Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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A moment of silence.
Cold sweat beaded on You Xu’s palms. Being caught red-handed like this was a first for her, and her mind went blank.
“I…” You Xu bit her lower lip, her throat dry. She could barely grip the scalpel; the sharp blade was still pressed against the vein in his neck. Just as You Xu was about to pull her hand back, Duan Min fearlessly moved closer, drawing a red line across his neck. He remained silently facing her. The distance closed until their breaths mingled, their noses touching. Feeling the warm liquid on her fingertips, You Xu froze, then realized that blood was flowing from the scalpel onto her hand. The contrast between Duan Min’s pale skin and the bright red blood was striking, like a blooming red plum blossom in the snow. The sight before her made her pupils shrink sharply.
You Xu’s hand trembled, and her voice quivered: “Duan…”
Before she could finish, her next words were covered by cool lips. He held her tightly around the waist, her hands unable to pull back. He pressed the blade against her, kissing her frantically. The blade sank further, blood already soaking the back of her hand, flowing down her thumb and forefinger to her palm. Duan Min pried open her teeth, thrusting deep into her mouth. Their lips and teeth clashed even more, the blade penetrating a little further, cutting his vein. Blood gushed out, sliding down his collarbone, soaking his black and white pajamas.
“Duan…uh…” Duan Min gave her no chance to breathe, as if possessed, his eyes shrouded in an unyielding black mist, beneath which lay utter madness. You Xu desperately tried to kick him, but he didn’t move, instead pinning her legs down. Unable to move, and tormented by this situation, You Xu broke down, crying, tears streaming down her face.
Duan Min suddenly stopped, releasing her. With a clatter, the blood-red scalpel fell to the wooden floor. “Are you trying to kill me…?”
You Xu cried and raged, kicking him again.
Duan Min’s voice was low and husky: “Don’t cry.” He reached out to wipe her tears, but just as he was about to touch her face, he noticed the blood on his hand and stopped. Then he leaned down, wanting to kiss away her tears.
You Xu thought he was going to do it again and was furious. She pushed him away, wiped her own tears with the back of her hand, and sobbed, “If you… if you want to die, then die somewhere else. Don’t… don’t get in my way.” She glared at him fiercely, thinking she was being imposing, but her almond-shaped eyes were glistening with tears, the corners of her eyes red, like a cat with its fur standing on end, completely lacking in imposing manner.
Duan Min’s heart softened at the sight. You Xu didn’t want to pay attention to him and wanted to get something to bandage him, but Duan Min held her wrist and pressed it against the wound on his neck. The artery beneath her skin throbbed in her palm. Duan Min smiled, his gaze lingering on her: “I’d rather die by your hand.”
Just moments ago, he had been caught in the intense fantasy of being killed by You Xu, a fantasy that made his body heat up and his blood boil, almost melting his veins. Twenty-five short years felt incredibly long to him. In his dark, sunless room, the changing of day and night, the alternation of spring and summer, had no effect on him. His only emotion was a dislike for the presence of the living. Apart from that, everything was stagnant. If his life was a pool of still water, then he was a lifeless monster in the swamp at the bottom, not knowing why he lived, and equally unafraid of death.
After meeting You Xu, he tasted the flavors of life, noticed the changes in temperature because she was sensitive to both cold and heat, and became aware of the passage of time because time spent with her always flew by. Because of her, he gradually developed a rich array of emotions: happiness, sadness, frustration, and heartbreak. He didn’t reject any of these; he envied You Xu’s vibrant life, and he himself had become a living person. If he had been walking through an endless night, then she was the dazzling light at dawn, irresistible and alluring, inspiring both longing and intense desire. He was grateful to have found this ray of light, even though his previous years seemed so bleak in comparison. But having something to hold onto makes one insatiable, leads to anxiety and fear of loss. He feared You Xu leaving, even more so, that she would forget him. If dying at her hands could forever occupy a corner in her heart, he would be more than willing. He even had a morbid urge to savor the experience of dying at her hands.
Meeting his dependent yet obsessive gaze, You Xu finally understood what the system meant by a trust value of 80 or higher— a safe range. It meant that at this level, the target would willingly let him kill them; as long as she was ruthless enough, the mission could be completed. No wonder the host could slay a “god” with a protagonist’s halo without needing grand, sweeping skills.
