It took a moment for Ozer’s words to sink in, but when they did, Ji Ning’s already flushed cheeks turned completely red. He said angrily, “Don’t even think about it, you bastard!”
He tried to move away, but Ozer’s spiritual power kept him locked on top of the older boy’s body. Ozer tilted his head and pressed a light kiss to his face. There was a smile in his voice as he asked, “Are you going to run away?”
“Who…who’s trying to run?”
Ji Ning frowned. Because he was drunk, his words slurred slightly, but he stubbornly refused to back down in front of Ozer. He even started to unbutton his own clothes, “I’ll give you whatever you want today, so don’t bother me again…”
“Don’t you understand? I don’t ever want to leave you.”
Still pinned down by Ji Ning, Ozer looked up at the boy, a darkness surging in his eyes, revealing an intense paranoia and possessiveness.
“I want to have all of you. Your heart, your body, and your life.”
Although his voice was quiet, it seemed to echo in the silence.
“Ji Ning, do you dare to give me everything I want?”
Naturally, even if Ji Ning refused, he would use any means to plunder it. Even if it meant repeating the same mistakes of his previous life, he would still choose to do so. He couldn’t tolerate the idea of anyone else getting their hands on Ji Ning.
He closed his eyes, hiding the sinister look in his gaze from Ji Ning.
“…”
Sobering up slightly, Ji Ning did not speak or move for a long time. In the silent room, Ozer kept his eyes closed and his hands tied in the ribbon. He released Ji Ning from the constraint of his spiritual energy and waited for him to make his decision.
Unexpectedly, he felt a warmth against his lips. Ji Ning had lowered his head to gently kiss the corner of his mouth. His movements were light and soft, like a stray cat that usually stayed away from people finally putting its claws away to show its soft side.
“…Aren’t you asking for a lot in exchange for two bottles of wine?”
Ozer’s green eyes snapped open. He drank in the sight of Ji Ning for a moment, then laughed.
“Of course not. As long as you want it, I am yours.”
He pulled his hands free from the ribbon restraint and tried to embrace Ji Ning, but the boy pushed his chest hard, forcing him back down. Ji Ning looked arrogantly down at him, Ozer’s handsome face reflected in his eyes.
“You’re not allowed to move.”
He ordered Ozer, but his voice was soft, taking the sharpness out of the command. He leant over Ozer to tie the ribbon tighter around his hands, before stripping his shirt off, murmuring in Ozer’s ear.
“If you’re mine, then you should obediently submit to me, understand?”
“…Okay.”
Ozer smiled indulgently.
Clothes were casually thrown to the ground and before long the lights in the living room went out, the room falling into darkness. The white snow continued to fall quietly outside the house, dyeing everything pure white.
As if creating a new world.
Ji Ning walked out of the phantom illusion, the hazy mirage refracting the beams of light. The images inside didn’t stop, but the line of fate that connected Ozer to him was gradually fading.
Initially, Ozer had been on the verge of a spiritual attack and would have likely broken down completely if Fu Qinghan forced him into the phantom array. Therefore, Fu Qinghan waited until Ozer’s spiritual state had stabilised slightly, after he went to the graveyard, before pulling him into the illusion.
When Ji Ning left Ozer’s illusion, only Fu Qinghan was waiting inside the cave, Yun Yuan nowhere to be seen. Seeing that the cultivator was missing, Ji Ning naturally felt relieved, but still asked, “Is Yun Yuan not here?”
“No he’s not, Shizun sensed something and suddenly left.” Fu Qinghan said. “He didn’t say what happened. I think there was another thunder tribulation inside the void, so he had to return his consciousness in order to face the tribulation.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
Ji Ning glanced up at the sky. Even though he was afraid of Yun Yuan, he didn’t want him to get hurt. Even if it might be beneficial to him, he had to satisfy Yun Yuan’s wish in order to restore the planes to normality.
“Shizun’s abilities are unfathomable, nothing should happen to him.”
Fu Qinghan said mildly, reaching out to stroke Ji Ning’s hair, “How is it going?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Although the experiences were very different to the first time he met them, the protagonists hadn’t changed. But even if he fell in love with them again, he would still have to leave them once the planes recovered. Knowing he would probably never see them again made Ji Ning’s chest ache with pain.
It was impossible to remain unaffected by the emotions he showed when acting. Experiencing it all for the second time only made this more obvious. But the more he felt his heart begin to waver, the harsher he restrained himself. It was too dangerous to indulge in these emotions, he couldn’t forget his original purpose, which was to return to his own world.
He didn’t have the luxury to feel like this.
He repeated this sentence to himself, slowly adjusting his inner emotions and trying his best to shake himself out of his melancholy.
“Shizun isn’t here. It’s just me and you, so there’s no need to be so anxious.”
