“P-President, are we heading back to the Association now?”

In the front seat, Song Lingyuan’s newly appointed driver quickly asked.

He was a young man with the surname Xu.

Before joining the Association, he had heard a lot about the Association president’s ruthless reputation. Even though he’d been on the job for a week, he was still so nervous that he stuttered whenever he spoke to Song Lingyuan.

Over the past few days, Driver Xu had felt that while the president seemed a bit cold, he didn’t actually seem like a bad person.

But Song Lingyuan didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he turned his head to look at the young man who had just been brought into the car.

“Streamer Luo, are you still awake?”

Luo Yu, who had fallen asleep against the car door with a pillow in his arms as soon as he got in, slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was misty with drowsiness, and his eyes, slightly red at the corners, roamed around for a moment before he finally seemed to realize where he was. He nodded decisively and mustered all his strength to shout:

“Song Lingyuan! I’m awake!”

Song Lingyuan: …

They were barely a meter apart, yet Luo Yu’s tone sounded like he was shouting across a vast distance.

The dim lighting in the car accentuated the brightness of Luo Yu’s eyes. When Song Lingyuan met that expectant gaze, he sighed inwardly. Judging from the past few days, his work should be nearly done.

“Take us to my private residence,” he said quietly to the driver, then added after a pause, “Raise the soundproof partition for the back seat.”

Driver Xu: !

Did he notice me watching?

He quickly pulled his gaze from the rearview mirror, where he had been sneaking glances at the young man in the back seat, and immediately raised the partition between the front and back.

The dark gray barrier now completely isolated the rear seat’s sound and view. Wasn’t this young man the famous “sleep anchor” Luo Yu?

While driving, Driver Xu recalled a few of the live streams he had watched and recognized him with certainty. Why did it seem like President Song and this college student streamer had a particularly close relationship?

But Driver Xu didn’t dare think any further. It wasn’t his place to pry into the private lives of influential people; he’d better just focus on driving!

— In the back of the car.

The soundproof partition created a secluded private space. As the car sped down the road, Song Lingyuan casually moved a bit closer to Luo Yu and kept his voice low.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Luo Yu stared blankly at him, struggling to remember something through his alcohol-clouded mind. He had, in fact, sought out Song Lingyuan for something important, but… what was it again?

After a long pause under Song Lingyuan’s gaze, he finally managed to squeeze out, “Why don’t you guess?”

Song Lingyuan: …

Luo Yu felt pleased with his response and smiled like a blooming spring flower. “If you guess right, I’ll tell you!”

Song Lingyuan wasn’t known for his patience. With so much work awaiting his decisions every day, he usually grew irritated with even one unnecessary question from a subordinate. But now, sitting here, he found himself unexpectedly relaxed, even intrigued by Luo Yu’s suggestion.

Looking down at the young man, he slowly guessed, “Did you want to receive your Human Progress Guardian Award? I already had someone arrange for that…”

“Not that!”

Luo Yu, though he couldn’t recall what he needed to say, immediately knew that it wasn’t about the Guardian Honor and quickly ruled it out.

“Oh,” Song Lingyuan murmured before adding with a hint of irony, “Then perhaps you wanted to invite me to the celebration banquet for the Hypnos League? But we already left.”

Luo Yu shook his head. “Ridiculous! No one would want to invite you; they’re all a bit afraid of you!”

Song Lingyuan: …

Half amused, half exasperated, he leaned closer to Luo Yu, who was still racking his brain, and whispered, “So, could it be… that Streamer Luo missed me?”

Luo Yu felt Song Lingyuan’s warm breath brush against his lips, and his mind grew even more muddled! He thought that this wasn’t quite the answer, but… having not seen Song Lingyuan for an entire week after spending so much time together, he had started to… miss him a little.

But Luo Yu didn’t want to admit it; it would be embarrassing. He changed the topic, protesting, “If you’re guessing, stay back—why are you suddenly so close?”

