After The Honest Person Was Discovered For Simultaneously Pursuing Three People - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: My Palms Were Soft And Cool

“First, be his guide.”

“Second, make him fall for you.”

“Third, dump him.”

The system said solemnly, “This is the ‘Shattered Mirror, Reunited: Shattering the Mirror’ romance script that this system has arranged for you and Zhao Jingqun.”

Tao Ning had convinced himself last night to treat these targets like math problems, and the task of seducing them as solving for an unknown variable. He had always been an avid solver of difficult math problems. “What should I do? How… do I make him fall for me?”

The system said proudly, “You’ve come to the right place, you dummy. To ensure you succeed and complete your mission, this system has read hundreds of millions of romance novels, especially from that famous online platform. Seducing three men is a piece of cake! I could even seduce a hundred million.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you the specifics later. It’s getting late, so go and meet them. The people traveling with Zhao Jingqun this time are his sister, Zhao Jingsui, and her friends, the He siblings—He Yan and He Niannian.”

“In other words, you have to deal with two pairs of siblings first.”

Tao Ning obediently changed his clothes. Since it was summer, he wore thin, light clothes that revealed a pair of well-proportioned, fair legs.

The secretary called for him from outside, asking him to come to the mountain pass to meet the guests. So the two of them rode an electric tricycle, its wheels bumping against rocks big and small, until they finally reached the mountain pass.

Two men and two women were already standing there, with piles of luggage behind them.

One of the girls with pigtails said unhappily, “This is where we’re supposed to find inspiration? Don’t tell me you’re serious. All there is here are mountains. Where’s the good scenery? And there are so many mosquitoes. I’ve already got so many bites.”

“Niannian, just be patient. The person picking us up is coming soon,” another girl with her hair down comforted her.

“Yeah, He Niannian. Even Jingsui can handle it, and she’s got delicate skin. Why are you so fussy? When you’re traveling, no one’s going to treat you like a princess…”

“Are you an idiot, He Yan? Don’t think I don’t know you came here for Jingsui. Psh! Take a look at yourself, you ugly toad. How dare you have designs on my Jingsui?”

Just as the He siblings were about to break out into a full-blown argument, a lazy voice sounded faintly. “If you two don’t stop, I’ll throw you off the mountain.”

With just one sentence, the He siblings went quiet as if they were quails. Zhao Jingsui let out a helpless smile. “Brother, don’t scare them.”

He Niannian secretly peeked at the man who had just spoken. In just one glance, she met his half-smiling gaze. The corners of the man’s eyes were slightly upturned, and his mouth always held a hint of a smile, but when he looked at people, his eyes were incredibly cold. He had his hands casually in his pockets and wore a simple black t-shirt. Four or five silver earrings on his left ear were especially striking under the scorching sun. But what was most eye-catching was his flashy, rebellious red hair.

The man frowned and looked at her. “What?”

He Niannian pursed her lips and looked away.

She muttered to herself, Jingsui’s brother is so annoying. Not only is he rude, but he’s not a gentleman to girls at all. He must have grown up in a poor family and become a delinquent.

No manners. He Niannian rolled her eyes internally.

The rumbling of a tricycle in the distance brought the four of them back to attention.

Next, a boy who looked seventeen or eighteen got out of the car. The first thing that caught their eyes was his incredibly fair legs. Black socks clung to his soft, slender calves, making it hard to look away.

“H-Hello, my name is Tao Ning. I will be… your guide for the next few days.”

His voice was soft and gentle. He stood obediently in front of them but lowered his eyes, not looking directly at them. He seemed extremely introverted and shy.

The boy wore thick, black-rimmed glasses, and his hair was naturally curly. His slightly long bangs covered his smooth forehead. His hands awkwardly clutched the hem of his shirt, making him look easy to bully.

Seeing this, the system shook its head and sighed in his mind. “Sigh, it looks like this system will have to do all the heavy lifting.”

The secretary gave a genuine smile. “I’m Liu Sanqi, the secretary of Yellow Lemon Village. I heard from a higher-up that you’re here to paint and need to travel around, so I specially arranged a guide for you.”

He pointed at the increasingly nervous Tao Ning and said with a hint of pride, “This is a student from our Yellow Lemon Village. He’s the top student in the county, and he’s super smart! With him leading the way, you can relax and have fun.”

Looking at Tao Ning’s innocent expression, He Niannian clearly didn’t believe it, but the secretary didn’t care. After speaking, he went to help them load their luggage onto the vehicle.

Tao Ning also tried to help, but the secretary quickly stopped him. “You shouldn’t lift anything with your health. With your thin arms and legs, those suitcases look heavy. The back of the vehicle is high, so if you don’t lift it up properly, it’ll just fall on you. Your sister will have my head.”

He Niannian pursed her lips. “What’s so hard to lift? There’s not that much. Didn’t they say people in the mountains are strong?” She had only brought four suitcases. Was that a lot? Not at all.

