Caught in weariness, Jiang Ling drifted into sleep, only to wake up with the bright morning sun outside the window signaling the arrival of a new day. Alone and still groggy, he lifted his hand, finding only faint marks on his wrist from the handcuffs, as if everything had been a mere illusion.
The soft, lethargic feeling had completely vanished, replaced by a newfound vitality. Clearly, this was the handiwork of Chu Wenyu.
Jiang Ling appeared more relaxed and at ease. The room had returned to its original state, with the devices connecting to the star network neatly arranged not far away. Rising from the bed, Jiang Ling approached the window, casually glancing outside to find the guards previously stationed outside the palace now mysteriously absent.
Jiang Ling was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t anticipated such a swift change in the usually stubborn Chu Wenyu overnight. Reflecting on his actions from the previous night, he realized his methods had indeed worked. Despite achieving his goal, it didn’t feel as effortless as he thought. Bringing out such a significant response from Chu Wenyu, he might have been a bit too much.
A moment of realization struck Jiang Ling as he glanced at the electronic calendar on the table. Several days had passed since his ‘confinement,’ and now it was a few days after the announcement of the first round of the championship qualifiers.
Feeling a twinge of guilt, he quickly logged into the star network to check the situation. The sudden disappearances, one after another, undoubtedly had an impact on the overall progress of the team, although unintentionally on his part.
The moment he logged in, Jiang Ling’s avatar lit up, signaling his presence in the virtual realm.
His avatar had always been the default, ordinary, and somewhat ugly system-generated one. Compared to the vibrant, energetic young individuals, the information presented to the public made him seem like an out-of-place middle-aged person.
However, when his avatar lit up, the low-key and outdated appearance of his account didn’t hinder the messages within the Warwick Team group chat. There was a brief pause of two seconds, then everyone quickly noticed this.
After all, they had at least seen Jiang Ling in videos, even if he hadn’t shown his face, his voice alone was pleasant to listen to.
Successive messages popped up in Jiang Ling’s chat, revealing that their team had successfully qualified for the next round, which was already happening. Fortunately, the schedule wasn’t too tight; otherwise, the Warwick Team might have faced challenges during Jiang Ling’s absence.
Simultaneously, his teammates were quite curious about the gossip surrounding this teammate. The captain took the initiative to send a private message, asking, [Brother, have you been having conflicts with your boyfriend these days?]
It was more than just a simple conflict; he had almost lost his freedom. However, Jiang Ling was quite satisfied with the current outcome.
Who made him fall for the villain? A bit of frustration was normal.
Among the flood of messages, an official message from the tournament organizers about inviting him to a meetup stood out prominently.
Jiang Ling had researched the meetup early on. The initial enthusiasm to participate in the tournament was partly driven by the hope of improving their team’s ranking to secure a spot at the meetup, offering him a chance to leave Burke Star. However, due to Anna’s intervention, he had an early opportunity. At present, Jiang Ling had no intention of running away.
Thus, he wasn’t particularly eager about attending the meetup. As he contemplated how to decline, he heard the sound of the door opening.
Without turning around, Jiang Ling knew it was Chu Wenyu.
“Your Majesty, no plans to imprison me now?” Jiang Ling asked in a calm tone.
Chu Wenyu’s change surprised him, but he still doubted whether the other party truly realized his own issues or if it was just another tactic.
However, this time he wouldn’t leave because he realized that the days he spent fleeing in the vast expanse of the galaxy weren’t genuinely happy. Even if he managed to escape successfully, he couldn’t allow himself to truly abandon Chu Wenyu.
So, let’s engage in a battle of wits with His Majesty and solve this together.
Chu Wenyu, however, was unaware of Alpha’s change in mindset; he looked quite haggard. Part of the reason was the discomfort from last night’s intimacy, and a greater part was the torment of Jiang Ling’s lukewarm attitude.
The tyrant, who had always relied on power to obtain what he wanted, failed in his attempt to win Alpha’s heart.
Thus, he no longer angrily sought to force Jiang Ling because it was futile.
He resembled a battered beast, finally learning to take a step back after yet another failure, intending to plead and appease instead.
He didn’t just want Jiang Ling physically; he desired his heart.
Chu Wenyu’s cherry lips, once as bold as blood at their first meeting, now appeared pallid and dry. He didn’t dare to approach Jiang Ling too closely, merely nodding with lowered eyes. “Jiang Ling, I’ll try to restrain myself.”
It wasn’t an absolute guarantee born out of careful consideration; rather, it hinted at a painful attempt to forcibly change what seemed deeply ingrained in his nature.
He still couldn’t help but want to peek at Jiang Ling’s star network interface, eager to know any updates, but this time, he didn’t dare to ask again.
Chu Wenyu packed up everything and left the room in the middle of the night. He feared witnessing Alpha’s expression upon waking up, and the awkwardness of his own challenging movements would leave him even more bewildered. So, he exerted great effort to resist lingering. After sitting alone for who knows how long in a secluded place, watching the sky gradually brighten, and not knowing how much time had passed, he couldn’t help but feel the urge to see Jiang Ling again. Otherwise, he was certain the other party wouldn’t miss him even if they didn’t see each other for a day; it might just be a relief for him.
