Zhou Jin’s movements froze abruptly.
His fingertips were still pinching Lin Min’s cool jaw, but those words made him laugh out of sheer exasperation. He flung his hand away almost instantly as if he had touched something scalding. His gaze first glared fiercely at Lin Min on the bed, then snapped toward Fu Chenyuan.
“Fu Chenyuan!”
Zhou Jin suppressed his voice, fuming with rage. Every word sounded as though it were being squeezed through his gritted teeth. Yet, he did not dare exert any force on the little widower he was holding.
Fu Chenyuan’s expression remained gentle. He closed the book in his hand, which he had not actually been reading, and his gaze behind his glasses was calm and unruffled. He even displayed a touch of well-timed confusion. “Hmm?”
No one could discern his current emotions. However, his eyes remained fixed on the person curled up on the bed, and his tone was somewhat ambiguous. “Was he dreaming?”
Only Fu Chenyuan knew that his heart had skipped a beat. But he quickly realized with clarity that the little widower was only acting this way because of the illusion. It was merely a side effect of the memory-erasing potion. He was not actually thinking of him.
Fu Chenyuan’s mind flashed back to a moment ago. The little widower had tilted up his gentle and beautiful face, saying he only wanted Fu Chenyuan to accompany him to sleep. Fu Chenyuan did not feel joy; he only felt an annoyance at having his rhythm disrupted, along with a sliver of a secret emotion that he did not even want to examine closely.
He was a nuisance. He really was a nuisance. Not only was he too fragile and sensitive, but he also required someone to treat him with extreme caution. This should have been the type of person Fu Chenyuan disliked, yet he felt strangely gratified by the way the little widower appeared to depend on him entirely, as if he were his only salvation. He could not help but look at the little widower.
“Stop acting!” Zhou Jin strode in front of Fu Chenyuan and grabbed him by the collar, his mind filled with the widower’s words. “What did you do to him? Did you secretly kiss him? No wonder the little widower insisted on choosing you. It turns out you have served him well enough for him to be comfortable.”
His words carried a sourness he had not noticed himself. He had completely forgotten what happened in the illusion, assuming instead that the sanctimonious Fu Chenyuan had been frequently sneaking off to have an affair with the little widower.
Wei Chi stood silently between the two men. He did not look at the arguing pair. Instead, his deep gaze fell on Lin Min’s slightly sweat-dampened forehead. His fingers clenched unconsciously, and his large knuckles turned white. Only this revealed that his inner state was not as calm as his current expression suggested. But neither of the other two men paid him any mind.
Fu Chenyuan gently brushed Zhou Jin’s hand away and straightened his rumpled collar. His tone remained gentle, sounding as if he were speaking to others as much as to himself. “Zhou Jin, control your emotions. He is clearly dreaming. Can words spoken in a dream be taken seriously?”
A dream was just a dream. Fu Chenyuan’s gaze darkened slightly.
“Dreaming?” Zhou Jin was not buying it. He sneered, his eyes as sharp as knives. “Why did he not dream of me? Why did he not dream of Wei Chi? Why was it specifically a hypocrite like you?”
Zhou Jin wondered if Fu Chenyuan was really that good. Was he good enough to haunt this little widower’s soul even in his sleep, thinking about letting a man eat his mouth?
“You will have to ask him that,” Fu Chenyuan said flatly, his gaze returning to Lin Min with a trace of inexplicable emotion. “Perhaps it is because I look the safest.”
Fu Chenyuan’s tone was unusually calm. If the little widower ever saw his true self, he might cry and never dare to provoke him again.
Just then, Lin Min was disturbed by the low-voiced arguing. He moved restlessly, his brow furrowing deeper as his breathing grew rapid. He unconsciously curled his body, his lips moving as he let out a few broken syllables. “Go away, it hurts.”
Lin Min opened his eyes blearily. He had actually fallen asleep, and hearing the rustling voices around him gave him a genuine fright. He inevitably thought back to the chase earlier that day. An abnormal flush rose to Lin Min’s cheeks, and fine cold sweat soaked his temples. He began to pant breathlessly, and one hand instinctively clutched the sleepwear over his chest. His fingers tightened until they were white.
The three men fell silent instantly. Zhou Jin temporarily suppressed his anger, staring intently at Lin Min.
“Something is wrong with him,” Wei Chi finally spoke, his voice deep.
Fu Chenyuan stepped quickly to the bedside and leaned over, reaching out to check Lin Min’s forehead. His tone carried unmasked worry. “Mr. Lin, what is wrong?”
However, the moment his fingertips were about to touch Lin Min’s skin, Lin Min was already pulled into Zhou Jin’s arms. Zhou Jin could no longer be bothered with anything else. Those hollow, beautiful eyes were now brimming with moisture but lacked focus. They held nothing but pure, unhideable terror and pain as he recoiled backward in fear.
Zhou Jin frowned and hauled him back. “What is it? What nightmare scared you this much?”
“Ah!” A short cry caught in Lin Min’s throat. He panted heavily, and his chest heaved violently. A sense of suffocating panic seized him like a physical weight. He had not expected it to be this painful.
