Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 310

Lin Chen had never experienced such a life before.

It wasn’t that it was too leisurely and comfortable, but when he thought back carefully, he realized that the concept of a vacation was completely foreign to him.

As a child, due to his parents’ jobs and during an era when working-class families didn’t have much of a concept of vacationing, going out to have fun meant taking time off to visit famous cities and sightseeing. Usually, it was a rushed two-day round trip.

Later, because of his busy academic schedule with high school entrance exams and classes during the winter and summer vacations, traveling seemed too extravagant.

During the summer of his senior year, he should have had the chance to go out and have some fun, but a major incident occurred at home, causing him to lose both of his parents. Because of this, he changed his major from physics to psychology.

In college, needless to say, his department was very demanding, so undergraduates had to work for their professors and be available at all times. Of course, this was also an excuse, as the underlying issue was that he didn’t have much money at the time.

The most interesting vacation-like experience he could recall was a barbecue trip to Nanshan with his college class, which coincided with a torrential downpour. They ended up spending the night in tents while the air was soaked with the damp smell of rainwater and mud.

A group of students played cards by flashlight inside the tents, but the rain was so loud they couldn’t hear each other.

Still, it was fun, and the strong contrast between utter silence and roaring noise provided a feeling of vastness—a powerful world on the outside while they were confined in a small space.

When the rain stopped and they walked out of the tents, it looked like the sky at this moment.

“Just like the sky right now…”

Lin Chen repeated this sentence twice, then turned his head to look at Xing Conglian.

At that moment, they were lying on beach chairs on the cruise ship’s deck. The ship was in warm waters, and the sea breeze was gentle.

The noisy night party had ended some time ago, and the staff had cleaned up the “battlefield”. Parents who had taken their children to play in the water had gone back to their rooms to sleep. Only a few scattered couples, old and young, were chatting and kissing under the starlit sky on the deck.

So Lin Chen turned to look at Xing Conglian.

Xing Conglian, propped up on his elbow, had his eyes slightly closed as he listened to Lin Chen, half asleep, half awake.

After Lin Chen stopped speaking for a few seconds, Xing Conglian finally reacted and turned to look at him, asking, “The same, then what?”

Lin Chen smiled, sincerely saying, “Like the sky right now, but not as beautiful as your eyes.”

Xing Conglian didn’t laugh at this comment but instead grasped Lin Chen’s hand and said nothing.

He didn’t ask what had happened to Lin Chen’s family during his senior year, nor did he comment on the abrupt ending of the story. He simply held Lin Chen’s hand, the gesture meaning simply, “I’m here for you now.”

Lin Chen didn’t mean to complain. He was merely recounting his past experiences. But he found that casual chatting with Xing Conglian could easily become profound.

It was like how patients, when facing a psychologist, unknowingly reveal many things they are unwilling to say or have long forgotten and, in the end, have to pay for it.

For Lin Chen, although he didn’t have to pay money, he still had to compensate in other ways after sharing memories.

It was simply addictive.

Lin Chen pinched his nose bridge, turned to look at the sky, and began to reflect. Xing Conglian rested one leg on his, his rough heel rubbing against Lin Chen’s calf as if to comfort him.

Lin Chen shivered; yes, that was precisely the trick.

Xing Conglian reacted sharply.

“Then let me tell you my story, is that alright?”

“Can you guess if I think that’s good or bad?”

“Which part would you like to hear?”

“…”

“You can choose anything, as long as it doesn’t violate confidentiality regulations.”

“Whatever.”

“It can’t just be ‘whatever’.” Xing Conglian sat cross-legged. “Otherwise, I could give you a list, and you can choose which part to listen to, even dragging the progress bar back and forth for free replays.”

As Xing Conglian said this, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers against the night sky, usually a summoning gesture for Wang Chao.

Lin Chen thought that Xing Conglian had forgotten that he hadn’t brought Wang Chao onto the ship and was about to remind him, but the captain reacted on his own.

What surprised Lin Chen was that Xing Conglian didn’t stop.

He made a show of lying down in his beach chair, shuffling over in his sandals to a deck crew member, whispered something, and the worker trotted off. He then lazily shuffled back to his chair and sat down.

Lin Chen felt a headache coming on. “You didn’t send someone to Hongjing to get Wang Chao airlifted onto the cruise ship, did you?”

“How could I? I’m not that kind of person!” Xing Conglian reacted strongly.

“Really?”

“I’m very low-key, as you well know,” he said. “I don’t squander money like other rich people.”

Lin Chen thought about it and seemed to agree. Then he heard Xing Conglian say, “Mainly because I squander it much better than they do.”

“…”

Xing Conglian sat cross-legged, his eyes clear, not looking embarrassed at all.

Lin Chen thought for a moment, then asked, “Like this cruise ship?”

“It’s mine.”

Hmm… not my family’s.

“I meant, why this ship?”

“Because it’s my ship,” Xing Conglian said matter-of-factly.

Lin Chen changed positions, lying flat on the deck chair, feeling communication was difficult.

“If I take you out, of course we have to ride my ship,” Xing Conglian said.

“Eh?”

“Otherwise, wouldn’t we be boarding someone else’s ship?”

“Makes sense.”

“I think so too.”

Xing Conglian lay back down, continuing to hold his hand, his voice calming.

He said, “Actually, I wanted this ship before I left home.”

Lin Chen closed his eyes, pretending to sleep like Xing Conglian and pretending not to hear.

“Back then, my grandfather wanted to send me away to the ‘Door’ base for training. Before leaving, they said they would fulfill one wish of mine, so I said, I wanted to buy a boat.”

“I had just come of age and only knew about that hellish place from what I had heard. Knowing I had to go, I watched many movies about warfare, both domestic and foreign, and was scared out of my mind. I thought my life was over. So when they promised to fulfill a wish, my first reaction was to say my wish was not to go. Of course, that wouldn’t work. So, I made my second wish, for a boat.”

“I always thought that after leaving that hellish place, I wanted to sail around the world with the world’s hottest babes, to be a king on the sea, to host Victoria’s Secret shows on the water, and to revel in luxury every day. Fuck the civilized world!”

Xing Conglian was impassioned.

Lin Chen couldn’t help but laugh, finding the young Xing Conglian’s ideas utterly adorable.

He could even picture the curly-haired, green-eyed boy with dreams of conquering the world, giving his home the middle finger as he left, tears in his eyes.

“I had many ideas for my ship,” Xing Conglian said. “I had clear requirements for tonnage and functionality, even some sci-fi elements that were beyond the current shipbuilding technology, so it took 10 years to design and build the ship.”

“Actually, I made all those demands to give my grandfather a hard time.”

“I didn’t expect them to take it seriously and actually build it.”

“After my grandfather passed away and I retired, I never once came aboard.”

“I don’t actually like big ships, nor tall women with big breasts. What I asked for was out of spite, but he outdid me by really building this ship and giving it to me as a gift,” Xing Conglian said, taking a deep puff of his cigarette. The highly emotional content was conveyed in a very calm voice. “If I had known, I would have asked for a spaceship…”

“To send you to the stars?”

“How can that be!”

Xing Conglian put out his cigarette, draped his leg over Lin Chen again, turned, and hugged him tightly, almost enclosing his earlobe as he whispered, “Of course, to build a spaceship and contribute to the progress of human science.”

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes. His gaze slid over Xing Conglian’s profile while he looked deep into the night sky.

“You’ve made a lot of progress in your thinking.”

“It’s not deep enough yet.”

“Mm…”

“Consultant Lin needs to continue to guide.”

“Mm…”

……

When Wang Chao was brought up, it was said that the sky hadn’t yet brightened.

It was said to be because, later, the two of them had cuddled together under the blanket and fallen asleep.

Xing Conglian’s crew didn’t dare disturb them, so they kept guard over Wang Chao nearby for half the night.

The teenager’s hair had been turned into a bird’s nest by the sea breeze, and there were still traces of sauce from the midnight snack on his mouth and collar. It seemed he had been found in some restaurant.

With Wang Chao’s personal abilities, he might even have played a game of cat and mouse with the crew before finally being caught.

Lin Chen sat up, wrapped in a blanket that someone had brought. The sky had just started to lighten. The sound of sea wind and waves could be heard, and all around was peaceful blue.

Wang Chao was escorted forward in front of Xing Conglian, who was lying on his back, smoking, with his legs propped up like a lord.

“A’Chen Gege, did you snitch?” Wang Chao whined.

Lin Chen shook his head, pointing to the one who was smoking.

In fact, he also didn’t know when Xing Conglian had discovered Wang Chao was on the ship.

“Boss, you’re so mean!” Comrade Xiao Wang Chao was very unhappy, ranting, “Not taking me along is one thing, but sending people to catch me, catch me!! They found me even when I hid in the engine room! What’s wrong with that?! Can’t a poor child oppressed by you pay for a cruise himself??? Is this your ship to be so domineering!”

Lin Chen rubbed his forehead and nodded.

“I know, I’m just a sycophant, only saying this to please him secretly!” Wang Chao paused, saving his pride.

Lin Chen wanted to say, Your boss wasn’t really pleased to see this ship…

But Xing Conglian himself had already impatiently beckoned Wang Chao over.

“What do you want, calling me over like I’m your sweet little thing?”

“Do you like abseiling?” Xing Conglian asked.

“???”

“It’s when you’re hung from the high deck and swooshed down. It’s quite fun; many guests enjoy it.”

Wang Chao’s legs went weak at once. “Boss, what would you like me to do?”

“Find Alice’s location.”

“Oh, can I have a computer?”

The conversation between Xing Conglian and Wang Chao was incredibly succinct.

Lin Chen also had a moment where he thought that Alice sounded like one of Xing Conglian’s favorite Victoria’s Secret models.

It wasn’t until three hours later that he saw…

He saw, in the endless expanse of the ocean…

The world’s largest marine creature emerging from the sea. A milky-white spout shot into the sky, and the huge tail slapped the sea, causing waves that echoed across the vast waters.

Cheers erupted on the cruise ship.

All the passengers were gathered on the deck or their own cabin balconies.

They were shouting and exclaiming, awed by a never-before-seen spectacle—the miracle of marine life.

Only Xing Conglian leaned against the railing, very calm.

Lin Chen was stunned for a long time before pointing at the whale that had just surfaced and asking, as though still immersed in illusion, “Alice?”

Xing Conglian nodded.

“Another birthday gift?”

“Just a pet.”

“……”

Xing Conglian turned around and looked at the computer screen beside him.

The blue dot on the screen indicating Alice’s coordinates showed that the whale had re-submerged into the sea, so the concept of a pet was probably just Xing Conglian’s wishful thinking.

“When I was 12, I rescued her when she was stranded near the shore,” Xing Conglian said, facing the sea breeze with certainty. “I said I wanted a huge aquarium to keep her.”

Looking at Xing Conglian’s expression and his unusual behavior after entering this area, Lin Chen guessed something.

He asked, “What did your grandfather say?”

“Grandfather said no.”

“Why?”

“Because my ambition was too small,” Xing Conglian said. “He took my hand by the seaside and told me that I should consider the ocean as my aquarium, rather than building a very small structure.”

“Very persuasive.”

“Yes.” Xing Conglian smiled, showing a reminiscent grin. “So he suggested I put a locator on her. First, to contribute to the protection of marine life by tracking the habits of whales, and second…”

“Second?”

“Second, if I ever have a girl I like, I can take her to the ocean to see the whale, point to her, and tell her this is my pet. It would be very cool.”

Lin Chen also smiled, interlocking his fingers with Xing Conglian’s.

The sea breeze whispered like a loved one, gentle and soothing.

“Now, although the person I like is not a girl, I’ve brought him here too,” Xing Conglian said, looking at the vast sea.

“I love him very much, and even thought for a long time about how to express my love and romance him. In the end, I wanted to bring him here to meet you.”

“Of course, I don’t need your agreement on who I like, so I’m not here to seek your opinion.”

Xing Conglian continued, “But he is the one I love the most, and you are the person I respect the most. I want to be with him for the rest of my life, so I brought him here to notify you.”

Lin Chen was silent for a long time.

The sea was calm, and the whale’s figure was no longer visible.

Xing Conglian was back to normal, clearing his throat and pulling Lin Chen’s hand to walk inside the cabin. “My grandfather was very peculiar; he demanded his ashes be compressed into a diamond and sunk into the trench of this sea area. I’m not sure if Alice swallowed him…”

“…Why?”

“To be closer to the Earth’s core, extremely willful.”

Lin Chen lifted Xing Conglian’s hand. Gazing into his moss-green eyes, he kissed his knuckles and said, “It’s also very romantic.”

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Kinky Thoughts:

This marks the end of the novel. I hope you enjoyed it. The smut was a nice surprise.

If you like the novel, 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 work.

I would also 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.

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<<< || Table of Contents ||

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 309

“If you don’t take me with you, what if a hacker hacks the entire control system? What will you do then?”

Wang Chao sat with his arms folded and his legs crossed, pretending to be calm as he warned them, but his drooping mouth betrayed him.

At that moment, they were sitting in the revolving restaurant at the Hongjing Hotel.

Xing Conglian had reserved the most expensive restaurant in the city to break this cruel news to Wang Chao.

However, since he had spent money, Captain Xing wouldn’t verbally admit defeat.

“Comrade Xiao Wang Chao.” Xing Conglian tapped the table. “The hacker capable of hacking the whole ship’s control system is right in front of me.”

“Boss, you rarely praise me like this!”

“So why would I bring someone as dangerous as you to threaten the safety of tourists?”

“You’re insulting my character!”

“Haven’t you done a few illegal things?”

“A’Chen Gege, say something!”

Lin Chen, who had been quietly tasting pudding, was finally drawn into the flames of battle. On one side was an indignant and seemingly abandoned teenager, and on the other was a gentleman with an eyebrow raised.

