Ling Huan sat down stiffly, silently touching his face. He was secretly glad that he had 009’s face-changing prop, otherwise it would have been too embarrassing.
“How come you couldn’t even answer that question? I pressed the raise button on my personal computer until it was worn out, and I was still not choosen by General Lu.” The boy sighed softly. “General Lu actually kept you behind for individual tutoring. You’re really too lucky.”
“When you are alone with General Lu, it’ll be easier to get his contact information, um… I get it!” The boy pushed up his glasses, clapped his hands, and looked at Ling Huan with a look of sudden realization, his eyes full of admiration. “The First Military Academy is full of students who get in with high scores. The questions General Lu just asked weren’t difficult. If you had answered them correctly, General Lu might not have even remembered your face, but now he definitely does.”
“So you were taking an unconventional approach, doing things the opposite of what you intended. You’re quite cunning, aren’t you, classmate!”
‘Quite Cunning’ Ling Huan twitched his lips and mumbled a response while pressing the back of his hand against his eyebrow. In his mind, he gritted his teeth and said to 009, who was trying not to laugh, “Could Lu Jinbei have recognized me?”
【The host may question themselves, but must never question the props. 】
【Our system uses only the highest-grade and most perfect props. This holographic face-swapping technology is so advanced that even Host’s own mother wouldn’t recognize you, let alone Lu Jinbei, whom you’ve only met a few times. 】
Ling Huan raised his arm and smelled it; after the pheromone suppressant was administered, all the scent had been completely eliminated.
He frowned as he looked at the expressionless man on the stage, his hands on his knees clenching into fists.
Like a hallucination.
When Lu Jinbei pulled out his personal terminal to answer the question, the voice coming from the screen in front of him had a strange aggressive quality.
For a fleeting moment, he even felt as if he had been caught.
Ling Huan quickly came to his senses and optimistically comforted himself, “This is good too. I couldn’t find an excuse to stay at the main mission site before, but now I have a legitimate reason.”
Suddenly, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted in his ears.
【The lecture has ended, and the second half of the main mission has begun. Just now, after the host handed the water to Luo Sheng, a main system email was sent, saying that because the previous mental disorder had caused trouble for the host in performing the mission, the difficulty of the main missions from now on will be appropriately reduced. Let me check the new requirements… 】
A beeping electronic voice echoed in his mind, and 009 pondered for a moment before saying with relief, 【As long as Lu Jinbei triggers the sweet wine item effect; no specific target is required. 】
Ling Huan felt that lowering the difficulty of this task was completely unnecessary.
In a moment, besides the two male protagonists who were deeply in love, there will be only one cannon fodder left in the lecture hall, who will be watching forcefully and trying to fuel the flames. The trigger condition for Lu Jinbei’s prop to take effect after drinking alcohol was to kiss someone.
Besides the pitiful Luo Sheng, who else could be the trigger?
Most of the military academy students who walked out of the gate looked back with reluctance.
“Is that guy outside clinging to the door, refusing to leave, looking at Lu Jinbei with such longing, a beta?” Ling Huan originally thought the other person was deeply impressed by Lu Jinbei, but unexpectedly, the other person’s eyes looked very fiery.
009 said in a serious tone,
【Yes, Lu Jinbei is described extensively in the book, including: He is the spiritual haven for the Empire’s omegas and betas, handsome, rich, domineering, and charming; who wouldn’t fall for someone like that… 】
Ling Huan quickly called for a stop, rubbed the goosebumps on his arm, put away his personal computer, and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Luo Sheng, who was sitting in the first row, had already stood up. He immediately perked up.
He quickly moved from the last row to the third row, finding a perfect distance.
Ling Huan watched as Luo Sheng made quite a few gestures. First, he tugged at his cardigan, then touched his nose, and finally walked up to Lu Jinbei with embarrassment. He looked down at the ground and held the sweet wine drink that he had just successfully taken from him at the convenience store in both hands, handing it to Lu Jinbei.
Apart from Ling Huan, who was kept after school, the classroom was cleared out for the two main characters within just five minutes, leaving it completely empty.
Luo Sheng’s soft voice trembled slightly, “General Lu, I see you… you’ve been talking for almost two hours without any water, you must be very thirsty. This cup is one I bought when I arrived, it’s chilled and unopened, could you…”
Ling Huan leaned back in his chair, paying close attention to the little drama unfolding between the two.
He waited for Lu Jinbei to take the beverage, if he happened to walk past and accidentally bumped into Luo Sheng, as long as he could find the right spot, they could kiss perfectly and coincidentally.
A man’s cold, slightly impatient voice came from beside his ear, “I don’t need it.”
Ling Huan tried hard to discern even the slightest hint of affection for Luo Sheng from Lu Jinbei’s calm and reserved expression, but instead felt a chill run down his spine.
The main mission was so difficult, why won’t Lu Jinbei even accept Luo Sheng’s things?
“Do we know each other?” Lu Jinbei’s gaze fell on Ling Huan, who was looking at him expectantly from a distance, seemingly very concerned. When he looked back at Luo Sheng, he was completely emotionless. “The lecture is over. Why did you linger for five minutes?”
“We met before… I had my necklace stolen once, and if it weren’t for General Lu’s help, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten it back. I just wanted to thank you.”
Luo Sheng’s pale lips parted slightly. His hand, which wasn’t holding the water, hung limply at his side, his nails digging deeply into his palm.
