Chapter 22 The Infinite Boss Invites You to "Eat the Melon" 22. Really...
Pei Yanzhi was dressed in a white casual outfit today, with small flowers adorning the collar. Her black hair was slightly long, and as she strolled along, the flowers and the ends of her hair were tossed about by the night breeze. Her beauty was like a lake rippling with waves, or a crescent moon falling into the heart of the lake, serene yet possessing a natural elegance.
The surrounding noise of people and cars quickly faded into the distance.
Lu Yu could only hear his own heartbeat.
"Violet, white rose?"
Pei Yanzhi walked closer and looked at the bouquet in Lu Yu's hand with a smile: "I like it very much, thank you."
Lu Yu snapped out of his daze, quickly handed him the flowers, and then took the bag from his hand. Pei Yanzhi only gave him one of the bags. Lu Yu instinctively held it, and was caught off guard, feeling a slight chill. Looking down, he saw it was an insulated bag containing some drinks, popsicles, small cakes, and other snacks.
"Give them all to me." Lu Yu reached for the other bag in his hand.
“No need,” Pei Yanzhi lowered his head to smell the fragrance of the flowers, a hint of pleasure flashing in his eyes. “This is dinner I bought just for you. Didn’t you say the boxed lunches weren’t good?”
"And this?" Lu Yu lifted the insulated bag in his hand.
"These are for your colleagues," Pei Yanzhi said.
Lu Yu's hand, which was holding the insulated bag, suddenly froze.
When Pei Yanzhi brought him gifts, Lu Yu felt happy, nothing more. But when he brought gifts for his colleagues, he felt inexplicably embarrassed and his heart burned with embarrassment.
Maybe this is what it feels like to have family?
Lu Yu was unaware of this.
He took another bag from Pei Yanzhi, and the two walked side by side into the backstage area of the music festival.
The three former colleagues, who had acted like sycophants in front of Lu Yu, all came over to greet Pei Yanzhi with serious expressions. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought that some leaders had come down to offer their condolences.
Lu Yu tossed the contents of the insulated bag to them, telling them to take it and share it with the other staff members, and not to bother him.
He hadn't seen Pei Yanzhi for two whole days, so he naturally wanted to make the most of this time alone with her. Although this time together was very likely not pure due to the fragments of divine power.
The three former colleagues grabbed the insulated bags and ran off, then secretly pointed at Pei Yanzhi and gave Lu Yu a thumbs up.
Lu Yu ignored them, but he had already made plans to visit Pei Yanzhi's colleagues at some point.
"Can we visit your workplace?"
Pei Yanzhi smiled and glanced at them, then asked Lu Yu softly.
Lu Yu had no reason to refuse: "Okay, but there are some places we can't go."
“It’s alright,” Pei Yanzhi said. “I just wanted to take a walk with you. Will it interfere with your work?”
“It’s the last day. We’ve got everything done in our area of responsibility. The post-production publicity meeting isn’t until tomorrow, so there’s nothing else to do today.” Lu Yu reassured him.
The two chatted for a while, wandered around backstage, and then went to the audience area.
A few steps from the backstage area, Lu Yu recalled Pei Yanzhi's pollution and his own passive purification.
He lowered his gaze to the other's jade-like hand hanging at his side, racking his brains for various natural or unnatural reasons, his right hand itching to act. But alas, he had no experience with relationships, and after a long while, he couldn't think of a good excuse or find a good opportunity. So, he hardened his heart, reached out, and grabbed Pei Yanzhi's hand.
It feels cool to the touch, with smooth skin and distinct bones.
Lu Yu's Adam's apple bobbed, and the veins on the back of his hand seemed to throb.
Pei Yanzhi seemed startled, paused slightly, and turned to look at Lu Yu. He saw that although Lu Yu's expression was calm, his hands were tightly clenched.
The slightly larger hand completely enveloped his left hand from the wrist bone, back of the hand to the knuckles and fingertips, as if trapping and binding it, imprisoning it without a single gap. Pei Yanzhi couldn't help but whisper, "It's too hot like this."
He struggled slightly.
Lu Yu's mind went blank for a moment, and he subconsciously wanted to let go.
But just as he slightly withdrew his strength, Pei Yanzhi's fingers turned around, slipped into his palm, hooked between his fingers, and intertwined with his fingers in a perfectly balanced way.
“That’s just right.” Pei Yanzhi chuckled softly.
Lu Yu lowered his eyes to look at the brown eyes that were almost within reach. His stiff fingers slowly relaxed, and then, as if unable to bear it any longer, he tightened them a little more, like a thin python coiling around and flicking its tongue, burning Pei Yanzhi's sensitive finger gaps, making his wrist tremble.
