Kidnapped at the Start

(Reading guide: this is a male-protagonist story for a female audience. The system has a limited presence and only serves to give buffs and chat. Beautiful, strong, and tragic; beautiful, strong, and tragic! Sickly beauties reign supreme! The protagonist is either being kidnapped or on his way to being kidnapped... Ahem. I wanted to read something like this but couldn't find it, so I wrote it myself.)

(No CP, no designated pairing. You can ship whoever you like; I ship anything and everything.)

[Underlined and in bold!!! Bosses, please read the following carefully! Early on, there will be some entanglements between a few supporting characters. If that bothers you, please skip this, bosses. There isn't much, though; it'll be over in a few chapters. Once they meet Xiao Yu, they'll be drawn to him and compete fiercely for him~ Please stop saying I blindsided you... I already marked it at the beginning (⸝⸝⸝＞`﹏ˊ＜⸝⸝⸝)]

(Note: there are no side CPs. Even if two people have a bit of a relationship at the beginning, that's because earlier on, "the author was purely writing whatever came naturally at the time, and whenever I got to romance, I went all out and got carried away." I'll try my best to avoid and watch out for this issue later on. Anyway, after meeting Xiao Yu, they'll all fall madly in love with him, then turn against each other—just kidding—and fiercely demand how the other person could have such thoughts about Xiao Yu. Ahem, actually, I quite like this kind of thing... Does anyone get me? ՞˶•⩊•˶՞ಣ)

(The Everyone's Favorite Buff only increases everyone's favorable impression of the protagonist. When the protagonist stands in someone's way, that person will still follow their heart, but they'll go easy on him when they make a move against him, hehe.)

(This story is set in a fictional world, fictional, fictional. It doesn't refer to anything. The white side is slightly weaker than the black side, and a third faction is chaotic neutral, helping whoever they feel like.)

(Technology isn't very advanced, but all the basics exist. It just hasn't reached its present-day level.)

(This got locked up in the little black room, and some things were deleted, so it might not flow smoothly. I'll try to patch it up as best I can.)

The story begins:

Under a dim light that was nearly broken.

Long, blue-green hair spread like the evening tide and fell quietly over the young man's shoulders, making his cheeks look all the fairer.

His eyelashes trembled faintly, betraying his unsettled heart.

Pain.

It hurt so much.

Shen Yu's head felt as though it were being stabbed with needles, and the swelling at the back of his head was impossible to ignore. Someone had clobbered him from behind.

Fuck. He was always the one clobbering other people. If he found out who had done this, he'd fucking kill them.

"Hah..."

His throat had been scratched raw from swallowing pills. Every breath tugged at the wound, and the rusty taste of blood flooded his mouth.

Shen Yu tried to move and found both hands tied behind his back. The person hadn't tied him very tightly, though; the rope was only loosely wrapped around him.

Pain came from his left wrist.

His blanked-out brain rebooted its memories.

He had transmigrated. The original owner's mother had swallowed pills to kill herself, and she hadn't forgotten to stuff a mouthful into the original owner's mouth, saying something like, "I gave birth to you, so I have the right to decide whether you live or die." Then he had arrived.

When he rushed to the bathroom to stick his fingers down his throat, a system had bound itself to him. It said it wanted him to experience the truth, goodness, and beauty of the world, then slapped an Everyone's Favorite Buff on him while he was throwing up.

Shen Yu: "?"

System: [No need to thank me.]

Shen Yu held back his nausea. "Give me something useful."

System: [Sorry, sweetie, that's all I can do.]

Shen Yu: "Then fuck off."

System: [A strong desire to unbind detected in host. Unbinding... Unbinding successful.]

Shen Yu: "..."

System: [To commemorate our one-minute relationship, the Everyone's Favorite Buff will remain permanently, sweetie~ No need to thank me.]

Shen Yu: "...?"

After that, he had tried to save himself.

Then he had been kidnapped.

He opened his eyes to see a small, run-down bungalow. Across from him, two men sat on chairs, discussing something.

"Seventeen, what's wrong with your brain? Why'd you kidnap some random passerby?" The man with a tattoo covering his entire back couldn't understand it and cursed him out. "And right under a camera, too. How many times have you memorized the surveillance cameras on that street? Can't you remember them?"

The man across from him looked younger and was more polite, since at least he had clothes on.

"Brother Qingjiu, I didn't mean to..." Seventeen lowered his head, looking guilty as he tried to explain. "I saw him and my hands started itching... I mean, I got this urge to tie him up and lock him away. I don't know what came over me..."

Seventeen suddenly raised his head and patted his chest. "But don't worry, brother! I won't let this drag the boss into it! I did it, so I'll take responsibility. The camera only caught me anyway. We can let the cops treat it as an ordinary kidnapping and throw them off the scent while we're at it."

As he spoke, he seemed amazed by his own cleverness and broke into a grin.

"Huh...?"

Qingjiu looked him up and down twice, then slapped his thigh and praised him. "Never realized you had it in you, kid. We'll do as you say. I'll hand the goods over there to Huzi first, and the two of us can clean things up here."

