A hand landed on Li Yingxue’s shoulder. The moment the man’s burning palm pressed against Li Yingxue’s cold skin, Li Yingxue couldn’t help but tremble slightly.
Then, Li Yingxue naturally slumped into Lu Yun, wrapping both arms precisely around the man’s lean waist, pressing his cheek against Lu Yun’s warm chest. A muffled voice came through as he said, “Thank you, Darling.”
Without giving Lu Yun any time to react or refuse, Li Yingxue immediately lifted his head again. His tone dropped, sounding downcast as he grieved over his impaired vision: “Darling is so good to me. Darling… you’ll carry me over there, right? I can’t see the way. I’m afraid I’ll fall.”
Lu Yun was momentarily speechless. All words, all possible routes, had been blocked in advance by this NPC.
He seemed to have no choice but to go along with it.
The immersive survival instance system would constantly detect whether players were OOC (out of character), but the evaluation criteria were not rigid or formulaic.
Human emotions were inherently complex and ever-changing, and could not be fully defined by just a few simple labels.
This undoubtedly increased the difficulty of clearing the instance. Players had to infer and act according to the limited character information, guessing and performing behaviors most consistent with the character’s logic.
Among them, the reactions of NPCs closely tied to the player’s role served as an important reference for determining whether the player had broken character.
In short, the shadow Lu Yun was currently playing had a twisted and obsessive love for Li Yingxue, with a heavily distorted self-perception full of self-mythologizing bias.
Therefore, when faced with Li Yingxue’s requests—especially such active physical closeness and obvious dependence—according to the character setting, he could not possibly refuse. In fact, he should have been overjoyed and satisfied.
Lu Yun expressionlessly bent down. His arms slid under Li Yingxue’s knees and back, and with slight force, he lifted him into a horizontal carry.
As expected, the person in his arms was unusually light, like holding a bundle of soft, weightless snow. Even through the fabric, he could feel the low body temperature and fragile bones beneath.
He carried him over to the burning fire and originally intended to place Li Yingxue on the simple folding bed nearby, but the arms around his neck showed no intention of letting go.
Lu Yun spoke in a low voice: “Let go.”
Li Yingxue tilted his head slightly in his arms. White hair brushed against Lu Yun’s jaw, bringing a faint itch.
His tone was innocent and matter-of-fact: “Darling, you won’t hold me? The bed is cold… and I want to stay closer to you.”
As he spoke, he unconsciously rubbed his slightly cool cheek against Lu Yun’s neck, seeking warmth.
Lu Yun took a deep breath. His cold, rigid profile looked somewhat intimidating under the firelight.
But in the end, he still held him and sat down directly on the ground, letting Li Yingxue sit fully in his lap.
Li Yingxue immediately adjusted himself for comfort. His butt rested on Lu Yun’s firm thigh, while his slender back pressed tightly against Lu Yun’s warm chest.
Only then did he reach out contentedly toward the fire.
Lu Yun lowered his gaze and glanced at the pale nape of his neck just inches away. Under the firelight, the skin looked so delicate it was almost translucent, faint blue veins visible beneath.
He quickly looked away and focused on the flickering flames.
Li Yingxue quietly warmed himself for a few minutes, but soon became restless again. One hand groped backward, trying to reach Lu Yun’s hand hanging to the side.
Lu Yun subtly moved his wrist and dodged without leaving a trace.
Li Yingxue froze mid-motion, groping blindly in the air, touching nothing.
He let out a soft “Huh?” with confusion, then turned his head slightly. “Darling, can you help me massage my legs? The cramp from earlier… still feels a bit uncomfortable.”
Lu Yun did not respond immediately. He had not expected that casually picking a “vacation” instance would land him with such a troublesome character setup—especially with this delicate, fragile NPC in his arms, as if he would break at a touch.
He watched as Li Yingxue kept groping aimlessly in the air, his pale fingers tracing empty space. Each time his fingertips were about to touch Lu Yun’s hand, Lu Yun would deliberately move it away slightly, as if teasing a blind kitten.
“Darling?” Li Yingxue called again, his tone visibly becoming more anxious and flustered.
This time, perhaps by coincidence, or perhaps his hearing and instinct finally caught Lu Yun’s subtle wrist movement pattern, he suddenly lunged forward and accurately grabbed Lu Yun’s wrist.
The cold fingertips touched warm skin. Both of them froze for a moment.
Any further evasion would clearly not match the “deeply loving and indulgent” character setting.
Feeling the cold-soft touch on his wrist, Lu Yun remained silent. Instead, he reversed his hand and grasped Li Yingxue’s slender ankle, lifting his calf onto his knee. He began massaging it—not gentle, but not rough either.
Under his palm, the leg was beautifully shaped, the skin smooth and cold, like fine jade.
Freed from massaging himself, Li Yingxue narrowed his eyes in comfort and muttered casually, “Darling is so good.”
He felt this was a good moment to probe for information.
“Darling,” he leaned back slightly, his voice softer, “my eyes… do you know what happened? Why did I wake up unable to see?”
Lu Yun continued the massage without pause and answered honestly: “I don’t know.”
The character profile had not mentioned it.
Li Yingxue let out a small sigh, slightly disappointed: “Alright then.”
After a pause, he continued asking, like someone desperately filling in gaps in his memory: “How long have I been asleep? When did the apocalypse begin? Do I have any other family? What about your family?”
“And also, Darling, your name…”
One question followed another, perfectly playing the role of someone insecure, trying to search for traces of the past through the person closest to him.
Li Yingxue felt he was quite talented at acting.
“Six months,” Lu Yun replied briefly. “My name is Lu Yun. The day you went into hibernation, the apocalypse began. As for the rest, I don’t know.”
Regarding family, the character data was also missing, so he could not provide more.
Li Yingxue carefully recalled. He was certain he did not know anyone named Lu Yun, nor had he ever heard the name before.
So what exactly was this man’s purpose?
Li Yingxue became curious and slightly turned his head. “Then Darling, during these six months… how did you survive? It’s so dangerous outside.”
He appropriately showed concern and lingering fear.
Lu Yun released his grip on Li Yingxue’s leg. The smooth, cold sensation disappeared, and he subconsciously curled his fingers as if to dispel the lingering feeling.
“I awakened a Supernatural Ability,” he explained coldly. There was no need to hide this.
Li Yingxue immediately turned back, putting on a perfectly timed expression of shock and admiration. Even his sightless eyes seemed to brighten: “Wow! Darling is so amazing!”
However, Lu Yun felt no emotional fluctuation from an NPC’s scripted praise or admiration. He even found it a bit dull.
He responded extremely coldly with a single syllable: “Mm.”
【…That’s so fake, I can’t take it anymore.】
A bullet comment drifted by faintly.
【Am I the only one who thinks Lu Yun massaging that leg is kind of… suggestive? That beauty’s leg is so white…】