Chapter 18

“You bunch of lunatics, don’t bother me again.” Zhong Nian turned and walked out.

“Little Nian—”

Halfway there, Zhong Nian was grabbed by the hand from behind by Guan Shan Yue. With a strong pull, he lost his balance and fell onto the nearby bean bag sofa.

The flowing particles inside the bean bag sofa made him feel like he had sunk into a pile of sand, unable to get up for a moment. As he struggled to find a point of support, a shadow loomed over his head.

He looked up and saw Guan Shan Yue kneeling over him.

It was clearly a somewhat dominant posture, yet his expression could be described as humble and placating.

“Little Nian, don’t doubt me. I mean it.”

Hearing Guan Shan Yue say that, Zhong Nian became even more disdainful.

“Is it fun to gang up and toy with me? You rich people really have too much time on your hands.”

One after another, they spouted shameless words, just to bully him. Did they think he was that easy to bully?

Zhong Nian strongly suspected that the three of them had conspired behind his back to tease him. Three people with tight bonds showed up one after another to make fools of themselves, their lines so similar: bodies clean, wanting to make him comfortable, to serve him… And how was it so coincidental that they all took a liking to him at the same time?

“No, I have no intention of toying with you.” Guan Shan Yue grew anxious. “Really, I’m not lying.”

Zhong Nian wasn’t buying it. He pushed at Guan Shan Yue’s shoulder. “Get off, I’m leaving.”

Guan Shan Yue didn’t want to let Zhong Nian go, fearing that if he left now, he’d never get another chance.

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it to you.”

“No need… What are you doing?!” Zhong Nian was pressed back into the bean bag sofa. Before he could react, he felt a chill on his stomach.

Guan Shan Yue had actually pulled out the hem of his shirt, pushed it up, and buried his face there.

Zhong Nian’s stomach was almost never exposed for others to see. Even when sleeping in the heat, he had to cover it properly with a corner of the blanket. It was as white as tofu made from condensed milk, the skin tender and unable to withstand stimulation. The warm, rapid breaths sprayed over it, itching like someone tickling him with a feather.

“Let go… Ugh, so itchy!” Zhong Nian instinctively twisted to escape, but his waist was pinned on both sides by Guan Shan Yue’s hands, leaving no room to flee.

He couldn’t see it, but Guan Shan Yue, buried against his stomach, was utterly entranced, constantly inhaling the scent like he had been drugged. The rationality in his eyes gradually drowned in desire, his face unconsciously pressing closer.

The more Zhong Nian twisted, the harder it was for Guan Shan Yue to suppress his impulses. His nose tip pressed in, sinking into the youth’s soft abdomen.

When a trace of wetness swept around his navel, Zhong Nian felt a numbness shoot up his tailbone. His waist arched once, then went even softer, unable to muster any strength as he couldn’t even get up from the bean bag.

His stomach was kissed again, and he cried out in shock, incredulously cursing, “Guan Shan Yue, are you sick?!”

Guan Shan Yue seemed deaf to his curses. He withdrew his tongue, which had tasted sweetness, and moved his head lower.

Zhong Nian heard the sound of a belt unbuckling and a zipper pulling. His hands, which had been slapping or shoving the other’s head, paused, then switched to grabbing. In the tussle, he yanked off Guan Shan Yue’s hair tie.

A cascade of platinum hair spilled out, some falling onto his stomach, making it even itchier.

Zhong Nian mercilessly grabbed the silky platinum hair and yanked it outward with force.

The pain on his scalp forced Guan Shan Yue to lean back, wincing in pain, but his eyes held a delighted smile. He licked his lips greedily, as if unsatisfied.

“It hurts…” Guan Shan Yue chuckled lightly. “Little Nian grabbed too soon. You shouldn’t have pulled me away—you should’ve pressed my head in harder. I haven’t even properly proven my worth yet.”

Zhong Nian was stunned for a moment, then grew even more furious.

“If your brain’s bubbly, go see a doctor.”

He kicked a foot into the man’s vulnerable spot at the waist, finally breaking free.

As he ran out of the room while fastening his pants, he still heard Guan Shan Yue pleading for him not to go, which made his footsteps even quicker.

