Does the Honest Holy Father Have to be a Heartthrob Too? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 2

Lin Min’s expression suddenly became panicked.

Under the dim, yellowish light, the frail and gentle husband sat quietly on the sofa, cradling his late husband’s funeral urn. Suddenly, his waist jolted with sensitivity. His vacant eyes widened, and the slightly upturned corners of his eyes flushed a faint red. His entire refined face was drenched in a crimson hue. His full red lips had turned pale from the unconscious biting that occurred when he was frightened.

“Why is he so provocative?”

“Why did he suddenly bite his lip?”

Zhou Jin felt his throat tighten. Watching the husband trembling while clutching his sleeve, Zhou Jin’s mind had not even processed the situation before he felt a warm, soft figure press into his embrace. The waist beneath his palm was narrow, a mere handful, and it trembled sensitively at his accidental touch.

Despite being the one who had burrowed into the embrace, Lin Min’s voice was now shaking as if he could not endure it. “Mr. Fu, I feel something touching my waist.”

The atmosphere in the room turned abruptly strange. Lin Min, however, did not notice the abnormality. He was truly terrified by what had just happened. He could not see anything, and he had no idea who was playing tricks on him.

As if sensing Lin Min’s fear, or perhaps provoked by his instinctive reaction, that chill turned punitive, quickly slipping beneath the hem of his clothes. Lin Min’s head spun as his eyes went wide. Like a cat sensing danger, he scrambled to get up, desperate to find a safer spot to hide and escape that pervasive, invasive chill.

Unexpectedly, in the next second, his chin was gripped by a man’s hand, and Zhou Jin’s voice, thick with gritted teeth, sounded in his ear. “Little widower, who exactly were you calling ‘Fu Chenyuan’ just now?”

Zhou Jin gripped and shook the husband’s snow-white chin. This little widower had crawled into his arms voluntarily; his body was soft as if boneless and smelled sweet all over. He looked at Zhou Jin with eyes that seemed utterly bullied, yet he had the nerve to call out someone else’s name.

Lin Min felt uncomfortable from the grip, and that chill was still restlessly tormenting him. Not understanding what was happening, mist quickly gathered in his vacant eyes. “It hurts. Please let go of me.”

He did not understand why Zhou Jin was angry again or why he wanted to be aggressive. He had only grabbed the person closest to him because he was so frightened.

“Zhou Jin.”

Fu Chenyuan’s voice rang out. His slender fingers rested on Zhou Jin’s wrist, forcing him to release his hold on Lin Min. He gently led Lin Min out of Zhou Jin’s arms, soothing the startled husband in a warm tone. “It is me, Fu Chenyuan. Do you feel any better now?”

He half-knelt, intending to set the man down. However, Lin Min was still shaken; his fingers instinctively clutched Fu Chenyuan’s lapel. “Mr. Fu, someone really was…”

His pale face was still tinged with red around the eyes. His soft, slightly long black hair fell over his shoulders, winding against his fair cheeks.

How slow. Of course, there was “someone.”

Fu Chenyuan lowered his head slightly, looking at his expensive tie, which was now wrinkled by those pale fingertips. When his narrow eyes looked down at someone, they carried the cold, detached air of the elite class. Does he need his dead husband to shove something into him before he finally figures it out?

“Is that so? Where did they touch you?”

The person in his arms was still shivering. Despite his gentle inquiry, Fu Chenyuan’s eyes remained filled with a calm, calculating scrutiny. He appeared close and gentlemanly, yet his slender hands, encased in leather gloves, hung nonchalantly at his side the entire time.

I have been labeled as a competitor, then. Does he think we are all lusting after this little widower?

Fu Chenyuan watched the husband in his arms, who was biting his lip as if trying to suppress an embarrassing sound, until the man’s beautiful eyes reddened and his slender waist arched again in an attempt to pull away. Only then did Fu Chenyuan reach out, supporting the man’s lower back so he would not fall.

