When their fingertips met, their body temperatures exchanged.
Unfortunately, Qi Fan’s hand was too cold. Resting atop Sheng Zhiyu’s fingertips, it felt like a layer of biting frost.
…Quite different from the warmth of that night.
Sheng Zhiyu only then realized he was inexplicably reminiscing about something. He broke free from the hand and instead pinched Qi Fan’s jaw.
There wasn’t a trace of extra flesh on this man’s face; where his fingertips pressed, there was only bone. It didn’t even provide the satisfaction of a good squeeze.
Sheng Zhiyu lowered his gaze, only to run straight into Qi Fan’s pitch-black pupils.
Because Sheng Zhiyu was blocking the light, a shallow shadow draped over Qi Fan’s eyes. When their gazes collided, there was an unfathomable, bottomless gloom in the man’s stare.
Realizing he had once again invisibly lost the upper hand, Sheng Zhiyu increased the pressure of his grip. He leaned down, closing in on the face that made him so unhappy.
Qi Fan tilted his face back slightly, neither moving nor speaking.
Sheng Zhiyu admired his expression for a moment before a sliver of a smile seeped out. “Has your System run away from home?”
Qi Fan’s gaze instinctively dropped to the corner of the other’s lips before quickly rising back up. “…Do you have business with him?”
Sheng Zhiyu sneered, grabbed Qi Fan’s wrist, and roughly pinned him against the back of the sofa.
Previous hesitations became a facade. Qi Fan squinted his eyes as he felt the tearing pain from his wound.
“Yeah. Tell him his host’s brain has fried. Advise him to find a better family to serve.”
Qi Fan raised an eyebrow imperceptibly, a trace of a smile appearing. “Does a normal person usually talk tough at a time like this?”
Sheng Zhiyu looked down at Qi Fan’s face, his beautiful eyes curving slightly, though his voice was cold and lonely. “Qi Fan, is this trick particularly effective in your scumbag behavior manual, so you wanted to try it on a colleague?”
He truly couldn’t fathom Qi Fan’s thoughts; the man did everything with a sense of reckless whimsy.
Yet, despite this “playing around” attitude, his performance was on par with Sheng Zhiyu’s own.
Qi Fan tilted his head slightly as if thinking, then looked back at him. “Is that so… Then how do you think the effect is?”
Sheng Zhiyu let go and pulled back, fishing his vibrating phone out of his pocket. He lowered his eyes expressionlessly. “Not great.”
Qi Fan’s gaze followed him as he retreated. Only when the light was no longer blocked did he stretch the wrist that had just been held.
He didn’t think it particularly painful, yet the handprint left behind was quite deep.
As if finding some amusement, he raised his wrist, intending to complain, but saw Sheng Zhiyu frowning while answering the call.
“…Is something the matter?” Sheng Zhiyu glanced sideways at the antique clock in the study.
“Fine, I understand.”
The call clearly wasn’t pleasant. After hanging up, Sheng Zhiyu turned to Qi Fan. “Exchange some points for a prop and have your System teleport you back.”
Qi Fan tilted his head. “I haven’t finished this scenario yet. I currently have zero points.”
Sheng Zhiyu’s brow twitched. “What about your points from before?”
“Spent them all having fun. Once you leave a scenario, those things are just numbers. You can’t possibly be expected to save them, can you?”
Sheng—Saves points in every scenario—Never uses points recklessly—Zhiyu: “…”
Since there were no points, Sheng Zhiyu scanned the room, his gaze landing on the pear-wood side table next to Qi Fan.
Qi Fan followed his gaze and saw a beautiful porcelain vase holding a fresh, dew-covered bouquet.
His tone took on a hint of helplessness. “…A vase again?”
Before he could finish, Sheng Zhiyu had already reached out and gripped the neck of the vase.
Crash.
The expensive porcelain shattered with a crisp sound, lilies scattering all over the floor.
Sheng Zhiyu leaned one hand on the sofa’s armrest, looking at Qi Fan with a half-smile. “It seems you don’t have a trauma regarding vases.”
Qi Fan remained composed, leaning back into the sofa and looking at him with a smile. “Perhaps it’s because I quite like that ‘play’.”
Sheng Zhiyu felt it was simply impossible to communicate with this person.
He reached down and picked up a shard. Applying slight pressure with his fingertips, bright red blood began to flow.
It seeped from his palm into the gaps between his fingers, quickly wetting most of his hand.
Qi Fan looked up. “Sheng Zhiyu.”
Sheng Zhiyu wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he felt the man’s voice was colder than before.
“That kind of ‘play’ usually isn’t meant to hurt yourself.”
“Is that so?” Sheng Zhiyu finally caught that subtle change in his tone. He felt a strange sense of having regained his footing that inexplicably sparked competitive urge was satisfied.
