Chapter 86: No Next Time – It Was More Like a Bite Than a Kiss
Sunlight pierced through the gaps, casting mottled shadows on the carpet of decaying leaves. Damp soil mixed with the astringent scent of vegetation pounced on him. The forest was so quiet only the whimper of the wind through the leaves remained. Occasionally, the crisp crack of a dry branch breaking sounded exceptionally clear in the emptiness.
All around were dense trees, covering the sky and the sun, with no end in sight.
A thin figure stumbled through the thickets, finally slumping into the shadows beneath an old tree. His face was so pale it was almost transparent, his lips were cracked, and a dried blood scab clung to his temple. His clothes were torn to shreds, hanging off him like rags, barely covering his exposed skin.
When he was about one-third of the distance from the ground, Jiang Chenyan had successfully teleported with the system’s help.
Looking up, the outlines of unfamiliar trees surrounded him. The branches and leaves were so lush he couldn’t even distinguish the direction.
“System, where is this?”
System: [Don’t worry, I’ll send you a map.]
Jiang Chenyan frowned. “Can’t you just teleport me directly to a city? This forest is so big; it’ll take me forever to get out.”
[You really have a lot of demands. This planet is quite remote, and the city’s public security is a bit messy…]
“It’s fine.” Jiang Chenyan’s throat was so dry it pained him. Every word felt like it was pulling at a wound. He suppressed the bitterness in his throat. “Where are Xie Huaijin and the others currently?”
[Relax, they’re far from you.] The system added, [But your ‘death escape’ performance was truly successful. From that altitude, anyone else would have become a pile of shards.]
Jiang Chenyan gave an “mm,” then raised his hand and slammed the light-brain on his wrist against a nearby giant rock.
With a crisp crack, the light-brain shattered into several pieces, components flying everywhere.
He glanced at the wreckage, his tone devoid of any ripple: “Let’s go.”
The old light-brain contained tracking and identity markers. As long as he kept it, he would eventually be traced. Only by smashing it could he erase all evidence of survival. He could just get a new one later.
The system’s voice was a bit glitchy: [My power is limited. The teleportation just now was a huge drain. Try to use this skill as little as possible in the future…]
Jiang Chenyan was silent for a moment. He used his fingers to brace himself against a tree to stabilize his frame. “…Alright.”
In the next second, the light and shadow before his eyes faded rapidly. Boundless darkness surged forward, completely swallowing Jiang Chenyan’s consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, what entered his sight was a narrow, dilapidated alleyway. The walls were peeling and mottled, and the ground was full of trash and puddles. The dim yellow light of a streetlamp shone in through the gap at the alley’s mouth, casting distorted shadows on the ground.
He stumbled against the wall, moving out of the alley step by step.
The streets of the Old City district were quiet and desolate. It took Jiang Chenyan a long time to find a deserted public communication terminal.
He pressed a sequence of numbers he knew by heart.
The moment the call connected, Kai Lan’s voice came from the other end, carrying an obvious tremor. “Who… is this?”
“Who do you think?”
“Jiang Chenyan?!”
Jiang Chenyan’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. His throat was still dry. “It’s me. What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?!” Kai Lan’s voice spiked instantly, both excited and terrified. “I thought you were dead! Holy sh*t! So many people are saying you jumped from an Alliance shuttle without any equipment. From that height… you’re actually still alive?!”
Just as Jiang Chenyan was about to speak, Kai Lan’s hurried questions came through the receiver. “What exactly happened? You jumped from that high—how did you survive?!”
“That isn’t the most important thing right now.” Jiang Chenyan pressed his hand to his forehead. “Come and pick me up first. I’m homeless right now and have nothing on me.”
There was a moment of dead silence on the other end, followed by a low curse. The tone was mixed with lingering fear and relief: “…It’s good that you’re back. Shen Shiyue has gone crazy, looking everywhere for you. He’s searched almost half the planet.”
Jiang Chenyan’s pupils shrank, and his heart sank. His voice turned several degrees colder: “What?”
Kai Lan didn’t answer Jiang Chenyan’s question. It couldn’t be explained clearly right now; it was better to talk in person. “Don’t ask yet. Tell me your current address. I’ll get there as fast as I can. If anyone else finds out you’re alive, it’ll be a huge mess.”
Jiang Chenyan heard his own voice. “Alright.”
The streetlamp emitted a weak light, barely dispelling a bit of the darkness. Jiang Chenyan stood by the roadside, his clothes in tatters, covered in dust and grass clippings.
