Chapter 126

Chapter 126

After Ji Mian kissed him, his eyes stayed cold, still clearly unhappy.

Yu Chuang was at a loss.

After all, it wasn’t the first or even the second time he’d upset Ji Mian. Before meeting Ji Mian, Yu Chuang never realized he had such a knack for rubbing people the wrong way.

No matter what he did, it was never right, and nothing seemed to satisfy Ji Mian. For a moment, Yu Chuang genuinely wondered if it was his fault.

In his entire life, he’d never met anyone with such a difficult personality. With that thought, Yu Chuang pulled Ji Mian closer, catching his scent.

Qiao Jiayang thought to himself, "..."

Is his temper really that good?

So good it was almost unnerving. Any normal person would’ve lost their patience with such unreasonable behavior from their partner.

Something felt off to him.

On closer inspection, the blond model, though a head shorter and slimmer than Yu Chuang, clearly held the upper hand in their relationship.

Meanwhile, Yu Chuang seemed almost too passive.

Qiao Jiayang felt a chill and suddenly wondered: Could they be into that kind of thing?

Some people seem all proper on the outside but have some kinks they’d never admit to.

Qiao Jiayang hesitated. Sure, he’d experimented before, but never to that extent…

Ji Mian didn’t notice Qiao Jiayang, but Yu Chuang spotted him out of the corner of his eye, though he didn’t think much of it.

He’d told Qiao Jiayang he was meeting his "boyfriend."

Even if Qiao Jiayang figured something out, Yu Chuang didn’t care.

He wasn’t exactly innocent himself. When he worked at the club, he knew he’d be noticed and was ready for the gossip. As long as it didn’t mess with his graduation, he was fine with it.

Still, he didn’t want anyone to see him hugging Ji Mian.

Yu Chuang glanced over, locking eyes with Qiao Jiayang for a second.

Qiao Jiayang froze, then quickly pretended he was just passing by. He gave Yu Chuang a quick shrug and a smile before hurrying off.

The System thought, "..."

Still holding onto its host, but looking at someone else?

It had noticed that the guy had been staring over here for a while. Either he was interested in its host or in Yu Chuang.

The system wasn’t worried about Yu Chuang changing his heart. After all, across several worlds, this guy had stuck to Ji Mian like glue, impossible to shake off. If he were a Tasker like its host, he was definitely one without ambition.

Although human emotions are complex, the virtual department at headquarters only has so many branches—Affection Points, Hatred Points… The department responsible for the real world is more complicated, with all kinds of task types.

Ji Mian’s brother had followed through so many worlds, so he could only be from the virtual department.

The system couldn’t figure out what task Yu Chuang was on. His behavior patterns varied greatly across worlds, showing no discernible pattern. Completely untraceable.

With such a lack of ambition, it better not lead its host astray in the future.

After Qiao Jiayang left, Yu Chuang withdrew his gaze and looked down at Ji Mian.

Ji Mian's hat had been pushed off during their kiss earlier and now lay loosely on his hair, revealing his eyebrows and eyes. Even with a cold expression, he looked good.

Yu Chuang reached out and adjusted the hat, putting it back on properly.

"Why did you come all the way here?" It was usually him who went to the Ji Family.

"All the way? You sure think highly of yourself."

"..."

Ji Mian had come from the Ji Family, taking several tens of minutes, and it certainly wasn't specifically to pick up Yu Chuang.

It was just that the restaurant he had booked for tonight was near Ningda University. The driver had already dropped him off at the restaurant's entrance, and he remembered there was someone nearby who could keep him company for dinner, so he decided to wait at the entrance of Ningda University.

...That was the theory, anyway.

In reality, Ji Mian just wanted to see Yu Chuang, and since the restaurant was nearby, he decided to come and drag him along before the meal started.

"I'm here for dinner, and I'm taking you along the way." Ji Mian's lips curled up slightly, as if it were a big deal to Yu Chuang that he was picking him up on the way.

"...Thank you." Yu Chuang accepted his gesture.

He hadn't seen the Ji Family's car when he left the school gate, so he casually asked about it.

"I told the driver to come in the evening," Ji Mian said.

Ji Fan couldn't drive. Ji Fan's greatest hobby was collecting watches, and he wasn't particularly interested in cars. Since the family had a driver, he never bothered to learn.

Yu Chuang: ...

And yet you complain about too many people and not being able to drive out as soon as we meet. The car isn't even nearby.

Ji Mian had his own dedicated driver, who usually served only him and was always on standby.

Dinner would take at most two hours, so it wouldn't have been a big deal to have the driver wait nearby. However, the Ji Family's luxury car was too conspicuous, and Yu Chuang might know someone who would see it. Ji Mian was worried about being talked about, so he told the driver to come later in the evening.

At the school gate, more cars began to appear, mostly ride-shares called by students planning to eat or have fun near the university district in the evening.

Seeing that people would start gathering in a few minutes, and with Yu Chuang by his side, Ji Mian obviously wouldn't take charge.

Yu Chuang took the initiative to ask for the restaurant's name and found it somewhat familiar. After some recollection, he remembered it was an upscale restaurant he had considered for a part-time job two months ago.

He also had an impression of the route, which wasn't far from the school. Without even turning on the navigation, he directly led Ji Mian there on foot.

*

At the restaurant, Yu Chuang realized that Ji Mian really had just come for dinner and had brought him along. Ji Mian had only reserved a table for one, and only added a seat for Yu Chuang after arriving.

