A scorching heat gathered.
Huo Tingfeng was utterly terrified, practically springing away from Shen Leyuan.
But Little Dog’s body was under the bed, limiting his range, so he could only stand awkwardly in front of Shen Leyuan. Even though he knew the other couldn’t see him, he still couldn’t help reaching down to cover himself.
Shen Leyuan looked puzzled. “Mr. Chu?”
Huo Tingfeng hesitated, taking half a step forward then back, watching as the young man groped worriedly at the air, placed his hand on the phone, and waited for a response—only to look disappointed when nothing came.
He didn’t dare get close. Not at all.
That thing’s got issues!
It wouldn’t budge before, no matter what. Now it stands up for no reason. Is this the time to crow like a rooster?
Yet it was as if his mind and body had split apart. No matter how unwilling he was in his heart, the burning heat in his palm kept rising, refusing to stop until it crowed the sun into the sky.
Yawning, Shen Leyuan felt a bit sleepy, but Mr. Ghost had vanished so suddenly that he wasn’t entirely at ease. He decided to wait a little longer.
No disappointment this time—he got a response soon enough.
Mr. Ghost gently pinched one of his fingers, typing with careful force: 【Sorry, I was too nervous just now.】
Shen Leyuan: “As long as you’re okay. Is there anything else I can help with?”
Huo Tingfeng: 【No.】
Shen Leyuan: “Then I’ll rest. You should rest well too.”
Huo Tingfeng wanted to rest well, but the rooster crowing was driving him mad, and he couldn’t return to Little Dog’s body for the moment. He could only squat miserably by the bed, puffed up like a huge, frustrated ball.
Lost in a whirlwind of wild thoughts, Huo Tingfeng didn’t notice Shen Leyuan getting off the bed.
Shen Leyuan didn’t notice the Huo-ball by the bedside either.
He accidentally stepped on some part of the ball, lost his balance in panic, and was about to crash into the bed frame when an invisible hand suddenly wrapped around his waist. Another hand cradled the back of his head, pulling him firmly—
Smack!
He face-planted into the pillow again. This time, it was a bit bouncy. A bit painful.
Rubbing his face, Shen Leyuan picked up his phone with a subtle expression, set it down, said “thank you,” and headed off to handle an urgent biological need.
Huo Tingfeng’s gaze followed him into the hotel bathroom. On the semi-transparent frosted glass, a hazy silhouette appeared—moist skin tone, slender waist—burning into his pupils. Blurry, yet impossible to look away from.
Earlier that evening, when Shen Leyuan showered, he’d huddled in the corner listening to the water sounds without a second thought. Now, his face suddenly flushed, heart pounding.
He rubbed his face vigorously and turned away.
Maybe because he’d been bumped right at his heart earlier, it was racing wildly now. Heat burst from his chest, spreading through his limbs. The only silver lining was that the rooster wasn’t crowing anymore.
He peered down carefully. Yeah, the commotion had died down a bit.
He shoved the matter aside for now, lest he spiral into more thoughts and unwanted images.
Having handled his business, Shen Leyuan was wide awake.
Left hand holding the phone, right hand hovering hesitantly over the screen: 【Mr. Chu, do you really not need me to burn some clothes for you?】
Huo Tingfeng stood a short distance away, not even glancing at him.
Shen Leyuan waited and waited, then called out hesitantly, “Mr. Chu, are you still there?”
Only then did Huo Tingfeng realize he wanted to communicate. He shuffled over reluctantly, typing in a posture that split his body and hand apart: 【Burning clothes or not, it’s the same.】
Shen Leyuan pondered along those lines and suddenly got it. “I’m wearing clothes, and so is Mr. Chu, so it’s not a clothes problem!”
Huo Tingfeng: ……
He skipped the topic guiltily: 【Am I troubling you?】
Not really, just a bit awkward.
