Chapter 16

Then he ran, and he chased; even with wings, there was no escape. That would send Shi Bochuan's exercise levels soaring and all his hormones spiking.

Perfectly fulfilling the goal of "rekindling passion for his White Moonlight."

But no matter how carefully he calculated, he never expected Shi Bochuan to be afraid of ghosts!

What kind of domineering CEO was afraid of ghosts? That totally broke character!

The three people present each had their own breaking point. Only Shen Qinghuai remained calm throughout. In the dim light of the underground parking garage, he got a clear look at the ghost's face and asked uncertainly, "Were you the person from the restaurant last time?"

Shi Bochuan calmed down a little as well. Pressed tightly against Shen Qinghuai, he looked over and realized it really was him. The person shouting "Boss" was his own employee.

No wonder he had appeared in his company's underground parking garage.

Still, he asked, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Watching his boss desperately gesture at him, Zhou Zeyang tried to interpret the sign language. "I... worked, overtime?"

Shi Jihan panicked. What overtime? I was telling you to say, "I miss you even more."

And don't call him Boss, damn it! You'll blow my cover!

But Shi Bochuan had already made the logic work in his head. The fright had yet to fade from his eyes, but his approval was even stronger than before.

What a perfect employee! Not only could he promptly solve his boss's personal relationship problems, but he even volunteered to work overtime without complaint.

But at the thought of his image being utterly ruined in front of a subordinate, he still minded it somewhat. "Then why did you paint your face so white and wear all white?"

Shen Qinghuai said, "Maybe it's his personal preference. It's already good enough that he's willing to wear clothes. Don't ask so many questions."

Then he helped Zhou Zeyang up from the ground and asked gently, "Are you all right? He didn't actually hurt you, did he?"

Still shaken, Zhou Zeyang stared at the fire extinguisher and slowly backed away to maintain a safe distance from Shi Bochuan. He shook his head. "He only gave me an over-the-shoulder throw. But it's fine. It didn't hurt."

000: [Oh no, Host. Don't let us give him a workplace injury. We'd have to pay compensation.]

The moment he heard they might have to pay, Shi Jihan reacted immediately. "Big Brother, you hurt him. You have to take him to the hospital and get him checked out. If there's really a problem, you'll have to cover the medical bills."

Zhou Zeyang waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no, no, there's really no need. I'm used to getting knocked around on the basketball court. This is just a minor injury."

"No, you should still get checked out. We'll take you there." Shen Qinghuai pulled him over and had him get in the car.

"Then... all right."

Shi Bochuan stared darkly at the hand resting on Zhou Zeyang's forearm.

[ Ding, Malice Points +3 ]

Shi Jihan was pleasantly surprised. How had he gotten an unexpected gain from this?

He opened the front passenger door and climbed in.

He didn't see his big brother's hand reaching out a moment too late.

Shi Bochuan silently withdrew his hand and was forced to sit with Zhou Zeyang. The gap between them was so wide that even a delivery courier would charge extra for cross-province shipping.

Zhou Zeyang could neither sit nor stand at ease. He couldn't understand why Shi Bochuan's gaze at him was so complicated. Whenever Shen Qinghuai spoke to him, that gaze grew a little more complicated.

He had never found a hospital so lovable before. The instant they arrived, he could barely wait to get out of the car.

After the group gave him a simple examination, they found nothing wrong with him. He hadn't even scraped a bit of skin. Zhou Zeyang insisted that his family would come pick him up and had the three of them leave first.

On the way back, Shi Jihan looked at the Malice Points he had earned and lavishly praised himself. Shi Jihan, amazing! Even a White Moonlight made from scratch can complete the mission perfectly!

000 carried a little basket and scattered flowers over him. Host, amazing!

It did not feel at all that there was anything wrong with how this mission had been completed.

At the hospital.

Zhou Jingcheng, full of resentment, searched for someone on the first floor. Once he found him, he immediately unleashed a barrage. "Zhou Zeyang, do you know what time it is? You went to the hospital in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Who did you get into a fight with this time?"

When he saw Zhou Zeyang raise his face, his tirade glitched for a moment. "Is employment in the Underworld really this bad now? Ghosts have to moonlight as flour salesmen?"

"...Is it really that white?" Zhou Zeyang wiped his face. "Did I pick the wrong shade?"

But there were so many shades. How was he supposed to know which one to buy?

"White. Like you were assassinated by flour." Zhou Jingcheng watched him scrape off a layer of putty from his own face and frowned in disgust. "Let me wish you an early Happy New Year. Scrape off a little less, and you can use the rest to make dumplings when you get home."

Zhou Zeyang pretended he was deaf and raised a hand. "Brother, I'm injured. Very, extremely, seriously injured."

Zhou Jingcheng looked at his brother, who was completely fine. "So?"

"I'm not walking the dog tomorrow! You walk it!"

"..."

Zhou Jingcheng sat down beside him and gently tried to talk him through it. "Little brother, perseverance is important. Hang in there a little longer, okay?"

Zhou Zeyang promptly dropped dead on him.

It was past four in the morning, and Shi Jihan was still surfing the internet.

