Professional Assassin C16

Chapter 16: Completing a job in the Substitute World (3)

The original host had been with Shen Junyu for so many years that nearly all of their memories revolved around him. With just a quick skim, Lin Yuetian easily located Shen Junyu’s daily activity patterns—clearly, this frail body had its own advantages in intelligence gathering.

He discovered that every Wednesday at 2 p.m., Shen Junyu would always visit a specific café to buy a mocha. This was tied to some memory involving Bai Li, though the details were unclear to the original host. Naturally, Lin Yuetian didn’t care. All he needed to know was that Shen Junyu’s car would pass by that location, and that was enough.

What Lin Yuetian planned to do was quite simple. He removed his disguise and, using the original host’s delicate and fragile face, stood at the intersection where Shen Junyu’s car was bound to pass. To make the scene more effective, he dressed rather lightly, wearing only a white shirt.

The system, as usual, started rambling, trying to persuade him, “I think you still have potential for redemption. The sea of suffering is boundless; turn back and there is shore. I haven’t deleted those twenty-odd educational manuals I have. Why not take a look?”

Lin Yuetian interrupted, “The car is coming.”

Shen Junyu’s car turned the corner and drove in his direction. Lin Yuetian steadied his footing, his face immediately displaying an anxious and hopeful expression. As Shen Junyu’s car passed, he waved frantically.

The car stopped, just as expected, pulling up beside him. The tinted window rolled down, revealing Shen Junyu’s cold and handsome face, a memory deeply etched in the original host’s mind. “Lin Yuetian…? What are you doing here?”

Before answering, Lin Yuetian took several deep breaths. It wasn’t because he was nervous but because this body was truly too weak. Standing in the sun for just a short while left him dizzy and short of breath. Lin Yuetian felt that in all his lifetimes, he had never experienced such fragility, and it was extremely uncomfortable.

Once he finally caught his breath, Lin Yuetian lowered his eyes, adopting a pitiful and sorrowful look. Mimicking the original host’s last moments of weakness and submission, he spoke softly, “Junyu… I’ve thought it over so many times. I can’t live without you… I want to stay by your side. Junyu, please take me with you. Don’t leave me behind, okay?”

Shen Junyu glanced at Lin Yuetian and said in a deep voice, “You already know about Bai Li. He’s back. He despises you. Don’t you care?”

“I don’t care!” Lin Yuetian’s face grew even more sorrowful. “I’ve thought about it for so long, day and night, every moment filled with thoughts of you… I’ve made my decision. I really can’t live without you… I love you! I just want to stay by your side. I don’t want anything else. Just don’t let him find out, and I’ll be content. I just want to accompany you, even if it’s as a lover, or a… plaything.”

The system, who hadn’t heard such melodramatic lines in a long time—especially coming from Lin Yuetian, whose true nature it knew—couldn’t help but gag. “Ugh… What did you just say…?”

In his mind, Lin Yuetian calmly responded, “You don’t understand. I know men like Shen Junyu, with power and influence, eat this stuff up.”

He sounded like a bona fide relationship expert, the type who might write public posts like ’10 Little Tricks to Capture Your Boyfriend’s Heart,’ which made the system shudder even more. If it had a physical form, it would’ve shown him the goosebumps he caused. Just as the system was about to retort, Shen Junyu made a decision.

After a moment of silence, Shen Junyu’s eyes flashed with a hint of interest. “Get in the car.”

“What?! He actually fell for it?!” The system was furious.

Lin Yuetian, on the other hand, naturally and cautiously climbed into the back seat, sitting beside Shen Junyu. Shen Junyu reached out to brush Lin Yuetian’s hair with his fingers. Lin Yuetian remained indifferent, wearing an obedient expression. Shen Junyu seemed quite satisfied. He then instructed his assistant, who had been with him for years and was named Li Yi, “Get out and buy me a coffee, then drive us to the villa in the suburbs.”

“Scumbag!” the system fumed. “He’s betraying his ‘white moonlight’ just like that? This is outrageous! How can he resist the temptations of this shallow world?!”

“This is perfectly normal,” Lin Yuetian replied serenely in his mind. “I’ve always believed that men who keep substitutes just want to enjoy the best of both worlds.”

“Are you implying you’ve seen a lot of this?”

“Let’s just say I’m an industry expert,” Lin Yuetian replied humbly.

While sitting in the car, Lin Yuetian could hear Shen Junyu blatantly giving instructions to his assistant, with no regard for his presence. Shen Junyu told Li Yi to erase all surveillance footage of Lin Yuetian entering the car later. Lin Yuetian wasn’t surprised, as the original host’s memories showed that Shen Junyu always handled things this way whenever he was caught and brought back, ensuring Lin Yuetian’s struggles would go unnoticed in City A.

This was precisely why Lin Yuetian needed to find Shen Junyu. In this world, his abilities and influence were insufficient for independent action, but Shen Junyu, who held enormous power in City A, could easily pave the way. What Shen Junyu didn’t know was that his usual measures would unwittingly bring about his own downfall. This was Lin Yuetian’s strategy.

Perhaps this could be called “playing the role one is given.”

“Be honest with me,” the system said. “Is there something wrong with the language education in your cyber world? Just admit it. I promise not to laugh.”

Lin Yuetian ignored it—he thought his reasoning was perfectly sound.

Li Yi looked displeased. Lin Yuetian understood why, as it was something the assistant had personally told the original host. Li Yi also liked Bai Li but hoped Bai Li could find happiness with Shen Junyu. This selfless devotion made him resent the original host, whom he saw as an obstacle. He had even used his position to retaliate against the original host, contributing to their miserable life.

But he didn’t dare disobey Shen Junyu’s orders.

After nearly an hour’s drive, the car arrived at the suburban villa. Li Yi then drove away.

“This place is certainly remote,” Lin Yuetian remarked to the system, his tone satisfied, as if saying, Ha, what a perfect place for someone to disappear!

The system fell silent.

“Take it off.” As soon as they entered the villa and Lin Yuetian shut the door, Shen Junyu crossed his arms and issued a command.

“Junyu, I missed you so much… I’ve been thinking, can’t we create a bit of atmosphere?” Lin Yuetian remained unfazed, his expression teary and pitiful as he pulled a small candle from his bag. “I specially bought a scented candle. I just want to spend a nice moment with you… even if it’s just a little warmth, even if it’s just for an instant. Can’t we have that?”

Shen Junyu’s expression remained unchanged. After a moment of silence, he finally said, “…Light it.”

Lin Yuetian smiled as he lit the candle. “Thank you, Junyu.”

“I’m warning you,” the system interjected. “The mission requires Shen Junyu to express genuine love for you. Don’t use your old tricks again… I’m begging you, okay?”

“How could I?” Lin Yuetian’s tone was gentle. “I’m always reliable. I would never resort to the same trick twice. Different people require different strategies.”

“You… You…” The system felt like it was watching a horror movie. The suspense was palpable, but it didn’t know what the climax would be. Without a physical form, it couldn’t even close its eyes to avoid the dread. “Brother! Go easy on me!”

It could only hope that its endless warnings had some influence on Lin Yuetian.

The candle burned quietly, but there was no scent in the air. The drug was colorless and odorless. Shen Junyu, sitting on the sofa and waiting for Lin Yuetian to approach him submissively as usual, suddenly froze. His expression changed as he realized half of his body had gone numb and he couldn’t move. Alarmed, he glared at the candle and roared, “Lin Yuetian! What’s in the candle?!”

Lin Yuetian stood still, his smile unchanged, as serene and unshifting as ever. It was a…

A perfect business smile?