Chapter 102 Extra 2: Gardener Old Xie Plants Maple Trees
Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Bang, bang…
“The Line 2 subway is currently traveling around the city, with no time limit for travel. Passengers who wish to get off should pay attention to the station timing…”
The train conductor, Xie Shiyu, announced in a somewhat hoarse voice.
But not a single passenger, including Little Xie, wanted to get off now.
The crowded crowd, the rising temperature inside the carriage, and the hot air they breathed in were all scorching.
“Don’t… take…”
A discreet voice came from the corner of the subway.
The neatly tailored suit pants were like fallen leaves after the autumn wind, wilting on the subway floor.
Surrounding smartphones captured the entire process of its withering.
Just as Chu Feng was about to intervene—
Snap!
The subway, about to arrive at the station, suddenly braked. Chu Feng’s body lurched forward, falling into the arms of the “disabled” Xie Shiyu in the seat.
“Be careful.”
Xie Shiyu gently held his shoulder. Chu Feng looked up and saw the reflection in the glass window behind the seat: another Xie Shiyu was approaching from behind…
Behind him, the 25-year-old CEO Xie violently pushed aside other Little Xies and came over to Chu Feng’s side.
Soon, Chu Feng felt a warmth around his waist, the warmth of a palm, lifting him up. The thin shoulder blades were gently pressed down, pressing his back down a bit.
The little maple tree was bent. The CEO Xie’s 1.9-meter-tall figure enveloped him like a shadow.
Click, click…
Chu Feng heard a series of shutter sounds around him, taking pictures or videos.
“Don’t… take any more…”
Chu Feng covered his face in embarrassment, catching a glimpse of the crowd behind him reflected on the window.
The subway was filled with Xie Shiyus, the school bully Little Xie in school uniform, the university student Little Xie holding a basketball, the socialite Little Xie wearing a tie and carrying a briefcase… They surrounded Chu Feng with ill intentions, planting the maple tree.
Woo, woo…
The subway left the platform, passing through the dark tunnel and resuming its journey on the tracks.
As the subway accelerated, the carriage began to sway rhythmically.
The rumble of the subway, the crowded crowd, the clinging body heat, and the emanating heat of carbon dioxide, evaporating sweat slightly, filled the subway in the summer, clamoring and noisy, making Chu Feng feel like his blood was boiling, as if his limbs and bones were about to evaporate into gas, his consciousness detached and floating upward…
“Mm.”
The cold glass suddenly touched his skin.
Chu Feng was startled by the coldness, immediately waking up. He was being squeezed, his upper body almost pressed against the glass window of the subway.
The glass was so cold.
Chu Feng immediately turned his head and snuggled into the warm embrace of Xie Shiyu.
The original Xie Shiyu sat in the reserved seat for disabled people, gently holding Chu Feng’s face.
“My dear, don’t get too into it.”
He reached out and pinched Chu Feng’s blushing ear.
“Do you feel it?”
Chu Feng shrugged his shoulders. In the game, he had nothing on his ears, but he could feel the d*mn single-sided earpiece on his left ear in reality.
In the hospital room, medical staff were approaching Chu Feng, speaking to him in English:
“Hey, wake up, do you want to go sleep on the bed over there?”
They had just set up a small bed next to Xie Shiyu’s bed for the family to accompany.
Xie Shiyu effortlessly controlled himself in reality and countless versions of himself in the game. He softly asked:
“My dear, do you want to answer them?”
The response was intermittent and fragmented.
Chu Feng was at a loss for words. He glared furiously at all the Xie Shiyus around him, both in front and behind.
In the game, the train of revelry passed through a tunnel, with flickering lights casting overlapping and separating shadows inside the carriage.
In reality, Chu Feng, fully dressed and appearing completely normal, was leaning over the side of Xie Shiyu’s hospital bed in a seemingly proper manner.
“Hello?”
A nurse gently nudged Chu Feng, trying to wake him up.
The shaking immediately transmitted into the virtual game, causing Chu Feng’s entire body to shake uncontrollably. He heard President Xie behind him hiss, and then felt a tight grip around his waist, holding him even more firmly.