Seeing his mournful expression, Fu Qinghan gently comforted him, “You can rest for the night and return here tomorrow.”
No matter how long he spent in the phantom array, less than a second would pass in the outside world, but Fu Qinghan knew that experiencing the illusion was still exhausting. Ji Ning must be deeply tired, it wasn’t reasonable to send him back inside the phantom array so quickly.
It was true that Ji Ning didn’t think he could take another illusion, so he nodded and let Fu Qinghan take him out of the cave and back to the Federation. They went to the villa that Ji Ning was most familiar with.
“This world is quite different.”
Fu Qinghan’s eyes swept across the villa filled with futuristic technology. Using his sharp mind and a little bit of practice, he quickly worked out how to use several of the appliances. Tapping into the kitchen’s touchpad, the housekeeping robot appeared to run a bath for Ji Ning and prepare some food for him.
He helped Ji Ning sit comfortably on the sofa and stood in the living room. With a tall jade figure, handsome features and a long green cultivator’s robe, he seemed out of place in the room, but at the same time, there was no place he could belong to more.
“Qinghan…”
Looking at the handsome man in front of him, Ji Ning’s heart throbbed and he couldn’t help but ask him, “What would be your wish?”
He wasn’t asking in order to fulfil the task Future had set him, he just suddenly really wanted to know. It wasn’t only Fu Qinghan, he liked knowing the desires that all of them had and wished he could know more about what they were thinking.
“Mine?”
Fu Qinghan smiled and sat down next to Ji Ning.
“As my situation changes, so do my desires.”
“When I was young, I wanted to avenge my clan. After you and my master died, I wanted to resurrect the two of you. After I found my master’s spirit and sent him to the mountain gate to cultivate, I wanted to find you again. But now that I’ve finally found you-”
He lowered his voice and stroked Ji Ning’s hair, “I just want you to be happy. If you have a wish, then my deepest desire is that you can achieve it.”
“Qinghan…”
Ji Ning ducked his head, his heart beating with affection even as it clenched in pain. It was just like in the martial arts world, Fu Qinghan always took care of him like this. Even when he wanted to do something for Fu Qinghan, the man asked for nothing in return.
“You don’t have to feel guilty because of me,” Fu Qinghan smiled, “If you tell me your selfish desires, I’ll tell you mine.”
He rested his hand on the back of Ji Ning’s arm and looked away, speaking in a quiet voice, “Once the lines of fate are all severed, Shizun will definitely ask you to choose between me and him. When that happens, I hope you can pick me, not Shizun.”
Of course he would.
Ji Ning thought to himself. If it was about choosing between them, then maybe twelve out of ten people would pick Fu Qinghan over Yun Yuan.
Although, in the end he couldn’t choose any of them. He would have to send them all back to their own worlds.
“You must be tired, I won’t bother you with this anymore.”
The housekeeping robot brought Ji Ning’s dinner. Fu Qinghan smiled warmly and helped Ji Ning to stand up, “You should eat some food.”
Inside the cave realm, the phantom arrays continued to run. Time in the illusions would still slowly pass.
Zhou Rin sat at his desk and rubbed his face, suddenly feeling a little tired.
After returning from an investigation of the Interstellar Paradise, he felt a strange sense of unease that wouldn’t leave. It was obvious that the inspection had run smoothly and the company had even begun to prepare a large-scale plan for cooperation, but when he returned to his private room, he had the sensation that he’d forgotten something. As time went on, the feeling only grew stronger.
He put down the pen in his hand and leaned back in his chair, glancing at the photos on his desk. There was a family portrait, with his grandparents sitting in the centre and other family members stationed around them.
His parents stood behind his grandparents, his elder brother and sister stood on the right hand side. Ji Ning stood beside his brother, and Zhou Rin himself stood on the left hand side, a visible distance between himself and the rest of his family.
Everyone was smiling but his own face was frosty, refusing to even look toward the camera. It was a typical example of youthful rebellion and in the eyes of the current Zhou Rin, an immature performance.
Although it had only been ten years since the picture was taken, it hadn’t originally been cared for well and technology had rapidly advanced since, making the photo look very old. There were faint yellow marks developing on the corners.
Despite this, he still cherished the photo, because it was the only picture of him and Ji Ning together.
The photo was taken on his grandfather’s birthday, when most of the family had rushed home from all across the country in order to celebrate the elder.
Back then, Zhou Rin had recently had another conflict with his brother and Ji Ning and had moved out of the house to live with a friend. He hadn’t returned home for a long time, so it wasn’t until that night that he was called back and saw Ji Ning again.
Ji Ning’s hand was blocked by his brother’s arm in the photo, but Zhou Rin was painfully aware that he wore a ring on his finger that matched his brother’s. When she caught Zhou Rin staring, his mother had smiled and explained it was an engagement ring.
