The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 66

What. just happened?

Jiang Yi asked himself this over and over.

Standing on the busy, bustling street, his mouth was stretched into a wide grin that almost reached his ears. The noise coming from all directions had become adorable, turning into a lively soundtrack in his ears. He instinctively reached out to touch his own face, yet he didn’t quite dare to make contact.

I should keep this as a memento, he thought.

Everything about it reminded him of a noble, fastidious guest who, after lingering countless times in front of a bakery, had finally selected his favorite and most suitable loaf. The guest hadn’t hesitated further; he tasted his choice quickly and offered praise.

There must have been praise.

“Jiang Cheng” stole a glance at Felix Cheng, who was taking small bites of the bread. He raised his hand to cover his cheek, trying to knead some of the warmth back into his “sweet and delicious bread.”

Ah, he’d accidentally touched it.

“Jiang Cheng” felt a momentary pang of regret. His hanging right hand slowly curled into a fist, as if trying to trap the lingering fragrance and let it seep into his skin. He took several deep breaths. Instead of sitting next to Felix, he squatted foolishly on the ground, tilting the half of his face that had been kissed toward the sun.

The weather was lovely. A mushroom-shaped canopy was propped up outside the bakery, allowing guests to taste their desserts in the warmth and enjoy a rare moment of leisure. Since there weren’t many people around, Felix had picked a prime spot and sat down.

The elves living in the town were much smaller than ordinary humans, roughly the size of a three- or four-year-old child, so the chairs they made were exceptionally low. Felix didn’t mind; he stretched out his long legs and sat steadily on the low chair with a casual elegance. “Jiang Cheng’s” eyes widened in awe.

“Your Grace,” “Jiang Cheng” whispered.

Felix glanced sideways at him, resting the arm holding the bread on the armrest of the low chair.

“I’m so sorry.”

This was the first thing “Jiang Cheng” said. He seemed particularly fond of saying this; whenever he committed some offensive act, he used this phrase to cover for himself and beg for forgiveness.

Felix didn’t respond. His gaze wasn’t high, landing exactly on “Jiang Cheng’s” cheek, which had been rubbed red.

“I actually just wanted to ask.” Jiang Cheng’s” gaze flickered nervously as he forced the question out. “Why did you kiss me just now?

The space between them suddenly seemed to fall silent.

Felix suddenly let out a laugh; it was soft, but loud enough for “Jiang Cheng” to hear. “Jiang Cheng” stared blankly, then asked dazedly: “Why are you laughing?”

Idiot, Felix thought. A rather likable idiot.

Felix’s fingertips landed on “Jiang Cheng’s” face. He remembered exactly where the kiss had landed, so he found the spot with ease. Keeping his fingers there, Felix lowered his head, his breath drawing close, and pressed another kiss onto “Jiang Cheng’s” cheek. It was still light as a feather, leaving no mark.

A likable idiot can be kissed more often, Felix thought, lightly patting the other side of “Jiang Cheng’s” face.

Then, he pulled “Jiang Cheng’s” palm toward him and wrote two words, stroke by stroke:

 Reward.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.

“Jiang Cheng” felt his heart beating wildly, both inside and outside the screen.

This is the Duke’s reward for me, “Jiang Cheng” thought, feeling light-headed with joy.

His “sweet and delicious bread” had indeed won the Duke’s favor. This gave him some greedy, previously unrealistic ideas: perhaps if he were even better behaved, the Duke’s rewards would be even greater.

And so, that night, “Jiang Cheng” had a dream.

In the dream, there was a vast ocean.

He became an insignificant speck, tossing and turning in the surging seawater. The waves, one after another, were larger than he was, crashing down and covering him completely. But strangely, no sense of suffocation came; instead, he felt somewhat comfortable. The gentle seawater flowed slowly, soon enveloping him.

Under this pressure, he continued to sink. In the depths of the ocean, the restlessness in his heart was smoothed away. He felt the power of the sea. When he opened his eyes, he saw beautiful coral, schools of fish, and mermaids playing with their tails. Finally, he saw a witch hiding in a sea cave.

With a pitch-black cloak, a blurred face, a strange tone, and a staff glowing with an eerie light, the witch looked grim. She said she could grant his wish.

What was his wish? He couldn’t help but think of certain fantasies, countless joys that flooded his mind at once.

The witch let out a hoarse, unpleasant laugh, and the eerie light from her staff fell upon him. For the first time, he felt a sense of distress. His throat was held in a death grip. In his struggle, he heard the witch’s voice, crying and laughing at once:

“I can, my dear child.”

In the early morning, the giant Felix Cheng woke up in the elf’s attic. Unable to turn over easily, he had to sit up hunched over, letting out a deep sigh.

Going back to yesterday: after enjoying a sumptuous lunch, Felix had suggested heading to the Kreegan Forest immediately. But no matter what he said, “Jiang Cheng” hadn’t responded.

