Translator: Moonlit
Editor: Aiya-ge
It was a rather ordinary morning when Li ZouXing woke up, but his first impression was that something was amiss.
In the dormitory of Chengyang Military Academy, the bed across from him was neat and empty.
Li ZouXing stared at the empty bed, his brows furrowing.
About ten minutes later, there was a knock on his door. Gu WenCheng sauntered in with a charming demeanor, exchanged a greeting, and then sat on the opposite bed, a playful smile on his lips. “Good morning.”
Li ZouXing gazed at him in silence.
“Nana has prepared breakfast,” Gu WenCheng said as he got up to take off his shirt for a change of clothes. “If you’re hungry, let her serve you first.”
His back bore a series of faint and delicate kiss marks, and there were sharp nail scratches that hinted at a woman’s touch.
Li ZouXing felt a whirlwind of confusion in his mind, a dull and throbbing pain. He stood up, approached Gu WenCheng from behind, and couldn’t help but use his fingertips to touch the kiss marks on his back.
But before he could touch them, his wrist was firmly grasped by Gu WenCheng.
The previously playful smile on Gu WenCheng’s face faded, replaced by a deep suspicion in his eyes. He turned around, licked the corner of his mouth where the skin was broken, and asked, “ZouXing, what are you trying to do?”
The grip on Li ZouXing’s wrist was ruthless. He knew that Gu WenCheng’s mental energy was already all over his neck, ready to take his life at the slightest hint of wrongdoing.
However, he felt nothing. He couldn’t sense the overwhelmingly sticky mental energy directed at him, nor could he detect any changes in Gu WenCheng’s demeanor.
The connection that used to bind them seemed to have been completely severed.
The Gu WenCheng before him had clear and determined eyes, a sly smile with a hidden blade, and an air of charm. Even in his every move, you could still sense the masculine aroma left behind after intimacy.
But there was no trace of the familiar fragrance that Li ZouXing knew.
He silently freed himself from Gu WenCheng’s grip and said, “It’s nothing.”
He left the room slowly.
Outside the room, everything was still in its familiar arrangement, warm and welcoming. However, it was Nana who was busy in the living room and kitchen with her hair scattered.
Nana saw him come out, and her face was even more embarrassed. She placed the hot dishes on the table and said, “I’m showing off my cooking skills for once, ZouXing. Please don’t be picky.”
Li ZouXing’s mind was in turmoil, but he tried his best not to show it. He nodded stiffly at this moment, and his movements and expressions were all rigid.
Gu WenCheng came out of the room after changing clothes, squinting as he watched Li ZouXing’s retreating figure. Why was Li ZouXing acting so strangely today?
“WenCheng,” Nana noticed him, and her ears turned red. Her girlish demeanor was mixed with the mature woman’s touch of coquettishness and a hint of annoyance. “Why did it take you so long to change clothes? The congee I cooked for you has gone cold.”
Gu WenCheng chuckled softly, approached Nana, and embraced her, planting a kiss on her silky hair. The image of them hugging looked like a match made in heaven.
“WenCheng, ZouXing is still watching!”
She blushed and tried to hide, but Gu WenCheng held her close, looking at Li ZouXing with a radiant smile. “He’s my brother; why would he mind…”
When Li ZouXing felt Gu WenCheng’s gaze, he had already turned his face away. His profile was sharp and his expression icy, lips pursed as if he was containing something.
Gu WenCheng’s words trailed off, and he furrowed his brow.
“I’ll go call…” Li ZouXing’s voice was slightly hoarse. “I’ll get Ji Yu and the others.”
Today, he was particularly cold towards Gu WenCheng, and Gu WenCheng responded with indifference. “Go ahead.”
Li ZouXing didn’t hesitate, walked past the couple in the middle, and knocked on Ji Yu and Ling Nian’s door.
Ji Yu opened the door for him, and when he saw it was Li ZouXing, his smile grew broader. “What’s up, ZouXing?”
His teammates felt familiar, but their relationships were more polite and less intimate than he remembered. Yes, in this world, this was the Gu WenCheng the author had portrayed.
Li ZouXing stood still for a few seconds, then walked up to Ling Nian. “Ling Nian, it’s time to eat.”
He was prepared for Ling Nian to be different from the person he remembered.
Ling Nian opened the door, his gaze sharp as he examined Li ZouXing. “Your tone doesn’t sound right… Are you feeling unwell today?”
Li ZouXing’s peripheral vision involuntarily drifted towards Gu WenCheng and Nana. “No.”
However, this glance was captured by Ling Nian, and Ling Nian’s eyes suddenly lit up. He pulled Li ZouXing into the room in one swift motion.
The door slammed shut, and Gu WenCheng immediately looked toward the source of the sound. His expression was uncertain, and his invisible mental energy crawled forward until it reached Ling Nian’s door.
