LOI Chapter 46 — Amitabha

Yan Zhi took a taxi back to Tianxi Yunwan. When he entered the entrance, the house was pitch black.

He knew Rong Ke had already returned because the car keys were tossed on the shoe cabinet.

Continuing forward, he used the smart speaker to turn on the living room lights. As the room brightened, Yan Zhi suddenly stopped.

He saw Rong Ke sitting on the living room sofa, wearing only a pair of white underwear. Since the exposure incident, Yan Zhi had never seen this sight again.

He seemed to have just showered, with water droplets clinging to his hair tips. His chest was redder than usual, probably from being repeatedly washed by hot water.

Still unsure of Rong Ke’s intentions, Yan Zhi walked towards the sofa. “Wife?”

Rong Ke casually operated his phone. “Fifteen minutes. The timer starts now.”

A trap.

It was definitely a trap.

Yan Zhi knew perfectly well that if he obediently went over, the consequences would be unbearable desire, unquenchable lust, and insatiable cravings, only to end up alone again, relying on cold showers for relief.

So after a moment’s hesitation, he obediently walked over.

“Wait.” Rong Ke stopped Yan Zhi from lowering his head and pulled out the fluffy handcuffs he bought earlier. “To prevent you from cheating, put these on.”

“…” Yan Zhi paused. “That’s too much, baby.”

“Take it or leave it.” Rong Ke made as if to stand up.

“Alright, alright.” Yan Zhi extended his wrists like a man surrendering. “Is this okay?”

“Mm.” Rong Ke cuffed Yan Zhi’s hands behind his back, then found a comfortable position leaning against the sofa armrest. “Let’s get started.”

When he went home to take a shower, Rong Ke gave himself a long mental pep talk.

Yan Zhi’s face was indeed very pleasing to the eye and easy to get attracted to. But the problem was, he also had a mouth.

If bewitched by his beauty, one could easily be infuriated by his words.

So Rong Ke reminded himself, whether it was just foreplay or the real deal, he mustn’t get emotionally invested.

As long as he didn’t invest emotionally, he could remain calm. That way, the fake foreigner’s “verbal attacks” would have no effect on him.

However, watching Yan Zhi’s head bobbing up and down, Rong Ke still felt his blood rushing.

It was his first time observing Yan Zhi’s face from this angle. The high, straight brow bone and nose bridge formed pleasing lines. His lips, neither too thick nor too thin, became even redder from saliva.

Thick eyelashes occasionally fluttered open to check Rong Ke’s reaction. His already alluring eyes gained an additional layer of seductiveness.

This couldn’t go on.

Rong Ke stopped looking down and rested his head on the sofa armrest. He whispered towards the ceiling, “Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha…”

Yan Zhi quickly noticed something off about the “pink popsicle’s” state. He leaned forward, pressing against Rong Ke, and asked, “What are you muttering?”

“Chanting sutras,” Rong Ke shifted his gaze from the ceiling to Yan Zhi, “It can increase the endurance buff.”

Yan Zhi raised an eyebrow, “There’s such a thing?”

Rong Ke said calmly, “I can keep chanting.”

“Shut up,” Yan Zhi kissed Rong Ke’s lips.

Wait, Rong Ke thought, this guy actually told him to shut up? Unbelievable.

Yan Zhi’s kiss was hot, his mouth full of Rong Ke’s taste.

Just as Rong Ke was getting lost in the kiss, his phone suddenly rang, pulling him back from the brink of surrender.

“Continue,” Rong Ke sat up, composing himself before answering Zhou Lin’s call on speaker, “Hello?”

He didn’t notice Yan Zhi’s protesting glance at his phone, only feeling that someone’s efforts seemed to intensify after burying his head again.

“What are you doing?” Zhou Lin asked.

Since wrapping up “Patchwork Family,” he had rarely contacted Rong Ke.

So Rong Ke was curious about why Zhou Lin was calling him so late at night.

“About to sleep,” Rong Ke glanced down at Yan Zhi, asking, “Is something wrong?”

