Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: KarateChopMonkey is ready for action
Gu Ang struggled to remember the rhythm of the tapping, but it was still unclear. What the hell did that mean, four taps? Ye Fei, you’re not taking this opportunity to confess to me, are you?
He repeated the rhythm again, and he was about seventy or eighty percent sure that the message Ye Fei sent was, “l like you.”
The man did things out of the ordinary, and when it came out of nowhere, it messed him up. Gu Ang thought he had gone soft, but if he hadn’t before, he would’ve just rushed up to Ye Fei and given him a hot kiss, and it would’ve been a done deal. Like the kiss at the graduation ceremony, with a rampant teenage spirit, without consequences, and without having to think about them. But now, it was hard to look back and move forward.
Ye Fei, the man, seemed cold and aloof on the surface, like an untouchable god. But it seemed like the hunter was luring his prey each time, guiding him step by step into his trap. Each time, it was as if a thread had been tied around his wrist, pulling him into his planned path. Just like when he made a date with him to fall in love if he won the fight was the same as now when it seemed like he was revealing his heart to him little by little.
In his last life, when Gu Ang was chasing someone, his first kiss wasn’t at that graduation fight, but on a normally silent late night. Gu Ang held up Ye Fei in front of the dormitory and wouldn’t let anyone in. It was his birthday and he had a few drinks with his friends, and the alcohol got the better of him and he went crazy.
Late in the night, and with the person he liked standing in front of him, his mind moved to push the person directly against the door. It had been more than six months since he had confessed his love to Ye Fei. Gu Ang felt that the most persistent thing he had done was probably to pursue Ye Fei, and the more this person resisted, the more enthusiastic he became.
“Brother, I came to ask you for your birthday present.” Gu Ang pressed on, his breath smelling of alcohol.
Ye Fei’s tone was much gentler than it had been at first, “It’s your birthday? Happy birthday.”
Gu Ang nodded then shook his head, “I don’t want your happy birthday.”
Ye Fei asked him again, his voice lowered in coaxing, “So what do you want?”
Gu Ang didn’t say anything, just raised his eyes and looked straight at the person. Trying to see a glimpse of emotion in those calm, unmoving eyes.
Ye Fei didn’t move, just let himself be pinned against the door by him, arms hanging at his sides as he lowered his eyes back at him.
Gu Ang’s heartstrings fluttered, and with a slight sideways glance, he sent his lips up. The booze was sent out along the breath, a wisp of it intoxicating. He could get people drunk when he wanted to, and he could do it with impunity.
Fearing that Ye Fei would struggle, Gu Ang pressed his hands left and right against the man’s, lightly licking the cold lower lip, bit by bit, to outline the sensual shape. Trying to warm up that cold heart little by little with the warmth of his lips and tongue.
Then Gu Ang felt a light bite, not too hard, but enough to draw attention to him.
Ye Fei pressed his lips against his and spoke very softly, “Beat me and I’ll agree to be in a relationship with you.”
It was only much later that Gu Ang looked back on it and reacted. At that moment, Ye Fei had fallen in love with him. If Ye Fei didn’t like someone, he wouldn’t even let them touch his fingers, so how could he let him force a kiss? But this man clearly understood his heart and had to act high and mighty, giving both a valid excuse.
Letting himself step into the trap he had laid, step by step, like a little white rabbit. He could even recall the reckless smile he saw when he beat Ye Fei in that match, with a few moments of the ease of having everything under control. Later Gu Ang pestered him to ask if he had let him win back then.
Ye Fei lowered his head and kissed him, smiling instead of answering. And now after the intersection of time and space, the man was up to his old tricks, using the same set of plausible tricks. But Gu Ang wasn’t the same Gu Ang and wouldn’t fall for it anymore.
Gu Ang didn’t reply again, he didn’t dare to confirm the man’s thoughts again.
Consider yourself misheard.
Ye Fei tilted his head at 201 and didn’t get a response, as was expected. He had just done it on purpose, deliberately making a sloppy rhythm to make Gu Ang misunderstand, stirring him up bit by bit, and then at a suitable opportunity, picking his heart out.
Showing it too obviously would make the kid run away.
Ye Fei gave two final taps with the handle of his gun to indicate the end of the conversation.
Gu Ang felt empty inside and couldn’t tell what he was feeling. He was afraid to look inside himself again for fear of seeing a self that loved Ye Fei to the point of madness. He felt he was becoming pretentious and less cool. It wasn’t spontaneous or real at all.
