The once-intangible concept of death was now quantified by cold, hard data—chilling and terrifying. And the smiley face at the bottom added an extra layer of menace.
A smile doesn’t always signify safety.
The appearance of this progress bar served as another stark warning to Jiang Xiao—
The place he was in wasn’t some simple, lighthearted dating sim. In this house, at least two people were harboring murderous intent, covertly watching, waiting for the right moment.
Even if their killing intent wasn’t strong yet.
But if he let this continue, Jiang Xiao had no doubt the mortality rate would only climb higher. He might slip up at some point, perhaps not even lasting until the [Certain Death] moment.
And he couldn’t even run away.
He couldn’t just wait passively for his demise anymore.
An exquisitely designed card fell into Jiang Xiao’s perception. Ying Weizhu’s photo was different from all the others.
The man stood on a painter’s ladder, dressed in a black shirt, one hand smeared with paint. Silver hair, like moonlight, cascaded down. Only half of his face was visible, as if he was glancing behind him, revealing a sharp, elegant jawline and neck.
But the corner of his mouth was slightly curved, as if he had spotted something amusing.
Wait…
Jiang Xiao zoomed in on the photo. The man’s eyes weren’t black, but an unusual golden hue, starkly apparent in the silent night, conveying an icy, emotionless chill.
Even having seen the uniformly top-tier looks in this game, Ying Weizhu’s face still stunned Jiang Xiao.
Was this guy… a foreigner?
For some reason, Ying Weizhu gave Jiang Xiao a very strange feeling.
Perhaps it was because the red light hadn’t faded from his vision, casting a layer of bizarre, ominous crimson even over Ying Weizhu’s eyes in this photo.
The moment Ying Weizhu had spoken earlier, Jiang Xiao’s Death Probability surged dramatically.
And he was one of his ex-boyfriends.
He wanted to kill him, but why?
And what caused his killing intent to spike so suddenly?
In those few seconds, countless speculations raced through Jiang Xiao’s mind. But one thing was certain: he had to get close to Ying Weizhu.
Not just him. He had to get close to everyone with killing intent toward him and figure out the reasons.
“Why aren’t you answering me, Jiang… Xiao?”
The last two words were drawn out slowly, deliberately emphasized. Combined with Ying Weizhu’s naturally smiling voice, it oddly sounded like a lover’s ambiguous, lingering tease.
Faced with this blatant, almost naked provocation, Wen Xu’s expression didn’t waver in the slightest. He straightened Jiang Xiao’s collar and smoothed the wrinkles in his shirt, then turned to face Ying Weizhu:
“You saw wrong. I was just fixing his clothes.”
“Oh, is that so?” Ying Weizhu said slowly, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Jiang Xiao. His gaze seemed to solidify, tracing every inch of Jiang Xiao’s face without reservation. When it landed on Jiang Xiao’s eyes, which were clearly not focused on anything, it paused abruptly.
As he moved to continue his scrutiny, Wen Xu blocked his view, meeting those golden eyes head-on. “Please, wait in the living room.”
The brief conflict in the bedroom ended quickly. Qin Guan had wanted to check it out, but by the time he got close, it was already over, and he saw nothing. As for Bo Xiting, he had no curiosity whatsoever, seemingly just changing locations to read his book.
Ying Weizhu sat on a small single sofa, casually adjusting his cuffs. A rose brooch was pinned to his chest, its central gemstone a blood-like red, with matching cufflinks. His aura was so unique it seemed to dim the entire room.
Jiang Xiao came out with Wen Xu. Wen Xu seated him near the fireplace. Jiang Xiao asked, “What time is it? Some people still haven’t arrived.”
Wen Xu paused, then said, “I’ll make a call.”
Jiang Xiao nodded, then added quietly, “Go check outside. The roads here are difficult; he might have gotten lost.”
Knowing Jiang Mu as Wen Xu did, getting lost was highly unlikely. A dark look flickered in his eyes, but he agreed softly, “Alright.”
“Xiaoxiao, don’t be alone with them. You can’t see, and I’m worried they might…” Wen Xu paused, “…lack propriety.”
Wen Xu’s tone revealed nothing, but he probably didn’t know those few were all ex-boyfriends.
Jiang Xiao smiled. “We’re all friends. What could they possibly do to me? Don’t worry.”
Wen Xu clearly wasn’t reassured, but Jiang Xiao urged him to go. He grabbed his coat, gave a few more instructions, and left.
Jiang Xiao sat quietly for a moment, then suddenly said, “Ying Weizhu, could you come with me to the balcony?”
Ying Weizhu seemed busy with something. He took his time before finally answering lazily, “Are you asking me?”
“Yes.”
Ying Weizhu chuckled softly. “Alright then.”
Qin Guan, who had nothing better to do than sneakily play a match-3 game, immediately looked up, eyeing Ying Weizhu and Jiang Xiao suspiciously but discerning nothing.
“What are you going to the balcony for? You already hate the cold, and it’s snowing outside,” Qin Guan said. “Just say whatever it is here.”
Before Jiang Xiao could respond, a heavy, plush coat was draped over his shoulders, instantly wrapping him in fluffy warmth, effectively blocking the cold air.
Qin Guan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Ying Weizhu’s suitcase didn’t look big. Who knew where the hell he’d hidden an extra coat!
“You won’t be cold this way,” Ying Weizhu said with a smile. Jiang Xiao gathered the coat around himself and politely thanked him.
It was very courteous. And very distant.
Qin Guan couldn’t detect anything fishy. He could only watch helplessly as Ying Weizhu and Jiang Xiao went onto the balcony and closed the door.
Through the glass window, only faint, blurry silhouettes were visible.
