Chapter 18 – Main Culprit

Editor: Ning Ning

Proofreader: Bubbles 

Gu Chen gazed at him without blinking. It seemed as if he was spacing out, yet also as if he were meeting Long Junhao’s gaze.

Long Junhao silently took a deep breath. He felt that this person’s vibe seemed slightly different now. He had only encountered this sort of unsettling aura from him only twice before. The first time was when he had returned and told Long Junhao about how he was like in the past. The second time was more intense, compared to the time he had exchanged blows with the assassin a few days ago. Now, this was the third time… From the look of things, this was a crucial moment.

He gulped and really wanted to turn around and run away with his tail between his legs. However, he still repressed the feeling when he thought about this person’s attitude towards himself as well as the passionate kiss moments ago. Long Junhao told himself that Gu Chen probably wouldn’t do anything to him, especially in broad daylight. Having considered all this, he slowly took a deep breath.

Gu Chen knew that Long Junhao had mustered up his courage to do something, so he prepared himself for what was coming.

Then he watched as Long Junhao gingerly took a large step towards the side and hugged a pillar in the walkway. Trembling, he said feebly, “Do… Do you think… your prince … wouldn’t have guessed?”

“…” Gu Chen said, “Can you humiliate yourself any further? In any case, you are a prince with powerful connections. Everyone in the institution is watching you.”  

Long Junhao silently shifted against the pillar even more, thus proving that he could still humiliate himself more. “I’m now alone without any subordinates…”

Gu Chen nodded in agreement and took a step forward. However, he noticed that Long Junhao had retreated. His feet stopped in their tracks and he sighed helplessly. “I won’t do anything to you.”

“Umm.” Long Junhao nodded. “You wouldn’t have needed to wait till now if you really wanted to do something to me.”

The corner of Gu Chen’s lips twitched. “Then what are you hiding for?”

Long Junhao clutched the pillar tightly and answered weakly, “This… this is just in case… Hehe…” Long Junhao trembled as he said that.

Gu Chen shut his eyes and exhaled while thinking to himself. If I get serious, you’ll definitely lose. But who knew that when he opened his eyes, Long Junhao had already shrunk behind the pillar. Gu Chen’s eyes narrowed. He strode over and dragged Long Junhao out and into his embrace. “Let’s see where you can run to now!” He said through gritted teeth.

Long Junhao couldn’t escape no matter how much he struggled. “You said you wouldn’t do anything to me…” He said while his entire body was shaking.

“Mhmm, but I’ll give no guarantees if you try to escape again.” Gu Chen plopped him down on the walkway railing and rubbed his head. “Now speak, what have you come up with?”

Long Junhao bit his fingernails and looked up. After a while of hesitation, he finally spoke, “When I asked about the assassin a few days back… You could have told me you didn’t know anything if you actually had nothing to do with it. But you didn’t do so and just maintained your silence. And today, after you laid the cards out in fine detail, it proves that you do know quite a bit. If Lei Yun was indeed the leader of such a powerful organization, naturally, word of his computer being hacked wouldn’t be disclosed. However, you know about it, so I’m guessing that you and he are of the same kind… right?”  

Gu Chen hummed and pulled Long Junhao’s hand over to play with it.

“Of course.” Long Junhao chuckled sheepishly. “This could be why you didn’t intend to keep it from me at the start… I know this much at least, hehe.”

“Mhmm, you’re quite smart.” Gu Chen nodded approvingly. “Continue.”

Long Junhao peeked over and tried his luck. “Also, He Tianfan said that the last person I saw before fainting was you. You left during the period where I was unconscious and you returned not long after I woke up. You also mentioned that Lei Yun wanted to kill me right from the start… Therefore, I guessed that maybe…” He gulped and lowered his voice, “You came to kill me… Right?”

Gu Chen eyed him for a long time before smiling. “You’re indeed very clever. I am an assassin who’s friends with Lei Yun.”

