CH 76

Xiao Zhenyun once again marveled that things were indeed different when you paid for them. Even Hedgehog had begun to think from the employer’s perspective and proactively solve problems.

This cliffside was remote, with hardly anyone passing by during the day, and at night, not a single shadow could be seen. Si Di and Hedgehog worked together to make two trips back and forth, laying down the cushions. Then one person above and one below, slowly accompanied Xiao Zhenyun down once. To be precise, it wasn’t a jump; Xiao Zhenyun was completely carried down.

The distance between the platform and the cliff top was neither far nor near, about the height of two floors. Standing straight and looking down was a bit scary, but slowly sliding down while sitting on the ground, plus with someone waiting below for support, made things much easier. Moreover, there would be a safety rope at the time. Even carrying a paralyzed and unconscious adult, as long as you chose the right jumping-off point, completing the cliff-jumping scene wasn’t difficult.

The troublesome part was instead the unexpected little things during planning, such as Xiao Zhenyun’s clothes getting caught on protruding tree branches midway, leaving him hanging on the cliff unable to move, like a string of air-dried meat. But these dense branches had to be there, providing cover. Otherwise, when Ye Feiran shines a flashlight down later, everything would be revealed.

The four of them tried many times back and forth, continuously improving their approach through practice. Xiao Nian even marked the best cliff-jumping point with stones and took photos for reference. On the day of, Hedgehog arrived ten minutes early, needing to compare the photos with the actual scene again to ensure everything matched perfectly. Any discrepancies would require rearranging to guarantee nothing went wrong.

Hedgehog brushed off some grass leaves from their hair. “How much do I have to do within those ten minutes?”

“The golden ten minutes,” Xiao Zhenyun replied nonchalantly.

“…” How did he manage it? Hedgehog glanced at Xiao Zhenyun. How could this person embellish a history of corporate slavery so effortlessly and make it sound so appealing?

Unexpectedly, their rehearsal timing was incredibly fortunate. That night, Si Di received an urgent text while lying in bed, summoning him back to the union, and he ended up working continuously for three days—72 hours straight—without even a moment to check in with Xiao Zhenyun.

Once Si Di had recovered his spiritual domain, he quit his assistant instructor job at White Tower and returned to the special operatives union. Xiao Zhenyun, on the other hand, continued attending classes at White Tower but with less diligence than before. Once classes were over, he went home to play with his little dog.

But Si Di’s prolonged absence dampened Xiao Zhenyun’s enthusiasm for progressing the plot.

It was nearing the end of the third week of confinement, almost a week behind the original plot’s pace. Xiao Zhenyun had already delivered all his lines long ago and now had nothing to do. This was supposed to be a scene of forced love and desire, with ‘Xiao Zhenyun’ having sedatives and whips but refraining from using torture on Si Chu. He longed to unleash his rage on the little dog but desired Si Chu’s voluntary compliance and submission even more.

Simply put, ‘Xiao Zhenyun’ wanted a heartfelt connection with Si Chu, seeking Si Chu’s willingness.

He thought he had plenty of time to wear down Si Chu’s will, believing that years of communication could change Si Chu’s mind. But Ye Feiran’s efficiency was too high; he rescued Si Chu within half a month.

In the original storyline, Xiao Zhenyun leapt off the cliff in frustration.

Xiao Zhenyun also wanted to fForce Majeure refers to an extraordinary event or circumstance, which is out of the ordinary control of human beings.ollow in his footsteps, embracing the bitter-sweet ending aesthetic. Yet in reality, Si Chu didn’t give him the chance. Instead of stubbornly persisting, Si Chu chose to lay low and pretend to submit, no matter how harshly Xiao Zhenyun spoke, unable to salvage the plot that had derailed prematurely.

Faced with this force majeure1Force Majeure refers to an extraordinary event or circumstance, which is out of the ordinary control of human beings. situation, Xiao Nian understood not to blame Xiao Zhenyun and generously acknowledged his efforts, stating that as long as the overall direction remained on track, a 60% completion rate would suffice.

Then, he added, “Don’t call it a ‘flag.’ I don’t like hearing that.”

“Little Uncle… Little Uncle!” Si Chu’s face appeared before Xiao Zhenyun’s eyes. Xiao Zhenyun snapped out of his daze, blinked in confusion, then smiled. “What’s up?”

“You’ve been distracted all evening,” Si Chu said. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh…” Xiao Zhenyun took a sip of water. “I’ve encountered a bit of trouble.”

Before he finished speaking, he caught a flicker of excitement in Si Chu’s eyes. After hesitating for a moment, Si Chu decided to leverage his appearance to get the news, leaning into Xiao Zhenyun’s shoulder and resting his head there. “What kind of trouble? Can you tell me?”

He definitely thought this ‘trouble’ was related to someone discovering his confinement, leading to difficulties in covering his tracks. Well, Xiao Zhenyun found Ye Feiran’s actions too slow, and raising a little dog was also quite troublesome.

“Your brother hasn’t come back in three days,” Xiao Zhenyun confided in Si Chu. He didn’t want Si Chu to be the only one in high spirits; he wanted everyone to suffer together.

Sure enough, Si Chu looked concerned. “What’s going on? What happened to my brother?”

“He’s been off the grid. When I went to the union during the day, my colleagues said he’s on an urgent, top-secret mission…” Xiao Zhenyun trailed off, lowering his eyelashes.

“Don’t worry too much, Little Uncle. These urgent missions are quite common in the union. My brother used to receive sudden missions like this all the time and disappear just as suddenly. Trust in his abilities; he’ll be fine,” Si Chu reassured casually before realizing… Why was he genuinely comforting a scumbag who had imprisoned him?

