“……”
Qi Yu slowly turned his head, eyes wide with shock and fear.
“Scared now?”
Xie Shao’s expression darkened as he tightened his hold, pulling Qi Yu firmly back into his arms and refusing to let him go.
“Anything you’d like to say to me?”
Qi Yu stood frozen in place. He wanted to curse, but his survival instincts kicked in, forcing the words down his throat.
His heart, still thundering from the fright, took several long seconds to calm. Finally, he managed to squeeze out a dry, trembling sentence:
“You scared me to death.”
Maybe because he was still half-stunned, his voice came out hoarse, and the tail end of his words carried a faint, pitiful quiver that almost sounded like a plea.
Xie Shao had come in full of fury, ready to unleash it all, but the moment he faced Qi Yu, it was like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. The fire evaporated instantly.
The man in his arms was still struggling awkwardly, soft and untrained, his belly plush and faintly springy beneath Xie Shao’s palm.
The feel was unexpectedly addictive, though, if Xie Shao had to be honest, it still couldn’t compare to the smooth, firm part of his body that was currently pressed against his own abdomen.
Qi Yu squirmed, brushing against him twice, and Xie Shao inhaled sharply, his breath catching. His expression tightened, and he reluctantly loosened his grip.
Taking the chance, Qi Yu wriggled free like a slippery fish. Thinking he had successfully escaped through sheer effort, joy spread across his face as he grabbed his notebook and turned to run,
Only to slam straight into a solid wall of warm, unyielding muscle.
“……”
Escape plan, failed.
Time to initiate Plan B: Play Dumb.
“What a coincidence,” Qi Yu forced out a dry laugh, baring his teeth awkwardly. “You’re guest-starring in this instance too? Must be tough work for you NPCs, huh? Hahaha…”
The tone was stiff, the laugh hollow, he was clearly pretending not to understand anything.
Xie Shao let out a low chuckle and casually straightened the front of his rumpled shirt.
“Not really a coincidence,” he said mildly. “I came here for you.”
“……”
“As the saying goes, ‘When you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog.’ Since I’m your man now, following you around wherever you go is just basic courtesy. Don’t you agree?”
By the end, his tone dipped lower, drawing out the last few words. Qi Yu’s breath caught, he thought for sure Xie Shao was about to say those three forbidden words again.
But just as they hovered at the edge of his tongue, Xie Shao abruptly stopped himself.
Qi Yu’s heart stuttered, his mind instantly replaying those words in vivid detail. His ears went hot.
Xie Shao’s gaze caught the faint flush creeping up Qi Yu’s neck and ears and the corner of his mouth lifted. Suddenly, his mood brightened and even the fury that had been boiling inside him, after staring at surveillance footage for so long, dissolved completely.
He reached out and pinched Qi Yu’s soft cheek.
“Recovering quickly, I see. If I’d known you’d bounce back this fast, I would’ve bitten harder.”
“You, you have some nerve!” Qi Yu glared at him, unable to hold it back any longer. “Do you even know how deep that mark was? I almost went to the hospital for a rabies shot!”
“Oh?” Xie Shao replied blandly. “Biting you once clearly wasn’t enough. For a two-faced, heartless scumbag like you, I should’ve left a scar across that pretty face of yours so you’d stop seducing every little vixen that walks by.”
“What nonsense are you talking about!” Qi Yu shot back indignantly, fully in character now. “Since entering this damn game, I haven’t even looked at anyone else! I haven’t touched anyone, haven’t so much as blinked at another person!”
“I’m clean!” he declared, puffing up his chest like a wronged little fish.
If not for that one terrible, fateful mistake, accidentally sleeping with the game’s boss, he’d still be single, happily coasting through life, maybe even meeting a nice woman someday.
Someone who wouldn’t mind his sedentary habits, someone gentle. They’d marry, settle down, and have a few adorable little fish babies.
But now…
Qi Yu dropped his gaze, looking utterly dejected.
He was tainted.
A pure, innocent man no longer.
He’d been dirtied, by another man.
Xie Shao, unaware of where Qi Yu’s thoughts had drifted, narrowed his eyes. He studied the stubborn set of the other’s jaw, then silently pulled out his phone.
With a tap,
A PowerPoint presentation began to auto-play.
On the screen flashed image after image of Qi Yu and Tang Yu together, all suspiciously intimate: standing close, whispering, walking side by side, even rolling their eyes at each other in perfect sync.
