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A gentle voice sounded from outside the kitchen, easing the tension in Ji Xiao’s heart.
Black Cat: “They’re suspicious of you.”
Ji Xiao: “?”
Black Cat: “He carried that cat into the living room himself. Sheng Xiao isn’t afraid of cats; he probably gleaned something from your son.”
Ji Xiao: “…”
Black Cat: “You need to dispel Zhou Jinzhu’s suspicions. Once confirmed, the system’s protection mechanism will activate, and we’ll be forcefully teleported away. This world’s mission will then be considered a failure.”
There had been instances where systems and hosts were dragged away for research due to exposed identities. The existence of systems had been guessed by certain individuals, almost leading to catastrophe.
Consequently, the system’s protection mechanism was created.
Should a host’s identity be revealed, they would be immediately teleported out of that world.
Black Cat softly reassured him, “He’s only suspicious. You just need to clear his doubts. For example, by going to see that white cat or something.”
Ji Xiao: [Get lost.]
If that were the case, everything that just happened would have been right under Zhou Jinzhu’s nose.
What good would seeing Little White do now?
Close the barn door after the horse has bolted?
Hmph.
“Ji Xiao? I’ve already sent Little White back to their room. You can come out now.”
Ji Xiao opened the door.
Black Cat: “I advise you…”
Ji Xiao: [I advise you to shut up. You’re a day late and a dollar short. Why didn’t you say anything when he let the cat in earlier?]
If Black Cat had spoken up, would he have bolted straight back into the kitchen?
Black Cat: “I did, but your mind went blank the moment I started, so you couldn’t hear anything.”
Ji Xiao: [Shut up.]
Black Cat: “…” ‘Perhaps this is what they call being enraged by embarrassment.’
Zhou Jinzhu: “You…”
Ji Xiao stepped forward, embraced him, and sealed his lips.
He closed his eyes, immersing himself in their entwined kiss.
After they parted, he held the back of Zhou Jinzhu’s head, their foreheads touching, and whispered, “A-Zhu, don’t ask anything.”
Zhou Jinzhu kissed the corner of his lips. “Alright.”
He hadn’t intended to ask anyway.
The person he cared about was the one standing before him.
Indeed, knowing that Ji Xiao wasn’t the one who had forced Mo Lin had relieved him greatly.
However…
“Will you leave me?”
Ji Xiao held him close, his voice low. “Never. We will grow old together, and share the same end.”
Black Cat: “He’ll be the one meeting his end, while you’ll just move on to another world to continue being a scoundrel.”
Ji Xiao: [Mute.]
Black Cat: “…” ‘Understood.’
Zhou Jinzhu smiled, not pressing further.
“Papa?”
The door opened, revealing Sheng Lin and Qin Ce, each holding an ice cream, staring at them.
Ji Xiao calmly released Zhou Jinzhu and admonished, “Next time you leave, remember to close the door.”
Sheng Lin: “Huh?”
“Alright, Uncle Sheng, Xiao Lin and I will head back to our room first.”
Qin Ce took Sheng Lin’s hand and quickly led him towards their room.
Ji Xiao: “Should we move to a different house?”
Zhou Jinzhu: “Oh?”
“A bigger one. One for us, one for Xiao Lin, one for Qin Ce, one for the cats…”
Ji Xiao paused.
“I looked at a suite upstairs this afternoon; it’s quite nice. Want to go see it?”
Zhou Jinzhu gazed at him meaningfully. “I bought this house.”
“How about we rent it to Mo Lin’s future girlfriend?”
“What if I don’t agree?”
“Then we’ll rent the upstairs suite to her, and we’ll continue living here.”
“Let’s go see the suite.”
Ji Xiao smiled, taking his hand and walking out.
The suite upstairs boasted five rooms, two living areas, and two bathrooms. It was decorated in a simple yet luxurious style, with excellent orientation and ventilation.
“Shall we check out the master bedroom?”
“Sure.”
Zhou Jinzhu opened the master bedroom door and stepped inside.
Ji Xiao followed him. As Zhou Jinzhu surveyed the room, Ji Xiao retrieved a document bag and a small gift box from the wall cabinet.
“A-Zhu.”
“Hm?”
Zhou Jinzhu turned around.
Ji Xiao opened the gift box, revealing two minimalist rings inside. “The words on them were engraved by me. Will you be my partner and spend your life with me?”
Zhou Jinzhu calmly took out the two rings, turning them over to examine them.
One was engraved with “Zhu,” the other with “Xiao.”
“Is it *this* Xiao?”
Ji Xiao nodded. “It’s *this* Xiao.”
Zhou Jinzhu toyed with the rings, then looked at the document bag in Ji Xiao’s hand. “What’s that?”
“A betrothal gift.”
“A betrothal gift?”
Ji Xiao chuckled. “A dowry works too. Inside are the transfer documents for all the assets under my name. I’m giving them all to you, so you know my determination to spend my life with you.”
