“Xiao Luo, why don’t you sleep with me tonight? Let President Song have your bed for the night.”

Wen Li, feeling a bit desperate, ignored Song Lingyuan’s pointed attempts to usher him out and looked softly at Luo Yu.

Luo Yu blinked. “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you, senior?”

“No trouble at all.”

“In that case, let’s avoid troubling you!” Luo Yu’s eyes curved into a bright smile.

Wen Li: …?

“My bed is a wide enough, so it’s no problem for two people.” Luo Yu, looking as if he were heroically sacrificing himself, nodded firmly. “You’ve had a long day too, senior. Get some rest!”

Wen Li opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but he held back, heaving a sigh before quickly leaving the room.

Once Luo Yu closed the door, it was just him and Song Lingyuan in the room.

The room fell silent.

Last night, he’d also shared a space with Song Lingyuan in that camo-colored tin cabin on Deer Mountain.

Back then, Luo Yu had only felt safe with Song Lingyuan; after all, this guy had a gun and serious combat skills.

But now he sensed a slightly awkward tension between them.

Before Song Lingyuan could say anything, Luo Yu quickly raised his voice:

“I’m going to shower first!”

With that, he grabbed his pajamas and dashed into the bathroom.

When Luo Yu came out, dressed in a set of soft, white cotton pajamas, he saw Song Lingyuan sitting on the wooden chair by the bed.

“You…”

“I’ll sleep here.”

Song Lingyuan sat straight-backed against the wooden chair, his gaze lowered as he handled messages on his phone. He lifted a finger slightly.

“You go sleep on the bed.”

“You… aren’t you going to shower?” Luo Yu finally managed to get the question out.

Song Lingyuan looked up at him briefly, then lowered his gaze again, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“I… don’t have any clothes to change into. I’ll wait until we’re done with everything…”

“Just wear mine!” Luo Yu ran over to the bedside table, yanked open a drawer, and gestured grandly. “I have tons of clothes here!”

Song Lingyuan turned to look at the drawer full of clothes, coughing lightly in embarrassment.

“Me… wear yours?”

“Yeah, they’re all brand new! My senior got me tons of pajamas for live streaming sales, but then we only streamed for one day before we had to stop.”

Luo Yu felt Song Lingyuan’s uncertain gaze looking him over, head to toe, and suddenly, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Are you really that opposed to my pajamas?”

“No, not at all.” Song Lingyuan quickly averted his gaze. “I just don’t want to wear clothes Wen Li bought.”

“Why? He has pretty good taste.” Luo Yu looked puzzled, pulling out a black silk long-sleeve and pants set. “Look, these are a bit big for me, but they might fit you perfectly!”

To his surprise, Song Lingyuan shook his head again, stubbornly saying, “No need. I’ll just stay here. You go to sleep.”

“No way!” Luo Yu protested, standing up and shoving the clothes into Song Lingyuan’s arms. “With someone sitting in the room, I can’t fall asleep! You’re really affecting my sleep quality!”

Seeing that Song Lingyuan was about to protest again, Luo Yu quickly added, “Remember last night? I was the one who helped you realize all the problems came from City A! You promised me that, in return, you wouldn’t disturb my sleep ever again!”

Song Lingyuan paused, recalling his promise from the night before. With a resigned sigh, he stood up, holding the silk pajamas reluctantly, and went into the bathroom.

Luo Yu finally let out a breath, arranging two pillows and two blankets on the bed.

After a few moments, Song Lingyuan emerged, frowning, looking distinctly uncomfortable in the too-short silk pajamas.

He looked up to find Luo Yu nestled under a floral-patterned blanket, eyes closed peacefully. Next to him lay another neatly arranged black-and-white checkered blanket, waiting for someone.

Had he… set it up for him?

Song Lingyuan stood by the bed, his heart unexpectedly racing. The past 24 hours had been exhausting—chased by assassins, misunderstood by everyone in the Hypnos League, and entangled in chaos with the Management Committee. Even at his most desperate moments, he’d only frowned slightly.

Yet now, his heartbeat was uncontrollably fast.

“Why aren’t you coming over?”

Luo Yu’s sleepy eyes opened slightly, and he yawned, patting the empty side of the bed.

