[Loading Host Consciousness]

[0%, 2%... 100%, Host consciousness fully loaded]

[Host Name: Xie Yu.]

[Loading Book]

[Book Title: Bound Relations]

[Book Genre: Modern, Danmei, Protagonist Abuse, Coercion, [Mosaic], [Mosaic], [Mosaic], Beep—Beep beep—]

A harsh sound of electric current rang out.

The System jammed for a moment. [The system has detected violating vocabulary and has automatically replaced it with mosaics for you.]

After the mechanical voice coldly read this sentence, it stopped moving. Xie Yu rubbed his throbbing forehead and propped himself up to sit. With his movements, the bubbles eagerly rolled off him, and a large amount of water overflowed, leaving a puddle of water stains on the floor.

He was lying in a bathtub.

To be precise, he was lying in the luxurious bathtub of the top-floor suite in a lavish five-star hotel in Jiang City.

The bathtub bubbles used essential oil extracted from Damascus roses, and a woody reed diffuser was lit in the bathroom. Even the floor was made of imported Macauba stone slabs. Looking out from the bathroom's huge floor-to-ceiling windows, one could overlook the city's borderline, taking in all the neon lights that merged into a large halo of warm yellow light.

Xie Yu roughly estimated that the room rate for one night here would be over ten thousand.

This body belonged to a rich second generation, and a top-tier one who squandered money like dirt at that.

Xie Yu sat up straight in the bathtub, looking at the system interface, then reached out and poked the fluorescent blue panel in the void, which displayed dense text.

"Is this the book I transmigrated into this time?"

"Yes, Host, this is your novice mission."

Xie Yu, a new employee of the Transmigration Administration, suffered sudden cardiac death one day. Just as his consciousness was dissipating, a system calling itself "System 55 for NPC Acting in Abusive Novels" approached him, saying that if he completed the NPC acting missions, it could resurrect him and return him to reality.

Xie Yu didn't want to die, nor did he delve into the meaning of the string of mosaics behind the book title. He cleanly and decisively clicked agree, becoming System 55's host.

After a bout of dizziness, he found himself lying in the hotel bathtub.

System 55: "Plot loading complete. Does the host wish to review it?"

Xie Yu put on a bathrobe and said, "Yes."

The System loaded and turned the page. Silvery-blue specks of light trembled and transformed. A moment later, a rectangular novel-reading screen hovered in mid-air, displaying closely packed text.

Xie Yu skimmed ten lines at a glance, getting the general idea.

This was an old-school modern Danmei novel named "Bound Relations". The author had special fetishes, and the text was filled with a large number of indescribable scenes. Out of consideration for harmony and friendliness, they had all been mosaiced by the system.

The protagonist of the novel was named Shen Ci. He was born into poverty; his parents died early, and he depended on his grandmother for survival. Fortunately, Shen Ci had excellent grades and was admitted to the best local university, A University. He also secured a postgraduate recommendation early on and selected his mentor. If everything went smoothly in the future, he would be a favored son of heaven with a successful career.

The unforeseen event occurred during the year Shen Ci was about to graduate.

His grandmother suffered from a chronic illness and needed to take medication year-round. To pay for the medical expenses, Shen Ci had been working part-time to fund his studies since he entered university. He worked as a tutor, organized the library, and did part-time jobs at milk tea shops. However, even if he only slept six hours a day and spent the rest of his time studying and working, this money was just a drop in the bucket compared to the massive treatment costs.

And no matter how hard Shen Ci tried, his grandmother's condition never showed any improvement. It even deteriorated steadily, reaching the brink of being beyond medical help.

And just when he could no longer afford the fees, the Student Affairs Department recommended a "big gig" to him.

The city's top tycoon, Xie Yuanshan, had approached the Student Affairs Department, wanting to pick an outstanding student with good character and academics to act as a study companion for his incredibly stubborn and mischievous son.

As a giant in the biopharmaceutical field, Xie Yuanshan's company had collaborative projects with overseas research institutes. One of their experimental drugs was recruiting volunteers and could be provided to patients free of charge, which might be effective for his grandmother's illness.

However, the volunteer quota was limited, and it wasn't something anyone could just sign up for. Shen Ci hesitated for a moment, then accepted the gig.

