Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Today is the official public launch day of Floating World.

After the promotional video dropped, market response far exceeded expectations, with reservation slots surpassing ten million.

Before launch, Lingjing Era ran multiple rounds of server stress testing, and the technical team guaranteed they could support over ten million concurrent players.

But the explosive popularity of Floating World still caught everyone off guard. Even with device limitations—only headsets and Holo-Pods from the last two years could handle the game's specs—concurrent player count still broke through the ten-million mark within an hour of servers going live.

The servers were pushed to their absolute limit.

#CantGetIntoFloatingWorld shot to the top of the trending charts, plunging the operations department into chaos.

In the meeting room, Qi Yi sat at the head of the table, his brow furrowed deeply.

"Have the PR department put together a report on public opinion for me."

Fang Yuanzhou, the PR head, quickly reported the latest updates.

"Overall sentiment is mostly positive. Players are mainly talking about gameplay, strategies, and the incredibly realistic five-sensory experience. The game's rating is currently 9.5."

He flipped to the next slide.

"Negative feedback is mostly about server issues. #CantGetIntoFloatingWorld is currently trending at #3, and #LingjingEraSmallStudio is at #12. Also—"

He paused.

"There's a #FloatingWorldPlagiarism hashtag that's picking up steam fast. Several gaming influencers have already shared it. Should we reach out to Wasteland to bury this story?"

"Plagiarism?" Wen Jueqian looked up.

Fang Yuanzhou pulled up a passage of text: "An account claiming to be a 'game industry insider' is alleging that Floating World's gameplay is strikingly similar to a cultivation-themed full-immersion game Shanhai Games is developing. The post claims Floating World rushed a half-finished product to market to beat them to launch, which is why the game is so buggy right now."

The room went quiet. Everyone's face fell.

Floating World actually did have a prototype. The original studio ran out of money and sold the prototype to Lingjing Era. The current version was completely rebuilt by Lingjing Era's own team.

Aside from both being cultivation-themed, it had nothing to do with what Shanhai Games was developing.

Lingjing Era is a small studio—they couldn't even get internal competitive intel on their rivals.

Qi Yi said grimly, "Get in touch with Wasteland right now. Do whatever it takes to bury this story. Whether we actually plagiarized or not, the second that word gets linked to Floating World, it's a stain we can't wash off."

Fang Yuanzhou nodded and headed out. A few minutes later, he came back.

"Director Wen, Director Qi, take a look at Wasteland."

He turned off the privacy mode on his smart device and projected the screen for everyone to see.

A new hashtag had popped up on Wasteland's trending list.

"Industry Insider Exposed as Data Thief."

Clicking in, the top post was a long article exposing the background of the so-called "whistleblower": this guy used to work at a game studio, and when he quit, he took the company's core data and part of the source code with him, then jumped ship to Shanhai Games.

His old employer took a massive hit and eventually went under. His former coworkers lost their jobs and struggled, while this guy is still out there, thriving in the industry.

Wen Jueqian's eyes lingered on the account that had posted it.

He had a pretty good idea who was helping him.

With the attention shifted, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, another employee knocked and came in with an update.

"Director Wen, Director Qi, we just got reports from our regional offices. Since 2 PM, the busiest areas in Yinsong Prefecture have been playing massive holographic promo videos for Floating World."

The room went dead silent for a second.

Qi Yi blinked: "Did we arrange this? When did we approve a budget for this?"

"We didn't arrange this," the operations director said. "And outdoor holographic ads at this scale cost at least nine figures a day."

Qi Yi was the first to react: "Could it be arranged by your partner?"

All eyes turned to Wen Jueqian.

Wen Jueqian's fingers curled into a fist. He honestly had no idea who had arranged this.

He shook his head.

Qi Yi glanced at him, didn't push it, and smoothly moved on: "Then let's just say we've got a mystery angel investor. Either way, the promo is spectacular."

The emergency meeting went on.

By the time everything was sorted, it was completely dark outside.

Wen Jueqian glanced at the time—it was 11 PM.

