The moment he finished speaking, a puff of white smoke burst up beside his feet, making Ye Chu cough.
"Cough, cough." Ye Chu coughed until his eyes watered, then looked down beside his feet. The big black wolf that had been lying there was gone, replaced by Pei Yanchuan himself.
Ye Chu: ...
He knew he should have kept his mouth shut.
Now that Pei Yanchuan was human again, he obviously couldn't keep casually petting his head. Ye Chu could only withdraw his hand.
Pei Yanchuan sat on the floor, still a little dazed. Only belatedly did he remember that he had turned into a wolf-and pinned Ye Chu to the floor?
His head rested against the sofa cushion, right beside Ye Chu's leg. He didn't dare turn around, afraid Ye Chu would carve him up with a knife.
"Pei Yanchuan?" Ye Chu called his name.
A chill ran down Pei Yanchuan's back. Without turning around, he shuffled to the side, only to be caught by the back of his collar.
Pretending nothing had happened was no longer an option. Pei Yanchuan turned around and lowered his head, keeping his eyes down in a perfect show of contrition. "I'm sorry."
Ye Chu paused. "Sorry for what?"
The question stunned Pei Yanchuan too. Aren't you about to cut me up?
Ye Chu reached out and pulled his collar out from where it had bunched against his neck. "Did turning into a wolf cause any discomfort?"
Pei Yanchuan blinked and shook his head blankly. "No."
"That's good." Ye Chu stood up. "I'm going upstairs to check on Wu You. She should be changing back soon too."
Pei Yanchuan got up as well and immediately ran into Su Fengzi coming out of the kitchen.
Su Fengzi had found another slice of watermelon somewhere. He greeted Pei Yanchuan when he saw him. "Oh, you're back to normal."
Pei Yanchuan nodded and listened as Su Fengzi repeated the additional rules the system had announced earlier.
"So I can turn into a wolf whenever and wherever I want?" Pei Yanchuan's eyes widened slightly, his face lighting up with excitement.
Su Fengzi nodded thoughtfully. "In theory, yes, but you'd better not turn into a wolf unless you have to. You saw what happened. You still have some sense as a wolf, but not much."
Pei Yanchuan puffed out his cheeks, looking rather reluctant. "Fine. Shall we go check on Wu You too?"
"Let's go."
They all gathered outside Wu You's door. Right before their eyes, the little white wolf let out a puff of white smoke and returned to human form.
Wu You opened her bleary eyes and jumped at the sight of the four people in her doorway. "Y-you... what are you all doing outside my room?"
Everyone: ... So you really did sleep through all of that.
Lu Rui explained, "We came to wake you up this morning and found you'd turned into a wolf."
Pei Yanchuan: "Skr~"
Lu Rui shot him a glare, and he obediently shut his mouth.
"Xiao Pei did too. According to the system, it was a bug. To compensate us, we've all been given the abilities we had in the last round of Werewolf. You and Xiao Pei can turn into wolves whenever you want, and Feng Zi can foresee the future..."
Wu You blinked, taking five minutes to digest all that information.
"Just one more thing." Pei Yanchuan raised his hand. "I've tried it. You retain a tiny bit of awareness when you turn into a wolf. Just a tiny bit."
"Oh." Wu You blinked again. "So we shouldn't just transform whenever we feel like it?"
"That's how it looks for now."
Wu You looked at the people in her doorway, thought for a few seconds, then asked, "Can you leave now, then? I want to get changed."
"Oh, right, sure..." They jostled one another as they headed downstairs. Lu Rui closed Wu You's door behind her on her way out.
They sat back down on the sofa. Pei Yanchuan picked up a lollipop, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. "Want to guess what we'll be playing in the next instance?"
Su Fengzi crossed his legs and picked up two game controllers, tossing one to Ye Chu. "What else could it be? More ghosts and supernatural stuff. Same old wine in a new bottle."
Ye Chu browsed the games on the TV screen. "How about a horror game? Build up our courage beforehand?"
Su Fengzi peeled a mandarin as he watched the screen scroll back and forth. "Anything's fine." He tossed a segment into his mouth. "Though playing horror games always makes me feel like I'm working."
At that, Ye Chu remembered that Su Fengzi streamed horror games on Bilibili. "What kind of horror games do you like?"
Ye Chu looked at Su Fengzi as he asked. Su Fengzi had already tied his hair up himself, leaving a little tuft hanging at the back of his head.
Su Fengzi pressed his lips together and gave it some serious thought. "I prefer ones with a strong story."
"Why?" Pei Yanchuan leaned over from the side, his lollipop between his lips.
Su Fengzi tossed another mandarin segment into his mouth. "I don't actually like pure horror that much. Ghosts suddenly jumping right in my face scare me too. As for why I like story-heavy games... once you've finished one, all you remember is that wonderful story. The moment the ending comes, all those scary, supernatural elements become insignificant."
Ye Chu nodded thoughtfully, then pointed at the TV screen. "I want to play this."
Su Fengzi looked up at the screen. "..."
On the TV screen, two little old men were grinning cheerfully. One wore fine clothes, while the other had a sweat towel wrapped around his head. Between them were three glaringly large characters:
Fight! The! Landlord!
Su Fengzi looked at the TV screen, then at the high-end controller in Ye Chu's hand, and said flatly, "Do you really think it's appropriate to play Fight the Landlord with a game controller?"
Ye Chu tilted his head. "Of course. Don't tell me you discriminate against certain games?"
Su Fengzi: "..."
He tried to resist. "I don't want to play."
"Fine." Looking disappointed, Ye Chu backed out of the game. His thin lips stuck out in a slight pout, making him look rather aggrieved.
Su Fengzi: Why is he acting all cute and pouty now?!
He immediately picked up the controller he had just set on the table. "We'll play. It's just Fight the Landlord, right? Let's play!"
Ye Chu, who had been about to switch games: ???
He didn't quite understand why Su Fengzi had suddenly changed his mind, but he opened Fight the Landlord again anyway.
Pei Yanchuan leaned over from the side and crunched up the lollipop in his mouth. "Ye Chu, I want to play too."
Su Fengzi shoved his head away. "Go study for your college entrance exams, you little wolf pup. Don't butt in."
Refusing to give up, Pei Yanchuan leaned his head over again, only for Su Fengzi to push him back once more.
Watching the two of them squabble like schoolchildren, Ye Chu suggested, "Why don't you two play?"
"No!" they said in unison, suddenly in perfect sync.
After all that arguing, the final arrangement was...
Ye Chu played on his own, while Pei Yanchuan and Su Fengzi shared the other controller.
"Hurry up! I've been waiting so long the flowers have wilted!" the game character urged. Only then did Ye Chu leisurely play a card.
"Fengzi, why don't you play?" Pei Yanchuan pushed the controller into Su Fengzi's hands, only for Su Fengzi to push it back. "No, no, no. The older one should let the younger one have a turn. You play."
At that moment, they both had the same thought:
Why would anyone calculate probabilities while playing Fight the Landlord?!!
Before you continue