A chill suddenly crawled up Yu Yan’s spine.
She felt that strange sensation again, right there on the back of He Shuliu’s hand, lightly and slowly brushing across her cheek.
The darkness amplified all her senses. She was acutely aware now—it wasn’t an insect, but something else, something alive, embedded just under the surface of the skin.
What on earth is this thing??
Yu Yan’s heartbeat sped up instantly.
She desperately wanted to grab He Shuliu’s hand for a closer look, but intuition told her that was not a good idea.
After all, she could sense that whatever it was seemed to be quietly watching her…………………
Yu Yan’s scalp tingled, and she didn’t dare move a muscle.
He Shuliu, standing behind her, noticed she was frozen in place. His gaze grew darker, thicker, the frustration in his chest growing ever more intense.
No relief, no way out.
“Yan Yan.” He gently nuzzled her neck, urging her again, “Prove it to me.”
Yu Yan’s heart pounded wildly, almost jumping into her throat.
Is now really the time to be proving anything? There’s something very strange on his hand—can’t he feel it?
No, he has to feel it.
Yu Yan recalled how uncharacteristically silent He Shuliu had been after the Power Outage. She began to sense something.
Maybe he knew he wasn’t normal right now—that’s why he’d been so slow to answer her, and why he wouldn’t let her check the Switchboard outside.
But if that’s the case, then why did he take the initiative to “touch” her?
Yu Yan couldn’t make sense of it. She was too nervous; her mind couldn’t process anything so far outside the realm of reason.
But she could clearly feel He Shuliu’s agitation.
He needed her to soothe him, needed her to respond.
The only thing she could do was try to calm him down.
Yu Yan took a deep breath, raised her hand, and rested it on He Shuliu’s cold arm. After a slight hesitation, she slowly traced upward along the muscle of his arm.
She soon felt that same damp, slippery thing again.
A very peculiar sensation, like a peeled grape, only even smoother.
It was as if… an eyeball without eyelids?
Yu Yan was startled by this absurd thought.
She almost couldn’t bring herself to touch it. Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, the round thing suddenly rotated gently under her fingertip.
It almost seemed to be asking her to stay.
Did this mean… He Shuliu liked being touched by her like this?
Yu Yan wasn’t sure, but she could only try, cautiously.
Mustering her courage, she lightly touched it again.
He Shuliu narrowed his eyes a little, and the Eye on the Back of the Hand contracted slightly under her touch.
Eyes were a sensitive area for him, and even the eye on the back of his hand was no exception.
He should have felt pain, but Yu Yan’s movements were too gentle. When the eye was touched, instead of hurting, there was a faint tickle.
That secretive sensation stretched from the eye to the split, through his flesh and blood, radiating into every bone and limb.
He let out a low, involuntary breath.
The breath that brushed against her neck suddenly grew heavier. Yu Yan trembled slightly and asked in confusion, “Did I hurt you?”
“No.”
He Shuliu remained pressed against her neck, his voice rougher now. “It feels good.”
…………How could it feel good?
Yu Yan felt her mind couldn’t keep up with his pace anymore.
After a few seconds of inner struggle, she chose to “try something else” rather than continue touching that odd sensation.
It was just too bizarre; she was afraid she’d touch something she shouldn’t by accident.
She steadied herself on He Shuliu’s arm and tried to stand.
He Shuliu immediately pressed her down: “Where are you going?”
“I’m not going anywhere………………” Yu Yan replied helplessly. “I just want to turn around.”
He Shuliu paused: “What do you mean?”
“I want to face you.” Yu Yan’s voice lowered a bit. “What am I supposed to do in this position?”
He Shuliu blinked in the darkness.
When he saw Yu Yan really had no intention of leaving, he slowly released her, letting her turn within the circle of his arms.
Yu Yan had never been this careful in her life.
The room was so dark she couldn’t see a thing. Afraid of stepping on He Shuliu, she turned little by little, inch by inch, feeling her way to distinguish his body.
Here were his legs, here his waist, here his shoulders, and here was…
Hm? What was this?
Yu Yan’s fingertip suddenly brushed over a row of hard, sharp objects. She paused, her whole body going still.
Though she couldn’t see, she was certain this wasn’t something that should appear on the surface of skin.
What exactly was she touching……………………
Yu Yan’s confusion grew deeper. Just as she wanted to feel it more carefully, her body was suddenly lifted up. She didn’t have time to react—her legs fell naturally, then were nudged apart by He Shuliu, loosely circling his waist.
Yu Yan’s face heated rapidly in the darkness.
She’d just finished showering and wore only a spaghetti-strap nightdress. With all the commotion, the hem had slid up to her waist, cold air flooding in.
“Is this position alright?”
He Shuliu asked softly beside her ear.
His cold, damp breath slipped into her ear, making Yu Yan’s body go limp as she instinctively leaned forward.
Then she heard a low, almost inaudible gasp from He Shuliu.
…..Did she touch something again?
If this were before, Yu Yan might have asked him outright, but now she didn’t dare—in fact, she even wanted to move away.
But He Shuliu’s hand was pressed firmly to her lower back.
She couldn’t get away, couldn’t move.
She was trapped in his embrace, with nothing to do but continue leaning in.
The cold aura from He Shuliu enveloped her. She bit her lip and said, “Lift your head.”