Lin Chen put down his spoon, tentatively suggesting, “Or… How about you two go?”

Things started a week earlier.

One night, while watching TV, Xing Conglian excitedly turned up the volume and pointed to a commercial for a trans-Atlantic cruise, asking, “How about we go on a honeymoon?”

In the advertisement, a luxurious cruise ship cut through the azure sea, and a row of stylized romantic characters spelled out, “Join the Darwin for a global journey of your dreams.”

Lin Chen thought it looked nice but didn’t take it seriously. They couldn’t possibly have 35 days off for a global dream journey. But somehow, their leave was approved, and Wang Chao didn’t have a ticket.

Lin Chen thought for a moment about what he had said casually at the time, something like “It looks pretty good,” but he didn’t take it to heart. After all, how could they possibly have a 35-day vacation to go on a global dream journey?

But…

Nothing was absolute. In any case, their vacation request was approved before the end of work today, and they were to board the ship tomorrow. As for Wang Chao… Xing Conglian obviously would not buy a ticket for him.

At first, Mr. Xing probably felt guilty and had prepared to treat the teenager to a lavish dinner.

But Wang Chao wouldn’t be himself if he backed down easily.

After dinner, Xing Conglian broke the bad news, and Wang Chao listed all the potential consequences of not taking him along. Lin Chen was troubled, but Xing Conglian was determined to live freely without children, so Wang Chao’s protests were in vain.

In reality, Lin Chen didn’t care if they brought Wang Chao, but Xing Conglian’s words finally persuaded him.

“What does it mean to bring Wang Chao?”

“What?”

“It means that whatever happens in the world, you will know about it; it means anyone can find you at any time; it means you don’t really have a vacation!”

Later, Lin Chen thought, even if they went on the cruise without Wang Chao, if someone really wanted to find you, they could still find you…

But for a “middle-aged man” who had been raising a child for over a decade, Lin Chen felt sympathetic and understanding, so he chose to keep silent.

Then they boarded the ship with their passports.

When they were actually sitting on the balcony of the cabin, looking at the yellow port waters, Lin Chen felt a sense of magical realism.

They were really going on vacation?

Unbelievable…

He turned around, and Xing Conglian was already sprawled out on the bed, taking a long, deep drag.

Seeing him look, Xing Conglian propped up his head, patted the empty space beside him, and his eyes were filled with laughter. Lin Chen obediently lay down on the bed, his head resting in Xing Conglian’s arm, and closed his eyes.

“Going to sleep just like that?” Xing Conglian was surprised.

“Or we could make love.”

“…”

Lin Chen laughed and yawned but didn’t open his eyes.

“I have no objection; shall we start now?”

Xing Conglian said and kissed him.

If this were not a story of magical realism, then Lin Chen would surely say, “Making such a proclamation in broad daylight seems inappropriate.”

But since they only brought their passports onto the ship, besides doing something inappropriate, there wasn’t much else to do. Lin Chen turned over, affectionately hugged Xing Conglian’s neck.

In the distance was the vast ocean, so there was no need to draw the curtains.

“I have a very strange premonition.” Lin Chen put his hand on Xing Conglian’s back.

“Please, don’t say it out loud.”

“Okay.”

“So what else can be said?”

“Say, ‘Husband, I love you.'”

Xing Conglian’s nasal voice was wet, and he kissed Lin Chen’s ear.

Lin Chen smiled.

……

When they woke up, the ship had already set sail, and they didn’t know where they were.

The sound of waves slapping against the hull came from outside the balcony, and the stars in the sky were twinkling.

Lin Chen vaguely remembered that the boarding instructions mentioned a fixed emergency drill at 17:00. He sat up abruptly from the bed, rubbing his forehead, feeling that something wasn’t right.

The bedside table had lube, and the room was a mess. Lin Chen had only one question in his mind: why was lube prepared in the suite? What was this feeling of being on a pirate ship all about?

Xing Conglian came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and sat down by the bed, considerately asking, “Are you feeling unwell?”

“Did we miss the drill?” Lin Chen asked.

“Um…” Xing Conglian paused. “This kind of large cruise ship won’t have any problems, and it’s not like the era of the Titanic.”

“Safety is important,” Lin Chen said, “and since the cruise ship has this rule, we need to follow it.”

“Actually…”

“Yes?”

“You put on your clothes first, and I’ll take you to the emergency drill.”

“…”

Being in the middle of winter and at sea, the cruise ship’s deck was probably colder than they imagined. Since they hadn’t prepared any luggage, Lin Chen intended to wear a bathrobe over his coat, but Xing Conglian stopped him with a hesitant look.

“Why do I feel like you’re hiding something from me?”

“No, actually, I feel quite guilty.”

Xing Conglian said as he pulled Lin Chen out the door, took him into the elevator, and pressed the floor button to go down.

“Guilty about what?”

“I remember that I seem to be quite rich…”

“And then?”

“Then you actually don’t remember this, and I feel very guilty about it.”

He was holding Xing Conglian’s hand. When the elevator door opened, the shopping street on the Darwin cruise ship appeared before them. Crystal chandeliers sparkled above them while throngs of tourists passed by. There were some parties happening further away, and young people’s laughter filled the bustling ship’s street.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve said the words, ‘I’ll pay by card’. I almost forgot that I’m rich!” Xing Conglian sighed, looking at the street.

Lin Chen felt his chest tremble with the enveloping electronic music, but when he turned his head, he saw Xing Conglian looking relaxed and at ease, as if he was very accustomed to this flashy scene. Lin Chen, too, began to feel nostalgic.

In fact, thinking about it, he had never felt uncomfortable living with Xing Conglian for so long. To say they were in sync, it was probably more accurate that Xing Conglian had been accommodating him quite a bit.

A waiter handed over a cocktail, and Lin Chen passed it to Xing Conglian.

“Do you feel like you’re ten years younger?” Xing Conglian took a sip, smiled, wrapped his arm around Lin Chen, and yelled in his ear.

“My experiences when I was young might not be the same as yours.”

Xing Conglian began by laughing. As they walked into a men’s clothing store, everything suddenly quieted down, and he realized something was amiss. “Not the same when young… Are you calling me old?”

Lin Chen shook his head. “I’m not that kind of person.”

Since Xing Conglian was paying, Lin Chen didn’t hesitate and picked out a down jacket to check out.

Standing at the counter, Lin Chen handed over the ship card and looked out the window, only to unexpectedly see a familiar figure.

He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but the duckbill cap, black hoodie, and that face that screamed ‘Laozi’s really 100% clever’—if it wasn’t Wang Chao, who else could it be?

Why was Wang Chao here?

Xing Conglian stood by his side, looking at him, and Lin Chen hurriedly stepped forward, unconsciously blocking Xing Conglian’s view of the street.

If he had a phone right now, he would definitely send Wang Chao a secret text message questioning if he knew the meaning of the word “death”.

But he didn’t have a phone.

Because Xing Conglian had made it clear that the honeymoon was a dedicated emotional journey (?) for two adults, focusing on adult entertainment activities (?), and prohibiting all distractions.

So they really just boarded the ship with just their passports. Now, Lin Chen began to regret his rash decision.

After leaving the men’s clothing store, Lin Chen remained uneasy.

On one hand, he feared Wang Chao might suddenly appear and cause a scene; on the other hand, he felt he should be honest with Xing Conglian about what he had seen.

Lost in thought for a moment, when he came back to his senses, he was already standing with Xing Conglian in an open space at the highest point of the top deck.

Surrounded by a circle of ground lights, everything else is shrouded in darkness, with bright stars in the night sky and a sharp, brisk sea breeze. The laughter from the heated pool downstairs is faintly audible, and on the distant basketball court, young people are still playing. But where they stand is very quiet, so much so that even the sound of a heartbeat can be heard.

Lin Chen wrapped his down jacket tightly around himself, pointed to where they were standing, and looked at Xing Conglian.

“Lifeboat drill.” Xing Conglian’s face was very close to his, and he could faintly see the other’s moss-green eyes. “In case of a shipwreck, this is our gathering point.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means that according to the level of our room card, a helicopter will come to pick us up when the time comes…” Xing Conglian seemed quite embarrassed. “How wicked.”

Lin Chen looks up at the night sky, taking a deep breath of the chilly sea breeze.

“If the helicopter can’t make it in time, there are other lifeboats, but…” Xing Conglian paused. “But if something really happens, we will probably be the last to leave.”

He said this without regret.

Lin Chen stretches out both arms, embracing him. “Xing Conglian.”

“At your service anytime.”

“Don’t casually set flags for us.”

“Okay.”

“It’s my character setting to set up flags.”

“Then what’s my character setting?” Xing Conglian also hugged him with both arms.

But since both of them were wearing quite thick down jackets, the embrace was somewhat awkward.

“Your character setting…” Lin Chen looked up at him, “is to say with a smile, ‘We should kiss here.'”

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 308

The day before the Qixi Festival, Lin Chen went on a business trip to the province to attend an academic exchange meeting.

Xing Conglian initially had no objections to this. After all, it was just over a hundred kilometers, which was only a two-hour drive.

However, when Comrade Zhang Xiaolong put the Qixi Festival duty roster on his desk, Xing Conglian gestured for the policewoman to come to him and stand at attention.

“What does this mean?” he asked, shaking the duty roster, where his name had been assigned to the Ansheng International Mall in the Chong’an Distract column.

Zhang Xiaolong obsequiously smiled, saying, “Captain, on Qixi night, the General Bureau and branch offices are short of manpower. The higher-ups mean for team leaders and above to take the lead in duty, setting an example.”

“If the superiors set an example, what do you subordinates do?”

“We subordinates are going on dates, of course.”

The policewoman finished, showing him the happy smile of a contented woman. Then she took the duty roster from his hand, laying it on the table with a giggling smile “Captain Xing, please, it won’t hurt for a single dog like you to work hard on Valentine’s Day.”

Xing Conglian was so choked up that he couldn’t speak. When he called Lin Chen in the evening, he was still dwelling on it. “She actually called me a single dog; I just disdain to feed them ‘dog food*’!”

*Buzzword referring to couples showing affection in front of others (usually people who are single).

The noise on the other end of the phone was loud, as Lin Chen seemed to be attending a post-conference dinner, filled with the sounds of clinking glasses. Perhaps because he was too busy, Lin Chen just gave a noncommittal “Mm” as if he didn’t care.

Xing Conglian was still a little upset when he hung up. Although he knew Lin Chen had little interest in these holidays, the thought of watching couples cooing at each other in the mall while Lin Chen was dining with others elsewhere made him feel an indescribable chill, like a cold wind in the face.

Perhaps because even the heavens felt he was too desolate, when he got home after work, the central air conditioning was malfunctioning.

Wang Chao pressed the remote control for a long time, stripped to his vest, and then began to wail. “Boss, can we buy a new air conditioner right now? I’m going to die of heat!”

Xing Conglian coldly glanced at him, saying, “Calm your mind, and you will cool down.”

“Abuse!”

“So what if I abuse you?” Xing Conglian removed his coat and walked straight into the bathroom.

When he came out, Wang Chao was nowhere to be seen in the house. From the yard came the sound of a teenager playing games. When he went out to see, Wang Chao had actually dragged mosquito nets and mats to sleep in the yard.

The evening breeze was pleasant, and the night was fine, but Lin Chen was not there. He looked up at the sky and then went back to his room.

Although it was indeed hot at night, opening the doors and windows allowed the cool breeze to pass through, making sleep barely possible. Xing Conglian lay in bed, looked at the empty pillow beside his head, and closed his eyes.

He couldn’t remember the last time he slept alone, but when it was time to sleep, he didn’t feel the loneliness of an old man in an empty nest.

The room was filled with the scent of life.

At the head of the bed was Lin Chen’s unfinished bedtime book, and at the foot were his uncollected pajamas.

Notably, the book was “Harry Potter“, and the pajamas were a set of gray, white, and blue plaid shirt and trousers.

When had he last unbuttoned this set of pajamas? Xing Conglian laughed at the thought, turned off the light, placed his arm under his head, stared at the dark ceiling, and closed his eyes to sleep.

But…

Of course, he couldn’t sleep at first.

He found himself wondering what the difference was between sleeping alone before and now. After thinking for a while, the only differences were a bigger bed, more things around him, and a feeling of fullness in his heart.

Because of that fulfillment, he didn’t even have time to romanticize about Lin Chen’s pajamas and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, a strange noise suddenly came from the room, and in the darkness, footsteps could be heard. Someone stealthily walked into the room and stopped by the bed.

Xing Conglian abruptly reached out, grabbing the intruder’s hands. Just as he was about to kick out, the feeling of the skin in his hands gave him a jolt.

He quickly changed positions, pulling the person to his chest and holding them down forcefully.

The lights came on.

“Gentler.”

Xing Conglian thought he was dreaming, but at that moment, Lin Chen was indeed lying on his chest.

His face was fair and radiant, his eyes sparkled with a watery smile, and he was holding onto the corner of a blanket, as if he had been caught red-handed while grabbing it.

“How did you get back?” Xing Conglian exclaimed in shock.

“By train.”

“Weren’t there more meetings left?”

“I skipped it,” Lin Chen said nonchalantly.

“But I have to be on duty tomorrow.”

“It’s okay, I’ll accompany you.”

Lin Chen finished speaking and tried to stand up, but Xing Conglian hooked his leg around Lin Chen’s calf.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“The yard is too cold; I want to give Wang Chao another blanket.”

“No!”

Before his words had even fallen, Lin Chen pinched his chin and kissed him.

“Let go; I’ll be right back.”

Lin Chen’s voice was somewhat hoarse, with two buttons undone at his shirt collar, revealing his neck and collarbone.

Although he said to let go, his tone was teasing, quite provocative.

