Chapter 38: Innocent Landlord and Black Tenant 06 Is He… Stupid?
[Host, a new day has begun!] 778's high-pitched voice dispelled the morning silence. [Today, we need to advance a key plot point—you maliciously invite the protagonist, the top, out for dinner, taking the opportunity to harass her. Then, you'll stumble upon the protagonist, the bottom, in the same restaurant!]
How to ask Shao Ye out for dinner and how to trigger the plot made Ye Ling feel troubled.
Before Shao Ye decided to rent a house, he added him on WeChat, but their chat history was still about negotiating the rental contract, which was quite polite and courteous.
Even the most innocent little bird could see that the two were definitely not familiar enough to have dinner together.
Thinking of this, Ye Ling subconsciously looked up at the bookcase covered with surveillance screens, feeling very uneasy.
Even though we weren't familiar with each other, I was able to secretly see her small collarbone and waist...
He is so bad!
778 offered a suggestion: [Host, you can do this... and that... Don't forget that the protagonist is just a simple college student right now. No matter how smart he is, what good is that? Haha, there are more tricks in this database than he has walked!]
"despair!"
Following 778's instructions, Ye Ling slid smoothly through the corridor of the Ye family mansion, entered the main power control room, and turned off the main power switch.
The Ye Family Mansion was suddenly plunged into darkness. The neon lights of the city outside shone through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, outlining the contours of the luxurious furniture.
In the basement, Shao Ye was debugging a complex piece of code on his computer screen. Suddenly, the screen went dark, and the basement was engulfed in darkness.
He paused and frowned.
He stood up, accurately touched the door by relying on his memory, pressed the switch several times, but there was no response.
Is there a power outage?
Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from the stairs, accompanied by a shaky beam of light from a mobile phone flashlight.
"Student Shao Ye?" Ye Ling's voice came from the stairs.
His arrival was so coincidental and quick, as if it had been expected.
……Oh.
"Are you okay? There seems to be a power outage in the mansion." Ye Ling's concerned voice came from the light.
Shao Ye looked at the vaguely outlined blond head at the stairs and said calmly, "Yeah. It's okay."
[Host! He really didn't suspect anything, it went very smoothly!] 778's excited electronic voice exploded in Ye Ling's mind, [Quick, invite him out for dinner! Remember your gentle, considerate, generous, and hypocritical landlord persona!]
Ye Ling took a deep breath and tried to make her voice sound natural: "Um... you haven't had dinner yet, right? There's a power outage, so I can't cook..."
Shao Ye didn't respond. His silence reassured Ye Ling, who hurriedly made an invitation: "You must be exhausted after a day of classes, right? How about this, why don't you go out to dinner with me? I'll treat! Just think of it as a small token of appreciation from a landlord to an excellent tenant!"
In the darkness, Shao Ye was silent for a few seconds.
Ye Ling's heart was pounding. After a long moment, Shao Ye's cold voice suddenly rang out, "The Ye family mansion is so luxurious, don't they have backup lines or generators?"
Backup lines? Generators? 778 didn't teach us that!
Ye Ling laughed dryly and tried to get away with it: "Haha, classmate Shao Ye, you're joking! This is an old house that's over a hundred years old! Where did those things come from? It's summer, the electricity load is high, and power outages are normal."
Shao Ye didn't ask any more questions, but his eyes, which looked particularly deep in the dim light of the mobile phone, seemed to glance at Ye Ling.
"Let's go." Shao Ye uttered two words lightly and took the lead to walk towards the door.
Ye Ling was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed, holding up her phone, cheering in her heart: [778! He agreed!]
[Host! Our teamwork is perfect!] 778 immediately echoed, his electronic voice even more excited than Ye Ling's.
The two of them went out, Ye Ling driving his sapphire blue sports car that still made him tremble with fear. The city lights were bright at night, and the traffic was flowing. The car was silent.
Suddenly, Shao Ye in the passenger seat spoke slowly, breaking the silence.
"Teacher Ye..." He deliberately dragged out the tone.
Ye Ling was concentrating on the road conditions ahead. Hearing this, she subconsciously said "Hmm?" and turned her head to look at Shao Ye.
Shao Ye's gaze was also on his face. Under the light and shadow flowing outside the car window, his black eyes looked particularly deep.
Shao Ye's lips curled up slightly, and his voice was low: "You were like this before..."
He paused.
"To treat other... 'wildcats'?"
"Cough! Cough cough cough!" Ye Ling choked on her own saliva and choked. The steering wheel shook, and the car behind her honked its horn.
He frantically tried to steady the car, his face flushed red. The only good thing was that his violent coughing perfectly concealed his guilty conscience.
Ye Ling coughed so hard that tears came to her eyes. She could only wave her hands frantically, trying to express three consecutive denials: "I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."
Shao Ye looked at his embarrassed appearance and did not ask any more questions. He turned his gaze back to the window, but the curve at the corner of his mouth seemed to deepen a little.
