Chapter 49

Chapter 48 Hotel

Everything before He Zhen’s eyes was far beyond his expectations. Facing Ming Yue’s aggressive attitude, his first reaction was a bit stunned, somewhat at a loss.

But fortunately, in the dream he was Yu Qin.

Yu Qin, much more composed than his 18-year-old self in this life.

So He Zhen, seeing himself as Yu Qin, expressionless and unusually cold, raised his hand and mercilessly guided his fingers slowly into Ming Yue’s mouth, while the other hand gripped his neck.

He leaned down, pressing Ming Yue back down with force, then Yu Qin, stroking his Adam’s apple, whispered in his ear, “Shut your mouth. Still have the strength to talk?”

Before dawn.

He Zhen woke from sleep, instinctively reaching out, touching something sticky.

His heart was still racing, his mind almost in chaos, unable to distinguish whether what happened in the dream had truly occurred.

Finally, after three cold showers, he barely calmed down.

That night, after finishing his evening classes, He Zhen carried a keyboard and took a taxi to the Maze Inn.

At the front desk, Shi Zong wasn’t sitting on the small sofa where he usually liked to read; only Zuo Sanqiu was there.

Seeing He Zhen, Zuo Sanqiu was a little surprised. “Why are you here?”

“I…” He Zhen handed the keyboard to Zuo Sanqiu. “I bought a keyboard, can’t get used to it, giving it to Boss Shi, see if he likes it.”

Taking the keyboard, Zuo Sanqiu looked and was surprised. “Wow, this is an HHKB, did you modify it?”

HHKB keyboards were said to be coders’ favorites.

Zuo Sanqiu had heard of them; even the basic model wasn’t cheap, and modifying it—switches, keycaps, fine-tuning the feel—was both labor-intensive and costly.

A keyboard painstakingly customized, and He Zhen just gave it away casually?

Zuo Sanqiu looked at He Zhen skeptically several times but didn’t ask further.

He Zhen stood by the front desk, not saying much.

Thinking of the blushing, heart-racing scene in his dream, he still felt unsettled.

Especially recalling Shi Zong’s words:

“I had a dream, in it was someone, I called him Your Highness the Third, Song Emperor.”

“Why did I tell you such a private matter?”

“People you see in dreams should be met when you wake up.”

What did he dream about then?

Could it have been that scene too?

How would he think of me?

Could it be that during this time…

He Zhen forced himself to calm down, restoring his usual expressionless, cold demeanor, and asked Zuo Sanqiu, “Where’s Boss Shi?”

“Oh, he went out drinking with someone, I guess.” Zuo Sanqiu said.

“Drinking? With whom?” He Zhen instinctively frowned.

“Don’t know. Lately he often goes out at night, sometimes not coming back.”

Zuo Sanqiu explained, “They’ve been building a bar street in the old town, right? Now it’s finished, and several bars opened at the same time in the past few days. Many bar owners left flyers here, hoping we could help attract customers.

“To thank Boss Shi, those owners invited him to drink.”

Thinking of something, Zuo Sanqiu pulled out a basket filled with business cards and notes with phone numbers.

“What’s this?” He Zhen frowned further.

“These are from when Boss Shi went to bars in the past few days. He’s very popular. But times are bad, people’s hearts aren’t pure. Look at these names… why are so many men?”

“Hey, hey, isn’t your expression… right? You find it strange too, right? See, I’m not the only one afraid of men in this world!”

Thinking of what Shi Zong had said about pursuing the pleasures of the body, He Zhen immediately interrupted Zuo Sanqiu: “Which bar did he go to today? His number, who invited him—tell me everything.”

Qingyun Hotel, Room 1123.

Shi Zong sat on the sofa with his laptop, typing.

He had discussed with Zhou Lü a way to find game teammates in the real world to bring into the guild, now preparing some preliminary work.

Not long ago, he had been invited to a newly opened bar in the old town.

The person who invited him had met him yesterday while drinking, gave himself the English name Alex.

Alex seemed to assume that Shi Zong agreeing to the invitation meant spending the night together.

So in the private room, Alex opened a bottle of whiskey and added a powder, claiming it would enhance the night for both of them.

Shi Zong came purely out of boredom and to test his abilities after obtaining two “Night” knight badges.