“I’m livestreaming right now,” Zhou Lin said, “Fans want me to call you. It won’t take more than a few minutes. Is it okay?”

Rong Ke’s expression twisted as he was bitten hard.

He knew Yan Zhi was protesting, but he found it incredibly difficult to refuse.

He had just said he was “about to sleep,” and his intention was to avoid Zhou Lin inviting him out for drinks. But this actually indicated he was free at home, and it was only past 10 p.m., not late enough to disturb someone’s rest.

If Zhou Lin weren’t livestreaming, it would be fine. He could make up an excuse and hang up.

But with so many people listening to their call, and Zhou Lin saying it would only take a few minutes, it would seem odd if Rong Ke didn’t oblige.

He might hang up the phone only to find rumors spreading about discord between him and Zhou Lin.

“Mm, it’s fine,” Rong Ke had to ignore Yan Zhi’s protest, resulting in even more torturous teasing.

“Isn’t the ninth episode of ‘Patchwork Family’ airing this week?” Zhou Lin did not notice anything strange about Rong Ke and continued, “There’s a part where you could have killed me, but you showed mercy.”

“Yes…” Rong Ke roughly understood why Zhou Lin was calling him.

The content of the ninth episode was like official fan service for the “Sha Ya x Laoda” shippers, so it was no surprise that many fans in Zhou Lin’s livestream wanted to see them interact.

Zhou Lin’s intention was clear: Brother, play along and hype this up with me.

If it had been before, Rong Ke wouldn’t have minded much, but at this moment, with his lifeblood¹ in someone else’s hands—no, mouth—he didn’t dare speak carelessly.

More importantly, Yan Zhi had publicly expressed his pursuit of Rong Ke, so he didn’t want to, and couldn’t, be ambiguous with others.

“From Sha Ya’s perspective,” Rong Ke was barely holding on, forced to grab Yan Zhi’s hair to slow him down, “Firstly, Laoda was once his brother, like family. He couldn’t casually kill him. Secondly, his orders from the organization were to capture him alive for research, so he definitely couldn’t kill him.”

Rong Ke emphasized “family” and “organization orders,” eliminating any possibility of ambiguity.

“You’re analyzing this so seriously,” Zhou Lin joked, bringing the atmosphere back to a serious discussion. “But he did show mercy to Laoda, right?”

“I don’t think it counts as mercy,” Rong Ke’s answer clearly satisfied Yan Zhi, as the rhythm became leisurely and comfortable again. “Sha Ya is definitely not a compassionate person. I just said he wouldn’t casually kill Laoda, not because of old feelings, but because Laoda is an important person to him. Even if he were to kill him, it would need to be meaningful and ceremonial.”

Zhou Lin: “…”

“It’s like a cat playing with a mouse. Killing it instantly would be boring.”

After Rong Ke finished speaking, two WeChat messages popped up on his screen.

[Zhou Lin: You’re such a straight guy]
[Zhou Lin: /eye roll]
[Rong Ke: :)]

Rong Ke thought to himself, I’m in deep shit here, it’s a miracle I can even talk to you properly.

“Fans are asking if we might collaborate again in the future,” Zhou Lin changed the subject.

“It’s not impossible,” Rong Ke said.

“Alright then, I won’t keep you from sleeping,” Zhou Lin said. “We’ll talk later.”

Shortly after Zhou Lin hung up, Rong Ke’s timer went off.

Fifteen minutes had passed, but Yan Zhi hadn’t finished.

Yan Zhi sat up and said, “It doesn’t count. We were interrupted.”

Just as he was about to argue his case, to his surprise, Rong Ke turned off the timer and calmly agreed, “Indeed.”

After speaking, Rong Ke took the key from the coffee table and unlocked Yan Zhi’s handcuffs. “Let’s start over.”

–

After Rong Ke finished, he also helped Yan Zhi release.

Yan Zhi went to the bathroom to shower, while Rong Ke took an ashtray and went to the balcony.

He received more complaints from Zhou Lin on WeChat.

