Chapter 157

Ke Family.

Ke Xingzhou had just entered the villa when he saw the Ke family of four dressed neatly, looking like they were about to head out.

He froze for a moment.

Usually, when he came back, the house was always quiet and empty. Ke Xingzhou thought it would be the same this time, but unexpectedly, he ran into Ke Zhengye and the others at the door.

However, he didn’t think much of it.

After the "All-Purpose Idol" program ended, he would move out, no longer being a part of this family, and he was too lazy to care about their schedule.

Ke Xingzhou moved aside and was about to lead Nie Chen upstairs.

But unexpectedly, Ke Zhengye called him.

Ke Zhengye still had his explosive temper: "Stop!! You ran off to the disaster area without a word, didn’t even make a phone call when you came back, didn’t even say hello, and now you're taking this little pretty boy somewhere!!"

Little pretty boy...

Ke Xingzhou was speechless for a moment, thinking how come Ke Zhengye still didn’t know Nie Chen's true identity after all this time?

But then he thought, Nie Chen almost never showed his face in the public media, interviews were always handled by another vice president, he never appeared on the "All-Purpose Idol" program, and with Ke Zhengye’s level of knowledge, it seemed normal that he couldn’t find Nie Chen’s true identity.

He was really tired and didn’t want to deal with Ke Zhengye. He grabbed Nie Chen and was about to go upstairs to pack.

Ke Zhengye was furious: "I’m talking to you!! You ungrateful brat! Do you even care about this family? Don’t think just because you set up the 'Xiaoyao Sect' and donated some money to the disaster area that you’re impressive! Acting so flashy, one day someone will harm you, and you’ll die out there without even knowing... mmm..."

Jiang Wanru pinched Ke Zhengye’s mouth shut, physically silencing him, then turned to Ke Xingzhou and said: "Xingzhou, don’t listen to your dad, he’s just being rude. Did nothing happen when you went to the disaster area? I had the kitchen stew some soup, remember to drink it after you're done with your business."

Ke Zhengye’s eyes widened. What do you mean by 'done'?

What could a couple of men alone in a room possibly be busy with? This was his house! Don’t go too far!!

He put on the authoritative demeanor of the head of the family and glared at Ke Chenyi, trying to get his only somewhat obedient eldest son to stop these two shameless people.

But instead of receiving the signal, Ke Chenyi explained to Ke Xingzhou: "You weren’t replying to messages, we were getting ready to go out to find you."

Even the second son, Ke Yuanbai, ran over enthusiastically to care for them: "Is there anything I can help with?"

Although the "All-Purpose Idol" program had been off-air for an episode and the rerun time hadn’t been determined, several of the higher-ranked contestants had already received offers, and Ke Yuanbai was one of them.

His formal work had completely transformed him, and even his demeanor had become much brighter.Originally, based on Ke Yuanbai’s character, he would not have continued after saying that sentence, but after looking at Ke Xingzhou and then at Nie Chen, who was standing very close to him and almost blending with his aura, Ke Yuanbai thought for a moment and added, "I support you guys."

Ke Xingzhou: "…?"

Nie Chen: "… Thank you."

Ke Zhengye: "!!!"

Ke Zhengye was still in shock. When he finally reacted to what his second son had just said, he immediately became furious: "What are you saying to them? What do you mean by supporting them? The Ke family has never had a single homosexual in all these years! Do you want to make me die of anger? You ungrateful brat! You all are ungrateful brats! Ah!!!"

He was about to rush up and slap Nie Chen, to fiercely teach him a lesson for leading his child astray.

However, both of his sons had already grown up, and even his wife no longer listened to him. Jiang Wanru gave a command, and the two sons, one on each side, lifted him up, carrying him out while his feet didn’t even touch the ground.

Before leaving, this overly enlightened mother locked the villa's main door, tossed the key through the window into the living room, gave Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen an "OK" hand gesture, and swayed her waist as she went out shopping.

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Nie Chen: "…"

Ke Xingzhou suspiciously furrowed his brows: "I feel like they misunderstood something?"

They were clearly just back to pack their things, getting ready to move across the street.

