Chapter 92: Oat Milk

Chapter 92: Oat Milk

Before meeting Qin Yao, L1 exchanged some points in the Points Mall to restore his human body to health.

After that, he prepared to sneak into Qin Yao's home stealthily.

However, considering that Qin Yao was the biggest villain in the A20231007 small world, and L1 wasn't sure what kind of person he was, L1 decided to take a look at Qin Yao's profile in the small world before secretly meeting the major villain.

Qin Yao, male, 23 years old.

Due to being despised by his parents since childhood, he developed a twisted and obsessive personality, being ruthless and cruel.

As an adult, he coveted the protagonist's love interest, constantly clashing with the protagonist's attacker, but suffered repeated defeats, eventually dying in a car accident.

Upon reading this, L1 immediately became cautious.

He had been living in the human world for half a month now and was no longer the system who lacked understanding of human nature.

The term "ruthless and cruel" was quite serious.

Indeed, not all villains were as easy to get along with as the Huo family.

Qin Yao's character was very similar to the typical villain in L1's impression.

Therefore, this time, L1 didn't plan to meet Qin Yao directly but instead intended to observe him first.

Qin Yao's villa was larger than the Huo Family Villa in terms of area.

Using invisibility, L1 first wandered around near the Qin family villa before taking a deep breath and flying toward Qin Yao's room.

He landed directly on Qin Yao's balcony.

Upon landing, L1 was momentarily stunned.

On the vast balcony, a thick layer of snow had fallen. In a corner where the sun didn't shine, there was a plump snowman.

The snowman wore a hat, had a red scarf wrapped around its neck, a carrot nose on its face, and held a basket in its hands, which contained several candies.

L1's gaze fell on the snowman, almost unable to look away.

This snowman was truly adorable, he thought.

But soon, L1 came back to his senses.

He was here to observe the major villain Qin Yao, not to look at snowmen!

Still, why would the major villain build a snowman on his own balcony?

While puzzled, L1 prepared to head indoors.

However, he couldn't enter at all.

In the cold snowy winter, Qin Yao's balcony was unenclosed, allowing snowflakes to fall inside.

But it was impossible for Qin Yao to leave the floor-to-ceiling windows of his bedroom open, so even though L1 was invisible, his current human body couldn't get in.

Unless L1 detached from his human body to go inside.

But if he did that, his body left out in the freezing cold would likely fall ill again.

With no other choice, L1 squatted down in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, observing the interior stealthily.

But after scanning the room, L1 didn't see any sign of Qin Yao.

Was he not at home?

L1 quickly checked Qin Yao's coordinates.

Indeed, he wasn't at home; at this hour, Qin Yao was at work.

Although L1's visit was in vain, he wasn't disappointed. He could wait here for Qin Yao to return home.

However, while waiting, L1 couldn't help but shift his gaze to the snowman beside him.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the weak winter sunlight fell on the balcony. Standing next to the snowman, L1 reached out and gently poked the plump body of the snowman, then poked its carrot nose.

The sensation of touching snow was magical.

It felt icy cold upon contact, but if held for just a little longer, it would melt into a puddle of water.

During the half-month he spent at the Huo residence, the three young villains of the Huo family also took L1 to play in the snow.

But they only played snowball fights and threw snowballs with L1.

Running and jumping were certainly fun, but the three young villains of the Huo family weren't skilled at shaping things, and they couldn't even make round snowballs.

Unlike this plump snowman, which not only had a round head but also a plump, round body, complemented by its beady eyes, making it appear even more endearing.

The morning sun wasn't strong, but by afternoon, it carried some warmth, and the snowflakes on the outermost part of the balcony that were directly exposed to sunlight had melted into a layer of water.

Worried that the snowman might also be exposed to sunlight, L1 specifically chose a good position that could shield it from the sun.

For the entire afternoon, he sat outside on Qin Yao's balcony, shielding the snowman from the sun while attempting to shape smaller snowmen using snowflakes.

L1 had never done such a thing before and was somewhat unskilled at first.