He said, "Let's call it a night. We'll pick this up tomorrow. Ping me if anything urgent comes up."

Everyone rose and filed out.

————

It was almost midnight by the time he got back to Jing'an Residence.

The living room was empty. A faint scent of datura pheromones hung in the air—stronger than Wen Yanxu's usual restrained level, like a thin, barely-there mist.

Wen Jueqian followed the scent to the bedroom.

He pushed the door open gently and, in the dim glow of the bedside lamp, saw Wen Yanxu lying in bed.

He was in his pajamas, breathing slow and steady, like he'd been asleep for hours.

Wen Jueqian was somewhat surprised.

Alphas had insane energy—Wen Yanxu only needed five hours of sleep to stay sharp all day, while Wen Jueqian, a Beta, needed at least seven.

Ever since they moved in together, Wen Yanxu always went to bed later and woke up earlier.

What was up with today? Going to bed this early.

Maybe he was just exhausted.

After Wen Yanxu lost his memory, Wen Jueqian stopped asking about his schedule or work—partly to avoid awkwardness, partly to avoid overstepping.

He just had 99 keep tabs on whether Wen Yanxu had any contact with Qiao Yuexun; he didn't go out of his way to track his other movements.

Chen Suye had once offered to brief him on Wen Yanxu's social engagements, but he politely turned it down.

He walked into the bathroom, and the hot water cascaded over him, washing away some of the day's fatigue.

After drying his hair, he walked to his side of the bed, lifted the covers, and prepared to lie down.

There was a noticeable gap between them on the bed.

A faint smell of alcohol drifted over from beside him.

Wen Jueqian froze halfway through lying down.

An Alpha's body burns through alcohol incredibly fast, especially one at Wen Yanxu's level. The alcohol still hanging in the air meant he'd drunk a lot tonight.

Wen Jueqian turned onto his side, facing Wen Yanxu's direction.

He instinctively wanted to ask if he'd had any hangover soup or popped a hangover pill.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them down.

Back before Wen Yanxu lost his memory, he'd occasionally overdrink like this.

Back then, the Alpha would lean in and rest his head on Wen Jueqian's shoulder, his voice lower and raspier than usual, with a hint of unconscious slurring and clinginess, mumbling, "My head hurts" and "I feel awful."

The normally tough, disciplined guy wouldn't just take his hangover meds obediently; he'd make Wen Jueqian coax and persuade him half the time, or just plop his head on Wen Jueqian's lap and demand a massage, and only calm down enough to sleep once he was satisfied.

But that was all before.

Now, in Wen Yanxu's eyes, he probably didn't even have the right to ask how much he'd had to drink.

Wen Jueqian looked away, lay down, and shut his eyes.

Silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of their breathing intertwining.

After a while, his worry for Wen Yanxu won out over everything else.

Wen Jueqian rolled onto his side, inched closer to Wen Yanxu, and asked quietly, "Did you take anything for the hangover?"

Wen Yanxu didn't react at all, lying motionless with his eyes shut.

"Axu?" he tried again, reaching out to give Wen Yanxu's arm a gentle shake.

Still nothing.

Wen Jueqian pushed himself up on his elbows and leaned in closer.

In the dim light, Wen Yanxu's face was inches away.

Asleep, he seemed stripped of his usual aloofness and sharp edges, turning back into the Wen Yanxu of old.

Wen Jueqian had no idea how long he'd been staring.

By the time he came to his senses, his lips had already brushed softly against Wen Yanxu's cheek.

Wen Jueqian shot upright like he'd been burned, his heart pounding.

Ever since Wen Yanxu lost his memory, they weren't as close as they used to be. Before, whenever they were alone, they'd naturally gravitate toward each other.

It had been ages since he'd been this close to Wen Yanxu.

Since the accident, Wen Yanxu had recovered well. The wound on his forehead had healed long ago, and only up close could you see a faint white scar.

On some inexplicable impulse, Wen Jueqian reached out and lightly traced the scar with his fingertip.

