When I went home for Chinese New Year, I spent a million times more money on my foreign wife.

The Siberian winds have a whistling quality.

It was like a rusty saw, relentlessly sawing through the gaps in the windows of the K19 international train.

The heating in the hard-seat carriages was insufficient.

The air was thick and sticky, like expired paste, mixed with the smell of instant noodles and the fermenting foot odor of the past few days.

And then there's the pungent smell of the cheap cigarettes from the uncle sitting next to me.

Chen Yang shrank his head further into the collar of his windbreaker.

This Arc'teryx coat is a high-quality fake; it's not even as warm as the second-hand cotton-padded coat he bought at the Moscow Grand Market.

He took out his Huawei phone, whose screen was cracked in one corner, and opened the bank's app.

Fingerprint unlock, the interface spins.

Balance displayed: 350.50 yuan.

Chen Yang stared at that number for a full ten seconds.

"Hold."

He cursed under his breath and exited the software.

Three years ago, he took the 100,000 yuan that his family had scraped together and went to Moscow with someone to trade leather goods. He confidently boasted to his father that he would not return home until he made a million yuan.

it's good now.

He didn't make any money; his partner from his hometown absconded with the funds, leaving him with a mountain of debt and a hard-seat train ticket back to China.

Six days and six nights.

From Mocheng to Bingcheng, then transfer to another bus back to Chenjia Village, Kaoshantun.

This isn't going home for the New Year; it's like sending someone to their death a thousand miles away, making a fool of themselves in front of the old women in the village.

"Gurgle—"

A muffled thunderclap interrupted Chen Yang's worries.

It's not his stomach.

The sound came from the side of the corridor.

Chen Yang turned his head to the side.

On the seat across the aisle, there was a huge "zongzi" (rice dumpling).

The man was wearing an indistinguishable military overcoat with the collar turned up high, a heavy dog-skin hat on his head, and a dirty wool scarf around his face.

He curled up into a ball.

The only thing visible was a pair of eyes.

Chen Yang was stunned for a moment.

Those eyes are so bright.

Like the deepest blue of Lake Baikal, clear and profound, yet with a hint of ravenous green.

At this moment, those beautiful blue eyes were fixed on the half-peeled Harbin red sausage in Chen Yang's hand.

That was Chen Yang's last ration of food.

"Gurgle—"

The "zongzi's" stomach protested again, and the noise even startled the old man who was picking his toes, who turned around to take a look.

Chen Yang looked at the red sausage in his hand, then at those eyes.

That look was so direct.

There was no humble begging, only pure, primal desire.

Like a cat that has gotten lost in the snow.

"Want some?" Chen Yang asked in broken Russian as if possessed.

The other person didn't speak.

The head was bobbing up and down frantically, so fast that it made one worry the cervical spine would break.

Chen Yang's heart softened.

With the world people.

Judging from his figure, he's probably a hapless guy who couldn't make it in Mo City, maybe even worse off than me, having to beg for money to buy a hard-seat ticket.

"Here you go."

Chen Yang sighed and handed over the sausage. "I only have this one left. Let's split it in half... Never mind, you can have it all."

He hadn't had time to pull his hand back.

A hand wearing a fingerless glove suddenly reached out.

Her fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles. Although they were red from the cold, her nails were neatly trimmed.

With a "whoosh".

The red sausage is gone.

The "zongzi" lifted a corner of its scarf, not minding that Chen Yang had just taken a bite, and stuffed it directly into its mouth.

There is no chewing process.

Chen Yang even suspected that she might have swallowed it whole.

"Slow down, no one's going to take it from you..." Chen Yang said with a wry smile.

He's just bored, his pockets are emptier than his face, yet he's trying to do charity.

He closed his eyes, preparing to sleep.

He realized that he wouldn't be hungry once he fell asleep, a truth he had come to understand while hiding from debt collectors in Mo City.

Just then.

A mechanical voice devoid of emotion exploded in his mind without warning.

[Ding! Detected that the host is in extreme distress, yet still extending goodwill towards the target.]

[Core conditions met!]

[The "Spoiling Your Wife with Ten Thousand Times the Reward System" is being activated... Activation successful!]

Chen Yang suddenly opened his eyes.

What is that?

Am I hallucinating? Or is it because I'm starving?

The voice in my mind continued, as clear as a drumbeat on my eardrums.

[Bound to a single female: Target (No name yet, characteristics: blond, blue-eyed, ravenous).]

[Bound to a single host: Chen Yang.]

[Initial feeding successful! Item: Half a Harbin red sausage. Average market price: 15 RMB.]

[Triggering a massive new player bonus!]

Critical Hit Multiplier: 1000x!

[Rebate amount: 15000.00 yuan has been transferred to the host's bank card account. Source of funds: Overseas venture capital fund, legal and compliant, verifiable at will.]

"Buzz—"

The knock-off phone in my hand, with its shattered screen, jolted.

A short message pop-up appears.

Chen Yang swiped the screen with trembling hands.

「【XX银行】您尾号8848的帐户于1月20日14:32分入帐人民币15,000.00元，当前余额15,015.00元。」

Chen Yang suddenly pinched his thigh.

It hurts, it really does.

Not a dream!

He gave this "zongzi" half a sausage and made 15,000 yuan in return?

This isn't a homeless person! This is clearly a living god of wealth, a walking money-printing machine!

Chen Yang stiffly turned his neck and stared intently at the "zongzi" next to him, which was still licking its fingers with lingering satisfaction.

To earn that much money in Mo City by dealing in furs, how many people would you have to be subservient to, and how many times would you have to drink fake alcohol?

Now, you've traded half a sausage for this?

Seemingly sensing Chen Yang's two tangible, scorching gazes, the "zongzi" stopped moving.

She shrank back warily, covering her empty belly with both hands, and blinked her bright blue eyes.

Then, she opened her mouth and, in extremely stiff Chinese, as if her tongue were tied in knots, uttered a single word:

"Hungry."

The voice was clear, soft, and had a lazy quality, as if it hadn't yet changed.

Is it a woman?

He doesn't sound very old.

Chen Yang swallowed hard, forcibly suppressing his wildly beating heart.

The system says this is the "only female target".

In other words, as long as you spend money on her, you'll get a rebate?

What are we waiting for!

Chen Yang took a deep breath and suddenly stood up.

Because I stood up too suddenly, my head hit the luggage rack with a dull thud.

But he couldn't feel any pain.

He felt all the blood rushing to his head.

"Are you hungry?"

Chen Yang looked into those blue eyes and gave what he thought was the most kind and gentle smile, but to others it looked exactly like a human trafficker's smile.

He patted his pocket, his confidence soaring:

"Come on! I'll take you to the dining car! Order whatever you want, all you can eat!"

The "zongzi" paused for a moment.

Immediately, a light even more dazzling than before burst forth from those blue eyes.

That is the purest faith in food.

She nodded vigorously: "Let's go! Let's eat!"