Bai Jingzhuo was certain of it this time. It had absolutely not been his imagination. Bai Jiao had squeezed him! He had definitely done it on purpose…
Before Bai Jingzhuo could even begin grumbling about Bai Jiao in his mind, he heard Bai Jiao ask anxiously, “Does it hurt a lot?”
Bai Jingzhuo instinctively raised his head and followed the sound of the voice. Completely caught off guard, he found himself looking straight into Bai Jiao’s eyes, which were filled with concern. He froze for a moment, utterly stunned.
His sobbing voice came to an abrupt halt, and he answered somewhat blankly, “…It’s all right.”
So had Bai Jiao squeezed him just to find out whether he was in pain?
The Bai couple, who had been consumed by anger only moments earlier, noticed the way the two brothers seemed so concerned about each other. They exchanged a glance, and both could see the satisfaction in the other’s eyes.
However, Bai Jingzhuo’s injuries were still the most important matter at hand. They had not completely lost their ability to distinguish what mattered.
“Who on earth hurt you? Tell us! Your mother and I will get justice for you!”
“Don’t be afraid to tell us. Whoever it was, we’ll find the evidence and make sure they face the consequences!”
Bai Jiao chimed in as well. “That’s right, Brother. Just tell us who hurt you. Mom and Dad care about you so much that they’ll definitely stand up for you.”
“I.. I’m fine.” Bai Jingzhuo pulled his hand back and used his sleeve to cover the bruises. No matter how hard he tried, he could no longer summon the emotions he had so carefully worked up just moments ago.
“How does that look anything like being fine?” Bai Jiao pressed, refusing to let the matter drop. “Brother, you’re so badly injured. Who did this to you?”
Everyone kept their eyes fixed on Bai Jingzhuo, leaving him in an increasingly awkward position. With no way out, he could only stammer, “It, it was… Forget it. Let’s just leave it at that. It’s all in the past now.”
Bai Jingzhuo’s adoptive parents had also been surnamed Bai, and they had treated him very well. Back then, the babies had genuinely been switched by accident; no one had deliberately exchanged them. His adoptive parents had passed away relatively early, but they had left him an inheritance large enough to support him through university. After their deaths, he had gone to live with his elderly grandfather.
His grandfather favored the family of Bai Jingzhuo’s eldest uncle and hoped that Bai Jingzhuo would hand over the inheritance left by his adoptive parents to that branch of the family. Naturally, Bai Jingzhuo was unwilling to do so, and as a result, his life there was far from pleasant.
During school holidays, he had to do farm work at his grandfather’s home. Whenever he made the slightest mistake, he risked being beaten or scolded. At school, he was also a target of bullying by his classmates. His life had been thoroughly miserable.
“Mom, Dad, if Brother doesn’t want to talk about it, let’s leave it for now and have our meal first.”
A serving of crab roe tofu had just been placed in front of Bai Jiao, and after tasting it, he found that it suited his palate quite well. At once, he lost all interest in listening to the others engage in their elaborate displays of false concern.
In the past, his missions had always been so rushed that the food he encountered was either poisoned or downright unpalatable. Now that he had entered a low level emotional world, he could practically treat it as a vacation. Naturally, he intended to enjoy himself properly while he was here.
He even kindly used the communal serving chopsticks to place a helping of carrots he disliked onto Bai Jingzhuo’s plate. “Brother, you’re too thin. You need to take better care of your health and make sure you get enough nutrition.”
Bai Yongchang nodded reassuringly. “That’s right. Let’s eat first.”
Since Bai Jingzhuo was unwilling to explain what had happened, they could investigate the matter themselves. The child had only just returned to the family, after all, and he needed a good meal and some rest. There was no need to force him to talk about everything immediately.
“Let’s eat. Jiaojiao is right. Bai Jingzhuo, you should eat a little more.” Zhang Huijun followed suit, placing another serving of food onto Bai Jingzhuo’s plate. It happened to be something that the original Bai Jiao disliked eating.
