GDRG CH3

Chapter 3: The Green Tea Schemer Gets First-Blooded

Shi Xueqing was drenched by a sudden downpour.

He was soaking wet and utterly disheveled. Fortunately, the scented candle was in a waterproof plastic bag and wasn’t ruined by the rain.

When it rains, it pours.

Luckily, a luxury apartment is a luxury apartment. Xing Wei had given him the apartment code in advance, and to his surprise, he found a hairdryer in the apartment’s swimming pool area.

Unfortunately, the hairdryer could only get him semi-dry, and he was already fifteen minutes late. Shi Xueqing quickly called Xing Wei to apologize. Xing Wei comforted him, “It’s okay, the party hasn’t started yet anyway. There’s someone who’s even later than you.”

“Who?”

“Haha, I sent him to pick something up. It’s better for us to send someone to get it ourselves than to wait for the store to deliver. You’ll know who he is in a bit.”

Shi Xueqing entered the elevator bay with suspicion. This was the downside of linen; it became noticeably sheer when wet, and even after being blown semi-dry, it was still quite translucent. The moment the elevator arrived and he stepped in to press the close button, another person followed him in.

“Sorry,” Shi Xueqing said, thinking to himself that this person walked quite fast.

He hadn’t seen anyone just a moment ago.

But as soon as the man entered, he brought with him a strong, imposing presence. Shi Xueqing was already tall, but this person was a head taller, looking to be around 190-something centimeters. He was clearly a frequent exerciser, with well-defined muscles on his arms. His skin was also a shade darker than Shi Xueqing’s, a healthy wheat color.

There was not only a difference in their skin tone but also in their body types.

Shi Xueqing had been looking at his group chat. He only glanced at the other person, and then he was a little stunned.

He’s so handsome…

Shi Xueqing himself was the frail and pretty type, having completely inherited the best features of his fair-skinned, rich-beauty mother and artist father. But since he was a child, he had always wished he could grow up to be ruggedly handsome and wild, the kind who could scare people just by looking stern—of course, not too rough, still as handsome as possible.

The man before him was the perfect embodiment of all his childhood fantasies about his own appearance.

Moreover, this person had a somewhat fierce aura, looking like he wasn’t to be messed with… wait, why was this person also looking at him?

The man who had entered after him also froze for a moment upon seeing Shi Xueqing. He first looked at Shi Xueqing’s attire, and after looking up at his face, he actually showed a momentary expression of “disbelief.”

…What was going on? Shi Xueqing subconsciously touched his own face, thinking that there was nothing strange about his appearance.

What was with that look, as if he’d just seen a ghost?

Noticing Shi Xueqing was half-drenched and rubbing his face, Xing Jun was even more shocked.
…He wasn’t even wearing makeup. All-natural.

What Xing Wei said was true. This person… really did look better in person than on camera.

The ride from the first floor to the eighth wasn’t long, but Shi Xueqing gradually grew uncomfortable. He felt that the man was constantly looking at him, sizing him up. He looked back, only to see that the man was holding a large pizza box.

Wait, pizza…

Shi Xueqing’s eyes widened. Just then, the elevator stopped on the eighth floor.
Xing Wei’s voice came from outside.

“I’ve been waiting forever! You’re finally back!” she said.

That familiar tone… Shi Xueqing floated out of the elevator like a wandering soul, looking despairingly at the strange man beside him.

So, the rich beauty liked this type?

The complete opposite of him!

“Xueqing, you came up in the same elevator?” Xing Wei looked at him now. She smiled at him, then introduced the man. “This is my classmate, Shi Xueqing. You’ve heard of him before.”

Heard of him?

“This is my older brother, Xing Jun. He came from the Bay Area to see me.”

Oh…
Brother.
Wait, brother?

Shi Xueqing glanced at Xing Wei, then at Xing Jun, and noticed that their facial contours were indeed somewhat similar. But soon, his back tensed up.

Xing Jun was staring at him, his expression hostile. Slowly, he curled his lips into a faint, ambiguous smile.

“Oh…” he said deliberately. “So you’re that Shi Xueqing.”

His gaze was like that of some dangerous, large carnivorous animal.

Shi Xueqing: …
He had a feeling the other person’s attitude towards him was not very good.

Xing Wei took the food and went into the activity room. Shi Xueqing was still standing at the elevator door, but Xing Jun was already at the entrance of the activity room, his hand propped forcefully against the door.

