CH 54

In the interstellar paradise, most of the tourists were dressed in a variety of cosplays and fancy dress. Zhou Rin stood out from the crowd with his tall figure and handsome face, attracting the eyes of many people, but he didn’t pay them any attention.

Ji Ning was surprised by his unexpected appearance, but didn’t panic because he was certain Zhou Rin wouldn’t recognise him. He was a normal human at the moment. His body wasn’t affected by any time distortions, he didn’t have any pheromones, and even his appearance had been modified by the shapeshifting candy. It was impossible for Zhou Rin to recognise him. 

Sure enough, Zhou Rin didn’t even glance at him, and soon left with his subordinates, following behind the woman to continue their tour of the Interstellar Paradise.

Ji Ning looked at him one last time, then dragged Ark in the opposite direction. He wanted to avoid Zhou Rin’s group as much as possible, so there wouldn’t be any chance of contact between the two sides.

Although he desperately wanted to avoid Zhou Rin, it wasn’t because he hated him. It was because living in the ABO world that allowed men to get pregnant had given him a heavy psychological shadow. He was frightened even seeing people from that world, and couldn’t fight the urge to hide away as far as possible.

Plus, he’d already caused a lot of trouble. Yun Yuan, Ozer and the others could find him at any point, so he really didn’t want to be associated with any more of his protagonists. 

Ark seemed a little shy that Ji Ning was holding his hand, but Ji Ning watched him glance at Zhou Rin’s back a few times, a hint of thoughtfulness on his face.

Ji Ning’s heart skipped a beat, wondering if Ark had discovered something and knew that Zhou Rin was connected to him.

But he was sure that when the spatial distortion appeared previously, Ark hadn’t seen Zhou Rin, so how could he recognise him?

“What’s the matter?” He suppressed his emotions and asked the angel, pretending to be curious, “What is it?”

“…I seem to sense Fu Ji’s aura around them, but it’s only weak. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”

The angel spoke in a low voice, then lightly shook his head. Holding Ji Ning’s hand a bit tighter, he gave him a small smile, “Have you decided which planet you want to go to?”

“Not yet.”

Ji Ning didn’t care too much. Fu Ji may indeed have taken a mission for Zhou Rin and his party, but with his cautious personality, it was impossible for him to do anything drastic here. Instead, he smiled at Ark and helped him choose what attractions they wanted to visit. 

After taking a quick look at the activities, Ji Ning found they were similar to traditional theme park attractions. The only difference was they were on a much larger scale and used incredibly advanced technology, which made the experiences completely different.

Ji Ning’s first choice was ‘Story roleplay world. He had been doing tasks and playing various characters for a long time now and had developed a strong interest in these types of things. After asking for Ark’s opinion, the two of them went to this planet first.

When they arrived on the planet, the first thing they were given was a list of warnings and instructions which basically asked for everyone to behave civilised. Any misconduct, such as violence towards the staff, would result in immediate expulsion from the park.

Following this was a simple questionnaire about their real lives, such as their hobbies. Ark stared at the question silently for a while, then entered the word ‘War’. 

Before he could press enter, Ji Ning stopped him. Ji Ning guessed there must be some purpose in filling in this information. He was concerned this information would be collected by the electronic system of the park and worried that war might be a sensitive topic for Ark.

Instead, he entered an ordinary answer of ‘School’. After pressing the confirmation button, the game started, and in the next second, the scene around Ji Ning changed. Contrary to his expectations, the first scene that appeared was not a classroom or a schoolyard, but a bus.

He and Ark sat next to each other on a bus that was very old and carried a faint scent of diesel. The ride was bumpy and along the dark street there were no other vehicles in sight, and no street lamps. The place carried a dark and eerie atmosphere.

This story seemed a little weird… 

Ji Ning glanced around at the people on the bus. They were clearly all tourists, with a variety of odd appearances, looking around curiously after entering the story.

The bus staggered along the road for some distance before slowing down. The driver told them the bus was out of gas and instructed the passengers to leave the vehicle. However, as soon as everyone left the bus, the bus drove off, disappearing into the night.

It was pitch black around them. There had been no hint of this scene in the game’s description. A few tourists wandered into the woods that stood either side of the street without thinking. A few minutes later, Ji Ning heard shrill screams as the tourists ran out again in a panic.

Ji Ning could see blood stains on their faces. Moments later, a large man with an axe ran out from the woods behind them, the tool in his hand dripping with blood as he slashed it towards them. 

Ark’s eyes narrowed and his fingertips lit up with a bright white light. When Ji Ning saw this, he quickly grabbed his hand and said, “They’re a staff member. Look, he’s wearing a bracelet.”

When he followed Huo Wuling he’d seen a lot of ghosts, and his protagonists always delighted in trying to scare him to death. Ji Ning was long immune to this kind of scene. After calm observation, he could tell that the axe man was a staff member and the blood was produced by holographic projections.

