Bai Zhi had already arranged and combined every vocabulary word she knew in her mind, preparing to launch an unprecedented, saturated verbal attack on Lu Cheng.
However, the smile on Lu Cheng's face, at this moment, slowly, receded.
He wasn't angry, nor was he annoyed; he didn't even show a hint of impatience.
Instead, there was a feeling that made Bai Zhi's skin crawl... sadness.
Yes, sadness.
In his deep eyes, the gentle smile faded, replaced by a hurt and confused expression.
He sighed softly, his voice low and dejected, and said to Lu Xuan and Song Zhiyi beside him.
"Xuaner, Zhiyi, is this... the kind of person I am in other people's eyes?"
"A scumbag... a disgrace to society..."
He softly repeated the words Bai Zhi had just spat out, each word seemingly carrying a thousand pounds of weight, making it hard for him to breathe.
At this moment, he was no longer the one in control of everything, but an ordinary good person, misunderstood by the whole world, filled with grievance and confusion.
Ding! Villain emotional value +5!
Bai Zhi's brain, once again, crashed.
What... what kind of move is this?
Is he acting again??
Moreover, it only added 5 emotional points, which means his emotional fluctuation was minimal!
He was indeed acting!
However, while Bai Zhi could see through it, Lu Xuan and Song Zhiyi could not.
In their eyes, their all-powerful, always calm and composed older brother was, at this moment, showing a vulnerable side because of a few vicious curses from a stranger!
How could they tolerate this?!
"You bad woman!"
Lu Xuan's anger was instantly ignited!
Like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, she rushed in front of Bai Zhi again, her small finger pointing at Bai Zhi's nose, her voice rising with anger, even carrying a hint of a sob.
"You're talking nonsense! My brother is not what you say he is!"
"Why do you say such things about him? Why do you bully him!"
Song Zhiyi also followed closely; although she wasn't as agitated as Lu Xuan, her eyes were now filled with icy rage and disgust for Bai Zhi.
"You're going too far! We all saw it, you were sneaking around tracking Lu Brother Cheng, and now you're twisting facts and falsely accusing a good person!"
"You must apologize to him!"
In an instant, the atmosphere in the alley, from a three-way standoff, turned into a joint criticism session of two little lolis against an "evil bad woman."
Bai Zhi was accused by these two little ones from left and right, her face turning redder than a pig's liver.
She wanted to retort but found herself utterly unable to speak.
Say their brother was a bad person?
Would they believe her?
Say she cursed him to earn rewards?
Then wouldn't she become a lunatic?
Just as Bai Zhi was at a loss for words, trapped in a desperate situation.
"Alright, Xuaner, Zhiyi, stop talking."
Lu Cheng's voice, carrying a hint of weariness and tolerance, sounded again.
He stepped forward, gently pulled the two little ones behind him, and shook his head.
"Never mind, this young lady must have some misunderstanding."
His gaze fell back on Bai Zhi, his eyes filled with suffocating "magnanimity" and "tolerance."
"Or perhaps, she's just in a bad mood today, under too much stress; we... should understand her."
He looked at Bai Zhi in front of him, took a step forward, and spoke in an incredibly sincere tone.
"Miss, I..."
However, he only spoke half of his sentence before suddenly stopping.
He seemed to have discovered something new, a perfectly timed curiosity appearing on his face, and he tilted his head slightly, pointing at Bai Zhi's eyes.
"Huh?"
"Your eyes... why do they seem to be glowing? Is it my imagination?"
Boom!
Bai Zhi's heart, at this moment, almost leaped out of her throat!
He saw it!
He saw my system?!
No way?
This devil!
What kind of monster is he anyway?!
"No... no! You... you saw wrong!"
Bai Zhi was scared out of her wits, instinctively taking a step back, denying incoherently.
"It's... it's the light! It's the reflection of the light from the alley entrance!"
Her mind was blank; she just wanted to escape this terrifying place immediately.
Looking at her flustered, startled-deer-like appearance, the smile in Lu Cheng's eyes grew even deeper.
He knew, the time was ripe.
"Alright, maybe I saw wrong."
He waved his hand, stopping Lu Xuan and Song Zhiyi, who still wanted to say something, then re-examined Bai Zhi with a complex gaze mixed with "tolerance" and "inquiry."
"Miss, I can feel that you seem to have a deep prejudice against me."
His tone suddenly shifted.
"However, I actually think... you are very interesting."
"Your vitality, your sharpness, and your undisguised... disgust."
"Honestly, it's been a long time since I've heard such candid negative feedback about me."
Bai Zhi was stunned, not understanding what he wanted to say.
A gentle and sincere smile, enough to make all flowers pale in comparison, bloomed on Lu Cheng's face.
Then, he said something that completely shattered Bai Zhi's worldview.
"Therefore, I hereby officially invite you."
"I hope you can become my... exclusive negative evaluator."
"What... the hell?"
Bai Zhi's brain was completely unable to process the meaning of this information.
Exclusive... negative evaluation??
Is this some new trendy slang?
"Good advice is harsh to the ear but beneficial to action; good medicine is bitter to the taste but beneficial to health."
Lu Cheng, like a patient mentor, explained.
"The people around me are too compliant, which will cause my mindset to stagnate."
"I need someone like you, who dares to speak frankly, and even holds hostility towards me, to constantly stimulate me, to prod me, to temper my Dao heart."
He looked at Bai Zhi, his eyes incredibly sincere.
"In return, I am willing to provide you with food and lodging, as well as the highest industry standard salary."
"Your job is very simple: to verbally attack me and point out my flaws, anytime, anywhere."
"Will you accept this job?"
In the alley, there was a deathly silence.
Lu Xuan and Song Zhiyi's mouths hung open, their faces filled with disbelief.
Brother... has he gone mad?
Paying someone to curse him?
And Bai Zhi was completely frozen in place.
She looked at the man in front of her, who smiled harmlessly but proposed devilishly tempting conditions.
Only one thought remained in her brain.
Bringing an ATM directly into her home, and even begging her to withdraw money?
Is there... such a good thing in the world?