Yin Chen felt like Song Zang had played him.
Even though he had used that blade again, Song Zang had never actually witnessed the fight.
He could have hidden the whole thing perfectly. Instead, he overthought it, grew increasingly guilty, acted more and more unnatural… and Song Zang really did notice!
“You’re a bad person. What the hell did you drug me with?”
Having suddenly figured out the whole sequence of events, Yin Chen said this resentfully with a dark expression, then deliberately ruffled Song Zang’s freshly washed, smooth hair into a complete mess.
Song Zang did not resist. He lazily let Yin Chen do whatever he wanted. Having his head rubbed around actually felt pretty nice anyway.
Of course, not resisting did not mean he intended to let the subject drop.
The smile at the corner of Song Zang’s lips remained. “Actually, the moment you came out this afternoon, I could tell something about you seemed strange. Hurry up and confess. What exactly happened?”
When Yin Chen still refused to speak, Song Zang abruptly stood, turned around, and deliberately wrapped his arms around Yin Chen’s waist as he urged him, “Free hug. Now hurry up and tell me. We agreed this morning that if something’s bothering us, we’re not allowed to hide it from each other.”
Yin Chen’s body stiffened slightly. After thinking for a long while, he finally forced out one difficult sentence. “He wanted you.”
“…Huh?”
“That Aberrant tried to replace me because he wanted to have you.” Yin Chen tightened his arms and lowered his voice.
Now it was Song Zang’s turn to be shocked. “A-are you sure you understood him correctly?”
“Mm. He said you belonged to him.” Remembering the counterfeit’s arrogant, utterly confident expression, irritation appeared between Yin Chen’s brows, and his tone gradually turned aggrieved. “He insulted me too. Said I was an overgrown baby and that you wouldn’t choose me… He was really nasty about it.”
Song Zang had to admit that he genuinely wanted to laugh right now, but he tried extremely hard to hold it in.
Because Yin Chen urgently needed comforting.
Song Zang immediately raised his voice with a serious expression and declared firmly, “He’s awful! That was obviously complete nonsense! Who dares call you an overgrown baby? You’re clearly extremely dependable and extremely powerful. I don’t belong to him at all, so don’t listen to his garbage.”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
“But what if you can’t tell the difference between me and him…”
“Impossible.” Song Zang looked steadily at him. “You know, I’ve heard a similar question three times today, but you’re the last person who finally asked me. I’ve trusted you the entire time. You’re the one who doesn’t trust me.”
Yin Chen froze at that and instinctively said, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s bad enough that you don’t trust me. You even called me a bad person.” Song Zang gave a small huff, wriggled free of Yin Chen’s increasingly tight embrace, and pointed at the hair Yin Chen had deliberately messed up.
“It won’t happen again.” Yin Chen’s gaze followed him as he admitted quietly, “There’s one more thing. I used that blade at the end because Liu Da Shan also advised me to use it.”
Song Zang returned to the mirror and picked up a disposable comb to straighten his hair. Hearing that, he looked back in confusion. “The cameraman? What does this have to do with him?”
Yin Chen hesitated. He did not reveal how he had poured out his troubles to Liu Da Shan, because saying it aloud would make him sound far too stupid.
Instead, he repeated, word for word… the two “classic motivational platitudes” Liu Da Shan had given him.
Song Zang listened quietly. He held it in for a long time, but eventually failed and collapsed over the table laughing.
“Is it that funny?” Yin Chen looked baffled.
Song Zang was still laughing. “Ex-Hubby, did you forget? That NPC doesn’t even know we’re inside a game instance, much less understand our relationship. From Liu Da Shan’s perspective, I’m your gold-digging ex-boyfriend who even cheated on you. Of course he’d tell you to love yourself first.”
Yin Chen: !!
“You have a point.” Yin Chen rubbed his brow and finally learned his lesson. “I really won’t do that again.”
“Ex-Hubby, you’ve seemed kind of slow these past two days. What happened?” Song Zang put down the comb and deliberately asked with a smile.
Yin Chen stiffened and refused to be outdone. “Because you won’t let me use the blade. If I use it, you cry.”
“When you cut up Long Shao You last time, did I stop you? Did I cry?” Song Zang tilted his head.
…Actually, no.
Yin Chen immediately fell silent.
“When the situation requires it, of course you should use the safest method to kill a powerful enemy. But”—Song Zang folded his arms—“did you really need that blade to kill Xu Ji Dong?”
No.
Yin Chen silently shook his head.
