In order to prevent himself from being deceived by Jing Yicheng’s current appearance, Xu Chenghao repeatedly reminded himself in his mind. He even began to recall the first meeting when the other person looked cool and flashy, trying to establish a sense of distance based on the character in the storyline, to keep himself alert.
But when he returned home and saw the other person standing at the door in silence, he couldn’t help but feel pity. He couldn’t bring himself to close the door with his finger pressed on it for a long time. Finally, he sighed and said, “Come in.”
Jing Yicheng instantly looked up, his eyes shining, and followed him home.
The room’s light was turned on, illuminating the entire living room. After a noisy night, there was finally some tranquility. Xu Chenghao rested on the sofa for a while and suddenly felt a bit hungry.
It was already late at night, and the auntie had long finished her work. There probably wouldn’t be any delivery at this hour. Xu Chenghao went into the kitchen, rummaged for a while, and brought out a pack of noodles. He called to the living room, “Are you hungry?”
Jing Yicheng lowered his head to look at his stomach, solemnly saying, “If you eat, I’ll eat.”
“Then let’s eat together.”
Xu Chenghao cooked the noodles, opened the fridge for a moment, and finally took out tomatoes and eggs. Well, to be honest, his culinary skills weren’t that great. At most, he could make some simple home-cooked dishes, and the taste was just passable. As for the rest… let’s not talk about it.
In the kitchen, Xu Chenghao washed the tomatoes and cut them into pieces, beat the eggs and set them aside, then heated the oil in the pan and began to stir-fry the toppings.
The entire process was observed by Jing Yicheng standing at the kitchen door, his eyes shining as if he had discovered some priceless treasure.
It was difficult for him to describe his current feelings, so complex that he could only recall the emotion of happiness. His heart and eyes were filled with the presence of Xu Chenghao, and he found himself irresistibly drawn, unable to look away.
Perhaps his focus was too intense, causing Xu Chenghao to emit a purple light again in his vision. This time, the light was noticeably thicker, like a thin layer of purple veil covering Xu Chenghao’s figure. Subconsciously, Jing Yicheng reached out to lift the purple veil.
Confused, Xu Chenghao turned his head, “What’s wrong?”
Jing Yicheng snapped back to reality, awkwardly withdrawing his hand, “Hungry… I’m hungry.”
“It’s ready.” Xu Chenghao lifted the noodles with the stir-fried tomato and egg topping onto the plate, giving a heads-up, “My cooking skills can only be described as not lethal, so be mentally prepared… Oh? Maybe you should just have plain noodles.”
“I won’t.” Jing Yicheng followed behind him with a bowl and chopsticks, “One should challenge oneself more.”
Xu Chenghao placed the noodles on the table, “True, after eating my food, you might appreciate Auntie’s cooking even more, hahaha.”
Jing Yicheng arranged his bowl and chopsticks, looking up at Xu Chenghao’s smiling face with a slightly trance-like expression.
Snap! Xu Chenghao snapped his fingers in front of him, “Scared you? Don’t worry, my cooking won’t kill anyone.”
Jing Yicheng smiled, sat down, and started eating noodles with him.
Compared to Auntie’s cooking, it was undoubtedly miles apart in taste. Xu Chenghao even told himself to eat it tolerably and have more of Auntie’s cooking tomorrow morning. However, Jing Yicheng remained silent, quickly finishing the large bowl of noodles left in front of him.
Xu Chenghao estimated that Jing Yicheng was genuinely hungry. After he finished eating, he became serious, knocking on the table and saying, “Now that we’re done eating, let’s talk about Zhuo Meixue.”
Jing Yicheng immediately stiffened, and his mood sank. He even tried to avoid the topic, saying, “I’ve said everything I should say. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
After observing him for a moment, Xu Chenghao suddenly said, “Wait a moment!”
Without waiting for Jing Yicheng to react, Xu Chenghao got up, entered his bedroom, fumbled around for a while, and came out holding a little yellow duck plush pillow with a pen and notebook. He sat back down.
Jing Yicheng felt that the conversation seemed different from what he had expected. Growing more nervous, he sat up straight in his seat, resembling a convict about to be sentenced.
Holding the little yellow duck plush pillow, Xu Chenghao cleared his throat, “Do you want to get back the little yellow duck plush pillow?”
Jing Yicheng looked at the pillow silently, “Yes.”
Xu Chenghao: “Do you want the little peppers?”
Jing Yicheng slightly raised his voice: “Yes!”
Xu Chenghao: “Very well. Regarding the Zhuo Meixue situation, since it has already happened, I don’t want to say much about it. Regarding handling values, I don’t want to lecture you on high principles. From now on, there’s only one thing: as long as you control your dangerous thoughts and various extreme behaviors, even during the experiment, you can come to me for the little peppers for every achievement. If there’s no little pepper, I’ll buy you a little yellow duck plush pillow. Deal?”
Jing Yicheng frowned: “How do I let you know?”
Xu Chenghao grabbed a pen and paper, “You can say it however you want, but you have to write me a letter of assurance. Promise that everything you say is the truth and that you won’t lie for the sake of the little yellow duck plush pillows or little pepper. If you lie, then… I’ll hand over the little yellow duck plush pillow or little pepper to Li Nian!”