He racked his brains trying to say something more conciliatory, and even considered using his somewhat clumsy control of his spiritual power to try and touch Lu Jinbei’s spiritual realm.
Unexpectedly, he sensed an extremely dangerous mental magnetic field without even touching Lu Jinbei’s clothes.
It was filled with rejection and coldness towards him.
Luo Sheng abruptly withdrew his spiritual energy, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his chest filled with fear and panic from being intimidated by a high-level being.
He looked up at Lu Jinbei in disbelief, his legs went weak and he even took a step back, only to be supported by a warm hand on his back.
The next second, Luo Sheng’s hand, which had been holding the beverage, was suddenly empty as someone calmly took it from him.
That slender, fair hand pierced straight through the spiritual range that had filled him with terror the moment he approached, as if it were about to shove into Lu Jinbei’s face.
Ling Huan coughed lightly and added his own words on the spot, “Teacher Lu, have some drink. Luo classmate meant well and didn’t come here to cause trouble. I’ve bought this brand of beverage before, and it’s really delicious. You can try a sip if you don’t believe me.”
Lu Jinbei glanced at Ling Huan’s face briefly before taking the beverage.
After turning the lid off and taking a sip, he suddenly realized that one of the words Ling Huan had just said sounded familiar.
Last night, Ling Huan was slumped over the table, writing and drawing on the manuscript paper, looking worried. The person he wanted to kiss seemed to have the surname Luo.
The wine, which was originally sweet and had a floral aroma, suddenly became tasteless.
His gaze fell on Ling Huan’s hands, which were tightly wrapped around Luo Sheng’s waist.
Ling Huan was just half a head taller than Luo Sheng. When they stood up straight, their bodies seemed to be leaning intimately together. He suddenly spoke up, “Are you called Luo Sheng?”
Ling Huan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that his efforts to stir things up had been flawless, and he had now successfully aroused Lu Jinbei’s love for the protagonist shou[footnote]In case you’re still confuse, 受(Shòu) is a slang term for “wife”, “taker”, “bottom” in gay relationship[/footnote].
The book said he never remembered the names of people he doesn’t need, but now he was calling out Luo Sheng’s name directly. Luo Sheng must already hold a place in General Lu’s heart.
Luo Sheng’s eyes lit up, and he nodded obediently, quickly saying yes. The next second, he suddenly felt a heavy push on his back and fell towards Lu Jinbei.
He staggered, caught off guard, and instinctively tried to regain his balance, reaching out to grab Ling Huan’s arm.
Ling Huan, who had already withdrawn his hand, was pulled forward a step by the tug. He didn’t notice the small step in front of the podium and tripped. The brief loss of balance made his mind go blank. The distance was too short and the time too tight; he was certain he would fall to the ground.
Ling Huan abruptly raised his elbow to shield his eyes, hoping to reduce the impact, but unexpectedly his arm slammed hard against a warm chest. A low groan sounded in his ear, and his shoulder was gripped tightly by a large, burning hand.
He then fell to the ground as if he had landed on a soft cushion, without being injured at all, his limbs feeling limp and powerless.
With a crisp “bang,” Luo Sheng, the male lead who had just been pushed out, not only failed to kiss Lu Jinbei “by chance,” but also fell face-first into the ground, his face slamming hard against the cold earth, where it began to swell and burn.
Feeling dizzy from the fall, Luo Sheng reached up and touched his face, unable to hold back a scream.
Ling Huan was startled awake by Luo Sheng’s shrill voice. He jerked his head up, trying to sit up, only to find the man looking down and getting up at the same time.
The other person’s high, straight nose was right in front of him, and a faint golden light flowed in his dark, deep eyes.
His hands had to rest on the man’s chest, where he felt a strong yet warm heat that made his fingertips gone numb.
Suddenly, something soft touched his lips.
Ling Huan’s heart rate suddenly soared, his mind went blank, and he even had trouble breathing. A strong hand pressed firmly against his back, and for a few brief seconds, the spot where his hand touched was licked.
His mind exploded instantly. He shoved Lu Jinbei away with all his might, scrambled to his feet and backed away, almost tripping on the steps again without noticing.
Ling Huan felt like he had tinnitus. He pressed his throbbing temples and clearly heard Lu Jinbei coldly telling Luo Sheng to leave.
Luo Sheng, who had injured his leg, limped out, and Lu Jinbei, showing no mercy, went over to close the door.
Ling Huan stared stiffly at Lu Jinbei’s tall back, the brief kiss from earlier replaying in his mind. He touched his newly changed face, making sure Lu Jinbei would never know that he was the one today. His eyes darted around, and he spotted a half-open window in the distance. He darted over in a flash.
The lecture hall was on the first floor. “Y”, “X”, “D”, “J”[footnote]This in raw context and I’m not sure what it means. They might be abbreviations or slang for some words, but for the life of me, I can’t find it anywhere. I will just leave it like this for now; or if you guys know please let me now in the comment [/footnote].
Ling Huan had already half-clinged to the window frame, ready to jump, when suddenly the back of his hand covered the by the man’s warm palm, and a clear, cold voice with a hint of restraint sounded close to his ear.
Why are you running away?
~~~
Author has something o say:
【Lingling: Oh no, oh no, oh no, how could this happen?? 】
This chapter should be up about 3 weeks ago, but for the life of me I couldn’t Login into Novels Space as the system seemed to be error.. then I went back hometown again, so the delay Orz
As compensation, next chapter will be up after this! (≡^∇^≡)