He was confused, not understanding how things had turned out like this, when suddenly his hand was held by Nie Chen.

Nie Chen held his hand, "Do you still want to elope with me?"

He lowered his gaze, his grey-green eyes filled with Ke Xingzhou’s reflection, his expression calm and gentle, as if no matter what Ke Xingzhou chose, he would accept it willingly.

Only deep in his eyes, there was a faint trace of unease.

Ke Xingzhou shook his head heavily.

Nie Chen paused, his eyelids slightly drooping. After a moment, he smiled and nodded: "Alright."

That’s right.

Though the two of them had grown closer during this time, Ke Xingzhou hadn’t verbally agreed to restore their relationship.

He slightly pulled away: "Then why don’t you go upstairs and take a nap?"

Ke Xingzhou shook his head again.

"What are you thinking?" Ke Xingzhou directly pulled Nie Chen’s hand and walked toward the stairs, "Could we still call this an elopement? Didn’t you hear what Ke Yuanbai just said? He supports us."

Nie Chen froze and looked up, only to see Ke Xingzhou’s ears turning red, hidden in his hair.

After a short while, unable to get an answer from Nie Chen, Ke Xingzhou turned back and shot him an unhappy glance.

Only then did Nie Chen realize that Ke Xingzhou’s neck and cheeks had turned a deep red.

He belatedly realized, and couldn’t help but laugh softly.

Ke Xingzhou was a little annoyed: "What are you laughing at?""No," Nie Chen shook his head, stepping forward to follow Ke Xingzhou upstairs, his steps even quicker than Ke Xingzhou's.

He moved closer to Ke Xingzhou, his shoulder brushing against his: "I didn’t quite hear what you said earlier. Why can’t our relationship be called an elopement?"

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Ke Xingzhou opened his mouth, feeling a bit hesitant.

But when he met Nie Chen's slightly glowing grey-green eyes, it was as if he was enchanted. He quietly but honestly spoke, "It’s not like our relationship is something we have to hide. Besides, we’ve already passed the clear path..."

"Then what exactly are we?" Nie Chen coaxed gently, "Even after the clear path, there could be many types of relationships—like friends, like teacher and disciple... Master, it seems like our teacher-disciple relationship hasn’t been confirmed yet?"

Ever since the last time Ke Xingzhou rebutted Nie Chen, Nie Chen hadn’t called him "Master" for a long time. Hearing it suddenly like this, Ke Xingzhou was caught off guard, and his ears turned hot.

Nie Chen, however, seemed completely unaware of doing something wrong. With a slight smile at the corner of his lips, he stepped closer, pinning Ke Xingzhou against the corner wall.

His gaze darkened: "The fact that I’m your ex-boyfriend... I don’t think many people know about it."

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Ke Xingzhou couldn’t stand him bringing up the past. Hearing this, he immediately felt bad and hurriedly surrendered, "Current, current boyfriend relationship!"

Even in the past, he rarely said such things directly. Most of the time, it was Nie Chen who took the initiative.

Ke Xingzhou, feeling a little unable to face Nie Chen, couldn’t help but raise his hand, covering his eyes with the back of his hand, pretending not to look at him.

Nie Chen, however, remained unusually quiet for a while.

Soon after, Ke Xingzhou felt his hand being held, a wave of warmth spreading through his palm, and then his fingers were gently parted, interlacing with Nie Chen's.

Nie Chen gently tugged, and his hand fell.

Ke Xingzhou turned his face away, not looking at Nie Chen, but Nie Chen tilted his head to look at him.

As the head of a top domestic conglomerate, seeing him twist into such an awkward posture was quite unflattering. Ke Xingzhou couldn’t help but purse his lips, but the corner of his mouth soon formed a smile, which Nie Chen kissed.

Nie Chen, with his back to the light, his gaze growing dimmer, spoke in a voice as soft as a feather: "Thank you, Zhou Zhou. For giving me another chance…"

Ke Xingzhou suddenly felt a lump in his throat, feeling a bit caught off guard. He couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful toward Nie Chen. Why say sorry at a time like this…

Just as he was about to speak, his body suddenly felt light as Nie Chen swept him off his feet.