The few pedestrians there were hunched their shoulders and hurried past, but their gazes couldn’t help but frequently dart toward him.
He could clearly feel those probing, curious, and even malicious stares.
Jiang Chenyan frowned and stumbled back into the dark alley behind him.
The alley was damp and cold. The scent of mold mixed with dust pounced on him. The mottled walls on both sides cast a shadow.
Jiang Chenyan slid down the wall and sat on the floor. On the surface, this “death escape” was flawless. Xie Huaijin and Mu Sian’s families surely believed he was dead. Even Kai Lan, whom he had notified in advance—didn’t he also think Jiang Chenyan had been buried at the bottom of the valley?
Then Shen Shiyue… naturally, would be no exception.
He thought he was already dead.
They would never imagine that he was still alive, hiding in the broken old district of another planet.
…
Inside the shuttle.
Jiang Chenyan held a warm teacup between his fingers. The rising steam blurred his pale face.
The temperature of the tea spread through his palms, slightly dispelling the chill on his body. Jiang Chenyan took small sips, silently listening to the movement ahead.
Kai Lan sat in the pilot’s seat. While controlling the shuttle as it zipped through the night, he explained without looking back: “When your shuttle was ambushed, it wasn’t some LE organization at all. it was another faction that has a grudge against the Alliance. Who would have thought they had offended so many enemies?”
“Later, people rushed to the rescue. There was not only the mecha team the Alliance had stationed in advance but also Shen Shiyue. I heard that when he found out you were taking the ‘death escape’ route, he escaped from the Shen family and raced toward the military academy. But he was one step too late; you had already boarded the shuttle…”
Jiang Chenyan’s fingers holding the teacup tightened abruptly, his knuckles turning white. His frown deepened. “I’ll contact him now and tell him I’m not dead.”
Hearing this, Kai Lan paused his control of the shuttle and turned his head to glance at Jiang Chenyan. So you know how to be anxious now? The moment he learned of Jiang Chenyan’s death, it was hard not to be scared.
“Now that you mention it, you reminded me. How exactly did you survive? Jumping from that height without any gear… it’s fundamentally illogical.”
Jiang Chenyan had no idea how to answer. He couldn’t exactly say he was bound to a system and relied on teleportation to save his life.
He avoided Kai Lan’s gaze. “Didn’t I say it? it was a fake death from the start; there was bound to be a way to get away. Didn’t you tell Shen Shiyue I was faking it?”
Kai Lan slammed the steering wheel to one side, almost laughing out of sheer anger. “Of course I did! But your method was too extreme. Jumping from a shuttle thousands of meters in the air without even a bit of protection—who the f*ck would think you really had a backup plan? We all thought you were truly dead. Shen Shiyue almost turned the entire planet upside down.”
Jiang Chenyan was left speechless, unable to squeeze out a proper explanation for a long time.
Kai Lan felt helpless. Only Jiang Chenyan could hide such a major thing so tightly that even those he trusted most were kept in the dark.
Jiang Chenyan knew he was in the wrong. “Sorry. Let me borrow your light-brain; I’ll send a message to Shen Shiyue now.”
In short, he would apologize.
Kai Lan rolled his eyes and finally couldn’t help but speak grumpily: “I already sent one! The message was read but not replied to. He’s probably fuming. He’s waiting for you to personally give him an explanation.”
Jiang Chenyan lowered his head. His eyelashes cast a faint shadow over his eyes, hiding the complex emotions within. He said not a word.
The system reminded Jiang Chenyan: [Host, you absolutely cannot expose my existence. Once it’s said, not only will the world view collapse, but I will also be forcibly formatted by System Headquarters and completely vanish. Are you really willing to let me disappear?]
[In short, you can’t say it. Wuwuwu. You can only rely on the other party to guess it for themselves.]
Jiang Chenyan pressed his fingertips to his temple. How god-like would someone have to be to see through the fact that I’m not from this world?
He slowly lifted his eyes and told the system, “I didn’t consider this carefully. I only thought about getting away and ignored those who truly care about me. I’ll find a way to make it up to them.”
The system showed a crying expression: [Host (kowtows).]
Jiang Chenyan didn’t want to chat with the system anymore. He leaned against the seat, his eyes half-closed. The chill around him dissipated a bit; he was quite exhausted.
The shuttle flew steadily for a while. When Kai Lan parked the shuttle by the roadside, Jiang Chenyan’s head felt heavy and swollen. His consciousness was wrapped in a thick fog, confused and dazed. His body swayed involuntarily, and he almost fell.
