After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Was Targeted by the Villain and the Male Lead at the Same Time

 

This is a bit awkward.

 

Xu Chenghao cleared his throat and tried to salvage the situation, “I know, what I meant was… I just wanted to express that now everything is done with machinery, so who still uses manpower, right?”

 

However, trying to salvage the situation had no effect on the system. Just as he finished speaking, he heard another prompt in his mind.

 

[Ding – Host, please restrain your thoughts and refrain from mentally polluting the system.]

 

Xu Chenghao: …

 

It’s not me, it’s not me, I don’t admit it!

 

Xu Chenghao silently picked up a chili pepper from the storage box, one that the system didn’t accept, and put it into his mouth, feeling the need to calm down.

 

Too embarrassing.

 

…No, it must be because the system’s last reward was so bizarre that it messed with his mind! Yes, that must be it!

 

Xu Chenghao shamelessly pushed the blame onto the system, then put away his things and quickly went to sleep, afraid that if he thought too much, the system would pop up again and start broadcasting random things.

 

Sleep, just sleep.

 

_______________

 

The next day, because he successfully completed the Little Pepper 2.0 mission, Xu Chenghao was in high spirits, with a smile that couldn’t be hidden on his face as he entered the elevator.

 

Jing Yicheng instantly understood, “Good harvest?”

 

Xu Chenghao couldn’t help but reveal his sense of accomplishment, “The mission is completed!”

 

Jing Yicheng directly understood it as an experimental task and pressed the elevator door while saying, “Congratulations.”

 

Xu Chenghao smiled brightly, “Thank you.”

 

Jing Yicheng suddenly asked, “So when will they come to collect the peppers?”

 

Xu Chenghao’s heart skipped a beat, and he improvised, “This involves their experimental confidentiality agreement. I can’t say.”

 

Jing Yicheng nodded knowingly, “Indeed, if this technology is successfully developed, it will not only bring about a great revolution in agriculture, but it will also have significant impacts elsewhere. Secrecy is necessary.”

 

Xu Chenghao could only force a smile and hugged the little yellow duck tightly, not daring to say anything further.

 

The elevator returned to silence.

 

Due to the matter of the illegitimate child, Ruan Chenxuan had not returned to the residential area since yesterday, so this morning, Xu Chenghao and Jing Yicheng’s elevator went directly to the first floor without stopping.

 

Jing Yicheng naturally got into Xu Chenghao’s car and fastened his seatbelt, saying, “It’s a delightful thing not to see Ruan Chenxuan in the morning.”

 

Xu Chenghao agreed with a nod, speculating, “He should have gone back to the Ruan family.”

 

Jing Yicheng: “Very likely.”

 

Xu Chenghao: “I hope he doesn’t come back.”

 

Jing Yicheng: “It shouldn’t happen in the near future.”

 

Xu Chenghao also felt the same. After all, the illegitimate child in the plot seemed to have a humble background and not much ability, but he was skilled at acting and had some tricks up his sleeve, making him quite formidable.

 

He didn’t know what the situation was with the male lead… Presumably, the male lead was about to trigger the “Jedi Counterattack” skill of his halo, so Xu Chenghao needed to be prepared early.

 

With this in mind, Xu Chenghao became cautious. Fortunately, there would be a two-week cooldown period after completing the mission, which would give him enough time to organize the project.

 

By the way, after searching for a long time, Xu Chenghao finally found a satisfactory greenhouse. The formalities were already completed, and he was currently renovating it, aiming to sustain himself until Task 6.0 is completed – by then, the chili pepper base should be ready!

 

At the same time, the second batch of machinery customized by Xu Chenghao with Jing Yicheng had already been produced. Upon inspection, Xu Chenghao discovered that it was even more perfect than he had imagined. With computer control, it could not only automate planting and harvesting but also had sprinkler functions on both sides.

 

But why did they have to design the sprinklers in the shape of pouting little yellow ducks?

 

As far as the eye could see, on both sides of the precision-operating machinery, two bright yellow little ducks suddenly appeared. They sprayed water with their pouting beaks… Wasn’t this just too absurd?!

 

Xu Chenghao was utterly disgusted.

 

However, as always, Jing Yicheng never failed to impress.

 

He skillfully activated the sprinkler function, and the originally flat little yellow ducks instantly inflated like balloons, transforming into three-dimensional shapes. They popped out from the surface of the machinery, making some eerie quacking sounds before squirting water from their pouting mouths like a fountain. The coverage area was quite impressive, but this, this, this…

 

After witnessing the demonstration, Xu Chenghao was left speechless and shocked by the overwhelming absurdity.

 

Why the hell did they make pouting ducks that quack for watering?! This is insane!

 

What kind of sorcery is this? Why would they turn perfectly fine agricultural machinery into something so ridiculous?!

 

Xu Chenghao couldn’t imagine how toxic the scene would be when the number of chili peppers increased in the future and all the agricultural machinery was activated together, like a gathering of ducks going “quack, quack, quack”… Damn, just thinking about it is terrifying.

 

Xu Chenghao tried hard to restrain the urge to vomit blood and gritted his teeth, saying, “Can this thing be returned?”

 

Jing Yicheng, who was inspecting the goods beside him, was surprised and asked, “Not satisfied? What needs to be modified?”

 

Xu Chenghao: “Little duck! This place definitely needs modification!!”

 

Jing Yicheng disagreed: “This is the only highlight of the machinery.”

 

Xu Chenghao: “I don’t like this highlight.”

 

Jing Yicheng countered: “It’s called sublimation! It looks exactly like the flowerpot in your hand.”

 

Xu Chenghao retorted: “I’m the customer who placed the order, so I have the final say!”

 

Jing Yicheng: “Leave the little yellow duck and I’ll give you a 20% discount!”

