Chapter 3

Luo Li hurriedly lowered his head. Ling Yu was still wearing the ring.

He wasn’t unaware of what it meant to wear a ring on one’s ring finger, but he was too slow on the uptake. Even if he had heard about it before, it took him a moment to put two and two together.

After all, he had spent his whole life living in the hospital… so much everyday knowledge felt utterly foreign to him.

But… but…

He had no real intention of getting involved with Ling Yu. He had only used the excuse to shake off Meng Hu.

As long as he explained everything clearly to Ling Yu in a moment, it should be fine.

“So… so what about it?”

With that in mind, Luo Li didn’t release his grip on Ling Yu’s arm. He braced himself and said, “Anyway, I don’t want to be with you. Stop pestering me.”

Only then did Meng Hu shift his gaze to Ling Yu. “Is that what you think too?”

Ling Yu’s expression remained calm. “Is there anything else? I don’t like people yelling in front of me. If you’re going to keep shouting nonsense, I’ll have to call the Chief Nurse.”

The image of that Chief Nurse—wielding a scalpel with eyes black as pitch, devoid of whites—made Meng Hu shudder involuntarily.

The hospital strictly forbade conflicts between patients. Starting a fight right now would do him no good.

The man shoved his hands into his pockets. “Fine. Whatever.”

He stared at Luo Li, his eyes narrowing. “You’re pretty clever. You’ve got a sharp eye.”

His lips moved slightly, as if murmuring something else, but Luo Li couldn’t make it out.

With a cold sneer, Meng Hu turned and strode away.

Luo Li finally let out a breath of relief. Even after Meng Hu had walked off into the distance, he hadn’t quite recovered from the tension.

A cold, low voice came from right above him. “Let go.”

Luo Li’s body went rigid. He quickly released Ling Yu’s arm. “Ah… thank you for helping me out. The truth is…”

“He’s a foul-mouthed brute, and you’re no better.”

Ling Yu didn’t give him a chance to explain. He touched the ring on his finger, his disgust plain as day. “He’s gone now. How long do you plan to keep standing here?”

Luo Li had never been scolded so bluntly before. He froze for a few seconds, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean anything by it.”

Ling Yu straightened his sleeve, about to leave, but he paused.

“…You’re in this line of work. Why bother pretending to be so pure and innocent?”

“Playing the third wheel… Do you figure it’s easier to latch onto a long-term meal ticket than to service some laborer?”

Ling Yu’s words cut deep, leaving Luo Li utterly speechless. He couldn’t even muster a retort.

Fortunately, Ling Yu didn’t press further. He wiped his hands down with alcohol once more and headed back to Ward 202.

Before he left, he issued one final warning to Luo Li. “Don’t touch me again.”

The door to the ward clicked shut, plunging the surroundings back into dead silence.

It took quite a while before Luo Li’s heartbeat finally steadied.

The method had been a bit undignified, but he had shaken off Meng Hu’s entanglement all the same. The night had passed without major incident.

Once the new shift of nurses arrived to take over, his task for the evening would be complete.

At that moment, a wave of exhaustion washed over Luo Li. All he wanted was to rest—nothing else mattered.

The employee dormitory was downstairs. Each room was a single-occupancy unit. Only here could he truly let his guard down.

Every dormitory room came with its own changing area nearby: a row of small cubicles equipped with sturdy iron doors. Once locked, they formed a completely private space, perfect for nurses changing shifts.

A nameplate reading “Luo Li” hung on the door of the one right in front of him. This had to be his cubicle.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside. As his gaze lifted, he spotted a faded poster on the wall.

【Hospital strictly forbids employee romance】

【Hospital strictly forbids romance between employees and patients】

【If an underground relationship is discovered, XXXX】

The last few characters had been scrubbed out, rendering them illegible.

A few of his old clothes hung inside the cubicle, but after rummaging around, he found only one set of black pajamas.

The pajamas were oversized and completely ill-suited to his frame. They felt heavy in his hands, carrying the faint scent of men’s cologne.

…Were these really his pajamas?

Luo Li hesitated, unsure. Then he heard an odd noise from outside.

Slow, heavy footsteps echoed beyond the locked iron door. The cubicle’s dim lighting cast the intruder’s shadow squeezing in through the narrow gap at the bottom.

Accompanying the footsteps was the rough, stifled breathing of an adult man.

Luo Li’s mind went blank for a moment.

What was going on?

The sign on the outer wall was impossible to miss: four bold characters proclaiming “Female Changing Room.”

But the person outside was clearly a man.

Was this… some kind of pervert trying to peep on women changing?

“Outside is a player. Intentions unknown. High level.”

“Given that you were supposed to provide sexual services to a player tonight, you shouldn’t be in the changing room right now. If you stay, he’ll get suspicious.”

“He’s heading your way. Estimated time until he notices something’s off: two minutes.”

Luo Li’s calves began to tremble uncontrollably. “W-what do I do?”

007’s voice was firm. “Change clothes.”

“The set of pajamas is 20 centimeters to your right. Put them on.”

“Hurry.”

…

The footsteps outside drew closer and closer until they finally stopped right in front of the iron door.

Luo Li didn’t dare look back. He hadn’t even taken off his skirt yet, but now he was too scared to move.

This was so embarrassing.

He was supposed to be the boss, yet here he was, cornered in a changing cubicle by a player. How could he be such a coward?

His fingers twisted tightly in the hem of his skirt. He didn’t dare make a sound. Beyond his own pounding heartbeat, he could clearly hear another noise.

The rapid, guttural panting of an adult man.

“I know you’re in there.”

