Chapter 15: “A Neighbor on the Same Floor?”

Li Huanhuan, holding the duck, looked at the note in her hand with a strange expression.

It actually said that the duck she bought was too salty?

Somehow, her competitive spirit was triggered.

She looked at the duck in the bag, and now, she had to see if this duck was really better than the one she usually bought!

Li Huanhuan didn’t return the duck like last time, but instead took it home and into the kitchen. She paired it with rice and sauerkraut vermicelli soup, and soon, her meal was ready.

Ten minutes later.

Li Huanhuan looked at the duck in her bowl with mixed feelings. It really was better than the one she usually bought. How could there be such a big difference? Compared to the duck from neighbor 150, her usual duck tasted like a low-quality pirated CD.

“Damn, how can it be this delicious?” Li Huanhuan thought, incredulously, while gobbling it down.

“Meow~”

At her feet, a soft meow came.

Li Huanhuan looked down and saw the cat, His Majesty, sitting in front of her, looking up with emerald green eyes, eagerly staring at her.

“Your Majesty, no duck for you.”

Li Huanhuan pinched the cat’s triangular ears.

Canned food was fine, but the duck was too salty for cats—it could make their fur fall out.

“Meow~” His Majesty flopped onto the floor, rolling over, exposing its soft belly, trying to trade its “beauty” for food.

Li Huanhuan, holding the duck leg, stared at the soft white belly of His Majesty. She was tempted for a second, but before disaster could strike, she came to her senses just in time.

“Damn.”

She rubbed the cat’s belly hard, only to receive a paw slap in return.

Without the duck, the cat immediately transformed from a soft, lovable “cat Daji” into a “cat tyrant.” It stood up coldly, shook its fur, and with a flick of its fluffy tail, turned around and walked towards the living room.

Li Huanhuan, still holding the duck leg, was caught between laughing and crying.

But in the end, the duck from neighbor 150 still ended up in Li Huanhuan’s stomach.

After all, “it wouldn’t be polite not to reciprocate.”

Her neighbor had gifted her such delicious food, and she had to find something even more delicious to return, otherwise, the competitive spirit in her heart wouldn’t be settled.

Yes, Li Huanhuan, usually a lazy “salted fish,” had been stirred by a duck to unleash her foolish competitive spirit.

She scrolled through all the takeout she usually ordered and even consulted her best friend, Xiao Jing, asking her for the “Top Ten Best Foods List.”

For the next week, she and her neighbor in Unit 150 fell into some strange and inexplicable loop, engaging in a bizarre food rivalry.

Today, they sent her duck.

Tomorrow, she’d definitely send them crispy duck.

“Okay, your crispy duck is good, but it’s not authentic—it has that trendy, internet celebrity flavor. It’s not as fragrant and inviting as the one from a certain shop in a neighboring town.”

…

And so it went on.

What started as a simple gesture of courtesy gradually turned into a competitive food exchange. In the end, it even became a form of culinary communication.

Although, Li Huanhuan had never actually met the neighbor in Unit 150.

She was a “shut-in” who rarely left home.

But strangely, the neighbor seemed to have some “unspoken secret” too, always coming and going at odd hours.

Qin Shi wasn’t intentionally mysterious—he was just out walking his dog.

As a dog owner, he went out early in the morning before his eyes were even open, and walked the dog; in the evening, under the stars, he walked the dog; whether it was windy, rainy, or scorching hot, he still went out to walk his dog, even if it was hailing or raining knives—this was the “basic routine” for countless dog owners.

Even as the protagonist of the world and a top-tier esports player, Qin Shi couldn’t escape the “rain or shine, day or night” dog-walking fate.

Moreover, he owned a Husky, which needed a lot of exercise.

Probably because the neighborhood had a low occupancy rate, Qin Shi hadn’t encountered any strange stalkers or annoying paparazzi. His holiday was going quite well.

He even found a different kind of fun in his “food exchange” with his mysterious neighbor in Unit 149.

It felt like they both knew each other existed and how easily they could obtain each other’s information, but it was like being pen pals, communicating their thoughts on food through notes, without either of them making a move to break the silent agreement.

This gave Qin Shi a unique experience.

He was curious about the neighbor in Unit 149 but only out of curiosity. He never thought about directly meeting the person behind the “149 neighbor” identity.

He had no interest in the real person behind that door.

Of course, not all of Qin Shi’s holiday was easy or fun. At least one thing bothered him—the Husky, “Barbecue.”

Barbecue was also troubled.

The source of Barbecue’s distress was Qin Shi’s neighbor’s cat in Unit 149.

Barbecue was a unique Husky, or in other words, a very peculiar one. Like all Huskies, it had boundless energy, but it was also a dog that adored cats.

In short, it was a cat’s “simping” dog.

