In the quiet of the system screen, a familiar flash of white light slashed across the page.
Xu Zheng's expression? Instant disappointment.
"Tch. What the hell kind of farm animal luck is this?"
He didn't even expect gold from a single pull. Just give him a purple, damn it!
Was that too much to ask?
"System, you're just like Mihoyo!"
Without waiting for the animation to finish, he smashed the Skip button.
The sparkles vanished. In their place, the item reveal:
[Name: +1 Random Stat Point]
[Rarity: White]
[Note: If your luck's cracked, you might just roll god-tier. If not... good luck, idiot.]
Xu Zheng sighed and claimed the reward.
Congratulations, he had not rolled like a god. Again.
His new point had landed in—drumroll, please—cooking.
Cooking +1
"…Yeah, just what I needed," he muttered, expression deadpan.
Still, undeterred, he pulled again. "If this next one's white too, I swear I'm uninstalling."
Of course, the moment he said it, the flag planted itself firmly in the soil.
Another white streak zipped across the screen.
Goodbye, precious Primogems. Hello, disappointment.
[Name: Milk Tea Manual]
[Rarity: 3-Star]
[Description: Contains over 100 milk tea recipes for bubble tea addicts.]
[Note: Previous owner died of diabetes. His blood was 80% sugar, 20% regret.]
Xu Zheng let out a low whistle.
"You know what? Respect. That flavor text was savage."
He claimed the manual and tucked in for the night.
Only in dreams could he pull full constellations.
The Next Morning
Xu Zheng woke up before Ganyu.
Which was rare.
Mostly because he'd just had a dream where he missed his pity and pulled Qiqi. Again.
He woke up cursing like a sailor.
Turning to see Ganyu sleeping beside him, Xu Zheng smiled.
Gently, he pulled the blanket up to cover her exposed… snow mountains.
She shifted a little in her sleep.
"Women… they only slow down my grind for Primogems."
He rolled out of bed and rummaged through his rewards from yesterday, pulling out the Useless Bracelet.
Completely non-functional.
But it looked nice.
Meanwhile, in Ganyuland…
When Ganyu woke up, her first reflex was to check on her baby disciple.
Empty space.
Gone.
She blinked. Sleepiness: 0. Alertness: 100.
After getting dressed, she noticed something glinting by the pillow.
A delicate bracelet, engraved with complex floral patterns—clearly made with love and system-generated gacha money.
Next to it, a little note:
"Master, this is for you. Hope you like it."
Ganyu's heart skipped a beat.
She clutched it to her chest, practically glowing.
She couldn't wait to go to work. Not because of the job—but because she needed someone to notice.
"Please, Beiwen. Ask me why I'm sparkling today."
Daily Quest Time
[Daily Quest 1: Perform 3 songs with the Purple Bamboo Flute]
[Daily Quest 2: Make 3 cups of milk tea]
[Daily Quest 3: Spend 100,000 Mora]
[Daily Quest 4: Secure one investment]
Songs and milk tea? Easy.
But burning 100k Mora and convincing someone to invest in him?
That… was a pain in the Mora-hole.
So, Xu Zheng decided to stay in Yuehaiting for the morning and practice his flute.
Not long after, Beiwen exited Ganyu's office, spotted Xu Zheng, and approached.
"Beiwen-jiejie, what's up?" Xu Zheng greeted innocently.
Beiwen looked troubled. "It's Ganyu-sama… she's acting kind of strange."
"How so?"
"She was spacing out during the meeting, and she kept… subtly raising her hand. Like, showing it off?"
Xu Zheng choked. Literally burst out laughing.
"It's fine, she's probably just flexing her… hand accessory."
He wasn't about to spoil her moment.
Then he leaned in: "By the way, Beiwen-jiejie, how do I get people to invest in me?"
Beiwen paused, then said, "Well… high return, low risk. Basically, you need to show your value. Make them believe in you."
Xu Zheng nodded like a wise cultivator.
"So, the key is to be valuable enough for someone to bet on you."
Beiwen blinked.
Why did he suddenly sound like Ningguang?
Later that day, Xu Zheng peeked into Ganyu's office.
She was sitting like a statue, expression unreadable.
But the words on her face were painfully obvious:
"Please. Ask me about my bracelet."
At Wanmin Restaurant
As usual, Xu Zheng showed up at noon for lunch.
But outside the door, he found someone squatting like a defeated chicken.
It was Huai Tiancheng, the middle-aged opera house boss he had partnered with—the same guy Xu Zheng had given his milk tea formula.
Now, he looked like he'd aged ten years overnight.
When he spotted Xu Zheng, he practically crawled over, wailing:
"Xu Zheng-laodi, I'm sorry! I've wronged you!"
Snot, tears, and regrets poured out in real time. The guy even reached out to clutch his sleeve.
Xu Zheng gave him the Look™.
One death glare later, the hands retracted.
"Bro, breathe. What happened?"
This guy had looked fine a couple days ago. Now he was in full mid-life collapse mode.
Huai Tiancheng sniffled. "That bastard with the yellow hair—he started selling milk tea and ice cream too!"
"I bought one. It's identical to ours. Same recipe. Same taste. Same exact technique."
Xu Zheng's eyes narrowed.
That meant someone had leaked the formula.
And since only Xu Zheng, Xiangling, and the boss's in-house chef knew how to make it…
There was a traitor in the kitchen.
Huai Tiancheng was convinced it wasn't Wanmin Restaurant.
He trusted Xiangling and Xu Zheng. So it had to be someone on his side.
"Alright, let's talk inside," Xu Zheng said.
They entered Wanmin's private room, sealed it tight with Cryo energy.
"Let me guess," Xu Zheng said, "yellow hair bribed your chef, got the recipe, and now he's selling your stuff as his own."
Huai Tiancheng nodded, ashamed.
Xu Zheng leaned back, calm as ever.
"Doesn't matter. Milk tea and ice cream aren't even the real weapons in my vault."
Everyone leaned in.
Even the air got quiet.
They waited.
They watched him.
Xu Zheng smiled like a villain with ten blueprints for destruction already in motion.