Chapter 38

When Lin Si woke up again, it was already the afternoon.

He blinked several times before his vision gradually cleared, and memories of everything that had happened last night and this morning came back to him.

It felt like he had experienced a very busy dream.

At this time, he was originally supposed to be on his way to a business event, but because of Bai Fan, he had canceled it at the last minute.

Not only today’s event but also the ones scheduled for the next two days had been canceled as well.

A sudden sense of desolation of being an unemployed, idle fish washed over Lin Si. He turned onto his side and reached for his phone.

A flood of notifications filled the screen. He scrolled through them one by one.

Liao Ji: [I’m resting for two hours. Call me directly if it’s urgent.]

Xu Xiangyang: [Luckily, it’s settled. Let’s grab a meal when you’re free.]

Lu Nan: [I have shocking news for you! Director Ye has invited you to star in his film!]

Lu Nan: [Bro, type ‘hahaha’ on the screen right now!]

Lu Nan: [Rain or shine, I’ll be waiting for you on set.]

Y: [Good afternoon.]

Recalling yesterday’s rushed farewell, Lin Si replied to Y:

Lin Si: [I got an urgent call yesterday.]

Lin Si: [Then I was busy all night and only got two or three hours of sleep.]

Lin Si: [Feeling wronged. (Pouting pitifully.jpg)]

Y was probably busy and didn’t reply immediately. Lin Si rolled over onto his stomach and, thinking ahead, sent another message:

Lin Si: [Are you free tonight?]

Lin Si thought for a moment and borrowed a phrase from Lu Nan:

[Rain or shine, Queenstown awaits you.]

Then, imitating a meme he had seen recently, he added:

[I am your Er Guo Tou—silly, obedient, and intoxicating.]

After sending the messages, he laughed at himself for a while, rolling back and forth on the bed. Finally, he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, wondering whether Y had heard the words he hadn’t finished saying last night—I like you.

If Y hadn’t heard it, then he would just say it again. And again. Until Y did.

From the living room came the rustling sound of footsteps. Lin Si got up and peeked outside. It was Auntie Li, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Lin,” Auntie Li greeted him as she set down the groceries.

Lin Si returned the greeting before heading back to his room to change. When he came out again, Auntie Li was arranging the vegetables.

“Mr. Lin, I’ve placed everything you asked for here,” she said. “Would you like me to help with dinner?”

Lin Si shook his head. “No need, I can handle it myself.”

“Alright,” she nodded, then hesitated before asking, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Lin Si shook his head again and sat on the sofa, thinking of a casual topic to chat about. Just as he turned around to speak, he noticed Auntie Li standing behind him, watching.

She quickly averted her gaze, looking slightly flustered.

Lin Si smirked and asked, “Auntie, is something on your mind?”

“No, nothing.” Auntie Li picked up a cloth and started wiping the table. “I just happened to see some news about you online today.”

Lin Si raised his hand to cover his eyes.

Bad news really does travel fast.

“You don’t have to stay with me, Mr. Lin,” Auntie Li said. “Mr. Lu told me you didn’t sleep last night and asked me not to disturb you. I’ll keep my voice down.”

“Lu Wei told you that?” Lin Si asked.

Auntie Li straightened a chair and picked up a basket beside the coffee table. “Yes, Mr. Lu called this morning.”

Lin Si nodded slowly, then suddenly remembered something. “Oh, Auntie, what kind of food does Lu Wei like?”

“He doesn’t eat spicy or overly salty food. He prefers light flavors, but he has no other dietary restrictions.”

“Got it.” Lin Si got up and headed back to his room.

Auntie Li, still tidying up by the coffee table, paused for a second and took a quiet breath.

Once Lin Si’s door closed, Auntie Li glanced at their leftover breakfast. She didn’t see any milk, but when Lin Si had walked past her just now, she had clearly caught a faint, pleasant milky scent.

For a moment, she felt an odd illusion—like the young man she had just brushed past wasn’t a twenty-something adult but a soft, chubby baby.

Inside his room, Lin Si lay on his bed, lost in thought.

Lately, Lu Wei had been treating him really well—like a new friend who, in excitement, kept showering him with little gifts.

Lin Si’s feelings for Lu Wei were like a straight line hugging the ground, gradually rising. Though it wasn’t an exponential surge, it was enough to make him realize that beneath Lu Wei’s cold exterior lay a certain gentleness and consideration.

It felt like opening a metallic capsule, only for an explosion of rose petals too numerous to hold to burst out.