Jing Yicheng immediately sat up straight: “I promise not to lie!”
Xu Chenghao pushed the paper and pen towards him: “Words alone are not enough.”
Jing Yicheng glanced at his expression, silently picked up the pen, and wrote the letter of assurance. Finally, he signed his name and added the date, nervously saying, “As long as I don’t lie, this letter of assurance is valid.”
Xu Chenghao carefully put away the notebook: “So it still depends on you.”
Jing Yicheng’s gaze followed the movement of the notebook. Before he could react, Xu Chenghao threw the little yellow duck plush pillow that he had been holding into his arms, saying, “Here, you can have your pillow. Consider it a reward for voluntarily writing the commitment letter. As for other rewards, you’ll have to control yourself. Got it?”
Jing Yicheng nodded silently.
Xu Chenghao: “Very well, go to sleep!”
It was already 4 a.m. Xu Chenghao, exhausted, locked the notebook in the safe, freshened up, and quickly fell asleep.
In the living room, Jing Yicheng hugged the soft and fluffy little yellow duck plush pillow in his arms. His gaze lingered on Xu Chenghao’s bedroom door for a long time. Eventually, a smile crept onto his face. He then buried his face in the pillow.
There were no lengthy accusations as imagined, no arguments about right or wrong to refute him, and no pretending to be unafraid while wearing a mask to live with him due to differing values.
On the contrary, Xu Chenghao not only cooked for him but also rewarded him. He tried to change him in his own way, even if it seemed like coaxing a child. The chili used was even the one they had signed a contract for, but he was still happy, very, very happy!
He liked this feeling a lot and also liked him a lot… and wanted to possess him even more…
Ding! The phone on the table suddenly rang, pulling Jing Yicheng out of his own world. He casually looked at the message displayed on the phone’s lock screen, and his smile faded slightly.
Assistant: “Zhuo Meixue is awake.”
…
After Zhuo Meixue completed the surgery, she had been lying on the hospital bed in a daze. Even with the calming effect of sedatives, she couldn’t sleep soundly. Wrapped in a weak manner in the blue and white hospital gown, her complexion was pale and unattractive. No one would have expected that she was once a glamorous and beautiful queen of the internet before today.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide, breathing heavily as if she had just struggled out of a nightmare. She stared intensely ahead, her gaze filled with fear.
She dreamed again of the scene where her legs were pierced, of Ruan Chenxuan’s disdainful manipulation, and of… someone walking up to her and saving her.
Zhuo Meixue lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling in the darkness. The events of her past seemed to flash by like a fleeting moment in her mind, freezing at the dark muzzles of guns.
Ruan Chenxuan! Jing Yicheng!
A strong sense of hatred suddenly burst out in Zhuo Meixue’s eyes. Her hands in the blanket clenched tightly, venting her anger by piercing sharply with her sharp nails.
She knew she was finished, completely ruined! Ruan Chenxuan would never marry a disabled wife to become the mistress of their family. The entertainment industry wouldn’t invest heavily in promoting someone who was now a helpless waste. With the rapid turnover of young talents in the entertainment industry, who would remember Zhuo Meixue in less than a year?
Zhuo Meixue suddenly felt a profound sense of sorrow because she knew that her future in the wealthy family was gone, and her retreat in the entertainment industry was also cut off. She had nothing left but a disabled and powerless body.
She regrets, regrets falling for the two-faced man Ruan Chenxuan! With so many men offering olive branches to marry into a wealthy family, why did she go through the trouble of turning herself into this for him? Now she can only regret because no one will stand against Ruan Chenxuan and Jing Yicheng for her, not even the once ardent pursuers who made promises under oath.
Zhuo Meixue felt that continuing to live in this world was meaningless. She could imagine the difficult survival ahead and the words and looks of ridicule or sympathy from the entire world.
Since it’s like this, what’s the use of struggling so hard? It’s better to die together with a few scapegoats!
Jing Yicheng… Ruan Chenxuan…
Before the harsh words were spoken, the room lights suddenly came on. Zhuo Meixue subconsciously closed her eyes, listening nervously to the footsteps approaching step by step. Her hands under the covers were trembling.
Jing Yicheng’s voice floated lightly: “Awake?”
Zhuo Meixue’s disguise failed. She opened her eyes wide and looked at Jing Yicheng with a hatred almost tangible in her eyes, “What do you want to do!”
Jing Yicheng stood by the bed, looking down at her from a higher position, seemingly appreciating her hatred, “Nice eyes. In the past, I would have kept them preserved for the moment when you hated me the most, to be taken out as a specimen, to admire every day.”
Zhuo Meixue’s face turned pale, and she suddenly averted her gaze, unable to utter a single word. Because she knew Jing Yicheng was not joking; his eyes were full of seriousness; he was truly very twisted!
Jing Yicheng seemed to think her reaction was good. A hint of a smile appeared on his face. Maintaining the smile, he took out from his lower back the object Zhuo Meixue feared the most. He aimed the black barrel, a nightmare that constantly appeared in her dreams, at her leg, and slowly said, “I’ve always liked to cut off the grass and remove the roots, eliminating all uncertain factors.”