When he looked up again, he saw Kai Lan give two awkward smiles and quickly drop a sentence: “I’ll head out first. You two chat.”
You two? Before Jiang Chenyan could react or even call out to Kai Lan, the hatch door was pushed open from the outside.
A very tall figure stood against the light. The chill carried around him made the temperature in the cabin drop instantly.
It was a person he was more than familiar with.
Shen Shiyue.
Jiang Chenyan’s entire body stiffened, and his spine felt inexplicably cold. He had known Shen Shiyue for so long, but this was the first time he had seen the other this angry. He instinctively shrunk back, his fingertips trembling slightly. He actually didn’t dare to look Shen Shiyue in the eye.
Shen Shiyue was looking at him.
His eyes held a lingering gloom, like an airtight net covering Jiang Chenyan.
In the next second, Shen Shiyue stepped closer, coming right in front of Jiang Chenyan.
He leaned down, his palm gently cupping Jiang Chenyan’s jaw. His thumb brushed over the pale, cold cheek.
Wretched. These two words were perfect for describing Jiang Chenyan right now.
His hair was messily clinging to his temples, his torn clothes hung off him, and the exposed skin was a sickly pale. One could even see faint scars. The man had completely lost his usual cold arrogance.
He was both pitiful and hateful.
“Are you scared?”
The distance between the two was extremely close. Shen Shiyue’s warm breath fanned over Jiang Chenyan’s earlobe, carrying a familiar pheromone scent.
Jiang Chenyan shivered.
His thumb moved to Jiang Chenyan’s lower lip. Shen Shiyue pressed closer step by step: “Why are you afraid? Is it because you don’t know how to explain to me how many secrets you were hiding from me with your so-called ‘fake death’?”
Jiang Chenyan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Being watched by Shen Shiyue like this made his entire body tighten. Complex emotions welled up in his eyes, eventually turning into a very faint murmur filled with guilt: “I’m sorry…”
Before he could finish, Shen Shiyue kissed him. It was more like a bite than a kiss.
The force of his teeth was very heavy, grinding fiercely against Jiang Chenyan’s lower lip, as if he wanted to vent all the rage, panic, and lingering fear in his heart through this kiss.
Shen Shiyue kissed deeply and ruthlessly, as if he wanted to consume the person beneath him and brand him with his own unique mark. His tongue arrogantly pried open Jiang Chenyan’s teeth, churning and plundering.
“Ngh…”
Caught off guard, Jiang Chenyan let out a muffled groan of pain. Fine beads of blood appeared on his lower lip.
His breathing was forced into a mess. His back was pressed tightly against the seat, with nowhere to run.
After an unknown amount of time, Shen Shiyue finally released him. When his lips left, there was still a trace of reluctant rubbing. Jiang Chenyan’s lower lip was already red and swollen, both numb and painful.
Shen Shiyue looked down at Jiang Chenyan, the fire in his eyes not yet extinguished. Instead, it was an even thicker obsession.
“I sometimes wonder… if I locked you up, would there be fewer problems?”
His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a trace of an undetectable tremor. it was a lingering fear and despair suppressed to the extreme.
Jiang Chenyan was startled, his pupils shrinking abruptly. He looked up at Shen Shiyue in disbelief.
That sentence was like a cold blade, stabbing into his heart unexpectedly.
Thinking of something, Jiang Chenyan slowly raised his hands and gently circled Shen Shiyue’s neck. He buried his face in the crook of the man’s neck, his voice carrying a hint of nasal tone. “It’s not like that…”
Recovering his composure, he carefully soothed the other: “Why would you think that? I know you care about me and are afraid something will happen to me again.”
“I had Kai Lan notify you in advance. I just didn’t expect the plan would be so hurried, causing you to worry for so long. You’re angry only because you care about me too much. I understand all of it.”
Jiang Chenyan leaned in slightly, burying his head even deeper. “I promise this is the last time. In the future, no matter what I do, I’ll tell you first. Believe me, alright?”
Shen Shiyue understood that Jiang Chenyan was coaxing him. This person, who was always cold and proud and refused to bow his head, was currently lowering his posture and using the softest tone of his life to soothe his unease.
His fingertips gently rubbed the red and swollen lower lip. The emotions in Shen Shiyue’s eyes were complex.
He remained silent for a long time, his voice low and hoarse: “The last time.”
“Jiang Chenyan, there is no next time.”
Otherwise, he couldn’t guarantee what he might do.
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