A triangular yellow talisman the size of a thumb was pressed onto the husband’s back, instantly turning to ash and fluttering away. The hand wrapped in the expensive leather glove never once crossed any boundaries. As a player who had cleared countless dungeons, NPCs were no different from tools to him.

Seeing that Lin Min had finally calmed down, Fu Chenyuan gripped the husband’s fair wrist through his glove and placed an object into his open palm. “You likely touched a decorative piece placed on the inner side of the sofa when you sat down. You are simply too tense.”

He soothed the NPC’s emotions with a nonchalant air. Lin Min was not a complex person. Once he calmed down, his contemplative thoughts were written plainly on his face. He did remember this small ornament; it was a porcelain figurine made by Xie Mingyuan. In Lin Min’s palm, it felt cold and heavy. It did indeed feel like what he had sensed. He tilted his head, and his emotions finally steadied.

Even though he knew Fu Chenyuan was only being patient because he did not want the NPC to be too scared to communicate, Lin Min was still grateful. However, being held by his late husband’s subordinate, who was several years younger than him, was incredibly shameful. He hurriedly scrambled up, unaware that the tips of his ears were now bright pink. “Thank you, both of you.”

Zhou Jin let out a cold laugh while staring at Fu Chenyuan. Even Wei Chi’s gaze darkened as he stared at the flushed profile of the beautiful husband.

Lin Min assumed Zhou Jin was mocking his earlier overreaction. He whispered to 0766, “Was that really a hallucination? Could a player be playing a prank on me?”

The sensation of being touched had been so real. He suspected there might even be a red mark pinched onto his waist.

0766 replied, “Host, please rest assured. Although the protagonist group are not ‘good guys’ in the literal sense, they should not go as far as…”

0766 knew the host was honest and would not lie, but surely these straight-guy players would not team up to pinch his host’s waist. Therefore, 0766 believed the new host was simply too nervous and had suffered a sensory hallucination.

Was it a hallucination?

Lin Min moved his waist unconsciously. The cold, rough sensation of fingertips still lingered. Although he was blind, he could feel that the chill had been moving toward an increasingly dangerous area. It almost touched him. If he had not run fast enough, it surely would have.

He was indeed spooked. But as 0766 said, Lin Min had read the script. He knew the players were all straight men and naturally would not mess with a little widower who had just lost his husband. It seemed it really was just his imagination.

Lin Min’s fingertips were still slightly pink. He fumbled to straighten the hem of his sweater, turning his pale face toward the direction of the players with an apologetic look. “I overreacted. I am sorry.”

His beautiful, lifeless eyes were open, and his fingers gripped the urn with even more force out of shame. To show his apology, Lin Min listened to the players discuss where to place the ashes and tried to participate, but he was ultimately rejected on the grounds that they were worried he might get hurt. Lin Min knew they were just afraid he would get in the way, but he decided to do what small tasks he could.

The night deepened. The massive living room had been arranged into a funeral hall. White curtains hung down, and the funeral portrait featured Xie Mingyuan’s handsome yet brooding face. Those gloomy green eyes seemed to hold the coldness of a venomous snake. It made one wonder just how much the young man’s small belly had suffered after marrying such an inhumanly tall, biracial husband.

Lin Min could see nothing, so he naturally did not notice his dead husband’s sinister gaze fixed upon him, watching him bustle about with other men. Whether he was fumbling to pour tea or standing on his tiptoes to wipe sweat from the men doing the heavy lifting, he looked like the little wife of those men, completely ignoring his rightful husband.

The chandelier overhead flickered. Lin Min, who was fumbling to pour water for Wei Chi, keenly heard a faint noise. That strange chill appeared again. The temperature in the funeral hall seemed to drop several degrees, and the once-bright living room was suddenly plunged into darkness. There was the faint sound of something shattering.

Lin Min backed away in a panic, trying to hide, but he inadvertently bumped into someone. His back pressed against the hot muscles beneath a man’s shirt. Before he could apologize, a hand with a slight chill caressed his waist.

Unlike the shallow probing from before, this time it was a firm, indisputable grip. From behind, someone even gave him a light pat with a hint of punishment. What on earth!

