The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 29

“Xie Cheng, look! It’s snowing again!”

Xie Cheng was awakened by a whisper filled with damp warmth and a gentle nudge.

The voice was hushed and slightly blurry. His thick, long lashes fluttered as he slowly opened his eyes to a narrow slit, sluggishly trying to focus on the silhouette right in front of him.

Almost immediately, a flurry of soft, clingy kisses landed on his eyes, his brow, and the tip of his nose. His shoulders were held down gently by two hands. Xie Cheng seemed unable to focus for a moment; his eyes remained half-squinted, and the slightly upturned corners of his eyes were flushed a soft pink from sleep though there was also the suspicion that it was from the kisses.

He instinctively knit his brows in a hint of displeasure. Half of his face was buried in the duvet, and his voice sounded muffled. “Who gave you permission to kiss me like that?”

Jiang Yi, half-sprawled over the sofa bed, looked at him and grinned, his chin propped on his hand and his gaze intensely focused.

Xie Cheng had a case of “morning grumpiness.” But so what? Jiang Yi wasn’t afraid.

“Booting up, booting up! Xie Cheng, wakey-wakey!” Jiang Yi extended a fingertip and lightly poked Xie Cheng’s cheek.

Xie Cheng ignored him.

“It’s snowing outside. It’s a rare, beautiful sight. You’ll regret it if you don’t look.” Seeing that Xie Cheng still wasn’t reacting, Jiang Yi simply reached in and hauled him out of the covers.

In winter, Xie Cheng’s morning grumpiness was particularly heavy. Perhaps because hydrangeas don’t like the cold and are prone to frostbite, the winter version of Xie Cheng became exceptionally lazy.

Cute. So cute he’s practically bubbling over.

Xie Cheng was forced into a sitting position. He rubbed his eyes, only for his face to be cupped by Jiang Yi’s hands. Jiang Yi kneaded his cheeks back and forth like a ball of dough that needed proofing.

“Annoying.”

“Don’t be annoyed, don’t be annoyed! Once you go out and see the snow, you’ll love it, I swear.”

With careful calculation, Jiang Yi brought out a padded coat that matched his own. He bundled Xie Cheng in layer after layer of thick clothing, tied his scarf, pulled on a thick cotton hat, and tugged on waterproof mittens before impatiently dragging him outside.

“Ta-da~!”

The blinding white light reflected off the ground. Xie Cheng shielded his eyes with his hand, only looking out once they had adjusted. Outside, the light snow was sparse, drifting quietly and gracefully, accentuating the already pristine garden.

Xie Cheng felt a sudden urge to hit someone.

Blown by the cold wind, his mind finally cleared. Since winter started, it had snowed almost every single day. Had this guy not seen enough of it yet?

“Well? Isn’t it beautiful?” Jiang Yi reached out to catch a few snowflakes. “Today’s snow is so gentle.”

“Do you need a science lesson?” Xie Cheng buried half his face in his scarf. “The environmental pollution is severe. This snow is full of filth; it’s the most polluted”

His voice cut off abruptly.

A snowball exploded against his shoulder. Xie Cheng lifted his gaze to find the culprit holding two more snowballs, waving his arms and hopping around in the snow, looking at him with a beaming smile.

“Xie Cheng, Xie Cheng! Snowball fight!”

Xie Cheng let out a soft snort through his nose. He wasn’t that childish. Playing games meant for kids? He’d rather spend his time catching zombies maybe those useless lab workers would actually research something helpful for once.

Splat!

Xie Cheng seized the moment, scooped up a snowball from the ground, and hurled it at Jiang Yi. He was a man who believed in settling scores immediately. The snowball hit Jiang Yi right in the lower back. Jiang Yi jumped theatrically, as if he’d been burned.

His running speed slowed down, but while Xie Cheng was relaxed, he threw another snowball and laughed loudly. “You can’t beat me at throwing snowballs!”

