Chapter 264: The Return Journey 3

Chapter 264: The Return Journey 3

Injustice, snow in June!

Ji Xinghai had been in JiuZhou for about thirteen or fourteen years. He had lazed around for two years, been pursued for another two, wandered aimlessly for a few more, spent some time in casinos, and even traveled overseas. Every day was filled with new experiences—learning to drive planes, boats, skiing, horseback riding... There was no time for relationships, neither with the opposite sex nor the same.

Qin Yu looked straight at the tombstone to avoid laughing.

Unexpectedly, Ji Xinghai showed such an expression. Someone who always had everything under control seemed unflappable, but just now, he lost his composure.

How could anyone suspect him? From the moment he appeared in the examination hall, he had been in Qin Yu's sight.

After the first exam, he came forward voluntarily. One reason was his capability, and the other...

Observing people was addictive.

Ji Xinghai noticed Qin Yu’s upturned lips. Despite the cemetery workers not being far away, he couldn’t help but smile. Qin Yu didn't laugh; instead, a gentle breeze blew by, and the lazy sunlight fell on his shoulders, evoking a sense of freedom and comfort.

Both of them had fought hard all their lives, just to be able to sit down like this, bask in the sun, and chat. Only those who had lost it knew how precious this ordinary pleasure was.

"Shall we go for a walk outside?" Qin Yu pulled up his driver, and they strolled along the clean, neat stone path, with a gentle breeze dispersing their worries.

The cemetery was remote, at the foot of a mountain. To leave, one either had to walk or catch a ride on the occasional passing tricycle. They followed the path out, occasionally encountering locals carrying baskets full of wild mushrooms.

"It's about the same season as when I first arrived at the examination hall," Ji Xinghai said, looking at the mushrooms sprouting by the roadside. In the southwest mountains during this season, mushrooms were as abundant as stars in summer. If one picked every mushroom seen, they wouldn’t get far in the morning.

Qin Yu also remembered that time. When JiuZhou’s official students changed their nationality, he naturally paid more attention to the only one left. Little did he know that his gaze would never shift again.

"While I was here, although I traveled the world most of the time, after autumn rains, I always found a chance to come back and eat wild mushroom hotpot.

"What you eat depends on what you find on the mountain. Dry-bark mushrooms are delicious but too troublesome to clean, and best for fried rice. Chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms, however, are perfect for frying or making soup."

As they walked, Ji Xinghai plucked a milky yellow mushroom from the roadside, its thick cap resembling a small trumpet. Qin Yu recognized it as a chanterelle, and there were several more on the ground.

"Shall we find a place to eat wild mushroom hotpot? And maybe watch a movie here?" Ji Xinghai suggested, "I want to see how absurd it is."

Qin Yu couldn’t stop him, and he was also curious, so they went to explore. Although the restaurant staff couldn’t see them, technology could still issue the right instructions.

Soon, a restaurant with private lounges welcomed two mysterious guests.

In a private room by the window upstairs, there was a wild mushroom hotpot simmered for half an hour in local chicken broth, grilled matsutake slices on a specialty iron plate, and a small TV for selecting movies.

The door was locked, and Ji Xinghai was browsing through the "Heaven's Gambit" series, which turned out to be a popular commercial film with ratings around eight, all starring the same actor.

As for Qin Yu, he ladled two bowls of chicken and wild mushroom soup, letting it cool naturally before adding potato slices to the pot.

"I want the grilled matsutake slices," Ji Xinghai said while searching for movies.

Fresh matsutake slices, thinly sliced and placed on an oiled iron plate, sizzled as they met the hot oil. Once both sides turned slightly golden, the movie began.

Seeing the line "This film is based on true events," his lips twitched.

Was it really an adaptation, not a creative retelling?

Ji Xinghai drank mushroom chicken soup, ate the fragrant grilled matsutake slices and cooked potato slices, sitting on the sofa watching the movie.

Amidst the whirring sound of helicopter blades, a foreigner was angrily berating someone over the phone. It turned out that an antique he was sending to an auction house had been stolen. He was cursing the police as useless tax-eaters and demanding compensation from the insurance company.

