The Protagonist and the Villain Both Kissed Me [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 22

As an elite social academy, Qingling was equipped with every facility and shop imaginable. The coffee shop was not very crowded this morning. Su Xi found a quiet corner to rest, burying his head in his folded arms, his long, curled eyelashes trembling slightly.

“Xiao Ba, am I sick? Why am I so sleepy?” Su Xi asked System Xiao Ba in his mind, puzzled.

“Don’t worry, Host. I’ll scan you,” System 1368 replied. Less than two seconds later, it reached a conclusion. “Yes. You’ve been affected by a specific substance whose primary function is to make you instinctively rely on the holder of a particular unique fragrance.”

“What does that mean?” Su Xi blinked, not quite following.

“Simply put, you’ve been injected with a ‘binding agent.’ When you’re away from the person who carries the counter-agent, you’ll feel drowsy and lethargic. To alleviate this, you need close physical contact, like hugging or kissing,” System 1368 explained again.

This time, Su Xi understood. He said, syllable by syllable, “It’s Duan Cheng, isn’t it?”

He had wondered why his gland had suddenly become swollen and cool last time; it turned out Duan Cheng had tampered with him.

“Do you have a way to neutralize it?” he followed up.

“I do. Three hundred points,” System 1368 quoted clearly. “However, Host, your initial account only has five hundred points. I suggest you allocate them wisely.”

Su Xi thought about it and decided to let it be. He was leaving soon anyway, so he didn’t necessarily need to trade for the antidote. Besides, the only side effect was feeling sleepy, which wasn’t a big deal.

He let out a yawn and looked up at Fu Heng, who was returning with desserts. Su Xi’s eyes lit up instantly. On the patterned porcelain plates were pistachio strawberry cream cake, pear and citrus mousse, and a rose lychee tiramisu. They looked delicious enough to make his mouth water.

Fu Heng placed the cakes in front of Su Xi. Seeing the boy’s sparkling eyes, he suppressed a smile and placed a fork and spoon by his hand.

The flavors he had selected were all based on Su Xi’s preferences in his files.

Su Xi couldn’t wait to try the rose lychee tiramisu. The rich cream mixed with the delicate rose scent and the sweet lychee flavor erupted in his mouth, making him want to take another bite immediately.

“Delicious.” Contented, he picked up the nearby fruit juice and took a few sips through the straw. Noticing Fu Heng was just watching him in silence, he tilted his head and asked, “Aren’t you eating?”

“I don’t like sweets.” Fu Heng met the boy’s somewhat disappointed gaze. After a two-second pause, he picked up his fork and tried a bit of the mousse.

“Is it good?” Su Xi asked immediately after the man took a bite. In his memory, Fu Heng often bought chocolate. Moreover, back when Su Xi was “pursuing” him, he had sent the man plenty of desserts; Fu Heng had accepted them all and even occasionally sent return gifts.

So, Fu Heng had actually been quite good to the original owner. If the original owner hadn’t sought his own doom later on, his ending might not have been lavish, but it would have been decent certainly not that tragic.

“The taste is not bad.” It wasn’t that Fu Heng had never tried sweets, but previous experiences couldn’t compare to this. The sweet cream melted between his teeth, accelerating his dopamine secretion.

Su Xi arched an eyebrow and said with a smile, “Of course it’s good.”

These are all my favorite flavors, after all.

Su Xi and Fu Heng sat in the cafe for several hours. During that time, Su Xi took a short nap. Fu Heng sat patiently across from him, watching the boy’s peaceful features. Recalling the news he had seen the previous night, his turbulent heart finally found a sense of peace.

About half an hour later, more people began to arrive as afternoon tea time approached. Strangely, the shop remained very quiet; even orders were placed in hushed whispers. Following the crowd’s gaze, one could see an exceptionally striking youth sitting in the corner.

“Mm…” Su Xi opened his eyes muddledly. He had indeed fallen asleep. He looked at Fu Heng across from him, blinked, and asked, “What time is it?”

“It’s still early. Are you hungry?” Fu Heng glanced at the clock and responded calmly, reaching out to pour a glass of water for him.

“I have piano class this afternoon, so I’ll head out now.” Su Xi thought for a moment, remembering his schedule. Skipping class for no reason wasn’t a good habit. Besides, he needed to find Li Huai to discuss a few things.

Fu Heng looked at Su Xi, appearing to have something to say but stopping himself. After a long while, he spoke softly, offering to drop him off since it was on the way. The current Su Xi naturally wouldn’t refuse; he nodded and said that would be perfect.

In the corridor of the piano rooms, Su Xi said goodbye to Fu Heng and turned to enter. However, he spotted an uninvited guest at the door. He merely gave the person a flat glance before entering as if nothing were wrong. The piano teacher was already inside waiting for him.

The lesson began quickly without any unnecessary chatter.

Su Xi had indeed studied piano in his earlier years; otherwise, he feared he might truly get caught. He lowered his eyes, his fingertips lightly brushing the black and white keys as he began to play. The music filling the room was melodious and clear, saturated with emotion. His rendition of the Moonlight Sonata felt immersive and deeply moving.

