Flirt First, Run Later [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 15

Liang Chu didn’t get to see Xie Shenxing one last time. By the time he arrived at the Jing residence, the taxi driver had barely stepped on the brakes when he pushed the car door halfway open. Jing Wenwu, standing at the main gate, rushed over like an obsessed fan. With no staff around to block for him, Liang Chu was promptly pulled into a tight hug.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” Liang Chu’s simmering anger toward Xie Shenxing deflated instantly. “Did something happen at home?”

Jing Wenwu didn’t answer or let go. One of them was still in the car, the other half-bent inside, hugging him. A position uncomfortable for both.

Liang Chu patted Jing Wenwu’s back and said, “Let me go first, then pay the fare. Whatever it is, you can tell me. We’ll figure it out step by step. Don’t be afraid; no matter how big the problem, it’ll pass. Time heals all wounds. We… we have to look forward.”

Jing Wenwu quickly released him. Damn it, he’d used up all the comforting lines—what was he supposed to say later to console him?

“No rush, no rush, a few minutes won’t hurt,” the driver rolled down the window, exhaling a puff of white smoke, and grinned. “You brothers have a great bond.”

Liang Chu got out of the car and said, “Driver, he’s not my brother—he’s my big nephew. Ah, I’m the older generation here.”

Liang Chu had meant to tease Jing Wenwu and lighten the mood, but Jing Wenwu turned to look at him after paying, his eyes reddening in an instant.

Liang Chu immediately felt flustered. Not knowing how to comfort him, he blurted out, “Brother, brother, you’re my real brother, okay?”

The driver was still counting the change. Jing Wenwu looked up at the sun and said, “Stop joking. Nothing’s wrong at home. It’s sunny here! Go wait over there.”

Liang Chu didn’t dare leave. If Jing Wenwu was on the verge of tears and he walked away, wouldn’t that make him heartless? “It’s fine. Real gold fears no fire; real fair skin fears no sun.”

But the sun was particularly strong today. Liang Chu shifted to stand in Jing Wenwu’s shadow.

The driver chuckled, handed the change to Jing Wenwu, and said, “Alright, both of you go cool off somewhere.”

They entered the courtyard, but Jing Wenwu still seemed hesitant to speak. Liang Chu felt awkward pressing him, so he glanced around. The Jing residence was unusually quiet—no unfamiliar cars, no unfamiliar people. Hadn’t Jing Wenwu said on the phone that many people had come to the house?

Where was Xie Shenxing? He hadn’t seen him since arriving.

In the past, whenever he returned, Xie Shenxing would be there with an ice cream in one hand, ready to welcome him. Liang Chu wondered if he was inside reflecting on his mistakes. He felt troubled—how should he start the conversation when they met? First, he needed to put on the airs of a pampered young master, then sternly ask, “Do you realize your mistake?”

Thinking of this, Liang Chu sighed. Xie Shenxing had suddenly turned hostile, stripped off his underwear, and fled in such a hurry that he hadn’t found a new pair. He was commando now! Going commando wasn’t any cooler, though.

Liang Chu wanted to go inside for some air conditioning, feeling like even his private parts were sweating. Jing Wenwu grabbed his shoulder and turned him toward a corner, where they squatted by the wall, feeding mosquitoes. Jing Wenwu still didn’t speak.

After five minutes, Liang Chu estimated he’d already fed three large mosquitoes. He hesitated a bit longer, fed another one, and finally couldn’t hold back. “What on earth is going on?”

Jing Wenwu said, “Jing Ke, someone like Xie Shenxing… isn’t worth your heartache.”

Liang Chu jolted, no longer feeling the itch from the mosquito bite as his heart sank. What did Jing Wenwu know? Why would he suddenly say such a thing? He had always acted like a mouse in front of a snake around Xie Shenxing, treading carefully and never daring to speak ill of him behind his back. Could it be that he had discovered Xie Shenxing was a pervert?

Liang Chu couldn’t help but recall the scene from this morning. However, from the incident until now, it had only been an hour and a half at most. Besides, he hadn’t run into Jing Wenwu on the way out of the Jing residence, and even if he had, there was no way Jing Wenwu could have known what had happened. Xie Shenxing was a deep, reserved person who kept everything to himself. He would never take the initiative to mention this matter to Jing Wenwu.

Liang Chu couldn’t figure out what Jing Wenwu knew. After a moment’s thought, he decided to play along and said, “You’re right. Someone like Xie Shenxing isn’t worth me feeling upset over.”

Jing Wenwu hadn’t expected him to be so self-aware and was taken aback. “You already know? Xie Shenxing just left. How did you find out? Did you two run into each other?”

