lerbook Chapter 4 The Creditor!
Chapter 4 The Creditor!
Rainwater mixed with mud trickled down his trouser legs.
Riding on the electric scooter, Zhang Yan felt like a piece of junk just pulled out of the water.
The cold wind stung my face.
But his heart was burning with passion.
The bank message on my phone screen was like a flame lit in the darkness, dispelling all the chill and fatigue.
Two thousand yuan.
For him, this was a huge sum of money.
It gives me the confidence to not have to worry about meals for the next two months, and the hope to replace these oversized shoes I'm wearing.
The price to pay was simply to cook.
That woman named Nie Qingcheng was domineering and dangerous, like an elegant fox, manipulating him at will.
But she gave way too much.
Zhang Yan squeezed the brake, looked at his disheveled reflection in the rearview mirror, and a complex smile appeared on his face.
What is this?
Was he kept by a rich woman?
No, I earn my living through my skills.
Zhang Yan offered himself a way out. Yes, it was all about skill.
……
Jiangnan University, male dormitory 404.
As soon as I opened the door, a complex smell of instant noodles mixed with sweaty feet hit me.
"Holy crap! Yanzi, you fell into the river?!"
A head popped out from the top bunk; it was Zhang Yan's roommate, Wang Hao, a happy fat otaku weighing 200 pounds.
At that moment, he was holding up his phone, the screen displaying a colorful game interface, with half a sausage dangling from his mouth.
"I tripped and fell while delivering food."
Zhang Yan took off his soaked raincoat and hung it on the balcony, where water dripped down.
"Tsk tsk, that's pathetic."
Wang Hao clicked his tongue, then looked back at his phone. "Quick, quick, let's take down Baron!"
"Hey, by the way, Yanzi, did you hear? Our department's beauty queen, Su Wanqing, got confessed to by the most handsome guy from the finance department next door in the library today. The scene was huge! Nine hundred and ninety-nine roses!"
Wang Hao spoke with great enthusiasm, but his hands never stopped working.
Zhang Yan absentmindedly hummed in response.
The most beautiful girl in the department?
What flashed through his mind were those bare feet on the Persian carpet, that sheer black lace nightgown, and those fox-like eyes that held a hint of drunkenness.
Compared to Nie Qingcheng, the so-called campus belle suddenly seems bland and tasteless.
"Hey, what are you thinking about? Your mind's wandering." After finishing a game, Wang Hao rolled off the top bunk, shaking the floor three times.
He leaned closer and sniffed slyly: "Yanzi, what do you smell like? You smell wonderful, not like you fell into a mud puddle, but like you rolled into some rich woman's bed."
Zhang Yan's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm: "It tastes like chicken soup, the takeout was spilled."
He didn't want to explain too much, so he quickly walked into the narrow bathroom and closed the door.
Hot water gushed from the showerhead, washing away the fatigue in my body.
Zhang Yan leaned against the cold tiles, closed his eyes, and silently recited in his heart.
"system?"
A pale blue light screen instantly unfolded before his eyes.
【Perfect Life Assistance System】
[Host: Zhang Yan]
[Physical Fitness: 5 (Standard for average person)]
Charm: 6 (Slightly above average)
[Skill: God-level Culinary Skills (Master of Home-Style Dishes)]
Item: None
[Funds: 2235.5 yuan]
The interface is so simple it's like a cheap, unbranded product.
Zhang Yan's attention fell on a red gift pack icon that was still flashing in the lower right corner.
[Daily Lucky Bag (To be opened)]
"Can it be opened once a day?" Zhang Yan asked in his mind.
The system didn't respond, but the gift pack icon blinked even more enthusiastically.
He tried to tap it with his mind.
The gift package exploded, transforming into a string of golden light effects.
[Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Constitution Improvement Potion (Trace Amount) x1]
A small test tube containing a pale green liquid appeared in the inventory.
There is a smaller note below.
[Description: A genetically optimized product from a higher dimension, capable of slightly improving the host's physical condition and eliminating impurities. No side effects; tastes similar to mint soda.]
Zhang Yan looked at the small test tube, his heart racing.
Improve physical condition?
