Li Yingxue lowered his breathing and waited for a while, but he quickly realized that the Hibernation Pod had already been opened—pretending to still be asleep was meaningless.
The pod’s temperature regulation system had also stopped functioning, and the surrounding air was becoming increasingly cold at a rate that could not be ignored.
He opened his eyes and, relying on instinct, tilted his head slightly, accurately turning toward the direction where the footsteps had last stopped.
He spoke. His voice was slightly hoarse from long disuse and weakness, yet still clear and pleasant.
“Who are you?”
Li Yingxue could not see, but the one who had arrived could not possibly be a slow-moving, endlessly screaming zombie. Nor did it sound like a Mutated Species. It could only be a human—someone who had managed to reach this place.
Darkness and silence spread outward. He did not immediately receive a response. The silence did not heighten his panic; instead, it made him even more certain that the other party was observing him.
Li Yingxue did not ask again. He simply waited quietly, his long, dense eyelashes trembling slightly.
The angle he had turned toward was correct. He could even hear the other person’s extremely faint breathing.
Was it because he could not see that his other senses had become sharper? Li Yingxue had no time to think further.
Cold seeped in like an invisible tide, wave after wave eroding his thin body. He lowered his eyelids, his thick lashes casting faint shadows on skin that was pale to the point of translucence.
He was already very tired. The tension since waking and the rapidly dropping temperature were quickly draining what little strength he had left.
He had expected this—apocalypse-level environments would bring extreme climates. The current temperature was already much colder than when he first woke up; even his breath seemed to turn into frost.
His jade-like fingers curled inside his sleeves. His already bloodless face now almost blended into his silver-white hair, as if he would dissolve into the freezing air the next second.
Li Yingxue closed his eyes again, trying to gather a bit of strength, but his fingertips began to go numb. It felt as if a block of ice was pressing against his chest, and breathing gradually became difficult.
The suffocating sensation made his mind grow foggy, and a faint buzzing rang in his ears. At this moment, he could no longer even focus on the mysterious stranger in front of him.
Just then, his calf suddenly cramped. The muscles tightened and spasmed violently, the sharp pain beneath his skin nearly unbearable.
He let out a muffled groan in pain and abruptly opened his eyes again. One hand instinctively grabbed at his silver hair, tightening his grip as if trying to distract himself from the pain in his leg.
The person seemed to move, then crouched down, coming closer.
Li Yingxue’s eyelashes trembled. Fine beads of cold sweat formed on his pale eyelids as his body shook slightly from cold and pain.
Just as he was on the verge of collapse under this internal and external torment, a low, pleasant male voice sounded. Calm, and even carrying a faint sense of matter-of-fact certainty.
“I am your boyfriend.”
Li Yingxue tilted his head toward the source of the voice, slightly parting his colorless lips, a trace of confusion flashing across his face.
At the same time, inside Lu Yun’s livestream room—
【He’s so shameless! Taking advantage of someone in distress!】
【Why does all the good luck go to this bastard Lu Yun?】
【As expected of Lu Yun—he’ll say anything without changing his expression if it means clearing the instance.】
【Wait… Little Beauty seems to be blind? That reaction… something feels off.】
This comment instantly drew everyone’s attention. They quickly pulled up the character introduction summary provided by the system for Lu Yun’s instance entry.
Lu Yun’s role was a shadow raised by the Li Family, someone who had long hidden in the dark, watching over Li Yingxue—someone whose life was completely different from his.
Over time, that constant watching had twisted into something else: a dark, indescribable affection. After the apocalypse descended, he awakened a supernatural ability, but never once considered leaving. Instead, he stayed in this dead zone day after day, silently waiting for the person in the pod to wake up.
Lu Yun’s confidence in claiming to be his boyfriend came from the fact that his role truly did harbor love for Li Yingxue. Half a year of guarding had also given him a distorted sense of ownership.
In his subconscious, he already considered himself Li Yingxue’s boyfriend. In a sense, it was not entirely a lie.
However, because this was an irreversible immersive survival instance, the system usually only provided character personality settings and general background. All detailed history and emotional entanglements had to be explored and performed by the player.
The audience felt somewhat regretful; this beautiful NPC’s background was still too limited.
Li Yingxue fell silent for a moment. He was rapidly reviewing his memories. He was certain there was no fragment of any “boyfriend” in his life. His father and older brother had protected him so tightly—how could they possibly have allowed a boyfriend to exist?
The cold air seized the opportunity to slip into his throat, triggering a violent coughing fit. His thin shoulders and back trembled with each cough, as if they might fall apart the next second.
