Chapter 45

【Am I seeing this right? Why is Lu Moxing also on a dating show? Does he like men?】

【CEO Lu is young, rich, and loves his work. Who wouldn’t want to marry him!】

【Even so, CEO Lu ranks dead last on the ‘Men You Most Want to Marry’ leaderboard. Even his money can’t make up for that lethally sharp tongue of his…】

【As expected, the poor cutie is getting ruthlessly roasted by CEO Lu.】

【”I don’t like men” – CEO Lu’s classic quote. I’m waiting for him to eat his words.】

【Nah, CEO Lu will definitely stay single forever. How could he possibly have a change of heart? Hehe.】

【Ahhh, he grabbed him! CEO Lu, you say you don’t like men, but your hands are quite unconsciously touching him, aren’t they? CEO Lu, I think you’re just a hypocrite!】

【The cutie’s waist is so slender, his skin so fair, his legs so long. He’s a total flower boy. Slurp slurp, let me lick!】

【A new person arrived, and CEO Lu’s face completely changed. Real-life version of “You carry the scent of his cologne on you~”】

【What? Changing clothes? The exciting moment is here! I missed it last time, I must see it now!】

【What? Stripping? I’m already ready!】

【Why did the screen suddenly go black!!!】

Under Jiang Xiao’s vehement refusal, Lu Moxing put his shirt back on, not forgetting to add a sarcastic remark:

“You didn’t actually think I was worried about you, did you?”

Jiang Xiao: “I know my place, okay?”

Straight men understood straight men best.

Lu Moxing didn’t have that kind of interest in him. It was purely a cat-toying-with-a-mouse kind of mind game.

Perhaps because Jiang Xiao had rejected him time and again, CEO Lu had reverted to his haughty, contemptuous demeanor. His leather shoes crunched over the shattered monitor debris, producing a grating “creak.”

Like a wild beast surveying its territory, he slowly paced a circle around the room. Then at some point, the debris on the floor suddenly vanished, and the surveillance monitors on the ceiling sat as peacefully as before.

As if nothing had ever happened.

This scene silenced everyone.

It couldn’t possibly be man-made. Exactly what kind of place had they come to?

“I think we should first sit down and have a proper talk,” Jiang Xiao said seriously. “I don’t even know your names yet.”

The System’s information arrived with fanfare, albeit a little late.

First was the Spade Character Card Jiang Xiao had chosen earlier.

【A Lifetime of Independence, Strength, and Love of Freedom】

Identity Description: Gaming streamer, partial to suspense games.

Character Setting Description: A trendy guy who’s straight for a day, and straight for a lifetime.

Hint: You’ve had romantic entanglements with two guests on this dating show, but being so easygoing, you’ve long forgotten their names.

Jiang Xiao had no problem with this identity, but he raised an objection to the last few lines.

“So, I had romantic entanglements with men? But aren’t I straight?”

“You never actually got together,” the System said. “For other plot points, please explore on your own.”

Jiang Xiao slowly produced a question mark.

【Due to your high popularity in the gaming section, you were invited to join the dating show and told there would be ‘a super thrilling, realistic simulation game segment.’ Your interest piqued, you accepted the invitation.】

【However, what you didn’t know was that this game… concerns your life.】

“Who was it that just crashed into my arms and called out ‘Lu Moxing’?” Lu Moxing seemed to be muttering to himself. “If it were my employee, I’d have to dock their pay for half a year.”

Jiang Xiao pretended not to hear.

“Si Lin,” the man who had been silent all along spoke up. “A lawyer.”

Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but look at him a few more times. No wonder this man’s aura was so cold and distant, exuding an air of sacrosanct untouchability, and dressed in such a meticulously neat suit…

Even Lu Moxing, who normally looked down on everyone, gave Si Lin a few extra glances.

Si Lin was quite famous in the legal world. He almost never lost a case he handled. It wasn’t just because of his meticulous mind and formidable methods, but also due to his cold, unfeeling personality which had earned him quite a few enemies.

“Lawyer Si, did you also come to join the dating show?” Jiang Xiao was a bit curious. Looking at Si Lin, he didn’t seem the type who would need a dating show.

Si Lin gave a soft “Mm”: “I owed the director a favor.”

No wonder.

So, the people who came on this dating show… none of them actually wanted to find love. They all had other motives to varying degrees.

Jiang Xiao wanted to open the door to Si Lin’s room for a look, but just like with Lu Moxing’s, once the room closed, it couldn’t be opened.

