Chapter 109

The car gently swayed. In the darkness, Nie Chen crossed over the center console from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat, reaching out to recline the seatback behind Ke Xingzhou.

He supported the back of Ke Xingzhou’s head with his large, warm hand, almost enveloping his entire neck. The intense heat radiated, scorching Ke Xingzhou’s nerves, making him feel hot all over.

Nie Chen, despite his controlling posture over Ke Xingzhou, knelt between his legs and slowly bent his head to deepen the kiss.

Ke Xingzhou instinctively raised his hand, wanting to find something to hold onto, but instead, he grabbed the collar of Nie Chen’s shirt, which had loosened without him noticing, and tugged at his tie, pulling it towards himself.

Nie Chen paused for a moment.

The dark aura around him finally dissipated, and he let out a soft laugh. He took Ke Xingzhou’s wrist, following the pull to lean down and reward him with a kiss on the corner of his lips.

Somehow, by the time Ke Xingzhou regained his senses, his hands had been pinned above his head, still clutching Nie Chen’s tie.

This scene felt familiar. Ke Xingzhou felt a daze for a moment, as if he had returned to that summer during Nie Chen’s third year in college, when the other students had packed up and gone home, but Nie Chen, for some reason, had not come back.

On a sudden whim, he had driven alone for a long time to pick up Nie Chen. He had intended to surprise him, but after waiting downstairs for a long time with no one coming out, he couldn’t wait any longer and went upstairs.

The sunset that day was beautiful, dyeing Nie Chen’s grey-green eyes with a crimson glow.

What followed was a whirl of movement. He had tugged on Nie Chen’s sweatshirt drawstring and was then pressed against the narrow single bed in the dorm.

Both of their breaths were heavy. Ke Xingzhou was exhausted from waiting downstairs for so long, worried something had happened to Nie Chen, and had run up five flights of stairs.

Nie Chen, though, didn’t know why.

Their eyes met. Ke Xingzhou didn’t know why his heart was beating faster and faster, faster than when he had run upstairs, and his ears slowly began to flush. He instinctively locked eyes with Nie Chen, staring into his pupils without missing a beat.

He noticed that Nie Chen’s eyes were much darker than when they were younger. His reflection was visible in Nie Chen’s pupils. As Ke Xingzhou focused, Nie Chen’s gaze visibly darkened.

Back then, just like now, Nie Chen had held the back of his neck as if he wanted to hold him in his hand. His head tilted down carefully, as if afraid to scare him away.

“Zhou Zhou…” Ke Xingzhou heard him murmur softly. “You’re the one who tempted me. This time, you’ve stepped into my trap willingly.”

“Trap?” Ke Xingzhou, feeling dazed, couldn’t quite understand the meaning of his words.

What he received, instead, was a devout kiss on his fingertips. “I like you, and I won’t let go again.”

Before Ke Xingzhou could respond, another kiss trembled against his eyelid, then the corner of his lips.

Instinctively, Ke Xingzhou tightened his fingers, the drawstring of the sweatshirt winding around and pressing into his knuckles.

A sudden pain spread across his lips. Ke Xingzhou came back to his senses and met Nie Chen’s deep gaze.The freshly scabbed fingers traced along Ke Xingzhou’s cheek, bringing a slight itch. Nie Chen’s voice was deep: "Who are you thinking about?"

In the dim light, Nie Chen's facial features and the memories of that young, innocent man from the summer overlapped. Ke Xingzhou felt as though he was taken back to the chaotic rhythm of his heartbeat, his breathing suddenly growing rapid.

Nie Chen looked at him deeply, and after a moment, he straightened his body, gently kissing Ke Xingzhou to help him calm his breath.

"...No one," Ke Xingzhou gasped, diverting his gaze instinctively, unwilling to tell Nie Chen the truth.

He didn’t know when it had started, but between him and Nie Chen, they no longer had an unspoken understanding.

The grey-green eyes that once mesmerized him had become something he couldn’t touch. Ke Xingzhou always subconsciously avoided Nie Chen's gaze, no longer sharing many things with him, even saying things that weren’t true.

Their issues had never been something that arose only after their reunion.

Nie Chen sensed his sudden change in mood. He gently massaged his neck with his fingertips, and with the other hand, supported himself against the seatback. He leaned down, softly pressing against the corner of Ke Xingzhou's eye, then his nose, his cheek, and finally, down to his collarbone.

