Fear of the Delicate

An hour later, Wang San returned with Feng Zhong.

Wang San had changed into a black outfit and apparently taken the time to do some makeup. He looked like an entirely different person—slightly disheveled hair, a strand falling from his forehead and hanging before his eyes.

Some unknown cosmetic material deepened the hollows of his eye sockets and paled his complexion. The overall impression was one of gloom and unhealthiness.

"Little brother, I'm back. I wish you'd been the one to pick out clothes with me just now. Let's never be apart again, okay? The thought of you eating with someone else makes me so uncomfortable inside. You're mine. I only want you to eat with me alone..." When Wang San saw Feng Yunjie, his eyes suddenly lit up, staring at him infatuatedly as if he were the only person left in the world.

The hairs on the back of Feng Yunjie's neck stood up. He instinctively stepped back, turned to flee, but recalling Du Ge's earlier advice and his promise to Feng Shiyi, he forced himself to stay put. Suppressing the terror in his heart, he said in a trembling voice, "Wang San, don't talk to me like that anymore. I know you need to grow. I can find you a woman—a pretty one. What about that neighbor girl you were flirting with last night?"

"Little brother, do you loathe me now? I don't want any other woman. I only want you. Don't abandon me. I know you're not that kind of person." Two streams of tears flowed down his cheeks. As he looked at Feng Yunjie, Wang San seemed drained of all vitality in an instant. He stepped forward, trying to grab Feng Yunjie's arm, and said neurotically, "Little brother, this can't be your true intention. They're forcing you, aren't they? Who is it? Him? Or him?..."

He first looked at Feng Shiyi, then at Zhang Han.

Feng Shiyi frowned.

Feng Yunjie abruptly stepped back, hiding behind Du Ge: "Seventh Master, didn't you say he's usually normal? Why is he still like this?"

Watching Feng Yunjie cower behind Du Ge, Wang San's face went blank in an instant. His gaze turned icy cold, staring straight at Du Ge as if he wanted to gut him.

Damn, that's professional!

Du Ge's skin crawled under Wang San's stare, but fortunately, it didn't affect him too much. He shook his head and said, "Let me talk to him first."

"I was just thinking of talking to you too. You'd better stay far away from my little brother, or I'll kill you..." A sinister smile flickered at the corner of Wang San's mouth. Then he looked back at Feng Yunjie, switching to a natural smile. "Little brother, wait for me. I'll be right back to keep you company."

"Let's go. Yellow Room 7." Du Ge glanced at Wang San, shook his head, and walked ahead.

Wang San followed closely, still staring coldly at Du Ge's back with that murderous look.

Du Ge saw it all clearly with his eyes in the back of his head.

Feng Shiyi looked at Feng Yunjie's pale face and finally realized something was wrong. He lifted his foot to follow.

Du Ge turned back: "Second Master, you all stay back for now. With you here, he might not say certain things."

"Mm." Feng Shiyi hesitated, then nodded. He turned and walked toward Feng Yunjie, needing to figure out what was really going on.

Feng Zhong looked from Du Ge to Feng Shiyi and said, "Second Master, maybe I should get back to work. There's a lot to handle in the shop."

"Go ahead," Feng Shiyi said. "Don't tell anyone what happened here."

"Second Master, I'm an old hand of the Feng Family. Can you really not trust me?" Feng Zhong gave a simple smile and bowed slightly to Feng Shiyi. "Then I'll be off."

Yellow Room 7.

Du Ge and Wang San entered the room. Wang San casually closed the door behind him and said, "While I can still restrain myself, stay away from Feng Yunjie. Don't let me see him looking to you for help again..."

"Talk properly, or I'll kill you first." Du Ge pulled out a chair, sat down, and looked at Wang San.

Wang San sighed helplessly and said, "Inconsistency between words and actions drops attributes. I worked so hard to build them up. If I act normal, they'll drop right back down again."

"What advanced skill did you awaken?" Du Ge ignored his complaint and asked.

Wang San didn't answer. Instead, he looked toward the door.

"Go ahead. No one's outside." Du Ge drew a throwing knife from his sheath, spinning it on his fingertip. His superhuman agility ensured precision without cutting himself.

Looking at the knife, Wang San said helplessly, "Fear of the Delicate. Anyone I develop feelings for will feel intense fear toward me. Seventh Brother, it awakened during your test of me."

Du Ge's spinning knife stopped abruptly. "Is there a limit on the number of people?"

Wang San was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No." He looked at Du Ge and quickly assured him, "But don't worry, Seventh Brother. I will absolutely never develop feelings for you."

Holy shit!

That's way too broken!

No wonder the Keyword wasn't simple!

If he used this skill in battle, one "I like you" could drain the strongest morale. Fighting someone gripped by fear was an absurd advantage...

Compared to his Fear of the Delicate, Du Ge's own Sacrifice oneself for righteousness seemed almost ordinary.

Du Ge hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then rein it in a bit. If you keep scaring Feng Yunjie, I'm afraid they might end up killing you."

"Seventh Brother, I'm already holding back a lot," Wang San said with a bitter smile. "I haven't even gone after more people. I have to grow, don't I? Otherwise, relying on just skills, one sword strike and I'm done. Skills only make people afraid—they don't make them run away! Besides, if you weren't here, I wouldn't have dared to treat Feng Yunjie like that!"

He looked at Du Ge. "Seventh Brother, you don't want a useless teammate, do you? I was forced into this too. Yandere is originally a nurturing-type Keyword—it needs to grow slowly, to let people accept it. But you flipped the table too fast. Sooner or later, everyone will know what happened in the Feng Family. If I don't grow along with it, I won't even be able to defend myself when I run into others."

"Find another way," Du Ge said. "For now, you can't provoke Feng Yunjie anymore. Otherwise, the team I've worked so hard to build will be ruined by you."

"Fine." Wang San nodded helplessly. "This life of mine was salvaged anyway. Whatever you say, I'll listen. Better yet, have Feng Yunjie find me another yandere target—preferably a woman. To be honest, if it weren't for growth, I wouldn't want to mess with a man either. But, Seventh Brother, what's your Keyword? How dare you stir up this much trouble?"

"Maintenance," Du Ge said.

"..." Wang San's eyes bulged wide. He asked incredulously, "Maintenance? Not Chaos or Destruction?"

"Maintenance," Du Ge repeated.

"I give up. You're insane." Wang San gave a thumbs-up, clicking his tongue. "Tsk. A support-type Keyword daring to pull this off? I surrender. Boss, you're not even trying to win—you just came in for the thrill, didn't you?"

"If the jianghu isn't in chaos, what is there to maintain?" Du Ge shot him a glance. "Anyway, keep a low profile for now. Once I have the ability to control the whole team, we'll go all out. Don't worry about your safety—I'll protect you."

"Mm, I understand." Wang San nodded, his mood visibly dampened. Clearly, Du Ge's "Maintenance" had drained his hope for the future.