“Hurry up, President Song.”

Song Lingyuan snapped out of it, quietly acknowledging with a nod. He walked to the bed, lifted the blanket, and lay down stiffly, hands crossed on his stomach, staring at the ceiling.

As he lay down, the mattress seemed to envelop him in a warmth he hadn’t felt before.

“So… have you really never slept in a bed before?”

Luo Yu was now watching him, amused, as if observing some intriguing creature.

Song Lingyuan was startled by the closeness of Luo Yu’s gaze, and his throat tightened slightly. “…No.”

“Then let me teach you! First, you need to close your eyes. Staring like that will keep you awake.”

Luo Yu reached out, gently covering Song Lingyuan’s deep blue eyes.

Song Lingyuan’s entire body tensed. The sudden darkness and the warmth of Luo Yu’s hand made his heartbeat even faster.

He took a deep breath, gently moved Luo Yu’s hand aside, and said softly, “I got it.”

“Good! And second, you don’t need to sleep like a corpse! Try curling up a bit; I find it most comfortable that way.”

Despite being an experienced sleep streamer, Luo Yu had never directly taught someone to sleep. He felt a bit excited and urged Song Lingyuan to try.

Song Lingyuan exhaled slowly and turned to face Luo Yu. Now, their faces were so close, they could feel each other’s breaths.

Luo Yu’s warm breath brushed his lips, making Song Lingyuan’s mouth tremble slightly before he managed to speak. “Like this?”

“Yes… does it feel more comfortable?” Luo Yu’s voice softened, almost shy.

Song Lingyuan noticed Luo Yu’s slightly flustered expression, his long, dark lashes casting delicate shadows on his cheeks. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to lie flat. “I think I’ll stick to lying on my back.”

“Oh, okay! I’ll do that too then!” Luo Yu quickly flipped onto his back.

With the distance restored, both of them let out a breath as if surfacing from underwater, the silence between them slightly awkward.

Luo Yu, thinking of something to say, noticed Song Lingyuan’s hand outside the covers and asked, “President Song, why do you always wear white gloves?”

Hearing this, Song Lingyuan slowly lifted his right hand, palm up.

Luo Yu turned and saw a faint pink scar that stretched from between his middle and index fingers down to his wrist, an unusual contrast to his strong hand.

“That’s…?”

“It’s from the story I told earlier,” Song Lingyuan replied, turning his palm down to hide the scar. “When I was selling roses, a vendor slashed me with a knife.”

“You didn’t mention it was this serious.”

“It’s all in the past.” Song Lingyuan shrugged, unconcerned. “I wear gloves so the media won’t focus on it. And while there are ways to remove scars, I chose to keep it.”

“Why keep it?”

“To remind myself, constantly, never to harm others.”

After Song Lingyuan said this, he glanced at Luo Yu, who looked confused, and sighed. “You think it’s strange?”

Luo Yu nodded slightly.

Song Lingyuan explained, “The Management s an international organization, and its relations with regional committees are very complex. For someone like me, moving between various regional factions, reminding myself not to harm others is sometimes truly necessary.”

Luo Yu nodded, understanding only partially, then turned to face Song Lingyuan again. He couldn’t resist reaching out a finger to lightly touch the scar on Song Lingyuan’s hand.

Song Lingyuan, caught off guard, pulled his hand back slightly. It was as if a string in his heart had been plucked.

He thought of withdrawing his hand, but in the end, he held back, leaving it in place and even turning his hand over, allowing Luo Yu to touch it.

Song Lingyuan closed his eyes and, after a moment, asked, “Do you often share a bed with others?”

“Of course not!” Luo Yu immediately pulled his hand back, looking flustered. “I’m letting you share the bed out of kindness, okay? I was just worried those people outside might try to attack you while you’re asleep!”

Song Lingyuan seemed taken aback and instinctively shifted closer to the edge of the bed.

“Hey—” Luo Yu, seeing Song Lingyuan practically hanging off the edge, quickly reached out to pull him back and accidentally grabbed a handful of firm abdominal muscles.

Song Lingyuan froze, grabbing Luo Yu’s hand. “Let go.”

