Because Liang Mu had been lying in a hospital bed for the past few days for unknown reasons, he suppressed the news, fearing it would worry his family. Xiao She did not need to run over too frequently; he simply had the front desk nurse block all visitors.
He was currently at home cleaning up the original owner’s pile of trash. Just as he was lugging out the final bag of garbage, a knock came at the door.
Xiao dragged the dusty fitness equipment into the living room with some difficulty. Wiping away his sweat, he opened the door: “Who is it?”
Seeing Liang Mu standing at the doorway, he froze for a moment: “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been discharged.” Liang Mu held a paper bag in his hand. Seeing the person come out, he shoved the thing directly into his arms, his expression looking rather unpleasant: “I washed the clothes. Here, returning them to you.”
Xiao She did not take it and chuckled in amusement: “These aren’t my clothes either. If you’re not taking them back to Miss Gu, what are you returning them to me for?”
“Do you think I don’t know who this belongs to?” Liang Mu said. He showed no intention of leaving, gritting his teeth instead as he declared: “Let me in. The system said it only counts as completed after you’ve inspected it.”
Xiao raised his eyebrows and stepped aside to let him in. Liang Mu was clearly well-adapted to the mess inside the room; without so much as blinking an eye, he walked right through the piles of garbage. As he walked, he even asked him, “Where do you want to inspect it?”
Xiao was somewhat surprised. It turned out the original owner’s authority was this high; no wonder Liang Mu did not dare to show a cold face toward the original owner.
Holding the towel used for wiping his hands, he casually pointed at the sofa: “Just over there.”
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A lot of odds and ends were piled on the sofa. Liang Mu hesitated for a moment, reached out to tidy everything up, and only then very carefully spread the suit out on the sofa.
The fabric of the suit was not easy to wash, let alone when stained with red wine. Faint, pale traces remained where it had been splattered, showing signs that a solid effort had been made to wash it clean.
Xiao looked it over front and back, rendering his verdict: “It’s washed well enough.”
Almost simultaneously, Liang Mu shuddered, a flush creeping onto his face as he let out a tiny, soft gasp.
Xiao was startled by his reaction and took a step back while holding the clothes: “What’s wrong with you?”
Liang Mu glared over, shame turning into anger, but the tiny electric currents surging through his body robbed his glare of any force, making his gaze glistening and tearful instead: “You… what do you think?!”
Before Xiao She could react, the system answered on his behalf: “Host, your requirement was: wash it clean. Clearly, your answer indicates that your satisfaction index regarding his task completion is merely average.”
“Wait, no…” Xiao She was somewhat speechless: “I actually think he washed it quite clean.”
Liang Mu trembled violently, a thin layer of sweat seeping from his exposed neck. Xiao She shifted his gaze away rather unnaturally and asked, “Can’t you stop it?”
“The duration has already been halved. Objectively speaking, as the bound individual who failed the task, he must accept the punishment,” the system replied. “Rest assured, Host, this is merely the minimal voltage current, which is harmless to the human body.”
Seeing Liang Mu’s enduring state, Xiao She still knitted his brows.
He tossed the towel in his hand aside and turned to head into the room. Liang Mu was left behind in the living room, closing his eyes in humiliation.
Xiao, she walked into the bedroom, already arguing with the system inside his mind.
“Why didn’t you tell me about so many of these pre-set rules earlier?”
The little sphere actually displayed a hint of mechanical coldness at this moment as it stated: “The host does not belong to the beginner workflow, and these punishments were personally set up by the original owner.”
Xiao, she said with a grim expression: “Have you forgotten who the host is right now?”
The little sphere hesitated for a second or two before deciding to tell the truth: “Original owner Xiao She’s authority is actually higher than yours; this cannot be altered.”
“So you’re using Liang Mu as a victim?”
A trace of confusion entered the system’s tone: “But the electric current won’t cause him harm. I don’t understand the reason for your dissatisfaction, Host.”
