Chapter 38#
“Like this, is it okay?”#
【Host, you are exploiting a loophole in the wording; that wasn’t ‘control’ at all.】
Qin Mu nonchalantly picked through the food on the dining table. He looked up at the light blue screen floating in mid-air. “Just tell me, was that control or not?”
【……】
【Yes, but there was absolutely no damage effect.】
Qin Mu smiled and squinted his eyes. “Then that’s a problem with your system. You always explain things so vaguely; it’s quite a bother for me, you know.”
77 blinked its eyes, genuinely beginning to self-reflect on whether the task instructions had been too vague.
【Then… Host, next time I will issue the tasks more clearly. Please complete the tasks according to instructions.】
Qin Mu smiled broadly, but his refusal was blunt: “I won’t.”
【……】
He finished picking his food and sat alone in a corner, feasting heartily while letting a portion of his mind converse with 77 through his consciousness: “I only need to complete the final mission, don’t I? Why do you care how I complete it?”
77 felt that the Host might have forgotten what his final mission even was.
Thus, it had to remind him once again: 【Host, your mission is to assist the protagonist, suppress the villain, and bring the storyline back on track.】
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow. “Has it deviated from the plot now?”
【That… well, no.】
“Then isn’t that it? Isn’t it only a matter of time before Jian Yunchen returns to the Jiang family? If he doesn’t return, how can I ‘assist the protagonist and suppress the villain’?”
77 was convinced. It even felt like going to headquarters to award the Host a Best Task Completion Award.
“So, why me?”
Before he knew it, Qin Mu had finished eating. He leaned back against the sofa and looked up at 77.
“Why are Qin Zhao and Yu Shu here?”
77, who had been talkative when discussing missions, fell silent when asked this.
It hesitated for a long time before giving an answer: 【Host, after you complete the mission, you will know the answer. The appearance of Qin Zhao and Yu Shu is not an accident; their presence here is an inevitability.】
【The reason you were chosen is because only you can complete this mission.】
Qin Mu silently repeated the phrase “only me” in his mind. Since he couldn’t get an answer, he didn’t dwell on it. Full and satisfied, he didn’t plan on staying long; he didn’t enjoy joining in the fun as much as the original owner of the body did, and he disliked these kinds of occasions most of all.
Just as he was about to leave, Qin Mu unexpectedly received a text message.
He glanced at it, his fingertips pausing slightly, and then headed toward the second floor.
The Jiang family manor was naturally large. Qin Mu took a lap and still hadn’t found the location, but as he passed a room, he was suddenly yanked inside.
The lights weren’t on in the room. The person who pulled him in gripped his arm tightly, seemingly trembling.
The door was closed in a hurry, as if there were some terrifying beast outside. Qin Mu was pressed against the door panel and let out a soft hiss of pain.
In the gloom, he joked, “Careful next time.”
The person in front of him paused, then pressed closer even more urgently. The person’s cheek brushed against Qin Mu’s neck, emitting a scorching heat through the friction, as a soft body continuously burrowed into Qin Mu’s embrace.
A voice called out muddledly: “Brother Qin Mu…”
Qin Mu turned his head slightly, and one hand pinched the person’s cheek, pushing him a little further away.
The other’s features gradually became visible; his fragile eyes looked as if they were holding a pool of water.
Qin Mu leaned his head back, resting it gently against the door panel, his thumb provocatively stroking the cheek of the person in his hand.
The person beneath him didn’t resist. He only narrowed his eyes slightly, the flush on his face deepening, even cupping Qin Mu’s hand and obediently rubbing against it.
Qin Mu’s eyes darkened, his tone meaningful: “So eager to solidify your status as my ‘boyfriend’?”
“Jian Yunchen.”
Jian Yunchen’s body stiffened imperceptibly. He pulled Qin Mu’s hand away and leaned against Qin Mu’s shoulder, speaking into his ear while his eyes secretly watched Qin Mu.
“I thought you wouldn’t recognize me.”
“The moment you received a message from Jiang Yunhan, you ran upstairs without stopping. It’s not him—are you disappointed?”
Their postures were intimately entwined, their breaths hot and inseparable, but Jian Yunchen’s words betrayed a hint of danger, as if the moment Qin Mu said ‘yes’, he would bite him to death.
Qin Mu’s hand naturally moved to grip Jian Yunchen’s waist. The latter had taken off his coat and was only wearing a thin shirt; a slight heat from his body temperature transferred to Qin Mu’s palm through the fabric.
He smiled, ignoring Jian Yunchen’s cold warning. “Yeah, so disappointed.”
Jian Yunchen’s struggle was easily suppressed. Qin Mu held him, saying the next sentence airily:
“Jiang Yunhan wouldn’t speak to me in that tone. If you want to imitate him next time, remember to be a bit smarter.”
Jian Yunchen soon realized something: “So you recognized me?”
“Is it that hard?”
Jian Yunchen’s eyes flickered. He pursed his lips, the strength in his hands loosening as he softly wrapped them around Qin Mu’s neck, his burning body pressing gently against him. He leaned close to Qin Mu’s ear, a fragile shimmer of tears glistening in the dim light, his tone slow and carrying a hint of grievance: “Qin Mu… I’ve been drugged, I feel so bad.”
Qin Mu’s ear felt a tingle from the contact, spreading like a bolt of lightning all the way down.
He tilted his head, moving his ear further away, and looked down at him.
“Should I call a doctor for you?”
“No…” Jian Yunchen mumbled, chasing after him again.
Breath fanned over his earlobe; the feeling was very strange, causing wave after wave of numbness, yet it wasn’t unpleasant.
Qin Mu looked at him as if he truly didn’t understand. “Then what do you want me to do?”
Jian Yunchen’s movements stalled for a few seconds. He buried his face in the side of Qin Mu’s shoulder, biting the soft flesh of his own inner cheek, and said with a sense of reckless desperation: “Qin Mu… help me.”
These few words were said with extreme difficulty, his articulation not even clear.
Qin Mu suppressed a laugh. “How should I help? I don’t know how.”
“……”
Ultimately, Jian Yunchen couldn’t help but look up and glare at him fiercely.
He suddenly grabbed Qin Mu’s wrist. Qin Mu didn’t resist, letting his hand be lifted gently by the other’s strength.
Qin Mu’s hand wasn’t particularly cold, but when it was placed on his own body, Jian Yunchen still felt a series of tremors.
He pulled Qin Mu’s hand, making him stroke his collarbone. Qin Mu kept his eyes down, seemingly allowing himself to be led entirely, yet his fingers seemed to have a mind of their own as they hooked into Jian Yunchen’s open collar and slipped inside.
The warm fingertips slid past the collarbone along the neck like a slippery fish that couldn’t be caught, leaving a trail of tingling itchiness. The moment the touch left, Jian Yunchen couldn’t help but crave the temperature of those fingertips again.
He tilted his neck back, creating a beautiful curve, his lips slightly parted as he panted softly. The watery shimmer in his eyes had deepened at some point, as if he had reached the brink of a threshold.
Jian Yunchen pulled Qin Mu’s hand, letting it slide further down, leaving an imprint through a layer of silky fabric.
The effects of the drug were becoming more and more intense. Jian Yunchen’s consciousness began to blur, and his feverish body began to crave that slight bit of coolness from Qin Mu’s fingertips.
He slumped against Qin Mu’s shoulder, looking at him with dazed eyes.
He pleaded softly:
“Like this, is it okay?”