But he was the most outstanding system, and after failing a couple of times, he gradually became proficient.

Thus, by the end of the afternoon, the exterior of Qin Yao's balcony was filled with snowmen of varying sizes and heights.

Until L1 heard a pleasant male voice: "Just bring dinner to the study; I won't be coming down today..."

The man's words abruptly cut off.

In the next moment, the balcony's glass door was pulled open from inside.

L1 suddenly realized he had been playing for too long!

For a moment, L1 felt an inexplicable panic, even sensing his cheeks were somewhat hot.

Why was this?

Before he could understand the reason for his panic, he heard the young man nearby turn and ask, "Who came to my room this afternoon?"

L1 suddenly remembered.

Right, he was invisible!

The major villain couldn't see him.

L1 let out a sigh of relief, raising his head to hurriedly size up the young man.

The young man was still in his black suit, its sleek lines outlining his figure almost perfectly. L1 quickly glanced over him before focusing on his features.

To L1's surprise, the major villain in front of him didn't have the appearance of a fierce demon.

L1 took another careful look and soon concluded that this major villain was handsome, very handsome.

More importantly, he didn't see any signs of brutality on the major villain's face. Looking at his expression carefully, it was more like...

L1 thought about it and decided the major villain's expression resembled that of the Huo family's, giving off an impression of being easy to get along with.

But L1 didn't dare to reveal himself without any preparation in front of Qin Yao.

After all, he was the biggest villain in the small world!

What if this was just a facade?

Yes.

During this time, L1 also understood a principle: humans were different from systems; they were two-faced.

In front of different people, they would display different behaviors.

For example, Su Rui's behavior in front of Shi He was different from when he was alone.

L1 worried that Qin Yao might be the same kind of person, so he decided to sneak into Qin Yao's room for further observation.

The butler's voice came from the doorway: "No one has come upstairs all day."

Qin Yao's gaze fell on the slightly messy footprints on the balcony, his brows slightly furrowing.

L1 made sure Qin Yao wasn't looking at him before cautiously floating up. Finding the right angle, he swiftly flew into the room from beside Qin Yao.

He moved quickly, like a gust of wind.

Qin Yao suddenly turned to look behind him.

The butler asked, "Young Master, what is it?"

Qin Yao scanned the room, taking several seconds before turning back around. His gaze landed on the row of tall and short little snowmen, and he smiled, saying, "Nothing, you can go back to your work."

Despite his confusion, the butler didn't ask further, turning to leave the room.

Night gradually descended, and Qin Yao stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, quietly admiring the row of little snowmen on the balcony.

After a long while, he suddenly walked outside.

L1 hurriedly followed, watching as Qin Yao somehow produced a small shovel and bucket, scooping up the trampled snow on the balcony, cleaning up the melted snow water from the afternoon as well.

Watching his actions, L1 suddenly realized—

His body was indeed invisible, but he had forgotten to restore his little snowman and the footprints on the snow to their original state!

Qin Yao was the major villain in the small world, and he had stared outside for so long...

L1 became alert again.

Hadn't he already discovered him?

Then what was he doing now?

Having found him but not exposing him, instead helping to cover up the traces...

L1 suddenly felt this scene was somewhat familiar.

In a small world he once supervised, there was a villain who was a deranged serial killer.

After discovering the protagonist's trail, he didn't immediately raise an alarm, waiting until the protagonist fell into the trap he had prepared...

Thinking of this, L1 felt an inexplicable fear rise within him.

That wasn't right.

He was a system; he shouldn't be afraid of such things.

But now he had a human body, that of a powerless five-year-old child...

So was this the fear of his body?

L1 hovered in mid-air, feeling the tremors coursing through his virtual body with alarming clarity.

Indeed, a major villain was far more terrifying than any ordinary antagonist!

This wouldn't do.

If this body kept shaking, he wouldn't be able to properly observe Qin Yao.

L1 promptly detached himself from the human form and tucked his essence into the system's storage space.

Only then did the trembling cease, but for some inexplicable reason, an eerie sensation lingered within him.

