Date (First Part)
Receiving the text message, everyone in the club immediately secretly went into action.
In the infirmary, the frowning Uncle Long finished drawing up a list of dietary restrictions and handed it to Shi Jin. “You can eat out, but he can’t touch these foods and alcohol is absolutely forbidden, understood?”
“Understood, understood, I’ll remember.” Nodding like a chicken pecking rice, Shi Jin took the list, gave it a glance, and put it into his shirt pocket. “Is there anything else to pay attention to?”
After thinking for a moment, the doctor added, “You can’t play too late, sleep is very important.”
“Noted.” Shi Jin continued to nod, then asked, “Can I go now?”
Uncle Long’s wrinkled eyebrows twitched. Knowing that the teenager was in a hurry, he stopped admonishing, turned around, and took out the medicine to prevent heatstroke and medicine for motion sickness out of the drawer. Putting them in his hand, he said, “It’s hot today—remember not to spend too much time outdoors, Jun-shao might not be able to stand it. And… have fun.”
Shi Jin gave him a wide, almost too-dazzling smile and packed the medicines. “Thank you, Uncle Long, then I’m going now.”
“Go, go.” The old doctor waved his hand in disgust and walked towards the inner room.
Seeing this, Shi Jin turned around and rushed outside, itching to get on with it.
Uncle Long looked back as he heard the footsteps, only catching sight of Shi Jin’s back as the young man disappeared through the door. His frown relaxed and a faint smile appeared on his face. “A date, huh… Ah, to be young again.”
When Shi Jin returned to the dining room, Lian Jun just took his last sip of soup.
Hurrying over to grab the handles of the wheelchair, he said, “Okay, let’s go, Gua Two has driven the car out.”
“What’s the hurry?” Lian Jun was amused by his appearance, like a primary school student looking forward to a holiday trip. Leaning back as the young man quickly pushed the wheelchair, he asked, “Are you so happy to take revenge against Rong Zhouzhong?”
“Yes!” Shi Jin didn’t hide his mood at all. Wishing he could speed up to a run, he said, “Rong Zhouzhong is in serious need of a beating—I can’t wait to push the centipede pillow into his face.”
Lian Jun’s mouth twitched slightly. Influenced by Shi Jin’s enthusiasm, he suddenly started looking forward to it too.
As the car left the club, Shi Jin reported the address of the restaurant where Rong Zhouzhong’s birthday dinner was taking place to Gua Two, then took out his tablet and leaned close to Lian Jun. “Do you want to play?” he asked.
“Yes,” the other man replied, also taking out the tablet, completely unaware of the little conspiracy between his subordinates and his lover.
The sound effect of mahjong played. About half an hour later, Shi Jin’s cell phone rang. He took it out and frowned. “It’s my eldest brother. Please help me finish the game, Jun-shao, I’ll take the call.”
Lian Jun, who also saw the incoming call alert, nodded and took his tablet.
Shi Jin moved over to the car door and answered the phone.
{Everything is ready.} Gua One’s voice, deliberately kept low, came from the speaker.
Shi Jin’s eyes lit up, but he immediately put on an unhappy look. “Wasn’t the party supposed to be in the afternoon? I’m already on my way… Oh whatever. Forget it, I’m not going anymore.” Then he hung up.
Lian Jun heard his words and turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
Scowling, Shi Jin replied, “Rong Zhouzhong got delayed, the party got changed to the evening. We went out for nothing.”
Seeing the teenager’s disappointed and unhappy face, Lian Jun thought about his earlier excitement and his heart tightened. Leaning over to take his hand, he soothed, “Don’t be upset, it’s only pushed back a few hours, isn’t it? We didn’t go out for nothing—how about I accompany you to play in the meantime?”
Yes, he took the bait!
Shi Jin shouted happily in his mind, but outwardly, he was still listless. He shook his head, saying, “No, it’s almost time for your nap. Since we have nothing to do this afternoon, there’s no point missing it—let’s just go back to the club.”
Lian Jun’s heart ached even more. Determined to cheer Shi Jin up, he turned to look through the window and asked Gua Two, “Are there any Annihilation-owned industries around here?”
Gua Two pretended to think for a moment. “Yes, there’s a shopping mall and a hotel with a restaurant ahead, and an indoor swimming pool a little behind us. Where do you want to go, Jun-shao?”
