Chapter 199: Extra — The Disappearance of Xiao Sijin (6)
President Chi discovered a few days later that his younger brother had run off again. Initially thinking he had joined a new travel group, a call revealed that Chi Yingxue had no intentions of returning to Beijing, opting instead to root himself there to learn tea cultivation.
Learn, tea, cultivation?!
Chi Zhuolin’s first reaction was that Chi Yingxue had been controlled by some bizarre organization, or perhaps brainwashed by a pyramid scheme. He immediately used his connections to track Chi Yingxue’s recent whereabouts in detail.
The findings were a “little” different from what he had imagined.
Chi Yingxue was still with that boy, a member of some Owl Travel Group, the “suspected boyfriend” who had spent a month with him after graduation, the one whose sudden disappearance had left his younger brother in a state of panic.
Had he not already briefly looked into the boy’s background and known that the person was of good character and came from a reputable family, he, as an overprotective big brother, would have immediately sought to break them apart.
In fact, he now regretted not having done so—seeing the photos sent by the private detective, President Chi felt conflicted.
The secretly taken photos were mostly set in the tea garden, where his brother, whom he thought knew only how to enjoy life, was seriously observing and learning in work attire, occasionally taking notes in a notebook.
In nearly every photo, there was the boy named Kuang Jinxin, sometimes earnestly explaining something, other times smiling as he watched his brother take notes.
His gaze was pure, filled with a kind of warm emotion.
Aside from earnestly learning about tea cultivation, there were also photos of the two fooling around, laughing, and cuddling. President Chi couldn’t bear to look at those for too long, as they made his heart uneasy, yet not entirely so. It was a complicated feeling, like a father marrying off his daughter, feeling both relieved and reluctant.
Actually, wherever Chi Yingxue chose to live was fine. For his only brother, Chi Zhuolin only wished for his safety and happiness.
Two days later, more detailed background information on Kuang Jinxin was laid on President Chi’s desk.
Since his younger brother was serious, he, as an elder brother, had to thoroughly vet the situation. Even if the other’s family and character were beyond reproach, what about his relatives? Who knows if there might be any troublemakers among his numerous aunts and uncles? Moreover, a good person doesn’t necessarily equate to living a good life. Chi Yingxue was accustomed to spending money lavishly, and in the future, he didn’t want his brother to worry about finances. Thus, understanding Kuang Jinxin’s financial background would help him devise a more appropriate and long-term financial support plan.
Before opening the file, President Chi was deeply worried about his brother’s future.
After opening it, his heart gradually mended.
The file revealed that the Kuang family tea garden was established through the joint efforts of Elder Kuang and the eldest son of the Kuang family. After it developed to a considerable scale, the second son and the third daughter joined the management of the tea garden. Thus, the majority shares were held by Elder Kuang and the eldest son, with the rest divided between the second son and the third daughter.
Kuang Jinxin’s father was the eldest son of the Kuang family.
Following the car accident that led to the untimely death of Kuang Jinxin’s parents, Elder Kuang decided to transfer his shares, along with those of the couple, to Kuang Jinxin.
In such family businesses, the transfer of shares can easily lead to disputes. However, the Kuang family had an exceptionally harmonious family ethos, and there were no objections to Elder Kuang’s decision, allowing the shares to be smoothly transferred.
Kuang Jinxin owned 70% of the more than a thousand mu* of tea garden.
*Chinese unit of measurement. 1,000 mu is about 164.8 acres.
The Kuang family didn’t just grow tea; they also owned a tea factory. Thanks to the high-quality tea varieties and excellent quality, their tea was in high demand every year when the new tea was released.
With such a boyfriend, unless his brother wanted to pluck stars from the sky, there was no chance of bankruptcy due to extravagance.
But…
With a wealthy brother-in-law, President Chi, as the elder brother, started worrying about other things.
For instance, would his unambitious, spendthrift brother be looked down upon?
After several days of contemplation, President Chi made a decision—he would establish a tea sales company, giving Chi Yingxue 100% ownership—to fill the gap in the Kuang family’s sales channels.
Although the Kuang family’s tea was already selling well, selling directly to the market versus through middlemen would undoubtedly make a significant difference in profits.
This way, his brother’s status would be secure, and he would have a steady income, killing two birds with one stone.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, President Chi held his coffee satisfactorily, gazing into the distance as if he could see his brother’s happy life ahead.
In the brilliant summer sunlight, his silhouette shone gloriously.
—End of The Disappearance of Xiao Sijin—
Kinky Thoughts:
This marks the end of the novel. I hope you enjoyed it. I wish there were more extras highlighting all the friends’ daily lives.
If you did enjoy it, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. You can use Google Chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.
For those interested, you can check out the sequel to this novel, Midnight Ten which follows the last 10 levels of the Owl.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone for your comments, encouragement, help with my translations, and ko-fi donations. It in part fuels my motivation to release so frequently and try to finish this novel as soon as possible.
Chapter 198: Extra — The Disappearance of Xiao Sijin (5)
In the tea garden in August, the summer tea has already been harvested. A heavy rain fell last night, and though the modern irrigation system can handle drought and flood, the older generation of tea farmers still prefers to walk through the fields themselves to feel at ease.
Kuang Jinxin spent the morning following his grandfather around the tea garden. They hadn’t finished inspecting it when his grandfather became too tired to continue. Kuang Jinxin reassured him repeatedly that he would continue the inspection in the afternoon without slacking off, finally coaxing him to go back.
Kuang Jinxin spent the entire afternoon in the tea garden, occasionally brushed by the wind, carrying the fragrance of tea everywhere.
By the time he returned to the old house, it was evening, and the setting sun painted the white walls and black tiles with a warm orange-red.
“Xiao Jin Ge—” His cousin, Xiao Shuang, caught up from behind, her round face flushed. “I’ve been calling you for ages. Why didn’t you wait for me?”
Xiao Shuang, the daughter of his aunt, was still in high school and was helping in the tea garden during her summer vacation.
Kuang Jinxin was startled. “You called me?”
Xiao Shuang rolled her eyes at him and said exaggeratedly, “I almost shouted myself hoarse.” After her complaint, she curiously asked, “Jin Ge, what’s wrong with you? Ever since you came back, you’ve been distracted and listless.”
As they spoke, they entered the old house together, finding the courtyard quiet. There wasn’t a soul in sight.
Normally, at this time, everyone would have returned from the tea garden, and the courtyard would be bustling with activity.
Sensing his confusion, Xiao Shuang explained without waiting for him to ask. “This afternoon, another group came for job interviews. They hadn’t finished when I got back.”
The Kuang family’s tea garden had expanded again this year, and they had been hiring since the beginning of the year. Since Kuang Jinxin returned, his grandfather had been teaching him hands-on, guiding him in the technical aspects. The management of the tea garden was still handled by his second uncle and aunt.
Nodding, Kuang Jinxin didn’t ask further, but Xiao Shuang leaned in, her eyes shining with excitement. “Jin Ge, let me tell you, one of the people who came for the interview today is so good-looking, he’s to die for!”
By the end, the girl dramatically clutched her chest as if her heart might leap out the next second.
Kuang Jinxin smiled but didn’t respond. He didn’t believe anyone could astonish him with their looks. All the amazement of his life had been used up in that one glance towards the ship’s mast.
As night fell, the whole family finally gathered together for a meal, filled with laughter and chatter. His grandparents were so happy that their wrinkles deepened. Their gaze was mostly on him, as if trying to make up for the years he was away.
Kuang Jinxin was glad he came back.
He had already lost his parents, and if he had missed the chance to show filial piety to his grandparents, he would have truly regretted it.
After dinner at eight, Kuang Jinxin had just returned to his room when his phone rang with a message from Xu Wang in the group chat.
Wangwang: [Image]
It was a news screenshot with the headline reading, “Li Zijin’s comeback is still at its peak. XXX regrets letting go of its former ace.”
Tea Sage Lu Yu’s Little Fan: Li Zijin made a comeback?
Wangwang: A perfect comeback.
XXX was Li Zijin’s former club. From the headline, it seemed like the original club hadn’t negotiated well, perhaps due to lack of confidence in him or other considerations, resulting in Li Zijin moving to a new club.
But it doesn’t matter which club he plays for. As long as one has the skill, there’s no worry about treatment. Besides, this is what Li Zijin loves most, and Kuang Jinxin is happy for him.
Wangwang: Xiao Kuang, how have you been lately?
The topic suddenly shifted to himself, making Kuang Jinxin a bit nervous, quickly replying: I’m good.
Half a month ago, when he left without a word, bought a new phone, and got a new SIM card, the first thing he did was contact his friends. None of them complained, only telling him to take over the family business well, and they would come to drink the best spring tea when the time came.
Kuang Jinxin didn’t know what to say, only feeling fortunate to have such friends, feeling very lucky and satisfied.
Wangwang: What are you doing now?
Tea Sage Lu Yu’s Little Fan: Just finished dinner.
Wangwang: At home?
Tea Sage Lu Yu’s Little Fan: Yeah.
After replying, he realized how odd the question was and added: Is there something? You can call or video chat now.
On the other end, thousands of miles away, Xu Wang didn’t respond to Xiao Sijin but sent a voice message to another WeChat account: “Xiao Xue, Captain can only help you this much.”
Sitting on the couch, Wu Sheng pulled him into an embrace and silently sighed, lamenting his love’s worrisome fate.
Kuang Jinxin didn’t get a reply from Xu Wang but received another private message.
Especially Good-looking Chi Yingxue: Come out.
Kuang Jinxin was confused.
Tea Sage Lu Yu’s Little Fan: ?
Especially Good-looking Chi Yingxue: [Image]
A stunning side profile shot, so beautiful it was breathtaking, and behind the side profile was the gate of the Kuang family home.
Kuang Jinxin’s eyes widened in shock, nearly dropping his phone.
Without hesitation or thought, Kuang Jinxin reflexively ran out to the courtyard, opening the gate.
The side profile turned into a full face. Under the moonlight, brows slightly furrowed, he started with a complaint, but because of the unconscious tender tone, it sounded a little aggrieved. “Your family’s tea garden’s interview process is so strange. I said I wanted to learn about tea cultivation, and they suggested I consider a different career path.”
Kuang Jinxin pursed his lips. Logic told him that he needed to have a serious conversation with Chi Yingxue about his reasons for coming, their thoughts on the future, and the differences and disagreements in how they approach life and relationships…
But in the end, his lips couldn’t stay pursed, and his smile rebelliously lifted, as if reaching for the moon.
He laughed.
Chi Yingxue didn’t laugh, stubbornly restating, “I want to learn how to cultivate tea.”
The warm summer night breeze made them slightly tipsy.
Kuang Jinxin heard himself ask, “Then, shall I teach you?”
Chapter 197: Extra — The Disappearance of Xiao Sijin (4)
“Is that all?” The more he heard, the more Xu Wang wanted to punch Chi Yingxue, having little confidence in his teammate. “Are you sure that’s everything?”
Chi Yingxue hesitated. Although he still didn’t think he did anything wrong, the increasingly dark expression on the other’s face forced him to be cautious.
Finally, the last piece, forgotten in a corner, reflected the light.
