Part 2
“Nonsense! Where have you hidden him?” Shen Yunqian didn’t believe it. He released the man’s chest and grabbed his left arm, intending to deliver a fatal blow to the man’s clumsy lie.
Pushing up the sleeve, Shen Yunqian saw a small, faint ring of scarring on the inner forearm. He was struck speechless, and the strength seemed to drain out of him.
Lu Xunye rushed over to look. That patch of skin was more wrinkled than the surrounding area. It was… a bite mark? It looked like a scar left from childhood, warped by growth over the years.
“How… how can this be?” Shen Yunqian’s face went white as a sheet. His head throbbed, and he could barely remain standing.
Lu Xunye acted quickly, reaching out to catch him, but he could only watch as “Lu Siheng” took the opportunity to shove the young man, sending him crashing to the floor.
With such a loud thud, how much pain must Shen Yunqian be in?
Lu Xunye’s heart ached. He knelt beside Shen Yunqian, trying desperately to help him up, only to pass through him time and again. The tears swirling in his eyes finally fell.
Why am I having this dream? Why…
“Lu Siheng” straightened his clothes and sat in the office chair. He swiveled around to enjoy the sight of the young man who had threatened him lying in a wretched state. Seemingly certain that Shen Yunqian wouldn’t strike again, he looked him over with the air of a victor.
“Though I don’t know how I ended up in this body myself…”
As he spoke, he seemed to recall something amusing.
“Let me tell you a secret. Do you know what he was doing when I first took over this body?”
Shen Yunqian clutched his shoulder and slowly stood up, looking at the man with cold eyes.
“He was blowing up balloons. Oh, and arranging flowers.”
“Lu Siheng” wore a playful expression.
“I destroyed it all. Are you happy? I truly don’t understand. With so many beautiful women throwing themselves at him, why on earth did he fixate on a disgusting faggot like you?”
“I almost forgot. He likes you, so he’s a disgusting faggot too.”
The man roared, “Do you know how despondent I felt when I accessed his memories and saw you two being all lovey-dovey? To think I actually slept with a man!”
“How dare you!” Shen Yunqian’s eyes were so red they looked ready to bleed. He lunged forward and grabbed the man’s collar, his voice a ragged hiss. “How dare you use his body to do such things!”
“Lu Siheng” let him pull at his collar. He knew that as long as he occupied this body, the young man’s actions were nothing more than impotent rage. That was why he had dared to treat him that way before. He hadn’t expected the young man to be so clever as to see through him and even attempt to kill him.
But this was fine too. It saved him the trouble of pretending.
“Lu Siheng’s” eyes were filled with deep contempt. He even “kindly” forced the knife into Shen Yunqian’s hand.
“Go on, kill me. If you kill this body, I might not necessarily die. If I’m lucky, I might even return to my original body. But he… he truly won’t be coming back. Do you dare?”
“Come on, kill me!”
The man, who was usually terrified of death, had suddenly become arrogant now that he held the “Imperial Sword.” He gripped Shen Yunqian’s hand and pressed the tip of the knife against the clothes over his own heart. “Weren’t you going to see who dies first? Do it! Do you have the guts?”
The man let out a timely groan, and Shen Yunqian dropped the knife in a panic.
Seeing this, “Lu Siheng” burst into a manic laugh. “Hahahahahahahaha!”
“Coward,” he remarked, evaluating Shen Yunqian.
“You don’t dare, do you? How about I help you?”
“Lu Siheng” picked up the knife Shen Yunqian had dropped and flipped it a few times in his hand. The blade reflected the light. “It just so happens there’s nothing fun to do here, so… shall I help you?”
A glint of darkness flashed in his eyes.
Shen Yunqian’s attention was entirely focused on the fruit knife in the man’s hand. His face was pale. “You… what are you going to do? Don’t do anything reckless.”
“What am I going to do?”
“Lu Siheng” rolled the words around in his mouth before suddenly grinning. “I’m helping you.”
With that, he slashed down toward his own wrist.
In that lightning-fast moment, Lu Xunye screamed, “Shen Yunqian!”
No one heard his cry.
Drops of blood splattered onto the floor. The knife was gripped by a hand; in an instant, the blade was stained red. A large amount of thick, dark blood flowed from between the fingers.
“Lu Siheng” hadn’t expected Shen Yunqian to actually grab the blade with his bare hand. He was startled for a moment, then “mercifully” let go.
He clicked his tongue in wonder. “I was lying. You actually believed me? Look at all this blood. If Lu Siheng saw this, how heartbroken he must be. Heh.”
Shen Yunqian numbly opened his hand. With a crisp clang, the fruit knife hit the floor. Two deep gashes, reaching the bone, oozed blood from his palm. His fingers twitched and spasmed uncontrollably.
“Lu Siheng” picked up a small box from the desk and toyed with it in his hand. His tone was innocent. “Don’t provoke me. Who knows, one day when I’m unhappy, your Lu Siheng might never come back.”