Ji Ning didn’t care if they were thrown out because Ark hit a staff member, but if he killed someone it would be bad, so Ji Ning pulled at Ark to run away. Startled, Ark extinguished the white light and obediently followed behind him so they could run away together.

The staff member was unaware that he’d barely escaped from the god of death and continued chasing them. Ji Ning ran at the back of the tourist group, some of the visitors ran very slowly and although the axe slashed at the hem of their clothes, no one was injured. 

They were herded by the large axe man into a school filled with yin energy. When he saw them enter the school, the man showed a horrified expression and ran away.

As soon as they walked in, Ji Ning could guess the haunted school routine. But was this really the ‘going to school’ aspect that he requested? Who would go to school here…

Before entering the story, other tourists had filled in their information, including their hobbies and physical health, but it seemed that a few of them must have entered their favourite ghost stories. Most of them were now pale faced and cursing, but now that the story had started, they couldn’t quit. They could only summon up their courage and continue to play.

Sure enough, the school was filled with ghosts and the tourists were scared silly, crying and cursing the Interstellar Paradise with a thousand deaths. 

Al Rlcu ofia cb gfjmalbc ab atf utbrar, yea tf kjr regqglrfv ab rff Cgx’r klcur agfwyilcu j ilaaif. Ktf jcufi rajsfv rlifca, cba vjglcu atf gjlrf tlr tfjv jr tf obiibkfv yftlcv Al Rlcu.

“Cgx, jgf sbe…” ktfc atf utbrar vlrjqqfjgfv, Al Rlcu aegcfv jgbecv klat j regqglrfv fzqgfrrlbc, “Cogjlv bo utbrar?”

“…”

Ark pursed his lips. He raised his head to look at Ji Ning, then quickly lowered his eyes and nodded, with a slightly aggrieved expression, “I’m sorry…” 

“There’s no reason to say sorry.” Ji Ning smiled and stroked Ark’s hair.

But he was actually a little surprised, because Ark hadn’t shown any fear when facing Huo Wuling before. It seemed he’d been so annoyed with Huo Wuling, he forgot to be afraid of him.

The white haired angel didn’t say anything, but he felt upset. He didn’t know there would be so many ghosts in this story, he really couldn’t handle it. He was so useless, he’d wanted to show off in front of Ji Ning today…

A cold hand suddenly clutched the angel’s shoulder, leaving a bloody mark on his white clothes. Ark’s body went stiff as he turned his head very slowly to see a blood covered face. 

“!”

Several feathers on Ark’s wings fell off as he quickly took a few steps back. The dark haired ghost moved closer, blood spurting from its rotten face. A column of blood sprayed out, drenching Ark’s body. He looked extremely miserable.

As soon as he saw the ghost’s face, Ji Ning’s expression darkened and he gripped its shoulders, saying his name through gritted teeth, “Huo Wuling…what are you doing?

“Ah, you recognised me.” 

The gentle male voice didn’t match the man’s frivolous smile. Huo Wuling raised his hands and rubbed his face, returning to his usual handsome appearance.

He curled the corner of his lips, looking the bloodstained Ark up and down as he deliberately spoke in a childish voice, “So this child is still afraid of ghosts.” His voice grew deeper and he gently mocked the angel, “So useless, how could you think Ningning would like you?”

Ark opened his eyes wide and his normally peaceful expression fluctuated violently, his eyes filled with a killing intent. Just as he lunged forward, Ji Ning hugged him, pulling him close.

“I like you the way you are. You’re so cute.” 

Ji Ning gently soothed the angel, raising his hand to wipe away the blood splattered on his cheek. He glanced at Huo Wuling and said, “Much cuter than some people.”

Huo Wuling didn’t know whether to laugh or not, “But it was ‘some person’ who rescued you last night.”

“…Those matters are unrelated.”

“Ningning, you’re always so biased towards him, don’t you know I can get sad too.” Huo Wuling said. 

Ji Ning gave him a look, “Who told you to bully others?”

“I can get along with them peacefully,” Huo Wuling spread out his hands, “It’s easy to do. As long as you only love me in the future, I promise I won’t do anything to harm them.”

Hearing his words, the angel clenched his hands, his silver eyes glaring coldly at Huo Wuling. He spoke shortly, “I will kill you.”

“See,” Huo Wuling sighed softly, “This isn’t just my problem.” 

“Huo Wuling…” Ji Ning felt extremely helpless, “Do you always have to provoke others to be happy?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Unexpectedly, Huo Wuling agreed, “I can’t stand to see them happy because I’m so angry.” He looked at Ji Ning with dark eyes, “Do you think I don’t get angry or jealous, Ningning?”

“I’ve had enough of your intimacy with other men.” 