“He is a human being,” Xiao She said. “Don’t you get it?”
The system’s silence was clearly its answer. Xiao She sat by the bay window and asked, “How much longer does the punishment last?”
The little sphere said: “Five minutes.”
Xiao She tapped his fingers on the marble countertop, making a decision very quickly: “Transfer it to me.”
The system fell silent. Xiao She asked: “It can’t be done?”
The electric current that suddenly surged across his body gave him the answer. The system stammered: “I just don’t understand your line of thought, Host.”
Xiao merely felt somewhat uncomfortable across his body. He understood what the system meant; this current indeed caused no major damage; it was just that Liang Mu had a rather strong reaction to electricity.
He sat on the bay window ledge: “My line of thought is that I have a choice.”
The system quieted down. After a moment, the sound of a closing door came from outside; clearly, Liang Mu had left.
Liang Mu sat inside the car downstairs. Chen Changyan, who had insisted on tagging along, saw his somewhat disheveled appearance, leaned forward from the back seat, and said indignantly: “Did that trash Xiao She mess with you again?!”
Liang Mu rested his hands on the steering wheel, still calming the tremors throughout his body. Hearing this, he closed his eyes and replied: “What could he mess with me about?”
“How would I know! Brother Liang, why do you listen to him so much?!” Chen Changyan said: “What’s so good about him anyway?!”
“Nothing is good about him.”
Liang Mu opened his eyes, a pair of clear, dark eyes appearing somewhat deep and dark. Thinking back to those words he had overheard in front of the room door, he let out a cold laugh: “He’s just a hypocritical petty person.”
“Then why are you still going along with him?!”
Liang Mu gathered his composure, reached out to pat the top of Chen Changyan’s head, and smiled: “Don’t worry, I just owe him a favor.”
As he spoke, his expression turned meaningful: “I think this favor can be paid back very soon.”
Ever since Liang Mu left that day, Xiao She began to worry. He didn’t want to follow Liang Mu around like a tail, so he had no choice but to haunt the coffee shop near the company every day, to the point where even the part-time waiters grew familiar with him.
On this day, while Xiao She was still staring blankly at his laptop in the coffee shop, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He pulled out the phone, saw the caller ID displaying Xiao Shengguo, and hesitated for a moment.
Xiao Shengguo was the original owner’s biological father, but as an illegitimate son who needed the protagonist to make a turnaround, the original owner’s relationship with this family was certainly average at best.
Only after the phone rang a second time did Xiao She reach out and press answer.
“Hello,” Xiao She said. “What is it?”
The voice on the other end was a mid-toned male voice full of vigor, but his attitude in speaking was not particularly familiar, merely saying, “Have you been following Young Master Liang around lately? How are things going?”
“It’s fine, I suppose.” Xiao chose a cautious answer. Listening to the other side attempting another stiff exchange of pleasantries, he took the initiative to speak up first: “If you have something to say, why don’t you just say it directly?”
“Ahem…” Xiao Shengguo cleared his throat stiffly: “I heard that Old Master Liang’s birthday is coming up soon. You have a good relationship with Master Liang; could you help get us an invitation card?”
“Ah.” Xiao She understood what they were here for. Smiling into the receiver, he said, “I don’t know about this matter. Liang Mu hasn’t even invited me yet, so how am I supposed to ask one for you?”
Xiao Shengguo went silent. Standing beside him was a frivolously dressed young man who grew anxious upon hearing Xiao She’s reply, shouting into the phone: “Xiao She, didn’t you boast in front of me before that you clung onto the Liang family’s thigh? How come you can’t get one now? Let me tell you, don’t think you can pull a sour face on us just because you have Liang Mu backing you!”
Xiao She let out a yawn, his eyes still fixed on the entrance of Liang Mu’s company building. Keeping an eye on people while having nothing to do these past few days made him feel listless all day long. He asked, “Is there anything else?”