The waiter brought two menus, but Ji Mian had already pre-selected his meal and didn't even flip through his.

The restaurant was less than half full, but it was already the peak dining time for this establishment. However, a glance at the menu prices made it easy to understand why.

Yu Chuang flipped through a couple of pages, then looked up calmly, "I can't understand it."

Ji Mian: ...

The menu was in Chinese, but most of the ingredients were unfamiliar to Yu Chuang. He didn't feel embarrassed and calmly asked Ji Mian for help, "Boss, could you order for me?"

Ji Mian didn't have the patience to order dish by dish for him, so he told the waiter, "Add one more set menu."

The waiter looked a bit troubled. The set meal included a few off-menu items, which required advance reservations, and the kitchen prepared the ingredients based on the reservation list.

"Sir, some dishes might not have enough ingredients."

"For the ones with insufficient ingredients, just substitute with whatever is available on the menu, serve whatever you have," Ji Mian glanced across the table, "He’ll eat just about anything."

Yu Chuang remained silent for a couple of seconds.

He wasn’t too picky, except he wasn’t a big fan of fish, and indeed, he’d eat almost anything.

But coming from Ji Mian, it felt off.

The waiter: "...Alright."

Ji Mian’s eating pace left much to be desired, slow and deliberate, taking nearly five minutes to eat a small piece of fish.

Watching Ji Mian eat, Yu Chuang thought it was fortunate that Ji Mian was born into such a wealthy family, having dinner in high-end restaurants with courses served one by one. Or simply hiring a chef to cook at home.

If it were any other small restaurant, he’d only be left with cold dishes.

Yu Chuang intentionally slowed down to match Ji Mian’s pace, but no matter what, he couldn’t stretch something that could be finished in two bites to five minutes.

His appetite was also much larger than Ji Mian’s. Previously, when dining at the Ji Family, Yu Chuang was always the one who polished off the plates, and Ji Mian even mocked him for being unsophisticated.

Yu Chuang ignored it and kept doing his own thing.

He couldn’t go to work on an empty stomach.

The waiter stood awkwardly nearby, watching the vastly different eating speeds of the two, unsure whether to serve Yu Chuang first or wait for the other to finish.

In the end, Ji Mian added a basket of side bread to solve the problem.

While Ji Mian was slowly chewing, Yu Chuang sat across the table, slowly nibbling on the bread. It looked a bit rough, but it did the job.

He picked up the last small piece of bread from the basket and dipped it into the remaining creamy sauce.

His mouth was filled with a mix of flavors from various unknown ingredients. It wasn’t exactly tasty, but the flavor was complex—both salty and sweet, with a hint of milkiness and a touch of pepper.

Yu Chuang thought that he would never get used to this kind of food, no matter how wealthy he became in the future, he wouldn’t come back. The portions were small, and he couldn’t get full. He thought the dishes here were a bit over the top.

He glanced up at the person across the table, who was eating at a leisurely pace, his blond hair gleamed under the restaurant lights.

Ji Mian speared a bit of crab meat with his fork, tasted it, frowned, and set it down. He always ate this way, never settling for anything that didn’t hit the mark.

If it were anyone else eating like this, Yu Chuang would surely lose his appetite. But with Ji Mian across the table, every move he made seemed so natural.

It only reinforced that they were from different worlds.

Ji Mian said to the system, "This sauce, it smells a bit funky."

The system scanned it and broke down 90% of its components.

Ji Mian only saw a bunch of seafood innards.

"Some people are into that kind of stuff. If you don’t like it, give it to your brother."

Ji Mian wordlessly pushed the plate toward Yu Chuang.

Yu Chuang hesitated for a second, then polished it off.

After dinner, it was already close to eight.

Ji Mian had asked the Ji Family’s driver to come twenty minutes early, but after waiting for a while, the driver called.

Yu Chuang saw Ji Mian purse his lips, mutter "Got it," and hang up.

He asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Traffic’s bad; he won’t be here anytime soon."

Yu Chuang suddenly remembered it was Friday, and the evening rush hour would drag on longer than usual.

Knowing Ji Mian hated waiting, Yu Chuang asked, "How long’s it gonna take?"

"How would I know?" Ji Mian snapped, frowning irritably. "Why the hell can’t helicopters land on this damn street?"

"..."

"Is there anything fun around here?"

"There’s a movie theater, a park... though the amusement park’s a bit far," Yu Chuang replied, meeting Ji Mian’s gaze that looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"You think I’d actually be interested in those places?"

No. Places Ji Mian would be interested in...

Yu Chuang thought about it and remembered there was a high-end club or nightclub nearby.

He said, "Then there’s nothing else."

Ji Mian smirked, ordered himself a couple of drinks, and waited another twenty minutes, completely bored.

Yu Chuang watched Ji Mian pour himself drinks, surprised he hadn’t blown up.

Master Ji had a temper, but aside from his sharp tongue, he wasn’t so bad.

Yu Chuang knew some folks with peculiar tastes who’d use tools or even get rough with their partners.

At his angriest, Ji Mian only bit Yu Chuang’s shoulder—and even that was half-hearted and painless.

People’s good qualities stand out when you compare them.

Yu Chuang bit his tongue.

Since when had he started kidding himself? This playboy was now being painted in a light that only showed his good side.