X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the ServerJi Xiao carried Liang Fei slowly toward the building across the street, the thought of the man from earlier cooling his gaze like ice.
In the original plot, after settling the bill, Qin Che would also run into a muscle-bound troublemaker. The guy looked fierce, took an aggressive stance, and with the crowd watching, Qin Che didn’t want to make a scene, so he backed down and refunded the muscle man’s purchase. Later, the muscle man, sensing an easy target, grew bolder—either buying food, eating it, then claiming it had gone bad to demand a refund, or buying some item, using it for two days, and then coming up with some defect to get his money back. He gave other customers the impression that this supermarket could be shaken down. More and more people came looking for trouble, and Qin Che, irritated, would take it out on Liang Fei at home. A coward who bullies the weak. It wasn’t until he broke up with Chen Shuhui that he thought to use the law to fight back. Idiot.
****
Evening.
Ji Xiao asked Liang Fei, “Want Daddy to sleep with you?”
Ji Xiao chuckled. When held, he claimed to be a little kid, but now he pretended to be heavy.
“Neither daddy?”
“No, I’ll sleep alone!”
Ji Xiao patted his head with satisfaction. “Go to bed.”
The first night, Ji Xiao slept with Liang Fei. The second night, he started telling him that only independent kids could play on the tablet, and an independent kid first had to learn to sleep alone. So last night, he slept by himself.
Chen Shuhui came out after his shower, took Liang Fei’s hand, and headed toward the second bedroom. “Xiao Fei, let’s go to sleep.”
Liang Fei shook off his hand and ran quickly into the second bedroom, slamming the door. “I’m an independent kid now! I don’t need an adult to sleep with me!”
Chen Shuhui: “…”
Ji Xiao’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “The kid wants to sleep alone, so we’ll have to make do with the kid’s mom sleeping with me.”
“Who’s the kid’s mom?”
“Then the kid’s dad?”
“…”
Since Chen Shuhui was staying over, he’d actually already steeled himself to get close with Ji Xiao. To be honest, he was pretty eager himself. They’d just confirmed their relationship and then hadn’t seen each other for two days. But still, he felt a bit embarrassed.
Ji Xiao sighed. “You sleep in the master bedroom; I’ll take the sofa outside.”
Chen Shuhui looked up and glared at him. “Who are you trying to fool?”
Ji Xiao let out a soft laugh and reached out to hug him. “I haven’t seen you for two days. I missed you. Let’s sleep together. Don’t worry, without your permission, I won’t do anything.”
“Let go; I’m going to check on Xiao Fei.”
“Then I’ll wait for you in the room.”
“…”
Liang Fei was already in bed, covered with a quilt, looking at him with confusion. “Why are you here, Dad?”
“To turn off the light for you.”
“I can do it myself.”
Chen Shuhui sat on the edge of the bed, looking at him seriously. “Xiao Fei, are you really okay sleeping alone?”
“I’m fine. I used to sleep by myself at home too,” Liang Fei said, pushing his hand. “It’s late, Dad, go back to bed.”
Chen Shuhui: “…Alright. Goodnight.”
He bent down and kissed Liang Fei’s forehead, then walked out. Before closing the door, he added, “Don’t stay up too late. Go to sleep early. I believe you’re a sensible child.”
Liang Fei looked down at the tablet peeking out from under the covers and said with utter confidence, “Che Dad set a time limit. If I go over, I can’t play anymore. Rest assured, Dad.”
Chen Shuhui: “…” Tsk.
Closing the door, he pressed his ear against it for a few minutes. Confirming no crying came from inside, he turned off the living room light and returned to the master bedroom.
The light in the master bedroom was deliberately dimmed. Ji Xiao sat against the headboard, smiling as he watched him, and reached out a hand.
Chen Shuhui’s steady heartbeat suddenly quickened. He walked over slowly. “Qin Che…”
“Mm.”
Ji Xiao responded and pulled him into an embrace.
Chen Shuhui kicked off his slippers, pressed close against him, and steeled himself. Just do it! They were adults, in a relationship, living together, with a son—what was there to fear? Go for it!
Ji Xiao lowered his head, ready to speak, but Chen Shuhui suddenly lifted his face and pressed their lips together.
“…”
Chen Shuhui pinned him down, recalling that kiss accompanied by thunder and rain, and became more and more engrossed.
Ji Xiao went along with it.
Seeing him slip a hand inside his clothes, Ji Xiao let out a low laugh, rolled them over to switch positions, turned off the light with one hand, and gently stroked his face with the other. “Baby, don’t move. Let me take over.”
“…”
****
The next day.
After breakfast, they left Liang Fei at home watching TV. Ji Xiao went with Chen Shuhui to his place to get his things.
“Is this house yours?”
Chen Shuhui hummed in affirmation. “I’ll just bring the essentials. If you treat me badly, I’ll take Xiao Fei and come back here.”