“I was just trying to keep you from falling.” Luo Yu quickly retracted his hand, blushing as he saw Song Lingyuan settle back in bed. “Why are you so jumpy? I’m not going to do anything to you.”

Jumpy?

Song Lingyuan didn’t know what was wrong with him. He only felt a strange urge, pushing him to turn again, moving even closer to Luo Yu. “Aren’t you even a little afraid of me?”

Luo Yu, surprised by his sudden movement, replied reflexively, “What would I be afraid of?”

“Afraid of me… doing something to you?”

Luo Yu blinked. “Why would I be? I could just as easily do something to you—why aren’t you afraid?”

Song Lingyuan: …

Without warning, Song Lingyuan pressed down on Luo Yu’s left shoulder, flipping him onto his back and pinning him down as if he were a rabbit caught by a wolf.

His blue eyes stared coldly down at him. “Are you afraid now?”

Luo Yu froze, staring at Song Lingyuan as he blocked the light from above, casting a shadow over his face. His lips were so close.

Luo Yu swallowed hard. “I think… I’m a little scared now.”

“Then stay away from me, and don’t touch me again. Starting now, let’s just sleep, alright?”

Luo Yu nodded cautiously.

Just as Song Lingyuan was about to let go and return to his side of the bed, the door burst open with a loud “bang.”

“Song Lingyuan! What are you doing?”

Wen Li, looking shocked, quickly stepped in and forcefully pushed Song Lingyuan away from Luo Yu. “Is this what you call sleeping?”

Caught off guard, Song Lingyuan raised his hand, trying to explain, “I…”

“President Song was just helping me pull out a gray hair!” Luo Yu blurted out, catching his breath. “Senior, what’s going on?”

“A gray hair? You’re so young—where would you get a gray hair?”

Hearing this, Wen Li was briefly speechless, shooting Song Lingyuan a glare before sitting down on the bed. “Duan Dong has made a move.”

“Duan Dong went on a live stream to deny everything, tearfully claiming he was just following the Management’s orders and that they used him and then tried to ruin him.”

Song Lingyuan, his usual calm demeanor returning, sat up in bed. “Can your expert tracker crack Duan Dong’s real location?”

Wen Li frowned. “What?”

Song Lingyuan explained, “If he can set up a virtual address even the Association and management Committee can’t crack, maybe he can find Duan Dong’s real location from his live stream.”

Wen Li exchanged a knowing look with Song Lingyuan and understood his plan. Wen Li stood up, preparing to leave the room, but stopped at the door. “Song Lingyuan! Come with me. No more sleeping.”

Then, with a softer tone, he looked at Luo Yu. “Little Luo, you can stay and rest. Don’t worry.”

Luo Yu: …

He pulled the blanket up to his chin and nodded obediently.

Song Lingyuan glanced at both of them, his expression unreadable, then threw off the blanket and got out of bed.

“Song Lingyuan, why are you wearing the clothes I bought for Little Luo?” Wen Li’s gaze fell on the pajamas Song Lingyuan wore, and his anger flared up.

“Luo Yu gave them to me. What’s the problem?” Song Lingyuan retorted coldly.

Luo Yu: …

He slowly pulled the blanket over his head—only for Song Lingyuan to pull it down again. “Give me your phone.”

Luo Yu: “Mine?”

Song Lingyuan nodded.

Hesitating, Luo Yu handed it over, watching as Song Lingyuan entered his own number into it before tossing it back.

Holding his phone, Luo Yu watched the two of them finally leave and let out a sigh of relief.

He wanted to go see what was happening too, to know how things had progressed.

But he had a sleep task to complete first.

Curling up in the spacious bed, Luo Yu closed his eyes. Yet he couldn’t help but think of how close Song Lingyuan had been to him just now.

His face instantly turned red.

If not for the sleeping pills, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep tonight.

In the bedroom, Luo Yu placed a mint-flavored sleep tablet in his mouth and soon drifted into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, the basement hall had become lively again.

As Duan Dong suddenly jumped in to smear mud during a live stream, the members of the organization, who had been sleepy, angrily got out of bed and gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

“Luo Xuan, can you crack the address from Duan Dong’s live stream?”

After Wen Li left the bedroom, he walked straight to the folding bed of the tech genius and calculator expert, Luo Xuan, quickly making his request.

