Both of Xie Ji's hands were being held. He lowered his head and looked from one side to the other.
Lu Xunji's hand... was so cold.
How could even someone's palm have no warmth at all, like a cold-blooded animal?
He hadn't noticed when only Lu Xunji had been holding his hand, but now that Ji Shi had joined in, the comparison made the temperature around Lu Xunji seem frighteningly low.
Belatedly, Xie Ji blinked and stared at the hand clasped in Lu Xunji's.
...With a body temperature this low, could this guy have kidney deficiency?
He looked so presentable, but who knew he couldn't get it up? No wonder he was the all-purpose bottom.
Lu Xunji lowered his head and pulled him closer into his arms, saying quietly, "Spacing out at a time like this? Little moneybag, don't tell me you're planning to break your promise?"
Ji Shi frowned and tugged Xie Ji over by the hand, snatching him away. "What kind of deal could he possibly have with you?"
"What does that have to do with you?" Lu Xunji asked coldly.
Ji Shi paused, glanced at Xie Ji, and pursed his lips before saying, "Let go of him. I need to talk to him right now."
Lu Xunji gripped Xie Ji's wrist and narrowed his eyes. "No. Right now, his most important business is me."
Ji Shi: "..."
Why did it always feel like Lu Xunji acted strangely around Xie Ji?
Ji Shi glared at Xie Ji and said impatiently, "I need to talk to you. Let's go somewhere else!"
Xie Ji immediately pulled free of Lu Xunji's hand.
After all, a rich sponsor this stupid and loaded was hard to find. At least he was much easier to get along with than a scheming skinflint like Lu Xunji.
Ji Shi pulled Xie Ji aside.
Lu Xunji stood where he was, lifting the corners of his lips in something not quite a smile.
[System notification: Target [Lu Xunji]'s favorability toward you has decreased by -10. Current favorability: -199. Host, please keep the favorability threshold under control.]
Xie Ji: "..."
What was his problem this time?
Ji Shi stood beside him, watching him suspiciously. "Are you close with Lu Xunji?"
Xie Ji hurriedly denied it outright. "Who said that?! That's fucking alarmist nonsense! We're on terrible terms!"
Only then did Ji Shi relax a little. After a long moment, he muttered, "So you didn't tell him about that, did you?"
Xie Ji looked blank for a moment. "About what?"
"That!" Ji Shi gritted his teeth, the tips of his ears rapidly reddening as he rushed out, "I forgot to tell you earlier. Anyway, you can't mention that to anyone, understood?"
Xie Ji blinked and asked innocently, "Do you mean you peeing and pooping wherever you please..."
Before he could finish, Ji Shi stepped forward and covered his mouth. He turned red all over, veins standing out along his neck as he swore quietly into Xie Ji's ear, "If a third person finds out about this, I'll make you regret ever coming into this world!"
Xie Ji sighed, his warm, damp breath brushing Ji Shi's palm. Ji Shi froze and quickly withdrew his hand, then covered his mouth again, afraid Xie Ji would say something outrageous again.
"Don't worry." Xie Ji's voice was muffled against his palm, so low that only the two of them could hear. It took on an inexplicable hint of intimacy, like a lover's murmur.
"I actually already really regret coming into this world."
If he'd known he would be coming to this world of gay men to guard his chrysanthemum, he would have been better off rotting in the Main God Space.
Ji Shi's heart was inexplicably racing. He didn't quite catch what Xie Ji muttered afterward and merely stared blankly into his eyes, the feel of Xie Ji's smooth skin against his palm.
And those beautiful lips were opening and closing against his palm as he spoke, his breath spilling over the sensitive skin there, as though lighting a tiny flame that burned through his limbs and all the way to his heart.
Xie Ji raised a hand and patted the back of his. "Bro, let go, let go. Did you wash your hands after using the bathroom?"
Ji Shi snapped back to his senses and instantly pulled his hand away, snapping in embarrassment, "Of course I did! I washed them ten times with hand soap!"