“There’s nothing wrong with paying a certain price to stay safe. But hurting yourself just for fun makes me angry. Is there something unreasonable about that? Think about it from my perspective. If I copied you and did the same thing, would you get angry?”
The instant those words left Song Zang’s mouth, realization struck Yin Chen like lightning. He finally understood exactly what Song Zang had been trying to say.
His gaze suddenly turned cold. Without a word, he strode forward, picked Song Zang up horizontally, and forcibly stuffed him into the soft blankets, wrapping him up tightly.
Song Zang: ???
Meeting Song Zang’s utterly bewildered gaze, Yin Chen sneered, pressed down on his head, and messed up his hair all over again.
“What are you doing?” Song Zang tried to struggle, only to be pinned even more firmly.
Yin Chen’s tone was sinister, killing intent surging in his eyes. “Don’t put yourself in my place, don’t make that kind of hypothetical, and don’t hurt yourself. Otherwise, I’ll cut you down first.”
“…Oh.” Song Zang looked dazed. Seriously, everything was fine a second ago. Why did he suddenly become terrifying again?
“Promise me.”
“I promise.” Song Zang shifted awkwardly, the tips of his ears faintly red. “Let go. You’re hurting me.”
Yin Chen gave a cold laugh and released him with a dark expression. Then he turned, opened the small refrigerator, took out a can of soda, but did not give it to Song Zang. Instead, he pulled the tab himself and drained it in two gulps before muttering quietly, “Like hell that hurt.”
“What did you say?” Unfortunately, Song Zang heard him perfectly and immediately widened his eyes in disbelief.
“…I didn’t say anything.”
Yin Chen flatly denied everything and switched off the bedroom chandelier, then pulled shut both layers of thick blackout curtains.
The room instantly fell into darkness. Only the motion-sensor lights beneath the bed lit up as Yin Chen walked, casting a faint, gentle glow.
“It’s late. Sleep.”
The other side of the soft bed dipped slightly. Yin Chen did not get beneath the blankets and simply lay on top… before pulling Song Zang, blanket and all, straight into his arms.
The familiar mint scent swept over him, mingling with warm breaths and forcefully overwhelming Song Zang’s sensitive senses.
They had clearly used the same shampoo when showering tonight, yet when the two scents were compared side by side, Yin Chen’s presence was still overwhelmingly strong and impossible to ignore.
Song Zang’s mind went completely blank. He instantly forgot about Yin Chen secretly insulting him just now and hurriedly whispered, “Wait. Why are you hugging me? Are you really sleeping like this?”
“Mm. I want to hold you while I sleep. It makes me feel better.”
Yin Chen’s voice was low and hoarse, his warm breath falling freely beside Song Zang’s ear. Song Zang closed his eyes, feeling extremely conflicted.
First, he had received a “death threat” from a dangerous and temperamental person. Immediately afterward, that same person hugged him tightly and used him as a human body pillow for sleeping, complete with the special effect 【Yin Chen’s mood +1 after touching him】.
The blankets were warm and cozy, Yin Chen smelled especially nice, and all of this genuinely felt very comfortable, but something still seemed strangely wrong…
Song Zang’s heart pounded hard. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel Yin Chen’s almost tangible gaze.
Like some cold ghost watching him from the darkness, one that would warm his bed and embrace him, yet might also devour him whole once he fell deeply asleep.
It’s wrong to think about him like that! Song Zang firmly reminded himself. At least Yin Chen was changing too. He now knew he should honestly express his desires and feelings, and that deserved encouragement.
“You should get under the blanket too, or you might catch a cold.” Song Zang quietly invited him while raising one hand beneath the covers and, unable to resist, squeezing Yin Chen’s firm, powerful arm.
“I won’t catch a cold.”
“Really?”
“Go to sleep.”
Seriously. I’m being considerate and he doesn’t even appreciate it.
Song Zang laughed softly, and most of the strange tension in his heart disappeared with it.
“All right. Good night.”
Yin Chen remained silent for a long while before hugging him even tighter. “Good night.”
＊
When Song Zang opened his eyes again, daylight had already filled the room.
He lay motionless in bed, staring blankly into space for a very long time.
He had trouble distinguishing the game from reality. In his half-asleep state, he had dreamed.
He dreamed that Xiao Bai had never died and, just like before, insisted every night on lying heavily on top of him before he would finally be satisfied enough to sleep obediently.
