Today was the final exam. They also took the national exam, which is a separate one that helps universities evaluate your worth, giving them more reasons to deny you even before you can even attempt to apply to them.
Mo Aini paid no attention at all, half-assing all his answers and vandalizing the desk with drawings of Hu Chuntian.
When you've already experienced a nightmare once, you don't get scared of it ever again. This also applies when you took the same test all once more.
He sometimes makes plans for increasing Mo Jiagei and Ma Jianyu's chance of Good Ending too. Plan A is to make her sister fall in love with the 'cowboy'/ prince-knight...
Which is highly impossible from the start.
So Plan B is to guess what pattern she would follow or not follow his cheat papers again, which is becoming a hassle since from the start of this route...
He had not earned a single Cupid Point.
Mo Jiagei is likely playing smart now. If she did not miraculously find a walkthrough to get a Bad Ending despite Shuaige itself preventing that from happening, she may be analyzing all her choices carefully now and picking the meanest.
(Juggling two big problems is hard.)
[Make that three.]
Mo Aini sat up from his desk when he heard that after laying down lazily and waiting for the exam time limit to finish. (What do you mean by that?)
[Once you graduate, the dorms will no longer be an available settlement for you. You would have to move out and lounge somewhere else.]
(Can't you just manipulate stats or whatever to get me a nice apartment complex or something?)
[We can't do that. Our apologies, User Mo Aini. It is not part of the Cupid contract, and it would make you too suspicious in the world.]
The 'Cupid' rolled his eyes from the obvious bullshit. (Don't give me that. What the fuck can't you do? You managed to possess my body not once but twice, turn a cashier lady into a soulless robot, and even make wrestlers I've never met believe I was their friend!)
(Just spit it out. You CAN help me, but you WON'T. Why not?)
The man behind the screen chuckled. "Well, why should I? Unless you act nicer to me, I don't really feel inclined to help you."
He made a few taps and the system said. [We could give you offers to turn your Cupid Points in exchange for things that they want.]
(Huh, alright then.) Mo Aini nibbled on his pen cap. [How much do I have at the moment?]
[190 Cupid Points. ]
[And how much do I need for the cheapest space you can find me?]
The system took a while to answer, showing him a loading screen, then said:
[10,000 Cupid Points.]
Mo Aini narrowed his eyes and sneered. (I knew it, you were just playing with me. Alright then, try to mess with me all you want. I'll just ignore anything shit you say from now on.)
The system immediately added before he can block up its voice in his head. [Wait, there is also another thing for the User. We can make your life so much easier in exchange for a favor.]
(Really? And what is that?)
[All the condo units and the mansions you want.... All the cars.... The riches..... We can give it to you in these worlds than we can control. Just move to another game. Let the system have a reboot and help Mo Jiagei get paired with the routes there.]
Mo Aini went silent for a moment. This made the man behind the screen have a slight tinge of hope that he is considering the offer.....
Before the user send them a mental image of him raising up both middle fingers. (I told you to stop even trying, when will you ever learn? I would never quit on Hu Chuntian even if you offer all the money in the world.)
(So fuck off. Have a nice day.)
Mo Aini had already learned to tune off the system from his head at will. He did this with a triumphant smile and took his things as the first batch of exams was over.
He went to the usual spot with Hu Chuntian, who was reviewing very carefully.
" Da Ge, what university are you going to after graduation?" Hu Chuntian asked as he settled his tray.
"Dunno. You?" He took a piece of meat with his chopsticks and offered it to Hu Chuntian, which the other ate.
He now served as Hu Chuntian's own private feeder so he could stay focused on studying while eating.
"Mo Jiagei is trying for Xingwei, and the acceptance rate in there is very low. I also heard from private connections that they don't accept bribes there, and base their applicants purely on academic performance." Hu Chuntian munched as he spoke.
The elder brother in Mo Aini cannot help but chide him. "Don't talk when there's food in your mouth. Look, you already started to choke. Here, drink some water."
The passersby can't help but stare a bit watching this man pamper this other grown-up man. Mo Aini just gave them the death glare, and they leave as if in a hurry for something.
He turned to Hu Chuntian. "So you're trying to get a good score on the exams so you would get accepted by Xingwei?"
"Yes, cough. That's the plan, Da Ge."
Mo Aini continued patting his back until he's okay. "Isn't this whole thing just troublesome for a delinquent like you who never took studies seriously? You can still be with Mo Jiagei without entering the same university as her."
