When Si Nan and Luo Yu returned to the room, they carelessly opened the door, and upon seeing the scene inside, they almost scared themselves into digging out their own eyeballs.

The room had no covering, and when the door was opened, everything inside was laid bare.

The most visually shocking and prominent feature was the stark white back on the bed.

The shoulder blades were slightly thin. Upon hearing the door open, the protruding butterfly bones moved unconsciously, like pure white wings that seemed ready to flutter at any moment. The gray-black blanket barely covered the waist, and the smooth curves along the spine disappeared into the dark blanket, with faint, barely visible bruises, making the skin look like freshly fallen snow.

Yu Sen’s head was buried in the pillow, his raven-black hair spread across his neck. His delicate, long fingers were curled around a corner of the pillow, seemingly unable to handle the tension, with knuckles turning white as if they might snap at any moment.

Meanwhile, Si Xuanyang, fully dressed, was hunched over Yu Sen, one knee bent and half-kneeling at the edge of the bed, one hand pressed against the mattress, and the other arm crossing over Yu Sen’s shoulder and collarbone, lifting most of his body off the sheets and holding him close. His other hand was hidden under the blanket at Yu Sen’s waist, performing some unknown action.

The candlelight cast ambiguous shadows in the intersecting places. Si Nan swallowed reflexively, and his fingers at his side trembled slightly.

Oh my! This is too stimulating!

…

Si Xuanyang only needed to glance sideways to understand what his elder brother was currently thinking about with those dirty fantasies.

But if the object in these fantasies was Yu Sen, he was not pleased.

A hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes as Si Xuanyang withdrew his hand, turned Yu Sen over, and carefully covered him with the blanket. After murmuring a few words as Yu Sen, still with his eyes closed, fell into a weak, deep sleep, he turned his attention with an unfriendly look toward the two at the door.

“What are you standing there for? Are you the door gods?”

Si Nan, frightened by this dangerous tone, hurriedly pulled Luo Yu into the room, closed the door, and placed the bread and cooked beef he had brought for them on the table. His gaze flickered as he awkwardly chuckled, “So, what were you doing just now, Yang Yang?”

Shaking the bottle of alcohol by the bedside, Si Xuanyang gave him a cold, sidelong glance, “Wiping down to cool him off. What? Do you want to take over?”

“Of course not!”

Si Nan shivered, almost wishing to swear an oath of death, gritting his teeth and shaking his head vigorously with a sincere ‘you must believe me’ expression, “I swear, I had no such thoughts! Don’t frame me!”

“Besides, Luo Yu is here!” Si Nan clung tightly to his shield, switching to a different line of defense, “He’s my boyfriend. Don’t create discord between us!”

Si Xuanyang sneered, not bothering to continue the pointless argument.

Once Si Nan had calmed down, he finally noticed the faint smell of alcohol in the room and realized he had misunderstood. He shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.

Si Xuanyang rolled up his sleeves, glanced outside, and saw that it was already quite dark.

When he had just removed Yu Sen’s clothes, Yu Sen, who had always been a tease, still had a bit of energy, constantly rubbing against him during the intervals of wiping him down. His eyes were filled with soft moisture, and his body was as warm as a piece of white jade soaking in fine wine.

Si Xuanyang had never seen a mermaid or sea demon, but Yu Sen, in such a state, was undoubtedly more irresistibly attractive than any stunning mermaid or sea demon.

The scent of alcohol entered his nose, and the touch under his hands was delicate and soft. His reason was almost scorched to oblivion.

Fortunately, he had something deeper than reason—a concern for his boyfriend’s safety that was almost ingrained in his subconscious.

This was more important than anything else.

Thus, Si Xuanyang became a loyal gentleman, carefully wiping Yu Sen’s body while holding him in his arms.

When Yu Sen’s strength to struggle was exhausted and he lay quietly in Si Xuanyang’s arms, letting Si Xuanyang’s hands slowly pass over his body, occasionally letting out soft gasps that stirred one’s heart.

When he finally stopped, Si Xuanyang felt a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

One cooling down, and the other heating up.

————————————-

By now, it was dark, but Yu Sen was still in a deep sleep. After cooling down with the alcohol, his fever had subsided a bit but was still high. If he woke him up, he would surely have a splitting headache. However, if he didn’t wake him, an entire afternoon and night without food would likely lead to dangerously low blood sugar by tomorrow.

Si Xuanyang hesitated for a moment, deciding not to wake him for now. He picked a few things to eat while asking Si Nan about the situation he had investigated during dinner at the dining room.

He hadn’t expected to find any significant clues, but there actually was one.

Si Nan asked unexpectedly, “The key we got last night is with you, right? You didn’t lose it, did you?”

Si Xuanyang touched his chest and nodded slightly.

Only then did Si Nan breathe a sigh of relief and explain, “Someone found a secret warehouse under the hatch on the deck, but the door to that warehouse is locked.”

