While Bai Zhu took people upstairs to call them down, Lu Jin sprawled bored on the sofa, inwardly complaining that the person was dead and the live stream had stopped, so why hadn’t the external network recovered yet.
At that moment, someone tugged at his sleeve from behind.
He turned his head and saw Xiao Fen smiling sweetly at him.
Lu Jin’s eyes immediately went blurry.
Xiao Fen glanced toward the side with his eyes, signaling for him to follow.
Lu Jin felt light all over. Seeing that everyone’s attention had shifted to Mu Qiu and the other two, he stood up and followed him toward the nearby door.
The two passed through a long corridor and arrived at the Flower Conservatory in the back.
The winter Flower Conservatory had a constant temperature system, making it incredibly warm.
Xiao Fen stood between the vibrant hydrangeas and orchids, beckoning him over.
The overhead lights were very bright. Even though the sky was much gloomier than it had been that morning, the place remained bright and warm.
Just like Eden in a dream.
Lu Jin couldn’t help but take the hand he extended.
His palm was a bit rough, with thin calluses left from climbing cliffs.
They passed through a prop carriage amid the flowers, along with watering cans, flower pots of various shapes adorned with pebbles and miniature houses. Ceramic animals and little figures beside the houses formed vivid, whimsical fairy tale scenes.
He was now on the path to realizing that fairy tale life.
A halo of light crowned Xiao Fen’s black, messy hair. Beneath the strands, his pearly, rounded earlobes and slender, fair nape gleamed dazzlingly.
Just two quick steps forward and a slight dip of the head, and he could kiss it.
He quickened his pace by two steps.
Xiao Fen looked at him and smiled. “In such a hurry?”
It had been a long time since he’d seen Xiao Fen smile at him like this.
Lu Jin shook his head out of his reverie. The lines of his face tightened, and his sharp lips couldn’t help but curve up. “Why did you bring me here?”
“We’re here.”
Deep in the flowers, beside a wisteria arbor, Ou Yu sat on a swing, waiting for him.
“You’re here?”
Ou Yu stood up.
Lu Jin’s steps slowed.
Xiao Fen let go of his hand and stood between the two of them.
“Why did you bring me to see Ou Yu?” He looked utterly baffled.
“Didn’t you like Brother Ou Yu?” A cold smile tugged at Xiao Fen’s lips.
Lu Jin looked at the scene again and suddenly thought of a possibility.
Ou Yu wouldn’t be here to confess to him, would he?
But…
“I don’t like him.”
The words made the other two freeze.
“Xiao Fen,” Lu Jin rubbed his face, but couldn’t hide his embarrassment mixed with a hint of shyness. He didn’t dare look at him. “I realized it. The one I’ve always liked is actually you.”
As soon as he said it, Xiao Fen raised his arm and reached behind him.
Lu Jin belatedly turned around and took a step back. Ou Yu held an injectant in his hand, the icy, sharp needle tip glinting with silver light.
That syringe had nearly plunged into his neck.
So close.
Xiao Fen effortlessly grabbed Ou Yu’s wrist and snatched the syringe from his hand.
“Ou Yu, how could you do this to me?” Lu Jin’s thick brows furrowed, rage surging through him.
He admitted he hadn’t been great to his other lovers, but with Ou Yu, he’d given his all. From the moment they met, he’d never done anything to wrong him.
How could he do this?
“Little Fen, you’re stopping me?!” Ou Yu looked shocked too, but he completely ignored Lu Jin, glaring discontentedly at Xiao Fen instead.
“Just one ‘I like you’ from him, and you’re this happy?”
First it was Fang Si Ting, now Lu Jin—he couldn’t see straight anymore.
Xiao Fen saw that he’d gripped Ou Yu’s wrist red and let go, wanting to rub it for him, but Ou Yu dodged away.
“Brother Ou Yu, why don’t you head back to the hall first and help me stall everyone? I have something to say to him.”
For an instant, Ou Yu’s gaze turned sinister and cold. He shot Lu Jin a venomous glare, then turned and stormed off hatefully.
【This…】
【These three are getting more and more confusing. It feels like there’s some love-hate drama brewing.】
【This episode’s drama is already too much; I’m starting to get full.】
【From the looks of it, Young Master Lu likes Brother Fen, and Brother Fen seems about to accept his feelings.】
【Young Master Lu is from one of City A’s top wealthy families. Brother Fen wouldn’t be at a loss following him.】
【That’s basically marrying up, okay?】
【Marrying up? What marrying up—he’s a philandering playboy. Lu Jin isn’t worthy of our Brother Fen.】
The viewers were gorging on the drama from both sides, overwhelmed and unsure which to follow.
Once Ou Yu left the Flower Conservatory and closed the door, Xiao Fen finally withdrew his gaze and turned it to Lu Jin.
“You just said you like me?” He sounded like he’d heard the most unbelievable joke. “I remember when we met on the show, we started fighting right away?”
“Yeah, but there’s a saying: no extreme hate without extreme love.”
“Wait.” Xiao Fen raised a hand to cut him off, at a loss for words for a moment. He slapped his forehead, steadied his emotions. “Fine, let’s set aside my feelings for you for now. How did you end up liking me?”
This was utterly impossible.
Lu Jin gazed at him tenderly.
“You’re glowing.”
Xiao Fen dropped his expression and looked up in confusion.
Lu Jin’s heart melted into a puddle. He resisted the urge to ruffle his hair, and even his impatient tone softened.
