Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Before Lin Juan could answer, Lu Yanzhou’s lips found the corner of his mouth.

Slowly, gently, they covered his.

Their lips met.

Caught off guard by the kiss, Lin Juan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Mm…”

With soft, lingering pecks, his lips were enveloped. Their breaths mingled in the warm air, and Lin Juan slowly closed his eyes.

With his eyes shut, his other senses sharpened. Lin Juan felt Lu Yanzhou’s embrace tighten around him, heard his breathing deepen, and sensed his body temperature steadily rise.

The Ferris wheel descended and came to a stop.

Lu Yanzhou gently wiped the moisture from the corner of Lin Juan’s mouth. “Juanjuan, come back to me.”

Startled, Lin Juan snapped back from his dazed state.

The gondola door opened, and people streamed out. The words Lin Juan wanted to say caught in his throat, leaving him somewhat distracted for the remainder of their outing.

Noticing his dampened spirits, Lu Yanzhou took him away early.

Back at the hotel, Lu Yanzhou looked at him with concern. “Are you alright, Juanjuan?”

Had he been too impulsive?

Had he frightened him?

Lu Yanzhou chastised himself inwardly.

Overwhelmed by emotion, perhaps he shouldn’t have moved so quickly.

Lin Juan shook his head.

His hazy gaze gradually cleared, and he looked at Lu Yanzhou, his eyes brightening. “I didn’t really feel anything. Lu Yanzhou, kiss me again.”

Lu Yanzhou’s heart instantly lightened. His actions outpaced his thoughts; before he knew it, he was by Lin Juan’s side, leaning down to kiss him.

Lin Juan sat on the sofa, tilting his head back to meet the kiss.

The man was so close, his distinctly masculine scent filling Lin Juan’s nostrils—intense, yet gentle.

Lin Juan wrapped his arms around the man’s neck, shifting from passive to active. Applying what he’d learned, Lu Yanzhou was visibly even more aroused.

Things nearly spiraled out of control.

When they finally broke apart, Lin Juan’s clothes were disheveled, and several rosy marks adorned his neck, left by Lu Yanzhou’s trail of kisses.

There were some on his chest too.

After tidying Lin Juan’s clothes, Lu Yanzhou’s voice was hoarse. “Juanjuan, I need to go freshen up.”

Lin Juan clearly sensed something, glancing down thoughtfully before teasing, “President Lu, you seem a bit heated.”

“Juanjuan, cut me some slack. With the one I love so close, it’s hard to control myself.”

Lin Juan was feeling restless too.

“Go ahead.”

He needed to calm down as well.

The sensation of kissing was wonderful. It was as if Lin Juan had flipped a switch, now frequently wanting to kiss Lu Yanzhou. Their relationship had taken a qualitative leap.

Of course, it also brought some minor, not entirely unwelcome troubles.

Lu Yanzhou’s cold showers had noticeably increased.

That night, just before things escalated completely, Lu Yanzhou released Lin Juan.

He had overestimated his self-control. With Lin Juan around, what self-control was there to speak of?

If not for his fear of moving too fast and scaring him, Lu Yanzhou felt he could have fully possessed Lin Juan the very night they returned from the amusement park.

Lin Juan was quite open in this regard. As someone who enjoyed pleasure, kissing Lu Yanzhou felt so good that he often pestered him for more. As long as he was satisfied, everything else was fine.

Lu Yanzhou kissed every inch of his body.

When he lingered in a certain spot, his hot breath washing over him, Lin Juan was left hanging in anticipation.

“Lu Yanzhou…” Lin Juan murmured, a silent urging.

“Juanjuan, is this okay?”

Lin Juan pressed closer into his embrace, urging, “Hurry up.”

The corners of his eyes were flushed red, like blooming peach blossoms, incredibly alluring.

Lu Yanzhou swallowed hard and opened his mouth.

Lin Juan let out a satisfied sigh.

It felt too good.

The rest of the world faded away. Lin Juan’s thoughts drifted, unsure how much time had passed when everything ceased, and Lu Yanzhou released him.

