Chapter 18: Feeling the Abs

“Ding dong!”

Li Xu’s phone chimed with a message alert. Xu Si suddenly looked up, stretching her neck and swallowing nervously.

“Uh, side business, side business!”

“Hehe, could it be…” Xu Si hadn’t finished her sentence when Li Xu cast her a complicated glance.

“Miss Xu, could you help me calculate when I’ll get promoted and how much money I’ll need?”

“Huh?!” Wei Siyu’s mouth dropped in surprise. “Officer Li, I thought you were an advocate of science and democracy…”

“I also respect and trust traditional culture!” Li Xu interrupted earnestly.

Wei Siyu was speechless. Men could be so fickle.

“Really calculating?” Xu Si roughly guessed that Li Xu’s side hustle was that so-called ‘answer master.’

She glanced at Nan Xian beside her, raising an eyebrow for confirmation.

Nan Xian immediately nodded vigorously, his expression inscrutable, and held up two fingers: two hundred!

Xu Si, encouraged, looked up and declared, “Twenty-one thousand for a reading!”

Nan Xian stumbled slightly, “Little demon, I said two hundred, just two hundred!”

“Don’t worry, I have my reasons.”

Xu Si patted her chest confidently, then turned back to Li Xu. “Officer Li, if you come to me, rest assured, no deception, truly scientific fortune telling, respecting every belief you hold!”

“I…” Li Xu was dumbfounded. What kind of fortune did he have that cost twenty thousand?

“Of course, I can offer a friendly price,” Xu Si pressed on. “Two thousand!”

“I…” Li Xu hesitated, then picked up his phone to check his remaining change.

Xu Si immediately deployed her silver tongue, persuading him: “Officer Li, this price is because I consider you a friend.”

“Look at Mr. Wei here, sixty thousand for a reading. Look at the Si family, four million. Now look at the price I’m giving you—two thousand, just two thousand!”

“You won’t get ripped off or cheated, and we know each other well. Quality guaranteed, after-sales service guaranteed, genuinely worth the price…”

“Alright, calculate it!”

Before Xu Si could finish, Li Xu bit his lip and looked at the mere eight hundred left in his change: “But I’ll have to wait until payday. I don’t have enough money right now.”

“Huh? How much do you have?” Xu Si looked to Nan Xian for confirmation.

Nan Xian nodded helplessly, “A good officer.”

Li Xu placed his phone on the table in front of Xu Si. “Only eight hundred left!”

“Okay, eight hundred it is.”

“Ah? Aren’t you going to save me some money for a meal?”

“Don’t worry!” Xu Si was confident. “As a friend, I’ll introduce my side business to you later.”

“You have a side business too?” Wei Siyu and Li Xu both looked surprised.

“How could I not know?” Nan Xian looked heartbroken. As the one and only divine sovereign on earth, it was utterly unprofessional not to know about his partner’s side hustle!

Under the gaze of three serious faces, Xu Si’s voice lowered considerably. “Well, this side business can be handed over anytime, and brings in constant income.”

“Hm? Such a big opportunity and our Wei family never heard of it? That’s not right.” Wei Siyu scratched his head and cautiously leaned forward. “Semi-god, show me the way. I can invest!”

“No, no, no, this side business doesn’t require investment,” Xu Si waved her finger dismissively.

This side business was the most profitable and least costly job she had unearthed over two lifetimes. She usually wouldn’t even share it with just anyone.

“What is it then?” Wei Siyu’s eyes gleamed, while Li Xu felt an ominous premonition.

“Hmph!” Xu Si raised her brow, her voice filled with both pride and tenderness. “It’s about constantly discovering environmentally friendly and recyclable materials, facilitating the flow of funds through connections between people and nature, and among people themselves.”

“Ah? The environmental protection industry?” Wei Siyu’s gaze revealed a pure kind of foolishness.

Li Xu was silent for a long moment. “Hmm, how isn’t selling scrap part of the environmental industry?”

“Such a bright kid,” Xu Si admired his grasp of the matter. “Don’t worry, as long as you focus on this side business, you won’t get rich overnight, but at least you won’t have to worry about food or drink. How about that? A decent side hustle, yes?”

Wei Siyu watched as Xu Si mysteriously lit up the bed, then glanced back at Li Xu and decisively pulled out his phone.

“How about I lend you some money? I think it’s better than the semi-god’s side business.”

“Alright, I’m forever grateful!”

Li Xu took out his phone. After the three exchanged contacts and completed the transfer, Xu Si, wary of seeming petty, typed out a message:

“Small business, no refunds!”

“Okay!” Wei Siyu replied.

Xu Si immediately beamed with joy and grabbed Nan Xian’s arm.

“Divine Sovereign, it’s your turn!”

“Ahem~ Little demon, I know you love me, but there are too many people here now. It’s awkward, it’s not good.”

Nan Xian’s face flushed pink as he gazed at how close the two of them were, their skin barely separated by thin clothing. All things considered, had his little demon secretly been longing for skin-to-skin contact with him?

Recalling the little demon’s previous bold remarks about wanting to see his body, Nan Xian bashfully turned his face aside, though his body twisted like a pretzel.

He clung tightly to Xu Si, thinking, ‘Hmph, little demon will stop at nothing to get closer to me!’

Hearing Nan Xian’s words, Xu Si nodded in agreement. Her posture must have looked strange to outsiders.

Just as she was about to let go, Nan Xian casually pulled her back in again.

“Li Xu, a local of City A, comes from a middle-class family, kind-hearted and hardworking.”

Xu Si immediately repeated, forgetting about posture, and so missed the deep blush coloring Nan Xian’s neck.

“Officer Li, local native, comfortable family background, kind soul, hardworking.”

“But as for promotion and raise, it will happen at the end of this month!”

“Really? Promotion and raise by month’s end?” Li Xu seized on the key words, extremely excited.

“Yes, really,” Xu Si replied without hesitation.

Before she could say more, a warm touch suddenly brushed her fingertips, and two crimson patches bloomed instantly across her pale face.

‘Damn it, firm, tight, warm… one, two, three…’

Her throat involuntarily swallowed. Nan Xian’s ears burned as he silently looked up at the ceiling.

‘He won’t admit it. He only offered himself because he sensed danger. No, he didn’t, absolutely not! He just wanted to fulfill the little demon’s wish!’

Seeing Xu Si’s face grow redder by the second, Wei Siyu and Li Xu became concerned.

“Semi-god, Miss Xu, your face is so red. Are you running a fever?”

“Ahem, leaking secrets always comes with punishment, but I’m fine, I can handle it!”

Xu Si argued with a calm face, but her hand traced circles over her abs…

“Hmm~” Nan Xian emitted a muffled groan.

The atmosphere grew stifling. Xu Si slowly pulled the blanket over herself. Seeing that the person was about to rest, Li Xu and Wei Siyu left the ward after a few final reminders.

The temperature in the room kept rising. Nan Xian’s hands burned hot as he shivered, covering the mischievous little hands with his palms, his voice hoarse and unbearable.

“Little demon!”