There were still three hours until the tea party began.
They each returned to their rooms. Perhaps all their questions would be answered at the tea party.
Shen Ru sat quietly on the sofa, his eyes unfocused, as though he still had not entirely recovered from the shock.
Several buttons of his shirt hung casually undone, and a few strands of his soft, fluffy curls clung to his cheeks. His snow-white skin glowed in the bright sunlight. It was rare to see the young man so unguarded.
Mo Yu watched him with an unreadable look. The black shadow behind him grew increasingly animated, like a peacock fanning its tail, constantly changing shape to attract the young man's attention.
"If you have something to say, say it."
Shen Ru was only spacing out. He was not blind.
"The butler showed me something interesting."
The man spoke naturally, giving no indication of happiness or displeasure, though his tone alone sounded pleased.
Shen Ru grew a little interested. He raised an eyebrow and asked, puzzled, "You didn't receive anything else?"
Given how twisted the butler was, he should have been even more jealous of his admirer's actual partner. He should not have had no reaction at all.
A trace of nonchalance lingered in Mo Yu's eyes as he said casually, "There was a little extra, but I sent it back. Guan Wenyue probably didn't come out ahead, though. Sorry about that."
Shen Ru's expression did not change, but he fired back without mercy. "President Mo actually apologizes? I hardly deserve the honor. It was only a little gift, after all."
The man's voice was low and husky, darkness hidden in his eyes as he replied with evident pleasure and interest, "You're too kind. I liked it very much."
This beautiful rose never let himself get the short end of the stick. Every time, he found some way to get even.
Mo Yu really loved that about him.
Shen Ru's gaze lingered on Mo Yu for a moment. Then, suddenly, the chilling sensation of being watched coiled around him like a slick, venomous tongue.
A chill ran down the young man's spine, and goosebumps inexplicably rose all over his body.
The butler was here.
So soon?
Thoughtfully, Shen Ru scanned what he could see from the corners of his eyes. A sliver of light glimmered through a gap at the edge of his vision.
Mo Yu and Guan Wenyue had already received the gifts he had entrusted to the butler.
It seemed he would have to receive the final grand gift himself.
Shen Ru tried to stand, but discovered that it was as though a spell had been cast on him. Apart from his eyes and mouth, he could not move a single part of his body.
It was strange. Cao Liao had been able to move freely before his death, so why had the approach changed for him?
"Mo Yu?"
The young man tentatively called out to the man opposite him, but received no response.
"..."
His posture was utterly rigid now, yet the man opposite him paid no attention. Even Mo Yu's expression looked perfectly normal. Shen Ru suspected that, in Mo Yu's eyes, he might simply be asleep.
That sticky gaze roamed over every inch of the young man's skin. Shen Ru's body tensed, but he continued to provoke the butler, his arrogant, disdainful tone making him sound like a thoroughly jealous young master:
"What? You came rushing to find me the moment you finished?"
He could not move, and that ghostly thing remained hidden in the shadows. All Shen Ru could do was force the butler to show himself.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the other man's rapid breathing distinctly faltered. Then eerie laughter rang through the space.
"Of course not, sir. I came especially to invite you."
Shen Ru's pupils contracted sharply. Then the scene abruptly changed, and a stale, rotten smell assaulted his nose. The clock on the wall ticked steadily. The entire space was unnaturally quiet.
He was back in the room by the stairs, in the same familiar spot, at the same angle, in the same dim light.
The bedroom door stood ajar. Light from inside shone through the gap onto the young man's alluring dark-red eyes, and along that beam of light, he could see the filthy scene within.
The difference was that the butler on the bed was staring eerily at him, wearing a dangerous, horrifying smile.
"Well, well. Look who I found."
The butler pressed down on Mr. Leon's head. Whatever he did made the other man suddenly cry out.
Shen Ru gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the urge to vomit as he struggled desperately to break free of the butler's perverse restraints and terrifying possessiveness.
The young man was positioned right in the gap of the doorway, like some vile, sleazy pervert.
The butler had done it deliberately.
How could he possibly have no desire for revenge?
Shen Ru had made the butler see those ambiguous, intimate scenes between him, Mo Yu, and Guan Wenyue. In return, the butler was treating him in exactly the same way.
Once he realized this, the young man began to smile.
His dark-red eyes sparkled. His gaze settled naturally on the butler's clammy, revolting gray eyes, and he said cheerfully:
"Weren't you the one who invited me to watch this grand performance?"
The young man lowered his eyes, concealing the murderous intent in those blood-red irises. He had bitten his own lip hard enough to leave a glaring smear of blood. His voice was cloyingly sweet and laced with laughter as he continued:
"Has Mrs. Leon seen this?"
Those words seemed to agitate Mr. Leon beneath the butler. Seeing him struggle violently, the butler made his movements even more vicious.
In the livestream chat:
[...]
[Seriously, if I were Beauty Shen, this would be worse than being killed.]
[The peeper switches roles and makes the player peep on him... And the fucker won't even let my wife move. He has to watch it all...]
[Wait, guys, looking at my wife's face, I feel like he's plotting something...]
Shen Ru sighed softly, his gaze never wavering. He merely watched the two men before him with amusement, his smile deepening:
"Mr. Leon seems very eager for his wife to see this. Then I'll grant your wish."
With that, the young man immediately used the S-Rank Card: Mrs. Leon's Protection.
While using the card, he could designate two players or NPCs to enter a state of stasis for one minute.
When he first received this card, he had thought that, since it was Mrs. Leon's Protection, surely it could not be as simple as immobilizing its targets for one minute.
The lady herself would have to appear for it to count as protection.
He had originally intended to save this card for sending Guan Wenyue to his death at the end, but plans could not keep pace with change.
Once the two figures froze in a bizarre pose, a faint sob reached Shen Ru's ears.
He instinctively looked up and saw Mrs. Leon already standing beside the bed opposite him, sobbing uncontrollably.
At that moment, the sickly-sweet, cloying floral scent spread in every direction as though alive. The rich fragrance filled his nostrils, as if he were drowning in a sea of flowers.
It tightly constricted his breathing.
The poor woman's back was covered in vivid roses.
Shen Ru's pupils shook. In an instant, he understood why he always smelled that strange floral fragrance on the butler.
Mrs. Leon had been beside the two of them all along.
Every moment.
Before you continue