Shen Yuqing hesitated, stopped, then hesitated again, ultimately failing to articulate what he wanted to say.
However, Pei Yiyan took the initiative instead. “There’s a lot to handle in the early stages of a new company, so I’ve been leaving early and returning late.”
“Oh, I see.” Shen Yuqing scratched his arm. “I don’t really understand these things, but do you need any financial support? I have some pocket money saved up.”
And by “some,” he meant quite a substantial amount. Since transmigrating, Shen Yuqing hadn’t had many expenses, so the balance in the original owner’s account had grown impressively over time.
Pei Yiyan seemed surprised by Shen Yuqing’s offer. “You don’t have anything else you want to ask?”
“No,” Shen Yuqing leaned back on the sofa. “I don’t know much about work matters. If you need advice, you should talk to my brother or sister-in-law. They might be able to give you some suggestions.”
Pei Yiyan replied, “I wouldn’t want to trouble them.”
Shen Yuqing asked again, “Are you going to tell them about this?”
Pei Yiyan pursed his lips. “Not for now. Otherwise, Brother Shen Zhen and Sister Geyue would feel obliged to help me.”
That was indeed something Shen Zhen and Su Geyue would do. With their parents away, the elder brother and sister-in-law had truly stepped up to take care of everything.
Shen Yuqing nodded. “Alright, I understand.”
After their conversation, Shen Yuqing stood up and stretched. “Time for a bath.”
As Shen Yuqing headed toward the bedroom, Good Luck followed him. Pei Yiyan, however, remained still for a long while before slowly getting up and making his way to the bedroom as well.
By the time Pei Yiyan entered, Shen Yuqing was still in the bathroom. He grabbed his clothes and went to use the other bathroom outside.
When Shen Yuqing finished his bath, Pei Yiyan had already washed up and was lying on the bed playing with Good Luck, using a new cat teaser Xiao Zhao had bought.
Good Luck chased after the teaser, but every time it pounced, the toy would shift positions, bouncing around the bed and messing up the thin blanket.
Shen Yuqing towel-dried his hair and muttered, “The amount of cat hair shedding is terrifying.”
Hearing this, Good Luck turned its head and meowed at him indignantly, abandoning the teaser to curl up on the other side of the bed.
Shen Yuqing remarked, “Can’t even handle the truth now.”
Good Luck buried its head.
Shen Yuqing rubbed his hair vigorously a few more times before going back to fetch the hairdryer.
Short hair dried quickly just a few blasts of cool air and it was done.
Just as he was about to put the hairdryer away, Pei Yiyan spoke up. “I need my hair dried too.”
Shen Yuqing walked over, turned on the hairdryer, and after a couple of passes, said, “Your hair’s almost dry already.”
Pei Yiyan pressed his lips together and didn’t respond.
Shen Yuqing still dutifully dried it thoroughly, smoothing down the stray strands before pulling away. “There, time to sleep.”
With that, he put the hairdryer away and slipped under the covers. Game time!
It was rare for him not to feel too tired today.
[Blackening Value: 55]
The game notification and system prompt sounded simultaneously, momentarily confusing Shen Yuqing. He opened the stats panel first Pei Yiyan’s blackening value had actually dropped. Huh?
What happened today to cause that?
Shen Yuqing couldn’t figure out why, but the decrease was good news. He glanced at Pei Yiyan, who had already laid down, with Haoyunlai curled up on his shoulder, purring like a running “motorcycle.”
He couldn’t help but smile. At this rate, it seemed like he could complete his mission successfully in just a few more months. After all, Song Wangzhuo’s metrics were already quite low now.
The system noticed it too and celebrated with virtual fireworks for Shen Yuqing: [Congratulations, Host! Double congratulations!]
Initially, it had thought this world’s future was set in stone, but now it couldn’t have been more wrong! Because the future of this world he, Shen Yuqing had arrived!
Moreover, the Mainframe was extremely satisfied with Shen Yuqing’s work, promising additional rewards later. Whether it was the main storyline or side quests, everything was progressing exceptionally well. The system felt this mission might conclude at an unimaginable speed!
Pei Yiyan watched Shen Yuqing suddenly giggle at his phone, puzzled, before closing his eyes. What game could make someone this happy? Once he “regained his sight,” he’d have to try it too.
Shen Yuqing happily played a round of the game this was his most energetic day in a while. Even after lying in bed, he chuckled for a while before falling asleep. Joy! Pure joy!
*The next day.
Shen Yuqing dragged himself out of bed, utterly exhausted. Sure enough, last night’s euphoria had turned into this morning’s misery. His eyelids felt like they were in an all-out brawl, ready to knock him unconscious any second.
The system popped up: [Host, you look completely drained.]
By Shen Yuqing’s usual sleep schedule, he should have gotten enough rest. But lately, he always seemed half-asleep. The system scanned him but found no illnesses or issues.
Shen Yuqing splashed cold water on his face, feeling slightly more awake. [Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on. I feel tired all the time, even though I sleep plenty.]
The system said seriously: [My scans didn’t detect anything. Maybe you should see a doctor?]
[If a high-level AI like you can’t find anything, what’s a hospital going to do?] Shen Yuqing dried his face. [Probably just worn out from running around every day.]
The system still felt uneasy: [You should get checked anyway.]
Shen Yuqing yawned: [Fine, fine. I’m visiting Song Wangzhuo at noon anyway might as well swing by the hospital.]
The system nodded: [I’ll report this to the Mainframe too. We’ll keep monitoring it.]
[Is reporting to the Mainframe really necessary?] Shen Yuqing stepped out of the bathroom. [Isn’t that overkill?]
The system didn’t elaborate: [Better to report it.]
[Alright, go ahead. Not like you mind the extra work.] Shen Yuqing replied as he walked out of the bedroom.
Pei Yiyan had been sleeping soundly these past few days, though he still clung to Shen Yuqing in his sleep just not as aggressively as before.
As Shen Yuqing closed the door, his gaze lingered on Pei Yiyan for a moment before he quietly shut it and headed to the living room.
Not long after the door closed, Pei Yiyan “woke up” on the bed. He sat up, Haoyunlai still snoozing peacefully beside him.
He glanced at the empty space next to him. Though he’d been trying to avoid it at night, clinging to Shen Yuqing had become a habit.
He seemed to need to cling to him to sleep soundly.
Pei Yiyan felt a slight headache coming on. Now he understood why the word “addiction” existed.
It seemed he had grown somewhat dependent and addicted to Shen Yuqing as well.
Pei Yiyan exhaled slowly but then again, perhaps there was no need to change anything.
They were engaged, after all. In the future, they would be husbands, receiving blessings from many. It was only natural for them to share a bed. What was wrong with clinging to each other?
Wasn’t intimacy between husbands perfectly normal?
He lowered his gaze. As long as it was this Shen Yuqing, even more intimate acts wouldn’t be out of the question.
Pei Yiyan convinced himself. Counting the time, Shen Yuqing would reach the legal age next year, and then they would officially register their marriage.
But before that, he still needed to strengthen his financial standing. After all, once Shen Yuqing married him, he couldn’t let the other suffer hardships.
Pei Yiyan had once thought he had plenty of time, but now, it all felt incredibly urgent.
He sighed, as if confirming something to himself, and then his expression grew resolute.
Pei Yiyan got out of bed, washed up, and went out to make money!