Ke Xingzhou's eyelashes fluttered slightly, the memories from just now making it difficult to face Nie Chen in that moment.

He used his hand to push against him, but Nie Chen suddenly lowered his body, leaning in to whisper in his ear, "Someone’s coming."

Ke Xingzhou froze in place.

After the car fell silent, footsteps could be heard outside.

Indeed, a family was passing by. The little girl was still discussing the limited edition LEGO car she had bought with her father. Upon spotting the luxury car in the corner, their footsteps drew closer.

"Dad, Mom! Look at this car, it’s exactly like the model we bought!"

The voice came from behind the car, and Ke Xingzhou froze, even his breathing slowing down.

At that moment, however, Nie Chen’s restlessness grew. He released Ke Xingzhou’s hand and the arm that was propping up his head, leaning his body closer, loosening his grip on the back of Ke Xingzhou’s neck. His hand slid down Ke Xingzhou’s arm, suddenly pinching his waist with his thumb.

Ke Xingzhou shuddered, his tongue pressed to the roof of his mouth, holding back a moan.

He shot Nie Chen a reddened, glaring look, but Nie Chen wasn’t deterred by his attitude. Instead, he took advantage of the situation, his warm fingertips slipping under the hem of Ke Xingzhou’s shirt, making Ke Xingzhou’s whole body tense up.

The unfamiliar family outside the car was curious about the luxury vehicle and began walking around it. Fortunately, Nie Chen’s license plate was unique, and they didn’t dare to take photos. They merely continued to marvel at the car’s smooth, domineering appearance and its supposedly top-tier performance.

It was clear that they were all car enthusiasts, and they were discussing it passionately. They were about to reach the front of the car.

Ke Xingzhou’s heart jumped into his throat.

The front windshield hadn’t been designed with a one-sided view, and once they passed to the front, they would see the awkwardly entangled positions of him and Nie Chen in the passenger seat.

That scene would be too…

And because of their movements, the car would shake slightly with any large motion. Ke Xingzhou dared not move, otherwise, it would be even harder to explain later.

In his nervousness, he even forgot that the car was already running, and the headlights were blaring brightly.

The family had come over precisely because they saw someone inside, stopping beside the driver’s seat. The man knocked on the window. "Hello, our family really likes your car. Would you mind if we take a photo?"

When the window was knocked, Ke Xingzhou’s whole body trembled.

The panic of being caught made his muscles tighten. Especially when the family didn’t get an answer and intended to walk forward, to see inside the car from the front.Ke Xingzhou’s fingers, gripping Nie Chen’s tie, tightened suddenly. His gaze swept back and forth between Nie Chen and the glass of the driver’s seat, trying to get Nie Chen to stop everything from happening.

Nie Chen, however, remained unmoved.

At the very last moment, just as Ke Xingzhou saw the top of a child’s head in the corner of the windshield, another voice sounded: "Sorry, this is a private vehicle, no photos allowed."

Assistant Liu had arrived.

Ke Xingzhou's mood felt like it had been thrown up into the clouds, only to fall back down steadily to the ground, his heart racing faster than ever, more than even when he was in a haunted house.

But Nie Chen seemed to derive some amusement from the situation. He lowered his head and kissed the corner of Ke Xingzhou’s lips, asking softly, "Do I really look so unsightly?"

Of course... not.

To be fair, Nie Chen’s appearance and physique were top-tier anywhere he went. If it were someone else, even Ke Xingzhou from a few years ago would have felt an immense sense of vanity from being in a relationship with such a person.

But time had passed, and Ke Xingzhou had things on his mind. He avoided Nie Chen’s gaze for a moment and looked away.

Assistant Liu quickly convinced the family of onlookers to leave, and throughout the process, no one felt offended or uncomfortable.

Zhu Chu followed behind, wishing he could jot down every piece of knowledge.

Once the family had left, he sighed about how big the gap had been when he was an assistant himself, and no wonder the other person earned a yearly salary of two million as an executive assistant, while he was just a regular assistant earning two thousand a month.

He shook his head and turned to pull open the car door, but it didn’t budge.

"Eh?" Zhu Chu said.

