ABSTIWTVMST Chapter 128

“So, has the male protagonist regained his memory?”

In this kind of situation, regaining memory might leave some room for maneuvering with the female protagonist. Could this be what the system meant by “no matter how things change, the essence remains the same”?

Xu Chenghao was pondering in his heart, but his eyes remained fixed on Ruan Chenxuan, refusing to let go of even the slightest change in his expression.

At this moment, Ruan Chenxuan was still frozen in place, frowning tightly. His gaze was unfocused and carried a sense of bewilderment, as if even he didn’t know why he had blurted out the name of a hotel.

Just now, something flashed through his mind, but when he tried to grasp it, all that was left was a vague impression. For instance, Hengyun Hotel… This name seemed familiar, so familiar that he wasn’t sure whether it came from the information provided by the old man or from his own original memories.

Ruan Chenxuan racked his brain for a long time and suddenly found it somewhat laughable. Both he and An Rouyu had ended up in such a state, what use was there in regaining his memory now?

While his mind remained rational, his heart, like a masochist, began yearning for his original memories, urging him to seek the truth. Even the determination he had clung to earlier started to waver.

Ruan Chenxuan’s mood plummeted. He had never expected An Rouyu’s influence on him to be this great.

He remained silent, took out his phone, and began contacting people. First, he arranged for An Rouyu to be placed in a secluded rehabilitation facility for recovery. Then, he notified the Ruan family that the child had been found. After being busy for quite some time, he finally remembered that he was in someone else’s home. Turning around, he said, “I didn’t expect to take up so much of your time. I truly apologize. I’ve already notified my people; once they arrive, I’ll leave immediately.”

Xu Chenghao nodded as a response, his eyes still observing Ruan Chenxuan’s emotions and expression, trying to determine if he had regained his memory.

Ruan Chenxuan also looked at him and said softly, “Thank you.”

Xu Chenghao immediately dismissed it, “I didn’t do much aside from informing you, so I can’t accept this gratitude.”

Ruan Chenxuan said, “I believe that if it weren’t for you, the child would definitely have been harmed. As the child’s father, it’s only natural for me to express my gratitude.”

Xu Chenghao was a bit surprised. “It seems like you really like children.”

Ruan Chenxuan stiffened slightly and replied, “To me, it’s just a responsibility that suddenly fell into my lap.”

The plot of a father doting on a carbon-copy son after being separated for three years became rather delicate after the male protagonist lost his memory. From his perspective, without the relevant memories, he naturally lacked the fatherly love that would have accompanied them. In fact, when the child was suddenly handed over to him, he felt it was strange and absurd. Even though he eventually accepted the child, he wouldn’t dote on him; he would simply see it as a responsibility to bear.

No wonder Ruan Chenxuan took a gamble by entrusting the child to An Rouyu—he hoped the child could grow up in an atmosphere filled with love, unwilling to let anyone repeat his own miserable path.

Unfortunately, An Rouyu had let him down.

Xu Chenghao sighed softly but said nothing. Since ancient times, even the most impartial officials have struggled to mediate family disputes, let alone the endlessly entangled matters of the male and female protagonists, who seemed destined to separate and reunite repeatedly. If you really tried to sort it all out, even they would probably end up confused, not to mention outsiders.

Thus, Xu Chenghao’s final act of kindness was to save the child. As for the remaining problems, he decided to toss them all back to the male and female protagonists to solve on their own.

Fortunately, Ruan Chenxuan didn’t linger for long. Once the Ruan family arrived, he quickly left with An Rouyu and the child.

The house instantly quieted down. Xu Chenghao watched as the housekeeper tidied up the milk powder and other items. Only then did he belatedly realize something. “Why is the housekeeper still here?”

His attention earlier had been entirely on the child and the male and female protagonists. Now that he had regained his focus, he suddenly remembered that the housekeeper usually got off work at six o’clock, and it was already past midnight.

Jing Yicheng explained, “I asked her to stay. I was worried you might come back drunk from the banquet, so I specifically had her prepare some hangover soup. But I didn’t expect so much to happen tonight—after all the commotion, any trace of drunkenness has completely disappeared.”