Then, in a flash of inspiration, he licked his lips playfully and asked, “Song Lingyuan, don’t tell me you actually want to kiss me?”

Song Lingyuan froze, feeling that Luo Yu’s logic had taken a strange turn. He tried to move back, only to find those sparkling eyes drawing closer still.

The next thing he knew, a soft, dewy sensation touched his lips, fleeting as a feather.

Song Lingyuan felt himself turn to stone, stiff and motionless. He watched Luo Yu plant a kiss on him, then sit back innocently.

“Luo Yu!” he said after a long moment, in a low voice.

Luo Yu blinked. “What?”

Song Lingyuan’s chest heaved; he wanted to tell the young man in front of him that this was entirely inappropriate! But he could only call out a name before the rest of his words died in his throat.

Luo Yu yawned. “I’m so sleepy. Now that we’ve kissed, can I take a nap? Wake me up when we get there.”

With that, he tilted his head, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

The instigator of all this now slumbered peacefully, leaving Song Lingyuan alone, his heart racing and breaths shallow.

What had they just done?

Slowly, Song Lingyuan removed his white gloves and touched his lips with a finger, only to feel ridiculous and frustrated with himself. He quickly put the gloves back on.

Luo Yu was just drunk, he thought. Once Luo Yu sobered up, he would definitely give him a stern lecture: even if you’re drunk, you shouldn’t go around kissing people.

…

[Sleep Task Completion: 15/100]

[Portable Space Draw Attempts: 6]

The timely report from the system administrator jolted Luo Yu awake from his groggy dream. Beneath him felt soft, like he was lying on a cloud of cotton.

Was this… a bed? Then he must be in his room at the Hypnos League base…

“President, the sleep clinic in City A has been completely inspected…”

President?

Luo Yu’s nerves tensed instantly, and he opened his eyes wide.

“Song Lingyuan?” he blurted out, looking at the back of a head leaning against his bed, seated on the dark carpet and focused on a computer.

“Who’s talking?” The voice on the computer suddenly grew agitated. “Is this place haunted, President? Did you hear that? Isn’t it just the two of us here?”

“You must have misheard,” Song Lingyuan replied nonchalantly, turning his head to meet Luo Yu’s eyes. He held a finger to his lips, gesturing for silence.

Luo Yu quickly ducked back under the blanket, nodding obediently.

“No way… I’m sure I heard something! It sounded kind of like streamer Luo Yu…”

“Li Rui, feeling idle today?” Song Lingyuan frowned slightly. “I don’t have time for chit-chat.”

The voice on the other end took an abrupt, formal tone. “Upon inspection, we found ten boxes—totaling ten thousand pills—of suspicious medication stored in Warehouse 7 at City A’s Sleep Clinic…”

Luo Yu huddled under the blanket, holding his breath as he watched Song Lingyuan pick up his phone, type something quickly, and place it in front of him.

Luo Yu peeked out and read the screen: “Wait for me for three minutes.”

After leaving the message, Song Lingyuan resumed his meeting.

Slowly sitting up, Luo Yu looked around and realized he wasn’t in the Hypnos League underground base, nor in the vintage bed Wen Li had arranged for him. He was lying on two deep black, armless single sofas pushed together to form a makeshift bed.

The room was decorated in black and white, with only these two long couch as furniture. No wonder Song Lingyuan had been sitting on the floor to work!

Luo Yu, fully awake now, hopped off the sofa, patted Song Lingyuan on the shoulder, and gestured to indicate he could sit on the sofa instead.

“Not going back to sleep?” Song Lingyuan mouthed.

Luo Yu shook his head.

Song Lingyuan stood, laptop in hand, took a seat on one of the couchs, and patted the empty spot beside him, gesturing for Luo Yu to come over.

Luo Yu blinked, confused.

Song Lingyuan raised his chin, mouthing, “Come here.”

