DCHHLT Chapter 12

The next day, Liang Xingyuan woke up even earlier than usual.

The sleep humans required was not all that necessary for Liang Xingyuan. Monsters lived day after day in filthy, foul swamps, relying on slaughtering their own kind to obtain the most basic energy they needed.

With an uneasy feeling in his heart, Liang Xingyuan silently suffered from insomnia for the entire night.

Half of his excessive excitement came from his previous worries about his identity being exposed, while the other half was because he was going to meet Chu Junshan’s friends today.

Liang Xingyuan walked into the walk-in closet, opened the wardrobe doors, put away the clothes he usually wore, and took out several more formal outfits from the depths of the closet.

Wearing the shirts he usually wore should not have been inappropriate for an occasion like this.

But Liang Xingyuan still wanted to make himself look as formal as possible.

—He wanted to use this to indirectly tell Chu Junshan’s friends that he cared deeply about Chu Junshan, and so he would put a great deal of thought into things.

Although theirs had begun as a whirlwind blind date, it was by no means an ordinary, fast-food-style romance.

Liang Xingyuan shut himself inside the walk-in closet and spent a full ten-odd minutes choosing before finally putting together an outfit he was satisfied with.

Only when he returned to the bedroom did he realize that Chu Junshan was already awake as well.

Contrary to what he had imagined, although Chu Junshan was now a freelancer, he did not have a habit of sleeping in.

Chu Junshan kept a good routine. His sleep quality at night was never particularly good. Moreover, sometimes when he had a lot of manuscripts to work on, Chu Junshan would have to stay up working late into the night, but this did not prevent him from getting up on time early the next morning.

There were even a few moments when Liang Xingyuan had the illusion that “this human being seemed as though he didn’t need sleep”.

“Good morning.” Perhaps because he had only just woken up, Chu Junshan’s voice carried a trace of low huskiness that was usually absent. It was deep and heavy, as though a large hand was invisibly plucking at Liang Xingyuan’s heartstrings. Chu Junshan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze settling on Liang Xingyuan. After giving him a casual once-over, he asked in an offhand tone, “Why are you dressed so formally today? Are you going out this morning?”

However, because of this seemingly casual remark, Liang Xingyuan’s back tensed. Unable to help himself, his gaze followed Chu Junshan’s, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “It’s not that formal, is it? And I’m not going out this morning—I mean, aren’t we having a meal with your friends at noon? I just thought… I should look a little more serious.”

“Teacher Liang already looks very serious when he isn’t smiling.” Chu Junshan curled his lips into a smile, having seen through Liang Xingyuan’s true thoughts.

This monster… was probably thinking about preserving the dignity of their relationship in front of outsiders.

It really was beyond his imagination.

Just where had he learned this from? From those shabby little books of his again, the ones that no one even knew when they had been published?

Chu Junshan raised an eyebrow with a subtle expression, then, wearing his slippers, walked outside together with Liang Xingyuan. “Actually, you don’t need to do this. He’s my only friend, and we’re very close. Our friendship has lasted for a very long time…”

When he reached a certain word, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, and his voice fell silent. Turning his head, he looked at him.

“Liang Xingyuan.”

The Liang Xingyuan whose name had been called was like a kindergarten student. Obediently, he looked over at him. “…Hm?”

“You seem to be getting more and more nervous.” Chu Junshan smiled as he pointed it out bluntly, his gaze falling on Liang Xingyuan’s tense back. “You don’t need to be like this.”

Liang Xingyuan pursed his lips, knowing that his current expression had given away his true feelings.

Chu Junshan had noticed—and he was even comforting him…

A sweetness welled up in Liang Xingyuan’s heart, as though countless little bubbles were rising from within it all at once. When they burst out of nowhere, it was like a brilliant firework blooming in the sky.

“Mm!” Not wanting to let Chu Junshan’s kindness go to waste, Liang Xingyuan nodded vigorously. “I will.”

