FT DR Chapter 21: Male God

Chapter 21: Male God

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Jin Xuan shamelessly lowered his status, but his expression remained noble and cold in front of “Uncle Hannibal”, his godly aura almost overflowing. “Sorry to disturb, I’m here to see Wu Chenghe. Can I see him?”

Hannibal narrowed his eyes dangerously, taking his move but not intending to let him in. “He’s studying. Can I pass on a message?”

“Can I speak to him personally?” Jin Xuan’s words were polite but his attitude was extremely assertive. His Barbary lion stood beside him, its translucent amber eyes coldly staring at Hannibal’s black-and-chestnut eagle perched on his shoulder. Though restrained by its owner, its heavy breathing hinted at its displeasure.

Wu Chenghe stood behind Hannibal, completely obscured by his tall figure, feeling uncomfortable. While he always respected and appreciated this father, it didn’t mean he would let others dictate his life. At seventeen, Hannibal had the right to advise and suggest, but not to make decisions for him. Even if he didn’t plan on dating Jin Xuan, Hannibal couldn’t simply forbid them from meeting.

So Wu Chenghe didn’t give Hannibal a chance to interfere, speaking before he refused Jin Xuan, “I’m here.”

Jin Xuan’s eyes lit up upon hearing his voice, looking past Hannibal’s shoulder to see him. His lips curled slightly as he said, “Oh, great.”

Unable to stand his overly bright demeanor, Wu Chenghe asked expressionlessly, “What do you want with me?”

Challenged as a father, Hannibal’s brow furrowed slightly, but he ultimately stepped aside to let them talk, emanating a chilling aura. In the higher dimensional space, his black-and-chestnut eagle emitted a warning screech, its feathers on the neck dangerously erect. Receiving the threat, Jin Xuan’s lion immediately bared its sharp teeth. Like its master, it had perfect mental abilities, usually being cute and pleasing towards Wu Chenghe and the unseen quantum beast. But facing the black-and-chestnut eagle, it growled menacingly.

Allowing his companion to intimidate his almost-father-in-law’s black-and-chestnut eagle, Jin Xuan faced Wu Chenghe with a gentle expression, pulling out a beautifully packaged envelope from his pocket. “This is for you.”

“What is it?” Wu Chenghe took the envelope and found a delicately crafted metal ticket inside, occasionally sparking with electricity.

“Tomorrow night, at the Replication Platform south of the Outer Ring, I have a performance. This is a VIP ticket for you,” Jin Xuan said, pausing before adding earnestly, “I really hope you can come.”

Knowing nothing about art, let alone performance art, Wu Chenghe hesitated, “Sorry, I have a lot of studying to catch up on. I might not be able to go.”

“You can consider it. Anyway, the seat is reserved for you,” Jin Xuan didn’t force him. “Call me before noon, and I’ll have my assistant pick you up. The performance starts at 7 p.m., ends at 9 p.m., and I’ll make sure you’re back before 10 p.m.”

Somehow, Jin Xuan in his normal state seemed to possess an irresistible charm, polite, gentle, and courteous, unlike his usual rogue self. Wu Chenghe couldn’t bring himself to refuse. “…I’ll consider it.” 

“Then I’ll take my leave.” Jin Xuan’s gaze softened on his face for a moment before turning to Hannibal, becoming serious. “Sorry, because there are several oppositional guest performers, it might cause you discomfort. So, I won’t invite you to watch. Please, forgive me.”

Hannibal’s expression had been worsening since they started talking, now darkening like a storm cloud. “It’s fine. I have no interest in your kind of art… Have you finished?”

“Yes.” Jin Xuan nodded politely. “Goodbye, Uncle.” Stepping back, he smiled at Wu Chenghe. “Goodnight, sweet dreams.”

“Could you be any more affectionate?” Wu Chenghe grumbled, foreseeing the impending storm from his father. “Just go!”

After seeing off the unwelcome guest, father and son returned to the living room. Wu Chenghe sat on the sofa, continuing his studies. Hannibal brought sliced fruits to him, sitting on the opposite sofa with a posture suggesting a serious talk. “Charlie.”

“Yes?” Wu Chenghe was mentally prepared. If a father found out his son was being pursued by an emo kid, he’d definitely want to talk about life.

Hannibal asked calmly, “Are you going to Jin Xuan’s performance?” 

“I’ll consider it,” Wu Chenghe said. “He said I have until tomorrow noon to decide, and I’ll give him my answer then.”

Hannibal was somewhat surprised by his son’s calm and composed attitude. He had thought the boy was obedient and shy, unlikely to defy adult arrangements. But now he realized that he was very opinionated and knew how to negotiate.

“I hope you don’t go.” Hannibal wanted to prevent him from getting close to Jin Xuan for various reasons, not just because Jin Xuan was Jin Zhe’s brother, but for more important reasons…

“I’ll consider your opinion,” Wu Chenghe said sincerely. “Thank you for your advice.”

“Charlie…” Hannibal wanted to say something more. 

