GRMFBS CH61

A bunch of maniacs were dancing wildly downstairs in the thread.

171L:
@Approaching Science @Approaching Science @Approaching Science

173L:
Ahhh I’m going to get plastic surgery right now!

174L:
@Approaching Science, quickly say you’re ugly!!!

175L:
Da Wule likes pretty ones. I am pretty. = Da Wule likes me!

176L:
Jealousy is making my cell walls separate!

Zhan Yan felt like he was being teased.

He was currently searching for Da Wule’s gossip strips. Didn’t this big shot already not need to “hook up” with him?

[Da Wule recently has no tasks, feels very bored, and decided to come tease the kid.]

Zhan Yan: …

Across the internet cable, not even knowing if he was human or ghost, he could still talk dirty; as expected of Da Wule.

As he searched, Zhan Yan found another piece of gossip.

[Butterfly Demon Ba Lan, due to her obsession with Da Wule*, did not want to get married, and robbed a gold shop just to enter the police station and escape the marriage. While taking the gold jewelry, she reminded the clerk: “I am robbing you, hurry and call the police.” She also complained that the police were too slow: “If they don’t come soon, I’m going to run away.”]

Pfft. What kind of magical way to escape a marriage was this?

190L Approaching Science:
Thank you for the flattery, but I don’t know music or dance, so I might not be very suitable.

191L:
You! Actually! Refused!

Zhan Yan had just refreshed to a gossip strip of Da Wule and Tianshi discussing him:

[Da Wule said to Tianshi: “What disadvantage could I suffer? Teasing a kid is so much fun.”]

Then he saw Da Wule’s latest reply in the thread.

193L Da Wule:
I can teach you; I think it’s quite suitable.

194L:
Crazy, crazy! Jealousy is making me factorize!!!

Heh! Heh! Fun, is it?

197L Approaching Science:
Saying that breaks other people’s hearts too much.

The little demons you’ve hooked up with in the past even intentionally robbed a place to hide in prison just to escape marriage for you.

The thread’s vibe rapidly derailed:

199L:
What little demon?! What escaping marriage?! What gossip? Quick, let me have a bite!

200L:
Da Wule hooked up with a little demon?! Which little demon?!!

201L:
Gossip’s here, gossip’s here!

Can someone spill the tea in detail?

203L:
@Approaching Science You have the guts to drop the gossip, you better have the guts to finish it! Don’t just drop half of it!

At this moment, on Lingzhou Wendi’s private chat interface:

Tianshi: [Did you hook up with a little demon?] Nie Yu: [Lingzhou, Lingzhou, what type of demons do you like?] Ning Xi: [If you have a need to negotiate with the Wan Yao Alliance*, you can contact the Foreign Affairs Department.]

……

A moment later, Ning Xi sent two more messages:

Ning Xi: [What exactly is the situation with that little demon?] Ning Xi: [If possible, you should go into a marriage alliance.]

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance having a bad relationship was one thing, but Ning Xi had always hoped both sides could form a cooperative alliance. Integrating resources meant efficiency! Optimization! Organization!

Lingzhou Wendi: …

You’re planning to sell me out over a piece of news of unknown authenticity? No, do you guys really trust this Approaching Science’s news that much? What little demon did he hook up with? Why didn’t he remember it?!

He decided to find Nie Yu first to ask about the situation.

Nie Yu: [Pah! Scumbag!]

Da Wule: [? You trust an outsider over me!]

Nie Yu: [The information Approaching Science has given so far has never been wrong.]

Now he understood what Tianshi meant by “easily end up at a disadvantage”…

Private message! Send a private message to Approaching Science!

He had to figure out who exactly this “little demon” he supposedly hooked up with was!

However, Approaching Science didn’t reply.

Zhan Yunkai came home, and Zhan Yan happily went to greet his dad.

He rushed up to give his dad a hug—oh yeah! He could finally eat his dad’s cooking!

He missed the hug. His dad subconsciously dodged.

Zhan Yan sneezed twice, choked by the strong perfume smell on his dad.

“Dad?” Zhan Yan rubbed his nose and looked at his dad. “Why do you smell so fragrant?”

How did he get such strong perfume on himself? Did he break a perfume bottle? But his dad never used perfume either.

“I accidentally dropped a bottle of perfume,” Zhan Yunkai explained. “I’m going to take a shower.”

Zhan Yan suspiciously watched his dad’s hurried back.

“What’s wrong with Dad?”

Zhan Suiru had retreated as soon as she smelled that overly strong perfume. Standing ten meters away, she fanned her nose: “The Ultimate Love of Yearning?”

Zhan Yan sneezed again: “What love? To me, it smells like a giant powder puff soaked in essential balm.”

The kind that smothered his whole face.

Zhan Suiru laughed at him: “Who told you to stand so close.”

Zhan Yan stood by the window for fresh air, still pondering. He thought his dad’s expression was a bit off, and if he had just broken a bottle of perfume, it wouldn’t warrant dodging him.

