The yandere playboy's introduction to being a scumbag (5)

Regarding the previous events, no student had mentioned what had went done to the teachers, so naturally they were clueless when it came to the students being distracted during class. Half of the time, they were snickering amongst themselves, or gossip concerning the two tyrants of the class and the black sheep Kuanlin.

There was nothing the teacher could do. The very least they could do to keep their dignity as an authoritative figure in front of the students was to slam a book into the desk and call out the names of some students Gu Jing never bothered to remember. They were all props for the main shou and the main gong... so, why would he have to remember?

Tick Tock... Tick Tock... Tick Tock...

Gu Jing tapped against the table anxiously. His butt shifted in his seat multiple times as though a burning iron plate was set up on it. Kuanlin noticed Gu Jing's anxiety spike, and he could only stretch out a hand, attempting to lay it on the blond's shoulder as a form of consolation, but before he could, his fingers curled up with tension. In the end, he couldn't carry through his action and could only retract them back on his desk.

Gu Jing, who was behaving like a monkey, was in fact, anxious about his system's absence. It had been too long since the system vanished from his mind along with his annoying robotic voice that Gu Jing was starting to feel lonely without it.

He licked his lips meekly, sagging back into his seat.

"Host, the main system said that there was nothing wrong with the protagonist shou. You really worried for nothing."

Gu Jing jolted up within his seat, his knee banged against the bottom of the table, creating a raucous noise that distracted the students. The teacher paused, and the students' chatter quietened down, but of course, they dared not turn back to look at the perpetrator. The teacher cleared his throat, and continued on flaunting his authority.

Gu Jing sucked in a sharp breath at the pain spreading from his knee. He lowered his head down against the desk which made it seem as though he were dozing off, but actually, he was talking to the system.

"I can't help that I'm paranoid," Gu Jing refuted, "This is my only chance to change my fate. I can't screw it up. You know how it's important for me as well. It's the only reason why I agreed to your ridiculous request. Me, an aspiring actor, going around flirting with men just to reincarnate. Doesn't my situation seem a little pathetic?"

The system felt as though during its absence, its host seemed to have learnt humility, but somehow, being humble didn't suit his obnoxious host. It was like forcing Cinderella's shoe onto someone else's feet; didn't fit in place at all.

"Host did a great job without me. You gained 25 misery points. This is a good improvement. If you continue like this, your chance at reincarnation won't be very far. Besides, your situation is not at all pathetic. You're good-looking, rich and surrounded by beautiful men."

"But then, I'm lying, cheating and manipulating, am I not? Even if it's fake, it still feels pretty shitty to be the bad guy," Gu Jing raised his head, propping up an arm and leaning into his palm. His mannerism was all over the place, giving the hint that he was very disoriented. The system was only trying to console its host, but its attempt was futile. For all it knew, it only worsened its host's melancholic condition.

"Host..." The system faltered. It didn't know where to start. The beginner system's manual never taught it how to deal with a grieving host. So, it did the next best thing and shut its mouth.

"Truly, being a bad guy takes extraordinary skills," Gu Jing sighed, "Oh gosh, I'm so talented."

The system thought, 'Never mind. Its host didn't deserve to be sympathized with! Its like dealing with a pig!'

Finally— kring.. kring... kring!

The school bell rang like a cock in the morning, deafening, uncalled for and abundantly peeving. However, it was like freedom was seducing the students as the nervous youths suddenly bursted into laughs, and smiles, as the teacher stuttered, weakly muttering for them to sit down, but regardless of all of that, everyone packed up all their belongings and left the class like someone had farted and they desperately needed an escape.

And, that was also when the script came up in Gu Jing's mind. He knew what was to come. Shifting again in his seat, but this time, Gu Jing turned back to face Kuanlin, who was absent-mindlessly shoving his stationeries into his pencil case, and his books into his bag.

"Kuanlin," Gu Jing laid his hand over Kuanlin's, even copped a feel that awoken a blush on the taciturn boy's small, white face. There was a lazy smile curling up on Gu Jing's lips that directed attention to the flicker of a sharp white tooth, similar to a vampire's or a wild animal.