The camera then shifted to show the man amiably reaching an agreement with someone whose figure was blurred.

"Insurance fraud?" Qin Yu seemed to understand.

"Revenge." Ji Xinghai recalled the event depicted. By then, he had already been abroad for a few years and had gained fame, which led to someone asking him to act as a double.

"Huh?"

Qin Yu’s confusion was soon resolved. The foreigner, smugly returning with the antique, was caught by the insurance company's agents.

All previously paid insurance fees were refunded, and due to the large amount of fraud, he faced imprisonment. The valuable antique was no longer covered.

During the three minutes it was transferred, it was stolen again, leaving nothing behind.

"Mr. Xingyao, thank you for your reminder. This is a token of appreciation." The insurance company sent a gift, and the handsome and charming protagonist finally appeared.

"Thank you." The stolen valuable antique ended up in someone else's hands. This person seemed to know the situation, placing the antique before an ancestral tablet and bowing thrice. "Father, that guy is going to prison, and our family heirloom has returned. Rest in peace."

Qin Yu looked at Ji Xinghai again.

"It’s romanticized. Just because of boredom, I sought extreme thrills." The film, considering various factors, embellished his actions. Even Ji Xinghai couldn’t claim to be a hero, merely a reckless madman.

"And it wasn’t that dramatic." He emphasized, "I used a chainsaw to cut through those thick safes, and security personnel dealt with it violently."

They continued watching.

The main course arrived, a beautiful woman appeared, and the antagonist entered, leaving him numb.

The plot shared only half the similarity with his actual experiences, but the playboy in the film bore his identity. By the end, Ji Xinghai didn’t bother explaining anymore, drinking soup expressionlessly: What does Xingyao have to do with me, Ji Xinghai?

Qin Yu, however, kept watching, studying it as if it were a research topic.

The "Heaven's Gambit" series spanned seven films, starting with classic espionage, escorting a monitored genius back home, and rescuing a critical hostage from a war zone...

As the young employee said, the protagonist in the films was invincible, possessing extraordinary intelligence and skills, and knew how to charm women, indeed very captivating.

From this virtual persona, he glimpsed a hint of the younger Ji Xinghai, reveling in extreme thrills, dancing on the edge of danger, fearing neither death nor boredom, always creating sensational topics.

That soul, suppressed and honed in a different world, quietly transformed in solitude.

The obedient child stored in his parents' memories slowly grew into the person he is now.

"Don't look, these screenwriters are inhumane. You can ask me anything you want to know." As the movie was nearing its end, the intimate scene between the male and female leads was unfolding, and a hand covered Qin Yu's eyes.

The long eyelashes brushed against the palm of his hand, causing a slight tickle. Ji Xinghai looked at him, his gaze tracing down the straight nose to rest on the light-colored lips.

Qin Yu could have simply moved his hand away from his eyes, yet he remained motionless: if he said not to look, then he wouldn't look.

"Such a good boy." His eyes seemed to be kissed through the palm, the laughter and the sound of skin touching clearly fell into Qin Yu's ears. The darker the world became, the more distinct the sounds were.

Watching the intimate scenes in the movie, he felt nothing, but now, just listening to the sounds, smelling the soap scent on the strands of hair that brushed his nose, and feeling the gaze upon him, his throat began to itch and his fingertips grew numb.

"Let me whisper a secret to you: you are the first person I want to devour yet hesitate to taste."

Ji Xinghai was once oblivious to the concept of romantic love, so he couldn't discern what it truly meant to fall in love with someone. He simply believed that if there was a person who could stay by his side for a long time, the future would likely be worth looking forward to.

"From the first moment I saw you, I knew you must taste delicious."

Qin Yu had no idea what was happening. He was pushed by an unseen force onto a soft sofa. He felt the handsome young man sit on top of him, his breath drawing near.

In the darkness, my breath was plundered by another, all senses heightened, the non-existent heart pounding like drums.

His neck was constricted by oaths, his peculiar nature yearning for the delicious and potent soul.

