Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Liu Datie poked his head out at the sound, spotting the enormous drone receding into the distance. He pointed at the sky, dumbfounded, and stammered, "D-does it really deliver packages?!"

Chen Ji nodded nonchalantly. "Why would I lie to you?"

The drone's departure was also captured by the phone camera. If Liu Datie hadn't been staring at the sky, he would have seen the flurry of comments.

{Hmm, this isn't just package delivery—it's the power of money!}

{FYI: SF Express drone shipping starts at 2,000 yuan! That's the shipping fee, not the item price!}

{...? I thought we agreed not to be beasts of burden? Is this what that meant?! Huh?!}

Below, a cascade of "666" emojis filled the screen.

Still bewildered, Liu Datie asked, "Do regular packages get delivered this way too?!"

"Regular packages go to the village's delivery station," Chen Ji replied, pausing as if recalling something. "But recently, something happened at the village station, and it hasn't reopened yet."

Indeed, Aunt Xiao Wang's entire family, including Xiao Wang, had moved away. Only Old Man Wang remained, unwilling to leave, so the delivery station naturally couldn't operate.

Chen Ji suddenly fell into thought... What about his own packages?

...No wonder he hadn't received any delivery notifications these past few days.

"Was what you bought expensive?" Liu Datie asked eagerly. It was his first time seeing a drone deliver a package, especially one flown to such a high mountaintop. He was particularly curious about what kind of package warranted such a delivery—judging by how it was dropped, it probably wasn't fragile, right?

Chen Ji casually tucked the package under his arm and walked back briskly, as if the conversation had concluded. "Not too expensive, just something I needed urgently... You should go rest for a bit. Dinner will be ready in half an hour!"

Liu Datie's urge to dramatically leap through the window instantly vanished. Right now, food was paramount. Having already greeted Chen Ji, he made himself at home, plugging in his livestream phone's charger and aiming it at the most scenic spot—the courtyard of the Mountain God Temple. "Hey everyone, I'm going to take a shower. Dinner's soon, so keep an eye on things for me! See you in fifteen minutes!"

With that, he dashed off to the bathroom.

The viewers were growing restless—no matter how beautiful the scenery, a single static shot couldn't hold their interest indefinitely. Especially since the weather was clear today, with barely a cloud stirring, there really wasn't much to see. Some viewers, after admiring the view for a while, were about to leave the livestream when suddenly, a small red and white creature wandered into the frame.

First, a dark pink nose came into view, followed by a pinkish-white muzzle. Vibrant red fur flashed past the camera. As the little animal moved backward, its full appearance was revealed.

{Yooo—! Where did this fox come from?}

{So cute!}

The red fox tilted its head, looking at the phone. It knew what this was—Brother Chen had one, Second Master Huang had one too, and it wanted one as well... But according to the Huang family, these things were incredibly expensive in the human world. A little fox like itself couldn't afford one even if it sold itself.

Its dark pink nose nudged the phone camera, and the red fox pushed it back a bit... Hmm, this phone is warm—it must be overheating! Brother Chen once watched a video saying that bamboo rats with heatstroke should be taken to a stream for rescue. This phone is the same—it'll take it away to save it now!

Livestream viewers felt a sudden dizzying sensation, followed by the perspective becoming unusually low. The edges of the camera even showed a fleshy mouth and sharp little teeth. Everyone quickly realized what had happened—the phone had been snatched by the red fox!

{Datie, come back quick! Your phone's been stolen by a fox!}

{Hahaha!! I don't care, I like this new streamer! Make Datie step down!}

{This perspective is so cool!}

{But still, it's really hilarious hahaha!}

At the same time, gifts rained down like confetti.

Chen Ji, looking out the kitchen window, saw the red fox sneaking off with something in its mouth and immediately called out, "Little Red, where are you going?"

The red fox stiffened but kept walking, trying to pretend it hadn't heard. Then Chen Ji said, "Not listening, huh? Hmm?"

{...???}

{...?!}

{Uh... why do these two sentences sound so suggestive...}

Some viewers even chimed in: {Daddy! I'm here!}

{I'll be good, I'll be good! The pup is coming! Daddy!}

{...? Phone daddy, where have you brought me?}

{This isn't the kindergarten bus—let me off!}

The red fox let out a soft whimper, turned around, and scampered over to Chen Ji. It nimbly leaped onto the windowsill, the phone camera now directly facing Chen Ji’s face.

This was the livestream audience’s first close-up look at Chen Ji. A fleeting glimpse earlier had already left a deep impression, but seeing him up close, the young man was incredibly handsome. His features, which might have seemed somewhat delicate, were overshadowed by those deep, dark eyes, making it impossible to focus on anything else. He felt chilling and gloomy, as if staring into the eyes of a ghost.

Many viewers felt their hair stand on end the moment their eyes met Chen Ji’s through the camera.

