Miao Yang talked about hanging up, but in reality, he did not move a muscle. He was just putting on an act to appear pathetic.
Shi Lan laughed softly. “Fine, I will arrange the contract for you.”
Miao Yang’s face instantly lit up with joy. “Thank you, brother, thank you! You are truly like a real brother to me.”
Shi Lan drawled lazily, “I do not have such hobbies.” The man bit out the next two words with emphasis: “Little brother.”
Miao Yang’s face cycled through shades of green, purple, and red. It was quite a spectacle.
After Shi Lan hung up, the corners of his mouth turned upward, though his smile faded quickly. He had not returned home for several days. Unless there was an emergency, Shi Lan did not often stay at the Qin estate. The Master himself spent little time at the main residence, preferring to stay elsewhere while attending to business or traveling for work. Shi Lan managed a significant portion of the business, so he could not constantly keep his eyes on a small fry like Miao Yang. However, he had to be careful; otherwise, the Master would not let him off lightly.
With the guarantee of a salary, Miao Yang felt much happier. First, having a salary meant he had money! Second, signing a contract meant he was now one of their own, so surely they would not just beat him or break his legs on a whim anymore!
168 suddenly interjected: 【Hard to say.】
Miao Yang could not be bothered by its pessimistic words.
At five o’clock, Miao Yang got off work on time. His workplace was an archives room. The documents inside were certainly important, though not many, and for an ordinary person, they would require careful reading and deep thought to extract any meaningful conclusions. Good heavens. Miao Yang felt he could not handle such brain-draining work. A nine-to-five schedule with room and board—if Miao Yang had found such a job in the past, he would have been grinning from ear to ear. Now, however, it felt like living on the edge of a knife. He could not find any joy in it! He was constantly worried about his own safety; how could he be happy?
He had dinner with the other guys, grabbing plenty of food and even a large chicken drumstick. As he ate, he pondered whether he should leave the Qin family. Most of the people here were bodyguards or servants, and certainly none of them were ordinary. After dinner, Miao Yang considered his options and decided he could not leave just yet. If he left the Qin estate, not only would he lose contact with Qin Siyan, but he might also lose his chance to reach Young Master Shen.
If only I could be a sidekick to Qin Siyan or Young Master Shen, he thought. As the central protagonists of this small world, would I not be able to absorb Luck Value anytime, anywhere?
Miao Yang shoveled the food into his mouth. After finishing, he went on patrol with his newly acquainted brothers and spent some time sweating it out at the training grounds. The youth’s face was flushed, sweat dripping down his cheeks from his forehead. His hair had grown out a bit, making it prickly and spiked like a troublemaker’s. Yet, when he punched and kicked, he had the cool, rebellious air of a high school delinquent. But because his features were quite balanced, whenever he curved his eyes and revealed his glistening, watery gaze, he looked incredibly obedient—like a younger brother. Then, with a slight tilt of his brow, he would flash a look of cunning and vitality. He was a troublesome kid that people could not help but both love and hate.
It was already eight o’clock in the evening when he returned to his basement. Without the pressure of needing to find money immediately, Miao Yang felt light and indifferent. He did not have to rack his brain over how to make a living.
“Sigh! I suddenly feel so lucky,” he told 168.
168: 【Hmm? Why are you suddenly getting so sentimental?】
Miao Yang replied: “I just need to properly absorb other people’s life energy to keep living. Is that not luck?”
168: 【It is Luck Value, not life energy.】
Miao Yang opened his door under the watchful eye of one of the brothers. “Bye!” He slammed the door shut and replied to 168: “Got it, got it.”
Miao Yang felt a chill on the back of his neck and, alerted by 168, glanced to the side. A different man stood there. He was wearing a custom-made suit, tall and imposing. That was not the key; the key was that his entire temperament had shifted. The sinister aura was gone, replaced by a clean, sharp, and indescribable quality. It was the kind of powerful, awe-inspiring man Miao Yang had always dreamed of becoming.
“Lan… Brother Lan?”
He was shocked, walking in a circle around the man with bright, sharp eyes, even reaching out to touch the fabric of the suit—it looked very expensive. No wonder he looked so dashing.
Shi Lan: “…” Being scrutinized like this, he felt as if he were a nouveau riche suddenly entering high society. This was how he usually dressed, so there was nothing wrong with it, yet in Miao Yang’s eyes, Shi Lan suddenly seemed much more sophisticated.
Shi Lan grabbed his wrist and pulled him into an embrace. He had only just arrived. The room was lit by a single, dim lamp that would not strain the eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Shi Lan’s gaze traveled from Miao Yang’s spiked hair down to his eyes. Miao Yang was speechless and complained to 168: “This guy is so lustful, a total pervert.”
168: 【Good luck to you. If it really comes down to it, just let him have his way; what is the big deal? You might even gain more Luck Value. As your system, this is my sincere advice.】
Miao Yang shivered. “Can you send me to the hero and heroine in the next world? Can I be a CEO and compete with the male lead, and finally live a happy life with the heroine? Hehe.”
168: 【You have a beautiful imagination, but it is not impossible. The key is that you have to survive this first small world; otherwise, everything else is just talk.】
Miao Yang was suddenly pinched on the waist, scaring him so much he nearly jumped. Shi Lan rubbed the spot a few times. “What are you thinking about?”
Miao Yang’s face turned bright red, but he could not help but struggle. “Thinking about you, thinking about you. Why are you here?”
Shi Lan’s expression changed suddenly. He released Miao Yang and reached up to loosen his tie. Just as Miao Yang prepared to flash a smile to appease him, Shi Lan swiftly bound Miao Yang’s hands together and dragged him, throwing him onto the bed.
“Ouch, what are you doing?” Miao Yang flopped onto the bed, having absolutely no chance to resist. Psychopath.
Shi Lan sat down nearby and slapped him. “Miao Yang, you seem to have become quite arrogant lately.”
Miao Yang felt the sting, though it was not particularly painful, but his dignity had been severely wounded. He hurriedly rolled over, lying flat on the bed. “I, I did not! I have been so careful; why are you still unsatisfied with me, Brother Lan?” Miao Yang asked indignantly.
Shi Lan sneered at his pitiful act, his eyes dark and heavy. “Miao Yang, do you think you are here to enjoy life? I am not touching you right now because I do not want to make a bloodbath, but I have a hundred ways to kill you.”
The last three words were bone-chilling, and they were not said lightly. Miao Yang swallowed hard.
Shi Lan pulled him closer. “Miao Yang, stop with your little schemes and resistance, or I will really want to kill you.”
Miao Yang glared at him with red-rimmed eyes.