“Aren’t you coming in together?” he said.

His voice had a very dangerous quality to it.

Shi Xueqing hesitated for a moment, then lifted his face and gave him an elegant, refined smile. “Thank you.”

Xing Jun didn’t move.

Shi Xueqing walked in and extended his hand to him. “First time meeting. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

His hand was fair and slender. His chin was slightly raised due to their height difference, making him look very pretty and gentle.

Xing Jun just stared at him for a moment before turning his face away.
He didn’t shake his hand.

Shi Xueqing’s heart sank. But soon, a voice came from inside. “Aren’t you two coming over? The pizza is almost all gone.”

“Okay.” Shi Xueqing also found a way to save face and quickly walked inside.

Xing Jun followed slowly behind him, thinking about what kind of clothes this rumored Shi Xueqing was wearing.
Drenched in the rain, the fabric clung to his body, revealing the color of his skin.
And Shi Xueqing seemed completely unaware.

He really hadn’t expected that a random person he saw in the rain on the side of the road would be the gold-digging man he was looking for, Shi Xueqing.

…

Having finally come to the rich beauty’s Dragon Boat Festival party, having finally come to a gathering in the luxury apartment he had dreamed of, Shi Xueqing was sitting on pins and needles.

That Xing Jun was staring at him from beginning to end, his gaze slightly cold and a bit mocking, as if he were trying to peel a layer of skin off him.

He ate pizza, and Xing Jun stared at him.
He chatted with the person next to him, and Xing Jun stared at him.
He handed a drink to Xing Wei, who had finished hers… and Xing Jun snatched the drink from his hand and poured it for Xing Wei himself.

“You and your brother are so close,” the person next to them said with a laugh.
“My parents don’t really bother with us. We’ve relied on each other since we were little,” Xing Wei also joked.
“That’s right. We had a tough time when we were kids, so I’m a very sensitive person. Especially sensitive to those who have ill intentions towards us,” Xing Jun said, glancing at Shi Xueqing without a trace of subtlety.

The others didn’t notice, but Shi Xueqing himself certainly did. He thought, no way, could this sister-complex guy have discovered that I want to be a gold-digger and infiltrate his sister’s inner circle of friends?

But it was obvious that Xing Jun really had noticed. Throughout the party, he was blocking any interaction between Xing Wei and Shi Xueqing, and from time to time, in places where others couldn’t see, he would smile at Shi Xueqing.

The sweat on Shi Xueqing’s back grew more and more profuse. He was starting to regret coming to the party. This Xing Jun didn’t go to school here; he would probably leave in a few days.

He felt this person was extremely difficult to deal with and that he should stay far away.

Especially when they were cleaning up the table, Xing Jun’s strength was immense. Those muscles of his weren’t just for show; he dragged the sofa to another spot with one hand.

…I feel like I could be beaten to death by that hand, Shi Xueqing thought.

“What do you do in your spare time?” someone asked Xing Jun.
“Some sports, I guess. I’ve been training at a professional boxing studio recently.”
“Then you must be very strong?”
“It’s alright, but my attack speed is pretty fast.”

…Shi Xueqing couldn’t take it anymore. He quickly stood up to throw away the trash. A voice came from behind him. “Xiao Shi, you’ve been so quiet today.”

“Are you not interested in the topic? Xiao Shi is an artistic youth.”

“N-no,” feeling Xing Jun’s unfriendly gaze stick to him again, Shi Xueqing quickly said, “My words will start flowing when we play Werewolf later.”

He quickly slipped away, but Xing Jun was still watching his retreating back. Xing Wei, however, leaned over at this moment and said, “What do you think?”

“Full of ulterior motives… What do I think of what?”
The first part was said very quietly, and Xing Wei didn’t hear it. She gave Xing Jun a push. “The friend I was telling you about! What do you think of her? Didn’t you say you like innocent and kind girls? Her family is also quite good and simple, both her parents are professors.”

Only then did Xing Jun remember that Xing Wei had mentioned a female friend she thought was quite nice. But as it turned out, he hadn’t noticed anyone else the entire evening.
He had only been staring at Shi Xueqing.

“Hey, are you a total straight arrow, brother?” Xing Wei said, disappointed. “Just be single for the rest of your life then.”

Shi Xueqing returned from throwing out the trash. Xing Jun thought to himself that Shi Xueqing’s clothes were finally dry, and the color of his skin was no longer visible.

