Jiang Yi slept straight through for more than three hours this time, if 999 hadn’t kept calling him by his ear the whole time, he might have slept right through until 999 had to use a system skill to wake him.
His head felt heavy and his legs weak, every bone in his body aching as if it were about to break, both cold and hot at once, breathing out hot air while his whole body kept shivering with cold.
It was pretty miserable.
Jiang Yi opened his eyes in a daze, forced himself to prop up his face, and lay against the table for a good while before he gradually came back to his senses somewhat.
999 was still chattering away nonstop by his ear.
“Host, host, how are you feeling? Are you okay? Should we go to the hospital and get you checked? Let’s go to the hospital, okay? Your temperature is a bit too high right now, if this keeps up it’ll get dangerous.”
That grating mechanical voice was really getting on Jiang Yi’s nerves, but he didn’t have any spare strength to tell 999 to shut up, so he could only raise his hand slightly and swipe at the ball of white mist by his ear.
999, having been dealt with by Jiang Yi before, saw his hand coming toward it and immediately sounded the alarm, shivering and flashing up out of his reach, wrapping itself up tightly, not daring to breathe.
His ears were finally quiet, and even the headache seemed to ease up quite a bit along with it.
Jiang Yi leaned back against the chair, raised a hand thin enough to have lost its shape, and pressed wearily at his temples, asking 999 in a thick, nasal, hoarse voice, “What time is it now?”
“6:47, almost 7, Host.” 999’s answer was obedient and proper, but it still didn’t dare get any closer to Jiang Yi, only daring to hover in the empty air, drifting with the cold wind.
Jiang Yi had no time to attend to its little moods, a burning itch surged up in his chest and throat, making him cough uncontrollably.
Heart-wrenching coughs.
Physiological tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, his pale cheeks flushed red from the forceful coughing, giving him the frail, sickly bearing of a delicate beauty.
Watching this, 999 was terrified, afraid that Jiang Yi might not be able to catch his breath and just pass away right then.
Jiang Yi didn’t treat his own body as a body, didn’t treat his own life as a life, he hated the whole world, and he hated himself too.
The only one who could help Jiang Yi right now was his conquest target, Ying Xun.
But Jiang Yi also loathed Ying Xun.
999 spun around anxiously beside Jiang Yi, its white mist blown apart, forming a short little rabbit tail behind its round body before gathering back together again.
Before it could find a chance to steer the topic toward Ying Xun, Jiang Yi suddenly stopped coughing, and with a flushed face, said with difficulty, breaking it into several pieces, “My… conquest target… when does his interview end?”
999 was overjoyed and quickly said, “Soon, soon, the conquest target should come out around 7:30 or so. It’s really windy right now, Host, why don’t you go wait for the conquest target somewhere with less wind?”
Jiang Yi didn’t respond, and didn’t move either.
He stayed sitting in the same spot as before, the cold wind blowing through his hair and the thin hem of his clothes, staring blankly at the flickering neon lights.
Another half hour or so passed, and as the night deepened and the fog grew thicker, a burst of screaming came from not far away, excited “aaaahhhh”s mixed together with the name “Ying Xun.”
Jiang Yi, who had been leaning back in the chair pretending to rest, slowly opened his tightly closed eyes, propped himself up on the chair to stand, and walked toward the sound of the screaming.
The entrance of the creative park was packed with fans, the plaza jammed to a standstill, the screaming rising wave after wave.
Jiang Yi, wrapped in the cheap jacket he’d bought that afternoon, stood at the edge of the crowd against the cold wind, watching expressionlessly at the person he’d waited all afternoon for, now surrounded by bodyguards at the center of the crowd.
Ying Xun had already changed out of what he’d been wearing that morning.
A white double-breasted casual suit, his long straight legs and firm, powerful waistline showing through faintly with each steady stride. Under the gold-rimmed glasses, his sharply defined, smooth-lined face carried not a trace of expression.