He grew up in an orphanage, where malnutrition was the norm, and his health was always very weak.
Although he got into university, years of part-time work made him look more tired than his peers.
The hesitation lasted only half a second.
Fortune favors the bold.
Having already taken on a debt of 1.2 million, what's a bottle of soda to worry about?
With a thought, he chose "use".
The test tube appeared out of thin air in his hand, and it felt icy cold to the touch.
Unscrew the cap, and a refreshing minty scent wafts out.
Zhang Yan tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.
It really does taste like soda, cool and refreshing, sliding down your throat and into your stomach.
At first, I didn't feel anything.
About three minutes later.
A surge of heat rose from my lower abdomen and quickly spread throughout my body.
My skin started to itch, and fine, fishy-smelling black beads of sweat seeped from my pores.
"Holy crap!"
Zhang Yan cursed under his breath, quickly turned on the showerhead, and rinsed the water with cold water.
"Yanzi, did you fall into the latrine? It stinks so badly!" Wang Hao's complaining voice, pinching his nose, came from outside the door.
Zhang Yan didn't have time to pay attention to him.
This "marrow cleansing" process lasted for a full ten minutes.
When he rinsed off the last trace of grease from his body, he felt as if he had shed a layer of skin.
I felt much lighter.
The fatigue vanished, replaced by an unprecedented surge of energy.
He dried himself off and walked to the mirror that was covered in water stains.
The person in the mirror is still him.
But something seems different.
My skin seems smoother now, with less of the roughness from years of exposure to the elements.
The facial contours also seem clearer and more defined.
The most obvious thing is those eyes.
His pupils, which had been slightly clouded by fatigue, were now as clear as a mountain spring, with a distinct black and white.
The lingering sense of poverty and weariness was largely washed away, replaced by a youthful energy.
"Is it an illusion?"
Zhang Yan touched his face, somewhat uncertain.
He changed into a clean T-shirt and shorts and walked out of the bathroom.
"All done, you can use it."
Wang Hao, who was about to climb into bed, glanced back and stopped.
He looked Zhang Yan up and down, scratching his head: "Strange..."
"What's wrong?" Zhang Yan's heart tightened.
"You've gotten a tiny bit more handsome, kid?" Wang Hao squinted, looking suspicious. "You can get minor cosmetic surgery just by taking a shower?"
Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and made up an excuse: "Maybe the hot water soaked my face."
He lay on his hard wooden bed, and slept without a dream.
the next day.
Zhang Yan was awakened by the chirping of birds outside the window.
He opened his eyes and felt refreshed; it was the most restful sleep he had had since starting university.
Inside the dormitory, Wang Hao was still snoring.
Zhang Yan quietly finished washing up, changed into a faded T-shirt, and left the dormitory.
The campus air is fresh in the early morning.
Sunlight filters through the gaps in the leaves, creating dappled patterns.
On his way to the cafeteria, Zhang Yan clearly sensed the difference.
In the past, when he walked on the road, he was like a pebble thrown into water, not causing any ripples.
But today, girls who pass by him always unconsciously glance at him a couple more times.
Two female students even turned around and whispered among themselves as they passed each other.
"That guy from earlier, what department was he in? He was pretty clean."
"Yes, their eyes are so bright, like a little puppy."
Zhang Yan's hearing has also improved considerably.
He lowered his head, quickened his pace, and felt his ears burning.
The feeling of being watched is both strange and novel.
It seems the effect of that potion was not an illusion.
With the hardware upgraded, we'll have more confidence to "make a living off our wives."
Zhang Yan sat in a corner of the cafeteria, eating a five-yuan breakfast set meal: a steamed bun, an egg, and a bowl of porridge.
He ate slowly, his mind racing with thoughts of tonight's menu.
Nie Qingcheng, that woman, is incredibly picky.
Ordinary meals certainly won't do.
Just then, my old cell phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated.
The screen lights up.
A WeChat message popped up.
The note contained those three glaring words—
[The Creditor (Nie Qingcheng)]
The message was even more straightforward and blunt, filled with the oppressive feeling of capitalists.
I'm hungry.
"Six o'clock in the evening, lateness will result in a deduction of pay."