Hearing that he was about to end the call, Xiao Shengguo also got somewhat anxious. Putting on the posture of an elder, he spoke with deep earnestness: “Helping us get an invitation card also brings credit to yourself. After all, you are still a member of the Xiao family. Once Liang Mu loses interest in you eventually, you will still have to come back here.”
Xiao could guess what he was going to say next without even using his brain. He said lazily: “So if I am abandoned by Liang Mu, or if he even wants to suppress me, the Xiao family will protect me, is that what you mean?”
“This…” Xiao Shengguo hesitated for a second, while the frivolous young man rubbed his hands and said without even thinking: “Of course we will! As long as you get this invitation card, we…”
Xiao She did not let him finish his sentence, interrupting him with a laugh: “You won’t.”
He said: “I reckon you will only be the first to kick me out and then tell Liang Mu which side you stand on. Am I right?”
“You’re talking bullshit!”
The young man on the other end flew into a rage. Xiao was in no mood to listen to his angry curses and hung up the phone. When he put his phone down and looked across, he froze again for a moment.
Yo, look who this is.
Sitting opposite him at an unknown time was a gaudily dressed woman, who was admiring her manicured nails while waiting for Xiao She to finish his phone call.
Xiao She did not dare to move first, only slowly placing his phone on the table, weighing his words before speaking: “You…”
“You what, ‘you’?” The woman lowered her sunglasses, revealing a pair of eyes seven to eight parts similar to the original owner’s: “Haven’t seen me for a month or so, and you don’t even know how to call me Mom anymore?”
“…What would you like to drink?” Xiao finished his sentence and reached out to call the waiter, but was stopped by the woman.
“Drink what? It’s all just low-quality instant coffee.” The woman scanned him up and down, showing a trace of disgust: “Were you on the phone with that little brute from the Xiao family just now?”
Xiao She: “I was talking to the old brute and the little brute.”
The woman’s willow-leaf eyebrows flared up: “What old brute! That’s your father!”
Xiao was amused by her. He signaled to the waiter that there was no need to come over, found a comfortable sitting posture in his seat, and asked: “What are you looking for me for? It couldn’t be an invitation card as well, right?”
“Invitation card?” the woman said. Listening to Xiao She explain what happened just now, she burst out laughing: “Good refusal! That little brute actually thought everyone had to help him; perfect timing to let your father see who is truly useful!”
Xiao She: “Mm…”
The woman continued: “Didn’t you say you had leverage over Liang Mu to make him behave?”
Xiao She: “Not anymore.”
She didn’t care about Xiao She’s answer, only lovingly stroking her manicured nails again: “I found someone. If you can help him, your father will truly acknowledge us.”
Xiao She let out a long-drawn response, then said: “I don’t care about that anymore.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” The woman froze for a moment, her eyebrows knitting together: “Don’t let me hear you say such joke words a second time.”
Xiao She did not explain further, only watching as the woman pulled out her phone for a glance, clearly having other urgent matters. Propping up his head, he said: “Since you’re so busy, why don’t you leave first?”
The woman did not pick up on his sarcasm, hurriedly dropping a sentence before standing up to leave:
“When the time comes at the birthday banquet, that person will contact you. Just wait for it.”
“Ah…” Xiao was speechless for a while. What kind of freaks and monsters were the original owner’s family? No wonder the original owner had such a twisted personality.
His mood was ruined into a complete mess by this series of bothersome events. When the phone beside his hand rang again, he answered it without even looking, speaking into his ear in a very foul tone: “Hello?”
“What on earth have you been up to these past few days?”
The man’s voice was like a clear spring, washing clean the messy tangle inside his brain.
Xiao She opened his eyes and saw Liang Mu walking to the other side of the coffee shop’s glass window, a pair of phoenix eyes shining brilliantly in the sunlight. Seeing him look over, Liang Mu knitted his brows: “Why aren’t you speaking?”
“Ah,” Xiao She said. “You’re really beautiful.”
Liang Mu hung up the phone.