Page 47

Shi Zhongye cursed as he repeated it, then added, "This anonymous person even sent me a contact method. He said I could go to him whenever I needed something, and he guaranteed he could get firsthand dirt on Shen Qinghuai. Do you think he's reliable?"

"He's probably trying to scam money out of you because he thinks you're an idiot," Zhou Jingcheng said cautiously. "Don't show the photos to your big brother yet. Something about this feels off. Give me the contact info, and I'll test him out."

Ten minutes later, a friend request arrived on the alternate account Shi Jihan had created with a new SIM card.

He immediately put down his movie and diligently got to work, displaying the professional ethics of a malicious cannon-fodder character.

[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: You saw the photos, right? Satisfied with the kiss?]

Staring at the name, Zhou Jingcheng felt that this looked even more like an online scam.

[I'm an Alt: 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 poverty relief, I have other photos here. They're extremely exciting.]

The moment Shi Zhongye saw that, he immediately said, "Pay him. Make him send them!"

[I'm an Alt: How much?]

Shi Jihan tested the waters and made a modestly outrageous offer: [Three yuan. Not a cent less.]

It was just enough for him to go to the supermarket and buy a new-flavored lollipop.

Afraid Shi Zhongye would discover his identity and beat him senseless, he had 000 create a virtual account linked to the social platform.

[I'm an Alt: .]

["I'm an Alt" has transferred 3.00 yuan to you.]

Shi Jihan accepted it instantly.

[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: Rest assured, this money is absolutely worth it. My photos can prove beyond doubt that Shen Qinghuai has bad intentions. 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?

Wonderful.

Urged on by Shi Zhongye, he opened the photo Detective Old Wang had sent, full of longing for drama.

The photo showed a child version of Shen Qinghuai lying there with a stern face, playing Snow White, surrounded by seven little dwarfs eagerly preparing to kiss him awake.

A gender-swapped Snow White from a kindergarten stage performance.

Shen Qinghuai, dressed in a skirt, wore the anguished expression of someone who would rather die than submit.

?

What the hell was this?!

"Exciting? Casting a wide net??" Shi Zhongye's voice grew louder with every word, like a goose flailing after having its neck grabbed. "Kissing lots of people in public???"

Zhou Jingcheng was dumbfounded too.

The structure of the person on the other end's brain was truly astonishing. If it were listed on a secondhand marketplace, it could probably be labeled 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 shared the same pure clarity of never using their brains when thinking.

[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: So? Isn't it exciting enough? This is 8P. I don't show it to just anyone.]

The alt account fell into dead silence.

Shi Jihan was smug, convinced that he had exceeded the system's task requirements. He was making 000 write a report to request extra task rewards from the Main System.

He refused to work for free.

000 did not really dare to say it: [But Host, what if the main plot collapses again this time?]

Shi Jihan said profoundly: [Do good deeds and don't ask about the future.]

He would grab whatever he could first.

As for Shen Qinghuai, sorry about that. Their positions were naturally opposed, after all.

Looking at the photo of the seven little dwarfs, Shi Jihan said, [As expected of the bottom protagonist in a crematorium novel. He attracted petty troublemakers from childhood.]

Hehe, he was a little person too.

A gentleman loved money but acquired it honorably. A petty man loved money and did not even need his dignity.

Over there, Shi Zhongye was so angry that he paced around the room, his footsteps heavy enough to seem like he was giving the floor CPR. He casually kicked the trash can. "Are you so precious? Why are you blocking my way?"

Zhou Jingcheng was having the finance department approve his workplace injury claim. He felt that those three yuan had insulted him. This counted as an intellectual attack suffered during work hours.

Oh, and he needed to block and delete that scammer Wang too.

"Wait!"

Shi Zhongye stopped him, his expression dark. "It can't end like this."

Zhou Jingcheng said, "? You're this angry? Why don't you call the police?"

Let's see who the police laughed to death first. [Smiling Bean]

Shi Zhongye argued forcefully, "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 to us."

With a grand sweep of his hand, he declared boldly, "Banana money only gets you monkeys. What we need to do next is—spend big money to buy the dirt he has!"

Zhou Jingcheng:?

He lowered his head and opened his phone. "Maybe I should call the police after all."