Was this what fear felt like?

It was an uncomfortable taste.

Perhaps he should observe the antagonist for one more night and leave by morning?

Having made up his mind, L1 resumed his role as an observer, focusing on Qin Yao once again.

Qin Yao returned to his room shortly after clearing the snow from the balcony, casting a fleeting smile at the row of snowmen before closing the glass door.

Wait.

What was he smiling about?

L1 felt his entire system falter.

The serial killer antagonist had also smiled before entering his room; thus, Qin Yao, being an antagonist as well, must be—

Right.

It suddenly dawned on L1 that Qin Yao's profile described him as twisted and obsessive.

For a moment, L1 yearned to depart.

But soon, he regained his composure. He was a system, not a human.

So what if Qin Yao was a major villain? A mere big fish in a small pond couldn't possibly pose a threat to him, could it?

Despite this rationalization, L1 still felt a tinge of unease.

He couldn't concentrate fully on observing Qin Yao anymore, so he split his attention to seek out Qiu instead.

Consequently, he failed to notice that Qin Yao, who had initially intended to change clothes in the bedroom, suddenly hesitated. Instead, he took his clothes to the dressing room.

Time flowed differently in the main system space compared to the smaller worlds.

To Qiu, it seemed as though L1 had barely left before returning almost immediately.

Curious, she asked, "What happened?"

After some contemplation, L1 began, "Although I haven't fully grasped human emotions yet, I now understand what fear is."

Qiu was perplexed.

In world A20231007, a level-A world posing no threat to systems, how could L1 possibly feel fear?

However, L1 didn't have the time to explain further, quickly departing once again.

When L1 redirected his focus back to Qin Yao's room, it was already the following morning.

Upon his return, L1 discovered that Qin Yao was no longer in the bedroom. By seven in the morning, he had already finished washing up and was currently standing in the small kitchen, preparing breakfast for himself.

As L1 looked over, Qin Yao was heating fresh milk.

During his stay at the Huo residence, Huo's mother would prepare a sweetened milk for L1 every morning.

Just a day without the sweet milk, and L1 found himself craving its taste.

However, remembering Qin Yao's smile from the previous night, cautious L1 refrained from getting too close, choosing to observe from a distance instead.

The young man wore only a white shirt, with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms, revealing the smooth and well-defined muscles of his arms.

He heated the milk first, then poured the soaked oats into the blender.

Once the machine stopped running, he transferred the oats into the pot of hot milk, letting them simmer for a while.

Despite the warmth provided by the indoor heating during winter, L1 could clearly see a mist rising from the pot—a blend of milk and oat aromas.

As the mixture neared boiling point, Qin Yao turned off the stove.

The oat milk was ready, but instead of pouring it into a cup, he transferred it back into the blender.

After the blender pulverized the soaked oats once more, thoroughly infusing their fragrance into the milk, Qin Yao finally poured the oat milk into a glass.

The quantity was just enough to fill two cups.

L1 thought that if he were still using a human body, he might have been tempted to salivate.

In that instant, he felt a sudden sense of relief that he wasn't using a human form.

With two glasses of oat milk prepared, Qin Yao carried them out to the living room.

Both glasses were placed on the coffee table. Seated on the sofa, he picked up one of the glasses, sipping the milk while working on documents on his computer.

L1 moved closer, eager to see what kind of documents he was dealing with.

As he watched, Qin Yao's oat milk kept drawing his attention.

What did oat milk taste like?

L1 had never tried it.

But it must be delicious, right?

Sweet milk was already tasty, and Qin Yao not only added sugar to the milk but also went through a complicated process to make two cups of milk.

Hmm?

How did his thoughts drift to the milk!

L1 quickly refocused his attention and noticed that Qin Yao was reading a TV drama script titled "The Wealthy Old Love Interest of the Sick Beauty."

After skimming through some content, L1 wasn't particularly interested. His gaze uncontrollably fell back onto Qin Yao's milk cup.

By then, Qin Yao had finished one cup of milk. He placed the empty cup on the coffee table but didn't reach for the other cup.

