This was hard to explain.
He couldn't exactly say he had awakened a system, that this powerful young master was actually a character in a book, and that King Li Shu was Young Master Pei's benefactor in this life, capable of predicting all sorts of future crises and deserving to be revered like an ancestor.
Never mind Pei Song'an-even Li Shu himself would find that ridiculous.
But these were characters in a book, after all. Li Shu was still in the strange state of having accidentally stumbled into a fictional world, and his understanding of Pei Song'an went no further than a few flat descriptive labels.
"Y-you let go. Stop grabbing my neck all the time."
Pei Song'an's grip made Li Shu's neck tingle, and he flailed backward. But he struggled too hard, smacking the back of his head against the edge of the car door with a thunk. Li Shu howled in pain, instantly throwing the quiet car into chaos.
He rubbed his head, the explanation he had come up with knocked clean out of it. Before he could settle back into his seat, he was hauled upright by his clothes. Li Shu let out a yelp, then heard the man beside him speak:
"Have I been too nice?"
Pei Song'an's brows rose sharply. His patience had run out.
Despite his even tone, a chill went through the crown of Li Shu's head. The scorching heat of the man's fingertips still lingered on the back of his neck, and he felt a little scared.
Turning to meet the man's guarded, wary eyes, he suddenly had a thought.
So scary.
"Okay, okay, don't get angry." Li Shu looked Pei Song'an straight in the eye, utterly serious, and said responsibly, "Actually, I dreamed it."
In the front passenger seat, Zheng Linchuan nearly choked on his breath.
Pei Song'an, however, showed little reaction. He looked Li Shu over. "You mean you can predict danger?"
Li Shu hadn't expected him to catch on so quickly and hurriedly nodded. "Yes, yes, that's what I mean."
Pei Song'an asked, "Can you choose whose danger you predict?"
Li Shu thought about it, then honestly shook his head.
"When in the future do the scenes you dream about generally take place? Do you see them in the first person or the third person?" Pei Song'an questioned him methodically. "Lastly, what triggers these dreams?"
My head's spinning.
Li Shu felt as though a stream of gibberish had entered his left ear and promptly exited his right. His tone grew a little nostalgic.
"The last time I heard this many questions in one go was when my homeroom teacher caught me climbing the wall to skip class and go to an internet café."
Pei Song'an's downward gaze carried a suffocating pressure, but he soon leaned back, having reached an answer:
"You're avoiding the questions. Is it inconvenient to tell me? Or perhaps you don't know either."
Feeling a little cold, Li Shu pulled the coat around him tighter and asked in surprise, "How did you figure that out? Wait, no. You believed me when I said I dreamed it?"
"If you wanted to lie, you should have found a more reasonable explanation. Sometimes, the more absurd an answer is, the closer it is to the truth."
Li Shu was impressed.
Seriously, dude, you're amazing.
No wonder you're the crown prince!
"Achoo-"
With the danger over, his adrenaline was no longer pumping as hard, and the waves of cold finally hit him in earnest. Li Shu sneezed hard.
Zheng Linchuan glanced at his young master and passed over the hot water he had prepared earlier.
"Shall we take you back to school?"
At the birthday banquet, Pei Song'an had seen the gift sent by the Li Family but not Li Shu himself. He knew Li Shu's relationship with his family was far more strained than the rumors suggested, so he didn't ask whether he wanted a ride home.
Li Shu didn't stand on ceremony. He gulped down several mouthfuls, only registering the question once he had warmed up, then nodded blankly. "Sorry for the trouble."
When they reached the school gates, Li Shu had intended to return Pei Song'an's coat. But seeing the damp patches on it, and his own paw prints around the collar, he racked his brain for famous scenes from the TV dramas he had watched with his mom:
"Shall I wash the coat before I return it?"
"No need."
Tch. Fine, then.
So damn full of himself.
Pei Song'an watched Li Shu's figure gradually disappear into the darkness of the night. Lowering his eyes, he inappropriately recalled the sensation of those soft lips pressing hastily against his own, like a little mutt not yet weaned, his tongue moving without any technique as it bumped against the seam of his lips.
It had carried a damp wetness, very cold.
The man's thumb slowly rubbed his fingertips. He didn't know whether the alcohol and lingering drugs had heightened his dulled senses, but Pei Song'an felt that if Li Shu hadn't left in time, he might have opened his mouth the next second.
"Have someone keep an eye on Li Shu discreetly. Also investigate whether the Li Family has had any private contact with Shen Muwen."
The car window slowly rose. Pei Song'an lightly pressed his temple and continued, "Have the doctor come check for any drugs remaining in my system."
