Chapter Seventeen: Host, Are You Cheating?

And so, Xu Nuo lay down to rest, enduring Lin Qisheng’s utterly bewildered expression.

“Good night,” she said.

“...Good night.” Lin Qisheng hastily left and shut the door behind him—he needed some peace and quiet.

Inside, Xu Nuo was already comfortably settled, while Gu Xingze stood guard by the window with his back to her, his voice slightly cold. “Good night.”

“Good night. You should get some sleep too,” Xu Nuo replied, then noticed that Gu Xingze had no intention of leaving.

He explained, “I’m not sure if it’s safe. I’ll keep watch tonight.”

This was entirely reasonable. This wasn’t their territory, and who knew what intentions Lin Qisheng harbored? They couldn’t afford to lower their guard, and it was best not to separate.

“Alright. You take the first half of the night, I’ll take the second.” Xu Nuo yawned and promptly fell asleep.

Witnessing her utterly defenseless posture, Gu Xingze felt a bit awkward. In all the time he’d spent with her, they’d never shared a room like this.

[So sweet! Congratulations, dear host! After all your effort and persistence, you’ve finally achieved the ‘sharing a room’ milestone with your target!] The system’s voice was brimming with excitement, barely restraining its urge to shake the sleeping Xu Nuo awake to share the joy. Gu Xingze, that iceberg of a man, had actually reached this level of intimacy in less than a month—something previous players could only dream of!

Granted, they didn’t seem particularly close at the moment, and the process was a far cry from any romantic fantasy... But that didn’t matter—the result was all that counted.

Of course, its host was truly gifted, a rising star it had recognized from the start.

Unfortunately, Xu Nuo slept deeply, leaving only 007 to revel in this happiness.

At midnight, Xu Nuo woke up right on time.

“I’ll keep watch for the rest of the night. Go get some rest.” She crawled out from under the covers and moved to sit on the other side of the window table.

“You keep sleeping. I can handle the watch alone,” Gu Xingze objected when he saw how groggy she still looked.

“I’m fine.” Xu Nuo patted her cheeks. “We have work to do tomorrow. You need to rest and recharge.” Forcing herself to be alert, she managed to look reasonably convincing.

Gu Xingze didn’t hesitate for long. “...Alright.”

Once his steady, even breathing signaled he was asleep, Xu Nuo immediately slumped onto the table, eyelids drooping. “Little Seven, stand watch for me. Wake me if anything happens.”

[You got it!] At that moment, 007 was brimming with energy. [Reporting, dear host, there’s a peephole behind the painting at three o’clock.]

“Who’s watching?” Xu Nuo asked.

[Lin Qisheng.]

No surprise there.

Xu Nuo couldn’t be bothered. “As long as he doesn’t try anything, let him be.”

[Understood!]

On the other side of the wall, Lin Qisheng’s eyes were ringed with exhaustion. He’d spent most of the night watching, only to discover that Xu Nuo and Gu Xingze were truly cautious, even keeping watch while resting. He’d nearly been caught by Gu Xingze several times.

Now it was Xu Nuo’s turn to stand watch, but she’d slumped right onto the table and fallen asleep. At last, he could relax a little.

But wait—what was the point of his surveillance if she was just going to sleep? Xu Nuo, wake up! Don’t just sleep there!

Xu Nuo slept soundly and woke up full of energy the next morning.

Lin Qisheng, on the other hand, looked utterly spent.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” Xu Nuo asked with concern.

Lin Qisheng just forced a smile. “Heh.”

Breakfast was once again prepared by Gu Xingze, and the spread was even more lavish than the night before—fresh vegetables, fresh meat, three dishes and a soup. If someone didn’t know this was the apocalypse, they’d have thought it was an ordinary family meal.

Lin Qisheng took a deep breath, feeling like a complete fool for showing them around his underground storeroom yesterday. They clearly didn’t lack supplies at all! Their quality of life was better than his.

Having fresh vegetables and meat at a moment’s notice in the apocalypse was absurd, but Xu Nuo and her companion had always been this outlandish.

The livestream audience found it hilarious.

[Haha, I never liked him anyway. This is the ultimate face-slap story.]

[Trying to show off in front of our streamer—doesn’t he know how many gifts we’ve sent?]

[His expression right now is priceless.]

[Host, keep it up! I’ll send you a warehouse of fruit if you do!]

007 was exasperated and helpless. Why couldn’t the audience focus on the romance? It had tolerated them treating the stream as a cooking show, then a survival show, but now they’d turned it into a face-slapping drama—against the very target they were supposed to be wooing! This was simply too much.

[Host, please don’t...]

Too late—one careless moment and the host had been led astray by those mischievous viewers.

Xu Nuo brazenly displayed a variety of supplies—all rare treasures in the apocalypse—making Lin Qisheng, standing off to the side, doubt his very existence. His face was flushed with shame.

007 was on the verge of tears: [Host, weren’t you supposed to be winning him over? Why are you humiliating him? He’s so competitive—his affection score is going to plummet into the negatives...]

“Is it not allowed?” No sooner had Xu Nuo finished her triumphant display than the system notification sounded.

[Lin Qisheng’s affection score +6]

007 was instantly struck dumb.

That couldn’t be right.

How was his affection score still going up? She’d just humiliated him! By any logic, this should not count as a charm offensive—what was wrong with this target?

Xu Nuo said to 007, “Some people are like that. Only when you outshine them do they really pay attention to you and focus on you.”

But did that really warrant a boost in affection? Lin Qisheng wasn’t a masochist, right?

007 wanted to say more but stopped. This whole scenario felt strangely familiar—Gu Xingze had inexplicably gained affection points before, too. It couldn’t resist asking, [Host, are you cheating?]

“How could you even think that?” Xu Nuo frowned. “It’s all thanks to my persistence and hard work.”

007 grumbled inwardly—it had hardly seen her make any real effort to win them over. She seemed to care more about those mischievous viewers in the stream than her actual targets.

She treated Gu Xingze like a housekeeper, relying on him for every meal, and now she’d made a newly introduced Lin Qisheng into a side character just to humiliate him—yet his affection score actually increased. 007 was more and more baffled by the thoughts of both host and targets.

Ah, human emotions truly are complicated.

Xu Nuo and Gu Xingze set off to collect supplies, bidding Lin Qisheng farewell.

Lin Qisheng couldn’t understand why someone who seemed to carry a whole supermarket with her would need to gather more supplies.

“Miss Xu, let me come with you. I’ve lived here for years and can show you the way.”

With Lin Qisheng’s help, Xu Nuo was able to gather supplies much faster—though the look in his eyes made things a bit awkward.

He watched as Xu Nuo collected a refrigerator, an air conditioner, a washing machine, even a cell phone and a computer. What was she going to do with all this? Did she have a penchant for junk collecting?

He couldn’t help but say, “Miss Xu, I don’t think this television will be of much use to you.”