"Kuanlin?"

Kuanlin, on one hand, seemed fairly distracted by the way Gu Jing's sharp teeth shone in the paleness of the sun ray. It was very distracting; the way Gu Jing didn't notice how gorgeous he looked when he had this crafty glint to his cerulean eyes. The color of his eyes were just as pale as his lips. Now that Kuanlin thought about it, everything about Gu Jing was very pale, which led his mind to a deep, dark pit, wondering whether even the student's nether regions would be as pale as every other body part of his.

But... that was blasphemous! Against Gu Jing! To think that he would have such audacious thoughts about his friend. He was really a terrible, terrible human being. Even if Gu Jing didn't know about his thoughts, what Kuanlin was doing could very much be considered a harassment!

"Kuanlin." A warm hand brought him back to earth, snapping him out of his daze. A thumb was gently caressing his cheek in a rhythmic fashion.

Kuanlin's heart thudded in the cavity of his chest. Just, what was this feeling he couldn't label? It would be too hasty and reckless to call it love, but it was a feeling similar to that. The internet had always described love as a magical, yet painful experience. It was like obtaining heart disease. One moment, you were all fine and well, until, until even a catch of their smile would make all the facade of calmness slip away through your fingers like fine sand.

"Sorry," Kuanlin sucked in a harsh breath, too awkward to stare straight into Gu Jing's fascinating pools of gem-like eyes. They were too beautiful, too intimidating, that they would power over his senses.

"You're distracted," Gu Jing pointed out.

"No shit, sherlock," Gu Jing rolled his eyes inwardly at his terrible, cliche line. But, oh, the naive little 'shou' was startled as though Gu Jing had read his thoughts.

"I.. I.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you, really. It's just.." Kuanlin peeked up Gu Jing, but when Gu Jing raised a deliberate eyebrow, he flushed and immediately lowered his head like a frightened rabbit. The sight would have been quite cute if not for the fact that Gu Jing was busy bashing his lines inside of his head.

Gu Jing did not respond. Kuanlin thought he was mad, so he reached out his hand to grab Gu Jing's forearm. The other finally focused back on him, surprise hidden within the depth of his eyes.

"Oh, can you just shut up, system! Even the shou's getting impatient because you keep rambling on and I can't focus on delivering my lines correctly. Acting needs the correct emotions, okay!? I can't just spout out my lines monotonously. Ah, shoo, just go, shoo!"

The system, who had done nothing wrong but was roped into a conversation by Gu Jing, but ended up being blamed, was obviously upset. It didn't reply to Gu Jing at all as if going into seclusion.

"Right," Gu Jing's eyes narrowed. He placed his hand on top of the hand at his forearm and peeled it off gently before laying it back down on the desk only to flip it over to show a smooth and pink palm. He tapped on Kuanlin's wrist, and when the other looked up at him inquiringly, he smiled smugly.

"You know my number. Don't forget to call me to let me know. Because..." Gu Jing licked his lips, "We're going on a date. I don't need your answer, because you are going to come one way or another. No Lai Wenxing to disturb us. Just me and you. I'll need to send you an address, so you should either give me a call or a text. Though, I wouldn't mind a call. I don't mind hearing your voice."

Kuanlin flushed heavily, but he nodded his head after Gu Jing's firm words like a chick pecking at grains. There was confidence in Gu Jing's words that Kuanlin couldn't refuse. He knew he just had to do it.

"Alright, then I'm off. I'll see you in the afternoon," Gu Jing smiled roguishly like a flower thief. He spared Kuanlin, who was struggling to breathe, a playful wink, but the other basically dry-heaved against the desk that Gu Jing was weirded out and sought to leave the classroom at once before he became the prime suspect of Kuanlin's death.

Gu Jing basically picked up his bag, slung it over his shoulder and zoomed out of the classroom like Kuanlin had developed claws and was about to brandish him.