Moreover, the smell of the perfume was a bit too intense. What did his sister say it was? “Ultimate Love”? This name was somewhat ambiguous.

Could it be… was his dad forced by someone?!

Zhan Yan was very confident in his parents’ relationship. But his dad was so good-looking, and in a mixed bag of a place like the entertainment circle, it was fine when he was unknown, but now that he was suddenly popular, he would easily be targeted! Although his dad’s combat power was very high, it wasn’t like drugging didn’t exist!

What if someone fancied his dad’s beauty, and his dad firmly refused; the person repeatedly pursued, and his dad repeatedly refused; the person failed in pursuit and resorted to other means, and his dad met a tragic fate…

Zhan Yan shook his head frantically. No, no, no! He must have been dragged by his sister to watch too many melodramatic TV shows these past two days!

He opened the Gossip System:

[Zhan Yunkai, worried that his family would smell the scent stained on his body, used up an entire bottle of perfume before coming home.]

Zhan Yan’s heart leaped to his throat.

What kind of smell required an entire bottle of perfume to cover up?

However, he really didn’t smell anything besides the perfume.

Zhan Yan continued to scroll back, but surprisingly didn’t find any related gossip strips. His dad’s last gossip strip update was several days ago, when his dad was on set.

Logically, it shouldn’t be like this; there definitely should have been a piece of gossip when he was stained with the smell!

Stained with a smell… Zhan Yan suddenly thought of another piece of gossip.

He dragged out the Chongming Demon King’s gossip strip and placed it on the side.

Right before his dad sprayed the perfume, it was exactly after the Chongming Demon King had been stained with pollen and took seven baths.

This leap of imagination was a bit too big. Zhan Yan rubbed his face.

His dad—the dad whose eyes lit up whenever he saw his wife, the dad whose cooking skills were superb enough to rival a Michelin chef, the dad who had mingled in the entertainment circle for over a decade yet still delivered lines like an AI as a D-list actor—how could he possibly be the mega-awesome big shot Demon King of the Wan Yao Alliance?

He was dreaming a bit too beautifully.

But what smell was his dad exactly stained with?

Zhan Yan calmed down and decided to test his dad after he came out of the shower.

Zhan Yunkai finished his shower, and the overly strong perfume smell on his body finally returned to a normal, acceptable range. He sighed in relief. Along the way, he himself had been choked quite badly.

While drying his hair, Zhan Yunkai suddenly heard Zhan Yan ask out of the blue: “Dad, why did you suddenly think of buying perfume?”

Eh? Didn’t he say earlier that he accidentally dropped a bottle of perfume? When did he say he bought…

Zhan Yunkai saw the shopping receipt Zhan Yan was holding in his hand.

Crap! He was so choked by the perfume that he forgot to throw away the receipt!

“I got some dirty stuff on me, and I still felt uncomfortable after washing, so I bought a bottle of perfume,” Zhan Yunkai explained. No, he had to quickly divert his son’s attention!

“I’m going to cook some dishes!”

Zhan Yan: …Ahhh this matched up with the Chongming Demon King’s matter again!

His brain uncontrollably started spamming titles: My Demon King Dad, Urban Tales: My Dad is a Demon King, After Graduating College, I Discovered I Am Actually the Demon King’s Heir…

Zhan Yan very difficultly pulled his attention back, prioritizing celebrating his mom’s birthday first.

The family sat around the table, and next to it was a propped-up tablet containing Zhan Jinli, who couldn’t make it back.

“We won’t be giving you a share of the cake,” Zhan Suiru said, enjoyably scooping a large spoonful of normally-sweetened cake into her mouth.

Zhan Jinli: …

You just eat it! Eat!

Zhan Yunkai was adjusting the birthday hat given by the cake shop, carefully placing it on Ji Yueming’s head and arranging her hair.

Ji Yueming smiled as she let him fuss over her, her eyes reflecting the warm candlelight.

Zhan Yan’s turbulent heart slowly settled down.

He shouldn’t dream too beautifully. This whole thing was very likely just a coincidence. Think of something normal—maybe the Gossip System malfunctioned?

That way, if he really did hit the jackpot, he wouldn’t be overly excited!

After celebrating his mom’s birthday, Zhan Yan returned to his room and opened the Gossip System, placing his dad’s gossip strips and the Chongming Demon King’s gossip strips side by side to start aligning the timelines.

As long as he could prove that his dad’s timeline didn’t match the Chongming Demon King’s timeline, it would prove his dad wasn’t the Chongming Demon King, and he wouldn’t have to let his imagination run wild like this.

During the time his dad had no activity… the Chongming Demon King was catching a traitor. During the time the Chongming Demon King had no activity… his dad was filming on set.

……

Whenever his dad was on a business trip, there were no gossip strips about the Chongming Demon King circling and protecting Qixia Mountain.

Every time a gossip strip about the Chongming Demon King circling popped up, it was basically right when his dad went out for his morning exercise.

And that boss involved in the abnormal business war who was sacrificing to the Evil God•Beginner—his basement was also smashed open during his dad’s morning exercise.

