Chapter 166

Chapter 166

"I only have... ten yuan."

"..."

A faint smile curled at the corner of Lou Sheng's lips.

Ji Mian looked at his expression, wondering: Would he let him stay?

It was the first time Ji Mian had been so poor, but with Lou Sheng here, the lack of money didn't make him feel uneasy.

He relied on Lou Sheng, almost too naturally.

Ji Mian reflected on himself for a moment but decided against changing.

"Zero Eight gave it to you?"

"Yeah, and the ID card." Ji Mian pulled out another card from his pocket.

Only then did Lou Sheng's gaze shift from Ji Mian's face to the two cards in his hand.

This meant Ji Mian chose to stay in this world.

He wanted Ji Mian to live here, but without money, it wouldn't work.

He considered handing over all his savings cards to Ji Mian but worried he wouldn't accept them.

So, he kept the money issue to himself for now.

There was another question. "017, which name should I call you?"

Ji Mian, Xiang Nian, Lu Zhou... Lou Sheng didn't know which one to choose.

"The system calls me Ji Mian."

The first life after losing his memory was special to Ji Mian.

"Mian Mian."

Ji Mian was taken aback, his ears slightly warm.

Even Lou Sheng hadn't called him that...

But Lou Sheng knew he had wanted to change how he addressed him.

Lou Sheng had thought about changing it. Not to call him "Ji Mian" so coldly and formally.

Mian Mian, baby... even some more affectionate, cheesy nicknames—Lou Sheng had actually considered them.

But before they were in a relationship, he had always called Ji Mian by his full name, unsure of the right moment to change.

So, he could only secretly change it in his heart. At night, watching Ji Mian by his side, he would softly call him the most intimate names in his mind.

Lou Sheng, like him, endured, hiding his deep love in his heart.

Years ago, after his wounds healed, 017 hadn't returned, so he walked back and forth on the Fairy Bridge, waiting, waiting...

Lu Yunsheng and the woman he saved told him how severely he had been injured, how he had been in intensive care for half a month, his life hanging by a thread.

Originally, he was supposed to die.

Lou Sheng had sensed something was wrong, but 017 was already gone. He clung to a sliver of hope in the midst of endless panic.

Until he recalled the being that had entered his dream and sent him a points transfer questionnaire—someone named Zero Eight.

Lou Sheng tried everything—seeing a psychologist, hypnotic dream therapy...

Maybe his efforts paid off, because Zero Eight actually reached out and revealed the truth.

Zero Eight told him his life was supposed to end at twenty-three, but Lou Sheng had just turned twenty-four.

Lou Sheng pleaded with her for help.

Then, Zero Eight sent part of his consciousness into a small world, wiping his memories.

Duan Zhuo, Lu Ge, Xie Hang... Lou Sheng never thought 017 would fall for him, so he stayed as an observer, helping 017 gather Affection Points.

The small world’s consciousness split from Lou Sheng, and he only relived those memories in his dreams.

When he woke up, he was either overjoyed or left with a hollow feeling.

Then, with the dream’s emotions still lingering, he’d spend the day fully aware of 017’s absence.

But now, 017 was right beside him, more real than any dream Lou Sheng had ever known.

"Mian Mian, my 017."

Ji Mian looked up, meeting Lou Sheng’s gaze. Instantly, Lou Sheng’s ears flushed red.

Ji Mian, for no reason, felt his own face grow warm.

Before they were separated, they were just a system and its host. Even now, they hadn’t taken the next step, but in the virtual world, they’d been in love for years, over and over.

Well, Lou Sheng had kissed him once. In the final world, his consciousness had flickered awake. They both knew it, but neither knew how to address it.

Chang Sheng let out a meow from under the couch.

Perfect timing to kill the vibe.

While Ji Mian was away, Lou Sheng had pampered it.

Its fur gleamed, its claws were spotless, and its pink pads peeked out from the trimmed fur, looking irresistibly soft.

Back when Ji Mian was 017, inside Lou Sheng, he’d watched him sit on a low balcony stool, awkwardly folding his long legs to trim Chang Sheng’s nails and clean its paws.

The scene was oddly heartwarming and adorable.

Chang Sheng wasn’t exactly sweet-tempered. It was a lazy thing, often ignoring Lou Sheng’s calls.

But it wasn’t all bad—since Lou Sheng found it, it had only scratched him once, and that was to cover for another owner.

With Ji Mian out of earshot, he scolded it sharply: "You’re usually so clever—why act up now? Go say hi."

However, Chang Sheng was just a cat and couldn’t understand Lou Sheng’s commands. It only felt that the human servant who usually catered to its every whim had the audacity to threaten it this time?