But Wu Chenghe interrupted him, gently but firmly saying, “I think I can make my own decisions, Dad.”

Hannibal, holding a fork with fruit, trembled slightly. That word pierced through his mind like electricity, making him feel a tingling sensation from head to toe, almost skipping a beat in his heartbeat. ‘Dad.’ It was the first time Wu Chenghe had called him that. Although he would refer to Hannibal as “Dad” in front of others, he had never called him that face to face.

Hannibal remained calm, took a breath, and handed the fork with fruit to his son, forcing a smile. “Mn, you’re grown up now. You should make your own decisions. I’m sorry… I overreacted a bit.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” Wu Chenghe’s ‘Dad’ slipped out unintentionally, feeling awkward after saying it, but whether biologically or legally, Hannibal was his father, so it wasn’t wrong to call him that. Taking the fruit, he said, “Thank you.”

Hannibal patted his head and then went upstairs. The black-and-chestnut eagle didn’t follow him, squatting on the backrest of the sofa next to Wu Chenghe, hesitating to touch him. Wu Chenghe subtly signaled it to leave, and it flew away.

After estrus, Wu Chenghe clearly felt that his hypnotic ability had improved. Although it didn’t work well on strong-willed sentinels like Jin Xuan and Hannibal, it was very effective on the obedient quantum beasts.

Due to missing classes, Wu Chenghe studied late into the night before finally falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. Hannibal finished his business and returned to the bedroom, finding his son curled up in a corner of the large bed, resembling a cocoon. He gently pulled the blanket from his son’s embrace, re-covered him, then lay down beside him.

In the silence of the night, Hannibal rested his head on his hands, watching his sleeping son. He was only seventeen, a late bloomer among the Chinese, looking like he was only fifteen, but he was already an adult with his own thoughts, likes, and dislikes, and would eventually have his own love. Although he had to conceal his identity and couldn’t get too close to anyone, humans weren’t animals; they had emotions. With excellent suitors pursuing him, he would inevitably succumb sooner or later.

That couldn’t be allowed. No one can take him away. Anyone who dares to entertain such thoughts will disappear.

The next day was Valentine’s Day, and Wu Chenghe woke up early in the morning feeling jittery for no reason. His right eyelid kept twitching uncontrollably, and he had to splash cold water on his face during his shower to calm down a bit.

Hannibal didn’t bring up Jin Xuan’s matter again, having breakfast with Wu Chenghe as usual before heading to work at the military headquarters. Wu Chenghe saw him off and then called Jin Xuan, informing him that he had too much catching up to do with his studies and couldn’t attend his performance.

In fact, Wu Chenghe had made this decision long ago. His confrontation with Hannibal last night was just to show his stance on wanting to solve the problem independently.

After Wu Chenghe finished speaking, Jin Xuan remained silent on the other end for a while before asking, “Do you not like me doing this kind of performance?”

Wu Chenghe felt he wasn’t mature enough to dictate Jin Xuan’s life plan, so he replied thoughtfully, “I just don’t appreciate it, but it’s not that there’s anything wrong with your performance.”

Jin Xuan stayed silent for a longer time this time before saying after a moment, “I understand.” After a brief pause, he added, “Actually, the kind of life you mentioned, changing the world through concrete methods, I’m doing that too.”

Thinking of Jin Xuan’s profession, his research topics, Wu Chenghe had to admit that his achievements in the industrial field were already impressive; it’s just that his artistic achievements were even more outstanding. Some people’s existence was just so unreasonable.

“Have a good weekend,” Jin Xuan didn’t insist, quickly ending the call. Wu Chenghe watched the glow in his palm dimming, feeling relieved but inexplicably a bit disappointed. However, he soon realized he was being presumptuous. Jin Xuan’s lack of insistence wasn’t about letting him off, but rather, there were more ruthless tactics waiting for him!

Eight hours later, on Valentine’s Day night, the entire Gabriel Military Harbor, even the entire Dunkirk Federation, went crazy over Wu Chenghe’s absence. After the performance that night, the VIP seat that had been empty because of him was surrounded by rotten eggs and soda bottles, with fans stabbing it with various tools in despair. Early the next morning, a tough girl even bought that chair, dismantled it, doused it in fuel, and burned it into charcoal in Gabriel’s largest public square!

All of this stemmed from one reason— the great King announced that he was quitting the art scene! The reason? He fell in love with someone, and that person said they didn’t appreciate his art.

There’s a saying: being a scapegoat for the nation’s enemies. In Wu Chenghe’s cluelessness, he became an eternal sinner.

The author has something to say: Under Doctor Wu’s influence, the emo kid took the first step towards mental health recovery! If President Jin Zhe knew about this, he would definitely give Doctor Wu a silver star medal! Some say that emos are very controversial, indeed they are, but actually, Jin Xuan is not a mainstream emo. He’s more like a rebellious artist, a rock youth, and so on. It’s just that in the eyes of the old-fashioned Doctor Wu, he equated him with emos.