Once outside the school's entrance, Gu Jing being the only one left behind with a few students scattered around since he was busy acting out his scene. He stretched his limbs, and his bag nearly fell off his broad shoulder. Luckily, he caught it just in time.

The system after going through a period of seclusion finally spoke up, "Host is really going all out, huh. I could practically see hearts shooting out of Kuanlin's eyes. I've never seen a target act so... giddy. It's a new experience."

"Well, I'm not all other hosts, am I?" Gu Jing alluded triumphantly, "Acting is not all about spouting lines. You'll have to add in feel, emotion, and take your surroundings into consideration. When the sunlight shone upon Kuanlin and I in an empty classroom with just the two of us, I took his hand and told him in a deep voice and very sincerely with profound eyes, 'You'll call me, right?' And bam! He fell for me. That's how it is. By the way, you've had other hosts before me? Wow, I feel really cheated right now."

"I'm still a novice. I've only had two hosts before you. But, seeing as how you're now my host, it's obvious that they failed."

Gu Jing felt thoughtful right now, so he inquired inquisitively, "What happened to them?"

"They fell in love with their target. Even when they were powerful, rich and handsome men, they fell in love with the person they should have deceived. And when they do fall in love... they die."

"Oh," Gu Jing replied monotonously. He didn't know how else he should have reacted. Seeing as how other men who were probably important businessmen or celebrities, and were more successful than him had all failed and died, Gu Jing felt a little discouraged. But then, he shook his head and smiled, responding back in a nonchalant tone.

"Well, couldn't be me though, right? There's no way I would fall in love with a pair of codes. They're not real. And when something's not real, you can't love them."

"Host... if you.." If the system had a better programmed voice, it would have probably sounded worried, "I don't want you to tread down the same path as them. You must never. Never fall in love with a capture target. Out of all the hosts I have, you're the one I have the most hope for."

"How pressuring," Gu Jing joked weakly, but he found no will inside him to continue this pathetic exchange. So, he was almost too grateful when vibrations shook within his pants' pocket. He thought it was Kuanlin, so he fished it out, ceremoniously preparing to swipe it when he saw the caller's ID. It was his father, or Gu Jing's father. His smile had straightened out, but he still swiped it right anyways.

'Father' was a sore spot for Gu Jing. A tough topic to bring up. Even if he talked about it in a roundabout way, it was undeniable that a deep scar had been etched into his mentality. He didn't know how he should deal with this man Gu Jing called his father.

He breathed in deeply, and forced in a smile into his voice, "Father."

"Gu Jing, I heard that you hit your head against the doorframe from your mother. Are you okay?"

It was a gruff, manly voice, definitely belonging to that of a middle-aged man. However, what was different from the one Gu Jing was used to was that this rough voice had a degree of softness, a gentleness that only be maternally explained. A wave washed over Gu Jing, and his grip around his cellphone tightened profusely.

"Fa..ther?" Gu Jing's voice was no lower than a whisper.

"Gu Jing, what's wrong?" The voice asked him patiently, like a father would.

"..." A real smile spread over Gu Jing's face, small, yet noticeable just when it was so tranquil. It was a different smile from the ones Gu Jing usually had to wear, the cocky, impish grin. However, this time, the vibe was different. This smile was of relief.

"Everything's a-okay, father," Gu Jing chirped. It felt like a weight was lifted off his chest. He continued, "Although there's still a throb in my forehead, when father called me, it's like the pain completely disappeared. Father, don't tell me... that you're using black magic? Otherwise, why do all my worries disappear when I hear your voice?"

The person from the other line laughed, and he replied affectionately, yet awkwardly, unused to acting loving, but still trying so hard to convey his care. It stretched Gu Jing's grin even wider.

"Alright, Alright, your lips must be coated in honey because your words are extra sweet today. If you want money, just say it. Father won't scold you. Especially when you're my only son. I can only spoil you to the moon and back."

Gu Jing only smiled, but he found the will inside him to whisper back, "I don't need anything. I just need you and mother... that's all I need."

"Aiya, okay, okay, I get it. I'll be hanging up now. There's more work left in the office."