His voice was barely audible: "Before this scar fades, will you remember me?"

"Remember what?"

A hand clamped down on Wen Jueqian's wrist.

Caught completely off guard, his heart nearly stopped on the spot. He instinctively tried to yank his hand back, but it was held fast, unable to budge.

Wen Yanxu's eyes snapped open.

Those ice-blue eyes seemed to gleam in the dim light, the corners flushed red—stained by alcohol.

Wen Jueqian flinched, frozen solid, his breath hitching for half a second.

He stammered, "I thought you were drunk."

Wen Yanxu wasn't drunk? Then why had he been lying there so still?

Why hadn't he stopped any of it? Letting him get close, touch him, even... kiss him?

So why pick now to suddenly call him out?

Wen Yanxu said nothing.

He went from lying down to sitting up, back against the headboard, and let go of Wen Jueqian's wrist as if it were nothing.

But as he let go, his thumb pad seemed to casually graze the skin on the inside of Wen Jueqian's wrist, right over his pulse.

Like a faint electric shock, it sent an indescribable shiver racing from his wrist through his whole body.

"I'm drunk," Wen Yanxu said, his voice lower and rougher than usual, with an almost interrogative edge. "So you figured you could do whatever you wanted while I was out of it?"

Heat shot straight to Wen Jueqian's ears, and he bit his lip.

"No." He denied it flat out, his voice strained from the sudden flush of embarrassment.

Wen Yanxu's eyes lingered on his lips.

Those pale pink lips obviously felt soft and warm, with an unconscious hint of allure.

He could still feel the softness that had pressed against his cheek moments ago.

Wen Yanxu's eyes darkened for a beat.

"You didn't kiss me?" he pressed again, with a suffocating intensity that left no room to dodge.

His eyes were closed—how the hell did he know?

Wen Jueqian's thoughts were a mess, but he still insisted, "No."

Wen Yanxu suddenly reached out and pressed the backs of his index and middle fingers gently against Wen Jueqian's lips.

Wen Jueqian stared at him, stunned, his pupils dilating slightly.

Wen Yanxu's lips curled into a cruel, mocking curve.

"The spot that touched me earlier was right here." He even pressed down on it again.

Wen Jueqian understood completely.

Wen Yanxu was truly drunk.

There was no way the sober Wen Yanxu would ever do something like this.

He decided not to argue with a drunk man, nor keep dwelling on a topic that made him want to crawl into a hole.

Wen Jueqian lowered his gaze.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Wen Yanxu refused to let it go, pressing the issue with utter confidence.

"I shouldn't have gotten too close to you while you were asleep." Wen Jueqian swallowed his anger.

"That's all? Just getting too close?" Wen Yanxu was clearly unsatisfied with this vague answer.

The guy who used to just get clingy when drunk—why was he such an asshole now?

"I shouldn't have kissed you." Wen Jueqian closed his eyes, finally throwing in the towel and confessing what the other man wanted to hear.

Wen Yanxu let him off the hook for now, not continuing to press further.

He adjusted his position, his gaze landing on Wen Jueqian's reddened earlobe, pausing for a moment before suddenly changing the subject.

"Did you see the Fusheng Realm holographic projection promo running across the entire Yinsong Prefecture today?"

Wen Jueqian's eyes flickered.

Though he had suspected it, hearing Wen Yanxu confirm it personally still made him find it hard to believe.

If the pre-amnesia Wen Yanxu had done all this, he wouldn't have been surprised—whether in academics or career, Wen Yanxu had always backed him up enormously.

But this Wen Yanxu—the one who saw him as nothing more than a "contract fiancé"—why would he still quietly do all this?

Wen Jueqian stayed silent for a beat too long.

Wen Yanxu waited for a while, but when he didn't get the reaction he expected, he grew impatient.

He spoke again: "After everything I did, shouldn't you be thanking me?"

Wen Jueqian snapped out of it, pondered for a moment, and asked cautiously, "And how exactly do you want me to thank you?"

