Chapter Twenty-Seven: Do You Like It Here?

"It’s true." Xu Nuo smiled. "Isn’t that a reasonable reason?"

"No..." Lin Qisheng’s thoughts were a little scattered. "Aren’t you doing this because you love Gu Xingze?"

Xu Nuo shook her head. "Of course not. I won’t fall in love with anyone."

Lin Qisheng was surprised, but couldn’t help feeling delighted. He scrutinized Xu Nuo once more, trying to confirm if she was telling the truth, and found that she was serious—though she could just be a good actress.

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Gu Xingze what you just said?"

Xu Nuo was utterly unafraid. "So what if you tell him? He and I aren’t in a relationship."

“Hahahaha…” This answer should have made Lin Qisheng feel pleased and carefree, but it didn’t. He couldn’t see through this girl before him, couldn’t tell which of her words were true and which were false. It felt like he’d fallen into a trap, being toyed with.

Yet, to his own surprise, he didn’t dislike this feeling—in fact, he was eager to step further into her web. It was a strange, unprecedented sensation.

"Alright, Miss Xu, I believe you. You like men who can cook—no, you need a skilled chef. I’d be delighted to oblige."

"But one chef is enough," Lin Qisheng said, determined. "I’ll win you over with my superior cooking skills."

Xu Nuo replied, "Good luck with that."

"Then you’ll have to leave with me when the time comes," Lin Qisheng continued.

"Hm?" Xu Nuo responded.

Lin Qisheng spoke as if it were obvious. "If my cooking is better than Gu Xingze’s, then you’ll have no reason to stay by his side, right?"

Xu Nuo neither agreed nor disagreed. "Oh, good luck."

007, watching all this, couldn’t help but comment, [Host, do you know how heartless you look right now? Like some kind of heartbreaker.]

"Do I?" Xu Nuo replied to 007. "I haven’t committed to anyone, nor have I acted ambiguously with anyone, have I?"

That made sense, and 007 found itself at a loss for words. Its host was truly unparalleled; it had never encountered such an odd one. She hadn’t established any relationship with a single target, hadn’t even shared a flirtatious kiss, yet she’d nearly maxed out one target’s affection, and kept another wrapped around her finger.

Only recently had 007 realized that the chaos in the live chat was largely orchestrated by its dear host, who was intentionally stirring things up.

To think it had worried about this host’s genuine feelings for so long, only to discover she was a heartless femme fatale!

"Little Seven, I want to hear something soothing tonight. Could you play something for me?"

Without hesitation, 007 pulled up its prepared playlist. [Of course, dear host, see if you like this playlist.]

Xu Nuo said, "It’s wonderful—I love it. You really are the most thoughtful, Little Seven."

007 was delighted to have pleased its host. [As long as you like it, host.]

Wait a minute—why was it once again working so hard for a heartless host? That wouldn’t do. 007 became serious. [Dear host, you should rest early at this hour. According to my analysis, listening to music before bed actually makes it harder for you to fall asleep.]

"Just this once?" Xu Nuo pleaded. "I’d feel regretful if I didn’t hear your recommendations, Little Seven."

007 clenched its teeth. […Fine.] Only because her taste was decent.

—

The next morning.

When Xu Nuo woke, there were two breakfasts on the table.

One was a bowl of fragrant clear broth noodles. The other was an unidentifiable, spicy, burnt-looking mass.

Anyone with normal senses could tell which was more appetizing.

Lin Qisheng, ever the gentleman, greeted her: "Good morning, Miss Xu."

"Good morning." Xu Nuo sat down.

Lin Qisheng slid the burnt mush toward her. "Try this."

Xu Nuo had always thought she was completely untalented at cooking, but apparently someone could do even worse. Despite Lin Qisheng having spent a year with a chef, his skills were still abysmal.

Xu Nuo said, "It’s terrible." Even that fell short of describing it.

"Really? But you haven’t even tasted it..." Lin Qisheng was very confident in himself—in fact, he was confident about everything. Still doubtful, he took a bite himself, and his expression instantly changed.

"Heh." Gu Xingze, who’d been watching, let out a derisive chuckle.

"Tch, how could this be? I followed the recipe." Lin Qisheng was not convinced. "There must be some small detail I missed. I’ll make another one."

Xu Nuo ignored him, quietly enjoying the breakfast Gu Xingze had made.

—

"When do you plan to set off?" Gu Xingze suddenly asked.

"Hm?" Xu Nuo took a moment to realize he was referring to Lin Qisheng’s mention last night of heading to the safe base.

She bit her chopsticks. "Should I go or not? I haven’t decided."

In truth, both Gu Xingze and Lin Qisheng knew that with Xu Nuo’s abilities, it hardly mattered where she went. She’d turned a bare-bones camp into this idyllic refuge; she could easily do the same elsewhere and live comfortably.

There was no real reason for Xu Nuo to stay here.

After breakfast, Xu Nuo went for her usual stroll. The fields were lush with vegetables, the chicken coop housed wild hens Gu Xingze had caught from the mountain, and there was a nest of wild rabbits. There was even a pond, fashioned from a mountain stream, stocked with fish and shrimp.

The entire camp was full of traces of their life together—almost every part shaped by Xu Nuo’s plans.

To be honest, Xu Nuo was reluctant to leave it all behind.

"If I leave, there’ll be no one to look after this place," Xu Nuo said to Gu Xingze, hesitating. "And…"

Much of the camp had been built by Gu Xingze’s own hands. It seemed a shame to let it go to waste.

Gu Xingze asked, "Xu Nuo, do you like it here?"

"I do. What about you?" she replied.

Gu Xingze said, "Yes, I like it very much."

He was a man who rarely expressed his emotions, always wearing that cold, stoic mask. To hear words like "like" or "dislike" from him was truly rare.

007 chimed in, [Host, are you thinking of staying here with Gu Xingze?]

Xu Nuo asked, "Why would you think that?"

007 replied, [Just curious.] Everyone (not really) knew the host was a heartless woman, but she’d just shown a trace of human kindness toward Gu Xingze, and the system couldn’t help but be intrigued.

"Of course not. I was just thinking that after all the effort we put into building this place, it would be a shame to abandon it," Xu Nuo said.

007 was perplexed. When had her host ever put in that much effort? Wasn’t it always her making the plans, then sending her underlings and Gu Xingze to do the work?

Besides, with the supplies overflowing in her inventory, building another camp elsewhere was no big deal. She could easily create an even larger, more luxurious base, with more room to showcase her talents.