He told himself in his heart that he had to pull himself together and leave a good impression on Chu Junshan’s friend!

At twelve noon, in one of the private booths of a Thai restaurant, when Jiang Chun pushed open the small door inlaid with seashells and walked in, his gaze first swept around the private room before finally landing on Chu Junshan, who was seated at the table. He paused in surprise. “Eh? Where’s your partner? Why hasn’t he come?”

“He’s ordering.” Chu Junshan answered. His gaze passed over Jiang Chun’s astonished eyes and landed on some distant spot. A moment later, he withdrew his gaze. “Do you need him for something?”

Chu Junshan and Liang Xingyuan had arrived at the restaurant ten minutes earlier. He had never been in the habit of making others wait. Naturally, this time was no exception.

How could Jiang Chun dare say that he was simply extremely curious about the immortal who had taken him in? He choked on his words for quite a while before finally shaking his head. “No, no. I don’t even know him… I’m just a little curious.”

“Curious about what?” Chu Junshan asked, lowering his eyes as he distributed the bowls and chopsticks.

Jiang Chun said in a low voice, “I’m curious just how good-looking he is, to have actually managed to win you over.”

“It doesn’t have much to do with whether he’s good-looking or not,” Chu Junshan said. “We just clicked.”

Jiang Chun was stunned for a moment. He looked at Chu Junshan somewhat incredulously, and only after a long while did he manage to squeeze out a sentence: “…The partner you found isn’t really ugly, is he?”

What a waste that would be of Chu Junshan’s peach-blossom-like face!

Jiang Chun thought with some heartache. Back in the days of the infinite game, after Chu Junshan rose to power, those players who had nothing better to do would often gossip about Chu Junshan, their new leader.

In their mouths, Chu Junshan became someone who committed every conceivable evil, utterly wicked and beyond redemption.

There were simply too many crimes attributed to him. Even Jiang Chun, who had always stayed by his side, could not accurately remember just how many “sins” Chu Junshan had supposedly committed.

However, among those players who loved to wag their tongues, there was only one thing about Chu Junshan that was utterly beyond criticism: his peerlessly striking beauty.

When he was quiet, he was like a cold porcelain statue, while when he killed… he was like an asura from hell wreathed in an aura of frost.

As long as someone had seen Chu Junshan even once, no one could fail to love his face.

Chu Junshan seemed completely unaware of what Jiang Chun was thinking at that moment. “He’s alright.”

The heart Jiang Chun had been holding in suspense finally died.

In Chu Junshan’s perilously low standards of beauty, “alright” was equivalent to “acceptable”, which was roughly equivalent to “barely passable”.

For such a great beauty, after searching for years and years, Jiang Chun actually found it rather hard to accept that Chu Junshan’s other half might be an ugly freak.

But then again… the fact that Chu Junshan was willing to accept another human being into his future life was already a rare and precious step forward.

By all accounts, Jiang Chun shouldn’t be the one to tear apart the happiness Chu Junshan had woven for himself with his own hands.

So… all he could do was grit his teeth and offer his blessings.

While his mind was fiercely caught in an internal struggle, he failed to notice the soft sound of the seashell door opening and closing beside him. Then a gentle, clear male voice came from outside.

“Junshan, what would you like to drink?”

Jiang Chun turned around, and his gaze landed directly on the man standing there—a man dressed in a black suit jacket, with well-defined features and an outstanding bearing. He was instantly stunned.

“?!”

What happened to “barely passable”?!

“Hello, you must be Junshan’s friend.” Liang Xingyuan walked in from outside, not having expected that during the mere few minutes he had been away, Chu Junshan’s friend would have already arrived.

Jiang Chun let out an “Ah,” then, quick to read the situation, stood up and extended his hand to shake his. “Yes! Hello, my name is Jiang Chun. I’ve heard about you from Chuchu. You must be Mr. Liang, right?”

After exchanging a few simple pleasantries, the two began sizing each other up.