“And what about you?” Lu Moxing lifted his eyelids, suddenly interjecting. “Who are you?”

“Jiang Xiao, a gaming streamer,” Jiang Xiao said.

“Just a little streamer.” Lu Moxing murmured Jiang Xiao’s name a few times, then asked, “What kind of games do you stream?”

So his name wasn’t ‘Orange’ (Juzi), it was ‘Glutinous Rice Ball’ (Yuanxiao). [T/N: A play on his name ‘Jiang Xiao’, as ‘Xiao’ can refer to Yuanxiao, the glutinous rice balls eaten during the Lantern Festival]

Lu Moxing actually quite liked eating yuanxiao—soft, glutinous, and the filling oozed out with one bite.

“Mainly suspense games.” Jiang Xiao had absolutely no idea of the messy thoughts running through Lu Moxing’s mind. “I came on this dating show because the invitation letter said there would be a segment with a super thrilling game.”

Right now, this game was a little too thrilling.

“I think,” Lu Moxing said casually, “that everything happening here isn’t rea—”

Lu Moxing’s words cut off abruptly, unfinished. A muffled grunt escaped him, and he suddenly collapsed.

He fell right into Jiang Xiao’s arms.

Startled, Jiang Xiao’s first thought was that Lu Moxing was acting like a hooligan again. Just as he was about to push him away, he noticed Lu Moxing’s complexion was extremely poor. The muscles in his arms bulged with veins. He didn’t have any of that cynical, arrogant attitude from just moments ago.

“Lu Moxing, what’s wrong with you?” Jiang Xiao was a bit worried. He touched Lu Moxing’s forehead. It was already covered in cold sweat.

This absolutely couldn’t be faked.

“Is it a sudden illness?” Jiang Xiao couldn’t figure it out and grew anxious. “Heart disease? A stroke? Lu Moxing, did you bring any medicine?”

As he spoke, he instinctively reached to fumble through Lu Moxing’s pockets. Before he could even find them, his wrist was grabbed by Lu Moxing.

Jiang Xiao’s warm, smooth skin seemed to have a fatal attraction for Lu Moxing. He instinctively clamped down on Jiang Xiao’s wrist, refusing to let go.

Beside them, Si Lin slightly furrowed his brows and stepped forward to pull Jiang Xiao away. “Let me take a look.”

But he couldn’t pull him away. Lu Moxing held onto Jiang Xiao’s hand tightly, refusing to let him leave. When Jiang Xiao tried to pull away, he emitted a low, somewhat fierce grunt.

He was like a vicious, injured dog wagging its tail and begging for sympathy.

After about a minute, the force on Jiang Xiao’s wrist suddenly released. Lu Moxing’s chest heaved violently, his breathing ragged. He closed his eyes, taking in fresh air.

Simultaneously, everyone heard a mechanical voice from above:

【Punishment Issued】

【Next time, it won’t be this simple】

Even the tone of each syllable was laced with an inorganic, chilling quality, pressing heavily on their hearts, suffocating.

So this was… the punishment?

Lu Moxing looked as if he’d fallen asleep. But when he opened his eyes again, not only was there no sign of weakness, but his eyes were filled with an even denser ruthlessness and dark gloom.

“It has angered me,” Lu Moxing said slowly. “I will make it pay.”

“What happened just now?”

Lu Moxing spat out two words grimly: “Electric shock.”

These two words brought another wave of heavy, dark clouds.

Lu Moxing had already searched his entire body. There was no foreign object, let alone a stun device. It was highly likely that whoever was behind this had implanted a shock device or something similar into their bodies while they were unconscious, which was why it could be activated so rapidly.

If that was the case, they had to act according to the broadcasts’ instructions. Otherwise, no one knew what punishment awaited them next.

A mere electric shock? Not only was Lu Moxing not defeated, but his fury had been ignited a hundred, a thousand times over. If he didn’t hunt down this mastermind and grind them into the dirt a few dozen times, his name wasn’t Lu Moxing.

Lu Moxing didn’t believe in supernatural nonsense for a second. He trusted what he saw and analyzed far more.

Since this matter was triggered by the dating show, the root cause must also be connected to these people.

Dozens of related directors, producers, and others instantly flashed through Lu Moxing’s mind.

The invitations for the dating show were completely confidential; even Lu Moxing didn’t know exactly who else was participating. But he would find the instigator and make them regret ever provoking him!

