Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Chen Zui remained unfazed; after all, this was exactly what he had arranged for Ao Tian.

What truly surprised him was Lu Mingye's reaction. The man let out a startled cry, and in the darkness, Chen Zui saw his silhouette recoil into the corner, stumbling and falling in his haste.

"Are you okay?"

As Chen Zui reached out, Lu Mingye's wildly flailing hand seized his: "Quick, get someone to open the elevator! I have claustrophobia."

Chen Zui felt the hand gripping his, already slick with sweat.

He activated the light on his wrist device, illuminating the elevator and Lu Mingye's pale face. Like a moth drawn to a flame, Lu Mingye pressed himself against Chen Zui's arm, clutching him tightly.

"Call someone to open the elevator now."

His trembling voice held a demanding, almost petulant edge.

Noticing the cold sweat beading on Lu Mingye's forehead, Chen Zui gently patted his head to soothe him: "It's alright. Just let go of me for a moment, and I'll press the emergency button."

Lu Mingye clearly didn't want to release him.

Chen Zui: "Then just hold my hand, you can let go of my arm."

Only then did Lu Mingye slowly, reluctantly, loosen his grip on Chen Zui's arm.

Fortunately, Chen Zui had long arms and hands, making it easy for him to take a step forward and press the emergency button.

Now, all they had to do was wait.

Chen Zui returned to Lu Mingye's side: "It's okay, I'm here with you."

Lu Mingye said nothing, merely huddled in the corner, still clutching Chen Zui's hand.

Ao Tian: [Strange, even though he's so scared, his favorability rating toward you hasn't increased. It's still 0.]

Chen Zui: [Just wait a little longer.]

"My name is Chen Zui."

Lu Mingye: *Who cares what your name is? Right now, you're just my comfort object.*

"I never thought with modern technology, elevator malfunctions could still happen."

Coming to this world, Chen Zui had certainly broadened his horizons. The sheer variety of flying vehicles on the streets alone—something his own world hadn't even developed yet—was astonishing.

"Gentlemen, the elevator will be restored shortly. There may be slight shaking, please do not panic."

The announcement echoed from the speaker above.

The grip on Chen Zui's hand tightened again as the elevator lights flickered back on, accompanied by a faint tremor.

Before Chen Zui could adjust to the light, his hand was abruptly shoved away, the cold sweat from Lu Mingye's fear still lingering on his palm.

The elevator doors opened.

Outside, the hotel manager was waiting. An elevator malfunction meant he had to reassure guests and offer an explanation.

Lu Mingye stepped out first.

Chen Zui: [Still 0 favorability rating?]

Ao Tian: [Yes.]

Watching Lu Mingye converse with the manager, Chen Zui wondered—was he just an ungrateful little brat?

It seemed that showing kindness and offering help didn’t earn any points with this pure villain.

Chen Zui exited the elevator.

The manager apologized to him as well. As compensation, they were not only allowed to stay for free but also received a room upgrade.

Thus, the two became neighbors.

However, their rooms were on a higher floor. Too afraid to take the elevator again, Lu Mingye chose to climb the stairs.

Chen Zui returned to the elevator, took a tissue from his pocket, and wiped his hand.

Ao Tian: [Don’t get discouraged. If this method doesn’t work, there are others.]

Chen Zui smiled: [Don’t worry, I won’t give up so easily.]

Ao Tian: [That’s good. I’ll go check if the starter pack has been restocked.]

Lately, their Dark Transmigration Bureau had been growing rapidly, and the starter pack was in high demand.

As soon as Chen Zui settled into his upgraded room, Ao Tian returned excitedly.

[Got it... I mean, received it.]

[Thanks for your hard work.]

[Let’s see what this big pack will give us. Hopefully, it’s something good.]

Ao Tian silently hoped it wouldn’t be another L8—both it and Chen Zui already had one, and an extra wouldn't be of much use.

Ao Tian counted down 3, 2, 1, and opened the starter pack.

Chen Zui heard it exclaim, "Wow!"—it must be something good.

[What is it?]

[A Bullet Screen Device!]

Chen Zui wasn’t quite sure what it did, but Ao Tian quickly explained: [It turns everyone’s inner thoughts into bullet screens that appear above their heads, and you can see them.]

Chen Zui raised an eyebrow—now that was interesting.

Chen Zui: [You’ve got great luck with these packs!]

Ao Tian, surprised that even opening a pack earned praise, wondered if it could become sworn brothers with its host!

Ao Tian loaded the Bullet Screen Device for Chen Zui, and the two decided to test it out. As Chen Zui stepped outside, he ran into Lu Mingye, who had just finished climbing the stairs.

Lu Mingye didn't look like he wanted to chat.

Chen Zui smiled and said, "Climbing the stairs must be exhausting."

His gaze shifted to the space above Lu Mingye’s head, where a miniature, chibi version of Lu Mingye—chubby and cute—now floated.

Lu Mingye glanced at him without speaking.

Two words appeared above his head: [What a freak.]

The Q-version character above his head burst into flames, looking fierce with a snarling expression.

"I heard that a fear of enclosed spaces is usually related to childhood trauma, you..."

Lu Mingye finally spoke: "Do we know each other that well?"

Above his head: [Trauma my foot! I'll traumatize you! So annoying!]

After saying this, Lu Mingye slammed the door shut.