Luo Xuan pushed up his glasses, his fingers resting on the laptop computer on his lap, rapidly typing a few keys.

“Not a problem, give me ten minutes.”

Song Lingyuan followed Wen Li, kneeling on a nearby unoccupied folding bed, his expression serious as he watched Luo Xuan’s operations.

Ten minutes later, Luo Xuan stopped his work on time.

“Xiao Xiang Village.”

He adjusted his glasses again and added, “But I can only locate him within this village. I can’t confirm a more specific location. Is this useful to you?”

Wen Li turned to look at Song Lingyuan.

Song Lingyuan nodded. “Very useful. Thank you for your hard work.”

He took out his phone, made a call, and quietly assigned the inquiry task before putting his phone away and remaining silent, waiting.

The others gradually quieted down, nervously paying attention to what was happening with Song Lingyuan.

About ten minutes later, Song Lingyuan’s phone suddenly rang!

Everyone around him turned to look.

Song Lingyuan answered the call.

“President, we have something!”

“The Administrative Office of the Management Committee, the wife’s uncle of a newly hired administrative staff member, is the village chief of Xiao Xiang Village!”

Song Lingyuan pressed his temples and nodded.

Although it was a roundabout way, at least it established a direct connection to the Management Committee.

After hanging up, Song Lingyuan walked over to Luo Xuan.

“Anonymously expose the IP from Duan Dong’s live stream and its connection to the Management Committee on social media.”

Luo Xuan nodded and immediately got to work.

Within minutes of the information being exposed, thousands of comments began pouring in!

— It was like a raging fire that directly ignited and devouring the Management Committee!

In the eyes of netizens, the connections between Duan Dong and the President of the Management Committee, Duan Yixun, seemed almost undeniable!

In an instant, public sentiment against Duan Yixun intensified.

Some even proposed to oust Duan Yixun without waiting for the next election.

In the basement, all members of the Hypnos League abandoned their attempts to sleep, closely following the developments of this public opinion battle.

“It’s finally time for me to take revenge for my son!” “Sister, please bless us for a final victory!”

They were both anxious and excited, almost unable to contain their urge to celebrate.

After all, the election was just a few days away, and at this rate, it was certain that Duan Yixun would be removed from his position.

If Duan Yixun couldn’t control the army, then collecting evidence in court would be a breeze, and everything would come to light.

However, before they could rejoice for long, there was a sudden “swish”—

Luo Xuan abruptly sprang up from the bed!

Everyone fell silent.

“What happened?” Wen Li approached with concern, patting Luo Xuan’s shoulder.

Luo Xuan’s face had gone pale.

“It’s over, everything is over—they’ve found out it’s me.”

Wen Li furrowed his brow. “How could this happen? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be exposed?”

Luo Xuan could barely hold his phone steady, his entire hand trembling.

“It seems the Management Committee has called in professors from major universities’ of IT departments, and one of them is my professor from A University… He figured out my method of cracking. He just messaged me to ask.”

Wen Li’s expression shifted in an instant. “Don’t reply.”

Luo Xuan leaned against the wall and slowly sat down.

“Of course, I won’t reply. I’m not stupid enough to walk into a trap…”

Yet despite his words, he was trembling from head to toe and quickly dialed a number.

“Baby, don’t go to work today. Don’t open the door for anyone who knocks—”

He suddenly stopped, standing up from the bed in alarm.

“Where are you? Don’t cry, don’t be afraid.”

“Just wait, I’m coming to save you right now!”

Wen Li’s expression darkened as he pressed down on Luo Xuan’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? Luo Xuan, don’t panic…”

“How can I not panic!”

Luo Xuan suddenly yelled at Wen Li, shaking off his arm.

Before anyone could react, Luo Xuan dashed to the end of the basement.

A few strong men instinctively stepped forward, trying to stop him from running out of the basement but were met with Luo Xuan’s fierce resistance.

“Don’t stop me!”

“My mother has already died from anti-sleeping medication. I can’t lose my wife too!”

The men, clearly struck by his words, grew somber, but they still held onto him tightly.

“Let go of me! The Management Committee has already found her; she’s crying—can’t you hear her?”

The sound of a girl sobbing could be heard coming from the phone.

