The “trick-or-treating” game that lasted for several hours finally ended before midnight.

During this time, Yu Sen and his group intermittently heard some short, desperate screams, which were soon drowned out by the continuous footsteps of children going upstairs.

Aside from the ghost who helped him, Si Xuanyang maintained the level of giving just one candy. The little ghosts were annoyed but respectful, turning their frustration on other houses.

With ten minutes left before midnight, Si Xuanyang handed the glasses and the remaining five candies to Si Nan and Luo Yu.

Though it was unlikely any more oddities would appear in the late hours, it was better to give them the stuff for safety. As for Yu Sen’s room, Si Xuanyang himself was a guarantee, so keeping them safe was easy.

Yu Sen was weak and tired, and the winter heating was very drowsy. With Sui Xuanyang around, he didn’t bother to pay attention to the matter, and as soon as dizziness hit, he collapsed on the bed and slept soundly.

Si Xuanyang quietly saw off Si Nan and Luo Yu, made sure they were safely inside their room, closed the door, tidied up briefly, and carefully checked Yu Sen’s wound before holding him comfortably to sleep.

…

The snow fell all night and had not stopped by morning.

Yu Sen wasn’t yet awake. Early in the morning, there were hurried footsteps and intense shouting and exclamations in the corridor outside, creating a noisy and lively atmosphere.

The noise woke him up, and his first sight was the delicate skin exposed in front of him. His face was very close to that skin, and he could feel the warmth of each breath exchanging with it.

A hand tightly wrapped around his waist, pinning him in place, and Si Xuanyang’s legs were pressing down on his own, completely trapping him in his embrace, unable to move.

Yet Yu Sen was so hot from the embrace that he was sweating profusely, the wound on his neck was itching terribly, his body was weak from the fever, like melted lard, and coupled with the low blood sugar and waking up grumpy, he was feeling extremely uncomfortable.

“I’m dying…”

When he spoke, he hadn’t realized something was wrong. But when he heard his own voice after a long time, Yu Sen suddenly realized, “I can talk now?”

He felt a surge of joy in his heart and decided to lean on Si Xuanyang’s neck, softly murmuring, “I feel so awful… Big Demon, I feel so awful…”

Si Xuanyang suddenly woke up and instinctively tightened his embrace. “What’s wrong?”

“…You’re going to strangle your boyfriend to death…” Yu Sen said weakly.

“Ah?” The demon, still groggy from sleep, quickly relaxed his arms, propped himself up, and leaned in to look at Yu Sen’s face. He touched Yu Sen’s forehead with the back of his hand. “You can talk? You’re all sweaty, are you very dizzy?”

Having just recovered from a fever, Yu Sen’s body was almost depleted of energy. Lying on the pillow, his face still had a sickly look, his black hair was damp with sweat, sticking to his porcelain-white face. The bandage on his neck had some faint red staining, looking pitiful and making Si Xuanyang’s heart ache.

“No strength, it feels like lying on cotton…”

Yu Sen’s gaze was vacant, and he slowly moved, his arm limply draped over Si Xuanyang’s shoulder. He slightly raised his head, as if he couldn’t quite reach, and placed a fleeting kiss near Si Xuanyang’s chin.

The kiss was light and soft, making the just-awakened young demon’s blood surge, his heart fluttering restlessly.

“Good morning kiss for you.” Yu Sen closed his eyes again, looking tired.

Si Xuanyang gently wiped the sweat from Yu Sen’s face, his fingers brushing over the bandage, and sighed. “You’re feeling awful and still trying to tease me. I see you’re deliberately tormenting me.”

He then added, “I hope when we return to the real world with you recovered, you’ll keep up this active spirit of teasing me.”

Yu Sen, with his eyes closed, silently played dead.

Si Xuanyang got out of bed to fetch a hot towel and medicine kit, carefully wiping Yu Sen’s body dry and changing the bandage on his neck.

Perhaps because he had moved around a bit while sleeping, the wound had started bleeding again, which was quite noticeable on the delicate white neck.

Yu Sen squinted his eyes, noticing the demon’s stern expression and pursed lips as he changed the bandage, and sensibly closed his eyes again, remaining limp.

As soon as the new bandage was secured, someone knocked on the door.

Si Xuanyang, not in a hurry, carefully tied off the bandage before wrapping Yu Sen in a soft blanket and putting on some clothes to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Si Nan and Luo Yu burst in with excitement. Si Nan chattered happily, “Last day! Finally leaving this hellhole, I’m so happy…”

Luo Yu yawned and shut the door, complaining, “Your brother went crazy. He barely slept last night, and kept laughing foolishly. I thought he was possessed by a ghost!”