"It seems the driver forgot to open the door," he explained to Assistant Liu, then knocked on the car door, "Driver, could you open the door? ... Hey, why are you pulling me?"

Assistant Liu looked at this clueless person, not knowing what to say.

Fearing that the boss might dock his salary for taking a step too slowly, he quickly made up a story, casually mumbling, "This car’s broken, the driver needs to take it for repairs. Let’s just take a taxi instead."

Zhu Chu said, "Eh? But my master and junior brothers..."

"They have other things to do. I’ll send a backup car to pick them up later," Assistant Liu paused and added, "Where are you going? I’ll help you with the expense report."

Zhu Chu immediately forgot about his master and junior brothers: "Near the Silver Tai in the West City!"

It would cost at least 200 yuan by taxi, and taking the subway would make him sore. Of course, getting a free ride was the best option!

Zhu Chu followed Assistant Liu eagerly, and only when they got into the car and drove off, watching the Capital Airport in the rearview mirror, did he belatedly realize something.

Wait a minute—

Why did his master and the others get a backup car, but he had to take a taxi back?

If Assistant Liu knew that Zhu Chu’s mind had taken another strange turn, he would probably have laughed speechlessly.

However, although the lady's disciple seemed a little dim-witted, he was quite lucky when it came to running the Taoist temple, always managing to succeed even when things were done by accident.They had been in the southwest these past few days, and logically, they wouldn’t have had time to manage their social media accounts or fulfill orders from the online store.

In fact, that was exactly the case. Zhu Chu, who typically updated his social media every day, hadn’t posted anything during their time in the southwest, and the orders in the online store had piled up. The stock on hand was running low, and he still had to pay for some delayed shipping compensation.

Then, after the southwest police issued the news about eradicating the evil sect, the photos and videos taken by passersby were dug up by netizens.

Ke Xingzhou, along with a group of Taoist priests, had briefly appeared near the base of the evil sect. Soon after, the evil sect was eradicated, and the two events were linked together. Netizens quickly started filling in the gaps with a fictional story, writing hundreds of thousands of words of mystical and thrilling fanfiction.

【What? Is this for real? Wasn’t the Xianyao Sect just established recently? Even now, the maps still don’t have the correct address for it. And now they’re involved in the eradication of the evil sect?】

【This can’t be fake! I live right next to Chong’er Mountain, and that day I saw Ke Xingzhou and a group of Taoist priests coming down from the mountain. At first, I thought I was seeing things!】

【Local here too. It’s kind of embarrassing, but our local Taoist priests didn’t participate in the operation, because before it started, they were all wiped out and taken hostage…】

【What? Does this mean the Taoist priests in Jiangcheng are stronger than those in the southwest? What about the Xianyao Sect…】

【What Xianyao Sect are you talking about? I searched and only found a Taoist cultural tourism experience center, is that it?】

【It’s not a tourism center! Stop searching on Baidu, just search for "Xianyao Sect logistics distribution" on a shopping app, and the one with the shortest establishment time is the right one!】

The shortest establishment time…

Netizens couldn’t help but fall silent, even suspecting what kind of marketing tactic this was. How could the opening time of an online store be used as a selling point?

But the other netizens were enthusiastically liking and commenting, with some even sharing their personal experiences: 【Don’t doubt it! The Xianyao Sect’s fortune-telling amulet is really effective. Do you remember the luxury mansion lottery a while back? The lucky winner had the Xianyao Sect’s fortune amulet!】

If there’s one thing modern netizens are most interested in, it’s yellow waste materials and gold.

As soon as they heard that the Xianyao Sect’s talismans also had the ability to attract wealth, netizens, with the mindset of “better safe than sorry,” eagerly joined the ranks of those liking and sharing the posts.

Those with more financial means directly went to the online store to buy various talismans, intending to verify their authenticity for themselves.

As a result, quite a few people had their fortunes change for the better, and they went out of their way to find the Xianyao Sect’s address to go and offer incense.

— In front of the Ke family’s house.

As one of the earliest bases of the Xianyao Sect, the Ke family’s house had recently become a sought-after spot for fans.

Fortunately, Ke Zhengye had been quite vain back in the day. Having earned some money, he bought a house in a villa district. Not to mention, the property management in the villa district was strict. They immediately stopped all visitors at the gate, not allowing anyone near the Ke family’s residence.