Bai Jiao watched Bai Jingzhuo’s stunned expression as he appeared deeply moved by their concern. He lightly bit down on his chopsticks, finding Bai Jingzhuo rather foolish.
After they had finished their meal, the Bai couple decided that Bai Jiao should take Bai Jingzhuo upstairs to choose a room so that the two brothers could develop a closer relationship.
Bai Jiao’s own territory occupied two entire floors. His bedroom, gym, gaming room, small convenience store, and the other rooms had all been clearly divided according to their respective purposes. The Bai couple were usually busy with work and rarely stayed at this property. Their own rooms were located on the fourth floor, while the servants lived in a separate, independent Western style villa built specifically for them behind the main residence. The floors above that were reserved for guests.
Bai Jiao was already thinking about taking a leisurely walk, playing a few games, and then going to sleep. Without giving the matter much thought, he simply led Bai Jingzhuo toward the fifth floor.
Unexpectedly, Bai Jingzhuo stopped on the second floor.
“Hmm? Aren’t we supposed to look at the rooms one by one?”
Standing on the lower steps, Bai Jingzhuo tilted his head back and looked up at Bai Jiao.
With his deep set eyes and brows, combined with his light, questioning tone, it was difficult even for Bai Jiao to tell whether he was being genuinely sincere or merely pretending.
“Do you want to look at the rooms on the second floor?” Bai Jiao asked.
Bai Jingzhuo blinked and asked, “Is that not allowed?”
The corners of Bai Jiao’s lips curved slightly. He understood now. Bai Jingzhuo had genuinely been confused just a moment ago, but now that he had sensed something was amiss, he was deliberately playing along.
“Of course it’s allowed.” Bai Jiao leisurely made his way back down the stairs, a faint smile lingering between his gentle brows and eyes. “Come on. I’ll show you around.”
Bai Jingzhuo had assumed that when Bai Jiao passed by him, the other man would put on a whole performance of tumbling down the stairs and framing him for it. However, nothing of the sort happened. Instead, Bai Jiao patiently introduced him to the layout of the second floor.
As they approached the entrance to the second floor living area, the place looked more like a luxurious, open plan apartment in an upscale residential complex. The spotless floor to ceiling windows offered an unobstructed view of the scenery outside. With the lush green lawn stretching beyond the glass, the entire interior appeared bright, spacious, and open. The exquisite furniture, decorated in warm tones, was immaculate, without even a speck of dust to be seen. Every corner of the place exuded a sense of warmth and comfort.
The moment Bai Jingzhuo stepped inside, he felt himself relaxing. A faint, elegant lotus fragrance, the same delicate scent that lingered on Bai Jiao, permeated the air and enveloped him completely. It was almost as though Bai Jiao’s scent had settled over his entire body, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
There was no need to guess whose territory this was. It was obvious at a glance.
“The bedroom is inside.” Bai Jiao led him farther into the room.
The bedroom had been decorated in the same style as the small living area. A thick, soft wool carpet covered the floor, and beside the enormous three meter wide bed sat a beige, oversized beanbag sofa spacious enough to accommodate two people. An indoor swimming pool had even been installed on the wraparound balcony. Every detail spoke of a level of luxury Bai Jingzhuo had never experienced before.
“Do you like this room?” Bai Jiao turned around and sank comfortably into the beanbag sofa, asking lazily, “Do you want to stay here?”
“…Is that really okay?”
Bai Jingzhuo had never expected Bai Jiao to voluntarily offer him the room. Staring at him in surprise, he asked, “Isn’t this your room?”
“Of course it is.” Bai Jiao nodded lightly, resting his chin on one hand as he spoke in an innocent, matter of fact tone. “But technically, it should be your room, shouldn’t it? After all, you’re the Bai family’s biological son. If you want to live here, there’s absolutely no problem with that.”
Bai Jiao’s apparent reasonableness left Bai Jingzhuo at a loss for words. He hesitated, unsure how he was supposed to respond.
Was Bai Jiao really being this kind?
Why was everything so different from what he had seen in his dreams?
