Chapter 27: Arrogant Big Star

Ji Xingci passed out before he knew it.

Lin Wu froze.

“…Ji.”

“Ji Xingci?”

No way.

Lin Wu pressed a hand to his forehead, his brow and the back of his hand still flushed red.

He had finally mustered the resolve with great difficulty… but now he could neither advance nor retreat.

He pressed his lips together, genuinely feeling a touch aggrieved for once. After stiffening for a long moment, he finally dismounted.

Once he confirmed that Ji Xingci had truly fainted, Lin Wu handled the aftermath with utmost professionalism. He cleaned up the bloodstains beneath the bed, even returning to inspect the scene and the surveillance footage to ensure no traces remained.

Only then did he come back and lie down beside Ji Xingci once more.

Ji Xingci immediately snuggled up to him again, warm and toasty.

Lin Wu turned his head and couldn’t help stealing a few extra glances at him.

Ji Xingci really was quite good-looking.

The kind of handsome that was domineering and flamboyant, utterly flawless, the sort that stunned at first sight.

Lin Wu let out a breath and brushed Ji Xingci’s cheek before closing his eyes.

For the first time, he felt this bone-deep exhaustion. Soon, he drifted off to sleep against Ji Xingci.

For some reason, he dreamed of memories from long ago.

The Main God, whose face he couldn’t make out, stood amid the void of the clouds, enveloped head to toe in white light.

“05, if one day you gain complete humanity, you can stop being a system. Pick a small world and live a proper life.”

05 looked up at Him blankly. “But Main God, I want to keep working for You. I don’t want to retire.”

“You wrote it into my core code, after all—that I love to work.”

The Main God gazed at him for a long while amid the white light.

“Mm. I did write that.”

“Then I’ll get to work.”

05 nodded and set off, but midway he suddenly tripped over something. Vines snaked around him, binding him tight.

Then they wrapped around his…

??

Wait, that never happened.

Something heavy weighed on him. Lin Wu’s eyes snapped open, and there was Ji Xingci right above him.

“You’re awake.”

Ji Xingci hovered over him, eyes half-lidded, lashes damp with sweat. But his gaze was bright and clear, his skin evenly flushed.

He looked just like someone fresh from a morning workout.

He hadn’t even unlocked the handcuffs yet—his clothes were still bunched around his wrists—but that did nothing to dampen his determination for morning exercise.

Lin Wu stared at him in a daze, then let his gaze drift lower. His ears turned red on the spot.

“Wait… mmph.”

Too late.

Lin Wu squeezed his eyes shut. His lashes trembled. Ji Xingci threw his head back. “Ah…”

“So mushy… fuck, why does it feel this…”

Lin Wu covered his face as it gradually turned red.

“Xingci… next time, can you let me wake up on my own?”

“Mm-hmm… mm…”

“…” He wasn’t even listening anymore!

Lin Wu’s face burned crimson. He could only go along with it for a bit until, in the end, he had to yank Ji Xingci’s face down toward his.

“We’re still in the hospital… keep it down.”

Ji Xingci panted heavily, dissatisfied. “I’m receiving treatment.”

The Young Master was arrogant as ever. Not only did he drag Lin Wu into a morning romp right there in the hospital, but he even lectured him mid-act that his earlier theory had been spot-on.

Thrusting in just the right spot would make the fluids flow, achieving a therapeutic effect. Doing this in a hospital was perfectly justified, in his view.

Then he went right on searching for that perfect spot, heedless of anything else.

Lin Wu held out as long as he could, but eventually he couldn’t take it anymore. He yanked Ji Xingci’s waist down hard. Wasn’t this the place?

Ji Xingci nearly arched right off him.

His theory wasn’t wrong, at least.

Lin Wu soon regretted not laying down a waterproof pad on the sheets beforehand.

When it finally ended, Lin Wu felt dizzy for a fleeting moment. He leaned into Ji Xingci’s arms, thinking that this human activity was pretty comfortable after all… No wonder Ji Xingci liked it so much.

