And, that was how the three of them ended up sitting at the same table. Gu Jing felt like he was seated on a plate of searing metal. He shifted nervously on his seat, while the other two were analogous to statues with their straight postures and stoic expressions. Gu Jing really felt like he had done the wrong thing. Blame him for being too greedy, ah! He shouldn't have brought Lai Wenxing along if he knew that asshole would make the atmosphere so tense.
"Gu Jing, can you stop moving in your own seat like a monkey," Lai Wenxing asked, well, no, it was more like an order than a question, "Cute ass and all, but it's seriously distracting."
"Lai Ge, I'm really... really alright. You can go back now," an expression of great solemness was plastered on the baby-like face. It was somewhat of a comical sight, and Gu Jing literally had to clench his ass-cheeks to hold in the laughter. He felt the incoming round scratching at his throat. He nearly gave up, but got immediately turned off when he looked at Lai Wenxing's rugged, handsome face.
'Well, 10 points for handsomeness,' Gu Jing had already calmed down. He cleared his throat, and rapped his knuckles against the table, calling out 'Miss' towards one of the waitresses in a clear tone. One was coming their way. After achieved what he had wanted, Gu Jing tilted his head in Lai Wenxing's direction, with his chin raised in a disapproving manner.
"You heard what Kuanlin said," he cocked up an eyebrow, "At this point, what you're doing is coercion by staying with someone against their will. You are violating human rights by taking away that very right used to provide personal space. Ever heard of that, Lai Ge?"
'Hnnnnn...! I really sounded like a macho male lead. At this point, even I would fall for myself! I don't really approve of cheating characters, but since I'm Gu Jing right now, I'm an exception~ everybody loves me."
If the systems had faces of their own, a repulsed one could have probably been on its face as of right now. It stressed, "Host, don't let down your guard at all. You have to be in character all the time. This is a very important scene where the writers will highlight Gu Jing's terrible depravity. One of the waitresses here used to be his previous girlfriend."
"A-okay~ I'm on it, boss! No, wait, I'm the boss!"
"Ha.." Lai Wenxing stifled a laugh, he propped up his elbow against the table, exposing a very well-muscled arm, and leaned into his palm, his face tilted towards Gu Jing. The seating was arranged according to this plan—Gu Jing and Kuanlin sat opposite each other, and Lai Wenxing happened to be seated awkwardly in between the couple. Clearly, the restaurant workers also thought of him as a third-wheeler. It was Lai Wenxing himself who was so thick-headed he pretended not to notice the curious glances thrown their way.
Meanwhile, Kuanlin and Gu Jing were about to bury themselves in the carpeted floor out of shame.
"It's not like you're morally superior to me, Gu Jing, you playboy. Didn't you break boys' and girls' hearts every week? Stop acting like you're better than me when all of us gathered here today know that you're doing this to get into Kuanlin's pants."
"Lai Wenxing!" Gu Jing slammed his fist down onto the table. From the force, a fork had bounced off the table. The blond sighed, and he turned towards Kuanlin, a pitiful smile graced his face, the typical face of a white lotus. Gu Jing was enjoying acting two-faced. Now, he could see why all people did it.
"Lai Ge..." Kuanlin trailed off, his voice nasal and soft as if he were on the verge of tears. Gu Jing, a macho man, took notice instantly, and he unexpectedly tried to mediate the problem.
"You are going too far," Gu Jing said in a cold voice with no room for rebuttals, "I'm only allowing you to tag along with us because of Kuanlin—"
Kuanlin, who hadn't consented to anything that led to this situation, "...." He decided to keep his silence. Gu Jing looked endearing as he tried to put up a mature front when in fact, all three of them knew Gu Jing probably had been the most childish out of the trio, but out of politeness, and not wanting to ruin Gu Jing's moment, they didn't point it out. They just thought Gu Jing looked adorable as a mediator. Truly a gap moe!
"—so don't take advantage of my kindness. If your reason to tag along is to provoke me, and hurt Kuanlin, then go home, Lai Wenxing."
