After Picking Up the Rival Boss, It Smells Really Good - Chapter 1

The rainy season had arrived on Gorgona Island.

Countless raindrops splattered, slid, and washed over the glass wall of the bar, creating a transparent barrier.

By the window, a group of young people gathered around a table sporting the standard dyed-blond hair and ear studs shouted over their drinks, their noise momentarily drowning out the sound of the rain. The colorful neon lights swept across this inconspicuous corner, revealing an exceptionally handsome black-haired young man among them. He gazed absently at the torrential rain outside, rhythmically tapping his transparent glass, the vodka inside swaying gently.

Beside him, Fang Wenyan was chatting and drinking with his band of frivolous friends, their topics ranging from battleships and beautiful women to forbidden cores.

In this world, a very small number of people possessed forbidden cores, allowing them to expand their spiritual sea and exert pressure over ordinary individuals. High-level forbidden core users could even suppress those of lower levels.

Qin Gou usually refrained from participating in such idle chatter. He had no interest in beauties, nor did he possess a forbidden core worth flaunting.

Moreover, his attention was elsewhere at the moment.

The downpour was so heavy it formed a curtain of rain, making it difficult to see clearly. Yet, Qin Gou fixed his gaze on a man in a white shirt standing not far away on the street.

The man was drenched from head to toe, his slightly graying hair plastered to his scalp, yet he stood as straight and firm as a pine tree.

Qin Gou took a sip of whiskey. If he wasn’t mistaken, this man was none other than Lu Lian, the second young master of the Lu family, who had been declared missing just two days ago. Lu Lian was the true sky above Pelate City, the highest authority of the continent’s most illustrious family conglomerate, “Uranus.”

He was also the rival who had stolen Qin Gou’s white moonlight.

Qin Gou took another sip of vodka.

An unforeseeable plane crash had left Lu Lian missing. In fact, most people believed that Lu Lian had turned to ashes along with the wreckage, leaving no trace of his remains at least, that was what the Lu family thought. In recent days, Lu Lian’s uncle, Lu Yuncheng, had swiftly taken over the conglomerate forces, “Uranus,” that Lu Lian had left behind.

So, seeing Lu Lian here in this land of exile, Gorgona Island was genuinely surprising to Qin Gou.

Especially since this chaotic, backward, and even forbidden-core-trading-infested island was always looked down upon by the people of Pelate City.

Otherwise, why would Qin Gou have been exiled here by his family?

Lu Lian stood steadfast in the curtain of rain. His posture was so upright that even drenched as he was, he didn’t appear the least bit disheveled.

Instead, Qin Gou sensed something else about him, a feeling of loneliness?

But he wasn’t alone for long. A handsome blond boy approached, holding a small transparent umbrella.

Qin Gou watched as the boy smiled and said something to Lu Lian, then raised the umbrella to shield him from the rain. The boy seemed kind and lively, almost like an angel.

But soon, the blond boy handed Lu Lian a bottle of drink.

Familiar transparent bottle, red liquid Qin Gou narrowed his eyes. So, it was a little devil disguised as an angel.

As a remote exile far from the main city, Gorgona Island had always been a lawless zone. Consequently, gray-market transactions thrived on this land, with forbidden core trading being the most typical.

Each person only possesses one forbidden nucleus, so how could there be so many available for trade? Using the red potion to induce chaos in one’s mental sea and then seizing their forbidden nucleus is the most common illegal practice on Gorgona Island.

But who is Lu Lian? Such petty tricks couldn’t deceive him even if repeated eight hundred times.

Qin Gou thought this to himself, only to then see Lu Lian take the drink and swallow it.

Qin Gou: “???”

The blond boy watched as the man drank the red potion, concealing the excitement in his eyes as he smiled sweetly. “The rain is too heavy outside. Why not come to my place to take shelter?”

Lu Lian lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable.

“It’s just in the alley up ahead, very close,” the blond boy added. Seeing that Lu Lian remained silent, he reached out to pull him along. After all, the drug had taken effect, once he got him back, everything would be easy.

But as he grabbed Lu Lian’s arm, his smile abruptly froze.

Something cold and metallic pressed against the back of his head.

