GRMFBS CH262

Gu Jiancheng returned to the hotel carrying a mountain of breakfast. The front desk clerk stared at him, doubting their own memory—did they check in two people or five?

His head had been spinning with a chaotic mess of plans on how to handle his future brother-in-law, but the moment he opened the door, his mind wiped clean, leaving room for nothing but Yanyan, Yanyan, Yanyan.

Zhan Yan was sitting on the bed playing with his phone. A stray strand of his slightly longer, wavy hair clung to his face, hooked neatly at the corner of his eye. He was randomly wearing one of Gu’s oversized T-shirts; behind him, he was propped up by a mound of quilts, and the loose neckline revealed his collarbones—along with several unmistakable mosquito bites.

Gu Jiancheng’s throat bobbed, and his gaze darkened by several degrees.

That was his T-shirt.

Zhan Yan felt goosebumps erupt under Gu’s intense stare and couldn’t help but shrink back.

[Gu Jiancheng sees you wearing his T-shirt, *****]

Zhan Yan: “…” Just what were you thinking that even the Gossip System had to censor it?!

He cleared his throat. “You’re back with breakfast?”

He hadn’t worn the shirt on purpose. It took every ounce of his remaining energy just to sit up. His clothes from last night had been discarded all over the room, and this was simply the closest one… wouldn’t it be worse if he wasn’t wearing anything at all?

“Yeah. What do you want to eat?” Gu Jiancheng withdrew his gaze and pushed the small low table to the side of the bed. Two massive bags of breakfast covered the entire nightstand.

Zhan Yan: “……Why did you buy so much?”

“It’s fine, I can finish it.” Gu Jiancheng sat directly on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped slightly, and Zhan Yan couldn’t help but lean toward him.

This tiny movement felt incredibly amplified, causing his heart to pound harder.

“Should I feed you?” Gu Jiancheng’s low voice rolled into his ears, tingling.

Zhan Yan’s earlobes turned scorching hot. He propped himself up with his arms, trying to move toward the edge of the bed. “No need, I can do it myself……”

Before he could push himself up, a burning hot hand slipped between the quilt and his body, pressing firmly against his waist and kneading slowly.

Zhan Yan nearly gasped. His waist was aching terribly, and his arms instantly lost their strength, forcing him to lean back and sink completely into the soft mound of quilts.

The hand continued to knead at a leisurely pace, and Gu leaned in closer, whispering again: “Should I feed you?”

His eyes were burning with a fire that made Zhan Yan’s own face flush. He closed his eyes and threw his head back. “Feed me, feed me, ah—”

It was just enjoying the life of having food served to his mouth, right? Who couldn’t do that… Mmph.

Zhan Yan’s eyes widened. The soft, hot sensation on his lips vanished, replaced by a cream puff pressed against his mouth.

Gu Jiancheng held his hand up as if nothing had happened, acting as if he hadn’t just been the one to plant that kiss.

Zhan Yan bit into the cream puff, staring at Gu Jiancheng’s ears and neck.

His skin tone was normal—not a single sign of blushing.

It’s over, it’s really over. Xiao Gu is like a seal being broken; he’s not shy at all anymore.

[Deep Shadow/Gu Jiancheng is currently calculating how long until your school starts, how many days you need to recover, and what the number is after dividing…]

Zhan Yan: “…”

He really isn’t human!

“Go, go, go, I’ll eat it myself.”

Zhan Yan pushed his arm away and moved to the edge of the bed to eat on his own. Xiao Gu had become wilder, but had he forgotten that he had to go guard the corridor soon? What was the point of calculating those numbers anyway… he looked so stupidly happy.

“Yanyan, what nightmare did you have last night?” Gu Jiancheng asked, eating with him. The legendary “Top 1” appetite polished off everything else. He had never seen Yanyan have a nightmare before, but Yanyan’s sleep quality had been poor lately. Did he have something on his mind? He’d wanted to ask last night, but didn’t get the chance…

Zhan Yan pursed his lips. “Nothing. I don’t want to recall it.”

“Then don’t.” Gu Jiancheng tidied up the packaging and threw away the trash. When he came back and saw Zhan Yan sluggishly inching toward the bed, he reached out and scooped him up, bringing him back to the center of the bed securely. Once he had him, he didn’t let go; he pulled Zhan Yan into his arms, rested his chin on Zhan’s neck, and whispered, “Want me to massage you some more?”

“Mn-hm.” Zhan Yan consented. Might as well take advantage of a free massage.

Zhan Yan curled up comfortably on the bed and continued scrolling through the Gossip System.

Using the “Approaching Science” account to build favorability for Xiao Gu was a dead end—the gossip tabs confirmed that Ghost King Lin Yuan was already holding a grudge against that account. Hmph, small-minded! It wasn’t his fault; he hadn’t known then that Lin Yuan was his brother…

Perhaps he could find an opportunity to help Xiao Gu through his normal human identity?

Just as Zhan Yan was worrying, he received a message from his sister. They chatted using the forum’s encryption.

[Artisan: What’s going on with Ghost King Lin Yuan’s divine ability?]

Zhan Yan told her the truth.

[Approaching Science: I checked. Souls and spirits are a bit different; your method won’t work on Wan Yan.]

[Artisan: The integration of the Dawn World into the Reincarnation Cycle this time will repair the souls within the Dawn World.]

[Artisan: When the connection opens, I’ll bring Wan Yan inside and try it.]

Zhan Yan checked the gossip tab for his brother. Zhan Jinli had just learned from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau about the latest changes in the Dawn World and the bad news that he would likely have to cooperate with Deep Shadow again.