The men chasing after him felt a chill in their hearts, and one of them, empathizing, secretly loosened his grip.

“I’ve done enough for this organization; please let me go!”

Tears streamed down Luo Xuan’s face as he finally broke free from everyone’s hold, rushed up the stairs, and disappeared at the entrance of the basement.

“Are we really just going to let him go?” Song Lingyuan narrowed his eyes, his voice sharp as he looked at Wen Li.

Wen Li clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and glanced at the laptop on the bed.

“Those who handle tech… if they want to betray us, even if we keep him here, he can still do it.”

He let out a heavy sigh and turned to everyone in the basement:

“Everyone, from now on, disperse and escape!”

“Luo Xuan knows everyone’s real addresses and identities. If he exposes any information to save someone or reveals this hideout, none of us will be able to escape.”

As soon as Wen Li finished speaking, everyone in the basement instantly realized the gravity of the situation, hurriedly gathering their belongings and rushing towards the exit.

Though they were panicking, they weren’t completely hopeless—

Long before this live stream began, they had already considered the worst-case scenarios in their minds.

If they hadn’t been determined to fight back against the odds, they wouldn’t have shared the secrets of their family members’ deaths in front of so many people.

Seeing this, Song Lingyuan turned and quickly walked toward Luo Yu’s bedroom, but Wen Li reached out to stop him.

“What are you doing?”

Song Lingyuan shot him a cold glance. “I’m taking Luo Yu with me.”

Wen Li frowned. “Song Lingyuan, if you go with him, Little Luo will only face the danger of being chased! You should leave. I’ll drive Little Luo to the professor at the school.”

“The academic community has always maintained a neutral stance. Duan Yixun probably won’t want to provoke a third party at this critical moment.”

“Is that so?” Song Lingyuan scoffed coldly. “This mess was caused by the academic community too.”

Wen Li hesitated. “It was an accident. Most professors in the academic community, as far as I know, still remain neutral…”

Song Lingyuan’s deep blue eyes showed no emotion, and after several seconds of silence, he finally pushed Wen Li’s hand away as if conceding.

“Then I’ll go wake him up.”

Wen Li couldn’t stop him and had to let him open the door.

In the bedroom.

Despite the chaos outside, Luo Yu kept his eyes tightly shut, facing the door, buried in his pillow.

He was still clutching a pillow tightly.

He was sleeping soundly.

Song Lingyuan gently sat down at the edge of the bed and patted his back. “Luo Yu?”

“……”

The bedroom was utterly silent.

Song Lingyuan really suspected that only a deity could sleep so soundly.

He stood up after a moment of silence, helplessly collected a few clothes from Luo Yu’s drawer, stuffed them into a bag, and then leaned down to wrap Luo Yu completely in a floral-patterned quilt.

With one hand under Luo Yu’s knees and the other on his back, he lifted Luo Yu up like a dumpling, enveloped in the quilt.

Wen Li stood at the door, watching his actions. “You…”

“If I can’t wake him up, let him sleep,” Song Lingyuan said calmly.

Wen Li: …

Wen Li reached out, wanting to take Luo Yu, but Song Lingyuan bypassed him, coldly throwing out, “Lead the way.”

Time was of the essence, and Wen Li had no time to argue with Song Lingyuan; he could only quickly walk toward the exit, allowing Song Lingyuan to carry Luo Yu step by step up the ladder.

Soon, Wen Li approached the parking lot outside the construction site, where his private car was parked, and opened the back door.

Only then did Song Lingyuan carefully place Luo Yu in the back seat, making sure the quilt was neat and tidy around him.

After withdrawing his hand, Song Lingyuan gazed at Luo Yu’s face, unable to look away for a long time.

He didn’t know if he would have another chance to see the little streamer again after this separation.

Wen Li finally couldn’t bear it anymore and blocked his gaze:

“Song Lingyuan, put away your intentions. For now, we are indeed partners, but I won’t hand Little Luo over to you.”

Song Lingyuan coldly met his gaze. “Luo Yu is a person, not an object. He doesn’t need you to hand him over.”

“Heh.” Wen Li smiled, his eyes betraying nothing. “You should focus on staying alive first before debating this with me.”