“What relations do you have with that organization?”

“It’s complicated.” Gu Chen sighed and turned towards the courtyard. He felt that the sun was especially glaring. He scratched his head. “I’ll tell you next time.”

Long Junhao nodded obediently and hesitated for a while before he finally asked what was bugging him. “Then, why didn’t you kill me?”

Gu Chen reached out and stroked his face. “Because I realized you were much cuter than before. Killing you would have really been a pity…”

“You couldn’t bear to?”

“Mmhm.”

Long Junhao decided to press his luck and continued probing. “Then, what if one day I suddenly return to the way I was?” His heart pounded faster in anticipation of what this man was going to say. To his surprise, Gu Chen answered right away. “It wouldn’t be too late to kill you then.”

“…”

Long Junhao took a deep breath then turned to run. Gu Chen was one step faster and caught ahold of him. Chuckling into his ears, he asked softly, “Where are you going?”

“Escaping for my life. Being together with you is too dangerous. You don’t even care about our relationship. Furthermore, we have slept together so many times. A day together as husband and wife means endless devotion for the rest of your life…” Long Junhao clutched his weak heart and sobbed.

“…” Gu Chen felt the need to remind him. “If I remember correctly, I still haven’t had you, right?”

“But in any case, you’ve slept with me!” Long Junhao retorted and continued to be hurt. Wouldn’t I lose my life if I were to one day revert to who I was? Eh?! No, he isn’t the general. It wouldn’t be the general killing if he ended up doing the killing. Eh? Eh? That’s even more wrong! He turned his head slowly. “Let me ask you something… You must answer honestly…”

Gu Chen was a little stunned by his expression and nodded.

Long Junhao stared into his eyes and asked seriously, “Why were you the last person I saw before going into a coma? You had gone to kill me at that time, right?” Gu Chen’s pupils flashed for a moment and all sounds around him came to a standstill.   

——No…Please. Please, I’m begging you… don’t kill me… don’t kill me…

He remained silent and thought to himself. Actually, he had asked himself countless times whether this person had turned out this way due to the immensity of that shock. Nonetheless, he would still have done so even if the same scenario was replayed. That was his mission.

Long Junhao knew the answer upon seeing the silence. He asked miserably, “So I went into a coma because of you, right? Right?!”                       

Gu Chen felt muddled seeing the look in his eyes and nodded hesitantly.

The f*ck——Long Junhao struggled free and leaped off the railing into the courtyard. He started searching frantically for a weapon. It turned out that the reason he ended up at this godforsaken place was because of him. This person had added fire to the fuel! Two criminal ringleaders were before his eyes so what was he waiting for?

 Long Junhao circled the courtyard and finally found a brick in the corner. He picked it up instinctively and charged at Gu Chen.

Gu Chen saw this and called out, “Haohao, calm down.”

“Calm down, my *ss!” Long Junhao pointed a trembling finger at him. His voice was also shaking. “I, the prince, have riches and splendor, I, the prince, am superior over others! I, the prince, should live free and unfettered! You… you come over, I will bludgeon you to death first before bludgeoning myself! Will we die together? Yes, we will!”            

“Haohao…”

“Don’t, don’t call me that. I don’t actually belong here. I should have gone to heaven a long time ago. You come over. I will sacrifice you to the gods.”

“…”

“In life we share the same bedspread, in death we share the same cave,” Long Junhao smiled at him and spat out each and every word. “How romantic… wouldn’t you say…”

“…” Gu Chen rubbed his own forehead. Was this a split personality, memory loss, or insanity?!! Why did he think that this person was really crazy now? This wasn’t an illusion, right? He sighed helplessly. “Then you go ahead and do it.”    

Long Junhao stared at him for quite some time and felt that the sun was making him dizzy. Thus, he tossed aside the brick in a huff before turning around to leave. Gu Chen was satisfied and asked cheerfully, “Where are you going?”

“To find the director. I’m going to tell him that you are actually an assassin and ask him to throw you out.”