"Mhm," Gu Jing tried his best to steady his own voice, but it even came out as wobbly. Thankfully, his father's ears weren't that great, and the man hung up after hearing Gu Jing's short form of acknowledgement. A breath he didn't know he had been holding in left his chest, and he gasped heavily for air.

Gu Jing's head hung low to peer down at his phone as if it were a foreign thing. He shoved it back into his pocket and strode over to his bike before straddling it, and speeding off, leaving a trail of dust behind him as he vanished. When the smoke evaporated, a tall figure was could be vaguely discerned.

It was Lai Wenxing, and a look of uncertainty was pasted on his face. His two hands were jammed in his pockets, and his own bag hung loosely on his wide shoulders. His eyes trained on nothing in particular as Gu Jing had disappeared from sight.

Kuanlin soon appeared behind him. He saw that Lai Wenxing was being hindered by something. He craned his neck in the direction that Lai Wenxing was looking, but only perceived nothing. So, he turned to look back at the taller student by his side confusedly.

"What's wrong, Lai Wenxing?" Kuanlin expressed.

Lai Wenxing stared down at him, his eyebrows knitted together. His red eyes were ruddy, dark and profound, perhaps even unsure. Finally, he asked, "Kuanlin, if someone you knew your entire life suddenly changed overnight, what would you do?"

"I'd investigate the reason behind it," Kuanlin shrugged. He furrowed his eyebrows, "Why? Did someone you know change recently?"

"Yes," Lai Wenxing smiled. He turned to look back at the empty spot, and his eyes were deep and unfathomable, "We used to be very close... very, very close, until one day, we weren't."

incoming call. . .

accept        decline

"Kuanlin, is it? I hope you are. Otherwise, it would be a bit embarrassing."

"..I.. I am...is this Gu.. Gu Jing?"

"Ah, I'm a bit sad that you don't recognize your voice. I can recognize your voice even from a mile away. Did you take my advice to your heart and decided to call me? Don't worry. It's a pleasant surprise."

"S..Sorry.."

"Don't apologize. I asked you to call me. About the date, are you preparing for it? It feels like I'm preparing for a wedding, hah, that's how much I'm prepping myself."

"I..I am also preparing."

"Ah- wait, let me put on a shirt. I just finished showering, so I'm just in my towel."

"..."

"Annnnnd, I'm done. Hm. I don't look that bad. Isn't it romantic to call before a date? It creates suspense, doesn't it?"

"Y.. Yes.."

"Now that I know your number, I'll save it. See you soon, Kuanlin. Make sure you're extra pretty, because the place we're going is unlike others."

Gu Jing hung up afterwards without waiting for Kuanlin's reply. Sighing, he tousled his hair back, revealing an unblemished, jade-like forehead that the heavens would surely cherish. He swiped up the app and switched over to iMessage, where he saved Kuanlin's contact and punched in some alphabets on the keyboard hurriedly.

call me papa:

Here is the address~

xxx street, xxx restaurant

must seduce 😘:

ok

Gu Jing snorted at the short, yet precise response that the protagonist shou gave. It was unexpectedly manly of him. If Gu Jing had been a girl, his heart would be pounded due to the masculinity that a text message could exude. He didn't know what the writer was thinking when they wrote the address in the script, because it was oddly censored for him with a bunch of 'x's. But, as long as the protagonist shou understood him, that was all that mattered.

Gu Jing fixed his cufflinks which came as round, stainless, black gems, glinting hauntingly like it came directly from the underworld. A long gray overcoat hung over his broad shoulders, and beneath it was a plain, white, long-sleeved shirt. Long, professional black slacks wrapped around his slim thighs like a second skin. He grabbed a bottle of perfume, tilting it over to review the name of the brand which he couldn't read in French.

Shrugging to himself, he sprayed the extravagant smell all over himself without a second thought. After all, it was in the script. And the script was a dictator of his actions. Sure, there may be some impromptus here and there because not everything could go to plan, but an excellent actor such as him had everything under control.