Why wasn't he drinking it?

L1 wondered.

He patiently waited for nearly an hour without seeing Qin Yao touch the other cup of milk.

Was it because the milk had gone cold?

But cold milk was still delicious.

L1 averted his eyes.

No.

He couldn't look anymore.

And there was something odd about Qin Yao, this villain. In L1's experience, villains were domineering and loved ordering their subordinates around, rarely doing anything with their own hands.

Unexpectedly, this ruthless villain, Qin Yao, was similar to the Huo family. He would enter the kitchen and make milk just like Huo Ma.

L1 had been observing him for quite some time and hadn't seen any strange behavior from Qin Yao.

With no significant findings, L1 couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Wasn't Qin Yao's emotional state a bit too stable?

Logically, villains should have bad tempers.

But from last night until now, apart from that peculiar smile, he hadn't shown any signs of impatience or annoyance.

Even when L1 saw him discussing the script with the screenwriter, who was so angry that they were using harsh words in the chat software, including an insult directed at Qin Yao, saying he knew nothing and was just babbling, Qin Yao didn't even frown upon reading it. Instead, he calmly typed out an analysis of the plot inconsistency to the screenwriter.

Soon enough, it was the screenwriter who apologized, saying he had a bad temper and asking Qin Yao not to take offense.

Qin Yao replied, "We're just discussing the plot; I'm not angry."

L1 was particularly surprised by this.

Wasn't Qin Yao a villain?

Aren't villains supposed to fly into a rage at the slightest provocation?

Why wasn't Qin Yao upset after being scolded?

L1 didn't understand.

But he felt that continuing such observations was pointless, so he decided not to watch the main villain anymore. Instead, he chose to observe other protagonists and supporting characters.

This time, L1 went to observe the protagonist, Zhang Qiran.

At this moment, Zhang Qiran had just debuted, and it would be three years before he met his destined love interest, the protagonist's love interest.

When L1 arrived, he saw Zhang Qiran hurriedly running out of the variety show recording venue.

L1 thought for a moment and transformed back into his five-year-old body.

He walked toward Zhang Qiran. Before he could think of how to start a conversation, Zhang Qiran suddenly squatted down, looking anxious as he asked, "Little kid, do you know where the pharmacy is?"

L1 was taken aback, blinking and nodding. "Yes, I know."

Zhang Qiran visibly relaxed, giving L1 a smile. "Can you show me the way? I'm in a hurry to buy some medicine..."

L1 scanned his body and said, "You're not sick, why are you looking for a pharmacy?"

Caught off guard by the question, Zhang Qiran's face turned red. After several seconds, he whispered, "I'm afraid he'll catch a cold... Hey, little kid, just tell me quickly! If you show me the way, I'll treat you to KFC later. I'm not a bad person, I just need you to guide me! It's all my fault for rushing out without my phone."

L1 didn't know what KFC was. He just wanted to drink oat milk, so L1 said, "I want to drink oat milk."

Zhang Qiran readily agreed. "Okay."

Thus, L1 led Zhang Qiran to the pharmacy.

On the way to the pharmacy, L1 glanced at this part of the plot and finally understood why Zhang Qiran was in such a hurry.

It turned out he was buying medicine for a supporting character he secretly admired during his childhood.

This supporting character was named Song Zhehan.

Unfortunately, the medicine he bought in such haste would be rejected outright and thrown straight into the trash by Song Zhehan.

L1 silently shook his head, refraining from further comment.

They quickly found the pharmacy, and after Zhang Qiran bought the medicine, he took L1 to a nearby convenience store where he purchased a bottle of oat milk for him.

Not content with that, he slipped two large red bills into L1's hand before leaving, smiling warmly as he said, "Thank you, little buddy!"

L1 looked at the bottled oat milk in his hand, then at the two hundred-yuan bills, and suddenly smiled.

It seemed not all protagonists were bad apples!

Zhang Qiran was quite a decent person.

L1 carefully stowed away the money before unscrewing the oat milk and taking a sip.