The communicator vibrated, and Gu Ang lazily lifted his eyes for a moment to tap on the screen as Bai SiNing’s message popped up. How the hell did this guy manage to even look that noisy with text?
Little White BaiBai: [Brother, brother, brother!!! There are still a few days before we head to our destination, do you want to come over and play some cards to amuse yourself? I also called God Ye, XiuYong and Wei YangZe, who looks a bit tuggy.]
[Come on, don’t sleep!!! Let’s all have fun!]
[By the way, my room number is 302!]
Gu Ang raised an eyebrow, this guy was next door to him? He figured he’d be bored with idleness, so he gathered a crowd for fun. Gu Ang replied with a casual [okay], and after a brief clean up, he locked the door and went to the next room. As soon as he pushed the door open, he heard Bai SiNing arguing, while a few other people sat cross-legged on the couch, drinking sodas and chatting.
“You guys move pretty fast, give me a drink.” Gu Ang laughed a little and nudged Bai SiNing’s shoulder, signaling him to move.
Bai SiNing was very discerning and automatically shot up, “You sit with God Ye, I’ll go over to XiuYong’s side.”
Lin XiuYong consciously moved a space towards his left, “It’s a bit cramped.”
“It’s okay, it’s warm to squeeze together.” Bai SiNing laughed heartlessly.
Ye Fei patted the vacant seat vacated next to him, “Sit.”
Gu Ang looked at him, remembering the code word he’d just used again, and felt even the couch becoming extremely warm. He changed the subject, “Aren’t you a wayfinder? Finding them so quickly.”
Ye Fei, although this person was good at everything and proficient in battlefield routes, would suddenly get lost and unable to find his way inside a small confined space. Sometimes a high-flying lost face was kinda cute.
Gu Ang couldn’t help but blurt out such intimate little shortcomings against the searing glare.
Ye Fei’s eyes darkened and he asked him softly, “How did you know I’m a wayfinder?”
Gu Ang reacted with a vague, “Guessed.”
Ye Fei said, “Then you’re a good guesser.”
The irony in that statement made Gu Ang’s head spin with embarrassment. Why did he act like an intellectually underdeveloped fool in front of Ye Fei?
On the contrary, Wei YangZe on the side was there slapping his legs and laughing out loud, “I say, Ye Fei’s just too funny. I was inside my room putting everything away before coming out, only to see him turning around and passing this doorway twice in a row when I went out… I couldn’t believe I didn’t even find the right place!”
Bai SiNing listened and followed with a giggle, “So God Ye also has flaws, suddenly I feel that the Great God is starting to be more grounded.”
Ye Fei interrupted with a slightly embarrassed look on his face, “You talk too much.”
“I thought I’d be the last one to arrive, Ye Fei you’re really no good.” Gu Ang recovered and taunted mercilessly.
Ye Fei pursed her lips, “I’m fine, don’t talk nonsense.”
Bai SiNing blinked and asked Lin XiuYong, “Brother Lin, why do I think they’re talking pervertedly?”
Lin XiuYong nodded and stroked his head in affirmation, “No need to think about it.”
Gu Ang swept a glance at him and sensed that there was something else in his words.
Before he could speak, Wei YangZe grabbed him, “Ye Fei, it was been a semester and you still haven’t found a girlfriend. Look at me, I’m in love with XinXin, us husband and wife are in love.”
Gu Ang got goosebumps of disgust, “God, would it kill you not to show your love for a day?”
Bai SiNing commented in a peculiar tone, “He doesn’t have a girlfriend, but he has a boyfriend.” While saying that, he winked towards Gu Ang, “The two of them are moving fast, they’ve met each other’s parents, and they might be getting married soon.”
Wei YangZe was curious, “I thought it was gossip, so they’re really together, huh? No wonder Gu Ang didn’t respond to XinXin’s confession, so he likes Alphas with a personality.”
“We’re not together, don’t talk nonsense.” Gu Ang glared at him, “Besides, why do you look so happy that your girlfriend confessed her love to someone else…”
“Anyway, I caught her, I’m fearless.” Wei YangZe touched Ye Fei, “I don’t believe Gu Ang. Are you really not together?”
Ye Fei rarely opened his mouth to retort, “Let’s change the subject.”
He used to want to give Gu Ang a chance to take his time and think things through, but now, he didn’t want to. Just let people misunderstand.
