CH 71

The day of the wedding ceremony felt like something out of a ghost story for Ye Feiran.

Right after the initial ceremony ended, first, one of the main characters, Xiao Zhenyun, quietly slipped away from the venue, then Si Di dragged Si Chu away. By the time Ye Feiran turned around, there was only him left among the four newlyweds, with several long-unseen friends urging him to drink and making a fuss.

He was happy too, so he didn’t refuse anyone, and he drank heartily. But then, when he woke up, he found out… his sentinel was missing?

How did he disappear? Where did he go? Can he be found again?

Still a bit groggy from the hangover, Ye Feiran sat dumbfounded by Xiao Jingfeng’s bedside, listening to Xiao Jiali’s tearful account of what happened last night. Si Di had requested Xiao Jiali to keep the existence of Hedgehog hidden from the others due to the sensitivity of his identity. Xiao Jiali obediently complied, attributing their successful escape and intact limbs solely to the power of love.

So, Si Chu was abducted because Ye Feiran was drunk and absent. Was it because his magical love power was missing?”

After Si Chu disappeared, Si Di played his role to the fullest, immediately reporting to Xiao Jingfeng. With the chairman’s order, they cooperated with the police, deploying heavy forces at various transportation hubs. Airports, ports, and other international routes were heavily guarded, with a wanted order issued on the same day, focusing on investigating the whereabouts of Du Nai and the two masked men, vowing to block them within the country.

Earlier, to make Si Chu’s abduction by the hedgehog seem more plausible, Xiao Zhenyun pretended to faint on the concrete floor, firmly deciding to respond with ‘don’t know’, ‘didn’t see’, ‘don’t understand’ if anyone asked. Initially feigning unconsciousness, halfway through he truly passed out, and upon returning home, he fell seriously ill. That night, the wound became infected, causing a high fever until the next evening when it finally subsided.

With Xiao Zhenyun ill, Si Di was surely not at ease either. His spiritual domain had been torn apart by several attacks from S-class guides, and his head had been aching for two days. It wasn’t until Xiao Zhenyun’s fever went down and he received some guide elements that he finally eased up and managed to get a decent sleep.

As for the diligent hedgehog, after delivering Si Chu, he completely let go and continued his vacation. He even managed to extort some overtime pay from Si Di, saying he hadn’t expected things to get so complicated before coming. Si Di didn’t want to pay, so the hedgehog grinned menacingly and threatened him, “If you don’t pay, I’ll spread the word about you and your brother sharing a guide, saying your preferences are quite special.”

At this moment, Xiao Zhenyun was still lying on the bed, feverish and dazed, while Si Di’s head was still throbbing. He retorted, not in a good mood, “Have you forgotten when you harassed someone’s guide before, got beaten up and ended up in the hospital? Who paid for your medical expenses then?”

Hedgehog: “…”

Hedgehog: “How long are you going to remember something that happened over a decade ago?”

Si Di: “Until the day you find a guide and can recount it to them in more detail.”

Hedgehog: “Where am I supposed to find a guide as a Dark Sentinel? It’s more practical to find a sentinel to make do!”

Si Di: “I think the sentinel who knocked you down back then was quite good.”

Hedgehog fell silent for a moment. “I’d better go find a guide. Do you have any recommendations for me? The only requirement is that compatibility is as high as possible.”

“How about Xiao Jingfeng?”

“…Are you trying to kill me?”

During the recovery of Xiao Zhenyun and Si Di, the two injured, the idle administrator, Xiao Nian, was responsible for watching the basement surveillance to ensure that the poor protagonist wasn’t played to death by these unreliable elders.

Fortunately, the elder brother Si Di had slightly modified the basement before the kidnapping, adding a single bed, soft clean bedding, and most importantly — a toilet for the little dog in the center of the room, alongside the various props clearly specified in the plot.