But that moment passed, and he thought once more that tasks were still more important, after all.

Lin Wu let out a breath.

Now he could finally get up.

The simple, everyday kind of getting up. Weren’t people supposed to rise lightly from bed, head to the bathroom to freshen up, maybe take a shower?

He almost felt nostalgic for it.

Lin Wu started to sit up.

Ji Xingci’s arm suddenly hooked around him, his breath hot against his skin.

“One more time.”

“…?”

…

It wasn’t until noon that Ji Xingci finally called someone to unlock his handcuffs.

He went back to check the scene and the surveillance footage again.

But after a whole night, Lin Wu had erased every last clue.

With such a failed attempt to flush out the attacker, that assailant probably wouldn’t show up at the hospital again.

Ji Xingci still felt a bit glum about it.

But when he looked up and saw Lin Wu’s clean profile—standing quietly and dashingly beside him, also watching the monitors—his lips curved up, and the gloom lifted.

Lin Wu glanced over. ?

“What’s up?”

Ji Xingci said nothing, just looked his fill, utterly satisfied.

How did this dummy look so damn delicious?

Ji Xingci reached out to take his hand but suddenly sensed someone snapping a photo.

He whipped around, and the figure at the stairwell bolted with a clatter of footsteps. He frowned and sent the bodyguards after them.

“Have them delete the photos.”

Another bodyguard leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Young Master, there are paparazzi outside.”

Ji Xingci rubbed his temple. It seemed his presence at the hospital had leaked out.

“Let’s take separate cars.”

Lin Wu could only nod.

He waited another hour or so at the hospital before heading back to the apartment by car.

Along the way, Ji Xingci even asked when he’d be back. Lin Wu was puzzled.

“I’m almost there.”

He never expected that the moment he stepped out of the elevator, Ji Xingci would scoop him up in a hug.

Lin Wu startled and instinctively stepped back.

“…Again?”

“…”

Ji Xingci’s face turned red.

What was with that incredulous tone?

“You,” he growled, tugging at Lin Wu’s collar, dissatisfaction flaring anew.

“Didn’t you say yesterday how much you wanted it? Were you lying to me?”

Lin Wu: “No. Of course I wanted it…”

“But,” Lin Wu hurriedly grabbed Ji Xingci’s hand,

“Xingci, are we officially dating now?”

Ji Xingci blinked, staring at him for a moment. “Yeah.”

“Really?”

Ji Xingci laughed, amused. “Of course. You this happy about it?”

It was just a casual remark, but seeing Lin Wu blush with such bliss made his chest tingle pleasantly, lifting his mood even higher.

He slung an arm over Lin Wu’s shoulders.

“Confess to me a few more times.”

“Mm. I like you so much.”

They had talked about hearing a confession, but in reality, Ji Xingci was already kissing him. Lin Wu instinctively pulled back, only to be tugged forward again.

The elevator doors slammed shut behind him.

“Which part do you like?”

“I like all of it…”

Lin Wu found himself pressed onto the sofa once more, his hands flailing in a panic.

“Uh, wait a second.”

“What’s wrong now?”

Lin Wu racked his brains, but he was truly out of tricks.

“I can’t do it anymore.”

“What do you mean you can’t? You’re still young—how can you give up without even trying harder?”

Ji Xingci paused for a moment.

“Isn’t this still working fine?”

Lin Wu’s face flushed red.

What a miscalculation. He should have tweaked his settings to give himself a stomachache on the way over.

Too late now.

Ji Xingci loomed over him, his eyes gleaming faintly as he licked his lips in excitement.

“Alright, you don’t have to move.”

Lin Wu: “…”

Liar.

Lin Wu lay there on the sofa, feeling utterly aggrieved…

Then it was the bathroom, where they went into overtime, one round after another…

Ji Xingci talked a good game, but he was still exploiting Lin Wu’s labor to the fullest. Even when the Young Master was clearly spent, he kept barking orders to go harder, babbling nonstop about how good it felt.

