65: The Only Color
Shen Jin had mentioned the male lead in the stage play, as if alluding to something.
You Jia’s existence was very much like the protagonist in some predetermined plotline.
That guy’s strange pull wasn’t something you could describe with words.
It’s better to take Shen Jin to investigate in person and use facts to keep him from thinking about messy, random things.
Qian Kun redirected the driver on the spot. The car made its way through the streets and headed into the southern part of the city. All sorts of people lived here, every type under the sun, a chaotic mix.
Because the area was relatively chaotic, rent was cheaper. A lot of people struggling to get by, or newcomers to the city, would choose this area as a temporary stop.
Shen Jin noticed the rain streaking down the window was getting heavier, and it felt… off.
Not long ago, the sports meet had been bathed in sunset, with no sign of rain at all. How had the weather suddenly changed so dramatically?
Shen Jin remembered Qian Kun’s words: An interesting climate spectacle.
Qian Kun didn’t explain. “You’ll know in a bit.”
They got out and stepped onto a stone-paved sidewalk riddled with potholes. Across from them was the entrance to a residential complex.
Every so often, someone rolled past on a tricycle selling fruit, or tried to strike up a conversation, or asked if they wanted to go to a cheap motel.
Shen Jin hadn’t even spoken yet when he realized, at some point, a small group of tall Alphas in black suits had appeared in the corner and blocked those people off.
Oh wow.
Where had they come from?
So this was the bodyguard squad from novels, the kind that protected the protagonist gong at all times. Even though Qian Kun attended an ordinary school, he had run into multiple dangerous incidents as a kid. His family hadn’t felt safe, so they hired bodyguards to protect him in secret.
They came and went like ghosts, only showing themselves when needed.
Only now did Shen Jin finally see the shadow of the original novel. He couldn’t help looking at the quiet young man beside him holding the umbrella handle. Under the black canopy, the dim light outlined his side profile with sharp clarity.
If you thought about it calmly, Qian Kun was like heaven’s favorite child from every angle. As the center of this world, of course he was meant to be paired with another “chosen one.”
Shen Jin stared a little too long. He thought of a line from the novel that had stuck with him, Qian Kun’s contempt toward the original host.
Shen Jin’s brain short-circuited for a few seconds. “Would you ever say something like, ‘are you worthy?’ to me?”
The original line was longer: If I look at you, are you worthy? Do you want me to look at your filthy soul or your clumsy acting?
No wonder Shen Jin remembered it so clearly. The original host had never become a real person. In another sense, those words felt like they had been aimed at him. It was impossible to forget.
That was shortly after Qian Kun transferred to Nanhu. The original host had learned about him through every possible channel.
Compared to a gentle, courteous fiancé who never truly cared about him, the original host liked Qian Kun’s kind more, arrogant and unruly, looking like a gentleman while giving off danger under the surface.
He was obviously the hard-to-conquer type. That was what made it exciting.
So the original host kept trying to lure him in, in every way he could. However, Qian Kun felt nothing for him.
Because of this, the original host had even spread rumors that the two were dating, making many people mistakenly believe they were together. Until the protagonist shou transferred in and caught Qian Kun's attention.
How could the original host accept that the prey he’d set his sights on was stolen by an Omega who was only “pretty”? He interfered multiple times, and each time Qian Kun slapped him down hard.
Maybe the more you can’t get, the more unwilling you are to let go, until the original host tried to take his shirt off in the changing room to seduce him. Qian Kun looked on without expression, then said that whole line.
Because of this, the original host had hated Qian Kun thoroughly and vowed to definitely find someone more outstanding than Qian Kun.
…
Shen Jin thought he didn’t care at all, but in reality, the more complicated his relationship with Qian Kun became, the more original-plot scenes showed up in his dreams.
So many that sometimes they bled into his thinking in real life.
Raindrops fell from the umbrella's edge like strings of broken beads. Once Qian Kun noticed Shen Jin’s focused gaze, he couldn’t help holding his face steady, his pulse speeding up under Shen Jin’s attention.
After staring for that long though, this was the question he got.
Qian Kun: “Do you have a fever?”
Shen Jin: “…No.”
He had only thought it for a moment, but he hadn’t expected himself to actually ask it out loud.
Shen Jin had the urge to rub his forehead. He regretted it a little.