Xu Chenghao couldn’t help but laugh. “Even so, I still appreciate your thoughtfulness… It’s so late; let’s go to sleep.”

Jing Yicheng stood up as well. “Let’s head upstairs.”

Xu Chenghao, still intrigued by the little yellow duck-themed decor, agreed enthusiastically.

The two said goodbye to the housekeeper, and Jing Yicheng’s assistant wisely didn’t follow them upstairs. Sure enough, once they entered the room, Jing Yicheng grabbed Xu Chenghao and began his interrogation. “I counted—you stared at Ruan Chenxuan for thirty-seven seconds!”

Xu Chenghao: “Really?”

Jing Yicheng firmly said, “Yes!”

Xu Chenghao: “Oh.”

Jing Yicheng: “???”

“You’re not even explaining yourself now, are you? You don’t even want to bother making up an excuse to brush me off anymore, do you?” Jing Yicheng’s tone was full of grievance, but his posture was especially dominant. Grabbing Xu Chenghao’s wrist, he pressed him against the wall. Leaning in close, his aura was intense.

Xu Chenghao raised his metaphorical “pardon token.” “You said we wouldn’t do anything tonight.”

Jing Yicheng sneered, “As long as I don’t go all the way, it doesn’t count as doing anything.”

Xu Chenghao: “??? Wait, wait… I can explain! At the time, I thought Ruan Chenxuan had regained his memory, so I looked at him a bit longer. I was just observing him!”

Jing Yicheng was relentless. “Then why are you so concerned about whether he regained his memory?”

Xu Chenghao: “Because he’s an enemy. Knowing your enemy and yourself is the key to a hundred victories.”

Jing Yicheng was amused by the word “enemy” and bit Xu Chenghao’s lips, saying, “Don’t stare at him for so long in the future.”

Xu Chenghao mumbled a few vague responses, finally managing to appease the jealous man.

But the very next day, Xu Chenghao tempted fate by secretly investigating Ruan Chenxuan behind Jing Yicheng’s back. When he saw that, due to Old Master Ruan’s poor health requiring rest, Ruan Chenxuan had to personally take care of the child, he was caught red-handed and nearly didn’t survive the night in bed.

Xu Chenghao angrily pounded the mattress. “You’re getting more and more unreasonable!”

Jing Yicheng silently massaged his waist.

Xu Chenghao: “I just wanted to see how their story progressed, that’s all. I wasn’t planning to interfere. And yet you punished me without a word—you don’t love me anymore… Move a bit to the right!”

Jing Yicheng obediently adjusted and massaged to the right.

Xu Chenghao continued to scold, “You’re not even explaining yourself now, are you? You don’t even want to bother making up an excuse to brush me off anymore, do you?”

These were the exact words Jing Yicheng had used last night while he was jealous. Every time Xu Chenghao repeated them back verbatim, Jing Yicheng was rendered speechless and could only stay silent.

Xu Chenghao vented his frustrations happily and, feeling satisfied, buried himself into the pillow, attempting to take a nap. Jing Yicheng, seeing this, lay down beside him, pulling half of Xu Chenghao’s body into his arms and adjusting his posture. “You can’t sleep with your head buried in the pillow, you’ll suffocate.”

Xu Chenghao raised his foot and kicked his abs. “You can’t sleep while hugging me, I’ll suffocate.”

Jing Yicheng chuckled, lowered his head, and kissed Xu Chenghao’s knee. “It’s been a long time since you went back for a check-up. Since we have time this afternoon, let’s go and have it done.”

Xu Chenghao replied absentmindedly, “Mm.”

Jing Yicheng carefully set his leg down. “Feeling sleepy? Take a nap first.”

Xu Chenghao lazily said, “I think you forgot something.”

Jing Yicheng was puzzled. “Me? What could I have forgotten?”

Xu Chenghao glanced at him, slightly annoyed. “You actually forgot.”

Jing Yicheng suddenly had a bad feeling. “What… what did I forget?”

Xu Chenghao: “What do you think? What have you been preparing for the past few days?”

Preparing for what? Of course, preparing gifts to… meet! the! parents!

