Chapter 167

Chapter 167

Ji Mian usually went along with whatever Lou Sheng wanted.

When Lou Sheng wanted a hug, Ji Mian didn’t hold back.

He ignored Chang Sheng entirely, wrapping his arms around Lou Sheng’s waist. Even though Lou Sheng was visibly trembling, overly excited, Ji Mian held him tight.

In the end, Lou Sheng was the one who broke the kiss first.

Because Chang Sheng jumped onto his head—the twenty-pound cat suddenly weighing him down—Lou Sheng accidentally bumped Ji Mian’s nose.

Lou Sheng frowned and straightened up, grabbing Chang Sheng, ready to put it back in its bed.

Ji Mian offered, “I’ll feed him.”

Lou Sheng initially wanted to say he should do it, but then he thought, Chang Sheng is still a little scared of Ji Mian. It should also get used to the idea of another master in the house.

Ji Mian got up and easily found the cabinet where Chang Sheng’s cat food was kept. Even though it was his first day there, he felt as comfortable as if it were his own home.

All because, after he left, Lou Sheng hadn’t changed a thing in the house. Everything in the house was exactly as it had been years ago.

Chang Sheng was starving, wolfing down the cat food like a bulldozer. Ji Mian crouched beside him, hugging his knees and watching him eat.

Lou Sheng crouched down too, right beside Ji Mian.

Ji Mian even gave Chang Sheng a small dried fish, his favorite treat for gnawing on.

Lou Sheng had been cutting back on Chang Sheng’s snacks this year because he was getting a little chubby. He was really trying to help Chang Sheng slim down.

But Ji Mian had no idea.

He wanted to pet Chang Sheng, and the dried fish was the perfect bribe.

After finishing his treat, Chang Sheng was easily won over, sauntering over to rub against Ji Mian’s leg.

Ji Mian’s eyes brightened as he reached out to scratch Chang Sheng’s fluffy neck. Turning to Lou Sheng, he said, “Host, Chang Sheng doesn’t seem scared of me anymore.”

Lou Sheng met his gaze, warmth quickly rising to his ears.

“…Yeah.”

Suddenly, it hit him: So this is what it’s like to have 017 by his side…

Just being together in the same room felt amazing.

Ji Mian tried to pick up Chang Sheng.

After eating his fill, Chang Sheng was too lazy to move, letting Ji Mian hold him without a fuss. Lying on Ji Mian’s lap, feeling comfortable from the petting, he rolled over and exposed his belly.

Ji Mian pinched Chang Sheng’s pink paw pads, obviously happy.

Lou Sheng stared at his profile for a moment, then leaned in, nuzzling Ji Mian’s cheek and kissing the corner of his mouth.

Until he accidentally noticed that Ji Mian had secretly covered Chang Sheng’s eyes.

“…”

Lou Sheng felt a slight pang in his heart and whispered, "It's just a cat; it doesn’t get it."

But Ji Mian insisted on covering the cat’s eyes.

Lou Sheng held back for two seconds before pulling him into a hug.

*

There had always been a bedroom in the house for Ji Mian.

Even though no one had ever lived in it, Lou Sheng cleaned the room daily. It was as if someone had lived there and just stepped out for a while.

The room was spotless; not even a single cat hair from Chang Sheng was in sight.

Tonight, he’d be staying here.

Lou Sheng wasn’t sure what Ji Mian was thinking. It was Ji Mian’s first day back, and he couldn’t just have him sleep with him.

The virtual world was one thing, but in reality, they should take it slow.

Ji Mian had promised the system he’d show him the world, so he settled into bed, planning to use Lou Sheng’s phone to look up famous landmarks.

Ji Mian thought to himself, "System?"

No response. The system had vanished after Lou Sheng kissed him earlier.

The system always hid itself quickly and likely wouldn’t reappear until morning.

It wasn’t really necessary, Ji Mian thought, glancing around the empty room.

Lou Sheng had two phones: one for work and one personal, with fewer than a hundred contacts. He’d kept the same number since high school and gave it to Ji Mian.

It was snowing, and Ji Mian’s first day back. He couldn’t go out and hadn’t had time to shop.

When he gave Ji Mian the phone, Lou Sheng practically handed over everything he owned, wishing he could give himself too.

Ji Mian, of course, refused, just kissing Lou Sheng to send him on his way.

Lou Sheng was so flustered by the kiss that he forgot to share the unlock code.

Ji Mian tried Lou Sheng’s birthday, but no luck.

Next, he tried the last digits of Lou Sheng’s ID, but that didn’t work either.