The file name at the top? “Qi Yu’s Flirtation Record, Vol. 1.”
“……”
Flirtation record, my ass!
Those weren’t romantic moments, they were just… normal teammate interactions! Sometimes you had to lean close to talk, that’s all!
“Who made this?” Qi Yu’s face flushed red with fury. “This is slander! Total slander! Using misleading angles to tarnish my spotless reputation, whoever made this is definitely up to no good!”
“He’s trying to frame me!”
“Oh,” Xie Shao replied mildly. “That would be me.”
“……”
“I’ve got plenty more, too,” Xie Shao continued smoothly. “Want to see the videos of you and him all cozy and whispering sweet nothings? Maybe the part where you nearly called him ‘gege’?”
“I wasn’t, no, that’s not what it looks like!” Qi Yu stammered. “You just think it looks that way, but in reality, I was…”
…more like raising a kid, really.
A kind and patient father figure, that was the right way to put it.
Of course, there was no good moment to explain that.
Because Xie Shao, the cold, jealous, and possessive boss, said flatly, “I don’t care. What I see is you flirting around with other men. Makes me think my hat’s turned green. So, how do you want to be punished?”
“……”
“Let’s not, okay?” Qi Yu said weakly, forcing a smile. “Given… our relationship, can’t we skip that part?”
Xie Shao looked at him with a faint, mocking smile.
“Precisely because of our relationship, I’m letting you choose your punishment. Anyone else wouldn’t even get a choice. Time’s ticking. Want me to read out your options?”
“No need,” Qi Yu sighed in defeat. “I’ll pick C.”
“C?”
“Teacher said when you don’t know the answer and all the options look similar, just pick C.”
“…You’re clever,” Xie Shao said with a grin, reaching up to ruffle his hair. “That’s why I picked you. But no matter which you choose, there’s only one result.”
“What result?” Qi Yu asked, suspicion creeping in.
Xie Shao’s voice was soft, low and dangerous. “You come to my room tonight. If you can make me happy, we’ll call it even. Understand?”
“……”
Why did it suddenly sound like some rich patron lecturing his pampered pet canary?
This was tragic!
He was a pure, righteous man, how was he supposed to know how to please another man?!
Qi Yu’s spirit blazed with defiance. “No way! I refuse!”
Xie Shao arched an eyebrow, his gaze turning sharp.
Qi Yu instantly shrank back. “U-unless there’s a reward! You, you never coax me or give me any perks, so why should I… y-you know, share a bed with you?”
The last few words stumbled out, stammered and barely audible. It was obvious he was both terrified and mortified.
Inside, Qi Yu cursed himself, next time, he’d try harder to say things like that without blushing. Maybe even learn to flirt back like a pro.
But Xie Shao, to his surprise, didn’t press him further. Instead, his mood lightened.
“You want a reward?” He gestured grandly around the room. “Fine. Take whatever you want in here.”
“Does that make you happy?”
An unexpected windfall!
Qi Yu blinked, momentarily dazzled by Xie Shao’s strikingly handsome face. Maybe… maybe this game boss wasn’t all bad? Sure, he had a bad habit of saying weirdly suggestive things and kept coveting his, well, body, but aside from that, he’d actually saved their entire team last time.
Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after all,
No!
Qi Yu mentally slapped himself. What was he thinking?! He mustn’t let the enemy brainwash him!
Focus!
He had to grab the documents and get out. Staying in this room any longer and the others outside might start thinking he was dead.
After a quick search, Qi Yu’s eyes landed on a thick folder labeled Patient Records. He reached for it.
Beep,
[The player has chosen to take a second document.]
[The master of the archive room is watching you.]
Qi Yu turned to glare at Xie Shao, puffing up his cheeks in indignation.
“Liar!” he snapped.
“?”
As the game’s boss, Xie Shao couldn’t see the system prompts, but he could hear Qi Yu’s angry outburst. Understanding dawned, and without hesitation, he reached up, grabbed a thinner file, and stuffed it together with Qi Yu’s.
He even tossed in a few extra papers for good measure, until the folder was bulging.
“There. Now it’s just one file,” he said matter of factly. “Go on then. And don’t forget your chosen punishment.”
“……”
Seriously? That worked?!
Under the boss’s watchful eye, Qi Yu stumbled out of the room in a daze.