Lai Wenxing's eyes narrowed down. Gu Jing squinted right back at him, not wanting to lose. The fiery passion between two young teenagers, who were especially sitting so close, the arms of their chairs nearly bumping into each other, had a weird tension between them. It must have been Kuanlin who only noticed it, and the youth's eyes darkened. He had a clue to the real reason why Lai Wenxing was here.
Kuanlin must snip of the bud of a blooming flower before it could grow any further into something that was unnecessary. Kuanlin cut in smoothly, showcasing his excellent social skills contrary to the two, the 'mature' man and 'immature' man childishly bickering amongst themselves.
"The food hasn't arrived yet. Please refrain yourselves from doing anything excessive," Kuanlin eyed the people who were looking in their direction and turning back to whisper, or report back to their friends, "There are other people watching us. Conduct yourselves."
Gu Jing's jaw slackened. How unexpected! Kuanlin was acting mature. If Kuanlin had heard of Gu Jing's inner processes, then he would have felt offended that Gu Jing's impression of him would be lower than the sea level.
"Pfft," Lai Wenxing's eyes bore straight into Gu Jing as if wanting to dissect to find the innermost thoughts of the blond who had such a comical expression that Lai Wenxing thought Gu Jing would have been surely mocking Kuanlin if he didn't know Gu Jing was trying to court his best friend. It was quite funny. He had never seen such a expression of great disbelief on Gu Jing's face, though he wasn't the reason behind it.
"Flies are going to fly into your mouth at this rate, Gu Jing."
"...they're not," Gu Jing's face tightened after Lai Wenxing's comment. He didn't want to associate himself with someone who would give a hand in killing his character off in the future. No man wanted to die twice, even if it was technically not his real body, he should at least pay respects to the original Gu Jing's body, right?
The three quieted down after Gu Jing's last remark. They fell into an awkward silence, with Lai Wenxing mainly being the front-seat audience to Gu Jing and Kuanlin's lovey-dovey interactions. For example, Kuanlin had been feeling particularly thirsty, so he poured himself a glass of water. Soon afterwards, Gu Jing would grab the glass and press his lips onto where Kuanlin's lips had touched—goodness, Lai Wenxing didn't even know how Gu Jing could have been so accurate, but he was impressed—and Gu Jing would lick his lips as if showcasing his lewdness.
In short words... Gu Jing was overflowing with raging male hormones! And Kuanlin couldn't resist!
The outsider's view to this blatant display of affection could only be summed up with a single picture:
It was like his importance was tantamount to a speck of dust; unimportant and forgotten, and he could only blend in with the decorations of the restaurant. Before the couple could spread any more dog-food, a waitress sidled up to their desk, a customer-service smile plastered on her tiny, white face.
Lai Wenxing noticed the girl first, and the next thing he realized was that... this... wasn't this one of Gu Jing's exes? Yes, he wasn't ashamed to admit that he had his eyes on Gu Jing, of course, first out of skepticism. He couldn't trust Gu Jing, but the more his eyes followed him, his heart started to move as well. He waved towards the waitress, thinking that since she was one of the students at their school, he should treat her with minimum respect.
"Oh, is that you, Gu Jing?" The girl was the first to initiate the conversation. Lai Wenxing was totally ignored yet again.
Gu Jing, who had been so preoccupied with discussing about the type of meal they should choose with Kuanlin, was snapped out of the merry exchange. At a girl's voice, Gu Jing turned his head towards the waitress's direction with a pleased smile etched onto his face. However, as soon as his eyes laid upon the familiar silhouette, the smile fell flat.
'That's the one!' The system yelled inside of his head, 'She will be the one to spark something inside of Kuanlin... a deep rooted jealousy that he had never experienced before."
'Right...' Gu Jing had a feeling in his gut that was telling him that something was wrong, 'But, why are the lines so... casual? I thought Gu Jing was supposed to be indignant, and arrogant since the two of them ended on a bad note, but judging by her cheery reaction towards Gu Jing, and Gu Jing's lines... I don't even think they had bad blood with each other."
