When the Villainous Boss Acts as the Protagonist (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 36

He stood outside the elevator, the orange light overhead casting golden flecks of light among his black hair. Combined with that beautiful face, he was as radiant as a dream.

A dream that would shatter at a single touch.

“What’s wrong now?”

Chu Sicheng looked at Shen Ci, who remained silent in the elevator, staring fixedly at him. The tip of his tongue peeked out slightly, revealing an orange candy.

“It’s candy.”

He said, “Don’t worry, I don’t have a habit of eating random things.”

Chu Sicheng assumed Shen Ci’s daze in the elevator was due to him misinterpreting the scent in his mouth as the ointment, so he offered a specific explanation.

Shen Ci didn’t voice an opinion upon hearing this. He merely gave Chu Sicheng a silent look, then stepped out of the elevator and walked toward 3601.

To Chu Sicheng, the matter of the candy should have ended there.

However, as soon as they entered the room and Chu Sicheng—trailing behind—had closed the door, Shen Ci grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned him against the door.

“Is this how you used to please your former benefactor too?!”

The man’s voice was like tempered ice, making his dissatisfaction easily apparent. He didn’t actually care if Chu Sicheng had eaten anything strange; he was simply surprised by the boy’s passionate, direct kiss and, more importantly, wanted to know if the boy treated others the same way!

The candy wasn’t the point.

The kiss was.

Under the dim light, Chu Sicheng lowered his eyes slightly, meeting Shen Ci’s serious and stubborn gaze. He couldn’t help but let out a low laugh.

“Boss.”

He asked, “Are you jealous?”

Shen Ci’s fingers on Chu Sicheng’s shoulders froze instinctively. His beautiful peach-blossom eyes widened slightly at the question. He looked somewhat at a loss, but more than anything, he looked bewildered.

Jealous?

In the nearly thirty years of Shen Ci’s life, he had never experienced such an emotion. People at the top of the pyramid never need to please others. It could be said that as long as he was willing, there were plenty of people fighting for a spot in his arms. It was just that Shen Ci was unwilling; his upbringing didn’t allow for such entanglements.

Even so, countless people coveted the position by his side. Whether for business or personal gain, these people would greet Shen Ci with smiles the moment they met him, doing their best to perform and make a name for themselves in front of the Shen family heir.

So Shen Ci never cared if someone left his side, nor did he care who they had contacted before trying to please him. Because there were simply too many people wanting to be on good terms with him; if one left, another would take their place.

That’s how the world works: when you stand at a certain height, others only revolve around you.

Before meeting the boy in front of him, Shen Ci had never—and never needed to—experience jealousy, whether at home or in the world.

So, this was jealousy?

The feeling of anger at the thought that the boy might treat his former benefactor the same way… that was jealousy?

Why?

How could this be?

Why did a boy he had known for less than a week have such a profound impact on his emotions?

Shen Ci’s pupils shook slightly. The boy’s body heat transferred through the thin fabric of his clothes to Shen Ci’s fingertips. Bringing him back to his senses, he abruptly withdrew his hands from Chu Sicheng’s shoulders.

The movement was so fast it was as if he had been burned.

“No.”

Shen Ci denied instinctively. “I just wanted to investigate you thoroughly before signing the agreement.”

Chu Sicheng smiled. “Alright, if you say no, then it’s no.”

His tone sounded somewhat helpless, as if he were merely going along with the stubborn Shen Ci’s refusal to back down, which made Shen Ci a bit irritated.

But the boy seemed to see right through him. Before Shen Ci’s irritation could rise, Chu Sicheng continued:

“I’m not that casual of a person, Boss.”

“Pleasing someone is a behavior I only perform for a ‘kind person’ who is worth my effort.”

The boy reached out to smooth Shen Ci’s slightly furrowed brow, then gave him a grin.

“So, Boss, is there anything else you want to investigate?”

“Age, height, weight, length…”

Chu Sicheng reached out and pulled Shen Ci back toward him. The distance between them shrank further. In the quiet, dim entryway, through the thin fabric, they could even hear each other’s heartbeats.

One slow, one fast.

But both were powerful.

Shen Ci instinctively bit his lip. Amidst the boy’s increasingly flirtatious tone, he grabbed the boy’s wrists and pinned them back against the door.

“Who exactly are you?!”

The man’s gaze was sharp, filled with scrutiny as it landed on Chu Sicheng.

Fragmented.

It was too fragmented.

With every “investigation option” Chu Sicheng listed, the sense of fragmentation in Shen Ci’s heart grew. Even though the boy’s face was identical to the one in the investigative report, Shen Ci felt certain that he was not the Song Le’an from those pages.

A person’s appearance, build, and even voice can be forged, but their eyes and aura cannot lie. Shen Ci was certain that the Song Le’an who was with Li Yanzhe was definitely not the boy standing before him.

So, was it a replacement?

Or…

“What is your real form?”