"But I want to always be with her as much as possible. What if we did get together before college, but then someone tries to steal her from me once she gets to Xingwei? I can't allow that to happen." Hu Chuntian gripped his paper tightly, like he can beat up someone at any moment.
"I need to show everyone that they can never take her from me too, that she is mine. It's all for the sake of the future." The Tiger Emperor turned to him with his sincere blue eyes. "Shouldn't you be worrying about the future too, Da Ge?"
"The future...." Mo Aini slurped some soup. "Funny you should say that. The future is all I ever worry about, especially now. It feels so bleak and hopeless. But if you want to know what I worry the most about the future, it's.....Nevermind."
(What I worry about most is a future without you.) Mo Aini wanted to say.
Hu Chuntian stopped reviewing for a bit, and gave him a slightly concerned look. "Why do you think your future is hopeless, Da Ge?"
Mo Aini blurted out lies. "Oh, just you know. I'm already 24 and held back many times, and graduating feels surreal to me. I won't even have a place to stay at after this, my parents already kicked me out and my future career might be a homeless uncle on the streets—"
"You have nowhere to stay? Why didn't you say so before?" Hu Chuntian frowned. "You could have stayed with me. That way you could also tell your sister about how good it was to personally live with me, and give me extra points to her heart."
"Really? Hmm..... I'll think about it."
But deep inside, Mo Aini felt like he had just won a ticket to all the Disneylands in the world! He'll live with Hu Chuntian again!
----------------------
"A-Tian, where should I put my things?"
They were both wearing graduation robes and caps when they entered the mansion, with Mo Aini carrying a suitcase with him.
"In the guest room. It's on the first floor."
Mo Aini was hoping for the room right beside Hu Chuntian's that he had before, but he settled for this guest room where they first slept together (in a literal way) for now.
"Wait, Da Ge." Hu Chuntian pulled on sleeves before he entered the room. "Where are you going?"
"...To the guest room?"
"How did you know the guest room was there?"
Mo Aini scratched his head. "Oh, right! I just guessed."
The blond narrowed his eyes for a bit, but then shrugged. "Okay. You can join me for dinner later, the butler will call us out once it's ready."
Mo Aini relaxed once Hu Chuntian left, and close the door behind him. He laid in the familiar soft mattress and set the luggage without a care. He stared at the ceiling with an indecipherable expression.
He's back here again.
It feels so nice yet it also hurts.
All their happy memories from the previous world, it's all here, like ghosts that wouldn't leave him alone. Hu Chuntian is sharing the same roof as him, yet he feels so far away. He wanted to hold him like he used to, embrace him, tell him more than he had before about what he truly meant to him.....
"The album." He recalled, and rolled over to get it.
He did not open it ever since he got here, scared of what it'll do to him. He might break down if he did.
He was tempted to see himself and Hu Chuntian's former closeness, their captured moments, and hijinks with each other. Those things feel like eons ago, and he was even starting to doubt if such happiness in his life was real.
Hu Chuntian is really just too good to be true, and he knows that now.
He can easily lose him because he doesn't deserve him. This may be a rare stroke of luck that he had come upon after a whole life of crap, a piece of gold out of all the garbage.
He brought it back inside the luggage. He'll save them all for later once Hu Chuntian 4.0 had now remembered him.
Then once that happens, he might be so happy that he might even kiss Hu Chuntian right then and there... Maybe it will even evolve into something more than a kiss...
After all, his A-Tian is a very wild and naughty boy.
Mo Aini tried his best not to, but he remembered their first time together. It was so..... He can't explain it. Even the mere thought of Hu Chuntian's teeth had now sent shivers down his spine.
"You got to be fucking kidding me....." He grumbled as he looked down at his pants and saw that it was far too late not to 'relive' that moment now.
The night he lost his virginity to a Tiger Emperor.
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~BRIBE ME, PLEASE~
Ok, I'm getting desperate and pathetic so now I'm willing to accept bribes. I get jealous easily of other books that have a huge following and get sad everytime, thinking what's the point of writing if I feel like no one's reading/appreciate it.
1 NEW 5 star review with genuine feedback (emojis and just saying compliments doesn't count) - 1 extra chapter
100 comments in a week (only those with TEXT count) - 1 extra chapter
5 NEW people voting for my other books- (so invite your friends haha) -1 extra chapter dedicated to them
100+ votes in a week in any of my books - 1 extra chapter for all of them
Magic Castle and up - Burst update
If you love my stories and would want to read more of them, please show your support through one of these bribes. Thank you!