In the live stream, Luo Yu glanced at the viewer count.

In just a few minutes, over ten thousand people had already joined!

Fearing that if he delayed any longer, the live stream would suddenly get banned, he decided to act quickly.

Luo Yu took a few steps back, holding his phone so that everyone could see the large bed behind him.

The luxurious double bed, large enough to be impressive, was divided into three distinct color areas—

At the head of the bed were three square soft pillows arranged in order, each dressed in a pink floral cotton cover, a black and white linen cover, and a silver silk cover.

Beneath each pillow lay a sheet of the same style, one person wide.

At the foot of the bed were neatly folded, long, tofu-shaped quilts in the same style.

【Three stacked quilts, could it be that today we’ll draw two lucky viewers to sleep together?】

【Draw me, draw me, I want to sleep with my wife!】

【How does the streamer have so many beautiful four-piece sets! This set must cost tens of thousands! So impressive!】

Luo Yu, like a little fish, nimbly dove into the first pink floral set and patted beside him.

“It’s not just two people sleeping together; This can accommodate all of you darlings.”

He proudly extended a finger. “Tap the shopping bag at the bottom of the screen to get a way to sleep with the streamer from afar!”

Hearing this, the viewers in the live stream all clicked on the shopping bag in unison—

The three different floral four-piece sets displayed on the bed were all available for sale in the shopping bag!

Not only were they under a thousand yuan, but they also included a folding bed as a bonus!

【How the hell is this so cheap!!!】

【Help, I just ordered a single bed for ten thousand yuan yesterday!】

【You can’t find such beautiful sheets on the market; I only see black, white, and gray online, which are ugly. Did the streamer design these himself?】

【Wife, you won’t go bankrupt selling these, right? Other places charge several times more!】

“Don’t worry, I won’t go bankrupt.” Luo Yu smiled, his eyes crescent-shaped. “I had a factory I’m familiar with produce them in bulk and sell them to everyone at cost, just a little token from the streamer.”

【Wuwu, my wife really cares about us!】

【I was just thinking about whether to buy a second-hand four-piece set, and the streamer unexpectedly brought us benefits. I will really love the streamer for a lifetime!】

“The streamer will let you all try sleeping on them first.”

Luo Yu tucked himself under the pink floral quilt and lay down, looking at the camera. “This one is pure cotton, very comfortable against the skin, and the floral design is super cute. Perfect for the lovely girls out there.”

After that, he got up and dove into the black and white checked quilt. “This one is made of linen, very breathable and cool. The black and white check is also very stylish.”

Finally, he shifted under the silver silk quilt, unable to hide his laughter: “This set is my favorite! I feel like a little fish swimming, so slippery and smooth.”

【Order placed】

【Help, why is the stock for the silver silk set running low so quickly?】

【Of course, it’s because my wife likes it!】

【If I buy these, will I get the streamer who’s in the quilt for free?】

As Luo Yu saw the stock of bed products—over a hundred thousand units—gradually running low for each type, he finally had a direct sense of his popularity for the first time!

Lying lazily under the silk, he turned slightly towards the camera and slowly smiled.

“I’m not giving away myself.”

“But from now on, we can sleep together every night.”

……

At the headquarters of the association.

After receiving the link to the live stream, Li Rui quickly forwarded it to his cold-faced president. He then carefully moved to the president’s large office chair, leaning in to review the live stream with him.

After just a few minutes, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes and blurt out,

“What’s going on? He’s selling beds?!”

“We’ve cracked it! This streamer is definitely backed by the Hypnos League. I know that organization has connections with several factories. The Hypnos League have been quiet for a while, and I thought they had given up. Who would have thought they’d want to pull something big after a few days of not causing trouble…”

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly paused.

Li Rui watched in disbelief as their usually busy and cold-hearted president, Song Lingyuan, at that moment in this little streamer’s live room, who was stirring the public to sleep and leading the resistance against sleep medication,

gifted 19,999 yuan.

He instantly became the number one shining supporter.

Li Rui exclaimed, “President, what are you—”

“Just a slip of the hand.”

Song Lingyuan interrupted him, calmly turning off the one-click payment and unapologetically shutting down the live stream.

“Confirm the violation and ban it.”

