After a muddled sleep that lasted two or three hours, Yu Sen woke up with his vision blurred.

The gloomy light inside and outside the room gave him an inexplicable feeling of emptiness and insignificance, like the end of the world.

He lay there motionless, lost in thought, his gaze slowly clearing until he noticed that outside the bay window, snowflakes were gently falling from the sky.

Each flake wasn’t very big, appearing about the size of a fingernail, like the snow in a crystal ball, floating lightly in the wind and taking a long time to descend.

— It’s snowing.

His lips moved weakly, and in the quiet air, his thoughts froze for a moment before he suddenly remembered that he was still under a spell, unable to speak, only capable of making soft, faint noises.

He closed his mouth and silently watched the snow falling outside the window before slowly shifting his gaze back to the ceiling, and then he suddenly realized that there was someone sitting in the armchair next to him.

Quietly, with their head propped up, they had been watching him intently and tenderly for a long time.

It felt like an eternity, as though they could never get enough of looking at him.

When Yu Sen’s gaze finally landed on them, Si Xuanyang smiled and said, “Finally awake? The first thing you look at after waking up isn’t me, but the window. I’m so hurt.”

Tsk!

You don’t look hurt at all.

Yu Sen lowered his gaze, expressionless, as he gathered his thoughts.

This is why some people shouldn’t take naps. Upon waking, their whole body feels as soft as mud, lying there with no strength, and their mind is completely blank.

Si Xuanyang stood up from the sofa, walked over to check Yu Sen’s forehead temperature. It was even hotter than when they had lunch.

Yu Sen lay quietly on the pillow, letting Si Xuanyang’s warm hand brush over his forehead and then down to his bare, warm neck to check his temperature. When Si Xuanyang’s fingertips brushed against his skin, it felt a bit ticklish and hot, but Yu Sen didn’t bother to move away.

There was no wind in the room, but his throat felt unusually dry, causing him to frown and clutch the blanket to his chest, coughing a few times.

After coughing, his brain briefly lacked oxygen, and the familiar dizziness quickly followed.

He let out a nasal whimper, and his eyes welled up with a layer of tears, appearing to Si Xuanyang like a misty rain in Jiangnan.

Although he felt sorry for Yu Sen, he still spoke with a hoarse voice, “Since you’re awake, you should either get up or go back to sleep. Just lying here will only make your cold worse.”

Yu Sen stared at him for a few seconds before extending a porcelain-white arm from the fluffy down blanket, reaching out to him.

Si Xuanyang grasped that hand, gently rubbing it with his thumb, patiently asking, “Do you want to get up?”

Yu Sen nodded. It was snowing outside, and he wanted to see it.

Si Xuanyang sighed, resignedly slipping his arm under the still-warm blanket, encircling Yu Sen’s smooth back, and half lifting, half carrying him out of the covers.

As his bare skin met the cooler air outside the blanket, Yu Sen’s body involuntarily shivered, shrinking into the demon’s embrace. But the cold chains wrapped around him made his skin prickle with goosebumps, and his body heat quickly dissipated.

Si Xuanyang hurriedly helped him put on the dress, its layers of inner lining piling up around his legs.

Yu Sen sat on the edge of the bed, his dress spread out on the messy bedding like the petals of a pure white rose. He lowered his head and eyes listlessly, with his black hair and soft lace revealing a neck as white as porcelain, giving off an indescribable feeling of something untouchable, yet making one want to touch it.

Si Xuanyang’s gaze darkened as he touched Yu Sen’s chin with his index finger, lifting it, and licked a touch of flushed red onto Yu Sen’s pale lips.

Yu Sen frowned, tilting his head back, placing his arm across his chest to push Si Xuanyang away, his eyes showing disapproval: “Mmph—!”

Si Xuanyang let go of him, softly wiping the ambiguous moisture from his lips, laughing lightly as he spoke, his voice low, “You won’t infect me. Have you forgotten I’m a demon? Demons don’t get sick.”

He stared at Yu Sen, paused, then teasingly said, “Only delicate princesses get sick.”

Heh.

Yu Sen expressionlessly pushed the demon’s face away and stood up to put on his hat.

……

Before heading downstairs, they observed for a while from the window. It was around 4:00 PM, but there didn’t seem to be many people with passes. Many were still wandering the streets, looking for opportunities.

In addition to opening snack bags, if one wanted to get the pumpkin lanterns from someone else’s yard to see if there was a card inside, they would have to trade their own pumpkin lantern.

The chances were slim, and most people wouldn’t easily use up their lanterns.

However, some lucky ones had already obtained a pass card, which meant the number of cards was indeed decreasing. If someone was truly unlucky, they might end up empty-handed until the night before Halloween.

