Su Yan looked at his boyfriend with a complaint written in his eyes. "Didn’t you say it would be enough to read the first chapter? How come the task isn’t checked yet?"

Nie Chang gulped. "Uh … I’m not sure. Well, we didn’t really complete the first chapter, right? Maybe doing so will help you get to the next level?"

Su Yan pursed his lips. That could be true … He raised his phone again and navigated back to the website. The novel was still open and he even found the spot where Nie Chang had left off. Before he could start reading though, his boyfriend grabbed his shoulder.

"Heh, Ah Yan, you wouldn’t want to read it here, would you?"

"Of course. Why not?"

"This …" Nie Chang searched for the right words and finally just motioned around. "We’re outside. There are other people and cars and … something could happen to you. What if you fall? You shouldn’t look at your phone while walking."

Su Yan blinked. "Why?"

"As I said, something could happen to you."

Su Yan blinked again. What was his boyfriend going on about? "Don’t I have you for that?"

While Nie Chang was stumped for words, a certain someone linked arms with him, tugged his fingers into his shirt and lifted his phone with the other hand, staring intently at the screen.

Nie Chang sighed. "Alright, then you read the rest of the chapter and I’ll make sure you get back to the car safely."

Su Yan smiled happily but didn’t answer. He had to finish his task, after all! He couldn’t waste his time with anything else now. Nie Chang would understand.

Nie Chang certainly understood. He couldn’t help but lament his own spinelessness though. Just why was he always giving in to Su Yan? He knew that in ninety percent of the cases Su Yan’s idea wouldn’t be anything good. So why did he always go along with it? Ah, he was probably just as much of a hen-pecked husband as Su Yan’s father. Nowadays, he couldn’t even get away with teasing him anymore.

While Nie Chang was worrying over his status in their relationship, Su Yan was absorbed in doing his task. The story Nie Chang had started to read to him had seemed super boring but, well, a boring story was still much better than a tasteless one.

Thus he continued to read from where his boyfriend had left off. Or, well, he skipped the part where the novel the protagonist had read was praised. That shouldn’t be too important to this story or to the system, right?

[The novel had been great. His own end hadn’t been so great though. Who knew how it had happened but one day he opened his eyes and the white-collar worker Qiu Ming Wen had turned into the first young master of the Qiu family, Qiu Ming Wen.

What sounded like a dream come true was a nightmare though because this Qiu Ming Wen was none other than the scum villain of 'Forever'. He was the first, legitimate son of a corrupt minister. Someone with high status, good prospects, a lot of money, and a good reputation. In short, he seemed like the perfect man.

In fact, there were indeed several rows of maidens who wanted to marry him standing outside of their estate’s door every day. As someone who had read the novel from start to finish the white-collar worker, Qiu Ming Wen wanted to congratulate each and every one that was turned away. They had dodged a disaster by a hair’s breadth.

Never mind that Qiu Ming Wen wasn’t into women anyway and instead preferred men, the actual problem was with his character. The high moral standing he showed when with officials or scholars or anywhere else in public belied how he was behind closed doors. Just ask the person who was lying next to him on the cart right now.

"Ming Wen. Tell me what is the matter. Maybe … Maybe we can ask them to stop for a moment?"

Speak of the devil. Qiu Ming Wen turned around and looked back at the stupid little sheep that was staring at him with worried eyes.

This Luan Xin Yi had been picked up on the streets by Qiu Ming Wen and brought home. To the person that offered him a roof over his head, enough food to fill his stomach, and warmth when it got cold outside, he was eternally grateful. Qiu Ming Wen was the person in his heart, the one he looked up to and secretly loved. He would never think badly about him even though it was also this person that had used and abused him for years.

He really … was dumb.

At least that was how Qiu Ming Wen saw him. In the eyes of the protagonist that would later fall in love with him, Luan Xin Yi was just a pure child. Someone a little too good for this world who needed to be protected. Naturally, the thing he had to be protected from the most was exactly the scum Qiu Ming Wen.

Thus the one who was supposed to become a minister in the future and the one who was on his way to becoming a famous general entered into a fight not just for power and honor, but also for a certain beautiful youth that had unwittingly bewitched both of them.

The Qiu Ming Wen that had taken over several months back had naturally wondered how to deal with this crisis. After all, this was his body now and he didn’t know how to get back to his own world. So if the plot unfolded like in the original story … the one who would end up badly bruised from the spectacular fight between the two men would be him.

Excuse him but he wasn’t into that kind of thing. Before he ruined his family’s name and spent his years in prison, abused by the guards until he died, he’d much rather search for a way to make his past misdeeds up to Luan Xin Yi and get on the good side of the protagonist. Saving his life should come first. Saving his dignity and ensuring a good life came second.

A scum villain couldn’t be fussy when deciding what to do.]