The destination is a three-star Michelin French restaurant.
Soft lighting, elegant piano music, the air is filled with the scent of high-quality ingredients and fragrances, and waiters in neat uniforms shuttle back and forth silently.
The two sat down and the waiter respectfully handed them the menu with both hands.
[Host! Opportunity!] 778 said excitedly, [Pass the menu! Now! Hand the menu to the target! At the moment of handover, let your fingertips inadvertently slide across the back of his hand! Remember, move gently, slowly, and with a subtle hint of teasing!]
When he notices something's wrong and frowns slightly, you immediately add our famous perverted line: "Your fingers are beautiful, meant to be caressed by something more beautiful..." When he's shocked by the greasiness, you elegantly and sleazyly add, "Like my paintbrush!" Perfect! A textbook example of 'hypocritical flirting'!
Ye Ling's scalp went numb when he heard this, and the menu in his hand felt as hot as an iron.
He forced out a smile that he thought was elegant but was actually very stiff, and held the menu in both hands, like a bomb, and handed it towards Shao Ye.
"Student Shao Ye, what do you want to eat?" His voice was a little dizzy.
Shao Ye raised his eyes and looked over calmly. Ye Ling suddenly became more nervous, and the fingers that handed over the menu trembled slightly because of the force.
Just as Shao Ye reached out to take it——
Ye Ling's mind was replaying 778's "slide across the back of the hand" instruction frantically, but he was too nervous, causing his movements to be completely out of control.
“Bang!”
There was a crisp sound, especially clear in the quiet restaurant.
Ye Ling slapped Shao Ye's hand hard!
“…”
Shao Ye's outstretched hand stopped in mid-air.
He raised his eyebrows slightly, and his gaze slowly moved from the back of his attacked hand to the face of the blond young man opposite him, who was instantly petrified and his cheeks turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Ye Ling: “!!!”
He jerked his hand back as if burned. He stammered incoherently, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... Here's the menu!"
He hurriedly stuffed the menu into Shao Ye's hand, his eyes dodging, wishing he could turn into his original form and crawl into the vase on the table.
Shao Ye looked at him, the instigator who was in a panic, then looked down at the red mark on the back of his hand. For a moment, a faint smile flashed across his eyes.
After the appetizers and main courses, the waiter brought out the restaurant’s signature molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.
778's carefully prepared suggestive flirting words completely lost their chance to be put on the stage here.
Ye Ling's hazelnut eyes lit up instantly, like two pieces of polished amber. He forgot all about the mission, the pervert, and 778!
He picked up a small spoon and dug into the warm, crispy crust of the cake.
Rich, hot chocolate lava flows out.
Ye Ling couldn't wait to scoop up a small spoonful, and immediately narrowed her eyes in satisfaction, letting out a sigh full of happiness: "Hmm..."
He was completely immersed in the world of dessert, his cheeks bulging with cake and his lips smeared with chocolate sauce.
Shao Ye quietly watched the blond young man opposite him who switched from clumsy flirting to wholehearted eating mode.
The pure sense of satisfaction and happiness evoked by the food completely replaced his deliberate greasy and frivolous behavior.
The light fell on the corners of his lips stained with chocolate sauce and on his eyes that were sparkling with delicious food.
Shao Ye thought for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pushed the untouched dessert in front of him in front of Ye Ling.
Ye Ling, immersed in the sweet world, was stunned for a moment. She looked up, blinked her eyes, and asked in disbelief: "...For me?"
Shao Ye didn't say anything, just nodded slightly.
Ye Ling immediately smiled a pure and dazzling smile: "Thank you!"
【Host! ! ! 】
778's electronic voice echoed desperately amidst Ye Ling's blissful chewing. [Where's the harassment? Where's the innuendo? Where's 'Your fingers are beautiful'? Where's 'My paintbrush'? Why were you so busy eating! Where's your professionalism?! Where's your perverted dignity? You've been bribed by just one dessert??]
Ye Ling's mouth was stuffed with the fragrant chocolate cake, her cheeks puffed out, and she mumbled incoherently in her mind: [Hmm... This is so delicious... You are so thick-skinned...]
Shao Ye looked at Ye Ling with interest as she enjoyed the dessert wholeheartedly and without any distractions.
This person took great pains to invite him out for dinner, could it be... really just for dinner?
Those ridiculously clumsy acts of harassment seemed more like completing some kind of... necessary homework than teasing?
It's still an elementary school student's homework.
At this moment, a clear voice suddenly broke the delicate atmosphere: "Shao Ye? What a coincidence! You are here too?"
The two looked in the direction of the voice. Surprisingly, it was the protagonist, Chen Yuqiu.
He was wearing a well-tailored white casual suit, with a clean and outstanding temperament. He was standing next to their table with a perfect smile of surprise on his face.
Shen Yuqiu's eyes quickly swept between Shao Ye and Ye Ling.
