Chapter 68

It’s about to be discovered!

Ke Xingzhou’s heart skipped a beat as he saw the figure appear on the window. His mind went blank, and his hands and legs felt a bit weak.

Luckily, the lighting inside and outside was very different, and they were still a short distance from the window. Xie An couldn’t see if there was anyone outside. However, the heat from his body instantly fogged up the window, creating a blurry mist.

Xie An: "..."

He helplessly raised his hand to wipe away the fog on the glass. During this time, Ke Xingzhou quickly reacted, raised his hand, grabbed Nie Chen’s shoulder, and pushed him forward, pressing him against the wall next to the practice room window.

In his excitement, he didn’t control his strength, and Nie Chen’s back slammed into the wall, causing him to let out a muffled groan.

Ke Xingzhou was startled, quickly raising his hand to cover Nie Chen’s mouth.

Seeing Xie An leaning on the window again to look outside, his heart raced even faster. He tried to squeeze forward, using the raised part of the window sill to block their bodies from view.

Their bodies were pressed tightly together, the rise and fall of their chests and the frequency of their heartbeats intertwined, gradually blending into one.

Nie Chen looked down at Ke Xingzhou, who was buried in his arms.

The latter, with a nervous look, stared at the window, seeming genuinely afraid of being discovered and revealing their relationship. His long eyelashes trembled rapidly, and his dark eyes became even more distinct in the dark, with a faint light flickering in his eyes. Seeing this made Nie Chen's throat itch, and he couldn’t help but swallow twice.

The sound of swallowing echoed in Ke Xingzhou’s ears like thunder. He quickly turned around and glared at Nie Chen, signaling him to remain quiet.

"..."

Nie Chen’s gaze shifted slightly, and he obediently spread his arms, pressing them against the wall behind him, letting Ke Xingzhou arrange him however he wanted.

In the practice room, Xie An once again propped his eyes up with a small tent, looking outside, but all he saw was a patch of dark tree shadows.

The ringtone from earlier had only rung once before disappearing.

"Strange..." Xie An mumbled quietly, "Did I hear it wrong?"

The other contestants in his group were used to him constantly saying "Brother, brother" and hanging Ke Xingzhou’s name on his lips, so they couldn’t help but laugh. "You must have imagined it! After a whole day, just from what I know, you’ve already imagined it a few times. Why so nervous?"

"Ke Xingzhou isn’t a child, and besides, he got into Mr. Nie’s car when he left, he won’t be lost!"

Hearing this, Xie An became even more uneasy. "Mr. Nie? My brother went out to do something, why is he there too?"

His expression became tense, and when he mentioned Nie Chen, his tone was filled with suspicion.

Zhu Chu had never mentioned this to him!Earlier, it was like this—Mr. Nie got involved with my brother without me knowing, and then their relationship surpassed the friendship I had with my brother!

"I can't let this go, I have to call my brother again." Xie An took out his phone and dialed Ke Xingzhou's number.

Fortunately, Ke Xingzhou had set his phone to silent earlier. The only thing that lit up was the screen of his phone, wedged between him and Nie Chen, briefly illuminating both of their faces.

This bit of light was very noticeable in the darkness. Ke Xingzhou jumped in shock, quickly burying his face into Nie Chen's neck, blocking the phone's light.

The surroundings immediately plunged back into darkness, and Ke Xingzhou's vision was completely obscured. He felt the breath that Nie Chen exhaled near his ear, and it seemed like he suppressed a chuckle.

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

Xie An glanced over curiously, but due to his blind spot, he didn't notice anything unusual.

Meanwhile, the teammates inside were still laughing. "I almost ship you two. You guys as a couple wouldn’t be real, right?"

Xie An, skeptical, pushed the window open and looked outside. Hearing this, his ears turned red, and he seriously rebutted, "Don’t talk nonsense! I only admire and respect my brother, shipping us is too disrespectful!"

"No way, I actually think you two make a great pair! What did the fans say? Salted fish beauty and passionate little dog!"