Xiao Bai loved sleeping more than anything and reliably slept twelve hours straight. So every morning when Song Zang woke up, he would wonder whether someone had dropped a specially made, fluffy… gigantic weight on top of him.
Waking up tightly held in Yin Chen’s arms felt far too similar to those warm memories of daily life. Song Zang’s half-awake brain had no control over itself and created an illusion that felt astonishingly real.
So comfortable. I slept incredibly well, and even that ridiculous dream was wonderful.
Once the haziness finally passed, Song Zang did not continue lazing in bed. Smiling, he said good morning to Yin Chen, who was holding him while playing on his phone, then eagerly got up to wash.
He now looked bright-eyed and full of energy, eagerly awaiting the next Aberrant foolish enough to come deliver itself to them.
And yet… nothing happened.
As Chi Yan had predicted, the pace at which crises emerged in the instance really did begin to slow.
For the next three days, everyone in the villa remained perfectly safe. There were no accidents and no unexpected deaths.
The police still refused to answer their calls, allowing this luxury neighborhood worth tens of billions to become a complete ghost town.
Of course, while the police were afraid of dying, plenty of other people in the world were even more afraid of having no money to eat.
Even after explicitly warning applicants that the job was “extremely dangerous,” Chang Mei Jiang somehow managed to successfully hire several new production assistants and logistics workers, along with replacement follow-cam operators, neatly filling the vacancies left by the dead staff.
There were no deaths, no monsters, no phantom faces appearing outside the windows at night, and even Li Jun’s mental state completely returned to normal.
He seemed to suddenly remember that he had an assigned role to perform too… so he deliberately tidied up his appearance, put on a gentle-looking white suit, and specifically sought out Chi Yan for a date.
The result was fairly tragic. Chi Yan, Xiao Xiao, and the others all drove Li Jun out of the bedroom in disgust and forcibly ordered him to join the morning-running group the next day.
Chang Mei Jiang was satisfied. She did not rush to force them to manufacture romantic chemistry either. A funny incident like this already made excellent television, so they could keep it as-is.
After all, the temporary couple attracting the most buzz had long since started thoroughly enjoying all sorts of dating activities.
“So comfortable—!”
Song Zang leaned his head back against the edge of the pool, holding the warm towel draped across his forehead as he closed his eyes in bliss.
This was the first time in Song Zang’s remembered life that he had ever soaked in a hot spring!
A floating tray held sweet, icy cocktails, chilled snacks, fresh fruit… and if that was not enough, they could even order several more desserts.
A huge projection screen faced the hot spring directly. They could choose a movie and enjoy it while soaking. It was practically heaven.
This is what a properly funded dating show should be like!
Yin Chen did not seem to like the sulfur smell. After soaking for only a few minutes, he climbed out, wrapped a white bath towel around his waist, and sat lazily on a lounge chair looking thoroughly relaxed.
From Song Zang’s angle, Yin Chen’s physique was completely visible.
He resembled a beautiful, powerful leopard, his muscles smooth and proportionate yet concealing explosive strength. Beneath his firm abdomen, faint V-lines disappeared beneath the bath towel, leaving plenty to the imagination.
Song Zang stared blankly for several seconds before suddenly feeling thirsty. He picked up the cocktail from the floating tray and drank the entire glass.
The cold liquid rushed down his throat. Perhaps because of the alcohol, his already slightly heated cheeks gradually turned an even more obvious shade of pink.
“Drink less.”
Yin Chen suddenly spoke.
“I know.” Song Zang obediently put down his glass and forced his attention back onto the movie.
It did not work particularly well.
Because when Song Zang started forcing himself to watch the movie seriously, Yin Chen did not look away. Instead, he continued leisurely staring at him for a very long time.
…Openly. Brazenly. Without even pretending to hide it.
Unable to endure the staring any longer, Song Zang complained angrily, “Stop looking at me. Watch the movie!”
“But you’re very good-looking. Much better-looking than the movie.” Yin Chen leisurely rejected the request in a calm voice and even provided a perfectly adequate reason.
Song Zang: …
For a moment, he was speechless and could not figure out what Yin Chen meant.
Was he deliberately creating romantic material for the show? Clearly not.
Yin Chen had never been good at lying, nor did he care to hide what he liked or disliked.
After Song Zang complained, Yin Chen only became more brazen. His gaze landed directly on Song Zang’s pale, delicate shoulders and neck. The fine skin was gradually turning a beautiful pink after soaking in the hot water, looking increasingly smooth and glossy.
It probably feels really nice to touch.
