Chapter 124 – Shh, He Found You – So Sweet (02)
“Does it still hurt?”
Yu Yi swore she had known Yu Hongbo for four years and had never seen him this gentle before.
Yu Hongbo was handsome, with a refined and elegant temperament that easily drew girls in. When he smiled slightly, he looked like a graceful young gentleman who had stepped right out of an ancient painting. But Yu Yi, who knew what kind of person he really was, also knew that behind that cultured smile was a sense of distance.
No one could truly get close to him. Even she, after four years, could only barely count as his friend.
“It still hurts~” Bai Tang replied timidly. His soft, milky voice was sweet like a piece of cotton candy.
Right now, he was dressed in women’s clothing. If the male lead found out, would he think Bai Tang was a pervert and stop liking him?
Thinking this, the boy’s pretty apricot eyes began to mist over with tears, looking incredibly pitiful.
Unlike other crossdressers, Bai Tang wasn’t wearing any makeup. His plain little face was scrunched in pain, which made Yu Hongbo’s heart ache—he wished he could take the pain for him.
“How about we go back to the room first? There should be medicine there,” Yu Yi said, glancing at the noisy crowd in the living room. “It’s too loud here.”
Bai Tang looked like a delicate little doll—even Yu Yi, a girl herself, couldn’t help but feel a flutter in her heart.
Yu Hongbo glanced at the crowd, then turned back to Bai Tang and asked gently, “Let me take you back to your room, okay?”
So gentle! Yu Yi silently complained to herself about the double standard.
The romance between the male and female leads began during the survival game of Werewolf. At this point, Yu Yi only had a faint crush on Yu Hongbo—it wasn’t quite love yet.
Yu Hongbo helped Bai Tang put his shoes back on, then scooped him up in his arms. Yu Yi led the way while Yu Hongbo followed behind.
The villa had four floors. The second floor housed activity and entertainment rooms, while the third and fourth floors were where they stayed. Each person had their own room, with their name posted on the door.
Bai Tang’s room was on the fourth floor.
Yu Hongbo carefully placed him onto the bed, while Yu Yi, being considerate, poured a cup of hot water.
Bai Tang drank it in small sips, guided by Yu Hongbo’s hand. The cup was quickly emptied.
Whether it was the earlier massage from Yu Hongbo or the hot water doing its job, Bai Tang felt like the pain in his stomach had lessened.
Yu Yi stepped forward to take the empty cup, and the boy sweetly thanked her, “Thank you, big sister~”
In that instant, it was as if spring had arrived and flowers had bloomed.
Yu Yi felt a surge of joy and reached out to ruffle the “girl’s” hair.
Smack—
Yu Yi clutched her reddening hand. “What was that for?!”
Yu Hongbo calmly continued wiping Bai Tang’s sweat, as if he hadn’t just slapped someone.
“He’s not feeling well. Don’t touch him.”
When he carried Bai Tang earlier, he had noticed the Adam’s apple on the boy’s neck—though faint, it was enough to confirm that Bai Tang was a boy.
From the moment Yu Hongbo first saw him, he had been certain—he didn’t need a reason. That shiver in his soul only happened when he looked at this boy.
“Men and women shouldn’t be so physically familiar,” Yu Yi snapped. “And yet you’re getting handsy with someone’s little sister?”
“Don’t fight…” Bai Tang whispered in a soft voice.
Both of them respected Bai Tang enough to back down. Yu Yi squeezed in beside Bai Tang, lowering her voice without realizing it. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Bai Tang.”
“I’m Yu Yi. That’s Yu Hongbo.”
“Big sister Yu Yi~” Bai Tang called sweetly, then shyly added, “Ah Bo~”
The moment Yu Hongbo heard Bai Tang call him that, he returned to the bedside and tucked the blanket around him. “Get some sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake up.”
“Mm-hmm.” Bai Tang held Yu Hongbo’s hand as he lay down, his moist eyes fixed on him.
Yu Yi: “!!!”
