Qiu Ye’s quality wasn’t bad at all.
After Bai Yao got into bed, he deliberately put on his headphones.
Although the clear tapping sounds of the keyboard and mouse were still faintly audible, they weren’t harsh.
Bai Yao wasn’t the overly sensitive type who demanded complete silence with not even a single sound to fall asleep.
It was really Wang Zuhao who had been too much—making noise when awake and snoring when asleep, practically forcing him into a state of mild mental exhaustion.
In the small space enclosed by the bed curtain, Bai Yao didn’t feel oppressed at all.
Instead, this environment made him feel safe and comfortable.
He lay there comfortably scrolling on his phone, letting sleepiness slowly build while his mind wandered to random thoughts.
The system’s goal was probably to improve the host’s health, appearance, and figure so the host could attract more men and harvest love?
Or perhaps to help that unemployed, decadent woman drowning in mortgage debt pull herself together again?
It sounded pretty positive and uplifting, but when the hell was it going to realize he was a man!
Bai Yao put down his phone, placed both hands on his chest to measure the change in size… hmm, seemed about the same as this morning, still only about a finger’s thickness of flesh.
As long as the reward didn’t involve anything body-related, he was fine?
Previously, it had always been skin improvements and health boosts first, and only afterward did he suddenly notice his body starting to develop in a feminine direction.
Ugh…
Bai Yao lowered his hands, rolled over lifelessly onto his stomach, and buried his face in the pillow.
Even lying face-down, he could still feel the stinging ache coming from his chest.
The bed frame shook slightly—Qiu Ye had finished his shower and gotten into bed too.
Although separated by a layer of bed curtain, their heads were facing each other, probably no more than ten centimeters apart, so Bai Yao could hear every single thing Qiu Ye did crystal clear.
Even just moving an arm, turning his head, or shifting a foot.
Bai Yao could even faintly smell the familiar shampoo scent coming from Qiu Ye’s head… of course it was familiar! It was his own shampoo! The guy just took it without asking!
“Fallen asleep yet?”
“Mmm, almost.”
Qiu Ye flipped over to find a comfortable position and casually chatted with Bai Yao.
“Where’s your hometown?”
“Rong City.”
“Oh, that’s pretty close then. What’d you score on the college entrance exam?”
“Forgot most of it. Just remember Chinese was around one hundred thirty-something.”
“That’s pretty high, no?”
“English didn’t even pass…”
Bai Yao muttered resentfully.
If it weren’t for English dragging him down, he wouldn’t have ended up at a double-non undergraduate school.
“Did you date anyone in high school? I did back then—one week in and the teacher ruined it, even gave me a demerit. Seriously messed up. Made me so mad I never went back to school except for exams.”
“Huh?”
Bai Yao lifted his head in surprise toward Qiu Ye, but the bed curtain blocked his view.
“And you still got into an undergraduate program? Self-study?”
“Undergraduate isn’t that hard. I just stayed home gaming every day.”
Compared to his own high-school days of grinding from seven in the morning to ten at night, people really could make you die of anger!
He’d been upset about English holding him back, yet Qiu Ye played games at home for years and still matched him…
He was genuinely envious of this kind of academic monster.
Qiu Ye turned out to be unexpectedly chatty.
Despite having a face that looked quite intimidating, once you got to know him he was like an enthusiastic wolf-dog.
Bai Yao actually enjoyed the conversation quite a bit.
Although it interrupted his pre-sleep routine… even the most introverted people had a need to express themselves and vent.
In the past he’d just bottled it up.
“Damn it, Pian-ge didn’t come back again tonight,” Qiu Ye grumbled. “Who knows how good a time he’s having.”
“Right?”
“You ever been with a woman?”
“You haven’t?”
Qiu Ye bragged, “Back in middle school I was even more handsome than now. Girls from other classes would deliberately peek at me through the windows. There was even a high-school senior who asked me out, but I thought she was too old and didn’t go.”
“Too old, huh, that’s wild,” Bai Yao bullshitted back.
“I had girls chasing me in high school too, but I thought she wasn’t pretty enough…”
“Sounds fake as hell. I’d believe it if you said guys were chasing you.”
“Tch! Sleeping!”
[A brand new day has begun!]
[Yesterday’s settlement! Completed Task 1, failed Task 1. You earned 100 cash and +Womanly Charm!]
[Already four days smoke-free and alcohol-free! Stage goal achieved! Miss Bai Yao is so amazing~ Unlocked stage reward: Restoring Youthful Sensitivity! Please don’t break it again this time okay~]
[Keep it up for half a month! Even richer rewards await!]
“Hm? Hm! Ahhh!!! What the hell?!”
The sudden scream startled Qiu Ye so badly he practically bounced off the mattress.
He nervously looked toward the opposite bed, vaguely seeing movement behind the curtain.
He sat up, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and saw Bai Yao curled entirely inside the blanket with only a tuft of messy hair sticking out.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… nothing…”
Bai Yao feebly pulled the blanket over his head completely.
“I’m gonna sleep a bit more.”
His tone sounded like he might keel over and die any second.
Qiu Ye couldn’t figure out what was going on.
He got up to use the bathroom, but then saw Bai Yao poke his eyes out from under the curtain.
“Got a cigarette?”
“I don’t smoke.”
Qiu Ye frowned, staring straight into Bai Yao’s eyes. “What are you on about?”
With his brows furrowed and face stern, the natural aggression between his brows came out full force—like a snarling wolf, instantly intimidating.
Bai Yao immediately chickened out, his eyes darting guiltily.
“Just… asking casually.”
He figured if not smoking or drinking still let the system find excuses to “reward” him, then maybe he should smoke a cigarette and drink a bit every few days instead!
He couldn’t seriously wait half a month for an even more “abundant” reward, could he?
Aside from straight cash, every reward this system gave a man was basically a disaster!
Listening to the sound of Qiu Ye heading to the balcony bathroom, Bai Yao scratched his fluffy, bedhead hair, sighed, and absentmindedly got dressed on the bed before climbing down.
The bed curtain got in the way when he was getting off, making it awkward.
In one careless moment, his knee slammed into the metal ladder.
The pain made him suck in a sharp breath as tears instantly welled up in his eyes.
Hiss! Holy crap!
Bai Yao shivered from the pain, barely made it down, then hopped on one foot back to the chair.
He rolled up his pant leg—his knee was already bruised purple.
To be fair, he wasn’t exactly delicate; he got banged up all the time.
He’d even knocked his hip into a table corner in the cafeteria before.
But back then it never bruised instantly like this, and it definitely never hurt enough to bring tears.
“Youthful sensitivity? This system is sick in the head…”
Bai Yao immediately blamed the system reward.
No way it was because he just hit it too hard.
Definitely not.
Qiu Ye came back from the bathroom.
Bai Yao quickly schooled his expression, pulled his pant leg down, and started fiddling with his computer like nothing happened.
No matter what, as a man he couldn’t let anyone see him with a teary face.
Though his eyes were still a little red…
When Qiu Ye sat back down at his desk, Bai Yao pretended he was heading to the bathroom.
Head lowered, he limped hurriedly toward the balcony, avoiding Qiu Ye’s line of sight.
“Every single day with this guy…”
Hiding on the balcony, Bai Yao vigorously rubbed his cheeks with a towel to snap himself out of it.
“The tasks aren’t even hard, but the rewards are impossible to handle.”
“What’s the point of being this afraid of pain?”
Besides, as a man! Being overly sensitive wasn’t good either.
What if he got a girlfriend later—how would that even work!
Chapter 22 is missing
Fixed