The gun barrel slowly moved up, aiming at the chest where the heart is located. “Especially people like you who actively provoke me and still hold a grudge against me. The look in your eyes just now was so beautiful that it makes me want to see it again, perhaps in hell.” As the words fell, the arm stopped moving up, aligning perfectly with her head.
Jing Yicheng maintained a smile on his face, his finger gently pressing the trigger.
Zhuo Meixue immediately hugged her head and screamed, “Ah ah ah ah—”
The piercing scream was particularly noisy in the ward, but the door remained closed, and no one came in to check the situation. It felt as if she had been abandoned by the world; a massive panic and unease flooded Zhuo Meixue, and she could only hold her head and scream continuously to vent her fear, shouting until her throat became hoarse and breathless.
Jing Yicheng clicked his tongue, looking quite displeased at this noisy woman, and all the little malicious thoughts he had disappeared: “Shut up!”
Zhuo Meixue had completely lost her mind; the screams were like continuous noise pollution.
Jing Yicheng frowned and aimed three shots directly, bang bang bang.
The room instantly fell silent. Zhuo Meixue remained frozen in place, holding her head, trembling all over. The three clear bullet marks near her head indicated what had just happened.
Jing Yicheng ran out of patience, coldly saying, “You should be grateful that I’ve agreed with someone to
change the way of handling things; otherwise, three lives wouldn’t be enough for you tonight!”
Zhuo Meixue had completely lost her reaction; her entire being seemed dull as if she had been scared into a stupor.
Jing Yicheng, regardless of whether she is pretending to be foolish or genuinely naive, said coldly, “Treasure my kindness and don’t provoke me again. Otherwise, next time, I won’t leave you unscathed!”
After saying this, Jing Yicheng slammed the door and left, not bothering to waste more words. The old him would never have imagined that one day he would threaten someone with harsh words—after all, he used to believe in actions rather than words, and only those who couldn’t fulfill their promises would resort to such threats.
But thinking about having Little Pepper to compensate made it worthwhile. Tomorrow, he would go find Xu Chenghao to exchange!
Jing Yicheng left the clinic in a good mood. His assistant was already waiting by the car, and upon seeing him approach, quickly opened the car door, asking, “Have you finished handling things?”
Jing Yicheng sat in the car and casually said, “What do you mean by handling? We’re civilized people; we resolve things in a regulated manner.”
The assistant had a puzzled expression, “Ah?”
Jing Yicheng proudly remarked, “You wouldn’t understand.”
Assistant: “…”
Indeed, he didn’t understand, but he asked, “Are you just going to let Zhuo Meixue go like this? Aren’t you afraid of any consequences she might cause by leaving her be?”
The assistant pulled up the clinic’s surveillance footage for Jing Yicheng to see. The footage showed that as their car left the clinic, a head suddenly popped out of a window, staring fixedly in the direction the car was leaving. It seemed like the person wanted to etch the car’s license plate into their memory. Finally, with trembling legs, the person fell down, in pain and fear, murmuring continuously, “I will seek revenge! I will definitely seek revenge!”
Who else could this be if not Zhuo Meixue, who had just pretended to be crazy and silly moments ago?
Jing Yicheng raised his hand and closed the laptop calmly, saying, “As for her, I haven’t taken her seriously.”
The assistant frowned, “I remember you used to say that a thousand miles collapse due to ant holes, and one shouldn’t overlook the inherent danger of something just because it seems small.”
Jing Yicheng retorted, “Did I say that?”
Assistant: “…………”
After a quiet three seconds, the assistant immediately put on a fake smile and said, “No, I remembered it wrong. We have always handled things with civility and humanity, never using force!”
Anyone would find this statement suspicious, but Jing Yicheng remained impassive and said, “Since everyone knows, there’s no need to continue this topic, alright?”
Assistant: “You can say anything about the salary you’re paying.”
Jing Yicheng: “……”
Forget it, he’d better save some energy and go back to ask Xu Chenghao for chili pepper.
On the way back to the residential area in silence, Jing Yicheng, when taking the elevator home, unexpectedly encountered the person who was watching over his house.
The person looked like a giant panda, with two big dark circles under his eyes: “I’m retreating. Congratulations, Mr. Jing, for successfully rejecting the order.”
Jing Yicheng: “Goodbye.”
The person said heavily, “Goodbye.”
Jing Yicheng watched the person leave, then entered the elevator without hesitation and pressed Xu Chenghao’s floor. Familiar with the route, he opened the door and entered Xu Chenghao’s home, planning to quietly return to his room and create the illusion that he hadn’t left.
—The above was purely imaginary. In reality, as soon as he opened the door, Xu Chenghao, sitting on the sofa, looked over at the sound, his gaze somewhat surprised, “Where did you go?”
Jing Yicheng: “Huh?”
The author has something to say: Sexy Villain, online composition.
T/N: I finally finished this chapter! 😮💨 I had wanted to do one more chapter as a celebratory chapter for my birthday today but…. I’m exhausted lol. I’ll send it on Sunday! Have a great weekend!