Chen Zui and Ao Tian, however, weren’t upset at all, because they found the thought bubbles quite useful.

Ao Tian thought to himself, another hothead—though the last one was overtly aggressive, this one is more covert.

——

Chen Zui decided to try once more to see if showing goodwill to Lu Mingye would work.

Lu Mingye left the hotel and first hired professionals to check his room for any bugs or cameras.

He then went to a boxing gym. He figured he couldn’t beat the man from last night, so he should get some protection.

He didn’t expect to run into Shen Yanzhi and his friends there. At that moment, Shen Yanzhi was practicing with a trainer on the ring. The alpha wore a headband and sportswear, full of energy.

Even when the trainer was overpowering him, he showed no frustration or impatience.

Lu Mingye worked the heavy bag alone, imagining the punching bag as that man. But that guy named Chen Zui was also pretty annoying—he threw punch after punch at the bag.

Suddenly, cheers erupted from the ring.

He glanced over and saw that Shen Yanzhi had gotten in a surprise punch on the trainer.

The alpha calmly accepted the applause, nodding with a cocky and proud look, his smile radiating vitality.

Lu Mingye landed a heavy punch, almost knocking the sandbag off its chain.

Why?

Why, after what happened last night, could he recover so completely today?

Lu Mingye didn’t understand.

He lost his motivation and left the boxing gym. Almost as soon as he stepped outside, someone tackled him, hugging him tightly and sending them both sprawling.

Lu Mingye hit the ground hard—it felt like the other person had used him to break the fall.

"You..."

"Are you okay?"

"Crash..."

Three things happened simultaneously—a flowerpot shattered right where Lu Mingye had been standing.

If he hadn’t been pushed down, he would have ended up with a split skull.

Under normal circumstances, one would feel grateful and develop some goodwill toward the person who saved them.

Ao Tian: [Affection points: Still 0.]

Ao Tian: [This ice-cold zero.]

Lu Mingye looked at the flowerpot, then at the person who saved him, and was surprised to see a familiar face.

Why was he here too?

Is he following me?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the owner of the bookstore next to the boxing gym rushed out: "Mr. Chen, are you okay?"

He helped Chen Zui up.

Chen Zui brushed himself off: "I’m fine. Is my book ready?"

"Yes, yes."

Lu Mingye had already gotten up on his own. So it was a misunderstanding. He looked up.

Strange.

The space above had always been empty, never rented out. Where did the flowerpot come from?

"You okay?"

Lu Mingye looked at Chen Zui and shook his head.

Above his head: [Seeing you really jinxes me.]

Chen Zui confirmed that being nice to this guy was useless. Oh well. As a normal person, it was hard to understand these messed-up people—it would take time to figure them out.

Since it was useless, he didn’t say anything more and went with the bookstore owner to pick up his book.

——

Tonight was the engagement party for Mr. Wang’s son, and many people were invited. Lu Mingye guessed Shen Yanzhi would be there, so he attended.

Holding a glass of wine, he watched Shen Yanzhi from a distance as the latter followed his father, greeting guests one by one. It seemed he was actively trying to step into his father’s shoes.

Lu Mingye didn’t have to worry about that. He lost his mother at three, his father at nineteen, and inherited the family assets early, now managed by professionals.

The reception was in full swing.

A waiter approached Lu Mingye, who discreetly slipped him a pill behind the table.

"Don’t screw this up."

"Don’t worry."

The waiter made his way toward Shen Yanzhi with a tray, with only one glass left on it.

Someone walked in front of him, almost bumped into him. The waiter quickly stopped and steadied himself.

"Sorry."

Chen Zui, holding a glass of wine, gave the waiter a nod.

The waiter: "It's fine."

Lu Mingye frowned, "Why is he here?"

What he didn't expect was that the man walked straight toward him.

Although Lu Mingye's expression remained unchanged, in his head, he was thinking: [Don't come over, don't come over, get away, you creep!]

Chen Zui came right up to him, just as Lu Mingye feared, reaching out to touch his face while placing the glass in his other hand on the table.

Lu Mingye was so thrown off by the attempt to touch his face that he jerked back: "What are you doing?"

Chen Zui lowered his hand: "Just saying hello, that's all."

Lu Mingye turned to leave.

Chen Zui: "I added a little something extra to that glass of wine."

Lu Mingye stopped in his tracks, first looked around, then said in a low voice: "I don't know what you're talking about."

Chen Zui picked up the glass and casually took a sip.

"Then you know about you kidnapping him last night, right?"

Lu Mingye returned to the table, glaring at Chen Zui: "It was you!"

Chen Zui admitted openly: "It was me."

Lu Mingye was speechless for a moment, staring incredulously at the man before him—this smiling alpha who had been constantly playing the good guy since he appeared!

He was actually the man from last night!

Ao Tian: [Affection level 1%, I don't understand...]

Chen Zui swirled his glass: "Let's celebrate our meeting, and then I'll tell you what I put in his wine?"

Lu Mingye was actually tempted to drink with this hypocritical guy.

He picked up his glass.

Two identical glasses clinked together, and Lu Mingye downed his in one gulp.

Chen Zui: "Actually, I lied. I didn't put anything in his wine."

Lu Mingye: "Whatever, I don't care whether he lives or dies."

Chen Zui tapped his glass against Lu Mingye's.

A "clink" sounded.

"Then how's that drug you slipped yourself tasting?"

Lu Mingye: !