RALP Chapter 72.1

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You Haoyu can sense that even if Du You likes this peaceful world a lot, there is still a lot of emotion in his words for his original world.

No matter how rotten a world it has become, it is still where Du You was born and raised.

You Haoyu’s voice sinks a bit lower, “if you want to leave, then I…”

Du You asks, “you will go back to the apocalypse with me?”

You Haoyu nods.

“It is a very dangerous place.”

Du You thinks that even if You Haoyu does return with him, he would not be able to stand it after just days even if he can protect him from most hazards.

“And you will have to stay, so you can be the movie star.”

You Haoyu seems surprised, but then breaks into a chuckle.

His first movie is still months from airing and he’s already speaking of such distant future.

“I will not leave,” Du You lowers his head and looks at the hand holding his own, “I like it here.”

If possible, he wants to stay here forever, although he isn’t sure how long he can really stay here for.

The system is still here, so there might still be some issues left to resolve, though it wouldn’t say.

But, at least, before the moment is to come, he wants to stay in this world.

Du You then feels You Haoyu nudging himself closer to him, his thighs touching his. The two of them are so close to each other they can feel the heat coming off each other’s body.

“I want to stay by your side forever.”

Du You hears him say that, and feels his hand sliding down until it crosses onto his own palm, then, their fingers cross.

From his angle of view he can see the reddened ears of the young man. The redness is spreading down his neck, into his collar.

The way his hair looks might make others alarmed as it looks way too much like a prisoner’s haircut, but Du You has no such general concepts in his mind.

He asks, “you mean, you want to always be my boyfriend?”

Du You happens to be facing You Haoyu, the heat from his mouth blowing past his ears, making his whole body shudder slightly.

Even so, You Haoyu still turns his head around to face Du You directly, “yes. I don’t want this relationship to stop after just a week.”

His desire, what he truly wants, he knew from the very beginning.”

“I want to be with you. Not just to hold hands…”

It is the first time he has ever said something like this to others. He is a bit clumsy, tripping over his own words, “I want to touch you more, and I also want you… to touch me back.”

The two of them are close enough that the air they breath is muddled together.

Du You can faintly smell his scent. It is a very, very dim scent of lemons. It is probably the shampoo he has been using.

To touch more?

Du You asks, “does that mean you want to copulate with me?”

And there goes the romantic mood. You Haoyu was absolutely not expecting it to go back to that original question. He scratches his hair, and pulls himself away in frustration.

True, that might even be part of it, but that is not what he really means.

So he still has no idea what his confession really meant, huh.

But, a response comes for that question, “I will think about it carefully.”

You Haoyu snaps his head back.

Du You is still looking at him, but his usual unchanging expression seems to have actually softened slightly.

The two of them are looking at each other in silence, though it seems silence is all they need.

You Haoyu lightly touches the tip of his nose with the back of his hand, blocking his lower face, and looks away, saying, “sure, alright.”

His ears are reddened again.

Meanwhile, in the anime, the male and female leads are holding hands, walking into the sunset. The burning clouds make it almost look like a vividly painted oil painting.

In reality, warm rays of sunshine are flowing in through the windows, making it feel as if both the people inside and the air are warm and fluffy.

At the same time.

The car is already outside the upper-class neighbourhood. Secretary Dong is driving along when he receives a call.

He slows the car down while accepting the call. He is listening to it via an earphone he wears whenever he has to drive CEO Shen. This time, though, his expression grows more and more serious as he continues listening.

“Alright, I see. I will immediately report it to Mr. Shen.”

The call ends after just half a minute.

Shen Chen heard that last bit, and asks, brows knit, “what was it?”

The secretary, as the window of contact between the CEO and the departments, receives many such calls and mails every day. This time, it was the general manager calling.

Apparently there is a rather serious, unforeseen issue with an important project that has been the short-term focus of the company. And it has become an issue that the project management team can no longer deal with alone.

The boss of the partnering firm is already hurrying to the company HQ. Now CEO Shen’s presence is also required to hold an urgent meeting over the issue.

The secretary reports as such.

They have not entered the neighbourhood yet, and secretary Dong is circling around the road outside with lowered speed, waiting for his boss’ reply.

Shen Chen falls silent.

This situation is basically just work vs. personal issue.

He told Du You earlier, and, if you asked him as a person, he would much rather go see Du You than deal with business right now.

But it is an emergency for which the upper management is absolutely required.

Even the CEO of the partnering firm is here. If the Shen Conglomerate fails to show up with appropriate personnel, it is both disrespectful to them and would imply a lackadaisical attitude towards the entire project.

Neither of his parents say anything. It is not their place to speak now.

Though, seeing his son so frustrated, his father still reminds him, “I can go ahead and represent the company.”

Shen Chen looks back towards his father.

He is almost 60, though his appearance seems much younger, looking like 40 thanks to him taking care of his body well. He’s quite energetic still.

He is also the company’s chairman in name, therefore there is nothing inappropriate if he asks his father to go in his place.

Though he has been focusing on that restaurant for years now, out of the loop.

Despite his years of experience, but the current situations the company faces——In the most simplest of terms, he knows next to nothing about this project. He will have to take the time just to learn about it if he is to make any meaningful decisions.

And it would be fine really if Shen Chen had special circumstances going on, like maybe he’s still lying in bed in the hospital, but it is not the case right now.

Then, will he be pushing his work onto his father due to personal, romance issues?

Shen Chen looks outside the window.

With the low speed of the car, the rows of mansions are quite clear.

Du You is there right now, a few hundred metres from him.

He retracts his gaze.

“Chenchen, just for this time,” his mother can’t hold it in and speaks up, “your father is offering to go in your place already, so you don’t have to be so troubled.”

Shen Chen “…”

“Alright.”

The secretary thought his boss has finally decided to go to Mr. Du, and is ready to turn left.

“Go to the HQ.”

All the other people in the car seem surprised.

The secretary had to confirm, “Mr. Shen, the HQ, is it?”

“I don’t want to repeat myself,” Shen Chen furrows his brows.

The secretary replies, a bit flustered, “un-, understood!”

Finally, at about a few hundred metres from Du You’s home, the car turns around, and heads towards the CBD.

The scenery outside blends together.

Shen Chen opens up his laptop to start dealing with work emails, one of which is also the manager reporting on what the secretary just said.

He skims over it then, a bit of thought, and he starts to type.

He cannot choose his personal feelings.

If he did that, then, that would be exactly the same as a few months ago, when he was so concerned over Xiao Tiantian that he abandoned his work completely, and pushed his company to the brink of collapse.

Shen Chen did not come that day. Du You was contacted and he was told what happened, that the company had some urgent business come up.

Du You says it’s alright.

“I’m sorry,” he sounds rather apologetic, “even though I was the one who called in the first place.”

“No worries.”

Shen Chen pauses, before saying, “I will send the coupons over to your company later. You can contact me when you’re free.”

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Buy me a coffee?

TL’s notes: Oh well, Shen Chen… Can’t say I blame you.