Suddenly out of the warm embrace, Lin Juan instinctively leaned forward, murmuring, “Lu Yanzhou?”

Lu Yanzhou was locked in an internal struggle. The soft, pliant Lin Juan was too tempting. It took every ounce of his lifelong self-control to let go under such circumstances.

Now, the young man’s eager seeking nearly shattered that self-control.

“What is it, Juanjuan?” Lu Yanzhou looked down at the young man in his arms.

The young man’s hair was tousled. Lu Yanzhou loved this long hair—smooth as silk. When the youth was above him, it cascaded down, brushing against his chest and shoulders, more comfortable than any luxurious fabric.

Brushing aside the strands scattered over the youth’s cheeks, Lu Yanzhou’s gaze softened impossibly.

“You…” Lin Juan paused, as if making a decision. “Do you need my help?”

Lu Yanzhou froze.

There was no response for a long while.

Lin Juan waited but got no reply. The sliver of courage he’d mustered retreated. “I only said it because you seemed uncomfortable. If you don’t want to, forget it.”

No sooner had the words been spoken than Lin Juan was shoved with great force into the soft bedding.

"Juanjuan, are you willing?"

The man’s gaze was intensely bright. Lin Juan felt like he was burning up under that intense stare and turned his face away. "I..."

Even though he had been the one to suggest it, now that it came down to it, Lin Juan hesitated again.

Lu Yanzhou seemed so large—could he really handle it?

Maybe he should just call it off.

Lin Juan was getting cold feet.

But at this point, there was no way Lu Yanzhou was letting him back out now.

"Juanjuan," his voice was rough and hoarse, "Can we just use your hand?"

Oh, is that all?

Well, that's manageable.

Lin Juan generously extended his hand. "Help yourself."

Half an hour later, Lin Juan was seriously having second thoughts, with a sob in his voice. "Lu Yanzhou, are you *still* not done yet?"

He'd never taken this long himself. His palm was almost rubbed raw—how wasn't it over yet?

Lu Yanzhou’s kisses traveled up from his neck and paused at his lips, kissing the young man’s red lips. "Almost there, Juanjuan. Just a bit more."

Lin Juan lost count of how many times he heard that line throughout the night.

Liar.

When he woke up, it was already noon. Both his hands ached, and his legs were sore too. The night before, when he couldn’t take it anymore, Lu Yanzhou had him press his legs together...

He could still feel the phantom sensation of something hard and hot. Lin Juan collapsed weakly back onto the bed.

He considered himself to have pretty good stamina, so how could Lu Yanzhou be such a beast?

Lu Yanzhou entered the room bringing in a tray of heated-up food, his heart overflowing with tenderness at the sight of the lump under the covers.

Lin Juan threw the covers off and complained, "Lu Yanzhou, you went too far. My hands hurt so much."

"Sorry," Lu Yanzhou walked to the bedside, set down the food, sat beside him, and started massaging Lin Juan’s hands. "It was the first time. Cut me some slack, okay?"

As Lu Yanzhou massaged him with just the right pressure, the soreness in Lin Juan’s hands gradually eased. Remembering that he had enjoyed himself the night before too, Lin Juan decided to let it go and picked up his chopsticks to eat.

He was starving.

After eating his fill, Lin Juan got up and only then noticed a shiny, slick feeling between his legs, as if something had been applied there.

"I applied some medicine for you—it's anti-inflammatory and reduces swelling," Lu Yanzhou explained proactively.

After changing clothes, the two went out.

With the site visit nearing its end, Lu Yanzhou headed to Deep Sea Technology’s laboratory to observe the samples.

Lin Juan went along.

Qi Ruilin teased Lu Yanzhou, "Can’t bear to be apart from him for even a moment, President Lu?"

Before Lu Yanzhou could respond, Lin Juan pointed to the work badge on his chest and interjected, "President Qi, the person standing before you now is Assistant Lin."

Qi Ruilin gave a thumbs-up. "You guys are something else."