Nie Chen carried him, striding towards his room.

Once inside, he kicked the door shut effortlessly.

Ke Xingzhou felt like the world spun, and he was already pressed against the wall.

Their hands were interlocked, tightly controlled by Nie Chen’s large hand, while the other hand slid toward the hem of his clothes.

Ke Xingzhou shuddered, not reacting in time, and blurted out: "Don’t..."

Nie Chen didn’t stop. He merely looked up at him, the curve of his lips full of mischief: "Zhou Zhou, you’re stronger than me."Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Ke Xingzhou’s face suddenly turned red.

Nie Chen’s large hand encountered no resistance and directly pressed against his side.

Ke Xingzhou shuddered from the heat, letting out a muffled moan, and Nie Chen’s fingers immediately froze.

But only for a moment, as if a nerve had been ignited, Nie Chen's breath suddenly grew rapid. He bit Ke Xingzhou’s earlobe, no longer slow and teasing with his body, his lips lightly brushing against Ke Xingzhou’s neck before sealing his lips.

His voice was low and hoarse: "Zhou Zhou, Zhou Zhou…"

The air heated up.

Two hours later, Nie Chen walked out of the bathroom, still covered in moisture.

There was only a figure left on the bed, curled up in the blanket, forming a small hill, with only his disheveled head visible from the exposed part of the blanket under the light streaming in from the window.

Nie Chen chuckled lightly and walked over to unwrap the blanket.

Ke Xingzhou, half awake and half asleep, recognized the familiar scent and only gave a soft hum before allowing the other to open his body, exposing his pale back covered in scattered marks to the air.

Nie Chen leaned down, preparing to cover him with the blanket, but Ke Xingzhou instinctively wrapped his arm around him, his head burrowing into his neck.

"…" Nie Chen’s Adam's apple moved up and down as his gaze looked down, taking in the entire scene in the room.

He whispered into Ke Xingzhou’s ear: "Want to continue?"

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Although he wasn’t fully awake, upon hearing those words, Ke Xingzhou shuddered, his ears turning bright red at a visible speed. He quickly released his grip and rolled to the other side of the bed.

Nie Chen couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

He walked around to the other side of the bed, covered him with the blanket, adjusted the air conditioning to a higher temperature, rubbed Ke Xingzhou’s ear, and planted a kiss on his forehead.

"I’m going to the company."

Ke Xingzhou mumbled a response, rolled over, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the storage room, the flame of the soul lamp, carelessly piled among miscellaneous items, flickered, suddenly growing a little brighter, as though fueled by something, but soon weakened again.

The appearance of the stars had caused varying degrees of impact in many areas. As the company with the most donated supplies during this multi-region disaster, Wanli Group still had many follow-up tasks to handle.

However, what was unusual today was that the entire floor of the Wanli Group chairman’s office was empty, with even the assistants who usually worked here being sent away. Only Assistant Liu remained, sitting with Nie Chen in the meeting room, seemingly waiting for someone to appear.

Not long after, a group of invisible figures appeared outside the glass on the middle floors of the Wanli building.

Nie Chen was not surprised by their appearance.

He raised his hand, signaling Assistant Liu to open the window. Soon, a group of strange creatures appeared in the meeting room, quickly transforming into human form.Assistant Liu: "…"

Although he had already seen these stars when accompanying the boss and his wife to deliver relief supplies earlier, seeing these deities suddenly appear before him now still made Assistant Liu shiver.

Fortunately, his strong professional qualities allowed him to quickly calm down. After confirming the number of people, he went to prepare tea.

Before leaving, he glanced around the meeting room, and his gaze suddenly stopped at a figure in the corner, a person whose eyes were covered with white cloth.

For some reason, he felt that this person looked a lot like the boss…

Although, in terms of temperament and appearance, they were completely different.

Assistant Liu was puzzled, but didn’t think much of it. He closed the door and hurried to prepare things.

In the meeting room.

Lian Cheng glanced at the door, then quickly averted his gaze, his expression dark as he faced Nie Chen: "You’re late, at least an hour."