Li Rui was dumbfounded. “Ah, yes.”

Then he quickly came to his senses. “Should I bring people to shut down the factories of the Hypnos League? So they can’t ship any products!”

Song Lingyuan leaned back against the wide black chair, furrowing his brows in thought for a moment, then shook his head lightly.

“If the experience of sleeping is the current longing of people around the world, then simply shutting down one or two furniture factories won’t work.”

“This live stream is only the beginning of a trend.”

“The business opportunity is glaringly obvious to everyone. Even if it’s just for profit, more people will risk selling cheaper, more refined bedding.”

Li Rui held his breath. “Then won’t our sleep medication project be greatly affected…”

“Not necessarily. Bring Qi Yuan here.” Song Lingyuan interrupted him.

Li Rui quickly responded, “Yes.”

A few minutes later, the vice president of the association, Qi Yuan, entered the office, closed the door, adjusted his glasses, and looked at Song Lingyuan. “President, you called for me?”

Song Lingyuan nodded. “What’s the progress on the sleep medication research?”

Qi Yuan had anticipated this question.

Since two years ago, when the president assigned him the task of “producing a medication that can control sleep onset time,” he had been asked for updates every month.

This medication was named “sleep medication” by the project team.

Qi Yuan’s expression turned difficult.

“Our current direction is to enable people to fall into 90 minutes of deep sleep quickly after taking the sleep medication, allowing them to replenish the energy needed for the whole day in those 90 minutes.”

“But it will take at least another year to turn theory into reality.”

Song Lingyuan frowned in dissatisfaction. “Have you watched Luo Yu’s recent live streams?”

Qi Yuan sighed. “I have.”

“If that student could appear when we launch our sleep medication to the market, it would be great.”

“But we’re not fully prepared yet to handle the public’s enthusiasm for sleep. As I understand, you also chose to ban his live stream.”

Song Lingyuan nodded. “Pick up the pace. The turning point is coming soon.”

Two years ago, Song Lingyuan had sensed that public attitudes toward sleep had quietly shifted.

Thirty-five years ago, the association had introduced sleep medication in response to the times, completely eradicating sleep as a wasteful and troublesome physiological behavior.

Now, he intended to adapt to this new trend, allowing sleep to return as a form of leisure and entertainment.

However, the implementation of this new policy required controllable sleep.

The association had to develop a medication that would allow people to freely control their sleep duration—

Only then could “sleep” occupy just one or two hours of people’s leisure time, like massages and beauty treatments, and be started and ended at will.

Unfortunately, the medication had not yet been successfully developed.

Once Qi Yuan left, Song Lingyuan fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, a new message popped up on his phone from Luo Yu’s new live account @zsygxh:

【It’s you! S brother^】

【Stop sending gifts! If I get banned, I won’t earn a penny!】

【Add me on WeChat, and I’ll send you a few sets of sheets! Hurry up, or I’ll get banned again!】

Not able to get his money?

Song Lingyuan paused, somewhat surprised.

He entered the live stream and saw the little streamer blinking his eyes, hurriedly operating something on his phone.

He was probably trying to send him a message.

After pondering for a few seconds, he exited the live stream and expressionlessly added that contact.

He soon received a flurry of welcome messages.

Song Lingyuan lowered his eyes and sent a message:

【You can’t receive the money from the previous gifts?】

Luo Yu: [Yeah, yeah! Cat crying.jpg]

Luo Yu: [Ahhh! My new live stream has been banned again! I’m really going to hate the association for a lifetime!]

The president of the association, who was being scolded in absentia: …

At the same time.

Song Lingyuan received a message from Li Rui saying that the ban had been completed.

Song Lingyuan pressed his forehead and called Li Rui.

“Contact the Xingyao platform and have them return the gifts that this streamer deserves.”

On the other end of the line, Li Rui was silent for a moment before cautiously questioning:

“President, these are the illegal proceeds the streamer obtained! Why should we help him?”

“Have you been working for how long and still need me to teach you how to do your job?”

Song Lingyuan’s tone revealed impatience.

“Have the Xingyao company require him to go to the site to lift the ban. You take people to the company to wait for him.”

Li Rui suddenly realized!