{...Yikes, hard to describe, but this guy is pretty creepy.}

{I think so too...}

{Boo hoo, so terrifying! Even though he’s super handsome, why does he look so scary!}

Of course, some rational viewers countered: {Trust science—it’s just the uncanny valley effect.}

The discussion was interrupted by a series of whimpers. The livestream viewers felt the camera shake violently before stabilizing on the ceiling. Red fur, glowing as if lit, brushed past the camera, revealing half of the fox’s head. A slender hand casually reached out and rubbed the fox’s head. "Where did you get this phone?"

"Ying ying!" The red fox vigorously nuzzled Chen Ji’s palm, trying to cover its guilt.

Chen Ji pinched the red fox’s ear. "Little Red, you’ve got some nerve, huh? Stealing phones now?"

The red fox’s head tilted away, pulled out of the camera. Viewers heard another series of soft, clingy whimpers—sweet, soft, and incredibly endearing.

{I’m genuinely jealous...}

{I want a fox to be this affectionate with me too!}

{Wait, how did this guy raise a fox to be like this?}

Chen Ji’s voice continued, "I’ll let it slide this time, but no more, understand?"

"Ying ying!"

Chen Ji: "Stay put. Later, come with me to apologize. Let the phone’s owner pat you as an apology. If you agree, yip three times."

"Ying ying ying!"

The barrage was flooded with "???," and many viewers opened their browsers to search whether foxes were really that intelligent and could understand commands.

{This little fox is really clever...}

{Is it possible that all the little animals we’ve encountered so far are this intelligent?}

{It really seems like it understands what he’s saying!}

{The more you think about it, the creepier it gets... Snake, weasel, fox, what's next? Only the white immortal and the gray immortal are missing!}

Chen Ji picked up Liu Datie's phone and explained gently to everyone, "Hello, everyone, a little animal was being playful and took the streamer's phone... Don't worry about it. I'll return it to him right away."

{Is this really not scripted?}

{Wow, finally getting to talk!}

Liu Datie had just gotten out of the shower when he heard a knock at the door. He wiped the water off his neck with a towel and hurried to answer it, only to find Chen Ji waiting outside—since Chen Ji was the only other person around.

Just as he was about to speak, Chen Ji handed him something very familiar and offered an apologetic smile, "Sorry, the little animal at home didn't know any better and took your phone."

"You can check if anything else is missing. I'll have it look for anything else and bring it back."

"Oh, it’s fine, no problem." Liu Datie had thought it was Second Master Huang who did it. Recalling the clever weasel from earlier, he didn't feel angry at all—it wasn’t a big deal anyway. He took the phone and said, "Was it Second Grandfather? Second Grandfather is really smart, he even understands phones..."

Chen Ji lifted his right leg, gesturing for Liu Datie to look, and said helplessly, "It wasn’t Second Grandfather, it was this one."

Liu Datie looked down and finally noticed a chubby fox clinging to Chen Ji’s right leg. Despite its bright, eye-catching red fur, he had somehow failed to notice it earlier. The red fox seemed to know it was being watched, lifting its head with pitiful eyes and letting out a soft whimper: "Ying~"

The sound was so pitiful and trembling it made one’s heart flutter.

{Forgive King Zhou, understand King Zhou, become King Zhou!}

{Forgive King Zhou, understand King Zhou, become King Zhou!}

The chat was flooded with this phrase in unison.

"..." Liu Datie was momentarily at a loss for words. Just then, he saw Chen Ji nudge his leg and say, "Aren’t you going to apologize?"

He then turned to Liu Datie and said, "If you forgive it, pet it."

The red fox reluctantly climbed down from Chen Ji’s leg and ran over to Liu Datie’s side, rubbing against his leg reluctantly.

Liu Datie instinctively kept recording with his phone. After a moment of silence, he bent down and carefully patted the red fox. The moment it received his pat, the fox immediately turned and ran off. For some reason, both Liu Datie and the live-stream audience could sense a "mortified" vibe from its retreating figure.

Liu Datie carefully chose his words and asked, "Brother, tell me honestly, how many little animals usually come around here?"

He didn’t dare say "raised by Chen Ji."

Chen Ji thought for a moment and smiled, "I have two cats. One is named Xiao Ba, and the other... well, that one ran away from home. It’s very shy and afraid of people, so you probably won’t see it."

Liu Datie breathed a sigh of relief, "That’s good, that’s good..."

He was genuinely afraid Chen Ji would say something like, "Oh, pit vipers, cobras, spiders, centipedes or toads often come to the Mountain Lord’s temple to hang out." If that were the case, he would’ve left the mountain immediately without staying a second longer!

Seeing Chen Ji fall silent, Liu Datie quickly added, "I’ve finished showering. Is there anything I can help with?"

Chen Ji said, "Then help me move the table to the courtyard. The weather is nice today, so let’s eat outside."

Liu Datie initially wanted to ask if there would be a lot of bugs outside, but since he was a guest, he kept it to himself. He obediently followed Chen Ji to move the table, then helped bring out the dishes and bowls. But when it came time to serve the soup, he was once again left speechless.

Staring at the ginseng root in the large soup ladle, which was thicker than his thumb, he finally said after a long pause, "...What other surprises are you hiding from me?"