This collaboration with Lu Yanzhou had greatly altered his preconceived notions of the man. If someone had told him in the past that one day Lu Yanzhou would bring his lover on a business trip and even have him pose as an assistant, he would have thought that person was crazy.

Outside the large laboratory, two assistants brought protective suits.

Qi Ruilin explained, "The new energy stone emits a very faint radiation. For safety, we all wear protective suits when entering or leaving."

Lin Juan was pretty adept at putting these on. He suited up in no time and even helped adjust Lu Yanzhou’s suit and face shield. The laboratory door slid open.

Identity verification successful.

The three entered the lab.

As soon as he stepped inside, Lin Juan saw the enormous stone encased in a glass display at the center.

Calling it a stone wasn’t quite accurate—it was semi-transparent, like crystal, shimmering with iridescent colors, extraordinarily beautiful.

"This is it," Qi Ruilin led them closer. "Preliminary estimates suggest that fully utilizing a stone of this size could generate energy equivalent to half a nuclear power plant."

"Truly astonishing," Lu Yanzhou remarked as he examined the radiant energy stone.

Lin Juan moved a bit closer.

No eerie aura.

Was it safe?

Lin Juan couldn’t be sure.

The previous night, Director Liu had sent him a message saying they had obtained a sample of the energy stone for research, and it would take about a week to get results.

Lin Juan didn’t participate in the negotiations. Qi Ruilin personally gave them a tour of the laboratory.

This lab was quite different from the experimental base under Lin Juan’s name. Walking through it gave Lin Juan the illusion of being in a cold, impersonal science museum.

Qi Ruilin cited numerous data points, and Lin Juan felt his head spinning trying to keep up. All he knew was that Lu Yanzhou and Qi Ruilin went back and forth, discussing many details.

The collaboration was tentatively agreed upon.

They would return to the capital the day after tomorrow.

Once their itinerary was set, Lu Yanzhou asked Lin Juan if there was anywhere else he wanted to go.

Coincidentally, Lin Juan had seen good reviews for a hot pot place online. He showed his phone to Lu Yanzhou. "How about we go for hot pot?"

Lu Yanzhou had no objections.

They decided to go right away. Lin Juan made a reservation, changed clothes, and got ready to head out.

"Wait." Noticing the man was still wearing a shirt and dress pants, Lin Juan called him back.

Lu Yanzhou paused.

Lu Yanzhou: "Why do you suddenly want to go clothes shopping?"

Lin Juan blinked: "Do you want to wear matching outfits with me?"

Lu Yanzhou was struck by the phrase "couple outfits" and answered honestly: "Yes."

"Then it's settled," Lin Juan shook his phone. "Today counts as our third... well, I've lost count of how many dates we’ve had. Let’s go shopping for clothes first, then have hot pot, and then watch a movie. How does that sound?"

The plan sounded like a perfect date, and Lu Yanzhou naturally had no objections.

The two got ready quickly and headed to the mall.

Lu Yanzhou bought two cups of milk tea for Lin Juan, holding one in each hand, while Lin Juan carried various snacks. In less than half an hour, Lin Juan was starting to feel full and put a stop to it: "Okay, that's enough, no more shopping. We still have hot pot to eat tonight."

They arrived at the men’s clothing section.

They clearly looked like high-value customers, and a sales assistant greeted them warmly.

"What kind of clothes are you looking for? Suits?" She glanced at Lu Yanzhou, a tall man with one arm wrapped around the waist of the long-haired young man; he had a commanding presence.

"Not suits. We want something more casual, couple outfits," Lin Juan said.

"Both of you are so handsome and look great together. If you’re looking for casual clothes, please follow me this way."

There were many types of clothes, and Lin Juan was overwhelmed by the choices. Lu Yanzhou waved his hand and said, "We’ll take them all."

"Whoa, hold on," Lin Juan interrupted him. "We’re not buying that many. Try this one, this one, and this one first."

Lu Yanzhou went to the fitting room to try on the clothes, while Lin Juan sat on the sofa outside. Suddenly, he felt a malicious gaze and turned to look, but there was no one there.