Wen Yanxu's voice was unhurried: "Not only did you not thank me, you even touched me without my permission earlier."

The curve of his lips was unreadable, his demeanor unhurried. "Don't you think you should think long and hard about how to make up for what you did?"

Wen Jueqian was at a loss for words. He stayed quiet, his fingers clenching the blanket.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but Wen Yanxu had zero patience right now. When Wen Jueqian still didn't give him the answer he wanted, he decided to just take it.

He reached out and cradled Wen Jueqian's face in his hands.

An Alpha's body temperature naturally ran higher than a Beta's, and the alcohol had raised it even further. Wen Jueqian could feel the heat radiating from the hands holding his face.

Then Wen Yanxu kissed him.

At first it was just a light press, almost tentative. Wen Jueqian's lips were just as soft as he'd imagined—even softer, actually.

It wasn't enough.

Wen Yanxu's tongue slid past Wen Jueqian's lips, which had fallen open in shock, and slipped inside.

His mouth was warm and wet. When his tongue grazed Wen Jueqian's palate, Wen Jueqian's body gave an involuntary shudder, and a soft, sweet sound escaped his throat.

Wen Yanxu paused, wanting to hear that sound again.

No matter how much he kissed him, it wasn't enough.

Wen Yanxu's tongue delved deeper, tasting every bit of sweetness, then sucked on his tongue. Wen Jueqian was caught completely off guard by the possessive, deep kiss—it felt like he was being devoured.

Just when he thought he was about to suffocate, he pressed his hands hard against Wen Yanxu's chest, and Wen Yanxu finally pulled back just enough to end the long, intense kiss.

But he didn't pull away completely. His scorching lips lingered on Wen Jueqian's slightly swollen lower lip, kissing and sucking over and over, like he was savoring the last of it.

Wen Jueqian leaned against his shoulder, panting, his voice coming out soft: "Is this the compensation you wanted?"

Even as he asked, he briefly wondered if Wen Yanxu's amnesia was fake.

Who the hell acts this shamelessly when they're drunk and have amnesia?

Wen Yanxu wiped the bit of moisture from the corner of his mouth.

His breathing was ragged too, hot against Wen Jueqian's face, his voice low and rough: "That was the thank-you you owed me. What comes next is the compensation."

And with that, he kissed him again. (Only kissing—the plot doesn't go further, I didn't even hint at it!)

————

The next morning, Wen Jueqian woke up wrapped in Wen Yanxu's arms.

The position was all too familiar. Still half-asleep, he instinctively burrowed deeper into Wen Yanxu's arms, his head unconsciously nuzzling against the other's shoulder.

Then he felt the arm around his waist suddenly tighten—then loosen.

"What are you doing?"

Wen Yanxu's voice was rough with sleep, but the chill in it was unmistakable.

Wen Jueqian's body stiffened.

He was fully awake now.

Wen Yanxu withdrew the arm around his waist and got out of bed.

Wen Jueqian lay in bed, watching his retreating figure.

He remembered the fierce kisses from last night's drunken haze, and the suffocating way Wen Yanxu had held him pinned in his arms, barely letting him move.

His voice came out strained: "Do you remember what happened last night?"

Wen Yanxu turned back, his eyes clear and sober.

"Did you do something to me while I was drunk last night?"

His gaze swept over Wen Jueqian flatly, then looked down to glance at his own neatly buttoned pajamas.

"Last night?" he echoed, his tone laced with confusion. "I drank too much and don't remember much. Did you take advantage of me while I was drunk?"

His eyes swept over his still-intact pajamas once more.

"Looks like you still remember our contract well—what you should and shouldn't be doing."

His gaze returned to Wen Jueqian's face, this time with a hint of accusation.

"You only dared to sneak into my arms when I was out cold."

With that, Wen Yanxu turned around and walked into the bathroom.

Wen Jueqian sat on the bed, the blanket having slipped down to his waist.

Last night, who was it that kissed him and then wrapped him up in his arms, holding him so tight that he struggled several times and couldn't get free, couldn't move at all?

