Chapter 10

【Hello? President Ling, do you even hear what you’re saying?】

【You’re not even willing to let a drop of blood touch my wife, and now you’re talking like this? Are you asking for a beating?】

【No way! If the Little Princess wants to hit someone, she should hit me first!】

【Sorry, but I really want to hear Lili beg. Beg me, pretty please, and your hubby will give you anything.】

【The one above, you’re a bit creepy.】

Luo Li’s fair, pale fingers twisted tightly in the hem of his skirt.

He might be timid, but he had his pride! There was no way he’d beg this beast in human clothing!

Better to go hungry than lose face—he absolutely couldn’t let Ling Yu look down on him!

With several deep breaths, he gently lifted his clean little leather shoe and tried to step onto a slightly cleaner tile next to the corpse.

But at that very moment, the monster that had seemed utterly dead suddenly shuddered all over. Warm blood sprayed from its neck, splattering onto Luo Li’s right leg.

“Ahhh!”

The little nurse let out a sharp scream and stumbled forward, his chest pressing against Ling Yu’s arm.

Clutching at Ling Yu’s sleeve like it was a lifeline, his eyes grew wet as he stammered, “It… it’s still alive, Ling Yu, sa-save…”

He trailed off after a while, but the monster that he’d imagined lunging at him showed no sign of moving.

Lifting his head, he met Ling Yu’s eyes, which held a knowing glint.

Luo Li realized what was happening in an instant. Jerking back as if electrocuted, he let go of Ling Yu’s hand.

Glancing back, the monster lay motionless. That earlier twitch had just been its death throes.

It was nothing more than a minor scare. And yet he’d been frightened into such a state.

…Damn it.

So embarrassing.

Not only had Ling Yu looked down on him, but he’d slunk away flat-footed.

Luo Li’s cheeks burned bright red, impossible to hide even behind his mask. He pressed his soft, pale palm against one flushed cheek, as if trying to cover his face with his hand.

Ling Yu said nothing, looking utterly unperturbed.

But the hand resting on the edge of the table clenched tight, and his heart pounded faster.

So cute.

How could he be this cute?

That moment when he’d stumbled forward—the small patch of chest pressing against his arm had been so soft and delicate, warm with body heat. It had rubbed against him unconsciously, like the fuzzy belly of a rabbit.

With his mind elsewhere, Ling Yu rummaged through a cabinet for ages but found nothing of note.

The mission guide had clearly indicated suppressing medicine was here. It couldn’t be wrong.

Ling Yu glanced at Luo Li for a moment, and a suspicion began to take shape in his mind.

“…Want to come with me?”

Luo Li blinked his lashes. “What?”

“Monsters pop up here from time to time. Do you want something like that to happen again?”

Ling Yu headed for the door without waiting for a reply. “I’m looking for a special medicine. You’re a nurse—you should be able to spot it more easily.”

Only then did Luo Li remember: he was a boss too. Why hadn’t the monsters attacked him?

“Yes,” 007 chimed in unexpectedly. “It’s not the norm, but higher-level bosses like them will devour junior bosses like you when necessary. It’s the instance’s way of clearing out small fry and reducing the load.”

What the hell—big fish eating little fish?!

Luo Li bowed his head in humiliation and shuffled over to Ling Yu’s side, moving at a snail’s pace.

“Fine.”

Ling Yu switched on his flashlight and drew the steel pipe, heading into the next room to search.

Thick fog hung in the air. Flickering fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, and the mission guide grew hazier by the moment. Ling Yu knew this was a sign of worsening Skinthirst Syndrome—his mental stats were steadily dropping.

Veins bulged on the back of his hand as he gripped the steel pipe tighter. Forcing his breathing to steady, he spoke up.

“You’re hurt on your hand.”

Luo Li blinked in surprise and lifted it for a look. Sure enough, there was a faint scrape.

He must have brushed it while dodging the monster earlier.

“Let me see.”

Without giving him a chance to refuse, Ling Yu seized the small hand.

The skin was like fresh milk, marked only by the slightest red graze. The hand was a full size smaller than his own, resting obediently in his palm like an animal’s paw pad.

For some reason, a strange impulse surged in his mind: the urge to lick the back of “his” hand, to lewdly lap at “his” fingers with his tongue and suck in the sweet scent between them.

Luo Li seemed to notice the burning intensity of Ling Yu’s gaze and tried to gently pull his hand back.

But Ling Yu’s strong, knuckled fingers pried his apart, interlocking their digits.

It was only then that Luo Li noticed the ring was gone from Ling Yu’s hand.

“Don’t get the wrong idea—that wasn’t a wedding ring.”

The man spoke matter-of-factly, as if Luo Li had actually misunderstood something.

“Before coming here, people were always trying to get too close. Once I started wearing that ring, the media claimed I was secretly married, so I just went with it. Sure enough, the shady types backed off.”

With their hands clasped, that restless anxiety finally eased a great deal.

Luo Li’s steps were small; walking beside him, he unconsciously hopped along on tiptoe, looking even more like a little rabbit.

People at home always said getting married would be good—someone to take care of you.

Ling Yu had always dismissed the idea. If marriage meant saddling a stranger with the burden of caring for you, what was the point?

No one would willingly care for another person like that.

But…

What if that person was Luo Li?

Ling Yu glanced at the red mark on his hand, and the faint beads of blood seeping out.

