The Protagonist and the Villain Both Kissed Me [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 12

“However, what?” Su Xi was listening with rapt interest when System 1368 suddenly went silent.

“However… ‘I still prefer his arrogant, fox-vowing-the-tiger’s-might persona. When I changed his clothes today, I saw that his waist is very thin and his legs are very long. I want to—’”

System 1368 hesitated for two seconds before reciting the latter half of Duan Cheng’s diary.

Praising me? Uh…

Su Xi nearly choked on a mouthful of rice. He quickly set the lunch box down, covering his mouth as he coughed violently, his eyes turning red from the strain. Duan Cheng set aside what he was doing to pat the boy’s back. A glass of water appeared in Su Xi’s line of sight; he grabbed it and downed half the glass before finally recovering. When he lifted his eyes to meet Duan Cheng’s gaze, he found he could no longer look the man in the eye.

Duan Cheng’s salvation value is only at 60, isn’t it? Are these things one should be saying at only 60?

“Feeling better?” Duan Cheng reached out to wipe the tears from the corners of the boy’s eyes, asking with concern.

Su Xi swallowed the water and waved his hand to indicate he was fine. He leaned back against the soft pillows of the sofa, pondering where he might have gone wrong.

In his memory, the man shouldn’t have this personality. The world data the system gave him clearly recorded the details of the protagonists and important supporting characters, he had studied them for a long time. There was the cold and indifferent Fu Heng, the gentle yet strong Li Huai, the roguish and handsome Jiang Wenyuan… and the arrogant, overbearing himself. Then, there was the solitary, gloomy villain: Duan Cheng.

“I’m fine now.” Su Xi held down the hand trying to touch his face. As if thinking of something, he changed the subject: “Has anyone been looking for trouble with you lately?”

Before he had intervened, there were no shortage of people looking to bully Duan Cheng; after all, that was the standard path to provoke a villain’s rapid growth. But that wasn’t happening now. Since he had prevented the conflicts between the man and the likes of Fu Heng and Li Huai, the main plot should have changed, right?

“No.” Duan Cheng’s eyes darkened slightly as he tossed the messy plastic packaging into the trash.

“What about Fu Heng…” Su Xi realized he had misspoken the moment the words left his mouth. He cautiously looked up to observe the man’s mood. Fortunately, Duan Cheng didn’t seem angry.

Duan Cheng said calmly, “He treated you like that, and you’re still thinking about him?”

“I was just asking casually. He’s annoying; I won’t spare him a thought,” Su Xi muttered. To make his words more convincing, he brought up his communicator to show Duan Cheng the results of half an hour’s work. He showed it off proudly: “Look, I’ve blacklisted all his contact info.”

“Mm.” Duan Cheng nodded without saying much.

“Aren’t you going to reward me?” Seeing that the man remained cold, Su Xi leaned in dissatisfaction. Looking at the man’s unruffled appearance, he thought to himself that he had to stimulate Duan Cheng; otherwise, the mission’s progress would be too slow.

But as someone who “forgets the pain once the wound heals,” he quickly regretted it.

Pinned against the sofa, Su Xi cried out in a panic, “I want to eat, I’m hungry!”

The few shrimp dumplings from the morning hadn’t been enough. He had only eaten a little of the meal just now and was still starving. He looked longingly at the lunch boxes on the table, then at Duan Cheng. His mind flashed back to the diary entry the system had just read, and he felt a momentary daze.

Unbeknownst to him, in Duan Cheng’s eyes, this distraction meant he was thinking of another man even while they were together. The man’s brow furrowed slightly as he whispered suggestively in the boy’s ear, “Do you know about the differentiation period? If I become an Alpha, I can mark you.”

“It’s okay… even without a mark, I’ll stay by your side.” Su Xi knew that in this world, aside from the temporary mark of biting the gland, there was also a permanent mark. But when reading the data, he thought it looked very painful. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to try it.

After pulling the man close and professing his sincerity for a while, he finally got to touch his fragrant lunch box again. The sweet and sour pork ribs were rich and delicious, leaving a lingering aftertaste. He finished his own portion with gusto, then cast his gaze toward the unopened lunch box in front of Duan Cheng.

Duan Cheng wasn’t particularly hungry either. Seeing the boy eating like a little hamster, he gave a light chuckle and pushed his own lunch toward him.

Seeing that the boy seemed to be holding back out of politeness, the man took on the role of a diligent servant, picking out food and pouring water for him. Half an hour later, a full and satisfied Su Xi leaned lazily on the sofa, narrowing his eyes in contentment.

The food in this lunch box tasted much better than the takeout near his home. Thinking of the expensive and slow takeout, he felt a bit annoyed. If he hadn’t happened to order noodle soup that day, he wouldn’t have run into that lunatic in the middle of a rainstorm.

Su Xi was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the strange look Duan Cheng was giving him.

The registration for the special school activity was ending today. Su Xi had looked into the arrangements beforehand; essentially, a group of students would be taken to a deserted forest to complete designated tasks, surviving for seven days before returning.

Before the registration deadline, there was a broadcast notification encouraging students to participate actively to exercise their physical and mental resilience. The bright hall was bustling with people, and the lounge area was so crowded there wasn’t a single empty seat.

As Su Xi frowned in distress, someone nearby who had been watching him immediately stood up. “Su Xi, sit next to me.”

