ITOTIABSAM | Infinite Flow | 177
Gu Cong was very aware that he was dreaming.
The scene of the white-robed celestial being being stabbed by a sword on Liuyun Mountain, he had seen it many times, in every sleepless night, to the point where when the impostor in front of him looked at him with resentment, Gu Cong even felt like laughing a little.
Xie Ye would never show such an expression.
Betrayal, for the villain who was marginalized by the small world, was the norm. Even though it was painful, the other party was always restrained. Compared to the weak and powerless moral condemnation, the hope for the perpetrator's conscience to be discovered, and kneeling down to repent and weeping bitterly, Xie Ye should be more willing to protect himself with his own hands and seek "justice" for himself.
Moreover, the real Xie Ye was sleeping in his room at this moment, within sight.
But even so, when the impostor wearing the celestial being's shell seemed to read his mind and then pierced his shoulder with a puppet thread, Gu Cong still didn't dodge, directly taking this blow.
The reason given by reason, of course, was that he needed to make the boss relax his guard and close the distance with the boss. But sensibility told Gu Cong that even if he would be injured, even if he knew the other party was an impostor, he still wanted to hug Xie Ye.
This was something he had long regretted in reality.
Unexpectedly, just as Gu Cong was about to raise his right hand, the dream, so vivid that even the pain felt real, suddenly stalled. Then, like an old-fashioned TV with a stuck tape, it flickered incessantly, chaotic colors mingling together, twisting into a distorted chaos, then being wiped away by an invisible hand like ink.
"Jiang Chuan?"
A strong and heavy smell of blood rushed into his nostrils, mixed with a faint hint of lemon, which was the cheap shower gel and shampoo provided by the hotel, both of the same brand.
Above the waist, his close-fitting clothes had been stripped bare, and he was leaning against Xie Ye's chest. The wound near his chest, along with his shoulder, was carefully bandaged by the other party and even tied with a bow.
Being pulled out of the dream just as he got close to the boss, Gu Cong wasn't annoyed. He just raised his eyes and looked at the slightly blurred face of Xie Ye in the dim light. "Where's the ghost?"
"I drove it away," Xie Ye spoke softly, trying to imitate the way players sounded in his memories, comforting, "Don't be afraid."
Originally, he thought Jiang Chuan was strong, stronger than most players he had seen, but the fact proved that just a short time in the dream, and blood was flowing endlessly.
Indeed, he still needed his own protection.
"Huff—" Like a failed magician awkwardly exiting the stage, though the cage of the dream was not lifted, Zhao Dong, holding the yellow talisman paper, was sound asleep beside Gu Cong, completely unresponsive to their conversation.
"The sheets are dirty," Xie Ye wrinkled his brow in disgust, circling his right hand around the man's slender waist with force. "Get up and change to another bed. I'll help you."
Gu Cong couldn't help but smile, his amber eyes overflowing with a hint of amusement. He thought, he was injured in the chest, not in the foot. Why would he need a teenager who was half a head shorter than himself to help him?
But he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
And because of this supporting gesture, as Gu Cong slightly leaned forward to accommodate Xie Ye, he caught a glimpse of the torn hem of the his shirt.
The tear wasn't neat, and the edges were somewhat rough, clearly torn by hand. This also indirectly proved that the slender and delicate-looking Xie Ye wasn't as weak as he appeared.
...Was he in such a hurry?
For him.
After carefully controlling the weight pressed against Xie Ye, Gu Cong thought he had contained his emotions well, not letting Xie Ye notice the pleasure in his heart. However, halfway there, Xie Ye suddenly stopped, turned around, and protested earnestly, "Stop laughing into my ear."
"It tickles."
He probably didn't understand what ambiguity meant. His black eyes, now clear and bright, were so close to the man's chin that their lips were almost touching, yet he showed no restraint, exhaling cool breath unconsciously.
—It was so close that a mere lowering of the head could lead to a kiss.
As if enchanted, a thought that went against reason suddenly popped into Gu Cong's mind, but before he could ponder it further, Xie Ye turned his head back and continued to support him forward.
This actually felt a lot like a hug. At least Gu Cong's arms were long enough to easily encircle Xie Ye in his embrace. Compared to the false projection of the white-robed celestial being in the dream, although the other's body temperature was low, it gave him a clear sense of reassurance.
"Why aren't you asleep?" Without any reason, Gu Cong wanted to chat with Xie Ye about something other than the instance. He sat obediently on the edge of the bed, letting the other wrap him up in the blanket.
Not adept at the kind of twists and turns that most humans were good at, Xie Ye was honest. "Because I was worried about you."
"I was supposed to be by your side all along," he continued, still wearing the plastic slippers provided by the hotel. Squatting in front of Gu Cong, his straight nose wrinkled slightly, "But that ghost was too cunning. It tricked me into chatting with it and even took me to other rooms."
Xie Ye was normally not very expressive, he always gave the impression of being dull. But now, he showed a rare hint of liveliness, making Gu Cong think of a bored cat swishing its tail, sitting by his bedside, occasionally listening to his heartbeat, feeling his breath, but eventually couldn't resist curiosity and got led away.
Then, he bravely fought off the enemy and returned to his side.
He was kind of cute.
"Thank you for worrying about me," Gu Cong softened his expression, gently rubbing Xie Ye's head as he extended his uninjured hand from the blanket. "Are you hurt?"