“Why won’t you see me? No time for me, but you have time to give those patients your special treatments? How long has it even been since we last met? You’re already lining up your next one?”

“No… your next one. You want to cheat on me, don’t you? Or have you already?”

Luo Li had always been frail. No one had ever raised their voice to him in his life.

Faced with this aggressive barrage of questions, he felt bewildered and wronged—but above all, terrified.

007 prompted him. “Keep changing. Pretend you haven’t noticed him.”

Luo Li was on the verge of tears.

If he was going to change into these pajamas, he’d have to take off his current skirt.

What if the guy outside was peeking?

What would happen if he saw…?

“You won’t be seen. The door is locked tight.”

For once, the system’s tone softened, almost encouraging.

Luo Li squeezed his eyes shut. With no other choice, he decided to trust it.

His pale fingers hooked under the edge of the short skirt, slowly peeling it down inch by inch. The boy’s slender legs quivered with each movement. The changing room was chilly, turning his knees and ankles a faint pink against his snow-white skin. They stood out all the more vividly.

His frame looked slim overall, but the flesh at the base of his thighs was soft and full, concealing the space between his legs completely.

He bent down cautiously to pick up the pajamas.

The system hesitated, on the verge of speaking.

It wanted to warn him not to bend over with his back to the iron door, but Luo Li’s mind was fixed solely on getting dressed as quickly as possible. Before the system could say a word, he had already tugged the short skirt all the way down to his ankles in one go.

The cubicle was cramped, barely enough room to move. There wasn’t even a stool to sit on, so he had no choice but to stand and pull on the black men’s pajamas.

It was in that instant of bending over that the man’s breathing outside suddenly grew heavier.

The long pajamas, which had reached down to cover his backside while standing, now slipped up to his waist.

A vast expanse of soft, pale skin trembled exposed in the dim light.

…A posture that invited all sorts of indecent thoughts from behind.

Luo Li remained oblivious. He finally had the clothes on, but his heart was still racing when the iron door rattled violently from a heavy slam.

In stark contrast to the forceful, aggressive banging, the man’s voice turned gentle and affectionate.

“Baby… come out. Let me see you.”

“You don’t need to change. Even if those pajamas aren’t yours, I won’t be mad.”

“Open the door, okay?”

There was no way Luo Li could go out there.

His shoulders shook as he curled himself into a ball. Following the system’s instructions, he pretended nothing was amiss and continued removing his long black silk stockings.

The stockings were thin, revealing a hint of pale pink skin beneath. They clung to his delicate ankles, sliding slowly down his calves.

He was just about to bend down and pull them off completely when someone suddenly gripped his ankle.

A hand had reached in through the gap under the iron door and seized his wrist.

The scorching palm pressed upward, its thumb rubbing gently against the back of his calf.

What should have been a predatory grab somehow took on an oddly intimate flavor.

It stroked up and down his slim, elegant leg, as if savoring every inch.

Luo Li’s mind went completely blank. Then he heard 007 in his ear: “Someone’s coming!”

Right away, several nurses’ voices sounded from outside the changing room. “What happened?”

“Yeah, looks like trouble. A patient escaped from the second floor. We need to send people over there quick—figure out what’s going on.”

The moment the women’s voices called out, the hand on Luo Li’s ankle finally let go.

The man’s heavy breathing gradually subsided, replaced by the receding thud of footsteps. It wasn’t clear how much time passed before the changing room finally fell silent once more.

Luo Li’s legs gave out beneath him. He leaned against the wall for support, barely managing to stay upright as he slowly turned around.

Luo Li hadn’t fully come back to his senses yet when chaos erupted outside the changing room. Nurses, doctors, and janitors were all rushing toward the second floor. Something serious must have happened.

He tightened his pajamas around himself and wanted to take a peek at what was going on.

But the corridor was pitch black. Aside from shadowy figures darting about, he couldn’t make out a thing.

He thought to himself that he should probably head back. No need to add to the confusion.

Just as he turned around, he collided with the rushing crowd without warning. Luo Li nearly lost his footing and staggered forward, bumping straight into someone’s chest.

The man steadied him with a hand to keep him from falling, but that palm unexpectedly slipped through the open gap in his pajamas.

Luo Li braced himself against the man’s shoulder. The other man froze for a brief moment before snapping back to reality and yanking his hand away.

Before Luo Li could even offer thanks, he heard the man’s low voice, thick with barely contained anger.

“How is it you?”

“Didn’t I tell you not to touch me again?”

It was… Ling Yu’s voice!

Luo Li immediately backed away several steps. “I didn’t mean to touch you!”

Ling Yu clicked his tongue in annoyance and put some distance between them as well.

Even so, now that he was far from the little nurse, a wave of agitation flooded Ling Yu’s chest, throwing his breathing into disarray.

At that moment, a prompt chimed in Luo Li’s mind.

【Clue 1: Strange Illness】

【Rumor has it that the patients in three wards on the second floor all suffer from strange illnesses, each with unique symptoms. In other words, as their conditions worsen, it will become harder for the player to clear the game.】

【Player: Ling Yu】

【Condition: Skin Hunger Syndrome—An extreme craving for hugs from others and other intimate activities. Without them, the sufferer spirals into anxiety.】

【Find a way to exacerbate his Skin Hunger Syndrome. Note: This player has severe mysophobia and will reject most intimate contact.】

Ling Yu’s breathing grew ragged as he leaned against the wall, his chest heaving. The little nurse standing across from him only made his anxiety worse.

…Damn it.

He clearly found “her” so filthy. Yet why couldn’t he stop himself from wanting to reach out and touch “her” waist?