Chapter 158: Snatching Dishes

Chapter 158: Seizing the Credits

Shi Lv paused: "Blood donation?"

66: "According to the plot, under the pressure of debt, the original host failed to earn enough credits this semester and is on the verge of dropping out. Donating blood earns two credits, and you need to fulfill this plot point."

Given the original host's circumstances, dropping out made sense.

Shi Lv had donated blood frequently before, so he said, "Let's go then."

Coincidentally, a bloodmobile was parked by the roadside. The van was entirely white, with only a staff-and-snake symbol on the rear wing, beneath which two fresh green leaves were entwined.

Shi Lv paused: "New Leaf?"

This was the emblem of the New Leaf Group.

66: "New Leaf has an extremely wide investment scope, including the medical and biotech sectors. This blood donation organization has investments from the group."

Shi Lv: "Oh, Liang Xu’s thing."

He sighed inwardly, feeling a twinge of envy. Both were young, yet that refined and elegant CEO had connections everywhere, with investments spanning all fields, while he, also young, was drowning in eighteen maxed-out credit cards.

66 paused briefly: "No, this one isn't."

"The most crucial industries under New Leaf aren’t in Liang Xu’s hands, including healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Elder Ye is naturally distrustful and, being old, relies heavily on medication and treatment. He keeps these sectors firmly under his control, never delegating them to others."

Shi Lv waved it away: "They’ll be Liang Xu’s sooner or later."

66 couldn’t explain the complexities to its clueless host and decided to ignore it: "Just go give blood already."

No time like the present, Shi Lv boarded the bloodmobile. A nurse guided him to a seat and handed him a form.

Blood donation in the ABO world differed slightly from the modern era. Aside from blood type testing, they also analyzed pheromone factors to avoid medical accidents caused by pheromone conflicts.

Shi Lv checked off the items one by one, then rolled up his sleeve, exposing his forearm: "Let’s do it."

He donated 400 milliliters, accepted a thank-you snack from the nurse, and cheerfully returned to his tiny, run-down place.

The apartment was in the city center. The wooden furniture was painted a reddish-brown, its surface peeling and mottled. The faint sour smell of the drainage wafted through the air, and the grout between the bathroom tiles was crusted with grime. Shi Lv wiped at it with his hand, scraping out a slimy patch of moss.

Shi Lv: "..."

He let out a sigh.

The environment wasn't great, but given his current financial situation, this was the best option available.

Fortunately, college students had energy to spare. Shi Lv had watched plenty of home renovation videos. He immediately ordered cleaning supplies and latex paint, planning to give the place a facelift.

66 yelled in frustration: "Stop fussing, host! Master Ye! Stop fussing—your villa is waiting for you, ahhhh!"

Shi Lv had no idea.

As an intern, his holidays were more flexible, and he didn’t need to report daily. Shi Lv took a few days off from the company to focus on renovating the apartment.

His efficiency was astonishing. In half a day, he scrubbed the tiles spotless and even applied fresh grout. Once everything was done, he admired the refreshed walls, his fingers twitching slightly as he took a picture.

He wasn’t one to post on social media or share his life much, but without thinking, he uploaded the picture to his BlueBlue personal space.

Somehow, he wanted Mr. X to see it.

Probably like a child who’s done something and wants praise from elders or some attention, driven by an unspeakable childish impulse, Shi Lv didn’t even dare to take another look after posting it and immediately stuffed his phone into his pocket.

He continued tidying up the living and dining areas, and only after more than two hours did he take out his phone again.

There were quite a few messages on BlueBlue.

The original owner’s shady friend A: "Hey, Shi, long time no see at the bar. What, you’re into home reno now?"

Shi Lv blocked him.

The original owner’s shady friend B: "Did you move out? I’ll be near C University in a couple of days. Wanna get drinks, pretty boy?"

Shi Lv deleted the message.

After blocking many people in a row, he finally saw the message he wanted to see.

X: "Did you move?"

Shi Lv: "Yeah."

X: "The place looks kinda rough. Actually, I have some empty places. Would you like to move in?"

Liang Xu owned many properties nearby and could easily spare one for Shi Lv.

Shi Lv: "!"

He sent a shocked cat emoji: "No, no, no, that’s really not necessary!"

