Thinking of the system saying how dangerous this city was, Xi Yue spent the whole time wondering if Shen Yu had run into trouble, pressing down on the blind box machine with a heart full of heavy worries.
After a ten-draw pull, the last item to appear in the machine was shaped like a pot—it actually turned out to be a luxury hotpot bundle! She had actually gotten lucky for once; this was simply unbelievable.
Happily carrying the hotpot back to her room, Xi Yue prepared to give Shen Yu a surprise tonight.
Stepping out of the elevator after heading back downstairs, she saw Shen Yu coming through the entrance carrying full paper bags in both hands.
Xi Yue rushed forward and asked, “Why did it take so long? You didn’t run into any trouble, did you? Put those down and let’s eat first.”
Looking at the worry in Xi Yue’s eyes, Shen Yu shook his head, handed the two bags of seeds to Xi Yue, and said, “I went to an agricultural market to look for seeds. It was a bit far, which is why I got back late. Next time if I come back late, eat first on your own—don’t starve yourself.”
“How could I eat when you weren’t back yet? It’s so dangerous outside, and I was worried something might happen to you. You’re my only employee.” Xi Yue pursed her lips, feeling that what she said sounded a bit odd, and walked over to the sofa awkwardly. “Hurry up and eat. Which one do you want?”
“The employee eats whatever the boss gives him. As you know, I’m not a picky eater.” Shen Yu sat down with a smile.
Xi Yue rolled her eyes at him, rendered speechless. “As I know what! I don’t know anything. Hurry up and fix it yourself—are you really waiting for the boss to wait on you? Living like this gives you no future.”
Taking in her animated expressions, Shen Yu tried desperately to suppress the rising corners of his lips, his eyes sparkling with scattered hints of amusement. It wouldn’t do to actually make the boss angry.
After finishing their meal, Shen Yu took the bags back upstairs. Seeing the stack of items, Xi Yue assumed they were Shen Yu’s clothes or something similar, so she didn’t ask further.
Opening the bags, they were stuffed full of all kinds of seeds—not just for vegetables and grain, but actually for fruits and flowers as well.
Xi Yue picked out the ones she liked, then asked the returned Shen Yu which ones he preferred. After the two had a brief discussion, she planted the seeds with a single click.
Once the seeds were planted, she opened the mall and bought a massage chair, placing it right by the front desk.
Patting the newly purchased massage chair, Xi Yue said to Shen Yu, “Hurry up and sit down! It’s the new massage chair I just bought—you’re the first one to use it! You really worked hard today~”
After Shen Yu sat down, Xi Yue went back and forth without pause to buy two cups of delicious drinks. Setting the drinks down, Xi Yue sat in her chair and said, “Did you know? A whole bunch of guests came after you went out today.”
“One guest was a bit strange. She was extremely dirty and wore very battered clothes—which shouldn’t be strange in the apocalypse. But she turned out to be a Rank 4 superpower user, and a Healing-type at that!” Xi Yue knitted her brows, finding it very puzzling.
Seeing Shen Yu look as if he were reaching for his drink, Xi Yue handed it over. After taking a sip, Shen Yu closed his eyes and said in an unhurried tone, “Healing isn’t an offensive superpower after all, so doing that for self-preservation isn’t strange. In the eyes of ordinary people, Healing-type users are indeed exceptionally precious, but in the eyes of certain people, they’re merely tools. When a tool isn’t convenient to use, that kind of end is worse than being bitten to death by zombies.”
Looking at the man speaking before her, Xi Yue suddenly felt that this version of Shen Yu was remarkably unfamiliar.
She didn’t know what Shen Yu had gone through in the past. At an age in his early twenties, when he should have just stepped out of campus into society, he was currently filled with an inexplicable sense of desolation.
Not hearing Xi Yue speak for a long time, Shen Yu opened his eyes and looked over, discovering that she seemed lost in thought, wondering what she was contemplating.
Shen Yu switched off the massage chair and sat up.
“What’s wrong?”
Xi Yue snapped back to reality and shook her head. “It’s nothing, just a few things I couldn’t figure out. I’ll be fine in a moment.”
Shen Yu stared fixedly at Xi Yue, looking as though he wanted to say something, but didn’t open his mouth in the end.
Once Xi Yue gathered herself, she said to Shen Yu, “I’m heading upstairs to rest for a bit. You stay here and wait for guests.”
Returning to her room, Xi Yue sat on the edge of the bed and asked the system, “What on earth did he experience? Why…”
Xi Yue trailed off, unsure of how to describe the feeling from just now.
[The host needs to discover that personally.]
“Fine. He seems a bit different from when I first met him; there must be a lot of stories…” Xi Yue closed her eyes, leaning against the headboard as she spoke in a low voice.
[Golden Millet Dream randomly lists in the System Mall. You can watch Shen Yu’s story inside the dream. A qualified shopkeeper should also understand her employee’s past.]
“Is that really okay to watch? How many gold coins is the Golden Millet Dream?” Hearing the system put it that way, Xi Yue hesitated a bit, worried that she might refresh it only to find she lacked the gold coins.
[Since he signed the contract, it is naturally acceptable to watch. The Golden Millet Dream costs 100 gold coins.]
Xi Yue checked her balance. She had spent quite a bit today—aside from buying items for Xiao Ha, she had also bought a massage chair.
Thankfully a large wave of guests had arrived and spent a good number of crystals; after offsetting the expenses, she still had 472 gold coins left over.
*Alright then, starting from now, I’ll refresh the mall every day right after waking up!* Xi Yue silently set this rule for herself.
After resting in her room for a short while, Xi Yue headed back downstairs.
Walking over to the front desk, she greeted Shen Yu, who was sitting in the chair staring off into space. “I’m going to go check on Xiao Ha. Don’t daze off during work hours, Front Desk Shen Yu.”
Watching Xi Yue head upstairs with a small, slumped face, only to come back down smiling a moment later, Shen Yu couldn’t help but shake his head with a laugh.
“Xiao Ha! I’m here to play with you!” Xi Yue shouted as she walked over to the back garden.
Hearing her voice, Xiao Ha bolted out of the dog house, wagging its tail frantically at Xi Yue.
Looking at the imposing, majestic big dog before her, standing up it actually reached near her neck level. Xi Yue pet its head. “Xiao Ha, you really are so handsome! You’re the most majestic dog I’ve ever seen.”
“Awoo, awoo, wuf!” Xiao Ha seemed to answer Xi Yue, even throwing her a proud glance, as if saying *you really have good taste*.
Xiao Ha lay on the ground, and Xi Yue pet its fur every now and then. Looking at the land ahead, she seemed a bit unsure about something.
“Xiao Ha, do you remember where Shen Yu moved that little sprout to this morning? I remember it was right beside where you were lying down at the time. Why does it feel like its position changed?” Although it was along the same row, it felt like it had shifted inward by a bit of a distance.
Being pet so comfortably, Xiao Ha squinted its eyes, its tail lightly sweeping the ground, looking as though it hadn’t heard a word she said.
Xi Yue suddenly recalled something. “System, is that plant a mutated plant?”
[Mutated Rice.]
“Why didn’t you notify me when Xiao Ha and the mutated rice entered the hotel grounds! What if dangerous animals or plants enter next time and harm the guests!”
[All living beings are unable to attack within the host’s domain, and the mutated Husky and rice were detected to be extremely gentle, so entry into the hotel was permitted.]
“That’s good then. This rice must be the very stalk that Sun Mantian’s son, Sun Hong, went looking for back then! To think it actually ran all the way over here.” Xi Yue watched the mutated plant soaking up the sun in the field, its leaves looking lush and green.