The feeling of a bad premonition lingered in his chest as he replied back to the waitress with an affable smile.
"Xiao mei, you seem to be doing well."
"That's right!" The girl beamed. Well, the original Gu Jing totally had a type. A black-haired beauty, about 170 cm in the very least, with prominent red lips and pale cheeks. That criteria also applied to Kuanlin. If not, how could someone like Kuanlin enter Gu Jing's peripheral?
"It's all thanks to senior that I'm better now. I'm really not joking. I've always wanted to thank senior... but alas, there were too many people around you. It's thanks to you that my brother is doing well. After all, you gave him a job at your father's company. He's now making money for the house. Of course... father is still trying to recover from his..."
Gu Jing was starting to sweat. Everything she was saying sketched him out to be a good person! That wasn't the facade he was going for. He was supposed to be the scummiest, the most brain-dead, and trashiest scumbag top. He wanted to bite off the system's head.
The script... he couldn't rely solely on the script. Gu Jing decided to take matters into his own hands. Also, his cute Kuanlin was trying hard, so he should give it his best shot as well!
"Really? I'm glad to see that you're doing well. It's been so long since I've last seen you around school, and you've only grown prettier. Send my best regards to your father, and brother," Gu Jing preened, the corners of his eyes deepened, feline-like and long, resembling crescent moons. He reached out towards the waitress as if trying to grab her hand, when suddenly another hand shot out from the front and intertwined with his hand, fingers laced together and fitted together like super glue. Gu Jing craned his neck towards Kuanlin, his smile stiffened.
"We would like to take our menus now," Kuanlin's heavy voice cut through like a butter knife. The three—Gu Jing, the girl, and Lai Wenxing turned to look at him with a sense of loss.
"Ah..." the black-haired beauty wilted, and it hurt Gu Jing's heart to see such a disheartened look on such an attractive face. But nevertheless, he had to steel his heart against carnal temptations! He had his cute Kuanlin beside him.
"I just..." the girl smiled, a hint of melancholy present in her dark eyes. Gu Jing noticed her fingers digging into the notepad, small veins faintly appearing on the backside of her hand. She continued in a diminutive voice, "I know that I'm nothing in your eyes, but I can't forget your help. Even if you treated me like a toy, it's undeniable that your selfishness has helped my family a lot. You gave my brother a job. There's so much I want to thank you for, Senior... but I'm afraid... I'm afraid I.."
"No need to pick on a girl, Gu Jing, Kuanlin. Sorry, xiao mei, my friends seem to be extra hungry today," it was now Lai Wenxing's turn to intercept, except that an accommodating smile graced his face. He turned towards the girl, kindly pointing out the picture of a set of ribs lathered in thick, dark-brown sauce, seemingly soy sauce, and bones and meat were positioned in a way that it was practically begging for people to eat it.
Lai Wenxing's eyes crinkled, "Junior, I know that you're grateful towards Gu Jing, but you can't keep loitering around our table. There are plenty of customers that are waiting to be served. On that note, I want this."
Gu Jing's eyes lingered on Lai Wenxing's Buddha smiling face. He could tell that Lai Wenxing was trying to mediate the tension between Kuanlin, him and the girl by politely shooing her away. Gu Jing peered down at his plate, though nothing interesting was really present on there. A hint of bashfulness crawled up his spine. Seriously... did Lai Wenxing think he had such a thick face to hand over his problem with his exes to solve? Those were his to solve, not Lai Wenxing's.
Fury dominated Gu Jing's instincts, and he suddenly stood up. The seat behind him scraped against the tiles from the fast action. The cry for help from his chair attracted eyes on him. Suddenly being attacked by the spotlight, Gu Jing breathed in a harsh breath.
'It's alright for me to disappear from the scene for a little while, right? I mean, even actors can get tired of playing their roles once in a while.'
