Chapter 4

The door slammed shut, cutting off the noise.

Shi Bochuan paced by the door for a few steps before calming down.

He said to Shen Qinghuai, who was walking over, "I really shouldn't have."

Shen Qinghuai said, "Huh?"

Shi Bochuan blamed himself. The tall man stood in the corner and said heavily, "I actually looked at my little brother from the worst possible angle just now. I thought he was full of bad intentions, that he was absolutely awful. How could I think that? What did my little brother do wrong? He's still so young. He's so innocent."

"President Shi." Shen Qinghuai was expressionless.

Shi Bochuan asked, "What is it?"

"When you get up in the middle of the night to slap yourself twice, don't wake me up."

By the time Shi Jihan was hauled out of the restroom, he was already nearly asleep. He only vaguely remembered being bundled up and stuffed into a car, then taken back to the villa.

When he woke up the next day, it was already afternoon. His head was splitting, as though someone had punched him in the skull.

"Hiss... it hurts." He rolled over.

[Host, don't go back to sleep yet,] 000 said cautiously. [You should look at your balance first.]

"What happened?"

Shi Jihan opened the Malice Points panel—

Then let out a heart-wrenching scream. "Why did it become -184.67?!"

A millionaire in debt had just been born.

[Because after your actions last night were uploaded to a short-video platform, you unexpectedly went viral. Everyone said they'd never met such an adorable little brother. You helped Shi Corporation's reputation rise by 0.4. Mission failed.]

"How is that possible?" Shi Jihan couldn't believe it and hurriedly opened the video 000 sent him.

It really was him, drunk last night.

But why were the comments so bizarre?

[Another case of your rich-people circle being a complete mess... Uh, huh, what? Let me watch that again.]

[Before watching: A wealthy family power struggle. After watching: A max-level PR mastermind pulling off an epic save. He actually managed to talk his way out of it?]

[The little brother is so cute! He's even cuter when he's acting smug after getting his way! Pinch pinch]

[Suspected to be the ultimate fantasy of college students during finals month.]

[This college student did nothing wrong, QAQ. Also, big bro, can you send one to the group? I want a Didi designated driver too!]

What was going on? Hadn't he been outrageous enough? Hadn't he been malicious enough?

Shi Jihan stared blankly. "I'm going to take out a loan and sue these popcorn-munching netizens."

000 counted the bills he owed.

[Host, people should have at least a little moral bottom line.]

A friend request notification popped up. The note read Secretary Sun.

The moment Shi Jihan accepted it, the other party replied.

[Secretary Sun: Young Master Shi, the boss asked me to ask whether you'd be interested in doing PR for our entertainment company?]

[Why Aren't You Sleeping This Late: How did you discover my talent in this field?]

[Secretary Sun: Young Master Shi, you're joking. Our boss said that with your on-the-spot reactions last night, you'd be able to clean up any mess made by a scandal-ridden celebrity in the future.]

Shi Jihan said, "..."

Little mouth, shut up.

He looked utterly despairing. "What do I do now? Am I going to have to sell myself to pay off my debts?"

[Actually, a mission was issued this morning, but you were sleeping so deeply that I couldn't wake you—]

"Accept it, accept it, accept it!" Shi Jihan sprang up, filled with motivation to make money. "A socialist overtime worker never admits defeat!"

[Ding! Mission issued: Encounter Zhou Jingcheng at the tennis court, humiliate him to his face, and crush him with your tennis skills. Mission reward: Malice Points +30.]

Zhou Jingcheng...

Shi Jihan clutched his chest and slowly collapsed.

He seemed to see his future: exiled to the Australian desert to grow bananas, eating celery roots with cucumber, broccoli with carrots, and even missing West Lake Vinegar Fish.

He was already having trouble breathing.

Shi Jihan was already in the car headed to the tennis court, munching on a soy-sauce meat bun he'd swiped from the kitchen. Looking closely, his eyes were lifeless. As he chewed, he muttered to himself, "As the saying goes, money is hard to earn, and shit is hard to eat..."

[Host, you've eaten it before?] 000 asked cheerfully.

Shi Jihan's expression changed. He stuffed the bun into his mouth in a few bites and swallowed it.

[Shut up. Don't talk while eating.]

He asked for the tennis court's location. By sheer coincidence, it was the place Lip-Piercing Bro had mentioned last night. When the other man heard he was coming, he sounded delighted. "I thought your big brother had grounded you and you couldn't come."

"Oh, right, Young Master Shi. Your big brother didn't say anything to you, did he?"

Shi Jihan had no desire to recall what happened last night. Fortunately, Shi Bochuan had gone to work early that morning. Otherwise, he would have been tossed out the front door by the back of his neck.

He said weakly, "Ask fewer questions about matters beyond your station..."

"Wait for me. I'll be there in an hour."

"Sure, I'll pick you up at the entrance."

When Shi Jihan arrived at the tennis court, he saw Lip-Piercing Bro in a flashy pink outfit, striking a pose that showed off every curve as he leaned against a motorcycle by the entrance. He enthusiastically blew him a kiss. "Young Master Shi, come on over~"

Feeling the suggestive looks cast his way, Shi Jihan closed his eyes. For the first time, he felt that he might actually be socially anxious.