Jiang Ling noticed Chu Wenyu’s gaze and took the initiative to speak, “The official of the Interstellar Therapist Tournament sent me an invitation to the meetup. Your Majesty, do you think I should go? Oh, by the way, the venue isn’t on Burke Star.”
He stared intently at Chu Wenyu, watching the changes in his expression. Yes, he was testing. He was testing if everything this morning from Chu Wenyu was a disguise or if there had been a genuine change.
Jiang Ling observed as the person in front of him first fidgeted with his fingers, showing some resistance and concern. Still, he reluctantly opened his mouth, “Sure, you’ve always wanted to go, haven’t you?”
After saying that, Chu Wenyu forced a smile, glancing at Jiang Ling.
“Now that Your Majesty has agreed, I’ll go take a look,” Jiang Ling changed his initial decision, wanting to make Chu Wenyu understand that he wouldn’t leave if given the chance, as long as the other stopped hiding and manipulating him.
After Jiang Ling made this decision, Chu Wenyu fell silent for a moment, unable to contain his urgency as he pleaded, “Jiang Ling, let me accompany you, okay? I really can’t bear to be apart from you for so long… I’ll be afraid.”
After speaking, Chu Wenyu felt a tinge of self-disgust. He knew Alpha despised such behavior, but he couldn’t help himself.
Chu Wenyu worried, anticipating Jiang Ling’s impatient rejection. His cheeks flushed as he desperately sought other reasons to make his request sound reasonable.
“It’s not safe for you alone…”
He even began contemplating secretly following Jiang Ling if he outright refused. However, the thought of risking exposure, as before, made him hesitant. Chu Wenyu was somewhat afraid.
Yet, before he could say more, he was taken aback by Jiang Ling’s gentle response, “Certainly, Your Majesty. Thank you for your concern.”
Chu Wenyu was momentarily stunned. He couldn’t understand that the Alpha who had been at odds with him since his return would actually agree.
“I’ll prepare well for it,” Chu Wenyu pursed his lips, his eyes lighting up.
Jiang Ling smiled and nodded. He understood why Chu Wenyu didn’t want him to go alone, especially after the recent attempt to escape, which undoubtedly heightened the other’s vigilance. Considering Chu Wenyu’s personality, change wouldn’t happen overnight.
He didn’t expect the villain to completely alter his personality for him; that would be inhumane and excessive. All he wanted was gradual restraint, reasonable requests, and no manipulative tactics that ignored his wishes.
With the decision settled, Jiang Ling responded to the official’s private message, expressing his eagerness to participate in the meetup. However, for the sake of personal privacy, he requested to conceal his real information during the event and preferred not to reveal his face.
He didn’t want his spiritual abilities to be known by others, especially the original male lead and his group. He had no interest in competing with the original male lead for the heir position. Besides, Chu Wenyu would likely not agree to it.
In the effort to nurture their relationship, compromises were necessary on both sides.
The event staff relayed Jiang Ling’s requests to the director of the meetup.
Director Yagor frowned. He had planned to market the highly talented young therapist as a key selling point. Without the additional intrigue of his appearance and age, having a skilled therapist alone didn’t seem remarkable. Aren’t the top few on the personal scoreboard more valuable than Jiang Ling?
He didn’t take Jiang Ling’s opinions to heart.
“Agree to his demands for now,” he decided. When the time came, he could try to persuade this young man. In various industries nowadays, there were celebrities everywhere. Which young person didn’t hope to become famous? Yagor believed Jiang Ling was just pretending to be reserved.
With the individual’s consent secured, the website preemptively released some of the slots for invited guests to the meetup. The lineup included not only seasoned experts but also Jiang Ling, emerging as the dark horse.
Soon, the public caught wind of this development. Those with average abilities treated it as mere entertainment, casually making sarcastic comments. After all, they knew such opportunities were beyond their reach.
However, there were individuals who genuinely harbored envy and dissatisfaction in their hearts.
One such person was Ji Kai.
He was very dissatisfied with the fact that Jiang Ling was chosen because, in his view, although Jiang Ling indeed had decent strength, there were plenty of others stronger than him. Of course, this was just Ji Kai’s personal estimation. He hadn’t encountered Jiang Ling in the first round of elimination matches; he only looked at the personal ranking, which wasn’t high, much lower than his own. That’s why he felt aggrieved. What’s more, if the team Jiang Ling belonged to was one of the top teams, it would be acceptable, as it could be said that he benefited from the team’s overall ranking. However, the reality was that the team Jiang Ling was in barely made it to the qualifiers; he hadn’t even heard of them.
So why did Jiang Ling get this opportunity?
Ji Kai lacked the confidence to question the officials directly, so he opted to initiate a private conversation with Jiang Ling. He wanted to personally understand why Jiang Ling deserved this chance.
Given that the list had already been publicized, the chances of alterations were slim. Still, if Ji Kai could make Jiang Ling look bad, it would be immensely satisfying.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
