However, the ice cream had already been partially eaten by Juezhou; it was half its original size and wet with his saliva.
Xie Wenchen shook his head, his dark eyes devoid of emotion.
In truth, even if he had said he wanted a bite, Juezhou was so stingy that he wouldn’t have given him any anyway.
Juezhou nodded and took another lick of the ice cream. Suddenly, the system alerted him: [Xie Wenchen is producing negative emotions. Oppression value +5.]
Juezhou took another lick.
[Oppression value +5.]
Juezhou took a bite this time.
The oppression value didn’t budge, but his teeth ached from the cold, causing him to wince and squeeze his eyes shut.
After repeating the process several times, Juezhou found a pattern.
Every time he licked the ice cream, Xie Wenchen’s oppression value would rise, but the boy had no reaction to any other action.
Juezhou continued licking the ice cream, feeling utterly bewildered.
Huh. Does Xie Wenchen find me that eyesore? He even gets upset just watching me eat.
The protagonist bottom’s thoughts were difficult to fathom. Even the system was puzzled: [Perhaps it’s because you ordered him to buy it for you.]
By the time he finished the entire ice cream, the oppression value had increased by a full seventy points.
The train came to a stop outside the residential complex where Zhou Chenyu lived. It had started to rain, so Juezhou and Xie Wenchen took shelter inside the station. Juezhou tossed the ice cream wrapper into the trash can, shivering as a gust of cold wind blew past.
Xie Wenchen frowned. “Mr. Juezhou, shall I walk you over?”
“No, no need.” Understanding Xie Wenchen’s supposed desire to see Zhou Chenyu, Juezhou waved his hand and sent a message asking Zhou Chenyu to come pick him up.
He felt quite nervous before hitting send. After all, he had just bullied Zhou Chenyu’s future “wife” on a video call last night; there was a good chance Zhou Chenyu would be so enraged that he’d beat Juezhou up in public.
But Juezhou didn’t want to walk in the rain; he just wanted to slump onto the station bench.
[It’s raining. Could you please come to the station to pick me up?] Juezhou wrote very politely.
Zhou Chenyu replied half a minute later: [Aren’t you busy playing with your little boy?]
…Wow, this guy really holds a grudge.
Juezhou’s face heated up. Too embarrassed to act pathetic to gain sympathy, he replied: [Xie Wenchen is here too.]
Even if Zhou Chenyu had the heart to let Juezhou get drenched, he wouldn’t let his future “wife” get wet, right?
Sure enough, after receiving that message, Zhou Chenyu replied instantly: [Wait for me. Two minutes.]
Juezhou checked his watch to track the time.
When Zhou Chenyu’s figure appeared outside the station, it had been exactly two minutes—not a second over.
The rain outside was heavy. The hem of his trench coat was splashed with water as his gaze swept across the station, finally landing on Xie Wenchen.
Xie Wenchen didn’t blink, quietly meeting Zhou Chenyu’s gaze.
Juezhou provided the internal narration: When the protagonist top and bottom meet again, it is on a rainy day. Their gazes converge and intertwine. At this moment, the canon fodder scum top feels like a complete outsider.
The system played along: [Bravo! I won’t read any web novels unless you’re the author.]
Eventually, Zhou Chenyu was the first to look away. He said in a casual, lazy tone, “He is quite good-looking, but he certainly knows how to seduce people.”
Xie Wenchen lowered his eyes. “Mr. Zhou overpraises me.”
The canon fodder scum top, Juezhou, couldn’t understand the subtext of their conversation and stood to the side with a face full of confusion.
Zhou Chenyu: “…Gu Juezhou, let’s go.”
He opened his umbrella again in the heavy rain, making room for Juezhou. He hadn’t expected Xie Wenchen to follow them.
Juezhou was puzzled. “Hmm?”
Xie Wenchen: “The rain is heavy. I will see Mr. Juezhou home.”
Juezhou had a sudden realization: He just can’t bear to leave Zhou Chenyu’s side.
“Alright.” Juezhou would agree to anything as long as it didn’t interfere with his missions.
However, the umbrella’s coverage was too small. With three people under one umbrella and Juezhou squeezed in the middle, physical contact was inevitable.
A little bumping and rubbing was fine, but the walk from the station to the apartment wasn’t short. Juezhou was afraid he wouldn’t be able to help himself and would end up clinging to both Xie Wenchen and Zhou Chenyu in public, making him look like a pervert to passersby.