Xing Conglian let go of his hand, and just as Lin Chen was about to stand up, he slammed the person under his body again, rubbing his penis against Lin Chen’s lower abdomen. “Baby, I said no.”

Lin Chen’s chest was slightly undulating. His eyes were languid, and his lips were red.

He wiped Lin Chen’s lips with his fingers, then pried open Lin Chen’s teeth, put his thumb into Lin Chen’s moist mouth, and stirred gently.

Lin Chen smiled with an ambiguous expression on his face, and his tongue subconsciously cooperated, licking his fingers.

Obviously, it was just licking, but the method imitated oral sex, which made Xing Conglian almost lose control. He stretched out another finger into Lin Chen’s mouth and twitched it gently.

“Mmph…”

Lin Chen whimpered in confusion.

Xing Conglian leaned down. His eyes followed the trail of saliva coming from the corner of Lin Chen’s mouth and closed in on his ears, asking, “Is it hot?”

“It’s hot.” Lin Chen opened his mouth and whispered. One arm was around his waist, and the other was inserted between their overlapping bodies. He grinded up and down through his pants, whimpering, “But I want more heat.”

These words only made Xing Conglian harder. As he subconsciously propped up his body, Lin Chen took advantage of the momentum and reached into his pants.

Compared to the hot bed, hot air, and hot flesh, Lin Chen’s fingers were exceptionally cold, like extremely tender bamboo branches, kneading lightly or heavily, which was refreshing.

“Baby, you are so sweet.”

Lin Chen listened to Xing Conglian whispering in his ear.

He was actually quite sleepy, and the surrounding was so hot, so it wasn’t a good time to have sex.

However, suffocation sex was also a genre, and the feeling of being confused was quite exhilarating.

Xing Conglian kissed his neck. There was no air conditioning, and the two hugged for a while, so he was sweating profusely, especially his neck. Xing Conglian’s movements were extremely gentle, careful not to leave any hickeys, but because of these gentle and careful movements, it made him feel an unbearable itch.

“Mm…”

Unconsciously, he groaned in a low voice.

Xing Conglian licked the area behind his ear, and the itchy feeling bottomed out of his heart all at once. He let go of his hand and subconsciously turned his head to avoid it.

However, it was obviously unavoidable.

Xing Conglian took advantage of the situation to lick into his ear. The feeling of wetness stirred the eroticism of the dark night, and Lin Chen couldn’t help but get goosebumps.

“Don’t lick it in.”

“Haven’t gone in yet.” Xing Conglian rubbed his penis against his hips, indicating that he was still, indeed, honest.

Lin Chen smiled. Xing Conglian’s expression was hazy, but with the moonlight, he could guess the expression on his lover’s face from his imagination.

“It’s itchy.”

Lin Chen touched Xing Conglian’s face and imagined his moss-green eyes. It felt hazy, like a dream.

“Where does it itch?” Xing Conglian asked.

“Everywhere.”

Xing Conglian’s breathing stagnated, and after a while, Lin Chen felt the belt around his waist loosen.

The trousers of the suit were taken off along with the underwear. He raised his feet very cooperatively and then heard the sound of the trousers landing.

Xing Conglian’s dick was already behind him.

Lin Chen was a little horrified and couldn’t help wondering if he had gone too far just now.

“Can I go in today, or are you too tired?”

It was obvious that his dick was hot and rock hard, but Xing Conglian still remained polite.

“Otherwise, why would I buy a ticket overnight and come back to spend Qixi with you under the sheets?” Lin Chen asked rhetorically.

“I thought too much.” Xing Conglian laughed out loud.

However, the words were still spoken.

Xing Conglian didn’t even forcibly insert right away.

The balcony door was open, and the murmur of water was clearly audible.

Under the glistening moonlight, Lin Chen’s slender legs and lower body appeared as if they were nothing. His penis stood erect, calm yet lewd.

His upper body was a stark contrast. Because of his conference, Lin Chen wore a slim white shirt and tie today.

They had been entangled for a while, yet the shirt remained intact, with the exception of a few more wrinkles, and the black tie hung to one side, giving a sense of abstinence that made one want to invade.

And looking closely, although Lin Chen was still wearing a vest, Xing Conglian could see his nipples were faintly excited. Coupled with his naked lower body, this contrast was even more exciting than being completely naked.

Xing Conglian’s fingers were still wet. That was the saliva drawn from Lin Chen’s mouth just now. He held Lin Chen’s penis with his wet fingers while holding Lin Chen’s tie with his other hand. He leaned down and gently nibbled on the red dot on Lin Chen’s chest through the shirt, teasing it with his tongue.

“Mmph…”

“Why are you so excited?” Xing Conglian asked vaguely as the tip of his teeth bit lightly on the cloth and the milk beads below.

“Because it’s comfortable.”

“Am I serving comfortably?”

“Yes.”

“What else can I do for you?”

After speaking, Lin Chen grabbed his hair, raised his neck, and said in a disguised fierce tone, “The foreplay is too long. Enter me, quickly.”

Lin Chen was so cute that Xing Conglian didn’t even care about him. The fingers below rubbed the tip of Lin Chen’s penis and felt a moist liquid oozing out.

“Consultant Lin, be patient and persevere,” Xing Conglian said solemnly.

Lin Chen directly reached out and opened the bedside table, pulled out the lube, and threw it directly on him.

Xing Conglian laughed out loud and wanted to mess with him again.

Lin Chen raised his knees, pushed his hands away, and began to rub Xing Conglian’s dick with his feet. “No, I can’t hold on anymore.”

Xing Conglian had to kneel and sit beside Lin Chen, squeeze out the cold liquid from his hand, and rub it on his fingers indiscriminately.

Lin Chen was very cooperative and raised his body a little bit as Xing Conglian poked his index finger in with a bit of force.

“Ah…… Nn……”

Lin Chen’s insides were tight and hot. Xing Conglian pushed his finger in and out as he kissed Lin Chen.

Hearing Lin Chen’s vague and sleepy moans, as well as feeling his erected penis tremble as it rested on his forearm from time to time, Xing Conglian couldn’t help feeling anxious.

He wrapped Lin Chen’s penis again with his other hand and stroked it as he inserted another finger.

At the moment when the index and middle fingers were inserted, Lin Chen arched his back at the same time and trembled all over. He couldn’t suppress his groan any longer.

“I’m going to cum… Enter me…”

The voice was so hoarse and soft that it almost made Xing Conglian surrender.

“Who do you want to enter you?” Xing Conglian leaned down, let go of his hand, and licked the tip of Lin Chen’s penis.

Lin Chen trembled again due to the sensitivity, as if afraid Xing Conglian would suck him all the way down.

Lin Chen hurriedly said, “I want my husband to enter me.”

Lin Chen never called him that, except at certain times in bed.

This was obviously the considerate interest of Consultant Lin at certain moments. Hearing Lin Chen call him that, Xing Conglian almost entered him on the spot.

However, his sanity as a husband still existed. Lin Chen would definitely be injured if he entered too quickly. He immediately put on three fingers and inserted them into Lin Chen together.

Perhaps because it was painful, or maybe the feeling of fullness pressing against his prostate made him feel uncomfortable…

Lin Chen twisted.

Xing Conglian held him down, kissed his forehead, and said earnestly, “Be good. Bear with me.”

Lin Chen’s forehead was already drenched. He stared at Xing Conglian with lust and love while teasing him. “Don’t want my husband’s fingers.”

Lin Chen said.

“Then what do you want?” Xing Conglian thrust his finger into the deepest part of Lin Chen’s body.

“Hey!”

Lin Chen obviously couldn’t say it, so he stopped him very playfully.

But after a second, Lin Chen softened again. After all, Consultant Lin was a very dedicated actor. He wraps his legs around Xing Conglian’s waist and rubs his ears with his fingers. He was very gentle, and he had exposed his entire body in front of him.

“Hurry up…”

Lin Chen said.

Xing Conglian leaned down and kissed him deeply. As his penis penetrated just as deep, Lin Chen tried to swallow all his moans.

The gurgling sound of the river outside the balcony and the night wind poured into the room together, akin to the moist, warm, deep feeling of Lin Chen’s insides.

Xing Conglian’s movements weren’t crazy, although they should be. After all, in front of him was a magnificent lover, with a beautiful body, who was smart and handsome with a noble aura.

But the feeling of fullness in his heart made him unable to help maintain that delicate balance between intoxication and sobriety.

There was nothing more beautiful than love, and he must treasure it.

“I love you.” When he was embedded into the deepest part of Lin Chen’s body, he said this.

“Me too,” Lin Chen replied.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 307

Su Fengzi was an expert at provoking others.

The next moment, Wang Chao grabbed the table leg, his head against the corner of the glass table, looking as if he would bash his head in if he wasn’t allowed to switch teammates.

Lin Chen, not wanting to keep the delivery guy waiting, reluctantly said, “Fine, let’s switch. Wang Chao and I will be a team.”

Although they had to switch teammates at the last moment, they didn’t need to start the game over since Su Fengzi himself had dealt the 7 bottom cards for this round.

Lin Chen led Wang Chao downstairs.

Before leaving, Su Fengzi gave him a meaningful look.

The budget hotel had only one elevator, and 9 o’clock was the peak time for room bookings, so the elevator had to stop at every floor, and it moved slowly.

Wang Chao followed Lin Chen into the elevator, first taking a young couple to the 17th floor, then descending in the empty elevator.

His A’Chen Gege looked calm and upright, holding the cards with one hand and the other in his pocket.

The sound of the lifting motor and cables filled the space, and the metal elevator door reflected the blurry pattern on the back of the playing cards.

Wang Chao swallowed, his mind wandering.

If they exchanged cards, would they be able to guess the general suit in the Demon King’s hand, and discuss the best strategy?

However!

Wang Chao looked at Lin Chen’s serious face.

How could such an upright gentleman like his A’Chen Gege agree to such a petty trick like the Demon King?

Thinking this, Comrade Xiao Wang decided to keep quiet.

“Wang Chao…”

Lin Chen began.

“Huh?”

His A’Chen Gege eyes were full of helplessness.

Lin Chen: “You really don’t know how to be considerate of adults.”

Wang Chao was even more confused.

“I… was wrong!” He admitted quickly, though utterly bewildered.

Lin Chen continued, “Look, I specifically brought the cards down, and you did too…”

Wang Chao clenched his playing cards. “Yeah, to prevent the Demon King from peeking at our cards!”

The elevator door swung open, interrupting Lin Chen’s words.

A delivery guy in blue was waiting at the front desk, holding a bag from a well-known ice cream brand.

Wang Chao was deeply touched. “A’Chen Gege, can we finish eating before going back up?”

Lin Chen’s face showed satisfaction, so Wang Chao took the ice cream bag, sat on the windowsill, and placed the cards beside him.

Lin Chen sat next to him and put his cards down too.

The two decks of cards were very close, and Wang Chao snuck a glance; he could easily see his A’Chen Gege’s cards if he reached out.

Ah, the world is full of temptations!

Wang Chao could hardly control his desire to peek at the cards and turned his back, holding the ice cream box, too nervous to open it.

Lin Chen noticed all of Wang Chao’s small movements.

He didn’t react immediately because he was also quite shocked. His actions were so obvious, and yet Wang Chao resisted the temptation and turned away?

Comrade Xiao Wang was so upright, and Lin Chen’s own thoughts seemed so petty that he was too embarrassed to speak.

An awkward silence lasted for the time it took to eat a bowl of ice cream downstairs.

Upstairs in the family room, things were very simple.

Under the dim chandelier.

First, Xing Conglian looked up.

Then, Su Fengzi looked up.

Next, their eyes met.

Finally, they simultaneously reached out and exchanged the cards in their hands.

When Lin Chen and Wang Chao returned upstairs, everything around the card table seemed normal.

Xing Conglian snuffed out his cigarette, obviously bored, looking at the ice cream that was still on Wang Chao’s face. He said impatiently, “Did you have to sneakily eat it downstairs? What, afraid your boss is going to steal it?”

Wang Chao waved his hand and returned to his seat. “Who knows, Boss? In my eyes, that’s just the kind of person you are!”

Xing Conglian took advantage of the situation and smacked Wang Chao in the head, which was followed by Wang Chao’s howling.

Under the lamp, Su Fengzi propped up his chin with one hand, watching the antics and smiling but not speaking.

Lin Chen stood up, looking down at Xing Conglian and Su Fengzi, feeling that everything about them was forced, and the air was filled with a strange aura.

He must have been showing it quite obviously.

Su Fengzi picked up his cards and glanced at him and Wang Chao. “Even if you were memorizing cards downstairs, you didn’t have to take so long. What happened to your high IQ?”

Wang Chao’s face turned bright red. “Who was memorizing cards? Would I be as shameless as you?”

Lin Chen’s gaze shifted to Xing Conglian. Surely, he wouldn’t conspire with Su Fengzi, right?

Xing Conglian raised both hands and shouted, “Husband, you have to believe in my integrity!”

Lin Chen was speechless and sat down beside Xing Conglian.

If one could say that the previous round of cards was simply played casually, with everyone watching Su Fengzi tease Wang Chao as they played, then this round had begun with everyone mysteriously becoming serious, each harboring their own ulterior motives.

Lin Chen observed Xing Conglian and Su Fengzi’s expressions while playing his cards.

Su Fengzi flipped his cards randomly, and it was impossible to discern his emotions from his face when he drew one to play.

Xing Conglian didn’t smoke, and he held up his cards to play seriously. However, he found them too high, covering most of his face.

As for Wang Chao…

Wang Chao was calculating his cards so fast that he didn’t need any reaction time. Through their pre-arranged signals, the teenager continuously informed him of the possible remaining cards in Xing Conglian and Su Fengzi’s hands.

“Five of clubs.” In the third to last round, Xing Conglian again led with the trump card.

