Shou-Switching System Has Been Bound - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Weaving the Net

Ji Lianyi sat in his car and pulled a cigarette from a pack in the center console that seemed like it would never be finished in eight hundred years. The scent of nicotine allowed him to lean back against the seat, his eyes behind the lenses unfocused and drifting.

The combination of languidness and the lingering traces of desire made this mature man’s body—and his face, full of sated satisfaction look even more “erotic” than it had upstairs just moments ago.

Liu Liu: How did it feel?

Ji Lianyi: Very good.

He had never fed Xia Xu that deep, never been that fierce, and certainly never let him “eat” for that long.

This was the first time.

He had achieved complete satisfaction, both physically and psychologically.

Human mouths aren’t actually that different from one another; if anything, the “puppy” was so green he offered no coordination at all. But the puppy could satisfy his inner violence.

He recalled the puppy’s face, slightly deformed from being stretched.

Tears, saliva, essence, and the traces of blood at the corners of a split mouth.

The cigarette in his mouth shortened significantly in an instant.

Ji Lianyi glanced down lazily; dark desires are interconnected.

Over the years, a large part of his unvented violent impulses had transformed into sexual desire. But Xia Xu couldn’t be the target for that release he was too fragile; one mistake and he would die. So, Ji Lianyi usually handled it himself with high frequency; if he saw a doctor, he would likely be diagnosed as a sex addict.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about switching to someone else someone sturdier.

His long index finger tapped the cigarette, and ash fell into the ashtray.

But he feared that once he indulged, it would be a point of no return. He didn’t dare try. For years he had endured, restrained, and suppressed.

Until he discovered Xia Xu and the puppy having an affair behind his back.

The door he had been struggling to keep shut was suddenly smashed open by them from the outside with iron bars.

A cold, soft chuckle echoed inside the car.

At 6:30 AM, Ji Lianyi saw the little red dot on the app appear again across from the entrance of his neighborhood.

To be able to run over here so early after that ordeal last night… truly a puppy with resilient vitality. He came out of the bathroom and lay back down on the bed.

However, he didn’t pull Xia Xu into his arms as he usually did.

There were no classes today. When he opened his eyes again, it was nearly 9:00 AM. The red dot was still across from the gate. It seemed today the puppy planned to stand guard until he caught him.

Ji Lianyi washed up and woke Xia Xu: “Let’s go out for a stroll.”

As soon as he heard “shopping,” Xia Xu woke up instantly, no longer lounging. He scrambled up and dove into the bathroom.

Ji Lianyi, already ready: “I’ll go to the supermarket to buy a pack of cigarettes first. Don’t go to the wrong place; find me at the main gate of the neighborhood later.”

Xia Xu, wiping his face: “Got it~”

Squatting at the bun shop, Qi Youli recognized Ji Lianyi’s car at a glance. The car pulled over, and then Ji Lianyi got out and walked toward the supermarket.

Seeing Ji Lianyi, Qi Youli’s breath hitched. Everything from last night surfaced in his mind; that taste seemed to reappear in his mouth, and his throat, lips, and jaw began to ache. He restrained himself from rushing over to tear Ji Lianyi limb from limb.

He, Qi Youli, was not the kind of person who fails the same way three times!

After several failures, he had summarized the most important point: he was too impulsive.

He needed to be calm.

He had to plot slowly.

His red, swollen eyes squinted behind his sunglasses. Under the sunlight, a vibrant Xia Xu walked out of the neighborhood, looking around before running toward Ji Lianyi as he exited the supermarket.

Qi Youli’s eyes followed them and caught sight of Ji Lianyi’s smiling face.

That smile was glaring.

It made his short fingernails dig into his palms.

Driving a car borrowed from a friend, he followed Ji Lianyi’s car with a grim face all the way to the city’s Happy Valley amusement park.

“Brother, let’s ride the roller coaster.”

“Okay.”

Ji Lianyi and the other joined the queue. The weather was nice and the sun was bright; he raised his hand to shield Xia Xu’s eyes from the glare.

