Page 27

[Ding, Malice Points +0.17]

Shi Jihan exported several suggestive, tension-filled clips that could pass review, then couldn't help praising him again. "You know how to pick them. Good choices."

But he had to ask, "Which side are you on, exactly? Yesterday, you even helped Big Brother torture me."

Zhou Jingcheng spread his hands. "Do we really have sides? Even if we take ten thousand steps back, I'm just here for the entertainment."

Shi Jihan grabbed him. "No, taking ten thousand steps back is exhausting. Just stand right here and say it."

"You care about me?" Zhou Jingcheng lowered his head against the light and leaned closer with a smile. "I'm so touched."

The editor-in-chief looked icy: So the two of you only catch each other's jokes and not each other's logic?

What lunatics. There were actually two such lunatics, and gold miners were getting rich.

She took the script Shi Jihan handed over and gave it a glance.

A cold, beautiful designer, dissatisfied with her husband's indifference after marriage, demanded a divorce and insisted on leaving with nothing. Yet her husband cornered her in the bedroom, forcing her back step by step.

Burning hands fit perfectly around the trembling curve of the waist beneath the shirt. The husband lowered his head and chuckled by the designer's ear, his voice hoarse. "Divorce? Shen Qinghuai, I really should fuck you to death."

Holy shit, that was kind of hot.

These two really had taste.

Though President Shi and Designer Shen would probably lose their minds.

But before that...

The editor-in-chief smiled at Shi Jihan and pushed another row of clothes toward him. "Young Master Shi, you didn't think we were only shooting one collection today, did you?"

Shi Jihan looked at the familiar instant-noodle jumpsuit, cabbage sweater, and other equally familiar outfits, horror filling his eyes. "Wait! What are you doing?"

"No, no! Zhou Jingcheng, save me!"

Zhou Jingcheng watched him get dragged away with his outstretched Erkang hand, sympathy in his eyes. He said to the editor-in-chief, "Add more beef accessories to the instant noodles. Young Master Shi will be happier."

Shi Jihan: "..."

Shi Jihan: I #￥%*$&E@!!!

Shen Qinghuai woke up early that day. After sleeping well through the night, he felt refreshed and energized.

He and Shi Bochuan received the original photos sent by NEXUS's editor-in-chief at the same time. Both were extremely pleased with yesterday's shoot. They also held an important discussion about that clump of cilantro beef instant noodles curled up in the corner, preserving valuable photographic evidence.

The two of them happily ate breakfast and headed to work, deciding to celebrate properly that night for finally winning a round.

On the way to the office, Shi Bochuan held it in and held it in, but ultimately couldn't anymore. "Am I running around naked today? Why does everyone who passes me blush and smile?"

Shen Qinghuai said, "Maybe payday is coming up. Everyone's happy."

Shi Bochuan thought that made sense. He pulled Shen Qinghuai into his office to discuss where they could go that night to celebrate without Shi Jihan knowing.

When they saw the CEO's office door close, the entire floor fell silent for two seconds.

"Ooh—"

A knowing chorus of teasing rose up.

Shi Bochuan had no idea what had happened outside. In an excellent mood, he ground two cups of coffee, handed one to Shen Qinghuai, then sat down in his executive chair. Casually opening the company website to look at his third brother's promotional cover photo, he smiled and said, "Third Brother seemed pretty devastated yesterday. He still hasn't gotten—"

Before the word "up" could leave his mouth, he sprayed out a mouthful of coffee.

He gave the computer a hot shower on the spot.

"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!"

With his excellent dynamic vision, Shi Bochuan caught the words scrolling across the suit. He coughed until his face turned red, staring in disbelief. "Wh-what is this?!"

Coffee ran down the screen, activating the heat-sensitive touchscreen computer's function and causing it to automatically read the text aloud:

"Shi Bochuan pinned him against the wall and laughed hoarsely. 'Divorce? Shen Qinghuai, I really should fuck you to death.'"

"Pfft—" Shen Qinghuai followed right after, giving the computer another shower.

The office had been transformed into a bathhouse.

Coffee seeped into the computer. The screen froze for a moment, then began looping, "Divorce? Shen Qinghuai, I really should fuck you to death."

"Divorce? Shen Qinghuai, I really should fuck you to death."

"Divorce? Shen Qinghuai, I really should fuck you to death."

"Shi Bochuan! Turn it off!!"

Shen Qinghuai rushed over with a red face and shouted, pounding the keyboard with his hands in an attempt to stop it.

It didn't work at all. So furious that he was trembling, he slapped the computer. "Shut up!!"

The computer spun 180 degrees on its data cable. The screen crackled and flickered, leaving behind its final words: "...fuck...you...to death."

Shi Bochuan curled up in his leather executive chair, watching his wife bully an old workplace employee with lingering terror. Thinking of something, his brow jumped wildly as he hurriedly opened social media on his phone.

His and Shen Qinghuai's names were both trending.

#Shi Bochuan Shen Qinghuai Fanfic#

The tag was followed by the word "Explosive," and its popularity had actually far surpassed that of the hottest idols.

Netizens had gotten to enjoy the fresh gossip Shi Jihan had worked so hard to bring them.

[Holy shit, Shi Jihan, you really know how to make things happen!]

[Ahhh, I can't do this anymore! The people my novel was about saw it!]