Lin Chen looked at Wang Chao.

If Su Fengzi and Xing Conglian scored 80 points, Lin Chen and Wang Chao would lose no matter what.

At this moment, more than halfway through the game, Su Fengzi and Xing Conglian had already scored 65 points, putting them at a great disadvantage.

The worst part was that Su Fengzi and Xing Conglian knew what their last six cards were, but they did not know theirs.

Now he had two choices: play the big king, to beat the five of clubs, or play a small card, to keep the big king for the last two rounds. He could also force out Su Fengzi’s main card, the king of clubs, but if that card was hidden in the seven bottom cards, then the big king would be tricked out, and they would lose the entire game.

Lin Chen’s fingers gently stroked the edges of the cards without looking at Su Fengzi, who was the last to play, but instead watching Xing Conglian.

“Baby, don’t hold the cards so high; I’m not so good at reading micro-expressions. Don’t worry about me seeing through your hand,” he said to Xing Conglian.

Xing Conglian shivered but did not let his guard down, swiftly putting down his cards and covering his face with his hands.

Lin Chen chuckled.

His finger slid over the card, and he played a useless card.

Su Fengzi sighed deeply; his face was filled with the sorrow of wasted efforts. “It’s just a game of cards, Shidi. You’re too cautious.”

As he spoke, he played the king of clubs, easily stabbing them.

By now, Xing Conglian and Su Fengzi had scored 75 points, and the chances of victory were diminishing.

Wang Chao’s face turned red with anxiety, and he groaned in pain, casting Lin Chen a “Why did you play that way?” look.

Lin Chen shrugged, apologetic.

“Shidi, do we need to play this card?”

At this point, Su Fengzi smiled meaningfully, flipping over his own cards to reveal the big and small kings.

As a small king had already been played, there was no doubt that Su Fengzi’s cards were the biggest.

A complete sweep!

Wang Chao’s eyes widened.

“Damn! So shameless!” Wang Chao yelled. “You hid such big cards till the end!”

As he spoke, he threw out his cards, a pair of tens.

At that moment, Su Fengzi’s face changed slightly.

But Xing Conglian didn’t realize what had happened, flipping over his card and throwing it out, his face filled with triumph.

“Shidi,” Su Fengzi began, his gaze following.

Of course, this couldn’t stop Lin Chen from turning over his card.

Under the lamp, on the transparent square table.

All eyes were focused on those two cards.

They were two bright red big kings, with the joker’s bright red smiling face particularly noticeable.

Now the situation was strange; there could only be two big kings in two decks, but at this moment, there were undoubtedly three cards lying on the table.

Time seemed to slow.

Wang Chao slammed the table, stood on his chair, and pointed at Su Fengzi, yelling, “You’re cheating! Scum!”

Su Fengzi remained calm, arms crossed, leaning back in his chair.

His eyes were cold and deep as he stared at Wang Chao.

Su Fengzi: “You’re so good at counting cards; you should have known that I probably had both the big and small kings in my hand. Why were you so shocked just now?”

Wang Chao recoiled but was not to be outdone. “I was shocked at your shamelessness; you still dare to be so fierce even though you cheated!”

“Is it not by pretending to be shocked that you clear yourselves of the suspicion of buying two decks and secretly switching the cards?”

“Are we you? It’s just a game of cards, and how do you know about buying two decks?”

Su Fengzi smiled. “That’s strange indeed…”

Lin Chen had been quietly watching, while Xing Conglian had been staring at him.

Xing Conglian: “What does Consultant Lin say?”

“Very strange.”

Xing Conglian stifled a laugh. “What’s strange?”

“Now there are only two possibilities.”

“Hmm?”

“First, you cheated. Second, we cheated.”

“Oh?”

“It seems that our going downstairs to pick up a parcel and buying a new deck is more likely, but of course, it’s not impossible that Fengzi secretly brought a new deck.”

“So?”

“So, since it’s a matter of ‘he said, she said’, this round can only be counted as your loss.”

Wang Chao nodded.

“Why?” Xing Conglian was taken aback.

“Normally,” Lin Chen said matter-of-factly, “since everyone has revealed their cards, it’s clear who’s the biggest.”

If it were Wang Chao, he would certainly jump up and retort, “Clearly, this round should be invalidated.” But the benefit of having Wang Chao as a teammate was that he was sure to keep his mouth shut now.

Su Fengzi: “Shidi is waiting for me here. Why is your competitive spirit so strong?”

Lin Chen: “Shixiong has taught me well.”

“I didn’t teach you to cheat, did I?”

“First of all, I didn’t. Secondly, there was a time when the four of us were playing cards with the teacher in the laboratory. How do you explain the 10 various point cards, big and small kings, that were found on you?”

“That was to make you understand that there’s no kinship at the poker table.” Su Fengzi sighed. “I never thought Shidi would become so shameless. You’ve grown up.”

Lin Chen still confronted Su Fengzi, neither giving an inch, and the situation was at a stalemate.

“I have an idea.” Xing Conglian raised his hand. “We can check fingerprints on the three big kings. The one without everyone’s fingerprints must be the cheated card.”

“That’s fine. In that case, why not check all the cards on the table?” Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian.

“That’s too much trouble.” Su Fengzi spoke up. “Don’t add to the police’s workload. Just check these three.” Su Fengzi pointed to the cards in front of Lin Chen.

Just then, there was a loud bang in the room.

Wang Chao knocked over the chair, glaring at Su Fengzi, grabbed his collar, and yelled, “You are shameless, utterly shameless! I’m ashamed to be associated with you!”

Xing Conglian quickly rushed to pull them apart.

Lin Chen looked at Wang Chao’s performance, astonished. This couldn’t be explained as mere exaggeration.

“What’s wrong with you?” Xing Conglian suddenly asked.

Lin Chen frowned, quickly walked over to Wang Chao, and touched his forehead.

Wang Chao began to laugh, then kicked his legs, cursing Su Fengzi.

Lin Chen suddenly remembered the way the teenager acted when he was drunk and thought this scene seemed familiar.

“I ordered a matcha strawberry double scoop, not rum flavor.” He sniffed near Wang Chao’s mouth, smelling only a faint sweet ice cream scent, making it hard to determine if Wang Chao had accidentally eaten rum-flavored ice cream.

Lin Chen began to call the delivery company, asking what they had sent.

Xing Conglian dragged Wang Chao into the side room.

The company said they would have to investigate, and Lin Chen and Xing Conglian stood by Wang Chao’s bed, watching the teenager wriggle like a caterpillar.

“You didn’t watch him eat?” Xing Conglian asked.

Lin Chen replied, “Of course not. I went to buy a new deck of cards at the time.”

Xing Conglian turned slowly, staring at him in disbelief.

Wang Chao began to act seriously drunk.

Lin Chen never thought his perfect plan to counter Su Fengzi’s cheating would be punctured by a misdelivered box of ice cream.

Su Fengzi looked annoyed. He had finally been able to catch someone to play cards, and now they were one player short. Moreover, the child had a fever, so the guests could hardly have the nerve to stay.

Su Fengzi flipped through his phone contacts, planning to find someone else to play cards with.

As he was leaving, Lin Chen escorted him to the door, with Wang Chao singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” out of tune in the room.

“It seems a bit late, Shixiong. Would you like to stay?” Lin Chen asked politely.

Wang Chao yelled from the room, “Playing cards is fun! So much fun!”

Su Fengzi’s face was full of disdain. “Why would I stay? To play a CP for you to develop?”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 306

During the meal, the atmosphere was turbulent…

Well, perhaps that adjective wasn’t quite right. Specifically, it was more like Su Fengzi unilaterally overwhelming everyone, making everything revolve around his joy.

If this meal gathering were turned into a game scene, it would be like the pea-size Wang Chao, wielding a sword, jumping to attack the giant Su Fengzi. The giant simply raised a finger and flicked the little pea to the ground. Despite the little pea’s cries, it got up and continued swinging the sword chaotically, but it couldn’t leave a scratch on the giant.

After all, it was a basic attribute for giants to have thick skin and blood.

After the meal, Lin Chen felt really full and walked back to the hotel with Xing Conglian.

Surprisingly, Su Fengzi decided to accompany them on the way, perhaps because he hadn’t encountered someone as entertaining as Wang Chao in a long time and it would be such a waste to not keep pressing Wang Chao down repeatedly.

“Come on, let’s compete in a game. I’ll use only one hand!” Wang Chao was still hopping mad.

“Why don’t you compete with me in programming?” Su Fengzi said leisurely.

“Sure, sure, let’s head to the internet café up ahead!”

Lin Chen finally couldn’t stand it anymore and turned around to remind him, “He’s mocking you.”

Wang Chao asked Su Fengzi, “Why are you mocking me?”

Lin Chen looked at Su Fengzi.

Su Fengzi smiled and didn’t answer.

Wang Chao asked, “Are you at a loss for words?”

Su Fengzi: “No, your A’Chen Gege wants to be your interpreter, so of course I’ll give him a chance.”

Lin Chen felt like he was also being mocked and couldn’t help but remain silent.

“Do you have anything else to say?” Su Fengzi added.

“A’Chen Gege, you don’t need to give me face,” Wang Chao said.

Lin Chen was helpless. Wang Chao had absolutely no awareness in this regard. The explanation Lin Chen wanted to provide him with now seemed utterly foolish. He asked Wang Chao with patience, “Why did you want to compete with him?”

“Because he kept challenging me, and I wanted to educate him!” Wang Chao replied.

“Why don’t you just plug your ears and just ignore him?” Lin Chen suggested.

Su Fengzi laughed. “Shidi, I’m still here.”

Wang Chao: “That would be a bit pretentious, and it doesn’t fit my character.”

Lin Chen: “…”

People were passing by the riverside as they walked after the meal. However, Lin Chen felt that this stroll had no meaning in aiding digestion. Fortunately, after a few random remarks, they soon arrived at the hotel entrance. Lin Chen and Xing Conglian simultaneously stopped and turned to look at Su Fengzi.

Xing Conglian cleared his throat. “Fengzi, thank you so much for today.”

Meaning: Is it possible for you to leave now?

“What are you thanking me for? Otherwise, you would have bought Wangji just to have a meal of crayfish?” Su Fengzi retorted.

Xing Conglian felt embarrassed. “How could that be?”

“Shixiong, thanks for today,” Lin Chen added.

“Are you two teaming up to drive me away?” Su Fengzi pretended to be hurt.

Lin Chen asked directly, “Are you leaving or do you have other plans?”

……

Ten minutes later.

Two decks of cards were thrown on the table.

In the small living room of a budget hotel’s family room, four people, one on each side, stared at the playing cards in the middle of the table, silent.

“To be honest, I haven’t played cards in many years.”

Wang Chao had just returned from buying the cards, panting for breath, and from the mere term “playing cards”, one could tell that the young man had neglected this practice of a human cultural heritage that has been passed down for hundreds of years.

Xing Conglian looked at him coldly. “Not playing for many years implies that you have played before. Have you ever played?”

“Eh!” Wang Chao was taken aback. “Some tablets can only play Spider Solitaire; does that count?”

“That doesn’t count.”

“Oh, then I don’t know how to play cards.”

Wang Chao admitted honestly.

“You never taught him to play cards?” Lin Chen asked Xing Conglian.

“Why teach him? With his intelligence, who would want to play cards with him? I might as well play Fight the Landlord*.”

*A card game in the genre of shedding and gambling. It is one of the most popular card games played in China.

Hearing this, Wang Chao’s eyes lit up, and he slapped the table, pointing at Su Fengzi. “You’ve walked into hell!”

Su Fengzi didn’t respond, probably feeling hot. He finally slowly took off his suit, then reached over and slowly tore the packaging off the sealed deck of cards and began to shuffle them with a rattle.

The lighting in the small living room wasn’t bright enough; Xing Conglian had just smoked a cigarette, and the indoor smoke was swirling, floating like a thin veil under the light, creating a weird and solemn atmosphere.

“Can I check the rules for the card game ‘shuang ji*’ on Baidu Encyclopedia? Will one minute be enough?”

*Also known as level up, is a trick-taking card game played in China. They have dynamic trump, which cards change every round. As these games are played over a wide area with no standardization, rules vary widely from region to region. You can go to the Wikipedia to see the rules.

Su Fengzi also looked up and seriously asked Wang Chao.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Chao had already closed the Encyclopedia page, put down his phone, and replied, “Let’s do this!”

Xing Conglian had never played cards like this before, or rather, he had never played such a serious game.

Because of seating arrangements, Su Fengzi and Wang Chao sat facing each other, becoming teammates.

Wang Chao, although intelligent, had never played cards before, and was very awkward in the first round.

Su Fengzi sternly pointed out his mistakes, and Wang Chao even apologized earnestly.

Xing Conglian looked at his teammate, Lin Chen, and the two turned a blind eye to this instructional style of play.

“Pair of 9s, pair of 10s, pair of Jacks.” Wang Chao threw down another hand.

Su Fengzi stopped him. “They’re now grabbing points. If your A’Chen Gege throws QQ, KK, AA, we’ll be in big trouble.”

Lin Chen rubbed his forehead. “Shixiong, you’ve peeked at my cards again…”

Su Fengzi shrugged. “I’m not that kind of person, Shidi.”

Lin Chen didn’t believe it at all and turned his head to check all the reflective objects around him, then noticed the metal frame on the cabinet door behind him.

Su Fengzi looked surprised. “There’s actually a metal strip there, but don’t hurry to change places; I’ve only peeked in the first round.”

Lin Chen was speechless.

Wang Chao changed his play, but because of Su Fengzi’s spoilers, the teenager had already calculated their hands and played a pair of 10s, reporting as he played, “A’Chen Gege has Q-A, and the Boss didn’t play a pair of A’s in the last round, so the probability that the Boss has AA is very small. I don’t have it, so the pair of A’s should be in the hands of the big demon king!”

