Li Yingxue nodded. He had also heard the brief commotion outside the door. Curious, he softly asked, “Darling, did the person next door come back?”
Lu Yun was filling Li Yingxue’s cup with water. He walked back to the bedside and placed it within easy reach before responding with a calm, “Mm.”
Li Yingxue had only been making casual conversation. He continued, “Is it a man or a woman?”
“A man.”
Lu Yun’s answer remained concise. He was slowly sorting through the few remaining supplies in his backpack, checking the sweet potatoes one by one.
Li Yingxue had only been looking for a topic to talk about, but the word man suddenly struck a chord in his mind.
Pressing his lips together, two shallow dimples appeared on his cheeks as he asked, “Darling, did you see his face?”
Continuously asking about another strange man…
Lu Yun’s movements slowed slightly. His tone remained unreadable.
“I did. Why?”
Actually, there was no particular reason.
That was the answer Li Yingxue gave himself inwardly.
He simply needed to be wary of that so-called Long Aotian. But if he did not even know who the person was or what he looked like, how could he possibly guard against him?
Along the way, aside from Shen Zhuonian’s team, they had not come into contact with anyone else. Back then, the situation had been too urgent for him to think about any Long Aotian.
Although he knew nothing about Long Aotian, the mysterious voice he had heard during hibernation had still painted a vague outline in his mind.
Being handsome and overwhelmingly powerful was a given. After all, he was the protagonist.
More importantly, Long Aotian possessed a very distinctive feature—a pair of red eyes. The voice had also said that he could kill people without leaving a trace.
But he could hardly ask Lu Yun every time they met someone, “Are that person’s eyes red?”
Sigh…
Li Yingxue sighed inwardly, a sense of helplessness rising in his heart.
Why did he have to be blind of all things?
As for killing people without a trace…
That was such a difficult thing to define.
These chaotic thoughts swirled through his mind, yet outwardly he simply responded obediently to Lu Yun, finding the most reasonable excuse.
“Nothing. I just can’t see, so I was a little curious.”
Unconsciously, he pinched his fingers together, trying to suppress the unease in his heart.
Most of that unease stemmed from Lu Yun’s perpetually mysterious attitude toward him.
The zombie encounter while they had been digging sweet potatoes in the wild had not felt like an accident. Li Yingxue was more inclined to believe that Lu Yun had done it on purpose.
He did not believe that Lu Yun had failed to hear him calling for help.
He had shouted so loudly.
Afterward, he had quietly estimated the distance between himself and the sweet potato field. Based on what Lu Yun had told him about how Supernatural Ability users experienced comprehensive improvements in their physical capabilities, there was no way Lu Yun could have missed all the commotion from such a short distance.
That was why he had deliberately asked about it again later.
Yet Lu Yun’s answer had been, “No.”
Li Yingxue could not understand the purpose behind the entire performance Lu Yun had orchestrated.
At the time, he had been too frightened to think clearly.
But now that he had calmed down and reflected on it, even with his frail body and poor speed, he had managed to outrun that zombie. That only proved how ridiculously slow the zombie itself had been.
Even if Lu Yun possessed a water-type ability with almost no offensive power, dealing with such a zombie should have been effortless.
So…
Had Lu Yun simply wanted to see which of them could run faster, him or the zombie?
Or had Lu Yun finally grown tired of dragging around a burden and wanted to use someone else’s hand to kill him?
That did not seem likely either.
If Lu Yun truly wanted to get rid of him, why go through so much trouble? He could have abandoned him anywhere in the wilderness, and Li Yingxue probably would not have survived a single night.
That meant there had to be another purpose.
A purpose Li Yingxue could not yet comprehend.
Thinking of this only made him feel exhausted.
Lu Yun’s thoughts were far too difficult to read.
But he had no choice.
All he could do was continue cooperating with Lu Yun and play along with this performance.
A small yawn escaped him. His eyelashes drooped as drowsiness overtook him.
Seeing his listless appearance, Lu Yun reminded him, “If you’re sleepy, then sleep.”
Li Yingxue nodded.
He felt around and kicked off his shoes by himself. Then, clumsily but carefully, he lifted the blanket and climbed inside. Turning onto his side to face Lu Yun’s direction, he spoke in a sleepy, indistinct voice filled with dependence.
