5.17

Originally, Chen Yu had intended to 'accidentally' reveal his skin's sensitivity to sunlight and allow a clever reporter to expose Guo Ziyue's lie. Before he could begin setting this development up, however, his lover dropped some hints that Xiang Kai would be washed clean within the week, suggesting that he had taken action against Guo Ziyue but was afraid that Xiang Kai would be angry with him for doing so.

While Sun Ri's involvement did interfere with his plans, Chen Yu merely shrugged. Since it had no doubt been the discovery of his lupus that had been the key step for Sun Ri to suspect the video, not much would be changed except that he wouldn't have to suffer through getting skin lesions to prove his point. Besides, Chen Yu had scrapped the idea of pushing the protagonist and the thigh together as soon as he had confirmed that Sun Ri was his lover, but he wouldn't selfishly deprive Guo Ziyue the experience of how powerful Sun Jia was.

Therefore, he pretended to accept his lover's words as simple encouragement and continued to loll around in his lover's house until it was time to work again, unwilling to deal with the reporters who were staked out around his apartment.

For the next few days, Sun Ri blissfully shuttled Kai back and forth between the studio and his villa, fantasizing that they were a married couple that was living and working together. He was so happy that he didn't even criticize the national laboratory for taking so long to verify that Guo Ziyue's clip was fake. In reality, the delay was Chen Yu's fault to begin with for deliberately creating the recording to seem authentic at first glance.

Nevertheless, eventually the analysts discovered that it was indeed artificial, at which point they immediately sent a report to Sun Ri. As it just so happened, their revelation came at the end of the week, the day before the premiere for the movie in which Chen Yu had starred as the servant Xiao Jiu.

Having received the information, Sun Ri naturally wished to publish it immediately so that his doll wouldn't be condemned anymore, but Chen Yu felt that being washed clean while he was in public view would be far more fun, he would get to see in the flesh how swollen all those faces could become. Thus, he sacrificed his body to distract his lover, then slipped out Sun Ri's phone to delay the messages that contained his instructions to the media, setting the emails to arrive right before the premiere. Additionally, he issued a warning to Guo Ziyue in Sun Ri's name. The text was short and harsh, it simply advised him not to mistakenly assume that he was the king's partner, as he had been before, and attend the event.

Anticipating how the protagonist would 'endure' his guardian's 'betrayal' to dauntlessly approach him and resolve any 'misunderstandings,' Chen Yu curled his lips.

The Sun Ri who caught sight of that unusually clear expression pounced, excited by the idea that Kai was letting his guard down around him. With that optimistic thought, he could no longer restrain himself, he tossed his doll all night, considering his extremely slow movements as his concession to Kai's lupus.

Chen Yu, who had already been quite surprised by how long the pervert had lasted without going all the way with him, gave in to the inevitable, taking the gentle thrusts until he felt too tired and closed his eyes to let the man do whatever he wanted.

Unfortunately, this proved to be a slight miscalculation; once he woke up the next afternoon, he found that he was wrapped up in Sun Ri's long limbs, his rear filled by the length still buried inside of him and his muscles aching. More importantly, a brief scan of his body showed that every part of his skin from his face down was littered with marks, even his fingertips had faintly visible imprints of teeth.

Annoyed when he thought of how troublesome it would be to locate clothes to cover up these signs, Chen Yu irritably pushed his lover away, only for Sun Ri, who'd been nervously watching his reaction through narrowed eyes, to bounce back and press him down, rasping, "Don't be mad, doll. I promise I've prepared." Saying so, he pushed himself up, intending to fetch the outfit he'd bought for Kai, but as he withdrew, he felt the youth quiver beneath him. Of course, he wouldn't miss an invitation from the boy, the couple lingered for another hour.

At last, Chen Yu was lifted into the bathtub and gingerly washed, then Sun Ri proudly presented the high-necked shirt that he had produced to cover the red leather collar that hadn't been removed except when filming. What he didn't say was that the shirt that he'd be wearing was designed to be a subtle echo of his doll's. Secretly, he hoped that appearing together at this event in complementary outfits would both impress upon everyone that Xiang Kai was backed by this king and hint that he was taken. Well aware of his lover's aspiration, Chen Yu nonetheless slipped into the luxurious shirt and allowed himself to be carried to the car, snorting at the man's satisfied expression.