Su Fengzi shook his head helplessly.

“I told you not to teach him to play cards!” Xing Conglian complained.

“Endure it.” Lin Chen threw out a pair of Kings. “We’re leaving tomorrow anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Xing Conglian was stunned. “Tomorrow?”

“Yes, a game with Teacher Su takes at least 12 hours. Otherwise, why would he pester us so much?”

“Why?” Xing Conglian threw his cards out.

“Because his playing style is too shameless, and he’s skilled at counting cards, so basically no one wants to play with him.”

Lin Chen finally said, moving his gaze to the small glass table.

“Damn it!” Wang Chao jumped up, staring at the table in a perverted way, looking at the pair of A’s that Xing Conglian had finally played.

“You obviously had cards, why didn’t you play them just now!” Wang Chao said angrily. “Why are you so calculating!”

“Because this round is 40 points, the last round was only 20.” Xing Conglian educated. “40 is greater than 20, so the pair of A’s should be used here.”

Wang Chao ignored him, turning to the next person to question. “Why didn’t you remind me that you didn’t have a pair of A’s!”

“That would be cheating.” Su Fengzi continued the education. “Mainly to let you know how treacherous people are at the card table.”

“It’s too treacherous.”

“Yes.”

The two sang in harmony, and Wang Chao believed that Su Fengzi really didn’t remind him on purpose to teach him a lesson.

For Su Fengzi, shuang ji, a two-on-two game, was like playing Fight the Landlord; he himself was the only dealer, and as long as he could trap others, any way to play was fine.

But Lin Chen understood this quite well. For him, playing cards was too simple, so creating difficulties and then solving them was much more interesting than simply winning cards.

Lin Chen had to continue playing and looked at Xing Conglian, both equally speechless.

In fact, Wang Chao soon saw through Su Fengzi’s routine without Lin Chen pointing it out.

“Fuck, you did it on purpose, didn’t you!”

The good situation was once again uncertain because Su Fengzi had thrown the game.

The teenager angrily threw the cards; he was barefoot, and at this moment one foot stepped on the chair, and the other foot almost stepped on the glass table, tipping it over.

“You must have a calm mind when playing cards; being too competitive isn’t good.” Su Fengzi laughed.

“A’Chen Gege, I don’t want to be on his team anymore!” Wang Chao said.

“I don’t want to be on his team either,” Lin Chen said seriously.

Wang Chao’s eyes moved to Xing Conglian.

Captain Xing glared at him. “Comrade Xiao Wang, who gave you the courage to break up the CP?”

Wang Chao was almost in tears.

Lin Chen was helpless, and at that moment, his phone rang.

Lin Chen answered it; it was the takeout he had ordered earlier.

“Thank you, I’ll come down right away.”

Lin Chen hung up the phone and said to Wang Chao, “I ordered ice cream for you.”

The teenager’s interest was quickly diverted. “A’Chen Gege, how can you be so nice!”

“Experience,” Lin Chen said, picking up the unfinished cards, standing up, and gesturing for Wang Chao to go downstairs with him.

“What kind of experience?”

“The experience of cooling down. The last teammate who played cards with Shixiong was so angry after five rounds that he wanted to take a heart-relieving pill.”

“Is it too late to not want to play now?” Wang Chao wanted to hit the wall.

“Do you dare? I don’t anyway,” Lin Chen said honestly.

Hearing him say that Su Fengzi was very pleased. “Shidi, you flatter me.”

He nodded, modestly.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 305

Comrade Xiao Wang’s pleas for mercy were in vain, but Lin Chen and Xing Conglian didn’t betray him.

How to put it? After all, it was Su Fengzi who came, and nobody could figure out what he was thinking.

Therefore, when Su Fengzi stood before them, Lin Chen and Xing Conglian exchanged glances, each hoping the other would be the first to greet him. Probably because they were too in sync, they found that both were trying to avoid taking the initiative, so they glared at each other.

Su Fengzi saw this and merely smiled, not saying a word.

‘Indeed, my Shixiong’s mind is as mysterious as the bottom of the sea and terrifyingly abnormal,’ Lin Chen thought, shaking his head helplessly.

He looked Su Fengzi up and down, from his suit to his shoes, and casually asked, “Isn’t it hot?”

“It’s hot, but since my Shidi needs me, I have to get dressed even if it’s hot,” Su Fengzi replied.

Lin Chen probably understood what was going on and casually said, “Thank you.”

Su Fengzi nodded but said nothing, standing tall in the night.

Xing Conglian and Wang Chao were at a loss. They felt that it was a bit strange that Su Fengzi didn’t make fun of them.

A disturbance suddenly arose at the entrance of Wangji’s restaurant.

Outside, diners were calling out, “Madam Boss”, “Madam Boss”…

A vigorous female voice responded politely, and soon, a woman was standing before them.

Xing Conglian’s eyes widened as he realized that the goddess of all crayfish enthusiasts, Madam Wang Meimei, was now standing in front of him.

Wearing a white dress and high heels and a sparkling diamond necklace around her neck, Wang Meimei was well-known on TV, especially during crayfish season. She was more than just an ordinary restaurant owner; she was almost considered a celebrity.

Now that the crayfish goddess appeared before them, it was obvious who she had come for.

Xing Conglian looked at Su Fengzi, more confused.

Indeed, the crayfish goddess only had eyes for Su Fengzi. She stepped forward, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and said, “Teacher Su, I’ve missed you so much.”

Her words weren’t flirtatious but full of genuine longing and respect for Su Fengzi.

Was Wang Meimei not part of Su Fengzi’s entourage but someone he had helped before? But Su Fengzi wasn’t like Lin Chen, meddling in other’s affairs…

As Xing Conglian was lost in thought, Wang Meimei explained herself.

“Will ‘The Domineering Tyrant’s Love’ be updated soon? I’ve been waiting so painfully!”

The crayfish goddess changed her tone and complained to Su Fengzi.

“…”

The room fell into silence, all stunned by the name.

Xing Conglian looked at the crayfish goddess, not expecting her to have such a taste.

Su Fengzi, however, acted as if everything was normal.

“How about I write a chapter for you to read?” he shamelessly offered.

Wang Meimei pondered seriously for a moment, then said, “I really want to read it, but since Teacher Su has come to have crayfish with me, let’s eat first.”

Su Fengzi nodded and asked, “Shall I tell you the outline?”

Wang Meimei’s porcelain-like face instantly brightened. “Yes, yes, but wouldn’t spoiling it be bad?”

As she spoke, she confidently led the way into the restaurant, taking them to a specially reserved private room, satisfying Xing Conglian’s vanity to the fullest.

“Why not? You’re so cute; what’s wrong with telling you?” Su Fengzi laughed.

Wang Meimei’s face turned red, and she sat down proudly next to Su Fengzi, looking honored.

Su Fengzi opened a napkin for her, and they began a passionate discussion about whether the Dragon Emperor liked the fourteenth Yunyang immortal more than the Crayfish Goddess.

Xing Conglian, looking at the well-dressed Teacher Su, finally understood who the suit was for.

“Interesting, right?” Lin Chen sat down beside him and smiled.

“Interesting,” Xing Conglian replied.

Wang Chao spread his chopsticks and made a face, silently despising Su Fengzi with a look that said, “You’re not braindead, are you?”

It was hard to tell whether Su Fengzi saw this look from Comrade Xiao Wang.

Lin Chen exchanged a glance with Xing Conglian, silently lamenting.

The dishes were served quickly. The four of them plus the restaurant’s boss sat at a table with more than half of the seats left empty, but the crayfish covered the entire surface.

Oil-braised crayfish, steamed crayfish oil, fried crayfish balls, scallion grilled crayfish…

To balance the richness, they also had garlic mashed cucumber, cold edamame, and marinated lotus root.

The sight was filled with red and green, and the spicy fragrance rushed to the face.

Xing Conglian ordered two bottles of Yongchuan draft beer, and as he heard the pleasant sound of the bottles being opened, he seriously considered the feasibility of acquiring Wangji.

It didn’t seem to cost much, and spreading Wangji restaurants all over the world would be a way to enhance the country’s prestige, right?

Su Fengzi continued to discuss the outline with Wang Meimei.

They had gotten to the part where the Dragon Emperor broke through and ascended to the Nine Heavens, where the great sect’s Senior Uncle’s Ancestor (female) fell in love with him at first sight, insisting on dual cultivation with the Dragon Emperor.

Upon hearing this, Wang Chao couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of cola.

Su Fengzi put down his chopsticks and looked over.

“What are you looking at me for?” Wang Chao hurriedly wiped his mouth.

“Why did you suddenly spray cola?” Su Fengzi asked sincerely.

Wang Chao, perhaps emboldened, directly said, “Because you’re selling dog meat under the guise of mutton. Let me tell you, real male channel upgrade novels with a stallion theme aren’t like this. Your work has big problems!”

Su Fengzi didn’t get angry but smiled and said, “I would like to hear more.”

Basically, when Su Fengzi showed this expression, even Xing Conglian knew not to argue directly, as this person’s thinking was too bizarre.

But perhaps Wang Chao was too delighted with the meal, or maybe Su Fengzi’s acting was too good, as he thought Teacher Su was sincerely asking, so he benevolently instructed, “First of all, your title is very perverted. I thought it was a CEO novel, but you actually wrote a stallion story. There’s nothing like ‘Martial Arts’ or ‘Different World’ in the title. You dare call it a stallion? Isn’t your title a bit effeminate?”

Xing Conglian seriously doubted whether the cola in Wang Chao’s glass had been secretly spiked with alcohol. How else could a well-behaved kid go crazy like this?

Lin Chen was peeling crayfish like nothing was happening, and Xing Conglian also lowered his head, realizing that Lin Chen was more experienced in turning a deaf ear.

“Yes,” Su Fengzi replied to Wang Chao’s criticism, showing no resistance.

“And then there’s the female ancestor from the Nine Heavens Realm; this hag is a few thousand years old… Who wants to see her sleep with the male protagonist?” Wang Chao continued.

“Shut up! How can you talk about Teacher Su’s work like that!” As expected, Teacher Su’s number one fan, Miss Wang Meimei, couldn’t agree with it and rose to her feet, rebuking Wang Chao.

Su Fengzi, the author himself, took a small sip of the tea in front of him and smiled at his fan. “Don’t be angry.”

“But Teacher Su, he’s too much. How can he be so rude!” Wang Meimei was still furious.

“He’s just a child. He’s quite cute,” Su Fengzi explained gently, with a forgiving and magnanimous expression.

“That still doesn’t allow him to speak to you like that,” Wang Meimei insisted, still upset.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Su Fengzi gestured for his fan to sit down. “Shall I take revenge for you?”

Wang Meimei was momentarily confused.

Su Fengzi turned to Wang Chao. “You sing a song.”

“What? Why suddenly ask me to sing?” Wang Chao’s mouth was still full of crayfish, and he was utterly perplexed. “Are you looking for trouble?”

“Yes.” Su Fengzi smiled.

“Hey!”

“Don’t adults usually ask children to perform for guests when they take them out for meals?” Su Fengzi said softly.

“I’m an adult!” Wang Chao shouted angrily.

“An adult, huh…” Su Fengzi rested his chin on one hand, insinuating something. “Then can you recite a poem, like ‘Preface to the Prince Teng’s Pavilion‘?”

“Screw that!” Wang Chao yelled.

Su Fengzi and Wang Meimei looked at each other and laughed.

“Cute, isn’t he?” Su Fengzi playfully pointed in Wang Chao’s direction with the end of his chopsticks, as if he were no longer teasing Wang Chao, but instead asking Wang Meimei.

“He’s adorable. I want to pinch his cheeks!” Wang Meimei revealed a creepy-aunt grin.

“He’s the prototype of Eunuch Jiangling in the book.”

“Really, it does seem like him. Oh yes, that little eunuch in the book was teased like this the first time he met the Dragon Emperor.”

The two continued to chat as if no one else was there. Su Fengzi seemed to be letting Wang Chao off, but his voice was loud, clearly speaking for Wang Chao to hear.

Comrade Xiao Wang, a pure and innocent youth, never thought that one day he would be written into a book like “The Domineering Tyrant’s Love” as an eunuch. For a moment, he was thunderstruck, his worldview shaken. However, he couldn’t help but ask, “Who is that?”

“A little eunuch beside the Dragon Emperor. Don’t worry, there is no sexual relationship between them,” Su Fengzi answered.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 304

For Xing Conglian, the dividing line between spring and summer was marked by the large influx of crawfish to the market.

In reality, he had no particular requirements for food and often ate instant noodles and takeout with Lin Chen.

However, just like Lin Chen’s obsession with breakfast, he had a passionate love for crawfish.

Thirteen spices were good, steamed shrimp was also nice, but only spicy crawfish was the king, unparalleled.

Moreover, in a year, there were only one or two months when crawfish reached their peak in taste, so it wasn’t excessive to drive a hundred kilometers to Yongchuan to eat crawfish for two days during the weekend.

When he proposed this idea to Lin Chen, they had just left their office building.

“Then let’s go.” Lin Chen replied.

Wang Chao cheered from behind. Xing Conglian looked up at the fiery clouds in the sky and felt that the weather was truly pleasant.

As a genuine man, there was no need to prepare when going out. They arrived in Yongchuan with just one press of the gas pedal before the sky completely darkened.

This time, of course, they didn’t need to show off or worry about being embarrassed, so they decided to find a place not far from Yongchuan University to stay.

The suburban hotels like Cohen May couldn’t even order take-out. Besides a comfortable bed, they had nothing else to offer.

However, when they were getting off the highway, Xing Conglian still sought Lin Chen’s opinion.