“Your hand is like water; if you don’t hold it tightly, it’s like you’re not holding it at all,” Lu Yu explained to Pei Yanzhi.
Pei Yanzhi's eyes narrowed, and he turned his head slightly: "Then you'd better hold on tight, because water can easily flow away."
"Yes, definitely." Lu Yu replied, holding him even tighter.
In the soft backdrop of night and lights, the two walked hand in hand along the lakeside near the audience area, accompanied by music that was sometimes passionate and sometimes romantic.
There aren't many people like them, but there are quite a few too; they're all couples.
No different from other couples, after getting through the awkward period of holding hands for the first time, they started chatting about all sorts of things, from the latest celebrity gossip to their inhumane bosses and clients, and occasionally they would talk about funny things from their childhood.
During his walk, Lu Yu caught a glimpse of several faces, disguised but still vaguely familiar. He secretly planned to leave Pei Yanzhi temporarily to deal with his little magic trick.
The reason he didn't perform in front of Pei Yanzhi was twofold: first, he didn't know Pei Yanzhi's specific thoughts and wasn't sure if there would be any accidents if he played such a trick at close range in front of him; second, as long as Pei Yanzhi didn't say anything, he only intended to interact with him in his current, authentic state and didn't want to involve things like games or players.
Lu Yu wasn't sure if his thoughts were a delusion to escape or a lack of trust, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he was very clear about his direction.
While Lu Yu was pondering his next move, Pei Yanzhi was also busy.
All the players that Lu Yu had seen and those he hadn't seen, including Ji Chengchuan, who dared to sneak into the music festival tonight, were imprisoned in the temporary space while Pei Yanzhi chatted and laughed.
"Pei, Yan, Zhi!"
The players gritted their teeth in anger: "How dare you do this, trying to take all the spoils for yourself!"
Pei Yanzhi couldn't hear their anger, but he could anticipate it, so he smiled even more broadly, his star-like eyes shimmering in the lake light.
Lu Yu paused, remained silent for two seconds, and then said, "Yanzhi, I think..."
"Lu Yu, I need to go to the restroom."
Almost simultaneously, Pei Yanzhi's voice rang out, and the two spoke in unison.
Pei Yanzhi turned his head, and Lu Yu was also a little surprised.
The two looked at each other for two seconds, then one couldn't help but laugh, and the other also slightly curled her lips and raised the corners of her mouth.
"Let's not be too in sync about these things, or we'll end up fighting over the toilet," Pei Yanzhi said, stroking his chin.
Lu Yu didn't dare to think about what kind of "future" Pei Yanzhi was referring to. He led Pei Yanzhi to the backstage restroom area. There was a row of portable toilets there, fewer than in the audience area, but the advantage was that there were fewer people, and most of the time there was no need to queue.
However, this only happens on a small part of the time now.
There was a row of toilets, and Lu Yu looked at each one, but they were all occupied. So he and Pei Yanzhi had to wait outside one of the toilets.
Lu Yu planned to let Pei Yanzhi go in first, so he could take advantage of a break to perform his little magic trick outside. Just as he was thinking about it, Pei Yanzhi suddenly said, "Is this your work badge? Why is it different from the other staff members' badges... Can I take a look?"
Lu Yu raised his eyes and looked at Pei Yanzhi.
The young man wore an extremely ordinary look of curiosity, as if he had just noticed the waterproof bag hanging on his chest.
"What...does this mean?"
The players, who were imprisoned but still spying, were all taken aback when they saw this.
The thin, paper-like work badge that Lu Yu had specially prepared was misled by the players on the first day, who suspected it was a fragment of a godhood and took the opportunity to test and compete for it.
However, based on the events of that night and the following two days, the players had already guessed that Lu Yu likely knew of their existence long ago, and that the work badges were simply a deliberate ploy to trick them, not divine fragments. So, while they still kept an eye on some, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free, their main focus was no longer on this.
However, Pei Yanzhi, who is recognized by all players as the most mysterious and powerful leaderboard member, has actually set his sights on this work badge before the deadline for the first fragment of the Divine Essence. He even directly asked the Boss for it, which is truly astonishing.
Could it be that this work badge is actually a fragment of divinity?
They were repeatedly fooled by the boss, who first focused on their work badges, and then dismissed their suspicions for various reasons. But what was the truth?
After all the twists and turns, the work badge really was a fragment of divinity!
This is utter nonsense!