But once it was asked, there was no taking it back.
They stood quietly in the rain. Against the background of busy passersby, they looked like a vivid, multicolored oil painting.
After a long pause, Qian Kun spoke. “Shen Jin.”
“Mm?”
“In this world, you’re the only color I can perceive.”
From the very first glance, I thought you were different, different from everyone around you.
Like the heavens couldn’t stand it and handed you to me as a gift.
So don’t say such things anymore.
You’re not hurting yourself.
You’re hurting me.
Shen Jin’s chest felt tight. He couldn’t help saying, “I’m sorry. I won’t say it again.”
Qian Kun: “There won’t be a next time.”
Who put these ideas in your head?
What am I supposed to do if you believe them? Where would I even go to find you?
When Qian Kun was serious, even Shen Jin didn’t dare tug the tiger’s whiskers lightly.
His words were cold and hard, but their hearts were closer than before.
They didn’t wait long. What happened next turned a little dramatic.
You Jia appeared in Shen Jin’s line of sight. He and his mother had been thrown out by the landlord. Their things were scattered everywhere, soaked through in the rain, and they looked miserable.
Qian Kun grabbed Shen Jin by the arm and turned his head, saying blandly, “Keep watching. There’s a surprise.”
Shen Jin saw the mother and son crying nonstop, with no sign of leaving. They just stayed there, sobbing in despair. The strangest part was how indifferent the pedestrians looked.
Before long, a familiar car passed on this road.
Shen Jin, of course, recognized it. It was the Ke family’s car. He’d ridden in it countless times.
The car did pause near the two of them for a while, but nobody got out. In the end, it drove off.
After another stretch of time, a black-clothed young man full of fierce energy emerged from an alley. He grabbed You Jia, and the two seemed to be arguing in the rain.
Shen Jin looked at Qian Kun in surprise. Ever since Qian Kun’s family had introduced You Jia to a new job, Qian Kun had kept people watching. He knew this boy was the one who worked with You Jia.
His family was poor, but he worked hard.
From Qian Kun’s analysis, this boy’s hardship was temporary. With that kind of grit, he’d have a future.
The only issue was that with You Jia’s personality, he might not “think much of him.”
Qian Kun said leisurely, “The one in black is called Yan Bin. They met while working. He’s been pursuing You Jia.”
Other people didn’t know, but Shen Jin did. Yan Bin was the third male lead, introduced later.
When he appeared, it was already college. Yan Bin got into a top university because of his standout talent in programming. Later, he caught a major company’s eye and earned a very impressive salary even while still in school. He was the inspirational type.
“There’s something strangely powerful about You Jia,” Qian Kun said. “It makes Alphas revolve around him without even realizing it.”
“If I don’t show up, and others don’t show up, someone will still help him.”
Then Qian Kun pointed up at the sky. Shen Jin realized there was only one patch of dark cloud overhead, dumping rain in that exact spot.
Beyond those clouds, it was still clear sky and sunset. Beautiful clouds drifted far away.
It looked like the sky had been split in half, and yet nobody noticed how strange it was.
Shen Jin looked back and forth.
This weather was absurd.
No wonder Qian Kun called it a climate spectacle. Seeing it in person was genuinely shocking.
“If this is the stage-plot you mean,” Qian Kun paused, “then Shen Jin, I’ll crush the plot piece by piece. That was never a joke.”
Shen Jin stared blankly at the person in front of him. Qian Kun sounded too certain.
So certain that it reached a point Shen Jin couldn’t shake. How could there be a male lead as strange as Qian Kun in this world?
“Alright. I brought you here to tell you one thing.” Qian Kun’s tone softened. “Stay away from him.”
When Shen Jin still didn’t respond, Qian Kun emphasized it, heavier this time. “Did you hear me?”
Shen Jin: “Oh…”
This protagonist gong not only didn’t like the protagonist shou, he was even encouraging a cannon fodder to stay away too.
You Jia had already been persuaded by the third male lead. Their belongings were packed up and taken away together.
Before leaving, You Jia looked back in their direction.
However, Shen Jin was lost in his own thoughts, and Qian Kun was on the phone. Neither of them noticed.
Even if they had, they probably wouldn’t have cared.
Qian Kun heard something from the other end of the call. The corner of his mouth slightly. He told Shen Jin to wait here.