During this time, quite a few people advised him against it, saying that Xie Yuanshan's son had a vile personality and plenty of methods to torment people. If he really went, who knows how terribly he would be mistreated.

But Shen Ci had no other choice.

Xie Yuanshan's son, Xie Yu, was the top second-generation rich kid in Jiang City. He knew absolutely nothing about humanities, sciences, or arts, but was proficient in all forms of eating, drinking, and merrymaking. His daily life consisted of clubbing, bar-hopping, and racing. With his unruly and frivolous personality, the entire upper-class circle of Jiang City would shake their heads and sigh at the mention of him.

Xie Yuanshan was busy with his business. Out of 385 days a year, he spent 300 days flying back and forth across the five continents. He wasn't close to his son and had no time to discipline him. That was why he thought of finding a good student to be his companion, at least to keep him somewhat in check.

The companion he found was Shen Ci.

Shen Ci had heard of Xie Yu's reputation and knew this young master was no pushover, but due to his financial straits, he still signed the contract with Xie Yuanshan.

However, if a second-generation rich kid could be reformed just by a companion, he wouldn't be a second-generation rich kid.

Xie Yu scoffed at this "study companion" and "little teacher" his old man had hired. On the day his old man went abroad, he cornered Shen Ci at the school gate and threw out another agreement.

"Sugar Baby Agreement".

It contained every minor detail, listing numerous personality-insulting conditions. Xie Yu even explicitly stated that he had some "special fetishes" that Party B needed to satisfy.

Shen Ci gripped the contract, his hands trembling, while Xie Yu leaned against his car and warned him condescendingly: "You'd better think it through within three days."

Shen Ci didn't say a word.

Xie Yu didn't care about his silence, because Xie Yu knew that Shen Ci had no way to retreat.

The time limit for the volunteer recruitment was exactly three days.

No one knew what kind of struggle Shen Ci went through, staring vainly at the desolate four walls of his home, or how many times he crumpled his washed-out shirt. But on the last day of the three-day deadline, he still brought the agreement and came to Xie Yu's place.

...

Xie Yu glanced at the time: "Right now is the third day?"

System: "Yes. It is estimated that in one hour, the protagonist will knock on your door."

Xie Yu: "Then I need to familiarize myself with the script first."

With only one hour, time was tight, and Xie Yu had absolutely no acting experience. He hadn't even participated in high school English plays. But fortunately, he wasn't exactly a model student either. He usually slacked off, teasing cats and provoking dogs, which partially overlapped with the original owner's character setting. As long as he grasped the lines, the possibility of breaking character wasn't high.

Xie Yu clicked to turn the page and read on absentmindedly.

However, the moment he turned the page, his hand paused.

[[Mosaic], [Mosaic]]

[[Mosaic], [Mosaic]]

Xie Yu's expression paused: "What is this?"

Mosaics?

He skipped these two lines and looked further back, but it was still large sections of mosaics.

[Only to see Xie Yu [Mosaic], [Mosaic], [Mosaic].]

[Shen Ci [Mosaic], [Mosaic].]

[Xie Yu [Mosaic] Shen Ci [Mosaic], [Mosaic], Shen Ci [Mosaic], Xie Yu [Mosaic].]

Xie Yu: "...?"

He knocked on the system's floating screen: "System, did you get waterlogged? Are these two performing a duet skit here?"

The bathroom was highly humid with a lot of water vapor. If moisture had entered the system's interior through some interface, it could indeed cause a display malfunction.

The System paused for a moment: "As the latest technology of the Transmigration Bureau, I do not get waterlogged."

Xie Yu pointed at the screen: "Then this?"

The System beeped twice, feeling a bit guilty: "... Upon inquiry, this is a plot that needs to be shielded."

Xie Yu: "Reason?"

The System whispered: "It violates public order and good morals."

Xie Yu: "..."

What kind of damned book was this, to have so many shielded words violating public order and good morals appear within just a few short lines?

Xie Yu vaguely felt that things were looking bad.

He slid the cursor, checking the content in the middle and later parts of the novel. More than half of this book was mosaics, interspersed with some fragmented plots. With a mix of guessing and piecing things together, Xie Yu roughly figured out the original owner's subsequent storyline.