He ignored the meaningful glances from the bodyguards outside, skipped the elevator, and chose to descend through the safety passage to the lower decks.

He barreled ahead blindly, working up a sweat, and finally hid at the ship stern where no one was around. He squatted down in some random spot.

He yanked off his bow tie, pulled open his collar, and finally felt like he could breathe a bit.

“What kind of people…” His cheeks puffed out and flushed red, his eyes misty with anger. In a fit of venting, he tossed the bow tie in his hand away and stomped his leather shoes, making noises.

If they dared approach him and go crazy next time… He’d bite them hard, status difference be damned.

So what if they owned the cruise ship?

He didn’t believe they’d throw him into the sea.

【Angry now. Watch the live stream—you got NTR’d again.】

【Wah wah, Baby got bullied. Their drool has me pissed off too.】

【They’re all dying to eat you up, Baby… Run farther next time!】

【Aaaah, I also want to bury my face in that belly and kiss the belly! That Guan guy died happy this lifetime!】

【No wonder they’re good friends—all dogs. Teaming up is possible too, but only if they can’t decide a winner, so all three team up to harmoniously f Wife, let Wife f, four people fing on the bed f f】

【I like f plots too, but four is a bit much.】

【Doesn’t matter, it’s all my Lord Zhong Nian’s f】

【Nooo, my Baby will get fed to death!】

“What are you all saying? I don’t understand.” Zhong Nian frowned at the censored comments in the barrage. “You’re not secretly cursing me, are you?”

【How could it be cursing, hehe.】

【Let you all talk dirty, caught by the Streamer huh.】

Zhong Nian stared in confusion at the live stream barrage for a while longer. The comments all seemed disjointed, like they were speaking in code, which inexplicably made him even angrier.

“Turn off the live stream,” he said to the System.

“Okay.” The System shut it off instantly, paused, then added, “You don’t need to mind them.”

Zhong Nian wilted and replied, “Oh.”

After a moment, the System said again, “The same goes for those NPCs I mentioned.”

Zhong Nian, already fuming, started venting at the System. “And you have the nerve to say that? What kind of crappy game is this? All the NPCs are brain-dead.”

The System: “Sorry, I’ll report it upward.”

Zhong Nian sensed that the usually cold System had become a bit more accommodating and pressed, “So what were those censored comments cursing me about just now?”

“They weren’t cursing you… but they weren’t good words either.”

Zhong Nian got worked up. “I knew it! Show me those first few censored lines.”

“No.”

“Then read them to me?”

“…That’s even more no.”

“This no, that no—it’s not a spoiler. What words can’t I hear?” No matter how Zhong Nian insisted, the System wouldn’t budge. He muttered curses at the Bad System several times.

Bad System cold as ice messing up the weather, Bad System stealing Player points to buy massage cards, Bad System breathing causing a tsunami…

“…”

The System said, “The System doesn’t go for massages or breathe.”

Zhong Nian: “So you admit you’re cold as ice messing up the weather?”

“I’m not.”

“Oh, Bad System quibbling and lying, causing the game’s reputation to plummet.”

“…”

After that, no matter how Zhong Nian cursed, the System didn’t respond, just took it all.

After half an hour of cursing, Zhong Nian finally felt relieved, refreshed and clear-headed.

The System: “Done cursing?”

Strangely, Zhong Nian heard a hint of helplessness in the emotionless mechanical voice.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “The Bad System has at least one good point.”

“What’s good?”

Zhong Nian was about to say when he suddenly stopped and turned to look to the side.

A figure entirely clad in black leaned against the passageway door, wearing a hat with the brim pulled low, obscuring the eyes. Only the hard-lined lower half of the face was visible, but Zhong Nian felt their gazes meet.

Before he could look closer, the man turned and left.

Zhong Nian hesitated for two seconds, then chased after, but the figure was gone. Returning to the passageway door, he spotted a cigarette butt left on the ground.

He sniffed the lingering cigarette scent in the air and sneezed.

Rubbing his nose, he thought: Forget it. Rather than wasting time here, better go find Charles.