Ch25 - Divine assistance

Ling Xi was exhausted the night before, so he slept until lunchtime the next day. He felt quite depressed when he touched his ferociously growling stomach and remembered that the last time he ate a meal was on the airplane 24 hours ago.

However, Ling Xi soon realized that getting up early was not as beneficial as getting up at the right time. A little Taoist knocked on the door as soon as he finished washing up to remind him that lunch was ready. He cheerfully responded, changed his clothing, and walked out the door. 

By the way, the king-size suite lived up to the name Ling Xi bestowed upon it. The other two side rooms shared a bathroom with three or four beds in a row (regardless of gender), while Ling Xi’s room had its own bathroom and toilet. It was nearly like being in an apartment after closing the main door.

Ling Xi hummed a folk tune as he followed the young Taoist priest to the temple’s dining hall. Everyone else had arrived, each with a huge bowl in hand, and had quietly lined up in a row, waiting for the Taoist priests who were serving food from iron buckets. The Taoist temple employed special cooks who resided in the Taoist temple and were hired from the village beneath the mountain. The temple cuisine tasted very similar to that of a school cafeteria, but at least the school cafeteria included meat. The temple’s dining hall, on the other hand, did not serve meat…

Despite the fact that there was no meat available, Ling Xi ate two enormous bowls of the vegetarian food in his hands, all while looking glum. He felt his tummy and believed that it was just half full. Zhu Linlin, who sat across from him, chose only two or three slices of cabbage to eat. She remarked that losing weight was a woman’s life’s work. She didn’t raise her head when she saw Ling Xi eating. She snorted mockingly: Chowhound.

There was no meat to eat at midday, and there was no meat to eat at night, either. Ling Xi had the impression that he was about to wither. He would have bought a box of sausages at the foot of the mountain and smuggled it up if he had known there would be no meat. 

Because of the short amount of labor, the crew stated that they did not organize meat dishes specifically for their preparations this week. After everyone in the team moved in, there would be a special cook who would prepare meat on a regular basis for everyone.

Ling Xi, however, thought he couldn’t last a week without meat.

The most vexing aspect was that all people were vegetarians, but the little ancestor, as a dog, ate meat…

The little ancestor’s trainer stated: “Our little ancestor is a celebrity. Do you think that a dog who only produces movies may be fostered in a casual manner? Each of its three meals a day are specially planned by nutritionists. There is meat, vegetables, eggs and milk. If even one of these is missing, it can smell it!”

When the little ancestor was eating meat, the old Taoist priest passed by and glanced at the dog, but said nothing.

Ling Xi boldly stepped forward and asked: “Master, you can see that the dog is eating meat, can people also eat meat…”

The old Taoist priest inquired: “Why do you want to eat meat?”

Ling Xi scratched his head: “If I don’t eat meat, I usually feel like I haven’t eaten enough. I felt barely half full after eating at noon and at night.” 

The old priest nodded: “You were half-full at noon and half-full at night. Doesn’t this equal “one full”? Why do you want to eat meat when you’re already full?”

“…”

This deception was flawless, and with Ling Xi’s IQ, he couldn’t come up with a counter-argument. He left, touching his tummy and the word “miserable” stamped on his back.

At this time, the only thing that could console him was the king-size bed in his king-size suite. In his dreams, he could at least feed his little mouth. 

When he arrived at the Taoist Temple’s fourth courtyard, he happened to find Zhu Linlin seated on the promenade, playing with her phone. Ling Xi’s phone had died the night before, and he hadn’t charged it when he woke up. Charging a phone with no service was like attempting to charge an air conditioner’s remote control – futile. He noticed Zhu Linlin was serious and stared at the phone screen without blinking her eyes. For a moment, he was terribly intrigued and leaned in to peek at what she was doing.

Zhu Linlin’s vigilance was really poor. Ling Xi coughed fiercely where he stood before she realized that there was someone behind her. She was startled and turned to see who it was, but when she saw Ling Xi, she breathed a sigh of relief. She and Ling Xi made their debuts simultaneously. They’d been at odds for a long time and were well aware of each other’s dark history. She didn’t shy away from him. She kept her head buried in her phone and continued to look at it.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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Ling Xi was at a loss for words when it came to describing his psychological transformation. He stared at Zhu Linlin’s profile, amused and intrigued. But, more crucially, he felt like a person wandering in the dark who suddenly learns they are being accompanied by someone not far away. It was a feeling of relief. 

He paused for a bit before asking her, “Zhu Linlin, do you really like women?”

Zhu Linlin didn’t even look up: “Look who is pretending to be a curious baby. Didn’t I say it last time? Even if I like men, I won’t like you.”