'Well...' the system was hesitant. In fact, it didn't actually know the repercussions of vanishing from a scene since most hosts had chickened out of doing it, imagining a death sentence would be bestowed upon them, 'Host, I don't think it's a good idea. I don't really know what'll happen to you. I advise host—it's not wise.'
"Gu Jing?" Kuanlin called out softly. Registering his beloved Kuanlin's voice, Gu Jing snapped out of his trance. When he talked to the system, he would go motionless like a robot, his eyes distracted and his reactions unresponsive. It was like he was in a coma whilst standing up. It wasn't a wise thing to communicate with the system and disassociate with the world under so many eyes, but Gu Jing was too reckless to care. Even if he tried to not do that, he'd eventually end up doing it again, so there was no point.
"There are so many bugs here, sheesh," Gu Jing flawlessly lied through his teeth. He even went as far as to pat his shoulders as if showing off that he was serious. He sat back down on his seat afterwards. There was no way he was risking his chance at reincarnation just for a piss break. Sometimes, being cowardly was a virtue. He groaned inwardly. He really needed to take a leak! His thighs clenched together.
"I'll take whatever you'll take, Kuanlin," Gu Jing attempted to shoot heart eyes in Kuanlin's direction. It seemed to work, for the previously darkened look on Kuanlin's face cleared up like a sun peeking out from gray clouds.
"Then...!" Kuanlin nearly jumped out from his seat. He looked like he was on the verge of backflipping and reciting Shakespeare literary verses backwards while being blindfolded. Yeah, stupid comparison, but Gu Jing thought that perfectly fitted Kuanlin's reaction.
"Then, I would like to have spicy chicken..." Kuanlin flushed as if the thought of Gu Jing eating the same food as his made his heart clench and burst with euphoria.
Gu Jing tried hard to obscure the disbelief on his face. He smiled stiffly, eyes curved to hide the emotion within them. So... he, no, the original Gu Jing rented a place at one of the most luxurious, most well-rated, five-star restaurant only for Kuanlin to order spicy chicken? He didn't mean to criticize his beloved's preference, but there were a range of food from all over the world you could only eat at restaurants like these!
"Alright..." Gu Jing had to literally clench his butt-cheeks to stop his voice from wobbling, "Two spicy chickens, ribs, and wine. Domaine Leroy Les Beaux Monts, is it still in stock?"
"It costs at least 9000 yuan. There's no one that'll buy it except you," the black-haired beauty chuckled. Gu Jing never changed. He still spent money like it was water. Though it was a trait belonging to hedonistic rich brats, she would have been more shocked if he didn't waste his money. It was quite cute of him trying to impress his date. She had no hard feelings towards who those Gu Jing dated before her and after her, but of course, she would have liked it better if she was the one by Gu Jing's side, but she didn't want to be labeled as a gold digger, more so by Gu Jing.
In fact, Gu Jing only thought people associated with him for his assets. She wished he could see there were more people out there who saw past his money. What if she said it was her? Gu Jing probably would have laughed in her face and send her cash. She didn't want to be treated like a sugar baby by someone she respected, which was why she broke up with him in the first place. Her focus eventually landed on Lai Wenxing, and she noticed the familiarity of the emotion.
On Lai Wenxing's face, there was this familiar emotion, like an embankment, the suppressing, and the turmoil. She didn't know if Lai Wenxing noticed it himself, but he had such a longing expression plastered on his face. That look of yearning was directed towards the blond whose shoulders seemed to be trembling, an everlasting smile pasted on Gu Jing's face while the rest of his body was shaking like a leaf clinging onto a tree branch during autumn.
She knew that look. She could even empathize with it. It was the same face she would always make towards Gu Jing. How could she not understand? There was someone out there who would love, and cherish Gu Jing for who he truly was, but it was not her. On the other hand, Gu Jing did not notice Lai Wenxing's burning gaze, or he was purposefully trying to ignore Lai Wenxing's presence.
