Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

I've already been put in the dark room once.

…………

The fourteenth day of the twelfth lunar month marks the approach of the Spring Festival.

During the Spring Festival travel rush, everywhere is packed with people, and bus stations are filled with the shouts of drivers.

"Anyone still on the bus from Shanghai to Yunshi? It's leaving soon!"

Bai Li dragged her suitcase and boarded the bus bound for Yun City.

With few seats left, Bai Li had no choice but to choose an empty row at the very back.

After placing the suitcase on the shelf, Bai Li thought about the more than 20-hour journey ahead and felt like her butt was about to split open.

"Damn, if that idiot boss hadn't insisted on holding an impromptu meeting, I wouldn't have missed my flight and had to suffer like this."

Bai Li went to university in Shanghai and became a "Shanghai drifter" after graduation.

In Shanghai, Bai Li spent three years successfully rising from a low-level employee to a manager in a private company.

He earns nearly 30,000 yuan a month and has 300,000 yuan in savings. In Shanghai, that sounds like a good achievement.

But only he knows that without a house, a car, or a girlfriend, he is still a rootless duckweed.

"I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll get some sleep. I still have to face endless questioning from my relatives when I get back."

Just as he closed his eyes, a loud commotion came from the car door.

"Sister Tingting, hurry, hurry, it's this car!"

"What's the rush? Are you in such a hurry to be reborn?"

Three girls dressed in extremely extravagant outfits squeezed onto the bus.

The red-haired girl in the lead had a large colorful floral tattoo on her arm and a tongue piercing.

The other two, one with blond hair and the other with purple hair, were both wearing inappropriate crop tops and shorts, displaying their vibrant youthful bodies.

Young and energetic girl.

Bai Li recognized the variety at a glance, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

He shrank closer to the window, with only one thought in his mind: Please don't sit next to me.

However, it is counterproductive.

The three girls walked around and immediately spotted the last row of rows.

"Sister Tingting, Jiaxin, come quick! There are three empty seats right at the back!" The blonde girl said, and walked straight toward him.

He then plopped down in the empty seat next to Bai Li, instantly filling the last row to capacity.

The vehicle slowly started moving.

"Damn it, that lousy factory is no place for a human to work, I'm never doing it again!"

The red-haired gang leader, Chen Tingting, began to curse:

"He spent all the money he earned on tattoos, and now his pockets are emptier than his face. He can't even come up with two dollars."

"Exactly! I'm going to delete that fat supervisor from my WeChat as soon as I get back. He tried to take advantage of me, dream on!" Purple-haired girl Li Jiaxin chimed in.

"Sister Tingting, Sister Jiaxin, what are we going back for?"

The blonde girl, Lin Xiaoshuang, asked timidly, her voice quite soft and sweet.

"What are we going to do? First, let's go to the billiards hall and play all night! Then..."

Their conversation was unrestrained and loud, drawing disapproving glances from the surrounding passengers.

Bai Li felt even more annoyed.

If he hadn't missed his flight, he would never have had any interaction with such a lowly being from the bottom of society.

Because of the crowded seating, the blonde girl named Lin Xiaoshuang's thighs were almost pressed tightly against his suit pants.

Bai Li could feel the warmth that belonged to the young girl, but he only felt uncomfortable and moved his body closer to the car window.

He just wanted to spend those twenty-odd hours in peace.

The bus was traveling on the highway, and the vehicle was bumping along.

After a while, Lin Xiaoshuang's face turned pale, and she covered her mouth, looking very uncomfortable.

"Sister Tingting, I...I'm a little carsick."

"Motion sickness? Just bear with it, we don't have money to buy water." Chen Tingting said helplessly.

Lin Xiaoshuang endured it for a while, but seemed unable to bear it any longer. She turned her head and touched Bai Li's arm.

"Sir... could I have some water?"

The word "uncle" made Bai Li's lips twitch.

I'm only twenty-six years old. The face in the mirror, with its peach blossom eyes and high nose bridge, would make me a handsome guy anywhere. How did I become an uncle?

He glanced at the bottle of mineral water beside him, which he had only taken a few sips of, and hesitated.

"I've already drunk my water."

He responded coldly, implying that you should find someone else.

He has a slight case of mysophobia and would never want to share a bottle of water with this kind of "eccentric" girl.

To everyone's surprise, Lin Xiaoshuang's eyes lit up, as if she hadn't sensed his rejection and instead felt a glimmer of hope.

"So what if you've had some? It's okay, uncle!"

She didn't even wait for Bai Li's consent before reaching out and taking the water bottle from beside his leg, her movements very natural.

"Glug glug—"

Lin Xiaoshuang unscrewed the bottle cap and took several large gulps, her throat bobbing up and down as she swallowed.

After finishing the drink, she breathed a sigh of relief, a blush rising on her cheeks, as if she had recovered considerably.

She glanced at the little water left in the bottle and handed it back to Bai Li.

Bai Li glanced at the faint lip print around the bottle opening and waved her hand dismissively.

"It's yours, you don't need it."

The girl paused in mid-air, handing over water, and hesitated for a moment.

She probably didn't expect that the other party would just give her a bottle of water like that.

She lowered her head and whispered:

"……Thanks."

Bai Li ignored it, put her headphones back on, and closed her eyes.

To him, it was just throwing away a bottle of water he no longer wanted to drink; it was nothing to worry about.

However, just as Lin Xiaoshuang took back the water bottle and clenched it tightly in her hand...

A cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang in Bai Li's mind.

[First investment activity detected in the host; target's emotional response: gratitude.]

[Investment value assessment in progress...]

[Goddess Investment System Binding in progress... 10%... 50%... 100%!]

[Binding successful!]

Bai Li's body jolted, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

A semi-transparent blue panel, like a special effect from a science fiction movie, was quietly floating in front of him.

On the panel, a few lines of simple font are clearly visible.

[Host: Bai Li]

[System: Goddess Investment System]

[Features: Goddess Radar, Investment Rebates]

What... is going on?