It was true that Li Yuebai got drunk yesterday.
But Xu Mo's culinary skills were genuinely impressive.
Good food often leaves a lasting impression on someone who's had too much to drink.
The joy of drinking lies not in the wine itself,
but in the delicacies that accompany it.
Li Yuebai subconsciously wiped a bit of drool from her lips. "I... I don't know..."
On the other side, Chen Miao narrowed her eyes and let out a cold chuckle. "Hmph... You didn't even share such delicious food with your bestie? Is this how you treat your best friend?"
Li Yuebai immediately went into denial mode.
"It's not like that, I didn't, don't make things up!"
Chen Miao rolled her eyes. After years of friendship, she could easily tell when Li Yuebai was lying. "Confess and I'll go easy on you. Resist, and things won't be pretty. Don't push me, Yuebai."
Li Yuebai bit her lip, hesitating for a moment.
Then she spilled the truth—how she had shamelessly snatched the midnight snack Xu Mo made for himself the previous night.
She even threw in a compliment for Chef Xu.
His cooking skills were simply... indescribable. One word: perfection!
Unmatched.
Chen Miao looked skeptical. "Yuebai, are you that desperate? Xu Mo isn't even a professional chef. Is it really that good?"
Li Yuebai's legendary appetite
was something only a handful of people, including Chen Miao, knew about.
As for why Chen Miao didn't immediately believe her best friend and instead doubted Xu Mo,
that involved another issue entirely.
Chen Miao had once curiously asked Li Yuebai in a WeChat message what Xu Mo looked like—was he handsome?
Li Yuebai's reply? "Totally average-looking, nothing special."
That instantly killed Chen Miao's curiosity. She knew Li Yuebai wouldn’t lie about something like that.
Otherwise, she would’ve kept the "delicacy" to herself long ago.
Why wait until now?
Li Yuebai's face flushed red—with anger. "Of course not! You're the one who's desperate! I tell you the truth, and you don’t believe me? Fine, suit yourself."
Seeing her best friend was genuinely upset,
Chen Miao quickly softened and proposed a shocking idea. "I believe you, I do! I never said I didn’t. Hey, how about we go to his place for dinner tonight?"
Li Yuebai frowned. "Are you insane? I already treated him to lunch today and said we’re even."
"That’s a separate matter. Think about it, Yuebai—he’s both your neighbor and your subordinate. The rent in your area isn’t cheap, so if he can afford to live there, he’s definitely not some ordinary guy. And besides, how can one meal settle everything? He’s the kind of man who didn’t even bat an eye at a beauty like you, even when you were completely defenseless. Honestly, I’m kind of curious. Who could possibly resist your charm?" Chen Miao grinned.
Li Yuebai saw right through her. "You’re just curious about his cooking, aren’t you?"
"Hehe..." Chen Miao wasn’t fazed. "Just a little."
Li Yuebai shrugged. "I’d advise you to drop that idea. I get the feeling he doesn’t really like me."
"That’s just your imagination! Yuebai, you’re overthinking it!" Chen Miao declared confidently.
Then she added, "You need to believe in yourself! In my eyes, you’re the best, Li Yuebai!"
A mix of flattery and persuasion
soon restored Li Yuebai’s confidence.
The storm passed, the skies cleared.
She, Li Yuebai, felt invincible again.
This time, she wasn’t planning to "mooch" off him.
No, this was just neighbors exchanging goodwill and kindness.
Decision made.
Action followed thought.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Living alone meant
no Aunt Li or Aunt Zhang to help with grocery shopping.
The tedious task
fell entirely on Xu Mo’s shoulders.
But he didn’t see it as a hassle.
After all, he was here to experience life.
A bit of mundane routine wasn’t so bad.
After buying fresh ingredients and returning to his apartment,
he stepped inside and
hadn’t even started cooking
when a serious problem dawned on him.
He’d previously budgeted for food and basic necessities,
barely scraping by.
Now, a major issue loomed before him—
utilities like electricity and water,
not to mention transportation costs.
After work, the buses were packed like sardines.
Xu Mo had learned his lesson.
Once or twice was enough.
He wasn’t in it for the long haul.
Adding up all these scattered expenses,
if he kept spending without earning,
he’d hit a financial crisis within a month.
By the time payday rolled around,
he might already be starving.
"Damn, you never realize how expensive life is until you’re on your own."
Xu Mo rubbed his temples. Whatever—he’d figure it out as he went.
Heaven never seals off all exits.
If things got really bad, he could always take on side gigs.
Xu Mo refused to believe the world was so vast yet couldn’t even feed him.
With that, Chef Xu got busy in the kitchen.
Soon, the aroma of food filled the entire apartment.
And this was just the second dish.
Xu Mo’s dinner principle was simple: four dishes and a soup.
Ingredients were cheap.
Eating out was expensive; cooking at home saved money.
The cost of these four dishes and a soup? Less than a hundred yuan.
If he ordered the same meal outside,
even with inferior taste,
it’d easily cost him a thousand or more.
At the same time, outside the door...
Li Yuebai and Chen Miao stood with arms full of bags—
fresh ingredients, ready-to-eat dishes, snacks,
even a can of tea worth thousands.
Basically, they’d bought everything they could think of.
They had it all covered.
After all, anyone who could afford to live here
probably wasn’t short on cash, right?
So the two women deliberately picked the priciest items.
They weren’t worried about the cost.
Their real concern was whether Xu Mo would accept them.
The whole way there, Li Yuebai had been lost in thought, nervous and distracted.
So much so that she was still spacing out as they reached Xu Mo’s door.
Chen Miao gave her a look of exasperation.
"Yuebai, didn’t I tell you? Be confident! You’re amazing!"
"Isn’t he your subordinate’s subordinate anyway?"
"Worst-case scenario, two gorgeous women show up at his doorstep—how could he possibly refuse?"
Li Yuebai's lips twitched. Her best friend's words were getting more and more outrageous.
"Miao, that’s enough joking."
Chen Miao giggled. "Fine, fine. Even if he wanted us to 'clean up' for him, he’d need the skills to back it up. I only like handsome guys, not average-looking ones, no matter how rich they are."
Chen Miao was nearly as stunning as Li Yuebai,
though slightly less striking.
But she made up for it with her voluptuous figure—
a natural result of being a foodie.
"Is this the place?"
"Yeah..."
"What are you waiting for? Knock already! My arms are sore from carrying all this stuff."
"I... I..."
"Ugh, Yuebai, since when did you become so hesitant? Let me do it!"
Knock knock knock—
As Chen Miao’s bold rapping echoed,
Li Yuebai’s heart inexplicably raced, her whole body tense.
The last time she’d felt this nervous was in the presence of her mother.
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his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
