It Turns out that I am Beautiful, Strong and Miserable [Quick Wear] - 132

 

ITOTIABSAM | Interstellar Orcs | 132

...

The hovercar hummed as it took off. Gu Cong's eyes darkened slightly, but his words were gentle, "Did I scare you?"

Taking the straight answer, Xie Ye admitted, "A little."

He thought Gu Cong needed more time to think things through.

After all, the other party from the new world seemed mature and steady, making it hard to be as impulsive as when he was eighteen.

"But I can't wait any longer." Trying to restrain the urge to pull the young man into his arms, Gu Cong turned sideways, his clenched fist resting on his knee.

It wasn't just a physical need, but a deeper and more greedy desire. He wanted every day in the future to be like today, spending time with Xie Ye.

"It's too hasty, I know." Feeling like everything in his heart was laid bare under those clear green eyes, Gu Cong even thought about covering Xie Ye's eyes with his hand for a moment. But in the end, he just looked at the control panel in the back seat and earnestly tried to make amends, "I'll go buy some flowers."

The next moment, his tightly clenched fist was covered by a hand with an even lower temperature.

"That's nice," Xie Ye's fingertips interlocked with his forcefully, and he leaned back, slowly and somewhat solemnly, kissing the corner of Gu Cong's lips. "Roses, right?"

Even the most fragrant flowers couldn't compare to the heartfelt words pouring out from the other.

The beating of his heart was like a drum, and Gu Cong's Adam's apple visibly bobbed as he swallowed hard. The rumors from his past workplace were undoubtedly based on superficial impressions. At least in his experience, there was no one better at love than Xie Ye.

"I want to kiss you," emphasizing the words that previously left him breathless, Gu Cong clarified, "Just kiss you."

In compliance, the young man, now so close, closed his eyes.

His eyelashes were long, of a color lighter than normal, curled and raised. In the daylight, they resembled butterflies woven from light, fluttering with each breath.

The kiss that was supposed to land on his lips instead met his forehead.

Then, gently descending, it brushed across the young man's thin eyelids, straight nose, and delicate tip, finally reaching the slight curvature of his upper lip.

Perhaps feeling ticklish, the young man used his slightly warm lips to nudge against Gu Cong's.

Boom—

In that instant, a wildfire ignited. Gu Cong tensed his back, intertwining his fingers tightly with Xie Ye's. His free hand pulled the other closer, with just the right amount of force to allow the young man to breathe comfortably.

A surge of warmth gathered in his lower abdomen.

...He might have to eat his words.

Gu Cong thought.

The young man, with cheeks slightly flushed, struggled to raise his hand and warned with a hook on the loose collar of his clothes, shaking it gently, "Behave."

With a sense of resignation in his amber eyes, the fierce wolf willingly submitted, reluctantly stopping his actions.

Rewardingly, the slender white fingers perched on his chest skillfully moved upwards, buttoning up his shirt buttons, not missing even the top one.

Although the size was quite appropriate, Gu Cong felt the collar was too tight, making it hard to breathe. Reluctant to ruin Xie Ye's efforts, he abandoned the idea of ripping off the buttons and instead kissed the young man's cool earlobes, the slightly reddened corners of his eyes, and his snow-white and smooth hair.

Repeatedly, like the most clingy of large dogs.

"It's very itchy," he complained, but his body didn't move away. With patience, he tidied up the appearance of the other person. Xie Ye opened a narrow slit in the window of the floating car.

The colder air from above rushed in, dispersing the faint scent of blood inside. The dirty clothes they changed out of were piled in the corner, out of sight, out of mind. Xi Ye thought of folding them neatly and putting them in a paper bag, but someone kept holding onto his left hand.

"Together," Gu Cong pretended not to understand the hint in the young man's expression, gripping him tighter. "I'm very good at folding clothes."

Xie Ye: Childish.

But endearing.

Both approaching sixty, how could they still play house like this?

Unable to resist, after a few moments of standoff, they finally coordinated silently, each with one hand, folding the dirty clothes together and placing them all into a paper bag.

Twenty minutes later, after thorough inspection, Xie Ye led his new boyfriend back to his own home.

Contrary to its austere exterior, the decoration of the small apartment was incredibly soft—literally soft: most furniture had no sharp corners, with rounded edges, and the wooden floor was mostly covered in thick wool rugs. It seemed to be regularly cleaned, with no visible speck of dust.

There were very few miscellaneous items, and no visible electrical outlets, making one wonder if the apartment's owner already had a child.

In reality, the small apartment, afflicted with Sleeping Beauty syndrome, was not much different from that of a young child during an episode.

Derived from its origin, the small apartment inevitably shared some traits with Xie Ye, such as a lack of security and difficulty in entrusting trust.

This included the AI-loaded household robot.

Thus, similar to Xie Ye's apartment with Gu Cong, the carefully arranged cocoon room, or rather safe house, of the small apartment was also very retro, lacking in extra slippers. Xie Ye had to give the pair reserved for bathing to Gu Cong: "Sorry, I don't usually have guests here."

The size of the slippers Xie Ye offered was naturally a bit small for Gu Cong, but he wore them happily, straightforwardly and possessively asking, "What about Anna?"

Stepping into the fuzzy light-colored slippers barefoot, Xie Ye lightly glanced at the other person, "You're the first."

