Chapter 3: The Rival Always Wants to Taste Him Again [3]

Chapter 3: His Rival Keeps Wanting Another Taste of Him "3"

Ye Qi was still a little pissed and sulky, but after seeing the things on the floor clearly, the tips of his ears flushed red and he turned his head away, feeling awkward.

He found his phone and had someone bring him some clothes.

While waiting for the clothes, Ye Qi replayed those wild scenes in his head, what Shi Mo had said, and how Shi Mo had left him alone there.

He couldn't hold it in anymore and went online to post a question: what should he do in this situation?

Even at this hour, plenty of night owls were still up, and his post quickly received many replies.

The first reply, which also had the most likes, shot back at him: "Is the OP just bad in bed?"

Ye Qi: "..."

Ye Qi closed the app with a blank face, lay down on the bed, hugging the pillow Shi Mo had been holding, but he just couldn't fall asleep.

Though he didn't want to admit it, all he could think about was that comment about him being bad in bed, plus all the replies agreeing with it.

Thinking back to Shi Mo's reaction, Ye Qi rolled over and switched to a burner account to search: "What do I do if someone thinks I'm bad in bed?"

When Shi Mo woke up the next day, the first thing he saw was a flood of 99+ unread messages popping up on his phone.

He raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at his lips as he unlocked his phone. Just as he'd expected, Lin Ran was already planning to come see him today.

What caught him off guard, though, was that Lin Ran had only sent him a few messages, telling him he'd come by today.

The rest of the messages were all from Ye Qi.

The best part was that when he scrolled to the top, he saw a ton of recalled messages.

Shi Mo couldn't care less about the messages checking in on him. What he really wanted to know was what Ye Qi had unsent.

"Xiao Qi, help me pull up the messages he recalled."

447: [Sure thing, hang on a sec.]

Ye Qi: "Where did you go? Did you go home? Are you feeling unwell?"

Ye Qi: "What kind of ring do you like? Do you prefer a traditional Chinese wedding or a Western one? Or maybe both?"

Ye Qi: "You really like roses, don't you? I happen to own a rose estate—we could have the wedding there."

Ye Qi: "Why aren't you replying to me? Is it because you don't want to talk to me?"

Ye Qi: "And why did you leave? Is it because you think I sucked in bed? But it was my first time too—I can get better."

"..."

Shi Mo read through the recovered messages, picturing Ye Qi muttering to himself, and couldn't help but laugh inside.

In those recalled messages, Ye Qi had already planned out adopting two kids—one taking the surname Ye, the other Shi.

Aside from the recalled ones, the messages still visible were a bit more normal.

Shi Mo scrolled straight to the bottom and saw the latest messages, sent just minutes ago.

Looks like that guy stayed up all night, glued to his phone, texting him.

Ye Qi: "Honestly, this whole thing was just an accident. You don't need to worry about it, and I'm not really bothered either."

Ye Qi: "I really don't care at all. But this was my fault in the first place, so if you want me to take responsibility, I won't say no."

Ye Qi: "How about I come to you? If you don't want me to take responsibility, I can offer you some compensation instead."

Shi Mo lowered his gaze, mulled it over for a moment, then sent him a message:

"You're right, it was just an accident. I don't need you to take responsibility. Since we both don't care, let's just forget it ever happened."

"If you want to make it up to me, just give me a 10% cut on the Beichuan project."

The other guy seemed to have been waiting for his message, because the second he sent it, "typing..." popped up at the top.

A full minute later, Ye Qi's reply finally came through.

Ye Qi: "Alright, no problem. I'll give you 30% off and have the contract sent over to you shortly."

Ye Qi: "I just figured that since our families get along well, a business marriage would be a win-win for both of us."

Ye Qi: "Also, my mom came by a few days ago and accidentally left my household register here. If you're down, we could go get our marriage license right now."

Ye Qi: "Don't get me wrong—I'm not trying to cling to you. But you should still think about the business marriage. It's a win-win for both of us."

447 was perched on Shi Mo's head, staring at Ye Qi's messages, looking like it wanted to say something:

[Xiao Momo, isn't this male lead going off-script?]

[In the original plot, he had no romance arc. So why's he clearly trying to marry you now?]

Shi Mo's eyes curved into a smile, completely unsurprised by Ye Qi's reaction.

After all, he'd had his eye on Ye Qi ever since he entered this world three years ago...

"But isn't the world we're in right now already a world where the plot's gone off the rails?"

Shi Mo's long fingers tapped away at the keyboard, replying to Ye Qi while speaking casually:

"They were never puppets being controlled. Besides, in a broken plot, we can't expect the protagonist to stay in character."

447 wanted to argue but couldn't find a way to refute Shi Mo's logic.

It... it did make sense... but something still felt off.

447 couldn't wrap its head around it, so it just gave up thinking about it.

Shi Mo sent Ye Qi just one line: "No need. Even if I wanted a business marriage, it wouldn't be with you."

After sending it, not bothering to check Ye Qi's reaction, he waved his phone and said with a grin:

"Besides, look—I've been keeping up my whole 'sworn enemy' act with him this whole time. Even if something goes wrong, it's definitely not on me."

Shi Mo said this while pinching the little ball on his head, rubbing its belly with his fingertips. The fluffy texture put him in a rather good mood.

447 let him knead and roll it around, feeling dizzy:

[Right! It's all his fault! You're definitely not the problem! He must be craving your body! Xiao Momo, you should stay far away from him from now on...]

Shi Mo paused slightly in his movements: "Can't stay far—we still have a mission."

As he spoke, his gaze drifted back to the chat window with Lin Ran.

Reading Lin Ran's message saying he was coming to find him, he thought for a moment before replying with a simple "Okay."

With that taken care of, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and got ready.

Looking at himself in the mirror, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Shi Mo's mouth.

He rolled up the cuffs of his dark crimson shirt and undid the top two buttons, revealing his delicate collarbones. His ink-black hair was a little tousled, yet strangely alluring.

Shi Mo pressed his fingertip against the mark on his collarbone, his eyes growing darker.

Marks like these were scattered all over his body, in places no one could see, and he couldn't help but sigh softly:

"Just like a little mad dog..."

447, seeing his reaction and knowing he didn't like these marks, dug around in its little pouch for a while before pulling out a box of ointment.

[Xiao Momo! Here! The Strategy Department said this ointment works really well.]

"Is that so? Thanks, Xiao Qi."

Shi Mo paused for a moment, then smiled and expressed his gratitude.

He dabbed a bit of the milky-white ointment on his fingertip and spread it over the prominent, ambiguous marks.

Soon, all the marks vanished without a trace.

Quite satisfied, Shi Mo prepared to head downstairs for something to eat, then wait for Lin Ran to arrive.

It would also be a good chance to see just what this reborn Lin Ran had become.