“PK-18695 electro-mechanical gun. Maximum current: 100mA. It won’t feel pleasant if it hits you,” a deep, magnetic voice sounded from behind. “You’d better let him go.”

The blond boy complied immediately and released his grip.

After watching the blond boy slink away in frustration, Qin Gou turned his attention back to Lu Lian.

Click, the sound of a gun’s safety being released. The same weapon that had been aimed at the blond boy was now pressed against Lu Lian’s temple.

“My apologies, I just remembered to release the safety,” Qin Gou tilted his head, a playful smirk on his lips.

Lu Lian finally lifted his gaze. Raindrops traced the sharp lines of his profile, gathering at his chin before falling. Beneath his damp eyelashes, his phoenix eyes held a faint, ashen hue. Even with a gun pointed at him, his eyes remained utterly calm.

“The young master of the Qin family?” Lu Lian’s voice was as cold as the falling rain.

Qin Gou paused for a moment, his grip on the gun unwavering. A faint smile touched his lips. “I’m honored to be remembered by Young Master Lu.”

“But it seems you haven’t experienced any amnesia or idiocy, like in those cliché novels,” Qin Gou couldn’t resist taunting. “Did you drink that potion to experience the sensation of having your forbidden nucleus extracted?”

Lu Lian narrowed his eyes, studying Qin Gou for a moment, but said nothing.

Had the drug taken effect? Qin Gou tested the waters. “Young Master Lu?”

No response.

Qin Gou watched Lu Lian with amusement. There was no one who wouldn’t relish the sight of a once-arrogant rival brought so low. Squinting slightly, Qin Gou slowly applied pressure to the trigger.

Click, the trigger was pulled, and the gun emitted a soft hiss of compressed air. No electric current was discharged.

“Well, I forgot to charge it again,” Qin Gou remarked casually as he lowered the gun, his expression as if what had just happened was as trivial as taking a sip of water. “It seems you’re quite lucky.”

Lu Lian remained motionless, clearly under the influence of the drug.

Having savored the sight of his rival’s downfall long enough, Qin Gou turned and began walking away slowly, showing no intention of intervening.

A high-level forbidden nucleus bearer under the influence of the drug would soon be picked up by nucleus traffickers. They would carve out his forbidden nucleus, just as they had done to Qin Gou in his youth. Or perhaps, in a worse scenario, his organs would be harvested and sold off.

Qin Gou lowered his head, indifferent to the thought.

Five minutes later. Qin Gou returned, clicking his tongue at the dazed Lu Lian with a muttered, “Troublesome.”

After a quick scan of the surroundings, Qin Gou grabbed the troublesome man and headed toward the largest hotel on the street.

Gorgona Island was teeming with shady establishments, but out of a sense of cleanliness, Qin Gou opted for the most expensive hotel nearby. Supporting Lu Lian with one hand, he handed over his ID with the other.

The front desk staff was unfazed by the scene. On chaotic Gorgona Island, illegal activities sprouted like weeds.

However, the receptionist glanced at the man who was clearly under the influence of drugs. He was almost as tall as Qin Gou, with sharp, well-defined features. Through his rain-soaked shirt, the outline of his toned abs was visible.

Most patrons brought along delicate, fragile-looking young men, but it was rare to see someone with such tastes.

The receptionist averted his gaze and smiled warmly at the equally tall and handsome dark-haired man. “Room 1608. Your key card, please keep it safe.”

Qin Gou ignored the receptionist’s look, grabbed Lu Lian’s arm, and led him toward the elevator.

Lu Lian remained surprisingly obedient along the way, saving Qin Gou a lot of trouble. In reality, the red drug significantly altered one’s mental state. Qin Gou had seen people turn violent and chase others, start undressing in public, or simply collapse unconscious each person had their own way of losing control.

Someone like Lu Lian, who just seemed dazed, was a rare sight.

Qin Gou swiped the key card, tossed Lu Lian onto the bed, set the card down, and prepared to leave. Having helped his former rival escape nuclear traffickers and even found him a place to rest, Qin Gou felt he’d already played the saint.

After a few steps, he hesitated, turned back, and took a pen and paper from the nightstand to jot down his phone number.

Just as Qin Gou finished placing the note with his number and was about to stand up, someone suddenly pulled him backward from behind.