Jiang Xiao had no idea that an internal 3000-word essay had already flown through Lu Moxing’s mind. He only saw Lu Moxing’s eyes flash with a wolf-like ferocity, but it lasted only a few seconds before returning to normal.

“Are you alright?” Si Lin asked.

He was looking at Jiang Xiao’s wrist, hidden under the suit jacket.

Earlier, Jiang Xiao had been gripped fiercely by Lu Moxing, and a shocking fingerprint mark had appeared on his wrist.

Jiang Xiao shook his head: “It’s nothing, don’t mind me.”

The priority was finding a way out.

As for his wrist, it didn’t really hurt anymore, it just looked a bit alarming.

Following Si Lin’s movement, the thin gold chain trailing straight down from the hinge of his glasses swayed slightly before being gathered into the neat, jet-black hair at his temple.

Jiang Xiao’s fingers itched a little, and he forcefully suppressed the urge to play with that chain.

Si Lin interlaced his fingers, seemingly a habitual gesture. His fingers were long and slender, his knuckles distinct, giving off a cold, sharp feeling, just like the man himself.

But the faint, calm scent of agarwood also felt very reliable.

“It seems leaving here is the only way to uncover the truth,” Si Lin stated calmly. “We need to keep moving forward.”

“The door you came through can’t be opened anymore. Meaning the exit from this room isn’t a door. It might be a hidden passage or a mechanism,” Jiang Xiao speculated thoughtfully.

The others clearly shared this idea. The three of them each got up to search. Jiang Xiao looked around, flipping through the magazines on the table one by one.

He had only finished reading Lu Moxing’s magazine. The others he hadn’t read yet. Perhaps they also contained information about the other participants in this dating show.

Sure enough, besides Lu Moxing’s feature, there was also an interview with Si Lin. However, Si Lin was much more normal than Lu Moxing. He didn’t speak in snide, sarcastic remarks; his tone was normal, and the topics he discussed were mostly law-related.

But at the end, the reporter still asked one unrelated question:

“Lawyer Si is still single. Have you not met the right person yet?”

Gossip was an eternal part of human nature, and even more so for someone like Si Lin, who appeared cold and unfeeling. If he were to have a lover, it would be blockbuster news.

Si Lin’s career path was very similar to Lu Moxing’s. He was also a workaholic who could toil away in his office all day, with high professional competence and expertise. His only flaw might be…

He was too cold.

Even the gold chain dangling from the corner of Lawyer Si’s eye on the feature cover and the pure silver lawyer’s badge on his chest reflected an intensely icy brilliance.

But Si Lin’s answer was quite thought-provoking, consisting of just three words:

“I have.”

“What are you looking at?” Lu Moxing’s chilly voice suddenly sounded right next to his ear. “Don’t tell me you’re staring at someone else’s feature, drooling like a lovesick fool.”

“You’re the lovesick fool drooling,” Jiang Xiao retorted, annoyed.

Lu Moxing snorted coldly. “Who was it just now staring at me without shifting their eyes?”

Jiang Xiao had pretended to accidentally bury his face in Lu Moxing’s chest, deliberately leaned in and touched his face.

And just now, when Lu Moxing took off his shirt, Jiang Xiao had said with his mouth, “Isn’t that inappropriate?” while actually thinking Lu Moxing couldn’t see him constantly sneaking glances.

A perverted sex maniac would naturally be drawn to his physique.

Jiang Xiao was momentarily at a loss for words: “That was just…”

Just pure curiosity, admiration. Staring openly just seemed impolite.

To be mistaken for a lovesick fool even when sneaking a peek? What had Lu Moxing been through!

“Just?” Lu Moxing crossed his arms, slightly lifting his chin. A hint of a smile graced his lips, not quite a smile. “Did you think I was offering a free show?”

“I have to pay?” Jiang Xiao was dumbfounded.

He had only looked for a second.

A cooler, sharper voice cut in:

“Prostitution is illegal.”

Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing Lu Moxing’s gaze sharp enough to flay his face, he immediately resumed an innocent expression.

Great CEO Lu’s face cycled through a spectacular rainbow of colors. Finally, with a dark expression, he stared at Jiang Xiao, his voice sounding like it was squeezed through gritted teeth.

“Jiang Xiao, you’d better remember this clearly.”

“I do not like men.”

“It’s even more impossible that I like you.”

“Ab-so-lutely, impossible.”