Chapter 29: The Vicious Fake Young Master of a Wealthy Family · 29

In that instant, Xia Yehang truly thought they were having a sweet, intimate moment.

His brain had completely short-circuited.

What was going on? Weren’t they brothers? Unless “brothers” here didn’t mean normal brothers?

Not in the ordinary family sense, but in some kind of role-play sense??

Xia Yehang’s mind was instantly filled with fog. He didn’t even notice the two in front of him separate.

“You’re back?” Su Wenyu sniffed the scent on Zhou Xu, then sniffed his own arm, and said to Xia Yehang, who was standing at the door, “I was trying to figure out why my brother and I smell different, even though we’re clearly using the same shower gel.”

Su Wenyu looked at Zhou Xu suspiciously. “Did you secretly switch your shower gel?”

Zhou Xu: “…It wasn’t secret.”

He had switched his shower gel days ago. Who knew Su Wenyu would only just now suddenly notice the difference.

“Go sit in your chair, take out your books, and study,” Zhou Xu pressed down on Su Wenyu’s shoulders and manually turned him around, steering him toward his desk.

Xia Yehang’s crashed brain finally rebooted upon Su Wenyu’s explanation.

“Ah, I see.” Xia Yehang entered the room, closed the door behind him, and let out a long breath. “You scared me to death. I thought you two were kissing.”

Zhou Xu: “…”

Su Wenyu: “?”

Completely oblivious to the earth-shattering words he’d just spoken, Xia Yehang walked inside and pulled his T-shirt straight over his head, revealing his well-toned, tan, muscular upper body.

Xia Yehang was a sports student. The muscles on his body weren’t honed in a gym but through actual, rigorous training.

He casually tossed the shirt he’d taken off over the back of his chair, pulled a set of clean clothes from his wardrobe, and asked them, “Have you guys showered yet? I’m soaked in sweat. Mind if I jump in first?”

Su Wenyu’s gaze trailed enviously from Xia Yehang’s pectorals down to his abs. He discreetly squeezed his own flat, empty stomach and sighed forlornly. “Go ahead. We both showered earlier today.”

Xia Yehang immediately ducked into the bathroom, worried the smell of sweat might offend his two clearly hygiene-conscious roommates.

The bathroom held a faint scent of shower gel, likely left by the last person who’d used it.

Xia Yehang noted the clean, dry floors and felt a surge of gratitude for landing two tidy roommates.

Otherwise, if the dorm had been filthy and reeking, he’d have been out of there within two days, finding an off-campus apartment for sure.

Xia Yehang stripped down and stood under the shower, taking a satisfying, refreshing shower.

By the time he finished, Shen Yi had also returned from his class meeting.

“Back so soon?” Xia Yehang, wearing a black tank top, used the mop to dry the floor where his wet flip-flops had left marks. After wiping his soles on the mat outside the bathroom, he shuffled out.

Coming out, Xia Yehang towel-dried his hair and turned to see Su Wenyu propping his chin in his hand, reading a book. He tactfully kept quiet so as not to disturb him.

But the very next second, a thud echoed from Su Wenyu’s direction.

Xia Yehang and Shen Yi both instinctively turned to look. They saw Su Wenyu’s head knock against the desk, his hand still propped under his chin in the same reading pose.

Xia Yehang: “…Did he fall asleep?”

Treading softly, Xia Yehang walked over, craned his neck to look, and saw Su Wenyu’s forehead pressed against the book on his desk. Despite his head hitting the table, he hadn’t woken up at all, sleeping utterly dead to the world.

“…He’s asleep.” Xia Yehang reported to Shen Yi.

Shen Yi was pulling clothes from his wardrobe. He glanced at the throw blanket draped over the back of Su Wenyu’s chair and said, “Sleeping like that, he’ll catch a cold.”

Understanding his implication, Xia Yehang carefully picked up the blanket, preparing to drape it over Su Wenyu.

Nearby, Zhou Xu, who was listening to white noise on his Bluetooth earbuds, caught the movement in his peripheral vision and looked up. “What’s up?”

Startled by his sudden voice, Xia Yehang inexplicably felt like he’d been caught in the act. The blanket slipped from his hands and landed on Su Wenyu.

“Uh, your little brother fell asleep. I was just afraid he’d get cold,” Xia Yehang explained.

Zhou Xu: “…”

In disbelief, he got up and walked over to Su Wenyu. He saw the book, open to the exact same page it was on before, never having been turned further, and Su Wenyu, sleeping like a log, unfazed by all the commotion.

“Su Wenyu, is this how you study?” Zhou Xu asked coldly.

In his sleep, Su Wenyu sensed danger like a small animal, shuddered involuntarily, and instantly bolted upright, eyes flying open.

“I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t.” Su Wenyu struggled to open his eyes and focus on the book before him.

Every single character in the book, taken alone, Su Wenyu could recognize.

He just couldn’t understand why, when these characters were arranged together, the combined sentences became incomprehensible.