At this moment, the system prompted again: “Please pick up the item and complete the killing mission.”
“I don’t want to,” You Xu looked at Duan Min and said, word by word, “You have to live well.”
If the mission target were a ruthless, inhuman psychopath who threatened her life, she might be able to do it. But Duan Min was just someone who asked her to add two extra spoonfuls of honey when she made milk powder; in her eyes, he was just someone who liked sweets. If the reward for killing five such people was her resurrection back to her original world, then she would rather wander in the endless, illusory space-time forever. She couldn’t break through the last line of defense in her heart.
….
You Xu heard the alarm clock ring once and then be turned off while she was resting with her eyes closed. She took a while, opened her eyes, and sat up. Perhaps it was because of the recent mental stress, coupled with taking care of You Qi’s physical and mental health, that she hadn’t slept well for several days in a row. She had dozed off for a while in the afternoon, but it didn’t help much. Now she only felt dizzy and exhausted.
You Xu rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”
“4:10 PM,” Duan Min handed her a teacup. “Have some to soothe your throat.”
You Xu then noticed her voice was dry and hoarse. She took the teacup; it contained jasmine tea. Without thinking much, she drank it all.
Duan Min watched her quietly.
You Xu put down the teacup and hesitated before asking, “What’s wrong?” Something felt off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“You look tired,” Duan Min said. “Why don’t you stay home and rest tonight?”
Tonight, she was going to the Hua’an Hotel to deal with Xu Shaosi. She needed to be at her hiding place by at least six o’clock. You Xu hadn’t told Duan Min this, so logically he shouldn’t know. But looking into his clear, bright eyes, she vaguely felt he knew something. Whether he knew or not, it wouldn’t stop her from doing what she was doing. You Xu turned to get out of bed, but suddenly her limbs gave way, and her body tilted forward uncontrollably. Duan Min then reached out and embraced her. You Xu found herself increasingly exhausted, a wave of weariness eroding her consciousness. Her eyelids drooped, and in a daze, she saw a teacup beside her.
“What…drug did you give me…Duan Min, why…” Before she closed her eyes, the last thing she saw was Duan Min’s clean, quiet, tea-brown eyes. Why?
After asking herself the same question again, You Xu completely lost consciousness.
Duan Min carried her back to bed, carefully tucking her in. He then sat by the bed for a while, quietly watching her sleeping face.
After a moment, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“Sweet dreams, my girl.”
….
“Drip-drip—” The light rain streaked across the windowpane as the car pulled into the parking garage.
After the driver brought the car to a stop, Xu Shaosi got out, took the elevator, and headed towards the reserved presidential suite.
At that moment, Lin Lanlan called: “Where are you?”
Xu Shaosi rubbed his temples: “Just finished a meeting, now at the hotel.”
Lin Lanlan: “That business deal fell through, should I find you a new partner?”
Xu Shaosi inserted his card and opened the door: “Yeah, we’ll see.”
Lin Lanlan sensed his tired tone, didn’t say anything more, said goodnight, and hung up.
Xu Shaosi closed the door, turned around, and found someone behind him. The person was wrapped up tightly, only revealing a pair of cold eyes.
Xu Shaosi’s breathing tightened, and cold sweat broke out: “Who…who are you…security, where’s security?”
….
“Boom—” Thunder roared in the sky like a thousand drums striking in unison, and torrential rain poured down, slamming against the windows. The jasmine flowers on the windowsill were knocked to the ground, their delicate white petals like melting snow.
Lightning flashed across the sky again, illuminating the dim room for a moment.
You Xu sat up in shock: “Duan Min!!!”
She jumped out of bed, turned on the light, and saw the clock in the distance. It was already three in the morning, indicating she had completely missed her planned schedule.
Actually, she wasn’t too angry. Plans, as long as there’s a motive, will come up again and again if they don’t succeed the first time. Besides, Duan Min didn’t know about her plan; he probably just saw that she was too tired lately and wanted her to get a good night’s sleep.
