Chapter 45 The End of the Second World

Chapter 45: The Second World Concludes

Chen Zui was at his office, handling work. He still quite enjoyed being the boss; every morning, his secretary would bring him coffee tailored to his taste.

He’d leisurely sip his coffee, review documents, and listen to reports.

Lunch break meant a comfortable nap.

In the afternoon, he’d either attend a meeting or go out for a dinner engagement, and his day was essentially done.

Overall, it was a rather pleasant routine.

As for the evenings, Chen Zui set down his coffee cup. Evenings were, naturally, for seeking amusement. Li Jingtang had been unusually quiet these days. Chen Zui knew about the system he was bound to—a fact he’d been aware of for a long time.

He picked up his phone.

“How’s that system you’re bound to doing?”

If his system forced Li Jingtang to follow a plotline, then it would be a showdown between Ao Tian and the system to see who was more formidable.

Li Jingtang, also busy in his office, glanced at his phone. His system had run off—that useless thing. Good riddance.

He snorted, tapping on the screen: “It’s great! My system is incredibly powerful. I’ve got you all figured out now, so just wait and prepare for my revenge!”

Li Jingtang was putting on a brave front. After all, Chen Zui now had a system, and he didn’t, which made him feel outmatched.

Soon, he received a reply from Chen Zui that made him curse loudly: “Fuck! Shameless!”

Chen Zui: “Good, I’ll get cleaned up and wait for you.”

He could curse all he wanted, but as Li Jingtang stared at the message, he couldn’t help but recall Chen Zui’s almost perfect physique.

Last time, things were left unfinished.

It had left him feeling restless and unsettled these past few days, like weeds growing in his heart.

He was a man who pursued pleasure and enjoyment. As for being the top or bottom, he no longer cared. As long as it felt good, it was fine. Getting off without effort was a bonus.

Sleeping with Chen Zui was no different from sleeping with a free escort.

The more Li Jingtang thought about it, the truer it seemed.

—

A Snowy Winter Night

Li Jingtang’s villa was ablaze with light. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the snowy scenery, his restless heart finding a measure of peace.

Outside the villa, Chen Zui sat in his car, scanning the area. Surprisingly, the usual bodyguards were nowhere to be seen. It was as if the door had been intentionally left open for him, beckoning him inside.

He extinguished his cigarette. Originally, he had indeed planned to go in this time, but given the current situation, the handsome man flashed a wicked grin, spun the steering wheel, and drove off.

Ao Tian: “When are we going to the next world?”

Chen Zui: “Let’s wait a bit longer.”

He liked to finish what he started.

Leaving like this felt incomplete.

Ao Tian: “Okay, I’ll follow your lead.”

Chen Zui: “Thank you for understanding. I’m lucky to have you as my partner.”

Ao Tian: “Aww, stop it~ *^_^*”

Li Jingtang woke up again at midnight, though not startled. When he opened his eyes and saw the brightly lit room, he felt a pang of disappointment. Had that damn guy completely stopped his perverse antics? Was he never going to do that again?

He didn’t come.

This irritated Li Jingtang. He opened his phone and stared at the chat with Chen Zui.

Didn’t Chen Zui have anything to explain? Why did he approach him? Was it really just because of his system’s demands?

And why wasn’t he showing up now? Had the mission been completed? What did that mean—that once the mission was over, he no longer cared about him? That whether he lived or died was irrelevant to him?

The more Li Jingtang thought about it, the angrier he became, almost ready to explode.

“Bastard!”

—

For a while now, Chen Zui had been traveling and enjoying the sights in this world. Although making progress was important, occasionally stopping to appreciate the scenery was essential to recharge his energy.

He had once been busy surviving, busy with missions, almost never pausing.

Now that he had the chance, he wasn’t going to shortchange himself.

On the snow-covered mountain, Chen Zui, clad in black ski gear, looked like a warrior from the future. He rode a snowboard, nimbly jumping onto a small snow slope. The front part of the snowboard was suspended in the air, with an almost vertical slope below, looking both dangerous and exhilarating.

Chen Zui pushed forward with his feet and descended from the small slope, swooshing far away. Snow sprayed on both sides of his board as he charged ahead, controlling the board to slide left and right down the slope.

As if reaching the edge of a cliff, he launched himself into the air. Chen Zui reached out, grabbed the board, performed several stylish flips mid-air, landed steadily, and continued charging forward.

It looked incredibly thrilling, enough to make one’s adrenaline surge.

Behind the goggles, his eyes were calm but revealed a hint of excitement.

Chen Zui loved pursuing extreme sports.

While he was skiing freely, Li Jingtang couldn’t hold back any longer. He drove to Chen Zui’s residence, stopping the car while still some distance from the villa.

Li Jingtang stared at the villa where he had also lived for quite some time. That damn guy—after that last message, there had been no news at all. It had been a full month!

What a piece of work.

Didn’t he ever think about taking responsibility… or something…

Not that he needed it.

Hah—

Li Jingtang got out of the car and sneaked toward the villa under the cover of night. Was he not home? The lights hadn’t been on at all. He approached the villa, his gaze shifting from the house to the yard.

Li Jingtang frowned.

He stared at the yard for a long time, finally noticing what was off. The snow—the snow in the yard hadn’t been cleared. It was piled up on the pathway.

There had been several heavy snowfalls over the past month, and it was clear that no one had cleared them away.

A thought crossed Li Jingtang’s mind, making him catch his breath. He looked at the dark villa, threw caution to the wind, unlocked the door with his fingerprint, and walked into the courtyard.

As soon as the door opened, Li Jingtang was met with the stale smell of a space that hadn't been aired out.