How should one put it?

The taste wasn't bad, but L1 couldn't help feeling it didn't measure up to the glass of milk Qin Yao had made.

Seeing that it was getting late, L1 decided to pay another visit to the arch-villain's home.

If he still felt scared this time, he resolved not to return again!

Tossing the empty bottle into the trash, L1 headed back to Qin Yao's house.

He flew directly to the balcony outside Qin Yao's room, where the small snowman he had built the previous night had melted significantly under the day's sun, only those next to the larger snowman remained intact.

L1 squatted down and couldn't resist molding two more snowmen before looking inside.

To his surprise, the floor-to-ceiling window on the balcony hadn't been locked from the inside today!

The sky outside had darkened, yet Qin Yao hadn't returned. The lights were on in the room, so L1 immediately spotted a glass of milk sitting on the coffee table in the living room—

It was precisely the extra glass of oat milk from that morning.

At that moment, L1 instinctively understood what it meant to be conflicted.

His current mood was exactly that—conflicted.

He wanted to sneak a taste of the oat milk, yet he dared not do so.

He had already stealthily entered Qin Yao's room; to steal someone else's milk would be far too impolite!

But that glass of milk was truly enticing.

From several meters away, even though the milk had cooled, L1 could still smell the sweet aroma of milk mingled with oats.

Suddenly, L1 heard his human body's stomach rumble.

He was hungry.

L1 cautiously took half a step back.

No, he absolutely couldn't steal someone else's milk!

L1 was a system with principles.

He cloaked himself once more and stood opposite the oat milk.

Soon, Qin Yao returned to his room.

Seeing the untouched glass of milk on the coffee table in the living room, he raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing. Instead, he picked up the glass and feigned regret, saying, "Looks like I made a bit too much milk this morning. No stray cats came to drink it, so I might as well throw it out."

L1's pupils instantly widened.

So it was for the stray cats!

But wait.

Why close the floor-to-ceiling window if it was for the stray cats?

Indeed, this arch-villain was too cunning...

"Ah, did I not open the floor-to-ceiling window today?" Qin Yao suddenly held his forehead, seeming somewhat pained. "Seems I misunderstood the little kitty."

L1: "!!"

It really was for the stray cats.

He had misjudged Qin Yao.

But... could he not pour it out? Such a large glass of milk, how wasteful.

L1 swallowed quietly, trying to make as little sound as possible.

This noise was minuscule, yet Qin Yao's movements suddenly paused.

In the next instant, he let out a soft laugh.

The oat milk from that morning was still discarded.

For the rest of the evening, L1 was filled with regret.

Had he known it was for the stray cats, he would have tasted it. How wasteful to pour it out!

Would Qin Yao make milk for the stray cats tomorrow?

L1 didn't know, but he suddenly began looking forward to the arrival of the next day.

Meanwhile, L1 started pondering.

Why did Qin Yao prepare milk for the stray cat?

Does he also like stray cats?

L1 couldn't help but think of Ye Fan.

L1 felt that people who liked stray cats couldn't be considered bad people, so was Qin Yao a bad person?

L1 now dared not jump to conclusions hastily.

After all, last night, Qin Yao had revealed that eerie and somewhat terrifying smile!

But if he checked whether Qin Yao made milk tomorrow, wouldn't he know?

If someone truly liked stray cats, they would surely persist in feeding them more than just one day.

So that night, L1 quietly sat in Qin Yao's room for the entire night.

It was only as dawn approached that L1 suddenly felt very drowsy, unable to resist closing his eyes for a moment.

When he opened his eyes again, he smelled a rich scent of oat milk.

L1's eyes widened abruptly.

Qin Yao had made milk!

A smile curved at the corner of L1's mouth; he was very happy and ran straight toward the kitchen.

So much so that he forgot he had undone the invisibility of his human body the previous night.

Thus, the instant he appeared in the kitchen, he saw Qin Yao smiling with his eyes curved, asking, "You're the child the Huo family lost?"

L1: "Huh?"