A moment of strange silence.

Chi Liu confirmed the words on the writing board again—yes, he really hadn’t misread it.

To have a neighbor he’d only met three times think he hated him so much he wanted to throw up was a novel experience he’d never had before.

The tall man in a suit stood before him, holding a child’s writing board decorated with yellow flowers, looking inexplicably comical. Chi Liu even saw a hint of grievance in the slightly tilted head of the bear.

Chi Liu, who had inexplicably become a bully: “…”

He explained earnestly, with a subtle expression, “Last night, I didn’t throw up because I hated you. I was just a little unwell.”

Chu Qi nodded, his dark eyes brightening under the bear head.

Immediately, another thought popped up excitedly: If last night was just a harmless misunderstanding, then that day on the terrace must have been too!

Maybe, his little believer would come back!

His gaze refocused on the young man’s abdomen, a fervent joy surfacing in his dark eyes: And his little believer might even be—

As if eager to verify this, Chu Qi “swish, swish, swish” erased the sentence, and then “swish, swish, swish” wrote a new question with lightning speed, his movements so fast they left afterimages:

[What do you think of Chu Qi?]

Almost exactly the same question that Secretary Wen had asked.

Chi Liu, frozen in place: “…”

Chi Liu was puzzled. Why did his kind, strange neighbor always bring up such inexplicable topics that were so difficult to answer?

Could it be that his neighbor also worked at Yingwang?

Secretary Wen had stated that the man had climbed to the rooftop today and caused numerous problems for the employees. Was his neighbor one of them? Was he so tormented by the mess that he couldn’t help but find someone to badmouth the boss as soon as he got home?

Chi Liu patted his neighbor’s shoulder with sympathy and said, “My friend also works at Yingwang.”

He pointed to the guilty name on the writing board: “Of course, I know he’s a willful, arrogant, and conceited capitalist who loves to exploit workers. It must be hard to be an employee of someone like that!”

Chu Qi, plummeting from heaven to hell in an instant: “…”

Chi Liu didn’t notice the man stiffening again. He glanced at his watch: His cookies were almost done.

So, he put on a friendly smile, handed the two bottles of expensive, limited-edition red wine to the man, and said, “You’ve worked hard. This is a thank-you gift. A glass before bed can help relieve fatigue. You can have the writing board too.”

“If you need any help in the future, just knock on my door. I have things to do, so I’ll go back now. Good night.”

With that, he turned and returned to his home.

In the empty hallway, Chu Qi looked at the red wine and writing board in the canvas bag in his hand, then at the metal door across from him. The deep blue tentacles broke through his spine again, frantically devouring the scent of Chi Liu on the canvas bag and writing board.

Chu Qi’s lips were pressed into a tight, disappointed line—with a dull “thud,” his hand grabbed the sated, excited deep blue tentacle and impatiently shoved it back into his spine. He paused halfway.

His head was tilted at an extreme angle, almost touching his shoulder, and a scarlet light flashed in his dark pupils: Just now, didn’t Little Chi say that he could knock on that door if he needed help?

But what kind of help could he need?

His figure completely disappeared from the hallway. The next second, he appeared in the president’s office at Yingwang Tower.

Secretary Wen had finally finished dealing with the NPC world’s work, mixed with various player-centric message connections, and had just collapsed on his desk for a nap when he felt a shadow looming over him.

He groggily looked up and almost screamed:

Boss!

The boss, who had already left work twice today, caused him a mountain of problems!

Was this never going to end?

“Um,” Secretary Wen said, his scalp tingling, “You’re…” About to go crazy again…

Chu Qi’s voice was still distorted and full of magnetism: “He’s pregnant with my child. He still hates me. Just not to the point of throwing up. Tell me, how should I approach him?”

Secretary Wen’s brain completely short-circuited: “…Huh?”

Was this some dog-blood CEO novel with a runaway pregnancy from his vacation world?

What was this man in a super weird bear head saying in the middle of the night?!