“Tell… tell them to go away…”
Chu Feng couldn’t easily control his responses in reality. He grabbed the real Xie Shiyu, who was pretending to be disabled, in front of him:
“Please help me…”
The next moment, Chu Feng heard the movement in the hospital room, and Xie Shiyu said to the medical staff in English:
“He was too tired last night. Let him rest for a while.”
The doctors and nurses didn’t say much more. Seeing that Xie Shiyu was recovering well, they suggested letting him continue to recuperate.
Click.
The door of the hospital room closed, and everyone left, leaving only him and Xie Shiyu.
Just as Chu Feng had relaxed a little, suddenly, the subway jolted, brakes screeching, stopping at a new platform:
“West City Station has arrived. Passengers who wish to get off…”
West City.
How did it end up here?
Chu Feng lifted his eyes in confusion and saw a figure standing on the platform:
Dressed in a white coat, 24-year-old Dr. Xie stood calmly waiting on the platform.
Chu Feng suddenly felt a sense of dread. Dr. Xie was a character who would never leave the hospital, let alone wait for a train at the subway station. But…
Now, all his characters in the city were under the control of Xie Shiyu.
“You’re staring at him intently.”
Suddenly, a warmth pressed against his cheek. Chu Feng turned his head and saw 19-year-old Xie Shiyu beside him, wearing a school uniform and holding a small vocabulary book, his face exuding youthful vigor.
The mentally almost 30-year-old Xie Shiyu manipulated his consciousness into the 19-year-old body. He looked at his reflection in the subway’s glass window and commented, “Youth is really good.”
19-year-old Xie Shiyu buried his face in Chu Feng’s neck. Soon, 18-year-old school bully Xie Shiyu also leaned over, holding Chu Feng’s hand.
With a cruel smile on their slightly immature faces, they resembled little demons.
“Chu Feng, want to try the taste of youth?”
Chu Feng turned his face away. Soon, the 30-year-old Xie Shiyu in front of him embraced him, and the 25-year-old CEO Xie grabbed him from behind, both asking together, “Or do you prefer the mature style?”
In the cramped subway space, with nowhere to escape, surrounded by planted maple trees, the Xie Shiyus around him stared at him like lurking beasts.
“No… I don’t want to.”
Chu Feng gently pushed away Xie Shiyu. His resistance was weak, as if he was welcoming rather than rejecting.
“Aren’t you tired….”
Clearly, Xie Shiyu, who hadn’t seen him for two years, still wanted more. Playing multiple roles could give him multiple times the pleasure, and his twisted mental power not only didn’t tire, but instead became more excited.
“It’s been two years since we last met. Do you think the image of me in your heart would tire so easily?”
A voice sounded in his ear. “Aren’t those virtual characters all so weak?”
Chu Feng recognized that it wasn’t from the game but… from the real Xie Shiyu.
He felt warmth approaching his ear, gently kissing his temple.
The maple tree trembled as if touched by the autumn wind. Indeed, after injecting Xie Shiyu’s consciousness into them, the characters in the city seemed… even more energetic.
The subway started again, and Chu Feng, exhausted from the ordeal, slumped weakly. He wasn’t afraid of falling. With so many Xie Shiyus around, he could fall into the arms of any one of them at will.
“Are you okay?”
Behind him, a figure in a white coat appeared. Chu Feng looked up and saw the 24-year-old Dr. Xie who had just boarded the train.
Dr. Xie smiled at Chu Feng like a spring breeze. He gently reached out his hand, skillfully supporting Chu Feng’s waist.
“Why can’t you stand steady? Are you sick?”
In reality, the soft fabric was being gently rubbed.
Chu Feng felt himself being lifted onto the bed, surrounded by the real warmth of Xie Shiyu.
Reality and virtuality intertwined multiple times, the tremendous stimulation causing his rationality to collapse, his consciousness gradually confused. The only thing Chu Feng could clearly feel was that Xie Shiyu seemed to be subtly jealous.
So this guy infused his consciousness into every character, and each character kept clinging to him.
In the subway, the crowd of Little Xies was still crowded. Almost everyone held a phone to take pictures. Chu Feng stared at those dark lenses, then suddenly reached out and gently hooked the 24-year-old Xie Shiyu in front of him, satisfying him.
“Doctor, I’m sick. Can you please check me?”
