Chapter 61 Part 1

The air carried a slight awkwardness.

Bo Ting hadn’t expected such a massive misunderstanding.

In his carelessness, he’d cranked the hot air too high and ended up… roasting the driver’s seat.

Cough. No wonder Master Li had bolted straight for the convenience store—it wasn’t low blood sugar, but dehydration from the heat.

Bo Ting’s heart stuttered. He silently withdrew the heat, pretending as if nothing had happened.

“Master, maybe the engine’s acting up,” he said.

“Wait and see?”

Master Li was a bit skeptical.

But with the seat too scorched to sit on, he had no choice but to grab his repair tools and inspect it himself.

After checking everything, he found absolutely no issues with the bus.

Master Li suspiciously touched the seat again, only to discover… it wasn’t hot anymore.

What the hell was going on?

Master Li was utterly baffled.

How could it be flipping between hot and cold like this?

After the earlier questioning, Bo Ting didn’t dare mess with the AC anymore.

He obediently shut down the panel and sat there innocently, like a shark with a clear conscience.

Master Li glanced strangely at the two in the back seat, hesitated as if wanting to say something, but ultimately stayed silent. With a weary expression, he buckled his seatbelt and continued driving.

Bo Ting: …

That had been close.

He’d nearly been suspected, but luckily, his quick thinking had shifted the blame.

But… damn it.

His image in front of Mr. Xu was completely ruined!

Xu Qinglai was seeing this side of Bo Ting for the first time and hadn’t expected the guy to lie.

And so straight-faced too—he’d even fooled the driver. For a moment, Xu Qinglai didn’t know what to say.

Bo Ting’s scalp tingled with embarrassment. Forcing down his discomfort, he turned his head.

“Sorry about that, Mr. Xu.”

“I didn’t control the heat properly just now.”

“It’s fine.”

Of course Xu Qinglai wouldn’t blame him. He even naturally helped cover for him.

But Bo Ting was truly mortified, curling his toes in shame. He felt like he wouldn’t want to go out for days after getting home.

Argh.

Mr. Xu wasn’t showing anything now, but Bo Ting didn’t dare imagine what he was thinking.

Patting the shark head, Bo Ting numbly stared at the scenery outside, his earlier excitement completely gone.

After a long while, the bus finally finished its route and returned to the original intersection.

Spotting the familiar neighborhood name, Bo Ting’s eyes lit up. He immediately stood.

“Mr. Xu, we’re almost at our neighborhood.”

“I’ll head back first.”

“Let’s hang out again next time.”

Noticing Bo Ting’s embarrassment, a hint of amusement flickered in Xu Qinglai’s eyes. He nodded slightly.

“Mm.”

“See you next time.”

As the words fell, the bus pulled up to the stop.

Bo Ting vanished like a nimble rabbit.

Xu Qinglai had only been mildly amused at first, but seeing Bo Ting dart away like a rabbit, he couldn’t help chuckling again.

This guy… seemed even cuter in real life than in chats.

Though calling a eerie entity “cute” felt absurd, Xu Qinglai inexplicably felt that way.

He only relaxed his gaze once Bo Ting’s figure disappeared from view.

…

Fleeing back from the bus, Bo Ting didn’t leave his home for a full three days.

Whenever he closed his eyes, his mind replayed the bus driver’s indignant questioning and Mr. Xu’s tactful hints. Even the thought of going outside gave him a trauma.

How could using AC turn this embarrassing?

Damn it!

Bo Ting closed his eyes and flopped back onto the sofa with a thud.

Doudou and Tang Yuan, who had been playing on the balcony, jumped at the noise from the living room and poked their heads out.

Seeing their owner headbutting the cushions, they quickly lost interest and withdrew.

Bo Ting continued reflecting.

This was bad. The resilient, optimistic, sunny AC image he’d painstakingly built in front of Mr. Xu had thoroughly collapsed.

Would Mr. Xu think he was crazy?

Hugging a pillow, Bo Ting pondered left and right, deeming the issue gravely serious. Even the dramatic TV plot in front of him couldn’t hold his attention.

At the Yuyu Milk Tea Shop by the west gate of Taiping Luxury Garden:

“What’s going on? It’s weird—Taiping Luxury Garden’s resident hasn’t gone out for three days.”

“And hasn’t come to buy milk tea?”

“That’s unusual.”

Meng Xiaokun of the Fourth Ability User Squad was puzzled.

After reviewing Taiping Luxury Garden’s purchase records, the Resurgence Management Office had discovered this guy loved buying milk tea.