Nie Chen, who had also noticed the look Assistant Liu had given before leaving, showed no displeasure on his face. Instead, he curved his lips: "Young, healthy."

Lian Cheng: "…"

The stars: "?"

The stars had no idea what these two were talking about.

They had been working diligently everywhere, gathering hard-earned merits, even helping someone they overheard in a residential building who was praying for a painless hemorrhoid surgery.

— A day without merit is truly not worth living as a deity!

Speaking of which, they had been working so hard to accumulate merit, what big issue was so urgent that they had to be called over?

The Earth Deity, who had an impatient nature, couldn’t sit still before Assistant Liu came back: "You’re all modern human beings with modern spiritual tools. Can’t you just talk about things on your phones?"

Why were they even more behind than them, who had been sealed for thousands of years?

On the second day of joining the Immortal Sect, the personnel manager, Zhu Chu, had given each star a mobile phone, saying it was a work benefit.

Thinking back to when they worked for the Way of Heaven, they didn’t even get benefits, and every time something came up, they were penalized with merit loss and struck by lightning for being late.

The benefits of being a disciple of the Immortal Sect became immediately apparent. The stars, who had once resisted becoming vassals of humans, softened their attitude significantly due to this small phone.

Not to mention the small classes in the Immortal Sect that helped them adapt to modern technology, and these tech products. Every time they went out on official duties, they also got paid.

At first, they were made to do this work because they caused damage and had to repay it.

When looked at this way, modern humans were really cute and kind compared to thousands of years ago.

Moreover, helping humans solve problems and gaining merit—merit was the vessel of all things. Without merit, even stars couldn’t absorb the power of faith. Once their original power was used up, they would become ordinary creatures, no different from regular humans.

As a result, within just a few days, the stars quickly accepted their new job, even becoming more motivated than before, especially with the comparison to the previous work for the Way of Heaven.

They didn’t want to waste a single second on anything else!The stars gazed mournfully out of the window, their urgency to return to work clearly displayed through their body language. They didn’t even notice a few gods were missing.

Nie Chen: "…"

Lian Cheng: "…"

The shared sensation of a person and a spirit immediately felt twice as speechless.

Nie Chen’s fingertips lightly tapped the desk, drawing the stars’ attention. Seeing that Lian Cheng wasn’t going to speak, he slowly said, "The Wind and Rain Deities have lost contact in the northwest direction."

The stars looked confused.

"Their phones are lost?" Earth Deity Ji muttered, "These two have been losing things since ancient times, always losing two at a time. Every time they can’t finish the rain and wind rituals on time, they get punished by the Way of Heaven. Wait a moment, I’ll contact them using a communication talisman."

He pulled out a jade talisman, began writing on it, and shouted "Work, come back quickly!" but was stopped by Lian Cheng raising his hand.

Lian Cheng slightly turned his face, his spiritual sense sweeping over the stars’ faint merit light.

The stars were highly sensitive to spiritual probes, especially when their merits were insufficient. Faced with Nie Chen and Lian Cheng, who had abundant merit, the more sensitive stars flared up: "What are you doing?! We haven’t done anything harmful to the world! The Way of Heaven took away our merit for no reason!"

Lian Cheng was silent for a moment, then spoke, "Right, you didn’t do anything. Why would the Way of Heaven take all your merit?"

The stars: "?"

They couldn’t tell if Lian Cheng’s words were mocking them or if it was a genuine question. They looked at him suspiciously.

Then, they heard Lian Cheng mumbling to himself, "Why would they take away all the divine merit of the gods before the Divine and Demon War, but not take any other punitive actions?"

This was a question that not even the numerous gods of the divine race had figured out after ten thousand years. Hearing Lian Cheng bring it up now felt humiliating—how could the mighty gods, who had always thought themselves to be executors of the Way of Heaven, one day be abandoned by the Way of Heaven, unable to govern it anymore, and have their merits stripped away?

How humiliating!

The Earth Deity, in a fit of anger, glared at Lian Cheng and Nie Chen’s abundant merit for a while, then turned and rushed headfirst into the glass!

Assistant Liu, having just finished preparing the tea, entered to see this scene and nearly had a heart attack, feeling like his heart might stop. He almost dropped the teapot and rushed to save them.