“It’s useless.” Gu Chen caught up to him in a few paces and chuckled. “Li Xuan knew of my identity from the start. He also knows that I’m here to kill you.”

What The F*ck—— So there were actually three criminal ringleaders!

Long Junhao stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned back and picked up the brick.

“…” Gu Chen asked, “What are you trying to do?”

Long Junhao glared at him icily. He couldn’t bear to hit this person but he could still strike that cheapskate Li Xuan. Thus, he started striding towards the Director’s office and his voice thundered out, “Your prince shall kill him and let him save the first seat in hell! Ah Ah Ah!”

“…”

Li Xuan was browsing over some files and at that moment, the door to his office was kicked open. The transgressor stomped over in a huff and grabbed his collar. “Some director you are! If even assassins can make their way in, do you even intend for us to live, ah? What would happen if I died?!”                                                

Li Xuan still maintained a grace befitting a director. “Let me go first and we will talk. Any problems you have can be settled. Good, now put down the brick in your other hand as well. Your wrist will get tired if you keep holding it this way. Even if your wrist doesn’t tire, your shoulder will feel it.”

“What do you mean by ‘can be settled’?” Long Junhao glared at him.

“Right right,” Li Xuan pledged. “Anything can be resolved.”

“Alright.” Long Junhao said, “Then can you report in hell first and reserve two spots for your prince?”

“…” Li Xuan asked, “Can I ask the reason behind this?”

“Yes. Who allowed you to use people as you please?  If assassins can enter, do you even hold me in any regard?”  

“It can’t be helped,” Li Xuan said. “Gu Chen is my friend. And more importantly, I don’t have to pay him any wages.”

“…” Long Junhao silently raised the brick.

Li Xuan hurriedly added in, “Haven’t you been fine recently?”

Just as the brick in Long Junhao’s hand was about to come crashing down, Li Xuan saw someone else rushing in. It was Li Xuan’s faithful assistant holding a mobile phone. His face was totally pale and he paid no attention to the situation in the office. “Boss… Boss, the bank just sent a message. The bank account balance… is one Yuan…” 

“What?! For real?! Why did I not know that?!!”  Li Xuan exclaimed. He no longer had the air of a director and the tail end of his sentence sounded like a snarl. He abruptly struggled free of Long Junhao and shot over to his assistant, grabbing his collar and yelling. This scene was similar to the one Long Junhao had held him in moments earlier. “Then all the money is gone? What did he buy?!”                                           

Long Junhao was pushed aside and fell. Fortunately, he landed into a familiar embrace. It was Gu Chen who had just entered. He steadied himself and heard the assistant stuttering, “Hel… helicopter…”

“Impossible!” Li Xuan paced around like a trapped beast. “The money in that card wasn’t enough to purchase a helicopter!”

“I asked about this already…” The assistant stammered, “He said that the remaining amount was paid via a high-interest loan… As of now, the helicopter has already been received…”

“…” Li Xuan immediately quietened down. He pulled out a chair and sat down. His face was now calm like still water and it was as if the person who had been shouting hysterically moments ago wasn’t him at all.  

Long Junhao observed and wondered whether things had turned for the better? Gu Chen observed as well and nodded in approval while thinking to himself. Li Xuan wasn’t too focused most of the time but he could stay calm when handling a major situation. Indeed… this person isn’t a simple character. 

Only the assistant called out repeatedly, “Boss, boss? Boss! Boss?”                          

As before, there was no response from Li Xuan.

“…”

“…”

It turned out that this wasn’t a reversal of fortunes. Long Junhao reckoned now that Li Xuan was stunned from the shock.

Turns out I thought of him too highly… Gu Chen tugged on Long Junhao’s hand and led him out of the office. He felt ashamed and when the door was shut, the assistant’s anxious voice still continued, “Boss? Boss, are you okay? Boss, wake up! Boss, stop scaring me ahhh!”