The So-Called Reunion
Back in his high school days, Xiao Han used to play a game called The Sims. His greatest joy was finding bizarre ways to make his characters meet their demise.
Getting burned to death, starving, or drowning in a pool were too mundane. The real thrill came from deaths like being scared to death by a ghost, crushed by a meteor, or even dying from holding in urine too long.
But never did Xiao Han imagine that one day he might die from laughter…
So when he awoke from his stupor once more, a wave of anger and helplessness washed over him. He felt like a character in a game, controlled by some twisted player. If the storyline deviated from its set path, he would die in some absurd way.
The most frustrating part was that in his previous life, he had been ready to follow the script’s rhythm, yet he still ended up dead. Xiao Han sat up in bed with a grim expression—why was he always waking up in bed after these time jumps?
The room was spacious, decorated in a modern style, quite luxurious, with soft carpet covering the entire floor. The black-and-white color scheme exuded a strong personal style, feeling more severe and cold than warm and inviting.
Xiao Han glanced around casually and found a framed photo on the bedside table. The man in the photo looked exactly like him, with his arm around another young man, their expressions intimate. However, the photo had clearly been cut in half and then taped back together.
The young man’s face seemed familiar. Xiao Han squinted, trying to recall, and realized it was Liang Chenli, the friend he had secretly loved in the first life’s stand-in script.
It seemed this guy had once again been cast as his old lover.
Just as Xiao Han was pondering the new storyline of this life, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. “Young master, breakfast is ready.”
“…Got it.” Xiao Han reluctantly put down the photo frame, washed up, and walked out in his loungewear. At the door stood a middle-aged man with glasses, a trusted steward who had been with the Xiao family for years. Since Xiao Han’s father’s death, he had devoted himself to helping Xiao Han take control of the family’s power, eventually overthrowing the local crime boss in X City and replacing him with the Xiao family.
This steward—wasn’t he just the middle-aged version of Xian Fu?
Xiao Han sat at the dining table without a change in expression, watching as Xian Fu carefully served breakfast, thinking to himself that this really was like a TV drama with the original cast.
No matter how the story’s background changed, the relationships remained the same, and the plot always boiled down to the same old “I like you, you don’t like me, and when I stop liking you, you start liking me.” It’s the same story with a different dressing, as most scripts are.
In the first two time jumps, Xiao Han couldn’t help but complain, but now he saw through it all, his heart calm as still water. He was only focused on two things: how to truly break free from the script’s control and matters concerning Wen Muyan.
He would bet his cucumber that Wen Muyan was not the original from the first life and had likely crossed over in the previous life.
But these were just his suspicions. To know for sure, he would have to meet Wen Muyan.
“Young master, Zhuo Fan is still causing a fuss, saying he’ll continue his hunger strike if he doesn’t see you.” Seeing that Xiao Han had almost finished eating, Xian Fu stepped forward and whispered.
Xiao Han couldn’t help but rub his temples. Just hearing Zhuo Fan’s name made him feel frustrated. He sneered, “Let him starve. Does he still think he’s the prince of the underworld? Give him glucose and nutrients.”
“Yes, young master,” Xian Fu replied dutifully, likely ready to carry out any order Xiao Han gave, even if it meant killing Zhuo Fan.
“Xian Fu, investigate a man named Wen Muyan for me, as detailed as possible,” Xiao Han said, wiping his mouth. Doing extra things wouldn’t be stopped by the script. “This person should have a significant connection with Zhuo Fan.”
“Understood, young master.” Xian Fu was a bit surprised but didn’t show it.
For now, Xiao Han didn’t need to see Zhuo Fan because, according to the script, he needed to go somewhere else.
“Prepare the car. I need to visit Nanshan Cemetery.”
It was late autumn, and the sky, already gloomy, began to drizzle.
There were few people visiting Nanshan Cemetery. Two black cars slowly drove along the mountain road, stopping at the front of the luxurious cemetery area. Four bodyguards in black suits quickly got out of the car. One of them opened an umbrella and held it over the rear car door.
Xiao Han stepped out, his large sunglasses covering half his face, leaving only his thin, cold lips visible.
He carried a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, took the umbrella from the bodyguard, and instructed indifferently, “Wait here.”
“Yes,” the four responded in unison, with two standing still at the entrance of the path.
After passing about ten tombs, Xiao Han stopped in front of one at the far end. The area around the tombstone was clean, as this section of the cemetery was regularly maintained by staff.
The owner of this tomb was none other than Liang Chenli, with the inscription: Erected by his lover, Xiao Han.
Xiao Han placed the flowers down, silently murmuring, “Chenli, back then, Zhuo Fan leaked your whereabouts out of jealousy, using the authorities to kill you. I will avenge you tenfold. The Zhuo family has been toppled, and with the old man gone, no one supports Zhuo Fan anymore. He’s been secretly detained by me. How would you like me to deal with him?”
“Heh, the Zhuo family once held all the power, and their only heir got entangled with me. I can only blame myself for not being strong enough to protect you. After you left, I pretended to accept Zhuo Fan, deceiving him while secretly laying a trap. Now, I’ve finally succeeded in taking over, crushing the Zhuo family beneath my feet. It’s a pity you can’t see any of this…” he said, slowly removing his sunglasses to reveal a face as cold as an iceberg. In the desolate autumn rain, his solitary figure seemed so forlorn and desolate.
He stuffed the sunglasses into his coat pocket and took out a small purple and white object from the other pocket.
It was an onion.
