Chapter 5: 0-5

Around half an hour later, Yu Qingyu was walking back and forth in the corridor of the underground base near the hangar.

'Should I tell him I'm meeting Li Hangu's wife tomorrow? It would be best to let him know what I'm doing in the city, to pretend that everything is normal, right?'

[It's up to you. You don't need to say anything if you don't want to.]

Yu Qingyu frowned at 520's response. 'But what would the original Chen Rumin do?'

520 might have thought it was nice to let his host choose, but Yu Qingyu would prefer to be guided more closely. He was fine acting on his own in his previous missions, as they were more to his liking. But this one was different.

[Chen Rumin would usually talk with Liu Wei about everything.]

Yu Qingyu sighed. He was hoping for a different answer. After all, telling Liu Wei about the meeting would mean he needed to deceive him even further…

But for the sake of the mission going smoothly, he wanted to stay in the character.

So, he pressed on the panel by the door and entered the room Liu Wei was currently in.

And he immediately stopped, frozen in place at the sight that greeted him.

Liu Wei was standing by the wall, under the shower, with his back facing Yu Qingyu. There were no curtains or anything that would block the view.

Well, curtains were not exactly necessary in a shower room that only two people had access to. But that still caught Yu Qingyu by surprise. His face turned red on the spot.

Liu Wei didn't seem to notice him enter. He just continued washing his hair, his muscular arms tensing and relaxing as he rubbed in shampoo. Water and soap were dripping all over his perfectly sculpted body, giving a true feast for Yu Qingyu's eyes. His jade skin was covered in black marks resembling tattoos, which somehow highlighted his masculine beauty even more.

[You can attempt to have an affair with Liu Wei if you want.]

520's words made Yu Qingyu snap out of the daze he was in. He quickly backed out of the room and hid behind the wall.

'What?'

[You can have an affair. I don't have any data regarding Liu Wei's sexual orientation or preferences, but you can…]

'That's not what I meant.' Yu Qingyu took a deep breath, trying to calm down. His face was burning. 'Wh-why would you even suggest that?'

[Based on my understanding of humans, your reaction to seeing Liu Wei naked indicates sexual attraction. Was my interpretation wrong?]

Yu Qingyu covered his face with his hands. He couldn't rebuke what 520 said.

However…

'Th-that's not the point. Regardless of whether I would want it or not… My mission is to betray him within a month, right? What kind of terrible person would I be to flirt with him right before that?'

52o was silent for a moment. [I am not programmed to judge my host's morality. My role is to provide full support for my host in every world they enter.] It eventually answered.

Yu Qingyu sighed. There was no point in discussing it with the system. 'Anyways, about those black marks…'

[Those are the scars I mentioned.]

'They don't look bad though?' Yu Qingyu raised his eyebrows. 'There's no need to cover them up so much… Unless they are sensitive to the sun?'

[Regardless of whether they look bad or not, they are remnants of the disease. Liu Wei suffered a lot of discrimination because of them, so naturally, he prefers to hide them.] 520 explained.

Yu Qingyu went silent. The system had a point.

Meanwhile, the sound of the water from the shower suddenly stopped. Only then did he realize that he was still standing next to the open door. He quickly pressed on the panel, hoping that Liu Wei hasn't noticed anything, and pretty much ran away, completely forgetting why he even entered the room in the first place. He didn't want to face Liu Wei right now.

'By the way,' he addressed 520 after finally stopping. 'What would Chen Rumin usually do now?'

[Probably read the news.]

'…In his room?' Yu Qingyu asked hopefully.

However, he got immediately disappointed. [Typically in the control room.]

Yu Qingyu sighed and dragged his feet there. As much as he liked other people's company, he would much rather just hide in his room as much as possible during his time in the hideout. But, he needed to stay in character. Even if Liu Wei would never suspect him of anything bad, any odd behavior might still catch his attention.

He plopped on one of the identical chairs in the control room, after confirming with the system that it wasn't Liu Wei's, and grabbed a device lying nearby.

'That's where I can read the news, right? Do I need to pay attention to anything specific?'

[Anything regarding Chuxi City. Chen Rumin usually glanced through worldwide and technological news, but paid most attention to Chuxi City's website. There, he read everything, highlighting any changes or events that could be of any importance to Liu Wei. Especially those regarding the city council members.]

'Alright then.' Without any further ado, Yu Qingyu opened bookmarked tabs and started reading. Thanks to his boosted intelligence, even his reading speed increased beyond compare. Soon, he got immersed in the lecture, pausing only when he needed to consult something with the system.

Having the work to distract him, he was finally able to stop thinking about the shower scene he witnessed not long ago. That is, until a message from Liu Wei popped up on his screen.

Seeing Liu Wei's name, Yu Qingyu's face flushed again, as he recalled his naked body. He took a deep breath, trying to clear his head, and read the message.

"Dinner's ready."

Yu Qingyu blinked, surprised. 'Dinner? Like what, did he prepare it?'

[There are robots programmed by Chen Rumin that do most of the work, but yes, Liu Wei generally takes care of the meal preparation in the base.]

That was unexpected. Even if it was with the help of the machines, Yu Qingyu didn't expect Liu Wei to cook at all. He assumed that Chen Rumin would take care of all the chores. He was supposed to be a subordinate after all.

He got up, put away the device, and headed to the kitchen. A few hours have passed since he had lunch, so he was getting a bit hungry.

And he was curious. The meal at the mall was delicious. What sort of food would be served at the technologically advanced, fancy villain's hideout?