Although the person named Tao Ning did look weak and skinny, He Niannian didn’t care. It wasn’t like he couldn’t lift a suitcase just because he looked a little pale.

Tao Ning said nothing. He never knew how to argue with people. He just followed silently behind the secretary. When the secretary went to get a suitcase, he pushed the suitcase to the back of the tricycle. The latch on the back panel was broken, so it couldn’t be let down. The panel reached Tao Ning’s chest. He used both hands to lift the handle of the suitcase, wanting to put it on the vehicle, but the suitcase was too heavy and big. His arms trembled slightly, and half the suitcase rested against the panel.

Suddenly, his arms uncontrollably lost all strength. Tao Ning’s light brown pupils contracted, and just as the suitcase was about to fall on him, a hand reached out from behind him. With a little force, it pushed the suitcase up.

The suitcase crashed into the vehicle.

He Niannian’s scream echoed in the distance, “Ah! My luggage!”

“I’m so sorry, Niannian. My brother didn’t do it on purpose. I’ll buy you a new one when we get back…” Zhao Jingsui quickly tried to comfort her.

“Ding dong! Activating the first mission for the Zhao Jingqun single storyline—”

“Get close to him for over one minute.”

Tao Ning was stunned. He asked, “How do I get close?”

“Have physical contact with him.”

“Does one minute mean a single, continuous minute or a cumulative total?”

The system silently complained, of course, you’d be a stickler for details, you dummy.

“Cumulative.”

Tao Ning understood. Their eyes met. Zhao Jingqun gave him a look he couldn’t decipher, the smile on his face tinged with sarcasm. He turned and walked away with his hands still in his pockets.

But Tao Ning, desperate to solve the math problem,’s mind went blank. He reached out with his still-shaking hand and grabbed Zhao Jingqun’s bulging bicep. The moment his slender, elegant hand touched the muscle, the coldness of his palm met the heat of the muscle. Both of them were taken aback.

The boy’s palm was soft and very cool. In the hot summer, it made a person want to hold it for a little while longer.

The sarcastic smile on Zhao Jingqun’s lips froze slightly. The feeling of cool softness traveled up his arm. He immediately felt uncomfortable. In the past, if anyone had dared to just grab him, he would have kicked them. But this country bumpkin was a pale, scrawny weakling who only came up to his chest. He didn’t even have to kick; a gentle push would be enough to make him fall.

But he certainly had a lot of guts.

The boy’s full, rosy lips were pursed. It seemed this was the first time he had ever held a man’s arm. His slender fingers couldn’t stop trembling.

Zhao Jingqun stared at Tao Ning with a half-smile, his gaze growing cold. “Let go already.”

Unexpectedly, the boy’s eyes immediately lowered, and he quietly “mm”-ed in a soft voice, obediently and docilely. But the hand that was holding the man’s arm didn’t let go. He even feared that the area of contact wasn’t enough, so he used his wrist to press against the man’s arm, looking like he was about to stick his whole body to him.

Zhao Jingqun: “?”

The system: “…”

The system: “Little dummy, a minute is up. If you don’t let go now, I’m afraid this script is going to become ‘No Mirror, No Reunion, He Just Punched Me’.”

Zhao Jingqun sneered inwardly. He had seen many gay people, but this was the first time he had seen one so brazen. Just as he was losing his patience and was about to rip the hand from his arm, the cool, soft feeling instantly vanished.

He looked up but only saw the boy’s indifferent back, without a hint of reluctance.

Zhao Jingqun: “…”

He laughed in anger and cursed, “Lunatic.”

The secretary had finished loading all the luggage and greeted them. “Everyone, get in the car. The sun will get harsher in the afternoon. I’m fine, but you’ll get roasted.”

But this electric tricycle wasn’t big. The front seat could only fit two people, and the back seat could barely fit three after the luggage was loaded.

The secretary hadn’t expected the city people to bring seven or eight bags just to paint. He gave an awkward laugh. “I don’t mind the sun. The trip back isn’t long. How about I let Tao Ning take you back first? I taught him how to drive the tricycle, so I guarantee it’s safe.”

He Niannian rolled her eyes. “Guarantee, guarantee, always with the guarantees. He couldn’t even lift a suitcase just now and broke mine. What if he takes us off a cliff driving this old piece of junk? How much money do you have? Can you even afford to pay for us?”

There was only one road into Yellow Lemon Village, and it was only about four or five meters wide. It had many winding turns and no guardrails, so it was easy to fall off a cliff.

Tao Ning twisted the hem of his shirt and said softly, “I’m sorry. I’ll pay you for the suitcase. Uncle Liu… you should take them first.”

“Did you forget you fainted last time from helping me on such a hot day? Your sister was on my case for a week. No way…”

Just then, a gust of hot wind blew past Tao Ning.

Zhao Jingqun was in the driver’s seat. He turned his head, his hands with their distinct joints on the handlebars. His gaze was directed at everyone, but he seemed to be speaking to Tao Ning. “Get in.”

Tao Ning was slightly stunned.

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