The Midnight Heist and the Accidental Thief

The human and the system stared at each other in silence for several seconds. Chu Ci felt a cold sweat prickle his skin.

“What did you say?”

He couldn’t believe his ears. He forced a stiff twitch of his lips and repeated the question: “…What is the next mission?”

Xiaoba floated back and forth in front of him, its pitch-black body almost blending into the darkness of the room. “The next mission is: Kiss the protagonist for half a min—”

“I refuse.”

Chu Ci cut the system off without a moment’s hesitation. He even took two steps back, eyes wide with pure resistance. “This mission is crossing the line. I will absolutely not sell out my body like this!”

Xiaoba blinked its two white, circular eyes innocently. “But if you don’t complete the mission, Host won’t be able to return to the real world.”

“If you don’t return, you’ll walk straight into the original character’s ending.”

“You’ll die, you know.”

“And it’ll be a very miserable death!”

Chu Ci went silent.

What a vicious threat.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly fighting a mental war for a long time. Finally, he opened his eyes for one last struggle: “Didn’t you say before that I could skip missions? I’m applying to skip this one.”

Xiaoba’s eyes curved into crescents, and it continued in its chirpy mechanical voice: “You can skip it, but the difficulty of the next mission will be significantly higher than this one. Are you sure, Host?”

Chu Ci frowned. Having been tricked by this “dog system” so many times, he didn’t dare jump to conclusions.

He thought for a moment. “Tell me what the skipped mission would be first.”

Xiaoba agreed readily. It flew to Chu Ci’s ear and whispered a single sentence in a low voice.

The moment the words landed, Chu Ci’s expression turned hideous. His pale face darkened visibly. He covered his ears and scrambled back several steps as if he’d heard something filthy, staring at the hovering Xiaoba in horror.

The “skipped” mission was for him and Ji Yanli to share a bed and snuggle for an entire night.

The nude kind of snuggle.

Hiss—

Pervert!!

This system is a total pervert!!!

That was way too disgusting…!!

Chu Ci couldn’t accept it. Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle. He swallowed hard.

“Is Host sure about skipping the current mission?” Xiaoba asked again, its voice like a demon’s whisper.

Chu Ci felt a lump of frustration stuck in his throat, making his whole body uncomfortable. He shook his head violently, his face a mask of grievance. “No need. Forget I said anything.”

Then, he quickly spotted a potential loophole.

“But the mission didn’t specify it had to be the lips, right?”

Xiaoba’s fluffy body did a little spin. “Of course! Since it’s a low-difficulty mission, the scope is broad. Any body part of the protagonist will do!”

Chu Ci let out an inexplicable sigh of relief.

“Fine.”

His voice was heavy with compromise. Once Xiaoba finished the briefing and vanished, Chu Ci slumped back onto the sofa. He covered his cheeks with both hands, the “tick-tock” of the clock echoing in his ears.

Kiss Ji Yanli…

Kiss Ji Yanli…

If he just walked up and kissed him out of the blue, Ji Yanli would definitely be suspicious.

An image of Ji Yanli’s face flashed in his mind—full of disgust and annoyance. After all, Ji Yanli liked Song Qichen. If Chu Ci did this, the other would likely be so repulsed he’d never let him get close again. And if he couldn’t get close, the mission would fail entirely.

Having realized the worst-case scenario, Chu Ci decided the mission had to happen at night.

And it had to be after Ji Yanli was fast asleep.

Chu Ci fell back onto the cushions, staring at the dark ceiling. He started plotting. First, Ji Yanli usually locked his bedroom door. He had to find a way to stop that.

As time passed, even with his mind in a jumble, a wave of sleepiness surged. Chu Ci’s eyelids grew heavy, and he successfully drifted off into dreamland.

The next morning, Chu Ci intentionally dawdled, waiting for Ji Yanli to leave first. Once Ji Yanli was gone, Chu Ci—who had been hiding in the bathroom—rushed out and into the main room.

He held a hammer he’d scavenged from somewhere. He fiddled with the lock on the door for a moment, then raised the hammer high. Bang! A loud thud echoed as he slammed it into the door handle.

He used all his strength. His palm throbbed with the vibration. He hissed in pain, then looked at the now dented and broken handle with a satisfied smile.

It couldn’t be locked now.

What a genius.

Chu Ci hid the “murder weapon,” cleaned up the wood splinters, and left the dorm.

For the rest of the day, he avoided Ji Yanli. The guy was too smart; Chu Ci was afraid that if they locked eyes for too long, Ji Yanli would see right through him. He felt like he was being watched constantly, which was nerve-wracking.

Finally, night fell. Chu Ci gave Ji Yanli a quick, blunt “goodnight.” The youth paused, his lips parting as if to say something, but he ultimately remained silent.

Before entering his room, Ji Yanli looked at Chu Ci twice, asking hesitantly, “Do you… have something you want to tell me today?”

Chu Ci looked up, sitting innocently on the single sofa with a thin blanket over his legs. The light from the floor lamp made him look exceptionally submissive.

“No.” He blinked. Then, under Ji Yanli’s gaze, he lay down and pulled the blanket over his head, muttering, “Goodnight, Ji Yanli. See you tomorrow.”

Ji Yanli pursed his lips and gave a simple “goodnight.” He felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint it. After standing there for a moment, he turned to enter his room.

Just as he was about to close the door, Chu Ci suddenly threw off the blanket and sat up. “Wait, Ji Yanli…!”

Thud!!