For the past few nights, Bai Jingzhuo had barely been able to sleep properly. He had been plagued by nightmares, over and over again. In those dreams, Bai Jiao had been extremely hostile toward his arrival. The moment they met, they would become antagonistic, with Bai Jiao constantly engaging in subtle praise that concealed insults, framing him for things he had never done, and deliberately putting him in humiliating and awkward situations.
Yet none of those scenes had come to pass. What was more, Bai Jingzhuo could not figure out Bai Jiao’s attitude toward him at all.
This man was like a mesmerizing lake, crystal clear yet filled with unknown dangers. He could glimpse the brilliantly colored scenery at the bottom, beautiful enough to captivate anyone who looked at it, yet he did not dare throw himself into the water to test its depth. He was afraid that the swaying aquatic plants beneath the surface might wind around him, trapping him in their grasp until he could never rise again.
Bai Jiao watched him hesitate, completely unable to figure out what was going through his mind.
Hmm… He really wanted to open Bai Jingzhuo’s head and take a look inside.
886 promptly reminded him, 【Host, you must not do that. This is an emotional themed world, not a horror themed world.】
Only then did the system suddenly realize something. Perhaps its host had not been squeezing and pinching the protagonist shou, Bai Jingzhuo, simply to flirt with him earlier. There was a very real possibility that he had been calculating exactly how much force it would take to crush Bai Jingzhuo to pieces!
“I know.” Bai Jiao’s expression turned solemn.
He was only thinking about it, after all. He certainly had no intention of actually doing such a thing.
Bai Jiao had only one mission in this world: to redeem Bai Jingzhuo, the protagonist who had been dealt a tragic hand in life despite being both powerful and pitiful. It sounded like a simple task, one with neither difficulty nor challenge. However, so far, the progress bar for Bai Jingzhuo’s redemption had not increased in the slightest.
The mission deadline was Bai Jingzhuo’s entire lifetime. There was absolutely no need to rush.
A sly glint flashed through Bai Jiao’s eyes as he began plotting another mischievous scheme. When he stood up and interrupted Bai Jingzhuo’s train of thought, however, he concealed his intentions so well that nothing seemed amiss.
“Brother, just stay here. From now on, this will be your room. The first wardrobe is full of clothes I’ve never worn, so you can make do with them for now. Tomorrow, I’ll take you out to buy some new ones.”
Having finished speaking, Bai Jiao promptly left without giving Bai Jingzhuo even the slightest opportunity to object, leaving him standing there in a daze.
When Bai Jiao went downstairs, Zhang Huijun and Bai Yongchang were still in the living room. The moment they saw him, they asked how things had gone with Bai Jingzhuo and which room he had chosen.
Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Jiao replied, “Bai Jingzhuo wants to sleep in the same room as me from now on. I agreed.”
With that, he abandoned the Bai couple, who had been so shocked that they had completely lost the ability to form a coherent response, and happily went outside for a walk to help digest his meal.
System 886 fell into an eerie silence. After a long while, it finally asked, 【Host, don’t you have mysophobia? Today, you not only took the initiative to touch Bai Jingzhuo, but you even let him into your room. That alone is already strange enough. And now you actually want to sleep in the same room as Bai Jingzhuo? Are you really my host?】
If not for the fact that its host’s soul parameters were still correct, the system would have suspected that some strange entity had somehow transmigrated into its host’s body.
Bai Jiao paid no attention to its concerns.
Although Bai Jingzhuo’s clothes were not particularly good, he was clean from head to toe. How could he possibly be compared to those bizarre Cthulhu monsters, demons, and other grotesque creatures Bai Jiao had encountered during his previous missions?
………
Bai Jingzhuo had no idea that Bai Jiao had already classified him as belonging to the category of clean things.
Even now, he still found it difficult to believe that he had managed to move into such an extravagant room so easily. The entire experience felt unreal, as though he had been transported from hell straight to heaven in the blink of an eye. The dizzying sensation of shooting upward into the clouds left his head spinning, his vision swimming as he struggled to take in everything around him.
He should have been happy about having “reclaimed” his own room. In reality, however, he felt no such joy.