The dark clouds drifted away, and the sky returned to how it originally looked.
Then Shen Jin, who was still thinking and feeling faintly guilty, saw a hot-pink spray-painted SUV pull up in front of him.
Shen Jin: “!”
What is this?
Shen Jin’s memory was good. Wasn’t this the one he’d run into outside the school gates before? He clearly remembered it being black then. When had it changed color?
Back then, Shen Jin had been riding the pink bicycle his parents had prepared, and this guy had called it “girly.”
Shen Jin had shot back at him: If you want it that badly, you can dress your car up too.
But in reality, this kind of wild and domineering vehicle type, sprayed that color, would draw the entire street’s attention in an instant. Even the Alpha bodyguard driving had a flushed face.
If he had to describe it, it was like a fierce beast forced to become a house cat. Too tragic.
Right after the forced marking, Qian Kun had immediately called and ordered it done.
However, getting a shade of pink that Qian Kun considered refined, not tacky, not gaudy, not over-the-top, took real technical skill. Qian Kun had looked at countless pink shades in a single night before settling on the one in front of him. This was the final product.
Shen Jin hadn’t expected that one casual sentence would be kept in someone’s heart.
Then one day, what he mentioned offhand just appeared in front of him like this.
Qian Kun looked at Shen Jin. In the warm, damp wind, his voice was low and gentle. “Don’t be angry at me anymore, okay?”
The usual small teasing didn’t count for much. The real issue was the forced marking. He knew he had genuinely frightened Shen Jin.
Maybe because he never had to coax someone before, his voice sounded a bit stiff.
A person who’d been cold and forceful just moments ago suddenly turning this soft could make almost anyone sink into it.
Shen Jin pinched his fingers. He wanted to laugh, but he also felt something he couldn’t quite name, swelling in his chest.
He admired the huge vehicle for a moment, then turned away to hide the smile on his face.
Seeing Shen Jin’s attitude soften, Qian Kun stepped forward and opened the door for him.
Shen Jin glanced at him, faintly. “We only have a contract relationship. You don’t need to coax me.”
After saying that, Shen Jin didn’t add anything else.
In truth, he was already 99.9% sure. Qian Kun’s behavior was becoming increasingly outrageous. It was hard to deceive himself anymore.
Did Qian Kun really think that at this point, Shen Jin would still believe they were “friends”?
What kind of friends acted like this?
What troubled Shen Jin most now was when Qian Kun would finally confess.
He wanted the confession to happen a little later, so he could think things through properly first.
That anxiety made Shen Jin stop himself from asking more.
After they got home, Qian Kun heard his mother talking on the phone. It sounded like someone from the Ji family. They were discussing how Ji Zhen had gone home and made a huge scene. They hoped Qian Kun could visit the Ji house when he had time and comfort the girl.
Liu Manning gestured for him to go upstairs first. She’d handle it.
Qian Kun trusted his mother, and he had something more important to deal with anyway. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Shen Jin’s earlier words was off.
Mainly because Shen Jin’s expression at the time looked like he knew something, and also like he was testing him.
Combined with how Shen Jin had suddenly praised Number Ten, then asked if Qian Kun had someone he liked…
Qian Kun put it all together, and the more he thought, the more nervous he got.
His heart clenched. Had Shen Jin already started suspecting his real motives?
Shen Jin had been thinking about breaking up every day. If Shen Jin confirmed Qian Kun’s feelings, wouldn’t that be exactly what Shen Jin wanted?
Qian Kun hadn’t expected that right after he kicked You Jia out of the “plot,” the greatest crisis to the contract would arrive this fast.
Shen Jin had suspected him once already, and Qian Kun had brushed it off then.
Now this was the second time. If he kept dodging, it would start to look flimsy.
Originally, he’d planned to confess only when Shen Jin knew the truth and couldn’t bear to break up.
But with Shen Jin’s sharp instincts, something unpredictable could happen very soon. And now only two roads lay in front of him.
One: keep playing dumb and stay a contract boyfriend, but risk Shen Jin breaking up with him quietly, without a sound.
Two: burn the bridges and confess, then do everything he could to make it impossible for Shen Jin to break up.
Author’s Note:
Qian Qian: Which one would you choose?
Qian Qian: Is he suspecting me again?
Jin Jin: It’s not suspicion, it’s certainty.
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