Chapter 127 – Shh, He Found You – Do You Need Help? (05)
There wasn’t much entertainment in the villa—only a pool table in the game room on the second floor. Bai Tang didn’t know how to play, nor did he want to. He sat gloomily in a chair while Pan Quan chattered on and on in front of him, explaining that Yu Yi and Yu Hongbo actually weren’t together; he just thought they looked like a good match and had tried to set them up.
Thanks to Yu Yi’s reminder, Pan Quan finally realized that Yu Hongbo, who had always shown no interest in girls, had fallen in love at first sight with Bai Tang the moment they met.
Now he was in real trouble. He’d offended the school heartthrob, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to make it out of the villa alive.
“Uh, Bai Tang, I’ve just got a big mouth and tend to talk nonsense. Don’t take it personally, okay?” Pan Quan said in a fawning tone.
“Mm.” Bai Tang kept his head down, clearly uninterested.
It had been almost a whole day. Why hadn’t Yu Hongbo come to find him yet?
“I mean, how was I supposed to know? You guys never tell me anything. At school, Yu Hongbo doesn’t seem to care about anything. Who would’ve guessed he was—”
Pan Quan started rambling again until Yu Yi gave him a sharp elbow in the ribs.
Stop talking. If you know you’ve got a loose tongue, then shut up already. Make him cry again, and I swear I’ll beat you up, her glare warned him.
Knock, knock, knock—
Someone knocked on the door. Yu Yi was about to open it, but Bai Tang jumped up from his chair even faster than her.
“Tang Tang.” The visitor was Yu Hongbo.
“I picked some fruit,” Yu Hongbo said, holding out a few pieces in his sweaty palms.
Pan Quan, a total foodie, lit up at the sight. “Where’d you get those? Are there more?”
“Picked them outside. This place is a deserted island—we can’t leave. Looks like we’ll only be rescued if we complete the game like the mysterious person said.”
Bai Tang took the fruit and bit into it. Sweet juice spread across his mouth.
“It’s delicious, thank you,” Bai Tang said softly, head lowered, his emotions unreadable.
“No need to thank me. As long as you like it,” Yu Hongbo replied, gently patting the head that barely reached his chin.
Pan Quan quickly finished his share. Seeing the silent scene at the doorway between the two, a lightbulb went off in his head—maybe this was his chance to make up for things.
“God of Handsome, take us to pick more fruit! This little bit isn’t nearly enough. The kitchen only has rice and a few eggs—nothing else. If we could catch a rabbit or something, we’d at least have some meat!”
Pan Quan’s suggestion tempted Yu Yi too. Honestly, the food in the kitchen wasn’t very fresh either—the rice in the bin was already starting to mold. All of them had grown up pampered, and even tolerating two days of borderline-spoiled food was already impressive.
Yu Hongbo, of course, had no objections. Now, it just depended on whether Bai Tang would agree.
Bai Tang met the hopeful gazes of the other two. He didn’t want to be the reason they couldn’t go out, so he nodded.
“Yes! Let’s go, let’s go! I can’t wait—I want meat, meat, meat…” Pan Quan shouted, leading the group excitedly. Yu Yi hurried after him, telling him to keep it down. Did he want to alert the entire villa?
At the very back were Yu Hongbo and Bai Tang. The two walked side by side in silence.
Yu Hongbo stole glances at the boy next to him, who was walking with his head down. Slowly, he edged closer and quietly took Bai Tang’s hand in his own.
Bai Tang looked up, meeting Yu Hongbo’s bright eyes. “I don’t like Yu Yi,” he said.
“I know,” Yu Hongbo replied softly.
Back in Yu Yi’s room earlier, Bai Tang had thought about it for a long time. This world was dangerous—one wrong move, and they might never leave. How could he allow himself to be petty and distract Yu Hongbo? Besides, through all these different worlds, the protagonist had always stayed by his side. He shouldn’t doubt him now.
With that, Bai Tang took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry.”
The boy’s voice was soft and sweet, the kind that could make anyone feel at ease.
