Uncle He and the old master came home with a huge haul from their fishing trip, so the housekeeper prepared an all-fish feast for dinner.
Jiang Nan had spent the afternoon gaming and snacking on chilled yogurt, mousse cake, cream puffs, potato chips, matcha ice cream, strawberry ice cream...
By dinnertime, he was too full to eat, so he held his chopsticks and picked rice into his mouth one grain at a time.
An iPad stood in front of Fu Jingzhou, who read the news while drinking fish soup.
Perhaps because of his bad legs, his complexion was always very pale, and his lips were a faint pink rather than a normal, healthy rosy color.
Jiang Nan cast a seemingly casual glance at the man.
Fu Jingzhou ate quietly, his shirt cuffs folded up a little to reveal arms with clearly defined muscles.
In the book After the Real Young Master Returned, the Whole Family Doted on Him, Fu Jingzhou might have been the main villain, but all his scenes existed to make the protagonist shine.
Readers only knew that he was disabled, sinister, cold, and a business genius.
They did not know whether his legs would ever recover, or what he had experienced to become so gloomy.
After all, his ultimate fate was death.
No one else needed to know what he had been through.
The author used his death to offer a blessing as the romance between the lead gong and shou grew.
At that thought, Jiang Nan suddenly felt a little troubled.
"Actually, you can look at me openly." Fu Jingzhou's voice was as cold as ever, but his tone was gentle, as though he were offering a kind reminder.
Only then did Jiang Nan realize that he had been staring sideways at him for quite some time.
Fortunately, he was thick-skinned enough never to have known embarrassment. He put down his chopsticks, planted his elbow on the table, and rested his chin in his palm. "Then I'll do as you say."
Fu Jingzhou: "..."
Jiang Nan was notorious in the imperial capital for his bad temper.
Apart from a reasonably good-looking face, he had nothing going for him.
Yet those eyes were unexpectedly clear.
His light brown irises were naturally pale, and when he gazed at someone like this, he actually seemed incredibly affectionate.
Fu Jingzhou laughed despite himself, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as he asked quietly, "Like what you see?"
Jiang Nan gave him a thumbs-up. "Mm... yes, but your style is really strange."
Fu Jingzhou raised an eyebrow, looking all ears.
With a serious expression, Jiang Nan said, "You're not the bad-boy type, or the sexy type, or the campus heartthrob type, or the abstinent heartthrob type."
Fu Jingzhou asked, "Then what type am I?"
Jiang Nan answered, "The kind that drives me crazy."
The moment the words left his mouth, the vast villa abruptly fell into dead silence.
Fu Jingzhou put down his spoon and looked at Jiang Nan expressionlessly.
Jiang Nan looked expectant, waiting to be praised.
771 rolled around nonstop. "Ew, you're so greasy."
Jiang Nan was about to curse it out when two slightly cool fingers suddenly caught his chin.
The young man's cheeks were soft, fair, and clean, puffing out slightly when pinched between those two fingers.
Fu Jingzhou wore something like a smile. "With a mouth like that, why did you enroll in beauty and hairdressing?"
The words "beauty and hairdressing" were like a needle stabbing into Jiang Nan's precarious self-esteem.
His cheeks puffed up, and he was just about to get angry when the man leaned closer again, warm breath brushing his face. "Your talents are wasted on beauty and hairdressing. Veterinary medicine would suit you better."
Jiang Nan was distracted. "Why? Because I'm kind?"
There was a faint note of anticipation in his voice, and his light brown eyes were bright.
Fu Jingzhou lifted an eyebrow slightly and said unhurriedly, "I just think you and your clients would have quite a lot in common."
Clients?
What else could a vet's clients be?
Jiang Nan felt a mouthful of blood surge into his throat.
Seeing his blank expression improved Fu Jingzhou's mood a little, so he released his chin.
He picked up a napkin, wiped his hands, and wheeled himself away.
Jiang Nan stared at his retreating figure, lost in thought.
771 had already been laughing madly in his head for ages. When he remained silent, it could not resist asking, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"I'm thinking that half the reason he became a villain was that his mouth was too damn nasty." After saying that, Jiang Nan slowly shifted his gaze to Fu Jingzhou's tablet.
A few seconds later, a vengeful smile appeared on his lips.
When Fu Jingzhou left, the video on his tablet was still paused, and the screen had not gone dark.
Jiang Nan extended his wicked hands and downloaded over ten gigabytes of videos onto Fu Jingzhou's tablet.
771 covered its eyes, its black fur turning pink. "Isn't this a little inappropriate?"
Jiang Nan asked, "Whose side are you on, anyway?"
771 said, "The main system's, obviously. You're only my third host. I still have thousands upon thousands of hosts to bind to in the future."
Jiang Nan was a little curious. "Did your first two hosts complete their missions in the end?"
771 hesitated in silence for a long while before giving a "Yes."
Jiang Nan pointed out keenly, "But you don't look very happy about it."
"Both of them had survival missions, just like you," 771 said woodenly. "One is still living in prison, very well protected. The other had gender reassignment surgery and is now an extremely popular female streamer doing borderline erotic content, earning several hundred million a year."
Jiang Nan's eyes widened. "I rarely describe anything as shocking, but right now, I'm genuinely shocked."
771 asked, "Are you going to look for your dead-leaf butterfly?"
Jiang Nan put down the tablet. "It's time I went to the canyon to look for my dead-leaf butterfly."
771 accused him mercilessly, "All you do every day is sleep, eat snacks, and play games. You haven't done anything for your mission."
Jiang Nan said, "What do you know? I'm just making thorough preparations for my mission."
771 asked, "What preparations have you made?"
Jiang Nan answered solemnly, "Eating well, drinking well, and sleeping well, so I can face an unknown mission in good shape."
771 choked for a moment.
In a cheerful mood, Jiang Nan hummed a tune as he returned to his room.
The housekeeper had already replaced the bright red four-piece bedding set with a pale yellow one, without any patterns, simple and cozy.
Jiang Nan sat in the expensive bathtub and took a bath, then lay on his stomach on the bed to play games.
Before matching, he glanced at his WeChat list.
Uncle He was offline, but Shangguan Feng was online.
While he hesitated over whether to invite Shangguan Feng, the other man sent him an invitation.
Jiang Nan happily accepted Shangguan Feng's invitation.
Jiang Nan typed in the public chat: [Good evening.]
Shangguan Feng quickly replied: [Good evening.]
Shangguan Feng: [Is Zhouzhou beside you?]
Jiang Nan: [Zhouzhou isn't here.]
Only after sending the message did Jiang Nan realize that he had used the wrong characters.
But the Zhouzhou written with the character for congee looked much cuter than the other Zhouzhou.
Shangguan Feng: [Hiss, looks like you two are still sleeping in separate rooms.]
Jiang Nan: [So what? He's in my heart, which is the same as being by my side.]
Shangguan Feng: [(Thumbs up)(Thumbs up)(Thumbs up)]