In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

"Ok?"

Xu Shi paused, then asked, "What's wrong?"

"Um...would you like to grab a bite to eat together later? It's on me."

Xia Xiaomao said shyly, "I just realized that I haven't actually thanked you properly since my aunt was discharged from the hospital..."

An excuse, a complete excuse.

That's the truth. From a certain perspective, Xia Wuyou has never "formally" thanked Xu Shi. Of course, giving him his body is one way, but we are all human beings, and it's not appropriate to stay at that stage. At least "inviting someone to dinner" is a universal way of expressing gratitude that has been used since ancient times.

But the fact that you said it now of all times makes it sound different. Isn't your purpose to be alone with Xu Shi?

Perhaps it was because Xu Shi's act of standing up for her earlier had moved her; in any case, she was quite pleased with it.

Of course, no matter what was said, everyone present knew perfectly well that they couldn't have just been eating; what they were eating was anyone's guess...

Tch, they were just saying they'd reward him, what a load of rubbish, and now they've changed their minds? (accusing)

Xia Wuyou felt both shy and happy. Another reason she didn't want to admit was that Xu Shi hadn't contacted her these past few days, and she herself was starting to feel a little urge...

Xu Shi didn't care and shamelessly agreed, "If I eat up a month's salary of yours, I won't be responsible for you if you can't pay the rent later."

"Does the landlord really have the heart to kick me out to sleep on the streets?"

Xia Xiaomao is completely immune to this.

Just spoil her.

Xu chuckled, put his arm around her waist, and the two walked away affectionately.

"Ugh, what a jerk, he's a bad man who only uses people when he needs them and doesn't use them when he doesn't."

Seeing this, Jiang Chengcheng sighed. Fortunately, she had been spending time with Xu Shi not long ago, so she didn't mind.

"Arlene, shall we go grab a bite to eat? My sister and I haven't had a proper chat in ages."

"Ah... OK."

Director Su seemed a little distracted, and it took him a while to come to his senses before he forced a smile and nodded.

"What's wrong, Arlene?"

Such a lapse in composure naturally did not escape Jiang Chengcheng's notice, and it piqued her curiosity.

Surely you can't be disgusted by the sight of blood, right? Just kidding, who are you, Su Lin...? Wait a minute...

After scrutinizing her from head to toe for a while, she confidently hit Su Lin's sore spot, "Are you jealous?"

"I... what nonsense are you talking about, Chengcheng?"

Su Lin blushed instantly and denied it outright.

"I'm talking nonsense? Your expression doesn't lie."

Jiang Chengcheng persisted, "I thought you were already used to it... It's okay, you two live under the same roof, you're practically an old married couple, even if there's no novelty, you should be able to solve it with a few tricks, right?"

"old……"

These words only made Su Lin more embarrassed, to the point that she couldn't even lift her head.

"What, did I...did I say something wrong?"

Jiang Chengcheng was even more confused and a little at a loss for words. Isn't this just a normal way of getting along? Why are you so shy...?

Wait.

After all, they were best friends who had been together for many years, and before long she suddenly realized a possibility.

"Ah Lin, you, you wouldn't have... you know... with Xu Shi, would you?"

"……hold head high."

There were only the two of them there, and Su Lin thought about it and didn't hide it from her. She responded softly, her face as red as if it were about to bleed.

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Jiang Chengcheng felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

She swore she really didn't know anything about it! Good heavens, who could have imagined this? Her best friend is so stunningly beautiful, and Xu Shi is a sure-fire lecher. You two grew up together, and now you're telling me nothing happened?

What kind of fantasy script is this?! Nobody would believe it if I told them! Nobody would believe it!

She finally understood why Su Lin had this mentality; wasn't that exactly what it meant?

It's natural to feel jealous and envious when someone else surpasses you in what you didn't have, but given her best friend's personality, she couldn't bring herself to say it outright, since she and Xu Shi were too close... In the end, it would turn into this situation where she would watch him being affectionate with someone else while she hid in a corner biting her handkerchief.

"you……"

Jiang Chengcheng didn't know what to say.

"...Hey, it's okay."

Su Lin patted her cheeks; she was already used to this. "Where should we eat? My treat."

"What are we eating?!"

Looking at her best friend, Jiang Chengcheng felt so disappointed in her that she wanted to drill a few holes in her head to make her realize the truth. "Are you really planning to continue like this?"