“You haven’t come home for a while, so we couldn’t tell you.”
His mother’s expression was very gentle, “Your brother will announce the news during dinner. Your grandfather has met him before and is very satisfied with Ji Ning, so- Zhou Rin? Zhou Rin, where are you going!”
He ignored his mother’s questions and ran straight out of the hall, hiding in a dark corner of the garden.
Other people would definitely take this as another sign that he hated Ji Ning, right? Zhou Rin thought, a little self pitying, but it didn’t matter anymore. Thinking that he hated Ji Ning was better then them knowing he actually liked him.
He actually fell in love with his brother’s fiance.
When he realised this, Zhou Rin couldn’t hate himself more. If he was his Gege, he would probably feel so disgusted he would vomit, and even he felt nauseous.
However, despite his disgust he still felt unwilling to give him up. He could never forget the sweet scent of Ji Ning’s body. The fragrance of epiphyllum, gentle but fleeting. How could he ever let it go?
But so what if he couldn’t forget him? Now that they were about to be engaged, how could he be shameless enough to snatch someone from his brother?
What’s more, Ji Ning hated him so much he couldn’t even look at him…
Although it was summer, the night wind still brought a chill. Zhou Rin leant against a wall and lit a menthol cigarette, smoking it slowly.
In the darkness, a small spark of orange glowed between his slender fingers. He slowly exhaled a cloud of pale smoke, the air filling with a cool mint smell that held a slight bitterness, reflecting his current mood.
“Zhou Cun…”
A soft voice broke the night’s silence, close to where he stood. Zhou Rin recognised it at once as Ji Ning. His brother’s voice soon responded.
Instead of revealing his existence, Zhou Rin quickly extinguished his cigarette and remained silently where he stood, listening to their conversation.
He frowned, knowing his actions were getting more and more shameless, but he didn’t move away.
“The air is cool tonight. Your body’s delicate, don’t stay out here for too long.”
The two of them didn’t say anything inappropriate for an outsider to hear, they were just speaking ordinarily. His brother didn’t mention anything about announcing their engagement, so Zhou Rin wasn’t sure whether Ji Ning knew about it or not.
“I’ve been inside for a long time and felt a little stuffy, so I came out to take a rest, it’s fine.”
Ji Ning’s voice was very gentle. The corners of Zhou Rin’s mouth twitched. As long as he wasn’t in front of him, Ji Ning was always so good natured. Only when he saw Zhou Rin would he act coldly.
“By the way, I have something to tell you.”
He heard Ji Ning say to his brother, “I’ve been staying at your house for a while, so I want to go back to my hometown in a few days. Both my parents are recovering at home but I don’t trust them to look after themselves properly, so I want to stay with them this time.”
“Can you wait a bit longer?” Zhou Cun asked, “I want to go with you, but the company is entering a busy period, so I can’t take time off. When these things are completed I can accompany you back.”
“It’s okay, you can come with me next time. I just really miss them.” There was a slight smile in Ji Ning’s voice.
“But your hometown is so far out and your family is in poor health. I’m worried it would be unsafe, it would be better to have someone accompany you.” His brother said, “Do you have any trusted friends?”
“No…” Ji Ning said, “My hometown is very safe, don’t worry. I’m not as delicate as you think I am anyway.”
“But you are still an Omega, and you’re still my Omega. What’s wrong with me caring about you?”
Zhou Rin could hear a slight pout in his brother’s voice. In his memory, his Gege was always dignified and indifferent and would never display such an emotion, but he clearly acted very differently with his Omega.
“There’s really nothing wrong.” Ji Ning laughed, “But I want to correct you. I’m not your Omega yet, you haven’t marked me.”
“I really want to mark you, but you won’t allow it. It’s precisely because of this that I always feel uneasy. I’m afraid you’ll change your mind and love someone else.” Zhou Cun sighed softly, “Sometimes I really want to lock you away from everyone else until you obediently become my Omega.”
Behind the wall, Zhou Rin clenched his hands as he heard Ji Ning laugh softly again. The two of them lowered their voices as they continued speaking. No longer aware of what they were talking about, Zhou Rin felt his heart ache with pain.
After a while, the two returned to their previous volume and his brother said, “I’m still worried about leaving you alone, what if I ask Zhou Rin to accompany you? His school vacation begins in a few days, so he’ll be free to come with you and I trust him.”
“Zhou Rin?”
Ji Ning sounded slightly frightened, but the next second seemed to realise that his response was wrong, so he lowered his voice and said hesitantly, “No way. He…he’s an Alpha and it’s not appropriate to trouble him.”
“It doesn’t matter, he’s my younger brother and you’re his future sister in law, you can use him as you like.”
