CH 45

“Jünle, did you know that there is a saying in my hometown – ‘the Buddha is dressed in gold; the man is dressed in his clothes; the horse is dressed in a saddle;'”

“…”

“Clothes are a form of artistic expression; art stems from everyday life; life stems from human nature to survive;”

“…”

“This shaoye believes that your respect for life and soul are too superficial.”

“…”

“Baby, don’t you have any thoughts about what I just said?”

“…

Fine, I’ll wear matching couples’ clothes with you. Stop running that verbal train wreck out of your mouth.”

As a pure Earthian, Murong Jihua’s thoughts are simple. A good Chinese descendent would always pursue the glory of returning triumphantly to a hometown. So after becoming the (fake) boyfriend of He Jünle, he believes he also needs to let He Jünle return to his hometown in fashionable glory——

To show how much he cares for him that goes without speaking.

What we mortals call, ‘bragging.’

・

He Jünle cannot understand the CEO’s thoughts at all, but after two hours of practically pyramid scheme-level of brainwashing he concedes. The shaoye is rich and willful. He, the boyfriend-for-hire, would cooperate with his wishes.

Though when He Jünle is called to the parking lot by Murong Jihua in secret, he is still shocked.

A hot-air balloon.

Pink. Filled to the brim with roses of all imaginable colours. A hot-air balloon buried among an uncountable amount of balloons. A luxurious, dreamy hot-air balloon, quietly waiting for them.

The man that is dressed in a suit of pure pink has a devious smile on. He slowly extends his right hand towards him——

He Jünle, who himself is dressed in a mysteriously light pink suit – cooperates, of course!

Gang Leader He, sent forth into the sky, under the watch of dozens of maids and the butler, hears one last sweet yelp from Su Xiaomo as he departs,

“Ah~ Murong-gege really treats Le-gege so sweetly! It’s so romantic!”

… ‘Murong-gege’?

“This hot-air balloon has been outfitted with the latest of engine drives and an AI guidance system,”

Murong Jihua adjusts his light blue tie (TL: A pink suit with a blue tie…? Ok.), and explains enthusiastically,

“See, from this angle, the entire city is in your view. You can even see the roses under the residence of Princess Elizabeth over there.”

He Jünle’s hands that were about to retrieve his device to play games stops. He puts his terminal back down and looks up at Murong Jihua, raising his brows.

“That motorway over there——It’s a bit far out and blurry, but do you remember? That was where this shaoye met you for the first time.”

He Jünle chuckles, saying, “yes, you said you would smack me dead with money.”

“…”

“…”

“Never mind, but say, when I meet the bros of your Gang, how much should I give them in red packets? Is a hundred thousand dollars (TL: ~US$15,500) each enough?”

“… Enough.” (TL: Both meanings of the word here)

There was quite the commotion when the hot-air balloon lands in the North District, thankfully butler Cui has arranged for law enforcement to maintain order at the landing site, so when the two men in pink steps off from the balloon, there wasn’t any traffic accident. Discounting the countless camera snapping sounds about them, this trip in the air has been perfect.

Classy. Definitely classy.

Murong Jihua turns to He Jünle to ask, “what was it you wanted to talk about?”

He Jünle is toying with his terminal when he answers, “my bros in the Gang are making a ruckus, saying they definitely have to meet you once and eat. Looks like it’s become a mortal issue for them already.”

Murong Jihua furrows his brows to say, “I see, but there aren’t any respectable hotels in the North District. Maybe I could ask butler Cui to reserve——”

“That’s too much trouble,” He Jünle interrupts him to say, “we can just eat at our Gang’s own eatery. Let’s go, Mr CEO, they’ve set the tables already.”

——But he’s not even ready!

Can anyone tell the poor Murong Jihua whether Earthian table manners are applicable in this Mary Sue world, in the context that all the invitees are mafia gang members?!

——All his life, Yan Jihua has never ever fought against anyone from that side of society, you know?!

So when He Jünle pulls Murong Jihua towards a grey yurt in the middle of nowhere, Murong Jihua did feel a sliver of danger.

——’He Jünle, you brat, you aren’t actually plotting to kill me off for good with your gang of ruffians, are you?’

When they enter the ‘eatery’ through the heavy entrance curtains, Murong Jihua’s sense of foreboding is growing stronger.

The fabric on the roof lets no light through. The lights inside are off. It’s quiet. There are only two or three candles around lighting up a dim path forward.

Murong Jihua is not even sure if there is anyone inside. Whether there are even tables or…

Ghosts.

He grabs He Jünle’s arm tightly in reflex.

After forcing himself forward about fifty metres, He Jünle suddenly lets his hand go.

Murong Jihua trembles, and his adapted eyes can now see all the silhouettes lurking in the nearby darkness.

——And lots of eerie lights reflected off of the whites of eyes.

So many! All of them staying quiet and staring in silence!

Murong Jihua is having goosebumps. He has fixed one finger on the emergency button of his terminal in his pocket, and is even going through the steps he has to take to bide time later and escape with He Jünle in his mind…

Wait, these are his men; why is he thinking about taking him to run away.

When adrenaline is rushing through Murong Jihua’s veins, He Jünle suddenly snaps his fingers, and suddenly the lights come on, along with the tunes of heavy rock music.

“???”

“Three, two, one——”

Someone is counting.

“Happy Third Marriage Day-niversary for Boss He and His Furen!”

——The sounds echo on and on.