Lu Lian’s scorching breath brushed against his ear as the man pressed down on him and began fumbling with the buttons of his shirt.

Well, well. So this was when he decided to go crazy.

Having no interest in dealing with someone in such a state, Qin Gou shoved him aside and tried to leave.

But Lu Lian clung to him again, as if realizing his earlier attempt had failed, and this time his hands wandered elsewhere.

In his twenty-three years of life, no one but his own right hand had ever touched that spot. Qin Gou gritted his teeth and grabbed Lu Lian’s hand once more.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Lian lunged at him again.

With his hands occupied, Qin Gou lost his balance and was successfully pinned down by Lu Lian.

Lu Lian pressed against him, one hand slipping under his shirt and moving upward, the other tracing a long, old scar on Qin Gou’s abdomen, sliding downward.

Qin Gou felt increasingly agitated. The raised scar seemed to burn as if touched by fire. He tried to grab Lu Lian’s hands and push him off.

Lu Lian paid him no mind, instead attempting to bite open the buttons of Qin Gou’s shirt.

It wasn’t until he felt that unusual sensation again that Qin Gou jolted awake and shoved Lu Lian away forcefully.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Qin Gou prepared to leave.

But Lu Lian clung to him once more. Qin Gou pushed him away expressionlessly.

Lu Lian’s thin lips brushed against his ear again, his warm breath scalding Qin Gou’s cheek. Then, Qin Gou heard him whisper two words very softly: “Ye Wan.”

The name of Qin Gou’s white moonlight.

Qin Gou: “…”

He directly grabbed Lu Lian by the neck, pressing his head against the headboard, and said through gritted teeth, “Did you mistake me for your little lover, Ye Wan?”

Lu Lian met his gaze. His gray eyes still appeared calm and cold, as if the hands causing trouble did not belong to the same person.

Lu Lian wanted to pin Qin Gou down instead, but he was drugged and truly lacked the strength. So he lifted his gaze, his gray eyes fixed intently on Qin Gou.

Qin Gou recalled the argument he had with Ye Wan before he left. It ended with Ye Wan saying, “But this is Lu Lian,” before he unhesitatingly dragged his luggage and got into Lu Lian’s car.

And Lu Lian had completely ignored the commotion, never once glancing in their direction from start to finish. His gray eyes were as emotionless as inorganic matter.

The whiskey was starting to get to him. Qin Gou suddenly had a strong urge to make those calm gray eyes lose focus, to strip away their composure and serenity.

What followed exceeded Qin Gou’s expectations. Throughout the entire process, Qin Gou kept his eyes fixed on Lu Lian’s face. Yet even in such a moment, his gray eyes remained calm. It wasn’t until Qin Gou bit his lips that Lu Lian resisted slightly, turning his head away and averting his gaze.

Seized by a mischievous impulse, Qin Gou held his head firmly and gave him a deep kiss.

Qin Gou had a strange dream. In it, he was running alone down a dark alley.

He gasped for breath with difficulty, sweat mingling with thick, crimson liquid dripping from his chin. His footsteps grew heavier and heavier.

Run! You must run! A voice inside him urged. Summoning all his strength, he lifted his feet and trudged forward step by step.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when a beam of light pierced the deep darkness in Qin Gou’s eyes. He reached out with all his might, trying to grasp that glimmer of light, but with a “thud,” he collapsed to the ground.

“Brother A Gou, Brother A Gou.” It was Ye Wan’s voice. Qin Gou struggled to lift his head, but there was no one in front of him.

He stared blankly at the empty space before him, then suddenly, as if sensing something, turned around.

Right into a pair of gray eyes.

Qin Gou jolted awake. Ignoring the strange dream, he prepared to roll out of bed as usual. But out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of gray hair. Almost before his mind could process it, his body reflexively executed a defensive move, he pinned down the half-sitting figure beside him and once again grabbed him by the neck.

A pair of gray eyes calmly met his gaze. His stalled brain kicked back into gear, and the steamy scenes from the previous night flooded his mind.

Lu Lian studied Qin Gou’s slightly flushed face for a moment. He set down the complimentary hotel map he had been reading and spoke in his usual cold, composed tone, “Want more?”

Qin Gou: “…”