…

Chi Liu was utterly unaware of what was happening outside. After returning home and arranging the bear-shaped cookies on a plate, he strode into the bathroom, gagged as usual, and then put the strange, kind neighbor out of his mind.

Chi Liu washed his face, looked at himself in the mirror, and breathed softly. He felt like he was almost used to this daily gagging…

He had initially planned to open his computer again tonight to revise the new job posting—the bar was about to open, and he still needed to hire a few singers and servers—but now, his eyelids were already drooping. He just wanted to take a hot shower and go to bed early.

Chi Liu unbuttoned his shirt, and after opening it completely, he frowned slightly and looked in the mirror again: his palm was now gently resting on his fair, flat abdomen.

The traces of pleasure were gone entirely, still fair and delicate, with beautiful lines.

His brow furrowed slightly: Was it his imagination?

He always felt like the skin under his palm was burning…

Like something inside was excitedly responding to his touch…

Chi Liu was startled by this inexplicable thought. He didn’t think about it anymore, quickly took off his clothes, and stepped into the shower.

The next day, he went to the bar, which was undergoing final renovations, as usual. Qi Teng was working busily with the workers in the store.

But Chi Liu ran into a familiar young man at the door…

Xiang Xiang stood there in a white shirt, shorts, and knee socks, like a little prince, quietly staring at the ceiling in a daze, as if pondering a complex problem.

Chi Liu was stunned, and a gentle smile appeared on his face. He walked forward, handed the server job posting he had prepared that morning to the other party, and said seriously and formally, “Are you interested in working at this bar?”

Xiang Xiang suddenly widened his eyes, his cheeks flushed, and he looked at Chi Liu in surprise and joy: Little Chi is so amazing! How did he know he wanted to work here?

But…

A look of disappointment appeared on Xiang Xiang’s face, and he lowered his head, muttering, “Is it really okay? I’m a defective product…”

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t develop venom glands; he was useless, and he couldn’t work night shifts. So, Secretary Wen took him in…

Chi Liu’s heart softened when he looked at the face that bore a resemblance to his niece. He rubbed Xiang Xiang’s head and chuckled, “Who says that about themselves? Besides, I’m the boss, I need you, I want to hire you.”

Chi Liu raised an eyebrow, his smile bright: “Are you willing to consider my offer?”

Xiang Xiang was stunned, and a strange warmth flowed through his heart. He shyly whispered, “I’m willing.”

After saying that, his stomach “growled.”

Xiang Xiang lowered his head even further: He came without eating breakfast… Now it was so embarrassing.

Chi Liu chuckled softly, his heart overflowing with tenderness. He divided the sandwich he had brought in half for Xiang Xiang and handed over a delicate paper box: “If you don’t mind, you can eat this too.”

It was the cookies he had baked.

Xiang Xiang thanked him with a red face and took the sandwich and the rich, milky cookies.

He was about to say something else, but suddenly raised his head, staring blankly at Chi Liu’s abdomen.

Chi Liu: “?”

Xiang Xiang was still staring at it in astonishment, his delicate little face slowly collapsing, and he looked a little sad.

Chi Liu was confused and quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xiang Xiang pursed his lips, reached out a finger to carefully touch the white shirt outside Chi Liu’s abdomen, and quickly retracted it, saying aggrievedly, “He’s scolding me.”

Chi Liu was stunned: “…What?”

Xiang Xiang lowered his head and tugged at the corner of his clothes, his voice so aggrieved that he was about to cry: “He wants me to stay away from you, don’t compete with him for you…”

“He said he’s super fierce and super awesome…”

Chi Liu: “…?”

Why did he recognize every word, but couldn’t understand them when they were put together…

At this moment, Qi Teng came out, his muscular arms casually slung over Xiang Xiang’s shoulders, and shouted, “Why are you crying like a girl? Let’s go, let’s go, I’ll take you to get something to drink. Hurry up and work after breakfast, you’re an employee now!”