Meanwhile, the system, which had remained silent all this time, finally piped up.
[Congratulations on surviving, host! Confetti, confetti~]
"Stop!" Thoroughly annoyed, Li Shu followed his memories toward the original owner's dorm room. "Every time you open your mouth, you make me feel like I'm living a life with no future and no way back."
The system wasn't happy to hear that.
[If you successfully complete the mission, you can not only return to the real world but also become a multimillionaire with a hundred million yuan. How is that not a bright future? You can only cash out two hundred yuan at most from pxx's cash prize wheel!]
Li Shu snapped. "Shut up."
[Okay.]
Leaving the chaotic crowd behind, Li Shu wandered slowly down the dormitory corridor in his obviously ill-fitting coat, unable to stop wondering whether his mother would faint from worry if she discovered he was missing.
His family had received an enormous demolition compensation payout a few years ago. Though it wasn't enough to squeeze into high society, it had at least taught Li Shu that hard work and talent were worth nothing in the face of demolition compensation.
Li Shu's parents had also planned sensibly for the money. Most was saved for Li Shu and his older brother, while some of the remainder went into an accessible savings account, so the two of them could retire early and travel the world once Li Shu started university.
For someone like Li Shu, who had become rich partway through life, it wasn't easy to shake the belief that only an idiot would pass up a bargain. Though he regularly spent money traveling and letting loose, he still snapped up pxx deals whenever he could.
"Ah, if I can go back, I swear I'll never touch pxx again."
Before he could finish feeling melancholy, Li Shu pushed open the dorm room door and was interrupted by a loud, irritable voice-
"Go, go, go! Get him!"
"Support, are you staying out of team fights because you have social anxiety?"
"Aaah! Top laner, tank the damage! You suck so bad!"
"Fuck, the most formidable enemies really do tend to show up as teammates."
Looking at his blond, hopelessly bad roommate playing Honor of Kings, Li Shu automatically matched him to the memories in his head. This was the original owner's troublemaking friend Cheng Zhen, who bore half the responsibility for their missing registration for the CET-4 exam in the first semester of freshman year after getting the date wrong.
Though Cheng Zhen wasn't very reliable, aside from Li Shu's family, he was the only person who didn't support him getting together with Chen Yannan.
His reasoning was simple.
You've known each other for so many years. If Chen Yannan were interested, he would've made a move ages ago. Why would he wait until now?
Unfortunately, when people were infatuated, they couldn't listen to anything. They only sank into their own self-evident logic.
"You're back?" Cheng Zhen had just lost a match. He glanced at Li Shu as he entered, then at the coat he was wearing, and let out an intrigued sound. "Something going on? That coat doesn't look like Chen Yannan's taste."
Li Shu hung the coat on the balcony, quickly changed out of his wet clothes, then sat in his chair and let out a long breath:
"It's Pei Song'an's."
Without waiting for Cheng Zhen to react in surprise, Li Shu clapped his hands at him, his expression solemn:
"Little eyes over here."
"From now on, Chen Yannan is just an older brother from next door to me. I've decided to stop liking him!"
Cheng Zhen looked as though he had seen a ghost.
His suspicious gaze swept over Li Shu's earnest little face. Li Shu had clean-cut, handsome features-not feminine, but a fresh, clear sort of good looks. That solemn expression plainly didn't suit his face, but it was enough to show his determination.
Just as Cheng Zhen was about to say the sun had risen in the west, his gaze suddenly landed on Pei Song'an's coat, and understanding dawned:
"I get it, bro. Retreating to advance-what a brilliant move!"
Li Shu: "?"
Cheng Zhen said, "You're going after the crown prince to make Chen Yannan jealous? Pick someone else, Shu. The crown prince is like the sun in the sky-distant and scorching. You'll be dead before you even touch him."
Sorry to disappoint you, Zhen. Today, your bro not only touched him, but did it mouth to mouth.
Though Li Shu thought this, he didn't say it.
"I don't get it. What does this have to do with Pei Song'an?" Li Shu was speechless. "I said! I don't like Chen Yannan anymore!"
Cheng Zhen exploded. "Liking Pei Song'an isn't okay either! You're jumping into the sea on the left or off a cliff on the right. Neither ends well."
"Ugh!" So annoyed that he gulped down another half bottle of water, Li Shu said, "I can't get through to you."
Cheng Zhen clearly hadn't taken Li Shu's grand declaration seriously either, turning around and urging him to log in:
"Shu, at your age, it's fine if love comes a little late. But you really can't leave me hanging in Honor of Kings. My first tower and crystal can't take much more."
Before you continue