Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Lin She was hardly the model employee he pretended to be. He was the type who enjoyed doing things in the shadows, sneaking snacks, needing extra sleep when the weather turned cold, and trying to call in sick whenever his workload increased.

His current proactiveness stemmed entirely from a sense of crisis.

Driven by a competitive streak, he simply didn’t want to be outperformed by the other employees.

“If you keep your eyes on me, I’ll be more likely to live up to your expectations.” The corners of Lin She’s black lips curled slightly as he leaned forward in the darkness. “If you catch me doing something wrong, you can punish me. You’re the Shop Manager; you have that right.”

“None of you even earn a salary. I can’t exactly fine you into the negatives,” Gu Huaiwei said, spreading her hands and shrugging.

Her first thought was to dock pay to generate revenue for the shop.

But that wasn’t what Lin She meant.

He was enticing her.

Gu Huaiwei’s mind, however, was filled only with business and performance metrics; she didn’t entertain any ulterior thoughts at all.

“I’m done talking about this. If I’m gone too long, Zhou Chuanning will get suspicious. I’m heading back.” Gu Huaiwei lifted her skirt and returned to the camera’s view.

On the other side.

Ji Xuan felt awkward under the lens. His boss had demanded he perform well to bring some prestige to the company, but he wasn’t exactly a natural actor.

The other Aliens here made him feel out of place.

Those Aliens had respectable jobs, expensive Skin Suits, and that powerful Magnetic Value that could only be sensed between their kind.

In comparison, Ji Xuan had virtually no advantages.

During the initial process of selecting a Heartbeat Partner, no humans had chosen him.

He Jiarui was currently sitting beside him. The venue for their date was an indoor hot spring.

The spring water was extracted and transported from the rare core of a burning planet. The exterior of that planet was entirely covered in flaming fire clouds, while the main body consisted of scalding magma. It was a place where night never fell, swept by perpetual heat storms.

The hot spring water formed in such extreme environments had beautifying properties, capable of making human skin smooth and delicate.

He Jiarui wore a pure white gauze dress, her bare feet soaking in the hot spring water.

Ji Xuan knelt behind her, using a towel to help dry her damp hair.

His movements were careful, as if he were handling the finest silk. He had taken care of her for over a decade and knew exactly how to make her most comfortable.

“Ah Xuan, if only Xiangxiang were as gentle and considerate as you.” In front of Ji Xuan, He Jiarui never had to worry about saying the wrong thing.

Her Keeper would always be indulgent toward her. Even though she hadn’t chosen him, he continued to look after her just as he always had.

“You’re so wonderful; she’ll realize it eventually.”

“You raised me yourself, so of course you think I’m the best.” He Jiarui’s snow-white feet kicked back and forth in the spring water, her eyes reflecting a sense of desolation. “Other Aliens might not feel the same way.”

He Jiarui was only older in years; she had entered adulthood, but internally, she was still an insecure child. She thought what she wanted was Magnetic Value, but in reality, she also craved companionship and attention. She did things she thought were clever, yet yearned for a little bit of love.

The human heart always wants to have its cake and eat it too-it is a mass of contradictions.

She had erected what she thought was a hardened shell, never expecting it to crumble from within.

Ji Xuan’s hand paused as he dried her hair. “If you find it too hard, you can come back.”

As an Alien, Ji Xuan couldn’t understand this human mindset. He hoped for He Jiarui to change her mind, but He Jiarui would never choose to turn back.

To He Jiarui, Ji Xuan’s love was merely a damp, cold coat. She simply couldn’t live a life without sufficient Magnetic Value.
Things were far less warm and fuzzy on Chen Liuxiang and Lu Beijiu’s side.

Under the camera’s gaze, they finished their buffet and headed to the hot springs, maintaining a noticeable distance with very little interaction.

Per the production team’s instructions, Lu Beijiu reached the designated hot spring location and found an empty spot to sit alone, sipping red wine.

“The ex you just let off the leash is flirting with another Alien. Aren’t you going to do something about it?” Lu Beijiu’s remark immediately exposed the relationship between Chen Liuxiang and He Jiarui, sending the bullet chat into a frenzy.

[What’s the situation? They just broke their contract and now they’re on the same variety show? Intense.]

[No wonder the way He Jiarui looks at Chen Liuxiang is so charged. Turns out she can’t forget her old flame.]

[Keeper versus the Ex-who will He Jiarui choose in the end?]

“You’re asking what you already know. You know exactly what I care about,” Chen Liuxiang replied coldly. She watched He Jiarui, who had pointedly leaned into Ji Xuan’s arms the moment she arrived, yet her heart remained completely untroubled.

Chen Liuxiang never rejected humans who were willing to throw themselves at her. Keeping those humans in her manor served as proof that she was still a normal, human-loving Alien.

All Chen Liuxiang could provide was Magnetic Value. As for anything else, she couldn’t give it, nor did she want to.

Because of the cameras and the live stream, there were some things Chen Liuxiang couldn’t say directly.

The human she truly cared about had died long ago. Lu Beijiu, with his face that was seventy percent similar to that person, carried all of her hope. It was for this very reason that she had committed the absurd act of betraying her own race.

“Give me what I want, and I’ll give you what you want.” Lu Beijiu swirled the goblet in his hand.

His deep eyes watched the crimson wine ripple. He took a shallow sip, then held the glass out to Chen Liuxiang, asking, “Want a taste?”

To an Alien, fine wine tasted no different from water. Aside from Nutrient Solution, any human food was like chewing wax to them.

“I can’t taste anything,” Chen Liuxiang said, brushing the glass away with her hand.

“Then let me feed you.” Lu Beijiu glanced sideways at the camera before taking a mouthful of red wine. He tilted Chen Liuxiang’s chin up, pried open her teeth with his tongue, and passed the wine into her mouth.

He had just contributed the first kissing scene of the show.

Gu Huaiwei wasn’t on-site, otherwise, she would have definitely praised Lu Beijiu for being such a team player.

The live stream’s popularity surged.

Chen Liuxiang didn’t need to breathe. She swallowed the wine expressionlessly and touched her lips. The limbs beneath her Skin Suit throbbed momentarily before quickly settling down.

“Don’t try to bewitch me.”

Lu Beijiu licked the residual wine from his lower lip. “You’ve already fallen, and you’re wide awake.”

He Jiarui had intended to make Chen Liuxiang jealous, but seeing this scene, her nails dug deep into her palms. Unwilling to back down, she slid into the hot spring pool and pulled Ji Xuan down with her, embracing him in the water.

Whatever other humans could do, she could do too.

They could all just keep being stubborn with each other.

After the day’s filming ended, Gu Huaiwei reviewed the footage.

When she saw the hot spring splashing and the red wine kiss, she immediately clipped those two segments, added some tacky background music, and uploaded them to a short-video platform.

The current live stream viewership was at fifty thousand, halfway to the goal of one hundred thousand.

The next day, as Gu Huaiwei held the newly revised press release from Lin She, pondering how to further boost the guests’ popularity, something unexpected happened.

He Jiarui had vanished.

Right in the middle of filming, a person had gone missing.