Lin Chen opened his phone and randomly selected a budget hotel around 500 meters from the late-night food market based on ratings. When placing the order, Wang Chao in the backseat was still complaining, “Why do you need A’Chen Gege’s help to search for things? What’s my status?”

Lin Chen turned to ask him if he had any other ideas, such as staying near the children’s amusement park…

Wang Chao seriously considered this suggestion, but in the end, his overwhelming love for spicy crawfish prevailed.

And it didn’t stop there. Perhaps Lin Chen’s question triggered some memories in Wang Chao, and the teenager started rambling about his bitter experiences and reminiscing about the sweet moments.

“At that time, we really, during our hardest times, ate canned soybeans for three months, and even our farts smelled like that.”

“We even had to chew on camel meat in the desert, and the taste was simply bizarre.”

“When the Boss said he was retiring and returning to the country, I was so happy that I cried. Finally, we wouldn’t have to eat pizza every day. It was like living like a god!”

Wang Chao’s story became more and more outrageous. He even started to cry and wipe his tears in the lobby of the budget hotel while telling Lin Chen about the first time he had spicy crabs and cried over it.

“I held onto the table and refused to leave. The Boss tricked me and said there was crab at Mailin that was even better! Later, I found out it was a lie—a complete lie!”

“Okay!”

In the elevator, although Lin Chen’s face remained calm, Xing Conglian finally couldn’t help but stop Wang Chao. “Didn’t I compensate you afterward?!”

“Wow, Boss, are you talking about the month we ate stewed mutton as compensation? Mailin, tropical climate, scorching heat, and stewed mutton, for me!”

“What’s the matter? Do you have any complaints? The stewed meat was even airlifted from China.”

“But the dipping sauce! The key is that Mailin’s lamb dipping sauce is sweet! That’s what I mean by bizarre!”

“Bizarre.”

When the elevator arrived, Lin Chen, who had had his hands in his pocket the whole time, said nonchalantly.

Xing Conglian was dumbfounded and slowly turned his head.

“Eating soybeans for three months is also excessive.”

Entering the corridor after the elevator, Lin Chen said again.

Upon hearing this, Wang Chao almost choked up and clung to Lin Chen’s thigh.

“For these two days, just order whatever you want, and your boss will pay for it.” Lin Chen swiped the room key, firmly making the final decision.

Wang Chao felt like he had won a lottery and couldn’t help but shout for joy. To show his support for his A-Chen Gege, Wang Chao immediately turned around and said he wanted to queue at Wangji Spicy Crawfish. Within three seconds, he disappeared from sight.

Lin Chen entered the room and opened the window for ventilation. The hotel’s location wasn’t great, the furnishings were simple, and the family room had a small dining area with one table and four chairs. The bar counter only had an electric kettle and some tea. Lin Chen quietly boiled water and sat in one of the chairs, waiting for it to boil.

Xing Conglian sat down across from him, wanting to say something but not knowing where to start.

The air was filled with the hissing sound of an electric kettle boiling water, and the sound of vehicles passing by outside the window was clear yet somewhat distant. The atmosphere settled into a comfortable calm.

Xing Conglian looked at Lin Chen’s face under the soft yellow light and blinked gently. “Consultant Lin, what’s wrong?”

“Obviously, I’m feeling a little sorry for you,” Lin Chen said straightforwardly.

The water had just reached a boil. Lin Chen stood up to heat the cups and brew two servings of green tea.

Xing Conglian stood up and walked over to hug him. His stubbly chin rubbed against Lin Chen’s neck, but it didn’t interrupt Lin Chen’s tea preparation.

“Then I’ll have to treat you, you little glutton. You know how much you can eat,” he said with a smile.

“But I also feel a bit emotional. After feeling emotional, it’s appropriate to be a little angry.”

When Consultant Lin mentioned being “a little angry,” it meant just that—not too much or too little.

But with that peaceful tone, Xing Conglian was afraid that he might accidentally spill hot water on him.

He could only steel himself and say, “It’s not like I can’t apologize first. If I apologize, you will surely ask me what exactly I did wrong, and if I don’t know, I’ll have to kneel on the keyboard. But how could I not know? Everything that happened before is a thing of the past, like a dream or an illusion. It’s best to view it as such, and now everything is fine…”

Lin Chen finally put down the electric kettle and turned around. He also hugged Xing Conglian in return, and Xing Conglian let out a sigh of relief.

“If it were the old me, I would probably think that since you didn’t say anything, I shouldn’t ask either, and it’s fine to respect each other’s privacy regarding some past secrets…”

“That’s right!”

“However, that’s when I had secrets that I couldn’t tell. Now that I have no secrets, how could you still have secrets… Wife.”

As Lin Chen spoke, he kissed Xing Conglian’s earlobe, causing Xing Conglian to shiver and swallow a mouthful of saliva. “What do you want to hear?”

“Let’s start with the three months of canned soybeans.” Lin Chen paused. “You can skip the classified parts.”

Xing Conglian kissed him back and earnestly expressed his loyalty. “Actually, there are no classified parts, and how could there be anything I can’t tell you?”

“Why have you never mentioned it before?”

“A true man sheds blood, not tears.”

“Hm?”

Xing Conglian fell silent but held Lin Chen tightly. He could only say, “I felt very bitter. My personal qualities were not enough, and it wasn’t appropriate to talk about it as a casual chat.”

“On this point, you’re far inferior to Wang Chao,” Lin Chen said.

Xing Conglian let out a long sigh, unable to argue.

When Lin Chen said he was “inferior”, he meant that he wasn’t as carefree as Wang Chao, who didn’t take things seriously and would bravely face any situation.

For people like them, the most common way of dealing with things was to let the past be the past, not say much about it, and leave it at that.

However, some things would not truly be in the past until the day they were mentioned again.

This was probably some form of psychological treatment, but Xing Conglian thought it could also be classified as “when you’re unhappy, I’ll kiss you to make you feel better.”

In the end, this topic didn’t continue.

Wang Chao quickly called them, shouting in a panicked tone, “Boss, there are 500 tables waiting for Wang Ji. Has the world gone crazy?”

“If it’s so hard to wait at Wang Ji, don’t you have experience? Why didn’t you hack the queue system in advance?” Xing Conglian angrily replied.

“Boss, I’m a high-level expert, hacking a small crawfish restaurant’s queue system is beneath me!” Wang Chao said angrily, then turned into a flatterer. “But I have a new idea!”

“What do you want to do?”

“Why don’t you buy Wangji now?”

“Fuck off!” Xing Conglian was furious. “Do you think I’m demeaning myself by making a call for this kind of thing?”

“I think it’s quite imposing, like a domineering president.”

“Then hacking a queue system is also quite expert-like, right?” Xing Conglian sneered. “Or can’t you get in?”

“The art of provoking doesn’t work on me.”

Wang Chao wanted to say more, but Lin Chen finally spoke helplessly. “Do you guys still want to eat?”

“Of course!”

They both said simultaneously, on the phone and in person.

“No way, huh?” Lin Chen paused, then changed his tone. “Is there a way that you both don’t want to help?”

“As ordinary people, there’s really no way,” Wang Chao said righteously.

Looking into Lin Chen’s eyes, Xing Conglian also nodded.

“Alright then.” Lin Chen took out his phone and dialed a number. “I guess I’ll have to figure something out.”

20 minutes later, they stood together at the entrance of Wangji, surrounded by a dense crowd of customers. The aroma of crayfish wafted through the door, and Wang Chao was excited. “A’Chen Gege, you truly deserve to be the man supported by the boss. One phone call, and we’ve settled it with Wangji. Can we go in now?”

“Wait a little longer.” Lin Chen’s gaze drifted, giving a non-committal reply.

Wang Chao sniffed, his face showing a worried expression.

Sure enough, just at that moment, a figure in a tailored suit emerged from the end of the street. It was a scorching hot day, yet the person was still dressed in a smoking-gray suit with a dark blue tie, like someone from another world.

Wang Chao looked at the person for a few seconds, then exclaimed in fear, “Boss, is hacking the queue system still not possible? I was wrong!”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 303

On weekends without work, life would change from a police drama to a sitcom, possibly the comedy type.

Lin Chen wanted to get up early but wasn’t careful when he got out of bed. While stuffing his hug pillow into Xing Conglian’s arms, he accidentally woke up Captain Xing.

At that time, he still held the pose of bending over and pinching the corner of the hug pillow. Xing Conglian probably felt something was off and opened his eyes in a flash, catching him red-handed.

Their eyes met, and the scene was very awkward for a moment.

“I… wanted to make you breakfast,” Lin Chen pointed to the closed door, saying seriously.

“You didn’t say that before going to bed last night.”

Xing Conglian embraced the pillow. A blue blanket was draped around his waist, exposing his strong chest and muscular arms. His skin was even fairer than Lin Chen’s, and as he lay on the deep blue satin sheets, he looked quite charming, though his moist green eyes looked very aggrieved.

Lin Chen felt a stir, but he steadied his heart and breath and earnestly said, “Captain Xing, you can just ignore what a man says when he’s lost in passion.”

He pinched Xing Conglian’s ear to comfort him.

“Is my technique not good?” Xing Conglian sat up, insisting on asking.

“Very good.”

“Weren’t you comfortable yesterday?”

“Very comfortable,” Lin Chen answered truthfully.

“You said we would do it again this morning. Why did you sneak away?”

Lin Chen sighed deeply and sat down on the bed. “Because it was too comfortable, I felt physically exhausted, and my legs are weak now.”

Xing Conglian wrapped his arms around his waist, slightly doubtful after hearing this answer. “Really?”

“Really.” Lin Chen nodded.

In an instant, Xing Conglian let him go, retreating to the other side of the wooden bed.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Chen asked.

“Consultant Lin, hurry and leave. I’m afraid I might lose control of myself,” Xing Conglian said, gritting his teeth, looking quite restrained.

Lin Chen found his acting first thing in the morning utterly adorable. So, he sat on the edge of the bed, crossing his legs, gently caressing the bedsheet, and chose not to leave.

“Why… are you not leaving?” Xing Conglian frowned, pretending to ask in pain.

Lin Chen didn’t speak and started unbuttoning his newly put-on home wear from bottom to top.

The curtains were still drawn, so the dim light cast an ambiguous shadow, outlining Xing Conglian’s handsome face.

Lin Chen bent down, hugged his back, and gently bit his shoulder.

Xing Conglian chuckled. “I’ll just rub it. I won’t go in.”

“Okay…”

But since this was a sitcom, there must be something to interrupt after he said “okay”.

Sure enough, at that moment, the living room resonated with Wang Chao’s agonizing cry.

Lin Chen rolled off Xing Conglian, panting.

The latter was even more direct, sternly saying, “Should I go kill him?”

Lin Chen’s heart almost stopped. He stroked Xing Conglian’s forehead and said, “Just knock him out with some chloroform or something?”

However, Wang Chao obviously wouldn’t give them the chance to discuss what drug to use.

“Boss, Boss, A’Chen Gege! Xiao Wang is missing!”

The teenager pounded at their bedroom door, shouting loudly.

……

“Is this what you call ‘missing’?”

About a minute and thirty seconds later, they stood by the window facing the river in the living room while Xing Conglian coldly questioned Wang Chao.

The gauze window was torn with a large hole, and the light blue plastic gauze that was bitten was swaying in the wind. Just outside the torn window, on the lower left corner of the air conditioner unit, Comrade Xiao Wang was fearlessly basking in the sun.

Indoors, Wang Chao was sweating so profusely that he might even kneel down and beg for mercy in the next three seconds. “I… I… I was too nervous about Xiao Wang’s safety!”

“Hm?” Lin Chen stood against the wall with his arms folded and surprisingly joined in the conversation.

“A’Chen Gege, look. When I got up and saw such a big hole, I was afraid that Xiao Wang had accidentally taken a leap of faith into the river and died. It’s well known…”

Before finishing the sentence, the orange cat lying on the air conditioner unit woke up leisurely.

Every strand of its fur was sparkling. It got up, shook its fur, and then turned its plump body around. Its front paws reached the window ledge, and then it kicked with its hind legs, swiftly passing through the hole and landing steadily on the floor. Its agile figure was the best mockery to Wang Chao.

“Haha.” Xing Conglian laughed out loud.

Wang Chao’s face turned red, and he grabbed the orange cat’s waist and shouted. “I’ll fight you!”

Then…

Xiao Wang shook his front paw and slapped Wang Chao firmly on the face.

This time, even Lin Chen couldn’t help but laugh.

Wang Chao was shocked, covering his face, and watched as Xiao Wang’s figure slowly walked away, unable to believe everything he had just experienced.

The teenager pointed to the cat and then pointed to his own cheek.

“It hit me!”

“Well deserved.”

Xing Conglian responded smoothly.

Wang Chao held his chest, feeling very hurt, looking as if he was about to run away from home.

Lin Chen took a step forward, blocking Wang Chao’s escape route, causing the teenager to almost fall to the ground.

Xing Conglian kicked Wang Chao’s butt.

“Stop pretending,” Lin Chen said. “You can’t run away.”

“You two are teaming up on me!” Wang Chao shouted aggrievedly. “I really just care too much about cats.”

Lin Chen leaned against the wall and looked at Xing Conglian. “Zhang Xiaolong said that the bureau has been shorthanded in organizing old paper files recently.”

“Yeah, a big group of people have to work overtime on weekends.”

“It’s too hard.”

“Indeed.”

“If there’s extra help, especially someone skilled in computers, it should improve efficiency, right?”

“Naturally, as colleagues in the police station, we should lend a hand.”

At this point, they both looked at Wang Chao.

“This is the first weekend I’ve had off in twenty days!” Wang Chao stated indignantly.

“You care too much about cats that you don’t need this kind of vacation,” Lin Chen said.