“During the warm-up, when I remembered who you were in the dining room, I thought you joined the show just to find me and pester me. I was planning to lure you to the bathroom as an excuse, away from the cameras, to make things clear. But you came at me swinging. Your fighting skills were so high—I couldn’t fight back at all. I was pissed, sure, but also shocked. I started seeing you in a new light.
“In the First Episode of No Escape, when I saw myself tied to that chair in the Abandoned Villa, you have no idea how furious I was. Afterward, I watched your videos—you hitting the casino, street racing at midnight, disguising yourself as Xu Nuo to prank Fang Si Ting. In that moment, it hit me: maybe this is the real you.
“In this episode of Nowhere to Hide, you kept scamming me in Ou Yu’s name, slyly dropping little schemes and mischief. I knew it, but I loved it. As long as you’re willing to spend my money, doesn’t that mean there’s still a chance for us?”
Lu Jin looked at him with deep affection.
“I’ve prepared for this episode for a long time. I knew you didn’t have many friends besides Ou Yu, so I took a lot of his advice, hoping to give you a pleasant experience here in this mansion—my home.”
“It was pretty pleasant.” Xiao Fen chuckled lightly.
“I thought about it a lot. I had my own plans, but things don’t always go as planned. This spot is actually pretty good too, so…”
Lu Jin took a deep breath. “Before, I didn’t want any connection with you on camera because I felt ashamed. But now I regret it—deeply. I want to confess to the whole world: Xiao Fen, I’ve fallen for you again.”
He wanted to beat Fang Si Ting to it, declaring his love for Xiao Fen in front of everyone.
That way, Fang Si Ting would be the third wheel.
“Again?” Xiao Fen found it ridiculously funny.
“Don’t you have the same feelings for me?”
Lu Jin sensed something was off just as a scream tore from him. He was slammed to the ground.
He clutched his stomach, breaking out in cold sweat from the pain. The heavy blow to his weak stomach triggered spasms, leaving him coughing nonstop.
He reached out a trembling hand to grab the other’s pant leg for support to get up, but his scalp stung as steel-like fingers threaded through his hair, yanking his head up by the short strands.
Xiao Fen’s stunning, radiant face was right there, inches away. Even now, he found him excessively beautiful.
Especially when that face carried the wicked amusement of toying with someone.
Beautiful and dangerous, yet he couldn’t stop drawing closer, couldn’t tear his heart from those honeyed, brandy-colored eyes or those ruby lips.
“The glass Flower Conservatory has its perks—soundproofed, and pretty far from the Main Residence. To make sure no one found Ma Xingwen’s body without a hitch, you cleared the snow today, which conveniently hid our footprints too.” Xiao Fen said. “Do you know what that means?”
“No one’s coming to save you.”
“I thought you liked Ou Yu. Considering how inexperienced he is with stabbing people, I carefully picked this spot for him. But then you say you like me?”
Xiao Fen burst into laughter, nearly in tears.
“That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all year. Give me a second to catch my breath.”
“Why…” His voice came out hoarse.
So he hadn’t brought him from the living room for a confession?
“Because I thought you liked Ou Yu.” His tone was light and breezy.
The original book’s protagonist gong and shou—there was no reason for Lu Jin not to like Ou Yu.
Whether from the book’s descriptions or the facts now, Lu Jin had fallen for Ou Yu first. For him, he’d founded No Escape, changed show rules repeatedly for him, joined every episode despite the stabs, even fulfilling Xiao Fen’s every unreasonable demand.
Ou Yu really was the ultimate trump card for controlling Lu Jin—a little sweetness, and he was putty.
“This time, I wanted you to die at the hands of the one you love most, to taste betrayal and the knife from your beloved.” Xiao Fen laughed until tears glistened at the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his finger, his damp eyes full of mirth as he looked at Lu Jin—and at the reflection of himself in Lu Jin’s eyes.
“But now, you say you’ve fallen for me again.”
Utterly absurd.
“Lu Jin, have you forgotten?”
Xiao Fen kicked his stomach hard again.
Lu Jin let out a startled yelp, then bit his lower lip fiercely. Sweat poured down his face, every muscle twisting in agony, cold sweat mixing with pained tears as they streamed down.
Only then did he realize Xiao Fen held no love for him anymore.
Just pure hatred.
His eyes wide with terror, he reached out desperately and crawled forward.
“Why couldn’t you just stay away from me?” Xiao Fen’s voice rose behind him, soft yet laced with reproach.
“Back then, you were the one who said on the phone you wanted nothing to do with a gold-digging leech like Xiao Fen. Your mother even sent people to warn him—if he ever spoke your name or anything about you, he’d die a gruesome death.”
“So even in front of the live cameras, neither I nor Xiao Fen ever uttered a word about you from start to finish.”
“But now you say you’ve fallen for me again?”
“You’re this shameless, so what choice did I have?”
“Even now, just thinking about saying those three words makes me want to puke. I feel sick to my stomach; I never wanted them to leave my mouth.”
“But everything’s almost over, isn’t it?”
The shadow behind him crept up from his feet, over his body, and across his face.
Lu Jin trembled all over, whether from pain or fear—it no longer mattered to anyone.
He looked up in horror. Xiao Fen’s face was backlit, his eyes slanted down mockingly.
“As the greatest and only stain in Xiao Fen’s life, do you have any last words?”
“Ex-boyfriend.”