Lin Min’s face turned bright red. He never expected to be insulted this way, to be treated like a child. Even the older brother who raised him in his original world had never hit him like that. Sensing his lack of focus, the chill wickedly refused to stop its advance. Lin Min’s sightless eyes were brimming with hot tears. He struggled to break free, but his chin was gripped by a cold, large hand, and his breath was suddenly crowded by another familiar scent.

Due to the lack of oxygen, he felt faint. Fearing that someone would see him in such a humiliating state, especially the younger players, Lin Min gritted his teeth, trying to suppress his trembling gasps. He tried to act as if nothing was happening, completely unaware of the deathly silence surrounding him.

The players’ vision was not limited by the darkness. Thus, at this moment, everyone could see the beautiful, pure husband trapped in the embrace of a tall, dark shadow radiating ghostly energy. Or rather, the vengeful ghost, unwilling to leave his coveted wife behind, was intentionally letting them see. Like a dog guarding its master, he was staking his claim.

Those tiny whimpers, so different from his usual clear and gentle voice, occupied everyone’s thoughts. Especially Wei Chi’s. The beautiful husband was leaning into his arms; he could easily see those slightly parted lips emitting a moist fragrance, with even the tip of a tender red tongue peeking out. He did not look like he was being preyed upon by a man; instead, he looked like he was begging for a kiss.

But even a saint has a temper. Finally, as those cold, suggestive fingers became increasingly dangerous, Lin Min’s oxygen-deprived brain cleared for a moment. “Zhou Jin, Fu Chenyuan, Wei Chi, is it one of you touching me? I really feel someone right now.”

The moment his words fell, the cold aura wrapping around him suddenly stiffened. As if emotionally unstable, the previously extinguished chandelier began to flicker wildly, the light stinging the eyes. Lin Min remained in that disheveled posture, leaning back slightly, face flushed and damp with sweat. He panted heavily, his vacant eyes wet and bright with anger and shame. His pursed lips were now swollen and red, parted slightly to reveal white teeth.

Lin Min did not know how pathetic he looked, nor could he see the tall, ghostly shadow. At this moment, the shadow provocatively raised its eyes from the crook of Lin Min’s neck. Like a snake coiling around its prey, its green eyes stared deathly at the other men in the house.

“Yeah,” Zhou Jin’s previously irritable face gradually twisted into a smirk amidst the chilling gaze. He deliberately asked, as if ignoring the ghost’s murderous intent. “I just wanted to scare you. Why don’t you guess which one of us it was? In other words, which one of us do you want to be kissed by?”

Zhou Jin had a wicked nature. He stared intensely at the little widower’s flushed lips. Lin Min felt his wrist suddenly squeezed tight. He was still lightheaded and had not noticed that the lights were back on. He simply leaned against the hot chest of the man behind him, panting with his unfocused eyes wide and his face flushed. He was being stared at completely, yet he had no idea.

It took Lin Min a while to process the meaning. Zhou Jin was admitting to the prank and was now teasing him to see him make a fool of himself.

“Host, do not answer this bastard!” 0766 cried. It had originally chosen the host because of his honest and gentle temperament. Now, however, it was worried because of that very honesty. Players all had malicious personalities and loved chaos. If the host actually answered a question like that, he would surely face even more terrible humiliation.

0766 could not see the outside situation, but it felt these players were truly inhuman. “It is bad enough they are secretly kissing you and trying to use you to trigger the boss to appear. They actually want to find more chances to humiliate you!”

If it did not lack a physical form, 0766 would have ripped these players’ heads off to let the host use them as soccer balls.

“Thank you, 0766. You are so kind,” Lin Min thought. He tilted his pale face up and bit his swollen lips. “But, did I not come here to finish the mission? To be bullied, used, and abandoned by them? So it is okay, 0766.”

His lips just hurt a bit. It was much better than his original fear of having to walk through fire. It was just that Lin Min was not very good at dealing with people like this.