Besides, Duan Min’s medicine was truly different. She no longer felt tired; in fact, she felt energetic, and her mood wasn’t as down. It seemed that physical condition determined consciousness; when the body was healthy, the mind was also better. For example, the mood of a patient was quite different from that of a healthy person.
What bothered her most was that Duan Min had given her the medicine without consulting her. She had to talk to him and tell him he couldn’t do this again.
Another clap of thunder sounded in the sky, and You Xu felt inexplicably uneasy.
No, it wasn’t just that.
Without even putting on her slippers, she rushed to the guest room and knocked on the door: “Duan Min, are you asleep?”
She knocked several times and waited for a while, but there was no response. This meant Duan Min wasn’t inside. Usually, as soon as she arrived at the door, Duan Min would open it before she even knocked; his senses were much sharper than normal.
Where had he gone?
In the middle of the night, in this weather, where could he have gone?
What was there that he absolutely had to do at this hour?
You Xu felt like a tinderbox was burning inside her, a mix of panic and anxiety, a surge of anger rising within her.
“Spend fifty points to locate Duan Min,” You Xu told the system.
Whenever it came to missions involving specific targets, the system would immediately give her the location: “Ten meters to your northwest.”
Ten meters? That’s right at her doorstep!
She immediately ran to open the door, and as soon as she opened it, a large black object fell face-first into her face. You Xu was startled and didn’t have time to dodge, being directly knocked to the ground. Luckily, the blanket behind the door was thick enough that she didn’t hurt too much.
She heard rapid, heavy breathing, burning hot. Turning her head, You Xu realized it was Duan Min. He was wrapped in black, his face completely covered except for his eyes.
But those usually clear and bright eyes were now closed.
“Duan Min, what’s wrong?”
You Xu noticed something was wrong with him. He was soaked to the bone, tiny water droplets clinging to his fine eyelashes, yet she could feel his excessively hot body temperature emanating from him.
His body temperature was clearly more than ten degrees lower than normal.
You Xu struggled to drag him back to the room. Although Duan Min wasn’t an ordinary person, it wasn’t comfortable for him to be covered in cold, damp clothes.
She brought a basin of hot water, intending to change Duan Min’s clothes. After removing his black garments, she discovered that his entire body was flushed, his veins bulging, and his muscles spasming and twitching.
His palms were already bleeding from his own claws. He couldn’t utter a word, struggling to suppress a scream.
“Duan Min, don’t scratch, don’t scratch.” You Xu’s eyes burned with tears. She grasped his hand, but he pulled away, using his other hand to grab his neck, tearing off a layer of skin.
In that instant, You Xu couldn’t hold back anymore; her vision blurred, and tears streamed down her face.
A single, glistening tear slid down his cheek. Duan Min’s eyelids twitched, his eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. He opened his eyes, his pupils bloodshot.
“Don’t… be afraid.” His voice was hoarse, trembling from the pain.
“Tell me what to do,” You Xu rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Go to the lab and get the medicine. It’s… on the second or third shelf of the medicine cabinet.” He took a few breaths before finishing his sentence.
You Xu grabbed the key and immediately ran to the lab. As Duan Min had instructed, he retrieved three vials of injection and seven bottles of various sizes.
Duan Min took the vials, swallowed them without even looking at them, and when he saw Duan Min about to get the injections, You Xu took them first: “I’ll do it.” Mainly, in his current state, even taking medicine was difficult, let alone using injections.
But You Xu had never used this before, nor had she ever given injections to anyone. After drawing out the liquid, her hand trembled slightly as the needle touched his veins. She gritted his teeth and tried to insert it but missed.
Duan Min didn’t react, quietly watching her with eyes full of dependence.
You Xu’s chaotic heart suddenly calmed down. She took a deep breath, bit her lower lip, and tried again, finally getting the injection in the right spot, allowing the medicine to be slowly injected.
After three injections, You Xu was drenched in sweat and completely exhausted.
Duan Min closed his eyes: “You can leave now.”
“I won’t,” You Xu’s voice was wet with tears, “I’m not afraid.”
She grasped his wrist.
This night was the longest and most unbearable one for You Xu. Duan Min sometimes felt cold and sweaty, sometimes had fever and spasms, and several times his breathing was so weak it was almost imperceptible.
Until dawn broke, the wind subsided, and the rain stopped.
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