Chapter 40 — The Campus God Who Spat Blood (14) | Today I May Truly Die a Miserable Death
Riding the train, Xing Ge stared at the sunset outside the window with a heavy heart, pondering life.
“System, if I run off with the male lead’s biological sister, do you think I will still be around to enjoy tomorrow’s sunset?”
The system tried to comfort her. “I believe the male lead is fairly reasonable. You are brothers, after all. He probably will not go overboard.” Then it added, “I also heard he once won a swordsmanship championship. One precise strike and it would all be over. You would not have to suffer. Unlike amateurs, who poke holes in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys before you finally die. You know how it is, better dead than living through that.”
Xing Ge: “Okay, you can shut up now. I do not have many virtues, but I dare to love and dare to act. For love, even if I get stabbed straight through the heart, it will not stop me from charging forward. Let the storm come harder!”
System: “From your very practiced movements, it looks like you have already prepared to jump out the window.”
She shoved a few pointed tools back into her bag and muttered, sulky, “I was just testing if this window is sturdy.”
System: “…”
Have you considered the feelings of this poor little train?
While Xing Ge and the system were “dueling wits,” other people were busy too.
Somewhere secret, Informant No. 1 used a sophisticated line to connect with the underground boss.
“Boss, I have something to report.”
“Speak.”
“Promise you will not get mad. You must stay calm.”
A chuckle came through the phone. “Do I sound like someone that immature?” The tone brimmed with lofty disdain.
Cheng Rui thought, Bro, your confidence is overflowing. Do not forget you were the one trying to jump off a building for love not long ago.
He would never say that aloud, unless he had a death wish.
He racked his brain for the right phrasing.
“So, um, Yingzi has someone he likes… he plans to confess… you know…”
“He even asked for a day off… to go to… her house… you know…”
“Oh, and he asked me for romance movies… so I gave him the ones in my F drive… you know…”
Cheng Rui’s voice dwindled to a whisper.
Silence. Not even a breath on the other end.
That did not sound like the boss at all.
He ventured, “Boss, are you there?”
“Heh.”
A low laugh, soft as willow fluff brushing a pond in spring.
“Second bro, you did very well.” The voice was full of praise.
Cheng Rui: “???”
Were his ears broken? What did he do? And did it very well?
What was that supposed to mean?
Still, it was rare for the boss to praise him. He even felt a little shy about it.
Informant No. 1 finished his report, hung up in high spirits.
Blissfully unaware that a certain shameless roommate had just sold her out, Xing Ge spent half a day on the train, her little bachelor heart pounding as she arrived at the future wife’s place, a small villa standing proudly on a hillside.
The sun was sinking, the sky dimming. Trees and thickets grew thick and dark, the distant mountains loomed like shadows, and the wind moaned through them like someone crying.
Xing Ge’s little legs trembled. Why did this creepy setting feel so familiar? That had to be her imagination. Surely it was just the leather-jacket uncle’s stinky feet on the train that had poisoned her brain and she still had not recovered.
The system had no idea what she was thinking. It spoke in a string of delighted exclamations. “Oh, oh, oh, what a lovely, tranquil environment. Look at that gorgeous sunset. Look at the lush trees. And best of all, a white cottage wreathed in wisteria. Its heart is closed tight, waiting for lovers to come roaming and seeking…”
Its host was already set on fleeing this ominous scene, so she coughed to cut off the system’s next fantasy about “a long night, a lone boy and a lone girl.”
“System, the more I think about it, the more I feel that confessing before even meeting is rash. There is no rush. We can wait until the relationship is more solid and then…”
Of course the system objected. “The longer you drag this out, the more likely something goes wrong. Have you forgotten the last time? And you are already here. Your feelings are invested. Are you really going to go back empty-handed?”
They argued back and forth for quite a while, neither able to convince the other.
In the middle of this hot debate, a voice drifted to her ear.
“You came.”
Gentle words, wrapped in warm breath.
Good heavens.
Xing Ge’s shoulders jerked. The roses in her hand slipped and dropped straight down.
A long, elegant hand flashed in, caught them cleanly, then dipped to breathe them in. The smile that bloomed on his lips outshone the sunset. “They smell wonderful.”
He showed no intention of giving them back.
Xing Ge swallowed. “Um… those roses…” They were for your sister!
A thorn pricked her finger. A bright bead of blood welled up. The black-haired young man leaned in and lightly licked it. His lips were so red they looked a little demonic.
“Hm?” His tone was lazy, the final note lifted slightly, full of unspoken meaning.
Xing Ge changed tack at once. “Of course they are for you. We have not seen each other for so long. I missed you, so I bought flowers to bring to you.”
System: Where is your dignity, General Xing?
Xing Ge: Did I ever have any?
The male lead was satisfied with her tact.
He studied her closely. It was a sweltering day and she had sat crowded on a long train ride. His heart tightened. He reached out and touched her face. “Why are you sweating so much?”
Because you scared the living daylights out of me, she thought.
Just like that, her plan to run evaporated.
Wearing a pleasant smile, the male lead “ever so gently” towed her into the little house.
Once she sat down on the sofa, unease prickled over her. Something felt off, but she could not name it. To ease her nerves, she gulped the fresh juice the straight-A scholar had squeezed by hand, one glass after another. It tasted unusually sweet.
They chatted idly about recent events. Then Chen Xi tied on a pink apron with a cartoon cat and headed to the kitchen to “show off his skills.”
Soon, the fragrance began to drift out.
Xing Ge was a hopeless modern-era kitchen rookie and could only sigh in admiration. A man who could be polished in public and masterful in the kitchen was rarer than rare.
Chen Xi bent at the waist and glanced back with a pampering smile so dazzling the system’s doggy eyes nearly went blind.
Dishes covered the orange tablecloth. Xing Ge grabbed her chopsticks and dug in without ceremony. The sweet-and-sour ribs were bright and tangy. The simply poached fish, sprinkled with scallion and ginger, was tender and luscious, almost melting on the tongue.
She felt happy to her toes. These were all her favorites.
Xing Ge never had any resistance to good food. Naturally, she overlooked certain suspicious details.
Very quickly, she emptied a third bowl of rice.
Chen Xi refilled her bowl with an indulgent smile.
Whenever she glanced up, he would be sitting with his fingers laced under his chin, watching her without blinking.
It made Xing Ge squirm. Maybe her appetite had freaked him out.
On normal days, if she ate this much, Chen Xi would have scolded her, but an old friend had come a long way. He was probably too pleased to call a halt, so he let her eat to her heart’s content.
Thinking this, Xing Ge scolded herself for her guilty little schemes. He treated you so well, and you came here to steal his sister?
To make up for it, she diligently picked up a few flakes of fish and placed them in his bowl. “Do not just watch. Eat.”
The black-haired youth’s mouth quirked. A soft light flickered in his eyes. “All right.”
Whether he ate dinner or not did not matter.
After all, he had a far more sumptuous midnight snack planned.
There was no need to hurry.
Author’s Note:
I got back late yesterday, so I will make up Saturday’s extra update tomorrow. Kiss you, my dears~
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