The Deadly Countdown

A few days later, Shi Ji drove Li Chen out of that wooden shack.

His excuse was that he wanted to renovate his back garden, and having such a dilapidated, shabbily built house sticking out there was “deadly ugly.”

Shi Ji had assumed that upon hearing this news, Li Chen would surely drag his sickly body over to take a spiteful bite out of him.

To his surprise, the other had no reaction at all.

Instead, Li Chen swiftly packed his few belongings and walked right past Shi Ji.

Not only did he not spare Shi Ji a single glance, he didn’t even let out a single word of protest.

Shi Ji aimed a frustrated kick and a punch at the air behind Li Chen’s departing back.

‘This heartless little thing.’

He had exhausted his mental energy trying to find a way for Li Chen to live in better conditions, yet Li Chen didn’t appreciate it at all.

Shi Ji huffed and sat down on a chair a servant had moved over, crossing his arms over his chest.

The sound of wood being sawed echoed in his ears, and before long, the small wooden shack came crashing down.

The rising dust choked Shi Ji so much he could barely breathe.

He coughed violently.

The servant standing by to wait on him saw this and hurriedly sped up the fanning in his hand.

The wind kicked the settling dust back into the air.

While coughing, Shi Ji snatched the fan away with teary eyes and told them all to get the f*ck out.

The afternoon temperature was slightly scorching, and the sun hanging high in the sky was dazzling.

Only the spot occupied by Shi Ji was covered by a patch of shade.

Dappled sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, spilling onto his pale fingers.

It was exactly at this time that Li Chen walked out.

He was wearing an extremely plain white short-sleeved shirt.

Underneath his oversized shorts, a pair of long, straight legs were exposed.

His skin looked even paler than Shi Ji’s, and under the sunlight, it was blindingly bright.

Shi Ji narrowed his eyes, marveling that he truly was the protagonist Omega.

If those legs took a stroll outside, there was no telling how many Alphas they would seduce.

His Adam’s apple bobbed a few times.

He picked up an exquisite pastry from the plate beside him and took a bite.

The cloying sweetness burst in his mouth, making him screw up his face in distaste.

He stuck out his tongue and put the rest of the pastry back.

When he looked up again, Shi Ji caught the trace of a smile on Li Chen’s face that hadn’t been hidden in time.

Li Chen was wearing a straw hat given to him by the gardener.

The size was just right, though it was a bit old.

Shreds of sunlight leaked through several holes in the brim, lingeringly kissing his profile.

Considering Li Chen’s wounds, Shi Ji had cleared away the endless heavy labor he used to do.

Fearing this would break his persona, he instead ordered Li Chen to follow the new gardener to prune the overgrown flower branches.

He looked at the vibrant roses beside Li Chen, then turned his eyes to Li Chen’s face.

Comparing them back and forth, Shi Ji actually felt the roses weren’t as good-looking as Li Chen.

Shi Ji crouched nearby, happily and shamelessly peeping at the other.

His gaze was so direct it practically clung to Li Chen’s face.

Li Chen could not ignore this naked stare.

He turned his head and, as luck would have it, met Shi Ji’s eyes.

Those misty-blue eyes shimmered.

The smile on his face gradually faded, and he changed directions, turning his back completely toward Shi Ji.

Shi Ji awkwardly withdrew his gaze and scratched his cheek.

Then, he glanced at the unfinished pastries and the steaming tea beside him.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Shi Ji straightened his back, cleared his throat, and called out:

“–Li Chen.”

The moment Shi Ji’s shout left his mouth, everyone on the scene stopped what they were doing.

In a synchronized “swish,” they all looked toward Shi Ji.

Their motive wasn’t curiosity; it was because usually, when Shi Ji called Li Chen like that, it meant he was about to do something “excessive” again.

They couldn’t help but pause their work to spectate this good show.

Li Chen’s figure stiffened.

He lowered his eyelashes, put down his scissors, and patted the dust that had accidentally clung to his clothes.

Without a word, he walked over to stand before Shi Ji.

He looked silently at Shi Ji, who was sitting in the lounge chair.

The other man looked him up and down, wearing the expression he loathed the most.

A half-smile.

This was the look Shi Ji loved most when facing him—like a fox inspecting its prey.

Or perhaps not even prey.

In Shi Ji’s eyes, he was clearly just a dog with no dignity.

Li Chen waited for Shi Ji to voice his humiliating demands.

To his surprise, Shi Ji blinked and actually raised his hand to point at another empty chair nearby.

He spoke nonchalantly: “Sit.”

The thin lips moved, spitting out only that one word.

Li Chen’s eyes widened, thinking he had misheard.

Shi Ji frowned and repeated impatiently: “Sit.”

Li Chen’s brow knit slightly.

He gazed at Shi Ji in confusion.

He suddenly couldn’t understand the emotions hidden in the man’s charcoal-black eyes.