"Your couple is so popular! I even got an iron fan badge in your super topic! Hahahahaha..."

The teammates’ friendly laughter came through the window and echoed in Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen’s ears.

The phone screen dimmed, and as Ke Xingzhou pulled away slightly, he felt Nie Chen’s fingers tighten around his waist. His deep eyes lowered, and he raised an eyebrow slightly at him.

Salted fish beauty and passionate little dog? Shipping them?

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

Could he say that he only found out about this today?

Xie An was embarrassed by his teammates' teasing. Not knowing how to prove his purely brotherly feelings for Ke Xingzhou, he simply turned back into the practice room with a straight face. "I see you're not too tired, let's open the music and practice again!"

"Ah, how can you do this!"

"We’ve only had a few minutes of rest, you’re such a devil..."

The music in the practice room resumed, and Ke Xingzhou finally relaxed, realizing that he had unknowingly embraced Nie Chen.

Their bodies were almost perfectly pressed together. The earlier intense scene still lingered in his mind, and neither of their breathing had settled. Their chests were tightly pressed together, pushing against each other.

When Ke Xingzhou pulled away, he suddenly realized that something seemed to be poking his leg.

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

This time, his own reaction was just as intense, so he couldn't reprimand Nie Chen like he had before.

He awkwardly shifted his gaze away, his temple throbbing, feeling like he had just endured a trial. He turned to head back to the dormitory.

But just as he started walking, his wrist was grabbed by Nie Chen, who pulled him back.

The familiar soft lips pressed against his again, seemingly ready to conquer him like before.

But Ke Xingzhou was very clear-headed this time. He hadn’t even processed that inexplicable kiss earlier, and now it was happening again. Furious, he immediately tried to push him away and even bit Nie Chen hard.Nie Chen's gaze darkened, but he didn’t even let out a muffled grunt. Instead, he squeezed Ke Xingzhou's palm, signaling him to look in the direction he indicated.

Ke Xingzhou, half believing and half doubting, looked in the direction Nie Chen pointed, and saw that Xie An had somehow returned to the windowsill. He looked worriedly out at the empty road outside, grabbed the phone on the windowsill, and turned back into the room.

"..."

Ke Xingzhou was taken aback.

Realizing he had wronged Nie Chen, he subconsciously loosened his bite.

He opened his mouth, wanting to apologize, but Nie Chen let out a low laugh.

Nie Chen immediately turned and pressed Ke Xingzhou against the wall, just as Ke Xingzhou had done to him earlier. One hand firmly controlled Ke Xingzhou's wrist, while the other guarded the back of his head, deepening the kiss.

The root of his tongue tingled slightly from the sensation, and being held in such a possessive way by Nie Chen felt both unfamiliar and thrilling.

Ke Xingzhou’s spine tingled uncontrollably, as if a spark had burned from his tailbone to the back of his neck.

His mouth felt dry.

Because he knew he was in the wrong, Ke Xingzhou didn’t resist too strongly, but this only gave Nie Chen an opportunity.

Without him realizing when, two large hands slipped under his shirt, the base of Nie Chen's palm pressing lightly but firmly against the hollow of his waist. With the beats of the music in the room, his fingertips occasionally brushed against his damp skin.

Those hands seemed to have unimaginable power, igniting every inch of skin they passed. Nie Chen's eyes were like two bottomless abyss, so deep they seemed to be pulling Ke Xingzhou's very soul in.

Ke Xingzhou felt as if he were being stalked by some primal beast, the sense of danger overwhelming him, and he couldn’t help but let out a low, muffled groan.

When they finally pulled apart, Ke Xingzhou was able to breathe fresh air again. Instinctively, he rejected the approaching lips of Nie Chen and turned his head to the side.

He breathed heavily.

This version of Nie Chen felt so strange to Ke Xingzhou. His face was the same, his technique no different from before, but when he stared at him in the darkness, there was an inexplicable sense of pressure, making him feel like he was about to be devoured.

Ke Xingzhou’s legs felt weak.

