‘Being the center of attention for one minute?’
‘What kind of program should I put on? Singing or dancing… as long as it’s decent, I might be able to catch enough eyes to complete the task.’
However, Bai Yao had no such talents.
If he forced it, it wouldn’t be a talent; it would just be a clown act.
He had been invisible his whole life.
It was no different now.
His roommates were chatting about the funny things that happened over the National Day holiday, while Bai Yao sat there quietly playing with his phone.
The more people there were, the more invisible Bai Yao became.
He didn’t like group dinners, usually preferring to eat alone or with just one friend.
“Qiu Ye, Qiu Ye!”
Chen Zhilong shoved his phone toward Qiu Ye’s face with a screenshot.
“I got a Heart of Africa over the break!”
Wang Zuhao rolled his eyes.
“You’ve said that at least ten times. Why don’t you wait until you die and have ‘Heart of Africa’ carved on your tombstone?”
“He probably used up all the luck for the rest of his life.”
Qiu Ye glanced at it.
“With that kind of luck, why didn’t you go buy a lottery ticket?”
Bai Yao didn’t understand popular online games at all.
He was still thinking about the task while sipping his coconut juice.
He couldn’t really use his charm to attract Qiu Ye like the system suggested, could he?
He didn’t have a damn bit of charm!
From a woman’s perspective, Bai Yao was thin and small.
He was “physically challenged” in terms of height, being only 165 centimeters tall.
His looks might be considered pretty thanks to the system’s help, but his physical foundation was lacking.
While some women might like his type, he had never met any.
From a man’s perspective, Bai Yao looked okay, but he still had that “extra equipment.”
His body was as flat as a board, and his chest was like pearl-sized steamed buns—not even an A cup.
Any girl of average looks would be more charming than him; at the very least, they would have a bigger chest.
The waiter pushed the door open and entered the private room, serving the first dish.
Everyone moved their chopsticks in unison.
A single round of grabbing halved the dish, and only then did Bai Yao realize he should pick up his chopsticks.
‘Mm, the taste is okay.’
It was much better than the cafeteria at school or the hospital.
Bai Yao didn’t have high standards for food, but Qiu Ye’s chopsticks never stopped moving.
He glanced at Qiu Ye, then lowered his head with a slight frown.
Ignoring the quest content for a moment, constantly treating a friend as a quest target made him feel like a thief.
It made their friendship feel impure.
“Eat more, eat more. Being so short is definitely because you didn’t like to eat as a kid,” Chen Zhilong greeted Bai Yao warmly.
“It’s my treat anyway, so eat as much as you want.”
“Okay…”
He had been feeling relaxed, but being singled out like that made him a bit stiff instead.
However, Chen Zhilong was right.
Bai Yao also felt that his height of only 165 centimeters was because he didn’t eat well during his crucial growth spurt in middle school.
After all, the cooking at home was just too terrible… it had left him with almost no standards for food.
“Braised prawns are here!”
Qiu Ye’s eyes lit up.
Ignoring his fractured left arm, he stood up and snatched two large prawns first.
Seeing this, the others didn’t hesitate to start grabbing prawns too.
Their chopsticks danced like blades in a flurry of movement, creating a lively scene of back-and-forth competition.
“Brother Hao, eat less. You’re already so fat.”
“I already picked it up, and you snatched it away!”
“Is it my fault your chopstick skills are bad?”
“Who’s being so shameless as to steal food from a patient?”
‘So lively…’
Bai Yao didn’t participate.
While Qiu Ye wasn’t looking, he swiped a prawn from Qiu Ye’s bowl, put on plastic gloves, and slowly began to peel it.
But just as he finished peeling a perfect whole prawn, Qiu Ye’s gaze locked onto him.
Bai Yao’s eyes flickered.
Feeling guilty, he put the prawn meat back into Qiu Ye’s bowl.
“I wasn’t stealing from you…”
“I told you, you two should just get married,” Lin Mingxin teased, clearly misunderstanding the situation.
“You’re even peeling shrimp for Qiu Ye.”
Qiu Ye was also stunned.
“There’s no need for that. I can just gnaw on them with my teeth.”
“…”
The corner of Bai Yao’s mouth twitched, and he silently rolled his eyes.
It was one thing for Lin Mingxin to misunderstand, but Qiu Ye, you actually took it seriously?!
If he had known, he would have been more shameless and taken all of Qiu Ye’s prawns! What was the point of returning it?
“Should we have a little alcohol?”
Before they had even finished two dishes, Wang Zuhao was already thinking about drinking.
“How can we not have a few drinks with such good food?”
Chen Zhilong didn’t mind.
“I’m fine with whatever.”
“Me too,” Lin Mingxin said, turning to Bai Yao.
“Are you drinking?”
“I’ll pass…”
Although Bai Yao didn’t have a strong aversion to drinking, the system had mentioned that the obsessive woman spent her days in a drunken stupor.
He didn’t want to actually become that depraved.
The group turned their gaze toward Qiu Ye.
Although Qiu Ye had refused before, now that the moment had arrived, his resolve wavered.
He hesitated for a moment.
‘That’s right! How can we not have a couple of drinks with such good food? A little bit won’t hurt!’
Just as he was about to nod, he felt Bai Yao’s gloomy gaze…
He scanned with his peripheral vision.
Bai Yao still had that cold face, but his eyes were half-squinted, filled with disdain and resentment.
His lips were pressed into a thin line, and as if he found Qiu Ye disgusting, he moved his chair further away.
“I said before I wouldn’t drink… I won’t care if you end up in the hospital.”
Bai Yao felt like his kindness over the past few days had been wasted on a dog.
He was truly meddling in things that weren’t his business.
Even though his face was expressionless, Qiu Ye could feel that Bai Yao was very angry through those small expressions and his tone!
To be honest, Qiu Ye had never been afraid of anyone.
He had been defying his parents since his rebellious phase in middle school, yet facing this roommate who was more than half a head shorter than him with a petite frame, he felt a strange sense of guilt that made him a bit afraid.
Had he promised Bai Yao in the hospital that he wouldn’t drink?
“I said I’m not drinking!”
Qiu Ye declared righteously.
“Can’t you see I’ve got a fracture? I’m not drinking for the rest of my life!”
“What kind of man doesn’t drink?”
Wang Zuhao grumbled as he called the waiter.
“Bring a crate of beer!”
Qiu Ye immediately countered, “What? I’m not man enough?”
His words were a bit more serious than usual, revealing the aggression in his brow.
His villainous face was quite intimidating, like a big bad wolf baring its teeth.
Clearly, Wang Zuhao was also a bit intimidated by him and quickly explained, “I was just saying.”
Watching this unfold, Bai Yao suddenly felt that Qiu Ye might be the perfect person to keep Wang Zuhao in check.
During their noon nap, when Qiu Ye said he wanted it quiet, Wang Zuhao really hadn’t made any noise, allowing him to get a good sleep.
“Anyway, everyone drink less. We have class tomorrow morning,” Chen Zhilong played peacemaker, then asked Qiu Ye, “Are you going to your 8:00 AM class?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”
“Fine. If you can’t get up, I’ll wake you.”
Qiu Ye grabbed two pieces of sweet and sour pork ribs.
Seeing that the coconut juice in Bai Yao’s cup was gone, he leaned down to grab the bottle from under the table and handed it over.
“Mm, thanks.”
Bai Yao was still troubled by how to complete the task.
He wasn’t as well-off as he used to be, and 100 yuan was quite a lot…
“Hey, Bai Yao.”
“What?”
Bai Yao looked over.
Qiu Ye lowered his voice and leaned in to whisper.
“I didn’t drink.”
He was full of questions.
“???”
‘Whether you drink or not, what does that have to do with me!’
“Uh…”
Bai Yao pondered for a moment, then gave a hesitant compliment.
“Then… you’re doing great?”
Only then did Qiu Ye continue eating and drinking with satisfaction.
Bai Yao almost thought he saw a large tail wagging behind the guy, leaving an afterimage—he was exactly like a big dog begging for praise!