[Zhou Lin: [Edited video] CP fans are saying our ship has sunk /heartbroken]
[Rong Ke: Congratulations ^_^]
[Zhou Lin: You’ve changed /eye roll /eye roll]
[Zhou Lin: Are you really with Yan Zhi?]

It had to be said, this gay guy was quite perceptive.

Rong Ke smoked with one hand while leisurely typing with the other.

[Rong Ke: I accepted the red envelope]
[Zhou Lin: I thought you just took it for fun]
[Zhou Lin: Well then, I’m a man of principles]
[Zhou Lin: I don’t mess with married men]
[Zhou Lin: /goodbye]

Rong Ke tapped ash into the ashtray and was about to put away his phone when another person messaged him.

[Wen Cheng: This is the new movie I’m preparing. I hope you can come audition for the male lead.]
[Wen Cheng: [File]]

Rong Ke opened it to take a look. It was a business-themed movie, mainly about the love and hatred between two major families.

The investment lineup was very strong, not only including top production companies in the industry but also traces of foreign capital.

Judging from the director’s reputation and the production team, this was undoubtedly the most heavyweight script Rong Ke had received.

[Rong Ke: Alright, Director Wen. I’ll take a look and get back to you as soon as possible]

Yan Zhi finished his shower and also came to the balcony.

He sat down on the lounge chair on the other side, glanced at Rong Ke’s phone screen, and asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Wen Cheng wants me to audition for his new movie,” Rong Ke said. “I’m considering whether to go or not.”

Personally, Wen Cheng was an excellent commercial film director and also the director of Rong Ke’s debut work, but Rong Ke wasn’t very interested in this story.

Starring in such a movie would certainly not be a problem for making money, but Rong Ke was already financially comfortable and no longer needed to maintain his livelihood like before.

“Go for it,” Yan Zhi said, fiddling with his phone. “If there are no surprises, you’ll be the male lead.”

Rong Ke found this statement odd and looked at Yan Zhi, asking, “You’re so sure?”

“This movie is funded by the Fashion Group,” Yan Zhi said. “I made some connections, so Wen Cheng will consider the candidate I recommend.”

Rong Ke was speechless. “Fashion Group… the holding company for brands like CVV and SPL?”

“Yes,” Yan Zhi looked up from his phone at Rong Ke. “I finally let you bring money to join the production.”

“You…” Rong Ke pursed his lips, feeling conflicted. “You don’t need to do so much for me. I can already support myself.”

“It’s not entirely for you. I have my work, too,” Yan Zhi said. “If you feel touched, next time, you can return the favor orally.”

He added jokingly, “And I last more than fifteen minutes.”

Wow, aren’t you impressive.

Rong Ke twisted his lips, setting the matter aside for now.

After 10 p.m., his phone automatically entered Do Not Disturb mode, so only then did Rong Ke notice that his special follow had posted another Weibo.

—No wonder Yan Zhi was fiddling with his phone earlier. He must have been causing trouble on Weibo again.

Rong Ke was already used to this, but when he saw Yan Zhi’s Weibo post, his temples throbbed. He had to silently chant “Amitabha” three times to calm down.

[Yan Zhi: My wife. [Photo]]

The photo was a candid shot of Rong Ke at home, which was never shared online before.

It was just when fans of “Patchwork Family” were hotly discussing Sha Ya. Rong Ke opened the comments section and, unsurprisingly, found it in chaos.

[Okay, Rong Yan Forever is fake. I’m leaving the internet. Goodbye.]
[I’m speechless. Can you stop piggybacking?]
[No, Dage, have you even won him over? Calling him your wife? Isn’t that too shameless?]
[How did the Beauty God become a simp? I’m done.]
[…]

“Did you see how people are scolding you?” Rong Ke said.

“I saw,” Yan Zhi said nonchalantly. “I’m just notifying them.”

Headache.

Rong Ke hadn’t updated his Weibo in a long time, but seeing Yan Zhi being scolded so harshly, he moved his fingers and started editing a post.

[Rong Ke: He never learns to be low-key. Please be understanding, everyone. [Buddha smoking.jpg] //@Yan Zhi: My wife.]