 

Xu Chenghao: “Don’t use this trick on me; I’m not that kind of person!”

 

Jing Yicheng: “How about 40% off!”

 

Xu Chenghao:  “…”

 

Killed in one hit, Xu Chenghao decided to bow to the sand sculpture side for the sake of his wallet: “Deal!”

 

Jing Yicheng smirked satisfactorily, lightly tapping the mouse with his fingers. Immediately, the mechanical device in front of them made creaking sounds again, and a spirited little yellow duck popped up, trembling slightly and spraying a mist of water.

 

Xu Chenghao: “…”

 

The assistant, who had been watching the whole process: “…”

 

If Xu Chenghao had just been speechless, the assistant would probably have wanted to cry while hugging Jing Yicheng’s thigh.

 

“What’s the point of this collaboration?!” If it had just been giving them a discount at the beginning, we could handle it. We didn’t say anything about manufacturing agricultural machinery, and we even accepted the addition of the water-spraying little yellow duck. But now you want to give them a 40% discount… Why don’t you just hand yourself over to them!”

 

The assistant was so furious that he almost had a heart attack. He didn’t even have the energy to manage his facial expressions and wished he could faint right there.

 

Xu Chenghao quickly noticed his state and expressed heartfelt sympathy: “You’ve all worked hard.”

 

The assistant laughed in a way uglier than crying: “It’s okay. Ever since we started working with the boss, we’ve relied on our resilience to survive until now.”

 

Xu Chenghao: “…”

 

So pitiful.

 

In his heart, Xu Chenghao sincerely sympathized with all the top talents involved in the research of the water-spraying little yellow duck!

 

He had no idea what mindset these talents from the Military Equipment Research Institute had when they accepted this design.

 

Sigh, he felt sorry for them, and he also felt sorry for himself, who would have to face an entire collection of ducks in the future.

 

Xu Chenghao sighed, fearing that he might also have a heart attack, so he decisively ended the inspection, declared that he was very satisfied, and called people to quickly remove the mechanical device and send it to the greenhouse location.

 

Since purchasing it, he hasn’t been there to check it. This time, Xu Chenghao also followed to deliver the goods and looked very satisfied with the relatively remote location around—it wouldn’t be embarrassing to use machinery here!

 

On the contrary, Jing Yicheng seemed quite concerned: “It’s remote, and the security is low.”

 

“That’s why I plan to hire someone to guard the place,” Xu Chenghao pointed to the house that was still under renovation: “You see, the previous owner of the greenhouse used to live there… I intend to have two people take shifts. Later, we’ll install surveillance cameras, an alarm system with an electric fence, and equip them with electric batons. With these measures, if anything still goes wrong, then we’re just unlucky!”

 

Jing Yicheng pondered: “Living in such a remote place, not only do we need electric batons for self-defense, but we also need someone with a certain level of strength, preferably someone skilled in combat.”

 

Xu Chenghao became alert: “What are you trying to say?”

 

Jing Yicheng: “Among the retired soldiers I know, there are a few who are quite capable but can’t find jobs. I’m thinking of recommending them to give it a try.”

 

Xu Chenghao was surprised: “How could retired soldiers not find jobs? They could work as private bodyguards or become trainers, or even start their own businesses.”

 

Jing Yicheng nodded: “That’s true for most of them, but some have been out of touch with society for too long and find it difficult to integrate back in. So, I thought they might adapt well to this remote environment.”

 

Xu Chenghao exclaimed: “Ah, I see… If they’re willing, of course, I have no problem with it, but don’t force them.”

 

Jing Yicheng confidently declared: “Of course not, I never force anyone.”

 

Xu Chenghao glanced at the little yellow duck on the machine, expressing strong doubt. Who would believe him? That little yellow duck was a weird addition, it would be strange if he didn’t force the researchers to add it!

 

Xu Chenghao couldn’t be bothered to argue with someone so shameless, so he left him and went to find the person in charge of renovating the greenhouse to inspect the situation inside.

 

The greenhouse had plenty of space, and the transformation was evidently much faster than construction. When the person in charge led Xu Chenghao to inspect it, they directly stated that there would be more than enough time in two weeks to ensure that everything could be tidied up completely.

 

Xu Chenghao took a look around and was quite satisfied. In his mind, as long as the greenhouse was completed, he wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough space to carry out the tasks for the little pepper mission version 3.0 or the inadequacy of the chili pepper base. He could peacefully grow chili peppers.

 

This meant that he had solved a large part of his problems, and it allowed Xu Chenghao to free up more time to handle other matters and prepare for the male lead’s counterattack.

 

However, unexpectedly, the one who first approached Xu Chenghao was not the male lead’s counterattack but someone entirely unexpected.

 

This person didn’t even make an appointment but blocked Xu Chenghao and the others at a restaurant they often visited. Upon meeting, he smiled and said, “Mr. Xu, hello.”

 

Xu Chenghao was slightly surprised by the sudden greeting. After looking at him several times and confirming that he didn’t know the person, he replied coldly, “Who are you?”

 

“I’m Han Haofeng. I just returned from out of town recently. Mr. Xu probably hasn’t met me before… Today, I’m being presumptuous, and I hope Mr. Xu can forgive me.” The man spoke very skillfully and displayed a humble and courteous attitude, which left a good impression.

 

Xu Chenghao turned to look at Li Nian, and before they could exchange any information, a figure suddenly appeared between them. With one hand in his pocket and the other resting on Xu Chenghao’s shoulder, the person calmly said, “It’s that illegitimate son from the Ruan family.”

 

 

 

 

The author has something to say: Jing Yicheng: I’m taking this opportunity to push Li Nian aside, aside, and aside!

 

Li Nian: @#￥%&*