"You know, for someone who's meant to be a playboy, Gu Jing sure does dress pretty damn expensively," Gu Jing twirled around in front of the long horizontal mirror. His spin produced a magical effect of the long coat flapping around. Gu Jing felt like he was Cinderella as of now. These were clothes he wouldn't dare to dream of wearing in his past life. And he was so used to wearing cheap deodorant that it became a second life.

"Host should be grateful."

"Yeah," Gu Jing preened at the unfamiliar figure reflected back in the mirror. A tall, broad frame. Blond, straight hair. Blue eyes, "It's not me, though. It's someone. It's Gu Jing."

"It's not time to have an identity crisis now. Whatever problem host has, just throw it to the back of your head and focus on the task at hand. Whatever you do, or think, host must never have an opinion on the way of the system."

Gu Jing tore his eyes away from the mirror. The system was right. Now was not the time to make it about him. This must have been one of the most important parts written in the script. The date was a game changer, and the start of the toxic love journey and back and forth between Gu Jing and Kuanlin. He must get his head in the game, and make Kuanlin fall for him at all costs.

Gu Jing's choice of vehicle was his trusty ol' bike, fancy and out of place with his style for the date that was to commence. He thought he had seemed too eager which wouldn't align with his character at all, but was taken aback to see that Kuanlin was waiting under a post lamp. And, oh god, Gu Jing could definitely see why some of the hosts may have fallen hard for their capture targets.

Gu Jing would have been delighted to lick even the other's shoes if Kuanlin told him to. The youth was dressed in a warm brown cardigan and a thin, white shirt. Blue ripped jeans wrapped around his long legs, not even a wrinkle to be found in the infamous blue jeans. And, to top the outfit off with flavor, he wore black converse highs. In opposition to Gu Jing's gentle, sedate and mature appearance, Kuanlin had a more youthful vibe to him that somehow went along with Gu Jing.

The iridescent light of the warm lamp pole casted down on Kuanlin might as well have been professional lightning because they did justice to highlighting each and every of Kuanlin's exceptional facial features; the thin, red lips like apricot, cheeks like rosy red apples, and any more. Gu Jing's vocabulary was limited, so he couldn't describe the pulchritudinous teenager.

"Have you been waiting long?" After taking a moment to appreciate the ethereal being, Gu Jing approached the youth with a leisure gait and a lazy half-smirk as though he lost all motivation to keep on smiling yet had to for the sake of appearance.

At Gu Jing's warm countenance, Kuanlin couldn't help but gape. He had expected that Gu Jing, who was already so handsome in his school uniform, to be better looking out of uniform, but he certainly hadn't expected that an immortal from the heavens had descended and stood in front of him. Then, he looked at himself, thinking that the dichotomy between Gu Jing and him was that the former was like heaven and he was like the dirt on the ground.

"No," Kuanlin flushed once he realized that he had been staring more than he envisioned. He fumbled about with the hem of his cardigan, and chimed meekly, "U.. Um, actually... there's someone tagging along with-"

"Kuan...lin? Gu Jing!" Lai Wenxing appeared from behind the lamp post. And Gu Jing swore his jaw automatically unhinged. Gu Jing was not someone who was interested in fellow tops like him. He was into small, skinny and pretty bottoms, but Lai Wenxing's masculine beauty transcended preferences. He was like the epitome of attractiveness as though a god had taken their sweet time carving each individual feature of his meticulously.

But, according to his character, Gu Jing should probably be... fuming right now. And, that was what he did. He retracted back his fallen jaw and knitted his eyebrows together, wringing them together like wet cloths.

"What the hell is he doing here!?" Gu Jing turned back to Kuanlin, seeking for an answer, but Kuanlin shrunk back like a turtle into its shell. Gu Jing knew his acting must have seemed too realistic, so he reeled in back some of the explosive emotion, and exhaled deeply.

In a calmer voice, he rephrased himself, "This was meant to be for us. Why is... he here?"