[Host! It's the protagonist, Chen Yuqiu! A crucial plot point!] 778 instantly revived to full health and excitedly issued the command, "Quick, show your talent! Let the protagonist, top, and bottom interact!"
Ye Ling was startled by 778's yell and almost choked. He quickly swallowed the cake in his mouth, wiped his mouth, and tried to put on a kind landlord's smile: "Ah, classmate Shen Yuqiu, right? Shao Ye..."
Before he finished speaking, Shao Ye next to him put down his red wine glass and looked at Shen Yuqiu with his usual cold and distant tone: “Senior Su.”
He just called out, not even bothering to reply with "What a coincidence".
Shen Yuqiu seemed to be accustomed to Shao Ye's attitude. His smile remained unchanged and he turned his gaze to Ye Ling: "Who is this...?"
"This is Mr. Ye Ling, my landlord." Shao Ye introduced concisely.
"Landlord?" Shen Yuqiu was slightly stunned. The smile on his face became more gentle and polite, but his tone was sharp. "Hello, Mr. Ye. I am Shao Ye's classmate, Shen Yuqiu. I heard that you are... very generous and the rent you offer is unbelievably low."
Born into a wealthy merchant family, he kept himself clean, but he had seen a lot of filth and dirt. He naturally wouldn't be so naive as to think that Ye Ling's low rent was simply out of kindness.
Shen Yuqiu was testing Ye Ling intentionally, observing him as he spoke. The young man in front of him was dressed elegantly and had soft, dazzling short light golden hair, but a few strands of hair were sticking up unruly.
There was still a little bit of chocolate sauce at the corner of his mouth that hadn't been wiped clean. The most eye-catching thing was his eyes, his hazelnut-colored pupils slightly widened, clear and bright.
Looking at his slightly bulging cheeks...this...is completely different from what I imagined.
Where was the sanctimonious hypocrite I'd expected? This guy... looked like a grown-up boy who'd been taken to a fancy restaurant for the first time and was only focused on eating dessert.
That innocent and pure look even reminded Shen Yuqiu of his well-protected little cousin at home who only knew how to draw and play with birds all day long.
Had I misjudged him? Behind that incredible generosity, was there… stupidity?
Ye Ling felt uncomfortable under Shen Yuqiu's scrutinizing gaze. Just as she was about to follow 778's instructions and bite the bullet and say something polite like "cherishing talent like life" and "supporting young people in pursuing their dreams," and then bring the topic back to Shao Ye, giving the two of them a chance to be alone—
Shao Ye interrupted again.
"Senior Su," his tone was particularly cold, "Are we...well acquainted?"
For the first time, a crack appeared on Shen Yuqiu's perfect smile, but he quickly adjusted his expression: "Shao Ye, I'm just concerned about you as a classmate. After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Behind overly generous conditions... sometimes there may be unexpected costs. It's always good to be more vigilant."
Ye Ling felt guilty and subconsciously shrank his neck. He lowered his head and scooped a spoonful of cake into his mouth.
Shao Ye listened to Shen Yuqiu's words, but his face remained calm.
"Don't bother. I know what's going on." He put down his glass and glanced at Shen Yuqiu and his companions. "Enjoy your meal, senior and friend."
The order to expel the guests was issued without mercy.
Shen Yuqiu's face darkened completely. He looked at Shao Ye deeply, then glanced at Ye Ling who was still trying to hide. In the end, he said nothing more and turned away with his companions.
Shao Ye's gaze fell back on Ye Ling.
The latter was glancing at him guiltily while licking the remaining chocolate sauce on his lips with relish.
Deep in Shao Ye's eyes, the chill that had gathered because of Shen Yuqiu's appearance quietly dissipated, and was replaced by an increasingly strong interest.
Ye Ling buried her head, pretending to be an ostrich, her heart racing: [778, Shao Ye seems to have... driven the protagonist away in anger?]
"Hmm...it's not a big deal." 778 said without hesitation, "A gentleman judges actions, not intentions. Anyway, we've already let them meet, so their specific thoughts are irrelevant! Just like when you did the mission before, even though the process was a mess, it still turned out well in the end!"
Ye Ling looked at the half piece of cake left on the plate, then secretly glanced at Shao Ye opposite her, whose eyes were cold and his thoughts were unpredictable. Finally, she chose to lower her head and scooped another big spoonful into her mouth.
After 778 finished his convincing speech, he fell into deep thought a little slowly.
Well... he had completed all the tasks he was supposed to complete, and followed all the plot lines he was supposed to follow, that was correct. But in the end, the one who inexplicably got sidetracked into this was his innocent little host?
Thinking of this, 778 transformed into a small ball of light and slowly circled around this "high-ranking flower protagonist", looking him up and down and left and right carefully.
How handsome, tough, cool, and untainted by dust! Exactly like the description in the novel!
778 returned to Ye Ling's mind with confidence. It must have been infected by the timid and suspicious bird instincts. Why did it start to have wild thoughts?
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