"Alright, I'll remind the chef to do it quick," she said, but no one paid attention to her words. She chuckled to herself, and slunk away to a different table.
Now, back to Gu Jing. He was still trying to make up excuses for Kuanlin's poor choice.
'He's still young, so he probably doesn't know what to choose. I mean, look at these words, who would even understand them, I don't!' Gu Jing scrutinized the unfamiliar foreign words on the menu below the lavish pictures of varieties of meals, 'System, do you think it's French?'
'It seems like it,' the system said pensively.
'No matter which perspective I use to think in a positive way,' Gu Jing wilted, 'Kuanlin's personality and my personality don't match at all. I guess opposites attract... right? I mean... looks over personality, I guess. Personality doesn't matter when it comes to dating as well as the other party looks as handsome as Kuanlin!'
'Host, you are trembling.'
'Since when did I start thinking of them as real people?'
'It's only because they're programmed to act like real people. Most hosts were tricked by their mannerisms which are akin to humans. But, they're not actual people, host, please don't be fooled and focus on farming misery points,' the system's voice was extra quaint. If it hadn't been speaking in his head, then Gu Jing probably wouldn't have heard it.
Silence settled between the three again. There was a tension that couldn't be dispelled analogous to placing a vase on the edge of the table. One wrong push and it could send the pieces scattering across the floor. Gu Jing wondered if the results would have been different if he had refused Lai Wenxing back then, but, he got too greedy. He thought he would be able to hit two birds with one stone, and provoke Lai Wenxing and rake in misery points at the same time.
'Sigh... what a fucking headache. Alright, alright, I get it! No need to stress about it so much,' Gu Jing almost melted and formed one with the chair.
"Gu Jing, who was that girl?" Kuanlin was the first to break the tranquility. That one, simple question made the hair on the back of Gu Jing's nape stand up. As if he had been electrocuted, Gu Jing's posture straightened up like a pulled back bow ready to fire.
This was his time to shine! Gu Jing's eyes burned with an unfathomable passion. It could really look misleading for outsiders, otherwise why would a man get excited by the mention of their ex—ones that weren't over them, of course! The thought of Gu Jing... giving his all towards a person that wasn't Kuanlin... Kuanlin felt the ache was so immense. Never had he felt before an emotion so strong and so vivid; an emotion called jealousy, and selfishness.
"My ex," as if he were a different person, Gu Jing immediately calmed down and replied nonchalantly. His gait was leisurely, and his entire form screamed, 'What's wrong with that?'
'Ding! +10 misery points!'
"Well, don't you seem too excited for a mere ex?" Lai Wenxing joked, adding fuel to the fire, unknowing of the increasingly darkening mien of his best friend. He elbowed Gu Jing in the ribs, and the blond shivered in response. His eyebrows scrunched together, and his lips parted. Lai Wenxing's aggressive actions paused, giving Gu Jing the ability to direct an especially thundered glare towards the male's direction.
"Really? Do I seem like that?" Gu Jing sneaked a glance towards Kuanlin. As expected, the little white flower had his head lowered, obscuring his expression, but Gu Jing could only envision the hurt. He shivered even more in excitement—hold on, he wasn't a sadist! What would the readers think of him if the author wrote him in such an preposterous way?
"Well, yeah," Lai Wenxing made a face that expressed as though Gu Jing were the biggest idiot, "Shouldn't you feel ashamed when you're blatantly showing favoritism towards someone you once dated while in front of your current date? What will people think of you, Gu Jing? Is it true that you really think with your dick?"
Gu Jing gnashed his teeth, a blue tendon popping out on the side of his temple. Well, Lai Wenxing wasn't doing anything wrong. In fact, he was helping him by pointing out Gu Jing's terrible qualities. However! However, could any man obediently listen on in silence while someone kept talking smack about them? Gu Jing wasn't a saint in the first place. He couldn't tolerate Lai Wenxing at all!
'This is your fault for being too greedy, Host,' the system decided to rub more salt into his wounds.