Yu Hongbo finally relaxed, the tension in his chest easing. “You don’t need to apologize to me. As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters.”
Even now, all Yu Hongbo cared about was making him happy. Bai Tang felt another wave of shame over his earlier pettiness.
“Hurry up! I’ll climb the tree to pick them—you catch them from below.”
“Got it. Be careful!”
Pan Quan and Yu Yi were already beneath a tree ahead, laughing as they gathered fruit together.
If only life could always be this carefree, without worries—how wonderful that would be. Why was he causing trouble for himself again?
Bai Tang, infected by the joy of the two up ahead, made a quiet resolution: he would treasure this time. Even if he died in this world, he would make sure Yu Hongbo survived.
“Ah Bo, I have something to tell you,” Bai Tang said, mustering his courage.
“Let’s talk once we’re outside,” Yu Hongbo said, seeing the determined look on Bai Tang’s face. His heart sank—could it be that the boy had figured out his feelings and was about to reject him?
Knowing the one you love doesn’t feel the same is one thing; hearing it directly was another. Yu Hongbo didn’t want to hear it. He just wanted to protect Bai Tang—even if it meant dying here himself—as long as Bai Tang could live and be with the one he loved.
“No, I want to say it now. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t get another chance.”
“Don’t say that. I’ll protect you. You will make it out alive. Be good, let’s wait until we’re—”
“I like you.”
Yu Hongbo’s words stopped mid-sentence. His face filled with disbelief.
“Tang Tang, you…”
“Ah Bo, I like you.”
Bai Tang’s usually tight expression was unusually serious. Yu Hongbo felt like a volcano had erupted inside him. The love he’d been holding back could no longer be contained. Joy exploded in his mind, leaving him feeling dazed, like he was drunk on happiness.
But when Bai Tang noticed Yu Hongbo hadn’t responded for a while, his once-firm heart began to falter. Could it be that, in this world, the male lead didn’t like him? The thought stung, and a quiet sadness crept in—maybe he had just been imagining things.
“Tang Tang, I love you.”
Yu Hongbo suddenly pulled Bai Tang into an embrace, his voice soft and full of emotion. “You might not believe it, but from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I fell in love. That moment, I knew I had met the person I wanted to love and take care of for the rest of my life. I’m grateful for this game—because without it, I would’ve never met you.”
Bai Tang hugged Yu Hongbo back. “But I’m…”
“Shhh—” Yu Hongbo pressed a finger to Bai Tang’s lips. He glanced around, confirming that aside from the two fools gathering fruit nearby, there was no one else around.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“But…”
Yu Hongbo brushed aside the windblown strands of hair on Bai Tang’s forehead and gently kissed him. “Let me bear all the sin.”
…
Yu Yi and Pan Quan had finally gathered a pile of fruit. But when they turned around, they saw the two sitting close together on a small hillside, watching the sunset. Suddenly, the fruit in their hands didn’t seem quite as appetizing.
They had mentally prepared themselves to be bombarded with PDA when they helped patch things up—but seeing it with their own eyes was still incredibly annoying.
Hey! Could you two at least pretend to realize you might be dead by tomorrow? Can love fill your stomach?
When they approached with their armfuls of fruit, they saw Bai Tang leaning on Yu Hongbo’s shoulder, watching him pluck blades of grass and expertly weave them into a grasshopper with nimble fingers.
“Tang Tang, have some fruit,” Yu Yi said, handing over some freshly cleaned ones.
“Thank you, Sister Yu Yi.”
“You’re welcome~” With that sweet smile from their adorable Bai Tang, Yu Yi didn’t mind the PDA anymore. As long as her cutie was happy, nothing else mattered.
As dusk fell, their luck ran out—they hadn’t caught any rabbits. After eating the fruit, they returned to the villa.
“Tang Tang, come stay with me tonight,” Yu Yi invited warmly. Two girls sharing a bed, whispering secrets—what a lovely image.