Luo Yu hesitated but moved to sit beside him.

As he leaned back on the sofa, hugging a pillow, he felt an odd sense of familiarity with this position. Just earlier, he’d been sitting like this… in Song Lingyuan’s car.

Wait—in the car?

The fragmented memories suddenly came flooding back!

In the dark of night, he had thrown himself into Song Lingyuan’s arms.

He had shouted his name in the car.

And… he’d even kissed him.

Oh no!

Luo Yu’s face went pale as he froze in shock.

Would the association punish him… fine him? Harassing the president—wasn’t that far worse than just refusing to take the anti-sleep pills?

“What’s with that look?” Song Lingyuan suddenly took off his headset, closed the laptop, and looked at him with an amused smile. “Did you remember something?”

“N-no, I didn’t remember anything!” Luo Yu shot up, instantly alert.

“Sit down,” Song Lingyuan said, watching his reaction with interest, gesturing for him to calm down.

Reluctantly, Luo Yu eased himself back onto the sofa.

“So,” Song Lingyuan said slowly, “have you remembered why you came to see me?”

Luo Yu relaxed slightly. “Oh, that. Yes, I remembered that.”

Song Lingyuan raised an eyebrow. “And what didn’t you remember?”

Luo Yu muttered, “What happened in your car…”

Luo Yu’s face turned beet red as the memory hit him, and he sprang up in frustration. “Stop trying to trick me! I’m here for a legitimate reason—an important one!”

Suppressing his urge to give the college student a lecture on how to behave when drinking, Song Lingyuan nodded. “Alright, let’s hear it. Take your time.”

“I can help you develop sleeping pills,” Luo Yu blurted, eager to shift focus away from the kiss. “Pills that can make someone fall asleep instantly, enter a 90-minute deep sleep cycle, and then wake up automatically. They’ll allow you to regulate sleep and meet people’s current needs for sleep, ushering the world into a new era!”

Song Lingyuan hadn’t expected this.

His deep blue eyes widened slightly. “How would you help?”

“I told you, I’m practically a deity! I can handle something as simple as this,” Luo Yu replied confidently. After conspiring with the administrator in his mind, he snapped his fingers.

“Pop!”

A small, mint-green pill appeared in his palm.

“Here, this is the sleep-inducing pill,” Luo Yu said, placing it in Song Lingyuan’s gloved hand. “Give it to your research team so they can analyze its components.”

Song Lingyuan examined the pill for a moment. “This is the same pill you took at Deer Mountain.”

Luo Yu nodded. “Exactly. I fell asleep quickly because of it! Didn’t you notice?”

Song Lingyuan: “I noticed, but I thought…”

Luo Yu: “What, did you think I was a pig or something, sleeping that fast?”

Song Lingyuan chuckled, then stood, retrieved a stack of resealable bags from a storage cabinet behind the sofa, placed the pill inside one, and slipped it into his pocket.

“Thank you.”

He walked back, resting one hand on the back of the sofa, leaning down to whisper in Luo Yu’s ear.

“When I take this to the Association, if it’s confirmed to work, I’ll assign you compensation according to a formal research contributor’s share.”

Luo Yu’s ear tingled, but he couldn’t help smiling. “Haha, helping you clueless humans is my duty!”

Song Lingyuan straightened up, his face expressionless. “Then, oh wise immortal, are you hungry? I’ll cook you some noodles.”

“My goodness, Song Lingyuan, the esteemed President of the International Association for Human Progress, cooking noodles for me?” Luo Yu laughed, then suddenly realized, “Wait… Is this your place?”

Song Lingyuan nodded, turning toward the kitchen.

Luo Yu quickly followed him, watching Song Lingyuan move awkwardly, like he was cooking for the first time in his life. When he started boiling water, Luo Yu couldn’t help but laugh.

He took out a phone to capture the moment, snapping a picture before flipping to the photo album—only to realize this wasn’t his phone. It was Song Lingyuan’s, which he’d accidentally picked up earlier.

