What a Rowdy Bunch

Sure enough, Qi Wu stopped when he heard that. He mumbled pitifully, "I didn't mean to, gege... I'm still pretty young."

Chu Qingjiu suspected Qi Wu was making excuses for his behavior, but there was no need to hold it against a kid. Besides, it really was a normal occurrence. It happened to him too.

He simply had little experience in that area and didn't understand the point of it. With his heavy yin energy and frail body, it subsided quickly on its own, but Qi Wu seemed different.

Probably because... people with abundant yang energy had stronger desires. At least, that was what Chu Qingjiu thought.

Qi Wu released his arms from around Chu Qingjiu, giving him room to leave, and Chu Qingjiu naturally got out of bed.

"If there aren't enough rooms, I'll stay somewhere else."

"Gege... is sleeping with me uncomfortable? Is that why you want to leave me?"

Chu Qingjiu looked back at Qi Wu, who had only his head poking out from beneath the covers and wore an innocent, aggrieved expression, and gave a slight nod.

He lowered his lashes, his gaze moving down to Qi Wu's lower body beneath the covers, and said flatly, with perfect seriousness, "It is pretty uncomfortable."

Qi Wu immediately understood what Chu Qingjiu meant. Heat flooded his body, though he couldn't tell whether it was from embarrassment or because Chu Qingjiu's impassive face just now had been far too devastating.

After all, Chu Qingjiu looked utterly aloof, yet he had no inhibitions about this sort of thing. And how had he managed to look down there with that cold face, so completely serious?

But of course, Qi Wu wasn't about to let Chu Qingjiu stay too far away. He immediately adopted a serious expression. "We hadn't finished getting things ready last night, so there wasn't a room for you. I'll get it ready for you in a bit. It's right next to mine."

Chu Qingjiu murmured an acknowledgment and went to wash up. Only then did Qi Wu finally breathe a sigh of relief. He shouldn't have teased Chu Qingjiu. He was the only one suffering for it.

After holding back all night, he felt ready to explode. Qi Wu felt he really had brought this on himself. Staring at the ceiling, he could only keep practicing the art of restraint.

Before heading downstairs, Chu Qingjiu specifically went to look at the room next to Qi Wu's. It was large, spacious, and very clean. Apart from the lack of belongings, it was perfectly fit to stay in.

He was still wearing Qi Wu's clothes, which were a little too loose on him. They softened his aloof appearance considerably, making him look somewhat gentle.

He turned to look at Qi Wu, who immediately put on that pitiful expression of his and gazed innocently at Chu Qingjiu:

"I was just worried you'd get cold on your own, gege. You were so cold last night. You definitely wouldn't have slept well without me."

That did make sense. Without holding Qi Wu as he slept, he probably wouldn't have been so comfortable. So even knowing Qi Wu had acted first and explained afterward, Chu Qingjiu couldn't get angry with him. After all, he really had slept very comfortably.

Chu Qingjiu turned away and stopped looking at Qi Wu. With no particular emotion in his voice, he said, "I'm not blaming you. Stop acting cute with me."

"You don't like it, gege? But you're the only person I'm like this with. You're my one and only."

"..."

Chu Qingjiu remained as aloof as ever, but his slightly quicker steps proved that he had heard. He simply didn't want to respond to Qi Wu.

Qi Wu followed leisurely behind him. Although Chu Qingjiu hadn't said anything, he was in a wonderful mood, humming as he watched Chu Qingjiu's exposed, reddening ears.

Chu Qingjiu was terribly easy to embarrass and couldn't handle teasing. Every time Qi Wu flirted with him, even if his expression remained cold or completely unruffled, his ears would reveal the truth.

That apparent composure was all an act. Only he knew how he really felt.

The place was quite large, though. Chu Qingjiu and Qi Wu were currently on the third floor, with ten rooms on each floor, very much like a hotel.

When they took the elevator downstairs, the lobby was even more impressive. Quite a few people were already there. They all greeted Qi Wu when they saw him, and they were very friendly toward Chu Qingjiu too.