But he couldn’t help but ask:

“President, why do you want to personally invite him to the association for a face-to-face chat?”

For a college student like him, wouldn’t it be enough to just ban him and let the school educate him? Even if he caused a scene, it wouldn’t amount to much.

The real focus should be on the Hypnos League behind him!

Song Lingyuan’s cold voice came through. “I don’t want him to develop any misunderstandings toward us.”

The call was hung up, and Li Rui put away his phone, feeling a bit perplexed.

Misunderstandings?

They had already banned him twice. The guy would only have absolute, simple hatred; how could there be any misunderstandings?

……

With the live stream banned, Luo Yu was forced to end his broadcast.

As Wen Li expected, the association noticed Lou Yu’s live stream and issued a ban, resulting in a time lag.

Before the ban, the hundred thousand sets of bedding prepared in the live stream had already sold out!

Luo Yu completed his task, put away his live streaming props, and dove into bed, falling asleep quickly even without taking the sleep medication.

After what felt like an eternity, he groggily opened his eyes on the vintage soft bed, yawned, and picked up his phone, bleary-eyed, to check the time.

It was already afternoon.

Scrolling through his phone, he noticed several unread messages…

Luo Yu flipped over like a fish and sat up abruptly!

Xingyao Platform had actually agreed to refund his gift money!

Luo Yu trembled as he dialed the phone number left in the text. On the other end was a customer service representative, who gently explained that the Xingyao Platform had introduced a new live stream policy!

After a streamer’s account is banned, any unclaimed gift amounts can be refunded to the streamer’s bank account!

—However, the streamer must go in person to the Xingyao Group headquarters to handle the refund process offline.

“I’m going. I’ll go right now. You must wait for me. No changing the policy at the last minute!”

Luo Yu nearly tumbled out of bed, changed into the new clothes Wen Li had prepared for him—clean white short sleeves and light blue jeans.

After calming down a bit, he picked up his phone and noticed that the top supporter, S, had also sent him a message a few hours ago:

【I heard the gift money can be refunded now.】

His benefactor really cared about him!

Luo Yu couldn’t suppress a smile, his eyebrows nearly shooting up to the ceiling:

【A great miracle!!!】

S’s message displayed “typing…”

Luo Yu: [Xingyao is really conscientious! A hundred times more perceptive than that group of fools at the association!!]

S stopped typing.

Was his benefactor dissatisfied with his reaction? Luo Yu quickly added:

【Thank you, S, for caring about me^】

S’s typing indicator appeared again.

After a while, a message finally came through:

【The association may have their considerations.】

At the same moment he received the message, Luo Yu sent one of his own.

While waiting for a reply, he took a selfie on the silver silk sheets and attached a message:

【Top supporter benefits! Free set of four pieces for you! Send me your address.】

On the other end of the phone, Song Lingyuan was trying to explain to the public, who misunderstood them, the association’s considerations regarding Luo Yu, when he suddenly received this selfie.

In the photo, the boy stretched out his white, slender arm holding the phone, his other hand spread out toward the soft bed, with a familiar, innocent smile on his face, dressed in refreshing white, further accentuating his lively features.

However, the corners of his eyes still had a familiar redness, glistening with moisture.

Had he cried again? Or was it just makeup?

Song Lingyuan stared at the photo for a few seconds, then swiped to save it.

He returned to the chat interface, deleted the message he had prepared, and replied:

【No need.】

……

After changing clothes, Luo Yu pushed open the door and walked into the underground hall lined with two rows of bunk beds.

In the afternoon, no sunlight could penetrate the basement, which was dim and quiet. A few people napped on the folding beds on either side, emitting soft, reassuring snores.

Luo Yu didn’t bother to greet anyone and quickened his pace toward the exit.

As long as he could get back his five hundred thousand, he wouldn’t have to worry about having no place to sleep for a long time.

He was almost free!

“Little Luo, where are you going?”

Just as Luo Yu reached the stairwell, he suddenly heard Wen Li’s voice echoing across the hall.

He turned around.

Wen Li came out of the kitchen, carrying a ceramic bowl, his tone gentle: “I heard you woke up, so I made you some noodles.”

Luo Yu froze for a moment, glancing at the exit before looking back at Wen Li approaching him.