…Far from finding it a hassle to care for “him,” Ling Yu felt like he was on the verge of losing it over this tiny scrape.

“Also, about that night—don’t take it to heart.”

“I don’t have any vulgar fetishes. It’s just this troublesome illness. If I don’t find ways to ease the symptoms, it’ll be a real problem.”

“There might be other methods, but…”

A faint crackle came from the walkie-talkie in his pocket. At the other end of the hospital, Kang Xun had just pinned a monster underfoot and was about to speak when Ling Yu’s voice filtered through.

“Your panties smell so good.”

“The pearl is sweet too.”

“I can’t stop myself from imagining it—imagining you wearing them, soaked with your scent.”

Kang Xun’s mind went blank, unable to believe his ears.

Then Luo Li’s clear, sweet voice came through, laced with irritation: “Th-that doesn’t mean you can lick them…”

Kang Xun could practically picture the little nurse biting his lip, eyes full of disgust, while his ear tips turned redder by the second.

“So gross…”

Luo Li didn’t want to hold this guy’s hand anymore, but he couldn’t wrench free.

Ling Yu remained calm. “You’re right. It’s gross. It’s the illness—I need to find a way to cure it, not harass others.”

He came to a halt in front of an iron door.

“So, can I have the suppressing medicine you’re hiding?”

Luo Li froze. In an instant, every hair on his body stood on end.

His hand instinctively tightened around the small leather whip in his waist pouch, fearing Ling Yu would just snatch the medicine.

His mouth mumbled a rebuttal: “Wh-what medicine? I didn’t take any.”

“It should be specially made pills, Miss Nurse. They were originally in that last ward, but by the time I got there, they were gone.”

Ling Yu’s gaze swept over the pink-and-white nurse uniform. “In the pocket on your right skirt side—that pill box, right?”

The little skirt had two side pockets. One held the small leather whip, the other the pill box.

This man had seen right through him in a single glance.

Ling Yu’s palm pressed against the iron door behind him. “This leads to the operating room—you can think of it as a monster cage. There are at least three or four pollutants inside. If I open it, they’ll come rushing out.”

Luo Li pictured the scene and shivered. “No, you… don’t open it…”

Ling Yu’s brow furrowed as if he were about to push the door.

In a panic, the little nurse finally pulled out the pill box.

He poured some into his palm—brightly colored, like candy.

“These aren’t medicine. They’re candy.”

“I was just… too greedy, so I hid them. Really not medicine…”

Luckily, he’d found it in the children’s ward, coated in sugar like sweets—it was pretty deceptive at first glance.

It was a stroke of desperate genius, every brain cell fired to come up with that excuse. He prayed Ling Yu would buy it.

But Ling Yu didn’t let him off the hook.

“If they’re candy, then eat one.”

Eat one?

This jerk… bullying him again!!

Luo Li whispered in his mind, “Will I die if I eat it?”

007: “No, it’s harmless to you.”

Luo Li breathed a sigh of relief, steeled himself, pinched a pill, and pulled down his mask.

Ling Yu’s breath hitched.

There was that pretty little pink mouth again, full and tempting.

It parted stingily, revealing pearly tooth tips. His small tongue darted out unconsciously to press against his lower lip, glossing it with a faint sheen of moisture.

He slipped in the light blue pill, his brows knitting as if to swallow.

Ling Yu felt like he’d been struck by lightning. Only then did he think to stop him.

Why had “he” actually eaten it? What if something went wrong?

“Hey, you…”

The little nurse’s round, watery almond eyes lifted. He hadn’t swallowed yet—the pill was tucked under his tongue, faintly visible. A soft hum escaped his throat, and the upturned corners of his eyes gradually reddened, as if the candy coating had melted to reveal the bitterness beneath.

Ling Yu’s barely suppressed illness value spiked once more.

Reason drowned in a tidal wave. Abruptly, he gripped Luo Li’s pointed chin and crushed his lips against that small mouth.

He had to get the pill out…

With that thought in mind, Ling Yu’s tongue pried open Luo Li’s teeth and thrust straight in, invading the wet, soft, powerless pink tongue.

Sticky, sweet saliva seeped through the gaps between their teeth. The bitterness of the medicine had vanished entirely, leaving only a heart-racing sweetness.

Luo Li’s narrow, tight mouth futilely resisted the assaults from Ling Yu’s tongue tip. But the tightening and resistance only excited Ling Yu more.

It coiled around Luo Li’s little tongue and sucked at it, rudely pouring scorching breaths into his mouth.

This was no longer a kiss. It was a demand for one.

A lewd, insatiable demand.

The pill had long since disappeared, and Ling Yu felt no sign of his Illness Value dropping.

Nor did he notice that the glowing walkie-talkie had already transmitted the sounds from this side outward.

Kang Xun was hiding in the darkness. Outside, monsters battered at the barriers. He should have been fully focused on fighting them.

Instead, he clutched the damn walkie-talkie with his ear pressed to the mouthpiece, every ounce of his attention captivated by the sounds coming through.

Intense slurps from their fervent kissing mingled with ragged, entwined breaths—enough to make any listener blush and their heart pound.

In the brief gaps amid the entanglement, soft, sweet whimpers leaked out now and then, as if Luo Li were being smothered, breathless with grievance and helplessness.

Luo Li was being forcefully kissed by Ling Yu.