He thought for a second, entered "009017," and the phone unlocked.

Ji Mian pursed his lips, his face warming.

Every password Lou Sheng set was "009017."

There was a knock at the door.

Lou Sheng came in. "The password..."

"I unlocked it," Ji Mian said.

"Mm," Lou Sheng then went out.

After twenty minutes, the knocking sound came again. This time it was very soft, as if unsure whether the person inside was asleep.

Ji Mian looked up in confusion and said, "Come in." Lou Sheng opened the door and asked, "Mian Mian, you hungry?"

Ji Mian said, "I already washed up. I'm not hungry."

"Hmm," Lou Sheng studied him for a moment, then closed the door and went back.

Ji Mian held onto Lou Sheng's phone, taking a moment to process.

After hesitating, he got out of bed.

Opening the door, he saw Lou Sheng sitting in the living room, playing with Chang Sheng using a cat teaser.

"...Brother?"

The feather of the cat teaser stopped moving, and Lou Sheng looked up, his gaze meeting Ji Mian's.

Ji Mian asked, "Are you... having trouble sleeping?"

"..."

Ji Mian stood still, silently holding Lou Sheng's gaze for a long moment.

Chang Sheng grabbed the tail of the cat teaser with both front paws.

The person holding the other end abruptly released it, stood up, and walked over to Ji Mian at a leisurely pace.

Ji Mian raised his hand to wrap around Lou Sheng's neck, and Lou Sheng immediately leaned in to kiss him, his right leg nudging forward, bringing Ji Mian into the bedroom.

The door shut behind them.

Lou Sheng acted fairly restrained, pinning Ji Mian to the bed and kissing him for a while before pulling back, simply holding Ji Mian.

It was entirely up to Ji Mian whether they slept or did something else.

Ji Mian thought for a moment, glanced up at Lou Sheng, and whispered, "Brother."

...

Lou Sheng's kissing technique was still rough. But in bed, sometimes technique isn't everything; instinct alone is enough.

What he needed to learn was to hold himself back as much as possible.

As it turned out, the system was right to shield itself ahead of time.

It returned at noon the next day, and Ji Mian was sitting in a chair by Chang Sheng's cat bed, his eyes slightly swollen.

Ji Mian was gently squeezing the paw of the sleeping Chang Sheng with one hand, while scrolling through his phone with the other hand, choosing scenic spots to take the system to.

Lou Sheng leaned close to him, not doing anything, just quietly staring at Ji Mian.

The system saw him and rolled its metaphorical eye.

It used to have a decent attitude toward Lou Sheng, but ever since it found out at the service point that Lou Sheng had spent over a hundred thousand of Ji Mian's points, it had been very displeased with this guy who affected its host's progress.

As if those hundred thousand points had been spent on the system itself.

"Ahem."

Ji Mian paused, "System?"

"Mm-hmm," the system noticed his phone screen, "What are you doing?"

Ji Mian said, "Didn’t you say you wanted to check out this world?"

"Nah, that’s not what I’m after," the system replied. "Last night, I looked up the entertainment industry here—it’s doing pretty well."

"Why bother with that?"

"To make my debut, duh!" the system said matter-of-factly.

Ji Mian was surprised. "System, you’re gonna be a star?"

The system sounded cheerful. "I was a celeb back when I was alive."

Though just a minor idol, and one with a bit of a scandalous rep.

No major scandals, just stuff like being rude, disrespectful to seniors, and kinda clueless.

Guess he was too lazy to play nice and couldn’t keep his mouth shut...

Still, he had his morals, and before debuting, he had the grades, the looks, and killer skills.

Mostly, he was all about his career—no romantic scandals or anything to mess with his fame. He was made for this.

With all those perks, he was set to be a rising star.

But before he could make it big, he died in a car crash at 21, never even finishing college.

Unlike Ji Mian, he thrived in the spotlight.

"So, you’re sticking around?" Ji Mian asked.

"Yeah, I’m staying put."

The system had another reason for staying.

Ji Mian handed over all his leftover points.

Ji Mian could’ve traded those points for tons of stuff. Zero Eight’s service had cards for just about anything.

Ten thousand points could go a long way.

If he left for another world, he figured he’d never find a friend like Ji Mian again.

The system continued, "But I’ll hit you up once I’ve made my debut."

Otherwise, if he flopped, he didn’t wanna look bad in front of his host.

Ji Mian said, "Then I’ll be your number one fan."

The system was deeply moved. "I’ll send you a signed photo later."

"I’ll cherish it."

"Catch you later," the system said, then vanished from Ji Mian’s mind.