[Shi Jihan, keep your whole family away from the lives of CP fans!]

[Can you three pay to film a reality show? I want to watch this melodramatic rich-family life every day.]

[These days, I don't watch the entertainment industry or follow celebrities anymore. I just want to see what trouble Shi Jihan stirs up next.]

One netizen's comment was pushed to the very top.

[@Shi Bochuan @Shen Qinghuai, why did you two have to provoke him? [candle]]

"..."

A deathly silence descended.

Shen Qinghuai looked at the hand he had used to slap the computer and muttered to himself, "Yeah. Why did I provoke him?"

How much did he have to hate his own life to do that?

The two looked at each other speechlessly and quietly died inside.

They regretted it so much. They were so hopeless.

[Ding, accumulated Malice Points increased by 27.]

[Ding, mission "Guide public opinion to make Shen Qinghuai feel humiliated" completed. Reward: Malice Points +18.]

Half-awake, Shi Jihan heard the good news. Hugging his pillow, he rolled over, feeling utterly content and comfortable.

This was how life should be. He could make money while lying down.

Awesome.

He asked 000, [What's the latest you can return to the Unified Realm to update the database?]

[By the end of the month at the latest. We undergo maintenance once a month.]

"Then it'll be in the next few days." Shi Jihan sprang upright. "Quick, quick, quick! See if there are any more plot mission points we can latch onto. Let's do every single one!"

He was going to squeeze those ATMs dry.

000 searched through the records and found that there really was one. [At the newcomer welcome party two days from now, you will mock Shen Qinghuai in front of all employees, saying, 'What the hell are you?' Then you will raise a bottle of red wine and pour its contents over Shen Qinghuai's head, enjoying his pathetic, disheveled state.]

[As Shen Qinghuai listens to the comments and finger-pointing of everyone else, including his own subordinates, he bites his lower lip hard to keep from breaking down, protecting that precarious self-respect that has been trampled into the mud.]

Shi Jihan sighed with feeling. "Life kept pounding Shen Qinghuai until he turned into a steamed bun."

At the very least, the Shen Qinghuai in that description was completely unlike the Shen Qinghuai he interacted with every day.

000 asked, [Then how would the host react in that situation? Flip the table?]

Shi Jihan answered calmly, [That would be such a waste. I'd open my mouth and catch the wine. I'd even tell him to pour slower.]

The red wine rich people drank had to be absurdly expensive.

At the very least, he had to taste it.

000: [9.]

It was utterly speechless.

Still, Shi Jihan felt a little troubled. "Pouring red wine... that's not easy to pull off..."

[There's something you can't pull off?]

He said, "If I really did that, do you believe Big Brother would turn me into a preserved-vegetable pork patty with three punches?"

There was still a difference between courting death and courting a spectacular death.

000 asked, [So are we taking it?]

Shi Jihan gritted his teeth. [Taking it!]

Anyway, when death was imminent, there would definitely be a solution.

That was the insight he had gained from rushing to finish homework at the deadline every summer and winter break.

On the day of the newcomer welcome party, the mission indeed arrived as promised.

[Ding, mission issued: Pour red wine over Shen Qinghuai's head in public and destroy his faith. Reward: Malice Points +23.]

Three minutes after receiving the mission, a figure in ugly fish pajamas stood on tiptoe and skipped in tiny swan steps, rapidly moving both legs. As though the floor were scorching his feet, he silently slid toward the bedroom next door on the third floor. Carrying a bell and a peachwood sword, he secretly snuck into Shi Bochuan and Shen Qinghuai's room at five in the morning.

Awakened. Hunting time!

Everyone still asleep would be eating one of his punches.

The surveillance camera in the corner tilted slightly, staring at the unidentified creature in great confusion.

Shi Jihan held the bell's clapper still, held his breath, and placed his fingertips on the doorknob.

"Click."

The door opened.

It wasn't locked?

[Their security awareness is lacking.] He lowered his voice, sounding disappointed. [Looks like Teacher Shi, always so eager to help, has to teach them a lesson.]

000 pulled out a black eye mask and tied it around its eggshell, lowering its voice as well. [Other than us, nobody would do this sort of thing, right?]

Besides, [we're talking in our heads, so why are we whispering?]

[What do you know? Doing bad things like this is more immersive.]

One person and one egg sneaked inside.

Behind the surveillance monitors, the bodyguard on duty asked his companion, "What is Third Young Master doing?"

His companion guessed, "He probably wants to give Eldest Young Master and Mr. Shen a thoughtful morning wake-up service."

The bodyguard nodded despite not understanding. "So thoughtful. I hope he can walk out in one piece later."

The bedroom door closed.

Shi Jihan's first reaction after entering was: Holy shit, what a huge bed.

It was so huge that he felt jealous. Wasn't this like putting gold trim on a donkey's millstone? The two of them only needed to roll around a little for appearance's sake.

He was the emperor. Move aside and let him sleep.

Shi Jihan pulled the two of them apart and forcibly squeezed himself into the middle, taking out all the props he had prepared.

Most importantly, he set up the huge piece of reflective holographic colored paper he had specially ordered online, aiming it directly at Shen Qinghuai.

After finishing, he stood on the bed, holding a bell and a brass gong. With a bang, he struck them and began a shamanic dance. "Souls~ return~ home~!"