Noble, cold, and aloof, no wonder he was known in the industry as an untouchable flower on a high peak.
Getting to sleep with someone like that, he thought, wasn’t such a bad deal after all.
Watching Ying Xun approach him step by step, the corners of Jiang Yi’s thin, flat lips suddenly curved up slightly, a cold smile escaping.
999 floated at his side, carefully watching his expression. “Um, Host, do you want to move forward a bit more? I can see there’s still some room to squeeze in over to your front left.”
999 had no idea what its host was actually thinking.
Ever since it had bonded with Jiang Yi, every single move, every choice and every action Jiang Yi made was impossible for it to predict.
Take right now, for instance.
He’d clearly waited a whole afternoon in the cold wind, and now that the conquest target had come out, its host wasn’t even willing to step forward.
It didn’t believe for a second that its host just wanted to catch a distant glimpse of the conquest target from afar.
A deep-love script clearly didn’t exist between its host and the conquest target right now.
Jiang Yi crossed his arms, leaning lazily against the tree trunk, not even blinking. “No need. I believe he can see me.”
The moment Jiang Yi’s words landed, not far across from him, at the center of the crowd, the noble figure striding quickly through the fans suddenly raised his eyes and looked toward Jiang Yi.
Their gazes collided in midair, sparks flying instantly.
Ying Xun’s deep, dark eyes stared straight at Jiang Yi under the dim lighting, his cold, sharp gaze like a blade, stabbing directly at Jiang Yi, as if trying to pierce right through him.
Receiving Ying Xun’s knife-like glare, Jiang Yi’s expression stayed unchanged, still leaning lazily against the tree trunk.
He slightly raised one arm and gave the displeased Ying Xun a light wave.
His delicate face, half-hidden under the black mask, showed unmistakable provocation and smugness.
The next second, Ying Xun’s cold face frowned again, and he turned away directly, breaking eye contact, bending down to get into the nanny van parked nearby.
The car door shut with a heavy thud.
Jiang Yi had achieved his goal. He turned and flagged down a taxi, calmly giving the driver the address “Cishan Villa,” then closed his eyes and settled into the not-very-comfortable back seat to rest.
The taxi swayed along, stopping and starting, and after some unknown length of time, it finally came to a complete stop.
The driver turned from the driver’s seat and patted the drowsy Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi woke groggily, took some change out of his pocket to pay, and got out of the car.
Then, a familiar black Maybach came into his view up ahead.
Jiang Yi raised his hand to smooth down his hair, messy from sleep, tugged at his crooked collar, and with a faint smile at the corners of his mouth, sauntered over to the black Maybach and knocked on the window.
A second later, the window rolled down.
Miao Xiuwen glared at Jiang Yi, his face full of anger, disgust in his eyes as if he wished he could tear Jiang Yi apart. “Listen here, Jiang Yi, don’t push it too far! Isn’t forty million enough for you?! Do you believe I’d call the police and say you’re stalking our Brother Xun?!”
The threat, utterly toothless, made the curve of Jiang Yi’s lips lift even further.
Jiang Yi bent down slightly, resting his elbow on the car door, smiling broadly at the furious Miao Xiuwen. “What kind of talk is that, Assistant Miao? What law am I breaking by following my own alpha?”
“You—!” Miao Xiuwen was so angry he choked on his words. “Do you have no shame at all? Who the hell is your alpha? You know full well in your own heart why Brother Xun marked you!”
“Assistant Miao, feel free to say that a bit louder, so the whole world can know your Brother Xun marked me,” Jiang Yi said with a bright, easy smile, cutting Miao Xiuwen off.
As he spoke, Jiang Yi reached up and touched the gland at the back of his own neck. “Of course, what I say isn’t necessarily right either. If you think what I’m saying is wrong, you’re welcome to call the police, and ask them whether following my own alpha, who marked me, home counts as stalking, counts as breaking the law. Or I could post it on Weibo and ask your Brother Xun’s fans. If they all think it’s illegal, well then, let the police come arrest me.”