Zhou Cun continued, “Although he’s disobedient, his nature isn’t bad, he just can’t get used to you. He’s had a natural aversion to Omega pheromones since he was born, and they make him physically uncomfortable to the point of nausea. He has such a bad attitude towards you because you’re the only Omega in the family.”
“He hates Omegas?” Ji Ning seemed to be in disbelief, “But that night…”
“That night?” His brother repeated.
“No, it’s nothing…”
Ji Ning’s voice trailed away. Zhou Rin felt extremely depressed, it was obvious that Ji Ning’s misunderstanding about him hadn’t been cleared up and he still believed that he wanted to attack him that night.
“Thank you Zhou Cun, I know you want to ease the relationship between me and Zhou Rin, but there’s no need. I can go by myself.”
He pushed for a few seconds before continuing, “And I think the conflict between me and him was inevitable, but it doesn’t matter. You and I will move out soon and as long as we don’t see him, we can peacefully coexist with each other.”
“You…” Zhou Cun said in surprise, “You hate him too? What the hell’s going on between the two of you?”
Suddenly his voice lowered, revealing a dangerous aura, “Don’t be scared, no matter what it is you can tell me, did something happen the first night you met each other?”
“No.” After a pause, Ji Ning still denied it, “I just think that since he has a physical aversion to me, it’s an issue that cannot be fixed, so it would be better for us to move out.”
“Xiao Ning…”
“Stop talking about him, let’s go back to the previous topic.” Ji Ning softened his voice, “I can really go back alone, I don’t need to take anyone with me. Don’t worry, the people in my hometown are simple and honest, it’s not as scary as you think.”
“Okay then.” His brother said, “I’ll ask the driver to take you back. Contact me when you get there and make sure you pay attention to your own safety.”
“Okay.”
The voices stopped and Zhou Rin stayed behind the wall for a long time. He tried to take another cigarette out from his cigarette case, but his hands were shaking so badly that he dropped it on the floor and had to get another one. He tried to light the cigarette with his lighter as he came out from behind the wall, but immediately stopped, frozen.
Because he saw that Zhou Cun and Ji Ning hadn’t left, but were intimately embracing each other.
After a while, his brother lowered his head, his expression extremely tender as he pressed a gentle kiss to Ji Ning’s forehead.
Wow, this chapter seriously had everything:
Ji Ning being so sexy I want to pursue him myself!
Fu Qinghan reminding me he is the kindest, sweetest, most adorable protagonist out of all of them! (Why is he trying so hard to be a second male lead in a harem novel??)
Zhou Rin holding on to his title of the most pathetic protagonist – why did Ji Ning choose such a cruel drama to act out, this poor Alpha never stood a chance~
(And although Ningning is scum, it’s important to remember that he never even kisses Zhou Cun, so he’s not mega-scum!)
I think my author realised Zhou Rin’s backstory isn’t as detailed as the others, so we have a slightly longer arc for Zhou Rin that covers some of his history with Ji Ning – hope you enjoy!
Ozer and Zhou Rin’s story is making me AAAHHHHHH!!!! 😖
Zhou Rin’s story only gets worse from here – I think he’s honestly the protagonist Ji Ning abused the most
No why did I even conceive of Fu Qinghan being boring in the first half? He’s obviously the best boi here!? Him being like all I want for you is to be happy got me so much too!!! Because thats the purest and sincerest type of love! He’s the sweetest bby ever and must be protected at all costs!
On the other side of the spectrum, Zhou Rin…eh…meh. I don’t know if the author can make me like him as much as the other protags. But if she does I’ll kneel down to her skill.
Ahh – I admit I made the same mistake in the beginning but now out of all of them he’s the only one I would truly fall for~
Zhou Rin’s a tricky character but he hasn’t had a chance to shine yet – he’s a pampered child so he needs a chance to mature, but I ended up really appreciating him! His story is just so tragic (つ﹏⊂)
Holy cranberries ji Ning in the ozer scene?!! Dang, ji ning.
And not Yun yuan waiting 2000 years only to find ji ning’s been cheating on him with many* other people. and yuan’s not even in ji ning’s top 5 🫢😅 ouch. Fu qinghan is a sweetheart ♥️ And Zhou rin… No. I’m sorry my guy it’s not happening.
Fu Qinghan wins the award of the most sought after good boy ML.
My Goodness he’s just the most healthy relationship I can think of.
This is why Fu Qinghan is my no1 favorite. He has unconditional love to Ji Ning.
Zhou Rin on the other hand is the unrequited love. His story should be painful
I agree that Ning Ning isn’t a mega scum, he is still at level Gentleman Scum…lol
Best boii Fu Qinghan. 🤧🤧
Ugh, Fu Qingshan got so little time in this novel but he’s truly worthy of all the good things! He has so much respect for himself and Ji Ning. Loving and selfless but not a doormat.
Best boi Qinghan!