A group of people gathered around to play Werewolf. Shi Xueqing dawdled and found a corner to sit in.

Then the spot next to him dipped. Xing Jun had sat down next to him again.

Squeezed between Xing Jun and the wall, the sense of oppression was very real. Shi Xueqing was on the verge of tears. As the cards were being dealt, he whispered, “Xing… Brother Xing, why did you follow me and sit next to me?”

He specifically called him “Brother Xing,” a small, submissive trick.
But Xing Jun just smiled at him. “If I don’t sit next to you, how can I see if you have any ulterior motives?”

He was very much like a sinister, carnivorous animal.

“What are you two talking about?” Xing Wei’s bespectacled best friend asked.
“Nothing, we were just talking about the game,” Xing Jun said again. “Right, Xiao Shi?”

How had he started calling him by a nickname already? And the way Xing Jun said “Xiao Shi” was different from others; it felt particularly playful.

“Mm…” Shi Xueqing said. He decided to behave himself today and not try to bait the rich beauty.
Anyway, Xing Jun would be going back to the Bay Area sooner or later. He could resume his baiting after he left.

Unfortunately, the cards didn’t give him a chance to behave. Shi Xueqing looked down and saw: White Wolf King.

The White Wolf King’s ability was to self-destruct during the day and take a player with him. The moment Shi Xueqing opened his eyes at night, he was filled with despair. Three teammates: one was Xing Wei, and the other two he didn’t know.
And Xing Jun was not among them.

Xing Wei was frantically pointing at Xing Jun, signaling to kill her brother. Remembering what Xing Jun had said earlier, Shi Xueqing frantically gestured not to kill him.

Xing Wei was clearly a bit confused. Shi Xueqing felt it was hard to explain. He gritted his teeth, pointed to himself, and then made a throat-slitting gesture.
Then, he made a shooting gesture, indicating that he was the White Wolf King.

Xing Wei finally understood. So Shi Xueqing wanted to play a dirty trick. Shi Xueqing wanted the werewolves to “self-kill” to trick the Witch into using her potion, and then go for the sheriff’s badge during the day to take it from the Seer.
She never thought that Shi Xueqing, who looked so gentle and weak, would be so bold when playing a game.

Shi Xueqing also felt great pain. He didn’t want to play such a thrilling game at all; he just didn’t want to be called out by Xing Jun right from the start.

Sure enough, after daybreak, Xing Jun looked at Shi Xueqing again, his expression full of interest.
Shi Xueqing felt that Xing Jun’s eyes were saying, “Were you trying to kill me last night?”
But he still bravely raised his hand to run for sheriff. Soon, with the help of his two teammates, Shi Xueqing won the badge with an almost unanimous vote.

“Xiao Shi doesn’t look like he’s lying; he seems very innocent,” a teammate insisted. Xing Wei also nodded in agreement.
Shi Xueqing breathed a sigh of relief. He had just received the badge when he heard the moderator announce with a strange expression, “Someone died last night.”
“Shi Xueqing.”

………………
What kind of Witch doesn’t save someone on the first night!
Faced with the astonished gazes of the crowd, Shi Xueqing said with difficulty, “I’ll pass the badge.”

“WOC!”
“He really was the wolf sheriff!”

Shi Xueqing didn’t want to talk anymore. He just wanted to see who the Witch was. He kept his eyes open until it was night again, and then he saw Xing Jun, sitting next to him, open his eyes.
And he calmly turned his face to look at him, deliberately.

…
It really was Xing Jun!

What Xing Jun did next shocked Shi Xueqing even more. He actually reached out and used his poison to kill his own sister.
…Wait, did Xing Jun play this aggressively?

The result, naturally, was a victory for the human side. Xing Wei was devastated after dying on the second night. Upon learning Xing Jun’s identity, she cried out, “Brother, you can’t play like that! How could you poison me? I’m your sister!”

“I thought you were going to kill me, so I poisoned you,” Xing Jun said very naturally. “That’s how vengeful I am. Even if it’s my own sister.”

“What about Xiao Shi then? Brother, you’re repaying kindness with enmity. I was frantically trying to kill you on the first night, and it was Xiao Shi who frantically stopped them from killing you, and then decided to self-kill… shouldn’t you have given him a potion for that act of kindness alone?”

Just then, Xing Jun looked over, making Shi Xueqing flinch.
“You didn’t let them kill me?” Xing Jun raised an eyebrow.