Still, Lin Si didn’t dwell on Lu Wei for too long. Lu Wei was a new friend, but he didn’t occupy much of Lin Si’s daydreams.

Having slept for so long earlier, Lin Si wasn’t tired. He couldn’t find the script for ‘Leaning on the Car Window’ at the moment and lazily thought that if it weren’t for Bai Fan’s situation, he would have been working today. That meant the next two days were essentially free time—he might as well take a break.

If needed, he could just ask Liao Ji to send over the script tomorrow…

Freed from his mental burdens, Lin Si happily grabbed his VR headset and headphones, put them on, and logged into Bubble.

As the virtual world loaded, the first thing he saw was the ceiling of a rental apartment bedroom.

Turning his head, he spotted Y lying beside him with his eyes closed. Lin Si smiled.

Y wasn’t online yet, so his avatar remained in its last logout position—hand holding Lin Si’s, upper body leaning close, as if offering his shoulder for support.

Lin Si thought, Since Y is asleep, someone’s got to go out and make money.

So he left the house to see what jobs were available in the virtual world.

What he didn’t expect was… there were way too many ways to make money!

At restaurants, he could apply to be a manager, a waiter, or even a chef. Schools were hiring teachers—and even principals. There were countless industries and all kinds of strange, niche jobs to choose from.

Excited, Lin Si applied for a job that piqued his interest—stinky tofu chef.

Following the tutorial, he adjusted the oil temperature and frying time, then carefully added scallions, cilantro, chili, soy sauce, and vinegar according to the interviewer’s taste preferences. Finally, he presented a plate of stinky tofu, rich in both aroma and appearance.

“Not qualified. Fried for too long—the tofu’s overcooked,” the interviewer said.

Failure x1.

Next, he tried being an elementary school music teacher.

“Please sing the required song.”

It was an old song Lin Si had heard before. He hummed it gently and scored 990 points.

“Sorry, you didn’t meet the requirement,” the interviewer said. “Forgot to mention—perfect score is 1000.”

“…Is this even humanly possible?!”

Failure x2.

Lin Si then applied for several other high-paying jobs, but he failed them all.

Beaten down by the harsh realities of the virtual job market, he left, feeling dejected.

Dragging himself to a small restaurant near his virtual home, he decided to give up on high ambitions and applied for a waiter position with a whatever happens, happens attitude.

To his surprise, the interview was ridiculously simple: just press and hold a button to balance a tray on his head without letting it fall.

Just like that, he was hired. The restaurant owner enthusiastically informed him that he would start work tomorrow.

“……”

Lin Si silently shed bitter tears. It felt like haggling a price down to the lowest he could accept, only for the seller to agree too readily—leaving him with deep regret and a sense of being tricked.

Suddenly, in the top-right corner of his view, the small microphone under Y’s avatar lit up green. Y’s voice followed soon after.

“You’re up?”

Outside the small restaurant, Lin Si wailed dramatically to Y, “Why did you take so long! I got hired!”

Y chuckled softly. “If you got the job, why are you crying?”

“Because it’s as a waiter at a restaurant…!” Lin Si fake-cried, making pitiful whimpering sounds. “I applied for so many jobs, but none of them wanted me…”

“Idiot.” Y called him quietly.

Lin Si: “You just insulted me…”

QAQ

Y explained, “Did you check the system prompts before applying? The longer you stay in the virtual world, the higher your residence level gets, which increases your success rate for high-level jobs. You’ve only been here for a day, so your chances were low. Plus, there’s a labor value accumulation—once you work enough hours, you’ll automatically level up, and the system will assign you higher-paying jobs.”

Lin Si pouted. “Fine… but the waiter’s salary is too low! Only five gold coins a day! Even if we both work, we’d only make enough to cover our daily rent…”

Y said, “There’s another way to make money quickly.”

Lin Si’s eyes lit up. “What? What? What?!”

Y: “I’ll tell you tonight.”

Lin Si: “…Why are you like this?”

Y laughed quietly. “I just finished my work and am heading home. I’ll play with you when I get back.”

Lin Si pouted. “Wait a second.”

“What’s wrong?”

Lin Si asked, “Did you hear what I said last night?”

Y was silent for a few seconds. “Not all of it.”

“Oh,” Lin Si responded.

Y asked, “What did you say?”

Lin Si: “I’ll tell you tonight!”

Caught off guard by the payback, Y sighed helplessly. “Alright.”

After Y logged off, Lin Si returned to their rental apartment, sat on the edge of the bed, reached into the blankets, and held Y’s hand before finally taking off his headset and headphones.

