Tao Xiu frequently hosted friends. When Qiao Zhi’an entered, the TV was already on, and the evening’s coffee table was set with drinks, snacks, and game controllers.

Tao Xiu struggled for a long time when asked what happened, not knowing where to begin.

Finally, he simply said, “To sum it up in one sentence, I unexpectedly acquired a pile of gold.”

With that, he lifted the bag of dog food from the corner and set it down with a “thud” on Qiao Zhi’an’s lap.

“But it’s a good thing, I guess. With this gold, I won’t have to change the botanical garden.”

It was a good thing that day, he had only discussed an intention with the contractor.

Qiao Zhi’an stared at the pile of gold in shock, forced to swallow the words he hadn’t had a chance to say yet, like, “I’ve already told my dad about funding the orphanage, and he’s agreed.”

Tao Xiu didn’t notice what the other party was thinking and continued, “I’m not very familiar with the procedures for large-sum targeted donations over the past two years. Trying to figure out the process myself would waste time. Your family often handles these things. Could I trouble you to help me donate this to all the orphanages in A City?”

Qiao Zhi’an paused, not pressing for the gold’s source, but just sighed and said, “Leave it to me.”

He remembered something else: “Oh, right, your blood test results are back. There’s nothing abnormal; you’re very healthy, not even with any allergies.”

His gaze swept over the dark red marks on Tao Xiu’s right hand as he spoke.

He pulled a tube of ointment from his pocket and tossed it to Tao Xiu, saying, “This is medicine I got from a dermatology colleague for removing melanin deposits. They say it’s quite effective.”

Tao Xiu was watching a recorded football match, his eyes almost drooping from exhaustion.

For some reason, he had been feeling incredibly sleepy lately.

He stretched to wake himself up, casually took the ointment, placed it on the table, and thanked him.

The more Qiao Zhi’an looked at the marks, the more displeased he became, so he couldn’t help but say, “Isn’t whatever’s behind that door a bit rude? It hasn’t even met you yet and already messed up your hand like this. How are you going to go out? —By the way, is your house a bit cold? —Ow, my god!”

Suddenly, with a “hiss,” a can of cola next to the ointment on the table rattled loudly.

The pull tab at the top popped open with a “bang.”

The ointment silently vanished, and the fizzy carbonated drink, fizzing, shot towards Qiao Zhi’an with lightning speed, drenching him from head to toe.

Not a single drop touched Tao Xiu, who was sitting beside him.

The empty cola can rolled onto the floor, instantly twisting into a knot—as if someone had angrily crushed it.

Qiao Zhi’an, stunned for a moment, said, “Achoo!”

This is so damn weird!

Tao Xiu, completely dumbfounded: “…”

This was the first time he’d bought cola of such poor quality.

This was way too dangerous!

Behind the utility room door, the man looked at the ointment in his hand and coldly “hmphed.”

The ointment immediately turned to dust in his hand.

He stared fixedly at the door, his expression growing colder and colder.

Silence fell in the living room.

Tao Xiu’s brow twitched. He pointed to the bathroom: “…Anyway, do you want to shower and change first? Guest toiletries are still in their original spot.”

Qiao Zhi’an “Achoo’d” again, nodded, and walked towards the bathroom.

Tao Xiu cleaned up the cola on the table and floor, then went to get clean clothes for Qiao Zhi’an.

As he stepped out of the bedroom, he heard a desperate cry from the bathroom: “—Damn it, Tao Xiu, come quick! Your shower head has gone crazy!”

Tao Xiu was startled and strode towards the bathroom.

Upon opening the door, Qiao Zhi’an stood there awkwardly, wrapped in a towel, still drenched in cola.

He wiped the cola from his face, disregarding his principle of never losing face in front of Tao Xiu.

He pointed at the shower head and said, “Damn it, your shower head is spraying ice-cold cola!”

Tao Xiu: “???”

He quickly stepped forward and turned on the shower head: it was normal hot water.

Qiao Zhi’an’s eyes nearly popped out: just a moment ago—

Tao Xiu looked at the shower head suspiciously, then at Qiao Zhi’an: his friend wasn’t the type to lie.

If something truly unexplainable by rules and common sense had occurred… could it be—

So Tao Xiu placed the clean clothes on the shelf and said, “The shower head is fine now. You shower first, I’ll go check outside.”

Without waiting for Qiao Zhi’an’s reply, he closed the door and left the bathroom.

He went to the utility room door and was surprised to find that the clean white wall surrounding it, with the door at its center, was now stained with an unknown black substance.

Could the other party’s ability be related to these black substances?

Tao Xiu took a deep breath, opened the door, and then suddenly widened his eyes.

Behind the door was no longer the pitch-black room, but his brightly lit utility room. Inside the room, tall modular shelves lined the wall, holding his old books and items, and his cleaning tools were against another wall.

In the middle of the floor was a clean plate, the one Tao Xiu had filled with dog food and placed in the room.

Tao Xiu frowned slightly.

He closed the door and opened it again; it was still the utility room.

He opened it casually without thinking of anything; it was still the utility room.

He tried several more times, and the results were all the same.

He looked at the doorknob in wonder: Had this door finally broken completely?

In that case, he would never find someone who might be in a similar situation to him.

After all, he had never seen the other party with his own eyes, had no contact information for them, and no specific address.