Zhou Chenyu seemed to have considered this as well. He silently stepped to the side, letting half his body lean out from under the umbrella. His dark hair became soaked, clinging to his cool, pale forehead.
Xie Wenchen glanced at him and moved outward as well, positioning himself just right to block the cold wind blowing from the side.
Perhaps because he had seen Xie Wenchen, Zhou Chenyu was in a decent mood and surprisingly didn’t beat Juezhou up for the previous night’s antics. Juezhou peeked at Zhou Chenyu out of the corner of his eye and noticed his lips were pressed into a thin line, as if he were lost in thought.
Rarely getting the chance to have both of them present at the same time, Juezhou hurriedly tugged at Xie Wenchen’s hand.
[Protagonist Top Oppression Value +5]
Juezhou discovered that the oppression values rose exceptionally fast when both the protagonist top and bottom were present—it even surpassed doing those high-shame missions.
For instance, he looked up and smiled at Zhou Chenyu while pinching the corner of Zhou Chenyu’s sleeve. The system immediately notified him: [Protagonist Bottom Oppression Value +5].
As expected, jealousy was the easiest way to generate negative emotions.
But the protagonist top and bottom’s romance was progressing so fast! They had barely interacted a few times, yet they were already at the “getting jealous over a sleeve-tug” stage.
Juezhou didn’t dare engage in too much physical contact, but he found it manageable to tug on Zhou Chenyu’s sleeve while turning his head to tell Xie Wenchen, “As my little lover, you should be trying to please me at all times.”
Once Xie Wenchen’s oppression value reached a temporary saturation point, he grabbed the hem of Xie Wenchen’s clothes instead, pressing himself almost flush against the boy through their layers of clothing. He continued saying things to Zhou Chenyu like, “Playing with young boys is just so much fun.”
Because of the rain, there wasn’t a single pedestrian on the road. Juezhou was so immersed in grinding for oppression values that he didn’t notice anything amiss. It wasn’t until he was holding both their hands—one on the left and one on the right—while busy spouting “trash talk” that he suddenly froze.
Why do I feel like something is very, very strange… Juezhou asked the system.
However, the fact that the oppression values kept rising proved that Juezhou was doing the right thing.
Xie Wenchen’s expression remained that of a classic, long-suffering “white lotus” type.
Zhou Chenyu’s expression also remained unchanged until Juezhou wrapped an arm around Xie Wenchen’s waist.
“Can’t even wait that long?” Zhou Chenyu’s tone was light, his expression still carrying a hint of a smile. “Starting to play before we even get home?”
Juezhou replied guiltily, “He’s the boy I’m paying to keep. What’s wrong with playing with him a little in public?”
Xie Wenchen kept his eyes downcast. “Mr. Juezhou can play however he likes.”
To show his sincerity, he even proactively moved closer to Juezhou.
…Even though he knew Xie Wenchen had accepted the reality of being a “sugar baby,” Juezhou found this level of proactivity a bit hard to handle.
As the three of them reached the apartment building, they happened to run into people coming out of the elevator.
An elderly woman frowned at the heavy rain outside. “Oh my, such a downpour! How are we supposed to do our square dancing later… Ah, Xiao Zhou, you’re here too.”
Zhou Chenyu: “Auntie Wang, good morning.”
Auntie Wang was supporting her old friend with her left hand, followed by her husband and several other elderly men and women who had gathered for their dance.
She finished her greeting with a smile, but her gaze stayed fixed on Juezhou’s face. “What a handsome young man…”
She suddenly stopped, seeing Juezhou’s hand wrapped around Xie Wenchen’s waist and his other hand clutching the hem of Zhou Chenyu’s coat.
Juezhou had always been well-liked by the older generation, so he followed suit and greeted them: “Hello, Aunties and Uncles.”
Auntie Wang smiled and nodded, then turned to ask Zhou Chenyu, “Xiao Zhou, does this young gentleman live here too?”
Zhou Chenyu didn’t directly explain his relationship with Juezhou. Instead, he said warmly, “This young gentleman has been living with me lately.”
“Living together, I see…” Auntie Wang and the others behind her immediately understood—a young couple. They smiled with meaningful looks.
They all knew that Zhou Chenyu’s profession made it inconvenient to reveal his relationships. Understanding the situation, they nodded quickly. “Don’t worry, we won’t say a word.”
“And what about this one?” Auntie Wang looked toward Xie Wenchen with a smile.
Xie Wenchen kept his eyelids lowered, looking as well-behaved and easily bullied as ever. “I am this young gentleman’s lover.”