The music in the room continued, and Xie An and the others were inside, diligently practicing the songs they would perform on stage, while Ke Xingzhou was just one wall away with Nie Chen...

Ke Xingzhou’s face instantly turned red, and he raised his hand to block Nie Chen's face as he tried to get closer.

He lowered his voice, feeling irritated, "Nie Chen!"

Nie Chen paused, his gaze heavy as he stared at him. The fire in his eyes seemed like it could burn him to ash, but he remained silent.

There was still blood from where Ke Xingzhou had bitten him earlier on his lips. In the dim light, it was just a dark outline, but it made Ke Xingzhou feel guilty for a moment.

He clearly hadn’t strongly rejected Nie Chen earlier. If he had, with Nie Chen's strength, there would have been no way for him to force him.

They had already kissed, and now, facing Nie Chen again, Ke Xingzhou found it hard to stand firm like before.

Ke Xingzhou, rarely at a loss for words, softened his tone, "Don’t do this. The two of us... we’re not suited."

But before he could finish, Nie Chen's aura suddenly turned cold.

He grabbed Ke Xingzhou's waist, pressing his forehead against his, with an almost gritted-teeth tone, "What do you mean, 'not suited'? Is it here, or here?"His movements were far more reckless than before, almost setting fires everywhere.

Ke Xingzhou had slightly calmed down, but with this, his scalp tingled again, and he bit his tongue to avoid making a sound.

Once the rush passed, he became a bit angry, giving Nie Chen a sideways glance, "Nie Chen!"

But the look lacked any intimidation, his eyes were full of mist, and instead of looking threatening, it seemed more like a small animal trying to act tough.

He leaned weakly against the wall, his chest heaving violently.

Nie Chen placed his hand behind his head, but his voice was cold: "If this isn't suitable, then who is suitable for you? A passionate little dog?"

Ke Xingzhou: "…?"

His mind was a bit foggy, and it took him a moment to understand that the "passionate little dog" referred to Xie An.

What did this have to do with the kid?

Nie Chen stared at him for a while, but suddenly, his expression softened. The pressure he had been applying was neither too hard nor too soft as he spoke: "Master."

The word made Ke Xingzhou shudder, and he instinctively glared warily at Nie Chen.

Nie Chen showed no embarrassment. Instead, he leaned closer, their noses touching, his lips barely grazing Ke Xingzhou’s: "You don’t like him, do you?"

Ke Xingzhou was about to nod, but suddenly, his earlobe was bitten, and his waist was assaulted, making it burn.

"Can he make you this happy? Does he know that here, and here... you tremble when touched?" The deliberately lowered voice mixed with water sounds and the music in the room drifted into Ke Xingzhou's ear. "Can he get this close to you, treat you like I do?"

Ke Xingzhou’s hand was pulled over, feeling the intense heat from the other’s body. He quickly withdrew his hand.

Nie Chen’s gaze darkened sharply, but then he quickly smiled again: "Master, you didn’t reject me."

As his words landed, Ke Xingzhou's movements froze, and his body stiffened.

Nie Chen spoke slowly: "Master, my shoulder hurts, I might have bumped into the windowsill earlier."

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

"Could you check it for me? See if it's hurt?"

Ke Xingzhou: "…………"

After practicing a dance, Xie An saw that Ke Xingzhou had finally replied to his message.

[Brother: I'm back. I'm too tired today, I'm going to rest first.]

The little dog, who had been down all day, instantly came back to life. Without hesitation, he replied to Ke Xingzhou: [Got it! Brother, you worked hard today. Tomorrow, I’ll have Ke Yuanbai and An Heguang bring us hotpot! So you can get some good rest!]

After sending the message, he waited for a long time without a reply.

Xie An felt that Ke Xingzhou was acting a bit strange today. Normally, he wouldn’t ignore his calls, and he would always reply to messages. But today, for some reason, he had become so cold.