The walk to the tennis court with Lip-Piercing Bro leading the way drew everyone's attention. It was the longest red-carpet walk Shi Jihan had ever taken. If he'd had a fast-forward button in his hand, he would have smashed it over and over again.

The tennis club was quite large. It sat at the foot of a mountain, with the towering clubhouse and leisure facilities gazing across a lake at the lush green lawns.

The sight inspired Shi Jihan. He stood on the pebble path with his hands behind his back and let out an emotional "Ah!" "You never know the value of books until you need them; one house, so much grass."

[What a poem! Improvised on the spot, seamless and natural, without losing its humor!]

Lip-Piercing Bro silently stepped a little farther away and shoved him. "The changing rooms are up ahead. Go by yourself."

Shi Jihan was pushed inside, and the door swiftly closed behind him.

Holding his locker tag, he wandered around the changing room full of doors for a few circles before asking 000, "Can you pinpoint Zhou Jingcheng's exact location?"

Who cared what white people's food was or wasn't? What was all that gibberish? He needed to earn money first.

Humiliate him badly, was it? Shi Jihan rubbed his hands together, ready to go.

[Yes, but it will cost 0.5 Malice Points.]

...A bad start.

After adding another debt to his tab, Zhou Jingcheng's location appeared on his phone.

Twenty meters away in a straight line.

"So close?"

Water streamed in the shower room.

Zhou Jingcheng hadn't wanted to come out in the first place, but his mother thought he'd really been too idle lately and forcibly packed him up and kicked him out of the house.

Mother Zhou had said, "My older sister's son's uncle's cousin's younger brother recently opened a tennis club with someone. Go have some fun. If you can bring back any kind of creature—man, woman, cat, or dog—your mother will be happy."

What kind of distant relation was that? Was she trying to lower the similarity score on a paternity report?

He'd been infected by that PR talent.

He turned off the showerhead and casually rubbed his wet hair a few times.

The instant he opened the door, a force yanked him away.

Zhou Jingcheng grabbed the intruder's shoulder, about to restrain him in return. But once he saw his face, a flash of What the hell is this? crossed his eyes. He relaxed his strength and was forcibly pressed against the wall.

He frowned and let out a muffled groan.

Imitating the original owner of this body, Shi Jihan looked down condescendingly at the man he'd dragged over and left unable to resist. He braced one hand against the wall, leaving the other nowhere to escape, flashed a wicked smile, then bit his tongue. "Yo—hiss, isn't this Zhou Jingcheng? Hiss, hiss, hiss. We haven't seen each other for one night, and why, why, why aren't you wearing any clothes?!"

As if he'd been scalded, he hurriedly covered his eyes. His hands flailed wildly in the air, and in his panic, he nearly smacked the fire alarm.

Zhou Jingcheng's pupils abruptly contracted.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in one second, all of them scenes of everyone rushing in after the alarm went off and watching the two of them chat naked.

And he was the naked one.

[Ding! Malice Points +5!]

His hands had never moved so fast. At the critical moment, he grabbed Shi Jihan's hand and flung it away!

He would defend his dignity to the death.

With the crisis resolved, a layer of cold sweat broke out across Zhou Jingcheng's back. He pointed at his bath towel. "The Emperor's New Clothes?" He lifted his eyelids and demanded, "You're the one who isn't wearing clothes."

He'd worked up a sweat playing tennis and had only just showered. A bath towel was wrapped around his lower body, exposing large swaths of cool, pale skin and openly displaying his perfect broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted physique. Strings of water droplets slid down the lines of his muscles before vanishing out of sight.

Shi Jihan covered his eyes, though the gaps between his fingers were wide open. "Then you still can't, can't come out wearing so little! This is a public place, understand?!"

Zhou Jingcheng curled his lips and pointed at the sign outside. His voice rose and fell with crisp, precise diction. "Come on, repeat after me: 'VIP private lounge.' Shi Jihan, I haven't even asked how you got in here."

"Uh..." Shi Jihan blinked, secretly peeked once, then peeked again.

Zhou Jingcheng laughed in fury. "Should I just pull off the rest and let you have a look?"

His hand hooked around the edge of the towel.

Shi Jihan said shyly, "That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"

He didn't move an inch.

"You really want to see it??" Zhou Jingcheng took a deep breath, feeling like some escort from a high-end club.

He maintained his rapidly crumbling composure. "Get out!"

[Ding! The mission "Humiliate him to his face" has been completed. Mission reward received: +15.]

[Remaining mission: Crush him with your tennis skills.]

[Warning: Failure will deduct 300 Malice Points.]

The door behind Shi Jihan slammed shut with a bang, the panel trembling faintly.

Shi Jihan scratched his cheek, went to the room marked on his locker tag to change, and poked 000. "That male lead's body is pretty damn nice."

His abdominal muscles were firm and defined. You could play hide-and-seek in those grooves.

"I've decided. Starting today, I'm going to work out seriously too."

000 watched him order a serving of Spicy Crispy Chicken and Original Recipe Chicken.

[Weren't you going to work out? Why are you eating now?]

"So narrow-minded," Shi Jihan criticized. "Exercising your chewing muscles is also a form of exercise."

On the other side of the door.

Zhou Jingcheng blow-dried his hair and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths.

Right, that was it. Relax. Stay calm.

He was a refined person, one of high quality. He wouldn't lower himself to argue with certain people.