“Lu Siheng” opened the box. Inside lay two exquisite matching rings. He shook them before his eyes, then tossed them at Shen Yunqian’s feet like trash. “Consider this your reward. Treat them as his funeral offerings, hahahaha.”
The two rings fell out of the box and slid a short distance across the floor, but they didn’t separate. A red thread was tied around them.
He turned and dialed the security room, giving orders in a high-spirited tone. “Send a few people up to escort President Shen out.”
Lu Xunye’s eyes seemed to be stained red with blood. His fists were clenched tight as he glared at “Lu Siheng,” his chest heaving with heavy breaths. The world around him began to spin.
Ding.
[Corrupted data has been corrected.]
A cold, clear male voice sounded hazily in his ears, difficult to hear clearly.
“…There isn’t much time left for you all. If you haven’t reached the goal by the deadline, this will be your last chance.”
“What?! I thought there was still…” That was Xiao Ai’s voice. “But the current progress… even if the vessel dies and we restart, it won’t work?”
“After several previous restarts, the Host’s spirit has been damaged and cannot endure another. Remember, you only have four months. The longer you delay, the more the remaining time may be compressed.”
The conversation came to an abrupt halt.
The System turned back to glance at Lu Xunye. “His brain waves connected to the Main System when the data fluctuated just now. He should be fine, right? He didn’t hear us talking, did he?”
“If there’s a problem, handle it yourself.”
Xiao Ai: […]
It cut the connection and let out a sigh, flying to the bedside to look at Lu Xunye, who was still hiding under the covers.
From the Main System’s malfunction to the completion of the repair, only five minutes had passed on the clock on the desk.
After a while, Lu Xunye still hadn’t moved. The System was confused. He should be fine now; surely he hadn’t fallen asleep.
It flew around the quilt several times before landing on the blanket in front of Lu Xunye. A muffled grunt came from beneath the covers. It flew forward and pulled the quilt aside, only to freeze on the spot.
[You…]
Lu Xunye covered his eyes with his arm, his voice incredibly raspy. “What is it… the light… it’s too bright.”
Only the System saw a single drop of blood-red tear slide from the corner of his eye. It fell silent.
[You fell asleep just now.] The System rubbed its hands together uneasily. [Did you… dream about something?]
“If I told you, would you tell me the truth?” Lu Xunye closed his eyes and asked weakly, “Is this world really just a book?”
The System hesitated for a split second before replying decisively: [Of course. Haven’t the plot points you’ve seen already happened?]
Lu Xunye continued, “Then will I die in three months?”
The System said with certainty: [As long as you complete the mission, you won’t die… Can’t we earn Life Points?]
The System heard Lu Xunye let out a sudden laugh, though it couldn’t decipher the emotion behind it. [Do you… not want to go back to your original world anymore?]
Lu Xunye’s voice was muffled. He shook his head. “I don’t know. Before, when you asked me, I could tell you with absolute certainty that I did. But now… I don’t know why I would want to go back.”
“My situation… you know it, right?”
The System naturally knew. In fact, no one knew better than it did. For someone who had become accustomed to the coldness of family, friendship, and love—someone who had experienced the great highs and lows of every emotion—it truly couldn’t answer Lu Xunye’s question as to what his reason for returning would be.
Lu Xunye’s breathing gradually steadied. He wiped away the blood-tinged tear from the corner of his eye and slowly propped himself up on the bed.
“I don’t want to do the ‘攻略’ (Conquering) anymore.”
He looked at the blood on his hand, his thoughts drifting far away. “I heard someone say that you shouldn’t use someone else’s body to do things that go against the original owner’s heart.”
In a panic, the System shouted, “You can’t!”
“Why not? When I die, you’ll just unbind from me anyway.”
Lu Xunye watched as the expressions on its electronic screen shifted repeatedly. Seeing its mindless anxiety, he suddenly asked.
“Who is Lu Siheng?”
The System was stunned by his question. It almost blurted out the answer but managed to bite its tongue: [Anyway, don’t overthink it. Just focus on the mission. There is no ‘original owner.’]
Knock, knock, knock.
There was a knock on the door. Lu Xunye looked up and walked over to open it. Gu Jiang was leaning against the doorframe. Seeing Lu Xunye’s terrifyingly red eyes, he raised an eyebrow. “Want to go out and talk?”
The two stood in the balcony garden. Dark clouds obscured the moon overhead, and thunder rumbled as lightning flashed. Their hair was tossed about by the gale.
Lu Xunye glanced at Gu Jiang’s equally messy hair, noting the numerous scratches on his face and his eyes squinting against the wind.
He was silent for a long moment. “Do we… have to talk here?”
Translator’s Note:
- 攻略 (Gōnglüè): In web novels, this usually means “to target,” “to woo,” or “to conquer” a love interest.
- Scum Gong (渣攻): A common trope referring to a dominant partner who is unfaithful, abusive, or emotionally cruel.
- Egg-y Crisis: “蛋” (Dàn/Egg) is slang for testicles. You’ll see this come into play in Chapter 65!
- Red Thread: In Chinese mythology, the “Red Thread of Fate” binds two people destined to be together.
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