Money-Grubber Little Red Riding Hood (14)

“Breaking news, the bankruptcy of the Hua Group, which was a superpower in business long ago, was revealed to be the result of a family feud!”

“You won’t believe this, an old woman embezzled money from her son-in-law!”

“Granddaughter aids her uncle in trying to kill her grandmother. Is this due to moral degeneration or the distortion of human nature?!”

Shen Ru whistled as he scrolled through his phone, “Wow, it’s even reached the top search.”

“Don’t look at your phone anymore, it’ll be hard for the makeup artist,” Jun Zixin scolded.

Shen Ru chuckled and smiled apologetically to the makeup artist. “Sorry.”

Today, it was his graduation. Jun Zixin had already graduated last year so he was in college now. Even so, they still found time to hang out with each other during weekends. Much like Jun Zixin’s graduation when Shen Ru stayed together with him, Jun Zixin did the same and kept talking to him as if to relieve his nonexistent graduation anxieties.

Of course, many things happened in the one year since the foundation day. Although Shen Ru had managed to save Hua Zhi, that didn’t mean that he was just going to let injustice continue. With Jun Zixin’s connections, which he later found out was because he was the heir to a weaponry and oil company overseas, he was able to contact Li Zhong and get evidence to prosecute Hua Zhi.

Although Li Zhong knew that he would have to serve his entire prison sentence considering the attempted murder he committed was morally wrong and had too much evidence, he gritted his teeth and accepted Shen Ru’s offer. When he was talking with him, Shen Ru could see in his eyes that he loathed him, the one to send him to jail.

Hopefully, Li Zhong will get his needed relief once the news hit TV stations, though Shen Ru really should hire some bodyguards when Li Zhong finishes his sentence.

For the matter of the third mission, strangely, he couldn’t think of anything at all to complete it. Even when Hua Xiu got expelled and moved to a school in the countryside, the objects that the private investigator stole proved to be useless. Ultimately, to avoid suspicion, Shen Ru stopped his plans and finally gave the private investigator his much-needed rest.

In the end, Shen Ru figured he’d just complete more missions in the future worlds to make up for this world.

“Why are you spacing out now? Are you nervous about your graduation?” Jun Zixin was like a henpecked husband as he kept asking him questions. “Don’t worry, you’ve already practiced your valedictorian speech a lot of times, I’ve even proofread it, so you don’t have to worry about it. Worrying over it will only make you mess up.”

Shen Ru couldn’t help but laugh and pinch his cheek. “Who said I was nervous? I was just thinking of how much of a henpecked husband you sound right now.”

Jun Zixin’s eyes sparkled with happiness. “Are you going to call me Husband now?”

Shen Ru shook his head in disbelief at his shamelessness, but still entertained him, “Well, it’s fitting considering it’s my graduation today.”

Although Jun Zixin and Shen Ru had gone on many dates and shared many kisses throughout the past year, Shen Ru had still been hesitant to officially publicize their relationship. After all, the original Shen Ru was straight. His parents in this world would definitely get shocked once they discover that their son was actually gay. In the end, Jun Zixin suggested that he'll talk to his parents during graduation, which he accepted.

At first, Shen Ru thought that he would be especially nervous about this. When it came time for the day, however, he actually felt a bit of excitement, like an anticipation for the future. He was looking forward to more memories of each other, marrying each other just like every other couple, and growing old together.

Jun Zixin perked up at his response and instinctively ruffled his hair. Shen Ru raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one just now who said I should sit still so as to not disturb the makeup artist?”

“Ah, sorry, sorry,” Jun Zixin scratched his head and apologized.

The makeup artist waved her hand and replied, “No, it’s okay.”

Inwardly, she was fangirling over this handsome pair of boyfriends. At first, she thought that it was such a waste for two devastatingly handsome men to get together. Then, the more she watched them interact lovingly with each other, the more she thought: ah, they really are meant to be together.

 As for the dog food that they had been shamelessly throwing around? She enjoyed it with relish. ^_^

After having his makeup finished and his hair fixed again, Shen Ru finally wore graduation cap and gown. Jun Zixin couldn’t help but take a picture. Shen Ru smirked and asked, “Enjoyed the view?”

