I'm here!"

"Check where Chi Yan is right now."

"Okay." System 001 pulled up a panel and operated it for a moment. "He's on his way to the airport. He'll arrive in Capital City tomorrow morning. Host, he's coming to see you!"

Though it was not obvious, his expression did improve a little. He tossed the two cats off his lap and went upstairs.

"Phew..." After cutting off contact, System 001 let out a sigh of relief. "He's finally coming. If he didn't, Host would really have exploded."

System 105 beside it looked utterly confused. "Boss, who is Chi Yan?"

"The person Host likes."

"Huh???"

"It's a long story. Anyway, Host likes that Chi guy quite a bit right now, even though he refuses to admit it."

System 105 was even more horrified. "Host actually has someone he likes???"

System 001 rolled its eyes. "Isn't that a good thing? At least now Host has someone he's attached to, so he won't only think about destroying the world."

Its eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Not necessarily... After Chi did that with Host while drunk, he apologized the next day and told him to forget it..."

"What?! He actually dared to treat Host like a scumbag?!!!"

"Host nearly went crazy and chopped off his thing to feed to the cats."

"Th-this..."

"If I hadn't been clever and lied to Host that I detected Chi Yan's hidden affection score for him was as high as ninety percent, that guy would have become a eunuch long ago."

"Boss, you actually have that kind of function!" It had thought that even high-level systems had fixed functions and could not cross into other domains.

System 001 rolled its eyes dramatically. "Like hell I do. I'm a Villain Development System. I can only detect negative emotion values. That lovey-dovey stuff can only be detected by romance systems or conquest systems, alright? I was afraid Host would act on impulse and ruin his own sex life. If he regretted it someday and killed himself to start over again, I'd be worked to death."

"So you lied to Host. What if he finds out? I'm dead..."

"Just don't let it slip. Even if I can't detect it, Chi Yan definitely likes Host too. Aside from being a little crazy, Host is perfect in every way. He can even make tea—who wouldn't love him? We'll see when Chi Yan gets here. If he can't coax Host into calming down, sigh... Little Five, fend for yourself. I'll burn paper offerings for you."

"..." System 105 wanted to cry. It hated that it was not a romance system!

Xia Yu, completely unaware that the audacious system had pulled the wool over his eyes, took a comfortable afternoon nap. By the time he woke, it was already seven in the evening.

He washed his face. The moment he stepped out of his room, he saw Xia Wanqing coming out with two suitcases and a guitar slung over his back.

Xia Wanqing swept him a blank look, then lifted the suitcases and prepared to head downstairs.

"Little brother, are you moving out?"

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

He smiled. "No. I don't want you to move out."

"Heh..."

Just then, Xia Lang and Zhao Jie returned. The moment they entered, they saw the two standing at the stairway landing.

Zhao Jie was just about to speak when she saw a sight that broke her heart, followed by a scream...