“Before going to sleep, he asked me if I knew where he was from.”
Xu Wang asked, “What did you answer?”
Chi Yingxue said, “I only remembered that his family grows tea, so I guessed it must be the South, maybe Zhejiang.”
Xu Wang: “You were that sure?”
Chi Yingxue: “Just a random guess.”
Xu Wang: “And?”
Chi Yingxue: “I was wrong.”
Xu Wang: “……”
Chi Yingxue: “……”
Xu Wang: “Then what?”
Chi Yingxue: “We just went to sleep.”
“Speaking of which,” Chi Yingxue seemed to come back to his senses, curiously tilting his head, “where is Xiao Si Jin actually from?”
“Why didn’t you ask him that yesterday!” Xu Wang felt like throwing cold water on him to wake him up.
Wu Sheng silently looked out the window, feeling relieved that there were people even lower than him on the “romantic IQ” food chain.
Xu Wang firmly believed that, with Kuang Jinxin’s character, he wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye and worrying his friends. Even if he wanted to end things with Chi Yingxue, he would have left an explanation rather than letting Chi Yingxue guess blindly.
Taking care of others’ feelings was a gentleness unique to Xiao Kuang.
“Let’s go back to the hotel.” Xu Wang made a decisive decision.
As soon as Chi Yingxue realized Xiao Kuang was missing, he called his brother and launched a sea, land, and air search before rushing over to consult with them. Xu Wang knew without asking that he must not have stayed in the hotel room for even a minute longer than necessary. Even if Xiao Kuang did leave something behind, that guy probably wouldn’t have noticed.
Half an hour later, Xu Wang’s deduction was confirmed.
In the tidied hotel suite, a light-colored envelope with the hotel’s logo lay quietly on the dark bedside table, as conspicuous as a sun hanging in the night sky.
Xu Wang walked over, grabbed the corner of the envelope, and shook it at Chi Yingxue, despairing, “How could you not notice this?!”
When he woke up, the room hadn’t been cleaned by the staff yet. It was a mess, and he was frantic, wishing he could rush out to search immediately—who would remember to check the tables and chairs?
But now, Chi Yingxue couldn’t care about defending himself and snatched the envelope.
The envelope wasn’t sealed, just symbolically folded.
Inside was a single piece of letter paper, neatly unfolded, with Kuang Jinxin’s neat and handsome handwriting—
Xiao Xue:
I’ve decided to go home.
Ever since graduation, my family has been urging me to return. During my university years, the tea garden was managed by my second uncle and aunt. It’s time for me to take on my own responsibilities.
Yesterday, when I asked you what you wanted to do in the future, I was hoping you would ask me the same question. If you had, I would have told you about my family’s situation and my plans for the future, including parts you might not agree with. Then we could have argued, maybe I would convince you, maybe you would convince me, or maybe we could compromise and make new plans together.
But you didn’t ask.
You said keeping things as they are is good enough.
This is the first time I’ve said goodbye to a friend in this way, because there are some things I don’t know how to say face-to-face.
Xiao Xue, I know you are happy now, and I hope you can continue to be happy. But living leisurely, as comfortable as it is, can make life feel empty over time. Find something you care about. It doesn’t have to be a struggle, just a hobby—cars, games, plants, animals, insects, and fish. When you have something you like, life has flavor.
I had a great time this month. Thank you.
After reading the letter, Chi Yingxue was even more perplexed than before.
Xu Wang and Wu Sheng, one on each side, also took in the contents of the letter.
“What do you think now?” Xu Wang asked.
Chi Yingxue stared blankly at the letter. “I don’t understand.”
Xu Wang, suppressing the complex feelings swirling inside, asked patiently, “Don’t understand why he went home? Or don’t understand why he left suddenly without a word?”
Chi Yingxue didn’t speak, as if unsure which to choose, or perhaps stubbornly not wanting to say.
Xu Wang’s patience ran out, cutting to the chase. “Going home, because there’s a tea garden that needs care—this is something Xiao Kuang has probably considered since graduation. He left suddenly without saying a word because he finally realized that these were his own matters. He just needed to decide and act on them.”
“He told me to find something I care about.” Chi Yingxue finally spoke, his focus completely unrelated to what Xu Wang said. “But I’ve already found it.” His beautiful eyes turned to Xu Wang, clear and determined. “It’s Xiao Sijin.”
“You care about him?” Xu Wang chuckled, shaking his head. “No, Xiao Xue, you only care about yourself…”
“You want Xiao Kuang by your side because you enjoy being with him; you share your past with him and open up everything to him because such release makes you feel relaxed. Your relationship always revolves around your ‘comfort level’. Do you know what Xiao Kuang wants? Or to put it another way…”
Xu Wang looked deep into his eyes, asking seriously, word by word. “Have you ever thought about stepping into his heart to have a look?”
Chapter 196: Extra — The Disappearance of Xiao Sijin (3)
The human heart, much like the front camera of a mobile phone, often comes with a filter. These filters are named “I think”, “I feel”, “I hope”, “I believe”. Any neutral and objective matter, seen through these filters, becomes tinted with the desires of that heart, and then firmly remembered by its owner.
The coded love letter made Xu Wang realize this truth for the first time. He believed that Wu Sheng truly felt the codes were obvious, and that he could decipher them instantly upon opening the letter. Yet, this delay lasted ten years.
Wu Sheng’s filter was derived from unfounded confidence and presumptions.
Chi Yingxue’s filter came from willful recklessness and presumptions.
The night before Xiao Sijin disappeared without a word, there was a mountaintop view of the night sky, orange soda, kisses with the taste of orange, and speeding down the mountain. However, it was only after removing Chi Yingxue’s emotional filter that these moments finally revealed their true essence hidden in the night…
“This is the highest point in the city, and also where the night view is best.” Sitting on the car roof, enjoying the mountain breeze, and overlooking the lights of thousands of homes, Chi Yingxue squinted in comfort.
Kuang Jinxin sat beside him, his posture proper and demure, not like someone lazily enjoying the breeze, but rather like a student attentive in class.
Chi Yingxue smiled, stretching his arm to pull him into an embrace.
Perhaps it was time for some sweet nothings? But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to speak or move. He just wanted to hold this person until the end of time.
Kuang Jinxin let him, looking down at the mountains below, eerily quiet.
After holding him for a while, Chi Yingxue finally sensed something off and asked curiously, “What are you thinking?”
“I’ve been staying in the hotel for a month now,” Kuang Jinxin slowly said, a topic seemingly unrelated to the mountain breeze or the night view.
Chi Yingxue didn’t think much of it, carelessly responding, “Just stay at ease. My brother will take care of the bill.”
Kuang Jinxin uttered a barely audible “oh”, then fell silent again.
Though Chi Yingxue couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong, he intuitively felt that Xiao Sijin wasn’t happy. Thinking it over, he decisively got out of the car, grabbed a can of soda from the mini fridge in the trunk, climbed back onto the roof, and pressed the cold can against the other’s face unexpectedly.
The chill made Kuang Jinxin shiver.
Chi Yingxue’s lips curled up, like a child successful in their prank.
Kuang Jinxin looked at him, annoyed yet amused, then lowered his head and opened the soda can with a pop, only to see it was orange-flavored again. His gaze paused for a moment, but quickly returned to normal as he took a big gulp and naturally passed it to Chi Yingxue.
After living together for a month, they had developed many unspoken understandings, sharing a can of orange soda being one of them.
But this time, Chi Yingxue didn’t take it, instead staring at him for two seconds before suddenly pouncing, pinning him down.
Caught off guard, the soda can slipped from Kuang Jinxin’s hand, rolling off the car roof to the ground. The soda spilled out its sweet, fizzy bubbles, wetting the grass.
Chi Yingxue, breathing heavily, kissed him.
Kuang Jinxin closed his eyes, feeling nervous yet moved.
Chi Yingxue’s kisses were no longer tentative but filled with a dominating desire and invasion, as fervent as if wanting to devour the other whole.
Kuang Jinxin couldn’t help but tremble uncontrollably, as if caught in a storm, but he didn’t want to escape, instead reaching out his arms to embrace the source of the tempest.
The kiss ended, but Chi Yingxue wanted more.
He still pressed down on Kuang Jinxin, looking closely at him, wanting him to belong completely to himself, not just physically, but even wanting to lock the other’s soul in a box of his own.
Kuang Jinxin, seeing those suddenly darkened eyes, felt an inexplicable panic.
Chi Yingxue, oblivious, kissed again, this time not as fiercely but gently, licking Kuang Jinxin’s lips, murmuring affectionately, “Xiao Sijin, sweet…”
He kissed from the lips to the ears, then from the ears to the neck, tenderly and intricately.
Kuang Jinxin raised his hand, gently touching his hair. His eyes stared at the moonlight, with a hint of helplessness and loneliness. “I’m not orange soda.”
On the way down the mountain, Kuang Jinxin suddenly asked, “Xiao Xue, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?”
“The future?” At that moment, Chi Yingxue was driving, only half listening to the question, but it was enough, as he felt there was nothing worth pondering. “Just to keep things as they are would be good.”
An expected answer.
Kuang Jinxin fell silent for a moment, then said, “Actually, there are quite a few things I still want to do…”
Chi Yingxue raised an eyebrow, his curiosity finally piqued. He was just about to inquire further when suddenly a silver Ferrari swerved towards them!
He urgently turned the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding a collision, as the Ferrari sped past, triumphantly accelerating again.
On such a narrow mountain road, the Ferrari’s actions were clearly deliberate. Chi Yingxue’s eyes darkened. “Xiao Sijin, fasten your seatbelt.”
Kuang Jinxin opened his mouth but, in the end, said nothing more.
The mountain road became the scene of a high-speed chase. Kuang Jinxin watched the night pass by the window, feeling an unprecedented sense of confusion.
Chapter 195: Extra — The Disappearance of Xiao Sijin (2)
People make their own way, but the reasons why they do so are intriguing.
Xu Wang and Wu Sheng both lifted their chins, glancing sideways at the “suspect”.
The anxiety and irritation surrounding Chi Yingxue dissipated as Kuang Jinxin’s whereabouts became clear, leaving only innocent confusion. “If he left on his own, why can’t I reach his phone?”
Wu Sheng leaned back into the sofa, ceding the spotlight—emotional analysis wasn’t his strong suit.
“That’s what you need to explain.” Xu Wang leaned forward, getting close to his friend. “What exactly did you do last night?”
“I didn’t…”
“No denials. Think harder!”
Chi Yingxue fell silent, clearly reluctant, but once again delved back into his memories.
As he was retrieving fragments of his memory, three phones in the living room chimed simultaneously.
It was Qian Ai creating a new group chat on WeChat without Kuang Jinxin, sending two messages:
Ai Qian: @Beautiful Chi Yingxue, what’s going on with you and Xiao Kuang? How come he has gone back to his hometown?
Ai Qian: @WangWang @ShengSheng, Xiao Kuang asked me to tell you both that his phone was stolen on the train, but he has safely arrived home. Don’t worry if you can’t get through to him.
Just as Xu Wang and Wu Sheng finished reading the messages, Chi Yingxue’s reply zipped over—a voice message. “His phone was stolen. How did he contact you?”