***
The subway rattled on…
Chu Feng’s consciousness was blurry, feeling as if his entire being was being peeled from the inside out, as if his whole body had turned into a bottle of cola, which, after being vigorously shaken, would only continuously spit out white foam.
“We need to find a way to stop it,” Chu Feng heard one of the Xie Shiyus in the crowd say.
The next moment, he felt something furry approaching him…
“…What is it?”
Chu Feng’s eyes, still wet from crying, were a bit bewildered. He didn’t have the strength to turn around, only feeling warmth on his head, as if something was being put on him…
He looked at the subway’s glass window, reflecting his current appearance. On his head… there were two cat ears.
Dressing up as a cat was also a role-playing game he often played in Dream City. He had played as a black cat, white cat, and various other cats, but…
Chu Feng took a closer look at the fur color of these cat ears and immediately struggled:
“No… not a ragdoll cat!”
The tails of black cats and white cats are both long and slender. Only ragdoll cats have comet-like tails, long and fluffy, itching terribly.
“But, dear, ragdoll cats are the most exciting, aren’t they?”
Xie Shiyu skillfully took out a snowy ragdoll cat tail from his game backpack and approached Chu Feng from behind.
“The subway has stopped running. The train conductor works so hard. Chu Feng, don’t you want to go and comfort him?”
The train conductor…
Chu Feng suddenly thought of who that might be. He lowered his head and remained silent.
The surrounding Little Xies gently pressed him, dressing Chu Feng up as a beautiful ragdoll cat and sending him to the frontmost cabin of the subway.
***
“Reporting to the train conductor, a cat has been found on the subway.”
The train conductor, 27-year-old Xie Shiyu, had just finished a long period of driving, and the entire train was safe. He took off his navy blue uniform cap and was resting in the driver’s seat when he heard this report from the pager.
“What cat?” Train conductor Xie Shiyu furrowed his brow lightly. “How did it get on? Pets are clearly prohibited on the subway.”
“A ragdoll cat. I’m bringing it over now.”
***
Knock, knock, knock.
The glass door of the driver’s cabin was tapped three times.
The original disabled Xie Shiyu, who had just played the role, now changed into a navy blue uniform and disguised himself as a subway inspector, reporting to the train conductor.
Train conductor Xie Shiyu calmly turned his head, wearing silk white gloves, and asked softly, “Where’s the ragdoll cat?”
“Here.” The inspector Little Xie stepped back, revealing Chu Feng behind him.
Under the gaze of the two, Chu Feng, dressed as a ragdoll cat, blushed all over.
The train conductor before him was indeed 27-year-old Xie Shiyu, the one who planned and coordinated in his Dream City, the Little Xie who had never touched him in reality but left him at the airport.
Standing beside him was the Xie Shiyu after the reunion, and before him sat the Xie Shiyu from their parting. This realization made Chu Feng blush all over, even his little ears behind his messy hair.
Now, with Xie Shiyu’s real will injected into Dream City, there was no more danger, and the 27-year-old Little Xie no longer had to bear any burden…
Train conductor Xie Shiyu got up from the driver’s seat with pleasure, deliberately asking, “Strange, why doesn’t this ragdoll cat have a tail?”
Chu Feng lowered his head. He had fluffy cat ears on his head and furry cat paws on his hands, making it difficult to hold anything. The Xie Shiyu beside him spoke up:
“Here, bite this.”
The corner of the white shirt was lifted up, and Chu Feng, with his rosy swan-like neck, took the corner in his mouth. He slowly turned around, revealing his fluffy long tail to the train conductor Xie Shiyu:
“Can you… help me… get it out?”
The summer sunlight shone on Chu Feng, making him look as white as snow.
***
Drip, drip.
The ragdoll cat Chu Feng was trapped in the driver’s cabin by the two Xie Shiyus.
As the feast was about to begin, Chu Feng felt a drop… of water… falling…
He leaned down to look and found a small round drop of red on the floor.
—-It was blood.
Chu Feng was startled, immediately looked up, and saw both Xie Shiyus in front of and behind him holding their noses.
“… “
“Are you… having a nosebleed?”
Xie Shiyu tilted his head back to stop the bleeding. He hadn’t indulged in meat for two years. Suddenly, he had a full meat feast. Moreover, he had separated himself into multiple roles, and the pleasure obtained from it was multiplied by several times, which made him overly excited.