Luo Yu intended to return it, but then he noticed two very familiar pictures among a series of screenshots in the album!

One was a meme of himself crying, which he’d sent to “Brother S” on the Xingyao streaming platform. The other was a selfie he had sent, taken while sitting on the vintage bed in the Hypnos League base, wearing a fresh white shirt, smiling brightly at the camera.

Luo Yu: …

Luo Yu: ???

How were these pictures in Song Lingyuan’s photo album?!

---

Song Lingyuan stood by the kitchen, carefully adding a bundle of long white noodles into the pot as the water boiled. Turning around, he noticed Luo Yu staring wide-eyed at the phone, frozen in place. He frowned.

“What’s up?”

Turning off the burner, he approached Luo Yu.

“N-Nothing!” Luo Yu instinctively covered the phone screen!

But Song Lingyuan was already in front of him, looking at the phone under Luo Yu’s hand. He paused.

“Streamer Luo, that’s my phone.”

“Oh! Here, take it!” Luo Yu quickly handed the phone back, then hurriedly retreated to the couch, burying his face as he finally processed what just happened.

Wait… Why was he feeling guilty?

Wasn’t Song Lingyuan the one hiding his photos?

No, that wasn’t the point…

The real issue was—could it be that Song Lingyuan was actually his number-one fan, Brother S?

Otherwise, how could he have those photos?!

Luo Yu pulled out his own phone, scrolling through his message history with Brother S.

Yes, he had been sweet and cute. Very…

【Xingyao has great taste! A hundred times sharper than those fools at the Association!】

…and utterly tactless, even cursing the Association right in front of the President!

Yet, Song Lingyuan hadn’t seemed upset at the time. What a generous man!

Luo Yu slapped his forehead, leaving a bright red mark—a reminder to be careful with his words!

In the kitchen, Song Lingyuan looked down at the phone, which had been tossed back to him. He caught sight of Luo Yu’s selfie before turning off the screen.

Song Lingyuan: …

Would it be too late to explain that he’d saved the photo by accident or that his phone had been hacked?

---

Ten minutes later, Song Lingyuan emerged with a black tray carrying two steaming bowls of egg noodles, heading to a marble-colored table with high white stools in the dining room.

Luo Yu, now somewhat composed, got up from the sofa and followed him in.

The room was spotless, with a long table and stools arranged neatly in the center. Song Lingyuan placed the bowls on heat pads, pulling a chair out for Luo Yu. “Sit.”

Luo Yu met Song Lingyuan’s gaze for a second and immediately remembered—this seemingly distant, austere President had his selfie on his phone!

He hurriedly sat down. “Th-Thank you, President.”

Song Lingyuan quickly looked away, equally awkward. “You’re welcome.”

Seated, they both stayed silent, focused intently on their noodles as if they hadn’t eaten in days. In no time, they’d cleared their bowls.

Luo Yu had eaten so fast he hadn’t even tasted the noodles. As he put down his chopsticks, he finally couldn’t resist.

“About those photos…”

At the sound of his voice, Song Lingyuan tensed up completely.

“They… got saved by accident, right?”

“No,” Song Lingyuan replied instinctively, denying it before realizing Luo Yu was offering him an out.

And he’d just blown it.

Seeing Luo Yu’s innocent look, Song Lingyuan forced himself to meet his gaze. “Not by accident. I…”

Under the table, his fingers curled slightly as he tried to keep a straight face. In a serious tone, he explained:

“I collected your photos to understand what kinds of streamers the public prefers in the sleep industry.”

This made him even more determined to say what he had planned to tell Luo Yu today.

Luo Yu tilted his head. “Not important?”

Song Lingyuan snapped back to reality. “The development of the sleeping pills is the job of the research project team. All you need to do is come have dinner with me.”

Luo Yu was a bit surprised. “Dinner? What are we having?”