They were on the fifth floor of the mall. The direction the gaze came from was outside the transparent wall—five floors up. Was he imagining things?

Lin Juan didn’t think it was his imagination.

When Lu Yanzhou came out after trying on the clothes, he noticed Lin Juan’s distracted expression and his expression turned serious: "Juanjuan, did something happen?"

Could it be that someone had bullied Juanjuan while he was away?

"Nothing," Lin Juan pushed the thought aside and examined the man in his new clothes.

Lin Juan had chosen a crisp short-sleeved shirt paired with jeans, and it suited Lu Yanzhou surprisingly well.

"This set we’ll take."

The sales assistant grinned from ear to ear: "I'll get these wrapped up for you right away."

Lu Yanzhou tried on a few more outfits, all of which were different from his usual style. After changing, his demeanor subtly shifted, and each set gave off a slightly different vibe.

Lin Juan acted like a wealthy young master spending money on his lover, and the word he said most often was "buy."

The bags of clothes would be shipped directly to Lu Manor. After leaving the mall, Lin Juan remembered that gaze from before.

After Lu Yanzhou came out, he no longer felt that gaze.

The Lu family only had one subsidiary in Chengdu, and this was Lu Yanzhou's first time in Chengdu. Apart from Master Chiran, who had recently been seen around Chengdu, Lin Juan couldn’t think of anyone who might wish them harm.

With the enemy lurking in the shadows and the matter concerning Lu Yanzhou, Lin Juan knew he had to be on guard.

"While you were trying on clothes earlier, I felt a gaze full of malice. Have your people found any traces of that fraudulent master?" Lin Juan felt he couldn’t keep this from Lu Yanzhou.

"No wonder you seemed distracted earlier," Lu Yanzhou frowned slightly. "There’s been no news of him these past few days. The last time he was seen was half a month ago, at a small hotel in Chengdu. After that, there’s been no further news."

"We’ll be leaving Chengdu soon. If he wants to make a move against you, these two days are his last chance," Lin Juan analyzed.

"Exactly, so these two days, Juanjuan, you must stick with me," Lu Yanzhou quickly took the opportunity to get what he wanted.

Lin Juan was speechless: "Now I understand how you managed to grow the Lu Corporation so successfully."

Even as he said this, Lin Juan had already decided that wherever Lu Yanzhou went these days, he would follow.

The minor incident didn’t change their plans. Lin Juan and Lu Yanzhou stuck to their original plan and went to the hot pot restaurant for dinner.

The hot pot restaurant was located in a small alley, and the environment was far from what was described online. Lu Yanzhou looked at the messy shop and his cleanliness OCD acted up: "Juanjuan, how about we go somewhere else to eat?"

Hot pot had become very popular in recent years, and there were plenty of places to eat it. They could easily find a place with a better environment—at the very least, it should be clean, right?

Lin Juan wasn’t too keen on it either: "Forget it, let’s go somewhere else."

But the place had such a poor environment—could it be that the hot pot was exceptionally delicious? Otherwise, how could it have no bad reviews on the app?

Lin Juan couldn’t figure it out.

Two young men walked by with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Lin Juan overheard their conversation.

"Are you sure this is the place? It doesn’t look like it."

"The address is correct. It’s here—Sister Qian’s Hot Pot. It’s cheap and delicious, and the reviews online are great. Let’s give it a try."

"Alright, it’s not expensive anyway."

Was it really that good?

Lin Juan grew curious and poked Lu Yanzhou’s arm: "Since we’re already here, why don’t we check it out?"

Lu Yanzhou held Lin Juan’s hand, fighting his aversion: "We’ll just take a look inside."

"I promise, if it’s not clean, we won’t eat there, no matter how good it smells," Lin Juan assured him.

Sister Qian’s Hot Pot had suddenly gotten really popular in the past half month. The consistently positive reviews and low prices attracted many customers. However, the Chengdu Branch of the Paranormal Special Affairs Office had received several reports claiming that family members or friends who had eaten at the restaurant started acting very strangely afterward.

"My sister went there to eat hot pot once, and when she came back, she started crowing in the middle of the night. It scared us half to death."