Jing Yicheng’s expression changed completely. He sat up abruptly and said, “I’m sorry, Haohao, I forgot… I’ll get dressed right now. There’s still time… The gifts are at home, ready to go. I’ll grab them in a bit. Wait for me.”

As he spoke, he threw off the covers and got out of bed, quickly taking a shower and changing into clean clothes. After tidying himself up thoroughly, he noticed Xu Chenghao still wrapped in the blanket, unmoving, watching his hurried actions. Jing Yicheng began coaxing him to get up. “Haohao, get up first. We can come back and sleep in the afternoon, okay? I promise I won’t bother you tonight.”

Xu Chenghao refused flatly, “No.”

Jing Yicheng lifted Xu Chenghao up, blanket and all. “Be good, Haohao. Get up now; you’re the only one left.”

Xu Chenghao nestled in his arms, calmly asking, “You’ve prepared everything?”

“Mm.”

“All that’s left is for me to get up?”

“Exactly.”

Xu Chenghao let out an “Oh,” pushed Jing Yicheng away, and flopped back onto the bed. Leisurely, he said, “Ruan Chenxuan left too late last night, so I texted my parents and told them we wouldn’t be coming today. Let’s sleep.”

Jing Yicheng: “???”

So… he had been played?

Jing Yicheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  Looking at Xu Chenghao wrapped in the blanket with a smug expression, he didn’t feel angry—in fact, he found him ridiculously adorable. He wanted nothing more than to hug him tight and smother him with kisses. “Haohao, how can you be this cute?”

“Sweet talk won’t work,” Xu Chenghao pushed him away unhappily. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask, but you actually forgot. Just how little do I mean to you if even meeting my parents slipped your mind?”

Jing Yicheng, knowing he was in the wrong, obediently apologized. “I’m sorry, Haohao. It’s my fault. Don’t be mad.”

Xu Chenghao: “Not be mad… Not be mad? As if! Get away from me!”

Jing Yicheng accepted the scolding without complaint. “Haohao, don’t be mad. How about you bite me a couple of times to help me remember? I promise I’ll never forget again.”

Xu Chenghao sneered, “There won’t be a next time. No need to go anymore.”

Jing Yicheng panicked. “No, I was wrong! Haohao…”

Xu Chenghao pretended he didn’t want to see him and turned to face the other side. Jing Yicheng kicked off his shoes, climbed back into bed, and leaned over him. Supporting himself with his arms on either side of Xu Chenghao’s pillow, he began doing push-ups and kissing him as a form of self-punishment.

Whenever Xu Chenghao turned his head left, Jing Yicheng would lean left to kiss him. When Xu Chenghao turned right, Jing Yicheng followed and kissed him on the right.

No matter how Xu Chenghao dodged, he couldn’t escape. Frustrated, he pulled the blanket over his head. But Jing Yicheng followed him into the blanket and started kissing him randomly in the dark until Xu Chenghao couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter. Only then did Jing Yicheng breathe a sigh of relief and promise again, “This will never happen again.”

Xu Chenghao was just teasing him. Seeing how sincere Jing Yicheng was, he was naturally very satisfied. Happily, he expressed his forgiveness and pushed Jing Yicheng out of the blanket so he could sleep.

Jing Yicheng knew Xu Chenghao disliked the feel of his clothes. So, after changing into loungewear, Jing Yicheng returned to the bedroom to find Xu Chenghao already asleep. His eyes were tightly closed, and his breathing was heavier than usual from exhaustion.

Jing Yicheng got into bed as quietly as possible. Almost instinctively, Xu Chenghao rolled into his arms, rubbing his face against Jing Yicheng’s chest until he settled down and continued sleeping.

Jing Yicheng patted him gently. Once he was sure Xu Chenghao was deeply asleep, he couldn’t resist lightly biting his earlobe and whispering, “Little rascal.”

 

 

The author has something to say:  On Jing Yicheng’s years of double standards—

When others play tricks:

Jing Yicheng: Just beat them to death.

When Xu Chenghao plays tricks:

Jing Yicheng: Haohao is so cute~~