They had all just met, so why the blatant favoritism? When did these two start flirting—was this some kind of legendary love at first sight?
It felt like an invisible barrier separated the two from the rest of the world. Yu Yi refused to be force-fed this dog food. In fact, she wanted to kick over the bowl and smack the dog!
“Yu Hongbo, come here a second.”
She didn’t want the dog food, and she couldn’t win in a fight.
Yu Yi tilted her head and listened. Outside the door, the sounds of opening and closing doors echoed faintly. It seemed the others in the living room had finally accepted reality and were hurrying to their rooms to find their identity cards.
Clearly, Yu Hongbo had realized the same thing. He reminded Bai Tang, “Don’t open the door for anyone except me, okay?”
Only after seeing the boy nod obediently did Yu Hongbo feel at ease and leave the room with Yu Yi.
Click.
As the door shut behind them, peace returned to the room.
Bai Tang reached under his pillow and pulled out a Werewolf card.
A black wolf stood on a mountaintop, glaring down at the villagers below. The word “WEREWOLF” was written across the card in a bloody dripping font.
In the original storyline, both Bai Tang and Yu Yi received Werewolf cards, while Yu Hongbo got a Villager card. It was uncertain whether Bai Tang’s presence in this timeline would cause unexpected changes. At the very least, in the original version, there were only ten participants in the game.
“I wonder what card Ah Bo will get…” the boy murmured, slowly closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Yu Yi and Yu Hongbo’s rooms were on the third floor, one level below Bai Tang’s.
They each returned to their respective rooms—easily identified by the name tags on the doors—and found their identity cards in either the wardrobe or a drawer.
Yu Hongbo stood silently for a moment, then turned and walked out of his room.
At six o’clock, a bell rang. Everyone, clutching their empty, growling stomachs, came out of their rooms. As they reached the second floor, a rich aroma of food greeted them.
“Mmm, smells amazing. Who’s cooking?” someone asked.
In a situation like this, who would still be in the mood to cook? Surprisingly, someone was.
Yu Hongbo appeared carrying a tray: shredded chicken and vegetable porridge, steamed dumplings, and peanut sauce.
It looked simple, but to their starving group, it might as well have been a gourmet feast.
“Are there more? Is there more?”
Someone couldn’t wait and dashed into the kitchen, and the others quickly followed.
Inside the kitchen, Yu Yi emerged carrying two dinner portions. The rest of the group rushed in, only to find the pot still hot—but completely empty.
“Why didn’t you cook for us?” a man in a suit demanded.
Yu Yi raised an eyebrow. “Why should I cook for you? Am I your maid?”
Among this group were not only students but also elite professionals and rich heirs—many of whom had never set foot in a kitchen before.
Yu Yi handed one of the dinner portions to a boy with a buzz cut—her classmate, Pan Quan.
Pan Quan looked like a big dumb oaf—plenty of muscle, not much brain. When he saw that Yu Yi had prepared dinner for him, he grinned and chuckled happily.
Yu Yi dragged Pan Quan back to their room—she couldn’t care less about the others.
Knock knock knock—
Bai Tang stirred groggily in his sleep, vaguely hearing the sound of someone knocking on the door.
“Who is it~?” His just-woken voice was a little hoarse. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he walked to the door.
“Who are you?”
Yu Hongbo was relieved—at least the boy hadn’t opened the door recklessly.
“It’s me, Yu Hongbo.”
The moment he spoke, Bai Tang immediately opened the door.
Yu Hongbo set the tray down on the bedside table. The steaming shredded chicken and vegetable porridge gave off a mouthwatering aroma.
“Come here,” Yu Hongbo beckoned.
Bai Tang climbed onto the bed and tucked his bare feet back under the covers. It was a little cold.
“There weren’t many ingredients, so it’s simple,” Yu Hongbo said as he ladled out a bowl of porridge and stirred it with a spoon.
“Call me Tang Tang,” the boy pouted in protest.
“What?” Yu Hongbo was puzzled.
“Just call me Tang Tang~”
Yu Hongbo paused, then gave a gentle smile. “Alright, Tang Tang…”
Satisfied, Bai Tang reached for the bowl of porridge on the table, but the bowl was too hot, and he nearly tipped over the tray.
“I-I didn’t mean to!” Bai Tang exclaimed, almost spilling the hot food on Yu Hongbo, looking deeply apologetic.
“Are you okay?” Yu Hongbo quickly caught Bai Tang’s hand. His soft fingers were red from the heat, but thankfully it wasn’t serious.
Yu Hongbo gently blew on the scalded fingers, the gesture so natural it seemed to come straight from the soul.
“There, there… it won’t hurt anymore…”
No matter how many worlds he traveled through, the male lead could always find him first—spoiling him without any reason.
In this world full of danger, without the system by his side and unable to use any of his abilities, Bai Tang was actually very scared. He not only had to complete the task of breaking up the male and female leads, but he was also afraid of dying before the mission was finished. He wasn’t afraid of punishment—but he was terrified of not being able to see the male lead in future worlds.
But if he and the male lead were on opposing sides, then completing the main mission while staying alive was basically a contradiction. There was no way to achieve both.
The boy sobbed softly, tears soaking into the white bedsheets.
Yu Hongbo panicked. “Is your stomach hurting again? I’ll massage it for you…”
“N-No,” Bai Tang shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get out of here alive,” Yu Hongbo said as he gently wiped away Bai Tang’s tears.
He figured the situation must’ve scared the boy, so he tried to give him as much comfort and security as possible.
Bai Tang’s emotions came quickly and faded just as fast. As long as the male lead was by his side, nothing else made him feel safer.
“You haven’t eaten all day. Come on, have some porridge,” Yu Hongbo said, worried that Bai Tang would burn himself again. He lifted the bowl and gently fed the boy spoonful by spoonful.
After a couple bites, Bai Tang asked, “Did you eat?”
Yu Hongbo replied calmly, “I’ll eat after you’re done.”
Which meant—he hadn’t eaten at all. In the original plot, the game participants were all selfish and self-serving. No one would’ve cooked or saved food for Yu Hongbo.
Bai Tang flatly refused to eat unless Yu Hongbo ate with him.
Yu Hongbo had no choice. His heart warmed—being cared for by the boy felt so good.
The porridge in the thermos was soon shared between them. Bai Tang was half full when a dumpling dipped in savory peanut sauce was brought to his lips.
Looking into the smiling eyes of the person in front of him, Bai Tang opened his mouth and bit down on the dumpling with a soft “ahh”.
He ate contentedly, a little bit of brown sauce clinging to his pink lips, making them look all the more tempting.
Yu Hongbo unconsciously leaned in closer. His left hand gently cupped Bai Tang’s cheek, and his thumb slid across the corner of his lips.
“You had some sauce there,” Yu Hongbo explained.
Then he asked, “Was it good?”
“It was delicious~” Bai Tang replied with a big, bright smile.
“I really want to know what it tastes like too…”
Bai Tang glanced at the plate—completely empty. There had been very little peanut sauce to begin with, and he’d already eaten almost all of it.
“That, uh… there’s no more left.”
“There is,” Yu Hongbo’s gaze was deep, carrying an unreadable glint. “Can I try what it tastes like?”
“Where?” Bai Tang asked in innocent confusion.
The next second, Bai Tang understood exactly where the remaining peanut sauce was.
He could feel the other’s breath brushing against his cheek as he leaned in—then, something warm and soft glided across the corner of his mouth.
Whether it was intentional or not, Yu Hongbo, while tasting the peanut sauce, also brushed his lips over Bai Tang’s—leaving behind a quiet comment:
“So sweet.”
By the time Yu Hongbo returned to his seat, Bai Tang finally processed what had just happened—his cheeks turned scarlet.
“Y-You pervert…”
The little squirrel of a boy bashfully pulled the blanket over his head, only to hear cheerful laughter from outside the covers.
Author’s Note:
Not sure if this counts as sweet… but the male lead definitely got away with being a little shameless.