Chapter 12

Night had deepened, and the lights were extinguished.

Exhausted after another tiring day, both body and mind weary, Zhong Nian climbed into bed and pulled the covers over himself.

Before closing his eyes, he remembered something and opened the live stream window for another look. He was somewhat surprised.

The Live Stream Room, which had been desolate and empty about half an hour ago, now had a three-digit number of viewers, and the count was still steadily rising.

The barrage area had accumulated a dense cluster of messages in the meantime.

【? Holy crap, what a super treasure of a new streamer.】

【From today on, I’m camping here.】

【What’s going on? Just browsing around and I found my long-lost wife…】

【Love at first sight.】

……

【The streamer is so gentle, even applying medicine for his roommate.】

【That kid’s acting off.】

【Why’s the streamer sneaking a smile while applying medicine on him?】

【No mistake, that poke just now got him off.】

【Holy super obsessive admirer.】

……

【Wife’s going to bed, wife tucked in, wife checking the barrage, wife, I’m right here!】

【Streamer, do you remember? When we were kids, you played at your house, I played at mine, we didn’t know each other, but heaven arranged a childhood betrothal for us.】

【He’s blushing, hehe.】

【Sorry.】

“……” Zhong Nian’s expression shifted repeatedly.

What the hell was all this?

Were there any normal people watching the stream… Had the game driven them all insane?

That said, gifts kept trickling in steadily. Zhong Nian had no concept yet of the prices in the Rest Area after clearing the game, so just in case, he wanted to stockpile as much as possible.

Thus, he left the stream running without turning it off and went to sleep.

The dormitory fell silent. In the darkness, only Zhong Nian’s live stream window emitted a faint glow visible solely to him as the player.

With the streamer asleep and no interactions, and this not being some high-tension Instance crawling with hidden dangers, the Live Stream Room’s heat didn’t drop at all.

The viewers inside were entertaining themselves.

【He’s so pretty… While the beauty sleeps, I’m going wild licking licking licking.】

【Side-sleeping with both hands neatly tucked by his face—so obedient, like a little baby. Wanna pinch him.】

【Sleeping so soundly, cheeks all flushed.】

【Wife, you have to clear this successfully. If you die, I’ll be a widower.】

【Streamer’s got guts. Normal newbies don’t dare sleep at night.】

【This Instance doesn’t seem to have any inhuman entities, right? Should be fine.】

【? Why do I see the guy in the next bed with his eyes open?】

【Fuck! For real, he hasn’t moved a muscle—thought he was asleep.】

【He’s up. What the hell’s he gonna do?】

【He’s at the streamer’s bedside… Not about to do something shady, is he?】

【Aaaah, no waterboarding play!】

【Baby, wake up!!】

Dead to the world in deep sleep, Zhong Nian remained oblivious to his roommate’s approach.

Ke Zhengchu slipped out of bed almost soundlessly, his breathing lightened to a whisper.

In the night shadows, he was like a wraith, standing silently by Zhong Nian’s bed, gazing down at him for a long time.

The peacefully sleeping youth harbored no defenses against the other adult male in the room. His sleeping face was serene and tranquil, long lashes drooping, breaths shallow and even. Soft silver-white strands scattered across the pillow, tempting one to reach out and touch.

After an unknowable stretch of time, the motionless Ke Zhengchu extended one hand.

As if afraid to startle a resting butterfly, he gingerly brushed the youth’s lashes with his fingertip, flicking them back and forth twice, then moved to the other side for two more flicks…

Then, he pinched a lock of hair between forefinger and thumb, rubbing it between his fingers.

The texture felt different.

Ke Zhengchu thought to himself, his gaze lingering on Zhong Nian’s cheek.

He clenched his molars, held back for a moment, but couldn’t resist.

His forefinger prodded the soft, warm cheek flesh—like poking into a marshmallow, sinking right in.

Ke Zhengchu couldn’t quite describe the sensation, only that his heart itched fiercely. A strange impulse bubbled up, urging him to knead it hard, maybe even take a bite to test if the addictiveness matched.

Unconsciously, he pressed a bit harder. Zhong Nian’s mouth puffed out and parted like elastic dough leaking from a slit. When he eased off, the lips closed again. Poke—puff open. Ease—close…

The Live Stream Room viewers caught the whole scene crystal clear.

【Dude, you’re actually playing with him now…】

【Had your fun yet? My turn, my turn!】

【Baby, you’re such a huge cutie even asleep.】

【I’m speechless watching this. Kid, staying up half the night just for this?】

【Got my hands itching. Frantically poking the screen but zero sensation, wuwu.】

【Stop poking, he’s gonna wake up!!】

Ke Zhengchu naturally noticed the youth stirring—brows furrowing faintly, lashes quivering. One more touch and he’d wake.

Reluctantly, Ke Zhengchu withdrew his hand.

He no longer disturbed the sweet dream, simply sitting at the bedside to watch him.

……

“Toot—toot—”

One blast after another, the horns blared until the entire ship vibrated faintly.

After six blasts, Zhong Nian jolted awake.

He’d had a bizarre nightmare of turning into dough, kneaded and pinched by someone. Half-waking midway, he’d glimpsed a suspicious shadow looming in the dimness and, without thinking, swung a slap.

“Slap—!”

The feel of his palm striking flesh made Zhong Nian freeze. He scrambled back against the wall, then to the foot of the bed and flicked on the room light.

The light illuminated Ke Zhengchu’s face. His skin was already pallid without a trace of color, making the red handprint on his right cheek stand out starkly.

“H-How was it you…” Once he recovered, Zhong Nian crawled back over. Wanting to touch Ke Zhengchu’s cheek but hesitant, he floundered, “Sorry, sorry! Did I hurt you? I opened my eyes, saw you there, got startled and…”

“It’s fine, doesn’t hurt.” Ke Zhengchu said expressionlessly, proactively leaning his face into Zhong Nian’s palm.

“Then you…”

Ke Zhengchu explained, “The ship was sounding the horn just now.”

Zhong Nian paused.

He suddenly recalled the horn blasts from his dream.

Six in total—an SOS signal.

Realizing something must have happened, he forgot his other questions, slipped out of bed, shoved on his shoes, and headed out.

Others from nearby rooms had been roused too, emerging to check. Amid the murmurs, they spotted the beautiful youth in his thin sleepwear with its crooked collar—and talk died as eyes unanimously tracked him.

Unfortunately, someone soon caught up from behind, draping a jacket over the youth and blocking most of the view with his body.

“Wind’s strong outside. Don’t catch a chill,” Ke Zhengchu said.

But Zhong Nian paid it no mind. His expression grave, he scanned the overly calm sea under the night sky.

The Cruise Ship had stopped.