The most direct manifestation was that Barbecue loved an internet-famous white cat called “His Majesty the Cat.” Every time His Majesty streamed, Barbecue would sit in front of the computer/tablet/phone, wagging its tail at the white cat on the screen.

When Qin Shi accidentally clicked on the live stream of “His Majesty the Cat,” the fan count was still quite low. The stream schedule was also unstable.

Qin Shi set up a dog account for his silly dog. To keep his dog happy and allow it to enjoy the cat’s live streams, Qin Shi ended up making Barbecue’s account “No Hotpot, Just Barbecue” the top donor in His Majesty’s stream.

Who would have thought that a dog would become the number one supporter in a live stream?

Every time His Majesty streamed, Barbecue would squat in front of the live stream. If His Majesty was on break, Barbecue would become depressed, unable to gather any energy.

Of course, Qin Shi wasn’t implying that His Majesty the Cat had any connection with his neighbor in Unit 149.

What he meant by “distress” was that Barbecue, after getting obsessed with the live streams of His Majesty the Cat, seemed to have developed an obsession with the cat from Unit 149.

Qin Shi had never seen the cat.

According to his cousin, Dongfang Jiao, she hadn’t seen it either. He didn’t know what kind of magic the cat had, but he knew that Barbecue was like a dog possessed. Every time he took Barbecue out for a walk, the dog almost ran into Unit 149’s apartment.

Of course, the door was always closed.

Barbecue would sit outside the door, wagging its tail excitedly, appearing very eager and humble, trying to please. Sometimes, Qin Shi couldn’t pull the dog back. It seemed like it would have happily “sold itself as a servant” to become Unit 149’s dog.

As Qin Shi was engaged in a “food exchange” with his neighbor in Unit 149, Barbecue’s behavior was like an army giving up the fight, raising a white flag before the battle was even won. It was utterly embarrassing.

Qin Shi thought.

However, an unexpected event turned Qin Shi and Barbecue into “kindred spirits.”

Early one morning, before dawn, Qin Shi went out for his usual dog walk. The neighborhood was not very well connected, but fortunately, there were several parks nearby, perfect for running, walking dogs, or taking a stroll.

To avoid being recognized, Qin Shi deliberately took a secluded path. Along the way, he encountered two middle-aged uncles jogging with all sorts of gear, out of breath. Everything seemed perfect.

He walked Barbecue around the park and returned, still before 8 AM.

According to the plan, Li Huanhuan should have still been asleep at 8 AM. Even if she was awake, she wouldn’t be out this early. But on this particular morning, as she was still asleep, she received a call from her mother, Su Mei. Su Mei said that a friend had sent them a box of local specialties and left it in the security room. She told Li Huanhuan to go down and pick it up immediately.

“Mom, I’ll go later, I’m not up yet…”

“Later? Look at the time! Liu Shushu and his fishing friends have already gone out. Hurry up and get the box, or it might be taken!”

…

The security office had indeed had items go missing before.

Though it was a low probability, it had happened. Li Huanhuan understood her mother’s worry. Sometimes, once people got a certain thought in their head, they couldn’t stop worrying about the worst-case scenario.

What if?

What if someone had taken it?

Li Huanhuan couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Finally, she had to do something against her routine and went downstairs to the security office to get the box at 8 AM. When she arrived, the box hadn’t been taken, though it was quite heavy.

She struggled to carry the box, panting as she made her way back to the building.

Downstairs, Qin Shi was returning from his walk with Barbecue.

When he reached a populated area, he pulled up his mask, trying to stay low-key. But his height and appearance made it impossible to stay unnoticed. Even if people didn’t follow esports, Qin Shi’s looks would make the aunties and uncles walking by take a second glance.

“Huh?”

Qin Shi stopped.

He thought he saw a figure that looked a lot like Li Huanhuan.

Li Huanhuan.

The name made his brow furrow.

“Woof!”

Barbecue, squatting at his feet, barked.

Qin Shi snapped out of his thoughts.

What a coincidence! Li Huanhuan actually lived in this neighborhood?

It must be because he dreamed of her last night, which is why he was so disoriented.

However, it wasn’t a good dream. In the dream, Li Huanhuan was holding Fox’s hand, standing opposite him, smiling and saying that the person she liked was Fox, and he was just a matchmaker candidate for her.

Then Qin Shi woke up with a start.

When he woke up, it was still early morning, and he couldn’t fall back asleep. So, he changed clothes, took Barbecue downstairs, and went for his morning run.

Qin Shi shook his head, amused at himself.

In the evening, Qin Shi returned from his walk and met the building manager downstairs. Behind the manager was a middle-aged woman looking anxious. The manager told Qin Shi that the woman was from his floor and that her house had been robbed, with no clues found. She wanted to borrow his surveillance footage to see if they could catch the thief who entered her apartment.

“A neighbor on the same floor?”

Qin Shi looked at the middle-aged woman.