The dating reality show host just wanted to give up, but the rich girl fell for him.

The atmosphere in the living room of the Heartbeat House was as cold as an icebox.

The clock on the wall pointed to 10 p.m.

Zhao Kuo slumped on the sofa, his designer bespoke suit wrinkled like dried pickled vegetables, his tie hanging crookedly around his neck.

On the coffee table in front of him was a half-empty bottle of mineral water.

Even this bottle of water was something he had shamelessly begged from the production team.

Across from him, Lin Chacha was touching up her makeup in front of the mirror, muttering complaints:

"I told you a long time ago not to sell glow sticks outside bars. Those places have their own atmosphere, who's going to buy your crappy plastic tubes?"

"Now look what happened, I even had to borrow the fifty yuan from the production team to take a taxi back. I've lost face beyond belief."

Zhao Kuo's face was ashen, and he gripped the empty Evian water bottle tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

"Shut up!"

He gritted his teeth and growled, "If it weren't for that urban management officer meddling and insisting on checking my stall permit, would I be unable to sell a single item?"

"Besides, Lin Mo is definitely in a worse situation than me!"

Zhao Kuo sneered, trying to regain some composure. "In a place like a night market, besides selling kebabs to earn a meager living, who would buy his filthy sugar paintings?"

"They might be chasing the city management officers all over the streets right now."

The voice just fell.

Suddenly, a series of cheerful footsteps came from the entrance hall.

"Click".

The door opened.

Before you see him, you hear his voice.

"Lin Mo, Lin Mo! Hurry, hurry! My bag is about to burst!"

Jiang Ruoyun's voice was filled with an unprecedented excitement, a joy she had never felt even when signing multi-billion dollar contracts at the board meeting.

Then, the two people walked in.

Lin Mo remained as listless and half-dead as ever, carrying his signature large tea mug in one hand and supporting Jiang Ruoyun with the other.

The young lady was walking too fast and almost tripped over the threshold.

"Slower."

Lin Mo sighed. "The money's not going anywhere, why are you in such a hurry?"

"My arms are sore!"

Jiang Ruoyun rushed to the coffee table, ignoring Zhao Kuo who was right across from her, and dumped the bulging Chanel limited edition bag onto the table.

Splash!

A series of extremely pleasant and extremely shocking crisp sounds.

It was as if a rain of banknotes had fallen.

Countless crumpled five-yuan, ten-yuan, and twenty-yuan bills, mixed with a few conspicuous red hundred-yuan bills, instantly filled half of the coffee table.

A few coins even rolled mischievously to Zhao Kuo's feet, making a crisp, mocking sound.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Zhao Kuo stared at the small "money mountain" until his eyes almost popped out.

He subconsciously glanced at the half-finished bottle of mineral water in front of him, then at the pile of money.

A feeling called "doubting life" instantly overwhelmed his rationality.

The chat in the live stream reached its peak at this moment.

[Holy crap, hahaha! This comparison is just too stark!]

[Zhao Kuo: I'm starving while you're counting money at home?]

Is this the inequality of the world? One is a down-on-his-luck rich kid burdened with debt, the other is a craftsman making a fortune despite his lack of skills.

[Here's a joke: Zhao Kuo said Lin Mo was being chased by the city management officers.]

[Lin Mo: City management officers? Oh, they did come just now, and they even bought two of my sugar paintings.]

At that moment, the production team's voices came over the loudspeaker, trembling with a hint of schadenfreude:

"Ahem, now we'll announce the results of today's survival challenge."

"Zhao Kuo's group: Cost of goods purchased: 200 yuan; Revenue: 0 yuan; Taxi fare borrowed: 50 yuan. Current balance: Negative 250 yuan."

puff--

Someone couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Even Lin Chacha couldn't help but roll her eyes and move to the side, as if Zhao Kuo had a poverty virus.

"Two hundred and fifty...that's an auspicious number, Young Master Zhao."

Lin Mo lazily added insult to injury, casually picking up the thermos on the table and taking a sip, "Quite fitting for your temperament."

Zhao Kuo's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, and he abruptly stood up:

"Impossible! How could you possibly earn so much?!"

He pointed at the pile of money on the table, his eyes red like a rabbit's. "Did you cheat? Did you get the show to inflate the numbers? Those cheap sugar paintings cost five yuan each, how could you sell them for over two thousand? You couldn't finish them even if your hands broke!"

"This is called speculation and profiteering! I'm going to report it!"

Looking at the furious Zhao Kuo, Lin Mo didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.

He strolled leisurely to the sofa, plopped down, and sank into the soft cushions with a comfortable sigh.

"Young Master Zhao, you can learn to be cultured, but don't misuse idioms."

Lin Mo glanced at him, her tone as calm as if she were discussing the weather, "That's called a craftsman, earning a living through their skills."

"As for whether it can be finished..."

Lin Mo stretched out his long, handsome right hand and made two grasping motions in the air. "You wouldn't understand the hand speed of someone who's been single for over twenty years."

The comments section instantly understood, and a sea of ​​yellow appeared.

[Ahem! Is this even allowed to be broadcast?]

The car wheel ran right over my face!

Lin Mo's words are truly venomous; they kill without drawing blood.

Zhao Kuo was speechless, his chest heaving violently.

He gritted his teeth, staring intently at the pile of money, and said sourly, "Hmph, he was just lucky not to run into any inspectors. Operating without a license like this is just making quick money, what's so great about it? It's so low."

"certificate?"

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.

He turned his head and looked at Jiang Ruoyun, who was excitedly sorting money by denomination.

"Boss lady, what did that market manager say again?"