Outside, the players all turned to stare, faces full of disbelief, He’s alive?!
Qi Yu glanced down at the foot he’d just stepped past the doorway, then back at the now-empty room behind him.
He lifted one leg, hopped back in. Then hopped out again. In, out, in, out, like a gleeful goldfish doing victory laps, until finally, satisfied, he strode out for good.
Ah… so this was what it felt like to cheat with a boss’s help.
Getting benefits without getting chased by ghosts?
It was pure, unadulterated bliss.
“Hehehe…”
“Holy crap, Qi Yu, you made it out!” Tang Yu rushed over, scanning him from head to toe. “You’re in one piece, thank god. You scared us half to death!”
“You have no idea,” Tang Yu continued breathlessly. “Right after you went in, that corner, you know, the one with the little stool? A girl in a hospital gown suddenly appeared there, crouching and staring at us without blinking. We thought for sure you’d triggered something, maybe grabbed too many files.”
“Those reports and papers, they stick together sometimes, you know. Pull out two sheets at once, and boom, instant death flag. What did you even bring out? Let me see, wait, what the, ”
Tang Yu froze, pointing a trembling finger.
“Why the hell is your folder so thick?”
“Not just thick,” Qi Yu said proudly, grinning. “It’s juicy.”
He pulled out the small booklet he’d been eyeing earlier and flipped it open. The pages were yellowed and faded, but the bold words printed across the top were still perfectly clear
“Welcome to Beien Psychiatric Hospital.”
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 Poor Qi Yu! He’s trapped! Whatever he choose, he will end up with Xie Shao 😂
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Emergency! Someone feed the translator. 🚨☕
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Enter the GameChapter 2 · Pick a roomChapter 3 · DeadChapter 4 · AtticChapter 5 · ResponsibleChapter 6 · A bamboo BasketChapter 7 · DiaryChapter 8 · Song QingChapter 9 · Sent to HospitalChapter 10 · Second CopyChapter 11 · Leaking InformationChapter 12 · Special Prop!Chapter 13 · Doctor GhostChapter 14 · Store RoomChapter 15 · Psychiatry HospitalChapter 16 · Things of PastChapter 17 · Second FloorChapter 18 · He’s adorableChapter 19 · You Like Him?Chapter 20 · Kiss meChapter 21 · Group women’s clothing PlayChapter 22 · Where’s my Skirt?Chapter 23 · Wife of Murder Doctor….Chapter 24 · Go to Third floorChapter 25 · You must find me!Chapter 26 · See you in the next dungeonChapter 27 · VideoChapter 28 · Player ForumChapter 29 · Two women vying for one manChapter 30 · The Giant WolfChapter 31 · A Kind and Benevolent FatherChapter 32 · Preparing the change clothesChapter 33 · Red Heart FruitChapter 34 · In what ways do I fall short of him?Chapter 35 · KissChapter 36 · Bald performanceChapter 37 · The Prince Has ArrivedChapter 38 · Prince Song QingChapter 39 · Should we…Chapter 40 · A Kiss of True LoveChapter 41 · BanquetChapter 42 · Snow White KingChapter 43 · KingChapter 44 · I miss you so much!Chapter 45 · LeavingChapter 46 · Wanting to See HimChapter 47 · Resource Type InstanceChapter 48 · The Banquet BeginsChapter 49 · KissChapter 50 · Full-Dive Virtual RealityChapter 51 · Everyone Is a LiarChapter 52 · MegaphoneChapter 53 · Dragon???Chapter 54 · Fire DragonChapter 55 · A powerful Fire DragonChapter 56 · Want Some Barbecue?Chapter 57 · The Characteristics of the GameChapter 58 · A little DragonChapter 59 · Searching for her sonChapter 60 · We’re Going to Tear Up the HostageChapter 61 · Mountain CollapseChapter 62 · DiscussionChapter 63 · Digging for Crystals?Chapter 64 · Making Money Selling LiquorChapter 65 · A KissChapter 66 · I’m the Best LookingChapter 67 · Ghost Ship 101Chapter 68 · Has the Competition Begun Yet?Chapter 69 · LotteryChapter 70 · First PlaceChapter 71 · The Sea Monster ArrivesChapter 72 · CooperationChapter 73 · The Man in the MaskChapter 74 · WarChapter 75 · The Players’ RevengeChapter 76 · ReturningChapter 77 · The End