They barely knew each other. Though he had some fondness for this knowledgeable senior, moving into someone else’s home was too much.

By then, he had already cleaned half of the living room. The old redwood dining table and sofa were now covered with newly bought cushions. Sunlight poured through the window, spilling gold across the floor, and the once-dreary room suddenly felt warm and cozy.

Shi Lv: "See? Not bad, right?"

Liang Xu stifled a laugh.

He typed: "It really is nice."

The room was neatly organized, and Liang Xu could almost picture the Junior Intern diligently doing chores. He was probably just wearing a cotton T-shirt, which would cling to his body after sweating, and his waist, back, and arms would tense into beautiful lines when he exerted effort, radiating youth.

Though the place couldn’t hold a candle to New Leaf Group’s headquarters or the suites at Zhenhai Hotel, Liang Xu found himself inexplicably yearning for such a life.

He wondered: if his youth hadn’t been upended, would he have been like Shi Lv—graduating, joining a company, renting an old house, and cleaning the sofa and floors bathed in sunset light?

At this moment, he found himself longing for that dark embrace again.

Shi Lv: "Most of it’s done. Just need to buy a new coffee table—this one’s too big and sorta in the way."

X: "Mind if I buy one for you?"

"The bathroom fixtures look old too. Want me to swap them out?"

Whether out of some hidden urge or perhaps to make up for the regrets of his youth, Liang Xu suddenly wanted to weasel his way into Shi Lv’s life. Without thinking, he typed out these words, only to feel it was inappropriate the moment he sent them. Before he could retract, sure enough, Shi Lv sent another shocked cat emoji.

Shi Lv: "No, no, that’s way over the top! Just teaching me economics is enough (cat shaking its head like crazy)."

The cheese in the sticker was a blur from all the shaking, screaming 'hell no'.

A whole bathroom redo wasn’t cheap, and a coffee table wasn’t a small purchase either. Given X’s taste, Shi Lv feared he might buy something worth tens of thousands—then a few shirtless pics wouldn’t cut it to pay him back. Shi Lv would be selling organs to square things.

Thinking this way, he found it rather odd—the original host's "luck with patrons" was simply too good.

Just by sharing photos of his physique, he could earn X's praise and guidance, and now the other party even wanted to help him buy furniture, sparing no expense. And then there was Special Assistant Zhang's wealthy cousin, who would generously give hundreds of thousands just for a neck nibble and some chitchat. Shi Lv thought to himself, even professional companions didn’t earn this much, did they?

What’s more, neither of these two were even sought out by the original host. X was randomly added through Blue’s recommendation page, and the cousin was introduced by Zhang Ping. Without lifting a finger, the original host had somehow gained two generous benefactors who didn’t even demand physical intimacy—just handed over money.

How did he get so lucky? He was starting to think the original host must have been handed some kind of storybook romance scenario.

Shi Lv muttered, "What the hell? The original host was vain, shady, and couldn’t even pay off his credit cards—where did he get this kind of charm? How did these big shots all fall for him? Is he some kind of seductive charm incarnate?"

System 66 was ready to short-circuit.

It thought to itself—that was NOT the original host’s script at all! The original host and Liang Xu had a purely physical arrangement based on pheromones. The original host despised Liang Xu’s domineering nature, and Liang Xu loathed the original host’s greed. Outside the hotel, they never exchanged a single word—who was chatting every day like this?! What kind of seductive charm was the original host supposed to have? Who the heck was the real charmer here—shouldn't you know better?!

Unfortunately, the system couldn’t utter a single word.

X: "Hmm."

Just one word, but it sounded slightly displeased.

Shi Lv found it bizarre—what kind of patron got upset over not being able to spend money? After some thought, he didn’t want X to feel disappointed, so he tentatively suggested, "How about… you buy a cat bed instead?"

X: "A cat bed?"

Shi Lv: "The cat café I visited the other day just had kittens, and the owner said she’d give me one. Oh, it’s Gingerbread’s baby."

An image of the chunky orange cat licking its paws flashed through X’s mind.

The cat Shi Lv had caught for him was Gingerbread—back then, it had sprawled over Liang Xu’s lap, wagging its tail, heavier than a dumbbell.

