Yu Yan’s heartbeat skipped a beat.
What did she just touch?
It was soft and slick, slightly raised, and carried a hint of dampness.
That definitely wasn’t He Shuliu’s hand.
But she thought, it must be something alive—dead things wouldn’t tremble so subtly beneath her fingertips.
Could it be some strange bug?
The thought sent a shiver through Yu Yan, and she quickly pulled her hand back, cautiously calling out:
“He Shuliu?”
She turned.
The darkness was so thick she couldn’t see her own hand. He Shuliu quietly watched her, unsure if he should respond.
Yu Yan couldn’t see, but he could see everything clearly.
In the pitch-black, a crack opened up on the back of his hand, and a jet-black Eye, identical to his own, surfaced and slowly turned within the split.
He could even use this Eye to see Yu Yan’s panic-stricken face.
Why had an Eye grown on his hand?
Was it the work of that Black Smoke from before?
He Shuliu wasn’t sure, nor did he care to find out.
He only wanted to know how to hide this Eye.
He didn’t want to scare Yu Yan.
He tried to control the Eye, but it was useless. Worse still, a tearing pain shot up from his neck; he reached to touch it and felt not cold skin, but a row of sharp Fangs.
Though he couldn’t see himself now, he could imagine—he must look a hundred times more terrifying than usual.
Utterly dreadful.
And it had to happen at a time like this, right in front of Yan Yan.
She’d already been a little resistant to him tonight. If she saw him like this, she’d surely grow even more disgusted with him.
He Shuliu suddenly didn’t dare touch Yu Yan.
But Yu Yan wouldn’t stay put forever.
She still hadn’t heard a reply from He Shuliu, and with the lights not coming on, she braced herself on the Living Room sofa and pushed herself up, feeling her way forward.
—She’s leaving?
The realization struck He Shuliu in an instant.
His mind went blank, and almost by instinct, he reached out and grabbed her wrist.
Yu Yan was moving carefully, but suddenly being pulled by the wrist made her yelp in surprise. Off guard, she stumbled back a couple of steps.
A pair of cold, powerful arms emerged from the darkness and caught her securely.
“He Shuliu?” Yu Yan recognized the familiar scent, still shaken. “Why didn’t you answer just now?”
He Shuliu seemed not to notice the discontent in her voice. He reached out and pressed her down to sit on his lap, wrapping his arms around her from behind, holding her closer and closer.
“Where are you going?”
His voice was soft, his chin resting in the hollow of her neck, clinging and intimate.
“I’m going to take a look outside.” Yu Yan replied, puzzled. “Where do you think I’m going?”
He Shuliu didn’t answer, only tightened his hold.
Yu Yan couldn’t see his face, but she could feel the restless gloom radiating from him.
He was holding her so tightly, as if trying to embed her in his arms, his arms bulging with tense veins across her chest, pressing against her ribs until they ached faintly.
Something about his state felt off.
Was it because the room was so dark? Or was it about her turning him down earlier?
Yu Yan figured it was more likely the latter, since He Shuliu was never afraid of the dark.
She thought it over and decided to set the power outage aside and deal with He Shuliu’s mood first.
“He Shuliu, are you angry?” she asked softly.
He Shuliu still didn’t respond.
Yu Yan noticed he was extremely cold—colder than during the day, like a chunk of ice submerged in a pool, the chill seeping through her skin to her bones.
It reminded her of that living thing she’d touched just now.
Equally cold, damp and slippery, a sensation hard to describe.
…No, even if both were alive, there’s no way He Shuliu and that thing were the same.
Yu Yan suppressed the persistent sense of wrongness and went on, “Back in the Bathroom, I didn’t mean to reject you. I just thought it wasn’t the right time. The Doctor said you need to rest, after all, and you can’t…”
“Don’t leave me.” He Shuliu suddenly spoke, pressed against her neck, his breath clammy and cold. “Yan Yan… don’t push me away.”
He knew he shouldn’t get this close to Yu Yan right now—that keeping a distance was safest for her.
But he couldn’t do it.
He needed her, needed her by his side, needed to constantly confirm that she was real.
He couldn’t let her slip out of his sight again.
The fear of losing her, of being abandoned by her once more, swallowed up the last of He Shuliu’s reason.
He held Yu Yan tight, almost greedily savoring her warm presence, as if he could finally, completely keep her.
Yu Yan’s sense of unease deepened.
Even if her refusal just now was harsh, she’d already explained. With He Shuliu’s temperament, he wasn’t the type to hold on to a grudge.
His stubborn, unresponsive behavior now was more like a PTSD episode.
Could that fight the other night have really affected him so deeply?
Yu Yan couldn’t figure it out, so she kept trying to soothe him. “I’m not leaving you, I just want to check the Switchboard outside. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Yu Yan.
He Shuliu couldn’t even hear what she was saying.
Cracks kept splitting open across his body—on his arms, his waist, his back…
More and more Eyes and Fangs surfaced, all turning, in eerie unison, toward Yu Yan as she focused on comforting her lover, oblivious to the change.
Her lips parted, her voice gentle, her tongue tip flickering faintly in the dark.
…I didn’t mean to push you away, either. Right now, what matters most is your health. Don’t let your thoughts run wild…
“Then prove it to me.” He Shuliu suddenly said.
Yu Yan froze. “What?”
He Shuliu brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, the one sprouting an Eye. In the darkness, he saw her shudder just a little.
“Prove to me that you haven’t pushed me away.”