“Don’t want to talk about it? That’s okay.” Wei YangZe heartily laughed, “Let’s do it this way, we’ll ask the truth as a punishment for playing cards today. Don’t lose if you’re playing, and those who want to ask should have the strength to make it happen.”
“Ah, truly!” Bai SiNing’s eyes lit up and he loudly echoed, “Agreed, agreed, I have so many questions I want to ask.”
Lin XiuYong didn’t say anything, and whatever Bai SiNing said went.
The three agreed, and the remaining two voided their opinions and were forcibly retained from the ship.
“So what are we playing? Texas Hold’em?” Wei YangZe skillfully shuffled his cards and looked at the few people present.
Gu Ang lazily opened his legs and accepted his fate, “Let’s play.”
Lin XiuYong’s arm touched Bai SiNing as if nothing was wrong, chatting idly, “You’re really good at this too, coming out to do a mission and bringing cards. You can obviously just play online.”
Bai SiNing muttered, “Who didn’t know you’re a tech geek? Isn’t playing with you online just asking to die?”
Lin XiuYong put away his glasses and put them aside, “You pig brain. Isn’t losing the same when you play with a computer?”
Bai SiNing froze for a moment, “I’m actually powerless to argue against that.”
Gu Ang shook his head, the little idiot, he was getting eaten to death now, and he would be further later on.
“Concentrate on the cards.” Ye Fei reminded him, “You don’t want to lose.”
Gu Ang didn’t want to lose, he had so many secrets, each one a minefield.
Especially since everyone here looked like they wanted to get into trouble, and if they really asked anything, he’d have to kill someone. Several people skillfully flipped through the cards on the coffee table, each looking at the suits in their hands with a serious expression.
It was clearly a pastime game, but it seemed like it was played out as a life or death game.
“Fold.”
“I won’t call either.”
The first round just opened with Gu Ang and Bai SiNing both simply giving up their cards.
“No fun.”
Wei YangZe leaned back and said, very pretentiously, “You guys are good.”
“It’s a long night, so don’t be in a hurry to win or lose a handful.”
Gu Ang himself had a decent ace and a Queen of hearts, but he folded for one reason only, when he caught a glimpse of Ye Fei’s subtle expression.
Ye Fei’s expression was faint, barely discernible.
But Gu Ang knew him too well, and with the slightest raise of his eyebrow, he knew it was an expression of winning. Ye Fei had once mentioned to him that at the age of seven he had won the 3273rd Empire Grand Championship. Although the reason for entering was just to practice his immobile poker face.
But, in front of the Grand Moff, just discard your cards, and at least you’ll escape the truth-torture.
“Let’s continue.”
Lin XiuYong said, “I’ll call 300 chips.”
The remaining three had no intention of folding their cards, flipping them over one by one to replace them, each looking very strong
Finally, it was time to show the cards.
“I have three sevens.” Wei YangZe was the first to show his cards, holding a pair of sevens in his hand, just enough to make up a nice hand with a seven on the table.
“Full house.” Lin XiuYong’s expression was light as he laid out his hand cards in order.
Bai SiNing was excited, “So strong on the first hand! Win, win, win! You’re great.”
Lin XiuYong enjoyed the praise and didn’t forget to play it down, “I’m not much of a champion, but I won back the first lab of my life by gambling. So I have some insight.”
His gaze swept over Wei YangZe. At best, you’re a village contest winner, and you dare to mess with my little Bai?
“I lost. Come on, what does Bai want to ask?”
“Slow down.”
Ye Fei flashed his hand without expression, “I have a poker.”
The slender fingers held three jacks of different suits, plus the jack on the field, four of them adding up to a poker.
Wei YangZe: “…”
“Are you guys that lucky?”
“Willing to bet, who’s going to ask me?” Lin XiuYong was too lazy to be inquisitive and leaned slightly towards the back of the sofa.
Ye Fei spoke up, “I’ll do it.”
He had been curious about Lin XiuYong’s identity and had asked someone to check it out.
It was how he looked like only an average college student drilling into research with a clean slate.
Lin XiuYong narrowed his eyes, “Ask then.”
Ye Fei got straight to the point, “I heard you have several labs. Who sponsors you? You must tell the truth.”
Bai SiNing awwed, “God Ye you wasted your chance, this question is so boring.”
Lin XiuYong lowered his eyes and answered the question with deliberation, “Lu ChangBai.”