Yet, he couldn’t hear anything from his mental energy.
…
Inside the room…
“ZouXing, you are ZouXing, right?” Ling Nian’s hand, holding Li ZouXing’s arm, trembled slightly. He stared intensely at Li ZouXing, not missing any of his expressions.
His words were a bit chaotic, but Li ZouXing knew what he meant.
The Dream Team often used mental communication as an internal channel, and this familiar sensation rushed back to him. Li ZouXing gazed at Ling Nian with a mixture of surprise and astonishment.
“Ling Nian,” he steadied his breath, and his voice trembled slightly, “Yes, it’s me.”
In an instant, Ling Nian’s eyes became moist.
He felt like he had just woken up from a long, beautiful dream. In the dream, the Dream Team was his family, the kind of family he would protect at all costs. In this dream, they were all happy and carefree, growing together as they fought criminals and shared drinks under a starry sky.
His pain was soothed by his teammates, and in turn, he protected their happiness.
But upon waking up, the whole world was different.
The Dream Team was different.
Two grown men faced each other, both knowing that what had happened before was not a dream.
Fortunately, they still had their brothers.
Li ZouXing and Ling Nian tightly held hands for a moment, then composed themselves and walked out of that door.
The rest of the Dream Team and Nana were already sitting in the dining room.
Seeing them come out together from Ling Nian’s room, Xi Nan looked at them with confusion. “When did you two become so close?”
Ji Yu didn’t hold back and playfully knocked Xi Nan on the head, then smiled apologetically at Li ZouXing and Ling Nian. “Sorry, Xi Nan isn’t very good with words.”
“No problem,” Li ZouXing walked over to Xi Nan, glanced at the food in front of them, then reached out to swap the sweet and sour dish from a distance to his spot. He then ruffled Xi Nan’s hair in a customary manner. “You like this dish, don’t you?”
Xi Nan secretly glanced at him.
Ji Yu looked surprised, and Li ZouXing smiled at him, advising, “Don’t sneak a sip of cold water. You always get a stomachache when you do.”
“This is much appreciated,” Ji Yu’s face blushed slightly. “I won’t.”
Ling Nian sat next to him and naturally handed him a cup of hot water.
Li ZouXing suddenly felt someone’s gaze on him. Following his instincts, he turned his head and locked eyes with Gu WenCheng, who not only didn’t avert his gaze but also deepened his smile. Li ZouXing pulled the empty seat beside Gu WenCheng.
Seated on Gu WenCheng’s left was Nana. His long arm was draped affectionately over Nana’s shoulder.
“You guys are close,” Li ZouXing sat down and remained silent for a moment. Then, he suddenly spoke, showing little emotion, “Have you defined your relationship?”
In the original story, Nana was the nominal main consort. Hundreds of children were called Gu WenCheng’s spiritual companions, the foxy-eared Tar Star woman was his beloved pet, Sophia was the queen, and Ren Qingying was a mediator.
Each female lead played a unique role by Gu WenCheng’s side.
Ling Nian’s hand moved slightly, and he looked at Li ZouXing with concern.
Once he knew what Gu WenCheng was like here, he understood that this was torment for Li ZouXing.
Nana, like a delicate flower, fluttered her eyelashes, too shy to lift her head. She pushed Gu WenCheng gently and said, “ZouXing asked you a question.”
Gu WenCheng took her hand, kissed it, and said with a smile, “Do I even need to say it?”
He looked at Li ZouXing, but something in his gaze held him back. He kept the hand by his lips but seemed absent-minded, unable to continue the kiss.
“Gu WenCheng?”
Gu WenCheng snapped back to reality and kissed her hand as if nothing had happened. “In the future, my teammates will have to call you ‘big sister-in-law.'”
Ji Yu and Xi Nan cooperatively called her “big sister-in-law.”
Ling Nian, who was watching from the sidelines, clenched his utensils and felt his heart ache. He couldn’t speak or express his emotions, but he knew that every word Gu WenCheng said pierced Li ZouXing’s heart, making Li ZouXing hurt even more.
“Big sister-in-law,” Li ZouXing said.
Ling Nian paused for a moment and also followed, “Big sister-in-law.”
“Don’t be like that,” Nana, almost hiding in Gu WenCheng’s embrace, couldn’t help but laugh. “WenCheng, you’re too naughty! We’re all so close now; there’s no need to call me ‘big sister-in-law.'”
Gu WenCheng then started speaking sweet nothings to her again.
His tone of endearment, upon closer inspection, carried a hint of casualness. The sweet words he deliberately spoke were just sweet words, with a core that remained cold and indifferent. Nobody was truly important in his heart.
Li ZouXing focused on his meal, realizing that this Gu WenCheng was just Gu WenCheng. After finishing his meal, he stood up and said, “I’m going to the training room.”