"Tut, tut, see. The protagonist shou has conflicting feelings between me and Lai Wenxing! When two rich and handsome men chase after you, you'll of course have some complicated feelings. Either is such a good choice. But in comparison to the cheap playboy Gu Jing, the shou'll will probably appreciate Lai Wenxing more!"

"Don't blame Kuanlin," Lai Wenxing neared Gu Jing as if trying to shield Kuanlin from the youth's intense stare-down. But then, all of a sudden, Lai Wenxing pinched Gu Jing's nose as an older brother would do to a reckless kid, "If you want to get angry at something, get angry at me. I had installed a tracker on Kuanlin's phone in case he gets in trouble. But, who knew that this time, a certain someone's meeting him behind my back? What do you have to say for yourself, Gu Jing?"

Lai Wenxing was just asking out of pure amusement, with an unwarranted want to tease the porcupine-like Gu Jing and see him blow up and threaten him with his spikes. But, unexpectedly, Gu Jing didn't say anything. He only clenched his jaw and averted his eyes, looking at anywhere but Lai Wenxing with a clear, guilty conscience.

"I don't have to say anything to you," Gu Jing brusquely brushed past him, deliberately sticking out his shoulder for more impact. The very same impact caused Lai Wenxing to stumble about a few blocks on the pavement, and he raised his head to look at Gu Jing in displeasure.

"Kuanlin, we are leaving. Forget about the restaurant reservation," Gu Jing murmured lowly. His mood unpredictable and his eyes clouded. He grasped Kuanlin's fingers, intertwining them together. He could feel Kuanlin's sweat sticking to his own palm, but he didn't comment on it out of politeness, and dragged Kuanlin along with him as a standard male lead in a k-drama would. If a man had done this to someone back in Gu Jing's past life, they might have been reported for harassment, but since this was the world of cliches and novel romance, even abusive actions like this could be romanticized.

However, inside-

"Oh fuck, he really caught me red-handed trying to steal his unsolved unrequited love! I have cuckolded the main gong! Ah, fuck, this is so embarrassing. I even went as far as to make a reservation, but I have no appetite anymore... I just hope the main gong doesn't cut off my dick for my bad ending! Please. System, pray with me."

"No."

"Understandable. Maybe systems just don't have a religion. I'll pray by myself. Please don't cut off my dick. Please don't cut off my dick. Please don't cut off my dick-"

A hand grasped Gu Jing's shoulder, reeling him backward. In the process, Gu Jing had accidentally tripped over his expensive shoe, the same one he wore during school. It wasn't like as if he had a lack of luxurious shoes, but the writer may have just got a little lazy, so here Gu Jing, wearing a mature set of clothes then topped it off with a pair of sneakers. But, since Gu Jing was so attractive, the sense of mishap could be considered intentional.

Gu Jing couldn't control his weight, and he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the impact to hit him, or that he would feel a crack in his arm when he used it to break the fall. But, nothing came. Only empty darkness remained. Slowly, he peeled his eyes open cautiously as if testing the waters. He found himself being embraced by a single, muscular arm. Reliable as it was encircling around his waist and being the only thing keeping him from hitting the ground at full speed and break a bone or two.

"You're hiding something," Lai Wenxing narrowed his eyes, a victorious smirk hanging lazily on his lips. His eyes gradually trailed down to the desperately opening and closing lips of Gu Jing's which was a shade of pale pink. There was nothing vibrant on his face. Only the color black and white.

"Should I just drop you right now?" He continued in a sing-song voice.

"Lai Wenxing! Release him!" Kuanlin's soft-spoken voice, now turned utterly enraged, broke the tense atmosphere between the two teenagers. Lai Wenxing, startled by the volume of Kuanlin's yell turned back to look at him. So did Gu Jing in surprise. His voice had attracted plenty of attention from passersby. But, the usually shy Kuanlin didn't seem bothered by the attention, but more vexed by the closeness of the two male bodies.

Still, this time, Lai Wenxing did not listen to Kuanlin. He turned his focus back on Gu Jing who was so intent on staring at Kuanlin that Lai Wenxing became dissatisfied with the lack of attention on him. This just showed how much Gu Jing didn't care about him, and he found that fact uncomfortable to settle with.

