DA chapter 75

Yan Xu felt that the order was wrong. He didn’t know what the correct order should be. But kissing shouldn’t have been the first thing to appear at a time like this.

It was his own fault—he didn’t control his heartbeat.

One day, two days, three days…

Since the night his heartbeat went haywire, Yan Xu hadn’t seen Lin Jia nor received any messages from him in three days.

Yan Xu held his phone while sitting and lying down. His message box was filled with countless words that he deleted one by one.

He felt like he had a lot to say to Lin Jia yet also like he had nothing to say.

Yan Xu rubbed his face and lay back on the sofa. He was too tall for the sofa, his long legs awkwardly stretched out on the ground.

Opening his chat with Lin Jia, he saw that the last message was a blurry photo of J0001.

Suddenly, Yan Xu noticed something.

He abruptly sat up straight and accidentally knocked the cushion to the ground. The cushion fell on his foot, soft as a feather, landing as if pressing lightly on his heart.

As if he had discovered a treasure, Yan Xu curved his lips into a smile.

He had actually spotted Lin Jia in that photo!

As he zoomed in on the photo, Yan Xu’s ears turned slightly red.

In the photo, Lin Jia had a milky-white bath towel wrapped around his honey-colored waist.

Suddenly, Yan Xu thought of the kiss in that cramped space. After the kiss ended, Lin Jia turned and left, leaving Yan Xu standing there with regret.

He knew clearly that Lin Jia’s approach and seduction were deliberate—for J0001, for a backer.

Yet, among so many people in the Underwater World, Lin Jia had chosen him.

“Damn.”

After realizing this, Yan Xu cursed himself with a smile, calling himself useless—like an idiot, actually feeling pleased because of this reason.

He called his brothers to ask about the progress of J0001. They were preparing for J0001’s possible whereabouts, and also…

Yan Xu couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Captain Yan.” His subordinate hesitated. “I discovered some things…”

Yan Xu grabbed the jacket draped over the sofa arm and pulled on its sleeves as he walked out. “All right, tell me in person.”

Fourth day, fifth day, sixth day…

Lin Jia dropped an ice cube into the glass. His fingers held the glass wall; his fingerprints seemed to blur with the rich-colored liquor.

He glanced at the cat. The cat was using the smartwatch to arrange business meetings for Lin Jia. Thanks to the cat taking several jobs these past few days, Lin Jia’s extravagant lifestyle had been maintained.

“Why are you looking at me?” The cat sensed that Lin Jia’s gaze was off. After ending the call, it asked warily.

Lin Jia didn’t withdraw his gaze. He kept staring at the cat.

The last time he went to Yan Xu’s apartment, he hadn’t brought the cat, so the cat didn’t know about his relationship with Yan Xu.

In the two parallel plans, both lines had already produced results.

The cat liked to hook onto things while sleeping; Yan Xu was the same. The cat liked meat but not vegetables; Yan Xu was the same. The cat was allergic to pollen; Yan Xu was the same.

The emotional advancement line: Yan Xu hoarsely asked, “What if I have sexual desire?”

Lin Jia had already achieved a stage victory. The next step was to facilitate merging the cat and the person and obtaining a way to leave the Underwater World.

He took a sip of wine, savoring its rich aroma.

His gaze remained fixed on the cat, scaring it into retreating step by step.

When the cat and Yan Xu merged, he would know why he appeared in the Underwater World. He would know that Lin Jia threw the cat toward Deputy Chen to facilitate the merging. He would know that answering questions and showing concern were just methods of manipulation. He would know that his initiative and closeness were only for the sake of leaving.

This was an unavoidable side effect of the merger.

Because Yan Xu suited his taste, he could show him maximum leniency and was certain that Yan Xu, due to guilt and affection, would understand his closeness.

Therefore, Lin Jia never worried that the side effects would hinder his plan to leave.

For the lustful, satisfy their desires; for the greedy, give them wealth; for the innocent, offer them love—this was the simplest method of control.

Lin Jia had always been this kind of person—someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

But perhaps because that kiss was too naive, too green, Lin Jia actually felt a bit reluctant.

As for what exactly made him soft-hearted, Lin Jia couldn’t quite say. Maybe he couldn’t bear to see disappointment on Yan Xu’s face. Or maybe he couldn’t bear to return to the beginning of their relationship and leave that budding feeling with nowhere to go.

So he hadn’t taken action for a long time.

Lin Jia attributed it to that kiss.

Just as he told Yan Xu in the Fish Belly, kissing causes the brain to produce dopamine and endorphins.

Outside the window, light rain drizzled down. At the same time, Yan Xu rushed through the rain, searching for a legitimate reason to meet the capitalist. Meanwhile, the capitalist stayed in the hotel for six days, waiting for his excess hormones to cool down.

This was what a “lamp-post capitalist” was like—possessing almost cold rationality.

“Yan Xu.” Lin Jia put down the glass and called out.

The cat looked around but didn’t see Yan Xu.

“Stupid cat.” Lin Jia said calmly. “I’m calling you.”

When Lin Jia left the hotel with the cat, he borrowed a pure black umbrella. Walking into the rain, he looked like a prowling owl.

Avoiding the areas where the rain was heavy, Lin Jia arrived at Yan Xu’s apartment.

Looking up at a darkened window, he wondered if Yan Xu was asleep or not home.

The cat crouched listlessly on Lin Jia’s shoulder. “Is Yan Xu really me? Could you be mistaken? I told you before; I really hate him. Who would hate themselves?”

