Down on My Knees for the Boss

The chat exploded:

[Huh?]

[!!!]

[Bro, you're amazing!]

[Respect. You're a real man.]

This livestream was worth watching after all.

Place your bets, place your bets!

The moment Wen Nan kissed Qiqi on the lips, the livestream's popularity and the odds both shot through the roof. Even among the audience, who were usually stingy to a fault, plenty of people started tipping.

[Newbie here, still warm from dying. Could some expert explain why Qiqi showed herself when he touched her?]

[Qiqi's a three-and-a-half-star female ghost. Her star rating isn't that high because she senses human emotions through skin contact. Get it?]

[Not really.]

[...]

[Bro, are you a cloud player? Did you get killed the second you landed before even encountering a female ghost?]

[Haha, pretty much.]

[Do you know the key to clearing every map in this game?]

[Stay away from all the female ghosts as much as possible?]

[Of course not! That's newbie gameplay. Once you get to the intermediate levels and above, you'll find female ghosts everywhere. You can't clear the level just by hiding.]

[Then what should you do? Kill them?]

[...]

[Do you know how terrifying five-star female ghosts are? You'll find out who kills whom if you actually meet one.]

[Then what should you do?]

[Do everything you can to keep the female ghosts in a dormant state.]

[Dormant state?]

[Meaning, don't let them show themselves.]

[We players can control that?!]

[Of course!]

[Before a player gets involved, the female ghosts don't know they're ghosts. As long as you don't awaken them, they won't show themselves.]

[They're like remote-controlled bombs. As long as you don't set them off, they won't explode.]

[Fear, suspicion, doubt, hesitation—those emotions can all trigger them.]

[Especially fear. Let them sense even the slightest fear of them, and you're done for.]

[When Ye Jiu touched Qiqi's cheek just now, he must have hesitated a little. That's the mildest kind of trigger, so only part of Qiqi appeared. She didn't show her full ghost form.]

[So if Ye Jiu stays calm and doesn't trigger her again, could he stop Qiqi from fully appearing?]

[In theory, yes. In practice, it's impossible.]

[Ye Jiu probably isn't a complete newbie. He even had the nerve to kiss her. That means he's trying to mask his fear and uncertainty by taking the initiative.]

[But it's no use.]

[No one can control their subconscious.]

[You saw it yourself. Qiqi has already turned into a ghost: her skin is blue and purple, she has nothing but whites in her eyes, and blood is running from all seven orifices. With that face right in front of you, could you really feel nothing?]

["She's a ghost." "She's going to kill me." "She's terrifying." You can't completely erase those thoughts and emotions from your mind.]

[No matter how calm you look on the outside, as long as you're still afraid inside, the female ghost can sense it clearly.]

[So Ye Jiu's a goner?]

[Pretty much.]

[Absolutely dead.]

[No way out.]

[He's totally screwed.]

[No suspense at all.]

[The rest is just dead time. No need to keep watching.]

[Just wait for the coins. But the odds are so high, I doubt we'll make much money.]

The chat reached a lull, and all the viewers waited for Wen Nan to die.

Meanwhile, in the bleachers by the school field, Wen Nan was kissing Qiqi passionately on the lips.

A drop of bloody water fell from the corner of Qiqi's eye, landing on the back of Wen Nan's hand.

The icy touch made Wen Nan pause.

Something similar had happened just three hours ago.

Three hours earlier, at Peach Blossom Mental Hospital.

Wen Nan sat on a soft couch beside his attending physician.

"How have you been feeling lately?"

"Pretty good."

"Still having nightmares?"

"No."

"Do you still see them during the day?"

"No."

A drop of bloody water fell from the ceiling and landed on the back of Wen Nan's hand.

Wen Nan raised his hand and rubbed at the drop of blood.

It was dark and sticky, with a faint, rusty smell.

"What's wrong?" Dr. Zhang pointed at the back of Wen Nan's hand.

Wen Nan glanced at Dr. Zhang and smiled. "Dr. Zhang, the roof's leaking. You should get it fixed."

Dr. Zhang looked up and saw a water stain on the ceiling. "We should get someone to fix that."

A faint smile played on Wen Nan's lips as he looked at Dr. Zhang.

But Dr. Zhang felt that Wen Nan wasn't looking at him. His gaze seemed to pass over Dr. Zhang's shoulder, fixed on someone behind him.

Dr. Zhang turned to look. There was nothing there but a wall with a landscape painting hanging on it.

"Who's behind me?" Dr. Zhang asked Wen Nan as calmly as he could.

Wen Nan shook his head. "No one."

"Then what are you looking at?"