All the players who were involved in the missions related to Lu Yu couldn't help but curse under their breath.
However, some players have never underestimated this work badge that was openly displayed as bait and a shield. However, given that Lu Yu clearly knew of the player's presence, trying to sneak past him was extremely difficult and dangerous.
Time was running out, and they hadn't succeeded yet. They wanted to try again tonight for one last shot, but unexpectedly, they encountered Pei Yanzhi again.
Pei Yanzhi clearly came prepared!
The players were temporarily trapped in the space, and while they were frantically trying to escape, their eyes were bloodshot.
Ji Chengchuan gritted his teeth, flipped his hand and took out a dark glass bottle, inside which two faintly glowing points floated.
He had many methods, but breaking through Pei Yanzhi's spatial blockade would take some time. The fastest way was to use the power of the divine fragments, but with so many people around, doing so would be too risky...
Lu Yu was completely unaware of the players' shock, realization, grief, and resentment.
The small magic prop he had chosen, the fragment of the fake deity, was originally this work badge. But seeing Pei Yanzhi's reaction, he was a little surprised.
After gazing into Pei Yanzhi's deep and clear eyes for a moment, Lu Yu raised his hand and opened the waterproof bag.
He took out his work badge from the waterproof bag and handed it to Pei Yanzhi.
Pei Yanzhi remained calm, his gaze gentle, showing no excitement or thrill at the prospect of obtaining the divine fragment. The players held their breath, staring intently at Pei Yanzhi's hand as he reached for the work token. However, just as Pei Yanzhi's fingertips were about to touch the token, it suddenly flashed and vanished into thin air.
Almost simultaneously, Pei Yanzhi's expression changed.
His eyes darkened, filled with resentment and bitterness at having failed at the last moment. He suddenly looked up at Lu Yu.
The players were silent for two seconds, then went crazy: "It really is a fragment of divinity! It was fused with by the Boss!"
"Four days haven't even arrived yet!"
"It's said to be four days, not ninety-six hours! It's not surprising that the final boss's power was fully fused ahead of schedule! Besides, the Smiling Game might not even be..."
"Pei Yanzhi didn't get it either!"
"Is he about to break ties with the Boss and start a fight? Sure enough, even with the divine fragments at hand, he can lose his composure..."
Lu Yu didn't know whether Pei Yanzhi would fight him, but the current situation was indeed a bit strange, because the disappearance of the work badge was not because it had been absorbed and fused by him as a fragment of divinity.
Of course, it wasn't because of the little magic trick he hadn't had a chance to perform yet.
It was because of Pei Yanzhi.
Lu Yu didn't know what the fleeting fluctuation on the work card was, but he didn't use "intentional attention" to suppress or eliminate Pei Yanzhi's extraordinary abilities, so perhaps it was Pei Yanzhi's special ability.
Pei Yanzhi wanted to help him and devised a similar plan, but he was unaware of his preparations. So he took the initiative and made his godhood fragments disappear, thus misleading other players into thinking that he had already fused the godhood fragments and that searching for and seizing them would be futile.
Lu Yu quickly understood Pei Yanzhi's meaning after a moment's thought.
They both wanted to do some magic tricks, and they actually had the same idea.
Looking at Pei Yanzhi's earnest attempt to portray conflicted expressions, Lu Yu felt a headache for the first time at their unspoken understanding. If this act continued like this, Pei Yanzhi's player identity would inevitably be exposed to him no matter what.
With things having come to this, Lu Yu had no choice but to play along. He adjusted his expression and said coldly, "As expected, you also coveted my divine fragment, but it's too late, it has already been fused with me..."
Before the words were finished, a loud bang was followed by a scream.
Lu Yu and Pei Yanzhi became alert and turned their heads at the same time. They saw that the portable toilet they were waiting for suddenly collapsed. Amidst the rising dust, a small piece of the roof of the portable toilet shot into the sky with great force, turning into a silvery-blue shimmering light and entering Lu Yu's body.
Lu Yu, who was about to put on a dramatic performance: "..."
Pei Yanzhi, whose performance had already begun: "..."
The players, their eyes glued to the window, were speechless.
No, could it be...?
A note from the author:
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Please, my little angels, give me a quick pat! [doge emoji with rose in hand]
Chapter 23 of this novel will be available for purchase, which is the next chapter.
The original update time for this chapter was 6:00 PM on July 3rd, but it was moved a few hours later to midnight to fit the timing. Please be patient for a few more hours, or check back the next morning. Thank you so much!
P.S.: There will be random small red envelopes in the comments section of the next chapter, please check your inbox! [kissing emoji]
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