As the villain NPC of the novel, he had to perform certain prohibited activities on the protagonist Shen Ci that violated public order and good morals so much that they couldn't be displayed. He was to abuse the protagonist physically and mentally, pushing him to the edge of a mental breakdown.

In the later stages of the novel, Shen Ci suffered from a severe mental illness, forcing him to swallow large amounts of pills daily just to sustain his life. Yet even so, Xie Yu had no intention of letting him off. On the contrary, Shen Ci's cold attitude aroused Xie Yu's desire to conquer. He played increasingly viciously, abused him more ruthlessly, and almost caused fatal accidents several times.

And half a year later, Xie Yuanshan returned to the country. He truly couldn't stand his son spending all day racing cars and clubbing with his fair-weather friends, idling his time away. Thus, he hauled Xie Yu abroad to study, and only then did Shen Ci finally get a chance to catch his breath.

Another three years passed. Xie Yuanshan died of a sudden illness, and Xie Yu's uncle, Xie Yuanhai, took over the company. Meanwhile, Shen Ci, having lain dormant for years, entered the company after graduation and skyrocketed up the ranks, becoming Xie Yuanhai's trusted aide and the newly minted upstart of Jiang City.

With Xie Yuanshan's passing, Xie Yu's living expenses were cut off. He returned to the country in a sorry state, only to be blocked at the airport by men sent by Shen Ci and detained back at the hotel. Afterwards, right in this hotel, in front of this huge floor-to-ceiling window filled with humiliating memories, Shen Ci broke Xie Yu's fingers, one by one.

The former young master looked as pathetic as a stray dog. He screamed hoarsely, crying and begging for mercy. Shen Ci watched with cold eyes, then forged medical records, falsely claiming that Xie Yu had a mental illness. He had him confined in a psychiatric hospital, locked up year-round in a tiny ward, never to see the light of day.

How could the original owner endure such a grievance? He first resisted fiercely and then tried to contact his former fair-weather friends. However, Shen Ci's control was so tight that it left him absolutely no opportunity. Eventually, he truly developed mental problems and went insane. After living in a muddled state for twenty years, he finally died in the psychiatric hospital.

The plot had developed to this point, but the novel hadn't finished. However, Xie Yu's role had ended, so the system didn't display the subsequent parts.

Xie Yu: "..."

After digging through a pile of mosaics to piece together this little bit of remaining plot, Xie Yu's worldview was shaken. He pointed a finger at himself: "So, next, I have to play a mentally-challenged rich second generation, be mentally-challenged all the way, get my fingers chopped off, and ultimately spend twenty agonizing years in a psychiatric hospital?"

... If that was the case, his resurrection wasn't exactly a must-have.

"No, no, no," 55 hurriedly explained. "When your fingers are being broken, I will block your pain perception system. You just need to act and pretend to be in a lot of pain. As for the time in the psychiatric hospital, you only need to come back and act when Shen Ci comes to visit. The rest of the time, you can live a normal life."

Xie Yu nodded: "That's more like it."

Looking at it this way, he only needed to be a top-tier rich second generation for a few years, finish the first half of the plot, then go abroad to sightsee and travel. He'd play an inconsequential background character in the second half of the plot, and then he could leave this world. This life was actually quite pleasant.

... The only problem was, he didn't know how to act out the first half of the plot.

Xie Yu flipped through the short novel over and over again, yet he simply couldn't decipher a single line of dialogue from the pile of mosaics.

He pointed at the screen: "This?"

Without even any lines, how was he supposed to act?

The System coughed: "Although I cannot violate the rules to display the original content of the novel, I can give a little hint."

"Xie Yu's character setting is very thin. He's just an NPC in an abusive novel, set as an arrogant, domineering, and empty-headed second-generation rich kid. You just need to act in this direction. Your actions aren't strictly required to be identical to the novel."

"As for this shielded content..."

The System slightly jammed, the cursor jumping as if hesitating, and then, evasively, it typed two letters on the screen.

"It's this."

Xie Yu looked closely, and highly raised one of his eyebrows.

"...?"

Although he had never been in a relationship and wasn't deeply involved in this genre of novels, even if he hadn't eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. He still recognized these two letters.