Qian Ai quickly responded with a voice message. “It seems like he borrowed a family member’s phone to enter my live stream.”
Then, adding another, “Hey, what’s with that tone? Are you jealous because he contacted me first? It’s not my fault you don’t have a live stream, hahaha…”
Xu Wang silently looked out the window. Adding fuel to the fire, that’s Lao Qian for you.
Chi Yingxue pressed the talk button, and his eyebrows knitted tighter without squeezing out a word, eventually releasing a long silence.
After a long while, ensuring Qian Ai had listened to the entire silence, the reply finally came, “Are you, are you threatening me…?”
The once formidable Anchor Qian’s tone suddenly weakened.
Xu Wang sighed and took over, trying to smooth things over. “Lao Qian, Xiao Xue is with us. He couldn’t get through to Xiao Kuang and was worried something had happened. It’s good he’s safe at home.”
“Ah? He doesn’t know why Xiao Kuang went back to his hometown?” Qian Ai’s curiosity was piqued.
“Right, he doesn’t know,” Xu Wang replied, quickly taking control of the conversation. “Besides being safe at home, did Xiao Kuang mention anything else to you?”
“Nothing else…” Qian Ai initially said uncertainly, then quickly added, “Oh right, he said he’s going to buy a new phone and get a replacement SIM card and will contact us as soon as it’s done.”
Xu Wang: “Okay, Lao Qian, you go ahead. We’ll talk in the group chat when we get in touch.”
“So why did Xiao Kuang suddenly go back home?” Qian Ai persisted with the fundamental question.
Xu Wang glanced at the still perplexed Chi Yingxue, his tone turning determined. “I’ll find out.”
After ending the group chat, Wu Sheng seriously continued the analysis. “Looking at this, it’s very likely something happened at Xiao Kuang’s home. He didn’t have time to explain and had to go back immediately.”
Xu Wang was speechless.
Didn’t have time to tell them, and not even time to tell Xiao Xue? They shared a bed; wouldn’t saying goodbye be as simple as a kick?
Sighing, Xu Wang patted Wu Sheng on the shoulder. “From now on, just be a quiet pretty boy.”
His gaze returned to Chi Yingxue, taking the no longer cold ice water from his hand, and placing it on the side table. The glass made a crisp sound when it collided with the table.
“Tell me again what happened last night.”
Chi Yingxue frowned, disliking being questioned. “I’ve already said what I thought was important.”
Xu Wang narrowed his eyes. Intuition was telling him that the signpost to the truth had already appeared. “I want to hear about those ‘unimportant’ things’.”
Chapter 194: Extra — The Disappearance of Xiao Sijin (1)
Xiao Sijin had disappeared. There was no sign of him, and his phone was unreachable.
Chi Yingxue came to seek help on a weekend afternoon in August. Xu Wang was watering the plants on the balcony, and Wu Sheng was pondering over a new company name in the study, when Chi Yingxue arrived unexpectedly, with an anxiety more intense than the scorching summer sun.
“What do you mean by ‘disappeared’?” Xu Wang settled his friend in the living room and offered a cup of iced water. “Did he vanish right before your eyes, or did he disappear behind your back?”
If it was the former, it must be related to the Owl; if it was the latter, the possibilities were numerous, but the most unwilling yet easily conceivable was kidnapping. The Chi family is wealthy and has many coveters. Lately, Kuang Jinxin has been inseparable from Chi Yingxue. Perhaps those targeting Chi Yingxue kidnapped the wrong person.
Chi Yingxue held the ice water but didn’t drink it. His beautiful eyes drifted further away in thought upon hearing Xu Wang’s question.
From the moment he entered, Xu Wang noticed that Chi Yingxue was in a state of disarray, even doubting whether Chi Yingxue realized he had just taken a cup of iced water.
After a long silence, Chi Yingxue finally blinked lightly, focusing on Xu Wang with serious inquiry. “I was right beside him, but I didn’t see anything. Does that count as a whoosh or a snap?”
Xu Wang was stumped. His previously clear train of thought was now becoming as erratic as the other’s.
Wu Sheng, who was sitting next to him, wasn’t easily led astray and calmly got straight to the point. “Xiao Xue, describe in detail how Xiao Kuang disappeared.”
Chi Yingxue frowned, clearly reluctant to dredge up those unpleasant memories, but forced himself to “reload” them for the sake of finding the person.
“Last night, I took him for a drive. Then we went to the mountaintop to view the night scene. After that, we returned to the hotel together. When I woke up in the morning, he was gone.”
Driving, night view, hotel, early morning.
Xu Wang glared at Chi Yingxue, finding it impossible to think innocently. “What exactly did you do to Xiao Kuang? Did you force him when he was unwilling…”
“He was willing,” Chi Yingxue interrupted, defending himself. “I like to sleep holding him, and he likes being held by me.”
“Holding, sleeping?” If it were anyone else, Xu Wang could imagine a thousand-word erotica, but coming from Chi Yingxue, it likely meant just that. “Nothing else?”
Chi Yingxue thought for a moment, then honestly confessed. “I kissed him, then we fell asleep.”
Xu Wang silently looked toward Wu Sheng.
The latter nodded understandingly—this is how pure adolescent love is.
Since graduating and leaving school a month ago, Chi Yingxue brought Kuang Jinxin to the hotel, and the two of them have been inseparably together every day, with nothing much to do but eat, drink, have fun, and enjoy their time as if on a honeymoon. The hotel expenses were signed off by President Chi, who naturally knows these matters like the back of his hand. As for whether he has investigated the matter of his younger brother possibly being in a relationship, or whether he’s worried about it, no one is clear. But on the surface, he appears to have given his tacit approval.
“Did you check the hotel surveillance?” Wu Sheng suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
Chi Yingxue replied, “My brother is looking into it.”
Xu Wang understood immediately; their friend couldn’t wait and, after delegating the task to President Chi, came to them straight away.
Driving, viewing the night scene, and sleeping together in the hotel.
The main facts seemed fine at first glance, but Wu Sheng believed the devil is in the details. “Xiao Xue, your recollection is too vague. If you want to find him, you need to give us more details.”
“Details?” Chi Yingxue pondered the word, then fell into deep thought, like a student questioned by a teacher.
Wu Sheng and Xu Wang exchanged glances, waiting patiently.
Something came to Chi Yingxue’s mind, and he suddenly smiled, like ice melting under the early spring sun—clear, sparkling, and dazzling. “When we were at the mountaintop viewing the night scene, Xiao Sijin drank orange soda. I kissed him, and his lips were sweet.”
Xu Wang facepalmed.
Wu Sheng felt complicated.
They fully sensed Chi Yingxue’s happiness, but… why were they, clearly not single, still being fed dog food!
“Anything else?” Wu Sheng asked, suppressing the sourness.
“Uh…” Chi Yingxue tilted his head, continuing to fish through his memories. “Right, when we were coming down the mountain, a car deliberately overtook me on a bend. Then I overtook it, and it overtook me again, and I overtook it…”
“In short, you were drag racing.” Xu Wang summarized succinctly.
Chi Yingxue shrugged, admitting, “But I won in the end.”
Wu Sheng asked, “Did the other party cause you trouble?”
Chi Yingxue shook his head and said glumly, “It was Xiao Sijin who was unhappy. He said I shouldn’t be reckless, and that driving like that was dangerous.”
“How did you respond?” Xu Wang had a bad feeling.
“I said not to worry. They couldn’t beat me.” Chi Yingxue returned to his confident self from the previous night.
Xu Wang rolled his eyes speechlessly. He knew it.
But Xu Wang didn’t believe that Xiao Kuang was such a person because he was angry with Chi Yingxue for driving too fast that he would disappear in a huff. Despite his young age, perhaps due to family background, Kuang Jinxin had always been more mature and sensible than his peers. Running off over a disagreement seemed more like something the childish Chi Yingxue might do.
Wu Sheng asked, “Did you remember the model and license plate of that car?”
Losing a drag race and seeking revenge made sense.
Chi Yingxue replied, “Silver Ferrari, license plate XXXXXXX. My brother is looking into it too.”
Xu Wang raised an eyebrow, surprised that he remembered the license plate.
Wu Sheng wasn’t surprised; he had noticed during their time in the Owl that Chi Yingxue had a good memory, just often too lazy to use it.
The call from Chi Zhuolin came at that moment.
Chi Yingxue answered immediately, and after a brief exchange, his face turned from anxious to mildly puzzled. “Are you sure?”
The other side must have confirmed, as Chi Yingxue didn’t ask further, instead hanging up in a daze.
“What’s the situation?” Xu Wang asked worriedly.
Chi Yingxue slowly raised his head. “My brother said the hotel surveillance captured Xiao Sijin leaving with his luggage by himself.”
Qian Ai signed with a company, transforming from an unknown streamer to a reserve Internet celebrity broadcaster with backing and publicity. Actually, it might not even be appropriate to call him “reserve” anymore. Right after signing the contract, the company launched a marketing campaign for him, allowing him to taste a bit of fame after years in the industry. He is now working even harder to turn this small flame of success into a roaring fire.
The latter two events are relatively straightforward: Kuang Jinxin graduated, and Chi Yingxue got his driver’s license.
“Brother, the car keys.” On a rare leisurely weekend without social obligations, President Chi was enjoying some downtime in his home’s second-floor study when his younger brother came looking for him.
Chi Zhuolin was initially surprised. It was only ten in the morning, and Chi Yingxue, who usually wakes up in the afternoon, appeared refreshed and obviously ready to go out. Upon hearing his brother’s request, his brow furrowed. “You just got your driver’s license yesterday, and you want to drive today?”
Chi Yingxue looked at him incredulously. “Isn’t that the whole point of getting a license?”
Chi Zhuolin placed his iPad on the desk, took off his Bluetooth headset, and said earnestly, “What I mean is, you’ve just got your license. It’s best to choose a car you’d like to drive and get familiar with it over a few days before hitting the road for real. The stuff you learn for the driving test and actual road conditions are quite different.”
“Never mind, I’ll just rent a car.” Renting a car seemed less hassle than taking one from their home garage.
As Chi Yingxue was about to leave, Chi Zhuolin, having no other choice, quickly changed his tone. “Alright, which one do you want to drive?”
Chi Yingxue stretched out his hand. “The G500.”
Not a sports car, but a Mercedes G-Class convertible SUV, which was a bit unexpected for Chi Zhuolin, who thought his brother was itching for a speed thrill.
Suppressing his surprise, he called the driver to bring the car out.
Soon after, the driver came upstairs to knock on the study door, delivering the keys.
Chi Yingxue took the keys, casually thanked him, and then naturally headed out.
These days, Chi Zhuolin occasionally hears a word of thanks, which has somewhat boosted his immunity, but not enough to prevent a burst of happiness at this moment. Just as this bloom of joy blossomed, his brother was about to vanish from the doorway. President Chi hurriedly asked, “Where exactly are you going?”
Without turning back, Chi Yingxue waved his hand and cheerfully replied, “For a drive.”
After sitting in the SUV, Chi Yingxue belatedly realized that the iPad Chi Zhuolin had placed on the desk had its screen on, playing something. He had been too focused on getting the keys to notice. Now, thinking back, the interface seemed familiar and flashy, and the silhouette on the screen was vaguely recognizable.
