An hour, a whole hour!
Xia Chengxi was on the verge of collapse, his chest heaving up and down. His hands, cuffed to the headboard, trembled uncontrollably, unable to form a fist. Fine beads of sweat on his forehead gathered into tiny streams, soaking through his thin shirt and even drenching the sheets beneath him.
Emptiness, parched thirst, unbearable desire—each of these sensations slowly, bit by bit, tore away at his sanity.
His lips were sealed, teeth clenched tight, determined not to let any shameful sounds escape his mouth.
Because he knew that if he opened his mouth, every word would turn into seductive, alluring moans, and all the restraint he had mustered would go up in flames.
But he really, really wanted to… he truly did.
Feeling the trembling in his legs, Xia Chengxi nearly bit through his lower lip. His chest heaved rapidly as he unconsciously rubbed his lower body against the sheets. The friction brought a fleeting moment of relief, and a short, soft whimper escaped his lips.
[This Gu Cheng is insane!]
The system remained silent.
[Little Green Hat, give me the antidote, hurry up, give me the antidote. I’m dying, I really can’t take it anymore.]
System: [Host, I am only a mission-assigning system, not a treasure chest.]
[Then tell me, who exactly is this Gu Cheng? And who is Gu Chengxi?]
The system didn’t respond. Xia Chengxi grew suspicious. [Did something tricky happen?]
System: [It is indeed a bit tricky. In all the time since crossing over, I’ve never encountered this situation before. But it’s also possible that I simply hadn’t noticed it until now.]
[What exactly is it?]
System: [You don’t need to worry about it. Just focus on completing your tasks. I’ll investigate the rest.]
Xia Chengxi was left speechless, despairingly staring at the ceiling as he endured wave after wave of desire tormenting him to the brink of madness. Tears welled in his reddened eyes, but none fell.
He arched his back, lifting his hips, the unrelieved pleasure intertwining with desire and pain like a whip lashing at his nerve endings. The hypersensitivity was driving him insane—he had reached his limit.
Finally, the unbearable sensation inside him gradually faded. Xia Chengxi lay limp and exhausted on the bed, his eyes vacant, unable to even lift a finger.
The door opened, and Gu Cheng walked in, casually removing his suit jacket, loosening his tie, and unbuttoning a few buttons of his shirt. He then took a syringe from the desk and approached him.
The moment Xia Chengxi saw what Gu Cheng was holding, panic set in. Weakly, he pleaded, “Mr. Gu, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Standing you up that day was my fault. I apologize. I’m just a nobody in the entertainment industry—please let me go.”
Gu Cheng undid the handcuffs, held him in his arms, and placed the syringe on the bedside table like a blade hanging over Xia Chengxi’s head.
“Remember who I am now?”
Xia Chengxi shook his head, sobbing as he fabricated wildly, “Mr. Gu, to be honest with you, I was in a car accident five years ago and hit my head. I’ve forgotten everything from before that. Maybe we knew each other back then, but now I have amnesia. I really didn’t mean to forget you.”
Gu Cheng was nearly driven to exasperated laughter by his own deadpan nonsense. “Call me ‘brother’ from now on. You’re not allowed to call me Mr. Gu. If you get it wrong…” Gu Cheng waved the syringe in front of him threateningly, “The formula in this injection is much stronger than what you drank before. It’ll probably last about five hours. Want to give it a try?”
Xia Chengxi shook his head frantically, on the verge of tears. When had he ever provoked this lunatic?
Weakly clutching Gu Cheng’s hand, he looked up with tear-filled eyes. “Mr. Gu… Brother, I’m not lying. I really have amnesia. Please, have some mercy and let me go. There are plenty of people in the entertainment industry who are better-looking and more famous than me. It’s not worth wasting your time on someone like me.”
Gu Cheng stared at him without saying a word, the chill in his eyes gradually intensifying, frightening Xia Chengxi to the point where he wanted to curse inwardly.
After a long silence, Gu Cheng set down the syringe. “Since you can’t remember, forget it.”
Just as Xia Chengxi was secretly rejoicing, Gu Cheng added, “But what you lied to me about before. You’ll have to pay it back in full now.”
Xia Chengxi was taken aback and protested, “I didn’t lie to you! At most, I stood you up that one time. You’re a big boss! Why are you always picking on a small-time celebrity like me?”
“You dare stand me up? Do you have a death wish?” Gu Cheng pushed him onto the bed, leaned over, and gently stroked his cheek, smiling. “I can give you anything you want—money, fame, status—but what I give you, you can’t refuse. So, as a big boss, I want to keep you, a small-time celebrity. Do you agree?”
Xia Chengxi felt completely drained, barely able to muster the energy to speak. He didn’t even know what expression he was making as he choked back tears and stammered, “Can… can I refuse?”
Gu Cheng unbuttoned his shirt, undressed him until he was completely bare, raised an eyebrow, and asked, “What do you think?”
Xia Chengxi closed his eyes tightly, his naked body trembling slightly. Gu Cheng’s fingers traced every inch of his skin, kissing him gently before holding him in an embrace of absolute possession, savoring the long-lost intimacy.
