Aside from regular physical check-ups, life outside the other world was quite leisurely.

The cracks on the wall clock kept increasing, almost covering every inch with dense lines. Eventually, the glass had cracked into a gray-white dry pattern, and only the black shadow of the hands inside vaguely indicated that it was still around ten o’clock.

As the crack worsened, they could feel that the time for their ‘last entry’ into the clock world was approaching.

This time, though Yu Sen was aware of Si Xuanyang’s eagerness to get his health back on track, such matters still needed to proceed slowly under real-world medical technology.

Si Xuanyang was well aware of this and dared not force-feed Yu Sen with medicine. So, even though he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, he still kept everything as usual, meticulously adjusting the treatment.

Yu Sen naturally understood the seriousness of the situation. While he went about his usual activities, he tried his best to cooperate with the doctors regarding his health.

Although the various complex tests and medications sometimes made him a bit irritable, Si Xuanyang always stayed with him, soothing him, and was even more familiar with the testing procedures and medication dosages. Despite having a temperament even more volatile than his, he showed no impatience in this regard.

Over time, Yu Sen’s mindset gradually improved, and he cooperated more seamlessly with the doctors, resulting in a surprisingly rapid recovery.

During this period, aside from occasional shortness of breath, a dull pain in the lungs, and occasional fevers, most of his symptoms had improved significantly.

As his body gradually eased, on the night of the fourth day, the four of them were once again transported into the clock world.

---

The howling wind ravaged their ears, even mixed with icy snowflakes, like ice blades that seemed to cut through their earlobes.

When Yu Sen was groggily lifted from the cold, hard ground by someone, he truly cried out in despair in his heart.

— It was always like this: just as he managed to recover his body in the real world, once he entered the clock world, he’d go back to being weak and powerless, endlessly tortured by this cycle.

Oh, this time he also felt short of breath.

Yu Sen grasped Si Xuanyang’s collar, desperately trying to burrow into his body.

This time was the coldest, a complete winter night. The cold wind sounded substantial, and the ground was covered with a thin layer of frost.

Yu Sen’s clothing was thin, and after staying here for just a minute, his body was completely cold from top to bottom. Breathing in, it felt like inhaling frost, making his whole body ache.

“You say the clock is not targeting me? It’s clearly poisoning me every time! This is definitely trying to kill me!”

He spoke with his lips against Si Xuanyang’s body, but the cold wind still sneaked in, not letting him go.

Shivering, Si Xuanyang pushed him away slightly, then, in Yu Sen’s surprised gaze, rolled up the hem of his clothes and prepared to take off his similarly thin loungewear.

Yu Sen quickly held his hand down, “Are you crazy! Why are you taking off your clothes!? Did your head freeze?”

Si Xuanyang looked at Yu Sen’s trembling eyelashes in the wind with a bit of helplessness, “I’m not cold. You need an extra layer. We don’t know when we’ll reach our destination, so don’t force yourself.”

“Bullshit! Only a fool wouldn’t be cold!” Yu Sen’s head hurt from anger as he pulled down Si Xuanyang’s clothes forcefully, “You put on your clothes properly! It’s just one thin layer, whether I wear more or less, it’s the same. Don’t play around!”

What a joke, if he really took off his clothes, Si Xuanyang would be half-naked!

The cold wind was so painfully cutting, even if Si Xuanyang was willing, Yu Sen himself wasn’t.

His heart wasn’t made of stone.

But the weather was too cold; just saying a few words made the cold wind pour into his chest, feeling like a big hole had opened in his body, pierced by the icy wind and frost.

The cold hurt so much it made him want to cry, more torturous than being injured.

He could only lean against Si Xuanyang, entwining their necks. The other’s body temperature was higher than his, like a small fire that never extinguished in this cold night.

Feeling his spirit crushed by the temperature, Yu Sen’s voice trembled and softened as he coquettishly said, “Hold me please…”

And then he rolled his eyes at himself inwardly.

Si Xuanyang didn’t argue about the clothes anymore, worriedly holding Yu Sen’s hands placed on his chest, and directly put them inside his clothes. The ice-cold temperature made his abdomen reflexively contract, but he didn’t step back, sternly advising, “Don’t open your mouth later, be careful not to choke, remember to breathe through your nose.”

The warmth on his body eased the pain in Yu Sen’s fingers and wrists slightly. Yu Sen’s eyes and nose stung from the cold wind, and he responded in a muffled voice, “Mm.”

At this time, Si Nan and Luo Yu had already picked up the dropped items and note.

The three items were: a bag of candy, a pumpkin lantern, and a pair of red and blue Western-style glasses.

The note read: “Eat the parade cake on Halloween night.”