After some consideration, Lian Jun said, “To the mall.”
“Yes, sir,” Gua Two acknowledged, turning the steering wheel.
Shi Jin immediately pretended to try to stop his lover. “There are too many people in the mall, it’s not safe. Or let’s just go to the hotel? You can take a nap there.”
“It’s okay, let’s go to the mall cinema and watch a movie. I’ll have the screening room cleared, it will be completely safe,” Lian Jun appeased Shi Jin, then spoke Gua Two’s name.
Gua Two immediately acknowledged and called Gua Nine.
Gua Nine answered the phone in seconds and acted out a play with Gua Two.
As Shi Jin listened to their conversation, he pretended to slowly adjust his mood. After the two “arranged” the security of the mall and cinema, he looked sideways at Lian Jun and asked, “This… counts as a date, doesn’t it? I mean, we’re going to watch a movie together…”
Lian Jun froze. Seeing the expectation and joy in the younger man’s eyes, his heart softened. He nodded, saying, “I guess… Next time, I’ll take you to a proper date.”
“Okay, then I’m waiting.” Shi Jin grinned wide and squeezed Lian Jun’s hand, then turned to look at the bustling city scenery outside the window, revealing a slightly cunning smile.
Everything is going just as planned. Perfect.
If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.
They soon arrived at the mall. Under the remote arrangement of Gua Nine, the staff waited at the parking lot entrance. As soon as the car appeared, they greeted them and guided them into the private parking area with a separate elevator, which the party took to the cinema on the fifth floor.
“Our people have the cinema lobby covered. You can move freely, Jun-shao, it’s safe,” the person in charge of the shopping mall rushed to report.
Lian Jun nodded, satisfied with the shopping mall staff’s quick reaction. After sending the man away, he looked at Shi Jin and asked, “Do you want to watch a movie now or would you rather go somewhere else first?”
“No, let’s watch a movie,” Shi Jin replied, grabbing the wheelchair handle bars. Not giving him a chance to speak, he happily rushed through the bustling crowd, heading for the ticket counter.
Gua Two trailed behind them, glancing at the organization members in disguise scattered through the crowd, pretending to be ordinary people. Suppressing a smirk, he hastened his steps and nonchalantly caught up with Shi Jin and Lian Jun.
It was the weekend, so the cinema was quite crowded. Shi Jin excitedly pushed Lian Jun towards the ticket counter and found the shortest line to line up. Pointing to the popular movie recommendations, he asked, “Which one do you want to see? Let’s get the couple seats.”
The teenager’s sudden actions took Lian Jun by surprise and it took him a moment to react. He glanced at the people around them, a frown instinctively appearing on his face. “Don’t run like that next time, it’s dangerous.”
“Isn’t it okay? That person just now said we can move freely,” Shi Jin answered. Thumping his chest, he added, “And even if something happens, I will protect you.”
Lian Jun wanted to say that with all the safety arrangements, they shouldn’t let down their guard. But, seeing Shi Jin’s face full of excitement and joy, he couldn’t bear to rain on his parade. Suppressing his discomfort, he gave Gua Two a glance over his shoulder.
Gua Two immediately put on an earnest ‘I understand, I will watch out for trouble’ expression. In fact, he was quite relaxed as all the arrangements had been taken care of long ago and today, only a small number of people present on the fifth floor were ordinary people—most of them were the Annihilation members. As such, security certainly wasn’t a problem.
Lian Jun, who thought Gua Two was vigilant and on guard, turned back and looked around again. As his discomfort faded, it was gradually replaced by a feeling of novelty.
He grew up surrounded by protection personnel, living a life far apart from ordinary people. For him, mingling with a crowd like now, choosing a movie and queueing up to buy tickets, was nothing short of a fantasy.
It was noisy and chaotic, and all the people around them were strangers. Everything just screamed of lack of safety, but as he breathed in the scent of popcorn filling the air and listened to Shi Jin introducing the movies with relish, he suddenly felt completely at ease.
It was as if his life had finally stabilized, and it gave him a surprising sense of security.