Zhan Yan’s eyes spaced out.

The more he compared the timelines, the more he suspected that his dad and the Chongming Demon King were the same person… no, the same demon.

The big shot was actually by my side, dreams shining into reality, my future life seems like I can just lie flat, do I even need to work hard anymore…

Zhan Yan lay paralyzed on the bed for a while, then suddenly sat up.

Mom, you might have married a demon, do you know that?!

However, it couldn’t be completely proven right now. The Gossip System’s gossip strips didn’t record time down to the exact minute, so it was still possible they overlapped by chance.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow he would see if a gossip strip about the Chongming Demon King circling popped up after his dad went out for morning exercise! He would note down the time himself! If they still coincided, then it truly couldn’t be explained as a coincidence!

Zhan Yan’s heart was repeatedly pulled back and forth. It wasn’t until he exited the Gossip System that he realized there were several messages from Gu Jiancheng on his phone. Looking at the time again—ahhh it was almost midnight! It was way past his usual bedtime.

He replied to Gu Jiancheng with a message.

Gu Jiancheng had just returned from the black market, his body carrying a cold, bloody scent. Along the way, he startled the resting birds in the trees into flight.

Once brokers mobilized, their efficiency was very high.

Not long ago, there happened to be someone who traded a Mind-Link, and the broker sent this news to him first while continuing to investigate the rest.

Gu Jiancheng directly knocked on their door, forced out both their upper and lower contacts, and chased the clues all the way to find that Mind-Link.

The soft white silk fell into his palm, looking so light, soft, and harmless. It was this little thing that could drill deeply into a person’s soul, stringing together their three ethereal and seven physical souls, piercing through every node. When unnoticed, it would quietly alter a person’s thoughts and beliefs; after being detected, it would turn into a terrifying instrument of torture, even more dreadful than silk strings dug into flesh and bone.

Monster Doctor had once tried to use this thing on him, but ultimately failed.

The fingers Gu Jiancheng used to pinch the Mind-Link gradually exerted force, and the pure, soft white silk was dyed pitch black before shattering into powder.

Seeing the Mind-Link again reminded Gu Jiancheng of unpleasant old memories, making his mood less than wonderful.

He opened his phone, saw the round watermelon avatar in the chat interface, and couldn’t help but want to smile again.

Gu Jiancheng tapped open this avatar and started sending messages. In a little while, it would be Yan Yan’s usual bedtime.

There hadn’t been a goodnight kiss tonight yet.

The other side didn’t reply for a long time.

Hmm? Did he go to bed early tonight?

It was possible; he was celebrating his mom’s birthday today, after all.

Gu Jiancheng’s thoughts drifted, but he still couldn’t resist sending a message every little while.

Everything about Infinite made him feel weary, especially now that this thing that should have been dead long ago was popping up again. He poked the watermelon avatar from time to time; although there were no replies, it still pulled at his heart, floating him out from his heavy killing intent and loathing, leaving behind only an unhappy indolence.

Yan Yan actually forgot about him tonight!

Close to midnight, he received Zhan Yan’s reply. Oh, oh, he didn’t forget him! He just lost track of time!

Gu Jiancheng happily called him.

“You haven’t slept yet?” Gu Jiancheng asked.

“Yeah. I’m a bit excited tonight, I can’t sleep,” Zhan Yan said.

“Put the phone by your pillow and don’t hang up. How about I tell you a story?” Gu Jiancheng’s voice was affectionate and gentle.

Zhan Yan subconsciously asked: “A horror story?”

Gu Jiancheng choked for a second: “No.”

“Oh, oh, you go ahead.” Zhan Yan belatedly realized he had ruined the atmosphere.

It couldn’t be entirely blamed on him! It was mainly because Gu Jiancheng had told horror stories far too well previously!

Gu Jiancheng helplessly drew in a breath and began to tell the story: “Then I’ll just tell… a story about a little bear.”

“Once upon a time, there was a stray little bear who accidentally fell into Alice’s rabbit hole.

“The rabbit hole said, as long as you can beat all the levels, you can leave the rabbit hole and return to your own forest.

“The stray little bear beat all the levels, and he was about to leave the rabbit hole.

“But the rabbit hole said, you’ve already grown into a big bear, you can’t fit through the exit anymore.

“The little bear was very angry. So the rabbit hole brought a mirror for the little bear to see. The little bear got ketchup on himself in the kitchen level, and was stained with ink in the amusement park level. The little bear had turned into a messy painted face. There were no animals with painted faces in the forest, so even if he went back, he wouldn’t be recognized.

“The rabbit hole said, look, we all have painted faces here. You should stay, I’ll let you manage those levels.

“At this time, the rabbit hole connected to a grassland. New animals from the grassland fell into the rabbit hole.

“The little bear looked at the grassland and said to the rabbit hole, let’s make a bet.”

The breathing on the other end of the phone gradually became even and long. Gu Jiancheng paused and quietly listened for a moment before he murmured softly:

“Goodnight.”