After tasting that vicious milk tea, Zero really wanted to go on the forum and write a three-thousand-word post, viciously spreading rumors about its flavor.
Best case, he could praise the milk tea to the skies, tricking more people into trying it.
Everyone deserved retribution, everyone needed to taste that throat-burning milk tea.
But right now, he didn't have the mind to scam people.
Zero had to think carefully about how to return Jingliu that money.
That sum of money she had forcefully transferred wasn't small, but it wasn't insignificant either.
At least for someone whose income on the Luofu wasn't high, spending that much in one go would really hurt.
Maybe for Jingliu, that amount was less than a fraction of her monthly salary, but Zero couldn't just accept it with a clear conscience.
What's hers is hers, just because she wasn't short on money didn't mean he could shamelessly fleece her.
Originally, Zero thought about treating her to a meal in return, to call it even.
But as they kept talking, things went off track, and he even dragged Baiheng into it…
That couldn't count as a gift back to Jingliu, he had to prepare something separately.
Zero opened his jade device, staring at the pitifully small contact list, sinking into thought.
He originally planned to ask Baiheng, to learn from that fox's "master trickster" ways, maybe get some advice. But then he thought of the fox's loudmouth personality…
If he asked, by the next day Jingliu would definitely know. Jing Yuan was a no-go too.
That left him with almost no one to turn to, he could only ask some of the classmates he'd met back in the Academy.
Zero felt their relationship was decent.
He had even established quite a friendly and mutually beneficial business relationship with their parents, fleecing all the wealthy families of the Luofu together.
Zero opened Classmate A's chat.
[Zero: Is there a suitable gift for a female friend?]
[Classmate A: What kind of gift needs you to give it yourself, Boss? I can get the most beautiful flowers from the Sky-Faring Commission, 9,999 of them, guaranteed to make you and sis-in-law happy.]
Zero, "…"
This classmate clearly had an eye disease. Change target.
He coldly rejected Classmate A and opened Classmate B's chat.
[Classmate B: Boss, how about Abundance beasts? Everyone on the Xianzhou loves them! Just so happens I have a friend in the Cloud Knights who can get you the freshest.]
Zero, "..."
He ruthlessly rejected Classmate B and turned to Classmate C.
This time, Zero got smart, he repeatedly emphasized the word "friend."
[Classmate C: What? Boss is getting married? Which goddess could win your heart? When can we drink your wedding wine?]
Zero couldn't bear it anymore.
[Zero: It's a friend! Friend! Friend!]
[Classmate C: What?! Just a friend? Don't worry, Boss, we brothers will help you strategize and win her over! I think a Star-Destroyer Battleship would be perfect, I happen to have connections.]
So in their minds, was it impossible for a male and female to just be friends?
Zero coldly and mercilessly rejected him, scrolled further down the list, and spotted someone he had no impression of at all.
The username and avatar were both completely unfamiliar.
Zero typed to probe.
[Zero: Aha?]
[Hua: ...]
[Hua: I see. How much do you remember?]
Seeing this stranger's reaction, Zero let out a breath of relief.
'Definitely not Aha.'
If it were Aha, there was no way they would act this normal.
The other's tone was calm, their words implying they had known each other in a past life.
Wait a second… could this be one of the kids he raised in a past life…?
Thinking of Aha's strange attitude before leaving, Zero felt his anger rise. 'Aha, it's your tricks again!'
He stared at the "typing" status, hesitated, not knowing what to say.
The other didn't press further but instead asked him,
[Hua: What is it?]
Wanting to get a sense of their thinking, Zero decided to ask for help.
[Zero: Oh, nothing big.]
[Hua: What, you couldn't hold back and rebelled?]
Zero was utterly shocked.
He almost dropped his jade device.
What did they mean, "couldn't hold back and rebelled"?
Did overthrowing the entire Luofu count as "nothing big" to Hua?
Just what kind of person had he raised?
[Zero: ...No. I just want to give a gift back to a female friend, but don't know what to give.]
[Hua: ...]
The other only sent a string of ellipses, as if speechless at Zero's words, then tossed him a link.
[Hua: Busy. Wait until an Aeon-level enemy breaks into the Luofu, then message me.]
Zero, "..."
'Wait until an Aeon-level enemy breaks into the Luofu?'
That was even less likely than Lord of the Moon Chasing and his gang having accident after accident.
Why not just say, "don't ever contact me"?
Zero glanced at their personal status.
[Busy. Off duty. Make appointments 180 days in advance.]
At this moment, he felt like a retired old man left home alone, craving his children's attention.
He had waited all year for New Year's Eve, hoping to talk to them, but they were too busy with work to bother.
All he could do was sigh over dumplings that had been reheated so many times the skins broke, "Busy, all busy… busy is good, huh…"
Zero had wanted to ask if Hua was male or female, but seeing their "busy as hell" attitude, he dropped the idea and just quietly replied "okay."
He tapped the link Hua shared and entered a strange forum.
The forum users seemed to be mostly women, and all the posts looked the same.
They were either sharing troubles about dating and marriage or discussing outfits and makeup.
Zero scrolled through the forum, finding posts recommending gifts, and compared options against the money Jingliu had given.
After a long time, he still hadn't picked one.
Finally, after doubling the budget, he chose something.
It was a scented ornament deeply loved by many female users, shaped almost exactly like the moon from his homeland.
Besides serving as incense and a decoration, once plugged in, it could also act as a night light.
Jingliu's home had almost no decorations, this gift would fit perfectly there.
He skimmed through the seller's photos, ignored the size notes on the images, placed the order, and filled in Jingliu's address.
Just after paying, his jade device buzzed.
His account had been pulled into a group chat by an anonymous account.
The group name, "One Big Cosmic Family."
He waited and waited, but no one said anything.
Were they kidney-harvesting outlaws, or romance scammers selling tea?
Zero typed.
[Zero: What kind of group is this?]
[APieceOfScrapMetal: ?]
[Aha: Hahahahahaha! Surprised? Unexpected?]
[APieceOfScrapMetal: ...]
[Aha has been removed from the group by "APieceOfScrapMetal."]
[You have been removed from the group by "APieceOfScrapMetal."]
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/XenosX
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