He tossed the blood-stained porcelain shard back to the floor. Sheng Zhiyu turned back with a mocking smile. “I’ve always played pretty wild, so that night with you really didn’t count for much.”
A layer of chill settled in Qi Fan’s eyes. Just as he was about to speak, a knock at the door cut him off.
“Xiao Yu.” Gu Wangzhou’s voice came through the door, his mood unreadable. “Are you hurt?”
Sheng Zhiyu’s expression instantly darkened. He lowered his voice. “Now. Hide.”
…During that phone call just now, Sheng Zhiyu’s private doctor had tactfully stated he couldn’t come.
The reason was that he wasn’t in the city. He had asked in great detail what kind of wound it was and when it happened.
It was obviously a command from someone else to find out exactly what was going on; unfortunately, the interrogation technique was rather clumsy.
Gu Wangzhou knocked only twice before hearing movement inside.
As he expected, there was a hint of panic and surprise.
A head popped out from the crack of the door—a shifty-eyed Sheng Zhiyu. “…Didn’t I tell you to wait for me at the venue? Why did you come here?”
Gu Wangzhou had a cigarette lit. He turned his face and exhaled as Sheng Zhiyu spoke, the light mist making his expression look cold and obscure.
“I was worried.” Gu Wangzhou leaned down, his breath carrying the lingering mist of tobacco. “You just got over a sickness. How are you hurt again?”
Sheng Zhiyu kept only his head visible by the door, whispering, “It’s nothing. Go back first. I’ll come find you once I’ve dealt with this.”
“Sheng Zhiyu.” Gu Wangzhou leaned down and stared into his eyes, his tone three times heavier than before. “Let me see your injury.”
Hah, as expected of the male lead in a dog-blood melodrama.
He resorts to a commanding tone after just two sentences.
Sheng Zhiyu pursed his thin lips, opened the door, and raised the hand he had been loosely clenching.
The blood was a startling, vivid red. Gu Wangzhou’s pupils tightened. “How did this happen? A knife wound?”
“No…” Like a child who had done something wrong, Sheng Zhiyu glanced guiltily into the study.
Gu Wangzhou swept a glance at the mess on the floor, grabbed Sheng Zhiyu’s wrist, and brought him over to the sofa.
Without waiting for an explanation, he turned to find the first-aid kit and leaned in close.
“…Wait.” By the time Sheng Zhiyu spoke, Gu Wangzhou had already knelt on one knee before him.
The man’s body stiffened slightly, but he didn’t show it on his face. Instead, he seriously began treating the wound.
The cut in the palm was not shallow and blood was still flowing. Gu Wangzhou was entirely focused on treating the injury, failing to notice the fleeting mockery in Sheng Zhiyu’s eyes.
Sheng Zhiyu lowered his gaze and whispered, “The vase shattered everywhere. I haven’t cleaned it up yet. You’ll get hurt like this.”
Gu Wangzhou shot him a look. “Could I be hurt more than you?”
Sheng Zhiyu said nothing more.
Gu Wangzhou didn’t let the Sheng family doctor come; instead, he had his own subordinate, who had just finished a business trip, rush over from the airport in the middle of the night.
The study was too messy, so the treatment location was moved to the living room.
Gu Wangzhou had intended to spend some private time with Sheng Zhiyu after the wound was dressed. However, Madam Sheng and Mr. Sheng had somehow received the news and rushed back from the venue in a panic, surrounding their son with worry.
Lin Weiyu unmuted the connection as soon as he came out of the study. Although he didn’t know what Sheng Zhiyu had done during that half-hour, he saw the Male Lead standing outside the crowd with a stony face.
The look he directed at Sheng Zhiyu was still somewhat complex.
After hearing the whole story, Lin Weiyu picked up his metaphorical butcher’s knife. [Dammit, how much longer is this ‘lotus root’ going to keep making secret guesses?]
[Given Gu Wangzhou’s character, he’ll probably keep guessing until he’s on his deathbed.]
Madam Sheng felt dizzy just looking at the bandages the doctor removed. Her eyes were red as she kept asking him if his hand hurt.
Sheng Zhiyu smiled and shook his head. Then, he watched as Madam Sheng wiped her tears and glared resentfully at Mr. Sheng.
She hissed under her breath, “I told you this was a big day for our Xiao Yu. That jinx shouldn’t have been allowed back. You wouldn’t listen, and now look. You’ve done right by that illegitimate son of yours, but Xiao Yu is the one suffering.”
Sheng Zhiyu lowered his eyes.
[Is the main plot progressing smoothly?]
[Hard to say. Tonight, the Substitute was supposed to appear at the charity gala and be bullied by your uncles, aunts, and cousins in turn, only to be rescued by the Male Lead. But the Male Lead is here.]
In other words, the Substitute had likely taken a bellyful of resentment and was crying in some hidden corner.
Sheng Zhiyu looked back and sure enough, Gu Wangzhou’s expression had also changed.