He gave Shi Jin, who was clearly at home in their current environment, a sideways glance. He had wanted to say that they didn’t actually have to queue up to buy tickets or pick a movie because the cinema had a private screening hall and they could go there directly and choose any movie they liked. But, all of a sudden he didn’t want to say it. His expression relaxing, he took his cue from the couple standing in line in front of them and asked, “Which one do you think will be good?”
Shi Jin stopped talking, thought for a moment, and replied, “This is our first date, so how about a love movie?”
Smiling, Lian Jun said, “Sure.”
The line moved forward quickly, and soon more people queued up behind them. Not only was Lian Jun’s appearance outstanding, he also sat in the wheelchair, and there was very good-looking Shi Jin standing next to him—it didn’t take long for them to draw everyone’s attention.
A young girl spoke to Shi Jin, asking for his contact information. Lian Jun unconsciously tensed and his eyebrows wrinkled slightly, but Shi Jin put a hand on his shoulder as if inadvertently and replied with a smile, “I’m sorry, this isn’t my brother, he’s my boyfriend. I can’t give you my contact information because he will be jealous.”
His frown smoothing, Lian Jun looked up at Shi Jin by his side and took his hand. “It’s our turn,” he said.
Waking up, Shi Jin nodded in response, waved goodbye to the girl, and pushed Lian Jun to the ticket counter.
Behind them, the girl exclaimed in disappointment, but with a hint of strange excitement mixed in. Lian Jun heard it, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
As Shi Jin stopped by the counter, he suddenly leaned down. “Next time we go out, I’m going to make you wear a mask,” he whispered in Lian Jun’s ear, then straightened. Smiling at the girl selling tickets, he chose a movie and began to pick seats.
Lian Jun blinked. He couldn’t see the top of the ticket counter from his position, so instead of trying, he pulled Shi Jin’s hanging hand, asking, “Why?”
“That girl was talking to me, but she was clearly looking at you, you know? Tsk, you attract bees and butterflies wherever you go,” Shi Jin accused with a mock frown. He took a picture of the seating arrangement with his phone and crouched down to show it to him. “Where do you want to sit?”
When Lian Jun saw him taking care of himself like this, his smile dimmed a little. If only he could stand next to Shi Jin like a normal person, they could choose seats together and…
“Pick a seat,” Shi Jin urged him, then stretched out his hand. “And cough up the money—you made me jealous, so you’re punished by paying for the tickets.”
Lian Jun came back to himself. Seeing the teenager’s pretend anger, he smiled again and pointed to the seats in the back, then touched his pocket. Finding it empty, his expression stiffened for a second. “Gua Two,” he said, glancing behind.
Gua Two, the invisible attendant, resignedly took out his wallet and handed it over.
Lian Jun took it and opened the cash pocket. “How much?”
Suppressing a smile, Shi Jin pulled the wallet out of his hand and threw it back to Gua Two. “It’s fine if you didn’t bring money, but this is our date, don’t make Gua Two pay for it. Do you have a payment app, the kind with your card tied to it?” he asked, motioning towards Lian Jun’s phone.
Lian Jun shook his head. When he wanted to buy something, he just gave a command—he never paid for anything personally. He had cards, a lot of them, but something like a payment app?
“Okay, then I’ll pay now and you’ll give a red envelope later.” Shi Jin took out his phone and bought the tickets, then pushed Lian Jun’s wheelchair to the side. After helping him install the payment app on his phone and tying one of his cards to it, he sent himself a small red envelope.
Lian Jun let him do whatever he wanted. Seeing the amount of the red envelope, he asked, “Is this much really enough?”
“Yes.” Letting him see the balance of his account on his phone, Shi Jin opened the envelope and explained, “The red envelope is 200 yuan and the movie tickets cost 130 yuan, so there’s still 70 yuan to spend. I’ll get us popcorn and drinks.”
Lian Jun looked at the phone screen and couldn’t help but pinch Shi Jin’s face.
What a low-maintenance lover—it only took 200 yuan for him to be satisfied.
After buying popcorn and drinks, Shi Jin asked Lian Jun to hold them and, smirking, snapped a picture with his phone, saying it was “to commemorate their first date”.
Lian Jun took a look at the tub of popcorn in his lap and gave Shi Jin a faint smile.
Romantic movies were all fine and good, but they obviously didn’t really suit Lian Jun, the big-shot underworld boss, nor were they Shi Jin’s, the mahjong lover, cup of tea.