With that, he slammed the back door shut and turned to the driver’s seat.

Ten minutes later.

At the underground hideout of the Hypnos League base II, everyone had evacuated.

Twenty minutes later.

The army from Area A surrounded the place but found nothing.

…

An hour later.

As the effects of the sleeping pills began to wear off, Luo Yu regained consciousness and turned over.

Why did the bed feel so hard?

His arms were cramped and uncomfortable.

Luo Yu hit something hard with his fist, confused, and opened his eyes.

His fist had landed on a deep black leather seatback, and above him was a black velvet ceiling—he was in the back seat of a car…

A car? Whose car?

“Song Lingyuan?” he called softly.

Had they started fleeing again?

The man in the driver’s seat turned his head upon hearing the voice.

“Little Luo, you’re finally awake.”

Luo Yu then saw that the person sitting in front was not Song Lingyuan, but Wen Li.

He quickly sat up, noticing they were parked under the history department office at A University.

“How did we end up here?”

Luo Yu’s hair was tousled like a little kitten’s when he had just woken up, and Wen Li reached out to ruffle it.

“Change your clothes first; we’ll talk as we go upstairs.”

Luo Yu then noticed that there was a plastic bag hanging on the back of the driver’s seat.

Someone had thoughtfully packed his outer clothes and placed them there.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, he scratched his head. “Thanks, senior. Did I trouble you?”

Wen Li followed Luo Yu’s gaze to the bag of clothes on the back seat and shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

With that, he opened the door and got out of the car.

Luo Yu quickly took off his pajamas and changed into a shirt and jeans before following Wen Li out of the car.

“Luo Xuan’s identity was exposed to the Management Committee by his former professor. The Management Committee took away his family. To save his family, Luo Xuan revealed our hideout.”

As they walked toward the history department office, Wen Li succinctly explained the situation to Luo Yu.

“What about the others?” Luo Yu asked nervously, looking at him.

Wen Li sighed deeply. “We had anticipated that the hideout might be exposed and had already decided to disperse and escape in advance.”

“But according to the news I just received, Luo Xuan not only exposed the hideout but also revealed… the real live streaming addresses and identity information of everyone who participated in the live stream last night.”

Wen Li clenched his fists, then relaxed them.

“The Management Committee has dispatched troops to pursue everyone who participated in the live stream.”

“Just a few minutes ago, quite a few people have already been captured.”

Luo Yu’s eyes widened in shock!

“Senior.” Luo Yu tightened his grip on his sleeves. “Aren’t we going to save them?”

“We?”

Wen Li let out a bitter laugh.

“What can we two do?”

“The Hypnos League is not an armed resistance organization; what we’ve always done is subtly influence people’s perceptions of sleep. If we are really suppressed, we wouldn’t be able to do anything at all.”

“Besides, they shouldn’t be in any life-threatening danger at the moment.”

“Duan Yixun probably just wants to control these people, to have them come forward and clear his name, and then turn the tides in public opinion.”

Luo Yu stopped at the door of the history department office, his tone agitated:

“But what happens to them once they’ve been used up and lost their value?”

Wen Li glanced at him and sighed, pulling up the text message interface and tossing his phone to Luo Yu:

“Don’t worry; President Song Lingyuan has already gone to rescue them.”

“He probably feels responsible for these people and has taken the initiative to go to the Management Committee to negotiate with Duan Yixun.”

Luo Yu felt a heavy sinking in his heart!

He grabbed the phone and saw the messages on the screen.

It was indeed a message from Song Lingyuan to Wen Li.

In it, besides assuring Wen Li that he would trade himself to get back all the members of the Hypnos League, there was also one line:

[Protect Luo Yu.]

Luo Yu stared blankly at these messages.

Song Lingyuan had actually taken the initiative to go to the Management Committee…

How could Duan Yixun let him off?

Would Song Lingyuan take all the blame upon himself to save the others?

But if that happened, the culprit wouldn’t be punished, and everything they had done would be in vain.

Luo Yu clenched the phone tightly:

“I want to go save them.”

Wen Li looked at him in surprise: “You?”

Luo Yu forced a smile:

“Senior, I’m a streamer with a million fans worldwide! The things I can do may exceed your imagination.”