Xie Cheng narrowed his eyes. Fine. I’ll spend all my free time today on revenge. An eye for an eye, right then and there.

Xie Cheng chased after Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi let out a series of mock shrieks. “Ah! Help! Help! The Flower is biting! Someone save me. mngh!”

A snowball hit Jiang Yi right between the eyes. Even with waterproof fabric, several hits had left them somewhat damp, but neither had any intention of declaring a ceasefire. Using the garden decor as cover, they began to use actual tactics.

Xie Cheng held a snowball larger than his head, creeping toward a fence. He was certain Jiang Yi was there, because he’d just seen a familiar cowlick poking up. Today, he was going to make this overconfident guy surrender.

“Haha! Got you!”

Movement from behind. Xie Cheng’s eyes widened; he dodged nimbly to the right, but he was a split-second too slow. Someone lunged onto his back, wrapping him in a “bear hug.”

Miscalculated. But so what? A faint smile touched Xie Cheng’s lips. Without a word, he gripped the giant snowball and, with lightning speed, smashed it backward into Jiang Yi’s face.

Perfect hit. He should surrender now, Xie Cheng thought.

But after waiting for a long time, there was no signal of surrender. Xie Cheng turned around and was met with a face completely plastered in snow.

Xie Cheng: “…”

As if sensing Xie Cheng’s gaze, Jiang Yi shook the snow off his face, revealing a pair of piteous eyes.

So stupid.

A sudden, violent, pure sense of joy one he had never experienced before—hit Xie Cheng’s heart and spread instantly. He froze for a second, then his shoulders began to shake. A low, uncontrollable laughter spilled from his throat.

“Hahaha”

The laughter started with Xie Cheng’s usual cool tone, but it soon broke free from its restraints, becoming brighter and more uninhibited. It was a side of Xie Cheng that had never been seen before.

Jiang Yi was stunned. He felt his heart skip several beats before it began thumping wildly.

The Immortal. he really made him laugh. Laughing so, so happily.

Jiang Yi grinned along with him. He wiped the snow evenly across his face, leaned down, then looked up and made a funny face. “Wah!”

“Dummy.” The laughter still lingered on Xie Cheng’s face, making his voice sound tender and affectionate.

“Here comes Jiang Yi!”

Jiang Yi leaped into Xie Cheng’s arms, hooking his hands around his neck. The two of them tumbled into the snow together. They rolled around until they were covered in snow from head to toe. Eventually, they lay in the snow, catching their breath.

“Cold?” the excited Jiang Yi asked. “Not bad,” Xie Cheng replied.

“You must have forgotten there’s still a super big surprise to open today.” Jiang Yi flipped over to lie on top of Xie Cheng. “Let’s open it before we go back inside, okay?”

“Where is it?” Xie Cheng humored him.

“The surprise is  right here!”

Jiang Yi suddenly scrambled up and started digging in the snow near the plastic flower bushes. “Xie Cheng, Xie Cheng, come look!”

“What is it? So mysterious.” Xie Cheng sat up and looked where Jiang Yi was digging. In a small patch of cleared ground, a tiny seedling was growing tremulously. At its tip hung a small flower bud, standing stubbornly upright.

“What is this?” A fake… flower? No, it was real.

“This is a tiny little flower I worked so hard to cultivate,” Jiang Yi whispered.

“Judging by your tone, is this a hydrangea too?”

“Yeah!” Jiang Yi turned his head, his eyes brighter than ever. “From now on, it’s our baby.”

Xie Cheng pursed his lips. “Get lost.” “It is our baby.”

Jiang Yi began to mutter, “Even though those lab guys used so many resources and still haven’t found a vaccine, they did develop new soil. Soon, we’ll see more living plants.”

“At least they’re good for something,” Xie Cheng said.

“Xie Cheng, even though this world is terrible as bad as it can possibly be hope is slowly appearing before us.” Jiang Yi moved closer to him. “The process might be long. We might not even see it in our lifetimes. But. that’s enough to make one look forward to it, isn’t it?”