It was like trying to read a heavenly scripture.

Just a few seconds of trying, and Su Wenyu felt like he was being hypnotized. His eyelids started drooping together uncontrollably again.

Su Wenyu stubbornly used his fingers to physically pry his eyelids open, trying to fight the drowsiness.

Two seconds later, his resistance failed.

Zhou Xu and Xia Yehang standing next to him: “…”

Xia Yehang couldn’t suppress the twitch at the corner of his mouth. The hand hanging at his side pinched his own thigh, hard, just to keep himself from laughing out loud.

Oh heavens.

How could there be such an adorable guy.

Seeing Su Wenyu’s head bobbing like a chicken pecking at rice, Zhou Xu’s scolding words ultimately transformed into a helpless sigh.

“Forget it.” Zhou Xu patted Su Wenyu, waking him up. “If you want to sleep, go sleep in your bed.”

Jerked awake again, Su Wenyu was still insisting: “I wasn’t sleeping. I was just tired from studying and rested my eyes for a moment.”

Zhou Xu responded dismissively, “Mhm, mhm. You were tired from studying.”

Three minutes of studying, half an hour of sleeping.

Where was that determination to study hard so they wouldn’t be separated?

Zhou Xu saw no evidence at all that Su Wenyu didn’t want to be separated from him.

“Send me the list of all the subjects you need to make up. I’ll compile the key points for you, and you can just memorize them when the time comes. How does that sound?” Zhou Xu said, seeing Su Wenyu stubbornly insisting he hadn’t been sleeping and trying to continue studying. This studying method was truly a waste of time—nothing more.

Su Wenyu looked at him with a face full of surprised delight, suddenly no longer drowsy, eyes wide open as he pressed: “Really? But can you even understand these books? How will you know what key points the exam will cover?”

Zhou Xu didn’t want to meet his gaze. He planted his big hand on Su Wenyu’s head, turning it back around, and said, “I have my ways. Just stop sleepwalking in front of your book.”

Su Wenyu scratched his cheek sheepishly and obediently closed his book.

He was well aware that even if he sat in front of the book for a lifetime, he’d only end up sleeping a lifetime. Knowledge doesn’t just jump into your brain on its own!!

Xia Yehang stood nearby, a bit curious. “You have makeup exams? You failed some subjects?”

Su Wenyu nodded with a troubled look. “Lots of them to make up.”

Not knowing how to comfort him, Xia Yehang could only make a fist in a cheering gesture. “You can do it!”

Su Wenyu declared he would definitely, absolutely do his best!

For the sake of not being separated from Zhou Xu, once those key points were compiled, he’d memorize them daily!!

Shen Yi, seeing them finish their conversation, had fresh clothes draped over his arm and asked, “Is anyone using the bathroom? If not, I’m showering.”

All three shook their heads, and Shen Yi went in.

Su Wenyu sat in his chair, swinging his legs a little, and sent Zhou Xu the list of every subject he’d failed last semester. Feeling now, he wasn’t sleepy at all anymore.

He saw Zhou Xu still sitting at his desk doing homework and, a little curious, shuffled over to see what he was writing.

Looking down, Su Wenyu was met with a jumble of English letters, numbers, various symbols, and combinations that made absolutely no sense to him.

Su Wenyu: “…”

It was worse than the book that made him fall asleep—at least that had Chinese characters he could understand.

Su Wenyu abandoned the idea of disturbing Zhou Xu’s studies. He circled the dorm room aimlessly for a bit and decided he really should just go to bed.

If he slept well tonight, he could study hard tomorrow.

But he absolutely had to use the bathroom before sleeping, or else he’d keep worrying about it.

Shen Yi was showering inside. Su Wenyu could still hear the water running from outside the door, so he had to wait patiently for him to finish.

About half an hour later, the bathroom door opened. Shen Yi walked out in a short-sleeved shirt and loose pants, the damp ends of his hair now softly covering his eyebrows, softening his typical cold, aloof aura and giving him a gentler look.

Spotting Su Wenyu lingering nearby, he asked, “Need the bathroom?”

Their eyes met, and Su Wenyu almost didn’t recognize him. He nodded. “Yeah.”

Shen Yi stepped aside to make way. Su Wenyu went in, used the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and, upon coming out, had Zhou Xu help him climb onto his bed.

Once on the bed, Su Wenyu wasn’t sleepy just yet. He opened his phone and started playing a mobile game.

Shen Yi went back into the bathroom, washed the clothes he’d changed out of, hung them on the balcony to dry, and then prepared to go to bed.

Xia Yehang checked the time and asked Zhou Xu, “Mind if I turn off the lights?”

Zhou Xu, who had his desk lamp on, gave an indifferent wave of his hand, and Xia Yehang flipped off the two main overhead lights.

The sudden plunge into darkness made Su Wenyu’s phone screen seem piercingly bright.

He simply put the phone down, closed his eyes, and tried to cultivate drowsiness.