Jiang Ruoyun didn't even look up, smoothing out a stack of ten-yuan bills in her hand, and casually said:

"Oh, that uncle who manages the booth said that Lin Mo is an 'Ambassador for the Promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage,' so he not only waived the booth fee but also gave him a case of bottled water, saying that he was worried the master might get thirsty."

As she spoke, Jiang Ruoyun pointed to the entrance hall, "The water was too heavy, so Lin Mo was too lazy to carry it and brought a bottle back instead."

Click.

It sounded as if I heard something shatter.

That was Zhao Kuo's fragile pride.

He was chased away like a dog because he didn't have a stall permit, while Lin Mo not only got a free meal but was also treated like a master.

At that moment, Zhao Kuo felt like a complete clown.

"Alright, stop counting."

Looking at Jiang Ruoyun's greedy expression, Lin Mo chuckled and tapped the table. "It's not like you've never seen money before, is it really that big of a deal?"

Jiang Ruoyun finally finished counting.

She looked up, and her usually aloof and proud face was now flushed with excitement. A few strands of hair on her forehead were damp with sweat, making her look exceptionally lively and adorable.

"That's two thousand three hundred and fifty yuan in total!"

Jiang Ruoyun held the pile of money as if it were the whole world, "Lin Mo, this is what we earned!"

"Yes, you earned it."

Lin Mo yawned and casually pushed the pile of money into Jiang Ruoyun's arms.

The movements were so casual, it was as if he were just tossing a pile of waste paper.

"I've given it all to you."

Jiang Ruoyun was stunned, almost dropping the money in her hand: "Huh? For me?"

"Um."

Lin Mo shifted into a more comfortable position, lounging around with his eyes half-closed. "Take this and buy some snacks, or maybe some milk tea. Didn't you stare at those takoyaki for ages at the night market but couldn't bring yourself to buy them?"

Jiang Ruoyun's heart suddenly clenched.

So... he saw everything?

At the time, she was busy collecting money and wanted to save money to buy good art supplies for Lin Mo, so she did resist the urge to buy them.

"But……"

Jiang Ruoyun looked at the huge sum of money in her arms, bit her lip, and said, "This is what you earned after drawing all night. Your hands are sore. I'm just responsible for collecting the money; I can't take it all."

"And..." she glanced at Lin Mo furtively, "What about you? Don't you have anything?"

Zhao Kuo sneered from the side: "What are you pretending to be generous for? You have to hand over two thousand yuan. You're a typical henpecked husband."

Lin Mo completely ignored the buzzing fly.

He sat up straight and reached his hand behind his back.

"Who said I have nothing?"

Amidst everyone's curious gazes, Lin Mo, as if performing magic, pulled out the long bamboo skewer from behind his back.

At the top is a golden, lifelike phoenix.

It was the "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" that the bald man had offered 500 yuan to buy at the night market, but Lin Mo had refused outright.

By the time I walked back, the sugar painting had completely cooled and solidified.

But under the bright lights of the living room, the layers of feathers still reflected a dazzling light, breathtakingly beautiful.

"This one wasn't for sale."

Lin Mo looked at the sugar painting in his hand, a faint smile curving his lips.

Jiang Ruoyun had been handling it like a precious treasure the whole way, afraid it would melt or get damaged. She only carefully handed it to him before entering the house, saying she wanted to find a box to enshrine it.

"This... wasn't it supposed to be kept for future reference?" Jiang Ruoyun blinked.

"Sugar paintings are meant to be eaten. They'll melt if left out for too long, and once they melt, they'll stick to your hands, which is a hassle."

As Lin Mo spoke, he opened his mouth in shock, much to Jiang Ruoyun's astonishment.

"Click."

A crisp sound.

He ruthlessly bit off a piece of that exquisite phoenix wing.

The entire site was petrified.

The comments section was filled with wailing.

【No!!!!】

What a waste! This is a work of art worth 500 yuan!

[Lin Mo, shut up! Let me handle this!]

Are those phoenix wings? That smells like money!

Zhao Kuo was dumbfounded: "Are you crazy? You won't sell it for five hundred yuan, but you're going to take it back and eat it yourself?"

Lin Mo chewed with relish, showing no remorse for damaging the artwork.

The sweetness of maltose melts in your mouth, with a hint of caramel flavor.

That's the taste of childhood, and it's also the taste of the everyday life tonight.

"Um……"

Lin Mo swallowed the candy in his mouth, narrowed his eyes, looked at Jiang Ruoyun's pained yet dazed expression, and chuckled softly:

"It's quite sweet."

He held the remaining phoenix to Jiang Ruoyun's lips, "Want to try some?"

Jiang Ruoyun looked at the phoenix with missing wings, and then at Lin Mo's smiling eyes.

As if guided by some unseen force, she leaned over and gently took a small bite on the other wing of the phoenix.

"Click."

sweet.

It's really sweet.

It's not the cloying sweetness of industrial saccharin, but a warm, comforting sweetness that flows down your throat and into your heart.

I'll give you two thousand yuan to spend.

The best dishes, let's eat them together.

This is Lin Mo's logic.

Simple, brutal, yet utterly irresistible.

Help... Why am I watching this in the middle of the night?

This isn't eating candy, it's practically stuffing dog food into my mouth!

[This darn CP chemistry! Zhao Kuo's negative 250 seems completely unnecessary, hahaha!]

Lin Mo: Money is just an external thing; my wife's happiness is the most important.

Jiang Ruoyun chewed on the candy, her cheeks bulging, like a little hamster hoarding food.

She looked at Lin Mo, and her heart suddenly started racing uncontrollably.

This man...

He always complains about being tired and always wants to give up.

But when something really happens, he's more reliable than anyone else.