Shen Ci didn’t like being lied to, and he hated interacting with a “fake” person even more. Especially when he was starting to invest real feelings…

His teeth bit the tip of his tongue, and his grip on Chu Sicheng’s wrists tightened further.

“I don’t like liars.”

He looked at Chu Sicheng, saying word for word, “If you are only acting this way to pique my interest, then I suggest you drop it.”

Chu Sicheng blinked.

“I don’t need you to pay back that million.”

Shen Ci took a step back, withdrawing from Chu Sicheng’s space. His voice was cold.

“But there is no longer a need for us to sign an agreement. After all, I have no interest in spending time with a fake person.”

Even if every aspect the boy had shown so far hit Shen Ci’s interests perfectly, the thought that it was all an act was like a bucket of ice water to the face. He felt cold from the inside out.

“So…”

Amidst Shen Ci’s growing coldness, Chu Sicheng’s ears twitched. His round, almond eyes tilted up slightly, like a cat watching its prey. Just as the prey was about to escape, he reached out and grabbed the tail that wanted to hide.

His fingertips wound the black tie around his hand, making his snow-white skin look dazzling by comparison. He pulled back the man who was about to leave. Before the other could declare the agreement void, he spoke:

“Then how do you know my current personality isn’t the real one?”

Shen Ci’s attempt to pull away faltered.

“Besides, you’re already interested in me. Can you really give up that easily?”

The tie was wound to the very top. Chu Sicheng pulled slightly, forcing Shen Ci close to him. Shen Ci’s instinctively raised gaze met the boy’s magical, unfathomable eyes.

“Can you guarantee that after leaving here, you won’t pay attention to my every move anymore?”

“…”

“I am who I am. Besides…”

His grip loosened, and Chu Sicheng released Shen Ci’s tie. The black “snake” slowly uncoiled. The hanging tie was like Chu Sicheng moving away from Shen Ci.

“…Is that really what you’re bothered by?”

Shen Ci’s eyelashes trembled.

Whether the boy was “performing” in front of him was something Shen Ci cared about. But he cared even more about whether the boy had been “performing” in front of Li Yanzhe.

If so, did it mean that in the boy’s eyes, looking at him was the same as looking at Li Yanzhe?

If not, that was even scarier—it would mean the boy’s feelings for Li Yanzhe were genuine, while his feelings for Shen Ci were merely a performance. Like a relationship, the current partner is always sensitive about the ex.

Shen Ci instinctively bit his lip, a gesture engraved in his bones that appeared whenever he was anxious or felt negative emotions. Pain keeps one awake and rational.

But this time, before Shen Ci could grow more awake, a dry palm suddenly gripped his chin. With a slight pull, as Shen Ci was forced to look up, a citrus scent with a warm breath landed on the lips that were nearly broken.

“I never kissed Li Yanzhe.”

Shen Ci heard the boy say, “In fact, besides you, I haven’t kissed anyone else.”

Chu Sicheng slightly extended the tip of his tongue, brushing over that deep tooth mark for Shen Ci, and simultaneously smoothing over the unease in his heart.

“Can you relax now, Boss?”

Chu Sicheng said, “If not, then if you regret it later, there won’t be a discount anymore.”

Shen Ci: “…You’re so sure I’ll come back to you after I leave?”

“That depends on you.”

Chu Sicheng took a step to the side, vacating the doorway, and smiled at Shen Ci.

“Why don’t you try leaving?”

The boy’s eyes curved, his smile bright and clean. His relaxed tone made it sound as if he were simply sharing a harmless joke with Shen Ci.

But Shen Ci felt a strange premonition that once he stepped out of this room, let alone a discount, he wouldn’t even have the chance to contact the boy again. The feeling was inexplicable and irrational. After all, right now, the boy was the one who needed money and was seeking help.

But…

The light by the entryway was turned on the moment the boy leaned against the switch. The warm white light fell over him, making him look like the lead in a stage play. A lead who didn’t need a supporting cast, who could attract everyone’s attention just by standing there…

Shen Ci’s fingers tightened and loosened. In the end, he couldn’t help but reach out and pull the person back.

“You’d better not be lying to me!” he said.

Chu Sicheng raised an eyebrow. “And if I am?”

“Then you’d better act for the rest of your life.”

A wet, hot sensation accompanied by a statement that sounded like a bet landed on Chu Sicheng’s lips. The man gripped his waist with intense possessiveness. Amidst the entanglement of tongues, the two stumbled from the entryway to the bedroom.

Dim lights, a swaying bed. In the extreme darkness of the night, intimacy bloomed layer by layer like roses on a vine.

However, tonight, not everyone was in a good mood.

A white ceramic cup shattered against the dark brown floor, spilling scalding tea. The surroundings were a mess, mirroring Li Yanzhe’s mood, which was at an absolute low point.

“You mean Song Le’an came out of that room, met Shen Ci at the elevator, and then the two of them went back into 3601 together?!”

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