When Xia Chengxi woke up the next day, it was already noon. The burning, swollen pain from behind had turned into a cool sensation, likely because Gu Cheng had applied medicine for him in the middle of the night. Half-opening his eyes, he surveyed his surroundings before burying his head under the covers, adopting the posture of a virtuous woman forced into prostitution. Gu Cheng, who had just entered the room carrying a bowl of plain congee, shook his head and chuckled.
“Get up and drink this congee.”
Xia Chengxi glared resentfully at his wealthy patron, wishing he could bite him to death.
His target was Shu Wenjin! Now that he’d been slept with by Gu Cheng, how could he ever face Shu Wenjin again?
“I’m not drinking it.”
Without another word, Gu Cheng took the syringe out of the drawer, placed it on the table, and stared at him.
Xia Chengxi scrambled up, took the bowl, and obediently drank the congee.
Satisfied, Gu Cheng stroked his soft, short hair, a doting smile unconsciously spreading from the corners of his eyes. As Xia Chengxi drank the congee, he was surprised to find that he didn’t mind Gu Cheng’s affectionate head-patting and hair-stroking.
After finishing the bowl of congee, Gu Cheng handed him a phone. “My number is saved in this phone. From now on, this phone is only for contacting me. You must answer my calls and reply to my messages. You’re not allowed to break it, damage it, take it apart, or lose it. You’re the little celebrity I’m keeping, so you need to obey your patron. Understood?”
Xia Chengxi once again felt the stark inequality brought about by the unfair wealth gap in society. His eyes blazed with fury as he gripped his phone, teetering on the edge of rage.
“Hmm?” The tone rose, dripping with menace.
Xia Chengxi looked up. “What if I’m filming and don’t hear it?”
“You’re allowed half an hour.”
Forced to agree to the unequal terms, Xia Chengxi nodded. “Alright, I’ll remember.”
Gu Cheng wiped the stain from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and chuckled. “As you probably realized yesterday, I’m the investor for Director Wang’s film. You, as the little star I pulled strings to get in, better make me proud. Don’t disappoint me.”
“I’ll do my best.” Do my best to win Shu Wenjin’s affection, and then kick you to the curb!
“Good. I hope you mean what you say and aren’t cursing me in your heart.”
Xia Chengxi instantly backed down, lowering his head without another word.
“I’ll have the driver take you back later. Rest up for a few days. You start shooting in a week. Do well, you little liar.”
Watching Gu Cheng’s retreating figure, Xia Chengxi wished he could inject that entire vial into him. Let him experience what it felt like and choke the bastard to death!
He got dressed and climbed out of bed, deliberately ignoring the discomfort behind him. He slumped in the car all the way home and spent the next week recuperating before joining the film set.
During that week, Xia Chengxi had grown so bored that he had memorized the entire script. It was a sci-fi futuristic film, and he was playing the third male antagonist. A character who wreaked havoc and committed every evil deed imaginable in the early stages, only to die for a noble cause when the truth was revealed.
It was a tragic role, but also the one most likely to attract fans.
This was a big-budget production based on a popular IP, and it was the first time a domestic film had ventured into this kind of sci-fi genre. While sci-fi movies tended to have high box office returns, that was mostly true for foreign films. Overseas, the sci-fi film industry was already well-established, but domestically, it was still in an exploratory phase.
Compared to the majority of movies on screen today, which were made purely for profit, Wang Zheng was one of the few directors in the country dedicated to honing his craft in filmmaking.
As for special effects, domestic productions were mostly known for their cheap, low-quality CGI. Yet now, the Gu Corporation was willing to invest heavily and take the risk to create an unprecedented sci-fi blockbuster in China. One could only praise them as true pioneers.
After all, in this day and age, the surefire way to make money in movies was through fan-driven box office returns and casting big stars in low-budget films.
On the day he joined the set, Chen Yue came to pick him up. During the car ride, Xia Chengxi casually asked, “Who’s playing the second male lead?”
“Xie Yuchie.”
Xia Chengxi jerked his head up, frowning. “Xie Yuchie is the second male lead?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Earlier, there were rumors that Shu Wenjin went to the airport to pick up Xie Yuchie. What’s the relationship between them?”
Chen Yue immediately understood what he was getting at. Peering at him through the rearview mirror, he said meaningfully, “The relationship between Actor Shu and Xie Yuchie is an open secret in this industry. Besides, Xie Yuchie isn’t a bad actor. It’s not unreasonable for Actor Shu to give him a helping hand.”
Not unreasonable?
But for Xia Chengxi, it was completely unreasonable!
[Little Green Hat, Actor Shu is already involved with someone. Isn’t it too much to ask me to flirt with him?]
The system remained silent.
Damn it! So annoying! [Don’t think staying quiet will get you off the hook. I’m serious! If you can’t solve this problem, don’t expect me to make a move on him.]
System: […Alright, latest update—Shu Wenjin and Xie Yuchie are no longer in a relationship. You’re free to flirt as much as you want now. I’ve been really busy lately, so unless it’s something important, don’t bother me. Thanks a lot.]
[…]