I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

"You really have 1 million?"

Lin Yang posed the first question, which was also the one he was most curious about.

Chen Wanjun's fingertips paused on the screen for a moment, as if she were performing some kind of complex calculation.

The phone vibrated.

There should be a total of [amount] if you add them all up.

Lin Yang's heart skipped a beat.

One billion.

For him, this was once a small goal that the richest man had mentioned.

And now, the owner of that number is sitting right across from him.

"So how did you earn it?" Lin Yang pressed, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his knee.

This time, Chen Wanjun's hesitation became obvious.

Her finger hovered above the screen, hesitant to fall.

Lin Yang didn't urge him, but waited quietly.

He knew that this was the first lock to pry open the barriers in her heart.

[Write a program model for someone else.]

A few seconds later, the message finally arrived.

Lin Yang's mind was instantly filled with a sarcastic remark: This is the benefit of high obedience; they're even willing to reveal such core business secrets.

This kind of "soft rice" (living off a woman) is only truly satisfying when you eat it hard!

After sending the message, Chen Wanjun seemed to feel that words were insufficient to explain the issue.

She stood up from the sofa, and because of the brace on her right ankle, she could only use one leg to lift herself up, limping towards the study.

Lin Yang immediately followed him inside.

Chen Wanjun sat down in front of the computer, skillfully entered the password, and turned off the screensaver.

Instantly, four huge monitors lit up simultaneously, illuminating her face in a deep blue light.

Lin Yang's gaze was completely absorbed by the content on the screen.

On the left screen was a dense array of code, with various symbols and English words intertwined, making him dizzy.

The two screens in the middle are divided into complex charts by countless red and green lines, with numbers jumping wildly within them. Each flash could represent the evaporation or creation of the value of a villa.

The rightmost screen displays a series of data windows, with various complex mathematical models and analysis reports layered on top of each other.

I write quantitative model programs for some companies, and they share the profits with me.

Chen Wanjun's WeChat message arrived just in time, answering his question.

These things are so profitable?

Lin Yang looked at those complicated candlestick charts. He knew they were stocks, but he knew nothing about the intricacies of them.

Not to mention those incomprehensible programming languages; the little bit of basic knowledge he learned in his e-commerce major in college wasn't even enough to get started here.

"Did you teach yourself all of this?" Lin Yang continued to ask.

Yes, the friends in the group have been a lot of help, but we've only communicated online and have never met in person.

Lin Yang smiled; those who were lurking in the group were all big shots.

He didn't want to get bogged down in something he didn't understand, so he decisively changed the subject.

"Where are your parents? Why don't they live with you?"

Chen Wanjun, sitting in front of the computer, types at lightning speed, as if the keyboard is her most fluent means of expression.

My parents are divorced. They gave me this house and then ignored me.

"Why?" Lin Yang continued to ask.

They divorced when I was in fourth grade. I only saw my father three or four times after that. He married another woman and I haven't seen him since. I lived with my mother, who also married another man and had a younger brother and sister. But I was too afraid to speak and stayed in my small room every day. After I finished high school, they moved away, and I was left all alone.

A series of cold, impersonal words appeared on Lin Yang's phone screen.

He could almost picture a small, thin girl in this house, facing the loneliness of being completely forgotten after her parents started new families.

"Oh, then why don't you go to university?"

I didn't take the college entrance exam; in fact, I hardly went to school at all during my three years of high school.

A soft spot in Lin Yang's heart was gently touched.

He finally understood where her extreme social phobia came from.

That wasn't an innate personality trait, but rather a self-protective wall that was forcibly built during years of isolation and neglect.

"It seems your parents' divorce has been a big blow to you."

He made this concluding statement.

Chen Wanjun remained silent.

She didn't reply again, but just sat there quietly, her back looking particularly thin under the light of the four screens.

She didn't know how to answer.

Or rather, no answer can describe the feeling of being abandoned by the whole world.

"Okay, let's talk about something happy."

Lin Yang decided to end this heavy topic. He came here to be a kept man, not to become a psychologist.

Just then, a message that she had sent popped up on Lin Yang's phone screen.

Lin Yang, will you abandon me?

As she sent the message, she turned her head, her clear, beautiful eyes staring straight at Lin Yang, filled with a mix of emotions: unease, fear, and anticipation.

Lin Yang's breath hitched for a moment.

Being stared at so openly by her made him feel incredibly ashamed.

He was internally screaming: "Lady, we've only known each other for less than 48 hours, and you're asking me this ultimate philosophical question? How am I supposed to answer that? I'm just here to live off a woman, don't be so professional!"

Correct.

He's just a kept man.

This thought instantly calmed Lin Yang down.

What does he want? Money, and the money to be kept by a woman.

And what does she need? Companionship, a sense of security, and someone who won't abandon her.

Their needs are complementary on some level.

Thinking of this, he met her gaze and said clearly, word by word:

"As long as you have money, I will never abandon you."

This is a cruel answer, but also the most genuine promise.

He didn't say "I love you," nor did he say "I will always be with you."

What he offered was an unbreakable relationship built on money.

Upon hearing this, the unease and fear in Chen Wanjun's eyes vanished instantly.

Like a child who has received their favorite toy, she suddenly stood up from her gaming chair, ignoring her injured foot, and leaped into Lin Yang's arms.

A soft body crashed into my arms, carrying the sweet fragrance unique to young girls.

Lin Yang instinctively hugged her, feeling her trembling slightly in his arms.

"Let's do something different then," he said, stroking her back and whispering in her ear, "You have so many cosplay costumes here. I've always wanted to do this since college, but my family's financial situation was limited."

Chen Wanjun nodded happily in his arms, like a chick pecking at rice.

Lin Yang pulled her along to the small room filled with all sorts of anime and manga merchandise.

He rummaged through a pile of clothes, and finally his eyes settled on a blue and white sailor uniform and a sky-blue short wig.

"Let's start with the injured Rei Ayanami," he said with a mischievous grin. "And coincidentally, your foot is bandaged too, which is quite fitting."

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Wanjun picked up her clothes and limped into the master bedroom.

A dozen minutes later, when the bedroom door opened again, Lin Yang felt as if his breath had been taken away.

The girl in front of me was wearing that classic sailor uniform, a blue wig, and a white medical eye patch over her right eye.

Apart from the stunning curves of her chest, which disrupted the flat-chested image of the "emotionless girl," everything else was a perfect replica.

Especially her listless and bewildered eyes, and her somewhat unsteady gait due to her foot injury.

This is not cosplay.

It was as if Rei Ayanami had broken down the dimensional barrier and was standing right in front of him.

Lin Yang could no longer hold back. He strode forward, pulled her into his arms, lowered his head, and captured her soft lips.

For the rest of the afternoon, room 2404 in building 32 became Lin Yang's private playground.

From the injured Rei Ayanami, to the sword-wielding Saber, and then to the charming Rem...

Chen Wanjun was like a tireless dress-up doll, fulfilling all of Lin Yang's fantasies.

Lin Yang, through repeated role-playing, guided her from her initial stiffness and shyness to her later active cooperation.

Night was falling.

The two lay exhausted on the messy bed in the master bedroom.

In the darkness, Chen Wanjun finally dared to speak first.

Her voice was no longer coming from a cold phone screen, but was truly ringing in his ears, as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet incredibly clear.

"Today is the happiest day since my parents divorced."

Lin Yang was already fast asleep and had started snoring, so you couldn't hear him at all.