So flustered that even he didn't know what he was saying, Ji Shi took a deep breath, turned, and quickly left.
Xie Ji rubbed his lips, then turned to see Lu Xunji standing not far away with a faint, ambiguous smile.
The thought of having to spend fifty yuan on this guy in a moment made him inexplicably annoyed.
Xie Ji pressed his lips together and quickly looked away, his gaze moving between Mu Yao, Shang Yan, and the others.
Tsk, how was he going to earn back those fifty yuan?
[System notification: Target [Lu Xunji]'s favorability toward you has decreased by -1. Current favorability: -200. Punishment threshold triggered. Host, please prepare yourself.]
Xie Ji: "!!!"
A man's heart was a needle at the bottom of the sea. Absolutely impossible to fathom!
What the hell had made his favorability drop this time?!!!
Yet as Xie Ji cursed Lu Xunji while waiting for the punishment, everything around him remained perfectly calm. After that notification, the system made no further move either.
Ten minutes passed, and no so-called "punishment" descended.
Xie Ji frowned. Did this punishment mechanism actually have a delay?
Soon, nine o'clock arrived, and the shop in the courtyard opened.
The guests, who had long been ravenous, entered the shop to choose the goods they needed.
Mu Yao and Shang Yan seemed to have earned quite a bit of starting capital. Both exchanged theirs for fairly expensive mattresses and some essential toiletries before finally getting a tiny amount of food.
Ji Shi exchanged his for a relatively lavish dinner and... access to the toilet.
Most of what everyone exchanged for was food and access to daily necessities. After all, they had only just arrived, and none of these young masters were used to living with nothing.
Since Lu Xunji already had a fully furnished bedroom and had no need to worry about a mattress or toilet, he only got a few slices of bread and two bottles of yogurt, spending twenty yuan in total.
Seeing him head for the counter with his bread and yogurt, apparently not planning to buy anything else, Xie Ji instantly brightened.
Hooray, another thirty saved!
Once all the guests had picked out their things and gone to pay at the front counter, Lu Xunji stood there for a moment, then expressionlessly picked two boxes of extra-large baby-killers off the sales shelf by the counter and tossed them onto it as well.
No more, no less-the total came to exactly fifty yuan.
The others checking out all paused, looking at Lu Xunji with complicated expressions.
Mu Yao hesitated before asking, "Wait, does that 'little rubber wife' of yours need those things too?"
Shang Yan coughed twice to ease the awkwardness.
Ji Shi chuckled and teased, "Maybe he's particularly concerned about hygiene."
Zhou Heyu's lips moved as though about to say something, but ultimately nothing came out.
When Xie Ji had said earlier that Lu Xunji couldn't live without his "little rubber wife," none of them had taken it seriously. They had all thought Xie Ji was deliberately smearing him.
After all, with those looks, Lu Xunji appeared cold and abstinent to the extreme.
...Now it seemed that you really couldn't judge a book by its cover.
Lu Xunji raised an eyebrow and leaned against the checkout counter, saying mildly, "Xie Ji likes them."
"..." Xie Ji said, "Huh? Me?"
Lu Xunji tapped his long fingers against the checkout counter and tilted his head. "Pay up."
Then everyone watched as Xie Ji took two deep breaths, walked up, and paid fifty yuan.
Lu Xunji placed the two boxes of condoms in Xie Ji's hands and said mildly, "They're for your own use. Hold on to them."
The way everyone looked at Xie Ji changed instantly.
Ji Shi sighed. "Xie Ji, I never imagined you were this kind of person."
Mu Yao nodded. "Even a notorious playboy like me didn't buy those things. Xie Ji, I misjudged you before."
Shang Yan rubbed his forehead, left him with the words "An affront to decency," and turned to leave.
With just a few words, Lu Xunji had avenged himself for Xie Ji's "little rubber wife" remark.
Xie Ji: "..."
That bastard Lu Xunji really was something.
Delivering takeout to a panda-what a fucking rotten bastard, right to his doorstep!