Chapter 006: The Substitute x Overbearing CEO x White Moonlight (6)

Chapter 006: The Substitute x Overbearing CEO x White Moonlight (6)

As time went by, Cheng Chenyu grew to trust Shen Xi more and gradually opened up about his small troubles.

"Actually... I want to pursue a girl who's my colleague. Do you have any suggestions?"

Keding slapped his thigh and immediately took on the role of an advisor.

Brother, you're truly the essential heterosexual character in a BL novel! Sounds like a well-balanced mix!

"Do you remember those party games we played before?" he sent a voice message to Cheng Chenyu. "You can still use the college student approach—rent a big villa and invite lots of friends over. Everyone can sing karaoke, play video games, and pool, and have fun together. This is your chance to subtly advance your relationship with her."

Cheng Chenyu immediately understood. "I have a villa at home that's perfect for this, with a super—big TV screen."

Shen Xi advised, "Be subtle. Say it's rented, that's better."

The system had mentioned that Cheng Chenyu was secretly interning at his family's company.

There are so many people surnamed Cheng in the world; few colleagues actually knew his identity.

"Got it! Thanks, Brother Shen!" Cheng Chenyu said shyly. "Can I invite you too? I'm a bit nervous."

"Sure, see you then."

Turning around, Cheng Chenyu rushed off to find his brother.

"Bro, can I borrow the villa in Pudong with the KTV and billiards table for two days?" His brother twisted and cooed. "I want to invite the girl I like over for a party and bring some friends to create a lively atmosphere. If things go well, I'll confess!"

Cheng Junfeng was reading the New York Times and casually replied, "Get the keys from Aunt Jin; I haven't been there in a while."

He paused for a few seconds, guessing the guest list, and said, "You can party downstairs. I'll bring Yan Chun over to swim; no problem, right?"

Cheng Chenyu, being straightforward, didn't catch his brother's ulterior motives and smacked his head.

"Oh, right! There's a suspended swimming pool on the second floor, perfect for photos!"

"You can teach her how to swim or take her to the terrace to play with drones."

There was a pop quiz in the afternoon class, so Keding ended his nap early and went straight from a two o'clock exam until four in the afternoon, feeling quite drained when he left the classroom.

Lao Zhang, pale-faced, dragged him to the supermarket.

"Come on, let's buy instant noodles! I can't wait another second!"

Keding thought about his bank balance and tried to be rational. "I'll buy them from Pinduoduo."

"Don't buy near-expiry goods. What if they've just changed the labels and they're actually expired by centuries!" Lao Zhang dragged him into the campus supermarket. "Studying late every night is torture. Stock up, Dad needs lots of snacks and drinks!"

Before he could finish speaking, the guy had already grabbed a shopping basket and dashed into the shelves, grabbing everything in sight.

"Strawberry pie! I'll eat it! Chocolate cake! I'll eat it! Hahaha, and self-heating hotpot!"

"Snacks come! Snacks from all directions! No one is taking anything from me today!!"

Keding hesitated again and again but finally walked to the instant noodle shelf, salivating at the six-pack combo.

Instant noodles were much more expensive than dried noodles, but they came with seasoning packets and tasted great.

Taking a deep breath, he thought about the money he had saved from his part-time job as a warehouse manager, reached out, and grabbed a large pack of beef noodles, then went for a pack of sausages.

Just as he turned around, he bumped into his counselor, Old Liu.

Old Liu had been watching him for five minutes and now asked bluntly, "Keding, aren't you a scholarship student?"

The young man froze for a few seconds, not daring to argue back.

The counselor had veto power over all scholarships and awards; he couldn't afford to offend him.

Old Liu came closer to inspect the instant noodles in his arms and shook his head.

"This stuff isn't nutritious. You don't have much pocket money; you should spend it wisely. Can't you just eat at the cafeteria?"

"Keding, it takes a month to detoxify the toxins in instant noodles, and you have no idea how much preservative they put in."

"Oh, okay."