Xiao Zhenyun nodded, about to utter some nauseatingly affectionate words, when suddenly the terminal vibrated and displayed a cute red cartoon wolf head. He had never seen this before; usually, the virtual wolf head representing Si Di’s calls was in black and white.

Red typically indicated an emergency, and Si Chu’s rapid, anxious breathing confirmed this. “My brother urgently needs to speak with you. Please answer!”

“Okay, stay here, don’t wander off,” Xiao Zhenyun hurriedly rushed out of the basement, barely waiting for the door to close before answering the call. The chain around Si Chu’s ankle had been removed. To lower Xiao Zhenyun’s guard, Si Chu obediently stayed in the basement even without restraints because he knew he only had one chance to escape; otherwise, all his efforts would be in vain.

Hesitating for a second, Si Chu managed to reach the doorway, seeing Xiao Zhenyun already pressing the answer button. He quickly shouted in a mix of urgency and to pass on the message, “Little Uncle, what’s happened to my brother?”

“Zhenyun! Quickly get Hedgehog to come to you,” Si Di’s voice came through with a backdrop of gunfire and chaotic footsteps, speaking rapidly, “The union has launched an operation targeting the remnants of the MP within the country and spies within the union. We discovered that seventeen S-class experiments were released from the lab. Just half an hour ago, Chairman was attacked by six experimental subjects, but he’s unharmed. However, Xiao Jiali has gone missing during the attack, and his classmate Duan Fei, who was with him, is critically injured and out of contact. Both the union and the military are tracking their whereabouts. I’m worried you might also be on the MP’s retaliation list. Be careful.”

“I’m currently very safe,” Xiao Zhenyun said as he approached the window. The garden surrounding his villa was expansive, and the outside world remained peaceful and unchanged. Nearby, the streetlights emitted a warm, dim glow, with many small insects dancing around the light sources. It was tranquil and serene, contrasting starkly with the chaos on Si Di’s end, as if they were in two different worlds.

“That’s good to hear.”

“Take care of yourself too,” Xiao Zhenyun reminded Si Di, sensing that the call was about to end. “Stay safe.”

“Yeah, I will.”

With those parting words, Si Di immediately ended the call.

Xiao Zhenyun didn’t hesitate. He knew how strong his sarcasm could be. Du Nai, who wanted to steal Si Di’s love from him, would likely haunt him even in his grave, shouting in a decaying voice: “The MP may be defeated, but Xiao Zhenyun must die!”

He immediately contacted Hedgehog via voice, asking him to come over and act as a bodyguard again.

“Hedgehog, are you busy?”

“No time, I’m clubbing.”

“A Sentinel clubbing? Can your ears handle it???”

Hedgehog replied impatiently, “Silent clubbing.”

Xiao Zhenyun paused for a second, then mentioned a time. Ten minutes later, Hedgehog appeared outside the villa with a large black box on his back.

“This is how the Dark Sentinel, without a stable source of income, looks.” He sat confidently on the sofa, picked up an unpeeled apple from the coffee table, and began munching on it. His spiritual form, the viper, didn’t consider itself an outsider either; it slithered onto the table and swallowed a large piece of beef jerky.

“Free, but often bowing for a handful of rice.”

Xiao Nian had already fallen asleep, and Hedgehog’s arrival disturbed him. The administrator, dressed in pajamas, upon understanding the situation, didn’t return to sleep either. He sat expressionless on the sofa, drinking milk. It was evident that the elementary schooler’s biological clock troubled him, as he looked sleepy and groggy.

Hedgehog observed him with interest. “Your family is quite interesting—your sister-in-law’s peculiar habits, a kid who acts like an old man, and the odd person who always wears sensory suppressors, which feels quite out of place, isn’t he around… By the way, what about the brother I brought back? Still in the basement?”

Xiao Zhenyun nodded.

“Oh, I see. With Si Di gone these days, you’ve been having fun with his brother, huh?”

“… “

“Interesting.” Hedgehog sensed there was more to the situation, but he hadn’t figured out the logic in these past few days. The more peculiar it seemed, the more interested he became. “Once my contract over there ends in the next six months, I’m thinking of settling here and hanging out with you guys.”

Xiao Zhenyun was only concerned about one thing. “Can I get a discount if I hire you again?”

“No.” The viper coiled around Hedgehog’s shoulder hissed.

Xiao Zhenyun paid no further attention.

He sat for a while longer, thinking that he needed to tell Si Chu, who was concerned about his brother in the basement, that he was safe. But just as he was about to get up, the doorbell rang. Xiao Nian, bleary-eyed, looked up and asked, “Is it people from the MP?”

“Have you ever seen a vengeful killer ringing the doorbell?” Hedgehog chuckled.

Xiao Zhenyun silently checked the monitor screen of the doorbell camera. A face he hadn’t expected appeared in the center of the screen—

Ye Feiran.

Ye Feiran had actually shown up at his doorstep.

Not too early, not too late, but exactly at this moment?

Although Ye Feiran was trying hard to appear relaxed and casual, Xiao Zhenyun, holding the script, could easily discern his inner tension and anxiety from the details.

Xiao Zhenyun wanted to send him away. The situation tonight was unclear, and he didn’t want to risk following the plot. He had every reason to make Ye Feiran leave immediately. However, the key issue was that Xiao Zhenyun couldn’t guarantee the safety around his house at the moment. He was worried that Ye Feiran lingering nearby might encounter danger.

After much consideration, Xiao Zhenyun decided to open the door and let Ye Feiran in.

“Good evening, Little Uncle,” Ye Feiran stood at the entrance and went straight to the point. “Si Chu is with you, right?”

The author has something to say:

Yun: He’s not here. Get lost.

Feiran: ???

Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