Chapter - 10
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It must be an illusion. Absolutely an illusion.
[59, 58…]
Qiao Han, his eyes unfocused: "Didn’t we just cancel the engagement?"
[50, 49…]
Qiao Han, his face pale: "Didn’t the protagonist just kindly feed me?"
[40, 39…]
Qiao Han, trembling all over: "He even gave me extra lessons!"
[30, 29…]
Qiao Han, refusing to face reality: "Now you’re telling me to climb into the protagonist's bed and seduce him? Am I still human? Stop playing dead! Answer me!"
This was his idol, his god! He had been trying to show his best side in front of the protagonist, and now this? This!?
It completely undermined all the efforts he had put in up to now. What kind of twisted, self-contradictory, unstable, self-sabotaging, disastrous development was this?
The protagonist is definitely going to ask if I have some serious illness!
System: [I’ve told you before, you need to maintain your villain persona, or you’ll feel disconnected during missions. Who told you to ignore the friendly reminders?]
Qiao Han: "We have no friendship left! We're done! We're done!"
[10,9,8,7...]
Qiao Han: "Huh? Why is the countdown speeding up? I was wrong! I was wrong! No more breakups!"
System: [Is the host still refusing to act?]
Qiao Han: "It’s not about whether this insults me, it’s about insulting the protagonist!"
The cold and ruthless system: [3, 2, 1, countdown finished. The host failed to act. The system will now take control of the host’s body to complete the mission. Ding!]
Qiao Han: "Wait!!!!"
Before Qiao Han could process what was happening, his body shot up from the bed like a spring, charging toward the door.
It was as if his body had turned into a puppet controlled by invisible strings, each movement dictated by an unknown force. Worse yet, he couldn’t speak. All he could do was watch and feel as it unfolded.
As he neared the door, Qiao Han was struck with panic, his mind screaming: "The door! The door! The door!"
With a loud bang, Qiao Han crashed right through the door.
Qiao Han was now consumed by terror and confusion.
System: [Apologies, host. That was a bug. It will be fixed immediately.]
Qiao Han: "F-U-C-K!"
Sure enough, when he reached the second door—the one to the protagonist’s quarters—his controlled body knew better this time and pushed it open.
Fortunately, the protagonist wasn’t there. Unfortunately, the protagonist hadn’t set up any barriers or locked the door when he left, allowing this shameless intruder to stroll in as if it were nothing.
As Qiao Han navigated past the folding screen, he reached the inner chamber. He saw a bamboo bed draped with light blue curtains, the bedding consisting of white and blue—the standard issue for disciples of the Qingyun Sect. Because of their outward engagement as cultivation partners, Qiao Han's original body had also received the same set, though his previous self had switched to more extravagant and elegant bedding due to personal taste.
As he got closer and closer to the bed, Qiao Han's mind screamed in protest. He would rather die than go through with this! His consciousness fought back with all its might, but it was to no avail.
He was just about to crawl onto the protagonist's bed, and Qiao Han felt as if he could cry from sheer despair. But what he hadn’t expected was that the system could be this cruel.
His body stood beside the bed, and suddenly, without warning, his hands began to strip off his clothes.
One piece, then two...
Oh! Noooooo!
Until he was completely naked, crawling under the protagonist's blanket.
He’d soiled it. He’d soiled the protagonist’s bed! The protagonist’s rage meter would skyrocket for sure, because what could be worse than finding a naked man in his bed? This was bound to disgust the protagonist beyond belief!
And to make matters worse, the system forced him into a seductive pose—lying like a concubine lounging on a chaise, with one hand propping up his head and the other casually draped on the blanket at his side. The blanket barely covered the shameful parts of his chest, leaving much of his body exposed.
This was the system's idea of seducing the protagonist by "climbing into bed?!?"
Qiao Han's face was ashen, his soul practically leaving his body. His entire world froze at that moment, turning to grayscale.
If I had known... I would have just given in! He sobbed internally. I could've thought of a more dignified way to go!
But deep down, he knew that even if he had compromised earlier, his mind had been completely blank. There was no way he could've come up with a plan in such a short time. The first mission had inflated his ego, making him believe he could always rely on his cleverness to navigate through tricky tasks. He never expected that there would be missions so unreasonable.
