cake?
He thought of that soft, creamy mousse cake. Was the person in charge willing to break a few rules and make things easier for him?
Touching his left eye, Ren Yifei couldn't help but laugh: "Guan Yue, huh?"
"There are armed police everywhere outside." He sent a few words.
Would you mind having another friend who's wanted by the police?
"I mind, my boyfriend is very fierce."
Ren Yifei waited for two minutes, but there was no response. He laughed silently, then took his change of clothes to the bathroom.
He came out again ten minutes later, dried his hair with a towel, and then sat on the soft bed, picking up his phone that was charging on the bedside table with one hand.
Here's the new message: "Making friends is a private matter, and taking your anger out on your partner because of possessiveness is both rude and disrespectful."
These words sounded very respectable, but Ren Yifei didn't quite understand. They had never communicated or met face-to-face, so why would they suddenly send each other text messages to make friends?
He sent his question over.
Ren Yifei still doesn't understand why Lin Guanyue always seems to see him.
Meanwhile, Lin Guanyue, who had already returned to his private residence, looked at the latest text message on his phone, leaned back in his rocking chair, and then leaned back against it.
There was no other complicated reason; he simply felt that this person could connect all the things he hadn't finished saying and all the thoughts he hadn't yet uttered.
As he observed, there was a moment when he suddenly felt that they would be very compatible.
The night passed in the sea breeze, and when they woke up early the next morning, they had arrived at the port, where people were waiting to meet them, all holding up signs.
People returning from the ordeal walked in a line with their suitcases, and Ren Yifei mingled among them.
He didn't know if any of them would pick him up. Both of the original owner's parents had remarried, and he had very distant relationships with both sides.
"Zhaoming!"
A person was shouting and waving a hat. Ren Yifei looked over and saw a woman who looked very gentle, with a few features that resembled He Zhaoming.
There were a few people standing next to her, including a middle-aged man and a girl who looked quite young.
He walked over, and paused for a moment because he didn't know how to address her.
The middle-aged man patted the girl on the shoulder. The girl looked up at him, her chin held high with a rather haughty air: "You're back, brother."
It turned out to be her stepfather and stepsister.
Ren Yifei nodded: "Sorry to keep you waiting."
They drove back in the car their stepfather had brought. His stepsister would occasionally steal glances at him, or lower her head to text, looking guilty. Ren Yifei knew without looking that she was talking about him.
The original owner was just a minor idol, and a retired one at that. But thanks to the popularity of this show, and then a bombshell announcement, she's now a nationally recognized celebrity.
It's understandable that a young girl would secretly send messages.
It's like the neighbor's older siblings suddenly becoming celebrities—it's always strange and interesting. And since they're siblings on the same household registration, the situation becomes even more complicated.
"Want to take a group photo?" he suddenly asked.
"Huh?!" The girl was startled and instinctively put her phone behind her back. "Y-you, how did you know?"
"You've been glancing at me secretly several times, hesitant to speak. Is it hard to guess what's going on?" Ren Yifei curled his lips into a mischievous smile.
The little girl's eyes darted around: "Hey, brother, shall we take a couple of photos together?"
So they took two photos together. Ren Yifei was considerate of the young girl, so he put his face close to the camera while she stepped back a little to make her face look smaller. He even adjusted the color tone of the photos: "Post them."
"Then I'll send it?" The little girl looked at him with her phone, and seeing that he had really agreed, her eyes narrowed with happiness. "Thank you, brother." This time, she really meant it when she called him "brother."
The little girl was happy, and the original owner's biological mother and stepfather sitting in front of her became even more gentle. Afterwards, he went to his stepfather's house, stayed for a day, and left after learning about the original owner's situation. He then returned to his rented apartment.
The production team also contacted him during this period to discuss the reward.
Due to this unexpected incident, the program was interrupted, and theoretically there would be no winner or prize money. However, because the online outcry of "we owe He Zhaoming a championship" was too strong, under pressure, they still decided to select three people to share the winner's crown equally.
Ren Yifei was naturally one of the 'winners', and also the nominal champion.
Along with the winner's honor comes a reward of 50 million.
Yes, the prizes include a suburban villa worth 30 million, a brand new sports car worth 5 million, and many other miscellaneous prizes, with a final cash prize of 10 million.
This was a compromise compensation plan. Considering that the other party's business was teetering on the brink of collapse because of his 'antisocial son', Ren Yifei accepted the rewards.
Ren Yifei was contacted by his former agent and other agents during this period, but he refused them all, demonstrating that he really did not want to return to the entertainment industry.
Only after an arrest warrant for Lin Guanyue was issued did everyone realize who the mastermind was. However, they couldn't find Lin Guanyue; nobody knew where he was.
Ren Yifei had no idea that after that day, this person disappeared from his life, along with the games on the island.
Then one day, he received a letter.
That was the second to last day before the dungeon ended.
When the post office notified him to come over, he was honestly quite surprised: "Do people still write letters these days?"
The letter only had a mailing address. Inside, there was a postcard of a tourist attraction at sea in a certain country, and a plane ticket for 9 a.m. tomorrow.