Shen Leyuan shook his head, then blurted out as if struck by a thought, “Mr. Chu, could you not move for a moment?”
Huo Tingfeng: ?
Full of doubts, but he obeyed obediently.
He froze in place, watching as the young man traced slowly up his arm, stopping at the shoulder. No telling if the next move would be face or chest.
His heartbeat accelerated, as if it would leap from his flesh into someone else’s palm.
Should I dodge? Or lean in?
Huo Tingfeng had no idea.
He stiffened into a scorching statue under the blazing sun. If someone told him to move, he probably wouldn’t know where to start.
“I knew it…”
Shen Leyuan withdrew his hand, saying helplessly, “That was an accident earlier. You don’t have to be so tense.”
This posture, this distance—Mr. Ghost definitely wasn’t nearsighted.
The rooster crowed, shattering the skies.
If the other hadn’t stopped, that undependable thing might’ve gotten even more undependable. Huo Tingfeng didn’t dare think further—his palms were slick with hot sweat.
Shen Leyuan silently wiped his hands with a tissue, thinking Mr. Ghost had really thin skin. So much sweat from nerves.
Tall and upright, impressive pecs, upright and gentle but bad at comforting people, and easily shy… Such an image formed in Shen Leyuan’s mind.
Who the hell is this guy I’ve met?
His curiosity grew, but Mr. Ghost clearly didn’t want to introduce himself.
He held back the urge to pry, didn’t mention the earlier mishap, and after some mutual testing, they settled on a comfortable position and distance.
Not bad at all.
Shen Leyuan thought hazily, drifting between sleep and wakefulness.
In the pitch-black detention center, Fatty’s experience was the polar opposite.
His face was bruised and swollen, his body covered in even more wounds. Pain made his lips tremble as he huddled in the corner, sobbing snot and tears: “Please, can you just beat me all at once? This, this is already…”
Fatty wailed: “This is the third wave!!!”
Right after nightfall, someone had suddenly jumped him. Barely two minutes in, cops busted it and dragged the attacker out. He hurt all over and was terrified, suspecting the big boss wanted him silenced.
Before he could figure it out, another group swarmed him for a fresh round of punches and kicks.
He’d learned by now—soon as anyone approached, he curled up howling. Sure enough, the on-duty officer rushed over fast.
“They, they…” Fatty pointed at a few guys, too choked to speak clearly.
The guys looked innocent: “He was yowling ‘ouch ouch’ so annoyingly, we just came to check. That’s not breaking rules, right, officer?”
Fatty bawled: “You’re all in on it, letting people in on purpose to beat me!”
The young on-duty cop was helpless. He disliked Fatty sure, but not enough for revenge. He’d swapped roommates twice already, and each time Fatty got pummeled.
Fine. He swallowed his frustration and swapped again.
Peace lasted maybe two or three hours.
As dawn neared—the darkest hour—Fatty’s taut nerves loosened. Drowsy, on the verge of sleep, his eyes snapped open in horror just before they fully closed.
In the dim light, someone grinned, flashing faint white teeth.
The on-duty cops thought it was over. The two at the door even chatted idly about post-shift breakfast spots. Then a message from the monitoring room hit: Get in there NOW.
They were right at the door for this watch, so they arrived lightning-fast.
They’d done their best. Probably because they’d stayed up half the night with pent-up frustration, the thugs beat him extra viciously this time. Fatty clutched his chest, sobbing convulsively: “Please, hurry up and start your shift, okay? I’ll confess! I’ll confess everything!”
A young cop muttered: “Not every roommate, right?”
Fatty jolted, choking back tears to beg: “Don’t swap anyone else in, please! I’ll spill everything!”
“But the station’s packed tonight—fights reported, brawlers hauled in…”
He trailed off.
His colleague patted the now-realizing young cop sympathetically: “Forget it. Cram the other rooms. If this keeps up, we’ll all catch hell tomorrow.”