And the water really did flow.

Lin Wu could feel every bit of it.

This was too…

But wait—no, something wasn’t right.

Lin Wu’s head swam in a haze. Clutching it in confusion, he wondered what the hell he was doing.

Ji Xingci wasn’t suffering at all like this. It didn’t match the task requirements… not even close.

If anything, it was the complete opposite.

How had he let Ji Xingci lead him around by the nose?

Lin Wu pursed his lips and clamped a hand over Ji Xingci’s mouth to stop the distracting chatter, redoubling his efforts. He worked so hard that Ji Xingci nearly blacked out again.

Finally, they reached a point where they could stop. Lin Wu didn’t even bother washing up—he bolted upright, ready to flee.

But Ji Xingci’s arms snaked around him, pulling him close like a merman clinging tight.

“Where are you going?”

Lin Wu pursed his lips. “I’m hungry.”

“Mm, me too. What do you want to eat? I’ll have the chef whip it up.”

Ji Xingci planted a kiss on his cheek.

The casual topic eased Lin Wu’s guard a little. Just as he started pondering seriously…

The siren had already bared its fangs.

“Lin Wu, one more time, hm?”

Lin Wu: ?!

“I really can’t…”

“Nonsense.”

Right then, Ji Xingci’s phone rang from outside.

He had no intention of answering at first, letting it go to voicemail so he could stay glued to Lin Wu.

But then the butler came over the intercom, saying the Old Master wanted to speak with him.

Ji Xingci’s face darkened.

“Ah, this is so annoying.”

He finally grabbed a bath towel and retreated elsewhere to take the call.

Lin Wu hurried out after him, hastily dressing and buttoning his shirt with care. He stole a glance as he went.

Ji Xingci was on the phone for ages, and from the sound of it, he wasn’t happy.

Lin Wu thought for a moment, then had a sudden flash of insight. He checked his own phone.

Sure enough, someone had snapped a photo of him lurking under Ji Xingci’s building—and worse, shots of the two of them leaving together. It had all been posted online.

Not by paparazzi, though. More like one of Ji Xingci’s rabid fans.

The pictures were blurry, the accusations a jumbled mess. Online, the rumors claimed Lin Wu and Ji Xingci were really gay, that their fake romance had turned real.

Most people dismissed it.

But today, someone had caught them at the hospital too.

Normal friends didn’t hang out in a hospital together, standing that close. The rumors suddenly felt a lot more credible. Public opinion flipped.

Lin Wu realized they had hit a critical plot point.

In the original text, Ji Xingci had cut Xu Qing off cold, ghosting him for months and denying any connection.

His family even forced him into a blind date, which the paparazzi splashed across the headlines—a devastating blow to Xu Qing.

But Lin Wu’s gaze drifted instinctively to Ji Xingci’s lower belly… and those legs still slick and damp.

This time, he might not last the months…

When Ji Xingci returned from his call, his expression was grim. He scrolled through his phone for a bit.

Lin Wu approached and half-knelt beside him, asking carefully what was wrong. Ji Xingci looked up, hesitated, then just shook his head.

“It’s nothing…”

“They want me to come home. I don’t want to.”

His face made it clear he had zero interest in going back.

Lin Wu hesitated.

“Is it because of me? Because we got photographed?”

Ji Xingci blinked in surprise. He clearly hadn’t expected Lin Wu to know already.

“…Don’t say anything publicly. I’ll handle it.”

Lin Wu bowed his head. They ended up holing up at home for another full day. Ji Xingci fielded two more calls, growing more irritated each time.

The next day, he finally caved and said he’d head to his parents’ place for a bit.

Before leaving, he glanced back at the uneasy Lin Wu, pulled him into a hug, and kissed him. “I’ll be back soon,” he promised.

But by evening, Ji Xingci still hadn’t returned.