Could you try to like me?

Through their later conversations, Chu Qingjiu had learned who they all were.

The cute young man who had left such an impression on him was called Han Xi. He was friendly and easy to get along with, lively, and loved browsing the internet and making meme jokes.

All those outrageous remarks of his had been memes. Though he was a sucker for good looks, he really had no other intentions toward Chu Qingjiu. He simply admired him.

After Chu Qingjiu got acquainted with the other players, Qi Wu drove him to the supermarket and bought him a whole pile of things.

Besides clothes to change into each day, he bought plenty of food and drinks, and even stuffed toys.

Qi Wu placed a white cat-ear headband on Chu Qingjiu's head. Chu Qingjiu looked up at him in confusion, his bewildered expression making him look just like a beautiful Persian cat with violet eyes.

"You're so pretty, gege."

Smiling, Qi Wu stroked Chu Qingjiu's soft hair and touched the fluffy cat ears.

Chu Qingjiu reached up to touch one of the cat ears. He paused before saying, "...Could you stop being so childish?"

"Nope, nope. We're buying this too. I think it looks great!"

"Buy it and wear it yourself."

Chu Qingjiu took off the cat-ear headband and placed it in Qi Wu's palm, then walked ahead before Qi Wu could react.

Qi Wu was left calling, "Gege, gege," behind him.

At checkout, Chu Qingjiu spotted the white fluffy cat-ear headband. He fell silent for two seconds, then pretended he hadn't seen it.

After all, Qi Wu was paying for everything. If he wanted to buy it, he could. Chu Qingjiu certainly wasn't going to wear it.

No sooner had Chu Qingjiu gotten into the car than he felt unwell. He immediately covered his mouth and began coughing. Watching his body tremble uncontrollably, Qi Wu leaned closer and asked softly, "Gege, do you need my blood?"

"Cough... no..."

There was already something wrong with his body. He had only replenished his yang energy yesterday; it couldn't possibly have run out already. It could only be his preexisting lung cancer acting up.

"Gege, you're crying."

Qi Wu leaned toward Chu Qingjiu and saw the tears at the corners of his eyes, wetting his long, slender lashes and making him look especially vulnerable.

Chu Qingjiu wanted to tell Qi Wu that it was because he was already ill, but he felt so awful that he could distinctly taste blood in his throat.

He waved a hand weakly and hunched over as he coughed. His chest felt compressed, making it terribly difficult to breathe, and he gasped rapidly between coughs.

Qi Wu lifted Chu Qingjiu's chin and turned his face toward him so he could see his expression clearly.

Chu Qingjiu's brows were furrowed, his beautiful, uncannily violet eyes already brimming with tears.

His eyes narrowed slightly, their pupils unfocused with pain, seemingly unable to fix on anything.

His normally pale lips had turned white. His mouth was slightly open as he gasped, his body trembling, leaving him looking utterly pitiful.

Only when the discomfort eased did a faint light return to Chu Qingjiu's unfocused eyes through their shimmering veil of tears.

Qi Wu was still holding his chin up and staring at him, his gaze burning as though some animal desire surged beneath the surface.

This felt... a little dangerous.

Chu Qingjiu looked up and met Qi Wu's clear, pure eyes. Yet at that moment, those eyes made him shiver, and everywhere their gaze swept seemed to burn.

He lowered his eyes as though trying to escape and said in a barely audible voice, "Don't look at me..."

"Gege, can I kiss you?"

Qi Wu suddenly felt his mouth go dry. After saying those words, he leaned toward Chu Qingjiu with an imperiousness that brooked no argument, pressing the tip of his nose against Chu Qingjiu's.

His voice was hoarse, as though he was holding something back, and his gaze on Chu Qingjiu filled with undisguised desire.

The cramped car abruptly filled with intimacy. Their breaths mingled, and Chu Qingjiu's soft, tearful gasps only made the atmosphere feel more charged and close.

Qi Wu boxed Chu Qingjiu into the passenger seat, leaning half his body over him.

The car was parked in the supermarket's underground garage. No one was around just then, but Chu Qingjiu still felt a secret thrill in their situation.

It made his heart race, as though it might leap out of his chest the next second.

Perhaps because he was ill, his head felt dizzy, and his gaze on Qi Wu grew increasingly hazy.

Guiltily, he glanced out the window, only to see someone approaching with shopping bags. He reached out to push Qi Wu and whispered, "Someone's coming..."

But Qi Wu seized the moment when Chu Qingjiu opened his mouth and suddenly kissed him. One hand cradled the back of his head, pressing him against the passenger-side window.

