It was all the system’s fault for constantly spewing out these explosive remarks, causing Lin Zhu to abruptly make a fool of himself and abruptly stalling the ambiguous atmosphere swirling between the two of them.

Yan Ruoyun’s expression didn’t change. Smiling, he handed him a tissue and kindly instructed,

“Be careful.”

Yet, Lin Zhu suddenly felt a chill down his back.

If he had a warning bell in his brain, right now it would probably be flashing red, blaring a shrill weewoo-weewoo siren—

Sure enough.

In the next second, Yan Ruoyun leaned his upper body closer, looking at him as if examining some rare animal. His gaze swept over Lin Zhu’s face inch by inch as he asked with great curiosity,

“Lin Zhu, how exactly do you manage… to completely ruin the mood at the absolute perfect moment every single time?”

Lin Zhu frantically wiped his face and the table, stammering without being able to string together a coherent explanation. Finally, with a numb expression, he was forced to tell the truth:

“…Maybe it’s because my brain is filled with dirty things?”

As soon as the words fell.

The system residing deep within his consciousness raised a flag of protest in dissatisfaction, squeaking and squawking non-stop:

“Host, that is a personal attack against this system! I am a very reliable Ex-Husband Roleplay System! Besides… since you refuse to take the forced-love scumbag route, you definitely have to work hard to make the protagonist fall in love with you so we can achieve the little goal of getting married!”

If they didn’t get married first, how could they get divorced later?

Ex-husband, ex-husband, obviously you have to become a husband first to evolve into a former husband!

One step at a time, slow and steady wins the race!

Lin Zhu: “…”

Today, too, he wanted a one-click button to check the system’s mental state.

Receiving this answer, who knew where Yan Ruoyun’s thoughts wandered off to. He stared at him with an odd expression for a good while, suddenly asking: “How dirty?”

Lin Zhu couldn’t react in time, unable to hold back from subtly roasting the system: “…Really, especially dirty. I always feel like I could be taken away by the cops at any moment.”

He didn’t know if it was because he was always losing face in front of Yan Ruoyun, but he was almost desensitized to it now. His absolute bottom line seemed to be lowered step by step; he felt that no matter what happened next, his defenses wouldn’t be easily broken…

More than a minute passed.

Yan Ruoyun slowly shifted his gaze away, his upper body leaning back against the chair, putting some distance between them again.

He rested his elbow on the edge of the window frame, propping his chin in his palm. Then, lightly tapping his fingertip against the corner of his lips, he nonchalantly replied,

“Well, it wouldn’t go that far. Even if something did happen between us, it’s all legal.”

It was only then that Lin Zhu’s brain completely short-circuited and snapped back, instantly decoding the underlying meaning behind Yan Ruoyun’s words…

Ah ah ah.

He didn’t think Lin Zhu’s head was entirely filled with explicit color-coded trash about him, did he?!

Lin Zhu simply didn’t dare to imagine what kind of image he held in Yan Ruoyun’s heart. The tips of his ears instantly grew boiling hot, and he braced himself to explain: “Hey… I didn’t, no…”

He lowered his eyes, staring intently at the water cup in front of him, racking his brains to squeeze out a single sentence: “I… I really never thought about pinning you to the table and smooching you!!”

Lin Zhu spoke these words fast and rushed, his volume involuntarily increasing a bit out of fear that the man across from him wouldn’t hear clearly.

The next second.

A young waiter holding a dual-flavor hotpot base in both hands stood at the entrance of the small booth, a smile full of awkwardness yet retaining politeness plastered on his face. “Uh… Excuse me, sorry to interrupt. The soup base is ready.”

The young waiter’s movements were exceedingly swift.

He rapidly set up the pot, flipped the power switch, adjusted the temperature, and finally offered a considerate reminder: “There’s a QR code on the table. To order or add dishes, please scan the code and order yourself.”

Then he turned and walked away with flying footsteps, as if a tiger was chasing his ass.

Lin Zhu wore a mask of pure agony: “…………”

What kind of worldly suffering was this??