Even if he were lucky enough to create such a door again, he still couldn’t contact them.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed. But—

Tao Xiu’s lips curved into a gentle, relieved smile: Even if he didn’t meet a fellow kind, the other party was surviving in their own way. They would continue to survive in the same way afterward.

He walked into the room, bent down to pick up the plate, then turned to leave.

Before closing the door, he silently wished in his heart: My fellow kind, I wish you and your dog eternal happiness and never loneliness in this world.

With a soft “thud,” Tao Xiu completely sealed this beautiful “accident” behind the door.

…

After that door was completely “broken,” no more strange things happened.

Qiao Zhi’an smoothly showered and changed.

They gathered as usual, watched a recorded classic football match, and ate dinner.

As it was too late, Qiao Zhi’an stayed overnight on the sofa in the living room.

Before saying goodnight, Qiao Zhi’an casually added, “Tomorrow I have lunch with my old man. His crappy villa is too far from the city, so I’ll leave directly early tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about me, get more sleep.”

This was a condition for his dad’s help—even though the help was no longer needed, he had still promised to return.

Tao Xiu paused: his friend had always had a strained relationship with his family; why would it suddenly soften?

Although curious, he didn’t press for details about his friend’s family, simply saying, “Got it, goodnight.”

Before completely falling asleep, Tao Xiu vaguely hugged the blanket, thinking: Tomorrow is Sunday.

After tomorrow, he can go back to work. He missed working after so many days off…

…

Meanwhile.

In a room overflowing with thick darkness.

The man sat behind a luxurious desk, his pale, strong fingers impatiently tapping the tabletop, making dreadful “thumping” sounds.

Three large dogs lay at his feet with their tails tucked, not daring to move.

The man’s handsome face was now covered in frost:

His little servant worshipped him so devoutly.

The second time he used bodily fluid to awaken him, it was his fresh blood—yes, he already knew that the blood clot the little fellow offered him last time wasn’t his own.

But what did that matter?

He still ultimately offered his own blood for him, so sweet, so captivating.

But now, his little servant, who should belong to him entirely, had been bewitched by a malicious scoundrel.

He had to punish that bad guy, cut off their connection, and punish the little servant by keeping him from seeing him.

Of course, if the little servant realized his mistake, chased that guy out, and then offered him a new tribute as an apology, he would forgive him no matter what the offering was.

But so much time had passed, and he had checked 99 times, yet the little fellow still hadn’t refilled the serving dish with an offering and placed it back in that room!

Had he fainted from sadness?

Or did he simply not know that even if the connection was cut, he could still discover it if he actively checked whenever the offering was placed in that room?

…

The man’s mood grew increasingly agitated.

After an unknown wait, the man frowned and snapped his fingers casually.

At that moment, in a house where it was already early morning the next day, the utility room, which had returned to normal, subtly changed again.

As if reanimated, the ring of black substance that had infiltrated the wall around the utility room door once again aggressively spread outwards.

The man stared deeply at the door in the darkness, thinking, now that it’s reconnected, the little fellow should know to put the offering in, right?

…

Outside, Qiao Zhi’an noticed nothing unusual.

After washing up, he quietly put on his jacket and tidied the sofa.

Then, he gently glanced at the bedroom door and was about to head towards the main door, carrying the bag of gold.

…

Inside the door, the darkness surged wildly.

The man’s scarlet eyes grew even colder in the darkness: that bad guy with ill intentions towards the little fellow still hadn’t left.

With a “crack,” the table turned to dust due to its master’s change in mood.

The man stared grimly towards the door: if it were his usual self, he would immediately make that annoying fellow disappear.

But for some reason, he instinctively felt he absolutely couldn’t do that.

It was as if, if he did, everything would become irreversible.

Why did he have such a thought?

After a moment of contemplation, he snapped his fingers again.

…

Qiao Zhi’an opened the main door and stepped out.

A moment later, his face was blank.

He was now standing on a street bathed in the morning light, clutching a large bag of gold.

Scattered pedestrians walked past him.

The iconic landmark of B City, a thousand miles from A City, stood brightly before him.

His phone buzzed.

It was his dad calling, urging him to come home quickly.

Qiao Zhi’an answered the call, twitching his lips: “Dad, believe it or not, I have to take a plane home just to have lunch with you. See how filial I am? To earn good karma for your extremely filial son, maybe you should do fewer unscrupulous things from now on!”

…

Having “punished” Qiao Zhi’an, the man felt much better. He even leisurely walked out of the door and into the young man’s sleeping room.

The young man was still clutching the blanket, his head completely nestled in a soft pillow, his cheeks flushed from sleep, his eyelashes long and lovely.

Beneath the thin pajamas was the young man’s warm, pale body.

The man seemed mesmerized. He leaned over the bed, smiling as he extended a cold, pale hand and used a finger to lift the other’s chin: “You’ll soon make an offering and apologize to me, won’t you? I will forgive you.”

The sleeping Tao Xiu frowned and forcefully slapped the hand away with a “smack,” childishly muttering, “What the…?”

Then he turned over and continued to sleep.

The man: “…”

He was about to do something else when he suddenly paused and sharply looked towards the door.

A strange smile slowly crept onto his handsome face.

He looked back at the young man on the bed with near-obsession: “So, you’ve already prepared a toy for me to apologize with?”

…

Outside the main door, Player 2, Chen Ji, was ferociously prying the door open.

He had to kill this core today!