"Mmph..."

Everything he had left to say dissolved into that moan. Qi Wu's lips and tongue tangled tightly with his, and the moment Chu Qingjiu closed his eyes, tears spilled down.

One hand clutched Qi Wu's clothes so tightly that his knuckles turned white and his veins stood out, but he didn't push him away.

Qi Wu took the opportunity to slip his other hand between Chu Qingjiu's fingers, interlacing them.

Qi Wu kissed him gently. He bit the tip of his own tongue and fed all the blood to Chu Qingjiu, feeling his trembling body gradually settle.

Chu Qingjiu didn't push Qi Wu away because the pain in his body seemed to have been soothed. The blood became a warm current flowing into him, making him feel comfortable and safe.

How strange. Every time, Qi Wu made it impossible for him to truly get angry.

He closed his eyes and accepted Qi Wu's movements, seeming to crave this fleeting tenderness a little himself. It was light as a tiny feather, and everywhere Qi Wu touched seemed to tremble.

The tip of Chu Qingjiu's tongue had gone numb from their entanglement. In his daze, he heard Qi Wu say indistinctly between heavy breaths, "It's... privacy glass. They can't see..."

Those words made Chu Qingjiu's tense body relax at once. Qi Wu had kissed him until he was short of breath, and he tilted his head back to endure the intense, suffocating kiss.

"Mmph..."

Every intimate gasp reached his ears. Whenever they paused for breath, Qi Wu would kiss him harder, as though both of them had lost control in their delirium.

Chu Qingjiu's thoughts were already in disarray. He merely accepted Qi Wu's passion, releasing his grip on Qi Wu's clothes to loop his hand around the back of his neck.

He knew perfectly well that this was wrong, because he and Qi Wu were on opposing sides. He had killed many players, which was why Qi Wu had severed his Puppet Threads.

Qi Wu only treated him this way now because he didn't know he was the Puppeteer. He might not even like him at all. Perhaps his goal was to wait until Chu Qingjiu gave him his heart, then abandon him.

Qi Wu was a liar. He couldn't let himself sink into this, or he would be the only one hurt in the end.

When their lips parted, both their breaths were uneven.

The corners of Chu Qingjiu's eyes were red, his eyes wet, their violet irises like the misty rain of Jiangnan, hazy and intimate.

His cheeks and ears were intoxicatingly flushed. His lips had been kissed red and swollen, and he was still panting.

The sight was like a silent invitation.

Chu Qingjiu looked up at the harmless-looking, dark-haired young man before him. Repressed desire filled the depths of his clear amber eyes as he stared down at Chu Qingjiu without a word, exuding an immense, stifling pressure.

Chu Qingjiu knew very well that Qi Wu was nothing like the harmless person he usually pretended to be. This oppressive, beastlike man was the real Qi Wu.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, unwilling to look at him. "Get off," he said coldly.

He was angry with himself for that brief moment of surrender. He knew the other man was a two-faced liar, yet he had still willingly accepted all of this.

Hearing the anger restrained in Chu Qingjiu's voice, Qi Wu gently kissed his closed eyelids and said hoarsely:

"Gege... could you try to like me? Just once, please?"

Such pleading, vulnerable words worked very well on Chu Qingjiu, but he knew he couldn't soften. Once he did, he would have to get used to having another person by his side.

Suddenly, Chu Qingjiu felt drops of water fall onto his face.

He hesitantly opened his eyes and saw Qi Wu's reddened eyes and slightly furrowed brows. His tears tumbled down one after another, as unchecked as a kite with a snapped string.

Realizing that Chu Qingjiu had opened his eyes and seen him crying, Qi Wu turned his face away as though embarrassed, avoiding his gaze.

Still pretending to be composed, he explained, "I'm not crying..."

But his voice was thick with tears. He bit his lip, unwilling to say anything else, and the tears kept falling one by one, making Chu Qingjiu's heart ache.

Chu Qingjiu sighed. He knew he had fallen for him.

Being the Puppeteer was already in the past. As long as Qi Wu never learned that he was the Puppeteer, never knew he had killed so many people, everything would be fine.

He reached out and turned Qi Wu's face back, wiped away his tears, then gathered him into his arms. "Then I'll give you one chance," he said quietly. "Let's try."

Held close in Chu Qingjiu's arms, Qi Wu rested his chin on his shoulder. His amber eyes held nothing but sly delight, and even his tears had stopped.

He buried his face in the crook of Chu Qingjiu's neck, his lips curling as he murmured softly, "Gege, you're so good to me."