Ye Fei and Gu Ang looked at each other, not expecting to hear this man’s name here.
Gu Ang found it unbelievable that the last teenager he saw, shadowy and withdrawn, would sponsor someone else’s lab. How were these two involved with each other?
Bai SiNing scratched his head and tried to recall, “That name’s familiar, I think I’ve seen it in the group of CP fans.”
Lin XiuYong brought it up vaguely, “Yes, that’s him. His family has money, so they sponsored me.”
“If you’re short of money, do you want me to ask my family to help you?” Bai SiNing was still rambling and asking, “My family has enough money.”
Lin XiuYong rejected him in a low voice, “No, I have enough for now.”
Ye Fei was also shocked when he heard the name Lu ChangBai. He knew deep down that it wasn’t that simple, but the opportunity had been used up, and any more reckoned that Lin XiuYong would refuse to say more. It was just that if Lin XiuYong was with Lu ChangBai, it would be a bit dangerous to get close to them now.
Ye Fei’s guard was up, and it seemed that in the future, he would have to be more cautious in his chats. This was a bomb that didn’t explode right away, about the pawn that Lu ChangBai arranged around them.
Lin XiuYong continued speaking lightly, “I’m done asking, it’s time to ask Wei YangZe.”
Gu Ang’s expression was disgusted, “I’m not curious about him, let’s skip it.”
“No. Am I that non-existent?” Wei YangZe wasn’t happy, “No, you guys have to ask me random questions. Like where you kissed, the time you spent together, her favorite foods.”
Bai SiNing made a vomiting face. Sorry, no one really cared.
Gu Ang rolled his eyes, “Oh, what’s your XinXin’s favorite pheromone?”
A hint of doubt flashed across Wei YangZe’s face, “You did ask the right question. She said she liked whiskey, do you guys know who has a whiskey pheromone?”
Gu Ang: “…Forget it, next game.”
While everyone was verbally jousting, Lin XiuYong searched the internet a little and looked serious after learning Ye Fei’s true strength.
He couldn’t let Ye Fei catch him in a cross-examination again. Only the highs and lows were immediately apparent, and after a few rounds, what had been a five man card game became a battle between Lin XiuYong and Ye Fei.
Bai SiNing was a rookie, Gu Ang was the wimp, and he folded early in each round to watch the game.
“Really… Does someone this powerful really exist…” At the end of the twenty-seventh game, Wei YangZe’s trembling hands finally failed to hold the cards and let them spill out all over the floor. Over the course of the night, he was asked cleanly and thoroughly what names were written on his family’s ancestral graves, and was stripped to the bottom.
Bai SiNing, who was sitting next to him, touched Gu Ang with his elbow, “Brother Ang… Brother Ang, has Senior Wei been driven crazy by God Ye and Lin?”
Gu Ang looked at his hand, and in a rare moment of good fortune, he didn’t fold. His eyes swept to Wei YangZe, who was chanting “impossible”, and was a little unsure how to explain it to Liang Xin. Hell, he didn’t know how this guy was so shafted, knowing that he couldn’t beat them, but he still died every round.
“Are your hands shaking to the point where there’s no way to hold the cards, Senior Wei?” Lin XiuYong still wore a smile as he secretly continued to stick a knife in Wei YangZe’s heart.
Ye Fei also snapped his cards together and patted Wei YangZe, “That seems to be the end of Senior Wei’s stamina.”
Wei YangZe, who couldn’t stand the excitement somewhat, pretended that blood suddenly rushed to his head and slumped over at once. His eyes half-closed, he collapsed smoothly onto the couch and played dead.
Seeing Wei YangZe fall, Lin XiuYong looked to the crowd and spoke with a smile, “So this is the last round?”
Bai SiNing, who had been a salty fish all night, yawned, “That’s fine.”
Bai SiNing, who had transformed into an official dealer at the moment, dealt out the last three cards and then sat down to start waiting to see what happened. Attacking the city was the next step, attacking the heart was the first.
Ye Fei and Lin XiuYong were both good players and the final cards weren’t flipped, though the exchange of cards had begun.
“Ye Fei, you were indeed the best person I’ve ever met in terms of playing poker.” Lin XiuYong looked at God Ye and sighed from the bottom of his heart.
All night long, he had been calculating hard just to avoid Ye Fei’s attack.
“You’re also the person with the best Thousand Arts ability of anyone I’ve ever met, Lin XiuYong.” Ye Fei tilted his head to look at Lin XiuYong, the solemnity shown in his eyes was also an acknowledgement of Lin XiuYong.