Hearing such words, 0766 was so moved that its hypothetical tears practically started flowing. “Alright, Host! Then let’s finish the mission while Xie Mingyuan is not back yet!”

Although the host always thought the dungeon boss was just lonely and dependent due to a lack of friends, 0766 felt otherwise. Fortunately, in the plot, the ghost Xie Mingyuan would not have a physical body to harm others until the seventh day. Otherwise, if he saw the host flirting with other men right under his nose…

At this thought, 0766 shuddered. “I suggest the host provides as much help to the players as possible before the boss wakes up to earn Saintly Points. Once Xie Mingyuan has a physical form, he will likely go mad with jealousy. The players’ survival rate will drop drastically.”

Lin Min did not understand the full gravity of the warning. He did not think Xie Mingyuan would kill someone just because he had contact with others. He figured the man would just be a mindless ghost attacking indiscriminately. However, the system’s advice made sense; it was better to earn points now than after the boss woke up.

Lin Min bit his lip privately. He was too embarrassed to answer Zhou Jin’s question, so he changed the subject. “If there is something you want me to do, you can just say it. Please do not scare me anymore.”

He was so easy to bully it was as if he had no temper at all. Zhou Jin’s gaze swept over the moisture at the corner of Lin Min’s lips and landed on the black shadow whose murderous intent had almost materialized. He let out a sneer.

Lin Min’s beautiful eyelashes trembled. Fearing the other man would say something even more shocking, he pursed his lips and turned around to escape, hoping to steer the players back to the mission. However, he suddenly bumped into something. He reached out to steady himself so he would not fall backward. The warmth of skin made Lin Min’s fingers shrink back slightly. After fumbling unconsciously for a moment, he remembered there was a player standing behind him. Lin Min felt his face grow even hotter. Enduring the shame, he pretended nothing had happened and felt his way to the funeral portrait, his fingers trembling as he prepared to light incense for his husband.

In the next second, a man’s warm palm gripped his hand. “Mr. Lin, you cannot see. Be careful not to hurt yourself. Let me light the incense for you instead,” Fu Chenyuan’s deep voice said.

The incense sticks were gently taken from his palm. Lin Min heard the click of a lighter and the man’s warm inquiry, which sounded like casual conversation. “Mr. Lin, I heard that in Mr. Xie’s hometown, there are some unique funeral customs?”

The faint scent of incense wafted through the air. Lin Min raised his vacant eyes. He had never been so happy for a plot point to begin. “There are,” Lin Min answered quickly. He fumbled across the cold ebony table, pretending to reminisce while actually reading the lines from the script. “But it is nothing much. It is just that the deceased needs to stay in a familiar place for seven days before burial. During those seven days, one only needs to light incense for the deceased every night.”

As Lin Min spoke, he lowered his eyelashes. The coldness beneath his fingertips made him feel inevitably downcast.

“I see,” Fu Chenyuan’s voice replied. He looked down in thought before continuing. “It is late now, and we should be heading out. I wonder how the road conditions are? It seemed a bit foggy on our way here today.”

Despite his worried tone, his tall figure showed no intention of leaving.

“It does get foggy here on rainy days. I heard Mingyuan say there have been rear-end accidents.” As he spoke, worry naturally appeared on Lin Min’s pale face. “Maybe you should stay.”

He listened to the heavy rain outside. Although he was not used to having guests, considering Fu Chenyuan had helped him several times, Lin Min spoke up. “There are plenty of empty rooms in the villa anyway. I would not feel right letting you drive back in this weather.”

“In that case, we will be troubling you, Mr. Lin,” Fu Chenyuan said. He spoke warmly and then proceeded to thrust the extinguished incense sticks upside down into the burner.

“No trouble at all. I should be thanking you. You were all Mingyuan’s subordinates; you can just call me ‘Brother’ like he did.” Lin Min did not expect the plot to progress so smoothly. A refined, beautiful smile appeared on his face.

He could not see, so he did not know that the translucent, tall figure of his husband had already enveloped him completely.

In the players’ vision, only large, blood-red words remained: “DIE. HOMEWRECKERS. DIE.”

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