Both Xie Shiyus turned to grab some tissue paper in a hurry. Chu Feng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.
This was a real reaction that virtual characters couldn’t have. No matter how exciting the game was, virtual characters would act according to the established program, and there was no code for nosebleeds in the program…
“Are you okay?” Chu Feng hurried forward to help Xie Shiyu wipe the blood. “I told you not to split into so many.”
Xie Shiyu obediently withdrew his other consciousnesses and reverted to being a single person.
Unexpectedly, Xie Shiyu didn’t retain the role of the almost 30-year-old inspector but restored all his consciousness to being the train conductor.
He was now 27-year-old Xie Shiyu, as if he had never parted from Chu Feng at the airport.
After Xie Shiyu, who was overly excited, calmed down, he hugged the ragdoll cat Chu Feng.
“Wife, do you mind if I come a few more times?”
Chu Feng curled up in the warm embrace, as the subway train arrived at its final stop: the gates of Dream City. Bright light poured down, illuminating the entire city where he and his loved one resided.
The ragdoll cat’s tail quietly brushed against Xie Shiyu. Chu Feng reached out and wrapped his arms around Xie Shiyu’s waist, whispering softly:
“…As you wish.”
***
A snow-white ceiling.
When Chu Feng opened his eyes again, he smelled a faint scent of disinfectant. He was lying in a hospital room. The single-sided earpiece connecting to Dream City had been removed and was quietly placed on the bedside table.
Chu Feng instinctively unbuttoned his collar and checked. Everything in Dream City was virtual; in reality, his skin naturally bore no marks, as if nothing had happened.
Chu Feng felt a habitual sense of emptiness. As he was in a daze, he suddenly sensed a familiar warmth.
“Awake?”
Xie Shiyu’s voice came from beside him. The next moment, Chu Feng was pulled into a warm embrace:
“Are you okay? Was it too intense? Still feeling a bit out of it?”
Chu Feng pressed against Xie Shiyu’s warm chest, listening to his heartbeat—steady and strong, a testament to his vibrant life.
“It’s because you’re too naughty…” Chu Feng murmured softly, feeling like the ragdoll cat’s tail was still lingering around.
Xie Shiyu chuckled softly twice. He was currently in postoperative recovery and couldn’t express his true feelings. He could only savor it in Dream City. Xie Shiyu kissed Chu Feng’s cheek gently.
“If you’re tired, go to sleep early.”
Chu Feng turned his head and glanced at the cot next to the hospital bed that the medical staff had prepared.
“Isn’t it too rushed? Otherwise, I’ll sleep there…”
“Where’s the idea of a couple sleeping separately?” Xie Shiyu hugged Chu Feng tightly, unwilling to let go.
Chu Feng didn’t want to leave him either. Their body temperatures pressed together, warming each other.
The moon rose from behind the treetops outside the window, casting a clean moonlight into the ward.
In the dark night, Chu Feng slept peacefully in Xie Shiyu’s arms, looking very happy.
However, Xie Shiyu didn’t fall asleep. He opened his eyes, staring at Chu Feng in his arms, heavy with thoughts.
He had regained all his memories, possessing the memories of being Xie Shiyu before the age of 27, as well as the memories of the past two years as the regulator X.
He remembered clearly that Chu Feng was searching for the ranking of combat power in Dream City. The first one he found was the 24-year-old Dr. Xie, and the key password question was about wine and medicine. Chu Feng cracked it and finally saw Dr. Xie’s combat power ranking: NO.3. The one ranked NO.1 in combat power was 13-year-old, which Chu Feng also cracked.
Xie Shiyu naturally knew what he had done, but he didn’t know if Chu Feng knew, and if he did, how much he knew. If he knew everything, what would he think about him and their marriage afterward…
“…Chu Feng.”
In the darkness, Xie Shiyu called softly.
“…Hmm?”
In his arms, the sleepy Chu Feng responded drowsily.
Xie Shiyu looked at Chu Feng’s sleeping face, smiled gently, swallowed the questions he wanted to ask, and lightly kissed Chu Feng’s smooth forehead.
“Nothing, good night.”
Their embracing figures intertwined in the darkness, intimate and inseparable.
Outside the window, the clear moonlight penetrated the secrets they had yet to reveal.
Want to show your support? Come donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