He turned on the light.

“Chen Zui!”

No one answered.

He rushed inside anxiously and ran upstairs. Even though he already knew no one was there, confirming it left him feeling empty and lost.

“He’s not here…”

After searching the entire place, he sat down on the sofa, noticing a thin layer of dust on the coffee table.

Did he leave?

Where did he go?

Had he disappeared like the system bound to Li Jingtang?

Just like that…

Countless questions and unspoken words swirled in his mind. Loneliness and anger grew in his heart, twisting his face.

Unable to bear it any longer, he stood up and called Chen Zui.

“Sorry, the number you dialed cannot be reached…”

“Damn it!”

Li Jingtang’s phone shattered on the floor once again. He collapsed onto the sofa, completely drained, as if sinking into the deep sea, sinking deeper.

He had lost touch with Chen Zui—perhaps forever.

Li Jingtang finally realized that he seemed to have lost Chen Zui.

At the same time, he also realized—he liked Chen Zui and didn’t want to lose him.

He curled up in pain, feeling as if his heart had been torn out. He knew Chen Zui was bound to a system, knew Chen Zui had many secrets—so why hadn’t he gone to find him, to ask for answers?

Li Jingtang was overcome with deep regret, the pain of loss overshadowing his anger at Chen Zui’s sudden disappearance.

——

Gu Beichen was worried about his good friend. Lately, Li Jingtang had been like a walking corpse—thinner, constantly busy searching for some system, babbling nonsense.

“Didn’t expect you to still remember Jingtang,” Gu Beichen said, a gossipy glint in his eyes as he clinked his glass against Chen Zui's. The last time they met, Gu Beichen had deliberately gotten him drunk and sent him to Li Jingtang’s place.

He had no idea whether Li Jingtang had succeeded with him or not. When he asked later, Li Jingtang refused to say anything, only telling him never to mention Chen Zui again.

Seemed like it didn’t work out.

So when Chen Zui suddenly called him today, Gu Beichen was surprised. Feeling guilty about what happened last time, he readily agreed to meet and handled all the arrangements, hoping to make amends.

What he didn’t expect was for Li Jingtang to come through the door: “You bastard, sneaking out for drinks without inviting me—”

Li Jingtang trailed off, staring intently at Chen Zui, who sat calmly on the sofa, holding a wine glass.

For a moment, he wondered if he was hallucinating.

Chen Zui smiled cheerfully.

Gu Beichen stood up. He had brought Chen Zui to the place he and Li Jingtang visited most often. Apparently, Li Jingtang had also come tonight—the staff must have mentioned it, and he’d found them on his own.

“Jingtang, why are you zoning out? Come sit.”

Before Li Jingtang could move, the male and female companions Gu Beichen had arranged to entertain Chen Zui walked in. He had prepared them specially to make it up to Chen Zui, but with Li Jingtang’s arrival, the atmosphere became awkward.

Still, Gu Beichen figured since things didn’t work out between them, they probably weren’t on good terms anyway. No harm done.

He motioned for the entertainers to entertain Chen Zui and pulled Li Jingtang down to sit beside him.

Li Jingtang snapped out of it, his emotions so tangled his chest ached. Clenching his fists, he watched as Chen Zui being surrounded by charming companions.

Someone handed him a drink: “Boss, how about an interlocking arms toast?”

Li Jingtang wanted to break that person’s arm.

Chen Zui declined with a smile: “Sorry, the one waiting for me at home wouldn’t be happy.”

Li Jingtang’s expression changed.

Gu Beichen, always eager for gossip, asked: “The one waiting for you at home? So you’re taken, President Chen?”

Chen Zui’s gaze passed over Li Jingtang. Their eyes met briefly, secretly, making Li Jingtang’s heart race.

“Yeah, the one waiting for me at home has a temper and is hard to appease. I wouldn’t dare make a mistake.”

Though no names were mentioned, Li Jingtang knew he was talking about him.

A sweet, joyful feeling bubbled up amid the chaos of his emotions, and his clenched fists slowly relaxed.

Gu Beichen: “Never thought our President Chen would be whipped, haha!”

Chen Zui: “I’m happy to let him keep me in check.”

“Wow~” Gu Beichen nudged Li Jingtang with his shoulder, giving an exaggerated wink. “Look at our President Chen—a man in love is something else~”

Li Jingtang looked at Chen Zui. This time, their eyes remained locked, openly, under everyone’s watchful eyes.

Li Jingtang had so much he wanted to say, but staring at this person, at this face, he threw his glass down, stood up, climbed over Gu Beichen, grabbed Chen Zui by the collar, and kissed him hard.

The room fell into brief silence, followed by shocked gasps and screams.

Now this was dramatic.

Gu Beichen, pinned and unable to move: …???

Did anyone care about him?

Chen Zui cradled Li Jingtang’s face and deepened the kiss. Li Jingtang’s eyes gradually softened before he closed them.

With his other arm, Chen Zui drew Li Jingtang away from Gu Beichen and into his embrace.

Almost instinctively, Li Jingtang wrapped his legs tightly around Chen Zui’s waist.

The screams in the private room grew even more excited—is this really for our eyes without paying?

Gu Beichen stared, dumbfounded, at the scene.

Looking at Li Jingtang’s legs—wait, is this right?

The kiss ended just before it became suffocating.

Li Jingtang opened his eyes, red-rimmed and damp: "You still know how to come back."

Chen Zui gently pecked his lips: "If you’re here, I’d definitely come back."

Gu Beichen: "Uh, how about you two get a room?"

He really didn’t want to watch his friend get laid.

My eyes!