Holding an umbrella made things awkward, so Xiao Han clamped the umbrella handle between his shoulder and neck, crouching in front of the tomb in a rather odd posture to peel the onion. Tears streamed down his face as he peeled. “Chenli, how could you leave me alone? Our only photo together was cut up by Zhuo Fan. Although it’s been taped back together, the marks will remain forever…”
“I feel like your image is becoming more and more blurred, but I don’t want to forget you…”
“No matter how I avenge Zhuo Fan, you won’t come back. What’s the point of all this…”
Only after his eyes were swollen from crying did Xiao Han finally sigh with relief. “If I’d known peeling onions was this painful, I would’ve just bought some eye drops. Poor Liang Chenli, as a complete nobody, you already had no presence in the first life, and in this life, you don’t even get a scene. Compared to Cannon-Fodder Top 123’s constant presence, a cannon-fodder bottom is just a pile of crap, flushed away after it’s done.”
He stood up again, quickly putting on his sunglasses to hide his eyes, red as a rabbit’s, and resumed his cool, dashing gangster boss persona in front of the bodyguards, getting into the car and speeding away.
After handling some important matters and returning to the villa, the sky had completely darkened.
Xiao Han handed his rain-soaked coat to a maid, loosening his tie as he frowned and asked, “How’s Zhuo Fan?”
The steward adjusted his glasses, his tone somewhat helpless as he replied, “Young master Zhuo Fan was making a fuss to see you, causing quite a scene. We gave him a sedative in the afternoon, and he fell asleep. Young master, your bath is ready. Will you have dinner in the dining room?”
“Bring it to Zhuo Fan’s room.” Xiao Han continued to frown, his face expressionless as he walked into the bathroom to take a bath.
He soaked in the tub for a long time, unable to wash away the irritation at the thought of seeing that annoying face. Finally, he stepped out with a cold expression, dripping wet as he walked barefoot to Zhuo Fan’s room.
The room was lit by a soft, dim orange floor lamp. It’s said that orange lighting in a bedroom can stimulate desire, but Xiao Han thought that was nonsense.
A man lay quietly on the bed, his face pale, even in sleep his brows were furrowed, clearly not resting well.
Xiao Han stood by the bed, staring at the familiar face with an impassive expression. Suddenly, he felt an urge to take off his shoe and smack him in the face!
But when he reached for his bare foot, he realized he wasn’t wearing any shoes.
So Xiao Han dejectedly settled into the nearby armchair, drooping his eyelids as he continued to stare at Zhuo Fan as the script required. Damn it, if he kept staring, he’d go cross-eyed.
Fortunately, the script didn’t waste too much time. Zhuo Fan finally showed signs of waking, blinking in confusion. The moment his eyes caught Xiao Han, they widened in shock. He leapt from the bed, grabbing Xiao Han’s collar tightly. “Xiao Han! You finally have the nerve to see me?! Tell me, did you get with me just to elevate the Xiao family? Was your love for me all a lie?”
Having not eaten for a while and still groggy from the sedative, Zhuo Fan’s mind wasn’t fully clear. But seeing Xiao Han’s face brought a rush of mixed emotions, love and hate, flooding his brain.
After two lifetimes of entanglement, Xiao Han found Zhuo Fan’s agitation utterly tedious, making him appear even more indifferent, his expression more vivid than the script described. “What if it is?”
Xiao Han pulled Zhuo Fan’s hand away and, with a forceful shove, sent the frail Zhuo Fan tumbling onto the bed. But Xiao Han used too much force, and instead of just landing on the bed, Zhuo Fan rolled twice and fell to the floor with a thud.
“…Oops, slipped a bit, sorry.” Xiao Han hadn’t expected that, scratching his head innocently.
Zhuo Fan, dizzy from the fall, struggled to crawl back onto the bed, panting heavily. He glared at Xiao Han with anger and pain. “Why are you doing this to me? I’ve done so much for you, trusted you, loved you, why betray me?!”
“Betray you? I never had any true feelings for you, so how could I betray you?” Xiao Han sneered, pinning him down and swiftly stripping him of his clothes, leaving only his underwear intact.
“Let me go!” Zhuo Fan struggled fiercely, but he had no strength left. He closed his eyes in resentment, recalling the times they had been intimate on this very bed. But now, facing a lover who had betrayed him, this violation felt like endless humiliation and torment. “Xiao Han, get off me! Don’t touch me!”
“…The pain you caused me by losing Chenli, I will repay a hundredfold on you!” Xiao Han gripped his throat, laughing coldly in his ear.
With his other hand, he deftly removed Zhuo Fan’s underwear.
The terror of impending assault and the agony of betrayal overwhelmed Zhuo Fan, gnawing at his heart. His strained nerves finally reached their breaking point, causing him to faint.
At that moment, an unexpected guest arrived at the villa. This person was agile and composed, somehow bypassing the villa’s layers of security and surveillance, slipping inside unnoticed. He swiftly knocked out the two bodyguards stationed at Zhuo Fan’s door, then kicked the door open and burst in!
This man was Wen Muyan.
Though he had anticipated what might be happening inside, the scene he encountered still left him stunned—
Xiao Han, wearing only a bathrobe, was on top of the unconscious, naked Zhuo Fan. Due to the earlier struggle, his bathrobe had loosened, revealing a broad expanse of firm chest muscles.
Wen Muyan stood there, dumbfounded, forgetting the lines he had prepared.
What left him speechless wasn’t just the scene on the bed, but Xiao Han’s actions—he was holding a white object over Zhuo Fan’s head.
The white object appeared to be a pair of underwear.
This guy was trying to put Zhuo Fan’s underwear on Zhuo Fan’s head!
…What on earth was going on?
Hearing the commotion, Xiao Han turned his head and met Wen Muyan’s stunned gaze. He quickly reacted, greeting him, “Hey, we meet again in this life, McDonald’s!”
Wait… Who’s McDonald’s?!