Chapter 37 Part 1

Ke Zhengchu stayed in the room and told Zhong Nian quite a bit about his past.

He had the boy’s soft-hearted nature pinned down perfectly. Gradually, he no longer knelt on the ground but sat on the edge of the bed, silently leaning close in a half-embrace in the darkness.

Zhong Nian listened intently, horrified by the days on Hope Island that Ke Zhengchu described in his words. He didn’t even notice how the man drew closer and closer.

“Your Boss led you off the island, and then?” Zhong Nian asked.

“To avoid the search, we scattered to various places, living incognito and lurking in the shadows, all working toward the same goal.” Ke Zhengchu spoke more that night than in his entire lifetime, but if the boy wanted to know, he hid nothing. “Until we seized the opportunity and gathered on this Cruise Ship under various identities.”

Zhong Nian did some mental math. “During that time… it took you four or five years?”

“Yes.” Ke Zhengchu’s voice grew a bit heavier. “To get revenge, you have to endure. Everyone who escaped Hope Island excelled at that.”

He buried his face in Zhong Nian’s shoulder. “The end is coming soon.”

This game too would soon reach its conclusion.

Zhong Nian thought so in his heart.

While lost in thought, the hand resting on the bedsheet was covered by a patch of warmth.

Zhong Nian turned his head to look at Ke Zhengchu on his shoulder, his chin accidentally brushing the man’s nose tip.

Or rather, Ke Zhengchu had been waiting for him to turn his head down and immediately leaned in.

Zhong Nian dodged quickly but still got kissed on the corner of his mouth. After a brief stiffening, he pushed the man’s head off his shoulder—only to have his hand caught instead.

At that moment, both his hands were gripped by the other, impossible to pull free. Their interlaced fingers were slick, unclear whose sweat it was, the grip tight like being entwined by a snake, inseparable.

“Little Nian.” Ke Zhengchu called to him lowly. “Can I kiss you?”

Zhong Nian rejected him coldly without thinking. “No.”

Ke Zhengchu fell silent for two seconds, then asked again. “Then can I taste your saliva?”

Zhong Nian felt stifled. “…No.”

What was the difference?

“They’ve kissed you.” Ke Zhengchu said, sounding a bit aggrieved.

Zhong Nian didn’t know exactly who “they” referred to, but he had no mind to ask. It was undoubtedly those few. “It wasn’t voluntary on my part either.”

Ke Zhengchu loosened his grip on Zhong Nian’s hands slightly. “Then, let me hold you.”

Zhong Nian didn’t speak. When Ke Zhengchu tentatively wrapped his arms around him bit by bit, he didn’t refuse.

His roommate was fairly obedient. If no kissing was allowed, then no kissing—just holding.

But the hold was really tight.

The snake entwining his fingers had moved to his waist, making it hard to breathe.

“Ke Zhengchu.”

Zhong Nian called his name once, and Ke Zhengchu understood, reluctantly loosening his arms a bit. But at the same time, he pressed his face tighter against Zhong Nian’s neck, making up for it from elsewhere.

Feeling the hot breath on his neck, Zhong Nian lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on the undressed gauze peeking from under Ke Zhengchu’s collar. In the end, he said nothing.

…

After Ke Zhengchu left, Zhong Nian still had the illusion that something was wrapped around his waist.

He lay on the bed, thinking about what Ke Zhengchu had told him.

“Once revenge is achieved, we’ll all be free. Wherever you go, Little Nian, I’ll follow.”

Zhong Nian had calmly told him, “But your Boss said he was going to drag me to another country to register our marriage.”

The arms around his waist instantly tightened further.

“If he forces you, I’ll kill him.”

When he said this, there wasn’t the slightest hint of joking in Ke Zhengchu’s tone.

“Sigh.”

Zhong Nian rolled over, sighing at the pitch-black ceiling.

At that moment, the System in his mind suddenly popped up. “You don’t need to take it too seriously.”

“What?”

“Whether it’s these people or the story, it’s all just a game.” The System was reminding him that everything here was fictional; there was no need to invest too many emotions.

Zhong Nian murmured, “But my heart isn’t made of stone.”

He would be affected and couldn’t remain detached like an outsider watching from afar, unmoved as still water.

“You’ll get tired like this.” The System’s voice was mechanical and emotionless. “Players who are too soft-hearted don’t last long.”

“Oh.” Zhong Nian balled up the blanket, hugged it tighter, and buried his face in the pillow with his eyes closed.

He seemed to hear the System sigh.

What did a System even have to sigh about?

Zhong Nian grumbled to himself and fell asleep.

Perhaps influenced by the System, he had a chaotic dream.

In the dream, someone else sighed lowly too.

“You shouldn’t be so soft-hearted; it’s easy to be taken advantage of by those with ulterior motives.” The speaker’s voice was low and hoarse, ethereal like the night wind.

Zhong Nian heard himself say, voice choked, “If I wasn’t soft-hearted, you would’ve died there.”

The ethereal voice grew even lighter, almost inaudible, like self-muttering. “No wonder… they all call you Little Rabbit Bodhisattva.”

What Little Rabbit Bodhisattva? Such a strange name.

He didn’t want it.

Zhong Nian bit his lip and woke up, grabbing the mischievous hand at his waist.

“Charles, if your hand itches, chop it off with a knife.”

The shadow pressing above him spoke. “How did you know it was me?”