Qi Youli stood boldly behind them, staring at that hand that looked pale in the sunlight. He still remembered the way the veins bulged when that hand exerted force.

His gaze fell on Ji Lianyi’s backside. I will pay you back tenfold!

“Brother, let’s do the drop tower next.”

“Whatever you want.”

“Brother is the best to me.”

“If I’m not good to you, who would I be good to?”

Their conversation drifted into Qi Youli’s ears. His face behind the mask was filled with indignation. He felt the Uncle was good to the whole world but mean only to him!

Doesn’t matter. I’ll be very, very mean to him too.

While queuing, Ji Lianyi’s lowered hand accidentally brushed against him, nearly knocking his sunglasses off and giving him a fright.

Qi Youli stopped in his tracks, watching the Uncle who continued walking forward without any reaction. The man didn’t seem to notice.

Maybe it was an accident.

My disguise is still good.

This was Qi Youli’s first time riding these things. When he came off the roller coaster, his legs were like jelly. Staggering, he grabbed a lamp post to steady himself. Watching Ji Lianyi walk away with his arm around Xia Xu, he took a deep breath to suppress his nausea and hurried to follow.

The drop tower slowly ascended. Ji Lianyi looked at the puppy in the crowd, bundled up tightly, slowly tilting his head back to look up.

So fierce usually, yet he’s actually afraid of these things.

“Brother, what are you laughing at?”

Ji Lianyi was surprised. Was I laughing?

After the drop tower, they rode the pendulum. When they got off, Xia Xu pulled Ji Lianyi toward the souvenir shop.

“Wait a second.”

Ji Lianyi went in front of Xia Xu and knelt down, picking up a loose shoelace and tying it for him.

From not far away, Qi Youli watched this. After the Uncle tied the lace, he naturally tidied Xia Xu’s pant leg as well.

Such meticulous, flawless care. He finally understood why Xia Xu was so bold.

How did that saying go?

The one who is favored is always fearless.

“Thanks, brother~”

As Ji Lianyi stood up, Xia Xu stood on his tiptoes and gave him a loud “smack” of a kiss on the cheek.

Qi Youli experienced a moment of bewilderment. He knew they were a couple, but it wasn’t until this very moment that he realized they were a real couple the kind that had long since slept together and even lived together.

And he was the “piece of filth” in this relationship that neither would ever mention, something that couldn’t be brought to light.

His anger flared instantly!

Why!

Trying to use me as a gear in your “couple’s play”? Keep dreaming!

Who’s cleaner than who here?!

Huh? Huh? Huh?

Ji Lianyi’s gaze swept over Qi Youli, silently raising an eyebrow. Even through the disguise, he felt a certain energy coming from the puppy: The man wants to fight.

Inside the gift shop, Xia Xu picked up a rabbit-ear headband and gestured toward Ji Lianyi’s head. Qi Youli clearly saw the refusal on the Uncle’s face, but after Xia Xu held his hand and shook it coquettishly, the Uncle accepted it with a mix of helplessness and indulgence.

The mature-looking man willingly wore the rabbit ears just to make the person he loved happy.

Qi Youli stood in the shade of a tree, radiating a gloomy aura. You deserve to be cuckolded, you big “lick-dog”!

As the two came out of the shop, Xia Xu raised his phone to take a photo.

Ji Lianyi suggested: “Why don’t we find someone to take a full-body photo for us?”

Xia Xu agreed and looked around for someone who looked approachable.

Ji Lianyi: “Hello, could I trouble you to take a photo for us?”

Xia Xu looked at the person Ji Lianyi had stopped. His expression became complicated mainly because this person looked “complex,” bundled up so tightly it was strange.

Qi Youli panicked for a split second.

Ji Lianyi had a gentle, polite smile on his face as he handed over the phone: “Thank you.”

Qi Youli looked at Ji Lianyi’s harmless face through his sunglasses. For a moment, he was dazed was this really the same person who bullied him last night?

He didn’t know what possessed him, but he actually took the phone.