But that was as far as the recognition went. With limited peripheral vision and attention elsewhere, remembering even this much was good.
“Still wearing headphones in your own study,” Chi Yingxue muttered as he started the car, attributing his failure to recognize to Chi Zhuolin not playing the sound out loud.
From a second-floor window, Chi Zhuolin watched the SUV drive off, followed by an inconspicuous Toyota, which reassured him. He returned to his chair, put the Bluetooth headset back on, picked up the iPad, and fell into serious contemplation about what to have for lunch.
When Chi Yingxue arrived at Kuang Jinxin’s school, it was just past eleven. External vehicles weren’t allowed on campus, so he parked and strolled leisurely into the campus.
The sun was scorching, but the campus was shaded by lush trees. Walking under the shade, Chi Yingxue passed by students without realizing the attention he was drawing, only focused on what Kuang Jinxin’s expression would be upon seeing him.
Crossing the shaded path to a grassy square, he saw people in graduation gowns posing for photos in various formations, enthusiastically taking photos.
Oh, it’s graduation season.
Chi Yingxue was unfazed and continued forward, stopping abruptly after taking a step.
Xiao Sijin was also a senior.
He looked back at the wide lawn, his gaze scanning the crowd in graduation gowns like a facial recognition system, finally resting on a group near a sculpture.
The sculpture was abstract and incomprehensible to Chi Yingxue, who found the scene under it of several young men in gowns, each holding a cup of tea, creating quite a Buddhist-esque scene.
“One, two, three.” The photographer clicked the shutter.
The group, dignified a moment before, burst into laughter, lively and vibrant like the bright summer.
A boy jumped onto Xiao Sijin’s back, only to be playfully tossed off, leading to a retaliatory scuffle. The others joined in, turning the scene into a playful mess, with gowns getting tangled together.
Chi Yingxue approached the nearest tree, squinting against the bright sunlight.
Kuang Jinxin didn’t discover Chi Yingxue until much later. By that time, they had almost finished shooting and were quite tired, preparing to go to the cafeteria together. When he looked up, he saw someone under the tree at first glance.
He was stunned and hurriedly asked his classmates to go ahead without him, and he rushed over in one breath. The joy was still on his face, but there was an additional kind of happiness in his eyes.
“When did you get here?” His face was flushed and running too fast made him a bit out of breath. “Why didn’t you say something in advance?”
Not long after leaving the Owl, he had taken his friends around his school and enjoyed a meal at the cafeteria. Kuang Jinxin hadn’t expected Chi Yingxue to visit again.
“Do I need to announce my visit in advance?” Chi Yingxue leaned against the tree, showing no intention of moving.
“Why are you making such fuss?” Kuang Jinxin, in high spirits, spoke his mind. “I was just worried you’d miss me if I wasn’t at school today. Besides, you saw me, why didn’t you call out?”
“I thought you’d see me soon enough,” Chi Yingxue replied confidently.
Kuang Jinxin couldn’t help but laugh and reached out to pull his arms. “Come on, let’s go for some sweet and sour pork ribs.”
Last time, Chi Yingxue ate two portions in a row and seriously considered poaching the cafeteria auntie.
Chi Yingxue looked down at his arm being grabbed by Kuang Jinxin, gave up resisting, and followed him.
Near the end of their meal, Chi Yingxue mentioned, “I got my driver’s license. I’ll take you for a drive.”
Kuang Jinxin was stunned. His chopsticks paused in mid-air as he said, “Ah?”
Chi Yingxue frowned, feeling slighted. “What’s with that reaction?”
“It’s not that,” Kuang Jinxin hurried to clarify, misunderstanding the concern. “I’m not against going for a drive with you, but we have a class gathering this afternoon for a farewell meal.”
“Why have a gathering if you’re already parting ways?” Chi Yingxue glanced at their empty plates, reminding, “You just finished eating.”
“We’re meeting in the afternoon for some singing and board games, then dinner in the evening,” Kuang Jinxin patiently explained the schedule. As for why the group had to have a farewell gathering, Kuang Jinxin doubted whether Chi Yingxue would understand.
As more people gathered in the cafeteria, the noise grew louder.
Chi Yingxue said, “Then go to your gathering,” then walked away.
On his plate, there were still two pieces of ribs left—the two largest pieces of the portion. He liked to save the best for last, something Kuang Jinxin remembered well.
Throughout the afternoon, Kuang Jinxin was somewhat distracted, until the evening when the whole class gathered for a meal and the atmosphere of parting became real. It was then that he snapped back to reality, feeling a surge of reluctance as memories of the past four years welled up in his heart.
The dinner lasted until after ten o’clock, when the male class monitor got so drunk that he ended up crying and hugging anyone he saw. The other boys quickly protected the girls, dragging the class monitor into a taxi.
Once the class monitor left, the gathering dispersed. Everyone gathered in twos and threes at the roadside to hail cabs. A black Mercedes G500 stopped across the street, honking a long, deliberately drawn-out honk.
“Wow, that car is cool,” a male classmate beside him said, eyes gleaming. “Hey, he seems to be looking at us.”
The convertible’s top was down, and the driver, with one hand on the steering wheel, turned and looked steadily their way. His features weren’t clear in the night, but his gaze pierced the darkness, coming straight at them.
Kuang Jinxin swallowed unconsciously.
He made an excuse that he still had things to do, intentionally waiting until all his classmates had left before turning back to the restaurant.
Chi Yingxue narrowed his eyes, his irritation building to its peak after simmering all evening.
Kuang Jinxin came out again, holding something in his hand. Only when there were no cars passing by did he dash across the street to the car. “You didn’t wait here all evening, did you?”
“And all afternoon.” Chi Yingxue has never been one for “modesty”.
“You couldn’t have sent me a message?”
“Weren’t you going to have what’s it called,” Chi Yingxue paused, thinking, “Oh, right, the farewell dinner.”
So, he waited in silence, from outside the KTV to outside the restaurant.
“Are you stupid?” Kuang Jinxin was both angry and sympathetic, shoving something into his hand.
A bottle of orange-flavored soda, just taken out of the fridge, cold and refreshing, instantly dispelling the sultry heat and irritation of a summer night.
Chi Yingxue rolled the soda bottle across his face, soaking up the coolness. “Get in.”
Saying it was a drive, they really went for a drive. The car never stopped once they started, driving all the way past the Sixth Ring Road. Eventually, Kuang Jinxin no longer recognized the area. Eventually, it wasn’t even a road, but a dirt track surrounded by wasteland. The desolation made Kuang Jinxin anxious, fearing Chi Yingxue was truly angry and planning to leave him in a deserted place, unable to return to school.
At half-past midnight, thankfully, the car stopped.
Kuang Jinxin’s face was numb from the wind. He thought he’d never want to go for a drive again for the rest of his life.
The car stopped in a vast field, which had unknown grasses growing, emitting a special plant smell that was light and simple yet pleasant.
Chi Yingxue turned off the car.
The night sky in the suburbs was clear, with each star visible.
“How is it here?” Leaning back in the seat, Chi Yingxue glanced over, moonlight highlighting his beautiful profile.
“Open, vast,” and somewhat lonely. Kuang Jinxin didn’t say the last part out loud. Looking around, he made a new discovery. “There are no mosquitoes here.”
In the summer wilderness, it was practically a base for mosquitoes, but here there was only the distant sound of cicadas and close-up tranquility.
“Yan Wang says it’s because the grass here repels mosquitoes.” Chi Yingxue placed his hands behind his head, gazing at the night sky.
Kuang Jinxin stared at him blankly. “Yan Wang?”
The wind blew across the field, rustling the grass.
“Yan Wang likes to come here.”
Kuang Jinxin’s seat was reclined to the same angle, and he lay back, feeling somewhat uneasy. Finally, he turned to face Chi Yingxue, leaning against the back of the seat.
Chi Yingxue was still looking at the sky. “I used to wake up and find myself lying here.”
Kuang Jinxin was puzzled. “Aren’t you supposed to know everything Yan Wang does? It shouldn’t be a surprise.”
“I would know if I wanted to, but most of the time, I’m not really interested in his affairs.”
“But this, I’ve always been curious about.”
“What?”
“Why he likes coming here.”
Kuang Jinxin paused before asking, “Do you like it here?”
“I don’t.” Chi Yingxue answered quickly and with certainty.
His nose and jawline created a beautiful profile, which looked good no matter whether he was being unreasonable or petulant.
“You’re not telling the truth.” Kuang Jinxin bluntly pointed out.
Chi Yingxue turned and raised his eyebrows.
Kuang Jinxin raised his eyebrows too, deliberately meeting his gaze. “If I had just gotten my driver’s license, I’d definitely go to my favorite place first.”
Their eyes locked, and suddenly the air was still. Even the sound of the cicadas seemed to disappear.
Chi Yingxue leaned in, completely flattening the backrest, pressing down on him, and kissed him. He pinned him down firmly yet kissed with extreme caution, as if testing the boundaries of what wouldn’t be rejected.
Kuang Jinxin was a bit disoriented by the kiss, vaguely recalling the first time Chi Yingxue kissed him, which could hardly be considered a kiss but more like a unilateral stamp of possession, flaunted before competitors.
It was a slight sting.
Kuang Jinxin suddenly came back to reality, the one who bit his lip came back for more, gently licking the bitten spot. A slap followed by a sweet date.
Suddenly, that person stopped, propped up his upper body, and looked down at him with a hint of confusion and unease. “Why are you being so good today?”
Kuang Jinxin didn’t speak; he just looked at him, his eyes bright.
The simple plant smell filled the night air, as if the moonlight itself was tinged with it.
This was a place hidden deep within Chi Yingxue’s heart.
This was the first time he had opened that door, inviting him in, saying, “Please come in.”
At this moment, Kuang Jinxin thought, if Chi Yingxue was also willing to look into his heart, he would continue to be good.
That day, when they returned to the hotel, Xu Wang went straight to bed. When he woke up, he ordered room service, ate, and then continued to sit in the room, doing nothing all day, completely zoning out until night came again.
Wu Sheng’s activities weren’t as empty. He read books all day.
At midnight, Wu Sheng lay on the bed, with Xu Wang resting his head on his legs, the two of them occupying the large bed of the presidential suite, lying in different directions, quietly staring at the ceiling.
0:00:01, 0:00:02, 0:00:03…
The second hand made another round; it was a minute past midnight.
No owl hooting, no purple vortex—nothing happened.
“It’s really over…” Xu Wang muttered to himself, clearly feeling the last string in his heart loosen.
Wu Sheng quietly sat up and looked down at his face.
His shadow enveloped him, as if two souls quietly merged together. Wu Sheng wanted to see him clearly but didn’t want to move away.
Xu Wang waited for a while but didn’t hear any words or actions. He blinked, then chuckled. “Are you mesmerized by looking at me?”
Wu Sheng didn’t catch what he said. His attention was taken by the slightly parted lips.
The antique clock ticked away, and the fresh lilies in the glass vase gave off a faint fragrance.
Wu Sheng leaned down for a kiss.