“Today, after you handed your sleeping pills to the research project team, they confirmed it indeed achieves the desired effect. They’re already working on analyzing its components.”

“Tonight, on behalf of the Association, I’m treating you to dinner as a thank you.”

Luo Yu noticed Song Lingyuan’s unusually lighthearted tone and figured it was because the sleeping pills had resolved a major concern for him. This lifted Luo Yu’s spirits as well.

Several minutes later, he suddenly realized—

“So… it’s just the two of us going for dinner?”

Song Lingyuan nodded, turning slightly, his deep gaze settling on Luo Yu’s face. “Don’t want to?”

“No, no,” Luo Yu quickly shook his head, smiling. “I’d be honored!”

At midnight, the car arrived at the shimmering shores of Crescent Lake. Luo Yu got out and followed Song Lingyuan across a small white jade bridge to an island in the middle of the lake, where they entered a series of vintage-style pavilions.

Somewhere, the elegant sound of a guqin was playing, blending with the moonlight’s reflection on the water.

Once inside their private room, the ambiance grew even more refined. Intricate redwood screens enclosed bamboo tables and chairs, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows, they could see the moonlit bridge over flowing water.

Luo Yu felt as though he had stepped into another world. He looked around, wide-eyed, and didn’t dare say a word.

Once they sat down, Song Lingyuan quietly spoke to the server, who quickly left.

“President Song, inviting a college student like me for a meal… do we really need to come somewhere this fancy?” Luo Yu chuckled, trying to sound casual.

“What kind of place do you immortals live in?” Song Lingyuan poured him a cup of tea with a serious expression.

“Immortals?”

Did Song Lingyuan actually believe he was an immortal?

Luo Yu burst into laughter. “Probably something like this!”

“Then… would you want to stay here?”

Luo Yu didn’t quite understand. “Stay where?”

Song Lingyuan gently placed the teapot on the table, his blue eyes fixed on Luo Yu.

“Luo Yu, although I don’t know how you’re able to do those… immortal-like things, that’s your secret, and you don’t need to share it with anyone.”

“I only want to know if you’ll stay here. Will you remain in City A, in this world?”

Luo Yu finally understood.

But… it wasn’t really his decision to make.

He took a hesitant sip of tea. “Unless something unexpected happens, I should be able to stay here.”

Song Lingyuan’s expression immediately grew serious. “What kind of unexpected thing?”

“Unexpected, like… if there’s a day I don’t get at least ninety minutes of sleep, then I’d have to leave.” Luo Yu muttered, hesitant.

It was a life-or-death secret for him.

For the first time, he was telling someone in this world.

He saw Song Lingyuan visibly relax upon hearing this.

“Then come sleep at the Association every day. I’ll assign a team of guards to stand outside, ensuring no one disturbs you.”

“There’s no need for such a big fuss!” Luo Yu quickly waved his hands in refusal. Wouldn’t that just draw more attention?

After calming down, he propped his chin on his hand, looking at Song Lingyuan curiously.

“Why are you so afraid I’ll leave, President Song? Still have things you want this ‘immortal’ to help you solve?”

“Not exactly.”

Song Lingyuan fell silent, and Luo Yu didn’t know what else to say. He quietly drank his tea, the sound of water flowing outside the window adding to the stillness.

Suddenly, Song Lingyuan moved his bamboo chair a little closer to Luo Yu.

Click—

Luo Yu thought his chair was malfunctioning and turned his head in confusion.

He saw Song Lingyuan lower his gaze, his voice soft and low.

“In fact, there is something I want to ask of you.”

Luo Yu held his teacup. “What is it? Just say the word; if I can help, I definitely will!”

He still had several unused opportunities to draw items from his toolkit!

“It’s a personal matter.”

Even though Song Lingyuan sat right next to him, his voice sounded distant, like the flow of water.

“I want to… pursue you, Lou Yu.”