Pretend to be crazy

How could he have such a dream?

While disassembling his computer, Shen Yan began to question his own sexual orientation.

He shouldn’t be gay, right?

He used to have a junior who was so close to him that they shared meals and drank from the same bottle, yet he never considered him as a subject of sexual fantasies.

So why would a mere kiss from Ruan Zhixian make him dream of something straight out of a four-person porno?

Besides, though he couldn’t see the faces of the other three people in the dream, they were probably members of the protagonist’s gang.

The one licking his hand and calling him “Mommy” was undoubtedly the orphan-turned-scammer, Falson.

The tall one who wanted to kiss him, based on his build, seemed to be the combat specialist, Warren.

The last one was probably Blaze.

He turned his computer around, removed the built-in camera, and somewhat clumsily reassembled it.

At this point, Blaze was still just a curious kid longing for friends.

Kid was Shen Yan’s subjective nickname for him.

Compared to the others’ cunning and scheming, he really was like a child.

But calling a nineteen-year-old kid felt a bit odd.

Feeling on edge, Shen Yan corrected kid to male in his mind, then plugged in the power and pressed the power button.

He had an hour before work.

Might as well check what Ba—Blaze, this fully grown male, was up to.

Logging in with practiced ease, he found himself blocked by an encryption key. Unbothered, he input the twenty-four-character password and successfully entered the site.

The original novel had detailed the password changes three times, and Ruan Zhixian had cracked them all.

Coincidentally, the disposable character in the book shared Shen Yan’s exact name. A kind book fan had once reminded him to memorize the entire novel, and thanks to his photographic memory, it was proving quite useful now.

The moment he entered, Blaze’s avatar was flashing.

[Blaze]: .

[Blaze]: What were you going to tell me last night?

[Blaze is my god]: Don’t forget to buy me a terminal.

[Blaze]: …

[Blaze]: Change that username.

[I’m Blaze’s dog]: How about this? Woof woof~

[Blaze]: Disgusting.

[user123]: Crying, QAQQQ

Blaze didn’t continue messaging. Shen Yan glanced at the time and got up to change clothes.

How should he face Ruan Zhixian today?

Should he cautiously test the waters and ask for a label on their relationship?

Or should he act shy, pretend nothing happened, yet subtly show a hint of expectation?

Or should he go full lust demon, kiss him the moment they meet, and speed-run his homophobia arc?

Uh…

Let’s stick with one of the first two.

He needed time to calm his own feelings too.

[Blaze]: Why did you remove the camera?

[Blaze]: You had no problem showing me all that disgusting porn on your old computer, but you won’t let me see your face?

[Blaze]: I’m not obsessed with looks.

Shen Yan thought about it.

Showing his face or not didn’t really matter.

Even if he didn’t send him a picture, Blaze could easily pull up surveillance footage to see him anyway.

But offering something willingly and being investigated were two entirely different things.

The first was an act of friendship.

The second was… work.

He undid a few buttons of his white shirt, revealing his well-toned chest.

Finding the right angle, he snapped a top-down shot and sent it to Blaze.

[Blaze]: ?

[user123]: I work at Zero Degree Bar. Come watch me strip dance sometime, darling (heart emoji).

[user123]: Also, can you stop changing the encryption key? It’s annoying to crack. Please?

[Blaze]: …Fine.

[Blaze]: (Image)

It was a picture of a young man, his face cropped out.

Only his delicate red lips and the high-collared, ornate silk shirt were visible.

His long, pale golden hair—a symbol of nobility in District Seven—cascaded over his chest.

One second later, the image was retracted.

[Blaze]: Sent the wrong one.

[Blaze’s dog]: Hello, Princess 🙂

[Blaze]: ?

[Blaze]: (Image)

This time, it was a picture of a slender hand gripping the layered silk folds of his collar, pulling them down to reveal a prominent Adam’s apple.

This one, he didn’t retract.

[Blaze]: I am male.

Shen Yan chuckled, buttoned his shirt back up, ignored the message, and shut down his computer.

Time for work.

As expected, he got stuffed with tips again.

The suit guy, the fashionista, and the guy with all the piercings from that night’s game were all at the bar.

His partner had changed.

His original partner, Jiang Sen, had apparently been beaten up and wouldn’t be coming out for ten days to half a month.

The new guy was quiet, and after splitting the money, he left first.

As the rising star of the bar, Shen Yan was granted the privilege of a private dressing room.

Today’s dance was even more physically demanding than the last.

Even though he worked out regularly, he still had to sit down and rest for a while.

With his eyes closed, he heard someone enter.