But this was only the fate of ordinary fans.

The villa district where the Ke family lived was a place that could be bought with enough money, and it wasn’t exactly high-end. Some residents even kept livestock.

Some fans with more financial means went directly to other residents in the area, entered under the pretense of being visitors, and then carried large bags of incense to the Ke family to offer incense.

Ke Zhengye: "…………"

Ke Zhengye was absolutely furious with these boundary-less people.

Among the incense visitors was a business partner from their company, who saw him there and asked, "Old Ke, you’re here too? Are you here to fulfill a wish?"

Ke Zhengye: "…………"

Fulfill a wish, my ass!This is his home, his home!! Why did that brat Ke Xingzhou just put an incense burner here and call it his sect?

But the incense visitors were either rich or important, and many of them were even owners of downstream businesses connected to Ke Zhengye’s company, businesses that relied on him for their livelihood.

Faced with the surprised inquiries of his business partners, Ke Zhengye could only swallow his frustration, forcing a smile: "This... is... my... home."

He thought that this statement would be enough to make them realize the seriousness of the situation. But to his surprise, after hearing it, his partners didn’t feel embarrassed for forgetting his home address. Instead, their eyes lit up, and they excitedly asked: "Do you know Master Ke?"

"I don’t mean anything by it, but I see that my company has a few big orders recently, and I’m afraid we won’t be able to compete with industry rivals. I was wondering if Master Ke could help me with some advice…"

Ke Zhengye couldn’t hold back his rebuttal: "This is all about strength, what’s the use of superstition? I think you should focus on getting more qualifications rather than messing around with these ridiculous things."

He gave a pointed look at the rare flowers he had painstakingly grown.

Always being smoked by incense, they might die soon if this continues!

Ke Zhengye sighed as he looked over, only to be surprised. The rare flowers he had bought for a high price and had specially hired someone to take care of, which had often died on him, were now blooming vigorously, filling the front yard with a beautiful garden.

It seemed like the incense had no effect on these delicate plants and might even have promoted their growth.

Ke Zhengye: "…???"

His business partners stared at him in surprise, some of them even giving him a look as if to say, "How could you insult my idol?"

"How can you say it’s superstition? Master Ke is very effective! A while ago, my company had some financial issues, and I couldn’t pay when you came to collect the money. But the moment I got the fortune-telling amulet, a long-overdue payment for a project came through, just in time to cover your debt. If others don’t believe, that’s one thing, but how can you not believe?"

Other local entrepreneurs also started sharing their miraculous experiences, all related to the Xianyao Sect.

"No wonder your business hasn’t improved after so many years, while Old Xie has surpassed you. You’re holding onto a golden nugget and don’t even know how to use it!"

Everyone shook their heads.

They didn’t know that the Master Ke they were talking about was actually Ke Zhengye’s adopted son, whom he had raised for many years under the wrong impression. Otherwise, they might not just be criticizing his lack of insight.

They marveled at the effectiveness of the Xianyao Sect, feeling regretful for doubting it before.

Having benefited from the Xianyao Sect’s blessings, they felt even worse when they recalled their previous rudeness. One by one, the entrepreneurs began to suggest to Ke Zhengye: "Since your house is here, we should be able to order takeout without being stopped."

Ke Zhengye: "??"

He was still immersed in wondering whether his business failure was due to him being too harsh on Ke Xingzhou when he suddenly heard this and was momentarily confused: "What takeout? If you want to eat, I can ask Auntie to cook."

But before he could finish, he was interrupted.

The entrepreneurs looked at him like he was hopeless: "Are you stupid? Who’s eating at a time like this? I think I didn’t buy enough incense, so you should order more and have it delivered!"

"Right, right, get me some too. I want the biggest, thickest incense sticks, so it looks like I’m really sincere!"

"I want some too! Also, can I borrow your printer? I’ll print out my family’s ID cards, so the gods won’t mistake us for someone else and bless the wrong people!"

"Hey, that’s a good idea! I’ll print one too… Hey, honey, hurry up and send me a picture of our household register, I’m offering incense here, and this Taoist temple is especially effective. Remember how you got rid of your pimples with the talisman from this temple?"

A group of high-end entrepreneurs were all calling their families, their attitudes sincere and earnest. For a moment, Ke Zhengye almost thought he had entered some kind of scam den....But this is clearly his home!!!