While Yu Yi was still fantasizing about girl talk with Bai Tang, Yu Hongbo flatly rejected her.
“What gives? Even if you’re dating, that doesn’t mean you can monopolize Tang Tang!”
Yu Hongbo’s lips curved into a smile. “It’s because I’m Tang Tang’s boyfriend that I have to protect him.”
Yu Yi: …That actually makes so much sense I have no comeback.
“Tang Tang, come stay with me~” Yu Yi switched tactics. If Yu Hongbo disagreed, so what? As long as Bai Tang said yes, that was enough.
But Bai Tang wrapped his arms around Yu Hongbo’s and smiled. “I want to stay with Ah Bo.”
Ah, it’s over, it’s all over—when a girl grows up, you can’t keep her close; try too hard, and you’ll just push her away. Yu Yi clutched her chest in despair. Tang Tang, you’ve let your sister down. I’m only doing this for your own good—to stop you from being snatched away by that big-tailed wolf. Why can’t you understand me?
In the end, Yu Yi still failed to lure Bai Tang back to her room.
Yu Hongbo and Bai Tang returned to the fourth floor, and he chose to stay in Bai Tang’s room.
The fourth floor was a strategic location—if anything happened in the middle of the night, they could use the sound of footsteps to determine the werewolf’s direction.
If the werewolf acted on the fourth floor, they would only need to listen for footsteps going down the stairs to narrow down the suspect range. But if they stayed on the third floor, footsteps going up or down would be harder to distinguish.
Based on the clue he had found in Bai Tang’s room that afternoon, Yu Hongbo confirmed that there were four groups of werewolves in the game.
But when he went to the secret meeting point, only one other person showed up. Where were the other two werewolves? Had they died? Or were they simply hiding? If they were dead, it would be less of a problem—but if they were hidden “dark wolves,” that would be a serious complication.
“The bath’s ready, Ah Bo, go wash up,” Bai Tang said as he stepped out of the bathroom. He still feared water and figured he’d just wipe himself down with a wet towel after Yu Hongbo finished bathing.
“Did you already wash?” Yu Hongbo asked, but one look told him the answer—Bai Tang was still wearing the same clothes.
The game’s host had been surprisingly thoughtful. Each room came equipped with a bathrobe, T-shirt, and sweatpants.
“I’m not in a rush. You go first, Ah Bo…” Bai Tang said, pushing Yu Hongbo toward the bathroom.
“No way—how about we wash together?” Yu Hongbo teased.
Bai Tang’s cheeks, already flushed from the steam, turned even redder—like a shrimp boiled to perfection.
Just as Yu Hongbo was about to drop the joke, thinking he’d teased enough, the boy suddenly said, “Okay~”
Which led to the current situation: Bai Tang was sitting in a bubble-filled bathtub, gripping the sides tightly, while Yu Hongbo gently scrubbed his back with a loofah.
“Come on, Tang Tang, lift your arms…”
Bai Tang obediently raised his arms, letting Yu Hongbo continue washing him.
As the loofah moved from his abdomen downward, it accidentally brushed against some… sensitive areas. Yu Hongbo’s hand froze mid-motion, unsure what to do.
Bai Tang blushed furiously, his whole body heating up—and Yu Hongbo wasn’t doing any better.
A suspicious flush crept up Yu Hongbo’s face. He quickly finished washing the boy’s legs, his voice slightly hoarse. “Tang Tang, rinse off for a bit—I’ll step out.”
He fled the bathroom in a flustered rush.
Bai Tang stood up in the tub and reached for the bathrobe hanging by the door—only to hear the rough, uneven breathing of a man outside.
The sound wasn’t unfamiliar to Bai Tang. He touched his burning cheeks, a tangled mess of embarrassment and uncertainty.
Finally, he gathered his courage, peeked his little head out from behind the door, and asked softly,
“Do you need help?”
Author’s Note:
Bai Tang, face still flushed: “Ah Bo, let me help you.”
Yu Hongbo, panting heavily, pushed the little squirrel down…