The Gloomy Paper-Man Came to My Door to Pursue His Love - Chapter 26

Qin Fei wore an apologetic expression. “I am sorry, I did not hear you clearly just now. Would you be willing to repeat that?”

He had not ignored him on purpose.

Xi Li stared into Qin Fei’s eyes. For a moment, Xi Li actually wanted to repeat it. He even wanted to say more.

The birth of an S-class Alpha had once caused a sensation throughout the galaxy. The Empire had sounded the clarion horns usually reserved for great battlefield victories to show disdain for other nations. In the arena of interstellar warfare, the primary weapon was mental strength. Mental strength could pilot mechas and suppress enemies.

The Little Prince was a natural God of War.

The mental strength of an S-class Alpha was so formidable that he was invincible on the battlefield. Through mental suppression alone, a single S-class could crush tens of thousands of ordinary Alphas. Furthermore, he piloted a mecha powered by energy core crystals, which were energy cores harvested from the cosmic rifts. A tiny shard of crystal, no larger than a fingernail, possessed enough power to destroy everything in its path.

Little Prince Xi Li had indeed used his immense mental strength to conquer planets and star systems for the Empire. His achievements were glorious, his followers were numerous, and his name was known to everyone in the galaxy.

But that mental strength had also become a double-edged sword that could harm him at any time.

During the years he spent expanding the Empire’s borders, Xi Li used his mental strength almost without restraint. After the Empire’s territories were stabilized, although the Little Prince no longer used his mental strength as frequently, he refused the soothing of an Omega. Suppressants were useless for him. He had to spend every susceptibility period inside a cage made of reinforced steel, and during those times, no one dared to approach him. By the time the period passed, the cage would be nearly deformed.

Under the banner of acting for the good of the Empire, the Marriage Bureau had collected Xi Li’s pheromones.

Xi Li had scoffed at the idea. Badis relied on the First Prince for promotion and likely wished that Xi Li would suffer a backlash from his own mental strength and drop dead. Meanwhile, the Emperor had grown increasingly wary of him over the years. Such wariness was justified; Xi Li had wanted to kill his old man since he was three years old. In the current Empire, the military and the government were ruled separately, and far too many people coveted the three major military districts held in his hands.

Therefore, when the 100% compatibility result with Qin Fei came out, his instinctive reaction was that it was another filthy trap, especially since Qin Fei’s surname was Qin. He never believed his pheromones could reach 100% compatibility with Qin Fei, and the message Qin Fei sent happened to arrive during his susceptibility period.

He had not expected that they truly shared 100% compatibility.

However, even with 100% compatibility, there were many complications. Perhaps those people had known all along and were just waiting for Qin Fei to easily take control of him.

But he had heard it. He had heard the voice of Qin Fei’s terminal. Every word was clearly imprinted in his mind.

Perhaps because the programmer had cracked his code camouflage, or perhaps because the intimacy bar was full, Xi Li wanted to pluck Qin Fei out of the mud. He had indeed done so. Not only that, he also wanted to ask Qin Fei what he had intended to discuss in that message.

But he could not ask. Just as he could not answer Qin Fei now, asking would expose his identity, and answering would do the same.

Yet Qin Fei was waiting for him patiently. Xi Li tightened his palms slightly. His mind was a bit of a mess, and he tried to sort through his thoughts.

The invitation letter was still on the coffee table outside. Qin Fei had such a strong reaction to just the single character Li. Xi Li carefully stole a glance at Qin Fei, thinking of the 250 posts about himself on Qin Fei’s Starblog and the many messages Qin Fei had sent him.

He had previously misunderstood that Qin Fei approached him with an ulterior motive. Was it possible he had also misunderstood Qin Fei’s feelings for him? Perhaps the content Qin Fei posted and those messages were genuine. Like the romantic line “I see you clearly,” the sentiment was so subtle that he had misread it.

Did Qin Fei like him too? If he did not like him, he would not have had such a violent reaction to a single character.

At this thought, Xi Li’s heart began to race. He had not forgotten the ring Qin Fei had swiped to the floor, which seemed to suggest that Qin Fei also harbored misunderstandings about him. If those misunderstandings were cleared, he and Qin Fei could be together.

Xi Li’s heart beat so hard it felt as if it did not belong to him. An emotion rapidly sprouted and grew into a sturdy tree within a few breaths. He identified this emotion as anticipation. Although he had never felt anticipation before, he recognized it accurately.

Amidst the thumping of his heart, he realized clearly that he wanted to be with Qin Fei.

“I said just now,” Xi Li’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The usually decisive Prince Xi Li did not dare to voice his inner thoughts recklessly. He knew he had caused harm to Qin Fei and did not know how deep Qin Fei’s misunderstanding of him ran.

Actually, he should not say anything now. It was not a good time at all. Xi Li tried to endure it. But if the seed had not been planted in his heart long ago, how could it have grown so wildly today?

Xi Li was still not good at patience. He spoke up, inquiring indirectly, “Your reaction earlier, and saying you mistook me for someone else. Am I very much like that person? Do you care deeply about the person you mistook me for?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xi Li saw the smile on Qin Fei’s face fade.

The emotions that had been suppressed out of concern for Xi Li’s abnormal behavior returned to Qin Fei’s face. Soon, there was not a trace of a smile left on Qin Fei.

Qin Fei said, “I am going offline first.”

As the action of Qin Fei disconnecting flashed through his mind, Xi Li instinctively grabbed him. He pressed down on Qin Fei’s shoulder once again. Because it was sudden, he had not chosen his grip carefully. His palm landed on Qin Fei’s shoulder near the neck, so close that he seemed to feel the warmth of that slender neck.