"Except for the maid."

"No problem," Gu Cong's smile remained unchanged, clearly aware that the other was teasing him. Catching up with Xie Ye in three quick steps, he leaned against his shoulder, lightly and cheerfully, "From now on, I'll be your maid."

Xie Ye's slender emerald eyes curved slightly, "Maid?"

Gu Cong was serious, "Or butler, if you prefer."

Before he could finish his sentence, Xie Ye's elbow wrapped in his shirt nudged him. It didn't hurt, but it tickled a bit, preventing Gu Cong from making a humble apology, causing him to chuckle softly.

Adhering to the principle of "if I'm not comfortable, neither are you," Xie Ye turned a blind eye to the media's unrestrained coverage of the attack outside the hospital, highlighting every detail.

Every frame, every detail was repeatedly analyzed and scrutinized. More and more people began to suspect a series of coincidences on the day Xie Tianhua escaped from prison.

[Using someone else's hand to kill?]

[Is there a protective umbrella behind the Xie family?]

[It can’t be gods will]

Crack.

For the first time in a long time, Xie Ye heard the faint sound of a corner of the world consciousness crumbling.

Born from text and not yet fully formed, the small world naturally couldn't allow the paper people to realize they actually lived within paper.

Perhaps realizing that the disasters forced upon Xie Ye, the out-of-control antagonist, were ineffective and only brought trouble upon himself, the world consciousness behaved obediently. Xie Haiguo and Xie Tianhua didn't cause any more trouble after the trial and were sentenced to prison.

As Xie Tianhua had previously stated, the natural blood ties couldn't be severed by law. 

Although Xie Haiguo had sold off some shares of the Xie family to raise money, he still had some left. Logically, this portion should have been inherited by Xie Ye, but he had no interest in the small amount of money, nor did he want to take on the debts.

As for whether Xie Haiguo and Xie Tianhua's company was acquired or went bankrupt, what did it matter to him? This home had never treated him well.

Unfortunately, there were always some people online who liked to sympathize with the "weak." When Xie Ye emerged victorious in the end, they stood on the moral high ground, accusing the original victims:

[So heartless.]

[Capitalists are indeed ruthless.]

[You were raised in the capital star, and you just watched your father and brother go to prison?]

External comments were rarely of concern to Xie Ye, and Anna had intended to have the PR department manage and suppress the comments to avoid being influenced. Unexpectedly, their own boss didn't approve, unwilling to waste even a penny for their scumbag father and brother.

As Xie Ye had predicted, the number of normal netizens far outnumbered the abnormal ones.

[Speechless, I've never seen so many bodhisattvas in Da Leiyin Temple. The relics are even smashing onto my face.]

[Are you okay? Do bullies even deserve to be called "brothers" by Xie Ye?]

[Seriously, why is the scumbag father called a scumbag father? Do I need to explain?]

[Fun fact, the child support was doubled and paid off the year Xie Ye graduated from college.]

[Since the kind brothers and sisters in the hot comments are so generous, why not take turns to go to jail for Xie Haiguo and Xie Tianhua? Six months each, or maybe three months, shift changes for ventilation, it'll be quick.]

Words flew like swords, but just a week later, no one cared about how Xie Haiguo and Xie Tianhua were faring in prison anymore:

The cooperation between the federal government and Ark Technology proceeded as scheduled, and the existence of the "Second World" was officially announced to the public.

With adjustments, the immersion could reach up to one hundred percent, undoubtedly a true virtual reality, a groundbreaking technology. Countless worlds from novels, movies, and games could become vivid new continents in the future.

For a time, Ark Technology was unstoppable, attracting a flurry of collaborators. Xie Ye, holding 46% of the company's shares, became a rising star comparable to the Huo family.

The protagonist's luck was supposed to be divided evenly, much to the frustration of the world consciousness, but it could do nothing about it. After all, this annoying antagonist knew how to threaten it.

Xie Ye, who had no intention of targeting the protagonist, was puzzled: ??

Divided evenly? He just reclaimed everything that belonged to his alter self in the first place. Besides, managing a rapidly expanding company, especially one where the assistants were particularly difficult to fool, was really troublesome.

He sincerely wanted to lay low.

Fortunately, as the boss, he still had some privileges.

For example, now, Gu Cong, who had been promoted to the leader of the "Second World" project team after assessment, stood across from him at his desk, reporting on the progress of the game development.

"Mr. Xie?" Their relationship hadn't been publicly disclosed yet, so even though there was no one else around, Gu Cong still used the formal title.

This was bad.

He was caught spacing out.

Noticing someone gradually adopting Anna's style while working, Xie Ye calmly raised his gaze, pretending to be puzzled as he responded, "Hmm?"

With a pair of flat glasses perched on his nose, adorned with delicate golden wire frames, and complemented by those undisguised emerald eyes, Xie Ye exuded a coldness that kept others at a distance.

But Gu Cong wasn't the least bit intimidated. Taking advantage of the moment when Xie Ye tilted his head to look up, he bent down, reached out, and gently hooked the small bridge between the two lenses, taking them off. "Tired?"

"Close your eyes for two minutes."

"I'll keep it a secret for Mr. Xie."

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Author's note:

Xie Ye: I don't want to close my eyes.

Xie Ye: I want roses.