These lips robbed him of his attention, so he robbed it.
Xu Wang was caught off guard by the kiss and forgot to close his eyes.
After the kiss ended, Wu Sheng released the lips he bullied into redness and kissed his eyes tenderly.
Xu Wang suddenly closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly, but his hand was still on Wu Sheng’s neck, responding to him awkwardly.
The scent of the lilies seemed even more intense…
“Ding!”
The sudden notification sound made both of them stiffen for a moment.
After a few seconds, Xu Wang reluctantly sat up, reached for the mobile phone on the nightstand, unlocked it, and saw, indeed, it was the WeChat group. “How idle are these guys!”
“Didn’t you set it to Do Not Disturb?” Wu Sheng had set it at noon, not because he didn’t care for his friends, but because there were dozens of messages a minute. When one chat ended, and another started. Both he and his phone were a bit overwhelmed.
“I did,” Xu Wang sighed. “But I can’t help it when I’m @mentioned.”
Wu Sheng leaned in from behind, feeling his warmth, and rested his chin on his shoulder. “Who @mentioned you?”
He asked, but without waiting for Xu Wang to answer, Wu Sheng already saw—
Marshal Yue: @Wangwang you’ve been diving all day. Time to surface!
Xu Wang was typing when his phone was suddenly taken away.
He looked puzzled at Wu Sheng. “Hm?”
“We can’t always stay in a hotel like this.” Wu Sheng moved closer to lick his lips. He rubbed the tip of his nose against Xu Wang’s, and his warm breath fell on his face. His voice was sexy and husky.
Forget the mobile phone; forget Marshal Yue—Xu Wang forgot everything at that moment. He was just dumbly following Wu Sheng’s words. “Yeah, after all, it’s Xiao Xue’s brother who’s paying…”
“Let’s look for a house tomorrow.”
“Okay…”
When he was kissed again, Xu Wang struggled with the last bit of his rationality, thinking, what were they just about to do?
……
Saturday, suitable for moving, suitable for settling in.
“Are you here for camping?” Xu Wang looked at Qian Ai carrying an induction cooker in one hand, an electric fan in the other, and a bulging backpack, suddenly a bit scared to let him into the new house.
“Ah, I knew you couldn’t do without me.” Qian Ai confidently walked in, naturally changing shoes, passing the entryway, and entered the living room. After scanning around, he chose a spot next to the dining table for the induction cooker, then plugged it into an extension board.
Chi Yingxue and Kuang Jinxin, who arrived earlier, had already toured the new house of their captain and advisor. Before Qian Ai arrived, they were watching TV on the sofa, but now they just watched Qian Ai busy himself.
After setting up the power, Qian Ai took the empty pot to the kitchen to fill it with water.
The three-bedroom apartment had an open kitchen. Wu Sheng, who was washing fruits, watched his teammate’s “enthusiasm” the whole time and immediately made way at the sink.
Qian Ai nodded at him appreciatively. “I knew you’d understand.”
“……” Wu Sheng didn’t quite understand, but it didn’t stop him from pretending.
The pot was placed on the induction cooker to boil.
Qian Ai sat on the floor waiting.
Xu Wang stood by him, while Xiao Kuang and Xiao Xue sat on the sofa, and Wu Sheng stood in the kitchen, waiting with him.
When the water boiled, Qian Ai connected the electric fan and started blowing it around the room while directing Xu Wang, “Open the windows—”
Xu Wang immediately complied, fearing any delay would lead Qian Ai to conjure some other trick.
The boiling water bubbled, steam rose, and the fan joyfully spun, circulating comfort in the cool breeze.
“For a housewarming, it must be lively with rising wind and water*!” Qian Ai stood in the center of the room, making a grand statement.
*(风生水起) Metaphor referring to if something is done well, it’ll develop quickly within a certain period of time and can grow rapidly. It’s also used as an explanation for Feng Shui (which is what it’s applying to in this case).
Xu Wang looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly squatted down and turned the induction cooker to its highest setting, making the boiling water livelier.
For the housewarming meal, they had hot pot. Given that Qian Ai brought an extra induction cooker, the five of them, using two pots, were quite imposing.
“Qian Ge, why didn’t you live stream today?” Kuang Jinxin suddenly asked mid-meal.
Xu Wang then realized that no wonder the meal felt strange, lacking the background music of “brothers, double-click 666”.
“Stopped.” Qian Ai precisely picked up a piece of tofu from the pot. “Taking a break for a while.”
Xu Wang was surprised. “Thinking of changing careers?”
“That’s not it. I’m just rethinking the positioning and direction of the live broadcast.” While Qian Ai spoke, his movements didn’t stop. The tofu on his chopsticks trembled as if ready to fall at any moment but ultimately landed intact in his oil dish, showcasing his superb skills.
Xu Wang was amazed. “Don’t change it. Just do food broadcasts. You’re the man chosen by the God of Food.”
After swallowing a piece of hot tofu, Qian Ai was invigorated. “Really?”
Xu Wang nodded emphatically, very sincerely. “Absolutely true.”
“Okay, enough about me,” Qian Ai said, though his smile stretched ear to ear. “What are your plans for the future?”
“I’ll look for a job,” Xu Wang pointed at Wu Sheng, “and he’ll start over with a new business.”
Qian Ai asked, “What about the previous company? After partnering for so long, can’t you go back?”
“He could, but he doesn’t want to.” Xu Wang sharply spotted another piece of tofu, made a move with his chopsticks, and it broke.
Wu Sheng took the ladle, catching the last intact piece of tofu in the pot, and placed it in Xu Wang’s oil dish, then said to Qian Ai, “I have a new research direction now, which no longer aligns with the old company.”
Qian Ai was curious. “What are you researching?”
Chi Yingxue and Kuang Jinxin also looked interested.
Wu Sheng had a determined look. “Artificial intelligence.”
The three friends: “…”
With no chance to teach NPCs to behave, he finally turned to his own products…
After dinner, the five continued chatting in the living room until it started to get dark. Then Kuang Jinxin and the other two friends left.
After seeing off the friends, Xu Wang washed the dishes in the kitchen, occasionally looking back at Wu Sheng tidying up the living room, feeling indescribably satisfied.
“If you keep sneaking looks at me, there will be a charge.” Wu Sheng teased with a raised eyebrow.
Xu Wang scoffed. “I’m afraid if I stop looking, you’d have to pay me to look.”
Wu Sheng was shamefully silent.
Xu Wang placed the sparkling, clean dishes on the rack, one by one, in perfect order. The bone china shone under the light, extremely beautiful.
Somehow, a surge of impulse came over him, and he blurted out, “I often thought in high school, what it would be like if we dated?”
Wu Sheng stopped, feeling an inexplicable tension, as Xu Wang brought up their high school days for the first time. “What would it be like?”
Xu Wang was silent for a long while, then turned around, his eyes and brows tinted with childishness, as if he had returned to that teenage boy. “I wanted to be on duty with you, run laps on the playground together, watch movies, play games together.”
Wearing an apron, standing in front of the sink, and looking back, it was the first time Wu Sheng saw this scene, yet it felt like he had replayed it many times in his mind.
If happiness had a form, it would be this moment.
“As far as I know, we didn’t miss out on any of these.” They hadn’t dated at the time, but they did everything mentioned above.
“Yeah.” Xu Wang chuckled slyly, as if his cunning plan had succeeded. “So I hypnotized myself into thinking we were already in puppy love.”
Wu Sheng stared at him for a long while. Then, without warning, he walked over, first dried Xu Wang’s hands, then neatly untied his apron, and led him towards the bedroom.
Xu Wang realized something and suddenly became hesitant. “The dishes aren’t finished yet…”
After returning home, Qian Ai remembered that during his house visit, the two bedrooms and a study were all tidied up and had some personal items, making it look as if both rooms were occupied.
Could it be… these two were still living separately?!
Qian Ai was startled by his conclusion, thinking it couldn’t be. After being so affectionate in the Owl, they must be passionately involved after coming out. But then again, the advisor always seemed to prioritize theory over practice and was now treating the captain like a treasure. Perhaps he would be too hesitant to make a move…
In the end, Qian Ai realized, damn, he left his electric fan and induction cooker at their new place.
He immediately called Xu Wang, intending to pick them up the next day. Just as they started their beautiful new life, an electric fan in the living room would be quite an eyesore.
The phone rang for a long time before being picked up. “Qian Ai…”
The voice sounded normal at first, but upon closer listening, there seemed to be slight panting and some rustling background noise?
“The fan and induction cooker—I forgot them. If you two are home tomorrow, I’ll come by to pick them up.”
“……”
No response. There were only rustling sounds, as if something was rubbing against something.
Qian Ai swallowed nervously. “Captain?”
“Don’t… Don’t do that first…” A very soft reprimand from the other end, with urgency and a bit of annoyance.
Qian Ai was dumbfounded.
“I told you to stop for a moment—” Anger mixed with embarrassment and awkwardness from the other end. Then, a “clang” sounded, like someone falling from a sofa or bed.
“Uh, you’re busy. Send my regards to Wu Sheng, bye!” Hanging up in a hurry, Qian Ai was unprecedentedly panicked.
Should he still go to pick up the fan and induction cooker tomorrow?
No, he couldn’t go. If he did, the advisor would surely target him for elimination…
The author has something to say:
Although we hit a red light along the way, the captain and advisor’s car still made it to the end, driving triumphantly* (～￣▽￣)～
*Clarity: Basically saying they finally did it (car), though they hit a bit of a snag reaching there (text/call interruptions… and also censorship, so we can’t read all the details).
Five people popped out from the Owl, and only Qi Shan ended up hanging from a tree.
“Stop gawking. Hurry up and save me!” Hanging from a branch four meters high, he dared not even move his fingertips, fearing he’d upset the balance.
“Hold on, I’ll find some stationery to catch you.” Li Xia, pretending to be serious, lifted his arm and started scribbling on his empty hand.
“……” Qi Shan considered jumping down to take him down with him.
“Is it done?” Li Zijin asked Han Buting, his confusion mixed with uncertain trepidation.
Han Buting opened the WeChat group on his phone. The first message was also from a cautious teammate, asking—Did we succeed?
Followed by Captain Xu’s immediate response—Before 5:00, all thirteen Owl Jades were destroyed. What do you think?
There was also an attached smirking emoji.
From there, the newly established Beijing Owl Travel Group WeChat group was flooded with messages. It had been less than half a minute since they came out, and the screen was filled with “hahaha” and various “laughing out loud emojis” of various styles, genders, and species, turning into an ocean of emoticons.
Li Zijin, relieved and laughing, finally dared to ask. “What exactly did I dream about?”
He hadn’t expected to be the one left in the dark compartment, clueless about the nightmare he had. When he woke up, he only felt his head was a mess and even more uneasy.
Thankfully, his teammates succeeded. Otherwise, he would have been the sinner.
“What did you dream about?” Li Xia said with a meaningful tone. “You should ask Qi Shan.”
Li Zijin looked up. The moon was half-visible, shining on Qi Shan, hanging by the tree.
“Your Millennium Falcon!” Qi Shan eagerly claimed credit, but at the crucial moment, he became a bit shy, lowering his voice for the latter half. “And my Tetris.”