What kind of bizarre creatures did he have around him?!

Shi Jihan had just come out of the supermarket with a new-flavored lollipop when he received a new task.

[Ding, task issued: Build Shen Qinghuai's gold-digger persona. Reward: Malice Points +9.]

Shi Jihan was a little disdainful. "The reward is too low. Doesn't the Main System know that my second brother has already caused inflation in Malice Points?"

That irritable persona really knew how to throw money around. Poke it once, and coins came bursting out.

000 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 task.]

Malice Points were great. Malice Points were wonderful. Malice Points were very useful now.

When he checked his phone, sure enough, Shi Zhongye's side had replied, triggering the relevant system task.

[This Is an Alt: What other dirt does he have? I'll buy it at a high price!]

[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: Shen Qinghuai is extremely materialistic! Very materialistic!]

Shi Zhongye waited for a long time.

[This Is an Alt: ? And then?]

[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: Pay up.]

Shi Zhongye directly transferred 18,888 yuan.

Hearing the sound of money arriving, Shi Jihan sucked on his lollipop, turned on his heel, and entered the bookstore next door.

[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: Go home and await good news. I won't disappoint you.]

[AAA Private Detective Old Wang: You will receive a package in due course. I will make Shen Qinghuai's materialistic dirt public.]

After seeing the message, Shi Zhongye said to Zhou Jingcheng, "You. Come to my house for dinner tonight."

Such an important moment required a brother to witness it.

That evening, the Shi Family held a family dinner.

It was Friday, and they had the next day off. Shen Qinghuai was in high spirits and cooked dinner for everyone himself. Shi Jihan helped out in the kitchen while also showing off his cooking skills.

The doorbell rang, and Shi Bochuan went out to answer it.

The moment he opened the door and saw Shi Zhongye's face, as though everyone in the world owed him eight million, Shi Bochuan smiled. "Second brother's here? Come on in. Go straight ahead and eat."

Shi Zhongye entered, and another head popped out behind him.

Holding some deli food he had bought on the way and had wanted to eat for a long time, Zhou Jingcheng greeted him with a smile. "President Shi, I'm here for dinner."

Shi Bochuan smiled. "President Zhou is here too? Come in, put your things down, then head straight back out."

Zhou Jingcheng:?

He pretended not to hear. Under Shi Bochuan's glare of Why are you at my house again?, he familiarly entered, changed into disposable slippers, and headed for the dining room.

Shi Jihan was carrying a huge pot of soup to 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."

Looking at that huge pot of thick, dark green unidentified substance, Zhou Jingcheng nearly failed to maintain the smile on his lips. He declined, "Um... no need, right?"

Shi Jihan had already ladled out a small bowl and held it to his lips. "Drink up. Why be polite?"

Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Jingcheng's forehead.

Well, 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 magical 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 pushed into Bermuda and made to eat raw seaweed."

Shi Jihan frowned. "So is it good or bad?"

Zhou Jingcheng lied with his eyes open, displaying extremely high emotional intelligence. "It's delicious. It makes your soul float away."

In plain terms: it was so sweet it nearly blew the top of his skull off.

Seeing Shi Zhongye walk over, Zhou Jingcheng carried forward his fine virtue of sharing and ladled him a huge bowl. "Try some. It cools you down."

Caught off guard, Shi Zhongye accepted it. "Did the housekeeper make this? Why is it such a weird color?"

Shi Jihan's expectant gaze fell on him too, 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. "Tastes good, right? This is your little brother's filial devotion."

After three seconds of silence from the bathroom, an even louder roar sounded. "Shi Jihan, this is food poisoning!!"

Shi Jihan lowered his eyelashes and slowly said with pursed lips, "So it really is hard to drink?"

Zhou Jingcheng froze. Thinking that Shi Jihan had put so much thought and effort 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 actually very good. Your brother has no taste and can't appreciate it."

Shi Zhongye, who had just finished vomiting and emerged from the bathroom leaning against the wall, looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Shi Jihan was immediately comforted. Picking up an even bigger bowl, he shoved it in front of Zhou Jingcheng. "Then if you like it, drink more!"

Zhou Jingcheng said, "..."

He forced a smile onto his lips, but it looked even worse than crying.