Chapter 54

Chapter 54

How! Did he! Know!!!

Qiao Yu’s head was practically filled with question marks, yet he had no idea which question to start with.

But the phone’s lock screen timer only lasted ten seconds. In the pitch-black darkness between them, their senses seemed magnified without limit, leaving only their shallow breaths twining together in the narrow space between them.

There was water right beneath his feet, yet for no reason, Qiao Yu felt his throat go dry. A scorching restlessness burned and boiled inside his chest.

He instinctively wanted to raise a hand and touch his own neck, but in that brief daze, the wrist he had just lifted was seized tightly by the other man. With a tug, their positions switched, and in an instant, his back was pressed against the cold wall.

Qiao Yu twisted his wrist and hissed. He was just about to ask what the hell this guy was losing his mind over now when, in the next second, something soft covered his lips.

Well, great. Now he couldn’t ask anything at all.

Shang Yan caged him in his arms, his mind replaying the scene he had just witnessed. His body trembled faintly from fear.

That person… had jumped from the rooftop just like that.

Although he knew that was the way to return to the present timeline…

Still.

Still, he simply couldn’t watch the other man fall from such a height and remain unmoved.

The pain of losing him-Shang Yan thought… he could never bear it again.

When people were afraid of losing something, they would hold on with everything they had. Just like now.

Qiao Yu’s cry of pain was swallowed in his throat. He couldn’t help but lean back slightly, wanting to stabilize his center of gravity first, but the person before him seemed to think he was trying to escape. Shang Yan held him even tighter, almost fiercely, locking him in the circle of his arms.

Left with no choice, Qiao Yu’s hand flailed helplessly through empty air. In his daze, he seemed to grab hold of the other man’s water-soaked collar.

The consequence of being unable to breathe was that he could only vent his anger on the collar in his hand, wishing he could rip it apart right then and there.

After who knew how long, a faint noise came from not far away, accompanied by the vague sound of thumping.

Qiao Yu was already about to go into cardiac arrest from lack of oxygen. He hurriedly yanked hard on the fabric in his hand and abruptly turned his head, dodging that burning heat in front of him.

But the other man still refused to let him go and tried to lean in again. Qiao Yu reacted extremely quickly, burying his face in Shang Yan’s shoulder and saying in a muffled voice, “Listen. I think there’s movement by the door…”

“You heard wrong.”

Qiao Yu was so angry he opened his mouth and bit down hard on Shang Yan’s shoulder. Furious, he said, “There really is movement!”

Bang-bang-bang…

“Fuck!”

Seeing that he couldn’t brush it off anymore, Shang Yan cursed under his breath, his hatred toward the culprit making the noise reaching its peak.

In the next second, the chains tightly wrapped around Qiao Yu’s waist suddenly loosened. Very soon, a sharp whoosh cut through the darkness.

Clang!

It sounded like something had smashed into the large Iron Door of the Punishment Room. Just from the sound alone, Qiao Yu knew it had to hurt.

Then Shang Yan said,

“Let’s continue.”

Qiao Yu: “……”

Continue, my ass!

He turned on his phone’s flashlight and used the light to examine the Punishment Room. He and Shang Yan were standing in a large pool, and there seemed to be something swimming beneath the water.

Something like fish. Those creatures circled around the two of them again and again, occasionally poking their heads above the water and snapping their jaws.

It was obvious that these unknown fish wanted to pounce over and gnaw on them, but at the same time, they seemed afraid of something. Wary and not daring to come closer, they could only circle around and probe.

Shang Yan brandished the silvery-white chain wrapped around his wrist. Those fish instantly turned around and swam farther away.

“These things aren’t very intelligent. You have to scare them every now and then.”

Qiao Yu had no interest in those strange fish. Instead, he curiously lifted Shang Yan’s arm, stared at the chain exuding a cold aura, and asked, “What is this?”

