There was nothing in front of Liam’s eyes but a blank white expanse, and he had been wandering through that white with no direction at all. He had no idea how long he had been walking when his vision suddenly reeled and the whole world seemed to turn over.
Liam’s body floated as though he were lying on clouds. Someone was touching his private parts, and a large hand was moving over every inch of him. Beside his ear came heavy panting, half held back and half thick with pleasure.
Liam wanted to open his eyes and simply could not.
A wave of numbness rushed up from his tailbone to his brain, and Liam’s mouth opened before he could stop it, letting out a syrupy moan. He could hardly believe himself capable of a sound that seductive, one that went straight through to the bone.
The panting by his ear seemed to grow heavier still. Liam felt a hand take hold of his chin, and a deep, warm man’s voice, stained through with the breath of lust, spoke against his ear. "Finally willing to make a sound? Let me hear a few more, baby."
Liam’s mind was sluggish, entirely unable to tell whether this was real or a dream. But real or dreamed, his body’s reactions gave him no room to think any further. Wave after wave of numbness crashed through him with every thrust, and Liam’s mouth fell open again, spilling out sobs more delicate than before.
The man seemed to have lost his mind. The scorching thing buried inside Liam’s body grew harder still, and every thrust came faster than the last. He bit down hard on the back of Liam’s neck and let out a frantic growl like a wild beast.
Liam felt only a searing heat spreading out from his nape. The scent of rum and orange wound together, gentle and fervent at once, enough to leave a person drunk on it. Something poured into him, so hot it seemed to want to burn his body to ash.
He had no idea how much time had passed when hurried footsteps and the crash of a door being forced open sounded outside. Liam surfaced from his stupor, frowned, and shifted slightly. His whole body was limp and useless, every joint aching as though a steamroller had just run him over.
He tried to open his eyes, but the blinding light struck them and the sting was unbearable. Liam propped himself upright and had to sit a moment before he could finally get them open.
He looked blankly around and mumbled, "Are hospitals this modern these days? Why is a hospital room decorated like a hotel?"
The words were barely out before he was startled by his own hoarse voice, which sounded like sandpaper dragged across wood. Then Liam registered that he did not have a single scrap of clothing on him, and had just enough time to snatch up the blanket and cover himself completely.
What on earth was going on?
Hadn’t he hit his head on the corner of the table and passed out? Why wasn’t he in a hospital instead of here? And that feeling from before... could it possibly have been real, and not a dream at all?
Liam’s face went from green to white.
At that exact moment the door was broken down from the outside and a crowd came pouring in, as loud as a market in an uproar.
"Ah!" The one in the lead was a young man, slight of build, with faintly wavy chestnut-brown hair. At this moment he looked exactly like a frightened little deer.
There were plenty of people behind the young man, and one middle-aged man among them stepped forward, his expression as he looked at Liam nothing short of ferocious. Liam shrank back into the blanket in fear and asked, trembling, "Who are you—"
Slap!
Before Liam could get the rest of the question out, it was knocked straight back down his throat by that slap. Liam panicked, clutched his cheek and stared at the man. The man jabbed a finger viciously at his face and shouted:
"Liam, it was bad enough that you live like a degenerate as it is, but now you’ve gone and slept with some strange man! You’ve cost the Hall family every last shred of its face!"
Whispers of gossip started up outside. The harmless-looking young man from before stepped forward at once and tugged at the middle-aged man’s arm, saying in a small voice, "Dad, don’t hit him. Maybe he was upset about the shares and just wanted to blow off some steam..."
That tone of voice...
Liam frowned. Something here smelled wrong. Who were these people? Why had they come bursting into his hospital room like a husband catching a wife in the act? Who was this old geezer who dared to hit him? And who the hell was this one, reeking of that fake, innocent, green-tea act?
A bout of dizziness hit him, and Liam cried out in pain and clutched his head. Unfamiliar memories came flooding into his brain like a rising tide, and the nausea that followed was unavoidable. He tipped to one side, gripped the edge of the bed, and threw up violently.
The people in the room seemed to freeze for a beat at the sight. Then the green-tea boy started sobbing all over again. "Brother, why are you being like this? Even if you hate me, you can’t treat me this way. Sob. What did I ever do wrong?"
The clack of high heels came across the floor, and something seized Liam’s arm. The sharp fingernails bit into his flesh, and the overpowering scent of roses turned his stomach further still.
His body was hauled upright, and with another slap, his left cheek was burning.
Ha! The husband slaps the right cheek and the wife slaps the left, as neatly matched as a blessing from the gods. Liam’s head was spinning a little, but his mind had never been clearer.
The moment those unfamiliar memories landed, a year’s worth of watching AI short films told Liam exactly what had happened. He had transmigrated!
In his last life he was a fake young master, he died, he transmigrated, and he had transmigrated straight into being a fake young master again. Fuck this life!