Zhou Jinzhu also chuckled, his eyes narrowing into slits as he said softly, “One day, if I no longer want you, you’ll have nothing.”
“Then I’ll try harder to ensure you never grow tired of me.”
Zhou Jinzhu: “Alright.”
He put on the ring engraved with “Xiao” and then helped Ji Xiao put on the ring with “Zhu.”
He thought that he wouldn’t question the cause and effect. If the person before him could be deeply affectionate for a lifetime, whether it was real or fake, it would be enough.
If it was fake, he could make it real.
Ji Xiao embraced him. “After the National Day holiday, shall we take Xiao Lin and Qin Ce abroad with us to get married and have a honeymoon?”
“Yes.”
****
Over the next week, while Sheng Lin and Qin Ce were at school, Ji Xiao and Zhou Jinzhu gradually furnished the upstairs apartment.
They designed it exactly as they wished.
On the ninth day, just as they moved upstairs, Qu Qian finally replied.
“I’ll move in.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow, is that alright?”
“Of course. Give me a call before you come tomorrow; I’ll help you move.”
“No need. Your place has all the appliances, right?”
“Absolutely everything.”
“You don’t mind if I use them?”
“Not at all.”
“That’s fine then. I’ll pack my luggage tomorrow and take a taxi over. Just send me the address and wait for me at home.”
“Alright.”
After hanging up, Ji Xiao mused, “Stupid cat, have Mo Lin and the female lead met?”
This past week, despite living across the hall, he hadn’t encountered Mo Lin once.
Black Cat: “I’m muted.”
Ji Xiao: “…” ‘Are they throwing a tantrum?’
“Not going to say?”
Black Cat grumbled, “Two days ago, Mo Lin ordered takeout, and it just so happened that Qu Qian delivered it. These past two days, Qu Qian has been delivering meals during every mealtime.”
Ji Xiao paused. “The female lead delivers takeout?”
“No, her sister owns a restaurant that offers delivery service. She happened to be at the store two days ago, and their delivery staff was too busy, so she took a delivery herself.”
Black Cat sighed.
“That order just happened to be Mo Lin’s.”
Mo Lin, not wanting to go out or run into Ji Xiao, had been eating takeout every day recently.
The entire person exuded a decadent, melancholic aura.
When Qu Qian saw him, her heart was instantly struck, filled with both tenderness and pity.
Consequently, she had delivered meals to Mo Lin these past two days, even cooking for him herself one evening.
Ji Xiao: “How come I didn’t see any of this?”
Black Cat: “You two were eating at home then, too. You didn’t go out.”
Ji Xiao: “…” ‘Is this the law of attraction between male and female leads?’
Black Cat hesitated. “Do you really want to set them up? You know, this is cutting corners. This world isn’t like the last one; the mission might not be judged a success.”
Ji Xiao lowered his head and lit a cigarette, smoke swirling around him. “Then let it fail.”
“If you fail once, you’ll spend ten days with a house full of cats.”
“…”
Ji Xiao’s hand, holding the cigarette, stiffened.
Black Cat: “I advise you to stick to the romance route: make Mo Lin fall in love with you and become inseparable from you, all without breaking up with Zhou Jinzhu.”
Ji Xiao snapped, “Do you think I’m sick, or is he sick?”
Black Cat: “…”
“For someone I’m interested in, I can put on a show of deep affection for a lifetime. But to be deeply affectionate with one person while also messing with another? I don’t know how to do that.”
“Do you think you won’t capsize if you try to ride two boats? Given Zhou Jinzhu’s personality, if he knew I was involved with Mo Lin, he’d break up with me immediately.”
“…”
“Or do you think Mo Lin has a problem? Falling in love with someone who forced him? Do you think Stockholm Syndrome is that easy to acquire?”
Black Cat said, feeling wronged, “Why are you yelling at me? The mission just requires it.”
Ji Xiao extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray. “Did the mission say I had to make Mo Lin fall in love with me? Did it say I had to mess with two people at once?”
Black Cat: “It didn’t explicitly say so…” ‘But that was the original intention!’
“I agreed to do the mission, but don’t you dare boss me around! Otherwise, I won’t be afraid even if a thousand cats are put in front of me!”
“Really?”
“…” ‘Of course not.’
Black Cat, seeing his rage was comparable to when they first formed their contract, wisely said, “Alright, alright, I won’t say anything else. Do whatever you want.”
‘At worst, this world fails, and it cancels out the success of the last world.’
‘They’d just have to supervise him better in the next world.’
Ji Xiao looked up, his eyes clear and cold, devoid of any irritation, and calmly stated, “That’s right. Don’t make me angry.”
Black Cat was about to say, “Yes, yes, yes,” but suddenly received data that made them panic. “Quick, quick, quick, go downstairs!”
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