Chapter 34

Translator: Abo Dammen

So, which way should he go now? Chen Lu paused for a moment, feeling hesitant, and then saw Fang Qizhi’s fury intensify.

‘Don’t you dare try to go to Qin Guchuan!!!’ 

Fang Qizhi conveyed this message to Chen Lu very clearly.

Understood.

It was just like in games, where buttons marked ‘must not touch’ or boxes labeled ‘absolutely must not open’ are precisely the ones you have to interact with.

Chen Lu didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately turned and walked towards Qin Guchuan. Sure enough, Fang Qizhi charged over immediately. 

This was good, but…

Chen Lu glanced at the distance between himself and Fang Qizhi, then at the distance between himself and the swimming pool, and immediately broke into a run as well.

Don’t come over so fast!!!

Watching Chen Lu rush headlong towards Qin Guchuan, while Qin Guchuan just watched coldly, the fire in Fang Qizhi’s eyes burned even brighter. He quickened his pace and reached out to grab Chen Lu. 

The area around the pool wasn’t very large, and everything happened in just a few seconds. Chen Lu swiftly reached the pool’s edge. As Chen Lu stopped, Fang Qizhi rapidly caught up and grabbed him.

The moment he caught Chen Lu, a wave of surprise washed over Fang Qizhi.

He hadn’t expected Chen Lu to stop mid-path at all. For a moment, he couldn’t react, his mind freezing. He saw Chen Lu turn his head, and Fang Qizhi instinctively loosened his grip, only to see Chen Lu glance at him with what seemed like a hint of apology.

Before Fang Qizhi could understand the meaning behind that look, in the next instant, he saw Chen Lu lean backward. 

By the time Chen Lu had fully fallen into the swimming pool, Fang Qizhi still hadn’t processed what had happened. After snapping out of it, and not seeing anyone surface, only a cloud of dye continuously rising, Fang Qizhi’s heart jolted. Without a second thought about the pool being only a little over a meter deep, he immediately jumped in.

Qin Guchuan, who had just straightened up preparing for the next part of the plot to throw Fang Qizhi into the pool: “……..”

What should he do if the plot point jumps in by itself…

This familiar headache… 

And… why did that guy jump in so eagerly? The subtle feeling of displeasure in Qin Guchuan’s heart grew stronger.

Chen Lu, unaware of the situation Qin Guchuan was facing, pretended not to know how to swim the moment he fell into the pool and vigorously scrubbed at his clothes. However, after only a few seconds of scrubbing, he felt the commotion of a large object landing in the water beside him.

Was Qin Guchuan’s action that fast?

Chen Lu looked over in shock towards the source of the disturbance and saw Fang Qizhi, who had jumped into the water, staring at him in shock… scrubbing his clothes. 

Chen Lu, caught red-handed: “…….”

Good children shouldn’t just open their eyes underwater!

Chen Lu’s movements froze. The next second, relying on his thick skin, he pretended nothing was happening and slowly stood up from the swimming pool. And just as described in the plot, a hand with distinct knuckles, seemingly glowing with a holy light, came into Chen Lu’s view.

Literally glowing with holy light. 

Chen Lu: “……..” Somehow, he subtly felt he could understand this world’s collapsing mood regarding the current plot, which was twisted into a complete mess and seemed to be barely functioning via bugs.

It was really trying its best.

Holding this delicate feeling of pity for the world, Chen Lu slightly raised his head, just like in the plot, to look at the owner of this hand, ready to receive the affection gaze meant for him alone.

However… 

Raising his head, Chen Lu failed to meet Qin Guchuan’s eyes. Qin Guchuan was frowning tightly, but his gaze was directed slightly behind him, visibly filled with dissatisfaction towards a certain someone.

Chen Lu: “?”

Was there some grudge between Qin Guchuan and Fang Qizhi? Chen Lu couldn’t figure it out, but now wasn’t the time to ponder that.

Chen Lu gave a light cough, reminding the derelict guy to focus on the plot. 