Xie Yu's eyebrow twitched slightly, trying to put up a dying struggle: "These two letters couldn't possibly mean what I think they mean, right?"

The System ruthlessly snuffed out his fantasy: "That's exactly what they mean."

Special fetishes... so this was the special fetish.

Xie Yu: "..."

According to the article's description, the original owner not only had special fetishes but also had professional methods. He could play with many tricks, playing so bloodily and perversely that the novel's mosaics were pasted thicker than a city wall. The entire piece was restricted-level.

And although Xie Yu wasn't exactly a good student either—having skipped classes, gotten into fights, and even ridden motorcycles during his school days—if he really compared tricks with the original owner, he would pale significantly in comparison.

"No way." Xie Yu closed the novel. "I'm afraid I can't do this. You'll have to find someone else."

He admitted he wasn't as perverted as the original owner and couldn't act out the original owner's effect.

The System was startled, its cursor flashing: "Then after the original owner goes offline, you won't be able to survive either."

The condition given by the System was that he'd be resurrected in the real world after acting out the novel's content. If Xie Yu didn't complete the main quest, then after the novel ended, he naturally wouldn't be able to live anymore.

Xie Yu spread his hands: "Then I still can't act it out."

He thought it over. Living an extra dozen years as a rich second generation was already a profit. But asking him to play this kind of pervert, relying on his status to oppress the protagonist and playing out half a book's worth of restricted-level content, he found it disgusting himself.

System: "..."

Watching Xie Yu put on a trench coat, tie the belt, and look ready to grab his bag and leave, refusing to play along, it hurriedly spoke up: "Wait, wait, wait, Host, you don't have to replicate it 100%."

Xie Yu turned back.

"Because the book is mostly mosaics, it objectively limits the difficulty of completion. You only need to complete the key plot nodes, with a replication rate of over 50%, and that will be enough."

Xie Yu: "Key plot nodes?"

"Yes." The System explained, "For example, in this hotel scene with Shen Ci, you only need to play the original owner's character and make the protagonist feel the emotions of [Humiliation] and [Embarrassment]. You don't need to strictly follow every plot point. As for how to achieve these emotions, you can figure it out yourself."

Xie Yu sat back down.

50% was acceptable.

He had only a smattering of knowledge in this field and his understanding was limited. He could only frown and read through the novel, trying to analyze the original text's content. Before he could figure out anything, the doorbell rang.

System cursor: "Shen Ci is outside the door."

The one hour was up.

Xie Yu nodded. He crossed his long legs on the sofa, finding a comfortable position, then slightly lifted his chin toward the door and said lazily: "Enter."

There was a moment of silence outside. The door opened and closed. A young man pushed the door open and walked in, meeting Xie Yu's eyes before lowering his gaze to avoid them. Enduring the other party's critical and scrutinizing gaze, he took two steps forward and then stood still.

To be fair, he was very good-looking.

This future all-powerful big shot of Jiang City was still very young. His figure was on the thin side, but he was tall. He wore an old white shirt, its collar washed until it was worn and faded white. His lower garment was also a pair of faded trousers that had been worn for who knows how many years. His two legs encased in the trouser legs looked straight and slender, and the curves at his ankles were smooth and beautiful, very suitable for holding and playing with.

Xie Yu raised an eyebrow: "Teaching Assistant Shen?"

Shen Ci was a teaching assistant at A University, which was written on the resume submitted to Xie Yuanshan.

At that time, when Xie Yu and Shen Ci first met, Xie Yuanshan was also present. He pressed down on Xie Yu's shoulders to introduce him: "Come, this is Teaching Assistant Shen."

Xie Yu had been lawless since childhood. He didn't even use honorifics with his old man, let alone with Shen Ci. He blatantly scrutinized the new study companion, from his meticulous hair down to the slender ankle below his old trouser leg, until Xie Yuanshan frowned fiercely and scolded: "What are you spacing out for?"

In front of an outsider, the original owner had to give his old man some face, so he raised an eyebrow and called out 'Teaching Assistant Shen'. But being forced by his dad to address someone, the second-generation rich kid couldn't swallow this anger. When he later delivered the "Sugar Baby Agreement" to Shen Ci, he also called him Teaching Assistant Shen, his words completely dripping with mockery.