Touching the spiked whiskey with his fingers, he slightly narrowed his eyes, seeing clearly Alex’s hand reaching toward him.

Alex was tall, slim, wore glasses, fairly good-looking, and clean-cut. Shi Zong initially didn’t find him unpleasant to look at.

But seeing the visions brought by the knight badge, even before Alex touched him, Shi Zong felt extreme disgust.

He took the bottle, raised it, and asked Alex, “What did you put in this? Is it safe?”

“Don’t worry. Just for fun,” Alex said, gave a name, and handed the bottle for inspection.

“Oh, thanks for the drink. But I still have work, can’t drink, I’ll take it with me.” Shi Zong took the whiskey and opened the private room door.

Alex froze, stunned. “Wait, what… what does this mean?”

“Oh, I forgot about reciprocity, didn’t I?”

Shi Zong waved back, smiling. “Next time you come to the Maze Inn, I’ll buy you coffee.”

After that, Shi Zong booked a hotel room, checked the substance in the drink, confirmed it was safe, and with no warnings from the knight badge, drank a little, quietly waiting for the “enhancement” effect.

Not knowing who he was, caught in a mysterious game, unaware of his goal or future… many things irritated him.

Shi Zong felt he needed external help to relax.

Yet he felt nothing.

No taste, emotionally indifferent, disgusted by strangers’ closeness—why couldn’t he even please himself now?

The only positive: somehow, whiskey, the substance, or both together restored a little taste. He could smell the faint scent of incense in the hotel.

He promptly ordered food, opened his laptop, and started coding.

Work calmed him.

After some calm, he realized he might be a naturally chosen workaholic.

After coding for a while, the doorbell rang.

The bell rang urgently, over and over.

Worried about being late and losing money?

The delivery guy was impatient.

Yawning, Shi Zong got out of bed, slippers on, and went to the door.

Gripping the handle, the upgraded knight badge gave him a sensation.

Opening the door, sure enough, it was He Zhen.

Shi Zong looked surprised. “Why are you here?”

He Zhen looked at him with an unusually complicated expression, then without warning, pushed him aside and entered the room.

“What are you doing?” Shi Zong raised an eyebrow, slightly displeased.

He Zhen ignored him, first checking the bathroom, then the bedroom, opening the wardrobe one by one.

Shi Zong walked up, puzzled. “He Zhen? Running here at night, what’s the madness? How did you even find me?”

Before He Zhen could answer, the doorbell rang again.

He Zhen’s gaze toward him turned even more complicated.

“Is it him?”

“Who?” Shi Zong asked.

“You and him came to book a room?”

“…?”

Shi Zong was confused and annoyed by He Zhen’s behavior and questioning tone.

Before he could speak, He Zhen turned and opened the door.

Three minutes later.

He Zhen, expressionless, carried mashed potatoes, baked potato slices, and fried little potatoes to the window.

Facing Shi Zong, equally focused on his laptop, he spoke softly. “Sorry, I…”

Shi Zong ignored him, annoyed. “Go away. Don’t disturb my work.”

“Then remember to eat.”

He Zhen placed the delivery food on the coffee table and left.

It was a suite. Shi Zong noticed he didn’t leave, only went to the adjoining bedroom.

Glancing at He Zhen’s back, Shi Zong ignored him and finished coding.

After work, Shi Zong closed the laptop and started eating the potatoes.

Halfway through, probably when the substance wore off, he couldn’t taste anything, so he got up to the bedroom to drink more whiskey.

At that moment, he noticed the bottle on the bedside table was almost empty.

A full bottle of spiked liquor, he only had a sip… the rest…

Shi Zong inhaled lightly and looked at He Zhen beside him.

—His face was already red.

Shi Zong spoke: “Don’t tell me… you drank it all.”

“You said this whiskey isn’t right. Did you add something?”

He Zhen’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, casting Shi Zong a very puzzled look.

Shi Zong felt he could read the confusion in his eyes—

You came to the hotel alone, maybe because Zuo Sanqiu and the others were noisy and you wanted a quiet place to work. I get that.

You brought whiskey to drink alone, I also get that.

But adding this stuff to the whiskey you were going to drink alone… what does that mean?

Shi Zong: “………………”