Ji Xiao raised an eyebrow. “I won’t give you a chance to move back.”
“Oh?”
“But when Xiao Fei grows up…” At eighteen, he’ll be thrown out here. “He’s still young.”
Already thinking about a wife.
****
Seeing that Ji Xiao was either taking care of the kid or clinging to Chen Shuhui, Black Cat offered a friendly reminder. [Host, don’t get too caught up in the peace of these two worlds and forget about the sense of crisis…]
Ji Xiao: [Are you hinting that the next world is dangerous?]
Black Cat hinted tactfully: [Host…]
Ji Xiao: [I know. I’ll practice with Xiao Hui every day.]
Black Cat: [That’s not what I meant!]
Ah, forget it. I won’t bother.
****
Ji Xiao and Chen Shuhui had already enrolled Liang Fei in the nearby Third Elementary School. On the first day of school, Chen Shuhui went with the school bus. Ji Xiao took Liang Fei to school by himself.
After meeting the teacher and getting his seat assignment, the students were organized to clean the classroom, and the parents started probing each other.
Ji Xiao walked over to Liang Fei and said softly, “Xiao Fei, I’m going out for a smoke. If things end early, call me, okay?”
Liang Fei wrinkled his nose. “Dad said you should smoke less.”
Ji Xiao pinched his cheek. “Dad also said you should play less on the tablet.”
“I won’t tell Dad you smoke if you add an hour to my tablet time!”
“Dream on.”
“Then I’ll tell Dad.”
“Kid, are you forgetting whose tablet you’re playing with?”
“…”
Liang Fei looked up with a sweet smile and said obediently, “Go ahead, Dad. Call me when you’re done.”
“Little rascal.”
Ji Xiao ruffled his hair and turned to leave.
Third Elementary School had no smoking area, and staff weren’t allowed to smoke on campus. So Ji Xiao walked out of the school, took out a cigarette, and held it between his lips until he turned into a small alley next to the school. Only then did he pull out his lighter and bend his head to light it.
He turned his head slightly and saw a man leaning against the wall inside, a cigarette held loosely between his fingers.
Ji Xiao’s eyesight was excellent. Though the corner where the man stood was a bit dim, he could still clearly make out his features at a glance. His face was plain, but his peach blossom eyes seemed born to express affection. No matter what emotion they carried, they always gave off a seductive air.
Ji Xiao took the cigarette from his mouth and walked toward him.
The man watched him approach, lazily raised his hand, and took another drag. Even though his eyes held no particular emotion—just a normal gaze—they still seemed to brim with tenderness. “What’s up?”
Ji Xiao reached out.
The man brushed his hand away, his eyes still captivating but his voice laced with annoyance and dismissal. “Not interested. Get lost.”
Black Cat was shocked. [Host, what are you doing?!]
Ji Xiao acted as if he hadn’t heard and reached out again.
The man got angry, grabbed his hand, and tried to twist it.
Ji Xiao quickly dropped his cigarette, firmly pinned the man’s shoulder against the wall, and wrenched his other hand free to touch his face again.
“F*ck you!”
The man was clearly no pushover. After being slammed into the wall, he immediately kicked out. Ji Xiao blocked the kick with his hand, and the man bit him right after. Taking advantage of Ji Xiao’s retreat, he quickly escaped the disadvantaged position and started a full-on fight with him.
They fought fiercely, as if they harbored a deep, blood feud.
Black Cat screamed, [Host, wake up! You’re not some thug, why are you messing with him?! Stop fighting! Stop fighting!]
Black Cat was frantic. The host seemed to have lost his mind. How could an emotionless host suddenly try to seduce a stranger? No, this isn’t right.
Urgently contacting the group leader got no response. Seeing the wounds piling up on both sides, Black Cat gritted its teeth and spent points to buy the cheapest weapon on the page: a wooden stick. [Host, hit him!]
A stick suddenly appeared in his hand. Ji Xiao didn’t hesitate and swung it at the man.
The man dodged his head, but his body was still locked in Ji Xiao’s grip, so he could only avoid the blow to his head. The stick slammed into his shoulder, making him stagger.
Ji Xiao took the chance to pin him against the wall and pressed the stick against his neck.
“Is this necessary? I just wanted to get felt up, and you fight this hard?” The man suddenly laughed, his eyes all the more enticing, and his voice carried a flirtatious edge. “You hurt me so bad.”
Ji Xiao: “…”
His muddled mind suddenly cleared. He released the stick and let it fall to the ground.
The man took the opportunity to kick him over. “You come on to me and then beat me up? You…”
“Name.”
“Huh?”
“What’s your name?”
The man watched Ji Xiao stand up unhurriedly, his face calm, his eyes clear. The earlier irritability gradually subsided, and he looked at Ji Xiao with interest. “What, fallen for me? Love at first sight?”
Black Cat thought so too and said worriedly, [Host, you really like him? He’s not as good-looking as Chen Shuhui. Don’t forget you have a son!]