Liang Xu felt complex emotions. "Then we’ll need a big cat bed."

Orange cats were already notorious for their appetites, and given Gingerbread’s size, its offspring was probably going to be a substantial little chunk too.

Over the next few days, Liang Xu watched as the rental apartment slowly transformed. The peeling, yellowed walls were repainted white. The cluttered balcony was now adorned with potted plants, their fresh leaves glistening with dew, casting rainbow reflections on sunny days.

Shi Lv pointed them out to him: "This is a pothos—it’s impossible to kill, perfect for beginners. This is a ‘Juice Balcony’ rose, I got it from the flower market—when it blooms, it’s a vibrant orange-red. And this is a monstera…"

Shi Lv’s parents had loved gardening, and he’d picked up quite a bit from them.

X listened quietly.

Shi Lv worried he might be talking too much and boring X, but after checking a few times, he realized X seemed to genuinely enjoy it.

He liked seeing Shi Lv’s photos, liked hearing him share these mundane, trivial details. Even though nothing was happening between them, this back-and-forth felt almost like the sweet, everyday chatter of lovers.

Before long, X’s cat bed arrived.

X’s wealth was no joke—even the cat bed he bought was exceptionally high-end. He went on to add a litter box, high-quality canned food, and nearly every other cat supply imaginable.

Shi Lv was once again taken aback. "Isn’t this too much?"

66 couldn’t bear to look at its host’s expression anymore. It slumped dejectedly on the balcony, staring despondently at the sky before powering down early.

X: "Hmm…"

He offered an explanation. "Gingerbread is a very cute cat. I like him a lot, so I wanted to get his baby plenty of things. If it makes you uncomfortable… you can just send me more photos."

He wanted to know more about Shi Lv’s life.

Shi Lv possessed a unique aura. As Liang Xu watched him, the ever-present gloom and pain within seemed to ease. The life of this junior intern was like a healing show, bathed in warm hues, making those too accustomed to darkness crave it.

Shi Lv accepted this explanation.

Thus, when the shop owner delivered the kitten, Shi Lv began frequently sending photos to X—the kitten stumbling, the kitten climbing onto the bed, the kitten learning to eat. X would play along and praise: "So cute."

The kitten was, of course, adorable. But what X truly wanted to see was something else.

In the fragmented snapshots, he caught glimpses of the junior intern—a hand scooping up the kitten when it stumbled, the kitten pressed against Shi Lv’s warm torso as it climbed the bed, Shi Lv mixing food and adding water as the kitten ate.

Gradually, Liang Xu started to imagine that he and Shi Lv were living under the same roof, raising this adorable kitten together.

Almost like a couple.

A week passed, and Shi Lv’s vacation ended.

He shared a photo with X—the kitten eyeing the raw meat in the kitchen.

Shi Lv: "Bought some beef. I’ll keep half for myself and make celery beef for work tomorrow."

Shi Lv could cook, though his skills were decent but not great. Since the New Leaf Group cafeteria offered little to praise, he decided to bring his own meals.

X seemed surprised again: "You can cook?"

Shi Lv: "A little. I’m not great at home-cooked meals yet… If there’s a chance, you could come try my cooking."

But they hadn’t yet made plans to meet. Shi Lv was curious about X’s appearance and even wanted to see him. Though they’d never met, X had already become the person he knew best in this world. A finance newbie, Shi Lv had been practically guided by X step by step—now, if not an expert, at least he could keep up.

But X was a finance big shot. Though they met through BlueBlue, they still belonged to different circles. Shi Lv had enough self-awareness not to abruptly suggest meeting—it would feel pushy, even sketchy. So he didn’t dare bring it up.

X: "Hmm… alright."

Shi Lv sent a photo of the stir-fry—thin, tender beef strips, celery so fresh it practically glistened, the fiery orange flames leaping as the sauce thickened before a sprinkle of chili peppers. It looked delicious.

More importantly, Shi Lv was wearing an apron.

A brown apron with a cartoon bear, the printed bear beaming goofily. Liang Xu found it especially cute.

He gripped his phone tighter.

Tomorrow, Shi Lv would bring his meal to the office.

X, of course, wouldn’t get to taste it. But as the company’s boss… swiping a bite from an intern’s lunch—was doable, right?