Moral constraints and primal instincts were locked in a struggle, and he finally couldn't help but reach out, only to have his wrist seized and pinned against the back of the sofa.

Black thorns crawled around their wrists, sharp spikes piercing the skin, red blood dripping, and a husky voice accompanied by the warm breath brushed against the eardrum: "It's really delicious, just as I thought."

Qin Yu felt a stabbing pain in his soul, as if he had been bitten. Instinctively, he wanted to bite back. In that moment, many memories that did not belong to him flashed into his world.

The young man on the tombstone wanders through various countries like a stray cat, seeking a place to belong, yet never finding one.

The days of wandering were not as glamorous as portrayed in movies, accompanied by wealth and beauty. The young man suffered from severe stomach problems due to irregular meals. He had not yet developed the good habit of not staying up late, which he would later adopt. He was a slightly morbid and dark, yet somewhat eccentric character with a touch of madness.

Enchanting eccentric.

"Focus on the moment when we kiss, don't let your mind wander."

Upon encountering something cherished, the instinct is to plunder and possess.

Ji Xinghai lifted his wrist, pricked by thorns, and licked the blood from it. Since the final step was not completed, the contract remained in effect.

"From the moment the contract was signed, you were bound to it."

A few minutes later, the front desk received the signal to "tidy up," and the door to the private room opened once again as the waiter entered to clean up. The mysterious guest had already left, leaving behind only the cooled remnants of the meal and the movie still playing.

"Huh? They're reading the 'Stealing Heaven' series. Hmm, what's this?" A waiter found a golden sunflower seed on the table, with a note pressed underneath, inscribed with a few vigorous and elegant characters: Sofa Cleaning Fee.

"Ah?" The two waiters looked puzzled. They observed the slightly disheveled sofa, which was not dirty, and couldn't figure out what needed cleaning.

It wasn't until someone on one side noticed a few drops of blood that matched the color of the sofa, as if it had dripped down after being punctured.

"Did it accidentally get pierced by the stick holding the potato chips?"

In the evening park, two tall young men huddled on a seesaw meant for children.

Ji Xinghai smiled warmly at the opposite side, while Qin Yu remained composed, putting his sunglasses back on, his gaze not daring to venture forward through the lenses.

He was afraid that if he looked over, he couldn't hide his surging desires.

Hunger, and more.

Qin Yu pursed his lips; the lingering warmth had long since faded, but he could still faintly smell a scent. It was unclear whether it was the fragrance of shampoo, body wash, or perhaps a blend of scents unique to one person.

But once the playful heart ignites, it no longer cares about its roaring soul.

"Will I hurt him?" Qin Yu, who usually had self-control, experienced this insecurity for the first time.

"Qin Yu."

Qin Yu instinctively looked over. Ji Xinghai leaned forward on the handlebars, resting his face in his hands, and flashed a big smile: "Want to play seesaw?"

Qin Yu was a bit bewildered. Perhaps because throughout his life, whether as a human or an anomaly, his role had always been that of a 'reliable adult.'

Having grown up as an orphan and matured early, he skipped the childhood phase and never had the experience of playing on a seesaw with other kids.

Ji Xinghai grabbed the handlebars and pressed his feet against the concrete, pushing down this end and lifting Qin Yu on the other side. Qin Yu immediately steadied himself, driven by the instincts of an excellent individual, and began to compete for position.

This simple childish game became incredibly fun with the addition of a playmate and a touch of healthy competition.

In such games, Qin Yu's state gradually relaxed.

Ji Xinghai observed everything. He had never been in love, but he had the best model around him. Whenever he didn't know what to do, he would learn and imitate.

His parents not only gave him a happy childhood but also instilled in him the courage to forge ahead and the true essence of love.

Later, they played on all the amusement facilities in the park. Everything was perfect, except for the passerby who accidentally stumbled upon the empty playground, witnessing the seesaw swinging and rocking without anyone on it, which caused a severe mental shock.

The culprit watched the fleeing passerby and laughed heartily as he left.