Hearing this title, Shen Ci didn't speak.

Xie Yu raised his hand: "Where's the agreement?"

Shen Ci paused and handed over the document in his hand.

Xie Yu flipped through it. Indeed, Shen Ci's name was signed at the very end. The handwriting was vigorous and forceful, showing an unyielding character. And behind the agreement was a thick stack of documents. Xie Yu took a look; it was a medical examination report. Besides the general checks, the tests for syphilis and gonorrhea were blatantly ticked off.

This was something the original owner had his men drag Shen Ci to do.

Xie Yu thought to himself: 'How incredibly insulting.'

Plundering by force aside, to actually demand the other party to prove their body was clean and disease-free just to have the qualification to be a plaything for the second-generation rich kid—no wonder Shen Ci went completely mad afterwards and directly sent the original owner to the psychiatric hospital.

After Xie Yu verified there were no errors, he put the contract away to the side, raised his eyes to look at Shen Ci, and didn't speak for a long while.

He was pondering how to proceed with the next step.

The script gave no details, so he could only improvise. Xie Yu was just wording how to speak when he saw Shen Ci suddenly raise his hand, pull off his outerwear, and casually drape it over his arm.

With his outerwear off, only a shirt remained inside. It was half-new and not too old. The buttons were buttoned up to the second one, firmly wrapping around his neck.

Xie Yu: "?"

Shen Ci didn't raise his eyes. He merely placed his hand on the buttons, gesturing to unbutton them.

His fingers were slender, with thin calluses on the fingerpads. Right now, they were trembling uncontrollably. He was pressing down hard on a perfectly good button, trying to unbutton it several times without success.

Shen Ci's movements were fast. His posture of taking off his clothes was more like peeling himself out of them rather than simply taking them off. His complexion looked calm and collected, and his expression was as composed as ever. But Xie Yu's gaze fell on his fingertips, which were clearly trembling.

It seemed as though as long as he stripped fast enough, he could conceal his unease and awkwardness.

Xie Yu sat up from the sofa: "You..."

— Let's talk nicely, don't just start stripping right off the bat!

Shen Ci raised his eyes. He had already half-taken off his top, revealing his waist and abdomen. A segment of the curve tucked inward at the waist, outlining the traces of his waist dimples. The only covering left on his upper body was the jacket draped over his arm. Seeing Xie Yu's action, he showed an expression akin to self-mockery and asked: "Is this not enough?"

Xie Yu: "What?"

Shen Ci chuckled softly: "The tools, do you want me to bring them over for you?"

Xie Yu: "...?"

Shen Ci gave a light scoff and walked straight to the hotel wardrobe. He neatly half-kneeled, pulled out a leather suitcase from inside, and asked: "Which one do you want to use?"

Xie Yu: "Uh."

In the silence, Shen Ci understood. He stood up, pulled that leather suitcase completely out of the wardrobe, placed it on the coffee table in front of Xie Yu, and mocked: "Going to use all of them?"

This was a vintage-style leather suitcase with decorative clasps that weren't very sturdy and would spring open with a press. When Shen Ci placed it in front of Xie Yu, the clasps unlocked automatically, and the contents inside were spread out on the table, completely exposed to view.

Xie Yu lowered his eyes, casually sweeping a glance, and almost failed to maintain his facial expression.

He had never seen so many varieties of whips.

Leather ones, fiber ones, multi-strand ones, loose ones, bizarrely shaped ones, ones with barbs... They simply looked like interrogation tools from Republican-era spy movies. Just by looking at them, Xie Yu could imagine how much they would hurt when hitting someone.

These things, to be used on a human body???

Xie Yu didn't speak, and Shen Ci didn't speak either. They just faced a suitcase full of things, locked in a silent stalemate. In this suffocating, dead silence, Shen Ci's fingers tightened more and more, almost digging into his flesh...

"Teaching Assistant Shen, it's like this." Xie Yu glanced at him and spoke carefully: "I am a very professional enthusiast. Before proceeding to the next step, there is actually another procedure..."

Shen Ci raised his eyes to look at him.

With great difficulty, Xie Yu listed the few things related to "special fetishes" from his barren knowledge, weighing every word:

"Uh, first of all, we need to have a safe word."