CH 16

Murong Jihua changed into a jacket that just screams ‘I’m cool, okay?!’ and put on a hat that can conceal the upper half of his face before walking downstairs with He Jünle.

The young man leads him forward, and very decisively heads for the hired motorcycles stand on the side of the road, borrows one, and vaults onto it before shining the light at Murong Jihua with two ‘blings.’

… Wait, a rented motorcycle?

Right now, Murong Jihua isn’t sure whether to diss the fact that he is renting a motorcycle;

Or his suddenly downgraded personal worth which apparently is insufficient for getting a normal ride home;

Or He Jünle, for that matter.

Let’s go with He Jünle then!

The young man, meanwhile, gives Murong Jihua a cold smile, asking,

“Well? Mr CEO here is too wealthy for these normal citizen’s means of transport?”

“No, of course not.”

Murong Jihua walks forward without so much as a twitch in his expression, adding,

“It just feels like, when I am with you, the shaoye in me is always disgruntled.”

——Then, he also vaults his long leg over to sit behind He Jünle.

Wait.

No, seriously, what was he doing?

Oh fuck, the guy’s tall.

Probably not as tall as him… Probably.

No, that’s not the issue here. The problem here is why did he do it so naturally?!

His brain-dead course of actions makes Murong Jihua feel as upset as having swallowed a fly, but now that he’s already seated, what else could he do? Hey, at least he’s getting a free ride.

Therefore, CEO Murong, who acted stupidly but didn’t want to admit that fact decides to lash out by maliciously pinching He Jünle’s waist.

What, it’s not like it’s illegal to pinch someone, you know?

——Good. With that force he used, it should turn blue if not purple.

“…” He Jünle looks back and gives Murong Jihua a slightly miffed glance, but then raises his brow and then, a quick, hard twist of the throttle——

The motorcycle shoots for the skies like biu——

Murong Jihua, stupefied, can only feel his body being dragged backwards by a whole, bunch, of, Newtons. So he can only instinctively grab tight onto the motorcycle seat to prevent himself from being launched through the air.

No, of course he’s not going to hug him. Never never ever.

‘The madman!’

Murong Jihua is tearing into the young man in his mind,

‘What the hell kind of driving is this? Did this world not only forget about traffic laws but even Newton’s Second Law?!’ (TL: a = F/m, which, actually, should have been acting normally for Murong Jihua to have been able to hold onto the motorcycle, but anyway)

The wind lashes past them as quick as lightning as they rush towards the moon.

Along their path are only sparks and electric arcs (TL: Presumably from the massive friction + static charges on the wheel… No, I have no idea anymore lol), they fly up over ramps and down under bridges, and zip straight past red lights.

Murong Jihua “…”

Murong Jihua ‘I will produce cold sweat to indicate my terror.’

——’The damned brat, is doing this on purpose!”

——The motorcycle rushes right into the entertainment district, where the red and green neon lights have given the entire area a hazy glow. It stops in a damp, dark alley.

He Jünle’s silhouette is shrouded in darkness, as the light squeezing past the entrance to the alley has cast his shadow long. Murong Jihua is quietly staring while guestimating He Jünle’s height.

180? 182? (TL: 5’11″/5’12”) Or even taller?

To be perfectly honestly, Murong Jihua and He Jünle’s height really aren’t that different.

Maybe he is wearing high insoles? Or could he be wearing flat soles even flatter than his own——

Murong Jihua doesn’t know either why he’s so conscious of their heights. Perhaps, it’s in men’s nature to compare.

To compare sizes. All the various sizes.

——As a star twinkles in the narrow sky through the alley, He Jünle’s shrouded body also begins to move.

When Murong Jihua finally reacts, there is already a terrifying sound blasting through his left ear. It is the sound of the wind piercing, as a great force moves right for the left side of his face!

Murong Jihua appears entirely unfazed. Not even his eyelashes trembled.

The sound stops.

He Jünle’s right foot is right next to Murong Jihua’s face, less than a centimetre away from the pretty, pale face.

They are almost touching.

He Jünle’s gaze turns serious.

His long, straightened right leg, quietly curls back. Then he hops a small distance back, and coldly speaks,

“You’re completely unaware of how much of a public figure you are, hm?

Is this how casual and careless you usually are? Just letting someone take you someplace like this without a second thought?”

Murong Jihua replies, “Ho. If you do not plan to turn into a full-blown terrorist, I’d say it’s best not to do anything untoward to ‘public figures.’

Perhaps you could disfigure me at most, but at the same time, the bodyguards behind me would have drilled a hole through your head.”

There isn’t a single shadow to be seen behind Murong Jihua.

Yet He Jünle does believe that, Murong Jihua wasn’t just bluffing.

There were the Shadow Guards in Dynastic times. They were never truly out-of-fashion.

Being rich, is good.

Murong Jihua expresses his profound realisation yet again.

“Let’s cut to the chase. What did you want to talk to me about?

Unlike you people, I do physically represent the phrase ‘an inch of time; an inch of gold’——You aren’t even capable of repaying my lost time in gold.”

He Jünle then finally asks, with a serious tone, “I wanted to know, exactly what about Mo-er you are after.”

“What, only some ruffian, gangly ‘bad boy’ student like you can like girls, and us rich boys don’t deserve love——”

“Bullshit. There isn’t a single shred of affection when you look at her.”

“You really won’t back out?”

“Why don’t you give up, then?”

“…”

“We’re both men. Men know best what other men are thinking.”

“Mm. Then, ‘I have too much money to spend, so I needed to kill time with some woman’——How does that sound?”

“That’s a lie. You look at her coldly. The only genuine emotion you have towards her is that occasional irritation and resignation you would show.”

“… Bro, were your ancestors fortune-tellers?” (TL: Good at reading faces and palms)

“And, what stuck out to me the most, was why, some bigshot like you, would be so tolerant, even merciful, at my repeated, increasingly insufferable probing, and openly defiant attitude?”

“…”

What, because you’re handsome or something.

Fine, yes, that is extra credit, at least. He can’t exactly say it’s because he wanted the grand reincarnation package and because he was scared of having his soul dispersed, can he.

A wise man once said, when facing an interviewer, what makes you look smart is to answer the interviewer’s question with another question, and answer your new question instead——

Put simply, moving the question-post away.

So Murong Jihua begins,

“Then what about you? Why are you so fixated on Su Xiaomo? You really like her that much?”

He was expecting He Jünle to spout some extremely goosebump-inducing single-dog(TL: Derogatory way of referring to bachelor(ette)s)-torturing clichéd declaration of love.

What he didn’t expect, was that,

Too bad, the Gary Stu is still the great Gary Stu.

He Jünle tilts his head slightly, answering,

“Although she is not the only girl I like, but there is forever a place for her in my heart.”

…

…

Hah?! This utterly depraved, ethically abominable answer is the reason you’re fighting with him for that damned girl?!

Because he offended one single part of your harem formed by your countless girls and lackeys?

Hey, underworld’s administration, listen. Why not change the name of the game? Instead of that ‘A Restless Mad Love: The Bossy CEO’s Beloved Little White Lotus’ bollocks, something like ‘Absolute Dominance! The Outrageously Cool Teenager’s Dominion’ sounds way more appropriate…