Lin Jia didn’t answer. He turned and went to the convenience store downstairs to buy a can of beer. Only one can—after all, Yan Xu couldn’t hold his alcohol; one can was enough. Once Yan Xu was drunk, the cat and his true self would merge. Getting Yan Xu drunk was the simplest way to achieve the merge. Otherwise, Lin Jia would have to explain a lot more.

He went upstairs with familiarity, stood in this corridor, and raised his hand to knock on the door.

The cat stood by his feet, head lowered, tugging at its fur. Its actions showed that it couldn’t accept the fact that Yan Xu was the original body.

After knocking a few times, there was no response—no one came to open the door.

The cat said, “Seems like no one’s here. How about we go back first? Yan Xu is me… Ah, but how about we wait a little longer? I don’t mean to say that I don’t believe you; it’s just that if we recognize the wrong person, it’ll cause trouble. Don’t you hate trouble the most?”

Lin Jia lowered his head to look at the cat, then glanced at the tightly shut door.

“No one’s here,” he said.

The cat seized the chance. “Go back?”

Lin Jia: “Let’s go back.”

The phone began buzzing. The cat’s ears twitched, but it didn’t tell Lin Jia that the phone was ringing.

Lin Jia also seemed not to hear it.

The man and the cat walked to the elevator. A “click” sounded behind them as the door opened. Light spilled into the corridor, and a tall, upright shadow fell onto the ground.

The shadow held a phone that was dialing—beep, beep—and the sound drifted from the doorway to the elevator.

“Didn’t you bring your phone when you went out?”

Lin Jia and the cat turned around and saw Yan Xu leaning bonelessly against the doorframe. Seeing the man and the cat look over, he shook the phone in his hand.

“It’s raining outside, right? Why did you come so late?” Yan Xu first stared at Lin Jia’s face for a few seconds, then lowered his gaze to the beer can in Lin Jia’s hand.

Yan Xu initially thought Lin Jia had come to drink with him, but he quickly realized something was off.

Not to mention, convenience store beer wouldn’t catch Lin Jia’s eye. Even if beer was tonight’s focus, there shouldn’t be only one can.

Yan Xu immediately straightened up, walked closer to Lin Jia, and asked in a low voice, “What happened?”

Lin Jia raised his eyes. “Did I wake Captain Yan?”

“Sort of.” Yan Xu hesitated, then asked, “Did something happen to you?”

Lin Jia replied lightly, “What could happen to me? I just have something to tell Captain Yan.”

Yan Xu looked at Lin Jia’s expression uneasily, but the corridor was too dark, and he was blocking the light, so he couldn’t clearly see Lin Jia’s face.

“What is it?” Yan Xu sat at one end of the dining table and looked at Lin Jia sitting at the other end.

Lin Jia put the beer on the table, lifted his head, and met Yan Xu’s gaze.

Perhaps because the light was too bright, he noticed that Yan Xu’s complexion looked pale and his lips were colorless.

“Some time ago,” Lin Jia rubbed the side of his index finger with his thumb, “I noticed my cat was acting strange.”

“Toast?” Yan Xu looked at the cat by Lin Jia’s feet. “What was strange?”

Fluffy, chubby—so cute.

Lin Jia: “It can talk.”

Yan Xu: “…”

Yan Xu asked, “Did you drink before coming out? How much did you drink?”

He remembered there was still milk at home—he had heard that milk could sober someone up.

Lin Jia watched Yan Xu rummage around the house. He squatted in front of the TV and pulled open several drawers of the TV cabinet.

Looking at Yan Xu’s back, Lin Jia said, “The cat told me it’s the ‘thought’ of someone who left the Underwater World. Because it has been separated from its original body for too long, its memory is fading. It made an agreement with me—I help it find the original body, and it will help me leave this place after merging.”

In his sight, Yan Xu’s back froze.

Lin Jia continued staring at his stiff figure. “Through my observations, Captain Yan, you are the person I’m looking for.”

The atmosphere seemed to freeze instantly. After a long while, Yan Xu stood up and turned around. “You’ve got the wrong person, right?”

Hearing this, the cat immediately shouted, “Yeah, got the wrong person!”

Upon hearing the cat speak, Yan Xu’s expression worsened visibly.

Lin Jia looked at him. “You treat the Underwater World as your own because you’ve lost the idea of leaving.”

“And the cat,” Lin Jia continued, still looking at Yan Xu, “represents your desire to leave. Its unreasonable hatred toward you is actually hatred toward you for being content with the current situation.”

The cat froze.

It wanted to argue, but it had lost too many memories. As time passed, its energy also faded. Soon, it might cease to exist.

It couldn’t process too much logic, so it couldn’t refute Lin Jia’s flawless conclusion now.

“Captain Yan heard it, too,” Lin Jia said. “The cat can really talk.”

Yan Xu sat back down and placed the milk he was holding on the table. He looked at Lin Jia, then at the beer in front of him.

Leaning forward, he grabbed the can and, as he pulled the tab open, smiled and said, “Tsk, I finally understand what you’re trying to do.”

Among so many people in the Underwater World, it wasn’t that Lin Jia just happened to choose him.

It was because of the cat—because of a thought.

“I should get drunk now, right? It’s convenient for me and Toast to merge.” Yan Xu took a big gulp of beer. As he wiped the spilled beer from the corner of his mouth, he saw Lin Jia frown.

“Yan Xu.” His voice was still calm and cool. “After leaving the Underwater World, I’ll give you compensation. Name your price.”

Yan Xu raised his brows and spoke with interest. “Sounds like you’re quite rich.”

Lin Jia: “Not really.”

Yan Xu scoffed. “You’re not an accountant, are you?”

Without waiting for Lin Jia to respond, he waved his hand indifferently and drank the entire beer Lin Jia had brought in one go.

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