Saying good night at noon.

“What?” Chen Sheng couldn’t help but sit up, a bit confused by the young girl’s words.

Reading a novel, how did it end up with “If I were the protagonist, I’d do just as well”?

“It’s this novel…” Yu Youxin waved the book in her hand at Chen Sheng.

Now he understood, so he asked, “Why do you say that?”

“Old Chen, look, in these novels, the male lead is always the CEO of some corporation, or the son of a high-ranking official, or maybe the offspring of a general… In short, their backgrounds are extraordinary—they could easily wipe out a dozen regular people without breaking a sweat.”

Chen Sheng couldn’t help rubbing his chin: “…”

Her summary wasn’t wrong, but there was something odd about the way this little girl put it. He thought it over, but couldn’t quite pinpoint what felt off, so he nodded and said, “Alright, then what?”

“Then, the male lead’s character settings: ten out of ten are what I just described, nine have stomach troubles, eight carry the scent of tobacco, seven can’t accept anyone but the female lead, six are germaphobes, five have suffered insomnia for years yet haven’t gone to their grave, four have some lingering ailment, but after meeting the female lead, all their problems magically vanish. And three are always surnamed Lu or Gu, two are Fu or Shen, and the last one has a compound surname.”

Chen Sheng rubbed his chin again: “…”

That was a remarkably precise summary.

He couldn’t help but ask, “And? Is there anything else?”

“Of course there is!”

“What else?” Chen Sheng, intrigued, didn’t mind playing the straight man.

“One, the male lead always has a buddy who’s a doctor, constantly complaining about being woken up in the middle of the night. Then the housekeeper is sure to say, ‘Haven’t seen the young master smile in ages.’”

Chen Sheng immediately gave a thumbs-up.

Then, with a strange look, he asked, “How many novels have you been reading lately?”

But that wasn’t the main point, so he continued, “You just said you’d do just as well—do you mean…”

“I think I can write a novel too!” The young girl raised her chin proudly.

“Then go for it! My laptop’s over there.” Chen Sheng pointed, then lay back down, pulled the blanket over himself, and politely said, “Good night!”

“Mm, good night, Old Chen.” The girl, true to her word, ran barefoot to grab the laptop and responded with equal politeness.

At that moment, the sun was high, the noon light streaming from the balcony to the windowsill and into the room.

Neither of them seemed to notice anything odd about exchanging good nights at midday.

…

Two hours later, Chen Sheng woke up.

He’d promised himself a two-hour nap, and kept to it.

He glanced at the sofa; the girl was busy at the computer, her fingers tapping away at the keyboard without pause.

Chen Sheng figured he must have been truly exhausted. Otherwise, how could he sleep so soundly with all that noise nearby?

Then he headed to the kitchen to prepare a meal.

Because his “helpful” teammate had recently bungled things, the gas stove was completely out of commission, so he didn’t cook—he simply cracked three eggs, steamed them in a big bowl for fifteen minutes.

“Dinner’s ready!” Chen Sheng called, pouring a spoonful of soy sauce evenly over the steamed eggs.

The lard had already melted, making the eggs gleam with a fresh, inviting color.

“Old Chen, with culinary skills like yours, finding a girlfriend will be a challenge.” The girl rushed over, eating quickly but full of complaints.

“Why so many words over a meal?” Chen Sheng replied, equally disdainful, rolling his eyes as his mouth twitched.

She ate like a starving ghost, after all.

If anyone was double-faced, it was her.

“Fine, I won’t say anything.”

“Actually, talking is fine.” Chen Sheng suddenly changed his attitude.

“Old Chen, I feel like you’re about to play the fox visiting the chicken coop!” The girl made no effort to hide her suspicion.

“I call it ‘having a favor to ask’!” Chen Sheng corrected.

“So, Old Chen’s sudden change of attitude is for what, exactly?”

“It’s nothing major, really. Just wanted to ask, in that game, what happens if you’re wanted and there’s a bounty on your head?” Chen Sheng asked casually. It wasn’t really what he wanted to know, but it was a way to start the conversation—and to cover up the fact that he’d played the game so long and only just learned how to claim quest rewards!

The girl was stunned for a moment, her delicate face clearly bewildered. She blinked, three parts incredulity, three parts shock, three parts barely contained laughter, and one part speechless, “Old Chen, what exactly did you do in there? How did you end up wanted?”

“No, I’m not wanted, I just saw other players getting wanted, so I was curious!” Chen Sheng lied smoothly, his expression calm.

Yu Youxin: (￣へ￣)

She wondered when there had ever been “other players” in there.

There were indeed others, but they were all in the Dead World, and the “glasses” those people obtained couldn’t compare to his!

Yu Youxin grumbled inwardly.

But she didn’t expose him, even forced herself to act indifferent, speaking in an extremely bland tone, “Of course it’s nothing special! Just being wanted, it’s no big deal.”

Chen Sheng nodded; he felt the same.

Being wanted by NPCs—so what?

Any game with such a mechanism, which player hasn’t been wanted by NPCs?

Chen Sheng didn’t take it seriously.

But then he grew more concerned, because his next question was the real one he wanted to ask: “In the game, after completing a quest, the way you get rewards is so troublesome. For example, I have to search corpses myself, and there’s no hint about what I find, or how to tell its value. Isn’t there a more convenient, straightforward way?”

Yu Youxin: (*ﾟｪﾟ*)

If she understood correctly, what he just described was looting after killing, right?

She set down her bowl and chopsticks, and glanced at Chen Sheng.

This man was getting more and more criminal-minded!

“No way?” Seeing her silent, Chen Sheng thought he’d asked the wrong question.

“Of course there is! You can ask the person's subordinates or close associates! If they won’t tell you, you can always use other methods to get them to talk!” Yu Youxin replied vaguely, because she didn’t really know how to answer.

She definitely wasn’t an expert in crime!

Chen Sheng nodded, a bit regretful inside. He should have thought of this earlier—since this healing game was so realistic, the way to get quest rewards must be just like in real life!

He’d foolishly assumed the game would simply hand them to him!

That was his own oversight!

Chen Sheng sighed, knowing this was a mistake he couldn’t blame on anyone else. He’d have to bear it himself.