Save That Miserable Protagonist - Chapter 7

Two consecutive days of cold treatment had completely exhausted Lu Xun’s meager supply of patience. When had he ever gone to such lengths to please someone?

During these days, every gift Lu Xun sent was returned by Pei Tingsong untouched. Every carefully arranged “accidental” encounter was met with a fake smile. Not only that, but when pushed, Pei Tingsong would resort to sarcastic and sharp-tongued mockery.

For instance:

“Has Master Lu’s range of interests expanded to watching the dissection of small rabbits?”

Or:

“The gifts Young Master Lu sends are truly too good. They are so high-end that a commoner like me can only view them from a distance.”

And even:

“I am better suited for washing dishes in a high-class restaurant like that.”

Every word Pei Tingsong uttered felt like a small blade stabbing at Lu Xun’s lofty sense of superiority. Yet, that unyielding and lofty attitude only made Lu Xun’s heart itch with anticipation. A mixture of annoyance and an intense desire for conquest burned higher and higher within Lu Xun’s heart.

On this day, when the box containing the latest top-tier tablet was once again delivered to Lu Xun’s apartment by a trembling courier, the habitual and careless smile on Lu Xun’s face finally vanished completely.

Lu Xun picked up the heavy box and weighed it in his hand. A cold arc curved at the corner of his mouth as he drove directly to the Medical School building at Jiangcheng University.

In a secluded corridor, Lu Xun cornered Pei Tingsong, who had just finished an experiment.

Pei Tingsong wore a slightly yellowed white lab coat and looked exhausted. However, the moment he saw Lu Xun, that exhaustion instantly transformed into sharp vigilance. His spine straightened instinctively like a hedgehog entering a defensive state.

Seeing this, Lu Xun let out a sneer. “Student Pei certainly puts on great airs.”

Lu Xun’s voice betrayed no emotion. He leaned against the cold wall, his long legs stretching out to block most of Pei Tingsong’s path. He casually tossed the brand-new tablet box into a nearby trash can. Listening to the muffled thud, he said, “No one has ever dared to return something I have sent over and over again.”

Lu Xun’s gaze was freezing. Pei Tingsong’s expression turned even colder as he watched the movement. His lips tightened into a pale and straight line. Pei Tingsong struggled to maintain his dignity. “I have said it before. It is not that I do not want it, but that I cannot afford it. Young Master Lu, have you never heard the saying that one should not accept rewards without merit?”

Pei Tingsong had learned long ago that there was no such thing as a free lunch. If he accepted these things from Lu Xun now, he would surely have to pay them back with something far more painful in the future. Moreover, he could not stand Lu Xun’s condescending air of charity. He would earn what he lacked with his own two hands. He did not need anyone’s pity or alms.

“No rewards without merit?”

Lu Xun reacted as if he had heard an interesting story. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them until they were within an ambiguous and dangerous range. Lu Xun could even smell the faint scent of disinfectant on Pei Tingsong, which intertwined with his own cold cologne. The two scents merged in a strange way.

Lu Xun leaned down. His green pupils locked onto his target like a feline predator. His high-pressure gaze swept over Pei Tingsong’s tightly pressed lips and his slightly twitching Adam’s apple. Lu Xun lowered his voice, speaking with a deliberate and playful tone. “What counts as merit? Do not be so calculated, Student Pei. I am simply going to great lengths to win a beauty’s smile. If you accept the gift and smile happily, that is merit enough for me.”

“After all, I am trying to woo my future boyfriend. A thousand pieces of gold are worth a single smile. If my boyfriend is happy, I am willing to give anything.”

Lu Xun drew out his words with a lingering tone, thick with clear hints and flirtation. His warm breath almost brushed against Pei Tingsong’s ear. This sentence struck a sensitive nerve in Pei Tingsong. He snapped his head up. His dark pupils seemed to ignite with twin flames of rage. Due to the extreme anger and the feeling of being humiliated, the corners of his eyes quickly flushed red.

He glared at Lu Xun. All his previous restraint collapsed instantly. His voice hovered with an undetectable tremor from agitation, yet his tone was fierce and sharp. “How many times must I say it? I do not want it! I do not want it! I simply cannot afford the rewards of the Great Young Master Lu, alright?”

Pei Tingsong had been pushed too hard lately. Combined with Lu Xun’s suggestive words, the long-accumulated humiliation and fury finally exploded. He practically shouted, “I study this hard, I stay up all night doing experiments, and I run off to be a tutor for the children of idiots. I admit it! I admit I do all of this for money! But every cent I earn is clean! I earn it with my own brain and my own hands! I live upright with a clear conscience!”

He gasped for air, his chest heaving violently. His gaze scraped like a knife over Lu Xun’s handsome face, which was full of arrogance and flippancy. The instinctive anger toward Lu Xun’s social class and a hidden sense of contempt finally escaped his lips. “But what about you? What about you, Lu Xun?”

“Is your money clean? Did you earn it yourself? Other than being born into the right family and using your parents’ money to toy with people, what else can you do? What right do you have to stand here and humiliate me with such filthy intentions?”

