Chapter 2: Dark-Skinned Rugged Honest Man 2

Night had fallen, and countless shimmering specks of light dotted the city, making it gleam with even greater prosperity.

Inside the sprawling villa, the servants grew all the busier.

Jiang Rang hadn’t gotten a moment’s rest either. Someone had thrust a clothes iron into his hands, leaving him utterly baffled by the sleek black silk pajamas, smooth as raven hair.

Truth be told, having come from the countryside, it was his first time laying eyes on fabric so soft and cloud-like. It felt thin and supple in his grip, almost as if it might melt into a puddle of water at any moment.

Jiang Rang couldn’t spot a single wrinkle that needed ironing.

But there was no helping it—it was the butler’s order, so he had no choice but to give it a try.

He was used to farm labor, and this body of his was built for rough, heavy work. Something this delicate and precise left him at a complete loss for where to even begin.

It took him forever just to figure out how to turn on the iron. By the time he was done fumbling with it, the temperature was probably too high, and the pajamas ended up even more rumpled than before.

Jiang Rang’s heart sank with guilt just as a noise sounded from the doorway. Someone led him, still in a daze, to the front hall.

In his line of sight, the ornate black wrought-iron gate with its entwined floral patterns slowly swung open. A sleek black sedan pulled in, its headlights glaringly bright, almost blinding.

Once the headlights finally switched off, a bowing servant respectfully opened the car door. What emerged first was a pale wrist, so white it seemed to glow with an eerie chill.

The wrist’s owner steadied himself against the door and stepped languidly out of the car.

He was an excessively slender and tall man. Despite the sweltering heat, he wore a long black trench coat and a pure black gentleman’s hat adorned with a feather. Silky raven hair cascaded down from his chest.

But what truly drew the eye was the lower half of his face, left uncovered. His cheeks were pallid, almost ashen, and his lips blazed a vivid, piercing red.

He needed only to stand there to evoke the image of a specter wandering through some gloomy, mist-shrouded mountain wilds.

Jiang Rang stole one glance and immediately looked away in fright, his fingers instinctively rubbing the red rope tied around his wrist bone with its cinnabar charm.

The man’s footsteps were faint at his ear, growing ever softer until a pair of expensive, gleaming black leather men’s shoes appeared in Jiang Rang’s view.

“Look up.”

The man’s raspy voice poured down from above.

Jiang Rang didn’t react at all, standing there woodenly. Back in his youth, he’d always been the invisible, silent type around others, rarely drawing anyone’s particular attention.

Except for his parents in this world… and the fiancé he’d been betrothed to just half a year ago.

It wasn’t until something ice-cold touched his jaw that a slow, chilling force—carrying the damp, mossy scent—gently lifted his lowered head.

Jiang Rang remained dazed, but the world suddenly seemed to expand before his eyes.

The man had removed his hat, fully revealing his pale, exquisite face under the lights. He looked unwell, his cold sanpaku eyes lifted indifferently, dark circles lurking like storm clouds beneath his lids. His cheeks were gaunt, even slightly hollowed, but none of it detracted from his beauty.

A beauty laced with ghostly menace.

Qi Yu slowly withdrew his hand, a trace of weariness in his brows and eyes. His voice drifted out, cold and detached: “Who hired this idiot?”

He didn’t seem to expect an answer, merely turning aside and walking into the main hall.

Jiang Rang didn’t dare breathe until everyone else had left.

Back in the village, he wasn’t ignorant of the rumors about omegas—they were said to be delicate and beautiful, gentle as water, the epitome of devoted wives and mothers. Yet the aura radiating from Qi Yu was nothing like that. He was beautiful, yes, but in a pallid, otherworldly way that didn’t seem human at all.

Jiang Rang’s heart pounded. From the sound of it… he was probably done for.

The young man figured that if he got fired, so be it. He’d come all the way to Juecheng anyway; he could just look for other work. But when he tried to recall the knowledge from his real-world education, it was all shrouded in an invisible fog.

Jiang Rang knew this was the system’s rules at work. In this world, he could only rely on the knowledge this body possessed to find a job.

And what skills did this body have? Those of an ordinary NPC, one programmed from the start as an insecure, ignorant country bumpkin known as the honest guy.

His father’s intractable illness, his fiancé’s frail constitution, their impoverished home—Jiang Rang was the family’s sole pillar. Without this job and a decent income, everything would spiral toward the worst possible outcome.

The tall beta slowly bowed his head. Thinking of the generous salary his relative had mentioned, he mustered his courage and stepped into the hall.

He needed this job more than anything.

Jiang Rang’s head hung very low. The beta seemed to be trying desperately to shrink himself into the crowd, but his physique ultimately differed from those of the other slender betas, so every one of his movements became increasingly conspicuous and awkward.

Qi Yu had already shed his heavy overcoat. The master had unbuttoned one button of his inner suit shirt, revealing only the barest hint of skin.

Between his pale knuckles, he held a slender cigarette, its red ember flickering faintly amid the rising wisps of smoke.