Chang Sheng meowed twice.

Lou Sheng, seeing that neither coaxing nor scolding worked, could only settle it in the room first, to keep it away from Ji Mian for the time being.

With Ji Mian, the "outsider," out of sight, Chang Sheng climbed up and down the room alone, making a lot of noise.

Soon, it caught the scent of food. Chang Sheng's sharp nose picked up the smell of fish in one of the dishes.

It wanted to go out and check, but remembering the outsider, it pulled its paw back.

The smell of the food was gone after two hours.

Chang Sheng was getting hungry too.

It meowed a few times in the room, but Lou Sheng didn’t come to check on it.

Chang Sheng scratched at the door, but there was still no response.

Hunger got the better of its fear of the outsider. It leaped up, and its twenty-pound frame easily pushed down the door handle.

Despite being a chubby cat, it landed with surprising lightness. Hearing Lou Sheng’s voice in the distance, it padded closer.

Its owner had just come out of the kitchen with a bowl of sweet soup, and the outsider was sitting in Lou Sheng’s usual seat, taking the sugar water from Lou Sheng's hand.

"Are you still cold?" Lou Sheng asked him.

Ji Mian shook his head.

He’d only been outside for a bit, and his hands were a little cold, but after being inside for a while, he wasn’t cold anymore.

From the moment Ji Mian entered the door, the two had been busying themselves with whatever they could.

Now that they’d eaten and Chang Sheng was gone, the room fell quiet.

They couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

Lou Sheng had a band-aid on his finger from a careless cut while chopping vegetables.

He sat down next to Ji Mian, watching him take small sips of the sweet soup. When Ji Mian put down the bowl, he spoke: "Zero Eight showed me your exchange records at the service point."

"Huh?"

The highest exchange record was one hundred thousand points, a few years ago. Ji Mian used it for him.

Lou Sheng continued, "...There are two records of one thousand points each, called the Symbiosis Card."

"..."

"What did you do with it?"

"..." Ji Mian fell into silence.

Lou Sheng's shoulder leaned against his. "At the time of your second exchange of the Symbiosis Card, Chang Sheng scratched me once..."

Ji Mian turned his head, thinking Lou Sheng was going to hold him accountable.

He hesitantly said, "You... you don't mean to scratch me back, do you?"

His amber eyes, filled with disbelief, locked onto Lou Sheng.

Lou Sheng's throat moved, and he slowly leaned down.

Lou Sheng's kissing skills weren't much better than in the virtual world, still awkward and unpolished, but not as forceful and fierce as last time.

His body suddenly surged with excitement, every muscle in Lou Sheng's body tightened, his hands too hesitant to touch Ji Mian's waist, only pressing into the sofa next to Ji Mian, his knuckles digging in. The knife cut on his index finger had barely healed half an hour ago, but now it split open again, seeping tiny drops of blood.

He held back desperately, kissing gently, but the frequent swallowing of his throat betrayed Lou Sheng's intense desire.

Ji Mian slowly reached out to hug him.

As soon as his arms encircled Lou Sheng's waist, he immediately felt the other's body tremble with excitement.

Ji Mian froze, slightly startled.

After holding on for two seconds, he carefully released him.

Lou Sheng's eyes flickered, and he kissed more intensely.

Chang Sheng curled up in the corner, watching Lou Sheng's body hover over the "outsider."

In a cat's world, the higher-ranking one usually grooms the lower-ranking one.

Clearly, this outsider ranked lower than its human servant.

Lou Sheng was already late feeding Chang Sheng tonight—only half an hour late, but Chang Sheng was hungry.

Chang Sheng wanted to remind its human servant that it was time to add some cat food to its bowl.

Probably confirming that Ji Mian had the lowest status in this household, it finally mustered the courage to approach.

First, it pawed at Lou Sheng, its pads stepping on Lou Sheng's knee, but unfortunately, the other still ignored it.

It then approached Ji Mian, licking the fingers of this lowest-status outsider, hoping this new servant would add some food for it.

A warm, moist, and tickling sensation came from his fingers, Ji Mian slightly distracted from the kiss with Lou Sheng, noticing Chang Sheng rubbing against his fingers.

Ji Mian didn't want to miss this rare show of affection from Chang Sheng.

He stealthily petted Chang Sheng's head. The fur was warm and fluffy, surprisingly pleasant to touch.

Before he could enjoy it for a few seconds, his hand was grabbed by Lou Sheng.

The next second, Lou Sheng hooked the arm that should belong to him back around his own waist.