To Fatty, he tsked in amazement: “You’re something else. How many people did you piss off?”
Fatty thought: Four rich kids. Except the nice-tempered one, the other three could’ve done it—lines up with tonight’s three waves… Wait, does the one who didn’t count?
Whatever. Someone definitely wanted him dead!
Fatty’s eyes turned vicious. You guys are heartless? Fine, I’ll drag you down for a lighter sentence. Won’t even cough up three mil? Rot in here with me!
He went full rabid dog, pulling out recordings and surveillance clips.
The video was veiled, clearly a hidden cam stitched inside clothes—Fatty shaking someone down for cash, whining that two hundred thousand was running low. The guy denied it flat-out but slipped a word or two when annoyed.
Fatty had saved it to squeeze the rich kids later, once they inherited.
Now it had new use.
Director Hao was dead set on the case. Even with the rich kids’ families, they’d squat a few days in the station—especially with their clans tied up in recent messes, too swamped to care.
Deliberately, perhaps, all four rich kids ended up rooming with Fatty.
Enemies eye to eye, blood boiled extra hot. Fatty jabbed a red-eyed finger: “You tried to silence me!”
“First off, I have no clue what you’re on about.” The oldest-ish one put on airs, smiling: “Second…”
His face twisted, and he backhanded viciously: “Pig eat your brain? Why hire goons for a problem money fixes? Just to beat you up?!”
Fatty: “Three times! Three times!!!”
Hearing that dumb line, another snapped, inching close with gritted teeth: “Three beatings and you’re still alive? You think we did it?!”
Of the other two young rich kids, one watched coldly without a word, the other still clueless: “Hire killers? Kill who? What’d you do behind my back?”
No answers, just Fatty’s pig-slaughter screams piercing the air.
The explosive group brawl boiled down to a few scant lines on Shen Leyuan’s phone, not stirring a ripple in him.
Trivial stuff. Nothing compared to taking his pup back for a hospital checkup.
Pup showed no doc trauma, lying obediently for the exam.
“Doctor, why’s my baby sleeping so much lately?”
Shen Leyuan asked worriedly: “Sleeps half the day now. Eats then crashes again. Wasn’t like this even right after the injury.”
Little Dog’s ears perked stealthily, eyeing the doc’s face.
The doctor shrugged casually: “No issue. Self-healing tires them out. It’ll pass soon.”
Shen Leyuan stroked the fur, somewhat reassured.
Had he watched closely, he’d see the fluffball’s guilt. Had he checked his phone, he’d spot Alipay and Taobao logins from another account. Had he searched the hotel room thoroughly, he’d find pills tucked in the bed corner.
Little Dog wasn’t sleeping. Little Dog was drugged.
Sensing Shen Leyuan’s lingering unease, Huo Tingfeng—who knew what got into him—suddenly licked a finger near his mouth.
Shen Leyuan froze, scooped it up for a kiss, delighted: “Baby licked Daddy?”
First time, maybe. Before, it was always bites.
Huo Tingfeng: !!!
He flashed to the crowing rooster, shoving desperately with tiny paws. After a few, he remembered he was a pup and went limp peacefully.
Little Dog’s good. Little Dog’s pure. Little Dog’s stable.
Little Dog better not grow up.
The dorm group blew up. Shen Leyuan cradled Little Dog, checking his phone.
Little Dog whined softly, peeking down too.
Glasses Guy spammed: 【@Shen!!!!!!!! Bro! Get out here!】
Nurse Me Once More: 【@Look at THIS!!!】
Nurse Me Once More: 【[[Video]]】
Nurse Me Once More: 【AAAAAAAAAA】
Nurse Me Once More: 【Firsthand drama, but I got it thirdhand from a buddy at the other school!】
Nurse Me Once More: 【@Shen Spill it—was it YOU who turned down the Lin Family young master?!】
What the…?
Shen Leyuan blinked: Word got out about rejecting Little Deer?