However, considering that Ke Xingzhou had been out performing rituals all day, it was understandable that he was exhausted. So, he didn’t think too much of it, put aside his doubts, and called Ke Yuanbai and An Heguang to arrange for hotpot.Anyway, since brother has safely arrived at the base, Mr. Nie can't possibly pass up the chance to sleep, right!

At the dormitory side.

Ke Xingzhou glanced at the lit-up screen, feeling strangely guilty, as if he were caught red-handed.

He was holding a pharmacy bag that he had just received from Assistant Liu, while in front of him, Nie Chen was taking off his clothes.

The expensive handmade suit jacket was carelessly thrown on his narrow dorm bed. Nie Chen lowered his eyes, naturally unbuttoning his shirt in front of Ke Xingzhou, revealing his muscular and well-defined upper body.

Nie Chen’s grandmother was a foreigner. He inherited her gray-green eyes and had fair, almost pale skin, with certain areas lighter than most people’s.

Ke Xingzhou’s gaze unintentionally lingered on it, but he quickly heard Nie Chen chuckle.

“…” Ke Xingzhou gritted his teeth, averting his gaze, “Turn around.”

There was indeed a bruise on the back of Nie Chen's shoulder.

His skin was thin and particularly pale, so even small injuries were very noticeable, and it looked rather shocking.

Seeing this, Ke Xingzhou felt even more embarrassed, since it was his fault for pushing Nie Chen against the wall to avoid Xie An’s sight, which caused the injury.

And then, he had bitten Nie Chen.

Although Nie Chen had also acted a bit out of line, it was his mistake, and he would own up to it.

Nie Chen had no shame, but he wasn’t like Nie Chen.

After opening the cold compress bag, Ke Xingzhou applied it to Nie Chen’s wound. Noticing his fingers were red and cold, Nie Chen took the cold compress bag from him, then reached out with a pitiful expression and said, "Master, my hand is hurt too."

It was the injury from where he had placed his hand behind Ke Xingzhou’s head earlier, and because Ke Xingzhou had struggled, it had caused a bruise.

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

With an annoyed sigh, he cleaned and bandaged Nie Chen’s injury. Just as he was thinking that he deserved it, he heard Nie Chen speak again.

"My tongue hurts too."

Ke Xingzhou: "…………"

Resigned, he continued to look through the medicine bag, but the items Assistant Liu had brought only included these few things. Ke Xingzhou furrowed his brow, "There’s no medicine for your mouth. You’ll have to wait until you get back and..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Nie Chen leaned in close, closing the distance between them from about a foot to almost nose-to-nose, his gray-green eyes locking with Ke Xingzhou’s. Ke Xingzhou’s reflection appeared in his pupils.

As Nie Chen got closer, Ke Xingzhou couldn’t help but think back to the scene outside the practice room, his heartbeat quickening just a little.

He quickly glanced at the dormitory door and lowered his voice, "Assistant Liu is still here! What are you going to do?"

Nie Chen slowly curved his lips, not answering him, but instead, he moved even closer, gently touching the tip of his tongue to Ke Xingzhou’s tightly sealed lips.

"Human saliva also has antibacterial and healing properties," Nie Chen said with an air of justification. "Master, how could you bear to watch and do nothing?"

"……"Enough!

Ke Xingzhou could no longer tolerate it. He raised his hand and slapped Nie Chen’s face. "A man who could die from such a small injury is useless. It would be better if you just died early!"

Nie Chen: "…"

--

Assistant Liu was hesitating about when it would be appropriate to send in a set, but when he turned around, he saw his boss being pushed out.

The tall man, nearly 1.9 meters, with his muscles well-proportioned, was still a big guy. Yet, he had been so easily pushed out of the door by Ke Xingzhou, who was half a head shorter.

When he came out, his clothes were disheveled. His shirt buttons were hastily done up, only reaching his chest, and his suit pants even had clear water stains.

What… what was this? Was he kicked out just before the final step?

Assistant Liu's heart sank, and he almost thought he had missed the right timing, imagining a miserable life after unemployment.

But then he realized Mr. Nie didn’t seem upset. He had no negative emotions from being kicked out and even nodded at him.