Jiang Chun narrowed his eyes slightly. Only after a long moment did he shift his gaze away.

It seemed that after not seeing him for just a few days, Chu Junshan’s talent for saying one thing while meaning something completely different had improved yet again.

The man before him, Liang Xingyuan, had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Although his outfit looked somewhat overly formal, his taste was by no means poor. Put him in a crowd, and he would absolutely count as tall and handsome.

Jiang Chun silently grumbled about Chu Junshan a couple of times in his heart, then quickly put on a smiling face and brought his social butterfly skills into full play. “You two met at that blind date last time, right?”

“Yes.” At the mention of that blind date, which had brought him the happiness of a lifetime, Liang Xingyuan couldn’t help but let his eyes curve slightly, a smile appearing on his lips. “We haven’t known each other for very long, but our relationship has progressed quickly. I like Junshan very much.”

Jiang Chun silently broke out in a cold sweat for the seemingly exceptionally honest man in front of him.

If it were just some other ordinary friend who had found a partner through a blind date, that would be one thing. But the person now preparing to get married was Chu Junshan.

If Liang Xingyuan learned about Chu Junshan’s true identity… and about that past filled with pain and darkness, would he still be able to accept that his partner had once lived through a past that could never see the light of day?

Now, instead, he was even more worried about Liang Xingyuan.

He had to think of a way to give Liang Xingyuan a couple of warning shots first. That way, even if one day the truth really could no longer be hidden and was laid bare before them, Liang Xingyuan would still be able to maintain some degree of acceptance.

But he absolutely couldn’t say this in front of Chu Junshan.

Jiang Chun was still pondering how he could get Chu Junshan out of the way when a sudden ringtone interrupted his train of thought.

Chu Junshan’s phone was ringing.

The caller was probably his editor-in-chief. Jiang Chun watched as Chu Junshan raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, then turned his head toward them. “I’ll step outside to take this call first.”

Jiang Chun took a deep breath. His eyes lit up as he looked at Liang Xingyuan with an intense, burning gaze. “Mr. Liang, I believe you truly like him, so I’ll get straight to the point. During the past few days you’ve spent with Chu Junshan, have you ever felt uncomfortable? Because I feel like he can be a little… domineering.”

As he spoke, Jiang Chun kept looking toward Liang Xingyuan, hoping he could read the deeper meaning Jiang Chun wanted him to understand from his eyes.

“Mm… is that so?”

Sure enough, after hearing his words, Liang Xingyuan hesitated for a moment before looking sincerely into Jiang Chun’s eyes.

As their gazes met, Jiang Chun, full of hope, heard Liang Xingyuan’s gentle voice say, “Sorry, I haven’t sensed that at all. Junshan treats me very well. He’s never lost his temper with me, and we only make decisions after discussing everything together. And besides…”

Liang Xingyuan seemed to think of something, and his ears suddenly reddened slightly. “Our relationship is very good, too.”

Jiang Chun: “…”

It seemed he hadn’t understood what Jiang Chun meant at all!

And that wasn’t even the scariest part!

Liang Xingyuan was actually trying to explain to him just how, just how wonderful Chu Junshan was!

“Yes, we’re planning to get married after some time, once we’ve gotten through the adjustment period.” Liang Xingyuan spoke softly to him in a tone filled with fervent emotion. “I really… admire him. To me, everything about him is perfect. Please don’t say things like that again in the future.”

Facing Liang Xingyuan’s exceptionally sincere gaze, Jiang Chun felt completely numb.

This man, who looked tall, handsome, and absolutely perfect, was, unbelievably, a complete and utter love-struck fool.

Jiang Chun thought expressionlessly that sooner or later, he was going to throw all those lovey-dovey couples showing off their affection into the Infinite Game and let them experience the hardships of life.

Author’s Note:

Chu Junshan & Liang Xingyuan: Heh, didn’t expect that, did you? We just came out of there. ^w^

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