Chapter 51: Sigh! Food Delivery & Capitalism

The orange-yellow clouds had been plated with a leaden gray. Twilight always seemed to lend everything an aged quality. It wasn’t something tangible, yet it was remarkably easy to feel.

A car stopped in front of a secluded garden villa.

The villa itself wasn’t large. It radiated warmth and comfort, and the surrounding garden had clearly been meticulously maintained, with winding paths laid out in an artfully irregular design.

It looked like something from a picture book—every detail refined and elegant.

And yet, precisely because of that perfection, it gave off a cold, lifeless feeling.

That was the thought that crossed the subordinate’s mind as he rang the doorbell.

When the door opened, the first thing he noticed was the faint, lingering fragrance and the warmth spilling from inside.

Only then did he see Wei Furen.

His tea-brown hair hung loose down his back. Beneath the stray strands falling across his forehead, amber eyes curved gently in a smile. The buttons at his collar and cuffs had been undone, giving him an air of leisurely ease.

The subordinate didn’t dare look too long. He simply handed over the master recording.

Wei Furen smiled.

“Though it’s a little later than I expected, thank you for making the trip.”

The subordinate’s expression stiffened.

Wei Furen’s smile became even gentler.

“It’s alright. Just be more careful next time.”

The subordinate quickly nodded.

After closing the door, Wei Furen returned inside.

The villa’s interior resembled a watercolor painting. The furnishings and decorations were all in warm tones, as though every brushstroke had been painted with tenderness.

He started playing the recording but didn’t immediately watch it.

Instead, he stood by the kitchen counter, holding a pair of tongs as he cooked a steak.

The recording began with the students’ fundraising presentation.

Long.

Boring.

Filled with clichés.

Utterly hypocritical.

Smiling, Wei Furen pressed the tongs into the meat.

Blood seeped from beneath the steak with a hiss, bubbling into tiny foamy bursts.

He hadn’t added any seasoning or sauce. The only thing rising from the pan was the raw, bloody aroma of meat.

After searing one side, he flipped it over.

Soon, he removed the steak from the pan.

A sprinkle of pepper.

A few flowers clipped and arranged beside it.

Then he carried the plate to the table, cutting into the steak while finally turning his attention to the recording.

The silver knife sliced through the meat.

It was barely medium-rare.

Crimson juices slowly flowed across the plate under the pressure of the blade, staining the knife with pink.

Wei Furen placed a piece into his mouth.

The meat burst with rich juices between his teeth.

Satisfied, he took a sip of red wine.

A flush spread from the corners of his eyes across his face. Moisture gathered in his amber eyes, tinting his normally tranquil elegance with something almost like the allure of a beautiful ghost.

Eventually, he grew tired of eating.

His tongue swept across the blood at the corner of his lips.

Resting his cheek on one hand, he idly twirled the knife with the other.

The piece of meat on the knife spun slowly.

Tiny droplets of blood splashed onto his collar and chest.

Half-drunk, yet not truly drunk, he stared at the scene playing in the recording.

A girl in a Cultural Studies uniform raised her hand.

Long black hair draped behind her.

The camera caught her from the side.

Wei Furen could clearly see the sunlight gilding her smooth, fair skin with a pale golden glow. Even her curled eyelashes seemed dusted with gold.

Her temperament was calm.

Her speech was measured.

Even her relentless questioning carried a seriousness that made it difficult to dismiss.

After pushing Lu Weixi to the brink of irritation, she abruptly changed direction and finally tossed out the truly fatal question hidden behind all her earlier diversions.

From the very beginning, they had fallen into her trap.

No matter how they tried to defend themselves afterward, they were merely running circles within the logic she had constructed.

If they had severed responsibility from the start, openly disclosed their data, admitted shortcomings while retreating strategically, and made every step of the process transparent…

Things would never have ended this way.

Then again, if they weren’t this stupid, they wouldn’t have needed him to arrange everything for them.

Wei Furen’s gaze fixed on Lin Zhiyan.

Blood from the steak trickled down the knife and onto the back of his hand.