Zhan Jinli: “…” Can I switch partners?

The Bureau indicated that was not possible. “Do you have any conflicts with Deep Shadow? Can we mediate?”

Zhan Jinli declined the mediation. Deep Shadow had apparently learned the consequences of what happens when you treat him like a wish-granting machine, and hadn’t used him that way since. But Deep Shadow was just too much of a workaholic! He rolled like he had a KPI to meet. Zhan Jinli got heart palpitations just looking at the motivational quotes still cluttering his message interface.

He prepared to find Ghost King Tie Lao. “The Dawn World is connecting to the Underworld’s Reincarnation Cycle. You come guard it. I’ll take over your workload for this period. How about it?”

Ghost King Tie Lao was instantly overjoyed. “Ah… really?” Guarding the corridor was definitely much easier than dealing with that pile of trivial work. “Then I’ll go handle the handover…”

Zhan Yan: “…It’s over. Brother is going to scare Xiao Gu away.”

Find Sister for help!

[Approaching Science: Ahhh, Ghost King Lin Yuan is trying to switch shifts with Ghost King Tie Lao.]

[Artisan: ???]

[Approaching Science: He’s planning to have Tie Lao guard it.]

[Artisan: Heh.]

I’m going to help you fix Diting, and you’re running off to do other work? Dream on!

After several days, Ghost King Tie Lao finally received a message from the Artisan again.

[Artisan: Want to update your outdated office system?]

Ghost King Tie Lao: !!!

[Artisan: Want a few more office-style puppets?]

[Tie Lao: You took me off your blacklist?]

Although the Underworld’s office system had been updated once, those ghosts of programmers from the living world couldn’t compare to the Artisan. The office system! Yes! The puppets! Yes!

[Artisan: I can customize a new system for you this month, but you have to be present.]

[Tie Lao: Okay!]

Tie Lao agreed without hesitation. It was only after agreeing that he remembered he had promised to swap shifts with Senior Lin Yuan.

[Tie Lao: Wait a second, is next month okay?]

[Artisan: Only this month. I won’t wait.]

A few minutes later, a new message popped up in the Artisan’s private message interface.

[Lin Yuan: ?]

Zhan Yan was watching the gossip feed from afar. After Ghost King Tie Lao learned the news from his sister, he went to his brother to truthfully report what had happened. Although he didn’t know how Rong Sui knew Tie Lao was planning to swap shifts, it wasn’t hard to guess that Rong Sui suddenly unblocking Tie Lao was meant to target him.

[Artisan: When the Dawn World connects to the Reincarnation Cycle, it will perform a soul repair.]

[Artisan: It might be useful for Wan Yan.]

[Artisan: You aren’t going to guard it?]

[Lin Yuan: You could have just told me directly.]

Why drag Tie Lao through all this trouble?

[Artisan: Heh.]

[Artisan: You are the only one who revised my order eighteen times.]

[Artisan: I hold grudges.]

[Lin Yuan: …]

[Lin Yuan: Sorry.]

If I can’t swap shifts, I can’t swap shifts. What was one more round of enduring Deep Shadow? Zhan Jinli let out a long breath and looked down at Wan Yan.

Wan Yan looked up at him blankly. “Meow?”

Zhan Jinli: “Nothing. I have work here for the next few days. You stay with me.” He still had to find an excuse for his family… what to say… Ah, tell them I’m going for advanced studies, to learn new fondant techniques.

As Zhan Jinli typed the message in the family group chat, he felt distracted. For some reason, he felt that Rong Sui’s attitude toward him was a bit too… intimate. Was it his imagination? Or was it the special effect of revising the order eighteen times?

Zhan Yan saw his brother’s latest message in the family group.

Sister is the best! Now Xiao Gu’s chance to score favorability points is back!

[Zhan Suiru: Happy now?]

Zhan Yan played dumb. “Ah?”

Zhan Suiru let out a small scoff. Deep Shadow was still on the shift schedule; how could her little brother’s brain not have thought of that? He’d even helped Gu Jiancheng contact her earlier.

[Zhan Suiru: Elbowing outward.]

[Zhan Yan: Sis~]

They were all too sharp; he couldn’t hide anything.

[Zhan Suiru: Stop acting cute.]

[Zhan Yan: Hehe~ Sis, aren’t you supposed to be handling the shifts? Why are you busy with custom orders?]

[Zhan Suiru: I’ll let your brother-in-law go; he’s recovered.]

Oh! That means Yang Ran’s “Artisan” ability has returned, right?

[Zhan Yan: That’s great! That’s great!]

[Zhan Yan: I’ll bring you gifts when I get back!]

Gu Jiancheng saw his face stretch into a wide, happy smile and leaned in closer, clinging to him stickily. “What are you looking at?”

Yanyan’s been playing with his phone for a long time. Why isn’t he looking at me? Am I not good-looking?

Zhan Yan couldn’t stand it and tapped him. How was it that his clinginess could double?

[Zhan Yan: My brother is going away for advanced studies for a few days.]

“Oh…”

Gu Jiancheng’s love-addled brain finally cleared up at the keyword. Right. My future brother-in-law is going to handle the Dawn World’s reincarnation connection, and I have to go too. That means… I can’t stay with Yanyan!

Although he had the ability to create clones, to prevent the Infinite from sneaking into his home, it was safer for his main body to guard the corridor. If it wasn’t finished by the time school started, he’d have to use a clone to attend class.

A clone… a clone is just a skill. Even though it has his consciousness, it can’t eat!

A bolt from the blue.