Ji Xiao patted the dusty footprint on his chest, took out a cigarette, lit it, inhaled deeply, and then, recalling the memory fragments that had suddenly appeared in his mind, repeated, “Your name.”
The man gave him a strange look, walked over, fished a cigarette from Ji Xiao’s pack, and put one in his own mouth. “Lin Chenyang.”
“No,” Ji Xiao said, closing his eyes. The memories he fought to recall clashed with his initial memories, giving him a headache, but he persisted. “Not Lin. It’s Xie. Xie Chenyang…”
The man’s freshly lit cigarette fell to the ground. His voice was a bit panicked. “No way, no way, no way! How do you know? Wait, I’m not using my original face either. Just these eyes…”
f*ck. This guy hadn’t secretly been in love with him, had he? Recognizing him just from the similar eyes!
Ji Xiao reached out again.
Xie Chenyang didn’t dodge this time; his eyes were a bit evasive.
Ji Xiao tapped his own lower left eyelid. “Here… there should be a red mole.”
Xie Chenyang: “…”
His shattered brain finally couldn’t take it anymore. Ji Xiao lost consciousness and slowly collapsed.
Xie Chenyang caught him, looked at the fallen cigarette, and muttered, “What a waste…”
“How troublesome.”
“Who the hell is this? I don’t remember him.”
Xie Chenyang carefully studied Ji Xiao’s face. He thought for a long time but still couldn’t place him. Maybe he, too, wasn’t using his own face?
“Hey, broken system, why is there someone who knows me? Tell me, is it a bug?”
“What? No way!”
“Wait, you’re scared? Afraid of me… or him?”
Feeling his soul gradually being rejected by this body, Xie Chenyang lifted Ji Xiao’s hair and stared at his face, racking his brain but still coming up with nothing. It wasn’t until he saw the uncleared footprint on Ji Xiao’s chest that he suddenly understood.
He wasn’t really that hot-tempered. And it wasn’t the first time someone had tried to come on to him. But with this guy, the moment he saw him, he wanted to fight.
His consciousness was slowly being pulled away.
Ji Xiao’s eyes opened at some point. The moment their gazes met, Xie Chenyang had a flash of inspiration. “Ji—”
“Slap.”
Ji Xiao steadied himself, but the person beside him suddenly fell to the ground.
He rubbed his temples. “What’s going on?”
A drop of water slowly hovered in the air and dripped onto the body on the ground. The body vanished instantly.
Ji Xiao: “…”
Black Cat had just finished an urgent call with the group leader and said cautiously, [Host, you don’t remember?]
“A bit of a headache. Who was he? Was that water your doing? Did you dispose of the evidence?”
“…”
Black Cat chose her words carefully. [Actually, only one mission agent can be in a world at a time. He was a stowaway. The moment he saw you, he started a fight. I reported him to the group leader and had him eliminated.]
“…” Quite the story.
“Anyway, it’s not important. Host, you’ve been away for a long time. Your son is probably worried. Shouldn’t you go back?”
Ji Xiao leaned against the wall. “No rush. I’ll finish my cigarette first.”
Black Cat was already feeling guilty, so he nodded repeatedly. “Go ahead, go ahead.” He was sweating bullets inwardly. Was this a tragedy brought on by a single cigarette? The host had been out this long and still hadn’t managed to finish one whole cigarette. Heh.
Ji Xiao stared at the spot on the ground where Xie Chenyang had been lying and asked casually, “The stowaway has been eliminated?”
Black Cat: [Mm-hmm! Don’t worry, you’ll never run into him again!]
A flicker of coldness passed through Ji Xiao’s eyes. He quickly closed his eyes to conceal all emotion. Before he left, Xie Chenyang was clearly about to call out his name. But in his initial memories, there was no such person as Xie Chenyang at all. The memory fragments that had just surfaced were now completely irretrievable—only that name and those eyes remained etched in his heart.
“Cat.”
[What is it, Host?]
“I have a headache.”
Black Cat quickly exchanged points for a bottle of medicine. [Host, drink this. You’ll feel better right away.]
Ji Xiao opened his eyes. “What’s this?”
[A healing potion. It can repair mental and physical trauma. Very effective!]
“How many points did it cost me?”
“Twenty-five…” Black Cat mumbled. [Drink it. You’ll feel better. Points are useless if you don’t use them.]
“…”
Expressionless, Ji Xiao downed the potion.
The headache and physical discomfort instantly vanished. He toyed with the small porcelain bottle in his hand, a profound look in his eyes.
Just then, his phone rang.
“Che Dad, I’ve finished cleaning! How many cigarettes did you smoke?”
“Wait for me in the classroom. I’ll come get you now.”
“Then hurry up!”
“Alright. Real soon.”
Ji Xiao hung up, brushed the dust off his clothes, straightened his collar, and walked out of the alley.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, The Only Ice Flower is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : The Only Ice Flower
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