A phone's ringtone pierced the air. A head, half-buried in the covers, emerged from the bed, burrowed deeper into the quilt, then flipped over as if unable to bear the sound. Only then did the person slowly sit up.
By the time he woke up, the outside was already dark. Su Ying hadn't returned yet.
Wen Bai picked up the phone. His voice, usually bright and clear, was still a little groggy and soft from sleep: "Hello?"
A moment of silence on the other end, then a slightly accusatory voice: "What? Don't you want your job, or your commission?"
It was rare for Ji Tianzong, the boss, to personally call to urge an employee to collect their pay. He tempted, "This is a substantial amount."
A substantial amount of money. Wen Bai woke up instantly.
He was very short of money, and there were many things he wanted to eat.
After all, more money never hurt, and this was definitely something he wanted.
Wen Bai went out. After a few steps, he saw several bloody chicken heads piled by the roadside. They looked like they had just been placed there, the blood still fresh.
Wen Bai calmly walked around them.
He had seen them several times in the past few days. He wondered who ate so many chickens but didn't like the heads, throwing them around everywhere.
He skillfully opened his phone, found the ride-hailing app, and called a car to his destination.
Liu Fang sat among his friends. He had been very annoyed yesterday. All because of a bar server, he had suffered such a great loss, and most importantly, he had nowhere to vent his anger.
But he didn't really want to cause trouble for the server. After all, the person was connected to Dr. Su, and their relationship seemed unusual. If his grandfather found out, it would surely lead to more trouble. He didn't want to upset his grandfather.
While he didn't want to stir up trouble, his friends who were with him had witnessed yesterday's events.
It was just a server. Since Brother Liu couldn't act openly, it was natural for his friends to step in. There was a project they were about to collaborate on with the Liu family, and this was a perfect opportunity to do them a favor.
From the moment Wen Bai appeared, a gaze had been fixed on him.
Wen Bai lowered his head to look at his phone. Su Ying had finally replied. As expected, he was working late and told Wen Bai to go to bed early and not wait for him.
The bar was already bustling. He went straight to the office. Ji Tianzong was waiting inside. Today, it was just the two of them.
The man looked up: "If I didn't mention money, would you have forgotten you even had a job?"
Wen Bai: "I don't want to do it anymore."
"What, think the salary isn't high enough? Or are you not short of money anymore?"
Wen Bai shook his head, not wanting to talk to him further.
Ji Tianzong had never tried to retain an employee before, and he was never short of people around him. Seeing Wen Bai's determination to leave, he didn't say anything more.
A fire suddenly ignited within him, burning inexplicably: "Fine."
Seeing Wen Bai still standing there: "Aren't you leaving?"
"You haven't given me last night's commission yet."
The fire in his heart flared even brighter. He picked up his phone, annoyed: "Did you change your number? Add me."
Wen Bai immediately added him as a friend.
Then Ji Tianzong directly transferred the money. It was settled.
Without any lingering attachment, Wen Bai turned and left immediately, not sparing him another glance.
People are often like this. What is easily obtained is not cherished. What is not obtained, regardless of whether they like it or not, the desire to win already takes precedence.
The original host had feelings for Ji Tianzong. The original host's personality was gentle and easily bullied, and due to family reasons, he was even more self-conscious. He always carried his burdens alone and swallowed his grievances.
For such a person, when subjected to repeated humiliation, if someone helps them, that person becomes special.
Ji Tianzong was such a person to the original host.
And Ji Tianzong had always been surrounded and doted on. He only needed to beckon, at most show a little kindness, and the people he wanted would flock to him.
To him, Wen Bai was no different from anyone else.
He liked Wen Bai's appearance, but he didn't quite approve of Wen Bai's soft, yielding nature.
He was shrewd and worldly, and he saw through the original host's self-proclaimed hidden admiration at a glance.
Every time he saw the young man secretly watching him from afar, his gaze following him, his admiration almost overflowing, he never paid it any mind.
Many people here were like that towards him. He was very good to his lovers, always generous with them. No matter how long they were together, or how much they wanted, he was happy to satisfy them.
But now this young man was like a different person, no longer paying him any attention. This, in turn, made Ji Tianzong curious and a little more interested.
However, even with this curiosity and interest, it was only a little, only worth a bit of his effort.
He always preferred willing participation. If he put in effort and still couldn't keep someone, he naturally had many other, better options.
Ji Tianzong didn't take it seriously.
System 001 watched Wen Bai receive the transfer and felt relieved. With this money, as long as he didn't spend it recklessly, they could complete their missions in this world without worrying about survival.
Wen Bai, on the other hand, thought that now that he was rich, this money would be enough for him to eat all sorts of delicious food in this world for a while.
Wen Bai stood at the entrance of the bar, looking at the colorful lights. Sleeping was out of the question.
He took out his phone and thought for a moment. Su Ying always brought him food. This time, he could go and bring a late-night snack to Su Ying, who was working overtime.
After making up his mind, Wen Bai asked his food guru, Lin Shuangshuang.
Wen Bai: Where is the best late-night snack?
Lin Shuangshuang immediately called him, asked for Wen Bai's location, and recommended a nearby place.
Wen Bai put away his phone, pulled up the map on his phone, and took the shortcut.
An alleyway. Taking this route would allow him to pass through directly and reach his destination.
Otherwise, he would have to take a long detour.
Wen Bai decisively chose the shortcut.
The people who followed Wen Bai exchanged glances, revealing wicked smiles. This kid...
They were naturally happy for the convenience.
The alley was quite long, but from here, they could see the small light at the other end. A few hundred meters away, not too far.
Wen Bai walked in without any reservations. He hadn't taken more than a few steps.
System 001: "Host, several people are following you. Could it be related to the taxi driver?"
"Oh?" That's quite timely.
Wen Bai stopped walking and turned back to wait for them to approach.
Those people, fearing that Wen Bai would run away, quickly turned to follow, braking sharply.
Seeing that he hadn't run and was actually waiting for them, they exchanged glances.
After about ten minutes, Wen Bai, looking somewhat disappointed, emerged alone from the dark alley and headed towards his destination.
Ji Tianzong was informed by his subordinates that someone had followed his employee, Wen Bai, as he left the store.
Although he was angry, he thought about how unlucky the kid had been lately.
He had just come out of the hospital and had already provoked Liu Fang, and now he was being targeted.
As the boss, no matter what, he still had a responsibility for the safety of his employees.
Hurriedly following with anger, Ji Tianzong saw the three people lying on the ground. After a slight pause, he curved his lips slightly.
He hadn't expected this kid to be so interesting, to have hidden so much.