No wonder it had taken such effort to send Li Siheng and Le Mans to District Four.

And no wonder Zephyr paid her that subtle, almost imperceptible attention.

She was beautiful enough.

Smart enough.

And more importantly…

One glance was enough to tell that her future would not be ordinary.

The question was—

Could she withstand being broken?

Could she endure being consumed?

Wei Furen’s eyes curved into a smile.

Raising his hand, he stared at the recording.

His scarlet tongue emerged, slowly licking the line of blood from the back of his hand.

Then he licked the crimson beauty mark at the corner of his lips as well.

Only afterward did he bite into the meat.

When the steak was gone, he still seemed unsatisfied.

He dipped the flowers decorating the plate into the remaining blood and ate them one by one.

Afterward, he placed the plate into the dishwasher and washed his hands.

While drying them, he called Zephyr.

The holographic projection flickered.

Soon, Zephyr’s face appeared.

He was still in his office.

His silky white hair was tied back, with several loose strands framing his stunning face.

His gray-white eyes curved gently.

“How rare. A busy man actually contacting me?”

Wei Furen smiled as well.

“Yes. It’s been a while. Though I do have a reason this time.”

Zephyr’s smile remained unchanged.

“That’s even rarer. I wasn’t aware I possessed any miraculous abilities that could help you.”

“Lin Zhiyan.”

Wei Furen’s smile deepened.

His lips were still damp and red as he raised a hand.

“You have her contact information, don’t you?”

A subtle movement crossed Zephyr’s brow.

His smile faded slightly.

“That’s strange. If you wanted to investigate something, wouldn’t it be easier to do it yourself?”

“I’m off work now.”

Wei Furen spoke softly, drawing out the words.

“Don’t misunderstand. She’s supposed to start working at the flower shop tomorrow. I need to adjust the schedule a little, and I wanted to notify her directly. That’s why I asked you.”

“What exactly would I misunderstand?”

Zephyr chuckled.

His pale gray eyes watched Wei Furen, his expression still as warm as ever.

“You’ve never been interested in that sort of thing anyway.”

Wei Furen widened his eyes innocently, as though he didn’t understand.

Then he sighed.

“It’s innate talent. Unlike some people. No talent for raising flowers at all.”

Zephyr raised an eyebrow.

“If the purpose of raising flowers is to eat them, then yes, I suppose I don’t.”

“People need to consume beautiful things in order to keep living.”

Wei Furen’s voice stretched lazily.

“Otherwise they end up like you—driven only by ambition, knowing nothing but climbing upward, all alone.”

The smile on Zephyr’s face faded.

He shot Wei Furen a cold look.

Wei Furen tilted his head slightly.

A lock of hair slipped over his shoulder, making him seem even gentler.

Meanwhile—

On the internet, Lu Weixi was having a breakdown.

Why is my luck so terrible? Did I use up all my good fortune being born into the right family? This stupid punishment assignment is actually making me want to die.

I’m done. Got scolded on stage, got scolded off stage, and now I’m getting scolded on the forums too.

Would joining a religion improve my luck? I’ve been ridiculously unlucky lately.

Seriously, what is wrong with that woman?!

When Lin Zhiyan reached the last post, her cheeks puffed out as she struggled to hold back her laughter.

Then she opened her social media messages.

As expected, there was a mountain of messages from Lu Weixi.

What exactly are you trying to do?!

Lin Zhiyan, you’d better give me a good explanation or I won’t let this go.

What the hell are you doing?! If you wanted a debate competition, why today?!

Seriously, I paid you generously, didn’t I? Did I offend you?!

Lin Zhiyan burst out laughing.

Her mood was extraordinarily good.

Still, a dark thought surfaced in her mind:

You only lost your dignity.

I lost an entire course GPA.

She snorted and happily headed upstairs.

Then she logged onto Weibo again and uploaded several photos from the event.

After a few seconds of thought, her fingers flew across the keyboard.

Anonymous:

I was just curious what kind of event was being held at my school, so I sat down and listened for a bit.

