Tonight, Wen Bai accepted the milk from Su Ying, but instead of drinking it immediately as he usually did, he turned and placed it on the bedside table.
"What's wrong? Don't want to drink it today?"
Su Ying took off his glasses in the evening, his gaze focused intently on Wen Bai's expression. In the lamplight, it made Wen Bai feel as if he had returned to their earlier encounter at the bar.
"I want to take a shower first."
Wen Bai felt that Su Ying was a little strange tonight.
Su Ying nodded and closed the door behind him as he left.
Wen Bai watched Su Ying close the door, picked up his pajamas, and went to the bathroom.
The warm water cascaded over his head and down his cheeks, eliciting a sigh of comfort from Wen Bai.
After his shower, while drying his hair, Wen Bai seemed to recall something and suddenly asked, "Does he still come to my room every night recently?"
System 001 replied, "Yes, though not for as long as before."
Wen Bai tossed the towel onto the bed and rummaged through his discarded clothes, pulling out an item. "Can you check if this phone is problematic?"
Wen Bai was not foolish. Last time he was injured at the zoo, System 001 had said that Su Ying was the first to appear and save him.
But wasn't he supposed to be at work at that time?
How could he have been at the zoo?
And he appeared immediately after Wen Bai got into trouble, faster than the staff.
If once was a coincidence, what about twice, or thrice?
It couldn't always be a coincidence.
After System 001 finished its inspection, there was a brief silence before it responded, "It has tracking software installed. It's my fault, Host. I became negligent because he wasn't part of the protagonist group or a significant character..."
Wen Bai pondered for three seconds. "This is a serious issue and must be dealt with immediately."
System 001: "He also installed tracking software on you, so he definitely won't let you leave easily. Should we quietly move out tonight? For safety's sake, we should buy a new phone and discard this one."
Wen Bai ignored System 001's suggestion and instead asked, "You said that when people fall in love, they want a return. What kind of return?"
After a brief search, System 001 found the answer: "To be cared for and cherished by the person they like, encompassing both emotional value and physical pleasure. Host, do you want to give him a return? In which aspect?"
Wen Bai felt that the symptoms Su Ying was currently displaying were exactly what System 001 had described earlier: humans who fall in love lose control of their emotions and gradually lose their reason.
The root cause was his anxiety over Wen Bai not giving him a corresponding return.
Wen Bai thought for a while and made a decision.
Ten minutes later.
System 001 numbly watched its host, clutching a pillow, knock on Su Ying's door.
The person in black pajamas was staring at something in his hand.
It was a thick, long silver chain, etched with dark, ornate patterns, exuding great luxury. The chain looked exceptionally sturdy and was connected at the end to a two-finger-wide buckle. A key lay beside it.
"Knock, knock... Knock, knock..."
The knocking sound was abrupt in the silent night.
Su Ying placed the item on the table.
He walked to the door and opened it, only to see the person standing outside with semi-dry hair, rubbing his eyes, and holding a pillow.
Su Ying's expression shifted from surprise to a gentle smile. "Are you... can't sleep?"
Wen Bai calmly shook his head. "I want to sleep with you."
Then, ignoring Su Ying's reaction, Wen Bai sidestepped him, placed his pillow on the large bed, lifted the covers, and lay down.
He patted the other side of the bed. "Aren't you sleepy?"
He had already drunk that cup of milk, and he was very sleepy.
Wen Bai had made this decision for a reason. Although he didn't know why Su Ying liked him, Su Ying's emotions were currently unstable.
To prevent Su Ying from developing extreme emotions similar to Jiang Yiyi, the male lead's almost-ex-girlfriend.
After all, this could significantly hinder Wen Bai's mission.
Or, more importantly, it could hinder Su Ying's progress and performance in his culinary skills.
Wen Bai felt that providing emotional value like coaxing someone couldn't be done every day; it was too troublesome. Therefore, he chose to provide physical pleasure.
Su Ying was a doctor and also had to work during the day, sometimes with overtime. Such a high-intensity worker still managed to carve out a fixed time every night to see him.
Since he liked seeing him so much, why didn't Wen Bai just go to him? Su Ying wouldn't have to run around; Wen Bai would be lying beside him, visible as soon as he opened his eyes.
Not only could he be seen, but now he could also be touched.
Besides, Su Ying's body was warm. He had discovered this tonight, and he didn't inherently dislike it.
Su Ying looked at the person lying obediently on his bed, his eyes darkening.
"Are you sure you want to sleep with me?"
Wen Bai directly called out, "Turn off the light quickly, my eyes are about to close."
Only then did he confirm that Wen Bai genuinely intended to sleep there, though he was unsure of the reason.
Su Ying looked at the person who was about to fall asleep and turned off the light.
When he walked to the bedside, Wen Bai had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep within a second.
Su Ying glanced towards the table, collected the items on it, and put them into the drawer.
He lay down beside Wen Bai and gazed at Wen Bai's sleeping face for a long time. This face perfectly matched his taste.
When Wen Bai woke up in the morning, feeling the warmth behind him, he kept his eyes closed and didn't want to move. He asked the system, "How is his mood?"
System 001 replied grudgingly, "Very good."
How could it not be good?
If the main system were lying in the same bed, it would be happy too!
System 001's feelings towards Su Ying were now very subtle.
It wondered why what others wanted, the people they pursued, were so easily obtained, while it, merely wanting to meet the main system, had ended up on the run.
As System 001 thought about this, it suddenly experienced a glitch and a wisp of black smoke emerged...
System 001 and Wen Bai were mentally connected, and Wen Bai immediately noticed System 001's situation.
Wen Bai opened his eyes. "What's wrong with you?"
"It's nothing, I just found a virus and cleaned it up."
"Handle your own matters properly."
Cold, indifferent.
Even Wen Bai's patience towards Su Ying was greater than his patience towards it. The more it thought about it, the angrier it became, and System 001 emitted another wisp of black smoke.
"Deal with your virus problem first, you can temporarily ignore me."
Normally, the system's perspective was Wen Bai's perspective. Because they were on the run, the system was always cautious, constantly monitoring for Wen Bai, fearing that something might go wrong.
Since System 001 and Wen Bai had formed a contract, System 001 had not rested.
Seeing Wen Bai say this today, and feeling too embarrassed to reveal the true reason, it became even more frustrated and simply grunted in response before going into hibernation.