“No idea.” Shang Yan turned his wrist, making it easier for him to examine it, and continued, “It’s a bound item granted according to talent after advancing to Red Name Streamer.”
“A bound item?”

“Yeah. It seems to be bound to… my soul?” Shang Yan sounded a little uncertain, but it was the only thing he could still use after his Live Stream Room had been locked down.

Qiao Yu nodded as if he understood, though he really didn’t. He wondered what kind of bound item he would get after advancing to Red Name.

It would be great if it was a Treasure Bowl, or an ATM with infinite withdrawals. If that was too much to ask, Aladdin’s Lamp would do in a pinch.

That way, he could have both a Treasure Bowl and an endless stream of wealth.

The thought actually made him a little excited.

Qiao Yu clutched his chest and slowly coaxed back the heartbeat that had stopped again from the earlier suffocation. Perhaps because his face was far too pale, Shang Yan’s gaze couldn’t help taking on a hint of heartache.

“Is your body really okay?”

Hearing that, Qiao Yu could only force himself to tear away from his wild fantasies. He slowly shook his head to indicate he was fine. When he lifted his eyes, he happened to notice the look in Shang Yan’s eyes and shuddered at once, snapping viciously, “Don’t look at me with those gross, clingy eyes!”

Shang Yan: “……”

If it had been someone with a stronger sense of pride, that alone would have been enough to make them fall for someone else.

Qiao Yu ignored the resentful look in his eyes. His gaze drifted over the black handcuffs around Shang Yan’s wrists. After thinking for a moment, he fished a thin piece of wire out of his pocket and, with a few quick moves, picked open the cuffs locking him in place.

Shang Yan rubbed the red marks on his wrists, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the person in front of him.

Sensing that gaze landing on him like it had physical weight, Qiao Yu stiffened. Guilty as a thief, he dodged Shang Yan’s eyes, raised both hands, and hurriedly explained, “I swear, ever since I woke up, I’ve never done anything bad. This is the first time.”

-……The streamer lies like it’s a game.

-The streamer’s life must be so exciting. He can pick locks, he can lie, and he even sold cosmetics to earn tuition money…

-Just entered the Live Stream Room. Thanks for the info, person above! Here, I sincerely wish you, good Samaritan, a lifetime of one hundred and eight children~

-May the good Samaritan have one hundred and eight children in their lifetime and turn them into the one hundred and eight heroes going up Liangshan! (doge.jpg)

-Liking to lie isn’t a good habit…

-It’s fine. As long as the streamer’s face is good, that’s enough. (Of course I choose to forgive him.jpg)

-Mm… why wouldn’t it be~

But Shang Yan clearly wasn’t that easy to fool. “It’s your first time, yet you carry the tools for the crime around with you?”

Qiao Yu: ??

“……If I said I picked this up in the last Instance because I thought this little thingamajig looked kind of… special, would you believe me? Of course… if you don’t like it, I can throw it away right now.”

As he spoke, Qiao Yu made as if to toss the wire in his hand. Before he could throw it, Shang Yan grabbed his wrist first.

“Forget it. I believe you.” Shang Yan took the thin wire from his hand, then tucked it back into Qiao Yu’s jacket pocket. “I believe Qiao Yu is a good boy now. You should still keep this on you. If you run into a situation like this again, you’ll at least have an emergency measure.”

Qiao Yu stared blankly at Shang Yan. He blinked, then rubbed his palms together helplessly. “You seem different…”

“I haven’t changed.” Shang Yan reached out and patted his head, smiling. “In here, you’re allowed to be a little bad. When your life is on the line, forget picking locks-even arson is fine.”

Qiao Yu: “…..Oh.”

Only after a long while did the realization finally hit him.

Uh… why the hell had he been acting so timid just now?

This guy was already his ex-boyfriend. What right did he have to control him anymore?

But… he had just kissed his “ex-boyfriend.”

Who broke up and could still kiss just because they felt like it?!

Fuck. (As in the plant.)