Qin Fei looked up at him.

Xi Li said in a low voice, “Do not go.”

Qin Fei explained good-naturedly, “Sha Bei, I cannot accompany you right now. My mood is not good.”

“I know,” Xi Li said. “I will take you somewhere.”

Afraid that Qin Fei would not agree and would leave right before his eyes, he watched the man intently and did not withdraw his hand.

“Where?”

“A place to relax your mind.”

He was responsible for causing the bad mood, so he had to take responsibility. If possible, he wanted to take responsibility for the intentional neglect and coldness from before as well. Fortunately, Qin Fei gave him the chance.

He was his 2D character after all. Qin Fei relented, nodded, and said, “Alright.”

Xi Li had spent enough days in this romance game to fully understand its mechanics. To put it simply, no matter how vast or lifelike the game was, it was all data, and he existed in this game as a flow of conscious data. To prevent the game program from tracing a massive anomaly, Xi Li directly blocked the data signals for himself and Qin Fei.

Then, he led Qin Fei out of the bedroom and through the living room. As they passed through the living room, Xi Li pointedly looked back at Qin Fei. Qin Fei glanced at the invitation on the table. After a slight frown, his expression smoothed out.

Xi Li led Qin Fei to the window and pushed it open.

Qin Fei looked outside. “This is?”

Xi Li said, “The training grounds.”

Xi Li had overwritten the original scenery outside the window with his own data. The new data was generated from Xi Li’s own memories. It mimicked the busiest training ground in the First District, the same place where he had once thrown Badis before releasing the mutants.

Qin Fei saw rows of slogans hanging on the training ground fences, such as “Forge Ahead,” “Mission Must Be Accomplished,” “Will of Steel,” “Fearless Advancement,” “Loyalty and Responsibility,” and “Elite Soldiers and Strong Generals.”

As Qin Fei read them aloud, Xi Li looked toward the edge and saw the words “First District” carved into the last board. He quickly erased it.

“Tempered into Steel, Protect the Home and Country, Iron-Blooded Military Soul, Invincible in Battle.”

Qin Fei finished reading. Having not seen the “First District” sign, he looked at Xi Li in confusion. Xi Li braced himself on the windowsill, leaped out, and landed lightly on the training ground outside.

Immediately after landing, Xi Li cursed under his breath. He forgot the game gave him a room on the second floor.

Actually, the height of the second floor was not that great; it was not even as high as the hurdles on the training ground. If a soldier were to fall from a hurdle, even if they were seriously injured, they would receive a scolding from the Little Prince. He would say that only a useless waste would be scared by this height. If they tried to explain, they would receive an unquestionable glare from the Little Prince. Why would you fall if not for fear? Was it physical weakness? If you are weak, you should not be in the military district.

Xi Li was not thinking that way now. He quickly turned around and saw Qin Fei climbing onto the window as well. Xi Li’s heart tightened. Truly afraid that Qin Fei would fall, he darted to the window in a single stride.

Qin Fei looked at the ground. It was a bit high.

Xi Li asked, “Are you afraid?”

Qin Fei shook his head. “I am okay.” He was eager to try because he had never climbed out of a window before.

“Slow down,” Xi Li watched Qin Fei intently. Without realizing it, he had spread his arms in a gesture to catch him. “Do not flip out like I did. Do not use your palms to support yourself on the windowsill because it is easy to scrape them.”

“Stand on the sill first. Do not jump too high, as it is easy to sprain your ankle when you land.” Xi Li did not blink. “Bend your knees. Yes, jump lightly. Maintain that posture when you land.”

Following Xi Li’s instructions, Qin Fei bent his knees. He looked at the ground again. “What if I cannot maintain the posture?”

Xi Li replied instantly, “I will catch you.”

“Alright.”

With that, Qin Fei jumped down. He fell right into Xi Li’s arms.

Xi Li was a man of his word. He caught Qin Fei, not even letting Qin Fei’s feet touch the ground.

Xi Li asked in a strained voice, “Are you hurt?”

In Xi Li’s memory, Omegas were far too fragile. Qin Fei still had red marks on his wrists. If he scraped his skin on the windowsill or got hurt anywhere, it might take many days to heal. He was so nervous that he forgot this was a game and that Qin Fei would not actually get hurt.

“No.” Qin Fei looked up at him. The negative emotions were gone, and he smiled again. “I was a bit nervous when I jumped, but my mind feels very relaxed. Thank you, Sha Bei.”

The person was right in his arms. Xi Li could see him by lowering his head slightly. Jumping out of a window was not the relaxation activity Xi Li had planned for Qin Fei; shooting mutants was. But he unexpectedly found that Qin Fei was very easy to coax.

Qin Fei said, “Put me down.”

But Xi Li did not move. He was reluctant to let go of the warmth in his arms and the view of Qin Fei from this angle. Did this count as an embrace?

His Adam’s apple moved as he looked at Qin Fei intently. The question he could not suppress earlier surfaced again. Did Qin Fei also have feelings for him, and was it only their mutual misunderstandings that kept them apart?

Qin Fei had not answered just now, but he could ask again. If he made Qin Fei unhappy, he could bring out the real relaxation activity to make him happy again.

“You,” Xi Li asked directly, “do you care about that person?”

He watched Qin Fei closely after speaking. However, the unhappiness he anticipated did not come.

Qin Fei was still smiling. He seemed to be in a good mood as he said, “I don’t care.”