Xie Cheng looked down at him. Before he could decipher the blunt emotions in Jiang Yi’s eyes, the man hugged him tightly around the waist.

“Xie Cheng, I’m a bit uneasy.” Jiang Yi nuzzled his neck. “I always feel like you might leave me at any time, leave this world.”

Jiang Yi’s eyes reddened, and he sniffled hard. “I will work hard to prove to you that this world is good enough, good enough for us to stay in for a long, long time.”

“Are you willing to look forward to it with me?”

Willing? This wasn’t a question Xie Cheng usually considered. Like Jiang Yi said, if one day he felt the time was right, he would leave without hesitation. He wouldn’t stay for anyone or anything. He was floating on a swift, forward-moving river and never looked back.

But.  Jiang Yi. This name had, at some point, found a place in his heart.

“Okay.”

Xie Cheng heard his own answer. He wanted to see the world Jiang Yi spoke of—the world where hope kept growing, a world that would heal itself. If anyone else had said these things, he would have thought it a ridiculous joke. But if it was Jiang Yi, he was willing to wait.

He would wait for the countless moments of hope Jiang Yi brought to descend upon his barren heart.

****

Ding-dong! Mission complete. Congratulations, you have unlocked the romance ending for the protagonists: “Intertwined Branches on Earth.” Mission rating: C?

Why a C? 222 was utterly baffled. Even if the Protagonist  died young, and even if the Protagonist Gong sacrificed himself in a long experiment, and even if they never met again until death. its Immortal New Lead was living so happily!

Wait, those two things weren’t related. but the New Lead had completed the full romance plot so early! So efficient! Having always been first on the “Hardworking” and “High Score” lists, its New Lead must be devastated to receive a “C.”

The “devastated” Xie Cheng woke up in the system space. The spatial shift left his lips slightly pale. He spoke calmly, “Requesting connection to System 888.”

“Right away!” 222, contacting a stranger for the first time, nervously pressed the button.

After a few beeps, a relaxed, lazy voice answered. “Hello, Purification Division. This is Shen Yu. Something up?”

Hearing Shen Yu’s voice, Xie Cheng didn’t have much of a reaction. He already knew from 222 that Shen Yu had become the head of the Purification Division.

“This is Xie Cheng.”

A pause. “Leader Xie? What can I do for you?”

Xie Cheng got straight to the point. “I am applying to establish a special task force to monitor heavily polluted worlds. We won’t intervene immediately but will give them a buffer period for self-healing.”

The pollution of a world is rapid; in an instant, it can become uncontrollable. Such a move was undoubtedly a massive gamble. But Xie Cheng spoke with total conviction.

The other side was silent for a long time. When Shen Yu spoke again, his voice had turned serious. “And if they can’t be healed?”

“Elimination,” Xie Cheng said without a second thought.

“I agree,” Shen Yu said.

Faint laughter came from the background a clingy, soft sound. This time, Wen Xun spoke: “I agree too. I’ll inform the other division heads of your application. However, this means an increased workload for the Destruction Division. We’ll need to raise the base salary for the staff. Right, Little Tree?”

“Of course.” Shen Yu replied naturally; he was a capitalist who kept the labor laws in mind. “I’ll talk to my brother and have him allocate more funds.”

“Little Tree is so good.” 

“Mm-hmm” “Little Tree is so amazing.” “Mm-hmm-hmm”

Xie Cheng interrupted them without hesitation. “Let me know once the result is out.”

Wen Xun: “Of course. Rest assured, Leader Xie.”

“Good”

Shen Yu interrupted him. “Leader Xie, even though you’re a veteran, I still need to remind you: if you encounter sudden danger, please dial the realm’s emergency rescue hotline: 10010.”

Xie Cheng was silent for a moment. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Well then, Leader Xie good luck with your missions.”

Xie Cheng hung up. 10010? What kind of nonsense is that?

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