Chapter 98 Laugh and Hug

Translated by Eve

Edited by Kara

Song Xuanhe flipped over upon hearing the System’s warning and quickly subdued Zhou Rong.

Zhou Rong didn’t bother hiding his surprise. There was even a hint of a smile on his face. “I hadn’t thought that you’d improve so much since I last saw you. Alright, let me go. I was too riled up just now. I’ve calmed down.”

Song Xuanhe raised a brow. Actually, since the moment he had laid eyes on Zhou Rong, he realized that the original host’s wretched ending had been no coincidence. Zhou Rong was not someone the original host could compete with. Putting aside the original host’s physical strength, there was no way he would have been able to compete with Zhou Rong in terms of intelligence and schemes.

After speaking with Zhou Rong for the last half-hour, Song Xuanhe was even more sure that Zhou Rong was an enigmatic and difficult-to-predict person. If it wasn’t because he had fallen in love with Lu Chao and done all these stupid things, a man who didn’t show his emotions on his face like this would have been an outstanding figure.

Love was the most rotten variable that Song Xuanhe had seen ever since arriving in this world. Regardless of whether it was Lu Chao, Song Jiani, Zhou Rong, or even Zhou Nan and Yu Yan—they had all done things in the name of love, and most of them weren’t good things.

Zhou Rong softened his voice. “When I had heard you say that Lu Chao had known that I liked him, I had gotten too riled up. But, he’s already dead. Even if I get riled up now, I can’t afford to lose another friend. Xuanhe, forgive me?”

Song Xuanhe gazed down and saw the other’s lonely expression. His expression flickered. However, before he could say anything, he heard Song Jiani shout: “Xuanhe gege, don’t believe him! He’s been planning on hurting you all this time! He wants to take revenge for Lu Chao!”

“Oh?” Zhou Rong’s expression didn’t change. He retorted back, “How would I get revenge on him? You seem so certain as if you can read my mind. Tell me, what am I planning on doing? And, how do you know what I’m going to do? Maybe it’s because…you want to hurt Song Xuanhe, so you were hoping we could work together?”

Song Jiani’s expression changed. She subconsciously glanced at Song Xuanhe. She parted her lips, wanting to explain herself, but the words became stuck in her throat when she saw Zhou Rong’s covert, ridiculing gaze. She couldn’t say a thing.

“I thought that it was weird that you had insisted on following Xuanhe and I to drink for some baffling reason. You had never liked to hang out with Lu Chao and I when we were young. You would rarely make an appearance when the few of us got together to drink. And yet, here you are today,” Zhou Rong said, “Besides, why did you get so nervous when I had said that someone else was coming? Could it be that you had already made plans and are afraid that they would be ruined if someone else were to come? I think that you’re more suspicious than I am. I think that you want to hurt Xuanhe, because your love has turned into hatred.”

Zhou Rong’s every word tread all over everything Song Jiani had done. In the blink of an eye, he was able to dispel Song Xuanhe’s suspicion of him and instead cast doubt on Song Jiani. Although the last sentence seemed unlikely, if you really thought about it carefully, it did seem in line with Song Jiani’s personality and thus seemed very plausible. With this, he was able to plant a difficult-to-remove thorn in Song Xuanhe’s heart.

If Song Xuanhe hadn’t read the original novel and didn’t know what would happen, or rather—if it had been the original host standing in his place—he might have been tricked by Zhou Rong’s words.

After all, Song Jiani had indeed caused irreversible damage to the original host in the book, because her love had turned into hatred. Therefore, although it didn’t sound possible, it was actually very possible.

【After analyzing the data, I’ve discovered that Zhou Rong’s danger rating has increased to B+. Be careful.】

“I didn’t….” Song Jiani really wanted to refute this accusation. However, what Zhou Rong had said was indeed what she had wanted to do in the past. Therefore, there was a hint of helplessness and guilt in her voice. “Xuanhe gege, trust me. I really don’t want to hurt you.”

“Look Song Xuanhe in the eyes and tell him that you’ve never planned on hurting him.” Zhou Rong smiled. “You didn’t even dare to look him in the eyes just now. Your guilty tone proves that what I had said is right.”

Song Jiani bit down on her lip. She looked into Song Xuanhe’s eyes nervously. However, she couldn’t say a thing. Her face continued to pale. “Xuanhe gege…believe me…I really….”

Song Xuanhe raised his chin and interrupted Song Jiani. He said to her, “Save it for now. Take off your belt.”

Song Jiani’s eyes reddened when she heard the first sentence. But when she had heard the second one, she was taken aback. Slowly, her face flushed. “My belt? Take it off…?”

Song Xuanhe nodded. “Take it off and throw it to me.”

Song Jiani had yet to process this when Zhou Rong’s expression changed. “We’ve been friends for so long. But, you’re choosing to trust Song Jiani over me?”

“Why shouldn’t I trust her?” Song Xuanhe used his leg to drag the belt Song Jiani had thrown over towards himself. He said in a flat voice, “She likes me. You liked Lu Chao. You nearly went crazy after I had mentioned Lu Chao earlier. It’s easy to see who’s more likely to want to hurt me.”

“You….”

【They’re here!】

Knock, knock, knock.

The System’s voice echoed in his mind at the same time the person outside knocked on the door. The three people inside the room all cast their gazes towards the door. No one spoke.

The knocking continued outside.

Song Jiani glanced at Song Xuanhe. “Xuanhe gege, what should we do?”