He bit his lip and ultimately walked over to Wen Li. “Thank you, senior—”

“You did great last night.”

Wen Li approached him, praising him like a child, placing the ceramic bowl on a long table by the hallway. “Eat while it’s hot.”

Luo Yu sat down at the long table and opened the food container.

The golden noodles were topped with a fried egg, making his mouth water, and he couldn’t help but dive in, finishing the whole bowl.

“Eat slowly.” Wen Li smiled, gently patting the back of his neck, as if soothing a pet cat. “Are we continuing the stream at the same time tonight?”

Luo Yu mumbled, “But I need to go out first.”

“Go out?” Wen Li’s smile suddenly stiffened. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the Xingyao Company headquarters!” Luo Yu wiped his mouth clean and stood up. “They called me and said the gifts from the previous ban can be refunded, but I have to handle it in person. Thanks for the noodles, senior! See you later!”

“Aren’t you afraid of running into people from the association?” Wen Li reminded him in a low voice.

Luo Yu was solely focused on that five hundred thousand and casually brushed him off. “They don’t know I’m going!”

Wen Li shook his head. “I’ll take you.”

“No need! If you take me, won’t that make you a bigger target?” Luo Yu waved his hands.

“Be obedient.”

Wen Li stood up, grasped Luo Yu’s wrist, and directly led him toward the basement exit.

Luo Yu tried to break free but realized Wen Li was incredibly strong; trying to shake him off was futile.

He had no choice but to follow silently behind him.

Soon, Luo Yu understood what Wen Li meant by taking him.

The deep red truck that had transported him from the community to the construction site was parked outside the break room, with the driver sitting in the cab smoking.

Wen Li exchanged a few words with the driver, who glanced back at him, extinguished his cigarette, and climbed into the truck.

A few seconds later, the back door of the truck opened.

“Get in.”

Wen Li pulled Luo Yu’s hand again, giving him a gentle push on his back until he was sure he was in the truck before letting go.

The darkness enveloped the truck’s interior, and Wen Li turned on the yellow bulb inside. He saw Luo Yu sitting across from him, lowering his eyes and rubbing his wrist, gently sighing:

“Little Luo, everything I do is for your own good.”

Luo Yu forced a smile, raising his head to obediently smile back at Wen Li. “Alright, brother.”

He certainly believed Wen Li had his best interests at heart, especially since they needed to leverage each other.

The Hypnos League needed an idol streamer like him to encourage the masses to sleep.

And for now, he still needed a safe place to sleep.

The truck drove for about half an hour before stopping.

“This is the closest construction site to the Xingyao Group.”

Wen Li opened the truck door, and the workers outside, upon seeing them, acted as if they hadn’t noticed, continuing to carry bricks.

These construction sites were the bases for the Hypnos League?

Luo Yu concealed his surprise and heard Wen Li point to the blue glass building across the road:

“That’s the Xingyao building. headquarters. Once you complete the procedures, come find me, and I’ll take you back. There are people from the association around the neighborhood, so it’s dangerous for you to act alone.”

“Got it.” Luo Yu softly thanked Wen Li, his eyes filled with admiration. “Senior, I wouldn’t know what to do without you.”

Wen Li’s gaze was ambiguous as he ruffled the back of Luo Yu’s head. “Then just be obedient and listen to me.”

At four in the afternoon, the summer sun was still shining brightly.

Luo Yu raised his hand to shield his eyes from the intense sunlight and quickly crossed the road with his head slightly down, entering the Xingyao headquarters.

After explaining his purpose to the front desk receptionist, he was taken to a guest room on the first floor to wait.

Luo Yu didn’t know how long he waited when a young man in a black suit finally arrived, smiling brightly:

“You must be streamer Luo Yu, right? Fill out this form, and once you’re done, you’ll get your money!”

So cheerful? Wasn’t he here to collect money, not to give it away?

Luo Yu took the form, which only required some basic information and his bank account number.

Was it really necessary to fill it out in person?

That doubt only flickered in his mind for a second before being quickly suppressed by the anticipation of getting the money.

Luo Yu soon handed the form back to the young man, who briskly walked out of the meeting room, submitted the form to another colleague outside, and then turned back:

“Come with me.”