Li Zijin widened his eyes. “Your Tetris?”
If Qi Shan had been closer, he would have caught the dangerous rise in tone, but alas, he was hanging too high.
“Surprised, huh? Let me tell you, I was too. It took half the battle to realize the operating system was too damn familiar! Once we removed the metal plate, we were in your Millennium Falcon! Guess who was the source of fear?”
“You,” Li Zijin said expressionlessly.
Qi Shan compensated for his lack of emotion with his own mixture of shyness and excitement. “How could we be so fated to bump into each other in such a niche game! If I had known the Millennium Falcon was yours back then, I wouldn’t have destroyed you every time. I would have carried you to the top on a palanquin!”
Li Zijin: “……”
Qi Shan: “Too bad we couldn’t record it. The battle just now was beautifully fought. I’m so familiar with Tetris’ tactics, it was like playing for fun to me. I indirectly avenged you, right?”
Li Zijin walked to the tree, opening his arms. “Come down.”
His figure was still slender like a young man’s, seeming like a younger brother ready to catch his elder brother. Qi Shan, fearing he might harm his idol, said, “Let Yan Ge come over.”
Li Zijin didn’t move, looking up at him. “It’s okay, come down. I have something to say to you.”
Qi Shan’s heart raced as he reached behind the hooked piece of clothing. Without hesitation, he tugged down, letting himself fall freely.
Li Zijin was ultimately knocked off balance, falling to the ground, but the moment Qi Shan pounced on him, he wrapped his arms around him, firmly protecting him.
The two fell together, unharmed.
Qi Shan, allowing himself to lie on top of his idol, was blissfully content. “What do you want to tell me?”
Li Zijin, as calm as an emotionless assassin. “You’re expelled from the fan club.”
Meanwhile, Zhu Mo in Guizhou received a message from HBT: Did we succeed?
The WeChat group was ecstatic, and this person was asking him alone…
If it weren’t for the status of “being awkwardly flirted with”, Zhu Mo might have taught Han Buting how to flirt hand in hand.
Zou Jun saw him staring at the phone with a complex expression and glanced at the screen casually. “Very… weird? Who is this person?”
Zhu Mo was startled. Usually, he would change the remark of someone he wasn’t very familiar with to their real name for easy recognition. When remarking on this person, to avoid any misunderstanding from anything inappropriate sent impulsively, he took a detour and changed the remark to initials.
Now, he felt guilty.
Zou Jun merely asked casually, then turned back to join the emoji battle with his own phone.
Zhu Mo changed Han Buting’s remark back, hesitated, and replied: Yeah.
Normally, seeing such a one-word reply, anyone should understand the meaning.
But Captain Han wasn’t just anyone.
Han Buting: Sent the wrong message?
Zhu Mo, tired, more so than from any challenge: No.
Han Buting: I’m very happy.
“……” Zhu Mo felt a subtle pressure, like being reviewed by an old professor.
Han Buting: Wait for me.
A few minutes later.
Han Buting: Okay, let’s continue.
Zhu Mo was curious: What did you do?
Han Buting: Logged out.
Zhu Mo: ???
Zhu Mo: Aren’t you talking to me right now?
Han Buting: The one talking to you now is the main account.I logged out of the secondary account.
Zhu Mo: Why log out?
It’s not strange to have multiple WeChat accounts, but Zhu Mo couldn’t understand why, in the middle of a conversation, the idea to log out of the secondary account suddenly came up.
Han Buting: Since you’re willing to chat with my main account, there’s no need for the secondary one.
“……” Now he understood.
Han Buting: When I get back, I’ll send you my resume. If you think it’s okay, we can move on to the next step.
Resume? The next step? Zhu Mo recognized every word, but when combined, they baffled him, and he dared not ponder too deeply, fearing the sight of a huge pit with a chilling breeze blowing from its bottom.
Han Buting: You understand what I mean, right?
Zhu Mo took a deep breath. The air of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau finally calmed him down: Actually, I don’t quite understand.
He didn’t want to know his height, place of origin, hobbies, career history, and all the potentially bizarre information!
Han Buting: No problem. You go back to the hotel and have a good sleep. There’s plenty of time ahead.
Sitting in the back of a taxi together, Zou Jun saw Zhu Mo earnestly tapping on his phone. On the screen was the WeChat page for changing remark names. The original remark had been deleted, and Zhu Mo was entering new characters—Very Weird.
“See, changing to a straightforward description.” Zou Jun had seen “HBT” last time and “Very Weird” this time, completely unaware that there had been another change in between.
Far away in Guangdong, Han Buting didn’t know that before becoming “Very Weird”, he briefly had a real name.
If any team was seriously navigating levels that night, it was the Colorful Assault Gray Man’s Team. At 4:37, their storyline was at the point where Handsome Senior B’s mother came to school to report Delinquent Boy D for leading her son astray, resulting in Delinquent Boy D being suspended. Throughout, Handsome Senior B didn’t dare speak a word in his defense.
After popping out, the first thing the captain of the Colorful Assault Team did was scold him, genuinely and fervently. “Scumbag!”
The actor playing Handsome Senior B, part of the unsuspecting team, endured a night of madness from their opponents, especially since he, forced by the script, repeatedly ended up in the mini-KTV with Delinquent Boy D, working hard like a laborer, only to end up with such a reputation?
Moreover…
“This is the storyline you guys picked up!” The screenwriter blamed the actors—what kind of logic is this?!
But their two opponents didn’t care about them anymore, hugging and jumping together in celebration, joyful as if they were at a wedding party.
Handsome Senior B, unable to suppress his curiosity, had to ask, “What are you guys laughing about? What succeeded?”
“Senior,” Delinquent Boy D, Red Wine, still used the familiar address. “From now on, you, us, everyone from the first thirteen levels, don’t have to enter the Owl anymore!”
Handsome Senior B and his teammates, all five of them, stepped back in unison and turned to hail a taxi.
Madness, absolute madness.
In Henan, but in different cities, Yue Shuai’s team and the Broom Team were on a call.
Yue Shuai: “How do you plan to celebrate?”
Broom Team Captain: “Wait for the breakfast stall to open. Then have a bowl of spicy soup.”
Yue Shuai: “What lofty ambition, always thinking about eating. Can’t you think of something healthier and slimming?”
Broom Team Captain: “Like?”
Yue Shuai: “Like, travel. Finally, we have the time and mood. No need to run around blindly. Take this opportunity to explore Henan.”
Broom Team Captain: “I’ve been here so many times but never really explored. Do you want to see the peonies in Luoyang or seek out Justice Bao in Kaifeng? We’re all for it.”
Yue Shuai: “Shaolin Temple on Mount Song.”
Broom Team Captain: “……”
Fu Wenqing and Wang Duanran, the two captains in Hunan and Jiangxi, respectively, had identical reactions after popping out—calmly looking up at the sky, like philosophers.
Their teammates had to suppress their celebratory urges, carefully asking, “Captain, what are you thinking about?”
Fu Wenqing, staring up, motionless, had thought about a lot, but in the end, he uttered only one sentence, with a profound calmness. “In this lifetime, I mean this lifetime, don’t ever let me see Aeroplane Chess again.”
Wang Duanran held his curly hair, reminiscing about sitting on a giant pumpkin all night with longing eyes. “I want to eat pumpkin porridge.”
They harbored joy for their success, but this joy was covered by a greater peace, gently enveloped. That peace came from the end of the nightmare, from returning to normal life, from the mundane yet precious moments of everyday life.
At 4:37 Beijing time, in two more hours, the city would awaken.
Mao Qiping would bring back his wife’s favorite breakfast and soon find out he needed to look for another job. President Chi would start a busy day and, in the near future, receive a notice of the dissolution of the Beijing Owl Travel Group.
The map showed that the location of the Owl Jade in 11/23 was in the Marshal’s Mansion. It wasn’t until Teacher Wei and his companions arrived that they realized the information wasn’t specific enough. To be precise, it was under the bed in the Marshal’s bedroom.
As they sneaked in using invisible stationery, the Marshal was being flipped by the red waves of the mandarin duck*.
*It’s a euphemism for basically saying he’s having sex that comes from classical poetry.
Flying thief Wei Menghan, famous actor Zhu Mo, second-generation heir Zou Jun, pawnshop owner Ji Yunlei, and amateur detective Feng Rang were all stunned by the Marshal’s variety and stamina. Absorbed in their observation, they were distracted, and their invisible stationery malfunctioned.
The Marshal was having a great time until suddenly five uninvited guests appeared at the bedside. With a shout, he could no longer regain his composure. Seeing the situation turn sour, they fled using the [(Defense) Yunhai* Imperial Sword].
*Sea of Clouds. It’s a poetic term in Chinese referring to the surroundings of a mountain’s summit.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t fight, but the Owl Jade was their top priority. If the Marshal were to summon all his soldiers, breaking through would be hard and would affect their efficiency.
So, at this moment, the Marshal was in his bedroom, staring blankly at the lingering clouds, wondering if he just had a nightmare about an immortal descending from the heavens on a sword to view an erotic scene; meanwhile, the five were crouched at the northwest corner of the outer wall of the Marshall’s mansion, contemplating how to infiltrate a second time. They no longer had invisible stationery, and the mansion was now on high alert.
“Shall we lead the tiger away from the mountain?” Teacher Wei pondered.
“How?” Ji Yunlei raised his eyebrows.
Zhu Mo, Zou Jun, and Feng Rang looked at each other and smiled. “Just find something to keep them busy.”
At the same, in 4/23 Moonlight Maze.
“Don’t go. You have to play with Xiao Bai!” A girl in a white lace princess dress sitting on a vine wall demanded petulantly.
The vine wall grew out of nowhere, blocking the path through the maze.
The camouflaged team captain patiently tried to reason with her. “Miss, we really have urgent matters to attend to. We’ll come back and play with you after, okay?”
“No!” The girl in the white dress swung her parasol, and a thorny vine shot out towards the camouflaged team, who narrowly avoided it, feeling utterly frustrated.
They had been lost for three hours and were finally close to the Owl Jade’s location, only to encounter this lady. Their past encounters with her had a win rate of three out of five—losing three times out of five challenges.
Under normal circumstances, they could have taken a chance, but not today. With so many teams competing, they couldn’t afford to be stuck here!
“Plan D!” Camouflaged Muscles shouted, rallying his team.
“Received—” his companions responded in unison and immediately turned to run in the opposite direction.
Xiao Bai was momentarily stunned but soon seemed unconcerned, leisurely swinging her feet. The next moment, the vine wall turned into a single vine, rapidly chasing after the three and quickly catching up, calmly rebuilding the green barrier in front of them. Xiao Bai was lifted back to the top of the wall by a leaf, yawning out of boredom. “You guys are so weak.”
The camouflaged team’s members breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s okay. We have the captain.”
Xiao Bai paused, then looked behind them, only to see the large man already turning the corner, disappearing in a flash.
Sacrificing a pawn to save the chariot, in short, Plan D*.
*Clarity: The D is referring to [diu] (丢), which in this context means to sacrifice/lose (a pawn).
9/23 Inner Hell.
