The conversation gradually shifted from whether he'd gotten more handsome, but the four roommates actually had a pretty good relationship.
This didn't match the typical dynamic of most shared living situations.
After all, most roommates these days might live together for a year without saying more than a few words to each other.
Let alone sitting down for meals together or sharing interesting stories from their lives.
While Li Yan and his three roommates hadn't reached the colorful shared-living level of something like Friends, they got along quite well due to similar ages and compatible personalities.
And precisely because of this, the changes in Li Yan that maybe even he hadn't noticed were picked up by these three roommates first.
While appearance decided many things about a person, mental state was equally crucial.
Words like "radiant" and "energetic" that describe someone's mental condition existed for exactly this situation.
As they say, good fortune lifts the spirit—Li Yan was no exception.
Li Yan wasn't some naive kid who didn't understand life's hardships and difficulties.
He was one of countless ordinary people who'd come from rural Shandong, made his way to Hangzhou for college, work, and saving money.
Exactly because he understood money's importance, understood life's difficulties, knew his family couldn't provide much support—that's why Li Yan felt so satisfied with the system's rewards of ten or twenty thousand.
A bite of steamed bun, a bite of vegetables, plus a sip of ice-cold beer.
His three roommates ate with relish while Li Yan ate with deep satisfaction.
Beyond anticipation for the 40,000 yuan about to hit his account, there was a subtle joy from actively participating in his own life.
Though "actively participating in your own life" sounded awkward, compared to his previous routine of work-sleep-takeout, sleep-drink-scroll TikTok...
This kind of life seemed pretty good too?
"Ahh~ I'm stuffed!"
"Keep it up, let's do this again tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow we'll handle buying groceries, you handle cooking, Li Yan gege~"
"We'll see..."
After everyone's final toast and finishing the last of their beer without drinking more, they started dreaming about having a permanent chef.
Li Yan naturally wouldn't indulge them.
If you described cooking with words and threw in some beautiful phrases, it might seem quite blissful.
But in reality, unless you genuinely enjoyed cooking, it was definitely somewhat troublesome.
Washing and cutting vegetables, smoke and fire—not exactly pleasant.
With the task now complete in his mind and ignoring the bank notification sound from his phone, Li Yan really wasn't that fond of cooking.
As for the future, maybe when he was in the mood he'd mess around in the kitchen and whip up a few dishes.
But once he really had money and leisure time, wouldn't it be better to just pay for good food?
Watching Liang Yuan get roped into washing dishes by the two girls, Li Yan joined Lulu and Zhang Qiqi in lighting up cigarettes with identical postures.
A smoke after dinner beats living forever.
Cigarettes and alcohol were obviously bad, but...
Never mind, there were plenty of excuses he could make. Li Yan couldn't be bothered.
As Lulu and Zhang Qiqi returned to their rooms to get ready, and Liang Yuan finished cleaning the kitchen, everyone began preparing for work.
It was already past five o'clock, getting close to everyone's six o'clock work time.
Li Yan lay somewhat bored on the living room sofa, looking over and over at his current Yuebao balance without any impatience.
Balance: 88,000—quite an auspicious number that made Li Yan feel slightly giddy.
Nothing was more satisfying and joyful than watching your balance grow at a clearly visible rate.
Although he still couldn't afford a car or house, this didn't affect Li Yan's happiness at all!
Scroll TikTok for a bit, then check his balance.
Scroll TikTok some more, browse potential girlfriends, fantasizing about finding a beautiful, talented dancer like these in the future.
Check his balance again.
Scroll more TikTok, checking out the latest BMW M8, Mercedes AMG GT, Porsche Panamera 2024 Executive Extended...
Check his...
"Li Yan, is my hair dryer in your room?"
Lulu's delicate face peeked out from her room, interrupting Li Yan's plan to check his balance again.
Looking at Lulu wrapped in a bath towel with one hand, using a towel to dry her wet hair with the other, Li Yan recalled that during his noon cleaning spree, the hair dryer should be in his wardrobe.
"Think so. Check my wardrobe."
He didn't bother watching Lulu head toward his room and continued his virtual car shopping.
"Holy crap!"
"Li Yan!"
"How'd you make your room so clean!"
Li Yan rolled his eyes at Lulu's head popping back out and waved dismissively, too lazy to deal with her.
Washing, grooming, makeup.
Li Yan watched one guy and two girls sit at a somewhat professional vanity in the living room, each claiming their own space to begin the makeup process.
Of the four-person group, only Li Yan didn't wear makeup.
Yes, as a male model, makeup was naturally part of Liang Yuan's routine.
When the time approached 5:30, Li Yan checked his phone and started rushing Lulu.
"Hurry up, traffic's probably heavy now."
"Ugh! I know! Stop rushing me!"
When Li Yan changed into sneakers, not caring about coordination, and grabbed the car keys from the shoe cabinet by the door, Lulu finally grabbed her bag and jacket in a panic and launched herself at Li Yan's back.
"Wait for me!"
"Let's go."
As the front door closed, Liang Yuan and Zhang Qiqi casually waved while continuing to apply makeup.
Li Yan and Lulu worked at the same company with 6 o'clock start times, so naturally they were in a rush.
Liang Yuan and Zhang Qiqi worked at two other companies with 6:30 start times, so they weren't as pressed.
As Li Yan disgustedly pried off Lulu's chokehold technique and dumped the half-hanging girl from his back, they were already in the elevator heading to the underground garage.
As the Tesla Model 3 pulled out of the garage toward Crown International KTV, Lulu's somewhat tone-deaf singing filled the car.
Oh right, the car naturally wasn't Li Yan's. An ordinary guy like him couldn't afford a Tesla costing nearly 300,000 yuan fully loaded.
The car was naturally Lulu's—well, actually a gift from one of Lulu's sugar daddies.