He didn’t know if it was actually drunk, but he ordered a cup almost every day.

Yet this time, so many days had passed… why hadn’t he come out to buy any?

The shop was right at the entrance—barely two steps away. It shouldn’t be that troublesome, right?

A teammate in the back kitchen hesitated uncertainly. “Did I make it too bad last time?”

“So he doesn’t want to order anymore?”

That wouldn’t do. They’d opened this milk tea shop specifically to make contact with Taiping Luxury Garden.

And Yan Qian had even spotted what seemed like Taiping Luxury Garden’s real name and personality last time—how could they give up halfway?

Meng Xiaokun racked his brains: if the taste wasn’t enough, they’d compensate with price.

Logging into his phone, he gritted his teeth and posted some ultra-value coupons on the delivery app, his expression pained.

Two cups for 0.1 yuan.

Who could resist snatching that up?

The moment the coupons went live, the shop’s views surged. But city residents saw it was in the suburbs and quickly gave up.

Meng Xiaokun didn’t mind—he had his target customer. Once prepared, he looked solemnly at Yan Qian.

“You can call them now.”

Yan Qian nodded, gripped her phone, and mustered her courage.

A few minutes later, Bo Ting was still staring blankly into space when a phone ring jolted him awake.

At first, hearing the sound, he thought it was that damn hacker demanding debt again. Listening to the vibration nearby, he had zero intention of picking up.

A minute later, the ringing paused briefly—then started again.

Bo Ting: …

So annoying.

Did he have to answer now?

Taking a deep breath, Bo Ting expressionlessly tapped accept. He wanted to hear what nonsense they’d spout this time.

Ha.

Making a fool of himself in front of Mr. Xu was way worse than nothing.

He wouldn’t pay up anyway.

As Bo Ting thought this resolutely, the other side paused for a long time before speaking. “Hello, is this… Mr. Bo Ting?”

Hm?

Not the hacker?

Bo Ting snapped to attention. That hacker didn’t have this voice.

The woman’s voice on the other end sounded familiar. As he hesitated, she continued, “I’m a staff member from the Yuyu Milk Tea Shop outside our neighborhood.”

“Today, we’re having a three-day store anniversary event. You can grab super discounted coupons on the delivery app for pickup.”

“Has Mr. Bo followed our shop’s notifications?”

“If not, you can follow and pick up.”

Oh, the milk tea shop.

Bo Ting suddenly understood. Before transmigrating, he’d often gotten promo calls from milk tea places.

So he had no doubts about the staff girl’s call.

“Thanks, I’ll check it out.”

Yan Qian: Uh.

“Great, I won’t disturb you then.”

After hanging up, Bo Ting figured he had nothing better to do and opened the delivery app.

The next second, he slowly sat up straight.

Two cups… for 0.1 yuan?

Was this price for real?

No wonder they called—even a second’s delay and it’d be gone!

Watching the page views climb, Bo Ting decisively clicked purchase.

He then convinced himself.

Mm.

Though he wasn’t in the mood, …should he go out for a milk tea?

He’d already bought it—such a waste not to pick it up.

After a one-second internal battle, Bo Ting rubbed his face, dashed into the bathroom for a quick shower, changed clothes, and grabbed Doudou from the balcony.

“Alright, we’ll take you for a walk on the way out.”

Doudou let out a woof, resignedly sticking its head through the leash without complaint.

Man and dog finally headed out.

In the milk tea shop, Yan Qian quietly flashed a thumbs-up and set down her phone.

“Success.”

“Good.”

The Fourth Ability User Squad members collectively sighed in relief.

“Ahem, alright, back to work. Don’t give ourselves away.”

Captain Meng Xiaokun snapped back, quickly donning a mask and returning to the kitchen.

He’d barely gone when Bo Ting arrived.

After knocking on the glass door from outside, he shyly entered.

“You guys just called about the coupons, right?”

“I snagged two cups.”

“Could you make them, please?”

Bo Ting nodded politely and stood aside with the dog.

“Sure, one moment please.”

As she verified the coupon, Yan Qian glanced over and was surprised to find… this eerie seemed to have some serious matter on its mind today?

Its gaze fixed intently in one spot.

The thought sent a shiver through her. Following the shark head’s direction, she stared for ages but saw nothing.

Finally unable to hold back, she asked, “Mr. Bo, you haven’t been out lately.”

“We’ve got tons of opening promos—best time to buy.”

Snapping out of his daze and realizing the staff girl was talking to him, Bo Ting: …