His usual smile faded, leaving his face blank as his eyes slowly swept across Ji Ning.

“Whether it’s him, the vampire, the mad Emperor, or the man from last night…how many more people like you?”

Seeing Huo Wuling look at him with such eyes, Ji Ning’s heartbeat raced. Slightly nervous, Ark pulled Ji Ning into his arms and said to Huo Wuling coldly.

“Liking him was my own decision, it had nothing to do with him. He doesn’t have to take any responsibility for my feelings.” 

No, it actually had a lot to do with "him"…

Hearing him say this, Ji Ning felt guilty. The reason these protagonists like him was because of his deliberate efforts to guide them. Most of their novels didn’t even have female protagonists. These male protagonists weren't originally supposed to fall in love with anyone…

“That’s what you think, not me. I’m no saint, I’m not even a good person.”

Huo Wuling gave Ark a deep look, “If he fell in love with someone and wanted to be with them, would you let him go?” 

The angel frowned, as if he hadn't considered this scenario before. Huo Wuling raised the corners of his lips without smiling and said, “Another question. Let’s say that Ningning fell in love with me and wanted to be with me…”

This scenario wasn’t true at all – Ji Ning wanted to interject, but one glance from Huo Wuling and he didn’t dare speak.

It was Ark who interrupted, “He wouldn’t like you.”

“But what if he did fall in love with me?” Huo Wuling asked, “Could you give us your blessings?” 

This time, Ark was silent. Huo Wuling smiled and said, “You’re trying so hard to make Ningning fall in love with you. What I’m doing is essentially the same, I’m just destroying the possibility of Ningning liking other people first.”

He walked slowly towards Ji Ning, caressing his face with fingers as cold as his eyes.

“I won’t give you the chance to fall in love with someone else.”

His figure dissolved into smoke, returning to Ji Ning’s shadow. Ji Ning put a hand on the skin Huo Wuling had touched, his emotions complicated. He sighed, feeling both fear and guilt. 

He only had himself to blame…

He prayed secretly in his heart that the fusion of the planes would end soon and at the same time, scolded the system operator for its slow progress. Even after all this time, they hadn't given him any solutions. He was worried he would be driven crazy before they gave him an answer.

“Ark…” After adjusting his emotional state, Ji Ning looked up at the angel and comforted him softly. “Don’t pay attention to Huo Wuling’s words. It’s not like you don’t know-”

“Would you like someone else? 

Ark suddenly lowered his head to look at Ji Ning, his eyes a little reddened. He grabbed his wrist and asked, “Would you really like someone else?

Huo Wuling, that bastard. Can’t he say anything good? Ark was corrupted by him…

Ji Ning’s expression turned a little stiff. Facing the anxious and earnest gaze of the angel, he was struck dumb for a while before he could respond, “I think…it’s unlikely.”

He had successfully passed through many worlds, but he’d never tried to seduce a man for his own desires and had never liked anyone previously. Sometimes he wondered if he’d been born unable to love, as if some part of him was missing. 

“Then, would you-”

Ark started to ask him a question, but held back the words he wanted to blurt out.

After a long time, he lowered his voice and said,

“He asked me if I would give you my blessings if you fell in love with someone else, but I…I don’t know the answer.” 

He didn’t even dare to imagine such a situation, but if it happened in the future, he knew his heart would ache, just like when he woke up from his nightmare in Ji Ning’s villa.

He didn’t want to experience that heartache again.

It would tear him apart.

He didn’t know anything about relationships, he had no experience, and he was young and clumsy, but he promised himself he would work hard. He had to try his hardest to prevent Ji Ning from loving others. Even if he looked ridiculous or stupid, it didn’t matter. If he had even the smallest chance, he wanted to make Ji Ning fall in love with him. 

“As for me and that person…” There was a tension in Ark’s voice, “Out of the two of us, who do you like more?”

“Of course it’s you.” Ji Ning replied without hesitation, stroking his hair.

“…”

The angel blinked, the lost expression on his face swept away as he smiled. Although his disguised appearance was not as handsome as usual, when he laughed his cold holy aura faded and he appeared more vivid. As if a delicate painting had come to life. 

Seeing his smile, Ji Ning wasn’t as upset as he was before. He stroked the angel’s head once more, then the two of them continued the story they were playing.

Although the other tourists noticed their disappearance, they hadn't seen where they’d gone.The story was huge and actually had many different playable routes. Ji Ning and Ark started an alternative plot and discovered an ancient tomb beneath the campus. That explained why there was so many ghosts there.

When they entered the ancient tomb, they moved back in time to an ancient world, before jumping forward to the future, ten thousand years later. The composition of the entire story was extremely complicated and they played around for half a day until they succeeded in changing the plot and returned the school to life, creating a happy ending.

