Xie Ji stood on the balcony, his face full of anguish.
"Host, don't do anything rash!" The little black snake coiled around his neck and desperately dragged him back. "You're Long Aotian! You have to pull yourself together! Life has to go on!"
With his neck hooked, Xie Ji gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. "The world kissed me with pain..."
Little Black hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes, and you must repay it with love. Only then can you..."
Before he could finish, Xie Ji had already swung one foot over the balcony railing. "Who the fuck agreed to let it kiss me! Like hell I agreed! Isn't that s*xual harassment!"
Little Black pulled so hard his tail nearly snapped, struggling to speak. "Host, you could look on the bright side! You haven't actually lost that much! Your image in Lu Xunji's mind has only gone from 'a pretty little idiot who looks easy to fuck' to 'a little sl*t standing out in public in broad daylight holding an unspeakable toy'!"
Xie Ji: "..."
What filthy insults.
Xie Ji swung both feet over, looking as though he had nothing left to live for. "I'm suing you for fraud. Look at his face! His legs! His pecs! What part of him looks like an all-bottom!"
"We never said he was an all-bottom," Little Black quietly said. "In the storyline, the real young master gets bullied by those scum tops because... he's sick."
Xie Ji drew a deep breath, clutching the railing as he closed his eyes. "He's not the only one who's sick. You are too. I think you need to book an appointment."
The little black snake flicked his tail. "He really is sick! He has that... that addiction. According to the system's definition, it's a pathological psychological need for a certain behavior. Lu Xunji's condition just isn't that serious yet, but sooner or later, it'll flare up."
Xie Ji blinked.
Fuck, the little sl*t had been him all along.
Xie Ji took a deep breath. "I don't care. Anyway, this is your responsibility. Who told you to casually whip out something unsuitable for children? You owe me compensation for emotional distress, or I'll kill myself and you'll lose your daddy forever."
The little black snake paused. Looking at Xie Ji's hands, which clung tightly to the railing even as he acted ready to jump, he suddenly understood.
Got it. This was aimed at him.
The little black snake said weakly, "Sorry, the system shop hasn't unlocked enough products yet. But for every point Lu Xunji's favorability toward you increases, the system will reward you with a hundred points. Once you have points, you can exchange them for anything in the system shop."
"Look, this one's pretty good. [Rosemary]. It gives the user an utterly alluring natural scent, making people lose themselves in desire for them..."
Xie Ji pointed at the bottle of [Rosemary]. "That one. I want a hundred!"
The little black snake said, "Bro, even the guys doing zero-dollar shopping on the streets of the U.S. aren't as brazen as you. You currently have zero points and can't buy anything. But what you just said does make sense... Given your current image in Lu Xunji's mind, raising his favorability will probably be difficult. Using Rosemary on Lu Xunji is certainly a good approach. To make up for your psychological trauma, I can give you a bottle of Rosemary on credit. Just pay me back once you have points."
No sooner had he finished than Xie Ji heard the clinking of falling coins, and a bottle of Rosemary appeared in his system inventory.
Only then did he pull his feet back in and saunter into his room.
According to the plot, Lu Xunji was due to report to military academy in two months.
It was at this point that the Xie Household received two invitations to a show.
The invitations were for Lu Xunji, who had just returned to the wealthy family, and Xie Ji, the fake young master who was about to be kicked out.
The show selected six young masters from wealthy families who had never appeared before the public.
They would have to spend two months in a rural setting provided by the production team and establish their own farmstay brands.
It was worth mentioning that the show's director was extremely well-known domestically.
Besides coming from a wealthy family himself and having extensive connections among wealthy families, he was also famous for his realistic shows, complete lack of scripts, and wide array of methods for putting people through the wringer.
Having a former wealthy young master who excelled at tormenting people whip a group of younger wealthy scions into shape-that premise alone had already drawn plenty of attention.
Although the Xie Household was not among the capital's top-tier families, it was certainly a recognizable name, and thus received two invitations.
This was also when a rift developed between the original owner and the Xie parents, after which he was forced onto the variety show to serve as a foil for the real young master.
On the show, he opposed Lu Xunji at every turn, only to be left half-dead each time by the four scum tops who adored Lu Xunji.
Looking at the favorability score of -110 on the system panel, Xie Ji curled his lips and chuckled.
Wasn't it just a matter of hooking a gloomy lunatic?
After all his years running rampant through small worlds, never mind humans-Xie Ji had even hooked ghosts!
Xie Ji paced in two circles, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He slapped his thigh, sat down on the edge of the bed, opened his light brain, and started tapping away on a shopping app.
Little Black leaned over curiously. Given what he knew about his host, he had a feeling something bad was about to happen. "What are you doing?"
"I'm already the manliest of men, yet standing right in front of him didn't raise his favorability at all! So he must not like men!" Xie Ji slapped his thigh. "He likes delicate girls! Nobody can resist little lace dresses!"
Little Black said, "Excuse me, I don't understand your logic. How exactly did you reach that conclusion? I have all of Lu Xunji's physical data, including his genetic sequence. I'm absolutely certain that what Lu Xunji likes isn't..."
Xie Ji had already opened his light brain and begun shopping for all kinds of women's clothing in the interstellar store.
"...women."
Little Black sighed.
Life as a system was so hard. I really want to die.
If Xie Ji was allowed to keep being this bizarre, sooner or later he would break Lu Xunji.
Since the delivery would take a few days, Xie Ji simply entered the address the production team had provided.
Then the shipping fee went up by 2,000 star coins.
Xie Ji: "..."
What godforsaken backwater was that shitty show in?
That evening, the car the production team had sent to pick them up arrived at the Xie family villa.
The two packed their luggage and got into the car.
The Xie parents were surprised that Xie Ji had gotten into the production team's car so obediently, so they said nothing more.
Father Xie took out a black card and slipped it to Lu Xunji, who was sitting beside him.
Xie Ji: "..."
My possessiveness is going wild. I feel like that black card should be mine.
Even after they had said goodbye to the Xie parents and the car had traveled ten li, the image of that black card still lingered in Xie Ji's mind.
That was a black card worth at least several million star coins!
His eyes lighting up at the prospect of money, Xie Ji shifted his butt and pressed himself against Lu Xunji.
Lu Xunji had been resting with his eyes closed, pretending to sleep. Suddenly feeling a source of heat press against his skin, his breath caught.
His long, raven-feather lashes trembled before his eyes slowly opened. He turned to look at a certain idiot with a death wish, a thick, waterlike darkness in the depths of his eyes.
The summer weather was stifling to begin with. With the windows open and the car's air conditioning switched off, nothing cooled the surrounding air; only hot wind brushed past their ears.
Lu Xunji wore athletic shorts, and through the thin shirt, the sensation of warm fingertips touching his thigh was palpable in every detail.
Xie Ji smiled with narrowed eyes, looking every bit a fox. His medium-length blond hair was tied into a little tuft at the back of his head, and his misty blue eyes shone with undisguised cunning.
"Lu Xunji, can I feel your..."
Xie Ji slipped his hand into the pocket of the athletic shorts. After a moment, his expression froze.
"Fuck, why's your pocket empty!"