Now he was the one being accused of "sneaking into his arms"?

"99, do the aftereffects of amnesia also include blacking out after drinking?"

99 explained seriously: "Qianqian, theoretically, drinking too much too fast can mess with short-term memory formation—what people call a 'blackout.' But it varies a lot from person to person—whether it happens and how much you forget are hard to predict."

Wen Jueqian sat on the bed, his chest rising and falling slightly from pent-up frustration and anger he couldn't let out. He stared at the closed bathroom door, silently fuming.

After a moment, he got up and went into the other bathroom.

His own face stared back at him in the mirror.

His lips were still swollen, with a small raw spot on his lower lip. He remembered how Wen Yanxu had sucked on them over and over last night, even nibbling gently with his teeth.

He couldn't help muttering under his breath, "That bastard!"

Only when his expression finally softened did 99 dare to drift out of the light brain.

"Qianqian, I have a new discovery." Its voice was buzzing with barely contained excitement.

Wen Jueqian asked, "What discovery?"

"The seal of the higher-dimensional power on Wen Yanxu has loosened a little." 99's glow brightened. "It's only a tiny bit, but I'm sure my senses aren't wrong."

Wen Jueqian stopped drying his hands mid-motion and turned to stare hard at 99. "When did you notice this?"

99 answered right away: "This morning. Before last night, when I got blocked, I hadn't sensed it."

Wen Jueqian looked at it, confused. "You were blocked last night?"

99's glow turned a soft pink, and it spun around awkwardly in the air. "Did you two do something last night? I saw him kiss you, and then my senses got blocked."

"No." Wen Jueqian's face got a little hot. "We were just kissing."

99 quickly got back on track, spinning around excitedly twice. "Could he be a sleeping beauty? As long as you kiss him, his curse gets lifted?"

Wen Jueqian thought that theory was pretty far-fetched.

He tried hard to remember every detail of last night—what exactly could have loosened the seal on Wen Yanxu?

What else happened last night?

Besides the intense, lingering kisses, there was the thick pheromone scent that had filled the room.

The scent of Datura had grown stronger and stronger, to the point where his mind started to go hazy.

It suddenly clicked in his mind.

Pheromones! The pheromones of an S-class Alpha.

"Last night, Wen Yanxu released a huge amount of pheromones."

Wen Yanxu was usually an extremely controlled person. His pheromone control was top-tier among Alphas—even when his emotions fluctuated, he could keep his release steady and wouldn't let out large amounts of pheromones without a reason.

Except last night.

Since leaving the hospital, Wen Jueqian had never seen him release that much pheromone.

The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced this was the key.

He asked urgently, "If Axu keeps releasing pheromones in large amounts, is there a chance it could break through that higher-dimensional seal?"

99's glow dimmed a little. "It's possible. An Alpha's pheromones are closely tied to their mental strength, so they could actually affect the higher-dimensional energy on him. But Wen Yanxu would have to keep up that intensity nonstop for at least a year or more."

Wen Jueqian went quiet.

A year or more? Forget whether Wen Yanxu could even keep that up long-term—there were too many variables in that time, and the success rate would be way too low.

99 drifted closer, its glow brightening again, its tone trying hard to sound confident.

"Don't worry, Qianqian. The method I mentioned before works too. We'll stick to the original plan—once we get him to log into Fusheng Realm, I can help him undo the seal."

Wen Jueqian nodded.

The longer Wen Yanxu's amnesia dragged on, the more anxious he got.

"Little Q, is my new Holo-Pod installed?"

The smart butler's voice came from the wall: "Master, it's installed in the entertainment room, ready to use."

Wen Jueqian took a deep breath.

He needed to get Wen Yanxu to log into Fusheng Realm in the next few days.

He turned his head to look at 99 floating by his shoulder.

"99, be ready. Within these few days, we must get him to log into Fusheng Realm."

"Standing by, Qianqian."

==========Author's Note:==========

Turning the tables on him—he's got the little cat so pissed he's swearing.