Luo Yu obediently followed the man to the elevator, but when they got inside, he was surprised to see the man press the button for the basement!

There’s an office on the basement level?

A strange emotion surged in his heart, reaching a peak when the elevator doors opened—

Outside was a parking lot.

Luo Yu stopped in his tracks. “Aren’t we here for a refund?”

Li Rui turned around, looking at him with a perplexed expression. “The refund has already been processed. Check your phone; the money should be there!”

Luo Yu was momentarily stunned, quickly taking out his phone.

Five hundred fifty thousand—his money had actually arrived in his bank account!

He let out a heavy breath, his previous caution relaxing: “So where are you taking me now?”

Li Rui shrugged. “To the headquarters of the association.”

Luo Yu: …

Luo Yu: ???

His eyelids jumped, and he turned to press the elevator button to go back up, but the elevator was already closed.

And in the seemingly empty parking lot, several bodyguards in black suddenly appeared, surrounding him in the center!

“Don’t be afraid, don’t run. We won’t do anything to you. I’m Li Rui, the assistant to the association president. Our president would like to invite you to dinner.”

Li Rui opened his hands, politely gesturing toward a black van nearby.

Li Rui thought he had made his invitation clear, but to Luo Yu, it felt no different from being kidnapped!

“Why do you want to invite me?”

Li Rui hesitated for a moment. “Our president, he should be your fan.”

Luo Yu looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Li Rui was certain: “He loves watching your streams!”

Luo Yu: …

Did the people from the association love to joke around?

Luo Yu couldn’t muster a smile, his heart racing so fast that he could barely hold his phone.

He recalled some rumors about the association, his face silently paling.

The surroundings were so quiet that he could hear nothing else, and he started to regret leaving the safety of the underground space for the sake of money.

Non-human torture awaited him, and thinking about it made his legs feel unsteady.

Li Rui noticed his reaction. “Did you twist your ankle?” He waved his hand. “Help our streamer get into the car.”

Two bodyguards stepped forward, firmly supporting the weak and pale Luo Yu.

Luo Yu was securely helped into the back seat of the black van, and the door closed behind him.

The heavily tinted windows obscured the outside view.

Should he text Wen Li?

But he didn’t know the license plate number, nor did he know where he was being taken.

After hesitating for a long time, Luo Yu finally gathered the courage to pull out his phone while the bodyguards rested with their eyes closed, only to find—

His phone had run out of battery from playing around in the Xingyao meeting room for too long.

Luo Yu: …

He would just have to fend for himself.

After nearly two hours of self-induced mental torment, the van finally stopped.

The bodyguards helped him out of the car, and he found himself standing in front of a building made of white marble.

The building clearly read:

【International Human Progress Association Headquarters】

He didn’t have time for any extra thoughts before the bodyguards squeezed him from both sides, forcing him into the headquarters building, following that assistant through winding corridors.

He was then extremely respectfully “invited” into a meeting room at the end of an empty hallway.

“Luo Yu, you can rest here for a moment while our president finishes his meeting and comes to see you.”

With that, the door to the meeting room was “clicked” and locked from the outside, leaving him alone in the hall.

The terrifying torture he had imagined didn’t materialize, at least for now.

This was… a warmly decorated lounge.

Luo Yu forced himself to remain calm as he sat down on a deep red sofa on the left side of the hall.

On the marble long table to the right, there were several dishes covered with silver lids.

A savory aroma reminiscent of roasted chicken wafted over, making Luo Yu swallow hard.

He sat with his legs crossed and hands resting on his knees, obediently and patiently for a full five minutes.

Finally unable to resist, he stood up.

It wouldn’t hurt to grab a bite of the roast chicken, would it?

“Click—”

The door suddenly opened from the outside.

Luo Yu’s legs went weak, and he fell back onto the sofa.

The young president of the association, whom he had seen in videos and occasionally encountered in school hallways, the one rumored to be cold and heartless, walked in wearing an impeccably clean dark gray suit.

He placed his white gloves on the doorknob and closed the door again from the inside.

His deep blue eyes locked onto Luo Yu’s face.

Luo Yu instinctively lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze.

“Sit.”

The serious, flat command rang out like thunder, sending a chill down Luo Yu’s spine.