“The key is for that door? But the other groups should have gotten keys too. Why are they specifically after ours?” Si Xuanyang frowned.

“You think they don’t know?” Si Nan rolled his eyes. “It’s just that the lock on that door has several keyholes. Each key we got should only open one of them. To fully open the door, it’s likely that all the keys are needed.”

“Tsk, it’s locked that tightly?”

Si Xuanyang pondered for a while and asked, “Should we try it tomorrow morning?”

Yeah,” Si Nan nodded towards the room next door and said nervously, “A lot of people know that sirens will cause trouble at night. Whether or not we can avoid it, it’s safer to sleep through it. If you’re awake, you’re more likely to be targeted, and you might not even realize you’re being pulled into an illusion. You’d die without knowing why.”

Si Xuanyang glanced at him strangely, with a tone full of distrust. “Sirens’ illusions are very deceptive. Yu Sen could sense something was wrong, but that doesn’t mean you will. Don’t end up falling for it, only to wake up dead in the morning.”

“Seriously?!” Si Nan squinted in annoyance. “I’ve been overshadowed by you all my life, but I’m still someone with a harmonious family, a successful career, and a happy love life! I’ve had everything I’ve ever wanted since I was a kid, without even a trace of inner demons. What could possibly tempt me?”

Si Xuanyang sneered coldly, “Too easy. When you were five, someone could’ve lured you away with a single stick of cotton candy.”

“…”

Luo Yu burst out laughing. Si Nan’s mouth twitched, his eyes flaring with anger, but he held back from shouting because Yu Sen was asleep. Instead, he lowered his voice, gesturing wildly, “That was when I was a kid! A little brat who hadn’t even grown all his hair yet! Do you have to hold onto a story mom exaggerated for so long? You bring it up every time to make fun of me! I’m gonna throw a fit!”

Then he glanced at Luo Yu, wailing in a low voice with a tone full of heartbreak, “—My boyfriend is still here!”

Can’t you give me a little face?

Si Nan was so frustrated he scratched his head. Luo Yu quickly tried to soothe him, gently patting his back with a smile, “It’s okay, it’s okay… I think it’s pretty cute!”

“…Ugh!”

…

After some careful thought, Si Xuanyang told the two to place the matchbox in the gap between their pillows, just in case.

“The things the clock gave us must be useful. If we assume the sirens are afraid of fire, the oil lamp will definitely go out if they come in. You should light a match; it might fend them off for a while.”

After a pause, he added, “But that’s assuming you have the presence of mind to light a match. The sirens’ illusions may not just be one type; they might even upgrade to look like one of us. So, no matter how you wake up tonight, or who you face when you do, light a fire first.”

Si Nan and Luo Yu nodded. “Got it.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I have this.” Si Xuanyang glanced at them, pulling out the short sword they had obtained from beside Yu Sen’s pillow. The blade reflected in his eyes, gleaming with a violent and ruthless intensity.

Si Nan shivered, “A sword? I think… it’s better not to go head-to-head with those non-human creatures. Are you really planning to chop off its hands?”

“If they come for me.” Si Xuanyang lowered his gaze, raised an eyebrow casually, and then bent down to put the sword back.

“Jeez, so ruthless.” Luo Yu shivered.

Suddenly thinking of something, Si Xuanyang turned and asked, “The person who died next door—he came alone. What about his key?”

“Someone decided to look for it in his room tomorrow morning. After all, it’s not daylight now, and going into the room of a dead person always feels a bit eerie.” Si Nan shrugged, “I’m not going, anyway. It just gives me the creeps.”

…

After discussing everything, Si Xuanyang checked the time. Yu Sen had been sleeping for almost an hour and a half. By normal standards, it should be around eight in the evening, and he needed to eat something.

He took the chance when Si Nan and Luo Yu went to wash up to cuddle Yu Sen, blanket and all, lifting him up for a kiss. His tone was a softly threatening whisper, “Sleeping Beauty, it’s time for dinner. If you don’t wake up, I’ll kiss you awake.”

By now, Yu Sen’s fever had subsided quite a bit. Si Xuanyang traced his thumb lightly over the pale face tinged with a slight blush, as if he were caressing a piece of warm jade, a treasure he couldn’t bear to part with.

The person in his arms seemed to be disturbed by the noise, his brow furrowing slightly, his eyelashes trembling, but his eyelids remained closed, unable to open.

Si Xuanyang didn’t wait for him to respond. He murmured to himself, “Not waking up? Then I’ll start.”

Then, completely pinning him down, he wrapped one arm tightly around Yu Sen’s body, and with the other hand, he firmly grasped the back of his neck. He planted a series of fervent, passionate kisses on Yu Sen’s lips, prying them open and leaving no room for resistance as he stole every breath of air from Yu Sen’s mouth.

Moments later, the person in his arms finally started to tremble and struggle weakly due to the lack of oxygen.

^[1]Author’s Note:

Yu Ge slept through an entire chapter but was played with for half of it because he’s just so fun to play with (～￣▽￣)～