Chapter 41 — The Campus God Who Spat Blood (15) | Male Lead, Your Days Are Numbered
After dinner, Chen Xi took her out to see the scenery nearby.
The last light was swallowed by the clouds on the horizon. Night sank in step by step. The thin cry of insects mingled with the sobbing splash of a stream striking rocks. The chill in the air felt a little eerie.
Xing Ge’s urge to run only grew.
She cleared her throat. “So… it is getting late. I should catch a ride back.”
The person beside her remained perfectly calm. “It is already so late. It would be inconvenient to travel. Why not stay the night? There are plenty of rooms.”
She scrambled for excuses. “But I only asked for one day off. If I do not make it back tomorrow, our counselor will be upset.”
“It is fine. I will tell Old Li you were delayed bringing me materials.”
Xing Ge: “Actually, I still have a lot of homework.”
Chen Xi: “Have Cheng Rui send your laptop over. I will help you finish it.”
Xing Ge: “…”
Inside, she was collapsing. Big brother, are you secretly Superman?
Before she could come up with another excuse, the male lead “ever so gently” towed her back to the little house.
“At only 7:30,” Chen Xi said, “how about a movie?”
Xing Ge, haggard and resigned, nodded.
She only wanted to run away. Why was it this hard?
While the male lead bent to flip through his films, the system could not hide its excitement. “Your Majesty, good news.”
The failed escapee rolled her eyes. “What good news?”
“You forgot? Last night you downloaded a few romantic art films from that Cheng fellow. He said they were tearjerkers. If the male lead is moved by the love between the hero and heroine, he might be less opposed to his sister dating. Then you would have a chance.”
They had planned for this. If things with the girl were awkward, a romance film would warm up the mood.
“You sure this will work?” Xing Ge was doubtful. Two guys watching a romance together sounded… off.
“Trust me,” the system said with full confidence. “A previous host did this and successfully persuaded the big brother. Beauty secured.”
Real-world precedent sounded promising. Maybe it would not blow up this time.
She raised a hand. Chen Xi glanced over in surprise. Xing Ge tried to act natural. “I downloaded some movies to pass the time on the train. People said they were good. Want to watch one?”
Chen Xi smiled and agreed.
They found a comfortable position on the sofa and started the “romance” movie that Xing Ge had prepared for his sister.
The first half was artsy and wholesome: childhood sweethearts, mutual crushes, passed notes, a little love song. The air was full of sugary sweetness.
Xing Ge thought, Wow, who knew that flashy peacock Cheng Rui had a pink, girly heart.
Naturally, no romance is complete without a meddling side character. Misunderstandings and angst began to pile on. The pretty-boy second male lead confessed to the heroine.
By this point, Xing Ge was nearly dozing. She could guess what would happen next with her toes.
Heroine: “Listen to me, it is not what you think!”
Hero: “I will not listen, I will not listen, I do not want to hear it!”
Heroine: “You are heartless, cruel, and unreasonable!”
Hero: “Where am I heartless? Where am I cruel? Where am I unreasonable?”
Heroine: “Where are you not heartless? Where are you not cruel? Where are you not unreasonable?”
All Xing Ge could think was, if you two spent half this energy explaining the misunderstanding, would it not be over already?
Or maybe that bickering was their idea of fun.
She shook the pulp in her orange juice and took a long gulp, then glanced at the screen from the corner of her eye.
“Pfft—”
She sprayed a mouthful.
Holy sh*t, she was going to get a sty. Who was going to explain why the male lead had pinned the pretty-boy rival to the wall and was kissing him instead of being wholesome with the childhood sweetheart?
Hello? Male lead, could you unfasten that tie a little less fast?
And second male lead, could your “resistance” be less symbolic? That flushed face and half-welcoming act, what is that supposed to be?
The mood turned bizarre. The room filled with nothing but the sound of hot, irregular breathing.
Xing Ge’s backside went numb. She did not dare move.
For the record, this male lead had stamina. From the living room to the kitchen…
Ahem. Not the time.
“S-s-system, what do I do now?”
The system was playing dead.
Xing Ge did not even dare glance sideways.
Late at night, sitting next to your bro watching a very bro-on-bro film, in crystal-clear HD and uncensored, was… a lot.
Once she got back to school, she swore she would hang a certain flashy peacock on the clothesline to sun-dry for three days and nights.
Rigid as a corpse, she endured to the end. Before she could sigh in relief, the onscreen couple went for one more round.
I— what the F***.
Why not ascend to the heavens while you are at it?
Thankfully, the male lead’s mental fortitude was steel. He watched without twitching, then said in a level voice, “It is late. We should sleep.”
“Okay,” Xing Ge replied at once, trailing obediently behind him.
He led her to a room on the second floor. It was spacious. Standing at the window, you could see the far-off lights and a deep purple sky scattered with stars. He pushed the window open and a cool breeze washed in. The green gauze curtains billowed like a dream.
Chen Xi braced one hand on the railing. The white shirt on his back snapped in the wind, lifting now and then to show the hard plane of his abdomen. The sight was… very tempting.
Xing Ge stared without blinking. Perky butt, long legs, slim white ankles…
Oh my God, what exactly was she thinking?
“Form is emptiness. Emptiness is form…” she muttered, chanting to banish worldly thoughts.
Chen Xi lingered a moment, then left. Xing Ge wished him good night, rolled up in the bedding, and went to sleep.
Better to just sleep. Once asleep, she would not feel so tortured.
Drowsiness had barely settled when a hand lifted her thin quilt. She grabbed it on instinct and forced her eyes open. “Chen Xi? You are not asleep yet?”
“I was thinking that sleeping in jeans would be uncomfortable. I brought pajamas. Change and rest.” The black-haired youth was calm. He deftly unbuttoned her shirt. His fingers were long, paler even than a woman’s, like fine jade, cool to the touch as they brushed her skin.
Xing Ge stared, stupidly distracted by those unfairly beautiful hands.
She did not know why, but her head was a fog. Her body felt wrong. She had only dozed for a few minutes and was sweating all over, even though the window was wide open and the air was cool.
“You are sweating so much,” he murmured, starting to rise. “Wait here. I will get a towel…”
“Snap—”
Pressure tightened at his waist. A strong pull yanked him backward and slammed him down on the mattress. The springs gave, bounced, then bounced again.
The sudden loss of control made Chen Xi frown. He reached out to catch something, anything, to steady himself, and his palm closed on warm, sweat-damp skin.
The breathing above him grew heavier.
He tipped up his chin and, in the dim spill of light, flicked a glance.
The harmless-looking boy from daytime had braced both arms on either side of Chen Xi’s head. He lowered his gaze and stared. Half his handsome face lay in shadow. Even the ragged bangs could not hide the wolfish gleam in his eyes, a cold light that prowled in the dark.
The hair at the nape of his neck was soaked. Sweat traced along his collarbone and down. His chest rose and fell, packed with a raw surge of hormones.
The boy cocked his head and studied the prey that had come to him. His face was blank, and very serious.
He looked for a long time. Satisfaction finally warmed his eyes.
And Chen Xi suddenly felt like a man who had just dropped a rock on his own foot.
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