That was exactly what Yin Chen thought, and he simply asked it aloud. “Can I touch you?”
What a perverted thing to say… Song Zang silently pulled the towel down over his eyes and forced himself not to look at him.
“Not right now, anyway.”
Yin Chen remained quiet for a while, then stood and walked to the small bar, opened the freezer, and personally scooped out two balls of ice cream: matcha and mint chocolate chip, both flavors Song Zang liked.
Served in a transparent glass bowl with a tiny sky-blue parasol and a delicate silver spoon, it actually looked rather presentable.
“Eat.” Yin Chen handed the little bowl to Song Zang.
“…Thanks?”
Song Zang accepted the ice cream in confusion. Just as he was about to ask what Yin Chen was planning, Yin Chen spoke faintly. “Which looks better, the one I made or Chi Yan’s cocktails?”
“…”
“Sister Chi is a professional. You really don’t need to compete with her over this.” Song Zang remained speechless for a moment, then carefully chose his words so he would not crush Yin Chen’s confidence.
“I understand. I’m hurt now,” Yin Chen declared righteously, despite looking not remotely upset. “Let me touch you.”
“No!”
“Then when can I?”
Song Zang placed the ice cream back on the floating tray and raised a hand to protect the collarbones visible above the water, his expression firm. “When both of us are properly dressed!”
“Mm.”
Yin Chen nodded with slight regret and lazily sat back down on the lounge chair again. He picked up a thick, lengthy mystery novel and attempted to concentrate on reading.
After only a few pages, he shut the book in boredom and turned his head to stare at Song Zang again.
The tips of Song Zang’s ears had turned bright red, and his entire body felt awkward. But Yin Chen was only looking and had not actually forced him to do anything, so Song Zang could hardly stop him again…
After sitting stiffly for a moment, Song Zang grabbed the freezing bowl of ice cream and buried his head in it, eating furiously.
…
Meanwhile, inside the RV, Chang Mei Jiang stared at the surveillance monitors and sighed repeatedly. “Oh my God, those two really know how to flirt. The audience is going to ship them like crazy!”
Hearing that, Lu Xing You leaned over for a look. After a long silence, he suddenly said, “Something’s wrong.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Look at the upper right. The terrace outside the third-floor master bedroom.”
Chang Mei Jiang froze, opened the small screen Lu Xing You mentioned, enlarged the image, studied it carefully, then abruptly raised her voice. “Holy shit!”
A man was standing in the middle of the terrace.
He was shirtless, his black hair damp, with a white bath towel loosely wrapped around his waist.
Lu Xing You leaned closer to the monitor and carefully compared him with the other Yin Chen currently inside accompanying Song Zang in the hot spring. Sure enough, from his face to his clothing, every detail was perfectly identical.
“The one on the terrace is definitely fake. I’ll go kill him.” Lu Xing You yawned as he spoke, pulled off his hood, and turned to leave.
“Wait, wait. That’s an impostor copying Yin Chen. Are you sure you can beat him?”
“…Good point. Then we’ll both go. How will we know if we don’t try?”
Chang Mei Jiang hesitated, then picked up her handbag. “Okay. I’m coming with you. Tonight is the sweet love-letter segment. Absolutely nothing can go wrong!”
“Director Chang, you really are dedicated,” Lu Xing You could not help remarking.
Chang Mei Jiang smiled. To ease the tension in her chest, she deliberately traded professional flattery with him. “You’re too kind, Young Master Lu. Publicly reporting your own older brother for tax evasion also demonstrates the true spirit of the Lu family’s elite rich-household traditions.”
“Mm. I reported Wang Bao Zhu’s family while I was at it too.” Lu Xing You shrugged. “That real heiress of theirs is apparently throwing a fit because she wants to join the dating show. Their household has been complete chaos these past couple of days. I think we should let her join Episode Two. If something’s wrong with her, we’ll just kill her. What do you think, Director Chang?”
“Absolutely. I already sent her a contract offer. And don’t forget, you promised me you’d appear as a special guest next episode too. I’m buying a trending topic in advance about Young Master Lu appearing at the beach. You are not allowed to sleep through it!”
“Fine, fine, yes, yes… Please prepare five-hundred-times concentrated coffee for me.” Lu Xing You helplessly accepted being railroaded into it.
The two chatted the entire way with perfectly natural, casual expressions, tacitly pretending they had not noticed the person hiding on the terrace.