“So the time inside here should be Halloween eve,” Luo Yu shook the pumpkin lantern in his hand.

The large pumpkin was attached to a strong wooden branch by a rope, swaying gently. Its flattened, oval shape was carved with eyes and a mouth. The eyes were narrow and upturned, and the mouth, resembling a clown’s lips, was wide open with jagged edges, looking both evil and comical.

The warm yellow candlelight inside cast a large, bright glow. Strangely, even though the wind was strong, the flame remained steady and didn’t flicker at all.

“It should be, let’s go find a place to stay,” Si Xuanyang nodded, holding Yu Sen as they moved forward.

There was a faint light source ahead. Though not very bright, it was quite noticeable in the darkness. They wasted no time, gathering their things and heading toward it.

They were walking against the wind, which blew so hard that it almost blinded them. If it weren’t for the increasing brightness of the light, they might have lost their way.

Yu Sen walked silently with his head down, his body growing numb and almost unfeeling. At first, he stayed close to Si Xuanyang, drawing warmth from him, but as his body became stiffer, he could barely feel the warmth anymore.

After mechanically taking the next step, Si Xuanyang suddenly released his hold and crouched down in front of him, saying in a deep voice, “Get on my back. This way, you’ll be exposed to the wind less… and my back will be warmer too.”

“What a lame excuse for wanting to warm your back,” Yu Sen lowered his head in silence, his mind taking a couple of seconds to react before he slowly climbed onto Si Xuanyang’s back.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move quickly; his limbs were already too stiff to do so.

If he pushed himself further, he might faint before they even reached their destination.

Yu Sen understood that agreeing to let Si Xuanyang carry him would certainly add to his burden, but if he persisted and fainted from stubbornness, it would be a severe blow to Si Xuanyang.

The cold wind was mostly blocked, and the pain in his chest eased a bit.

Yu Sen lay on his boyfriend’s warm, firm back and slowly tightened his arms around Si Xuanyang’s neck.

Si Xuanyang tilted his head slightly and called to him, “Baby? Ge? Can you stay awake a bit longer? We’re almost there.”

“Mm…” Yu Sen murmured softly, “And you stop talking.”

The cold wind was so uncomfortable.

Si Xuanyang smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting, and walked steadily and quickly with Yu Sen on his back.

…

After a while, they could gradually make out the light source. It seemed to be a European-style small town.

The town was decorated in classic Halloween style. Colorful lights were hung on the detached houses lining the roads, and various-sized pumpkins were piled up on the lawns. If one looked closely, there were realistic-looking mannequins in some yards, dressed in strange cloaks with grotesque devilish faces, and holding tall machetes…

“Surely we’re not just going to stay in any random place, right?” Si Nan rubbed his arms. The street was very quiet, but he felt like the odd items on either side were staring at him, giving him more chills than the cold wind.

“There’s someone ahead!” Luo Yu’s hand holding the pumpkin lantern shook when he saw the figure, and he couldn’t help but swallow.

Yu Sen heard this, raised his neck from Si Xuanyang’s back, and looked past his shoulder.

There was indeed a figure—a woman in black with long hair.

When she saw them, a stiff, uncomfortable smile appeared on her face, looking somewhat eerie.

Yu Sen shrank his neck, silently relieved that she wasn’t wearing red.

The woman was there to welcome them into her house.

Her house seemed to be the largest in the town, with a spacious yard scattered with orange-red pumpkins, and a few pointed witch hats hanging on the trees. The air was filled with the sweet smell of honey.

The woman, with her thin, dry fingers, pointed at several large boxes by the door and said in a raspy voice, “These are Halloween costumes prepared for you. Once you choose, you can’t exchange them, and you must wear them whenever you go outside.”

Si Xuanyang set Yu Sen down, frowning slightly at the boxes, “Are the costumes different?”

“Yes.”

“Can we open them and look before choosing?”

The woman gave him a strange look, “Of course not.”

Si Xuanyang pouted, helped Yu Sen lean against the doorframe, and quickly picked up each of the boxes to check their weight. Not wanting to waste time in the cold wind, he pushed one box in front of Yu Sen, saying, “This one is heavier, so it should be thicker. You take this one.”

Yu Sen tilted his head, somewhat confused about the connection, and wanted to ask if it might be a prop like Popeye’s barbell.

But it was so cold outside that he didn’t have the energy for such speculations. Trusting his boyfriend unconditionally, he bent down and slowly opened the box.

—The top layer was filled with layers of dresses.

^[1]Author’s note:

Yu Sen: Great! Just great! My boyfriend must have some ulterior motive! Thanks to everyone’s jade pendants, I used them to buy dresses for Yu Ge!