The more Qiao Han thought about it, the angrier he became. "System, what kind of mortal enemy do you have against me that you'd treat me like this! I have every reason to suspect you're doing this on purpose just because I didn’t listen to you!"
System: [We are professionals. We absolutely do not retaliate against the host. Please rest assured.]
Qiao Han argued, "Then why was the timer ten minutes last time, and this time it's only one minute? If I had more time, maybe I could've thought of something!"
System: [The countdown varies based on the task at hand. However, the timing is designed to ensure the host can reach the scene and understand the situation quickly enough to act. So, host, don't think you can rely on luck.]
Qiao Han snapped, "Who's relying on luck? You're sacrificing my dignity! This is inhumane!"
System: [...The task is only to climb into bed and seduce. There is no dual cultivation involved. Your dignity remains intact. We strictly adhere to the 'above the neck' principle.]
Qiao Han was utterly dumbfounded by the situation, but at least the most outrageous outcome wouldn’t happen. If it did, he might truly wish to disappear from this world.
Just as he was about to let out a sigh of relief, he heard movement from the doorway—his breath caught in his throat instantly.
A voice, cold and sharp, tinged with suspicion, echoed through the room. "Who’s in there?"
Qiao Han froze, his scalp tingling. His body was still under the system's control, unable to move. All he could do was silently cry inwardly, swallowing his tears along with his frustration.
But Qiao Han was never one to give up so easily. Even in this utterly humiliating and incomprehensible situation, his mind raced to find a way to explain himself, to bluff his way through it somehow.
Meanwhile, standing at the entrance, Xiao Jiuci had already unsheathed his Ice Soul Sword. He could sense someone inside, yet there was no detectable spiritual energy from the individual, which was highly unusual.
With caution, Xiao Jiuci stepped forward, sword in hand, maneuvering around the screen, only to freeze when he saw someone lying on his bed.
As he approached, his steps halted abruptly. The familiar spiritual energy now radiating from the figure confirmed his suspicion—it was... Qiao Han.
Qiao Han is... sleeping in my bed?
Even Xiao Jiuci, who was known for his composure, felt a flicker of disbelief. If it weren’t for the events earlier that day when Qiao Han had explicitly asked to break off their engagement, he might have assumed something more suggestive was happening. But now… was he really just asleep?
Dark, silky hair spilled over the pillow like satin, framing Qiao Han’s face. His long neck, delicate collarbones, and smooth, rounded shoulders were all exposed. Under the soft magical glow of the room, his pale skin gleamed like the finest pearl.
On the floor lay a pile of discarded clothes, hinting at the state of the person on the bed. Xiao Jiuci couldn’t help but feel a surge of surprise once more.
The thin blanket that covered Qiao Han's body did little to conceal his figure. From the side, the outline of his chest, dipping down to the curve of his waist, and up again over his hips, was clearly visible. His frame was slender, not yet the broad, muscular build of a grown man.
Xiao Jiuci found himself wanting to avert his gaze, feeling an odd tension despite them both being men. After all, they hadn’t officially dissolved their engagement yet.
With a deep frown, Xiao Jiuci’s eyes scanned Qiao Han’s face intently.
Meanwhile, Qiao Han's heart was racing like a drum. He knew the male lead was looking at him, and if he didn’t control his breathing and movements carefully, he'd give himself away. He had to make it appear as though he was genuinely asleep.
Just moments ago, when everything was hanging by a thread, the system must have thought the task was complete, so it stopped controlling him, and Qiao Han immediately closed his eyes.
He wasn’t sure if Xiao Jiuci had noticed his eye-closing movement.
If not, then right now, he was simply "asleep."
After all, no one trying to seduce someone would fall asleep first, right?
"Qiao Han?"
Hearing the male lead's quiet and confused voice calling his name, Qiao Han realized that Xiao Jiuci seemed to believe he was really asleep.
It was like when you secretly play games late at night, and suddenly hear your parents' footsteps at the door. There's no time to hide the phone, so the best way to avoid getting caught is to pretend you were playing and then doze off—like you hadn’t been playing for long.