It was very strange. Felix poked “Jiang Cheng’s” frozen, smiling face, wondering if he had been cursed by the Dark Wizard. Does that happen too? Felix couldn’t help but wonder. He began to recall how, back at the manor, Jiang Cheng was always incredibly eager whenever he appeared.

No, that wasn’t right. In the manor, they weren’t inseparable like they were now.

Felix felt a bit angry, but a passing elf told him that Jiang Cheng was simply exhausted; he had been pushing his body to the limit just to stay by Felix’s side.

Elves didn’t lie. Felix felt a tiny bit happy.

At the elf’s friendly invitation, Felix decided to rest in the attic for the night. Firstly, Jiang Cheng needed rest, and secondly, Felix had escaped in such a hurry that he didn’t have a single gold coin to hire a carriage for the long journey. As the only “noble” in this remote town, Felix would never allow himself to wander the streets.

He just hadn’t expected the elf’s attic to be so small.

The attic was at the very top of the bakery. It was originally the canopy of an ancient tree, but the elf had cast a spell so that people wouldn’t notice anything unusual. However, inside the attic, there was no disguise.

The curved walls were naturally woven from flexible branches, emitting a fragrance unique to nature and shrouding the narrow space in a lush green hue. All the furniture was impossibly tiny; to make room for Felix and “Jiang Cheng,” everything had been pushed into the corners.

The elf, worried they might get cold at night, hummed a tune and cast a spell to turn soft flowers into a mattress and duvet, even folding them to make pillows. Felix really liked this environment. He made a mental note: once he regained his freedom, Duke Felix Cheng would build a little treehouse of his own, in a very, very high place.

Ding-dong.

A crisp bell rang from somewhere. Felix, who had been propping up his chin and fantasizing about his treehouse, snapped back to reality. He looked at the still-sleeping “Jiang Cheng” and gave him a smack.

“Get up,” Felix said into his ear. “A sincere admirer should wake up earlier than his Duke and prepare a delicious breakfast.”

Felix didn’t expect him to hear. He tirelessly and lightly patted “Jiang Cheng’s” face over and over, and finally, he began to knead it with force. He had wanted to do this for a long time; “Jiang Cheng” always liked to use this face to make all sorts of vivid expressions. A dignified Duke wouldn’t do such a thing, but he could do it secretly.

“Mmm.”

“Jiang Cheng’s” cheeks were squished together by Felix, forcing his mouth into a pout. “Mmuu-mmuu.”

Is he waking up? Felix pursed his lips, a bit dissatisfied. He hadn’t had enough fun yet. Maybe I should knock him out and keep playing.

Just as the thought occurred to him, “Jiang Cheng,” lying on the petal mattress, seemed to sense something. He opened his eyes dazed, and the first thing he said was: “Your Grace.”

Well, he was definitely awake.

Felix sat back in his own spot, his face devoid of emotion. “Since you’re awake, get up quickly. Don’t be like those lazy bums.”

His Grace the Duke was a bit hungry.

“Huh?”

Jiang Yi let out a sluggish sound. Can I hear the Duke speaking? Still not quite awake, Jiang Yi lay there quietly with his hands folded over his stomach. Did I level up for no reason? Or did I get some powerful item from meeting the elf?

“Hey, what are you thinking about?”

Felix was dissatisfied with being ignored. Jiang Yi’s eyes snapped wide open.

Whoa! I can hear the Duke speaking! This thought instantly filled his brain. He couldn’t think of anything else; he just wanted to get up quickly and talk to his Duke about everything.

Thump!

Jiang Yi sat up, and his head slammed squarely into the roof, leaving a bright red mark on the spot.

“Ow! It hurts, it hurts!” Jiang Yi cried out, clutching the wound tightly. His mouth hung open slightly as he hissed through the pain.

“Idiot, why are you so clumsy?”

Felix was once again amused by the dim-witted tutor. He leaned over, moved Jiang Yi’s hand away from where he was recklessly pressing the wound, leaned in, and gently blew a breath onto the red, swollen area.

The Duke was so close to him.

Jiang Yi’s displaced hand had nowhere to go, so he eventually placed it on his own collar, clutching it tight. Belatedly, he realized something.

The Duke’s breath was so gentle, brushing over his wound; he couldn’t feel any pain anymore, only a ticklish sensation within his tolerance.

Wait pain? I feel pain. This realization was too… too startling. Jiang Yi froze in place. He lowered his head and looked at his own hands. Because he had spent so long typing, there were thin callouses on his hands and on these hands, the callouses were in exactly the same spots, like a 1:1 replica.

Jiang Yi sucked in a breath and instinctively pinched his own hand.

It hurt. He could actually feel the pain. He wasn’t dreaming.

And he wasn’t daydreaming either.

He had… he seemed… he might… he had probably entered the game world. No, this was the real world. In his heart, Duke Felix Cheng was forever real.

He had arrived in his Duke’s world.

Jiang Yi’s breathing suddenly grew rapid.

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