Then, a pair of cold hands covered the upper half of his face.

Even though he knew it wasn’t Ruan Zhixian, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Zhixian, you’re here.”

A mocking voice responded, “Ha, I knew you two weren’t just friends.”

The hands let go, and their owner wiped them disdainfully with a wet wipe.

“You two got all worked up after that game and couldn’t hold back on the way home? Look at your lips—so intense, like you want people to know you’re gay.”

The speaker was Fei Shen, a mixed-race guy with short, dyed brown-gold hair.

Standing behind Shen Yan’s dressing chair, he was the one who had covered his eyes.

Zhang Qi, the man in a suit, stood beside him, while Zhao Ping, the guy with all the ear piercings, blocked the door.

Ruan Zhixian leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking at Shen Yan.

Shen Yan panicked, jumped up, and rushed toward him.

Only to trip over scattered clothes on the floor, nearly falling into his arms.

Ruan Zhixian still seemed unsettled from the previous night.

He didn’t continue testing him, merely steadied him and then immediately let go, keeping his distance.

Shen Yan awkwardly said, “T-Thanks.”

Ruan Zhixian: “You’re welcome.”

Fei Shen rolled his eyes.

He’d seen plenty of these coy couple acts.

If they weren’t involved, how else could their lips have ended up so swollen?

“Whatever. Not my business.” he changed the subject. “Did you guys get paid?”

“No,” Zhang Qi said angrily.

“That bastard never intended to pay us! We were all tricked!”

Zhao Ping gave Shen Yan a meaningful look.

“Maybe it’s because someone broke the rules, so he decided not to honor the deal?”

Shen Yan turned to Ruan Zhixian.

Ruan Zhixian: “So, why are you here?”

“My informant told me he was spotted here.”

After a brief silence, Zhao Ping said, “We can’t just let this go. If he had the resources to buy a Spider Bullet, that means he’s someone important.

If we find him, we can demand more money.”

In Lianhua City, gun ownership is legal, but any modified firearms and weapons are not allowed to appear in public.

In the shadows, however, it’s a different story.

The Spider Bullet is a modified version of a standard explosive, capable of easy tracking, immense destructive power, and a hefty price tag—each one costs anywhere from fifty to a hundred thousand.

Zhang Qi sighed, “Too bad the trail went cold once it led to this bar. There’s too little information, and the investigator Zhao Ping hired couldn’t dig any deeper.”

“You two work here, so we were hoping to find some kind of breakthrough.”

Shen Yan asked, “Did you find anything?”

“Nothing.”

Zhang Qi casually threw himself onto the sofa, lit a cigarette, and exhaled tiredly, “Maybe that so-called one million was just my ransom. Since I got to keep my life, I suppose I’ve already profited.”

Fei Shen was agitated. “That’s not what you said before you came here! If we just let ourselves be played like this, where’s the face of the Anmiya family supposed to go?”

Zhang Qi sneered, “You’re not really doing this for face, are you?”

Fei Shen was unapologetic, “And you are? Doesn’t matter what the reason is—I’m not letting this guy off the hook! Zhao Ping, what do you think?”

Zhao Ping nodded.

Shen Yan lowered his gaze.

This was a deviation from the original novel’s plot.

He suspected that the person Zhang Qi hired had actually received orders from Ruan Zhixian.

In fact, it was highly likely that the person Zhang Qi hired was Ruan Zhixian.

Otherwise, given his usual methods, how could he have allowed them to catch a lead, track it all the way here…?

That would be a complete loss of the protagonist’s dominance.

Absolutely impossible.

More likely, Ruan Zhixian had deliberately led them here. They were still under his control, and their ultimate fate would likely still be death.

And that death… probably included Shen Yan as well.

He cautiously glanced at Ruan Zhixian from the corner of his eye. He stole several looks, and by the end, his actions had become so obvious that even the others were frowning, waiting for him to speak.

Only Ruan Zhixian acted as if he didn’t notice.

Fei Shen couldn’t stand it anymore. “If you have something to say, just spit it out. What, did you leave your mouth in his during that kiss yesterday? Can’t talk unless he speaks first?”

Shen Yan was stunned for a moment, then, realizing what he meant, immediately blushed and explained in a panic, “We—we didn’t—”

“Alright, no one cares. Just say what you want to say.”

Shen Yan took a deep breath. Without another word, he grabbed Ruan Zhixian’s hand.

Ruan Zhixian’s movements were stiff, but in front of the other three, he couldn’t let his facade crack too much, so he let Shen Yan hold onto him.

Shen Yan interlocked their fingers, raised their hands, and showed them to the others.

