The daylight dimmed bit by bit, and the nighttime temperature turned rather chilly. You An’s body, trembling slightly from the cold, was pulled into Xin Zhou’s embrace.
Amidst the sound of scattered footsteps of a few people walking through the corridor filtering in through the thin layer of wood panels, Xin Zhou seemed to hear his suddenly quickened heartbeat. The man stroked his slightly curly hair and whispered softly like someone sharing a secret, “We will go out after they leave.”
“Have you searched everywhere?” “Searched this floor, not here.” “That damn idiot still thinks he is the leader, making us look for a runaway canary.” “Keep your voice down, walls have ears.”
As the light filtering through the door cracks extinguished, the grumbling voices of those few people gradually faded away.
Once the entire floor fell into complete silence, Xin Zhou opened the door. You An breathed a sigh of relief. Having sat for too long, his legs had grown somewhat numb. He propped his arms backward, preparing to slide down from the table, when two sturdy and slender arms wrapped around the youth’s knees and lower back, lifting him down entirely.
You An: “…” Is this really the emotionally detached protagonist shou from the original novel?
Just as he followed Xin Zhou outside, he suddenly heard the engine sound of a car braking from downstairs.
His heart skipped a beat as You An walked quickly to the glass window. Utilizing the light from downstairs, he clearly recognized the tall, upright figure of the black-haired young man stepping out of the black SUV.
It really was Song Chengyu. He was saved.
He failed to notice the instant furrowing of the brow on the man behind him.
Soon, the alarm signaling external intrusion sounded, its piercing wail echoing through the entire building. Some people unaware of the situation scrambled up the stairs, and You An walked against the flow of the crowd, wanting to head down.
An arm grabbed his arm from behind.
He turned his head in puzzlement. Xin Zhou looked at him, his lips parting slightly.
“Do not go. It is dangerous there.”
The misty blue glass beads flashed an imperceptible cold gleam beneath the dim lighting. “It is fine. Song Chengyu is very strong.”
His hand was shaken off.
The man stood in place, his empty palms hanging loosely by his sides. His eyes burned with a faint redness.
Indeed, to him, someone devoid of utilization value would be discarded without the slightest hesitation.
The floor they had been on was the fourth. The third floor was completely empty, looking completely deserted at a glance. You An continued downward, and at the stair landing, his line of sight caught a glimpse of that familiar patch of black fabric inside a room.
“Song Chengyu!” he called out with a hint of delight, jogging over.
The young man turned around, revealing those unfamiliar, scarlet eyes.
“Your eyes…” Even he himself failed to notice that he was stepping backward.
Song Chengyu did not reply, merely sweeping his gaze across him for a full circle. His knuckle-defined hand grasped the youth’s slender wrist, applying slight force to pull him into his embrace.
“What are you doing…”
The arm around his waist was as unmovable as an iron hoop, and the force was somewhat heavy. He was forced to lean against the other’s chest, a posture that made him extremely uneasy. Just as he wanted to say something, a hand covered his eyes.
The young man kissed the porcelain-white earlobe hidden amidst his hair, speaking in a low voice: “Which hand did he use to touch your chin?”
You An stiffened for a fraction of a second. With his vision blocked, his auditory perception became exceptionally acute. Only now, with Song Chengyu blocking the view, did he notice the presence of someone else in the room.
A raspy breathing sound, resembling that of a broken bellows, sounded as though it could only be produced if one’s vocal cords had been severed.
It was Xin Jian.
“Heh, heh, heh.”
“An’an, speak.”
His right cheek was bitten lightly in an urge to prompt him, and You An tremblingly pressed down on the hand the young man tried sliding into the hem of his clothes.
“I do not remember.”
The young man chuckled. “Which hand gave you the room key?”
The youth’s complexion turned pale instantly. This sensation of being humiliated all over again made him feel dazed, as if he had been dragged back to that lavishly decorated bedroom, with Mrs. Mo’s gaze scrutinizing him scornfully from top to bottom.
“I kindly took you in not for you to seduce my son.”
“You do not remember either?”
Song Chengyu’s voice pulled him back to reality.
“Then both of them will be crippled.”
As the words fell, Xin Jian, whose eyes widened in terror, watched helplessly as his own hand uncontrollably picked up the dagger dropped on the ground. Just moments prior, he had used this very dagger to stab into his own throat.
“Heh, heh, heh!”
Stop it, stop it, stop it.
He was like a marionette manipulated by Song Chengyu. Control over his body did not belong to him at all. The immense terror and absurdity nearly drove him mad.
Song Chengyu, this monster! Why must you kill me?
In such a bizarre scene, the man crawling on the ground used the sharp blade that could cut hair like silk to mercilessly grind across his left hand.
Four fingers snapped off simultaneously. Fresh blood gushed out, pooling everywhere. His eyes widened abruptly, his mind blank. Not even heart-wrenching shrieks could vent the agony.
“It seems you have no way to sever your own right hand.”
The young man’s eyes flared brightly for an instant. “I will grant you a quick death.”
Xin Jian collapsed into the pool of blood. The blood overflowing in his throat made even breathing feel scorching hot and painful. He closed his eyes, a trace of relief at impending liberation crossing his face as his right hand loosely gripped the dagger hilt, aiming it at his own windpipe.
Accompanied by the horrifying sound of the blade slicing through flesh, his nasal cavity filled with the heavy, pungent stench unique to blood.
Song Chengyu pulled him into a turn, releasing his hand covering his eyes. “Do not look back.”
You An mechanically nodded. An overly heavy gaze that could not be ignored forced him to instinctively raise his eyes, locking onto Xin Zhou’s face.