Seeing him take the phone, Xia Xu didn’t care about his strangeness anymore; he pulled Ji Lianyi’s hand onto his own shoulder, posing in a very intimate manner.

Through the camera lens, Qi Youli saw the sweet and happy pair. To match Xia Xu, the Uncle was slightly hunched over, his light-colored eyes looking straight into the lens. He even felt like the Uncle was looking at him.

But surely not. The Uncle never smiled when looking at him.

Don’t smile then, I don’t care anyway. I’ll make you cry sooner or later.

Xia Xu: “Done?”

Qi Youli snapped out of it, quickly pressed the shutter, and handed the phone back. Before they could say anything else, he turned and left.

Xia Xu muttered softly: “That person was so weird.”

Ji Lianyi looked at the “puppy” walking away with its head held high: “Don’t young people say ‘weird is cute’?”

Xia Xu: …

He didn’t like Ji Lianyi talking like that; it made him feel the age gap, realizing the Uncle was many years older than him.

“Ah! What kind of photo is this!”

Ji Lianyi looked at the phone. There was no photo of him and Xia Xu only a photo of a middle finger.

After leaving the amusement park, the two went to a restaurant.

Qi Youli found them nauseating and didn’t follow them in. Outside, it began to drizzle. He stared blankly at the raindrops falling on the car window.

A man ran into the restaurant to escape the rain, leaving his girlfriend behind; she ran hurriedly through the rain.

A couple shared an umbrella, both of their outer shoulders getting soaked.

Qi Youli saw it all.

An hour later, Ji Lianyi and Xia Xu appeared at the restaurant entrance. He watched as the Uncle walked into the rain, returned with an umbrella after a short moment, and picked up Xia Xu. The two walked away closely; the umbrella was tilted significantly toward Xia Xu. In the heavy rain, not a drop fell on the boy, but the Uncle’s shoulder was soaked.

He stared fixedly at Ji Lianyi’s wet clothes and didn’t follow them anymore.

By the time he got home, it was still raining.

He couldn’t find an umbrella in the car. Just as he was about to dash out into the rain, he suddenly remembered Xia Xu waiting at the restaurant entrance for the Uncle to pick him up.

Flashes of the two of them together today crossed his mind.

The man who had been “fighting alone” all day slowly slumped his shoulders.

Xia Xu must be very happy…

Liu Liu: Why did you show off your relationship to him?

Ji Lianyi: Because he’s a puppy that nobody loves.

Liu Liu didn’t understand.

Ji Lianyi understood. His light-colored eyes dimmed slightly. He knew all too well what a puppy that nobody loves wants the most.

The red dot in the app stopped moving once it reached the house. At 9:00 PM, Ji Lianyi went out again.

In a coffee shop, Ji Lianyi put down his cup and said to Wu Shuyuan opposite him: “The conditions are what I mentioned before. You work at his place as a game companion. Besides the salary and commission you get from him, I will pay you an additional 20,000 RMB per month.”

Wu Shuyuan was silent for a moment. This kind of “pie falling from the sky” felt a bit unreliable.

“Do you really only need me to do those things?”

“Yes. You only need to report his status to me—if anyone tries to get close to him or if anything happens in the shop. You don’t need to do anything else.”

To ensure the girl understood clearly, he added: “Real-time reporting. If something happens at noon, you can’t wait until the evening to tell me.”

Wu Shuyuan thought this didn’t count as doing something bad; it was just a report. Earning 20,000 a month for that it would be a loss not to take it.

She sized up the refined, mature man in front of her.

“If I may ask… do you like Brother Qi? If so, I think you might be wasting your time. Brother Qi already has someone he likes.”

“He was even discussing with us how to ask that person out the other day.”

She felt she shouldn’t let him waste his money, or she wouldn’t feel comfortable earning it.

Ji Lianyi: “It’s fine. I know all of that.”

Wu Shuyuan nodded. Since that was the case: “Alright then, I accept the job.”

“A pleasure doing business with you, Miss Wu.”

“Mr. Ji is too polite. Just call me Yuan Yuan.”

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