Shi Zhongye cursed as he repeated it, then added at the end, "This anonymous person even sent me contact information. He said I could come to him whenever I needed anything, and he guaranteed he could get firsthand dirt on Shen Qinghuai. Do you think he's reliable?"
"He probably thinks you're an idiot he can scam for money," Zhou Jingcheng said cautiously. "Don't show the photos to your big brother yet. Something feels off. Give me the contact info, and I'll test him out."
Ten minutes later, a friend request arrived on the small account Shi Jihan had created with a new SIM card.
He immediately put down his movie and got to work with great diligence, displaying the professional ethics of a vicious cannon-fodder character.
[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: You saw the photos, right? Were you satisfied with the kisses?]
Zhou Jingcheng stared at the name and felt even more certain that this was an online scam.
[This Is a Small Account: I saw them. What do you want?]
[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: I don't want anything. I'm just a helpful citizen.]
[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: But if Director Shi is willing to provide targeted financial aid, I've got other photos here. They're extremely exciting.]
The moment Shi Zhongye saw that, he immediately said, "Pay him. Make him send them!"
[This Is a Small Account: How much?]
Shi Jihan tested the waters and made a modest demand: [Three yuan. Not a cent less.]
Just enough for him to go out and buy a new-flavored lollipop from the supermarket.
Afraid that Shi Zhongye would discover his identity and beat him senseless, he had Zero-Zero-Zero create a virtual account linked to the social platform.
[This Is a Small Account: .]
["This Is a Small Account" has initiated a transfer of 3.00 yuan to you.]
Shi Jihan accepted the payment instantly.
[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: Don't worry, this money definitely won't be wasted. My photos can prove beyond doubt that Shen Qinghuai has questionable morals. He knew from childhood how to cast a wide net and be a player, kissing lots of people in public.]
Shi Zhongye slapped the table. "I knew it! Old Wang really has an eye for people. We're totally on the same wavelength."
Zhou Jingcheng stared at the screen thoughtfully.
Could Shi Bochuan and his husband's relationship really have some hidden truth behind it? Was he finally about to get his hands on some juicy melodramatic gossip from a wealthy family?
Excellent.
Urged on by Shi Zhongye, he opened the photo Detective Old Wang had sent, filled with anticipation for some scandalous drama.
The photo showed a child version of Shen Qinghuai lying there with a stern face, playing Snow White, surrounded by seven little dwarves eagerly preparing to kiss him awake.
A gender-swapped Snow White from a kindergarten stage performance.
Shen Qinghuai, dressed in a skirt, wore the agonized expression of someone who would rather die than submit.
?
What the hell was this?!
"Explosive? Casting a wide net??" Shi Zhongye's voice rose higher with every word, like a goose whose neck had been grabbed as it flailed wildly. "Kissing lots of people in public???"
Zhou Jingcheng was dumbfounded too.
The structure of that person's brain was truly astounding. If someone put it up for sale secondhand, they could probably list it as ninety-nine percent new.
For a moment, he even wanted to make a group chat and introduce Old Wang to Shi Jihan.
The two of them both had that crystal-clear quality of never using their brains when they thought.
[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: Well? Isn't it exciting enough? This is 8P. I wouldn't show it to just anyone.]
The small account fell into a deathly silence.
Shi Jihan was extremely pleased with himself. Convinced that he had exceeded the system's requirements, he was having Zero-Zero-Zero file a report requesting extra mission rewards from the Main System.
He refused to work for free.
Zero-Zero-Zero did not quite dare to say it: [But, Host, what if the main storyline collapses again this time?]
Shi Jihan said profoundly: [Do good deeds and do not ask about the future.]
He would grab whatever he could first.
As for Shen Qinghuai, sorry about that. Their positions had been opposed from the start.
Looking at the picture of the seven little dwarves, Shi Jihan said, [As expected of the protagonist bottom in a crematorium novel. He's attracted petty people since childhood.]
Hehe, he was petty people too.
A gentleman loved money but acquired it honorably. A petty person loved money and did not even need a face.
On the other end, Shi Zhongye was so angry that he paced around the room, his footsteps heavy enough to seem like he was performing CPR on the floor. He kicked the trash can in passing. "Are you so noble? Why are you blocking my way?"
Zhou Jingcheng was having the finance department approve his workplace injury claim. He felt that he had been mocked by three yuan, which counted as an intellectual assault during working hours.
Oh, and he needed to block and delete that scammer Wang too.
"Wait!"
Shi Zhongye stopped him, his expression dark. "We can't just leave it at that."
Zhou Jingcheng said, "? You're that angry? Why don't you call the police?"
Let's see who the police laugh to death. [smiling bean]
Shi Zhongye argued righteously, "That Old Wang managed to get photos of Shen Qinghuai as a child. What does that prove? It proves he's definitely not simple! This photo was just an appetizer, meant to demonstrate his capabilities."
He waved a hand grandly. "Banana money can only hire monkeys. What we need to do next is—spend big money to buy the dirt he has!"
Zhou Jingcheng: ?
He lowered his head and unlocked his phone. "Maybe I should call the police after all."
What kind of bizarre creatures were surrounding him?!
-
Shi Jihan had just come out of the supermarket with a new-flavored lollipop when he received a new mission.