“Boom—”
A laser cannon precisely hit a distant, arrogantly lingering enemy ship, illuminating Qi Shan’s excited eyes. He snapped his fingers. “Got another one.”
“Are you calling this game trash?” Li Xia, following Qi Shan’s orders, was monitoring the battleship’s defense system, struggling just with defense. Qi Shan was commanding the whole operation and sniping remotely, managing everything smoothly, as if it were just a game.
Li Xia’s remark made Xu Yan also feel puzzled. “Didn’t you say you weren’t good enough to be a professional player and can only be a fan of professional players, which is why you became a fan of Li Zijin?”
“That was a different game.” Qi Shan adjusted the laser cannon, aiming at the next target. “I’m not good at the games played in domestic clubs. I suspect the developers specifically targeted me, making me handicapped no matter how I play.”
“Boom—”
Another enemy ship was destroyed.
Qi Shan grinned, his white teeth shining in the interstellar gunfire. “But for simulations like this, to put it modestly, if all the top players from both domestic and international scenes came at me, I’d take them down one by one, two by a pair.”
Li Xia: “Captain, you seem to have mixed up modesty with boasting.”
“Tsk, don’t believe me? When I played that game, there wasn’t a separate server. All players worldwide were on the same leaderboard, using their battleship names as IDs. My ‘Tetris’ was at the top of the list,” Qi Shan proudly held up a finger, “for a year.”
Li Xia was speechless, wondering about such a bizarre name. “And after a year, someone took you down?”
“That’s because I stopped playing.” Qi Shan shrugged. “Being undefeated is boring.”
“……” Li Xia wanted to hit him with a laser cannon.
Han Buting had switched from the captain’s position to the deputy’s, responsible for radar monitoring. Usually diligent, he finally couldn’t help but return to his captain’s demeanor. “Stop joking around. Think about what the source of fear really is.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the spaceship was hit again, this time more severely than before. Amid the shrill alarm, an emotionless voice repeated—
[Spaceship is under attack. Currently 46% damaged.]
“Li Xia.” Qi Shan became serious. “Activate the super defense.”
“We can’t sustain the energy for too long.” Li Xia quickly got into action.
“I know. Just start it for five minutes.” After Qi Shan said this, he asked Han Buting, “Location of the enemy ship.”
Han Buting was silent for a second. “Unknown.”
Qi Shan looked at him in astonishment. “What?”
Han Buting shook his head. “It’s not showing up on the radar.”
“That’s impossible.” Qi Shan got up and quickly went over to check closely. Indeed, there was no trace of any enemy ship on the radar.
Qi Shan stared at the radar screen, lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and performed a series of frantic operations.
Han Buting was dumbfounded. It all seemed completely random to him.
Qi Shan pressed the final button and stopped.
A new voice filled the cockpit—
[The anti-stealth device activated.]
An enemy ship immediately appeared on the radar. Han Buting was surprised and couldn’t hide his admiration. “You really did it!”
But Qi Shan’s face showed no joy—only disbelief. “How is this possible…”
Han Buting picked up on his tone. “Is there a problem?”
Qi Shan raised his head, saying, “This is a hidden skill, only available in the game I played.”
3/23 Doomsday City.
“That’s the situation. As long as the Owl Jade is destroyed, no outsiders will come here, and maybe even the zombie vaccine will start to work!” Ding Xiaoche squatted behind the wall of the Three Religions Hall, brainwashing his immortal boyfriend. “Just help them out.”
The more Meng Zhang listened, the more convinced he became that the outsiders were swindlers. After cheating him out of a vehicle, they now aimed to deceive Ding Xiaoche.
“But there’s no loss. At worst, things stay the same. But what if it works?” Ding Xiaoche looked at him hopefully. “I could find a job closer to here, and I wouldn’t have to resign every day.”
Hearing this, Meng Zhang finally felt a tug at his heartstrings.
The wall flipped, and the Azure Dragon, carrying Ding Xiaoche, landed gracefully. He approached Yue’s Second Circle Team and simply said, “Dare to deceive him, and I’ll show you what ascending to heaven really is.”
Three minutes later, a group of five men and one god landed by the moat.
Meng Zhang dove into the water, transforming into the Azure Dragon. In a blink of an eye, he emerged, holding a piece of purple jade in his claw, which he casually dropped.
The purple jade landed on the riverside railing, shattering crisply.
The Azure Dragon carried Ding Xiaoche into the sky, looking down with a sense of superiority.
[Is that all?]
The Azure Dragon didn’t speak, but Meng Zhang’s voice directly entered the minds of the Yue’s Second Circle Team, just like how Xu Wang communicated with them!
13/23 Amnesia Building, Finance Office.
“Brilliant!” After a long wait, Xu Wang finally received good news again. “Now find a place to hide, stay safe, and avoid getting hurt by zombies. There are only three levels left. It won’t take long.”
“Don’t worry, the Azure Dragon God is with us. He said he’d stay with us until the end.” The voice of the captain of Yue’s Second Circle Team didn’t sound very happy.
Xu Wang was puzzled. “Isn’t that good?”
The team captain: “If it turns out we’ve deceived Ding Xiaoche, he’ll eat us whole, without spitting out the bones.”
Xu Wang: “……”
[Huff… Xu Wang… Huff… Xu Wang…]
“Xiao Mi?” Captain Xu immediately switched lines and accurately identified the other’s identity.
[I’m here… Huff… Might be in a bit of trouble…]
Xu Wang became serious. “Don’t panic. Take your time.”
[I can’t not panic… Huff… I’m afraid if it’s any later… this girl in black won’t give me a chance… to leave a last message…]
“Black?” Xu Wang was startled. “You’ve encountered Hei Momo?”
[Yellow, White… Black… I’ve encountered them all… I left them all to Xiao Bai… Huff… Now it’s just me…]
Wu Sheng grabbed Xu Wang’s arm.
Xu Wang covered his hand, giving his own advisor a “don’t worry, I understand” look.
“Xiao Mi, throw the card at her!”
[……]
Camouflaged Muscles suspected that Xu Wang was playing him.
But at this life-and-death moment, he might as well try anything—reaching into his pocket, he threw the card. The card beautifully shot out like a goddess dispersing flowers.
Just as Hei Momo was about to strike the final blow, her movements halted amidst the scattered cards, and her brow slightly furrowed.
Reaching out, a card fell into her palm.
Holding the card against the moonlight, she saw dense text. She pulled out a half card from her pocket, comparing the two.
The content of the words was different, but the font, as well as the paper and pattern of the card, were exactly the same.
“Who are you?” Hei Momo looked towards Camouflaged Muscles, with confusion and inquiry. “Where did you get this card?”
At this moment, Camouflaged Muscles’ intelligence took the high ground. “The answer is right under your feet. Dig it out, and you’ll know.”
Five minutes later.
[Damn, what kind of magic card is this…]
“Useful?” Xu Wang was surprised. He had already given up hope, letting Camouflaged Muscles throw the card was merely a console to the advisor.
[It’s not just useful, it’s miraculous. The Owl Jade is destroyed.]
“Did Hei Momo help you?” Xu Wang was overjoyed, but soon, he noticed the other side wasn’t very excited. “Xiao Mi, you seem a bit down…”
Camouflaged Muscles: “I tricked a young girl and am currently in a state of ashamed reflection.”
Switching back to 11/23, Xu Wang sent a message of comfort to Wei Menghan. “Everything going smoothly?”
Wei Menghan: “That depends on what you consider ‘smoothly’…”
Xu Wang: “Teacher Wei.”
Wei Menghan: “Alright, we set a fire, successfully drew everyone in the mansion to the fire, smoothly entered the Marshall’s bedroom, moved the bed, dug the ground, and then…”
Xu Wang: “Is there a twist?”
Wei Menghan: “There’s a secret passage under the bed.”
Xu Wang: “Where does it lead?”
Wei Menghan: “Still crawling.”
Xu Wang: “Vertically downwards?”
Wei Menghan: “How could that be? It would become a well then.”
Xu Wang: “Crawling sideways, wouldn’t that deviate from the mark?”
Wei Menghan: “……”
Xu Wang: “……”
Wei Menghan: “Brothers, crawl back the way we came!”
At 4:15 Beijing time, Teacher Wei’s good news also arrived. The Owl Jade was in the earthen wall at the entrance of the tunnel.
Xu Wang took a deep breath and reported to the waiting friends. “3/23, 4/23, 11/23 success…”
The word “success” was swallowed back into his throat.
In the cramped finance room, a very tall man appeared out of thin air, even taller than Qian Ai by a head.
He was like some kind of high-tech projection, projected in the middle of the room. At first, the edges were pieced together bit by bit, and even at the beginning, it was possible to see uneven, jagged edges, but slowly, as his image became clearer, that electronic feeling also vanished.
That was a real person, appearing in front of them like a ghost.
[Xu Wang?]
[What’s wrong? Why aren’t you speaking?]
[Shit, don’t tell me there’s a problem with level 13 again?]
[Xu Wang—]
The concerns of friends at various levels intertwined into a mess in Xu Wang’s mind, but he had no time to care.
Wu Sheng and Chi Yingxue almost simultaneously stood up; the former turned off the [(Defense) Safety Isolation Barrier], the latter used the [(Defense) Flashing Diamond Shield].
Xu Wang, Kuang Jinxin, and Qian Ai quickly stood up, and the five formed a defensive formation.
The raised [Isolation Barrier] and [Diamond Shield] stood between them and the unwelcome guest.
The tall man in a white suit, like a groom going to church, had no expression on his face, giving him a non-human mechanical feel.
[Owl: Targeted elimination, begin.]
The sudden prompt in their ears made everyone’s breath hitch.
The next moment, the man pulled out a gun and fired at the five without hesitation.
The bullet left the barrel, passed through the [Isolation Barrier], and hit the [Diamond shield].
The shield cracked with a snap and shattered.
The bullet didn’t stop, continued forward, and hit Xu Wang in the abdomen.
Xu Wang fell to the ground in severe pain, his head hitting the floor hard, but he no longer felt it. The world seemed to have only that bullet left, burning him with pain.
“Xu Wang—”
He couldn’t hear who was shouting.
His arm was lifted, as if someone was searching his stationery…
[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Kong Rong Giving Up Pears] on you~]
[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Time Reversal on you~~]
In the last moment before losing consciousness, Xu Wang finally remembered. [Kong Rong Gives Up Pears] was Wu Sheng’s and [Time Reversal] was his own. Wu Sheng had stolen the latter and then used it on him.
Consciousness snapped back.
Xu Wang blinked. He didn’t know when he had stood up again. The bloodstain on his abdomen disappeared. It didn’t hurt to touch it, and there was no sign of being shot at all.
Before he had time to think, suddenly a gust of wind swept him away, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in the stairwell. Fortunately, his friends were all there.
“It’s the Owl’s healing power.” Wu Sheng slapped the stair railing in frustration. He spoke quickly and urgently. “I should have thought of it. It wanted to modify the position of the Owl Jade, naturally, it had to clear all unstable factors.”
Kuang Jinxin deactivated the [(Defense) Concealing Wind] used for escaping. “Sheng Ge, you mean the Owl has now locked onto us, wanting to eliminate us?”