“I really wanted to kiss you. Unfortunately, it’ll ruin your makeup,” Jun Zixin replied, disappointment obvious in his voice.

“I think it’d be interesting to see lipstick all over your lips,” Shen Ru teased.

“Then, can I kiss you?”

“Of course, not! I was just kidding!”

When Shen Ru arrived at school together with Jun Zixin, they immediately attracted the attention of the students, especially the fujoshis. Although Jun Zixin had already graduated, he was still an alumnus and had maintained same popularity among the student population. It’s expected that he may even become a school legend, considering his good looks and stellar grades.

Once Shen Ru spotted Gu Haoyu and Jia Hao, he immediately ran after them, leaving Jun Zixin behind. “Hey!” he greeted with a smile.

Over the past year, Gu Haoyu and Jia Hao had steadily improved in terms of academics. Gu Haoyu was even in the top 10 of their class, while Jia Hao had satisfactory grades, enough for his parents to start considering making him the heir of their company.

Although Gu Haoyu’s parents weren’t imprisoned, they did have to pay a fee after Gu Haoyu sued them with their help. He also had a restraining order against them. Knowing that Gu Haoyu had many people backing him, they completely cut him off from their lives and did their best to avoid him like he was the plague.

“Wow, Mr. Valedictorian is very handsome today,” Jia Hao joked.

Yes, as Jun Zixin had implied earlier, Shen Ru really did become the valedictorian of their year. With Jun Zixin’s tutoring and his late-night hard work, he was able to become the top of not just their class, but their whole year. Other teachers could only watch and grit their teeth as Teacher Peng kept boasting about his achievements.

“You guys are pretty handsome too. A new haircut?”

“Well, better than the haircut I had last year.” Gu Haoyu chuckled.

When the time came for Shen Ru to make his speech, Shen Ru took a deep breath before reciting his memorized speech. His speech was simple yet emotional, talking about how he had found it hard to be an honor student, even mentioning his delinquent past. Of course, this was all bullshit, he just wanted to make his speech more dramatic, like one of those speeches you’d hear in movies.

Near the end of his speech, Shen Ru said, “Lastly, I’d like to thank the person who I was lucky to have met.” The implications of his words made the crowd whisper amongst each other. “When I first met you, I thought you were annoying at first, always appearing in front of me. Then, I discovered that the moments I spent with you were the most fun I’ve ever had. Not only this, you always answered and came for me when I needed help. You patiently tutored me every day and listened to my night rants. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been standing here in front of everyone now.”

“So, Jun xuezhang, thank you for everything and I love you.”

At this point, the crowd of soon-to-be graduates had gone insane. Although most of them had known of their relationship because of Hua Xiu’s shenanigans, it was different now that they publicly acknowledged their relationship.

Meanwhile, Gu Haoyu and Jia Hao were clapping even louder than the whispers. Although they were absolutely shocked when they first found out that their Boss Shen was gay, they cheered for their relationship with enthusiasm. Over time, they became Shen Ru’s go-to when he needed excuses to go on dates with Jun Zixin.

After the diplomas were given to the graduates, Shen Ru finally had a chance to approach Jun Zixin. He whispered in his ear, “Husband, help me convince my parents later.”

Jun Zixin chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Calling me ‘husband’ now, eh? Don’t worry, I have ways to convince Uncle and Auntie.”

“…For some reason, that sounds ominous.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t hurt them. I’m not a mafia boss, am I?”

As they had expected, when Shen Ru returned to his parents with Jun Zixin holding him by the waist, they had cold faces. “Let’s talk after we get home.”

Shen Ru and Jun Zixin exchanged a look and laughed.

Although Jun Zixin was persuasive in his speech on how he would take responsibility for Shen Ru, Father and Mother Shen still had misgivings. After all, they had never expected that their son would become gay out of the blue. In the end, they said that they’ll be accepting their relationship for now but pre-marital sex was definitely a no-go.

…When the conversation turned to pre-marital sex, it was even more awkward than the birth control talk Shen Ru had with his parents in his past life.