The teachers assigned to him were relatively famous musicians. In their impression, Su Xi had barely attended any piano classes and rarely played. They had assumed his parents only hired them for prestige, so they hadn’t expected him to play so well.

When the piece ended, the room fell into a long, profound silence.

Only after a moment of processing did applause ring out.

“Splendid! It seems you were just playing around before; this is your true level.” One of the quicker-witted teachers hurried to praise him.

Su Xi, accustomed to flattery, remained expressionless. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. He made up a quick excuse: “I’ll practice by myself for a while. You all may leave first.”

Once they left, he relaxed his posture and leaned against the sofa in the lounge area. Frowning slightly, he said, “That was a close one. Xiao Ba, where’s Duan Cheng? Is he still outside?”

“Um… yes, Host. The sun is so strong out there; do you think he’ll get heatstroke?” System 1368 asked with concern.

“He’ll leave on his own if he’s hot. Besides, I can’t afford to be soft-hearted right now.” Su Xi’s eyelashes trembled as he continued, “When is the next plot point?”

Everything he was doing now was to complete the mission properly. If he went soft on Duan Cheng now, all his previous efforts would be for naught.

“Tonight. Li Huai has organized a small social gathering.”

“Oh? Then why didn’t he message me?” Su Xi arched an eyebrow in surprise, opening his communicator to find no messages from Li Huai.

“He probably plans to come find you in person. I can see him already.” System 1368 paused, clearly enjoying the drama.

Hearing the system, Su Xi looked out the window. He could clearly see Li Huai meeting Duan Cheng. The former had a deep frown and said something that made Duan Cheng’s face turn grim before the latter suddenly turned and left.

As Su Xi headed out, he ran into Li Huai, who was about to enter. He pretended to have no knowledge of what just happened. “Li Huai, why are you here?”

“There’s a party tonight. Come with me,” Li Huai stated his purpose directly.

“But I was very tired yesterday… I have no energy, I don’t want to go,” Su Xi said with a hint of regret. He leaned in toward Li Huai to observe the man’s expression, smiling and patting his head when he got the desired reaction. “However, since you’re the one inviting me, I’ll go.”

The disappointment on Li Huai’s face vanished like clouds clearing after a storm.

He glanced at the half-open piano room door. “I saw Duan Cheng just now.”

At the mention of Duan Cheng, the smile on Su Xi’s face froze, and his gaze turned cold. He took a few steps back, his tone filled with dissatisfaction: “Why do you and Fu Heng always bring him up? Do you want me to be close to him?”

He was clearly speaking out of anger. Li Huai immediately realized he had misspoken. He stepped forward to take the boy’s hand, stroking the silky skin as he apologized softly: “If Xi doesn’t like it, I won’t mention him again. Don’t be mad.”

Su Xi let out a light huff and turned his head away, though he still allowed the man to hold his hand.

The venue for the social gathering was originally supposed to be Night Encounter, but Li Huai clearly didn’t want Su Xi to come into contact with the people there, so he changed it to a slightly more secluded lounge bar. Bright lights illuminated the private room, and soft, ethereal music played slowly, dispelling exhaustion.

People were scattered about, playing games and chatting. Laughter rang out amidst the clinking of glasses.

Although Su Xi sat in a somewhat peripheral corner, everyone’s gaze was subtly fixed on him. He was dressed simply in casual clothes, but with a face like his, he was exceptionally eye-catching.

In the past, Su Xi mostly followed his own whims and rarely participated in such activities, as he saw no point in them. He would only occasionally accompany Li Huai or Jiang Wenyuan.

His gaze swept across the room, identifying several familiar faces whose blunt, undisguised looks landed on him. Su Xi glanced sideways at Li Huai. “Where’s Fu Heng?”

Li Huai’s hand holding a piece of cake paused. Su Xi used to like Fu Heng far too much. Having just fought the man, Li Huai disliked him from the bottom of his heart. However, out of consideration for Su Xi, he couldn’t very well not invite him.

“He’s probably busy. He said he had an important experiment today,” Li Huai replied with a made-up excuse. His gentle face remained expressionless as he picked out Su Xi’s favorite desserts for him.

Su Xi gave a muffled response, though it was unclear if he was actually listening. He accepted a macaron from the man; it had a refreshing pomelo scent and a sweet, light flavor. He unconsciously ate quite a few without drinking a drop of water.

“Didn’t Young Master Su always have that Duan Cheng following him? How come we don’t see him today?” someone asked, tactlessly bringing up the one subject that shouldn’t be mentioned.

The noisy atmosphere fell silent instantly. Just as someone was about to speak up to break the awkwardness, the closed doors were pulled open from both sides by a waiter. Everyone looked up simultaneously. Dressed in a cool gray suit with the top two buttons of his shirt undone, Fu Heng had rarely dressed this way, yet his expression remained as cold as ever.

The frown that had just formed on Su Xi’s brow smoothed out upon seeing the man. He was just about to stand up and head over when his hand was caught by the person sitting next to him.