"This...isn't it fine?"

Su Lin stammered, saying she didn't know what to do either.

"Okay? Fine, then you can live like this for the rest of your life."

Jiang Chengcheng was speechless, then turned around angrily to leave, saying, "I'm leaving. You can continue to live well."

"...Hey, hey, hey, no, no, no."

Su Lin grabbed her arm as if she were grasping at a lifeline, "Then, Chengcheng, what should I do...?"

"Hmm... Come, come, sit down first, let me analyze it for you properly."

Jiang Chengcheng wouldn't just stand by and watch her die; she might do it with anyone else, but not with her best friend. So she pulled her to sit on a chair in the cell.

It's hard to imagine that someone died in a place just thirty minutes ago, and now she's using it as a classroom.

"First, let's confirm one thing."

Jiang Cheng cleared his throat to clarify, "Ah Lin, you like Xu Shi, right?"

Su Lin nodded shyly.

Actually, the answer to this question is obvious without even asking. It's not because I like her that I could become like this.

"Okay, if you like her, then go for it!"

Jiang Chengcheng said seriously, "What's the point of keeping it all bottled up inside every day?"

"Listen to me, you can learn from Xia Wuyou and invite him out for a meal alone or something."

"Can't we do it at home?"

Su Lin asked doubtfully, "I really rarely go out to eat alone with the young master, I'm used to it..."

"That's exactly what I wanted—to feel uncomfortable."

Jiang Chengcheng sighed, thinking to herself, "You usually seem so shrewd, how come your IQ drops to zero when it comes to something like this?"

"You and he have everything you need, except for a sense of novelty, which is why you need to create some different feelings."

This is the most common method. Inviting someone out for a meal is the most helpful way to proceed gradually. That's what Xia Wuyou did. Didn't she do the same thing before?

"You need to change your outfit too, something sexier and more revealing, it has to be different from usual, you know?"

Su Lin is indeed a beauty, but she wears the same office lady outfit every day, and she never even changes her stockings from black to flesh-colored. No matter how pretty she is, you get tired of seeing her like that, right?

It all boils down to one word: change!

"Hmm."

Su Lin listened attentively and even opened her memo app to write down each point, "So where should we meet? 'Babylon'? 'Latis'? Or..."

"It doesn't matter, as long as the atmosphere is right."

Jiang Chengcheng waved her hand, "You have to pay attention to what you eat, you know? It's really necessary to carefully select ingredients, like kidneys, oysters, chives, lamb, and, well, you can drink alcohol, or have some goji berry water..."

"Let's use a three-pronged approach to thoroughly corrupt him in one go! Once he unleashes his beastly nature, things will fall into place naturally, and you'll never have to worry about anything again!"

Indeed, Su Lin and Xu Shi have nothing lacking in each other except for that thin veil of secrecy. Once they have a real relationship, everything else will be easy to discuss.

"Okay, I'll give it a try..."

Seeing her full of energy, Director Su also became somewhat eager to try.

But she still had her own concerns, "Chengcheng, you only talked about my side, but what if the young master doesn't have that kind of feeling for me? Wouldn't that be bad too?"

How will you know if you don't try?

Jiang Chengcheng rolled her eyes. "Remember, Alin, if you try, the chance of failure is 50%. If you don't even try, the chance of failure will always be 100%."

However, she was still aware that Xu Shi was most likely interested in Su Lin. She had often heard her best friend complain that the young master was flirting with her inappropriately, which was a good sign.

As for why it's dragging on... it's both Su Lin's and his problem that they're too familiar with each other. Secondly, this guy is a bad seed; he never seems to like taking the initiative in this area.

"Too."

Su Lin thought there was nothing wrong with what he said, "Then, then I'll do my best?"

"It will definitely succeed!"

Jiang Chengcheng patted her shoulder to comfort her, "Don't come back to see me if you don't succeed."

"...Thank you for your kind words."

Su Lin finally smiled and left in a hurry.

I always felt that she was never this attentive when it came to official matters.

Watching her retreating figure, Jiang Chengcheng couldn't help but chuckle.

Hey, I never expected you to be like this, Su Lin.

...Wait, did you forget something?

"You can't ask him to dinner today! Didn't you promise to treat me?"

Hmph, you value romance over friendship!

……