The other’s gaze passed straight over his head and fixed entirely on that puddle of blood inside the room.
“Brother…?” The voice sounded like a sleep-talker’s murmur.
Oh no!
Despite experiencing far too many events that day, his drowsy brain still recognized the immediate crisis. You An asked urgently, “When did he arrive? How much did he hear?”
[Uh, probably when the waste hands were being dealt with…] Tangyuan stammered. [What is wrong, Master?]
“We know the plot of the previous life, but Xin Zhou does not.” He paused. “If he heard what was just said and thinks Xin Jian’s death is connected to me, won’t he hate me?”
When You An woke up the next morning, he discovered that his surroundings had changed. The moment he opened his eyes, the dazzling colorful light refracted by the crystal chandelier on the vaulted ceiling under the sunlight left him slightly dazed.
“Awake?” The black-haired young man seemed to have remained here the entire time, walking over the moment he sensed movement.
You An ignored him, simply lowering his gaze to inspect his own body. The loose, ill-fitting clothes from yesterday had been replaced with a bathrobe.
Tangyuan kindly reminded him: “The protagonist shou helped you change. This is the A-City base. Master, you slept too soundly yesterday, so the protagonist shou brought you back.”
At this, the expression on the little sprite’s body was somewhat unspeakable. For the host’s sake, it decided against revealing what the protagonist shou had actually done.
“Are you hungry?”
A serving cart stood by the bed, holding some delicately packaged pastries alongside a bowl of steaming porridge, truly a luxurious breakfast in the resource-scarce apocalypse.
With that, the young man leaned over, wanting to touch his face. You An endured and endured, obediently closing his eyes.
From Song Chengyu’s abnormal reactions last night, he realized something.
For the longest time, he had assumed Song Chengyu forgave himself for the betrayal in the previous life and repeatedly saved him simply because he was a good person.
He realized he was wrong, absurdly wrong.
Song Chengyu was not only ruthless, but he also harbored improper designs on him.
Yet compared to being hated by the other party, this outcome seemed quite acceptable.
At least under Song Chengyu’s protection, he could survive until the ending to complete the mission. For this, he could endure a few out-of-line actions. He lost nothing and maintained a facade of harmony, so why not?
Yet this indulgence turned into a signal in Song Chengyu’s eyes that he could push further.
The youth’s eyelashes trembled lightly with each breath, resembling butterfly wings disturbed by an air current. The young man’s scarlet pupils stared down at those soft lips. The mere thought that Xin Jian’s hand had once touched this area he had yet to visit caused an irrepressible, wild growth of jealousy and hatred.
Tyrannical and dark thoughts took the upper hand. The young man’s slender, knuckle-defined fingers ground over the crimson lips, applying slight force to pry open the clenched teeth.
You An snapped his eyes open.
“Mm… mnn… Song, Song Chengyu!”
“What is it?”
If the black-haired, black-eyed Song Chengyu resembled a drawn blade, sharp, handsome, and full of high-impact visual appeal, then the black-haired, red-eyed Song Chengyu carried a far greater aura of wickedness. At this moment, his tone carried a smile, yet those eyes let not a single ray of light penetrate them. The surging desire threatened to swallow You An whole.
You An frowned, grabbing the hand causing mischief. Panting slightly, his misty blue glass beads shimmering with ripples, his breathing damp and soft, his porcelain-white cheeks flushed with a delicate crimson.
“Stop this. I do not like it.”
“Then what kind do you like?”
You An harbored secret resentment toward the other’s persistence. “Do you like me? If so, things must be done step by step.”
“First of all, you must obtain my consent.”
Song Chengyu finally withdrew his hand, though the ambiguous silver threads stretching between his fingers made You An dare not look too closely. He hurriedly pulled a tissue to wipe away the trace near his lips.
“Then I want to kiss you.”
His hand beneath the bedsheets tightened. To prevent the other from pulling any more out-of-line stunts, the youth hesitated for a few seconds, then leaned forward to plant a feather-light kiss on the young man’s lips.
“Are you satisfied now?”
As soon as he finished kissing, You An retreated rapidly, terrified Song Chengyu might tangle further. Unexpectedly, the young man fell silent for a moment, seemingly still sensing the lingering touch in that spot.
Finally managing to send the person away, You An picked up the spoon, scooped a spoonful of porridge, and brought it to his lips.
[Master! Are you alright?] Witnessing everything, Tangyuan bit its small handkerchief and flew over.
It knew Song Chengyu harbored ill intentions, but never expected him to go this far!
“I am still alive.”
After eating casually and taking a bath, he paced anxiously around the room, forcing himself to calm down. “Why has the plot warped into this state? Exactly what happened during the time I was away?”
With that, he opened the door to check the situation outside, only to find a guard standing right there.
The man froze, his face slowly turning red upon seeing You An.
“I was dispatched by the leader to protect your personal safety.”
The strikingly gorgeous youth nodded. “I have something I want to ask you. Come inside with me for a moment.”
“Can you tell me what happened in the base?”
In his field of vision, a pair of fair, pretty, and slender legs crossed casually. Because of the bathrobe’s coverage, he could only see a portion of them. The other person had likely just showered, still radiating a fresh, watery mist.
Last night in the leader’s arms, he had caught a glimpse of these exact legs.
Swallowing hard, the man stammered, “For reasons unknown, a zombie tide arrived. The leader killed the Zombie Emperor and repelled the zombie tide.”
You An lowered his long, thick eyelashes in deep thought.
Was it because he absorbed the Zombie Emperor’s crystal core that his eyes turned red? That bizarre ability to control Xin Jian into committing suicide, could it also be related to the Zombie Emperor?