Ke Zhengye was so angry that his vision went dark, and he felt completely awful.

After sending the entrepreneurs away, Ke Zhengye turned around, and his face immediately darkened.

Jiang Wanru’s friend was also offering incense here. She came out and saw him with a grim face, and couldn’t help but wonder, "What are you doing at the door? Your face looks awful, you’ve scared away all the good luck from the house."

Ke Zhengye: "…"

Even Wanru had turned into this!

Ke Zhengye was really angry, but after all, she was his wife. Plus, Jiang Wanru’s temperament had been off lately. She had been so gentle and considerate before, but now she even dared to scold him.

He inexplicably felt a little flustered and, in turn, softened his attitude toward Jiang Wanru. He was so full of anger that he asked, "Didn’t you want to go shopping? Where’s the driver? If you don’t drive a nice car out, those women won’t let you off, you know?"

"What do you mean, ‘those women’?" Jiang Wanru shot him an unhappy glare. When she saw her friend by the incense burner, she smiled brightly. "They came here to offer incense and are taking me out with them. I don’t need the driver today, and don’t worry about saving me food either."

Ke Zhengye: "…………"

Why are even Wanru’s friends like this!!

But if they could get along with Jiang Wanru and wouldn’t let her be bullied, it was clear who these people were.

But Ke Zhengye was still furious.

Ever since Ke Xingzhou, that rebellious son, came back, the house had been in chaos. Not only had their beautiful garden been turned into a place for incense offerings, but even the antiques worth millions he had bought were left to be exposed to the wind and rain in the yard. Now even the people in his house had gone crazy!

Ke Zhengye couldn’t stand it when no one listened to him, he was beyond furious.

Just as he was about to explode, his eldest son came out.

Then he walked past him without even glancing at him, as though he didn’t see his own father. But when he passed the incense burner, he paused, took three incense sticks out of his briefcase, lit them, and bowed to the incense burner.

Ke Zhengye: "…"

That was clearly an empty incense burner!

And yet, his biological father was right there! What did it mean to pretend not to see him!!!

Ke Zhengye couldn’t stand being in the house anymore. Fuming, he glared at his eldest son’s retreating back, then thought for a moment and directly went downstairs to the gym to find his second son, who was obsessed with exercising.

He threw the servant-packed luggage in front of Ke Yuanbai: "Let’s go."

Ke Yuanbai slowly put down the gym equipment and looked at him with confusion. Was this what he meant by telling him to leave the house?

Although he didn’t understand what his father meant, to be honest, he didn’t feel any sense of belonging in this house. So, without any objection, he picked up the luggage and obediently followed Ke Zhengye to the car, leaving the Ke family villa.

When passing by the incense burner, Ke Yuanbai glanced at it with some regret.

He wouldn’t be able to come here to offer incense every day anymore.

But it didn’t matter too much. The incense burner at the filming base was always open. If worse came to worst, he could just move to a place near the filming base.The car stopped downstairs at the five-star hotel.

Ke Yuanbai looked at Ke Zhengye, who handed over both his and his own ID while unlocking the business suite. A question mark slowly appeared on his forehead.

Wasn’t he supposed to be kicked out of the Ke family? Why was he leaving with him?

Ke Zhengye really couldn’t stay in that house anymore. His wife and eldest son were both so rebellious. Every day, just being angry made him feel like he was going to die early.

Fortunately, his second son was obedient. Although he had argued with him before, when it mattered most, he still listened.

He thought that the only one in the whole family who still saw him as the head of the household was Ke Yuanbai. He didn’t even ask where they were going, just picked up his luggage and left with him. Ke Zhengye couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in his genes.

Because of this, he felt even more guilty about losing Ke Yuanbai earlier. That night, after tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, he suddenly had an idea and went to his second son’s room, planning to give him some company shares.

However, as soon as he turned the doorknob, he saw his second son taking out an entire bundle of incense from his suitcase.

Ke Yuanbai was opening the package when Ke Zhengye entered. He took three sticks of incense out and pulled out a mini incense burner. He bowed towards the direction of the Ke family, then reverently inserted the incense into the burner.

He slowly backed away, and Ke Zhengye saw the clearly etched characters on the incense burner:

Xiaoyao Sect.

Ke Zhengye: "………………"