Chapter 4 Cousin’s Forcible Seizure of You

Chapter 4: The Cousin Who Takes by Force

The man was handsome, with a tall and slender build. He wore a black overcoat, and his shoulder-length hair accentuated his fair complexion. A pair of frameless glasses completed his look.

He was elegant and graceful, radiating a gentle and refined demeanor, with strikingly sculpted facial features.

A jade pendant hung around his neck, emitting a soft glow in the night's shadows. It was emerald green, like the most vibrant shade of green in the height of spring.

Seeing Lou Han, his eyes curved into a smile, and he let out a soft chuckle.

His pleasant voice rang out again.

He said, "I'm sorry, I'm not a bad person. I came looking for my dog. I happened to see a house here and thought to ask someone, but I spotted her right away."

Xiao Jing!

Lou Han hesitated, words caught in his throat.

He scrutinized this person carefully. He really did look so much like Xiao Jing.

Lou Han felt his brain short-circuiting. After a few moments of hesitation, instead of replying to the visitor, he got up to open the door.

At this moment, Lou Han didn't notice that the visitor, without a flicker of expression, had already swept his gaze over him from head to toe.

Who knew what this person was thinking.

The youth stood on the ground, expressionless, as pure as jade. His slightly upturned lips were like a streak of blood on that jade.

His eyes were a profound black. When meeting his gaze, Xi Jingqi felt he might fall deeply into them.

So he had to use nearly all his willpower to restrain himself.

To marvel that he had finally found the person he had been waiting for.

He didn't know when it started, perhaps shortly after leaving the Lou family, but Xi Jingqi seemed to have fallen under a spell. Every night after that, he would dream of a cold, aloof boy—a boy who would appear when he returned to the Lou family again.

At first, he paid it no mind. But as the dreams repeated incessantly, he began consulting mystics and worshipping Buddha.

Buddhism says, "What is meant to be will be."

But he was someone who never believed in "destiny." Everything he had was obtained through his own ruthless and bloody means. Having done too many wicked deeds, he didn't trust those around him, and sometimes in a daze, he didn't even trust himself. How could he believe in Buddha?

In the dreams, Xi Jingqi initially treated the boy with disdain.

Later, he gradually became interested in him.

And later still, Xi Jingqi became infatuated with his smile.

When he smiled, dimples appeared on both sides of his cheeks. At those moments, Xi Jingqi couldn't help but kiss his dimples, then move his kisses to his lips, feeling an impulse to drink his saliva.

These dreams, like a nightmare, gradually devoured his heart, because upon waking, he had nothing.

Not only had he secretly returned to the Lou family to look, but he had also sent people to search all over the world.

He found no trace of the person from his dreams.

Until—one day, his subordinates discovered that among the descendants of the Lou family, there was suddenly someone named Lou Han.

Seeing the photo of this person who, after his years of investigating the Lou family, seemed to have just appeared in the world, his breath caught. He recognized that the person in the photo was not the same as the "him" from his dreams, yet they looked exactly alike.

He obtained all the information on this person and studied it meticulously.

Mediocre. Dull. Nothing outstanding.

Later, another thought quietly crept into Xi Jingqi's mind. It made his blood almost boil.

—He felt that this person would soon become the "him" from his dreams.

That's what he believed, and for a time, he extensively hired renowned Buddhist monks to prove the possibility that his conjecture could come true. Everyone in high society heard about his actions and briefly thought he had changed his nature and gone vegetarian.

The facts proved that his massive investment was not in vain.

At this moment, it was as if a piece missing from birth had returned to his side.

This dilapidated yard was desolate and run-down, but with Lou Han here, the surrounding decay seemed to vanish. Xi Jingqi could hardly conceal the excitement coursing through his veins.

Fortunately, the persona he had adopted was convincing, and Lou Han didn't notice.

The room was small. Lulu bounded out directly toward the visitor. Lou Han also took a step toward him, then stopped.

Still a few steps away, under the bright, high-hanging moon, Lou Han watched as the man, gentle and natural, crouched down to pet the dog. Against the dark hair at the nape of his neck, the suspended emerald swayed in the air with his movements, transparent as ice. He curved his lips into a light smile and said, "Lulu, come. Say thank you to the gentleman for taking you in."

The Samoyed seemed to understand his words, turning back to bark at Lou Han.

But Lou Han was only looking at the man. After a moment, Lou Han deliberately softened his voice, yet still maintained the aloofness habitual to his outward appearance:

"Lulu is very lively. It might be inconvenient for you to take her away. There's a rope in the house that could serve as a leash." After saying this, Lou Han went back into the house to rummage for the rope he had seen. Finding it, he returned and asked earnestly, "Do you need it?"

Seeing the older man accept it with a smile but remain standing in place, Lou Han took the initiative and walked over to him and handed him the rope.

Being closer now, Lou Han felt a sudden pang of longing for Xiao Jing.

But he knew this wasn't the right time.

The man, smiling, took it from his hand. His well-proportioned hand was visibly bare. While taking the item, his fingers very accidentally, with restrained yet undeniable desire, brushed against Lou Han's fingers.

Lou Han quickly withdrew his hand.

Hmm, it really is Xiao Jing. Lou Han sensed a familiar aura from the other person. But Xiao Jing seemed to have completely lost his memory. He didn't remember him.

Lou Han even wondered if the product developed by Xiao Jing's company, which allowed people to enter a virtual world, was currently being updated, with buggy programming. Perhaps Xiao Jing, as the chairman, while receiving a product report, accidentally activated it and brought it home, so both of them got sucked into this alternate world.

He didn't know what Xiao Jing's system mission was.