“Let me tell you, young man, life is hard, you have to cherish a good job, you know!”

He walked into the bar with Xiang Xiang in his arms. Halfway there, Qi Teng turned his head and gave Chi Liu a hearty smile, but his purple eyes were solemn and worried. “Boss, do you know that something is growing inside your body?”

Chi Liu’s pupils suddenly shrank.

Qi Teng shuddered exaggeratedly, grabbed his purple curly hair, and looked at the ceiling: “Ah, that kind of thing, very scary…”

He didn’t know how to put it into words.

He only knew that the existence gestating in Chi Liu’s stomach could crush him and Xiang Xiang to death if it chose to, not to mention all the NPCs in this room.

Wow, he hadn’t felt fear in a long time since coming to this vacation world.

If Xiang Xiang hadn’t provoked that existence, and that existence hadn’t deliberately exposed itself, he wouldn’t even have been able to sense it…

He definitely didn’t want to provoke it, but who told him to meet such a good boss like Chi Liu in this world?

He had to remind the boss.

Qi Teng looked at Chi Liu with a mixture of distress and incomprehension. He didn’t understand what Chi Liu, such a good and kind person, had provoked to gestate such a terrible existence.

After a long while, he hinted euphemistically, “Boss, why don’t you go to the hospital for a thorough checkup?”

He wondered if the technology in the NPC world could remove that… let’s call it a child for now.

As soon as he finished speaking, blood began to flow rapidly from both nostrils.

Qi Teng, who quickly covered his nose before the blue blood flowed out: “…!”

He dropped the sentence “Boss, I’m going to the bathroom!” with a heavy nasal tone and quickly fled with Xiang Xiang.

Chi Liu: “?”

Were there a few too many strange things happening today?

After their figures disappeared, Chi Liu looked thoughtfully at his abdomen.

Just now, the place Xiang Xiang pointed to and the place Qi Teng looked at were both there.

Should he go to the hospital again for a thorough checkup?

His palm gently stroked his abdomen—he seemed always to love making such movements recently…

A strange, terrifying, and unbelievable thought suddenly surfaced in his heart: He always felt that even if, as Qi Teng said, there really was something terrible growing in his body, then that existence would definitely not hurt him…

At this moment, a construction worker came out and asked him to inspect the finished kitchen. Chi Liu took a deep breath and put those thoughts out of his mind. He entered the bar and quickly got to work.

…

Time passed quickly, and soon it was afternoon.

The workers were still renovating indoors, and Qi Teng and Xiang Xiang didn’t say anything after returning; they just helped out in the store.

On the terrace, Chi Liu lay on a rocking chair, slowly closing his eyes.

The sunlight in late June was warm and bright, making people lazy. He had been too sleepy lately, and soon he fell asleep.

At this moment, the shadows in the space suddenly surged for a moment. Qi Teng reacted, suddenly widening his eyes, and froze in place, unable to move. All the workers also stopped moving instantly.

The world was silent, and even the birds were frozen in the sky, a feather frozen above the rosemary planted on the terrace.

A pale hand picked up the feather and disdainfully crushed it into dust.

The young man in the rocking chair had his hand on his abdomen and continued to sleep peacefully.

Chu Qi, who had stopped time, suddenly softened his gaze. He slowly squatted down in front of the young man, carefully took the young man’s hand in his own, and then gently pressed his ear to the young man’s soft, flat abdomen.

There was an unformed little thing inside, who seemed to know that he had done something wrong and was afraid of making Mommy angry, so he tried his best to reduce his presence so that Mommy wouldn’t notice that he had bullied others.

Chu Qi raised his head, his voice a little cold: “You shouldn’t have exposed yourself now.”

So willful even before taking shape.

It would only attract more dangerous and troublesome things, causing him trouble.

Little one: “…I’m super fierce! Super awesome! Go away! QAQ”

Chu Qi: “…”