‘How strange.’

‘Shouldn’t he be ordering me to kneel and crawl over like a dog, then use his foot to step on my back?’

‘Shouldn’t he be harshly calling me a “lowly thing”?’

‘Shouldn’t he be poking my forehead and telling me to die?’

‘How did it turn out like this?’

‘Shi Ji is actually letting me sit?’

Li Chen hesitated for a few seconds before following Shi Ji’s lead and sitting down.

He placed both hands on his knees, his gaze still fixed on Shi Ji.

He wanted to see what kind of trick this man was playing.

In the next second, Shi Ji pushed the teapot over and spat out two words: “Pour water.”

Li Chen didn’t understand the motive, but he still followed the instruction and poured a cup of tea.

The tea in the cup was warm, specially infused with fresh fruit and jasmine.

The liquid carried a faint floral and fruity fragrance.

Li Chen poured a full cup and pushed it in front of Shi Ji.

Shi Ji only took one look, shook his head, and curled his lip.

“I won’t drink tea poured with your left hand.”

Li Chen silently looked at the teapot in his left hand, then switched it to his right and poured another cup.

When he pushed it over again, the man opposite glanced at it and continued to shake his head.

“I won’t drink tea poured with your right hand either.”

Li Chen’s gaze turned cold in an instant.

He had actually thought Shi Ji had found his conscience and didn’t want to make things difficult for him.

It turned out this man wanted to trouble him in this way.

He gritted his back teeth, wanting nothing more than to smash the teapot into Shi Ji’s face.

“Then there’s no way. I only have two hands. If Young Master Shi’s requirements are so strict, I suggest you find a servant with three hands.”

Li Chen couldn’t hold it back, and his words were aggressive.

He felt certain this sentence would strike Shi Ji’s nerve.

He simply set the teapot down and lowered his lashes, waiting for Shi Ji’s cursing.

After a long time, Shi Ji still hadn’t spoken.

The surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of the midsummer monsoon wind blowing past remained.

A drop of sweat slid down Li Chen’s temple.

He secretly peeked at Shi Ji out of the corner of his eye.

The man was still looking at him, thinking about who-knows-what.

Then, the other moved, pushing the two cups of tea back under Li Chen’s eyes.

“The water is cold,” he said flatly. “Drink it yourself.”

Then, Shi Ji turned his head back to continue chewing the pastry he hadn’t finished.

Li Chen froze, lowering his eyes to stare at the two cups of tea.

His dry throat reflexively swallowed.

Then, he looked away, tightened the hat string under his chin, stood up, and returned to the gardener’s side.

Shi Ji watched Li Chen’s departing back and sighed.

‘Trying to earn favor points in front of the protagonist shou is quite difficult.’

The dry pastry in his mouth was soaking up his saliva, making it impossible to swallow.

He had to pick up the tea Li Chen had just poured and chug it down.

Right at that moment, the system’s voice suddenly rang in his ear.

[Loading the next plot segment—] [Plot loaded successfully.] [Next mission: Find four Alphas to gang r*pe the protagonist Li Chen while you watch from the side.] [Mission completion deadline: Before Li Chen’s school starts.]

[Synchronizing data… Data synchronization complete.]

The very second he heard the new mission, the water in Shi Ji’s mouth sprayed out.

His reaction was so large that he lost his balance and fell off the chair.

Before the pain of hitting the floor could reach his brain, it managed to give the surrounding servants a fright.

Six people swarmed around Shi Ji, scrambling to help him up.

In the end, two held his arms, two lifted his legs, one cradled his head, and the last one supported his butt.

They hoisted him back onto the lounge chair like a grand relocation.

But at this moment, Shi Ji’s eyes were vacant.

He stared at the cloudless sky as if his soul had turned to ash.

It was over.

His good days were officially at an end.

The reason the original novel Matchless Love was a tragic romance was because of this actual segment where Li Chen is gang r*ped—though in the end, the first lead attacker appeared just in time to prevent him from being forcibly permanently marked.

That description was incredibly harrowing.

Even when the system first showed Shi Ji the plot, he couldn’t stop himself from cursing out loud.

After this plot point, the protagonist Li Chen developed a massive fear of marking and Alphas.

It wasn’t until the first and second lead attackers spent a great deal of effort that they managed to heal Li Chen’s broken heart.

And this was exactly the most important reason that led to the death of the original Shi Ji.

No… No way. He absolutely could not do this mission.

If he truly did what the system said, then what favor points would he be earning? He might as well start arranging his own funeral.

Shi Ji lay paralyzed on the chair, wanting to cry but having no tears.

His peripheral vision caught Li Chen pruning roses nearby, and he felt as though he were looking at his own life bar starting its final countdown.

[If the host refuses to complete this plot segment, the system will once again force completion.]

The system’s voice rang out again out of the blue.