The bedroom was wrapped in the soft gray of twilight. Lin Si blinked, realizing it was already late. He jumped out of bed, hearing the patter of rain against the window.

It was past six o’clock.

Time moved too quickly in the virtual world—he had completely forgotten about making dinner. Fortunately, Lu Wei wasn’t home yet either.

The spring night rain brought a lingering chill. Stepping out of his room, Lin Si felt the cold seeping into his arms. He pulled on a slightly thicker sweater, rolled up the sleeves to his forearms, and went into the kitchen, skillfully starting to prepare the ingredients.

After finishing the meal for two, Lin Si saved the pan-seared tofu—Lu Wei’s special request—for last.

He washed the pork ribs, placed them in cold water with ginger slices and cooking wine to remove the gaminess, then brought them to a boil. Skimming off the foam, he took them out and rinsed them clean.

Just as he set the stew pot in place, the sound of the front door opening reached his ears. Lin Si grabbed a wooden spoon and ran out to take a look.

Lu Wei was standing at the entrance, head lowered as he changed his shoes. He held the long handle of a black umbrella in one hand. Hearing Lin Si’s voice, he lifted his gaze, locking eyes with him.

His deep black eyes, coupled with the damp scent of rain clinging to him, gave off the impression that he had put in a great deal of effort just to make it home in this weather.

Lin Si stepped closer and reached out his hand. “Give me the umbrella?”

Lu Wei passed it to him and asked, “Did you turn off the stove?”

“The ribs are simmering—it’s fine.” Lin Si pulled off the plastic sleeve around the umbrella and walked toward the balcony. He bent down, opened the umbrella fully, and left it out to dry.

Lu Wei stood by the entryway for a long time without moving, his gaze falling on the apron straps resting near Lin Si’s neck and the loosely tied half-bow at his waist.

Lin Si finished with the umbrella and came bouncing back inside. As he made his way to the kitchen, he said, “I lost track of time on my phone. Dinner might take another half an hour.”

“That’s fine.” Lu Wei replied.

Lin Si bent over slightly, using the edge of a knife to remove the shrimp veins. By the time he reached the fifth shrimp, Lu Wei had changed into his home clothes and was now standing at the kitchen doorway.

“Need help?” Lu Wei asked.

Lin Si looked at him hesitantly. “…Maybe I should just do it myself?”

Lu Wei didn’t insist. Instead, he took some fruit from the fridge, washed it, and placed it in a bowl.

While Lin Si plated the crispy salt and pepper shrimp, Lu Wei handed him a piece of orange. Lin Si took it, popped it into his mouth, and ate it whole.

As Lin Si made cross-shaped patterns into the mushrooms with practiced ease, Lu Wei couldn’t help but think that he was quite skilled with his hands

When Lin Si diced lotus root, Lu Wei noticed how precisely uniform each piece was.

And when Lin Si finally plated the pan-seared tofu, Lu Wei realized—he was starving.

“It’s ready. Want some soup first?”

Lin Si lifted his arm, holding up a wooden ladle, waiting for Lu Wei’s cue to scoop out a fragrant, steaming bowl of pork rib soup.

“Mm.”

As expected, that fair, slender arm moved downward. His wrist rotated, ladling soup into a porcelain bowl twice, filling it halfway.

“Auntie said you prefer lighter flavors, so I didn’t make anything too heavy.” Lin Si handed him the bowl.

Lu Wei carried the dishes to the table, meticulously arranging them with an almost obsessive precision, ensuring that each plate was centered perfectly on a heat-resistant pad.

Lin Si, starving, wiped his hands clean and was just about to sit down when—

“Wait.” Lu Wei called out.

“Hm?”

Lin Si paused, his hands resting on the solid wood dining table, turning to look at Lu Wei.

The next second, he felt the single bow at the back of his waist being gently but firmly undone.

---

Author’s Note: A Small Side Story (Unrelated to the Main Text)

One day, Lin Si asked Lu Nan, “What kind of taste does your brother have?”

Experienced driver Lu Nan: “Oh, his taste is pretty intense. He likes the kind with tails, and, you know, school uniforms and all that.”

Newbie driver Lin Si: “?” (A single question mark to express utter confusion.)

T/n: I’m really liking the simple, mundane passing days between Gong nd should but let’s see what happens next🫣🙈 Stay tuned everyone ☺️😉. If you want to support me you can buy me a Ko-Fi or go to my paypal page. Happy Reading 🤩❤️