If he were the only one in this world, he might have suspected it was an author’s plot. However, Ling Nian was here too, so improving their strength was always a good idea.
This wasn’t their world, and they needed to find a way back.
Ling Nian naturally went with him. Gu WenCheng watched their departing figures with a slightly cold gaze.
Even if they were teammates, Gu WenCheng’s suspicions and paranoia never waned.
Trust, it was something he never gave to others.
And so, three uneventful days passed, and there was a subtle change in the atmosphere within the Dream Team.
Ji Yu and Xi Nan noticed the change in Li ZouXing and Ling Nian’s attitudes toward them. It was a very subtle shift, so slight that Li ZouXing and Ling Nian’s actions appeared almost habitual. They seemed to understand Ji Yu and Xi Nan’s every glance and movement, and even their gazes directed at them were incredibly gentle.
Ji Yu and Xi Nan even began to feel as though Li ZouXing and Ling Nian loved them. But the feeling was strange, and they both started to think they might be misinterpreting things.
After several days of relentless training without a break, Li ZouXing hadn’t seen Gu WenCheng for days. On this particular day, after finishing training, he opened the fridge to find some water.
The first row in the fridge contained several rows of alcohol. Li ZouXing’s eyes softened, and he picked up a bottle, twirling it in his hand. This was Gu WenCheng’s favorite drink, or to be precise, his favorite low-alcohol content drink.
Holding the bottle, he couldn’t help but think of Gu WenCheng.
The scenery was familiar, but the people were not.
He stood in front of the fridge, letting the cold air blow on him for a while before gripping the bottle and closing the fridge door.
Alone, he took a wine glass and sat at the table, tasting the wine that his lover often enjoyed. If he deluded himself a bit more, he could even imagine that the person was right there with him.
Li ZouXing couldn’t help but smile and had another glass of wine. In no time, the bottom of the glass was all that remained.
Sophia emerged from Gu WenCheng’s room, her eyes filled with allure. She blew a kiss to Gu WenCheng as she left, gave a polite smile to Li ZouXing when she saw him, and left the room with a radiant smile.
Li ZouXing still had his eyes closed, sipping the wine as if he were completely oblivious to the presence in the room.
Gu WenCheng leaned against the doorframe, his handsome face and pristine shirt collar both marked with crimson lip prints. He had a charming smile on his lips as he watched Sophia leave and then finally fixed his gaze on Li ZouXing at the dining table.
A strong person’s senses were keen, and he could smell the scent of the wine that he loved so much.
Gu WenCheng walked over calmly, pulled out the chair next to Li ZouXing, and sat down in a leisurely manner. “ZouXing.”
Li ZouXing still had his eyes closed but turned in Gu WenCheng’s direction.
Gu WenCheng’s voice echoed in his ears as if he was truly right there with him, calling his name, “ZouXing, ZouXing, ZouXing.”
Gu WenCheng watched as Li ZouXing slowly opened his eyes.
He could see every subtle movement, even the slight quiver of his eyelids and the fluttering of his eyelashes. These past few days, Gu WenCheng couldn’t quite understand Li ZouXing. Watching him now was an attempt to determine if Li ZouXing had any thoughts of betrayal.
So, Gu WenCheng smiled warmly, his face adorned with crimson prints, along with a hint of the heartless charm of a rogue.
“Why have you been burying yourself in the training room recently?” he asked, feigning concern that was easy to see through. His eyes only showed a shallow layer of care.
Li ZouXing’s dark eyes saw through his feigned concern, and suddenly, his hand moved to support the table.
Li ZouXing remained seated but his upper body kept inching closer to Gu WenCheng.
The thick, clinging scent of alcohol danced between the two, subtly and sorrowfully saturating the atmosphere.
Gu WenCheng watched him silently.
When they were about to cross an invisible boundary, Li ZouXing abruptly stopped. The scent of a woman’s perfume and lipstick wafted to his nostrils, and at this proximity, he could discern the indifference and amusement in Gu WenCheng’s eyes.
He withdrew with restraint and aloofness, saying, “I’m sorry.”
This was Gu WenCheng, yet not Gu WenCheng.
The alcohol had momentarily clouded his vision, suppressing his rationality and emotions. Li ZouXing politely smiled, “I mistook you for someone else.”
His heart was throbbing, but Li ZouXing was a master of deception, and his smile at that moment seemed as casual as any other smile.
He rose and walked away, his steps quick but unsteady.
Gu WenCheng’s eyes flickered as he watched Li ZouXing return to his room. He picked up the bottle on the table, poured the last, thin layer into his glass, and tasted it himself.
Translator’s corner:
Moonlit: I feel scammed T^T The author said that the extras will be sweet… BUT WHAT’S WITH THIS ANOTHER SOURCE OF FRUSTRATION?!??! huhuhu ;-;