The person reporting the incident was a young man.

Speaking of this bizarre incident, the young man shuddered despite the hot weather.

He remembered clearly: it was a rainy day, and his sister had made plans with a few colleagues to try the recently popular Sister Qian’s Hot Pot.

When she returned, she was drenched, like a drowned rat.

In the middle of the night, the young man was woken up by the sound of a rooster crowing.

They lived in an old residential area where people occasionally raised chickens. At first, the young man didn’t think much of it, but as the crowing grew louder, as if right by his bedside, he realized something was wrong.

There was no way a neighbor’s chicken could be crowing so close.

The young man turned on the light and saw the shadow of a giant rooster.

Working up his courage, he got out of bed and went outside, only to find his sister’s door slightly ajar.

"Why wasn't the door closed again?" he muttered as he went to shut it. The moment he got close, he saw something through the crack that made the hairs on his body stand up.

His sister was bent over, her shadow on the wall twisted into the shape of a large rooster. The crowing sound was coming from her mouth!

The young man froze and backed away slowly, not daring to make a sound, terrified of being noticed by whoever was inside.

Just before he escaped back to his room, it seemed he saw the figure in his sister's room turn its head and glance outside.

Did it see me?

He collapsed behind the door, breathing heavily, his back drenched in cold sweat. He didn't dare to sleep the entire night.

When he finally made it to daybreak, he walked unsteadily out of his bedroom.

His sister, who had prepared breakfast, looked up. "Little bro, breakfast is ready."

During the day, his sister acted completely normal.

But at night, the young man was repeatedly woken by the crowing, unable to rest peacefully.

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and decided to call the police.

The police referred the case to the Paranormal Special Affairs Office’s Chengdu Branch.

The branch investigated and found that anyone who had been to this hot pot restaurant acted somewhat abnormally at night.

Some crowed like roosters, some mooed like cows, some swung from things like monkeys...

Their biggest commonality was that they had eaten at Sister Qian’s Hot Pot.

Paranormal Special Affairs Office, Chengdu Branch.

"This hot pot restaurant is very suspicious."

"Indeed. I looked up the restaurant’s reviews online. Last month, it was completely unknown, but this month it suddenly became popular with nothing but positive reviews—all praising the taste and freshness of the ingredients. A place with uniformly perfect reviews? That’s not normal."

"Did the victims we visited show any pollution readings?"

"Yes, but not high levels. They’ve already been scheduled for treatment."

Confirming that the issue likely originated from the hot pot restaurant, the branch sent several superpower holders to investigate.

Leading the team was a B-level superpower holder, Ping Yunhan, a fifty-year-old police officer who was transferred to the Paranormal Special Affairs Office’s Chengdu Branch after awakening his superpower.

Ping Yunhan took two younger superpower holders with him for the mission.

The three drove to Sister Qian’s Hot Pot.

The alley where the restaurant was located was too narrow for cars, so Ping Yunhan parked outside, and they walked in.

As soon as they entered Sister Qian’s Hot Pot, the three detected suddenly rising pollution.

The wrist-mounted pollution detectors they wore flashed red, indicating the presence of a C-level or higher paranormal entity inside.

The restaurant was packed with customers, all eating with their heads down. No one spoke—the only sound was the bubbling of the hot pot broth.

It was very abnormal.

The three looked at each other, each seeing the seriousness of the situation in the others’ eyes.

They calmly sat at an empty table and ordered.

Until they understood what was happening, they wouldn’t take risky action.

They needed to identify the source of the contamination before targeting the core.

Waiters brought the hot pot and various dishes.

The two servers had exactly the same smiles and moved in perfect sync, as if following a preset program, every action controlled.

The red oil broth became redder as it boiled, the steam rising like churning blood—fresh, steaming blood, as if just spilled from a human body.

The two younger superpower holders felt dizzy.

They smelled a strong smell of blood.

In the steamy haze, the surroundings began to change.

Blood spattered on the walls dripped down the white-tiled walls. The shrimp on the plate began to swell, growing larger and larger, their eyes turning blood-red, staring right at them.

