Upon hearing the name “Gu Nian.”
Xu Xingyuan’s mind reflexively conjured that noble, indifferent face.
Maybe it was because Gu Nian was too good-looking and his aura was distant and cold that Xu Xingyuan felt he was hard to approach.
The Doctor was still relentlessly egging Xu Xingyuan on. “This Plan B is so good! Xingyuan, just consider it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Berus was even more excited than the Doctor, looking exactly like a matchmaker trying to hook people up.
“Think about it. This is a top-tier bodyguard! You can go straight to the peak of life. It’ll be awesome!”
Xu Xingyuan endured it. Meeting the expectant gazes of the Doctor and Berus, he finally squeezed out a sentence:
“Maybe I should just wash up and go to sleep.”
Xu Xingyuan simply couldn’t imagine a scenario where he and that senior became close.
“Is Gu Nian not handsome? Is he not tall? Is his temperament not good? Is his strength not powerful?”
To be honest, Gu Nian was incredibly handsome, estimated to be 1.87 meters tall, stood out from the crowd in temperament, and had unfathomable strength.
But he was just a senior!
Not a blind date partner for marriage.
Of course, Xu Xingyuan only dared to keep these complaints in his heart.
Seeing how excited the Doctor and Berus were, anyone who didn’t know better would think they were finding a marriage partner for Xu Xingyuan.
“Such a good bodyguard—if you don’t grab him tight, once you pass this village, there won’t be this shop!”
The Doctor and Berus were only daring to speak so brazenly because Gu Nian wasn’t present.
“When you get into the dungeon, just cling to Gu Nian like a ghost. Guaranteed you’ll win while doing nothing.”
Xu Xingyuan gave a bitter smile. “I’ll thank Heaven and Earth if I don’t cause trouble for the senior or drag him down.”
The Doctor soothed, “This dungeon’s difficulty is only D-Rank. With Gu Nian by your side, don’t be nervous. Just treat it like a vacation.”
Having been at the Monster Apartment for so long, Xu Xingyuan knew the strength of the Doctor and Berus.
In his opinion, the Doctor and Berus were very formidable, absolutely not as harmless and ordinary as they appeared.
But even two people as powerful as they were full of praise for Gu Nian and acknowledged his strength.
This made Xu Xingyuan a bit curious, and he couldn’t help asking, “Is Senior very strong?”
Hearing this, the Doctor and Berus looked at each other.
“Let’s put it this way. In Gu Nian’s prime, even if the five of us in the apartment attacked together, we might not be able to beat him.”
The Doctor thought of past events and the terrifying things his boss had done back then, silently raising a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
“But Xingyuan, your senior’s temper… how should I say it…”
Gu Nian was the type who was ruthless and didn’t talk much. If he could fight, he wouldn’t babble. His patience was practically zero.
“His temper is a bit lousy. He’s not the easy-to-get-along-with type.”
The Doctor originally wanted to save some face for his boss, but thinking of that foul temper that needed coaxing, he felt helpless.
Berus scratched his head, thoughtfully rubbing the butt that had been kicked that morning, and added:
“It’s okay, actually. Maybe I’ve been beaten up so many times that my skin has toughened, but I inexplicably feel Gu Nian’s hits are getting lighter.”
Berus sighed and, taking advantage of Gu Nian not being able to hear, deliberately said:
“Sigh, I guess he’s getting old.”
The next second—
“Gu Nian is here.”
The Doctor suddenly dropped this sentence.
It happened faster than words could describe.
Berus’s knees were softer than anyone’s; he slid smoothly to the ground on his knees. Before he even saw anyone clearly, he shouted loudly:
“Older is good! As the old saying goes, the older the man, the more popular he is! Old men know how to care for people!”
“Ah, no, ptui! What old? Gu Nian isn’t old at all! He’s still young, forever eighteen~”
Berus braced himself for a kick to the butt, but after waiting for a minute, there was no movement around him.
What’s the situation?
Since when was Boss’s temper so good?
Berus quietly looked up and met the Doctor’s smiling eyes.
Only then did he realize he had been pranked.
Berus scrambled up from the ground, expressionlessly brushed the dirt off his knees, and gritted his teeth:
“Jörmungandr! You are so finished today!”
The Doctor and Berus had been fighting and playing for years; they were used to it.
While dodging the other’s lethal scythe attacks, the Doctor dragged Xu Xingyuan and ran toward the apartment.
“Xingyuan, you’re entering the dungeon the day after tomorrow. Why don’t you interact more with Gu Nian and cultivate some feelings?”
Xu Xingyuan really wanted to say “Don’t want to.” He truly didn’t know how to interact with that senior.
Before he could refuse, he was pushed into the infirmary by the Doctor.
“I’ll go call him down. You wait here for a bit.”
The Doctor pretended not to see Xu Xingyuan’s pleading gaze. After pressing him onto the bed, he turned and left the room.
About five minutes later.
The closed door was pushed open again.
With long legs, Gu Nian stepped into the room and casually closed the door.
Xu Xingyuan didn’t dare look him in the eye. After the man entered, he kept his head down, two fingers gripping the hem of his shirt, sweating nervously.
“Is my appearance scary?”
Gu Nian suddenly spoke. A simple sentence broke the silent atmosphere.
Hearing this, Xu Xingyuan immediately looked up. Waving both hands wildly, his face red, he stammered an explanation:
“No! I-I’m just nervous!”
Gu Nian stared at Xu Xingyuan for a few seconds, then lifted his foot and walked toward him unhurriedly.
As Gu Nian approached, Xu Xingyuan’s heart felt like it was in his throat!
The mattress beside him sank.
Gu Nian sat to Xu Xingyuan’s right, the distance between them only a fist’s width.
Xu Xingyuan was socially anxious. He had never made friends growing up, let alone known how to interact with a senior who was overly excellent in every way.
“Am I very ugly?”
Gu Nian turned his head, looking at Xu Xingyuan, whose rosy cheeks were covered in a thin sheen of sweat from nervousness.
“No!” Xu Xingyuan shook his head quickly. “Senior looks especially good!”
Gu Nian lowered his eyelids, looking a bit sleepy. “I’m sleepy.”
Hearing that the senior was sleepy, Xu Xingyuan quickly stood up, intending to give up the only bed in the infirmary to Gu Nian.
Just as he was about to stand fully, Gu Nian suddenly extended a long arm, his cold, large hand tightly gripping Xu Xingyuan’s slender wrist.
With just a gentle pull, the person fell back onto the bed.
“S-Senior?”
Gu Nian bent down and gently rested his head on Xu Xingyuan’s lap, his cheek facing the boy’s soft abdomen.
This overly intimate action, because of Gu Nian’s expression—which was matter-of-fact yet indifferent—lost much of its shameful connotation.
Xu Xingyuan didn’t know where to put his hands. He felt the senior nestled on his lap was very much like a sleepy cat that had found a nest.
Gu Nian closed his eyes, then opened them again after a moment, his voice devoid of emotion as he said:
“Too close.”
They were indeed too close.
Xu Xingyuan could even feel the other’s breath circling his lower abdomen through his white shirt.
Who could have guessed that in the next second, he would hear Gu Nian say:
“So, I’m hungry.”