His purple eyes were steeped in helplessness and confusion. Such an intense emotional bond was far too unfamiliar to Chu Qingjiu. He had no idea how to handle it; all he knew was how to indulge the other man.
His emotions had fluctuated too violently in too short a time. His body could not withstand such drastic swings, and his failure to recover in time had made him cough up blood.
He raised his head to look at Qi Wu, whose tears kept falling, and sighed helplessly. Lifting a hand to wipe them away, he said softly:
"Don't cry. It's my fault as your big brother. Seeing you cry hurts me too."
Qi Wu blinked in bewilderment. This seemed to be the first time Chu Qingjiu had acknowledged being his big brother. Did that mean Chu Qingjiu had accepted him?
His lips moved hesitantly as he murmured, "Then... do you still think we're not right for each other?"
Chu Qingjiu gave him a weak, strained smile and said softly, "How do you want me to answer?"
Qi Wu had stopped crying. He looked pitiful and harmless now, his reddened eyes making it all the easier to lower one's guard and soften toward him.
"I want to be with you. I want you to love me too, the way I love you."
"Brother, I don't know why you can see other people's affection scores for you, or why the affection you see from me is 0, but, brother..."
Qi Wu suddenly paused. Pointing at Chu Qingjiu's heart, he said earnestly, "...you have to feel it with this, not look with your eyes."
Don't look with your eyes. Feel with your heart.
Those words and actions that made your heart race, those moments that left your heart in turmoil-could you truly feel nothing?
Chu Qingjiu froze.
Perhaps his initial assumptions had led him to believe the affection scores had to be right. So afterward, whenever he wanted to lose himself and surrender, Qi Wu's "0 affection" was like a thorn, constantly reminding him to keep his head clear.
In the real world, without the interference of affection scores, he really had been able to feel Qi Wu's undisguised affection and ardor at first.
Those immense, intense feelings had seemed ready to engulf and swallow him whole. Qi Wu had never concealed his affection for him, and he had felt it.
But the closer the next instance came, the more he would involuntarily remember that "0 affection," then begin to wonder whether Qi Wu was acting again to deceive him.
He would want to flee, to hide and deliberately give Qi Wu the cold shoulder, as though doing so could bring him back to his senses in this game of love.
He had lost his own judgment and begun relying on something external. He had become irrational.
If this relationship made him miserable, then surely it meant the relationship was wrong for him. Yet the reason behind it all was his excessive faith in the authority of affection scores.
But were those affection scores truly infallible? Even instances could have bugs from time to time. Couldn't affection scores have bugs too?
He needed to feel Qi Wu's love with his own heart rather than rely on affection scores.
Once Chu Qingjiu had worked it out, he said quietly, "I understand... can you let me rest for a while?"
Seeing Chu Qingjiu's indifferent expression, Qi Wu felt utterly powerless. No matter how he explained, Chu Qingjiu did not believe him. Chu Qingjiu believed only what he saw for himself.
Why did this affection score have to make them both so miserable? He clearly loved Chu Qingjiu, so why couldn't Chu Qingjiu see it?
Qi Wu released his hold on Chu Qingjiu. With his eyes lowered, he looked at the long-haired young man before him, whom he had kissed until his face flushed and he could only lean against the wall, panting.
The man was undeniably beautiful and alluring. A single glance from him was enough to make Qi Wu willingly bow in surrender, yet he would rather believe the instance's so-called affection scores than believe him.
How could he prove his sincerity to him?
"Brother... I'll prove it to you." Qi Wu took one of Chu Qingjiu's hands. "I'm willing to give everything for you, including my life."
Chu Qingjiu raised his head to look at Qi Wu. Rather than pull his hand away, he said with perfect calm, "You don't need to prove it. I already know."
Qi Wu's spirits plummeted. Just as he was about to say something else, chains rattled outside, followed by the sound of the door opening.
All eight players turned toward the doorway. Several girls in Miao clothing stood there, each delicate and lovely-exactly eight, no more and no fewer.
The Miao girl at the front said in a sweet, lilting voice, "Husbands, please come with us to meet the clan chief."
The players' task was to find their respective Miao girls and obtain the antidote, but these girls showed no particular closeness toward them. Instead, they addressed them collectively.
Wu Zhong was the first to speak. Looking at the lovely Miao girl, he asked, "Uh... miss...? What should we call you?"
"You can call me A Feng, husband."
Qi Wu had yet to let go of Chu Qingjiu's hand. Chu Qingjiu slid his fingers between Qi Wu's, interlocking them, then led him toward the door.
Chu Qingjiu glanced at Qi Wu and tightened his grip, saying softly, as though to reassure him, "We'll talk it all through once we're out of the instance."
The important thing now was to clear the instance. Chu Qingjiu still knew how to set his priorities.
However reluctant Qi Wu might be, there was nothing he could do. He simply let Chu Qingjiu lead him along obediently, holding his hand tight.
The eight players followed the eight Miao girls. A Feng introduced the other girls by name; their names were based on "wind, flowers, snow, moon, spring, summer, autumn, and winter."
A Feng was much older than the other girls. Though she looked as if she were only eighteen, she was actually thirty-two.
The youngest Miao girl was A Dong, who was only eighteen that year, though she had already reached the local marriageable age.
The place where they had been locked up stood in the very center of the village, surrounded by houses on every side. After they emerged, quite a few people watched them from inside their homes or from the roads.
Without exception, those people were women. There was not a trace of a man anywhere in the village.
Their awkward location also meant there was no way for them to escape, because people were watching them from every direction.
It was as though they were food being watched in a slaughterhouse.
The other six players could not help finding it strange to see Chu Qingjiu and Qi Wu with their fingers interlocked.
Were brothers... really this intimate?
Before you continue