Assistant Liu: "…"

Although he didn’t know what happened, it seemed like his job was safe.

Thank you, Master Ke!

--

Nie Chen shook the water off the surface of the ice pack, tossed it to Assistant Liu to handle, and then knocked on the door.

"…" There was no response from inside.

Nie Chen knocked again, calmly and patiently, his tone drawn out, "Master…"

When Ke Xingzhou heard this address, he immediately lost his temper. "What!"

"I have something I want to discuss with you," Nie Chen said sincerely.

But Ke Xingzhou, having learned from past experiences, was no longer fooled. Instead, he became even angrier. "Do you think I'm a fool? Do you think I’ll fall for it a third time?!"

Nie Chen then said, "It’s about your past life."

"…"

The room fell silent for a moment. Nie Chen patiently waited for his response.

Soon enough, Ke Xingzhou opened the door but stared at him warily, not letting him in. "Assistant Liu can even find out about this?"

Nie Chen shook his head.

Even if Assistant Liu was highly skilled, it was impossible for him to investigate things that weren’t recorded in the life book.

"It’s just my guess," he said, his expression much softer after the earlier "comfort" from his master, but still somewhat heavy. "You’ve lost your merit, and I have so much of it. Tell me, is it possible that in your past life, you gave your merit to me?"

From the moment Xiang Ting said that "again," that thought had been swirling in his mind.Ke Xingzhou was born with extraordinary talent, possessing the ability to see the truth of the world, yet his merit was alarmingly low, so much so that he couldn’t even guarantee the most basic aspects of daily life. He had to run around every day, solving trivial matters for others, slowly accumulating merit bit by bit.

But the merit on him was so abundant, so excessive, that it exceeded the amount any living person should have.

This coincidence had once linked him closely with Ke Xingzhou, but now it had become a thorn embedded in his heart.

If—he said, if.

If Ke Xingzhou's experiences in this life were all caused by him, perhaps he was the one least qualified to stand by Ke Xingzhou's side.

This thought tormented Nie Chen throughout the journey. Only by constantly confirming Ke Xingzhou’s existence could his restless heart find a moment of peace.

But no matter how much he deceived himself, the moment of decision would come eventually.

Nie Chen shared his suspicions with Ke Xingzhou, his gray-green eyes lowered, for the first time not daring to meet Ke Xingzhou’s gaze, his voice growing quieter.

It was already very late. The contestants slowly returned, and the dormitory became lively from the first floor up. Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen stood facing each other, silent for a while.

Only Ke Xingzhou lived on the top floor. The other contestants had either become the top ones and moved into villas or moved downstairs to live with other familiar contestants.

The noise stopped on the first floor, and the excessive silence made one feel isolated, but before him stood someone who had experienced the same situation.

Ke Xingzhou finally spoke after a long while. "No."

Nie Chen suddenly looked up. After meeting Ke Xingzhou’s gaze for a moment, his eyes dropped to his lips, staring at the soft, rosy color he had created himself.

Ke Xingzhou hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand to touch Nie Chen’s neck. Nie Chen obediently bent down under his touch, burying his head in Ke Xingzhou's neck in a comforting gesture.

Sensing Nie Chen’s unease, Ke Xingzhou kissed his hair and then exchanged a kiss with him—one without any trace of desire.

Ke Xingzhou hugged Nie Chen, speaking slowly but firmly. "Even if we really exchanged merits in our past lives, you would never be the one to gain from it."

Carrying far more merit than his own fate, Nie Chen’s life hadn’t been much smoother than Ke Xingzhou’s.

They had depended on each other for so long and understood each other's situations clearly.

Nie Chen stared at him, forehead resting against his, the confusion in his eyes quickly fading, replaced by a trace of darkness.

He tentatively lowered his head and gently kissed Ke Xingzhou’s lips. "Are you still uncomfortable? Should I help you?"

Ke Xingzhou paused for a moment and then raised his hand to wrap it around Nie Chen’s neck.