“Cheating???”
“You cheated, XiuYong?”
Hearing Ye Fei’s words, Gu Ang and Bai SiNing sat up next to him at the same time with surprise on their faces. Gu Ang’s eyes, in particular, as a fighter of great strength, were naturally sharp to the extreme, but he still didn’t notice any traces. How did Ye Fei see such a well implemented technique?
“Why, then, didn’t you just point out that I was cheating?”
Being called out by Ye Fei, Lin XiuYong didn’t panic in the slightest, instead he smiled slightly and asked him. Ye Fei replied bluntly, “Your movements with your technology were just too fast, and I only detected that you were cheating on the eighteenth round based on the counting of the cards.”
“Trying to sway me with those words would be too low. You and I both know that cheating is something that means nothing if the cheater can’t be caught on the spot.”
Ye Fei nodded, “Of course, both cheating and gambling are skills, no shame in that.”
He knew Lin XiuYong was avoiding him, afraid he would ask something he shouldn’t. And he did step up to the plate, just to see if he could still extract any useful information. So the two men went back and forth, turning the poker game into a battlefield.
Lin XiuYong didn’t intend to weasel out of it, “However, you were able to match my cheating skills with your gambling skills. Your strength is also really frightening.”
Ye Fei sarcastically said, “Compared to your skill of a Thousand Arts, I was still not as good.”
Lin XiuYong half explained, mixing a little truth with a bit of lies, so it wouldn’t be clear, “I’ve been into research since I was a kid, but my family was only self-employed and simply didn’t have enough money for me to experiment. A large part of my funding was through gambling, which was how I was able to hone my impeccable and absolutely uncatchable millinery skills in the real world.”
His secret intention was also given very clearly, all he simply needed was Lu ChangBai’s money. As for the position, it wasn’t what it appeared to be. And for more details… there were too many people present for him to go into detail.
Ye Fei’s tense expression loosened a bit as he received his explanation. As long as Lin XiuYong was never Lu ChangBai’s man, then there was still room to maneuver around everything.
Gu Ang looked at the cards scattered on the coffee table and took stock of the ones in his hand, “Cheat or no cheat, I won this hand. After playing all night, it was rare to get lucky this once.”
Ye Fei looked at the unbeatable good cards in his hand with some reluctance as he watched him win.
Gu Ang, this guy, would lose for sure.
Lin XiuYong shooed the cards away with his fingers, “Flip the cards.”
The three hands moved in unison at the same speed and turned them over at the same time.
Gu Ang won with a flush of hearts, while Lin XiuYong only had a flush. But the joy of victory didn’t last long, as his eyes swept up to Ye Fei’s card and instantly lost his expression. Five cards were spread out in front of Ye Fei and a rare royal flush appeared. An entire row of spades, from the ten of spades to the ace of spades, in that order, thrown down was the king bomb.
Bai SiNing stared at the three piles of cards scattered across the table with a rich expression, “This last hand, absolutely won.”
Lin XiuYong sighed, “I was willing to bet, what do you want to ask?”
Ye Fei didn’t answer him, just looked deeply at Gu Ang, “You lost too.”
He waited all night for Gu Ang to lose, only to have the man be an ostrich all night, either folding early or skimming off the edge. Now, finally, he’d caught his little tail. Gu Ang stared at his red deck of cards, not expecting to win a face back even with such a good hand. He stammered his words, panicking inside, “Just one question, no over the top ones.”
Bai SiNing interjected, “May I have this opportunity to ask a question?”
As a CP fan, he had so many questions he wanted to ask, and had even just made a list of questions in his head earlier.
Yet Ye Fei showed a rare toughness, “No way. I won, I’ll ask.”
Gu Ang’s heart was pounding like thunder, almost anticipating what was about to come out of those thin lips. He felt even his fingertips begin to tingle, and his body stiffened to senselessness.
As if by telepathy, he heard Ye Fei slowly ask, “Gu Ang, who is the one you like?”
This like had a wide meaning, and no one said it was that kind of like, right? Gu Ang stole the concept, stiffening his head and speaking with difficulty, “Your father, Ye HongFeng.”
Several people in the room were thunderstruck by this answer and fell into a collective silence.
Bai SiNing looked devastated and howled, “Where’s the promised Luminous?! Why is it a different person with the Ye surname??!!!”
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