“Get lost!” Xing Conglian summed up the statement.

……

Although Xiao Wang’s disappearance was just a false alarm and it ended with Comrade Wang Chao working 48 hours of overtime, Lin Chen later searched online and found that plastic gauze windows were easily torn by cats. This was their mistake.

The disrupted morning couldn’t continue, so Lin Chen and Xing Conglian changed their clothes, closed all the doors and windows, had a quick breakfast, and went straight to the home improvement store.

Of course, the salesperson recommended replacing all the doors and windows at home and gave a very shocking quote.

There were too many doors and windows at home, so they calculated the price and found it unnecessary.

Xing Conglian searched for DIY cat protection net tutorials online, and he and Lin Chen studied it together. They felt that it seemed safer than replacing all the gauze windows.

So, ignoring the disdainful eyes of the salesperson, they turned around and left, went to the hardware area, and bought a bunch of materials based on the measurements.

In the afternoon, the other party arranged for the delivery.

Lin Chen looked at the large pile of wire mesh in the courtyard and then at the police captain, who had changed into a sleeveless vest and was ready to work vigorously and gave up the idea of helping.

“Consultant Lin, you rest. I’ll take care of everything!”

Xing Conglian stood in the sunlight, stepping on the wire mesh with excitement.

He had broad shoulders and graceful muscle lines, making him even more attractive under the sun. Lin Chen scanned him from head to toe, then headed to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and grab a random book. He lay down under the umbrella, signaling Xing Conglian to proceed as he pleased.

Captain Xing was experienced in outdoor survival, and repairing equipment was a piece of cake for him. He had complete supplies at home.

Lin Chen watched him move a large pile of tools from the cellar of the gazebo, some of which might come in handy, while others might not, and continued drinking his tea.

Perhaps Xing Conglian’s movements were too loud. Starting from when he began cutting, Xiao Wang, who had been sleeping on the cherry tree in the courtyard, was suddenly awakened.

The orange cat, who was still half asleep, rubbed against the pink cherry blossoms a few times, looking dazed and not very stable.

Lin Chen put down his teacup and walked to the foot of the tree. Xiao Wang cooperated well and jumped down gracefully, hitting Lin Chen’s chest like a cannonball. The famous saying “ten oranges, nine are fat*” was indeed well-deserved. Lin Chen took a few steps back before catching the cat.

*It’s a saying referring to how, out of 10 orange cats, nine are fat.

“Are you okay?” Not far away, Captain Xing, who was working seriously, even took the time to show concern.

Lin Chen waved at him and held Xiao Wang by the neck, sitting back under the umbrella and yawning.

With a cat on his lap, tea in his hand, his lover in “revealing” clothes not far away, the warm sunshine and sweet cherry blossoms, and a book purely for show, it made him feel drowsy, so he actually fell asleep.

The nap wasn’t long. At least Lin Chen felt that he was probably woken up by something licking him as soon as he closed his eyes. The tongue was smooth and flexible, obviously not Xiao Wang’s. Lin Chen chuckled and hooked the person’s neck without opening his eyes.

The other person struggled and said, “Let go, let go. I need to work.”

Lin Chen opened his eyes.

Xing Conglian’s face was very close to him. His white overalls were soaked with sweat and thin to the point of transparency. Their noses were almost touching, and their breaths were entwined.

Lin Chen playfully nudged Xing Conglian’s calf with his foot and wrapped his arm around his waist, gradually lifting his overalls. He said seriously, “Here, I’m working too.”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Never trust a man when he says, “just the tip” or “I won’t put it in”.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 302

Adopting Xiao Wang was a wonderful accident.

It was pouring that day, and Wang Chao went out to the internet cafe to play games, coming back home drenched like a drowned rat.

As he was shaking his hair under the eaves, he saw a cat, soaked and muddy, crouching by his feet, shaking off the water with him.

“Wow, I think this is a wonderful fate, so I took it in!” Lin Chen opened the door to find a soaked teenager pointing at the soaked cat at his feet saying this.

There was muffled thunder in the sky, and dark clouds pressed low.

Everything, including the pond’s koi, was gloomy and damp, and only the teenager’s smile was brilliant.

Lin Chen crouched down and petted the cat lying on its back, showing its belly, and found it to be a similarly brilliant orange cat, so he had no reason to refuse.

Lin Chen turned and led the two wet comrades into the house.

He found a fluffy large bath towel from the wardrobe to wrap the cat, while Wang Chao had already shouted “so cold” and rushed into his bathroom.

Lin Chen held the cat by the window to dry it.

Outside the window, the rain was heavy, turning the river into black mud. The sound of splashing water came from the bathroom. The room was filled with the unique chill of the southern region, but when holding the cat, everything was peaceful and warm, even carrying the unique warmth of small animals.

In short, the connection between cats and people always caught one off guard. Often, you wouldn’t think much before going out, but when you came back, suddenly you were a person with a cat.

However, for Wang Chao, this serendipity lasted only until Xing Conglian came back from duty.

Xing Conglian came in and saw the cat sleeping on the rush mat while closing his umbrella, so he threw the umbrella at the door, and excitedly went to Lin Chen, exclaiming, “Wow, do we have a cat now?”

Wang Chao, hiding in the corner playing mobile games, heard this and jumped up, shouting, “It’s not ‘we’, thank you. This is my cat!”

But Xing Conglian paid no attention to what Wang Chao said, as the view by the window was too good.

Lin Chen was sitting cross-legged on another rush mat, holding his chin in one hand and looking at his phone, showing a serious and thoughtful side face and a delicate, flexible neck.

His other hand was slanting by his side, with the fluffy head of the orange cat resting on the back of his hand, leaving only his fingertips lightly touching the edge of the rush mat, as if trying to maintain balance, afraid to pull his hand away carelessly.

Xing Conglian quietly came over, crouched down next to Lin Chen, and looked at the round orange cat, clicking his tongue in admiration. He was so happy he didn’t know what to say.

He leaned over and kissed Lin Chen’s ear, then asked in a low voice, “What should we name our cat?”

Lin Chen did not answer but looked at the irate Comrade Xiao Wang next to him.

The teenager immediately came over and seriously gave his opinion. “I’ve thought about it. Let’s name it Pikachu! The color, the cuteness, it’s all very close!”

Probably because Wang Chao’s voice was too loud, the orange cat suddenly lifted its head and looked at him in confusion with its green eyes, not knowing what was going on.

“What?” Xing Conglian didn’t understand.

“It’s Pikachu from ‘Pokémon’!”

“Did you say Mantis Shrimp*?” Xing Conglian asked back.

*Clarity: Pikachu (皮卡丘) vs [Pipixia] (皮皮虾)

“That joke’s outdated, Boss. You older people’s pop culture sense is so embarrassing,” Wang Chao said seriously.

Xing Conglian was about to grab Wang Chao’s scalp.

Lin Chen relaxed his palm and scratched the orange cat’s fluffy forehead with his fingertips, staring into the cat’s eyes, and seriously asked, “Xiao Wang?”

The orange cat meowed softly.

“Eh?” The teenager was quite bewildered.

Xing Conglian stared at Lin Chen’s finger, reacting faster. “Calling it Xiao Wang is good. How about adding an eight*?”

*Clarity: The joke is [wang] (王) combined with eight (八) becomes bastard/son of a bitch (王八). So it’s like Little Bastard (in reference to Wang Chao).

“Why, what kind of joke is this?” Wang Chao was dissatisfied.

“Because it’s similar,” Lin Chen casually replied, looking at the teenager in front of the sofa and then at the clever orange cat on the rush mat.

The heavy rain came and went in haste.

Wang Chao was tangled in a matter regarding the name for a while, but the rain stopped, and the sky revealed a pale gold hue at dusk.

Lin Chen put his mobile phone back in his pocket, finally stood up, found a canvas bag at home to put the cat in, and prepared to leave with it on his back.

Seeing this, Xing Conglian went to the door ahead of time and stood in front of Lin Chen. “Consultant Lin, can we still be with people with a cat?”

“A’Chen Gege, where are you taking Xiao Wang?” Wang Chao asked from behind.

Lin Chen put on his shoes and waved his phone at them. “The encyclopedia says, if you find a stray cat, first take it to the vet for a check-up…”

He picked up the bag, walked a few steps, and looked back at them. “Why don’t we have teppanyaki for dinner?”

Wang Chao cheered while Xing Conglian took the bag holding the cat from Lin Chen but didn’t seem very pleased.

They walked along Yanjia Lane.

After a downpour, the river had risen considerably, and households along the street began to cook; the fragrance of cooking oil wafted everywhere.

Black tiles, white walls, green trees, yellow flowers, humid air.

Xing Conglian put a cigarette in his mouth but, realizing he was still carrying the cat, didn’t light it.

Lin Chen walked beside him and naturally held his other hand. Xing Conglian quickly grasped it, feigning seriousness on his face.

“Captain Xing, what are your demands? You can raise them now,” Lin Chen casually asked.

“When can we have a world for just the two of us, without any third wheels?” Xing asked.

Xing Conglian looked back at the mentally handicapped teenager, who was walking a long way behind them and was still playing with his phone while yelling. He was quite upset.

“When we sleep,” Lin Chen said seriously.

“That’s restrictive too. You’ve been very suppressed lately, Consultant Lin. It’s not good for your health in the long run, right?” Xing Conglian approached while asking with a smile.

“Don’t you like this style?” Lin Chen’s dark eyes lifted slightly, revealing a faint smile.

Such a light smile, yet Xing Conglian felt his heart touched by a soft feather.

He immediately thought of Lin Chen’s restraint and suppression, even curling his toes in his sleep, and wanted to throw both the cat and Wang Chao away and take Lin Chen home immediately.

Lin Chen was clearly teasing, saying, “But we have a cat tonight, so it might not work.”

The cat was uncomfortable in the canvas bag, peering out, not understanding what they were saying.

Xing Conglian held up the cat, looking at its fluffy paws and head. Although the cat was… utterly adorable, having those eyes watch them at night during their passionate times seemed inappropriate…

With resolve, he shouted, “Wang Chao, get your ass over here.”

The teenager ran over instinctively, braking suddenly when he realized he was being too obedient, and yelled, “What for, Boss!”

Xing Conglian was heartbroken, but Lin Chen slightly lowered his head, looking regretful.

He could only bear the pain and hand the canvas bag to Wang Chao, emphasizing, “Your cat!”

Wang Chao was shocked. “What!”

“Only yours at night!” Xing Conglian stressed.

The pet hospital was where Duan Yang once worked.

Time had changed, and the doctor was now a very cute girl. She patiently examined the cat, gave it a bath, dewormed it, and told them to come back for vaccinations in a few days.

Apart from being overweight, their cat had no problems, which greatly pleased Xing Conglian.

Wang Chao, to assert his authority over Xiao Wang, paid all the examination fees and bought various cat supplies, insisting he could carry the cat litter, cat food, litter box, and the cat itself back home without any issues.

Xing Conglian had no objection.

It was already dark. Lin Chen was still holding hands with him; his handsome face held an indescribable meaning in the hazy night.

Xing Conglian thought back to Lin Chen’s reaction to the cat and suddenly realized he might have overlooked something.

“You… don’t actually like cats?” he asked.

Lin Chen looked at him helplessly. “No, I like them.”

“Then…”

“Why didn’t I help you and instead let you give the cat to Wang Chao?” Lin Chen asked.

“Mm.”

Lin Chen smiled, stopped, and ruffled Xing Conglian’s hair.

Under the dim streetlight, this simple gesture almost made Xing Conglian’s heart leap out of his throat.

Just then, Lin Chen leaned forward. His gentle breath brushed Xing Conglian’s ear.

“Because, the only one who can sleep with you is me, Captain Xing.”

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 301

“It is reported that at 12:15 PM yesterday, local Chinese time, 21 flights from 18 different countries and regions were set to repatriate the remains of 113 medical workers who had sacrificed their lives in Dana fighting against the Borna virus,” the newscast sporadically broadcast through an old, battered television.

The audio was somewhat fuzzy due to signal issues, but the picture was still clear.

Under the clear blue sky, an old runway appeared, like a purple-red scar carrying the unique smell of gunpowder from the Dana region.

The anchor continued, “The special plane from China has departed from the Angodo Airport and is expected to land at Yongchuan Airport at 15:00 this afternoon…”

The plane glided swiftly over the cement runway heated by the intense heat wave and took off into the sky.

On the other side of the world, Lin Chen and Xing Conglian stood outside the tarmac at Yongchuan International Airport, waiting for the special plane to return. Unlike the sunny weather in Dana, Yongchuan was experiencing light rain. Just around the Qingming Festival*, the spring rain was as gentle as suet. They shared a black umbrella, not standing with the team welcoming the remains, but gazing at it from a distance through the misty rain curtain.

*A traditional Chinese festival where Chinese families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites and make ritual offerings.

The past year had been tumultuous.

Many events occurred, not influenced by personal will.

The Borna virus continued to spread in the Dana region. Many people died there, with many medical staff brutally attacked by violent patients and losing their lives; most of them died in this way.

Fortunately, vaccine development had entered the preclinical research stage. Zhourui Pharmaceutical, after being acquired, had made a great contribution to vaccine development, seemingly redeeming itself. Lin Chen’s teacher and many victims of adverse reactions to brain health drugs were gradually recovering, but some brain damage was irreversible, including Lin Chen’s.

However, thankfully, the development of the antidote was very timely, and the situation wasn’t severe.

Counterattack operations were quickly launched.

A lot of user information was found on the servers seized in the Mailin area. Through decoding and a series of phishing operations, many participants were arrested.

A mysterious hacker made the names of all those suspected of watching the death livestream public, causing a huge uproar in society. But Wang Chao insisted he wasn’t responsible and continued working overtime to find out who was.