"Tsk, you think I'll go just because you tell me to?" He tossed the letter onto the coffee table. "Let whoever wants to go."
He went to bed early that day, wearing a blue bear pajama set, and obediently placed his hands on his abdomen. His uncut hair was scattered on the clean white pillow, and the sheet on his chest rose and fell with his breath.
Under the moonlight, a shadow gently landed on the balcony outside the room. He did something and suddenly opened the glass door that only the owner could open, and walked in silently.
The owner of the bed fluttered his eyelashes slightly, then returned to calm.
A plain white silk handkerchief brushed past Ren Yifei's nose. He seemed to sense something and tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids only twitched, and he fell into a deep sleep again.
A man's deep laughter came from the darkness. He walked over, wrapped the person in a sheet, leaving only their face exposed, and carried them away.
The subordinates had been waiting for a long time, and as soon as they saw the person get out of the car, they immediately opened the car door.
"Walk."
The driver started the car, and the unassuming black limousine quietly left the villa area once again.
"Boss, we need to get out of here quickly." The assistant typed on his laptop, trying to make sure they wouldn't encounter any obstacles on the way back.
There are people outside arresting their boss, and there are facial recognition cameras everywhere.
The assistant glanced cautiously at the person being held in his boss's arms. Should he start calling her "boss's wife" from now on?
This guy, single for almost thirty years, is something else! He hasn't even officially started dating yet, and his old house is already on fire! If the other person responds, great; if not… tsk tsk, a tragic love story?
Lin Guanyue looked down at the person sleeping soundly in his arms, a faint smile unconsciously appearing on his face. He felt an indescribable sense of fulfillment, as if what had always belonged to him had returned to his life.
Perhaps some people are like that; even though it's the first time you've met, it feels like a long-awaited reunion.
The next day, around six o'clock, Ren Yifei woke up. He was lying on another bed in another villa. Although he was still wearing his pajamas, his cuffs were stained with a different fragrance.
It's like the fragrance you smell when you wake up in the morning after a summer night's rain. It's the scent of flowers and trees in the yard, mixed with moisture and carried gently by the wind.
It's like a white shirt drying in the sun, with a unique kind of cleanliness.
He stood up, walked to the French windows, and pushed open the glass door. Golden sunlight, white sand, azure sky, and deep blue sea... all the most beautiful things in nature were laid out before him.
"I don't know why, but I always feel that you would like to wake up in the morning and see the sea." Lin Guanyue arrived at the door with a smile.
"Kidnapping is an even more serious crime." Ren Yifei's voice was calm, revealing no hint of his true feelings.
"You've sentenced me to a hundred years in prison?" Lin Guanyue walked over. "Although you already know, I still want to tell you in person. My name is Lin Guanyue, a small businessman who makes games. Hello."
"A small-time game developer?... Fine, if you put it that way, I'll believe you. By the way, do all powerful and influential people use such elaborate methods to pursue someone?" Ren Yifei sat down on a rattan stool.
"In the dead of night, they break into someone's home and kidnap them to take them abroad."
Lin Guanyue didn't seem surprised that he could handle being kidnapped so calmly. He just smiled and said, "This is the first time I've pursued someone. If there's anything that makes you uncomfortable, you can tell me."
"Then you change it?"
"Some things will change, some…you'll have to get used to them?" Lin Guanyue smiled gently, but her words were firm.
"So this is his true nature," Ren Yifei thought. "So the obedient and docile Saman was just a facade, and the insatiable and extremely wicked Lin Guanyue was the real one. If only I had known this..."
What if he had known? He thought about it and realized that he couldn't refuse her because she kept pestering him.
Ren Yifei looked Lin Guanyue up and down: "I'm terrifying when I get angry."
"How can I coax you so you won't be angry?"
Lin Guanyue was practically seizing the opportunity; they hadn't even gotten to know each other yet, and she wanted to solidify their ambiguous relationship with just a few words.
"You'll take me back?"
"..." Lin Guanyue immediately turned around and let the person at the door come in, "I made some breakfast that you like."
A waiter pushed in a food cart, which was filled with the breakfast he had eaten a few extra bites of while playing the game—his real favorite. And on top of it was a familiar golden lid.
It was the one who left the clues during their game.
The waiter set out the food and then left, leaving only Ren Yifei and Lin Guanyue in the room.
"When exactly did you notice these things?" When he was playing He Zhaoming, he paid special attention and didn't just show his own preferences.
He acted like he really liked eating meat before the live stream, but in reality, Ren Yifei eats a light breakfast and doesn't eat oily pork chops.
"If you care about someone, you will naturally notice their true preferences."
Ren Yifei sneered: Heh.
"Well, actually I just watched the video from back then a few times." Lin Guanyue raised her hand and opened the gold lid of the lunchbox. "More than food, this is what I really wanted to give you. If you want to leave afterward, I'll take you back."
On a white porcelain plate lay a gemstone brooch bearing the program's logo, symbolizing the 'winner of the detective game.' Beside the brooch sat a large black pearl adorned with seven small gemstones.
The token of the last desolate corner, a black pearl, a specialty of the Sea of No Return.
"In my heart, you are the only champion."