As Jun Zixin was leaving the house, Shen Ru told him, “Don’t take my parents’ words seriously. They’re just worried for you.”

“So, no pre-marital sex, huh?”

“You—“

“Just kidding, bye!” Just like a lawless hooligan, he had already run to his car.

Shen Ru gave a deep sigh and returned to his room. As soon as he was alone, the system suddenly sounded.

[Mission 3 completed!]

[Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations! Important things must be said thrice.]

[You have been awarded 100 points.]

[Mission 4: Prevent a lumberjack from saving Little Red Riding Hood once]

“How the heck did I complete the mission?” Shen Ru was both surprised and confused.

[Answering the host, Little Red Riding Hood’s red hood in this world was her reputation of having high grades, high social status, and a handsome boyfriend. Today, you completed these requirements and have successfully attained her reputation.]

“So, if I didn’t get together with Jun Zixin, I wouldn’t have completed the mission?”

[…Yes.]

Shen Ru shook his head in disbelief. “Now I know why most transmigrators find it hard to complete missions. It’s really a matter of luck. For Mission 4, I’m guessing that the lumberjack refers to one of the men in Hua Xiu’s harem?”

[Yes, host. The lumberjack is not restricted to one person. You can choose any of the lovers that Little Red Riding Hood is fated to be with.]

“Oh well, at least the mission this time is easier.”

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Of course, although the main plotline of the novel ended there, it wasn’t the complete end for Shen Ru’s story. After a summer vacation together with Jun Zixin, Shen Ru entered the college with the determination to complete his mission.

The power of the plot really was powerful. Although Hua Xiu had to repeat a year because of her expulsion and go to a school in the countryside, she still had the opportunity to snatch a few lovers. Unfortunately for her, Shen Ru intercepted the first lover, successfully finishing his mission.

The next mission he received was a replication of the fourth mission, and the same was for further missions. After realizing that her lovers would always be disgusted by her in the end, Hua Xiu ultimately gave up and stopped searching for backers. The systems given by the system reflected this change and started giving Shen Ru missions about Hua Zhi and Li Zhong.

Because Shen Ru completed these missions, Li Zhong was able to get out of jail earlier and then volunteered to be a military doctor. It was also found out that Hua Zhi wasn’t the only one that benefitted from the bankruptcy of the Li family. The police found out about this and many more got imprisoned, after all. Meanwhile, the Li family was finally able to live peacefully. They even started up a company that was beginning to be similar to the previous glory of their previous company.

Throughout this, Shen Ru graduated college and became the CEO of Shen company. He had grown his hair long just to satisfy Jun Zixin’s hair fetish. Similarly, Jun Zixin had taken control of his own family’s company, although he wasn’t just the CEO, but was the chairman. After his grandfather died early, he had already gathered enough influence and power to inherit the majority of the shares of the company.

Finally, after Shen Ru had reached an elderly age, he stopped completing the missions from the system. In total, he had completed more than 10 missions, of which the system had praised him about. After he decided that he didn’t want to complete more missions, the system offered to transfer him to the next world for maximum efficiency.

However, Shen Ru immediately thought of Jun Zixin. Even though they have spent the past 50 years together, which was already enough if you think about it, he couldn’t bear to leave him. 50 years wasn’t enough, he wanted to stay with him more.

And so, Shen Ru and Jun Zixin spent their lives together until Shen Ru died at 91.

Before Shen Ru died, it was as if he had become a child again. Perhaps because the reality that he was soon going to be transported to another world, a place where his lover didn’t exist, had sunk into his mind, he started clinging to Jun Zixin and panicked when he didn’t see him when he woke up. The moment that he realized that his death was nearing, he hugged Jun Zixin as tight as he can, hiding the flowing tears in his eyes.

“Zixin, I don’t want to leave you. I want to be with you forever. I love you, I love you!”

“I love you too, Ah Ru.” Smiling, Jun Zixin rove his fingers on the long hair that Shen Ru had maintained for him even after so many years.

Jun Zixin waited until after he attended his funeral before succumbing to his weak body.

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Author's Note: