11

 Like a kitten being petted until its belly softens and its head is being kissed flat, making a cry for help.

Lu Baiyu's appearance was as refined and calm as usual, but almost the instant he heard the sound, a vein popped out on the back of his hand.

Sweat also began to appear on his forehead and back.

Lu Baiyu found the source of the fragrance.

He raised his eyes, his dark black eyes sweeping over Song Yu sitting on the sofa inch by inch.

Song Yu's posture was upright, his eyes were downcast and he didn't know what he was looking at. A soft plush blanket covered his legs, and a strawberry that Zhou Qiao had handed him was at his mouth.

The strawberry was large and plump, but Song Yu didn't seem to want to eat it. He turned his face away and then bit off a small tip.

Lu Baiyu couldn't quite put his finger on what he felt.

He didn't know about the ambiguous relationship between Song Yu and Zhou Qiao, but he could guess.

Zhou Qiao had found him two years ago and introduced herself right away. While Lu Baiyu was surprised, he also arranged accommodations for him. He, along with the entire Lu family, couldn't remain uninvolved in the matter Zhou Qiao had brought up.

Of course, apart from himself, no one else in the Lu family knew Zhou Qiao's true identity. The outside world only speculated that Zhou Qiao was a kept woman he was having an affair with.

Song Yu believed this too.

So, was it to deliberately approach Zhou Qiao to oppose him?

Lu Baiyu, his handsome face calm, quickly changed his shoes and walked to the sofa.

He could feel Song Yu's tension; his small face was tense, and his eyelashes trembled incessantly.

His gaze gradually moved downwards, and he noticed several obvious finger marks on the boy's cheeks and chin, as if someone had grabbed his chin, forced his mouth open, and then done something.

His expression was somewhat sluggish, his lips were wet, his chest rose and fell slightly, and he was breathing heavily.

Actually, from this distance, Lu Baiyu could barely smell Song Yu's scent, but he just felt it was fragrant, and the room smelled better than before.

Besides the fragrance, he could also smell other scents mixed in with it.

Lu Baiyu's gaze gradually descended, landing on the blanket covering Song Yu's legs. The blanket was thick and rumpled, completely enveloping Song Yu's waist, making it impossible to imagine what lay beneath.

Of course, Lu Baiyu didn't have time to think about it; soon, someone blocked his view with their body: "Why are you here today?"

Lu Baiyu calmly withdrew his gaze: "Something came up."

Before speaking, he hadn't expected his voice to be so hoarse.

Zhou Qiao's expression changed for a moment, but quickly returned to normal. He sat on the cushion under the sofa, leaning towards Song Yu in a common cuddling position between lovers.

The man rested his elbows on his knees, his fingers occasionally brushing against the back of Song Yu's neck, then pinching the soft flesh with his fingertips.

He didn't look at Lu Baiyu: "Are you here to pack your things? They're in the bedroom."

As Lu Baiyu entered the room, Song Yu's expression changed from dazed to visibly bewildered.

W-what's going on?

Although Lu Baiyu hadn't caught them red-handed, their current posture had already crossed the line of ordinary friends. Didn't Lu Baiyu care about that? No man likes being cuckolded!

"Xiao Yu, are you still uncomfortable?" Zhou Qiao, as if seeking attention, brought her face close to Song Yu's and whispered, "Let me help you put your pants back on, okay?"

At this, Song Yu's thin body trembled violently.

Despite being mentally prepared, he still hadn't expected Zhou Qiao to be so wild. The kiss almost stole his breath and saliva; his clothes were lifted, and by the time he realized it, he was almost naked.

Song Yu felt a chill now.

His legs still bore the marks of her kisses, and the saliva had dried, but it still felt uncomfortable.

"I'll do it myself..." Song Yu backed away, not seeing Zhou Qiao's darkening eyes. He reached under the blanket, lifted himself slightly, and with a little effort, put his pants back on.

At least he looked presentable.

But the mission completion sound didn't ring, and the progress bar didn't move at all.

Could Lu Baiyu really think there's nothing between him and Zhou Qiao?

Is he that dense?

Wait… even if Lu Baiyu didn't react, what about Zhou Qiao? How could Zhou Qiao mistake Lu Baiyu for her husband when she saw him?

Song Yu looked at Zhou Qiao in surprise; the other was still leisurely folding the blanket.

After a few seconds of thought, Song Yu cautiously asked, "How's your face blindness now?"

Zhou Qiao smiled, "Face blindness seems incurable, Ayu. I only remember you."

"…" Song Yu got goosebumps and casually touched his arm. "Then, can you recognize the person in the room now?"

Zhou Qiao's expression was casual, without a trace of affection: "Him? A friend. He'll probably stay here for a few days."

Then, as if afraid he'd worry, she added, "But he's in another room."

Song Yu: "…"

What's going on?

How can she not even recognize her real husband?

A moment later…

"I want a milkshake," he whispered to Zhou Qiao, "and I want half a banana in it."

Zhou Qiao patted his head: "I'll get it for you."

Soon, the man got up and went to the kitchen, but after a few steps, he suddenly turned back: "By the way, Yu, there's been a lot of trouble in the neighborhood lately. We've installed several security cameras at home, and one at the door too."

Song Yu wasn't paying attention and nodded perfunctorily.

After the man went into the kitchen, he immediately got up and went to the bedroom.

Lu Baiyu was standing by the bed, his coat off and draped over his arm. He was wearing a black silk shirt underneath, the sleeves rolled up, revealing his muscular arms.

Seeing movement at the door, the man slightly raised his eyes and saw a pretty girl with red lips and white teeth standing there. She

pursed her lips slightly, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Lu Baiyu walked over, and soon, the ceiling light cast his shadow on Song Yu: "What is it?"

Song Yu hesitated for several seconds before opening his mouth.

"Why aren't you angry?"

Lu Baiyu lowered his eyes and easily saw the boy's swollen tongue. He held his breath and deliberately didn't reply. "You're playing hide-and-seek again?" He

emphasized the last three words.

Song Yu's ears burned instantly. He suppressed his shame and directly confronted Lu Baiyu, but didn't dare to be too blunt.

After all, judging from Lu Baiyu's exposed arm, it must hurt quite a bit when he hit someone.

Lying made Song Yu very uneasy. His fingers drooped down, twisting the hem of his clothes tightly. "While you were away, I was thinking of helping you take care of Zhou Qiao, and then he... mistook me for you."

"I was just taking care of him, I didn't mean to do anything else."

After saying that, Song Yu cautiously raised his eyes to see Lu Baiyu's reaction.

However, Lu Baiyu barely reacted, his expression remaining the same as before: "Hmm."

Song Yu: "?"

He asked blankly, "...Aren't you angry?"

"Didn't you say you were taking care of him for my sake?" Lu Baiyu picked out the only sentence related to him.

"..."

Song Yu didn't know what to say, and could only keep rubbing the hem of his clothes until the soft flesh on his hand was rubbed red, but he still didn't know what to say.

But... the mission wasn't finished yet.

Lu Baiyu put away the documents in his hand, and when he looked at Song Yu again, he actually saw a trace of grievance on the other's face.

Grievance?

He had secretly cheated on him, what was there to be aggrieved about?

But the next second, Lu Baiyu saw that the curled eyelashes were gradually getting wet, and the boy's brows and eyes couldn't help but show disappointment.

He suddenly had a strange feeling—he wanted to comfort the other.

"He mistook you for someone else. If you don't mind, just continue to play along with him." Lu Baiyu thought for a moment, and then added, "I'm fine."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Song Yu glare at him unhappily, and then be called away by Zhou Qiao in the kitchen.

His cheeks were still puffed up.

Lu Baiyu belatedly realized that Song Yu was angry, standing there for a while before he understood.

But why was he angry? He had been very magnanimous.

Lu Baiyu returned to his room, his gaze falling on the documents, but this time he couldn't concentrate on a single word.

The image of Song Yu's anger kept flashing through his mind.

—His cheeks must have been very soft.

Zhou Qiao probably already pinched them.

*

The task was not completed within the specified time, and Song Yu's progress bar was reduced by 5%.

He had even said those shameful things to Zhou Qiao to complete this task, yet he still made a mistake at Lu Baiyu's stage.

He drooped his eyes, looking listless.

Seeing that he was unhappy, Zhou Qiao handed him the freshly made milkshake and touched Song Yu's forehead: "Are you feeling unwell?"

"It's nothing..." Even if Song Yu was disappointed, he wouldn't take it out on someone who was good to him. He took a sip of the milkshake; the banana and milk flavors were warm and sweet, and tasted good.

So he took another small sip.

He thought the mission had failed and he would be punished immediately, but 009 said they had bought him two more days.

[The key is to make Lu Baiyu very angry, host.]

Song Yu had just nodded when he heard footsteps, and then another person appeared in the kitchen.

Lu Baiyu seemed oblivious to the crowd, blocking the kitchen doorway, his tall and imposing figure causing Song Yu to take two steps back: "...What's wrong?"

Had he finally realized he'd been cheated on?

Song Yu's eyes brightened, and his cheeks flushed slightly.

"What did you call me about?" Lu Baiyu suddenly asked.

Song Yu first gave him a look that said, "You two are the main characters, why don't you know each other at all?" before he began to process Lu Baiyu's words.

The phone call… he seemed to just remember, glancing at Zhou Qiao, then, taking advantage of the other's inattention, he pushed Lu Baiyu's back and mouthed, "Get out."

Lu Baiyu's entire back went numb.

Song Yu didn't notice the man's stiffness and told him about being chased by Lu's bodyguards that day.

After listening, Lu Baiyu's expression turned unusually grim.

A few seconds later, he said, "I'll have someone protect you. Try not to go out during this time."

Lu Baiyu meant for Song Yu to stay at his house, but unexpectedly, Song Yu planned to stay at Zhou Qiao's place for the next few days. Having

probably stayed there before, there were many of Song Yu's personal belongings.