The dual-flavor soup base was already served piping hot. After just a bit of heating, it began to bubble and gurgle. The spicy and savory aroma melded into the air, transforming into a moist, hot white mist that curled upward.

Through the translucent veil of smoke, vision grew blurred.

Yan Ruoyun remained in that posture of propping his chin with his palm, his curled fingers resting against his lips, pressing faint indentations into the plump, soft flesh of his mouth.

He tilted his head to look at Lin Zhu, his long, curled eyelashes fluttering twice, cutting shimmering light into his pupils. Amidst the play of light and shadow, a deeply hidden sense of teasing flashed through.

The blonde youth’s face practically spelled out ‘Who am I and where am I’. If Yan Ruoyun didn’t say something now, he suspected the boy might just jump straight out the window.

So, he cleared his throat and unhurriedly said,

“——Don’t worry, I won’t call the cops.”

He picked up his phone to scan the code, then shoved the phone into Lin Zhu’s hand, adding another sentence: “Besides, just thinking about it isn’t against the law, what are you afraid of?”

Lin Zhu struggled: “…I didn’t think about it, really.”

Yan Ruoyun nodded: “Mhm, mhm.”

Lin Zhu: “…………”

Hmph.

As the saying goes.

There is nothing a meal of hotpot cannot solve.

Lin Zhu deeply agreed with this.

Yan Ruoyun could handle spicy food surprisingly well. Throughout the whole meal, he didn’t see the man dip his chopsticks into the clear broth once. Even his dry and wet dipping sauces were a fiery field of red.

By the end of the meal, both of them were sweating profusely, their lips turned completely red from the spice and slightly swollen.

Yan Ruoyun’s dining etiquette was indescribably beautiful to watch. Even taking a napkin to wipe his sweat or holding his milk to take small sips—these ordinary little movements oozed an elegance completely different from others.

It could probably be summed up as something akin to pure aura.

Lin Zhu couldn’t help but constantly observe the man’s little movements, his heart filled with an inexplicable sense of novelty and a desire to explore.

Before they knew it, they had eaten till they were stuffed.

By the time the two walked out of the hotpot restaurant, it was nearly eight o’clock.

The sky outside had grown even darker.

The old district wasn’t as bright and bustling as the commercial streets; even the streetlights flickered on and off.

Yan Ruoyun led Lin Zhu back the way they came. After turning from the main road into the narrow alleys, the lighting visibly dimmed down another notch.

Perhaps tired from eating, the two abruptly fell quiet, walking shoulder-to-shoulder in silence. The soles of their shoes scraped against the rough flagstone path, emitting faint, muffled thuds.

Yan Ruoyun had his suit jacket draped over his arm. The collar of his white shirt was slightly open, and a large-sized barrier patch, about half the size of an adult’s palm, was stuck over the gland on the back of his neck.

Lin Zhu knew his own bite marks were hidden underneath.

They turned another corner.

The streetlights ahead were broken for two consecutive poles, leaving the entire narrow alley pitch-black and the road surface somewhat uneven.

Yan Ruoyun’s footsteps suddenly paused, seemingly casually sighing: “It’s so dark, be careful not to step into a pothole and fall.”

Lin Zhu blankly looked down and didn’t spot any obvious obstacles or dips on the ground, but he still offered: “How about I walk in front?”

Yan Ruoyun asked: “Do you know the way?”

Lin Zhu nodded affirmatively, very confident in his memory: “Yeah, you led me through here once when we came, I’ve already memorized it.”

In the darkness.

Came a faint sigh from Yan Ruoyun.

Following closely behind was another sigh from the system in his head: ‘Sigh…‘

Lin Zhu grew suddenly alert, but he didn’t know what this one human and one system were sighing about. He felt too embarrassed to ask Yan Ruoyun, so he poked the system constantly bound to him, consulting it silently.

The system sighed heavily, feigning reluctance: “Host, I’m afraid saying it out loud will pollute your pure ears, better not to say it.”

Lin Zhu: “…”

You’re clearly just holding a grudge.

Fortunately, the system felt satisfied after just one petty remark. It only took one second for its tone to switch from desolate disappointment to thrilled excitement—the emotional shift was smoother than Dove chocolate. It even deliberately pitched its electronic voice, fawningly suggesting: “Little Master, your humble system has three suggestions here, would you like to hear them?”