Liang Chu’s first thought was that Xie Shenxing was too ashamed to face him and had fled out of guilt. It took him a moment to realize what “left” actually meant.

Jing Wenwu opened up, speaking loudly, “Just now, Grandpa suddenly brought in a group of people. One old man claimed to be Xie Shenxing’s grandfather. Pfft, just say ‘grandpa’—why make it sound so pretentious and awkward? Xie Shenxing talked with that old man for a while and then left! I saw it with my own eyes. Earlier, I overheard Grandpa saying he probably won’t be coming back…”

Liang Chu shifted his feet, and Jing Wenwu immediately stood up, indignant. “This is too much! Jing Ke, I know you must be really upset inside. Don’t worry, I’m on your side! Let’s go find him!”

Jing Wenwu was filled with righteous anger, seething with fury, looking as if he was ready to pick a fight.

Liang Chu wanted to say that he had just shifted his feet because they were numb, not because he wanted to fight. He swallowed and asked Board-Tooth Bear, “Can I not go? I have exams coming up, and I can’t afford to be emotionally disturbed right now—it might affect my performance.”

Board-Tooth Bear replied, “No way! Jing Ke would never tolerate Xie Shenxing’s betrayal. At the very least, you should make a show of it.”

So, Liang Chu stood up and made a show of it, supporting Jing Wenwu by saying, “You’re absolutely right! Let’s go find him!”

Jing Wenwu patted his shoulder and called him “bro.” The two of them strode forward boldly for a few meters before Liang Chu clutched his head and said, “Ah, it’s too hot. Let’s wait until it cools down, or we might get heatstroke.”

With that, he turned around and went back inside to enjoy the air conditioning.

Before Liang Chu had taken two steps back, Jing Wenwu grabbed him again and declared passionately, “Jing Ke! Haven’t you learned the saying ‘strike while the iron is hot’? We have to go now—Xie Shenxing hasn’t gone far yet!”

Liang Chu thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “You’re absolutely right again, Jing Wenwu. I hereby officially order you to go capture Xie Shenxing immediately. Don’t worry, once you bring him back, I’ll deal with him personally and teach him a lesson.”

Jing Wenwu: “…”

Liang Chu said, “I’ll await your triumphant return!”

Then he ran off.

When he returned to the living room, he found the entire Jing family—young and old—gathered there. Though there were many people, the room was quiet. Several of the male elders were smoking one cigarette after another while speaking in low voices.

Liang Chu slowed his steps and noticed Jing Hongjie’s pale face. He thought to himself, Why did I even go out in the first place?

The little wild snake had transformed into a favored son of heaven. The turn of events was so sudden that everyone was caught off guard, collectively stunned into a daze. Mother Jing worriedly said, “Weigang, that little… Xie Shenxing won’t seek revenge on our family, will he?”

As soon as these words were spoken, Jing Hongjie’s expression turned even grimmer, and even the nanny grew anxious.

Those who had done wrong were always afraid of a knock on the door.

Everyone present felt varying degrees of regret. Some regretted their past actions and looking down on others; others lamented why they hadn’t befriended him earlier, extending a helping hand when the influential figure was down and out. A debt of gratitude was the hardest to repay. Had they possessed such a favor, wouldn’t it have been an extra support and connection? Now, it was too late. They couldn’t even find a way to curry favor, and even if they could, he no longer needed their flattery.

Jing Weigang tapped his lighter rhythmically on the tea table. “Didn’t I say long ago that Xie Shenxing was no ordinary person? You all thought he ate and lived in the Jing family. Let me ask you today: Did Xie Shenxing ever ask any of you for a single cent? You bunch of self-important fools, did you really think you were his benefactors, huh?”

What was the use of saying this now?

No one dared to speak up. Jing Hongjie lowered his head and said, “Dad, we know we were wrong. Please calm down.”

Jing Weigang roared, “I’m talking about you! You think you’re all grown up now, and you think I’m old and useless, don’t you?!”

Jing Hongjie remained silent. Jing Weigang’s anger subsided slightly as he leaned back on the sofa and let out a long sigh. “I should have realized it earlier. I should have known. He looked so much like… Why didn’t I bother to ask the Xie family? It’s fate, truly fate.”

Liang Chu listened for a while. The people in the room sighed and lamented, none of them noticing him. Even if they had, they would likely have scolded him. Among all the Jings, he had been the one who tormented Xie Shenxing the most. If Xie Shenxing really came seeking revenge, he would most likely be the one thrown out to take the blame.

