SVWL Chapter 71.1

From now on, SVWL will get double updates because I want to quickly finish this + DPPM.

Coming out of the hotel elevator, Zhu Tong couldn’t help but turn his head. Worry laced in his tone, he said, “The one outside the door just now…”

Shao Ming squeezed his hand and asked, “Which one?”

Zhu Tong turned his head to look at him.

The smile on Shao Ming’s face was the kind of smile that came from the heart. Zhu Tong was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, ‘Shao Ming’s smile is really better than his usual signature smile.’

The two of them came out of the hotel room and were seen by someone on the spot. That girl was another student from the same competition Shao Ming participated in. However, Shao Ming’s reaction was that he was neither nervous or worried, as if nothing happened.

Zhu Tong hesitated. “Your friend… will she misunderstand something?”

Shao Ming asked back, “Misunderstand?”

Zhu Tong: “…”

Oh, it’s not a misunderstanding anymore.

They have already dated for real this time. 

He is now Shao Ming’s boyfriend. 

“But we didn’t do anything. If she thinks too much, will it be bad for you… right?” 

Shao Ming was here to participate in the competition. What if it’s a big deal having an extra person in his room? Will this stain Shao Ming’s reputation? 

As Zhu Tong thought deeply about it, Shao Ming only suddenly chuckled and said, “I don’t think much of it.”

Zhu Tong: “How do you know she won’t think too much?”

Shao Ming: “I’m not saying she wouldn’t do that. I mean, it’s just that what she thought might have been a bit ahead of time. I haven’t had the chance to do it yet.: 

That implied… Shao Ming wanted to do “something”, but still haven’t had the chance to do it yet. 

Zhu Tong was stunned.

Just… what does Shao Ming want to do?

“And we don’t seem to have done anything.”

Shao Ming tilted his head suddenly and glanced at the shorter youth’s lips. There’s still “traces” on it that still haven’t faded. It told quite a few stories. 

Realizing where Shao Ming’s sight fell, Zhu Tong was startled, the temperature on his face rose sharply. He subconsciously wanted to stay away from Shao Ming, but since their hands were clasped tightly, he couldn’t pull it at all.

Zhu Tong suddenly understood why couples like to hold hands with their fingers intertwined — because they can hold them more firmly.

Shao Ming held him tightly, seeing his ears turn red, and soothingly said, “If you don’t like me, I won’t say anything more about it. But wanting to dump me right after accepting my confession, Little Young Master, are you so quick to abandon someone you’ve started a relationship with?”

Zhu Tong: “…”

His restless hand immediately shrunk, suddenly losing their strength.

He looked up at Shao Ming, and then quickly lowered his head and said, “No, no.”

“Mn, it’s not good.”

Shao Ming was just teasing him and didn’t take it seriously. As they walked over from the direction of the elevator, passing through the lobby on the first floor and preparing to exit through the revolving door, the hand that had just been trying to break free suddenly tightened on its own.

Zhu Tong suddenly seriously said, “I will never abandon you.” 

Shao Ming: “…”

Shao Ming felt that his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

After a momentary blank, he suddenly laughed: “Young Master, you are too cunning.”

Zhu Tong: “What?”

He was just afraid that Shao Ming would think too much, how could he be cunning?

Shao Ming’s eyes darkened slightly, “What if I want to kiss you now?”

“!”

Zhu Tong was stunned in place. 

He looked at the hotel lobby. There was a young lady standing at the front desk. Outside the revolving door was a brightly lit city night scene. Although no one could be seen now, someone might come in at any time.

Kiss here? 

As Zhu Tong’s brain short-circuited due to his flustered state, Ming took a deep breath and said, “Don’t say such things when we’re outside in the future.”

The entrance of a hotel was too public for his taste. 

Before the little young master innocently asked why, Shao Ming had already pulled him out through the revolving door.

Xiao Lin had already driven the car outside the hotel.

Zhu Tong was practically shoved into the back seat by Shao Ming, it was literal shoving; his own head even followed along. Shao Ming then fastened Zhu Tong’s seatbelt before stepping out of the car himself. Just before leaving, he whispered in Zhu Tong’s ear, “Goodbye, boyfriend.”

“…”

Zhu Tong’s heart beat erratically. 

Shao Ming once again used this different name to remind them of the new relationship status between them.

At first, there was a slight sense of unreality, but bit by bit, Shao Ming grounded him, giving the impression that this was how it should be, that it should have been like this all along.

Zhu Tong’s heart felt warm. 

Shao Ming had already stood outside the car, and Zhu Tong couldn’t call out that “boyfriend” as naturally as Shao Ming did. He simply said, “Goodbye.”

Then he looked at the driver in front of him.

Xiao Lin is a good driver. He only looked ahead at the road. Even if he overheard things and it made his thoughts go wild, he’s going to pretend he saw nothing. 

When the car door was closed, Zhu Tong was still reminiscing about Shao Ming’s voice calling him “boyfriend”.

He came to the hotel because he wanted to confirm the reason for his drop in favorability.

Before he came, he didn’t expect that the relationship between the two would change so much; nor did he expect Shao Ming to believe his words so easily, even thought he didn’t tell the whole story.

He didn’t say anything about the system.

Shao Ming was a very cautious person. While he looked casual and straightforward with his peers, he actually had a lot of things buried in his heart, away from others’ prying eyes. 