“……” Ling Xi had no choice but to try another method of communicating with her: “Oh my! The three models stored in your phone are all quite attractive.”

Zhu Linlin finally looked up at him this time. Her eyes widened in surprise, like a small hen attempting to crow in vain: “Three? Isn’t this the same individual?” 

Ling Xi hastily stated, “How is it possible? The first model has a pointed chin, whereas the second model’s eye corners are larger than the other two. What you’re looking at right now should have been taken right after a hyaluronic acid shot…”

According to his instructions, Zhu Linlin reviewed the images of the three people multiple times before concluding that Ling Xi was correct. She expressed her admiration sincerely: “Oh~ I had no idea you were so discerning. You truly have a natural flair for being a lesbian.”

“…” For the second time that evening, Ling Xi choked. “How come you downloaded so many model images?”

Zhu Linlin glanced at him: “You’re permitted to jack off gazing at An Ruifeng’s photos, but I’m not allowed to download a few pictures of big breasted girls to lust over, eh?” 

The third time.

Ling Xi wanted to chastise her, but instead quickly refuted in hushed tones: “I, I, I, I, I don’t use his photographs to jerk off!”

“Ohh~ You don’t even have the strength to jerk off,” Zhu Linlin said, nodding. “Your sex life appears to be quite satisfying.”

The fourth time. 

It is unknown whether Ling Xi’s IQ was impaired and he became particularly foolish that day due to a lack of food. Zhu Linlin was tormenting him so much, but he couldn’t think of anything to say in response—of course, the other reason was his guilty conscience.

There was a moment of silence between the two. Zhu Linlin spent some time looking at the big beauties on her phone. Ling Xi was still sitting next to her like a statue after half an hour. She was about to chase away this uninvited guest when Ling Xi opened his mouth.

“Actually, the two of us… really aren’t in that kind of relationship.”

Zhu Linlin was stunned. She had not anticipated this response at all. She cocked her head and thought for a moment: “Oh! But, when we took the promotional photoshoot, An Ruifeng’s expression when he gazed at you plainly suggested that he wanted to be in “that kind” of relationship with you.” 

She waited for a few seconds, and seeing that Ling Xi did not refute, she continued once more: “After all, your tail was wagging so happily that day. I was scared you’d fly away with all that wiggling. Tut! Even if you don’t admit it, your body is completely honest.”

Ling Xi was unable to refute once more. He stood up abruptly and raced back to the room without even saying goodbye. His head was dangling so low that it was virtually buried in his chest.

Zhu Linlin calmly turned over another page of images, immensely pleased with herself. She was proud to think that if life were a game, she would have already gotten the medal of achievement for “Divine Assistance.” She would take credit in front of An Ruifeng at the appropriate time. He may be of great assistance to her.

※※※ 

Ling Xi sprinted all the way to his kingsize suite, wheezing as he leaned against the doorframe. There was too much information in Zhu Linlin’s statements right then, and even if he wanted to, Ling Xi couldn’t play the fool any longer. When Wu Youpeng had previously discussed An Ruifeng with Ling Xi, he beat around the bush for fear of provoking Ling Xi. He longed for Ling Xi to stroll as slowly as possible down this route. He was scared that being too direct would push Ling Xi straight into An Ruifeng’s embrace.

Furthermore, Ling Xi had a very hazy definition of this remarkable experience. He resembled a mischievous ghost hiding in a closet, examining everyone’s expressions.

If An Ruifeng’s sweet kiss that day was like slipping a key into this closet door and almost twisting it slightly, then Zhu Linlin’s remarks were like rockets blasting it to smithereens…

Ling Xi couldn’t stand up to the enemy’s firepower! 

Ling Xi yelled and grabbed his head a few times before finally recognizing that his feelings for An Ruifeng went well beyond friendship…

He used to be able to brush his presence in front of An Ruifeng every day. He could count the days till An Ruifeng joined the crew on his fingers, yet he was suddenly embarrassed to see An Ruifeng again.

He was twenty-six years old and was in elementary school the last time he felt this indecisive. At the time, he was concerned about whether he should attend Tsinghua University or Peking University when he grew up…

Behind him, there was a sudden sound of small paws walking across the stone floor. The little furry guy’s head smacked into Ling Xi’s ankle before he could turn his head. Ling Xi peered down, and it was truly the crew’s indomitable little ancestor. 

After seeing the little guy, Ling Xi’s mood improved dramatically. He took it in his arms and kissed its furry face. It was unquestionably preferable to be a dog. There were no concerns. Someone would adore it as long as it sold meng every day.