Wu Sheng nodded. “We neither entered the last ten levels nor left. This doesn’t conform to the Owl’s pattern. In other words, our existence is now a bug in the Owl.”
“But we’ve already destroyed the Owl Jade of this level.” Qian Ai was puzzled. “Even if it forces us out, it’s useless.”
Chi Yingxue leaned against the wall. “The executor just appeared in front of us, but the order of elimination might not have been issued just now.”
Qian Ai thought for a moment, then understood. Since the Owl could prepare to change the position of the Owl Jade so many days in advance, it indicated that it had already detected the presence of unstable elements in the Owl, probably initiating the repair and elimination back then, only now truly locking onto them.
“And it’s not about being forcefully ejected.” Wu Sheng touched the spot where Xu Wang was just shot, his eyes darkening. “I’m afraid it’s real death.”
If a single shot didn’t eject you back to reality, it meant they didn’t want to let you leave.
9/23 Inner Hell.
“What’s happening on Xu Wang’s side?” Qi Shan commanded Xu Yange to change the flight path, playing hide and seek in space with that invisible enemy ship. Seeing Han Buting’s brows furrow tighter, he couldn’t help but ask.
Han Buting remained silent for a long time.
The moment the connection with Xu Wang was cut off, he had a bad feeling, and now that the connection was restored, his premonition had come true.
“Captain?” Xu Yange and Li Xia also became anxious.
Finally, Han Buting spoke up without any preamble, succinctly stating, “They encountered a powerful NPC responsible for targeted elimination.”
Xu Yange didn’t understand. “Eliminate what?”
Han Buting said gravely, “Eliminate the five of them.”
“Does eliminate mean… forcefully eject?” Li Xia guessed.
Han Buting shook his head.
Qi Shan’s face changed. “They won’t actually die, right?”
“Xu Wang was shot and is still in the level.”
Qi Shan’s hands, holding the control console, trembled slightly. “Can they defeat it?”
“They can’t.” Han Buting didn’t give him any hope. “Their defense stationery can’t defend; their offense stationery can’t hit. Now they can only flee within the building.”
Qi Shan no longer spoke. His gaze fell on the control console, where each button and switch suddenly seemed menacing, bearing life and death, and a wrong choice meant no more chances.
“He said they would hold out until we destroy the Owl Jade.” Han Buting gently patted Qi Shan’s shoulder from behind. “Do you think we can do it?”
Qi Shan was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Xu Yange, readjust the trajectory. Let’s face it head-on! Li Xia, activate the super defense again—”
12/23, Wang Duanran sat on a giant jack-o-lantern in Halloween Town, leisurely lighting a cigarette. As one of the first teams to finish, they had been waiting for nearly four hours. “Do you think we can make it?”
Gu Nian looked up at the starry sky. “That’s a question for Dachuan.”
Chen Guan nudged Jiang Dachuan, who was silent next to him.
Jiang Dachuan jolted, then sighed. “I think it’s going to be tough.”
Kong Lizhe breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, if Dachuan says it’s tough, then it’s definitely going to work.”
Wang Duanran, Gu Nian, Chen Guan: “Yeah.”
Jiang Dachuan: “… Damn!”
5/23, Yue Shuai lay under a peach tree, blowing the cold wind, watching the will-o’-the-wisps, silently spitting out words of encouragement towards the cloud-covered sky: You can do it.
At this moment, brothers in every level were thinking this phrase.
13/23, Amnesia Building.
“Xiao Xue, lure him into the elevator!”
“Lao Qian, cut the power!”
“Sheng Ge, we’ve trapped him in the elevator car!”
“It won’t hold him for long, but it’ll buy us some time. Head to the rooftop!”
9/23 Inner Hell.
“It’s catching up from behind.” Han Buting closely monitored the radar.
“Boost defense on the stern?” Li Xia asked Qi Shan.
Qi Shan narrowed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. “No, this is a feint. It really wants to hit the belly of the ship.” He looked at Xu Yange and said slowly but firmly, “Adjust the trajectory. We fire first.”
“If it fires at the same time, we’re done for.” Xu Yange hesitated.
“It won’t.” Qi Shan was almost certain. “It’s charging its laser cannon.”
Boom—
Everything went as Qi Shan predicted. The enemy didn’t fire and got hit squarely. Although it also had its super defense activated, it wasn’t fatally wounded, but was definitely severely damaged.
But what concerned the team more was Qi Shan’s uncanny prediction, as if the battle was following his script.
Before his teammates could ask, Qi Shan spoke first. “Li Xia, do me a favor.”
Li Xia pressed down his confusion. “Say it.”
Qi Shan adjusted the targeting point, relocking on that battered warship. “There’s a metal piece on the cockpit door. Take it down for me.”
The defense system Li Xia was responsible for was in a stable state and didn’t require his operation. This was why Qi Shan specifically asked him.
Without saying another word, Li Xia took tools to the door and quickly removed the metal piece. He turned it over and over, and seeing nothing special, was puzzled. He raised it towards Qi Shan. “There’s nothing…”
“It’s not about looking at the metal plate—look at the door.” Qi Shan couldn’t help but laugh. “Is ‘Millennium Falcon’ engraved on the door?”
Li Xia hadn’t even heard clearly, but when he lifted his head, the door panel that was blocked by the metal plate indeed had a string of English engraved: “M-I-L-L…”
Qi Shan: “No, this is the second ranked spot that was clinging onto me in the game rankings at the time.”
Han Buting, Xu Yange, Li Xia: “……”
First place was called Tetris. If they were in second, they’d also want to knock out number one!
Wait.
Han Buting suddenly realized something. This was Li Zijin’s nightmare, and if the Millennium Falcon was his home field, then the source of his fear…
“Qi Shan.” He looked steadily at his fellow captain. “Now that we’re piloting the second-place ship in the game, where is the first-place ship, your spaceship?”
Qi Shan raised an eyebrow at him, blinking innocently.
Han Buting, looking at the radar where the battleship they had been fighting for half a day was displayed, had a bad premonition. “Don’t tell me…”
“Turn left by 20 degrees. It will definitely target our fuel storage next.” After deploying with Xu Yange, Qi Shan turned back to Han Buting, sighing. “How was I supposed to know that my idol’s nightmare was me!”
The attack came as expected, indeed targeting the fuel storage.
The battleship moved in time, avoiding a fatal hit but still causing the damage index of the spaceship to rise further.
[Spaceship is under attack. Currently 77% damaged.]
The damage to Tetris should be around 60%. Qi Shan didn’t need to guess; he just remembered from all those games played in the past.
However, this time, the outcome might be reversed.
“Yange, turn right by 45 degrees!”
“Li Xia, turn off the defense. Transfer all energy to the laser cannon!”
This time, it was his turn to target the fuel storage.
Qi Shan held his breath, aimed, locked on, and fired.
The blinding laser cannon hit the Tetris’ fuel storage precisely!
The battleship turned into a ball of fire under the laser cannon, its bright light illuminating a large area of the universe.
Li Zijin’s Millennium Falcon finally took down Tetris.
Qi Shan thought, with such a big sacrifice as blowing up his own spaceship, he must claim credit from his idol upon returning.
As the flames gradually died down, a point of purple light flickered in and out of visibility among the wreckage.
“Forward—”
The battleship moved closer to the wreckage, close enough to see the outline of the Owl Jade. Qi Shan aimed and locked on, using the weakest-level laser cannon.
The Owl Jade shattered into countless pieces, like microlights in the universe.
13/23 Amnesia Building, rooftop.
Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin, and Chi Yingxue, lined up, retreated to the edge of the rooftop.
Though White Suit’s gun was destroyed by them, he still had countless weapons, and his defense was invincible. Now, he stood in front of them, unharmed, still with an expressionless face.
In just twenty minutes, they had almost exhausted all the stationery they could use, and now they were at a dead end.
Jumping off the building or being shot to death was a difficult choice.
“Do you regret it?” With half a foot already outside the rooftop, Xu Wang asked his companions.
Qian Ai: “Regret is useless.”
Kuang Jinxin: “We’re not dead yet.”
Chi Yingxue: “I need time to regret…”
Wu Sheng: “Might as well punch him a few more times.”
Chi Yingxue was the first to move, almost hugging and pouncing on White Suit. Wu Sheng and Qian Ai were a step late, each grabbing an arm. Kuang Jinxin dove to hug the legs, and Xu Wang was the last to spring forward, using all his strength in this life to punch White Suit hard in the face!
It was 4:37 Beijing time when the last Owl Jade in 9/23 shattered.
“Thud!”
“Thud!”
“Thud!”
“Thud!”
“Snap—”
“Damn, why do I always land face-first!” Qian Ai grumbled, rubbing his cheek as he got up.
Xu Wang sat on the ground, under the pitch-black night sky, bathed in the warm streetlight.
“Did we… get out?” Kuang Jinxin was a bit incredulous. He almost died just a moment ago.
Chi Yingxue smiled and pulled him into an embrace, messing up his hair. “Not just out, but left.”
Wu Sheng showed the time on his phone, shaking it at Xu Wang. “It’s not even five yet. We made it.”
Xu Wang lunged forward, hugging him tightly, as if wanting to hold him in his life forever.
Qian Ai looked left and right, realizing no one cared for him, so he had no choice but to rub his own cheeks.
In the distant night, there were no more owl hoots.
The Owl, had flown away.
The author has something to say:
This marks the end of the main story. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be posting extras about the daily lives of our little group. The Owl saga is over, but life goes on, right? Can’t just flirt without giving some sweetness~~
When I first envisioned this story, I wanted to separate the first thirteen levels from the last ten. Writing twenty-three levels in the same mode could easily become repetitive, and it might lose its fun for you guys. In “Midnight Ten”, the last ten levels will introduce a new mode, keeping some elements of the Owl while changing the format, content, and items of the challenges, hoping to bring you a fresher experience. The synopsis for “Midnight Ten” is ready, and I welcome you to subscribe.
Finally, thank you to my friends for sticking with me all this way. Whenever I felt tired, seeing your comments and support reenergized me. Seeing you guys feel sorry for Lao Qian, well, I can’t help but laugh. Locking the CPs and throwing away the key. Every one of you is a little angel. Love you all.
Kinky Thoughts:
This marks the end of the main story for Midnight Owl. I was quite interested in the novel before, and when I read Suddenly Trending (by the same author) it convinced me to pick up this project since that novel is quite good. I highly recommend you read it, especially if you like entertainment circle novels.
Unlike other unlimited flow novels I’ve read, this one is a bit different. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, which adds a lot of comedic effect. Unfortunately, since there are no real stakes (no one can actually die—well, except in this last chapter), there’s less solemnity in the storyline, which makes getting invested in the plot a bit more difficult (for me personally).
The romance is cute, but there’s not enough of it. Hopefully the extras will give more sugar.
For those wondering, there is a sequel called Midnight Ten which is around the last 10 levels of the Owl. It follows Fan Peiyang and Tang Lin, who had a minor appearance in this novel.
If you did enjoy it, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. You can use Google Chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone for your comments, encouragement, help with my translations, and ko-fi donations. It in part fuels my motivation to release so frequently and try to finish this novel as soon as possible.
Kinky Translations 