Song Xuanhe quickly bound Zhou Rong’s hands, tying them behind his back. In a hushed voice, he asked, “Where is it?”

Zhou Rong’s calm expression changed slightly. He struggled to get up. “What?”

“The thing you were going to use to hurt me.” Song Xuanhe kicked the bend of his knee, forcing the other to kneel back down. “It should be inside this room.”

Zhou Rong’s expression finally cracked. His calm expression was no more. He fixed a sinister glare onto Song Xuanhe. “You knew? You knew what I was going to do to you and still dared to come.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Song Xuanhe raised a brow. He ordered Song Jiani: “Search the room. See if there’s a syringe somewhere.”

Song Jiani subconsciously nodded. A second later, after she had fully processed what she had heard, her eyes widened in shock. “A syringe? Zhou Rong, what were you planning on doing?!”

Knock, knock, knock—

The knocking got increasingly louder. It seemed like the person outside was getting concerned.

Zhou Rong parted his lips, wanting to speak. Song Xuanhe, however, covered the other’s mouth before he could. He turned to look at Song Jiani: “You say something.”

Song Jiani pursed her lips. She raised her voice. “Who is it?”

The knocking stopped. A man’s voice came through. “Hello, Miss. I heard a crash earlier, so I decided to come take a look. Do you require any assistance?”

Song Jiani was taken aback. She didn’t need Song Xuanhe’s instructions this time and simply said, “No. I just accidentally knocked a bottle of wine over. I’ll pay for the damages later.”

“Alright—”

They then heard the voice get further away. Song Jiani had just been about to speak after sighing in relief, but she saw Song Xuanhe raise a hand.

【Is the person still there?】

The System had just been about to tell Song Xuanhe that the person outside had stopped after walking only a few steps away. It hadn’t expected Song Xuanhe to beat it to the chase. It couldn’t help but ask：【How did you know?】

【The soundproofing in private clubs is better than the soundproofing in prison visiting rooms.】Song Xuanhe said：【That was a lousy excuse.】

【The person is still outside waiting. But because you finished the main mission, my functions are limited, so I can’t get a read on who it is or what he’s brought.】

【So, the drug might not be on Zhou Rong. It might be with the person outside.】

【That’s right.】

Song Xuanhe furrowed his brows slightly. When Song Jiani saw this, she quietly asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Song Xuanhe examined the belt he had tied around Zhou Rong. He then flipped Zhou Rong over and searched him. As expected, he didn’t find anything.

“Xuanhe gege…are you looking for the syringe? How did you know that Zhou Rong brought a syringe?” Song Jiani asked hesitantly.

When Zhou Rong heard this, he also looked at Song Xuanhe. Song Xuanhe continued to search the sofa and wine cabinet as he spoke, “I have my ways.”

Five minutes later, they still came up with nothing. The System once again spoke up and said that the person was coming closer once again.

Indeed, another knock sounded. Through the door, a muffled voice said, “I am a waiter. The fruit plate you ordered is here. Will you please open the door?”

When Song Xuanhe had heard the voice, he narrowed his eyes slightly. A thought flashed through his mind.

Before anyone could respond, the person outside raised their voice. “Please open the door!”

Song Xuanhe’s eyebrows smoothed out. He grabbed a bottle of wine and then walked over to the door. He then said to Song Jiani, “Open the door.”

Song Jiani saw the bottle in Song Xuanhe’s hands. She bit on her lip nervously and then walked over to grab the room card sitting on the table. She then walked to the door and opened it. The door opened with a beep, and light from the corridor filtered into the room. A person appeared before Song Jiani.

The newcomer sighed in relief upon seeing Song Jiani standing there. His gaze then fell onto Zhou Rong, who was tied up. He walked in and asked, “What’s happening? Why is Zhou Rong—ah—”

The bottle of wine was smashed onto the back of this person’s head. The glass bottle shattered into pieces, and red wine splattered all over. Blood and screams were evoked.

Song Xuanhe kicked the person in the back. The person stumbled a few steps before he fell down, his head smacking onto the coffee table. His bloody head became even more unbearable to look at.

“And here, I had thought that I had beaten fear into you. I hadn’t thought that you wouldn’t learn.”

Song Xuanhe picked Song Jiabao up by the collar and threw him onto the ground. He then pressed a sharp glass shard from the bottle against Song Jiabao’s arm. Song Xuanhe looked down at him and said, “Since you don’t want this arm, I’ll ruin it for you, okay?”

Song Jiabao looked at Song Xuanhe in horror. The pain from his head made him unable to speak for a moment. Nevertheless, the threat of losing his arm helped force the words out. “No! I was wrong! Xuanhe, I’m your cousin. Forgive me?”

Song Xuanhe’s gaze shifted slightly. He pressed down with the glass shard, drawing a fresh line of blood.

The fear on Song Jiabao’s face intensified. He begged for mercy with a trembling voice. “I was wrong! There won’t be a next time, Xuanhe—go die!”

The moment he saw a strange smile appear on Song Jiabao’s face, a shriek also sounded in his ear. “Xuanhe gege!”

Song Xuanhe abruptly turned his head. Zhou Rong had undone his bindings at some unknown point in time and was currently pouncing at him with a syringe in hand.

Eve: Getting real tired of SJB.

Kara: Xuanhe, my son! You’re too cool!! o(≧∇≦o) You should have grabbed two bottles though so that you could smash the other into Zhou Rong’s ugly face! Hmph! Want to hurt our He bao? I’ll show you!! (๑و•̀ω•́)و