The other hot pot ingredients transformed as well.

Beef, chicken, duck, pork...

All the ingredients turned back into their living counterparts.

And they kept growing.

The tables and chairs expanded.

The whole building was getting bigger.

No—Ping Yunhan realized in horror—it wasn’t that everything else was growing. They were the ones getting smaller!

"Boom!"

An enlarged prawn swung its pincers toward them.

Ping Yunhan pulled the superpower holder next to him and rolled aside, barely dodging it.

The other diners had shrunk too.

It was as if the tables had turned—they had become the prey.

The shrunken customers regained consciousness to see a huge fish with its mouth wide open, revealing rows of sharp teeth—

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"

"Stay away!!!!!!!!"

"It hurts!"

"What the hell is this?!"

"What is happening?!"

One patron came to, and the others gradually woke up as well. Before they could even ask what was going on, mutated creatures began attacking them.

Giant eels, larger than pythons, moved freely through the air as if swimming in water, swiftly gliding toward the screaming patrons.

Ping Yunhan and the two young superpower holders activated their superpowers.

Their bodies had shrunk, and their superpowers had drastically weakened. After killing the mutated ingredients around them, Ping Yunhan shouted, "Help them!"

The three superpower holders weaved through the crowd as mutated creatures continuously closed in, their eyes gleaming with greed as they surged toward the shrunken patrons.

More and more monsters emerged from the kitchen, an endless stream.

Ahead, a giant crab swung its claws toward a young man who had fallen to the ground.

The young man had been running for a long time and had just tripped, collapsing in pain as agony shot through his ankle. Watching the enormous claw draw nearer, his heart filled with despair.

Overwhelming fear unlocked his body's hidden potential. The young man scrambled to his feet, raising a long, unidentified object he had picked up from the ground, and swung it forward, yelling, "I'll fight you to the death!"

The giant crab's shell was incredibly tough. The young man struck it several times but failed to inflict any damage, instead breaking his makeshift weapon.

Was there nothing left but to wait for death?

Deeper despair washed over him as the massive claw hovered above his head. The young man closed his eyes.

One second, two seconds... ten seconds.

The pain never came.

He opened his eyes just in time to see a long-haired youth drop down from above, sending the giant crab flying with a kick.

"Bang!!"

The ground shook.

Ping Yunhan, clutching a gushing wound where a chunk of flesh was missing, instinctively looked up toward the source of the commotion.

An eel that had been lurking nearby silently glided over. Taking advantage of Ping Yunhan's distraction, it swiftly coiled around him.

Ping Yunhan struggled with all his might.

His superpower was nearly depleted, and the eel tightened its grip. Veins bulged on Ping Yunhan's forehead as he mustered every last ounce of his strength to activate his superpower.

"Boom!"

A blinding orange light erupted from Ping Yunhan, and the eel let out a piercing shriek before being torn to pieces.

Time was running out.

Ping Yunhan had overused his superpower, and his wristband began to alarm. Without immediate treatment, he was at high risk of becoming contaminated.

Scanning the area, Ping Yunhan spotted a superpower holder struggling alone. He strode over and pulled him out of the swarm of mutated creatures.

Catching his breath, he hoarsely instructed, "I'll find a way to get you out. You must, must deliver the message back. There's a high chance a Class A Anomaly has appeared here!"

The tone, reminiscent of last words, brought tears to the young superpower holder's eyes. "Let's get out together, Brother Ping."

"There's no time," Ping Yunhan shook his head. "We have to hurry. Don’t hesitate. Go!"

"Brother Ping!" The young superpower holder looked behind Ping Yunhan, his face filled with terror.

Ping Yunhan sensed a hot breath approaching him and slowly turned around.

A massive yellow cow lowered its head, its drooling mouth wide open, large enough to swallow him whole.

It was too late to dodge.

At the critical moment, the long-haired youth rushed over from nowhere and kicked the giant cow away.

Stunned, they heard the youth's voice, tinged with amusement.

"Interested in a Didi Daida?"