The kitchen was filled with the scent of afternoon tea pastries and red tea, with a half-meter tall pot of curry simmering, filling the entire first floor with a rich aroma that whetted the appetite.

Even though Yu Sen’s body still felt weak and uncomfortable, the smell stirred a bit of hunger in him.

But it wasn’t mealtime yet, and everyone was outside. The house was empty, with only the sound of the burning logs in the fireplace.

Si Xuanyang asked Yu Sen to sit in the dining room while he went to the kitchen to toast some bread and serve some curry.

This kind of European-style house had wide, bright windows. Yu Sen nodded and let him go, then walked to the corner of the living room and stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass door leading to the backyard, admiring the snowy scenery.

The sky was gloomy, and the cold wind made the leaves rustle. The snow had just fallen, not yet accumulating on the ground. The snowflakes melted into water soon after landing, leaving a thin layer of frost on the ground, making the backyard look cold and damp.

A faint mist formed on the window due to the temperature difference, and Yu Sen absentmindedly traced circles on it with his finger, feeling the cold on his fingertip.

He sighed silently, curling his fingers in, unsure if he had the courage to step out of the warm house.

Just as he was about to turn around, he saw a reflection in the glass in front of him—a figure approaching from behind, accompanied by suddenly clear footsteps.

Yu Sen’s mind went blank for a moment before his eyes widened suddenly.

—This wasn’t Si Xuanyang!

He opened his mouth wide and quickly turned around, but immediately had his mouth and nose tightly covered by a hand. The intruder’s other hand wrapped around his waist like an iron band, pinning him in place.

The person’s chest pressed tightly against Yu Sen’s back, holding him firmly, hot breath blowing on his ear as he was pushed towards the backyard.

Yu Sen’s entire body went limp. He struggled twice but to no avail, only to be held even tighter. The person behind him kneed the back of his leg, causing a wave of soreness in his joints, almost making him collapse, but the assailant left no space between them.

“Mmm—!”

Damn it!

A flash of anger crossed Yu Sen’s eyes, his chest heaving, but he couldn’t muster any strength. With his mouth and nose covered, the lack of oxygen and dizziness only worsened, completely overwhelming his weak body.

Judging by the close body heat and breath, this was obviously an ordinary person, a player just like them.

They had never encountered someone so brazen in previous worlds. Moreover, this was the last world for Yu Sen and his group, and they had already completed most of their tasks. Yu Sen’s body was weak, so he had unconsciously let his guard down, not expecting to get caught off guard like this!

The assailant was clearly prepared. Noticing Yu Sen’s resistance and attempt to make noise with his feet, they loosened the grip on his waist, took out a finely crafted short knife, and pressed it against his neck.

“If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t move!” the person whispered in Yu Sen’s ear.

The sharp, cold blade wasn’t held steadily, and Yu Sen’s thin skin was immediately cut, a small line of blood oozing out. Although the amount wasn’t much, it was enough to stain the lace on his neck a dark red.

The sight of the blood against his pale skin was breathtakingly beautiful.

Yu Sen inhaled sharply from the pain, but the assailant didn’t realize he couldn’t speak and continued to cover his mouth and nose. The struggle between suffocation and the stinging cold pain pushed him to the brink, even forcing a single tear to roll down, scalding hot, onto the back of the assailant’s hand.

Fuck, fuck, fuck—!

Yu Sen cursed a thousand times in his mind—cursed the clock, cursed the attacker, and cursed his own uncooperative body.

He even cried! How embarrassing!

But no matter how much he raged internally, to the assailant, he was just a delicate, soft beauty, as fragile as ice that could shatter with a single blow.

And now, this beauty had been hurt, tears welling in his eyes, looking so pitiful that just a glance could tug at anyone’s heartstrings.

A wave of heat surged through the assailant, his gaze darkening slightly as he whispered, “Don’t move, and you won’t get hurt.”

Yu Sen’s eyelashes trembled slightly, a clear pool of tears collecting on his long lower lashes, ready to fall at any moment.

The assailant, holding Yu Sen’s increasingly limp body, quietly sneaked out of the house and into the backyard.

…

In a corner of the backyard by the stone wall, a dead-end, it was impossible to see this spot from the living room.

Yu Sen was pinned against the stone wall, the sudden cold air piercing his body, making him shiver uncontrollably. He could only rely on the wall behind him, the hand around his waist, and the blade against his neck to stay upright.

He recognized the attacker’s face—it was Yuan Fei, a companion of Huang Zhengxuan.

Yuan Fei stared at Yu Sen’s pale face, bloodshot eyes filled with madness. He swallowed unconsciously, his hand trembling, causing more blood to seep from the knife’s edge.

Yuan Fei hoarsely whispered, “I won’t hurt you as long as you hand over your pass card.”