Unfortunately, once players entered an instance, they could not exit midway unless the system judged the mission as failed.
And the cost of failure was severe. The lightest punishment was a massive deduction of points. More serious consequences could include heavy injuries—or even instant death.
Under Li Yingxue’s sightless yet strangely perceptive gaze, and the system’s flashing warning in his mind that his actions were deviating from the “devoted guardian” character setting and were about to turn red, Lu Yun finally compromised.
He lay down on the narrow folding bed at the outer edge.
The moment he settled, Li Yingxue shivered from the cold and immediately lunged into his arms like a little beast seeking warmth, wrapping himself around him with both hands and feet, trying to absorb every bit of heat from his body.
The folding bed was far too small for two adult men. Half of Lu Yun’s body nearly hung off the edge, the posture awkward and uncomfortable.
Wrapped in the blanket, Li Yingxue still kept pushing closer, as if he needed to merge into Lu Yun’s body to feel safe.
Unable to endure it any longer, Lu Yun spoke, his voice restrained with displeasure. “Stop pushing. I’m going to fall off.”
Li Yingxue paused, as if only then realizing the issue. He whispered, “Then… Darling, come closer?”
As if the entire situation was somehow Lu Yun’s fault for not lying in the center.
Lu Yun had no intention of moving further in. Too lazy to respond, he simply closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
Li Yingxue didn’t seem to care about his silence. He soon found a comfortable position for himself, and as warmth spread through him, overwhelming drowsiness took over.
Before long, his eyelids drooped and his breathing became slow and even—he had fallen asleep.
Lu Yun tried to rest with his eyes closed, but the posture was unbearable. Half his body had gone numb.
Helpless, he opened his eyes again—and saw Li Yingxue’s sleeping face resting on his arm. It looked unusually serene and pale, long thick eyelashes casting soft shadows like two small fans.
Li Yingxue’s hands were still clutching the fabric of his chest tightly, as if afraid he would disappear.
Lu Yun silently sighed. He couldn’t possibly sleep suspended like this all night.
Carefully, he shifted slightly toward the inner side of the bed without waking the person in his arms, trying to avoid falling off during the night.
But this made the space even tighter. Now he practically had to hold Li Yingxue close, their bodies pressed together completely.
Before he could finish adjusting, the sleeping Li Yingxue instinctively sensed the shift in warmth and space. He wriggled slightly, nestling even deeper into Lu Yun’s embrace, his cheek brushing against his chest as he found a more comfortable position.
Lu Yun stiffened slightly—then relaxed again.
Forget it. Leave it like this.
He gave up on further adjustments, closed his eyes once more, and tried to force himself to sleep.
……
Meanwhile, the livestream chat in the dead of night was unusually lively.
【Hiss… why do I feel like them squeezed together actually looks kind of beautiful? Weirdly harmonious.】
【Tsundere Lu Dog, complaining with his mouth but very honest with his body. Once asleep, he’s basically holding Little Beauty like a treasure.】
【This height difference! Lu Yun’s shoulders are so much wider than Little Beauty’s—he’s completely covering him.】
【Honestly though, Lu Yun’s face is ridiculous. And those hands… right now one is resting behind Little Beauty’s waist, veins showing under the firelight… somehow it feels kinda spicy??】
【I can barely see Little Beauty’s face anymore. He’s being held so tightly his chin is resting on Lu Yun’s head. That possessive vibe is insane (even if it’s scripted).】
【Stop overanalyzing lol, he’s just forced to act!】
……
When Li Yingxue woke up, Lu Yun was already gone. The space beside him was empty.
A familiar wave of dizziness hit him. He endured it for a moment, but his pale face still lost color as he coughed softly, his throat dry and aching.
He wanted water.
Slowly pushing himself up, he listened carefully. Not far away, he could hear faint movement—Lu Yun was there.
“Darling?” he called out, his voice hoarse from just waking up and illness.
From a distance came Lu Yun’s emotionless reply: “Mm.”
“I want water,” Li Yingxue said softly.
Lu Yun stood up and took an unopened bottle from the supplies pile.
Halfway there, he seemed to remember Li Yingxue’s fragile, overly sensitive body. He turned back to the fire, poured the water into a container, and warmed it until it felt slightly hot. Only then did he return and place it into Li Yingxue’s hands.
Holding the warm cup, Li Yingxue lifted his face toward Lu Yun and gave a weak but sincere smile, his eyes gently curved. “Thank you, Darling.”
Lu Yun gave no reaction, only turning his head slightly and responding with a cold “Mm.”
After breakfast, Li Yingxue began thinking about their next step. Still leaning against Lu Yun, he started carefully probing for information.
“Darling,” he asked curiously, “your Supernatural Ability… what is it? You said yesterday that you awakened one.”
Supernatural Ability?
Lu Yun quickly checked the system prompt. Seeing Li Yingxue looking at him expectantly, eyes full of curiosity and admiration, a mischievous thought surfaced again.
Still holding him, he deliberately played with the fingers gripping his collar and said evenly, half truth and half lie, “Water-type Supernatural Ability.”
Li Yingxue immediately reacted with an admiring “Wow!”
“How amazing!”
Being able to create water was indeed extremely useful in the apocalypse.
Lu Yun’s lips curved slightly as he continued, “It’s just a basic C-rank ability. Very weak.”
Li Yingxue’s eyelashes trembled slightly, his grip on Lu Yun’s clothes tightening unconsciously.
Weak?
He found it strange. Someone with a weak ability surviving alone in this dangerous apocalypse for half a year—and even maintaining this small safe space—didn’t sound like “weak” at all.
Whether Lu Yun’s claim of “guarding for half a year” was true or not, surviving alone already proved he was anything but ordinary.
Still, Li Yingxue kept his expression calm and instead asked in an admiring tone, “How could that be? Darling must be very strong. Otherwise, how could you protect me?”
He tugged lightly at Lu Yun’s arm, acting spoiled.
Lu Yun did not elaborate. Instead, he said meaningfully, “You’ll know soon enough.”
Li Yingxue blinked. “What do you mean?”
Only then did Lu Yun shift into a more serious tone.
“Over the past six months, I stayed in this dead city because of you. But supplies here are getting harder to find, and the environment may worsen. We can’t keep waiting to die here. We need to leave and head to a human safe zone.”
The moment he heard this, Li Yingxue coughed softly as if startled. His eyes turned slightly red, looking weak and pitiful. He tightened his grip on Lu Yun’s hand, voice trembling, “Darling… you’ve been so good to me.”
Then he let go of Lu Yun’s collar, suddenly becoming very obedient. “Then let’s pack up and leave quickly.”
【……】
【What is Lu Yun planning? Why is he lying to my wife??】
As the number one ranked player, Lu Yun’s livestream naturally had the most viewers, far ahead of others.
And this time, the audience count was even higher than before.
The chat scrolled rapidly.
【Here for the famous Little Beauty.】
【I don’t like fighting scenes, I just want something emotionally intense hehe.】
【So this is the place where they give out wives for free?】
【What free, Lu Yun is basically already cuddling him in bed.】
【Don’t worry, I’ve watched Lu Yun for a long time—he’s always like this. Remember the last instance? He already knew who the boss was and still played around with it.】
【Typical Lu Yun mischief, but honestly it’s entertaining.】
【Poor little beauty getting toyed with though… sob…】