It’s not easy for him to open his heart for just anyone. 

If he said it like that, it really meant that Shao Ming truly liked him. 

So, if he implied something about the system, and asked about why the favorability level isn’t full yet, maybe Shao Ming would misunderstand things and thought he didn’t like Zhu Tong enough for such feelings to be true… 

Maybe it’s good to keep it a secret forever in his heart.

Thinking like this, he suddenly remembered something. Seeing the figure outside the window already so far away, Zhu Tong was startled and quickly said, “Xiao Lin-ge, please reverse the car for a moment.”

“…”

Xiao Lin said, “Okay, Young Master.”

Shao Ming was still standing at the entrance of the hotel, and was slightly surprised when he saw the car that had already driven out of the hotel suddenly backed up.

The car stopped in front of him again.

Zhu Tong quickly unfastened his seat belt, pushed open the car door and got out of the car. He looked a little anxious. After getting out of the car and seeing Shao Ming, he was suddenly stunned.

Shao Ming smiled and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The only thing on Zhu Tong’s mind was just his “secret”. 

He has secrets, and so is Shao Ming. 

Zhu Tong hesitantly said, “That… before returning to A City, you said you would tell me a secret when I go back… What is it?”

“…”

Shao Ming looked slightly baffled. “You returned just for this?” 

Zhu Tong: “…”

…True, why didn’t he just ask him via a call or something? 

Why did he have to ask Xiao Lin to reverse the car? 

Just what was he thinking?? 

But now he really wanted to know.

Shao Ming couldn’t help but smile. “Didn’t I already tell you that secret?”

Zhu Tong said in shock, “Tell me? When?”

Shao Ming looked at his lips and smiled without saying a word.

Zhu Tong suddenly understood something. His head felt woozy, and he hurriedly said, “I see, I… I’m leaving.”

He got back into the car and slammed the door shut.

This time the car drove straight out of the hotel and never came back.

Shao Ming only stood still with a satisfied smile on his lips. He took out his mobile phone and sent him a message.

<Shao>: What I said today… I originally planned to wait for you to go back to tell you.

<Shao>: Because I want you to come back early, I’ll tell you a secret. 

<Shao>: Actually, it’s not a secret.

<Shao>: Zhu Tong, I like you.

From the moment his phone vibrated for the first time, Zhu Tong was already looking at it. 

He looked at the messages that popped up one by one in the chat window. The phone’s vibration felt like it also shook his heart. 

His heart was like a turbulent sea. But for some reason, the words he couldn’t say before flowed freely when in text form. 

He held his phone and typed a reply with both hands.

<Zhu>: I like you too. 

After sending it, he immediately turned off his phone. His face was slightly hot, but his heart was relaxed and calm.

He rolled down the car window a little, and the cold wind rushed in instantly.

The street lights outside the window were bright – myriad of lights, myriad of colors all dotted the darkened landscape, as if it could even chase the shadows in people’s heart, leaving it clear of murkiness.

The corners of Zhu Tong’s lips kept rising. He even felt that the cool wind blowing on his face had a faint sweet taste on it. 

Outside the hotel, Shao Ming looked at a few heart-pounding words displayed on his mobile phone. With a giddy smile, he took his sweet time to return back to his hotel room. 

He looked up at the direction where Zhu Tong left.

He had never thought before that he would one day believe in some illusory things like feelings.

Since he was a child, he never relied on such a thing. He couldn’t even rely on the things that exist in reality, so why could he believe in an illusory thing? 

But Zhu Tong. that youth had always been so unusual from the moment he appeared in front of Shao Ming. 

‘Is there a self-rescue method that can’t be said? What could it be? Is it related to him?’ With a slight pursing of his thin lips, Shao Ming hadn’t figured out anything yet when his phone rang.

When he decided to come to A City, he knew that he would not be peaceful here.

That person – who wanted Shao Ming to “return” to his family, who wanted to take advantage of him, who wanted to control his life. After seeing Zhu Tong protecting him at the banquet, there’s no way he wouldn’t intensify his efforts to disturb him.

Ignoring it all the time wouldn’t solve this problem. 

Shao Ming watched the phone keep ringing, and pressed the answer button before it could automatically hang up. 

The person on the phone went straight to the point, and his tone was arrogant, “Do you want to be with Zhu Tong? I can help you.”

Shao Ming raised his eyebrows and said, “Oh? How can you help?”

“When you come back to me, I’ll give you the identity that enables you to stand by his side.” 

Shao Ming only smiled. “It sounds good, but then how do you plan to make your illegitimate son match his status?”

The person on the phone paused as he took a breath and said solemnly, “Who told you that you were an illegitimate child, you…”

After a moment’s pause, the person continued, “I’ll give you three days to consider. Whether it’s Zhu Shoushan or Liu Jianbai, with your current status, in their eyes, you’re not even worth a flea. If they find out about your relationship with Zhu Tong, you won’t even have a chance to get close to him again. You’re on your own.”

After he finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

Shao Ming sneered at the ended call. 

“You’re on your own?”

Good. 

What, does that man think that he finally found his Achilles’ Heel, and wanted to exploit his weakness? 

But he didn’t come to A City just to be bullied.

He casually put away his phone, turned around and walked into the revolving door.