His method for falling asleep was also simple: just needed to think about study material, and Su Wenyu would fall asleep very quickly.

Around eleven o’clock, Zhou Xu finished his homework, went to the bathroom to wash up, then turned off his desk lamp and climbed the ladder in the darkness to get into bed.

Su Wenyu felt the slight movement of the bed frame but only barely cracked an eye open before sleep threatened to claim him again.

520, however, chose this exact moment to pop up: [A mission has arrived.]

Before Su Wenyu could even open his eyes, the mission details were broadcast in his mind.

[Mission Issued: Host Su Wenyu, please ensure that Zhou Xu is unable to sleep tonight, without waking up Xia Yehang or Shen Yi.]

Su Wenyu: […]

Su Wenyu asked, genuinely: [Are you serious?]

Was this kind of mission meant to torture him, or to torture Zhou Xu?

Ensuring Zhou Xu couldn’t sleep tonight—wasn’t that just telling him he shouldn’t even think about sleeping himself?

Helplessly, 520 explained: [It can’t be helped. The system has detected this is the optimal mission window. Zhou Xu has classes tomorrow and also needs to compile your study materials. Making him unable to sleep tonight is definitely a very villainous act.]

Su Wenyu opened his eyes and stared expressionlessly at the pitch-black ceiling for a long moment, unable to come up with a rebuttal.

You know to feed a donkey well before you make it turn the millstone. Yet here he was, asking Zhou Xu to help him compile study materials, and he wasn’t even supposed to let him get a good sleep.

This behavior truly was a bit too villainous.

[But I want to sleep,] Su Wenyu hugged his blanket and rolled over, his face full of misery.

Even though he’d slept all afternoon and had dozed off at the desk again in the evening, his biological clock was set. When nighttime hit eleven o’clock, he started feeling sleepy.

Now, getting up to do this mission wasn’t just torturing Zhou Xu; it was torturing himself too.

[What kind of villain, when doing missions, doesn’t think about their own needs first?] Su Wenyu tried to rebel.

520 only needed one sentence to make Su Wenyu fall in line: [This mission is worth thirty points. Failure results in double points deduction, plus electric shock punishment.]

Su Wenyu: [… Was it always double points for failure before?]

He didn’t remember that being the case.

520: [No, the Main System detected the host’s recent lack of enthusiasm for completing missions and made this adjustment.]

Su Wenyu: […]

This, again, left him with no counter-argument.

When he’d first met Zhou Xu, because they weren’t familiar with each other, Su Wenyu had felt no psychological pressure acting as a villain. He figured after doing so many bad deeds, he’d get his just deserts at the end of this Small World anyway.

But over the past week, ever since his ankle injury, Zhou Xu had been taking meticulous care of him, and their relationship had somehow grown closer. Lately, Su Wenyu subconsciously felt some hesitation and resistance when carrying out these missions.

The Main System had detected Su Wenyu’s slacking off and had therefore increased the severity of the punishment.

Following this trend, if Su Wenyu continued to slack off and neglected his missions, it probably wouldn’t just be double points deductions anymore—the electric shocks might be intensified as well.

Su Wenyu immediately scrubbed his face with both hands, psyching himself up.

Mission means Points.

Points mean Life.

Was Zhou Xu’s sleep more important, or his own life?

It had to be his own life.

Once he set his priorities straight, Su Wenyu started racking his brain for a way to complete this mission without waking the other two roommates, while making sure Zhou Xu couldn’t sleep… but still managing to sleep himself.

After much deliberation, Su Wenyu actually came up with a plan, though it required sacrificing himself a little.

Silently, Su Wenyu sat up in bed and looked towards Zhou Xu’s direction.

His and Zhou Xu’s beds were positioned so their feet faced each other; they slept foot-to-foot. From Su Wenyu’s angle, all he could see were Zhou Xu’s two legs sticking out from under the blanket, since he only covered his stomach.

Su Wenyu stealthily crawled over, looking down at the two feet right in front of him.

Zhou Xu’s feet were more than a size larger than his. Due to frequent running and exercise, even the veins on the tops of his feet were clearly pronounced.

By the faint moonlight filtering through the window, Su Wenyu slowly extended his hand of villainy.

He didn’t tickle Zhou Xu awake. Instead, he carefully avoided Zhou Xu’s feet and quietly, with great effort, clambered onto Zhou Xu’s bed on all fours.

Before Zhou Xu could sense the disturbance and open his eyes, Su Wenyu stealthily squeezed himself into the gap between Zhou Xu and the wall. He wriggled his way up slightly, leaned close to Zhou Xu’s ear, and exhaled a soft breath: “Bro, are you asleep? I can’t sleep.”

Then, right as Zhou Xu’s eyes flew open in shock, his expression one of utter startlement and near-curses, Su Wenyu swiftly clamped a hand over his mouth and whispered like a devil: “Bro, keep it down. There are other people in the dorm.”

Zhou Xu: “…”

Damn it!!