Since there was a place to rest, Su Xi naturally wouldn’t refuse. He headed toward the empty seat but was suddenly interrupted by a surprised female voice.

“Su Xi!” Qiu Qi’s voice rang in his ear.

Su Xi saw her familiarly hook her arm through his and instinctively pulled back, greeting her, “What a coincidence.”

“Where’s Duan Cheng? Isn’t he with you?” Qiu Qi asked curiously.

“Him? I don’t know where he went.” Su Xi pretended to think seriously for a moment before adding, “He probably went to the training room. I was feeling bored, so I came out for a stroll.”

Qiu Qi’s eyes lowered slightly as she held the freshly received itinerary. “Ah, I see.”

“You seem very concerned about him. Do you like A-Cheng?” Su Xi was wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt and casual pants today, making his exposed skin look even fairer. His deceptive appearance was harmless and pure, like a refreshing iced drink in the middle of a scorching summer.

“No, no.” Qiu Qi quickly waved her hands in denial.

Su Xi nodded and didn’t press further. His gaze fell on the itinerary in her hand, which clearly marked several precautions for the activity. He asked softly, “Can I see that?”

“Of course.” Qiu Qi froze for two seconds before reacting. She smiled and was about to hand it over, but someone else beat her to it, placing the document in front of Su Xi. She turned to see it was the person sitting next to him.

The itinerary clearly stated that the activity would take place in a desolate forest. The school would only provide three days’ worth of supplies; for the remaining four days, the students were on their own. Within the seven days of survival, they had to find specific gemstones. In case of emergencies, they could withdraw using their wristbands. After seven days, supplies would be settled and scores tallied. The person with the highest score would earn the privilege of practicing with the military for half a semester.

Rewards for second place and below decreased progressively.

“So it’s basically Wilderness Survival?” Su Xi sighed somewhat melancholily.

He was truly making a huge sacrifice just to grind Duan Cheng’s salvation value.

“Don’t worry, the teachers will be watching the whole time. Nothing will happen,” Qiu Qi consoled him in a soft voice, sensing his thoughts.

The boy sitting on his other side had red-tipped ears. After a while, he joined in: “Yeah, everyone will look out for you.”

“Look out for me for what?” Su Xi blinked in confusion.

The dense crowd blocked many views. Duan Cheng stood by a large support pillar—the dimmest corner of the bright hall. He watched Su Xi being surrounded and coaxed by several people, a dark, complicated emotion flickering in his black eyes.

Seeing that Su Xi was almost pressed against the person next to him, he finally stood up and walked toward the lounge area.

“Su Xi,” he called out.

Su Xi was listening to stories with great interest and didn’t react immediately when he heard Duan Cheng’s voice. He froze for two seconds before quickly standing up. “A-Cheng, why are you here?”

“You didn’t want me to come?” Duan Cheng countered instead of answering.

“No…” Seeing that the atmosphere around Duan Cheng had turned a bit cold, Su Xi hurriedly walked over and took the man’s arm, explaining, “I thought you were going to stay in the training room all afternoon.”

Hearing the explanation, Duan Cheng’s expression softened. His gaze swept over the boy who had been sitting very close to Su Xi. “Your friend?”

“Mhm, just met.” Su Xi didn’t catch the anomaly in the man’s tone and excitedly pulled Duan Cheng to introduce his new friend. “Jiang Xiaoxiao. He just told me a lot of interesting stories I’ve never heard before.”

Duan Cheng glanced at the name tag on Jiang Xiaoxiao’s chest, then calmly looked away. He said in a flat tone, “Let’s go.”

“Ah? But I haven’t finished… alright.” Remembering his mission target was Duan Cheng, Su Xi naturally couldn’t make him angry. He suppressed his curiosity and nodded obediently.

Duan Cheng conjured a few grape-flavored candies from somewhere and placed them in Su Xi’s hand. He led the boy away from the crowd, exiting the hall and heading up to the library on the second floor. He didn’t let go until they reached a relatively secluded corner.

The library wasn’t very crowded, and it was so quiet that even a pin drop would be audible. By the bookshelves, Su Xi’s gaze lingered on the various volumes, they were all about Imperial psychological investigation. He felt sleepy just looking at them.

“A-Cheng, why aren’t you saying anything?” After a while without hearing a word from the man, a sense of unease welled up within Su Xi. He pursed his lips and took the man’s hand.

Duan Cheng’s hand was very cold. Su Xi instinctively wanted to let go but forced himself to keep holding on. Meeting the man’s calm, unruffled gaze, he didn’t know what he could do to make him happy.

“Come home with me tonight, okay? I’ll introduce you to my parents.” Su Xi’s butterfly-wing-like eyelashes trembled as he tentatively observed the man’s face.

“Next time.” Fearing Su Xi would be disappointed, Duan Cheng reached out and stroked the boy’s soft dark hair. He explained, “I’ll go back with you on your birthday.”

“Okay.” A smile touched Su Xi’s eyes; he wasn’t unhappy about being refused.

Ding-dong! Congratulations, Host. The salvation value has reached 65.

System 1368’s cold notification rang out at the perfect time.

Su Xi lowered his eyes to hide his thoughts. He stayed in the library with Duan Cheng for several hours. While the man read intently, Su Xi rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window, lost in thought.