Si Xuanyang nodded at him. “He’s a bit dim-witted; please bear with it.”

“…”

“Yu Sen hasn’t woken up yet? It’s chaos outside.” Si Nan plopped down on the sofa.

Si Xuanyang glanced at him. “I don’t know how noisy it is outside, but I do know that if you make any more noise, Yu Sen will make sure to turn your world upside down when he gets back.”

Si Nan: “…”

He lowered his voice. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“It’s too late. I’ve already been woken up.” Yu Sen said coldly with his eyes still closed.

“Yu Ge, you can talk now? Looks like that mother and son weren’t lying,” Si Nan was surprised, then immediately turned pale. “No, don’t… For the sake of me marrying off my brother to you, let me off this time!”

Yu Sen opened his eyes, looking at the cool and handsome demon, and smiled slyly. “That’s true.”

Si Xuanyang raised his eyebrows and chuckled lightly. “Tsk, smiling so sweetly and starting to tease again? Remember what I said earlier and keep it in mind every day.”

Yu Sen: “…”

“What did you say?” Si Nan suddenly realized. “Was Yu Ge awake just now? Damn! You two are so unfair, teaming up to trick me!”

Si Xuanyang laughed. “With your IQ, do we need to team up?”

“…Go to hell!”

“By the way, what’s going on outside?”

“Quite a few people died last night,” Si Nan made an exaggerated ghost face. “Several people who spent all their Halloween candy on pass cards ended up dead, blood everywhere. Those without cards were breaking into rooms and rummaging through people’s stuff, even feeling up the clothes on dead bodies. Such a mess…”

“Rules say no looting or stealing, but some people tried to exploit loopholes and used tricks to make cardholders admit they were gifts,” Luo Yu said. “They’re panicking now, and a lot of people are arguing.”

“As for us, we’re benefiting from your luck and haven’t been bothered yet,” Si Nan winked at Si Xuanyang. “But when I passed by the corridor just now, some people looked at us with envy and jealousy. So, to stay safe and avoid being harmed by those who might go crazy at any moment, I’ve decided…”

“——Today, every minute and second, I won’t be apart from my dear younger brother!”

“……”

……

Yu Sen felt faint and weak as Si Xuanyang dressed him in the dress and carried him horizontally.

He wasn’t used to being able to speak, so he first made a confused little ‘mm’ sound. After a moment, he asked, “Why are you carrying me again? I think it’s too showy. Everyone else is a bit on edge today, so it’s better not to provoke them.”

Si Xuanyang looked at him with distrust and said, “It’s the last day to wear the dress. I don’t really believe that you’ll wear the sailor dress for me after we go back, so let’s take advantage of today and carry you as much as possible. Besides, if I put you down, will you be able to go down the stairs without tripping?”

Si Nan and Luo Yu glanced at each other with complex expressions upon hearing the words “sailor dress,” and then pretended they hadn’t heard anything.

Yu Sen sighed and leaned his head on the demon’s shoulder, looking melancholic. “You’re already in the habit of being suspicious of your boyfriend, which isn’t good. And what I want to say is… the broken chains on you are bothering me.”

Si Nan commented from the side, “Are you the Princess and the Pea? So delicate. I didn’t see you like this when we first met.”

“You’ve never been in a relationship with him, so why would your attitude be the same?” Si Xuanyang said impulsively.

“Hey! I’m helping you!” Si Nan was shocked, “Why are you hostile towards me now?”

“……”

Si Xuanyang shut up and pretended to be deaf: In-law PTSD, that’s all.

……

In the lobby on the first floor, some people were already eating. When they saw Si Xuanyang carrying Yu Sen downstairs, their expressions changed to varying degrees.

A woman with a cold demeanor approached. Yu Sen remembered she was the one who had exposed the relationship between Yuan Fei and Huang Zhengxuan.

She glanced at the bandage around Yu Sen’s neck, then looked at Si Xuanyang and smiled. “We found Yuan Fei’s body in the backyard. It’s frozen into an ice block now. An aspiring medical student examined it and said he must have died painfully, with a slit on his neck and bleeding to death slowly. There was also a lot of blood in the snow beside the body.”

Yu Sen’s eyelashes trembled as he buried his face into Si Xuanyang’s neck.

She continued, “Did you do it? Although I’m not sure how you killed him without being punished, we’re not busybodies. You’re certainly impressive…”

“I won’t harm others, nor is it necessary. You can rest assured.”

Si Xuanyang interrupted her, tightening his embrace around the emotionally drained person in his arms. With an expressionless face, he looked at the people in front of him, his tone carrying a clear and detectable warning.

“——As long as you don’t do something foolish and harm the people around me.”