Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Xiao Huai accepted Tang Weiqi’s clue. When he offered Tang Weiqi his own leaf in return, however, Tang Weiqi shook his head.

“Forget it. I don’t want to see it anymore.”

Xiao Huai regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

“You’ll keep your word, right?” Tang Weiqi said. “As long as I behave myself, I’ll make it out.”

Xiao Huai nodded. Tang Weiqi started back toward the dining table, then paused halfway and said under his breath, “Xiao Huai, just as you said, the more you know, the more danger you’re in. You’re already trapped in the middle of all this. Can you really get yourself out?”

Xiao Huai said nothing. Only after Tang Weiqi had returned to his seat did he lower his eyes and murmur, “Perhaps I was the target from the beginning. The rest of you were merely dragged into the mire because of me.”

Which meant… he had to find a way to achieve his goal.

A familiar voice reached his ears as a sweet aroma teased his nose.

“Hungry?”

Lu Yuanshi looked at Xiao Huai. His gaze seemed to drift toward Xiao Huai’s neck, intentionally or otherwise, but he asked no questions. He spoke as casually as ever.

Xiao Huai nodded. “I am.”

“Want something to eat?”

“Sure.”

Everyone else had bread for breakfast. Xiao Huai alone ate glutinous rice dumplings handmade by Lu Yuanshi.

Old Mo’s eyes lit up when he saw Lu Yuanshi bring the food out himself, but there was nothing for him today.

Food was available in the System Shop, but it was both criminally expensive and disgusting.

Nothing tasted as good as Lu Yuanshi’s cooking.

Old Mo did not dare complain. He simply ate a few extra slices of bread, then hurried back to work in the studio.

It was already the third day. In less than four days, they would have to present their finished products.

Seeing Xiao Huai and Lu Yuanshi eating at the table, the others wisely finished in a hurry and left. Even Aunt Wang was led away by Uncle Li.

Xiao Huai speared a glutinous rice dumpling with his fork and brought it to his mouth, dusting his lips with powdered sugar.

Lu Yuanshi raised his hand. Xiao Huai did not notice until a fingertip had already settled lightly at the corner of his mouth, like a falling leaf.

He lifted his eyes and met Lu Yuanshi’s dark gaze. A faint smile curved the other man’s lips.

Xiao Huai said nothing. He turned his face away, wiped his mouth, and continued eating. Lu Yuanshi’s voice reached him.

“Your reactions have gotten slower.”

He had not detected Lu Yuanshi’s little movement as keenly as he would have before.

Xiao Huai merely replied, “I’ve just gotten used to these little tricks of yours.”

Lu Yuanshi lowered his head and laughed, almost as though speaking to himself. “Used to them? Ha.”

Xiao Huai remained silent. In truth, Lu Yuanshi was right. The damage caused by his falling Sanity had dulled his senses considerably.

Lu Yuanshi propped his chin on one hand and studied every inch of Xiao Huai’s skin.

“Where do you want to go today?” he asked.

Xiao Huai looked up at him, languid and unconcerned.

“Today? Today, I’m going to make a deal.”

Tang Weiqi’s clue read: BEAUTY LIES IN THE SKIN, NOT THE BONES.

The instant Xiao Huai saw that line, he knew what he had to do.

Lu Yuanshi set his knife and fork back on the plate, rose, and slowly walked to Xiao Huai’s side.

Xiao Huai looked toward him instinctively. The calm air around his ears seemed to soften.

Lu Yuanshi lowered his eyes and leaned gently toward Xiao Huai’s ear, still leaving a measured sliver of distance between them.

There was something inexplicably… seductive about him.

“Have you considered whether you can truly clear this game?” In those unfathomably deep eyes lay both a warning and something like a tender temptation.
The corner of Xiao Huai’s mouth lifted. Unconcerned, he closed the last of the distance between them and met Lu Yuanshi’s gaze without yielding an inch.

They could even hear each other breathe.

“Even if I fail, I’ll repay what I owe you. You will be able to leave.”

Lu Yuanshi froze. The next second, Xiao Huai pushed him away, rose from the table, and looked back at him.

“Lu Yuanshi, I’ve never met anyone like you before. I hope I never meet anyone like you again. And thank you for breakfast. It was delicious.”

With that, he headed upstairs, leaving Lu Yuanshi standing alone.

A long while later, Lu Yuanshi covered the corner of his mouth with his fingers, but could not hide the upward curve of his lips.

“Far too interesting… Honestly… How is he even a little cute?”

* * *

That afternoon, the black-clad men arrived at the manor to deliver supplies and found a letter in the mailbox.

Only a few large words were written on it.

HUMAN SKIN TRADE.

Something unusual flashed through their eyes. Almost the instant they received the letter, they called Victoria.

On the other end of the line, Victoria’s lips curved. The letter seemed to interest her greatly.

“Who wrote it?” she asked.

One of the black-clad men opened the envelope. The letter inside was blank except for a signature: Xiao Huai.

“Xiao Huai.”

Victoria laughed over the phone, unable to contain her excitement. “Good. Wonderful. Bring him to me. Go find him now, and take him a gift.”

“Yes.”

The synchronized footsteps of the black-clad men caught the players’ attention. One after another, they poked their heads out of the studios to look at the men entering through the door.

“Huh? Why are they coming inside?” Old Mo stared at them in confusion.

Tang Weiqi’s expression turned ugly. His gaze darted instinctively toward the red-house studio at the far end of the corridor.

It was the only studio from which no one emerged to see what was happening.

Xiao Huai held a brush, filling page after page of his sketchbook until the footsteps outside drew ever closer.

He raised his eyes toward the door.

Four black-clad men pushed it open and approached him.

“We have a gift for you. Please put it on immediately.”

It was a pure black suit.

Xiao Huai accepted it, removed his coat, yanked off his tie, and changed right there in the studio.

The black suit did not fit properly. It traced every line of his body, revealing a physique with not a single unnecessary ounce of muscle.

His build was perfectly proportioned rather than exaggerated, yet it hinted at explosive strength.

The smooth contours held a tautness that dragged the eye along them. His shirt skimmed his lean waist and abdomen, offering fleeting glimpses with each movement that invited the imagination.

Once he had changed into the full outfit, the dark bruising around his neck stood in stark contrast against his fair skin.

Lu Yuanshi leaned back in his chair, half his face shrouded in shadow.

Xiao Huai could faintly feel the gaze on his back.

From head to toe.

One of the black-clad men spoke. “Please come with us, sir.”

Xiao Huai nodded and followed them toward the door. Just then, Lu Yuanshi’s voice came from behind him.

“Wait.”

The men turned. Lu Yuanshi was approaching with a paintbrush in hand.

He bent slightly, dark eyes fixed on Xiao Huai.