“You’re walking the dog so late in the evening?” he asked the trainer.

“It’s not walking the dog, it’s accompanying the little ancestor on a walk,” the trainer said, shaking his head.

“…” Ling Xi was confident his almanac for the day stated that it was “inadvisable to chat.” Otherwise, how could everyone who spoke to him choke him to silence? 

After the two of them exchanged a few words, the trainer reached out his hand to hold the little ancestor and return to rest, but the little ancestor bit down on Ling Xi’s sleeve and refused to let go.

“It appears that the little ancestor adores you and wishes to sleep with you.” The trainer stood up and clapped: “Then I’ll trouble you. I recall that your room has a large bed. The bed is a bit too high. You’d better put a chair near the bed to make it easier to get on and off the bed.”

Ling Xi was on the verge of kneeling: “This dog… Does he sleep on the bed? Does it sleep with people?”

The trainer laughed: “Yes, indeed. Its sleeping posture is rather poor. Make sure you don’t press down on it at night.” 

The ways of the world are scorching cold. People are not as good as dogs.

Ling Xi entered the room with the dog after the trainer had left. The small ancestor was unfazed. He sniffed around and soon located a vacant area under the table, where it changed into a little fat fur ball. It swung its tail softly and put its chin on its front paws, looking well-behaved and utterly cute. When Ling Xi glanced at it, it lifted its head and cocked it, its small tongue protruding. It did not appear to be as difficult to serve as the trainer claimed.

Ling Xi was relieved and went into the bathroom to freshen up. Men take short showers, and Ling Xi was done in ten minutes. He didn’t bring in a change of clothes because he was going to sleep in his pajamas after a while and there was no one else in the room except him. He walked out of the bathroom wearing only a towel around his waist.

The very next moment, he witnessed an idiom—absolute annihilation. 

Toilet paper was strewn across the floor, men’s skin care items were removed from the luggage, the ipad that had been on the table had mysteriously fallen to the ground, water was spilled, the mosquito repellent coil had fallen down, the electric fan wire had been bitten… And the culprit, the little ancestor, was chasing a transparent light brown ball around the room.

As for how the ball got there… Heh! It had been chewed off from Ling Xi’s suitcase.

In Ling Xi’s heart, 8 million bullet screens zoomed in a second, and each bullet screen yelled: ah... wu... yi... bah!… I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it! My bathing posture must have been wrong! QAQ

In the end, it took Ling Xi more than an hour to clean up the mess created by the small ancestor in ten minutes. When he lay down on the bed, he felt physically and mentally more tired than the day before. He couldn’t even muster the mental energy to consider his relationship with An Ruifeng. He was too exhausted. Anyway, An Ruifeng would join the crew six days later, which was enough for him… hoo… enough for him to slowly… hoohoo… think… snore… 

Ling Xi even neglected to put on his pajamas and fell asleep naked on the enormous bed. And the energetic little ancestor tossed around on the bed for twenty minutes before eventually settling down. It drilled into Ling Xi’s embrace and even obediently placed its chin on Ling Xi’s arm, reclining on its side to accompany Ling Xi into a lovely dream.

Ling Xi’s sleep was very deep and sweet after two days of physical and mental exhaustion. He appeared to have fallen into a comfortable and lingering dream, from which he had no desire to awaken.

Late at night, the suite door was pulled open with a “creak,” and soft moonlight flowed in unfettered. It happened to envelop the young man on the bed, who was half-curled and almost naked. His head slumped low, and his untidy, wet hair obscured his vision. The few strands of hair in front of his nose were blown up and slowly fell down with his deep breathing.

Ling Xi’s bare body glowed like fine porcelain in the dim moonlight, bright, clean, and full of allure. 

The guest who came from afar sucked in a breath and lost control of his heartbeat in an instant after viewing this scene. He took his time and proceeded to approach the sleeping person on the bed, step by step, guided by the moonlight.

Ling Xi’s arms suddenly opened to reveal a small furry head. The dark yellow-furred dog vigilantly watched the unexpected visitor with his ears up, as if it would bark at any moment.

The visitor had not anticipated seeing another guest except Ling Xi, but he had to admit that the scene of the sleeping young man holding a small dog in his arms was extraordinarily attractive and warm. He didn’t want the dog to disrupt Ling Xi’s sleep, so he extended his hand to let it smell his body. His gracious demeanor relieved the dog’s anxiety. It stared at him, but it’s buttocks had already made contact with the bed as it sat down.

The man turned back and closed the door softly. In the moonlight, his dark gray eyes were especially enticing. 

Unlike Ling Xi, he would not neglect to lock the door.