The reaction was instant—three pairs of twisted expressions.

Shen Yan spoke solemnly and firmly, “Zhixian is my lover. Your actions could end up implicating him, and I don’t want that to happen.”

The timid coward who had always shrunk back had surprised them once before on stage.

Now, this was the second time.

Fei Shen’s face contorted as if he were about to have a stroke. He slumped onto the sofa next to Zhang Qi, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Then what do you suggest? I’m desperate for money. If my dad finds out I owe Xiong Shi that much, he’ll definitely execute me in front of all his men.”

Shen Yan was confused. Zhang Qi explained, “He’s the illegitimate son of the leader of Lianzi.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Fei Shen waved a hand weakly, “Once my third and fourth stepmothers take over, I’ll be legitimate.”

In this world, anyone with a bit of power or money had a messy personal life, and absurd dramas were nothing out of the ordinary.

Shen Yan had no interest in prying further. Seeing that Ruan Zhixian hadn’t stepped in to steer the conversation, he continued, “You said it yourself—this guy has stayed hidden in the shadows, has more power and money than you. What makes you so sure you can kill him, rather than him killing you first before you even find him?”

He paused, then added, “To be honest, I think the second scenario is far more likely. Right now, you might not even be safe. That person could be watching and controlling your every move.

Zhao Ping, are you sure the person you hired has no issues?”

At that, the other three felt a chill run down their spines.

Being monitored by the Federation, hackers, and surveillance networks was already the norm, but until now, they hadn’t considered that this might be happening to them personally.

Because they were just insignificant nobodies—who would pay that much attention to them?

But if they made too much noise, getting wiped out effortlessly wasn’t out of the question.

Zhang Qi stubbed out his cigarette and sighed, “Let’s wait and see. If an opportunity comes up, we’ll talk then.”

Then, he gave Shen Yan a somewhat peculiar look. “You’re sharper than I expected.”

Shen Yan waved his hands bashfully, “Sorry, I might’ve overreacted.”

They weren’t close, and with the most pressing issue left unresolved, there wasn’t much more to say. They all got up to leave.

Fei Shen was the last to go. Before he left, he handed Shen Yan a white card.

“Keep your schedule free for the day after tomorrow. I’m taking you on a cruise.”

Shen Yan hesitated. “Is that… appropriate?”

“You’re decent-looking, but not that good-looking. Don’t flatter yourself—I’m not interested in a timid guy like you,” Fei Shen snorted. “You’re just lucky. Get on board and gamble for me. If you win, I’ll give you five percent.”

Ruan Zhixian said indifferently, “You still have money?”

Fei Shen shot him a glare. “None of your damn business.”

Then, he shoved the card back into Shen Yan’s hand, giving no room for argument. “I’ll pick you up at 8:30 AM. Wear something nice. Go shopping in the city center with this card—don’t embarrass me.”

Before Shen Yan could respond, he was already gone.

Now, only Shen Yan and Ruan Zhixian were left in the dressing room.

Shen Yan glanced at the card in his hand. The design was simple—golden embossed vines coiling around the center, seven lotus seeds scattered around the lotus flower.

Shen Yan handed the white card to Ruan Zhixian.

Looking like a mistreated little wife, Shen Yan pleaded pitifully, “Zhixian, isn’t this a bad idea? I—I don’t want to go.”

Ruan Zhixian placed the card back in his hand.

“What’s wrong with it?” Ruan Zhixian chuckled, though his eyes remained devoid of warmth. “I was too forward last night. Sorry.

We’re not at that stage yet.”

“We’re not even in a relationship—why would you be worried about whether or not I’d get jealous?”

Shen Yan was speechless.

They’d kissed that intensely, and he was still testing?

He had already tried so hard to act gay!

Or was he just into this kind of push-and-pull dynamic?

Who knew? The original novel had no romance, so there was no way to predict.

But judging from his usual hunting style, he was probably enjoying himself.

Shen Yan quickly adjusted his expression. His eyes welled up, on the verge of tears, lips trembling as he forced a smile.

“Yes.” Unable to hold back, he rubbed his eyes roughly with his sleeve, then turned away, whispering, “Could you leave for a moment? I need to change.”

Ruan Zhixian obligingly stepped outside.

Leaning against the doorframe, he unwrapped a piece of candy and popped it into his mouth.

The door wasn’t soundproof.

He slowed his breathing, listening.

At first, there was only a faint, muffled panting.

Then, soft, restrained sobs slipped through the cracks.

Finally, it turned into gasping, broken with quiet sobs.

He narrowed his eyes, rolling the candy against his tongue.

Sweet.

Delicious.