'WAAAAHHH. I'm sorry, gomensorry! Dui bu qi! I'll really try to fix it. And you also said you'd put your trust in me... I must show you just how reliable I am."
The system was unsure, but it could sense its host's sincerity, partly because it was inside of its host's head. Like that movie 'Inside Out,' the system couldn't avoid feeling its host's emotions as if it were its own. Most of the time, his host's feelings were indecipherable. Whenever he acted high and mighty and narcissistic, there was this underlying blue hue of emotion residing beneath the layer of bright yellow—as in 'happiness.' Its host really wasn't that happy as he seemed on the outside.
And, so what did Gu Jing do to solve the problem?
He ought to kick Lai Wenxing out! ^-^
That ended in this particular situation...
A hand slammed on the wall beside Gu Jing's head. The handsome face of a brown-haired male leaned in closer towards the one with the sparkling blond hair. Both the breaths of the two boys were on the same height and red clashed against blue. The two of them were like fire and water and the ends of a magnet; completely incompatible.
"Lai Wenxing!" Gu Jing spat out through gritted teeth. His sharp eyebrows were drawn together, his nose scrunched, and his long fingers were curled into a finger as if they were heart-sick and unwilling to detach from each other. Gu Jing raised his chin, eyes narrowed down haughtily and his whole bearing was asking for a fight.
"Are you acting like this because we're not in front of Kuanlin? You two-faced bitch. You knew I was going on a date with Kuanlin. You were stalking him, you sick fuck! Do you feel accomplished? Do you hate the idea of me dating him that much?" Gu Jing lifted his hand up to Lai Wenxing's face, the knuckles gently grounded into the cheek of the brown-haired boy as if it were the prelude to a harsh round of beating. And frankly speaking, Gu Jing's behavior towards Lai Wenxing since the very beginning had been asking for a beating.
"Hey," Gu Jing's voice grew heavier, and his actions brasher, "Just pretend like you don't know anything like you've been doing, hm? You've always been quiet. Why the hell are you barking here and there now? Bad dogs need beatings, don't you agree? That's the only way they'll learn. Lai Wenxing, mind your own business."
"You.." Lai Wenxing's hand beside Gu Jing's head clenched, the veins on the backside of the peerless white hand throbbed faintly. It seemed as if it took up all of Lai Wenxing's willpower to refrain from making Gu Jing's face look like a canvas painted black and blue and purple. Lai Wenxing finally sighed, his head dropping down before being raised again.
His voice dipped an octave deeper, "Gu Jing, I've been tolerating you for many years now, even when you treated me like shit, like I'm the most disgusting vermin in the world. But, you've crossed a threshold this time. I didn't ask you to target my best friend."
Knuckles turned into a warm palm, and Gu Jing cupped one of Lai Wenxing's cheeks. The other tilted his head as if he were leaning into the hearth that the blond provided, even if it came at a heinous price. But, the gentle caressing soon turned into light slapping as if testing the waters before Gu Jing outright retracted back his hand and slapped Lai Wenxing's face at full force. The strength of a high-schooler shouldn't be underestimated at all costs. Lai Wenxing's cheek stung, and a bright red palm print etched into his white skin.
"I hope this knocks some sense into your thick head, Lai Wenxing. I didn't ask for your permission. Kuanlin will be mine, and I don't need your approval for that. He's already head-over-heals for me. If I tell him to kill, I'm sure he would do that just for me. Now's your time to feel... feel the pain of losing someone precious to you."
For a moment, the world stilled, the background noises faded away to faint static noises. The air between them felt as if an anvil had been dropped; heavy and suffocating. Gu Jing's breath halted when Lai Wenxing's dim eyes met his again. The dark red was a hypnotizing pond of murky blood. Gu Jing's hand fell by his side, and his lips sealed into a straight line. He averted his eyes immediately.
"Kuanlin doesn't deserve this."
"Lai... mm!"