“I work so hard! Do you know how much I had to sacrifice to get into this university and live like a normal student? Why? Why should I, a living human being, be used as your toy just because of your momentary whim?”

As soon as Pei Tingsong spoke, the corridor became terrifyingly silent. For a moment, only the sound of his ragged breathing remained. The playfulness on Lu Xun’s face vanished instantly. With a cold expression, he looked closely at the young man as if he were meeting him for the first time. Pei Tingsong was shaking with rage, yet his eyes burned with fire.

“What right?”

Lu Xun repeated those words. Then, he suddenly let out a low laugh. The sound was light and cool, carrying a hair-raising tenderness. He reached out and grabbed Pei Tingsong’s wrist, pulling him toward himself with such force that their bodies almost collided.

Lu Xun’s strength was incredible. Ignoring Pei Tingsong’s struggles, his cold fingertips remained clamped like iron pliers around that slender wrist.

“Babe.” Lu Xun lowered his head until his nose nearly touched Pei Tingsong’s forehead. His green eyes, churning with dangerous emotions, stared fixedly at the other man. His tone was as soft as a lover’s whisper. “What did you just say? I did not hear you clearly. Say it again.”

Pei Tingsong was pinned. His wrist ached from the grip. The aggressive aura radiating from Lu Xun completely enveloped him, making it difficult to breathe. Physical suppression and psychological humiliation intertwined, making his whole body tremble uncontrollably. Pei Tingsong sensed the danger acutely. He bit his lower lip and stubbornly turned his head away, refusing to speak further.

“Heh.”

Lu Xun let out a satisfied chuckle. He used his other hand to intimately stroke Pei Tingsong’s black hair. The dark strands were somewhat coarse, much like Pei Tingsong’s personality.

“So you think your dignity is worth a lot?” Lu Xun’s voice was low. His warm breath brushed against Pei Tingsong’s ear as he spoke. “Wake up, babe. Your dignity is not worth a thing.”

“You are right. My money is not earned by me.” Lu Xun admitted this quite frankly, nearly laughing aloud. “But so what?”

His fingertips pressed harder against Pei Tingsong’s protruding wrist bone. He spoke every word with cruel clarity. “As long as I feel like it, I can buy out the dignity you are fighting so hard to protect with just a flick of my finger.”

[Warning! Warning! The mission target’s emotional state is too volatile! Host, please watch your words and actions!]

The cold mechanical voice of the system betrayed a hint of anxiety. Lu Xun followed the suggestion and let go of the wrist. He then pulled a square handkerchief from his pocket as if he had touched something filthy. He slowly and methodically wiped his fingertips. Without sparing Pei Tingsong another look, he threw the handkerchief into the trash and strode away.

The light at the end of the corridor cast a long shadow behind Lu Xun. He walked with elegance, feeling a sense of satisfaction from his final retort. However, once he sat in his car and looked at the system floating before him, Lu Xun had to admit he felt an inexplicable sense of frustration.

After that day, Lu Xun stopped looking for Pei Tingsong. He felt the other man was ungrateful and possessed a hollow and false sense of loftiness. Lu Xun spent his days holed up in his luxury penthouse playing video games. The sounds of intense gunfights and roaring engines were deafening. The dazzling lights of the screen flickered across his face, creating an ambiguous picture. Lu Xun tried to use this intense stimulation to suppress the strange restlessness in his heart.

His game character was strutting around with a gun. Just as he aimed at an opponent, a piercing alarm exploded in his ear. His wrist jerked reflexively, and his character was instantly killed by a headshot.

[Ding! Ding! Ding! Emergency mission! The mission target is about to encounter grave danger! Host, please head to the Bone Cup Bar immediately!]

[You have been killed.]

As the two sounds intertwined, Lu Xun threw the controller away in frustration. The veins on his forehead throbbed. He growled, “What the hell is it now?”

[The mission target is being harassed. According to calculations, the world line is self-correcting. If the host does not save him, the mission target will fall into the hands of the scum from the original plot.]

“What does that have to do with me?” Lu Xun snapped instinctively. The anger from being defied and looked down upon had not subsided. He felt a direct repulsion toward Pei Tingsong. “Is he not capable? Does he not want his dignity? To avoid making him lose his dignity because of my presence, let him solve it himself.”

[Host!]

Lu Xun’s refusal was so blunt that the system flew right in front of his eyes in a panic. [The world line is correcting itself. If Pei Tingsong does not escape this danger, the plot will spiral out of control toward the original ending. Do you really want to jump off a building with him?]

Lu Xun let out a cold laugh. “I did not do anything to him this time.”

[Are you going to watch him jump off a building on his own?]

The system’s voice was cold and heartless, carrying a silent threat. At those words, the images forced into his mind by the system flashed before Lu Xun’s eyes again. The drizzling rain, the howling wind, and the agonizing pain of shattering bones.

Lu Xun stood up abruptly from the sofa. With a grim expression, he grabbed his keys from the table and rushed out the door.

“Damn it.”