“0766, when can the simulation end?” Lin Min asked with difficulty in his mind. He felt like he was going to faint. His face rapidly turned from flushed to pale, and his lips even began to turn purple. He opened his mouth wide but could not seem to inhale any air. His slender body shook violently from hyperventilation, and tears poured uncontrollably from his eyes. It was a heartbreaking sight.
Lin Min instinctively buried himself in the man’s embrace, his white teeth biting down hard on the firm muscle beneath his cheek. He then heard the man let out a muffled groan. His consciousness was blurred, and he even instinctively bit down and ground his teeth. The fingers on his jaw tightened, but the man did not push him away immediately.
Zhou Jin looked at the person against his chest. The person in his arms was trembling severely, his beautiful face covered in tears and cold sweat, yet the force of his bite did not slacken in the slightest. Those faint whimpers and broken gasps struck Zhou Jin’s heart like a small hammer. It made his nameless anger impossible to unleash, yet impossible to swallow.
“Hiss! Are you a rabbit?” His voice was hoarse, tinged with a teeth-gritting quality, but mostly it held an awkward stiffness. He had never had such intimate contact with anyone. This little widower’s teeth were quite sharp.
Zhou Jin wanted to pull this troublesome widower up and interrogate him to make him release those damn teeth, but seeing Lin Min’s hollow, unfocused eyes brimming with tears, Zhou Jin found he actually could not bring himself to do it.
“Hey! Little widower! Let go!” he commanded gruffly, his tone carrying a hint of unnoticed panic. He tried to pry Lin Min’s jaw open with his hand, yet he feared hurting him. His rough fingertips only dared to hover around the white teeth.
Fu Chenyuan stepped forward, his expression grave. “He is having an acute panic attack and is hyperventilating. Do not force him. Letting him bite something actually gives him a sense of security and prevents him from biting his own tongue.”
His voice remained calm, but his gaze was locked on Lin Min’s face, and the look behind his glasses was deep and indiscernible.
“Troublesome!” Zhou Jin cursed again, but he stopped trying to push the little widower away. Instead, he adjusted his posture so Lin Min could lean more comfortably. The hand that had been pinching the jaw earlier landed awkwardly and hesitantly on Lin Min’s sweat-drenched back, giving it two clumsy pats.
At some point, Wei Chi had gone to pour a glass of warm water, but he only handed it over silently. He watched Zhou Jin clumsily attempt to soothe the person in his arms, his eyes darkening. He noticed that Mr. Lin seemed to truly rely on Zhou Jin.
Lin Min had not yet come to his senses. He only knew he was currently in Zhou Jin’s arms. “You? What are you doing? Why are you all gathered here?”
His gaze lacked focus as he struggled to recall the plot provided by 0766. He was supposed to be humiliated, falsely accused, and coldly abandoned in his panic. But why was no one ignoring him? Did he have to take the initiative?
Seeing Lin Min’s pitiful state, the wicked fire in Zhou Jin’s heart was mostly extinguished, replaced by a restless ache. He said gruffly, “We are not doing anything! You had a nightmare yourself! You are so easily scared, yet…”
Remembering the little widower’s coquettish voice from earlier, Zhou Jin’s handsome face instantly turned dark.
“What nightmare?” Lin Min shook his head, and his breathing became increasingly difficult. He felt as if he were suffocating. As his consciousness began to fade, he could only seek help through instinct. “Help me. It hurts so much.”
He reached out into the void, his pink-tinged, slender white fingers trembling helplessly. According to the plot, the players were supposed to accuse him of faking pity to seduce them. However, as Zhou Jin looked at that reaching hand seeking support, and then at Lin Min’s pale, fragile face covered in tear stains, the words “Stop faking” got stuck in his throat. He grabbed his hair irritably.
The light behind Fu Chenyuan’s glasses flickered. He still wore a gentle expression. “Mr. Lin, listen to me. You are just too nervous. Try to breathe slowly. Follow me. Inhale, then exhale.”
He demonstrated a slow breathing rhythm. Lin Min parted his red lips blankly, instinctively trying to follow, but it had little effect. His body continued to shake violently.
All the men felt as if their hearts were pounding like rabbits. Zhou Jin looked completely impatient, yet his movements were surprisingly gentle as he patted the widower’s trembling back. Fu Chenyuan’s eyes were dark as he directly covered the little widower’s mouth with his hand, semi-forcibly controlling the other’s breathing. He watched the little widower tremble incessantly against his palm.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Min finally felt much better. But the humiliation he expected did not arrive. Instead, it was this clumsy and eerie concern. The symptoms of panic gradually faded, leaving only a bone-deep weakness and the daze of a survivor.
Was it over just like that?
Lin Min panted in small breaths, and teardrops still clung to his lashes. He turned his head slightly, and his hollow eyes carried a trace of genuine confusion as he murmured softly with a lingering nasal tone. “You? Are you not going to scold me?”
The three men fell into a collective silence. They had just worked themselves to death trying to soothe and save this little widower, and as it turned out, this ungrateful little widower actually thought they were going to scold him.