“Why didn’t the novel mention how Si Chu managed to relieve himself during the half-month he was confined in the basement?” Si Di wondered. Xiao Nian pondered for a moment before earnestly explaining, “Do you know? Protagonists in novels don’t have bodily functions. They don’t pee or poop, fart, pick their nose, or even clean their ears.”

Si Di: “…”

Si Di: “It’s said that when my brother was a child, he even ate his own feces. The orphanage teacher wasn’t paying attention, and he picked up the excrement from the diaper and put it in his mouth.”

Xiao Zhenyun, Xiao Nian: “…”

In the dark basement, the disgraced Si Chu went hungry for two days, filled with fear and anxiety, not only worrying about his own situation but also concerned about the current condition of his uncle and brother, afraid that they might be in a similar or even worse situation than himself.

Finally, on the third day at noon, when he was hungry and thirsty, and his emotions were extremely restless, the drooping dog ears suddenly twitched, hearing a faint and distinctive sound outside the door — it was the sound of small wheels rolling on the wooden floor, a sound he had only heard from one person.

“Little Uncle…?” Si Chu scrambled up from the bed in one motion, the chain on his ankle restricting his movements.

Was it Xiao Zhenyun coming to rescue him?

He didn’t rashly shout out, but sat cautiously on the edge of the bed, ready for anything.

The chain around his ankle only allowed him to reach the toilet at the foot of the bed. The four walls of this basement were covered with black cloth for some unknown reason. Although Si Chu felt puzzled, he couldn’t investigate and could only wait with a heavy heart.

The sound of the wardrobe mechanism opening was as light as a muffled snap, almost imperceptible, followed by the sound of entering the password…

Soon, a ray of light leaked into the dark room from under the door. Si Chu squinted, and what he could see was a figure against the light, unable to see the face clearly, only confirming that the person was sitting in a wheelchair. Then came the crisp snap of fingers, and the basement light turned on, Si Chu’s eyes widened instantly —

Seeing the familiar figure, he should have been delighted, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to feel happy. His keen sixth sense had sensed something amiss before he could sort out his thoughts. Xiao Zhenyun seemed unthreatened, casually appearing alone outside the basement door.

Si Chu’s head was in complete chaos, unable to grasp the situation for a moment.

“Little… Uncle?!” he tentatively spoke up.

Xiao Zhenyun’s half-face was covered with gauze, weakly slumping in the wheelchair. Just as his fever subsided, he was relentlessly nagged by Xiao Nian to do chores. It seemed even the administrator knew he was somewhat overwhelmed. However, according to the plot, it was clearly stated that Xiao Zhenyun sent Si Chu’s first meal and even the first sip of water after he was confined. If Xiao Zhenyun didn’t get up to visit Si Chu, the little dog would go hungry.

Although he was deeply concerned about his own guide, his younger brother was indeed starving. Seeing his condition, Si Di reluctantly agreed to let Xiao Zhenyun, although sick, take care of Si Chu for the time being.

“Xiao Chu…” Xiao Zhenyun’s cheeks still had a sickly blush, his eyelids drooping with exhaustion. He raised the corner of his lips, elongating his tone slowly, like a sick pervert, “Are you sleeping well?”

“What’s going on now?” Si Chu asked anxiously, “Little Uncle, where exactly are we? Are you safe now?… What about my brother? Where is he?”

“I don’t want to hear other people’s names from your mouth anymore. I’ve had enough of being surrounded by so many irrelevant people, distracting your attention,” Xiao Zhenyun said with a smile. “Finally… it’s just the two of us now, no one else to disturb us… Xiao Chu, from now on, it will only be you and me. We’ll stay here forever, okay?”

Watching the scene through the surveillance, Si Di rubbed his head, comparing Xiao Zhenyun’s lines with the text in Xiao Nian’s hardcover book. “Pretty impressive, only missing two words in such a long passage. It should be ‘stay here forever forever’, he missed one ‘forever’.”

Before following the plot, Si Di had asked Xiao Zhenyun how he planned to whitewash himself this time. He even schemed, suggesting Xiao Zhenyun pretend he was coerced by a mastermind behind the scenes and quietly pass notes to Si Chu, saying he had his reasons, without going into detail, knowing Si Chu would cover for him in his heart.