The door Ji Yanli tried to close bounced back open a second after hitting the frame. His hand stayed frozen in mid-air. His eyes fixed on the massive dent in the door handle. Seeing the obvious signs of tampering, a flash of disbelief crossed his eyes.

The room went deathly quiet. Chu Ci blinked rapidly, trying to break the awkward silence.

“I just wanted to tell you… I accidentally broke the lock while moving stuff this morning.” He lowered his head and spun a clumsy lie. “I’ll definitely find someone to fix it! Don’t bother yourself with it!”

Ji Yanli didn’t answer immediately. He looked at the handle, then at Chu Ci on the sofa.

“I see.”

He didn’t say more. He turned and tried to close the door again, this time more gently. As the door reached the frame, he caught a stray thought:

‘Ji Yanli should believe that, right?’

Chu Ci watched Ji Yanli disappear. Hearing no more movement, he breathed a sigh of relief. His heart was pounding so hard he feared if Ji Yanli looked at him for one more second, he’d spill the whole plan.

After all, his original character instincts were protesting. Lying to Ji Yanli was a violation of the original “Chu Ci” persona. But once you start lying, it’s hard to stop. As long as he wasn’t punished by the system, he was fearless.

He waited on the sofa for the right moment. He knew Ji Yanli fell asleep quickly, so he wasn’t worried about staying up until midnight.

When the clock hit 11:30 PM, Chu Ci was certain Ji Yanli was deep in sleep. He rolled off the bed. To remain silent, he didn’t even put on shoes. He tiptoed toward the bedroom door like a thieving cat.

The cold floor turned his toes red, but he didn’t notice. He pressed his body against the door and slowly, carefully pushed it open.

The window wasn’t fully closed. A night breeze drifted in, ruffling his hair. Pale moonlight spilled onto the floor, casting a hazy glow over the youth sleeping on his side.

Chu Ci slipped inside and crept toward the bed. He watched the silhouette of the body under the covers. As he got closer, he saw Ji Yanli’s handsome profile.

The boy was curled up comfortably, his lower face tucked into the duvet. His breathing was steady, and his thick lashes cast beautiful shadows on his cheeks. His brow was slightly furrowed as if in a troubled dream.

One look and Chu Ci’s heart rate skyrocketed. It felt like he’d been hit by something; a sudden heat flushed through him, chasing away the chill of the room.

Chu Ci stopped by the bed and slowly knelt. He had his back to the moonlight, his shadow masking Ji Yanli’s face. He stared at him for a long time, then, as if finally making up his mind, he gripped the edge of the bed and leaned forward.

His lashes trembled, and his breathing turned shallow and quick. The sound of his heart was deafening. Fearing the noise would wake Ji Yanli, he squeezed his eyes shut. As he felt Ji Yanli’s breath on his nose and his lips were about to touch skin—

“Go for it, Host! Xiaoba supports you!”

The sudden mechanical voice exploded in his ear. Chu Ci’s eyes snapped open, and a scream almost escaped his mouth. He clamped his hand over his lips just in time to stifle it. He scrambled up, seeing Xiaoba hovering above him, and nearly had a heart attack.

‘Are you insane!!’ Chu Ci glared at the system, cursing it in his head.

Xiaoba blinked innocently. “Why is Host so mean? Xiaoba is cheering for you. Host is a big meanie who treats kindness like dirt!!”

The system was stubborn. Chu Ci rolled his eyes, unwilling to argue. He turned his gaze back to Ji Yanli. The noise had been loud; he was terrified the other was awake.

Luckily, Ji Yanli didn’t move. He had been busy with student council work and was likely exhausted enough to sleep through a minor disturbance.

…Probably?

The thought made Chu Ci lose his confidence. He hesitated, looking at the door. After thirty seconds of agonizing, he knelt back down.

Whatever. He was already here.

He adjusted his position, controlled his breathing, and—at the same slow pace—pursed his lips and leaned toward Ji Yanli.

Chu Ci had originally intended to just kiss Ji Yanli’s eyelid.

…That was the plan.

But who could have known that at that exact moment, the side-sleeping Ji Yanli would suddenly roll over? The duvet covering his lower face was pulled down, exposing his full lips. In the moment he turned, Chu Ci’s head was already descending.

His lips met a warm, soft surface.

Chu Ci had his eyes closed and didn’t immediately realize something was wrong. He even shifted his lips slightly to feel the texture.

…What is this? Let me check again.

Soft and warm. Definitely not an eyelid.

A second later, Chu Ci’s brain exploded.

He snapped his eyes open. Seeing his lips pressed against Ji Yanli’s, he lost his mind. Their hot breaths mingled. Like he’d been electrocuted, Chu Ci recoiled instantly.

He covered his mouth with one hand, eyes wide with horror. A cold shiver ran down his spine. He couldn’t control his ragged breathing, and his body began to tremble. His face and ears burned hot enough to melt.

He…

He kissed Ji Yanli on the mouth.

Fck fck f*ck!!!

He kissed Ji Yanli!!!!

His brain kept replaying the sensation. Chu Ci wanted to slap himself into oblivion. He ruffled his hair into a mess and glanced at the bed. Seeing that Ji Yanli hadn’t woken up, he let out a shaky breath.

Then he turned and bolted from the room like a gust of wind.

In the living room, a few soft thuds followed as he bumped into things, but silence soon returned. The dark clouds covered the moon, and the leaves rustled in the wind as if nothing had happened. Moonlight returned to the sleeping youth.

And then.

Ji Yanli quietly opened his eyes.