The girl on the other side of the aisle was already crying. She burrowed into her boyfriend’s arms and sobbed in a low voice while her boyfriend held her close and tenderly wiped her tears.
Lian Jun looked away, turning his gaze to Shi Jin, fast asleep next to him, feeling both helpless and funny. Taking example from the boy, he raised the armrest between the seats and hugged Shi Jin, letting him lean on him. He even covered the younger man’s ear with his hand so the noise wouldn’t bother him.
Gua Two, sitting in the row behind, glanced at their hugging silhouette and munched unenthusiastically at his popcorn, feeling the world was cold and lonely.
After the movie ended, Shi Jin stretched out, exclaiming, “Ah, what a touching movie.”
“Really? Did you watch more than ten minutes of it?” Lian Jun exposed him ruthlessly, then took a look at the time. “Where should we go now?”
Sheepish, Shi Jin rubbed his face with his hands to recover his spirit. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Let’s go to the arcade.”
“Arcade?” This confused Lian Jun.
“Yes, the game arcade.” Shi Jin nodded and shook his phone. “The popcorn and drinks cost only about 40 yuan. We still have more than 20 yuan to spend, so why don’t we go and play games? I’m quite good at catching plushies.”
Just at that moment, a couple happened to pass them by, the girl hugging several plush toys and happily kissing the boy.
Lian Jun saw them out of the corner of his eye and his expression slowly turned serious. “I think… I should be good at it too,” he said.
Shi Jin, who also watched the couple as, hummed with a smile at his words. “Is that so? Then let’s compete—the loser must obey the winner unconditionally for the whole day today. Are you up for it?”
Lian Jun met his eyes and reached to shake his hand. “We have a deal.”
“Today, victory will be mine.” Smiling smugly, as if he had already won, Shi Jin pushed Lian Jun in the direction of the video arcade.
Gua Two sauntered behind them, his lips curled in a disdainful smile—You’re too naive, kid.
Lian Jun suddenly looked back at him, motioning towards the arcade.
Gua Two put on a serious expression in a split of a second. Making an OK gesture, he took out his phone, ostensibly to deal with the security arrangements when in fact he called Gua Three and said, “Their next stop: the game arcade. Take care of the claw machine, make sure that Shi Jin can win.”
{No problem,} Gua Three replied, an audible smile in his voice. The background noise on his side of the call was no longer the incomprehensible language of L country, but familiar Chinese. {I’ll make the arrangements right away.}
When they arrived at the video arcade, Shi Jin went to buy the tokens. Handing half of them to Lian Jun, he said, “I don’t think we have enough tokens, we should get more. Hmm… can you count cards?”
Lian Jun followed his gaze to a card game machine where you could get a payout if you won. Rubbing the tokens in his hand, he nodded. “I think I can.”
“Okay, then let’s earn some coins first.” Shi Jin pushed Lian Jun to the card game machine and threw two tokens in.
Half an hour later, the two, each holding a small basket of tokens, came to the part of the arcade housing the claw machines, and each chose one.
“Ready?” Shi Jin asked.
Lian Jun put his hand on the joystick and nodded. “Ready.”
The sound effects resounded, accompanied by a camera shutter sound.
Gua Two, who leaned against the corner not far away, lowered the camera in his hand, grumbling, “What ‘make up for lost childhood’ plan, can you be more childish…” But despite his muttering, a smile unconsciously appeared on his face. As he looked at Lian Jun, absorbed in playing, his heart filled with gratification.
Ordinary people’s life was really very good.
“…Eight, nine… I have nine, what about you?” Shi Jin counted the plush toys tied along a string, then looked at Lian Jun.
Lian Jun, expressionless, said, “This game is rigged against the player.”
“Tsk-tsk-tsk, it’s just that your skills are not good enough.” Shi Jin leaned forward to count the dolls on his lover’s lap, then said with a hint of smugness, “I won, you only got four—today, you have to listen to my every order.”
Lian Jun raised a hand and knocked on the teenager’s forehead. “Don’t get carried away.”
Shi Jin grabbed his hand and, not caring they were in public, planted a kiss on his lips. “Let me seal my victory first. It’s getting late—should we go for dinner?”