"The new painting. It's quite nice."

Dr. Zhang stared at Wen Nan for a while, then finally nodded and dropped the subject.

He lowered his head and scribbled in the notebook in his hand. A moment later, he looked at Wen Nan again, his expression serious.

"Wen Nan."

"Mm?"

"We're sitting here because we want to help treat your perceptual disorder. You don't need to treat me like an enemy and keep your guard up. If you can clearly distinguish fantasy from reality, that's a good thing. Just tell me directly. There's no need to hide it."

"Mm, Dr. Zhang, I understand." Wen Nan nodded earnestly, looking very obedient. "But I'm not hiding anything. I really didn't see a thing."

Three hours later, Wen Nan was unexpectedly dragged into this game. He sat in the bleachers of an unfamiliar school field, passionately kissing his childhood sweetheart, who had suddenly appeared.

At first, Qiqi had been lost in the sorrow of having her subtle confession rejected. She hadn't expected Wen Nan to suddenly take the initiative and kiss her. She froze completely, stiff as a wooden post, without moving an inch.

As the kiss went on, Qiqi's body gradually softened, and she began returning Wen Nan's kisses.

She wrapped her arms around Wen Nan, her palms gently stroking his arms.

Like someone with skin hunger, Qiqi seemed to be very fond of skin-to-skin contact. Seeing that Wen Nan wasn't resisting, she grew bolder, letting her hands wander toward some less mentionable places and trying to maximize the area of contact...

Wen Nan chuckled and let her get away with it. The two kissed passionately, unable to tear themselves apart.

[?]

[???]

[???????]

[Wait, why hasn't Qiqi fully appeared?]

[Not only has she not fully appeared, even the parts that turned into a ghost just now have disappeared.]

[What's going on?!]

[How is this possible?!]

[But it's already been five minutes, and their skin has been in contact the whole time. Qiqi can't sense any fear or hesitation from him at all.]

[Then there's only one possibility—he really isn't scared.]

[That ghost face was right in front of him. Can he really not tell Qiqi's a ghost?]

[She's a female ghost! Is he blind? How could anyone do that with a ghost?!]

[Why does he even look like he's enjoying himself?!]

For a moment, the chat was filled with shock, confusion, and disbelief.

Then a comment floated by, tossed off almost casually, and cleared up everyone's confusion:

[He's one of those nine legendary big shots, right? He switched accounts and started over?]

[Holy shit, that could actually be it!]

[I did hear there were hidden items in the high-level maps that let you switch accounts and identities.]

[So that's what's going on.]

[Which legendary big shot is it?]

[Down on my knees for the boss.]

[Boss, I was wrong. I shouldn't have doubted you.]

[Boss, those comments just now were posted by my dog. They have nothing to do with me.]

[Boss, tell us your name. I'll go recharge in your guild right away.]

[Tip received: 5 coins added to your account.]

[Tip received: 10 coins added to your account.]

[Tip received: 50 coins added to your account.]

[Tip received: 100 coins added to your account.]

One tip after another filled Nine Times a Night's livestream.

Wen Nan had no idea. As he continued making out with Qiqi, he called out to his system in his mind: [9527, check the mission progress.]

9527: [Main Mission 1: 10% complete.]

Wen Nan: ?

Why was it so low?

The mission said, "Go to the rendezvous." He'd come to the rendezvous, spent a pleasant evening, flirted with her and kissed her. If he safely walked Qiqi back to her dorm later, wouldn't that be it?

So why was the progress only one-tenth complete?

As he wondered, a figure appeared in the corner of his eye.

Wen Nan released Qiqi and turned toward the figure.

A slender girl with long hair draped over her shoulders stood not far away in a white dress, staring fixedly at the two of them.

She clutched a pink envelope in her hand.

That afternoon, she had secretly slipped the pink envelope into Ye Jiu's desk, asking him to meet her on the field that night.

But the person she'd hoped to meet never showed up. Instead, she'd seen him kissing another girl in the dark.

The girl pressed her lips together. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she said, hurt, "But I was here first..."

Wen Nan was stunned.

Bzz. Bzz. Bzz.

A series of vibration alerts came from his pocket.

Wen Nan took out his phone. Several messages popped up—

[Ye Jiu, nine tonight, the back door of the classroom. I'll wait for you.]

[Xiao Jiu, I bought you a late-night snack. I'm parked outside your school. Can you come out and get it?]

[You big dummy! Our school's on break! I'm coming to find you now!]

Wen Nan: ???

Wait, was this so-called "go to the rendezvous" mission running on five parallel threads?!

So he had to go on dates with five targets at once?!