Liang Chu slowly walked upstairs, pushed open the door, and stood at the bedroom entrance for a few minutes before stepping inside.

The room was still the same, unchanged in any way. Yet, the unmade bed remained unmade, the scattered items on the floor were still there, and no one brought him a refreshing cold drink when he returned to his bedroom.

Somehow, it felt unusually desolate.

When he had spoken with Jing Wenwu earlier, he hadn’t felt it so deeply. Xie Shenxing’s departure was just five words. Only when he came upstairs, to the place where the two had spent their days and nights together, did it suddenly hit him: Ah, he’s really gone.

Banya Xiong rolled out of Liang Chu’s pocket, worriedly clinging to his clothes. “Are you feeling sad? Let’s close the door and cry for a while.”

Liang Chu said, “I don’t feel like crying.”

Banya Xiong insisted, “Don’t hold it in, it’ll harm your health. No one’s watching anyway; it won’t break your character.”

Liang Chu patted its head, picked up a pack of biscuits from the floor, and handed it to Banya Xiong. “I really don’t feel like it. I’ve had this suspicion for a while now. Over the past six years, the mission progress has been inching forward one step at a time, and since the New Year, there hasn’t been any movement at all. But these past few days, it suddenly surged so quickly. There must be a major plot twist happening. Besides Xie Shenxing being recognized by his family, I can’t think of anything else that could be this significant.”

Liang Chu turned down the air conditioner. Outside, the sun was blazing, but inside, the room was wonderfully cool. Sitting on the bed in a daze, he thought for a moment that such cool weather was perfect for hot pot, and then his mind drifted to Xie Shenxing. After all, they had spent six years together. He wasn’t made of stone, so it was impossible not to feel something. Just an hour ago, he had been sitting in the car, thinking about how Xie Shenxing was truly a beast.

But now that he was home, not only was there no sign of the beast, there was no sign of anyone at all.

Blowing cool air from the AC, Liang Chu’s thoughts wandered aimlessly, unsure of what to do. He sighed wistfully and said, “If I were a girl, I’d marry the air conditioner. It’s truly one of the greatest inventions in the world.”

Banya Bear replied, “That’s not right. Didn’t you say before that you wanted to marry the bed? You’d have to get a divorce first—bigamy is illegal.”

“…You know a lot.”

Banya Bear giggled and crunched on some biscuits.

A moment later, after finishing the biscuits, Banya Bear asked, “Why did Xie Shenxing take off your clothes?”

Liang Chu looked at it warily. “Did you see my butt? I want to see yours too. Come on, show me your butt.”

Banya Bear plopped back into its eggshell, waving its paws. “No, no! I have the ‘No Peeking’ software installed—no looking at what shouldn’t be seen, no listening to what shouldn’t be heard.”

“…That sounds weird,” Liang Chu said, then answered the question: “Maybe it’s because I’m so handsome and have such a great body that he couldn’t control himself.”

Banya Bear said, “But you’re Jing Ke now.”

Liang Chu replied, “Then it must be my inner beauty. I’m just too beautiful inside. It’s all my fault.”

Banya Bear: “…”

Liang Chu’s mind went blank as he lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, he sat bolt upright.

Banya Bear asked, “What’s wrong? Why so jumpy?”

Liang Chu clapped his hands. “Since Xie Shenxing is gone, we can watch some adult films! Do you prefer Asian or European ones?”

Banya Bear said happily, “I like a lot of them! Let’s start with gorillas today!”

Liang Chu stood up and muttered to himself, “Never mind, I’ll just watch by myself.”

The bed in the bedroom was a large double bed, and since he was the only one sleeping in it, it was a mess with all sorts of things scattered about. Kicking the clutter left and right, he cleared a path. Halfway through, he suddenly thought of something and scanned the floor.

“Wait, where’s my underwear?”

The one with his semen on it. Xie Shenxing had actually sniffed it. Just thinking about it made his scalp crawl.

Of course, it wasn’t on the floor. Liang Chu ran to the other side of the bed, where he had last seen Xie Shenxing, but it wasn’t there either.

His heart raced, and the more he couldn’t find it, the more anxious and frustrated he became. He rummaged through everything—the wardrobe, the bed, under the bed, inside the room, outside the room but it was nowhere to be found. Slapping his forehead, he went to the balcony to see if it had been washed. There were indeed two pairs of underwear hanging there, but after checking the styles and colors, he confirmed they weren’t the ones from that morning.

There was only one possibility left… Liang Chu’s scalp tingled. Could Xie Shenxing have actually taken it?

In an instant, all other emotions vanished, leaving only one thought in his mind: Pervert, pervert! A panty-stealing pervert!