Immediately, as if seeing through something, he asked softly, “Ah Zhou, do you have other business?”
Gu Wangzhou paused and gave a slight nod.
“Wangzhou, if you have things to deal with, go ahead. We’re here for Xiao Yu,” Madam Sheng said immediately.
Gu Wangzhou gave Sheng Zhiyu one more deep look, then nodded slightly. “Then I’ll be going. Get some rest, Xiao Yu. Goodnight, Uncle and Auntie.”
By the time Gu Wangzhou’s people left the manor, it was already 11:00 PM.
Madam Sheng had wanted Sheng Zhiyu to go to the hospital for a more detailed checkup, but after he refused, she didn’t push further, only instructing him not to touch water.
Sheng Zhiyu agreed to everything, finally waiting until they left to rest.
When he returned to the study, Qi Fan was sitting in that single-seater sofa. Due to the previous blood loss, his face was pale and he looked a bit haggard. He was watching him with narrowed, elongated eyes.
Lin Weiyu in his mind was hit by a thunderbolt upon the door opening.
[Holy crap! You’re hiding a man in your golden house? You’re playing this big?]
Sheng Zhiyu: “…”
Qi Fan didn’t know there was a chorus of screaming in his head. Seeing Sheng Zhiyu freeze in place, he smiled.
“I didn’t expect a ‘White Moonlight’ to deliberately make someone kneel on shards.” His gaze landed on the carpet, where blood still stained the sharp porcelain. “You have a pretty dark heart.”
Sheng Zhiyu didn’t expect his minor calculation to be discovered. He smiled casually. “Is that so?”
Besides, Gu Wangzhou chose to kneel himself.
With such overflowing affection, was he supposed to be moved and grateful?
Qi Fan glanced at his bandaged hand.
Sheng Zhiyu noticed the subtle shift in his mood and quickly changed the subject. “Has Chen Yiwan returned home?”
“You mean, did Chen Yiwan find the surveillance Gu Wangzhou sent over after he got back?” Qi Fan flicked his wrist, and the phone slid across the table. “He did.”
Sheng Zhiyu scanned the call log, his thoughts focusing.
After the Gu family fell from grace, Gu Wangzhou had walked every kind of path; even now, he hadn’t completely extracted himself from the gray zones.
And as his “best friend,” Qi Fan was naturally a bird of the same feather.
Matters that required a person in power to appear but which Gu Wangzhou couldn’t attend to were handed over to Qi Fan.
He could make Qi Fan his sharpest blade, and naturally, he would have ways to break that blade.
But Sheng Zhiyu didn’t have the authorization to check Qi Fan’s main mission line, making it hard to judge the exact source of his injury.
Sheng Zhiyu’s fingers were cool, and the rough gauze on his palm felt uncomfortable against his skin, but Qi Fan still looked up while held in that position.
Then he heard Sheng Zhiyu say, “With so many properties under Qi Fan’s name, you shouldn’t be lacking a place to stay.”
Qi Fan’s gaze dropped. Smelling the medical alcohol on the other’s palm, he frowned imperceptibly.
“Not for now,” he said. “Gu Wangzhou originally wanted to trap me on a ferry, but he didn’t succeed… He should be waiting for me to go back now.”
Sheng Zhiyu didn’t expect Qi Fan to suddenly be so frank. The hand gripping him suddenly let go.
His eyes turned cold as he looked at Qi Fan. “So, you’re lingering here because you plan to play the victim and beg for shelter?”
Qi Fan paused, then laughed. “Can I play the victim and beg for shelter?”
It wouldn’t quite work to blatantly let Qi Fan live in the Sheng residence, but Sheng Zhiyu knew the Sheng family had a confinement room. After the Substitute was brought back, Madam Sheng discovered the truth about him and Gu Wangzhou.
To remove obstacles for her son, Madam Sheng once locked the Substitute in that room to force him to give up on Gu Wangzhou.
The confinement room was on the fifth floor of the manor. It was very secretive; Gu Wangzhou couldn’t even find it the first time he came searching for people.
However, that was a plot point for six months later. Currently, the room was empty.
Qi Fan found it somewhat amusing as he looked at the direction Sheng Zhiyu was leading him.
Though he guessed the destination, he couldn’t help himself. “This way, it feels like you and I really do have some secret affair that Gu Wangzhou can’t know about.”
Sheng Zhiyu said calmly, “Like a master and a pet?”
Qi Fan gave a very soft laugh. As Sheng Zhiyu opened the door, he whispered, “Control and submission? That sounds rather exciting.”
“…” Sheng Zhiyu opened the door with the key, intending to order the man to get inside, only to see a figure curled up by the door.
Qi Fan also froze.
Because the Substitute, who wasn’t supposed to be locked in the confinement room until after returning to the Sheng family, was currently hugging his knees, sitting inside piteously.