Shen Qiuxun’s palms pressed firmly against the man’s chest, keeping the distance between them from getting too close.
But a certain someone clearly took this action as aversion and resistance. Those sharp phoenix eyes drooped, their rims reddening. He just stubbornly wrapped his arms around Shen Qiuxun’s waist. His palms were so large, holding his waist securely within his grasp. His shoulders were also so broad, making him the only figure filling one’s line of sight. His possessiveness was so strong that even the surrounding furniture became objects of jealousy.
“Y-you…” The corner of Shen Qiuxun’s mouth twitched. He didn’t realize the reason, but instinctively knew he couldn’t reveal his objective. He really hadn’t expected Xu Zhiyuan to be searching for him…
So he was… a runaway sweetheart?
“L-long… long time no see.” Shen Qiuxun tugged at the corner of his mouth without any feeling. Taking advantage of the other’s daze, he swept his leg with force, using the brief opening to flip over the sofa behind him.
The man’s speed was so fast it was like a gust of wind. Coupled with the room’s limited space making movement difficult, the two of them ended up playing a game of cat and mouse for quite a while. Finally, they tumbled together onto the thick carpet, wrapped up by the curtain in front of the glass window.
They looked at each other amidst the soft, sheer window gauze. The other’s figure magnified step by step before he fiercely bit down on Shen Qiuxun’s lips.
He suddenly closed in, pressing his lips harshly against his. The kiss carried a nearly savage force, as if he wanted to vent all his pent-up resentment into it. His teeth were clenched tight. As they clashed, the man’s breath was chaotic and scorching hot. At the same time, ice-cold teardrops burst from his eyes, pattering down onto Shen Qiuxun’s cheeks before sliding down. It was hard to tell if those tears were grievance, anger, or complicated emotions with nowhere to go.
For a moment, Shen Qiuxun was both angry and speechless. In the chaos, his hand touched the back of the man’s neck. The other party paused for a moment as if electrocuted before finally letting go. The ambiguous silver thread stretched and snapped. A low, rough gasp sounded by his ear. He heard the man’s aggrieved voice: “Wife… you’re still running… you don’t want me again…”
“…Haah.” Shen Qiuxun was burned by that resentful, affectionate gaze and quickly looked up at the beautiful ceiling. “Uh… how about we… change positions to talk?”
The man acted immediately, picking him up like a child. The two sat down on the sofa. Shen Qiuxun tried to crawl off a certain someone’s lap, but ultimately failed.
The man rested his head in the crook of Shen Qiuxun’s neck, nuzzling his jaw like a puppy. “Wife, I finally found you.”
“Yeah, what a coincidence, huh.” Shen Qiuxun felt like he’d been set up… How did he coincidentally jump from the vent straight into this exact room? Lying in wait?
But he thought back to that first glimpse of someone earlier and felt it didn’t seem like it.
He didn’t look like he had any brain cells to spare.
“Wife, it hurts so much. Help me, help me…”
Feeling the kisses falling on the back of his neck, Shen Qiuxun shrank back. He reached out, locked the other’s wrist, twisted it, and using the momentum, a scissor-leg hold pinned the man firmly down onto the sofa.
But the man didn’t get angry. He didn’t even make an excessive expression. Instead, as if enjoying it, in a posture of offering his neck for slaughter, he stubbornly grabbed Shen Qiuxun’s hand. His fingers tightened. Gasping for breath, he spoke haltingly: “Since wife left… it’s gotten even worse.”
Left.
He had personally poked open this rather taboo topic.
Shen Qiuxun blinked and lowered his head, meeting the pair of dark green eyes directly. The man quietly watched him and asked, “Xunxun… cough cough… why did you leave back then?”
“Did you have some mission? Or did I make you unhappy?”
Hearing that first sentence, Shen Qiuxun felt a chill in his heart.
“No… I went out… on a trip.”
The man tugged the corner of his mouth. His gloomy brows transformed into a heartbreaking desolation: “Mm… it’s good you’re back… it’s good you’re back.”
Shen Qiuxun hadn’t expected the reunion with Xu Zhiyuan to be so calm. The other’s face grew redder, veins bulging, already looking like he’d be willing to die right in his hands.
Shen Qiuxun nodded cautiously. He swept his gaze around, stood up, and let go. Then, he was immediately hugged by the pushing-his-luck someone and pressed into the corner of the sofa again.
Fine, let him hug, Shen Qiuxun thought woodenly.
He pondered for a moment. “Your illness… is it getting worse?”
Xu Zhiyuan’s eyes reddened, even glistening with tears. His voice was hoarse as he stubbornly and gently smiled. “Mm.”
“Oh.” Shen Qiuxun rubbed his knees and glanced at that mirror. “Are you feeling any better now?”
That sounded way too arrogant, didn’t it? Did he really think he was some human-shaped Suppressant?
Could it be he was some Recessive Omega who just couldn’t smell his own pheromones?
Would he be sent to the Lab?
He was letting his thoughts run wild when he turned his head and saw Xu Zhiyuan cautiously inching closer to him. When he saw Shen Qiuxun turn, he froze abruptly. Tears fell from his eyes like a broken string, softening the contours of his deep, cold features. His eyes were fixed tightly on him, as if he would disappear with a single blink.
Shen Qiuxun shamefully felt a slight twinge of pity. “This illness of yours… is there really no cure?”
Xu Zhiyuan didn’t feel his resistance. A faint light flickered in his eyes, and he leaned in like a puppy to kiss the corner of his lips:
“Now that you’re here, I feel much better.”
It was very light, just barely touching.
