Chapter 62
Chapter 62
The sun sank westward, gilding everything in gold and casting warm orange light into Xiao Huai’s eyes.
He had been sitting here in a daze for a long time.
He had grown accustomed to the torment. Resting lazily against the garden’s stone wall, he dozed.
Every day, people passed through the garden and pointed at him while making a few comments.
Life here consisted of eating diamonds and having his blood drawn. Aside from being forbidden to leave, it was not so bad.
Suddenly, chaotic footsteps sounded beyond the garden, accompanied by faint shouting from the corridor.
“Why do we have to wait here? What are you plotting?”
Old Mo pointed at a white-coated staff member and cursed.
The man answered in an official tone, “If you have questions, you may ask the Count. How he chooses to punish you, however, is beyond my knowledge.”
“You!” Old Mo ground his teeth and clutched the diamond he had made. Under his breath, he grumbled, “My diamond isn’t finished yet. Does this damned place even have a studio?”
Before the staff member could tell him where to go, a voice came from behind him.
“It does. Want me to show you there?”
Everyone froze when they saw the speaker, then began trembling with shock.
“Xiao Huai!” Old Mo shouted his name, but when he saw how haggard Xiao Huai looked, his heart gave a violent thud.
Old Mo was a broad, rugged man, yet even he felt like crying from the pain of merely seeing those wounds.
He could not imagine what Xiao Huai had endured to end up like this.
Almost no intact skin remained on his hands. They were covered in scarlet punctures and bruises, and his face was frighteningly pale from blood loss.
Yet in that battered body, Xiao Huai still regarded them with his usual languid calm.
“You finally made it.” A weary smile touched his face.
He did not mention a single thing about what had happened to him.
Surprise, shock, fear, and other emotions surfaced in the other players’ eyes.
Only Lu Yuanshi showed no expression from the moment he saw Xiao Huai. Something dangerous seemed hidden in his gaze.
Tang Weiqi ran to Xiao Huai’s side. “Xiao Huai, what happened? We thought you were dead after they took you away…”
Xiao Huai raised an eyebrow. “So you were hoping I’d die?”
“No… That’s not what I meant.” Tang Weiqi only hoped Xiao Huai would keep his word and find a way out.
This instance was far too sinister.
Xiao Huai looked toward the dining room. “Filling our stomachs matters more than going to the studio. Come on. Dinner is on me.”
“At a time like this, you’re still thinking about food?” Old Mo stared at him in disbelief and instinctively reached for Xiao Huai’s arm.
The chill at the corner of Xiao Huai’s eye frightened him into stopping.
But when Xiao Huai turned his head the next second, that coldness had vanished completely, as though Old Mo had imagined it.
Xiao Huai rubbed between his brows. A trace of uncontrollable madness lurked in his eyes.
“Of course we need to eat first. Otherwise… I might really lose my mind. Better to die to an NPC than be killed by a mad player before the showcase, don’t you think?”
Old Mo and Tang Weiqi fell silent at the same time.
A notification appeared on their system interfaces.
[Beware of player Xiao Huai. This player’s mental state is unstable. His Sanity has fallen below the critical threshold of 10, and his hallucinations make him highly likely to slaughter his teammates. Keep as far away as possible.]
“What’s wrong? Don’t want to eat?” Xiao Huai turned to look at them.
Tang Weiqi and Old Mo answered in unison, “W-We aren’t hungry yet.”
Aunt Wang and Uncle Li also said they did not feel like eating.
All of them instinctively retreated several steps.
Only Lu Yuanshi stepped forward. He came to Xiao Huai’s side, bent down, and leaned closer. “I’m hungry. Buy me dinner.”
Xiao Huai looked up. Lu Yuanshi was smiling.
There was no falseness in that smile, only a perfectly measured reassurance, as though he were comforting Xiao Huai.
Xiao Huai froze. Just now, when he saw the other players retreat instinctively, blood had surged toward his fingertips, and he had nearly lost himself.
Lu Yuanshi’s arrival brought everything to a halt.
“Mm,” Xiao Huai answered softly.
The dining room still held many ornate tables, though these were plainer than the one where he had dined with the Count.
The moment Xiao Huai entered, several white-coated staff members cast strange looks at him.
Ignoring them, he accepted several dishes from a server. She smiled at him. “The usual?”
He nodded. “Yes. Thank you, Sophie.”
Sophie shook her head. “You’re welcome. Please enjoy your meal.”
“Mm.”
Lu Yuanshi propped up his chin and regarded Xiao Huai with a raised eyebrow. “How did you manage to get along with the NPCs in only a few days? I thought everyone here had isolated you.”
Xiao Huai speared a piece of carrot with his fork and brought it to his mouth.
“Not everyone hated us from the beginning. Take you, for instance. Everyone else may be afraid of me, but you still came to eat with me.”
“Did you really come only to eat?” Lu Yuanshi lifted his chin and deliberately brought his face closer.
Xiao Huai could feel him observing every movement he made.
There was even a desire in Lu Yuanshi to see through him completely.
Xiao Huai stopped eating. Bracing his fork in one hand, he leaned toward Lu Yuanshi until the distance between them narrowed once more.
This time, it was not only Lu Yuanshi observing him. Xiao Huai was studying Lu Yuanshi as well.
“Would you believe me if I said I missed all of you?”
Lu Yuanshi’s lips curved. “No.”
He suddenly raised a hand. Xiao Huai glanced sideways as it drifted lightly over his neck, where puncture wounds mingled with paint that had never fully washed away.
The vibration of Lu Yuanshi’s voice seemed to warm the air.
“But if you said you missed only me, I’d believe you.”
Xiao Huai froze. He stared into Lu Yuanshi’s eyes for three full seconds before pushing the hand away and resuming his meal.
Lu Yuanshi leaned closer again with a wicked smile. Each time he did, Xiao Huai shifted a little farther to the side, refusing to give him the slightest opportunity.
“What’s wrong, darling? What are you thinking about?” Lu Yuanshi asked.
“Don’t call me that.” Xiao Huai moved to the next seat and placed a piece of meat on Lu Yuanshi’s plate.
Lu Yuanshi understood that Xiao Huai did not want to continue the subject and obediently began eating.
A long while passed. Then, as though finally making up his mind, Xiao Huai asked quietly,
“Lu Yuanshi, is there something wrong with your sexual orientation?”