As they climbed the stairs, Chang Mei Jiang began searching through her handbag and pulled out the miniature pellet gun used for shooting birds. After removing the steel pellets, she gritted her teeth and simply loaded it with extremely destructive implosion rounds purchased from the Points Shop.
The two crept quietly onto the third floor, stood outside the master bedroom, and carefully pulled the door open just a crack.
“If this still doesn’t kill him, then I may as well die.” Chang Mei Jiang gripped the gun tightly and whispered, treating the situation as though facing a mortal enemy.
Lu Xing You checked the portable surveillance monitor and saw that “Yin Chen” had not moved for quite some time.
After thinking for several seconds, he laid out the plan. “Three o’clock. His lower body is blocked by the plants, so aim high. I’ll rush in first and make noise to draw his attention. You lock onto his head and empty the entire magazine without stopping. Don’t worry about hitting me. Once you’re done, hide behind the door and I’ll follow up with another attack. Okay?”
“Okay. Be careful. Don’t get insta-killed the second you go in.”
Lu Xing You frowned and gave a faint hiss, but did not respond. He suddenly shoved the door open and charged inside.
He moved like lightning. In the blink of an eye, he reached the terrace window, grabbed the heavy solid-wood coat rack as an improvised weapon, and smashed it viciously toward “Yin Chen.”
Bang! Bang-bang-bang-bang—!
At the same time, five consecutive shots produced muffled explosions. Chang Mei Jiang’s miniature gun could not even withstand the force; its chamber burst, and the weapon melted into a puddle of metal from the extreme heat, spilling onto the floor.
She did not look at “Yin Chen” even once. Ignoring the burning pain in her palm, she quietly turned and hid behind the door according to plan, listening carefully to the sounds from inside… yet all she seemed able to hear was Lu Xing You beating someone one-sidedly.
That was right. “Yin Chen” did not fight back. He leaned against the edge of the terrace with an almost-smile while a line of glaring beads of blood rolled from his temple and sharp jaw, staining large areas of his exposed, cold-pale skin and making him appear even more eerily inhuman.
Chang Mei Jiang was an excellent shot. She could guarantee that all five expensive bullets had struck “Yin Chen” precisely and already exploded into five enormous fireworks inside his skull.
If that still doesn’t kill him, is he even human?
Lu Xing You’s expression was cold. He did not care whether the counterfeit fought back or not. Without hesitation, he snapped the coat rack apart and drove a jagged wooden spike from the broken frame viciously into “Yin Chen’s” abdomen.
Shnk—
Blood sprayed across the crescent-white carved railing, immediately followed by a soft sigh.
“That hurts. Do you think he’ll feel sorry for me?”
“Yin Chen” lowered his head to admire the hole torn through his body and asked seriously.
“No. He’ll just think there’s something wrong with you.” Lu Xing You’s voice remained calm, though his eyes stayed fixed on every subtle change in the man’s expression.
Sure enough, the next instant, he moved.
Like a ghost, he appeared behind Lu Xing You, carrying a rush of cold, blood-scented air with him.
“Cough…”
Lu Xing You involuntarily let out a muffled grunt. His chest and throat convulsed violently, and he uncontrollably lowered his head and vomited a large amount of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
He had not even seen the attack. The speed was so terrifying that his combat instincts could not possibly react to it.
The suddenly enraged “Yin Chen” struck viciously, even deliberately retaliating in kind. Copying Lu Xing You’s method exactly, he smashed a bare hand heavily into Lu Xing You’s abdomen and brutally punched open a bloody hole of precisely the same depth.
“If you keep talking nonsense, you’ll die even more miserably.”
The impostor clamped a hand tightly around Lu Xing You’s throat and threatened him darkly.
“Answer me. I’m this pitiful, so he’ll feel sorry for me. He’ll favor me even more. He’ll definitely choose me, right?”
“Like hell.”
Lu Xing You laughed. He swallowed the blood in his mouth and deliberately mocked him hoarsely. “The two lovebirds are downstairs enjoying a sweet little hot-spring date. What, you trying to be the other man?”
＊
Meanwhile, Chang Mei Jiang had already sprinted downstairs. While calling Yin Chen, she grabbed Chi Yan and tried to drag her back upstairs to save him.
“Hurry, hurry! Xiao Lu’s about to get beaten to death!”
Hearing the second half of that sentence, Chi Yan suddenly smiled too. “Really? Then don’t save him yet.”
“Why?!”
“Because… when Lu Xing You is on the verge of death, he can punch the entire planet apart.”
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