As soon as Gu Jing faced Lai Wenxing, the brown-head grabbed the sides of his face and pressed his lips hard against the blond's, taking the other by surprise. Lai Wenxing wasn't good at kissing, and neither was Gu Jing, even if he was made out to be the casanova, a person who couldn't go on a day without using his lower part. Perhaps, traits from his original life hadn't been replaced—Gu Jing was glad. Lai Wenxing's teeth knocked against his, and he experimentally licked the upper gums of Gu Jing's, finding that the act of exchanging spit wasn't that unpleasant.
It was so easy, way too easy to be swept up into someone else's pace. But, Gu Jing was determined to set his own. He propelled Lai Wenxing off him, sending the latter crashing butt-first onto the ground. The pavement of the back alleyway was made of stone. It was hard and cold.
Gu Jing came forth and grabbed Lai Wenxing by the collar, his fist high in the air, ready to come down at full force.
"You know that Kuanlin doesn't deserve this. He shouldn't be the one to suffer because of our poor choices back then. If you want to hear an apology, I'll say it right now."
Gu Jing thought he was going cross-eyed, and his practice of self-restraint cracked and before he could even fathom, Gu Jing's fist made collided with Lai Wenxing's cheek. Lai Wenxing was obviously stronger than him based on the prowess he showcased back in the classroom. Why wasn't he fighting back? Shouldn't he fight back?
'AGH. Everything's not going the way I intended! Why the hell is this buffoon not fighting back? Why is he saying lines that deviates from his original lines? What the hell is going on!?' Gu Jing's head was going to explode. And when someone couldn't rationalize their thoughts, they tended to act out things that they weren't meant to. As of now, Gu Jing just hit Lai Wenxing, and when he found that the taste of hitting was so satisfying, he continued to hit more. More and more as if trying to express his frustration with the slowly changing plot.
'Hyuk...! Say something... do something...'
'Lai Wenxing!' "Lai Wenxing!"
The familiar voice broke Gu Jing away from his psychotic trance. His fist paused mid-air and by the time Gu Jing had realized, his knuckles were stained with blood, blood resembling the pair of eyes that peered straight up at him wordlessly. Gu Jing released Lai Wenxing's collar, and the brown-haired boy collapsed onto the pavement.
"Gu Jing, what the hell are you doing!" Kuanlin scurried over to Lai Wenxing's side. His hands frantically grabbed at Lai Wenxing's face, wiping off the specks of fresh ichor with the pads of his fingers. Tears gradually streamed down his cheeks, and some color were regained to the pale skin.
Gu Jing's jaw slackened, his lips parted, but no sweet words flowed out. So, he closed his mouth.
'Ah... I wasn't meant to do that... Lai Wenxing was annoying me so badly. He couldn't say his lines correctly. So, I... before I knew it, I was already punching him...' Gu Jing's eyes seemed as if they had seen a ghost.
The system felt as if its host's emotions were too turbulent right now. It was like a wave of tsunami had crashed into it. Its host's emotions were too vivid, too strong, too overpowering. It was shaking up the system.
'Ding! +5 misery points!'
"I just hit him because he was an eyesore," Gu Jing rubbed his bloodied knuckles against the black fabric of his turtle neck, "He was disturbing the two of us, Kuanlin. Can't you see... I really want to be alone with you. Why do such pests like him have to linger around us? You feel the same as me, right? Say it, Kuanlin, and I'll like you."
"Gu Jing.. I.." Kuanlin bit his lip. His fingers curled into the fabric of Lai Wenxing's shirt he had subconsciously been clenching onto.
Suddenly, Lai Wenxing reached for Kuanlin's chin, roughly turning him around and kissed him hard as he had done with Gu Jing. Kuanlin's back was turned on him, so he couldn't see the pair of blood-red eyes that stared straight at Gu Jing.
Gu Jing licked his dry lips, and his eyes gave away a hint of excitement. No doubt Lai Wenxing had caught Gu Jing's clumsy mistake.
'Look, system, didn't I fix the plot-line just like I told you I would?'
The system was quiet. No. It was sure something was terribly wrong.