The next moment, his "escaped" hand was stuffed back in by someone.
"I'm fine," Xie Ye replied.
"Do we have any healing items in the inventory? You've lost too much blood, your lips are so pale," acting on instinct, Xie Ye touched the man's lips with his fingertips, feeling them. "And they're so cold. I'll go get you a cup of hot water."
Under the blanket, Gu Cong's back instantly tensed up.
His heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat. Before he could figure out what to say, Xie Ye had already stepped out of the door with his slippers clacking in the silent corridor.
...Didn't he also feel cold?
How could he forget to wear his coat?
The unfamiliar yet gentle emotions flowed into Gu Cong like a warm stream, tingling through his limbs and body. Gu Cong heard 0028 nagging in his mental space like an old father: "I know you're strong, but can't you stop choosing these methods where you hurt yourself to hurt the enemy?"
"Also, being distracted by an eighteen-year-old kid, I suggest that when you go back, you agree to the invitation from the strategy team and broaden your horizons."
Gu Cong murmured softly, "He didn't mean to."
How could those cliché seduction tactics compare to this?
0028 interjected, "Is that the point? The point is that the atmosphere just now was very wrong! Where's the plot twist you'd expect in a horror scenario?"
While upstairs, the man and his system were bickering, downstairs, Xie Ye was busy finding paper cups to pour water.
The shopkeeper, holding a cat in her arms, sat behind the counter, with only one eye remaining, staring straight at Xie Ye. The slight movement of her eyeball indicated that she was very much awake.
The hotel was too run-down; there wasn't even a kettle in the rooms. Fortunately, when Xie Ye was having breakfast, he glimpsed an old-fashioned water dispenser standing in a corner on the first floor, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be functional.
Having encountered real ghosts in the town, Xie Ye could distinctly feel that this shopkeeper old lady was different from Dis and all the other residents.
But with his mind preoccupied with the man's injury, Xie Ye was afraid that if he went downstairs to fetch water, something unexpected might happen to the man. So, he decided to postpone any further fun activities for later.
It was strange.
He clearly didn't think humans were weak, yet he felt a need to take care of "Jiang Chuan".
Gulu.
As the white mist rose, the water was boiling hot. Even though it was contained in a paper cup, it was still scalding. However, for Xie Ye, the pain it brought was negligible.
But when he thought of the injured person upstairs, his fingertip pressing the hot water button stopped uncontrollably. Silently, he switched to the other side and added some cold water:
He wasn't afraid of pain.
But Jiang Chuan should be.
After a moment of contemplation, Xie Ye poured another cup for the lady behind the counter. "Thank you for the water."
The shopkeeper's round eye darted a few times, contrasting sharply with the empty black void beside her, making her look particularly eerie.
However, Xie Ye showed no fear at all. He gently placed the paper cup on the table and turned to leave.
"It's better to be eaten than to be used," abruptly, as Xie Ye's figure was about to disappear, the one-eyed old lady patted the cat in her arms and said, "What do you think?"
To be eaten or to be used, was she referring to the players' corpses?
As Xie Ye stepped on the stairs, he pondered, "I think it's best to be alive."
Just the idea that his home was a mass grave site made him feel repulsed.
"Yeah, being alive is the best, that's why I'm still alive," the shopkeeper murmured to herself, "I hope that one day, I can still..."
Xie Ye didn't catch the rest of her words as he hurried back to his room. Apart from 208, all the doors touched by Dis were wide open. As he passed by, the black-haired Xie Ye silently closed the doors of the two girls' rooms but ignored Li Jie.
His manners were reserved for those he deemed worthy.
While Xie Ye was downstairs, Gu Cong took the opportunity to exchange some bandaged wound medicine with 0028. By the time Xie Ye returned with water, Gu Cong's complexion had improved significantly. The neatly tied butterfly knot on his shoulder remained intact.
The oversized coat, which was too loose for Xie Ye, draped perfectly on Gu Cong's body, partially covering his chest and revealing a hint of the mature man's wildness that was rarely seen in his usual demeanor.
Subconsciously glancing at the other's firm abs and the gradually disappearing waistline, Xie Ye set down the paper cup and quietly touched his own belly.
It was flat.
There was no excess fat, but there wasn't anything more either.
Gu Cong misunderstood Xie Ye's intention, thinking he was conflicted about how to restore his shirt by tomorrow morning. Taking the initiative, Gu Cong raised his wristwatch and offered Xie Ye an out, "Here, take this shirt. It's been washed. You can put it on first."
The soft and comfortable fabric lightly fell into Xie Ye's hands.
It wasn't brand new, carrying a faint scent of soap. Out of an inexplicable private motive, Gu Cong had used the inventory of his quick-dressing system to provide the shirt, rather than the game.
However, Xie Ye completely forgot about this matter. He was always straightforward and had never deliberately concealed his identity. It was only when the man brought it up that he realized he had almost revealed something.
Very cooperatively, he held the new shirt and calmly instructed Gu Cong to remember to drink water before quietly heading to the bathroom.
Rustle, rustle.
The door closed and opened again.
A soft, fine-haired little head popped out, "It doesn’t fit."
Clutching tightly at the collar, Xie Ye remarked, "There's a missing button."
There was a centipede-like scar clinging to his neck that was enough to frighten anyone.
0 Comments
Post a Comment