The omega’s gaze slowly swept over the crowd, lingering on that conspicuous beta for a long moment before gradually shifting away.

The butler spoke to him in a deferential tone, but only the final sentence rang out with exceptional clarity.

“Sir, do you need to recruit a new personal attendant for yourself tomorrow?”

Qi Yu said nothing, and no one dared to speak.

He noticed the beta’s slightly trembling shoulders and the air of disappointment they conveyed, but the man’s cold, gloomy brows remained utterly still, as if he were coldly observing a sparrow that had plummeted into the mud.

Yet that ugly, dowdy sparrow was clearly unwilling to accept its fate.

The honest, lowly face—wheat-toned and barely qualifying as handsome—flushed a deep red. Even the beta’s voice carried the rustic twang of someone fresh from the countryside as he stammered up at the lofty master: “Sorry, Mr. Qi, Mr. Qi—I’m new here today. My name is Jiang Rang. I’m very diligent with my work. I-I’ll take good care of you!”

The butler had clearly never encountered such an ill-mannered country bumpkin before. He scolded lowly: “Jiang Rang, you can step down now.”

The tall beta was startled into submission. His flushed face drained of color in an instant, and for some reason, his gaze toward Qi Yu began darting away evasively.

Had he stayed resolute and persistent, his naturally appealing looks might have earned him a few points, but instead, the young man cowered like a drowned dog. Even without a rebuke from the master, he tucked in his tail dejectedly, prompting everyone to look down on him just a little more.

Qi Yu slowly extinguished the cigarette butt. The ember had left a faint red mark on his fingertips. The pale, chilling man let out a soft cough, his voice light and indifferent: “Dinner first.”

The butler nodded hurriedly, forgetting all about Jiang Rang.

Everyone sprang into action, while Jiang Rang remained rooted in the corner like a silent mountain.

An array of exquisite dishes the young man had never even glimpsed were served onto the long rectangular table. Soft napkins were neatly folded at the master’s wrist, and the plates and cutlery—all precious silverware—were arranged with perfect precision.

Jiang Rang could feel his stomach protesting with pangs of hunger; he hadn’t eaten a thing all day.

His last proper meal had been the coarse grain pancake he’d brought from home. It had been rock-hard, but Jiang Rang had devoured it with relish anyway.

His hypersensitive sense of smell triggered a flood of saliva in his mouth. The beta had never tasted such delicacies and couldn’t even imagine their flavors, so he could only swallow futilely, his throat dry.

Qi Yu ate with swift efficiency, though in truth, the man barely managed two bites. His brows furrowed faintly, as if the food in his mouth were utterly intolerable.

Jiang Rang counted carefully: Qi Yu took exactly three bites in total. Most of the dishes on the table went untouched and were cleared away.

Was this the appetite of a normal person? No wonder the omega was so slender and pallid.

Jiang Rang gritted his teeth, feeling a pang of heartache for the wasted food.

But soon enough, he had no attention to spare for the food, for a cold, ethereal voice suddenly called his name.

Jiang Rang’s eyelids twitched. He approached the man with trepidation, clasping his hands together in imitation of the other servants, and stammered: “Sir, sir—is there anything you need?”

Qi Yu said nothing. His dark circles were pronounced, the red veins in his black eyes stark. He stared at the beta, yet it felt like he was looking at no one at all, sending an inexplicable chill through Jiang Rang’s heart.

Jiang Rang didn’t dare meet his gaze for long. A servant nearby handed him a pretty, delicate crystal spittoon, which he hastily cradled in both hands.

Then the young man watched as the man took a slow sip of tea.

Jiang Rang understood the spittoon’s purpose in an instant. The sturdy beta bent at the waist to offer it forward, his black apron stretching taut across his waist and hips. Unaccustomed to such close proximity with anyone, the young man was visibly tense, the sleek lines of muscle in his arms rigid and straining.

Worse still, the already-strained transparent button at his chest finally gave way with a pop as he bowed.

A broad expanse of wheat-toned torso came into view. Years of hard labor had sculpted the young man’s body into lines of flawless perfection.

The poor honest man’s mind went blank. For a simple rural farmer who had always toiled honestly in the countryside, this outrageous and unexpected incident felt no different from stripping him naked and tossing him onto the street for public humiliation.

Yet he couldn’t even move, because at that moment, the esteemed Mr. Qi was leisurely rinsing his mouth.

Lukewarm water droplets splashed out from the tea basin in tiny stars. Such a temperature wouldn’t normally cause discomfort, but the beta felt as if sparks had splattered onto his skin.

“Steward Zhou, have a new set of his clothes made later.”

Qi Yu’s voice was perfectly calm as he picked up the square cloth and gently wiped the corners of his mouth. For an omega, this was an enormous offense, yet the man acted as if he hadn’t noticed a thing.

Jiang Rang clumsily set down the tea basin. He didn’t dare lift his head to look at anyone’s face, focusing solely on straightening out his clothes. The poor beta was just like an ostrich, burying his head and refusing any outside information.