Lin Zhu narrowed his eyes: “Let’s hear them.”

System: “First suggestion: rush up, pin the protagonist down, and smooch his mouth.”

Lin Zhu: “Next.”

System: “Pin the protagonist down and smooch his mouth.”

Lin Zhu: “…Next again.”

The system was succinct and concise: “Smooch.”

This sighing relay race initiated by Yan Ruoyun had finally reached Lin Zhu, who took the final baton.

…Sigh.

Lin Zhu silently quickened his pace, stepping just half a body length ahead of Yan Ruoyun. Then, carefully reaching out his hand—just like how the man had pulled him upstairs earlier—he held the back of the other party’s hand, which hung loosely by his side.

Yan Ruoyun’s hand struggled for a moment before flipping his palm over, pressing it against Lin Zhu’s. His slender index finger slipped in along his cuff, lightly hooking over the pulse on the inside of his wrist.

Thump-thump, thump-thump-thump——

The man’s tone harbored a smile: “Lin Zhu, your heart is beating so fast.”

Lin Zhu didn’t make a sound, earnestly leading the way.

Yet Yan Ruoyun’s footsteps suddenly slowed down, practically being dragged forward by Lin Zhu, his words also drifting aimlessly: “I’ll take you to buy a schoolbag later. What style do you like?”

“Anything works.”

“I’m going on a business trip tomorrow. That hospital check-up I mentioned before will have to be postponed. We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

“Okay.”

“While I’m away, you need to be a bit better-behaved. It would be best if you could proactively report what you do every day; I’ll be checking in.”

“…Mhm.”

“Don’t you think I’m too overbearing, that I look a lot like a control freak? Other Alphas don’t seem to like this type of Omega.”

Lin Zhu paused, not turning his head: “But I… I’m not other Alphas, am I?”

He was originally just an ordinary person.

As a halfway-converted Alpha, this world’s AO mate-selection standards held absolutely no meaning for him.

It was a very short stretch of road.

Yet the two dawdled along for a very long time.

A few meters ahead was another curve.

Dim yellow light shone in from the opening of the curve, signaling that this pitch-black, unlit path was about to end.

Yan Ruoyun suddenly said: “Lin Zhu, I have two mints in my pocket. Do you still want to eat them now?”

“…”

The light was just one step away.

But neither of them stepped forward, instead silently remaining in this patch of shadowy darkness that was so ambiguous it made one’s heart race.

Soon, the sound of tearing open a candy wrapper echoed in the silent alleyway, abrupt and harsh, but this noise was quickly overpowered by another sound.

It was a muffled, wet sound.

The cool, refreshing mint melted between lips and teeth, merging into one with saliva, turning into a slightly viscous, faintly sweet liquid, and then, amidst the tangling of lips and tongues…

It was diluted, and swallowed whole.

Lin Zhu was like an immature child who had just opened his eyes, being guided toward a new world by the man’s patient, gentle voice.

However, some things are instincts carved into one’s genetics.

Just like drinking water when thirsty, or breathing when deprived of oxygen, or… when resources are scarce, fiercely fighting for them without yielding a single inch, until the opponent begs for mercy in a state of disarray.

Not long after.

Yan Ruoyun’s slurred voice rang out in the alley.

“Let go, let go a little!”

“Lin Zhu, I can’t… I can’t breathe, are you trying to kiss me to death?!”

“…Lin puppy, don’t bite my tongue.”

No one answered.

Lin Zhu caught the man’s warm tongue tip, unable to hear a word he was saying at all, only ceaselessly swallowing the little mint-flavored water remaining in his mouth.

He half-opened his eyes, suddenly drowning in that pool of mist-shrouded grayish-green spring water. In a daze, he seemed to hear an inorganic electronic voice…

[Ding——!]

[‘Character Persona Sync’ Sub-system installation complete.]

A jumble of sounds intertwined together, masking that fast-flitting electronic voice, leaving only a shallow impression in Lin Zhu’s mind.

…Was it an auditory hallucination?