[ Ding. Mission issued: establish Shen Qinghuai as a gold-digger. Reward: Malice Points +9.]
Shi Jihan looked down on it a little. "The reward is too low. Doesn't the Main System know that Malice Points have already been inflated by my second brother?"
The irritable-character setting was just that good at throwing money around. One poke, and gold coins exploded out.
Zero-Zero-Zero opened its exchange page. [Nine Malice Points are just enough to get three holographic games currently on sale.]
Shi Jihan's eyes lit up. [Put them in the cart. I'll place the order once I finish this mission.]
Malice Points were good. Malice Points were wonderful. Malice Points had become very useful now.
He checked his phone and, as expected, Shi Zhongye had replied, triggering the related system mission.
[This Is a Small Account: What other dirt does he have? I'll buy it at a high price!]
[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: Shen Qinghuai is incredibly materialistic! Extremely materialistic!]
Shi Zhongye waited for ages.
[This Is a Small Account: ? And then?]
[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: Pay up.]
Shi Zhongye directly transferred 18,888 yuan.
Hearing the sound of money arriving, Shi Jihan turned while sucking on his lollipop and entered the bookstore next door.
[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: Go home and wait for good news. I won't disappoint you.]
[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: You'll receive a package when the time comes. I'll expose Shen Qinghuai's materialistic dirt to the public.]
After seeing the message, Shi Zhongye said to Zhou Jingcheng, "You. Come to my house for dinner tonight."
Such an important moment had to be witnessed by a brother.
-
That evening, the Shi Family held a family dinner.
It was Friday, and everyone had the next day off. Shen Qinghuai was in high spirits and personally cooked for everyone. Shi Jihan helped out in the kitchen, showing off his cooking skills while he was at it.
The doorbell rang, and Shi Bochuan went to open the door.
The moment he opened it, he saw Shi Zhongye's face, which looked like someone owed him eight million. Shi Bochuan smiled. "Second brother, you're here? Come in. Go straight ahead and eat."
Shi Zhongye went inside, and another head popped up behind him.
Zhou Jingcheng held some cooked food he had bought on the way, something he had wanted to eat for a long time, and greeted him with a smile. "President Shi, I came for dinner."
Shi Bochuan smiled. "President Zhou is here too? Come on, put your things down, then go straight out the door."
Zhou Jingcheng: ?
Pretending not to hear, he entered the house under Shi Bochuan's glare of "Why are you at my house again?" He skillfully changed into disposable slippers and headed for the dining room.
Shi Jihan was placing a huge pot of soup on the table. Seeing him, he looked pleasantly surprised and smiled with narrowed eyes. "Why are you here? Hurry and try the soup I made myself."
Zhou Jingcheng looked at the huge basin of thick green unidentified substance. The smile on his lips nearly failed to hold. He declined, "This... won't be necessary, right?"
Shi Jihan had already ladled out a small bowl and brought it to his lips. "Drink up. Why be polite?"
Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Jingcheng's forehead.
It was not exactly politeness.
Shi Jihan scooped up a spoonful and looked at him.
The two stared at each other. After a long silence, Zhou Jingcheng took the spoon and drank that mouthful of magic potion.
Shi Jihan asked expectantly, "How is it?"
Zhou Jingcheng swallowed and said, "Very good. It feels like taking a bath in the Dead Sea, then being shoved into Bermuda and made to eat a mouthful of raw seaweed."
Shi Jihan frowned. "So is it good or bad?"
Zhou Jingcheng lied through his teeth, showing exceptional emotional intelligence. "Very good. It makes your soul float away."
In plain words: it was so sickeningly sweet that it nearly blew the top off his skull.
Seeing Shi Zhongye walk over, Zhou Jingcheng displayed his fine habit of sharing and ladled him a huge bowl. "Try it. It'll cool you down."
Shi Zhongye accepted it without any guard up. "Did the housekeeper make this? Why is it such a weird color?"
Shi Jihan's expectant gaze landed on him again, waiting for praise.
Shi Zhongye gulped down a huge mouthful.
"Bleurgh—!!!"
He turned and sprinted a hundred meters toward the bathroom!
"Bleurgh bleurgh bleurgh!" Shi Zhongye shouted as he vomited. "What is this stuff?!"
[ Ding. Malice Points +5.]
Zhou Jingcheng smiled. "Tasty, right? This is your little brother's filial devotion."
After three seconds of silence from the bathroom came an even louder roar than before. "Shi Jihan, this is food poisoning!!"
Shi Jihan lowered his lashes and slowly pressed his lips together. "So it really tastes that bad?"
Zhou Jingcheng froze. Thinking of how much effort Shi Jihan had put into making it, he could not help raising a hand to rub his dejectedly drooping curly hair. Against his conscience, he said, "It's... not that bad. It's still very good. Your brother just has no taste. He can't appreciate it."
Shi Zhongye emerged from the bathroom after vomiting, leaning against the wall with an expression like he had seen a ghost.
Shi Jihan was immediately comforted. He picked up an even bigger bowl and shoved it in front of Zhou Jingcheng. "Then if you like it, drink more!"
Zhou Jingcheng: "..."
He forced a smile onto his lips, but it looked even worse than crying.
Before you continue