His adoptive parents had treated him very well. They had never done anything to wrong him, and the only party that could be blamed for the accidental baby switch all those years ago was the hospital. His grandfather and eldest uncle were responsible for their own actions, and none of their mistreatment of him had anything to do with Bai Jiao. The happy memories of his childhood were still vivid in his mind, and Bai Jiao had not even met his biological parents, whereas Bai Jingzhuo had already seen them…
Bai Jingzhuo’s feelings were incredibly complicated.
He knew that he should not let his heart grow too soft with misplaced compassion. After all, ever since he had arrived, Bai Jiao had never once mentioned wanting to meet his own biological parents. He had not even offered a single word of concern about them. And yet, Bai Jingzhuo still could not help thinking that this man was not nearly as terrible as the person he had seen in his dreams. Nor had his life been as agonizing as those dreams had led him to believe.
Did he really have to follow the plan he had devised before coming to the Bai family and become a vengeful demon, determined to exact revenge on everyone?
After taking a shower, Bai Jingzhuo changed into clean clothes and lay down on the soft, spacious bed he had never slept in before.
Although Bai Jiao had told him that he had never worn these clothes, Bai Jingzhuo still had the distinct feeling of being surrounded by Bai Jiao’s scent. There was something soothing and calming about the delicate fragrance, and as he continued thinking about all sorts of confusing things, drowsiness soon crept over him.
Half of his face sank into the soft pillow, and the faint, elegant fragrance grew even stronger, drawing him into a strange “nightmare.”
The dream began with the same “future” that had been haunting him for the past few days.
He had entered the elite high school attended by Bai Jiao, only to become the target of bullying by Bai Jiao’s many admirers and followers. They tormented him throughout the campus, smearing glue on his seat, stuffing rubbish into his desk, and scribbling all sorts of meaningless graffiti across its surface…
In the dream, Bai Jiao stood high above him, looking down at him from a position of absolute superiority in the boys’ restroom. Bai Jingzhuo was in a miserable state, his entire body drenched in dirty water, while the background was filled with noisy jeers and mocking laughter. Everything about the scene felt completely at odds with reality.
Bai Jingzhuo struggled to lift his head, desperately trying to see the other person’s face clearly. However, all he could make out was a dazzling ball of light that hurt his eyes. He could not distinguish any of the features, much less determine whether the person standing before him was actually Bai Jiao.
The instant he saw that ball of light, the surrounding scenery abruptly changed.
The noisy, humiliating scene vanished, replaced by a quiet and peaceful night. He was lying on a large, soft bed, and the gentle moonlight filtering into the room allowed him to make out his surroundings. Everything seemed to have returned to reality.
His moment of clarity lasted only a second.
A sudden, unbearable heat surged through his body, forcing Bai Jingzhuo to tug restlessly at his clothes without even realizing what he was doing. As his consciousness grew hazy, his subconscious mind kept telling him that Bai Jiao was pinching him.
His collarbone, his chest, his waist…
The touches were neither particularly heavy nor particularly light, yet the resulting itch seemed to spread in every direction, leaving him unable to escape the sensation.
The scene before his eyes became increasingly blurred, twisting into something strange and surreal.
He felt that he himself was acting strangely, too. His body seemed to respond involuntarily, beyond his control, while his mind was filled with Bai Jiao’s handsome face, smiling at him. There was shyness, bashfulness, and an inexplicable sense of happiness…
This was far too strange. Why was he behaving like this?
Meanwhile, the real Bai Jiao, who was outside Bai Jingzhuo’s dream, also found the situation rather strange.
It was currently dusk in the real world. The pale golden afterglow of the setting sun fell across the milky white bedding, illuminating even the faint shadows cast by Bai Jingzhuo’s slight movements. Bai Jiao had just returned after taking a walk and playing a few rounds of games, so he saw everything clearly.
He looked at the person on his bed in confusion and asked, “886, why is Bai Jingzhuo twisting around like that on my bed?”
Never mind. He was sleepy, too. He might as well lie down for a while.