When the king's distinctive Bugatti Veyron skidded to a stop in front of the venue, the reporters frantically started taking pictures. Regardless of what King Sun was doing, articles that included photographs of him would garner the top spot in their respective companies. Noticing the tall figure climb out then humbly bend down to extend a hand toward the passenger side, however, the flashes on their cameras burst out even more enthusiastically. What great personage could induce the king to bow down?

But once they recognized the person who emerged as Xiang Kai, the onlookers' faces twisted in scorn. The media began to shout out pointed questions toward the pair. What kind of trick had that disgusting man pulled to force King Sun into treating him well? Was it not enough that he'd bullied his own junior, he now had to reach his dirty hands out to the king?

Sun Ri froze at this response and reflexively drew his doll into his embrace to muffle his ears. Hadn't he already issued proof that Kai was innocent? Moreover, he'd removed Sun Jia's support from any of the companies which had rushed to denounce the youth without thorough investigation, so these reporters should have understood the threat. What gave them the guts to insult his doll like this?

Just a second later, another sports car drove in, momentarily silencing the avid crowd. With a dramatic pause, Guo Ziyue stepped out, wearing a disappointed look on his face. Shaking his head, he mournfully gazed at the top of Xiang Kai's head, which was the only part revealed due to the larger body enveloped around him, then lamented, "Senior Xiang, please don't worsen the situation. I know that you're targeting Senior Sun because he's my guardian, but he's not related to my decision to confess. If you want an apology, here it is, I can tell you I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. So please let him go."

His earnest performance incited many of the bystanders to chime in, with cries of "That trash doesn't deserve to be called a senior!" and "Don't apologize, he's the one who should kneel and bow down to you!" Not only were these people sincerely offended by Xiang Kai, but also, Guo Ziyue had mentioned that King Sun was his guardian. Surely that proved that Xiang Kai was forcing the king into acting friendly with him!

Listening to the abuse hurled at him, Chen Yu ducked his head to hide his amusement. Apparently the protagonist had earned quite a few pity points from this incident ah. But which eye of yours saw that I was the one holding onto Sun Ri? Although, Chen Yu hummed, leaning against his lover's chest and lazily kneading the firm muscles, this wasn't a bad way to entertain himself while he waited. Transformed through Sun Ri's distressed eyes, however, the youth's movements and the vibrations from his humming became indications of his doll clenching his fists and choking his cries down, so that his fury was stoked higher. Even as he patted the thin back to reassure him, he turned on his phone to see what had gone wrong.

Precisely at that moment, the journalists began to check their phones one by one. While they read through the national laboratory's document, their faces turned fantastic and a strange hush spread through the previously ranting group. Because Sun Ri's position as the heir of Sun Jia wasn't widely known, the media believed that there was no way the state-funded institution would fabricate evidence merely due to the manipulation of two actors. The only reasonable explanation, then, was that Guo Ziyue had lied...and they had fallen for it.

Those who had boldly shouted harsh curses at the blameless Xiang Kai rapidly blanched and flushed in turn. Damn it, if Xiang Kai wasn't the malicious idiot they'd thought he was, that meant that King Sun genuinely supported him...They staggered fearfully, realizing that they were doomed!

Even the correspondents who had remained silent during their colleagues' lambasting felt their faces burn. They had been too hasty, but it was all because of that Guo Ziyue! Fierce inquiries began to rain down on the man who was still ignorantly blocking Sun Ri and Xiang Kai from entering the building.

Sensing the change in public opinion, Chen Yu wriggled out of his lover's clasp to watch that confident face morph into bewilderment at suddenly becoming the target of censure then into shock as he grasped what must have happened. En, he laughed inside, that astonished expression was just as satisfying as he'd thought it would be. After a while, pleased with his little show, he met the protagonist's probing eyes with a last, sorrowful glance, then swerved around him and entered the venue.

As he swept past to follow Kai, Sun Ri glared at the scum who had dared to hurt his doll and, guessing how the scum felt toward 'Longing_for_the_Moon' based on the content of the chats he'd seen, he spitefully whispered, "Haven't you wondered why 'Longing_for_the_Moon' never contacted you after you said you hated Xiang Kai?"

Guo Ziyue blankly stared at his guardian's back, unable to process what he meant. What did his conversation with his fan have to do with this? But gradually, a possibility surfaced, horrifying him. There was no way...

In a choked voice, he desperately yelled at the departing figure, "He's not Xiang Kai, that's impossible!"

Sun Ri didn't waste any more time, he simply sneered to himself without turning back, thanking the idiot for letting go of the greatest treasure in the world and chasing after his doll.