Even though the plot was already completely twisted, they should still try to salvage it! If they didn’t salvage it soon, the hand Qin Guchuan was holding in front of his eyes was going to blind him!!!!!

Qin Guchuan snapped back to reality, looked down at Chen Lu, who was making faces at him: “…”

He sighed slightly, pulled Chen Lu out of the pool, and watched as Chen Lu, now out of the water, expertly switched expressions in one second, throwing himself into Qin Guchuan’s arms, burying his face in the crook of Qin Guchuan’s neck, and bursting into loud sobs.

The crying was full of grievance and misery. 

Just like… every time Chen Lu rehearsed with him over the phone, during those heart-wrenching practice sessions.

But performing live was still different from rehearsing over the phone.

For instance, there were their tightly pressed bodies. For instance, the temperature, different from their own, that mingled and overlapped between them. And for instance, to hide the fact that his loud wails produced no tears, Chen Lu pressed his face tightly against Qin Guchuan’s neck. As a result, with each sob, the sensation transmitted to Qin Guchuan’s neck felt almost like being nibbled on, bite by delicate bite.

Qin Guchuan’s body stiffened for a moment. Only after Chen Lu secretly pinched him did he snap out of it. He reached out and gently embraced the person in his arms, softly stroking Chen Lu’s back as the plot required, a gesture that seemed both comforting and caressing. 

Fang Qizhi, finally recovering from the shock of seeing Chen Lu scrubbing his clothes underwater, heard the sound of Chen Lu’s wailing and stood up from the pool.

The moment his head broke the surface, Fang Qizhi saw the two embracing figures at the pool’s edge not far away. He also saw the possessive, ‘guarding-his-food’ gesture and the challenging look Qin Guchuan shot him the instant he noticed Fang Qizhi had surfaced.

Fang Qizhi: “….…”

Something felt off. Fang Qizhi was somewhat cowed by Qin Guchuan’s gaze, starting to suspect his initial judgment might have been mistaken. 

Did Qin Guchuan really have such intense possessiveness over a mere substitute?

Fang Qizhi thought uncertainly. The situation seemed a bit troublesome.

If he had to go up against Qin Guchuan, his chances of winning weren’t great.

Fang Qizhi looked on with concern at Chen Lu, who was crying as if his heart was breaking. Then, he met Chen Lu’s completely tearless eyes. In fact, those clear eyes held a distinct question for him, starkly contrasting the mournful wails. 

‘What is this guy doing? Why is he just staying in the pool?’

Fang Qizhi: “…….”

Fuck.

Having watched several livestreams and being well aware of how capable Chen Lu was at pretending, Fang Qizhi had a sudden moment of clarity. 

He knew he hadn’t pushed Chen Lu just now! He had been trying to grab him, so how did Chen Lu end up falling backward?!

And what he saw underwater wasn’t a mistake or a hallucination! He hadn’t been wrong! Chen Lu was deliberately messing up his clothes, trying to make himself look pathetic!

And he was doing all this specifically to play the victim and gain Qin Guchuan’s sympathy!

And Qin Guchuan, the most formidable of their generation… had actually fallen for it?! He genuinely believed it! He was completely wrapped around Chen Lu’s finger! 

Recalling Qin Guchuan’s hawk-like, hostile gaze from moments before, Fang Qizhi fell silent.

Why did it feel like the reality was the complete opposite of what he had imagined? The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like Qin Guchuan was the one being manipulated by Chen Lu?

For a moment, Fang Qizhi didn’t even know which of them he should be more exasperated with.

As expected of you, Just Passing Green Tea! 

Fang Qizhi couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. Thinking of all the cunning and tactics Chen Lu had displayed in his livestreams, Fang Qizhi looked again at Qin Guchuan, who was clearly being played by Chen Lu, and a trace of sympathy appeared in his eyes.

Qin Guchuan, who was still feeling displeased internally: “…..?”

Translator’s Feed:

HELP!!! QIN GUCHUAN’S HANDS LITERALLY GLOWING 😭😭😭😭 the world consciousness is trying its best