Chapter 4
1349 Words
The 001 System’s screen was full of censor bars as it opened the task log and reminded Ruan Yao with a sigh:
[Do you still remember your mission?]
Ruan Yao's inner emoji: “Why is my life so hard.jpg”
“Of course I remember! It’s just that military training was so exhausting, I didn’t have much time...” Ruan Yao mumbled, guilty, his voice growing quieter.
“I mean, I’ve already started messing with their stuff. I’ll pick a fight and piss them off later—see, I know what I’m doing~.”
Turning his head, he shouted toward the door, “I ran out of body wash, so I used Lin Yichen’s!”
[Jiang Ji’s anger +1]
[Gu Shiye’s anger +1]
“How weird, Mr. 001! Why didn’t Lin Yichen’s anger go up, but Jiang Ji’s and Gu Shiye’s did?”
[Heh. Lin Yichen’s probably overjoyed right now.]
“Mr. 001, you’re acting weird too!”
The bathroom door opened with a hiss of steam. Ruan Yao stepped out, towel-drying his hair. His fair skin had a healthy pink undertone, and his bare elbows and knees peeked out. Through his white T-shirt, the faint outline of soft flesh could be seen.
His small face, big features, and slightly puffy, red, sleepy expression looked just like an annoyed housecat glaring at its servants.
Though it was already September and the night breeze was getting cooler outside, inside it was stuffy—you needed the AC on to feel comfortable.
Just as he stepped out of the warm shower, the cold air hit him, and tiny goosebumps popped up on his smooth skin.
“Why do you guys have the AC so low? Are you trying to freeze me on purpose?!”
“Hmph! If you’re feeling guilty, I want cake, BBQ, and ice cream!”
“Little princess, who was the one insisting on late-night snacks a few days ago, hmm?”
“Stomach issues are just a coincidence! I’m super strong, okay?!”
Ugh! I wouldn’t have gotten sick at all, if I wasn’t forced to simulate the original host’s weak constitution and pretend to have a sensitive stomach!
“Also, once you’re full, you won’t be able to sleep again and will end up staying up all night.” Lin Yichen frowned. “Princess, you need to sleep. Otherwise, you’ll be cranky and tired tomorrow.”
“No! I won’t sleep unless I get snacks!”
“Alright, alright, baby. We’ll just have a little, okay?”
Gu Shiye suddenly recalled the first time Jiang Ji had bought late-night snacks. Not knowing what Ruan Yao liked, Jiang Ji had bought a ton—cold, hot, spicy, sweet, sour... and watched in horror as Ruan Yao ate all of it. Nothing happened that night.
But the next morning, Ruan Yao was sent to the hospital.
The doctor told them he was malnourished and had poor sleep habits. (Well, that was the original host’s health record—Ruan Yao’s current system body was just fine.)
Ever since then, the three had been doing their best to help Ruan Yao maintain a healthy routine.
Ruan Yao gleefully waited for their anger meters to update, even plotting his next annoying scheme.
But then—
[No anger value updated] came 001’s cold voice.
“...What?”
Ruan Yao stared wide-eyed in disbelief, his pretty face full of confusion and shock.
“Mr. 001, is this a system bug?” he asked softly, even throwing in a cutesy pout.
[Nope. Your actions didn’t actually make any of them angry.]
001 sounded exhausted.
Ruan Yao rolled on the bed, frowning.
“What do I do now?! I’ve been such a little menace—how are they still tolerating me?!”
[Maybe it’s time to change tactics.]
“……”
After thinking for a second, Ruan Yao decided not to give up.
He got out of bed, wobbling slightly, and walked over to Lin Yichen’s desk. It was perfectly tidy, with neatly stacked books and lab data reports. He smiled like a classic cartoon villain.
He reached out, grabbed Jiang Ji’s experiment notes from the desk, crumpled them into a ball, and tossed them into the trash can.
Then, sneaky as ever, he grabbed Jiang Ji’s sports water bottle from the neighboring desk and poured in a bit of chili oil.
Satisfied, he clapped his hands and told himself this plan was flawless. No way Lin Yichen wouldn’t get mad this time!
Gu Shiye, who saw the whole thing from the corner of his eye, chuckled silently and went back to his reading, pretending nothing had happened.
Ruan Yao, feeling a little guilty, tried to return to bed to play the sweet and innocent act. But before he could crawl back into his blanket—
Click.
The bathroom door opened.
Lin Yichen stepped out, steam still rising from his body. His black hair was damp, a few water droplets sliding down his neck.
His gaze instantly fell on the trash can—on the crumpled ball of paper inside.
Ruan Yao: “……”
Lin Yichen: “……”
The silence in the room was deafening—so quiet you could hear the outdoor AC unit buzzing.
A few seconds later, Lin Yichen took a deep breath, walked over to the trash can, and picked up the paper. After unfolding it, he realized that some of the handwriting was now smudged and unreadable.
“Ruan. Yao.” He said each syllable slowly, his tone full of danger.
Ruan Yao looked up, blinked his big eyes innocently, then quickly lowered his head and bit his soft finger, mumbling in a pitiful voice:
“I just thought your desk was too messy… I wanted to help clean up…”
“Clean up?” Lin Yichen ground his teeth.
Looking at that pampered little expression, all the anger building inside him deflated. He sighed, gave up, and started reorganizing the data from scratch.
Just then, Jiang Ji returned, carrying the tiny late-night snack haul.
“Jiang Ji, you’re the best! Have some water first!” Ruan Yao beamed at him.
Jiang Ji unscrewed the cap and took a sip.
The next moment—
“Cough! Cough cough—!!”
Of course. If a kid suddenly goes quiet, they’re up to no good.
Jiang Ji spat the water out, doubled over in a coughing fit. His whole face scrunched up, eyes watering.
“You—” he rasped between coughs, glaring at Ruan Yao. “What did you put in my water?!”
Ruan Yao tried hard to hold back his laughter and gasped, pretending to be horrified.
“Oh no, really?! Is it expired?!”
A vein throbbed on Jiang Ji’s forehead.
“What, are you gonna hit me? You shouldn’t have brought so little food if you didn’t want me to be upset!”
Sigh, YaoYao’s just a spoiled little thing who likes messing around. If he weren’t upset about the snacks, he wouldn’t be acting like this.
Jiang Ji placed the cake, BBQ, and ice cream—still misted with condensation—onto the table.
Ruan Yao looked at his calm face and continued pushing his luck.
“You took forever! My cake’s probably gross now.”
“My bad, I’ll bring it faster next time,” Jiang Ji said gently.
Ruan Yao took a bite of the BBQ and instantly teared up from the spice. His long lashes clumped together with moisture.
Jiang Ji quickly unwrapped a straw and offered him a cup of milk tea.
Ruan Yao took a long sip and, without thinking, held the bitten skewer up to Jiang Ji’s mouth.
Jiang Ji smugly glanced at Lin Yichen and Gu Shiye like he’d just won something. He didn’t say a word—but the look said everything.
[Anger value updated.]
Lin Yichen: 35/100
Gu Shiye: 35/100
“Wow! Even though it’s kinda weird, at least the anger value went up a little~!” Ruan Yao clapped happily, his eyes sparkling.
“Mr. 001, see? I am amazing!”
001: [.........]
- Writer