That night, Song Yu deliberately raised her voice at the dining table, saying she wanted to sleep in the same bed as Zhou Qiao, but Lu Baiyu just ate with her eyes downcast, without any overreaction.

Still no notification of mission completion.

Song Yu was somewhat disappointed.

Room assignments were easy: Song Yu and Zhou Qiao shared a room, and Lu Baiyu had a room to himself.

After showering, Song Yu lay down on the bed, thinking about how to make Lu Baiyu angry, but according to the information sent by 009, he seemed indifferent to everything, not reaching the required level of anger for the mission.

Song Yu felt she might be stuck at this stage.

At this moment, her phone suddenly vibrated twice.

She opened it; it was a message from Gu Linwei.

【Approximately returning the day after tomorrow.】

【How have you been lately?】 Song

Yu hadn't told Zhou Qiao about his situation. He'd just typed "It's alright" when he was scooped up.

Soon, he was in Zhou Qiao's arms.

With a slight jolt, Song Yu's fair face was pressed smoothly against Zhou Qiao's chest.

"Who were you texting?" Zhou Qiao had long since discerned Lu Baiyu's attitude towards Song Yu—though not overtly obvious, Song Yu was clearly special to Lu Baiyu.

He felt a sense of insecurity, a feeling that the boy before him was about to leave.

If it were true, he couldn't bear the consequences.

Zhou Yun's fingers traced his moist lips, a slight smile playing on his lips, but no warmth in his eyes. He looked cold and gentle: "Ayu."

"Shall we continue what we didn't finish during the day?"

Song Yu's shoulders trembled. Soon, his mouth was forced open, his tongue pulled out, stinging so much that tears streamed down his face.

"Ugh..."

He couldn't make a sound, feeling as if his entire being had been ripped away.

"Does Ayu like me?" Zhou Qiao's eyes turned dark, as if they could suck him in.

Almost half-conscious, Song Yu vaguely thought, these twins always seem to ask this question.

...

"The clothes are on the balcony, I'll get them for you—"

Song Yu interrupted Zhou Qiao coldly, "I'll go myself."

Even though his voice wasn't cold at all.

Zhou Qiao wanted to say something, but then saw Song Yu tremble as he went out with his long, thin legs.

It was a bit chilly outside. Song Yu closed the door. The living room light was on, but no one was there. After a few steps, Song Yu saw a tall figure on the balcony.

Seeing the other person looking in his direction, Song Yu awkwardly lowered his head.

But remembering he still needed clean clothes, he forced himself to walk towards the balcony.

After looking around for a while, Song Yu found the bathrobe he had worn. He went to the corner to get the clothesline when he felt a weight on his arms.

Lu Baiyu had already taken the clothes down for him.

Song Yu instinctively wanted to say thank you, but an OOC warning pulled him back in time.

He silently grabbed his bathrobe, preparing to return to his room, but was stopped by a surprisingly strong arm.

"What happened to your mouth?"

[Host, the protagonist's emotions are fluctuating greatly.]

[Please seize the opportunity.]

Song Yu froze, looking at Lu Baiyu. The other's expression was similar to usual, but upon closer inspection, his pupils were slightly contracted, giving him a menacing look.

The swelling and numbness in his lips made him unconsciously lick them. After a few seconds of silence, he deliberately said, "It was sucked."

Lu Baiyu's usually calm face finally showed a different expression.

Song Yu, suppressing his wildly beating heart, gritted his teeth: "Zhou Qiao still—"

He didn't dare say the rest, because Lu Baiyu's figure had already pressed down on him, forcing him into a corner on the balcony.

Song Yu gripped his bathrobe tightly in fear.

Was he going to hit him?

*

Two minutes had passed.

Zhou Qiao wasn't sure if he had angered him; going to the balcony was just a pretext—he just didn't want to see him.

He decided to go out and coax him back.

After all, he had been using this trick to win him over these past few days.

After leaving the house, he took two steps towards the balcony, then abruptly stopped upon seeing the scene before him.

A tall man had cornered the boy, his head bowed against the boy's pale neck, appearing intimately close.

Zhou Qiao's face darkened.

Of course, if he had gotten any closer, he would have heard the lewd words Lu Baiyu whispered in Song Yu's ear.

—Do you know what you look like right now?

—Your mouth is empty, will the rest of your body be eaten too?

*

That night, when Song Yu returned to his room, his skin was flushed pink.

Zhou Qiao was already asleep.

He turned his back to him and quietly changed into his bathrobe.

Only after getting into bed did he take two deep breaths.

He couldn't believe those words came from the mouth of a seemingly refined man; he was completely stunned and didn't know what to say.

However, because of Lu Baiyu's anger, the mission was completed.

009: [Host, the progress bar is now 90%. You have one last mission to complete—to shield the protagonist from bullets when he is kidnapped.]

Song Yu hummed in agreement. 009: [

However, before that, you have an important matter to attend to.]

Song Yu assumed it was a task related to investigating a case.

However, he heard 009 continue—

[It's getting cold; it's time to break up with Zhou Qiao.] (

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