Seeing Shi Jin’s face so close, Lian Jun pursed his lips, then put his arms around his neck and retaliated with a kiss of his own. “Okay, where do you want to eat? I’ll let someone get a table for us.”
They both forgot they didn’t actually go there for a date, but to spend time waiting for Rong Zhouzhong’s birthday dinner.
Shi Jin straightened, but as he was about to trick Lian Jun into going to the next place on the date plan, his phone rang. After taking it out, he saw that the caller was Rong Zhouzhong and his buoyant mood suddenly plummeted. With a glance at Lian Jun, he picked up.
{Where are you?} his third brother’s magnetic voice came from the speaker.
Shi Jin leaned slightly away and replied, “Out. What’s the matter?”
{The dinner is at six and it’s already past five, so I’m just making sure where you are,} Rong Zhouzhong explained. Abruptly, his tone of voice changed and he said darkly, {I’m warning you, Shi Jin—since you promised to come, don’t try to stand me up. If you dare to, see if I don’t sic my fans on you.}
Both Shi Jin’s eyebrows and heart jumped, and he silently complained—Rong Zhouzhong didn’t have to be so vicious, did he? After a moment of consideration, he said, “Am I that kind of person? Just wait, I’ll be here on time, along with your present.” He hung up and turned to Lian Jun.
“Who was calling?” the other man asked.
“My third brother. He just solemnly apologized to me and urged me to attend his birthday party,” Shi Jin replied. Crouching down so Lian Jun didn’t have to look up at him, he said reluctantly, “It seems you don’t need to make arrangements for dinner.”
Lian Jun’s mood, which soared the whole afternoon, fell a little, returning to a more normal level. Digging out some of his usual rationality, he appeased, “It’s fine, let me take you out for dinner next time.”
His heart soft, Shi Jin kissed him again.
More than half an hour later, Gua Two stopped the car in front of Kinship Restaurant.
Shi Jin, who got out first, saw a familiar figure waiting at the door and called out, “Fourth Brother.”
Xiang Aoting looked over at once. Seeing Shi Jin, the expression on his face lightened. Promptly stepping forward, he said, “You came. Are you hungry? Let’s go inside. Eldest Brother and Third Brother have already arrived, Second Brother and Fifth Brother should be here soon.”
Wait, Fei Yujing is coming? When did he return to the country?
Though surprised, Shi Jin put off his questions for later. “Wait a moment, I brought my boyfriend, let me help him get out of the car,” he said to Xiang Aoting, then went around to the other side of the car, opened the door, pulled out the wheelchair, and helped Lian Jun move into it.
“Hello.” After settling in the wheelchair, Lian Jun politely nodded to Xiang Aoting in a greeting.
When Xiang Aoting saw Lian Jun, the smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a frown. However, he didn’t comment, only nodded in response. Gesturing towards the entrance, he said, “Come in, please. Third Brother booked the whole restaurant, so you can rest assured there will be no outsiders here today.”
Shi Jin was quite satisfied with the arrangements. He took the gift prepared for Rong Zhouzhong from the trunk of the car and asked Lian Jun to hold it, then took the handles of the wheelchair and followed Xiang Aoting into the restaurant.
Since he didn’t have a gift box, just an ordinary shopping bag, his brother could see the pillow stuffed inside at a glance. “What’s this?” he asked, curious.
“Third Brother’s birthday present,” Shi Jin answered honestly.
Xiang Aoting froze for a second, then an expression of amusement mixed with helplessness appeared on his face. “Aren’t you almost a college student? Why are you still so childish? You know that Third Brother… Never mind, do you really plan to go to a police academy? Which one?”
Shi Jin spoke the name of the school and not a word more.
Xiang Aoting didn’t take it to heart. After thinking for a moment, he said, “That school is very good. Several of my comrades-in-arms went to work there after they retired, I’ll ask them to watch after you. Police school starts earlier than other universities, so remember not to let go of your exercises during summer or you might not be able to keep up during the military training.”
Shi Jin said he understood and thanked him politely, still refusing to say more than absolutely necessary.
Noticing his coldness towards him, Xiang Aoting sighed in his heart. Since the door to the private room was already visible, he stopped talking and stepped forward to open it so Shi Jin and Lian Jun could enter.