Honestly... it was pretty speechless.

Some people were way too aggressive. I guess poor people really do become more hostile.

Though I do feel a little sorry for L. It felt like he was being targeted.

P.S. I didn’t dare take pictures, but wow, he looked ridiculously handsome in his military-political uniform. (???ω???)

She added the school location.

A dozen random hashtags.

Several cute emoticons.

Then hit post.

The post was apparently picked up by the recommendation algorithm.

Within two minutes, it already had several likes.

Lin Zhiyan went to the kitchen and cut herself a plate of lettuce leaves and carrot sticks for snacks.

Crunching on them, she checked her terminal again.

More likes.

Comments too.

+1. I saw the video and nearly suffocated from secondhand embarrassment. It felt overly argumentative. 

Whether poor people are more hostile or rich people get worshipped more easily... everyone already knows the answer.

Why not post it in the Round Table Forum? Afraid of getting criticized? Pretty cowardly.

Now she was certain.

The post had made it onto recommendations.

Perfect.

That was exactly what she’d been aiming for.

She had spent the entire week posting with the school location and various hashtags for this very moment.

Biting into a bright red carrot stick, she selected another image and posted again.

Anonymous:

Did my previous post get pushed into recommendations?

These scammers pretending to be my friends are messaging me again.

You know, the last person who tried this got tracked down and warned by me.

Deleting your account won’t help. I have plenty of ways to deal with people like you.

After posting, she checked her previous post again.

The views had increased significantly.

She scrolled through the likes but didn’t find the familiar black-profile account she was looking for.

Disappointing.

She had thought Lu Weixi, terminal permanently glued to his hand and constantly reposting things just to insult people, would definitely see it.

Oh well.

Fishing required patience.

Afterward, she returned to studying.

The semester was nearing its end.

Although there were fewer classes, the material had become much more advanced.

The assignments were giving her a headache.

Ten minutes later, her terminal vibrated.

To her surprise, it was a friend request from Wei Furen.

She accepted.

Wei Furen: If anything comes up in the future, feel free to contact me through your terminal ^^

yzy: Received.

Wei Furen: Will you still be arriving on time tomorrow? I checked, and the distance from school to the flower shop seems rather far. Should I adjust business hours?

yzy: Don’t worry, Boss. I’ll be there on time.

Wei Furen: No need to call me that ^^

yzy: Understood, President Wei.

After sending it, Lin Zhiyan distinctly felt that Wei Furen went silent for a moment.

She smugly hummed to herself.

After all, she still remembered Zephyr describing Wei Furen as a parasitic vine.

For all she knew, there was some powerful backer behind him.

And somehow, every glance and smile from him carried the air of someone trying to seduce people.

If she actually took the bait and flirted back, she might end up sealed in concrete and dumped into the ocean.

As expected, Wei Furen seemed to lose interest and never replied again.

Relieved, she messaged Zephyr instead.

yzy: Wei Furen suddenly added me!

yzy: Did you give him my contact info?

Zephyr: Isn’t that exactly what you wanted?

He actually replied.

Naturally, Lin Zhiyan seized the opportunity to annoy him.

yzy: Even so, you should’ve asked me first.

yzy: This makes me feel very unsafe.

yzy: Do you even understand what security feels like? You’ve hurt me. I feel like you’ve become very untrustworthy.

yzy: How about this? Send me a red packet as a security deposit. Promise you’ll never give out my contact info again.

yzy: Deal?

Then came a stream of deliberately mangled messages begging for money.

Finally:

yzy: Forget it if you won’t send money. Not even replying. Honestly. Do you think I’m short on money? Hah. I was just joking. I’m not poor at all.

Apparently annoyed beyond endurance, Zephyr actually sent her a red packet.

The note attached to it contained only one word:

Scram.

Lin Zhiyan froze.

Then immediately accepted it in delight.

yzy: Thank you, Boss.

Zephyr: I am not your boss.

yzy: Alas! I have drifted through life half my years, never encountering a wise lord!

Zephyr: Stop acting insane in front of me.

yzy: This humble maiden lacks talent and has failed to win Your Grace’s favor. Tragic, truly tragic.

No reply.

She sent a period.

As expected—

Blocked again.

She nearly laughed herself to death.

He blocked her eight hundred times a day, only to unblock her again because she was still carrying out his assignment.

What was the point?

Still, after receiving money, she generously forgave him.

She ordered late-night takeout and continued studying.

The textbook was a dense professional tome.

Extremely difficult.

She read until her head hurt.

Without realizing it, the light outside faded.

The sky darkened into deep blue, then black.

When she looked up again, it was already after eleven.

Her stomach was empty.

Immediately, she became irritated.

Her takeout had been scheduled for ten o’clock.

How could a delivery be over an hour late?

She opened the tracking map.

The blue dot was still far away.

No idea when it would arrive.

Even angrier, she sent messages.

[Customer] My order is over an hour late. When will it arrive?

[Customer] You picked it up two hours ago. Why is it taking so long?

[Courier (Self-Relief Welfare Program)] Emergency meeting.

[Courier (Self-Relief Welfare Program)] Will deliver shortly.

Seeing the words Self-Relief Welfare Program, Lin Zhiyan could only let out a long scream.

These were welfare positions reserved for disadvantaged people whose genetic treatments had failed or arrived too late.

The rules were extremely lenient.

In District Sixteen, disabled people either stayed home waiting to die—

Or were terrifyingly fierce.

She would never forget the time an old man with cheap prosthetic legs caught her cheating.

He’d chased her for two entire streets.

His prosthetics had literally sparked against the ground.

Giving up on complaining, she returned to studying.

But once hunger made itself known, it became impossible to ignore.

The more she studied, the more irritated she became.

Eventually she lit a cigarette.

One cigarette burned down completely.

She slumped onto the desk.

Picking up the last carrot stick from her plate, she held it between her fingers like a cigarette and took two fake drags.

She didn’t dare eat it.

My last food supply!

Quietly collapsing inside, she messaged the courier again.

[Customer] When will you get here…

[Customer] I’m really hungry.

[Customer] Really, really hungry.

[Customer] Please. I’m begging you. Hurry.

When Jiang Yi received the messages, his headache intensified.

He was already driving at maximum speed.

The vehicle raced along the aerial track while the food container rattled behind him.

His black eyes remained cold and expressionless.

Frustration churned inside him.

His schedule was normally extremely disciplined.

At this hour, he should have been asleep.

What Jiang Yi couldn’t understand was this:

He had done everything perfectly.

Yet he had been reported by elderly people and patients all day long.

He didn’t smile—complaint.

He was too calm—complaint.

He even got reported for being too intimidating.

The military and school administration had dragged him into meetings and scolded him repeatedly.

As a result, even this simple substitute delivery assignment had been delayed over and over.

At least this was the final order.

The destination was in the middle of nowhere.

But once he completed it, he could finally rest.

With that thought, Jiang Yi accelerated.

The vehicle leapt onto an elevated transit lane.

Soon he was only a few kilometers from the destination.

The pain in his temples finally eased.

Then—

Just as he approached the building—

A motorcycle suddenly shot out from a side road.

Jiang Yi slammed on the brakes.

His body lurched forward from inertia.

Sparks erupted from the tires.

The motorcycle sped away.

And Jiang Yi smelled soda.

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

Several seconds passed before he opened them again and turned his head.

Inside the storage compartment, a cup of soda had tipped over.

The paper bag was completely soaked.

Through the wet packaging, he could just make out the hamburger and fries inside.

Jiang Yi: “…”

He took out his terminal and opened the substitute-shift interface.

For a moment, he had no idea what to say.

At that exact moment, another message arrived.

[Customer] Your location says you’re downstairs. Are you here?

[Customer] I only see one vehicle though.

[Customer] Forget it, I’ll come downstairs and wait.

Jiang Yi’s fingers moved.

Slowly, he typed:

No.

But in the end, he could only slam his hand against the steering wheel.

Damn it.

What the hell is all this bullshit?!

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