Unfortunately, the person behind Shen Lian hadn’t been brought to justice.

Sometimes, Lin Chen suspected that it would be difficult to attribute this kind of malice to a specific person.

It was a kind of evil far more widespread and harder to eradicate than imagined, deeply rooted since ancient times.

When Lin Chen thought of this, the person beside him squeezed his hand. Xing Conglian raised the edge of the black umbrella. Following his gaze, Lin Chen also looked up.

The plane pierced through the clouds, landing from the sky. The landing gear descended and hit the ground with a thud.

After gliding slowly for a while, the plane stopped, and the hatch opened. The urns covered with the national flag and the flag of the Red Cross were carried out in turn.

The light rain fell gently on the red and white cloth, some seeping into the fabric, some droplets still sparkling on the surface.

On the iron-blue runway, family members stepped forward to complete the final ash handover ceremony.

White-haired elders touched the portraits of their grandchildren, while young children gazed innocently at their father’s picture.

The short ceremony in the rain was solemn and silent. Inside and outside the television, countless people mourned in silence.

The live broadcast ended here. Someone picked up the remote control, turned off the television, and said to the female prisoner sitting in front of the TV, “Time’s up.”

Shen Lian stood up from in front of the familiar LCD TV, straightened her clothes, followed the person in front of her out the door, and walked into a long, dark corridor that would never see light again.

Yongchuan Airport.

A black special car escorted the families and the ashes of the doctors slowly away.

Xing Conglian’s phone vibrated slightly. He checked the message and nodded at Lin Chen.

In the Dana Rainforest, as the live broadcast ended, the doctors at the medical station left the small TV and got busy again.

Duan Yang had the day off today. With his backpack, he began to climb Xazi Mountain.

The jungle was dense. When he reached the peak, a gust of wind blew, creating waves of green as vast as the ocean.

Under the sunlight penetrating the dense leaves, under a towering tree, there was a tombstone. In the wind, Duan Yang stared at the grave for a long time, then he knelt down and kissed the stone deeply.

The drizzle in Yongchuan had stopped.

Xing Conglian folded up the umbrella, and Lin Chen walked side by side with him.

“What do you want to eat tonight?” Xing Conglian asked.

Lin Chen took his hand and said, “I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that we won’t be able to eat tonight.”

Xing Conglian’s umbrella lightly tapped the ground, and Lin Chen’s phone rang in response.

Wang Dynasty’s excited voice burst out of the handset. “A’Chen Gege, we have located his latest hiding place!”

Lin Chen and Xing Conglian exchanged glances and quickly opened the car door. The dust-covered Jeep was once again speeding down the highway.

Scientists have calculated.

The human brain contains more than a hundred billion neurons, each of which has between a thousand and ten thousand synapses with other neurons. This results in the total number of possible combinations of brain activities surpassing the number of fundamental particles in the universe.

Every time we think, a sea of neural nodes is activated. If you can imagine, it is a wondrous neural cloud chart, akin to a nebula, lit up with each breath.

No one knows where humanity will eventually end up.

But the brain is a magical organ that allows us to evolve from savagery to exploring the universe and eventually trying to probe the mysteries of the human heart.

And throughout our lives, we all hope to become better people.

Seeking truth, advocating goodness, yearning for a better future while grappling with our innate human instincts—that is the essence of being human.

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The author has something to say:

I haven’t written much in the “author comment” section previously, but now I can indulge in some chatter.

There are always lovely girls asking me for book recommendations, so I took the opportunity to list a few important ones. There will be a more comprehensive list later (although not too many).

The content on abnormal psychology in the text is a reference to “Abnormal Psychology” edited by Professor Qian Yiming. All relevant definitions and judgment criteria are based on this version.

“One Sand” was written 11 years ago and was my first short story. The main reason I decided to expand it was that there was a bug in the short story, and I couldn’t control myself. I wanted to fix it a bit, so “One Sand” basically retains the original look of the short story.

But because it was written a long time ago, I don’t really remember the reference materials at that time. The memory awakened by the market boss should be a reference to “NLP Rational Emotional Therapy”. The main line is based on “Systematic Desensitization Therapy”. There should also be references to the content of sand table games. Many books have been written about it. I really don’t remember the reference books at that time, so I’m sorry I can’t provide them here. If you’re interested, just look at the keywords.

The cause of “Two-Way” was an observation on the highway during a spring outing many years ago. The thesis mainly referred to “Car Auto SOS System Based on MEMS Accelerometer”. Normal mode is a commonly used concept in psychological measurement. Intelligence tests and personality tests are all research areas of psychological measurement. It’s probably the most boring subject besides psychological statistics. I didn’t find any particularly good popular science books. Professional psychological measurements usually have professional institutions and scoring standards and must refer to normal modes.

“Three Graves” mainly refers to “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind” and “Fanatics”. Of course, the original intention was to write about an XJ organization, but this is too sensitive, so I wrote a more obscure story. In fact, there is no essential difference between pyramid schemes and XJ’s psychological control methods, but there are also many criticisms from the crowd. I won’t elaborate here. What I said is very superficial; it’s better to read the books. A friend once raised the issue of collective unconsciousness. Sometimes the use of proper nouns in writing is not rigorous enough. Please feel free to point it out.

In “Four Tones”, the method used by Lin Chen during his performance in Li Jingtian’s mall comes from research on the “bystander effect“. We often blame the more people there are, the fewer there are who stand up for justice. This phenomenon comes from this. The best solution is to designate a specific person, such as “Please help me, brother in red”. The request for help must be specific. I always think this is very useful, so I mentioned it again.

Regarding the listening ability of Mr. Zheng Chenggong at the embassy, it was based on a real story of a French agent. The results of the House-Tree-Person test in the gambling game came from “Psychological Painting – A Dictionary of Painting Psychological Analysis”. If there is no professionally trained tester accompanying, self-administration is not recommended. In fact, Lin Chen was able to guess where the item was, mainly because of his analysis of Li Jingtian’s physiological indicators, just pushing him to the limit, and then making guesses based on the results of the House-Tree-Person test. The rest is just for show.

The bug in Song Shengsheng’s teeth comes from a story about Saddam Hussein…

The setting in “Five Floats”, the Dana Rainforest, is based on the Congo Rainforest in Baidu Encyclopedia, and the virus setting comes from the Borna virus. The intention of going so far was to write a type of story I hadn’t tried before, including battles and a new text structure. Some people think it’s long, but in fact, Five Floats is composed of three stories, plus romance interwoven, which consumes more chapters. If you remove this part, “Five Floats” is actually very compact.

I apologize for the slow updates later on, due to health reasons and being too busy at work. There was a time when I slept only four hours a day and lived chaotically due to conditions like pneumonia and cervical spondylosis. Later, I went to CP’s house, and she took care of me for a while before I gradually recovered. Personal issues have delayed the completion of this novel, which should have been finished long ago. I said I would write six or seven, but I really didn’t have the energy to continue, and I’m sorry.

Moral dilemmas are a constant problem.

Mr. Kohlberg used this tool to study children’s morality. I’ve always wanted to write about the three levels and six stages of moral development theory, but it doesn’t fit in. However, this research on child psychology is very interesting. You can read “The Essence and Confirmation of Moral Stages in Moral Development Psychology” by [American] Kohlberg. It’s very comprehensive and detailed.

For moral-related content, “The Origin of Morals” refers to “The Selfish Gene“. The former is truly dry, while the latter’s theory is a bit shaky, but the game theory part is very interesting and worth reading.

But regarding the main line hidden in Five Floats, it comes from the book “The Psychopath Inside“. The author’s self-analysis made me determined to write a section on Teacher Wanshan.

“Who Decides – A Psychological Interpretation of Free Will” is a particularly good book, apart from the translation. It also solved a question I’ve had for a long time. Lin Chen’s design and analysis of the large vote come from this book. If you have time, why not buy a copy and take a look?

Likewise, I hope everyone doesn’t have incorrect expectations of psychopaths after reading this book. My personal view is that we should treat this phenomenon scientifically, not demonize it, and carefully consider how to be vigilant and help these people, who we are certain exist.

Research on the human brain, or, say, the mind, is an eternal theme.

Psychology seems pretty pseudoscientific, but “guess what I’m thinking” is only a small part of the discipline. This discipline itself involves research on human cognition, thinking, emotions, intelligence, logic, personality, social, and many other aspects. Looking at it only from the perspective of mind-reading is somewhat unfair to this discipline.

The title, Crime Psychology, was chosen out of laziness. I wanted to discuss crime and psychology, and felt it was suitable, so I used it. The legal settings in the text are mainly based on the US, combined with a police team that considers China’s national conditions. It’s really a fictional setup. I didn’t spend much time researching this aspect.

The four major families are introduced for two reasons. Firstly, to circumvent censorship—on Jinjiang, one can’t write about officialdom, gangs, or politics, and there will be no military intervention no matter what happens later because Jinjiang doesn’t allow it. Secondly, I hope readers will not have incorrect expectations for this story. It’s a bizarre blend of narrative, and it’s okay if you can’t tolerate it and decide to abandon it—there’s no need to waste your time, so I didn’t change it in the end.

The organization behind Lao Xing is a background setting, signifying a “door system”. Although every country has its own struggles, they all leave a back door for each other. When you need real help, you can knock on the door. But the door needs to be guarded by trustworthy people, and Lao Xing is the gatekeeper. It’s just a naive idea, and I won’t elaborate on this organization. It might appear in the story about Fang Aizi.

The “Three Graves” represented by Su Fengzi is a setup drawn from the phrase “To continue the sage’s uncompleted work for the prosperity of all generations*.” It’s an institution of scholars, and has been around for many years, but the current president is not a serious person. I might write about the story of the Three Tombs if I get a chance.

*The first half refers to the people who made significant contributions to Chinese culture and civilization, and their uncompleted work is usually seen as the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom that the “sages” engage in and each generation carries forth. The latter half is used to describe the ideal state of the world, where everyone lives in peace and harmony (due to the work of the sages and those that pursue it).

Regarding the real criminal, my idea has always been that it’s a collective of evil intentions. I don’t want to write about a specific person. Writing about villains is a waste of time. I prefer to write about those who are hurt and those who continue to resist. That was the original intention.

As I said before, I might write a story about Fang Aizi in the future. The story of the Underground Ring ends here. Honestly, I had planned to link it with the story of the twin drug manufacturing factories, which would’ve fit perfectly. But my friend and mentor, Sha Bao, said that overly refined stories lose their beauty, that not everything needs to be calculated. I think that makes sense, so in the end, I didn’t link it. Let’s leave it as a regret.

In summary, this isn’t really a reliable story, just a bizarre one. Take it as a pastime.

Finally, I want to thank some friends.

My friend Zang Yao was the first to encourage me to write on Jinjiang. I didn’t plan to sign a contract or enter VIP. It was a whim to finish a story, but then I ended up writing 1.2 million words, which I found quite depressing.

The design of Tern’s heterostructure comes from the formidable Lady Cat Pi. All the chemistry details in the text come from her. Such knowledgeable women are really scary.

The organizational structure of Zhourui, the issues with the pharmaceutical company, and the promotional details of Nao Kangning and Nordren all come from a former senior executive of a pharmaceutical giant. According to him, he gave me training worth hundreds of thousands, which I appreciate, but I’m not paying.

Thanks to my editor, Si Yue, who was willing to proofread this story even after so many years since our earliest magazine serialization. The proofread version from One Sand to Three Graves will be replaced soon.

Thank you to my mentor, Sha Bao, for reviewing my writing and giving me pointers every day. There are many parts I couldn’t have written without her encouragement due to my laziness and fear of trouble. If a chapter doesn’t have any typos, that means she helped me proofread it. I really can’t spot typos myself, and it troubles me. The steelmaking system that Lin Chen encountered in the steel plant was also her design. She talked a lot about it, but I didn’t write it very clearly in the end. I think it’s good for everyone to have their own interpretation, but I still want to thank her.

Also, thanks to Jinjiang for publishing this story. I was very surprised when the copyright editor came to talk to me. The contract was also signed very quickly, and I also thank the buyer.

Finally, thank you to each reader who followed the story. I’m really grateful. It was a real challenge for you all!

So, that’s the end of the story.

(Of course, there are still some extras…)

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Kinky Thoughts:

Alright, this marks the end of the main story. It’s been a long journey getting here. What can I say about this novel? I wouldn’t say it’s one of my tops, but it wasn’t bad. After reading the author’s notes, I got a better sense of where the author was coming from and why it ended the way it did.

Nevertheless, I still have my own criticisms. It makes so much more sense now why these five arcs seem so disjointed (as they were originally written as short stories). To be honest, she didn’t need to try hard to connect them all together, as that made the plot quite convoluted. It seems there was more to be written, but due to her poor health, she didn’t continue, which makes more sense why the ending seems so… abrupt?

Usually, when I read a crime novel, I expect a resolution, especially a resolution of the main culprit or the twist of who that culprit is. It seems the author went in a more thematic direction and just assigned the culprit as not necessarily a single person but a collective that basically represents the evil of human nature. Still, it doesn’t give you that satisfying ending of reading 300 chapters and not even having the main culprit captured.

When I first picked this project up, I thought it was interesting, but it didn’t meet my expectations for what I wanted from a crime novel. That’s not to say it was bad, but I don’t think it was necessarily my cup of tea… but as the author said, it’s not meant to be taken as a reliable story and is just more of a pastime novel.

However, don’t let my criticism reflect your own opinion. There are many chapters that I really liked, especially near the end and, of course, the showdown between Lin Chen and Li Jingtian. Overall, the story was interesting and kept me going (hoping to find out who the real mastermind is… only to be let down). At least there was surprisingly some smut. There is one chapter in the extra that has smut, which is 308, for those interested.

Anyway, if you like the novel, 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 work.

I would also 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.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>