But the next second, he saw the elderly deity, who seemed to be seeking death, pass through the glass, crying as he flew off into the distance.

Assistant Liu: "…"

Nie Chen: "…"

The other stars, seeing this, all dropped their tasks and ran towards the window, one after another.

Assistant Liu’s scalp tingled, and he trembled as he asked, "Mr. Nie, shouldn’t we call them back?"

His tea was just made!

Nie Chen glanced thoughtfully at Lian Cheng and shook his head, "No need."

After a pause, he instructed Assistant Liu, "Record all their phone numbers, contact the Environmental Protection Bureau, and have them go work where improvements are needed."

Assistant Liu: "The Environmental Protection Bureau in Beijing has already issued environmental tasks, and the New Energy Management Department also sent an invitation, asking the Wind Deity to go help with the wind turbines. Should we give them more work?"

"Add more," Nie Chen’s eyes darkened slightly. "Don’t they want to accumulate merit? Have them take on all the national environmental tasks. Let them accumulate it."Liu Tezhu: "…Alright."

Liu Tezhu took the task and left. Before closing the door, he glanced at the spot where the stars had been standing and couldn't help but silently shed a tear for them.

He wondered if these gods, who had been idle for ten thousand years, could handle the workload of regular workers…

The stars that ran outside suddenly felt a chill down their backs, as if something bad was about to happen.

--

Ke Family.

Nie Chen’s car had just stopped when he saw Luo Hou, dressed in a flashy wine-red suit, holding a bouquet of roses, ready to enter.

There were so many people coming to Ke’s house to offer incense, especially businesspeople who didn’t want to go to the crowded filming base entrance. They purposely used connections to come to this villa area. Therefore, the Ke family’s front door was often wide open, allowing anyone to enter.

Because of the earlier incident where clothes were torn off, Nie Chen didn’t have a good opinion of this Demon Ancestor. Seeing him, he subconsciously furrowed his brows.

He got out of the car and quickly caught up, blocking Luo Hou before he could enter. Nie Chen looked at the bouquet of roses, his brow furrowing even more: "What are you here for?"

"To see Ke Xingzhou! Who else would I be looking for?" Luo Hou said with a natural tone, attempting to squeeze past Nie Chen. "Move aside, you're blocking my way to see my dear friend."

When the word "dear friend" was said, Nie Chen’s brow twitched.

He remembered why he always disliked Luo Hou. Back when Lian Cheng was still just Ke Xingzhou’s tool spirit, Luo Hou was constantly referring to Ke Xingzhou as his "dear friend."

Like he didn’t have any bones.

Yet, Ke Xingzhou was so insensitive to such things, always thinking that Luo Hou’s closeness was within the normal bounds of friendship. Lian Cheng, as a tool spirit, didn’t even have the qualification to be jealous, which almost made him injure himself in frustration.

But that was when Lian Cheng had no position. Now, Nie Chen’s position was more than sufficient.

Nie Chen darkened his face and pushed the bouquet of roses away, "He’s not the Ke Xingzhou from your era, you’re not familiar with him, so stop this act."

Earlier, when Luo Hou realized that Ke Xingzhou firmly separated his modern self from his past life, he had disappeared for a long time. Later, when Ke Xingzhou went to the disaster area to suppress the rebellious stars, Luo Hou didn’t come close to try to get familiar again.

Nie Chen thought this would be enough to remind him to mind his identity. But unexpectedly, Luo Hou, who had previously been perceptive, now smiled maliciously at him: "How do you know he’s not? What if he remembers everything?"

After saying this, without heeding Nie Chen’s obstruction, Luo Hou directly bypassed him and, with a speed nearly invisible to the naked eye, slammed open the door and stormed into the villa.

The villa was dark, and a thin figure stood by the window, the clothes fluttering in the night breeze, as if about to take flight.

Luo Hou’s intrusion caused the sensing lights in the room to light up. Ke Xingzhou, sensing the movement, turned around. When he saw Luo Hou, he frowned, "You broke my door again."

Again…

Nie Chen’s heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly found himself unable to take another step.