After a moment of silence, He Shuliu obediently raised his head, eyes half-lowered as he looked at her.
Yu Yan could feel his intense, exposed gaze—not just from directly in front of her, but from many different directions.
The feeling was incredibly strange.
It was as if many eyes were watching her, their positions all different, but the burning intensity in them all exactly the same as He Shuliu’s.
So……………… there really were many eyes watching her?
Dense, sticky, dark and humid.
Yu Yan suddenly didn’t want to think anymore.
She raised her hand, touched He Shuliu’s cheek, feeling her way around his face before finally resting her fingers on his cold lips.
Thank goodness—there were only two eyes on his face.
Yu Yan felt a rush of relief, swallowed, then cupped He Shuliu’s face and gently pressed her lips to his.
He Shuliu’s pupils contracted in an instant.
Since that night they’d quarreled, this was the first time Yu Yan had taken the initiative to kiss him.
Though they’d kissed more than once before, this time… was clearly different.
The room was too dark—Yu Yan couldn’t see He Shuliu’s expression at all.
She could only cup his face, wetting his lips bit by bit, feeling his breath in the darkness.
Then she was bitten.
He Shuliu, like a man long parched, opened his mouth and caught her tongue, quickly hooking it, teasing and entwining, leaving no part of her mouth untouched—invading with reckless abandon.
Did he really have to be so fierce?!
Yu Yan was completely unprepared, instinctively trying to push him away. But the moment her fingers touched his shoulder, she felt that same familiar wet, slippery sensation.
Here too??
Terrified, she withdrew her hand at once, arching her body away, instinctively trying to distance herself from those things.
But He Shuliu reached out and held her firmly.
He cradled the back of her neck, long, cold fingers threading through her hair, pressing her toward him with a force that brooked no refusal, giving her no chance to escape.
Yu Yan had no choice but to stick close to him.
He was already tall and strong, and now his strength was overwhelming. In this position, he wrapped her up completely—his invasive presence especially intense.
At first, Yu Yan was keenly aware of those “things” on his body, but soon, she had no mind for it at all.
Their kiss went on and on.
He Shuliu kept biting and licking her, not even sparing the root of her tongue. She was nearly deprived of air, the suffocation driving her to entwine more tightly with He Shuliu, trying to steal oxygen from his mouth.
Only when she truly couldn’t breathe did He Shuliu finally release her.
Yu Yan’s tongue had never felt so sore and swollen.
She half-collapsed against him, panting softly, “Is that enough………………?”
“Enough for what?” He Shuliu’s voice was low and husky, tinged with a subtle sensuality.
“For your proof, of course.” The sensation of being watched in the darkness only intensified, making Yu Yan’s heart race. “After all this, shouldn’t you at least let go of me………………?”
“No.”
He Shuliu rested his chin on her collarbone, lips pressed against her pulse, sending the faintest tremor through her.
Yu Yan could only sigh helplessly. “Why are you being like this again………………”
She didn’t finish her sentence—her body suddenly tilted backward, the sudden loss of balance making her cry out.
The next moment, He Shuliu leaned over her.
His presence was overwhelming. Even without sight, Yu Yan could sense every detail about him.
His gaze, his breath, his body heat, his touch…………
Yu Yan fell silent, her fear in that instant eclipsing any trace of lingering intimacy.
She could feel those cold, slippery spheres on He Shuliu’s body pressing lightly against her.
There might be other things too—she couldn’t tell. All she could do was lie motionless, pinned under him on the carpet, her heart pounding so wildly it felt like it might burst.
Her palms, her forehead, her neck—all were beaded with cold sweat. Her chest rose and fell sharply, lashes fluttering restlessly in the darkness.
He Shuliu lowered his gaze, able to clearly see her pale face, lips parted, a look of fear he had never seen before.
—She was afraid.
The realization cut deep.
He wanted to comfort her, but at the same time, he understood all too well that for her, the best comfort right now was for him to get away immediately.
But he couldn’t do it.
He no longer knew if he was dead or alive—all he knew was that if he left Yu Yan, his existence would lose all meaning.
…He couldn’t leave her.
Absolutely not.
He Shuliu leaned down, the tips of his jet-black hair as soft as a rabbit’s tail, lightly brushing across Yu Yan’s cheek.
Yu Yan was stunned for a moment.
In the darkness, she felt him gently licking and kissing her—from the ridge of her ear down to her neck, tasting every bead of sweat.
“Yan Yan, don’t be afraid.” His voice was soft—so different from the movement of his hands. “I won’t hurt you.”
The creeping cold made Yu Yan shiver. Instinctively, she arched her back, only to be gently pressed down by He Shuliu’s caress.
“Yan Yan.”
“Yan Yan?”
“Yan Yan………………”
Her consciousness began to blur. Amidst the haze of tears, Yu Yan seemed to hear countless voices softly calling her name.
Countless voices, brimming with love, voices belonging only to He Shuliu.
A shudder, dark as the tide, drowned her. Her body went limp, powerless to resist as those strangely textured things pressed closer, enclosing her tightly.
“Yan Yan………………”
As a wave of heat surged through her, Yu Yan’s mind grew hazy. She heard He Shuliu’s low, desperate plea by her ear:
“Don’t abandon me again.”