“Darling, aren’t you sleeping yet?”
Lu Yun knew this little troublemaker’s habits.
If he did not get into bed and let Li Yingxue hold him, the boy would stubbornly stay awake waiting for him.
What a clingy and troublesome NPC.
Though that was his judgment, his actions showed no hesitation.
In less than three seconds, Lu Yun climbed into bed and lay down beside him.
Sure enough, Li Yingxue immediately snuggled over with practiced ease. His slightly cool cheek rubbed dependently against the hollow of Lu Yun’s neck as he searched for the most comfortable position.
This time, however, Li Yingxue did not immediately close his eyes.
Come to think of it, he had called Lu Yun “Darling” so many times, yet he did not even know what the man looked like.
A strange curiosity stirred within him.
He was admittedly somewhat appearance-oriented.
He thought to himself that if Lu Yun turned out to be ugly, then he would have suffered quite a loss.
Relying on the setting that the other man was deeply in love with him, Li Yingxue secretly raised his hand.
His cool fingertips tentatively touched Lu Yun’s cheek.
Lowering his eyes, Lu Yun silently permitted the action.
He felt those cool fingertips brush against his chin before slowly moving upward, tracing along the bridge of his nose.
Just as those fingers were about to touch his eyes, Lu Yun suddenly reached out and grabbed Li Yingxue’s slender wrist, stopping him.
“What are you doing?”
His deep, husky voice sounded in the darkness.
Although his wrist had been seized, Li Yingxue did not struggle.
Instead, he lightly shook his hand and replied with complete confidence.
“I wanted to see what Darling looks like.”
He was very close.
His warm breath brushed against Lu Yun’s skin, while that unique cool and sweet fragrance wrapped around him in delicate strands.
Lu Yun did not answer immediately.
Once again, his gaze uncontrollably fell upon the tiny crimson tear mole near him, as though he had been bewitched.
When no answer came, Li Yingxue continued asking.
“Darling, can you describe what you look like?”
Following the standards he remembered for judging appearances, he carefully listed them one by one.
“You should tell me things like what hairstyle you have, whether your eyes are big or not, what color your eyes are, whether you have double eyelids or single eyelids, whether your nose is high, whether your face is thin or—”
“Two eyes, one nose, one mouth.”
Lu Yun interrupted him and gave an extremely perfunctory answer.
At the same time, a trace of confusion arose within him.
How could someone have so many questions?
And also…
How could someone smell so good?
Without realizing it himself, surrounded by Li Yingxue’s soft voice and scent, he had gradually lowered his head.
He was drawing closer and closer to those soft lips…
So close that he could almost feel the warmth of the other’s breath.
Inside the livestream chat:
【Um… I think you two are getting a little flirty.】
【Wasn’t this supposed to be an apocalypse survival instance, not a romance route?】
【Damn it, Lu Yun, don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for him. Seeing this hurts more than watching you kill a boss and show off.】
“Darling?”
Li Yingxue shook the wrist that was still being held, confusion evident in his voice.
That soft call struck like thunder.
In an instant, Lu Yun snapped out of that inexplicable enchantment.
He abruptly leaned backward, increasing the distance between them. At the same time, he released Li Yingxue’s wrist as though he had been burned.
“Black eyes. Black hair.”
His words came a little too quickly.
“Average-looking.”
Then, as if eager to end the topic entirely, he stiffly ordered,
“Go to sleep.”
After saying that, he closed his eyes first, as though doing so could block out every distracting influence.
Li Yingxue was somewhat bewildered by the series of reactions.
Yet when he heard the assessment average-looking, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Based on his understanding of Lu Yun’s personality, average-looking usually meant quite handsome.
Mm.
That was reassuring.
Satisfied, he nestled back into Lu Yun’s embrace and found a comfortable position.
This time, he finally closed his eyes with complete peace of mind, allowing sleep to swallow him whole.
Inside the livestream chat:
【Heh. Average-looking.】
【So infuriating. Lu Yun gets to cuddle and hold a beauty while lying straight to his face!】
【I seriously can’t understand Lu Dog’s twisted sense of humor anymore.】