He slowly raised his eyes to see Song Lingyuan walking to one side of the long table, seemingly pulling out a chair for him before continuing to the end of the table.

Luo Yu cautiously moved to the chair that had been pulled out, which had a gold trim.

Song Lingyuan sat upright a few meters away from him, gesturing toward the dishes on the table with a tilt of his chin.

“Eat.”

Luo Yu dared not disobey and carefully surveyed the covered dishes on the table before reaching out.

He accurately lifted the silver cover from the center plate, and beneath it was indeed a steaming roast chicken.

He attempted to tear off a chicken leg.

But with Song Lingyuan’s gaze fixed on him, his hand trembled uncontrollably, taking quite a while to finally pull it off.

Luo Yu brought the chicken leg to his mouth but hesitated, lifting his eyes again.

There wouldn’t be any drugs in this chicken leg, would there?

“Why aren’t you eating?”

He could hear his voice sounding a bit choked.

“Why are you crying?”

Song Lingyuan seemed genuinely puzzled, staring at him from several meters away.

“I’m not crying.” Luo Yu randomly wiped his eyes with his forearm, his voice feeling wronged. “I just wanted you to eat too.”

Song Lingyuan frowned slightly, remaining silent. He then put on a layer of plastic gloves over his white ones before picking up a silver knife and fork and cutting a piece of meat from the other side of the roast chicken.

Seeing Song Lingyuan finally take a bite and chew it elegantly, Luo Yu felt he could finally dare to gnaw on the chicken leg.

As he devoured it, he kept an eye on Song Lingyuan’s every movement.

Surprisingly… there were no extra actions.

The two of them sat facing each other until the entire roast chicken was reduced to a heap of scraps, with the roasted broccoli and potatoes also cleaned up completely.

After finishing the last bite, Luo Yu felt full, but his heart was a little desolate.

The terrifying president of the association, rumored to be so cruel, was suddenly being so nice to him, even inviting him to eat roast chicken.

Could this be his last meal in this world…?

“Why do you like to sleep?”

Song Lingyuan suddenly spoke.

Here it comes.

It felt like a blow to the head, and tears instantly streamed down the corners of Luo Yu’s eyes, the words swirling in his mind spilling out:

“I don’t mean to sleep!”

“Un itentional sleep?” Song Lingyuan paused for a moment, slowly repeating those words, then took off his plastic gloves and tossed them aside, looking at him expressionlessly:

“Are you really asleep in those live?”

Luo Yu: “… Huh?”

Song Lingyuan didn’t know he was actually asleep in all those live stream?

Song Lingyuan raised an eyebrow:

“I just wanted to ask where your interest in studying sleep comes from. But since you’ve confessed your crime, let’s discuss that first.”

Luo Yu’s fork clattered to the plate.

It seemed he had inadvertently confessed.

“Why did you violate the regulations and deliberately fall into real sleep?”

Luo Yu took shallow breaths: “Because I… I’m allergic to sleeping pills, and taking them could kill me.”

He raised his eyes, red-eyed: “If you don’t allow people to sleep, how am I supposed to survive?”

Luo Yu thought that concealing this was pointless.

If the association truly disregarded human life, then no matter what he said, it would be useless. And if the association had even a shred of conscience, they shouldn’t blame him for his sleeping behavior.

Song Lingyuan seemed unsurprised by his words, merely nodding slightly.

He picked up the phone placed at the edge of the table, quickly operated something on the screen, and then set it down:

“Wait two minutes.”

Wait? What were they waiting for?

Luo Yu felt confused and frightened as he suddenly saw Song Lingyuan stand up, causing him to shrink back.

But he saw the tall man walk to his side.

He bent down to pick up a sealed yellow juice box from the table, twisted off the cap, and poured him a glass of orange juice.

Luo Yu’s tears had dried at the corners of his eyes as he held the glass and softly said, “… Thank you.”

Song Lingyuan raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that he was still so polite despite being so sad and scared.

Two minutes later.

As Luo Yu sipped on the sweet orange juice, the door to the hall was knocked on at the scheduled time.

Song Lingyuan’s voice was low: “Come in.”

Li Rui, the assistant he had seen before, cracked the door open a bit and peeked in.