"Are they all players?"

"Yes. We post on the game forum and recruit players with stronger abilities. We also take protection jobs."

Chu Qingjiu looked at Qi Wu and blinked in confusion. "Then why can I stay here?"

Although he had told Qi Wu he could control ghosts with paper figures, his health was poor. Someone like him could easily fail to notice what was happening around him. He couldn't offer this organization any protection; on the contrary, he needed protecting himself.

Qi Wu leaned down closer to Chu Qingjiu and smiled at him. "Because... I told them you're my family, so you get special treatment."

"...Be serious."

Chu Qingjiu averted his eyes rather than meet Qi Wu's gaze. Whenever those clear, innocent eyes looked at him with a smile, he felt as though he was about to be "devoured."

Qi Wu watched him for a moment and noticed that Chu Qingjiu's ears had turned red again, even as he insisted on maintaining that serious, aloof expression. It really stirred all sorts of wicked ideas in him.

His gaze slowly drifted downward and settled on Chu Qingjiu's soft, pale lips. There was a very distinct mark just above his lower lip, his handiwork from the night before.

Chu Qingjiu clearly wasn't doing anything right now, merely lowering his lashes and refusing to look at him, yet Qi Wu still found the moment charged with intimacy.

"Hey, hey, hey! Qi Wu, what are you doing?"

Several people suddenly approached from behind them, both men and women, none of whom looked very old.

Qi Wu turned to look at them, and they noisily swarmed around Chu Qingjiu, all clamoring at once.

"Hello, what a magnificent face! You're literally beauty incarnate. You're so gorgeous you've got me doing a full three-sixty Thomas spin. Will you marry me?"

The speaker was a very cute boy, probably around Qi Wu's age. He was slightly shorter than Chu Qingjiu and looked to be about 172 centimeters tall.

Chu Qingjiu was stunned by his bold declaration. What was all this? Why had he suddenly started proposing?

The girl beside the boy immediately protested, "What are you talking about? He's my wife!"

"Mine! He's mine!"

Chu Qingjiu: "..." What a rowdy bunch.

He hadn't expected to suddenly be surrounded by these lively kids, either, all saying things he couldn't understand.

Qi Wu hurriedly pushed them aside and pulled Chu Qingjiu into his arms. "He's mine. Don't get any ideas about him!"

He'd known someone as beautiful as Chu Qingjiu was bound to attract other people's attention. Fortunately, he'd had the foresight to leave a mark on Chu Qingjiu's lips.

Seeing Qi Wu's undisguised possessiveness, then the mark on Chu Qingjiu's lips and the clothes he was wearing, the others all began wailing.

"I can't take this. Qi Wu, why do you get such a gorgeous wife? Aaaaah, I'm going insane! I'm going to crawl around like some twisted creature in the dark!"

"Boohoo, I'm crying my eyes out! I want a pretty wife!"

That outrageous remark came from the very cute boy again. Chu Qingjiu more or less understood what Qi Wu was doing, so he neither struggled nor contradicted him.

After all, these people were alarmingly enthusiastic, tossing out all sorts of strange names without hesitation. If he contradicted Qi Wu, he would very likely end up being pestered by this rowdy bunch.

That would be far too frightening.

Chu Qingjiu suddenly shuddered and began coughing violently. "Cough, cough..."

The cancer in this body might not have been cured yet. This was his first time becoming a player, and he wasn't very clear on how other people became players either.

Qi Wu lowered his head and asked softly, "Gege, are you feeling unwell again?"

Chu Qingjiu shook his head. The players who had still been spouting unhinged nonsense suddenly became serious and started showing concern for him.

It gave Chu Qingjiu the impression that they were toned-down versions of Qi Wu.

The cute boy noticed Chu Qingjiu's bewilderment at their mental state and immediately explained:

"How can anyone go into instances without losing their mind? Especially when Qi Wu found a wife before any of us. This is the only way we can vent our frustration."

"Mm... that's nice."