Most of the tourists had finished with ‘bad’ endings, dying from the various horrors in the school. Ji Ning and Ark became the first tourists to successfully complete their specific plotline and their pseudonyms were added to an honorary roster. 

If he ignored the small incident with Huo Wuling in the middle, Ji Ning had a great time that day. He and Ark returned to the host planet and planned to have a fancy meal in the restaurant. Unfortunately, they came across Zhou Rin again.

In all honesty, the scale of the restaurant was enormous, built around a spiral staircase with numerous floors. With such a large area Ji Ning had never expected to be sat on the same floor as Zhou Rin, nevermind have their tables be so close together.

It was just coming up to the end of the restaurant’s rush hour and there were a lot of people in the restaurant, leaving very few empty tables. Ji Ning couldn't reasonably ask to switch tables, so he deliberately sat with his back to Zhou Rin, while Ark sat facing him.

When they passed Zhou Rin’s table on the way in, Ji Ning noted that he came alone, and there was no food in front of him, just a bottle of wine. 

After a day's work, the young Alpha couldn't hide his tired expression. He rubbed his forehead lightly and removed his suit jacket, draping it across the back of the chair. He loosened his tie a little and rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing strong forearms. Just these small details changed his usual abstinent temperament to an uninhibited temptation.

“Sir, as there are no other places, can I sit with you?”

A gentle female voice came from Zhou Rin’s table, speaking softly to him.

When Ji Ning heard someone strike up a conversation with Zhou Rin, he couldn't help his own curiosity. During their time together, Zhou Rin had always despised strangers approaching him for no reason. Even when he first arrived in the ABO world as Zhou Rin’s future ‘sister-in-law’, Zhou Rin would still treat him with a cold expression at home. 

It would be awkward for him to look over, but there was a decorative mirror just above his head which revealed the situation at Zhou Rin’s table. Ji Ning took a sip of water and glanced at the mirror, without a trace of shame.

Reflected in the mirror was a gentle and pretty face. The person talking to Zhou Rin was a beautiful young girl. In the past, Zhou Rin was not a person who would care for beauty or wealth, but now…

“No problem at all, please take a seat.”

The Alpha gave her a faint smile and made an inviting gesture. After the woman took her seat, she smiled at him. The two seemed to get on well with each other and chatted naturally. 

Ji Ning blinked as he watched them, thinking secretly that Zhou Rin had really matured a lot. If he was half as considerate back then as he was now, he wouldn’t have had such a hard time seducing him.

“By the way, this is my contact information.”

The woman picked up her small bag and unzipped it, reaching inside.

However, through the mirror’s reflection, Ji Ning could clearly see a small light gun inside of the bag. 

His face paled and he stood up, rushing towards Zhou Rin. He pinned the Alpha to the ground, shouting, “Be careful!”

Seeing someone try to sabotage her actions, the woman’s originally gentle expression faded to a vicious snarl. She pulled the gun from her bag, but before she could take any action, the gun flew out of her hands from an invisible force. At the same time, a white light hit her in the abdomen, knocking her to the ground.

The other guests were stunned by this sudden change in atmosphere. A familiar red haired figure came to the table and kept the woman pressed on the ground. At the same time, several tourists stood up from their seats and surrounded her, blocking off any chance of escape. Within seconds, she had been disarmed and knocked out.

“Nice job!” 

Fu Ji whistled and praised Ark with a thumbs up. “Hey, what a coincidence. I was on a mission here and I ended up seeing the two of you, thanks for the help today buddy.”

This time he had taken on a bodyguard mission to protect the Zhou family’s eldest young master. He hadn't said anything to Ark and Ji Ning because he’d wanted them to have a good time.

But who would have thought he would see the two of them in the critical moment when they were catching the assassin? He had specially chosen a slime body in order to use its transparency during the mission. As a result, he sneaked to Ark’s side without suspicion and warned him about what was happening, asking him for his help during the arrest.

Everything had gone smoothly, but he hadn't expected the little fish to detect the danger as well. He even knocked down the eldest young master! Fu Ji was advised that the young master was a clean freak who hated the touch of other people. When they asked him to play along with the assassin’s actions, the bodyguards were worried the assassin would touch the young master and derail their plan. 

He should quickly pull the little fish up…

Fu Ji thought to himself. He wanted to give Ark a subtle wink, but without his guidance, the angel had already gone over and grabbed Ji Ning’s wrist, asking him worriedly, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine”

Ji Ning nodded and quickly disentangled himself from Zhou Rin. But before he could remove himself completely, his free wrist was grasped tightly by Zhou Rin. 

A faint Omegan scent appeared for a few short seconds, but the Alpha felt its traces linger on his body.

Sweet and tender, tempting him into depravity.

He stared closely at the person in front of him, and hoarsely called out the name of the person he could never forget.

“…Ji Ning?” 

Another chapter of my two favourite protagonists, I’m so happy <3