"Gu Jing, I'll drop you right now if you don't look at me."

Finally, Gu Jing whipped his head in his direction, but the youth sneered at him, "Drop me? Go ahead. Do you think I'm a damsel in distress? What's a little pain going to make me? Cry out like a little girl? Lai Wenxing, you're... you're really fucking unbelievable, you pussy."

Lai Wenxing's hold on his waist loosened, and Gu Jing immediately closed his eyes, his nose scrunching in fear that broke out alarmingly on his face. But, contrary to expectations, Lai Wenxing suddenly pulled him up and pushed him in Kuanlin's direction, scoffing.

"Me? A pussy? Look at yourself, Gu Jing, you're nothing more than a coward who only thinks with his dick. Your dick's supposed to be in your pants, not in your personality. And, I'm not here for you. I'm here for Kuanlin. And whether you like it or not, I'm going to tag along onto your little childish date. Hah, dressing up like you're some adult? No, you look like a clown."

Gu Jing rearranged his crinkled shirt, and he glowered at Lai Wenxing, his voice no louder than a whisper, "I thought we were friends. But, you're just a selfish piece of fuck who doesn't care for your friend, but your own needs. You love Kuanlin that much? Why don't you ask for his opinion on you following him around like a fucking stalker?"

"Gu Jing, this isn't all about Kuanlin," Lai Wenxing said exasperatedly, slicking back his hair over his forehead with a veiny hand.

"You're-" Gu Jing took a step forward as if on the verge of launching himself at Lai Wenxing and beating the shit out of the male. Luckily, in his reckless fit of rage, Kuanlin firmly held him back. Lai Wenxing was far better in prowess at him, and if Gu Jing really did hit him, Lai Wenxing would have paid him back tenfold. And, besides, Gu Jing's handsome face was the only thing that Kuanlin liked about him.

"You two, please stop," Kuanlin muttered lowly, his anxiety after a brief moment of anger now spiking. His hand clenching the fabric of Gu Jing's overcoat trembled. He swallowed back his nervousness and looked up at Lai Wenxing with forced confidence.

"Lai Wenxing, I never agreed to you tagging along with Gu Jing and I. Can you please.. please leave us two alone? I don't want to be protected by you any longer. I'm.. I'm not a child. With Gu Jing, I feel as though he doesn't judge me by my appearance. I request you. Can you leave my date and I alone?"

Lai Wenxing seemed inclined to argue, but since this was the first time Kuanlin was asking him of something so earnestly, he was in no position to refuse. Knowing Kuanlin's personality, even this little request must have taken up a myriad of courage. This was all because of Gu Jing that Kuanlin developed this courage.

Gu Jing pretended as though he were a rock in this meant-to-be-emotional scene. He felt so out of place that he himself wanted to shrink down like a withered flower. He sighed to himself. When will this boring dialogue be over? He was starving, and pissed off, which was not a good combination. He just desperately wanted food in his system. Oh well, he'd have to do good deeds for the greater good.

Gu Jing then stepped into the spotlight and cleared his throat.

"Since Kuanlin called him... I suppose I have no choice but to let him tag along."

Kuanlin turned back to look at him, eyebrows dipping in concern. His lips parted to voice, "But, I didn't—"

"No, it's fine. I want to be a man who possesses every great quality in front of you. The least I can do is show some patience to even a scoundrel like him," Gu Jing sighed dramatically as if he were the most morally right person in the entire world. He glared back at Lai Wenxing as if he were doing a favor, but then he turned on his heel and moved in the direction of the restaurant.

Kuanlin pursed his lips and instantly and miserably trailed after the other like a lost puppy.

Somehow, Lai Wenxing imagined that Kuanlin was like a poor husband trying to console his strong-headed and stubborn wife, but he shook his head. In their case, it would have been the other way around. But, oh well, free food was tantamount to happiness. If the host said that he could come along, then he might as well agree without fuss. The teenager then followed after the two at a leisure pace.