Lu Yun stood nearby, watching coldly. His expression remained indifferent; the sight of the beautiful, suffering man did not stir even a trace of sympathy in him.
【My pretty wife looks so weak, my heart hurts so much.】
【So white… his hands are so pretty too, looks soft and fragrant, I want to hug him.】
【I can’t stand this anymore—Lu Yun, didn’t you say you’re his boyfriend? Do something! At least pat his back! Have some sense!】
Lu Yun glanced at the rapidly scrolling bullet comments with an expressionless face. His dark eyes were as deep as ink, showing not a trace of human emotion.
The chaotic barrage instantly froze for a second.
Most viewers had witnessed how Lu Yun reduced enemies to dust inside instances; that absolute indifference to life was deeply ingrained in their minds.
Even through a screen, that emotionless glance was enough to remind them of the fear he inspired, and they all instinctively held their breath, no longer daring to shout nonsense.
Lu Yun looked away, as if he had seen enough, and finally reached out one hand, lightly supporting Li Yingxue’s trembling arm.
His movement was not particularly gentle—more like a mechanical, task-oriented action. His voice was equally flat, as if reading a system prompt.
“Are you okay?”
Li Yingxue covered his mouth, trying hard to suppress the itch in his throat, and shook his head.
He gasped for breath, his chest rising and falling weakly. His cold fingertips unconsciously rested on Lu Yun’s arm as he used the support to slowly straighten himself.
The arm beneath his hand was firm and strong, in stark contrast to his own weakness.
After a while, the coughing finally eased slightly. Li Yingxue lowered his head, silver hair falling to cover most of his face, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
“I’m fine.”
He paused, as if gathering courage, then asked softly, with just the right amount of confusion and apology:
“I seem… to have forgotten a lot of things. Can you… tell me about our past?”
He wanted to test how much this man actually knew—and how much of his story was fabricated.
Lu Yun observed every subtle change in Li Yingxue’s expression and movement. Based on the basic information provided by the role and his own deductions, he began to speak in a flat tone.
He said he was a bodyguard personally hired by Father Li, who had never appeared publicly due to certain reasons and had always protected Li Yingxue from the shadows.
He said that when he first met Li Yingxue in the Li Family, he had been deeply drawn to him.
He said that once, when Li Yingxue was admiring flowers in the backyard, he had accidentally fallen and injured himself, and Lu Yun had appeared just in time to help him. From that encounter, they had gotten to know each other, and after his careful pursuit, they eventually got together—hidden from the Li Family.
Li Yingxue listened quietly, but his heartbeat gradually quickened. Half of what Lu Yun said was true, half was false.
The true parts were about his identity and family background. The false parts were the fabricated meeting and romance that had never existed. How did this person know so much? Who exactly was he? Did his father’s and brother’s disappearance have anything to do with him?
He lifted his head again. Fine tears still clung to his long eyelashes. His beautiful eyes—though unfocused if examined closely—were accurately pointed in Lu Yun’s direction thanks to his sharp hearing.
He seemed to finally lower his guard, or perhaps he had been completely worn down by illness and weakness, letting most of his strength slip away as he leaned softly into Lu Yun’s arms, seeking that limited warmth.
His voice was so soft it almost dissolved into the cold air, carrying complete dependence and guilt.
“I’m sorry… Darling,” he called this unfamiliar term, his tone low and almost on the verge of tears. “I actually forgot you… I’m so scared… I can’t see anything, I’m so cold, I feel awful…”
Lu Yun raised a brow slightly, clearly surprised by this response.
【I hate how useless I am!】
【I want that beauty to call me Darling with that voice too!】
【I’m so jealous I can’t even breathe, Lu Yun, what did you do to deserve this!】
Li Yingxue was very clear-headed. His memories had no gaps. So this suddenly appearing man was absolutely lying.
But why? Lust? Ulterior motives? Or… involvement in his family’s disappearance? Regardless, the other party did not seem intent on killing him immediately. That alone was enough.
He might not survive this cold night—low temperature, weakness, blindness, lack of food and water—any one of these could easily take his life.
But if he had a boyfriend, especially one who seemed capable of surviving in this apocalypse, then perhaps… perhaps he could.
Using the tears he had forced out from coughing, he showed fear, sadness, and helplessness. He followed the conversation, both probing the man’s reaction and fighting for his own chance at survival.
Whatever Lu Yun’s intentions were in claiming to be his boyfriend, at least for now, that identity was his shield. He had to hold onto it—survive first. Only by surviving would he have a chance to find his father and brother.
Li Yingxue’s slender fingers tightened slightly as he grabbed onto the hem of Lu Yun’s clothes.