Seventeen was so moved by the words "the two of us" that he nearly shed tears. His voice was full of feeling. "Brother Qingjiu..."

"Cough, cough... cough..."

The cloying tone made Shen Yu sick, and his head seemed to clear for a moment. He couldn't help coughing.

"He's awake." Seventeen's gaze suddenly turned vicious.

Qingjiu casually turned back and glanced at him.

The young man was half-reclining against the dingy old wall, his thin clothes making his figure look even more gaunt. He propped up one leg, trying to support his slumped body, but he couldn't muster the strength and sank back down. The movement made his chest heave, and the corners of his eyes were red.

His blue-green hair, which should have been dazzling, was now dull with dust. But those brilliant, jewel-like blue eyes glared fiercely at him, as though, given the chance, he would bite a chunk of flesh out of his neck.

He looked just like a cub imitating a vicious beast.

But the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth made it clear...

He was bluffing.

Qingjiu laughed.

Seventeen, on the other hand, had come to his senses. Desperate to earn credit and cover up his mistake, he said, "Brother Qingjiu, he's seen your face. How about I just finish him off?"

Seeing that Shen Yu's expression hadn't changed in the slightest, Qingjiu grew interested and walked slowly toward him.

The closer he got, the stronger his interest grew.

He seemed to understand what Seventeen had been thinking earlier.

He squatted down with great interest, looked at the young man forcing himself to hold on, and reached out.

But Shen Yu dodged.

Shen Yu turned his head, exposing his slender neck completely to Qingjiu's deep gaze. Even the blue-white veins were plain to see.

The next instant.

Shen Yu felt a hand clamp hard around his chin, forcing him to face the man before him.

The pad of a thumb rubbed hard over the bloodstained corner of his mouth.

Shen Yu frowned. He didn't like being touched that way, but he had no strength to break free.

"Heh..."

A quiet chuckle reached him.

"I've changed my mind." Qingjiu gripped Shen Yu's chin. "How about you work for me? Leave Ancheng with me and come to my territory. I'll give you money, power, and status, as long as you... stay by my side."

Qingjiu was powerfully built. A rope held his black pants around his waist, and his upper body was the kind that would draw plenty of envious glares on a trip to the gym. He had a wild, untamed beauty, and his dark, lightless eyes gazed deeply at the young man before him.

"What do you say?... Nineteen."

But Shen Yu couldn't take in anything else he said. The sleeping pills remaining in his body were starting to take effect. His sapphire-blue eyes were losing focus, and his head was heavy and muddled. Even the pain from his left wrist wasn't enough to keep him awake.

I can't sleep.

May the damn system's whole family drop dead. Who knows where it ran off to after pulling that stunt.

It left me with an Everyone's Favorite Buff and ran off.

His grandpa's leg, what kind of everyone's favorite gets kidnapped right at the start?!

Qingjiu grew impatient, and his voice abruptly turned cold. "Speak."

Seventeen stood not far away, his whole body shrouded in shadow. His eyelashes trembled as his gaze fell on the blue-haired young man before Qingjiu. Listening to Qingjiu's invitation, an intense, aggrieved resentment gradually welled up inside him.

Why?

Why could he get Brother Qingjiu's invitation so easily?

Even I had to fight hard for the chance to come out with Brother Qingjiu this time.

And this person?

Just because he has a bewitching, fox-spirit face, Brother Qingjiu calls him Nineteen?!

I was the one who caught him, too!

How hateful, how hateful.

Seventeen's breathing quickened.

Shen Yu dug his fingers hard into his own arm, his sharp nails piercing his skin. His mind suddenly cleared for a moment, and he heard Qingjiu's impatient voice.

His throat moved, and he abruptly raised his head.

Blood mixed with saliva flew toward Qingjiu in a precise arc.

Splat.

It landed on Qingjiu's face.

Shen Yu said nothing, yet seemed to have said everything.

The atmosphere abruptly changed. Feeling the sticky wetness on his face, Qingjiu's previously intrigued expression went blank. He raised a hand and wiped away the bloody spittle.

Looking at Shen Yu's face, which showed not the slightest hint of remorse, he grew so furious that he laughed.

"Ha..."

The hand gripping Shen Yu's chin moved to his throat and shoved him against the wall, squeezing hard enough to strangle him to death.

Shen Yu was lifted off the ground, his back slamming hard against the wall. Before he could think, the hand around his neck tightened. The air in his lungs dwindled, and the sensation of suffocation surged over him.

He opened his mouth helplessly, trying to draw in air. Tears glimmered in his beautiful, jewel-blue eyes, a flush spread across his pale face, and his legs kicked wildly.

As he struggled, the already loose rope fell away, and both his hands clutched at Qingjiu's large hand.

His fair, tender skin, marked with scarlet, contrasted with Qingjiu's wheat-colored skin.

Qingjiu froze for a moment.

"Ding—"

A notification sound distinctive to this era came from Shen Yu.

Seeing the young man's hands fall limply, Qingjiu released his grip on his throat.

A glaring red mark remained around the young man's entire neck.

Qingjiu pulled a phone out from his clothes.

There was only one message, with a simple contact name above it.

Brother Luo: Where are you?