It dawned on Qin Guan now: besides himself, everyone else in this room had an ambiguous relationship with Jiang Xiao.
Either a romantic entanglement, or a grudge.
Everyone except him.
The balcony was freezing. Despite the windbreaks, the temperature was significantly lower than indoors near the fireplace. Ying Weizhu’s coat, however, was incredibly thick; not a single gust of chilly wind could penetrate it.
It also carried a faint scent of roses.
Jiang Xiao recalled—he had also seen rose petals in the photo.
Jiang Xiao didn’t speak, and neither did Ying Weizhu. Jiang Xiao’s vision was diminished, but his hearing had become more acute. Aside from the wind, there was no sound.
Only the howling of the wind.
Ying Weizhu indeed did nothing. He simply stared at Jiang Xiao, just as he had before.
Using Jiang Xiao’s blindness as cover, he stared at him with blatant impunity. But those golden eyes held no emotion—only a bone-chilling coldness, identical to the icy wind.
“I heard you’ve run into some trouble lately,” Jiang Xiao said after a moment’s consideration, raising a harmless topic.
“Just a minor issue,” Ying Weizhu said dismissively. “Surprising that even you heard about it.”
“Do you need any help?”
This question met with no reply.
After a beat, Ying Weizhu chuckled softly. “You didn’t say a word in front of your boyfriend earlier, and now you invite me out here alone behind his back, just to say that?”
Though he said it with a smile, the air pressure in the space seemed to drop inexplicably.
Jiang Xiao wasn’t afraid of being alone with Ying Weizhu. First, the kill time the System mentioned was nighttime, and it was still daylight. Second, even though they’d avoided the others inside, they were still visible through the window. No matter how much Ying Weizhu wanted to act, he wouldn’t choose this setting.
But even so, Jiang Xiao’s heart rate quickened slightly.
Humans subconsciously perceive danger.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jiang Xiao denied immediately.
“But he will be soon enough.”
That ambiguous remark again.
Jiang Xiao decided to switch to a less sensitive topic. “I’m very glad you came to my birthday party. I thought you… wouldn’t.”
Ying Weizhu laughed. “I just wanted to see how miserable you are.”
“During your car accident, did you ever think of me? If you hadn’t discarded me like trash, that probably wouldn’t have happened.”
These words made Jiang Xiao’s heart skip a beat. He grabbed the nearby railing, snow covering his fingers and sapping all warmth. The piercing cold quickly sobered his mind, forcing him to calm down and think clearly.
He hadn’t expected Ying Weizhu to state it so directly.
“Do you know what I’m thinking?” Ying Weizhu’s voice drew closer. Dressed in snow-white formal wear, he was the picture of elegance, looking as if he could instantly take a lady’s hand and lead her onto a dance floor. But his golden eyes were filled with a deep, chilling malice.
“This is your karma for abandoning me, Jiang Xiao.”
What were those two talking about outside? It had been nearly half an hour. Qin Guan kept glancing out the window. What could be so important it had to be discussed right now?
Jiang Xiao’s constitution couldn’t handle cold drafts, especially in this weather. Qin Guan checked the forecast: the low was -24 degrees Celsius. Even a beast of burden would freeze to death in this.
Qin Guan was just about to go fetch Jiang Xiao back when a crisp ringtone sounded from the table.
Qin Guan recognized it instantly as Jiang Xiao’s phone. Jiang Xiao liked stars; even his phone case had a star pattern. He planned to ignore it, and the phone eventually stopped ringing on its own. But after a few seconds, it started up again.
The sound was particularly jarring in the otherwise silent room, grating on the nerves.
But then Qin Guan reconsidered—wasn’t this the perfect excuse? He eagerly grabbed the phone and headed for the balcony.
“Jiang Xiao, your phone…”
He didn’t finish his sentence. He yanked the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge.
It was locked!
Gritting his teeth, Qin Guan thought about pounding on the door but decided that would be too brutish.
Ying Weizhu was simply too elegant. It was making Qin Guan doubt himself a bit. Was elegance what Jiang Xiao liked? If he pretended to be more refined, would Jiang Xiao like him too?
Just as Qin Guan was agonizing over whether to put on airs, his gaze inadvertently fell on Bo Xiting and his phone.
This was normal enough, as Bo Xiting was sitting by the window, and his phone just happened to be on the table.
A star-patterned phone case.
Qin Guan felt like he’d just been smacked in the face with a brick. He looked at the phone in his hand, then at the one on the table in front of Bo Xiting.
The star patterns were identical.
Only the background color differed—one black, one dark blue.
…Matching couple cases?
This was what Bo Xiting meant by “I have no relationship with him”?
So he was the only one utterly clueless and left in the dust?!
The cold wind howled. The mountain blizzard was fierce, and with few people around, Wen Xu stood outside for a while, checking his watch again.
He wasn’t very familiar with Jiang Mu. After all, it hadn’t been long since Jiang Mu became Jiang Xiao’s “Big Brother.” But in his impression, Jiang Mu wasn’t an unpunctual person.
After waiting another ten minutes, Wen Xu turned around. From his vantage point, he could see the balcony of their accommodation.
He just glanced casually, but his footsteps suddenly halted.
Two people were standing on the balcony.
One was Ying Weizhu, who had just arrived recently. His silver, snowy hair was his signature mark; everyone at school knew him.
The other person was draped in a dark coat, his body partially obscured by the angle. Faintly visible were dark, messy strands of hair, and the smooth contour of his jawline and neck as he tilted his head up.
In the hazy mist, Ying Weizhu leaned down and kissed him.
Jiang Xiao didn’t resist.
Wen Xu’s expression turned ice-cold, degree by degree.
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