Shen Qiuxun’s body was a bit stiff. He glanced subconsciously at the glass and cleared his throat. “That’s probably just a psychological effect… Mm, you should see a doctor when you’re sick. Don’t avoid treatment.”
Xu Zhiyuan hummed “Mm” softly, utterly docile.
Shen Qiuxun was completely baffled. His hand nervously clenched and unclenched. Mimicking the motion of petting a cat, he stroked the man’s hair.
“What are you doing?!”
‘?’ Shen Qiuxun nearly wept with joy. ‘Brother System, you’re finally back! I thought you’d abandoned me, wuwuwu.’
“Act normal, will you? My database is heating up again. Wait a moment.”
Luckily, the System didn’t take long this time.
“Who’s this on your lap? Doesn’t look like our mission target.”
‘A former mission target.’
“Oh… wait, Xu Zhiyuan?!”
Shen Qiuxun nodded, feeling dead inside. He ruffled the man’s stiff hair. “Are you feeling better?”
Xu Zhiyuan used his knee to nudge Shen Qiuxun’s legs apart, reaching out to pull him closer. Just like back then when he pinned him against the wall. He nodded.
“Can I leave now, then?”
Xu Zhiyuan paused. He carefully lifted his head, looking up at him, his eyes full of infatuation. “My… my illness keeps flaring up. My head hurts so much, my body too. It hurts so much I’m about to break. It’s a good thing I saw you.”
“Tch.” Shen Qiuxun followed his whim and touched his eyes. Green, like his family’s Kitty. “And then?”
“So… could I ask you to stay by my side? Keep me company, keep me company.”
Honestly speaking, from a negotiation standpoint, Xu Zhiyuan really had no talent. He exposed his weaknesses and bottom line far too early, placing everything on one desperate gamble.
His friend had said he could use power and influence to pressure people, or other schemes and tricks. Making an unarmed Beta stay by his side was incredibly easy for people like them. But Xu Zhiyuan had long since become afraid.
His deception, his stubbornness, all his dark emotions and actions—they would only push the person further away. He couldn’t help but imagine: once all the schemes and tricks were exposed under the sunlight again, would Shen Qiuxun leave without a sound once more?
No. No. He couldn’t lose Xunxun again.
“No.” Shen Qiuxun really did love money, but everything had to take a backseat when it came to his life. He still had a mission target waiting for him at home. And right now, even if you gave him more money, it was just a fleeting cloud given the one-month limit.
Could this be the true purpose of this damned Truth, Goodness, and Beauty Reformation System?
That was truly evil.
Tears welled up in Xu Zhiyuan’s eyes again, bloodshot overlaying them. He looked just like a defeated dog abandoned by its master—utterly pitiful. He didn’t go crazy, nor did he threaten. He just seemed to hold his entire heart up to him, clinging to his knee.
“I beg Xunxun. Without you, I won’t be able to live.”
“I have to work. I don’t have that much time.”
“I can follow Xunxun wherever he goes.”
Shen Qiuxun had just started a yawn, but hearing this, he swallowed it right back. His heart was harder than steel. “No way.”
In short, he still had a man hidden back home!
The two of them absolutely could not meet! Why… why, right when his mission was going so well, did trouble always crop up!
He swore, if Fu Mingchuan caused any more trouble, he’d definitely chop the man into pieces to vent his fury.
“I’ll die, Xunxun. Without you, I’ll die. When that happens, all those enemies will swarm in and snatch away all my wealth.”
That was truly evil.
“No way.” If Shen Qiuxun didn’t go back, what would happen to his mission? What about his life? Damn Truth, Goodness, and Beauty System, you really had it all figured out, huh? Was this how you tested your cadres?
“Then… three days a week. Three days, okay? I’ll send someone to pick you up… Hot springs, gardens, beaches, skiing… we can go anywhere, as long as I can just stay by Xunxun’s side.”
This was truly too tempting for a poor soul who’d spent most of his twenty-one years stuck in school.
Xu Zhiyuan on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Fu Mingchuan on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday?! That sounded way too weird.
“Host, please complete the mission seriously!” The System indignantly popped up to assert its existence.
‘Get lost. Just seeing you annoys me.’
【.】
“You…” Shen Qiuxun really wanted to refuse, but as the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back. Anyway, there were only about twenty days left. Once those dozen or so days passed, where would Xu Zhiyuan even go looking for him?
Worth it.
“One day a week. I’m very busy.”
Xu Zhiyuan was silent for a moment. He nuzzled the back of Shen Qiuxun’s hand with his head, aggrieved like some soft, unacknowledged lover not allowed into her husband’s house. “Okay, just one day.”
Shen Qiuxun yawned. Tearily, he rubbed his eyes. “You can’t disturb my daily life, much less send people to tail me. You just stay put in the Upper City District. I’ll come over myself every week… of course, travel expenses reimbursed.”
Xu Zhiyuan’s little scheme was poked through just like that. He lowered his head, looking desolate as he haggled: “I’ll send someone to pick you up. It’s more comfortable. How troublesome for you to run back and forth yourself.”
“No need. Don’t try any clever tricks, or the deal is off, and you can just go on hurting.” Shen Qiuxun yawned several times in a row. His words were slurred. Tears rolled down his face and fell onto the back of Xu Zhiyuan’s hand.
Xu Zhiyuan quietly watched that tiny water stain and lowered his eyes. “Alright, it’s a deal.”
In the shadows, his gaze darkened. Why wouldn’t he let him go there?
Could it be that in Xunxun’s home… he had taken in a second Xu Zhiyuan?