The older man wore a knowing expression and lectured, "Do you know the oil in the seasoning packets is gutter oil?"

"I never let my son eat this kind of junk food. Not for anything else, but do you want to get cancer or deformities? MSG is a chemical flavor enhancer, very bad for your health!"

The young man remained silent until Lao Zhang came over with a basket full of snacks to rescue him.

"Ke Bao! You found the instant noodles I wanted!" Lao Zhang snatched the beef noodles from Keding's arms and grabbed two packs of sausages in front of Old Liu. "Hello, Teacher Liu! Buying cigarettes?"

Old Liu was reminded and turned to ask the counter if they had Hongtashan. He glanced at Keding once more.

"Take care of yourself, remember?"

Keding didn't say a word and followed Lao Zhang away.

The system witnessed the whole scene and burst into curses.

"F*ck! What kind of father wannabe is this? What does eating instant noodles have to do with him!"

She sensed Keding's unusual silence and quickly comforted him, "Don't feel bad, Ke Bao. Later, we'll curse Cheng Junfeng and go crazy, big time!"

"It won't work," Keding said. "I can't mess up the trial period. I can't go crazy."

"Actually... you can," the system said. "In the points store, thirty points can buy a rewind token. If you mess up, you can just rewind to the beginning, just like in a game."

Keding's vacant expression suddenly came alive.

"Is there such a prop?"

"The defense values of each world accumulate and aren't reset when switching worlds." The system whispered: "The resentment in various parallel timelines is too heavy now; even my bosses are quite troubled. The treatment used to be much better."

Lao Zhang had just finished paying for four large bags of snacks, and Keding helped carry two of them as they quickly headed back to the dormitory.

"Going back so early to study?" Lao Zhang followed closely behind. "Why don't we go play some basketball?"

"Not today," said Keding. "I'm going back to catch up on sleep!"

Lao Zhang agreed and added with relief, "You've been going to bed early and waking up early lately. You're becoming the king of hard work, kid."

Returning to Shen Xi's world, it happened to be Saturday, and Xiao Cheng had arranged a car in advance to pick him up and take him to the villa area.

The servants had received notice ahead of time and had cleaned the house thoroughly, decorated it with ribbons and balloons, and placed all kinds of snacks and drinks that young people enjoy everywhere.

With Cheng Junfeng's instructions, this villa had a new ice cream cabinet and a row of claw machines with their own coin bins.

Eight people were invited, and some had prepared swimming rings. When they entered the courtyard, everyone exclaimed in amazement.

The garden was filled with large patches of pure purple iris, and the little angel on the European fountain smiled pleasantly, while laurel dog balloons floated in the wind.

"Xiao Cheng, you sure know how to pick a place! I've never seen this party venue on Dianping!"

"Is the rent expensive? I want to bring my partner here for a vacation."

"It's the floating pool from Xiaohongshu! Ahh, I need to take photos later!"

Keding wasn't sure if that jerk would come, but his eyes lit up at the sight of Haagen-Dazs.

"Eat, eat," the system said kindly. "Take whatever you like; today's treat is courtesy of Xiao Cheng."

Kending happily picked out three or four items, hesitating to take more for fear of not finishing them, and soon joined the others in playing games.

What a score! There are even Haagen-Dazs ice cream mooncakes!

In the curved living room, there was a 98-inch gaming TV, with four Switch consoles set up in advance, and an entire cabinet of unopened game cards beside them.

The plan went smoothly. Cheng Chenyu sat in the front row with his crush, while Keding leaned against the back row with a cushion. Everyone was having a great time.

"Sis! Go right, right! You're about to crash!"

"Hahaha, you're so bad at this!"

"We can definitely beat their team, go!"

Amidst the commotion, a man pushed open the door, allowing the servant to respectfully take his briefcase and coat.

Behind him stood a youth in an Armani suit, handsome and elegant, like a perfect companion unique to the elite.

Cheng Chenyu vaguely heard the commotion, turned around quickly, called out "Brother," and then continued racing, as he usually did at home.