Lou Han had no intention of trying to wake Xiao Jing up, because unlike him, Xiao Jing had probably already lived in this world for over twenty years. It would be hard for him to trust Lou Han now.

However. The current Xiao Jing also hadn't mentioned their acquaintance, so Lou Han automatically assumed they didn't know each other in this world either.

They were very close now, so close that Xi Jingqi could perceive the aura emanating from Lou Han.

He saw Lou Han's lowered brows. Thick and handsome, like two finely groomed feathers.

This feeling was strange. On one hand, Xi Jingqi was deeply infatuated, even wanting to get closer to his boy. On the other hand, he felt he was still in a dream, and in the dream, he indeed could freely kiss this person.

A confrontation between reason and delusion.

From his perspective, the boy's attitude toward him carried a sense of distance, making it impossible to tell if he held any favor for him.

It was late at night.

A gentle evening breeze stirred, and the moonlight stretched their side-by-side shadows.

Seemingly oblivious, he smiled at Lou Han, the corners of his lips curving.

He spoke like a friendly neighbor. "Are you a guest here?"

Although the Lou estate covered a vast area, it was surrounded by a wealthy villa community. Lou Han's eyes brightened slightly—Xi Jingqi was likely one of the people living nearby.

Perhaps he had seen many people coming to the Lou estate recently and, unaware of the circumstances, naturally assumed they were guests.

Lou Han nodded, hesitating for a moment before holding back from saying more.

He hoped Xi Jingqi would take the hint that it was late and leave on his own.

He felt he didn't need to say much. Best not to invite trouble.

Xi Jingqi's abilities were enough to lead so many companies.

In this world, he lived near the Lou family, and every aspect of him spoke of refinement. The jade pendant around his neck was clearly worth a fortune. Lou Han knew he was doing well, and since he himself still had tasks to complete, he couldn't afford to form any additional connections with Xi Jingqi.

But it seemed Xi Jingqi's personality in this world was much more enthusiastic; he lacked appropriate social boundaries and kept on talking.

The Samoyed lay on the ground, yawning.

Xi Jingqi matched his tone, his voice soft. "I live nearby. I came home very late tonight and didn't expect the dog to run out on its own."

Lou Han paused. "Be careful. I'm going to plant roses here soon—they might prick it."

Xi Jingqi: "Are you studying here?"

Lou Han: "Abroad."

Xi Jingqi: "University?"

Lou Han: "...First year."

After handing over the leash, it was as if they'd moved past mere stranger's small talk.

"Ha. Just as I suspected." Xi Jingqi chuckled lightly again, leaning slightly closer to Lou Han, his gaze sweeping over his face.

This was teasing between strangers. He tilted his head, his hair brushing against the sides of his face, and narrowed his eyes. "Little brother, even though you're tall, you look very young."

Lou Han's face almost flushed crimson.

...Honey, please stop talking, seriously.

Xi Jingqi's voice was soft, already pleasant and magnetic, and calling him "little brother" like this only added to his charm.

He barely managed to hold back a reaction. Instead, he fell silent.

He grew somewhat evasive.

Lou Han wore a white shirt and black pants. He had just showered and changed, accentuating his youthful, handsome college-student looks.

Yet, he always exuded an aura of keeping others at a distance, remaining quite aloof toward him.

"When will the flowers you mentioned be planted?" The man seemed to realize that his comment might seem like he was "belittling" him and changed the subject.

"In about three months." Hmm... I'll need to plant the seedlings directly.

"Before I leave, could I add your contact information?" Xi Jingqi's attitude was gentle as he finally brought up the last point.

Lou Han saw the clarity in his eyes behind the frameless glasses as he pointed at Lulu. "Lulu might come by again in the future."

"..."

Lou Han relented, and they exchanged contact information.

After adding him, Lou Han slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Lou Han watched Xi Jingqi's figure disappear.

Then he turned and went inside.

After lying in bed for a while, Lou Han suddenly bolted upright.

He had added Xi Jingqi using his real, main account.

To know your enemy and yourself... before getting involved in the business world, Lou Han had spent today learning about this world's political system, currency, and policies.

This world was, of course, different from his real one—technology was decades behind, yet it didn't align with any ancient era either.

The Congress ruled their country, functioning as the supreme "power hub," but actual power was divided among families.

As a private family, the Lou family owned all its assets. Even though Lou Han held little status within the family, he'd had no problem funding his years of extravagant living abroad.

Lou Han's current social media feed was filled with records of his lavish lifestyle abroad.

Lou Han broke out in a cold sweat.

He got up to clean up his feed.

But as soon as he opened his phone, he received a message from Xi Jingqi.

Serenity: ^-^.

The profile picture was of the Samoyed Lulu running on a sunny lawn.

Lou Han breathed a sigh of relief. After a moment's thought, he slowly typed a reply: Hello.

Then he turned off his phone.

Better not to overcomplicate things, he thought.

-

Entering a small path, Xiao Jie and the driver were waiting. The nearby Rolls-Royce sat like a lurking beast in the darkness. Seeing him approach, they immediately came forward. He casually handed the dog leash to a subordinate, his eyes as dark as an abyss.

Xiao Jie saw his boss, Xi Jingqi, wearing glasses that made him seem harmless. His boss's lips were set in a thin line, his emotions hidden beneath a calm expression, making him difficult to read.

Xi Jingqi took off his coat and removed his glasses, which were promptly taken by an aide. He asked, "Where's Wang Zongping?"

"Sir, after returning from you earlier, he has already begun acting on that matter."

"He was previously tasked with pressing Lou Han for repayment again."

His gaze darkened, like a gathering storm.

"Next, have him continue contacting Lou Han."

Author's note:

----------------------