Now, Qiao Han had to pretend he’d simply fallen asleep, and that he wasn’t doing anything wrong—just that the place he was sleeping in was a bit odd.
"Qiao Han."
It wasn’t until Xiao Jiuci called his name a third time that Qiao Han, feigning drowsiness, slowly "woke up."
Upon waking, he saw someone standing next to the bed and immediately grabbed the blanket in shock, sitting up.
"Brother Xiao, why are you standing by my bed?" Qiao Han accused, playing the victim first.
Xiao Jiuci remained silent for a moment. His tone was still friendly, with no hint of displeasure. "This is my room."
Qiao Han pulled out all his acting skills, first showing a confused expression, then glancing around, and finally looking startled and embarrassed. Awkwardly, he said, "Sorry, I sleepwalked again."
"Sleepwalked?" Xiao Jiuci was taken aback.
Qiao Han's heart pounded as he explained, "Yeah, I fell asleep and started dreaming, walking around uncontrollably." Was there no such thing in the cultivation world?
Xiao Jiuci asked, "You have somnambulism?"
Qiao Han sighed in relief and then sheepishly nodded, "Yes. I tend to sleepwalk when I'm not used to new places. While you were gone this past month, I ended up here several times but was too embarrassed to tell you. I thought locking the door would solve the problem, but I somehow ended up here again. It might be because I used to sleep in this direction at home, and I’m not used to other orientations."
Xiao Jiuci seemed deep in thought, glancing again at the pile of clothes on the floor.
Noticing his gaze, Qiao Han immediately started sweating and quickly said, "I often wake up in the middle of the night and randomly take off my clothes. I have the fire element, so I tend to get hot, haha..."
Xiao Jiuci said nothing, just quietly observing Qiao Han.
Qiao Han, feeling guilty, quickly added, "Brother Xiao, you wouldn't think I was trying to seduce you for dual cultivation, would you? I really had no such intention. Everything I said earlier today was true."
Only then did Xiao Jiuci avert his gaze and respond, "No, I was just intrigued. It’s my first time seeing someone with somnambulism—it’s quite novel."
Qiao Han let out a sigh of relief and apologized again, intending to lift the blanket, get dressed, and leave. But just as he was about to lift it, he suddenly felt a bit awkward and glanced at Xiao Jiuci.
After all, they were both men, so there shouldn't be too much concern, but the situation was already so embarrassing. He couldn’t let himself tarnish the male lead's eyes any further!
Indeed, being in a betrothal relationship was troublesome; he wanted to be open and honest, but it felt so awkward.
Noticing Qiao Han's embarrassed glance, Xiao Jiuci saw his cheeks gradually turning red and turned away, saying, “No need to fuss about it. You can rest here tonight.”
“Ah? But, Brother Xiao, you…”
“I planned to meditate all night anyway, so I won’t need this space.”
“That’s not right! I don’t want to be the one occupying your place!” Qiao Han quickly protested.
Xiao Jiuci replied gently, his voice laced with a warm smile, “It’s fine. Since you feel more comfortable in this position, we can switch rooms tomorrow to avoid your sleepwalking. Just get a good rest tonight; after all, you’ve had a long day.”
With that, without waiting for Qiao Han to say anything further, Xiao Jiuci stepped out of the room.
Qiao Han sat there dumbfounded, staring blankly for a moment before he couldn’t help but bury his face in his hands and let out a muffled scream. He felt a mix of guilt and joy.
The male lead was just too kind! After such an absurd situation, he was still willing to understand and be accommodating. Truly, he was worthy of being my idol!
“Ding! Congratulations, host, mission completed! Confetti, confetti! Please keep up the good work!”
Qiao Han jolted at the announcement, his feelings becoming a complex mix of emotions as he awaited the update on his emotional points.
System: 【?】
Qiao Han: ?
Where are my emotional points? I sacrificed so much; I deserve something in return!
Outside, Xiao Jiuci's expression remained calm as he stood in front of Qiao Han's room, staring at the damaged door, lost in thought.
It seemed they had made eye contact.
But…
He soon turned and headed toward his master’s room, remembering that his master had some magical artifacts specifically designed to deal with demonic entities.
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