The other colleagues didn't pay much attention and didn't remember what the top heir looked like, continuing to play their games.

Shen Xi sank comfortably into the Italian cashmere sofa, not noticing anyone entering the room.

Cheng Junfeng glanced at the person's half-exposed head from a distance and the small bowl of ice cream on the coffee table, then indifferently walked upstairs.

Yan Chun noticed Shen Xi's presence at the same time, feeling a subtle discomfort.

He quickly caught up with Cheng Junfeng and casually said, "During the summer of our sixteenth year, we seemed to have come here too."

Do you tolerate that person being here? Isn't it dirty?

Cheng Junfeng paused, sensing something.

"Xiao Chun, are you upset?"

The man rarely explained himself.

"Chen Yu has been playing with him a lot recently. I warned him and will make things clear later."

Seeing that Yan Chun cared, he shook his head with a smile, "Don't say such harsh words. Let's go swimming together."

He surpassed that loser in every way and didn't mind seeing his dignity trampled upon again.

Time flew by until it was nearly eleven-thirty at night. Everyone had played to their heart's content and soon felt both hungry and thirsty.

Coincidentally, a heavy autumn rain started outside, bringing a chill that only increased their appetite.

Someone felt embarrassed about letting Cheng Chenyu bear all the costs and raised their phone, saying, "Let me order some late-night snacks! Do you guys want dumplings or skewers? How about hot pot?"

Cheng Chenyu casually replied, "Tell Auntie what you want, and she'll make it."

A colleague sister had noticed the servants earlier and curiously asked, "Does the party venue now include a nanny?"

"Ahahaha, yes," Cheng's younger brother scratched the back of his head. "This place offers comprehensive services!"

"That's great! Recommend it to me next time!"

"Can I get a link? I'll save it!"

Shen Xi took a sip of icy cola and suddenly said, "I'll order some instant noodles for everyone."

Cheng Chenyu thought he was joking. "What's good about instant noodles?"

Shen Xi blinked slowly.

The system secretly became anxious: "Oh no, this young master is naturally skilled at bringing up uncomfortable topics!"

"My mom says instant noodles are unhealthy and never lets us eat them," the young master said innocently. "It feels strange to boil fried food in water; I don't even know what it tastes like."

The others listened in surprise: "What? Really?"

"Didn't you guys eat instant noodles when you took the train?"

"The Chinese teacher said short sentences can't convey taste, but I'll counter with a heated instant noodle on an air-conditioned train!"

Shen Xi slowly got up, putting his phone, which already had an order placed, into his pocket. He spoke in a gentle and calm tone.

"Alright, tonight I'll show off my skills and cook some instant noodles for everyone to eat."

"If they're not tasty, I'll have my cat do a backflip for everyone."

Cheng Chenyu initially wanted to decline, feeling embarrassed about letting Brother Shen cook, but he sensed a hint of danger.

"Okay... okay."

When the instant noodle delivery arrived, it was already 11:50 PM, and Shen Xi carried the bag into the kitchen.

The others started a new game, laughing and playing happily.

Keding tore open the packaging, expressionless as he prepared to cook the noodles.

One pot for boiling, one pan for frying; tonight, no one would escape.

The system worried about his overly calm demeanor: "Hey, you forgot to close the kitchen door."

Keding looked up, turned on the stove, and revealed a crazed smile.

"Not only will I not close it, but I'll also boil the broth over high heat and turn on the fan."

He lowered his voice, speaking the most malicious words in a light tone.

"I want the aroma of braised beef noodles to waft upstairs and downstairs, to the neighbors left and right, so that the whole world knows I'm cooking instant noodles!"

Tonight, I am not Shen Xi, nor am I Keding!

Tonight!! I am the Instant Noodle Witch!! None of you can escape!!

Hehehehe, come and eat the ultimate perfect ham and egg instant noodles cooked by the witch!!

Lick your bowls! In fifteen minutes, I want to see each and every one of you licking your bowls!!