First, he calculated all his Malice Points and discovered that he had the enormous fortune of 125.6. Then he recalled the real estate listings he had seen in his previous life and realized he could buy a bathroom in the city center.

He was very satisfied with this result. "I can buy a toilet after only a few months. Once I finish the plots of all three books, I'll be able to live in a huge Ye!"

000 said: [If you can get back the shares your original body's parents left you from your big brother, you could buy several huge Ye here.]

Shi Jihan said, "Listen to yourself. I have over a billion gold coins in my game account too. Why don't you withdraw those and cash them out for me?"

They were not even in the same dimension. How could that be calculated that way?

In any case, he still had to work harder.

Given the system's tendency when issuing missions, he felt the next mission probably was not far off, so he needed to make preparations in advance.

"I've got it. When you pursue someone, don't you have to give them gifts? Summer's about to start, so I'll have the little actor give him a warm scarf."

[What is the logical connection?]

"Love is like fire, making your sweat pour down."

After saying that, Shi Jihan opened Pinduoduo and skillfully set the price range to 0 to 11 yuan.

He couldn't spend too extravagantly on Shi Bochuan.

The money had to be spent where it counted, like ordering himself barbecue for a late-night snack.

He specifically noted that they should not ring the doorbell. An hour later, when the delivery driver arrived, he sneaked downstairs and opened the door to collect his barbecue.

The sky was already beginning to lighten, and he saw the silhouettes of several pedestrians passing in the distance.

"Up this early? Even chickens would have to switch to the night shift after seeing this."

000 said: [They're probably up early to walk their dogs.]

Shi Jihan thought of the dog paw in Zhou Jingcheng's profile picture. As he gnawed on a beef skewer, he asked through a mouthful of food, "I remember Dianjia Bro lives nearby too, right? Does he walk his dog every day?"

[Detected that the Host wishes to track the mission target's real-time location. Would you like to spend Malice Points to activate it?]

Shi Jihan speechlessly wiped his hands. "Activate it."

Let him see what Dianjia Bro had been up to lately.

With real-time tracking activated, Shi Jihan discovered that Zhou Jingcheng really was awake. The little red dot was in a fountain plaza between several villa compounds, moving at high speed.

Clearly unlike the other dog walkers.

Shi Jihan immediately became interested. "Why sleep? Let's go farm points off him."

Zhou Jingcheng was about to lose his mind.

He had held an international conference in the latter half of the night, listened to several hours of gibberish, and still had to provide concrete solutions.

Not long after he lay down, Pizza launched himself at full force and landed on his face, delivering the most unique morning wake-up service.

—Covering his face in drool.

At that moment, he was tugging on the leash, trying to hold back the unusually excited Pizza. "Slow down... Don't run anymore!"

Pizza enthusiastically responded, "Werwerwerwerwerwerwer!!"

The barking made everyone turn to look.

"Oh my, someone owns a Beagle!"

"Our villa compound has produced another patient person."

"Big-eared screaming donkey, hahaha!"

Zhou Jingcheng silently pulled his black mask higher.

He had wanted to quietly pass through this stretch of road as though nothing had happened, but someone patted him from behind.

He turned around and met a pair of familiar eyes.

Once Shi Jihan saw that it really was him, he immediately smiled. "So the dog you own is a Beagle."

Then he crouched down and let Pizza sniff his hand before grabbing him for a vigorous petting session, squeezing his paws and then his ears. "Wow, so cute."

"You like him?" Zhou Jingcheng immediately became clear-headed. His head no longer hurt, his feet no longer ached, and without asking a single question, he shoved the leash into Shi Jihan's hand. "Don't be polite. You take this for now."

Shi Jihan said, "Huh? I, no! Wait! Wait, stop first—!"

Watching the two dog-shaped cannonballs shoot off in an instant, Zhou Jingcheng happily took out his phone and began snapping pictures.

Beagles really were more fun when someone else walked them.

Shi Jihan's cries drifted across the plaza. "Zhou Jingcheng! Make him stop, stop! I can't hold him!"

Zhou Jingcheng leisurely said, "Pizza, slow down."

"Tsk, look at that tail wagging. Don't fan him into catching a cold."

Chapter 16

Shi Jihan was forced to run a thousand-meter fitness test first thing in the morning. After finally stopping, before he could even catch his breath, he saw Zhou Jingcheng sitting on a bench beside the fountain, leisurely eating breakfast as the morning light gilded him in gold.

Thinking of the barbecue he had ordered, still lying on the table upstairs in a tragic, untouched death, while the culprit comfortably ate a sandwich and drank coffee, anger surged up in him.

Was this reasonable?

Shi Jihan viciously raised his middle finger at Zhou Jingcheng's back.

Zhou Jingcheng happened to turn around, the food bag in his hand swaying in an enticing arc. "Want breakfast? I bought you—"

His gaze landed on that conspicuous middle finger, and he narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing?"

[ Ding, Malice Points +2 ]

Shi Jihan reacted as though someone had pulled his shrimp vein. With a swish, he extended his index finger, pinky, and thumb as well, saying with complete seriousness, "Rock horns. Don't you know the rock gesture?"

Zhou Jingcheng pressed down his middle finger for him. "That one was unnecessary."