Then he squeezed his whole body into the room, quickly walking towards Song Lingyuan and handing him a white box.

“Clean up a bit.”

Song Lingyuan took the item and gestured with his chin toward the remnants of food on the table.

Li Rui, seeing the roast chicken scattered across the table, felt his stomach rumble loudly.

Luo Yu looked over.

His gaze met Li Rui’s in mid-air:…

Li Rui awkwardly smiled at him, as if to say, “I told you our president would treat you to a meal,” lifted the white tablecloth, and wrapped up all the utensils inside before leaving with it.

Luo Yu felt a bit dazed when he suddenly heard:

“Luo Yu.”

Luo Yu jumped up like he had been called out in class: “Yes.”

Song Lingyuan stared at him: “Come here.”

Li Rui had already closed the door, leaving just the two of them in the room again.

Luo Yu had no idea what was waiting for him, so he moved his stiff legs, which were tense from anxiety, and sat down in the chair next to Song Lingyuan.

They were only half a meter apart.

Song Lingyuan placed the white box in front of Luo Yu: “Open it.”

… A box that would release poison gas? A bomb that would only explode for the person who opened it?

Luo Yu steeled himself, his face ashen, and reached out to peel open the paper box.

Inside was a syringe containing a transparent liquid, with a sharp tip that shimmered ominously in the light.

This was not a good sign. His heart raced, and he looked up at Song Lingyuan with watery eyes.

Song Lingyuan was momentarily thrown off by Luo Yu’s gaze. A few seconds later, he reacted, irritably lifting his chin at him:

“Follow the instructions and do the test yourself.”

Test?

Luo Yu then noticed a slip of instructions under the syringe. He picked it up and read:

Anti-sleep Allergy Test Reagent

Drop the liquid from the syringe onto the back of your hand and wait five minutes.

If the skin reddens within five minutes, it indicates a mild allergy to the antihypnotic.

If the skin itches, it could indicate a moderate allergy.

If the skin burns and hurts, it could indicate a severe allergy.

Luo Yu was stunned: “You don’t believe I’m allergic to anti-sleep meds?”

Song Lingyuan just sat there, his tall frame naturally straight, exuding an intimidating presence.

He lightly tapped his fingers on the table and said softly, “Stop wasting time, hurry up and test.”

Luo Yu pursed his lips and had no choice but to tear open the plastic packaging of the syringe and position the tip against the back of his left hand.

Drip.

He gently squeezed, and the transparent liquid spread across the back of his hand.

Luo Yu watched for any reaction, bracing himself for redness, itching, or even pain.

Time passed slowly.

To his surprise, the transparent liquid seemed to vanish as if it had never existed at all!

Five minutes flew by, and the countdown on his phone screen reached zero, vibrating to remind him.

Meanwhile, the back of his left hand shone brightly under the light in the lounge, looking as it did at the start!

Song Lingyuan withdrew his gaze from the smooth back of Luo Yu’s hand and reached for a box of wet wipes nearby, pushing it toward Luo Yu with the back of his hand:

“Wipe your hands clean.”

Luo Yu stared at the back of his hand without saying anything until Song Lingyuan finally couldn’t help but grab a wet wipe and toss it into his hand. He then came back to his senses and murmured:

“Is this reagent accurate…?”

Song Lingyuan: “Not necessarily.”

Luo Yu: …?

Song Lingyuan’s expression remained unchanged:

“Two years ago, rumors began to circulate that long-term use of anti-sleep could lead to allergic reactions that might be fatal.”

“To dispel these rumors, I asked the medical laboratory at A University to develop this allergy testing reagent.”

“Although it has passed small-scale clinical trials and has been used in several hospitals, it has not been widely marketed yet. Therefore, there may be some inaccuracies.”

This was the longest statement Song Lingyuan had made since entering the room.

Luo Yu softly replied “Oh,” but then saw Song Lingyuan lift his cold eyes to stare at him:

“But regardless, in all current test results, no one has exhibited moderate or severe allergic reactions.”

“Since the anti-sleep became widely used decades ago, we have been monitoring various test trials, and the results have been consistent.”

“The top medical team of hundreds within the association guarantees with their lives—”

“It is absolutely impossible for anyone to be allergic to this drug to the point of death.”