But unexpectedly, Xiao Zhenyun shook his head while sipping the bland porridge, saying, “I’m too lazy to whitewash myself this time. Let’s just leave it like this… the more you try to cover up, the harder it is. There are flaws everywhere. I’m tired. It’s better to just admit to being a villain, disappear under the cliff for a few years… as long as you know I have a good heart.”

Si Di sat beside him, also holding a bowl of porridge, raising his head at the words. “As long as I know?… So, are we going to stage a drama of love and hatred, the collision of justice and evil in the future?”

Xiao Zhenyun glanced at him casually, “Thinking about it, isn’t it quite exciting?”

“You understand me pretty well,” Si Di couldn’t help but laugh.

“Don’t tire yourself out. Your storyline is about to wrap up,” Xiao Nian went to the kitchen to refill Xiao Zhenyun’s bowl and returned, “Victory is within reach.”

“If MP comes to kidnap me a couple more times, I’m afraid I won’t live to see the end of it.”

“There’s always someone worse off than you.” Xiao Nian comforted with a comparative approach, “Like the male lead who starved in the basement for two days…”

Xiao Zhenyun: “…”

He warmed his hands around the porcelain bowl for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Has Du Nai not been caught yet? How could he escape like this? What exactly is Xiao Jingfeng doing?”

“Do you dare to rant like this in front of your uncle?” Si Di looked up at him, “The chairman is quite concerned about Si Chu’s disappearance… Of course, my parents and Xiao Fei are also losing sleep over this, especially Xiao Fei… To be honest, I feel quite guilty about it.”

“Take it easy. After a few more of these incidents, you won’t feel guilty anymore.” Xiao Zhenyun advised with a lot of experience, “He’s the male lead after all. Without going through hardships, how can he be called a male protagonist? The more obstacles they encounter, the deeper the feelings between the male leads.”

“… Xiao Zhenyun, you do have the potential to be a villain.”

After breakfast, Xiao Zhenyun finally took his time to pack the remaining porridge in a thermos, lazily appearing in the basement to rehearse the plot. Si Chu’s reactions were all within their expectations. After Xiao Zhenyun finished reciting the first line of the script, his expression gradually changed, almost on the verge of tears. He managed to squeeze out, “What are you talking about? Little Uncle… are you my uncle? What’s going on? Don’t scare me…”

“Ah Chu…” Xiao Zhenyun murmured affectionately, using his pet name, “I’ve been watching you for too long, too long. After you rejected me, I thought about giving up too. But when I heard about you being with someone else, I realized I couldn’t do it. I can’t give you up. I love you, I love you deeply!”

Si Chu listened in stunned silence, not knowing how to react for a moment.

Xiao Zhenyun didn’t linger at the door anymore. He drove his wheelchair to the nearest wall and raised his hand to tear down the curtain nailed to the wall… But because Si Di had nailed the nails too tight and the quality of the black cloth was too good, and he was still weak from the fever, he couldn’t tear it down in one go.

Xiao Zhenyun: “…”

Si Chu: “…?”

With gritted teeth, Xiao Zhenyun exerted all his strength and finally managed to tear off half of it, then gathered his strength and forcefully tore down the rest of the black cloth.

Si Chu never expected that behind the curtain, there were all his photos, one after another, showing his face in various activities – studying, eating, having fun… All sizes, densely packed, and the timeline even went back to when he was fifteen or sixteen.

He felt a chill run down his spine. If he had any lingering hope before, at this moment, his mind was filled with nothing but a deafening roar of shock followed by an uncontrollable rage. “Xiao Zhenyun! Don’t tell me you’re serious!!”

“Xiao Chu.” Xiao Zhenyun’s eyes softened, “You finally willing to face my feelings, right?”

In the surveillance room, Si Di squinted his eyes meaningfully, “Seems… kinda dramatic?”

Xiao Nian: “…”

Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