"..."

Shen Ci paused, furrowing his brows.

In this kind of game, to prevent the dominant party from acting too aggressively and breaking the submissive party's bottom line, it was common practice to agree on a Safe Word in advance. When one person said the Safe Word, the other had to stop and end the game to ensure safety.

But that was how ordinary people played.

But who was Xie Yu? He was a top-tier second-generation heir in Jiang City, an arrogant eldest young master who had been domineering since childhood. When he played games, it was only ever when he got bored or tired of it that he would be the first to stop. How could there be any room for others to intervene?

Shen Ci suspected whether this was just a new game Young Master Xie thought up on a whim. He fixed his gaze on Xie Yu's face, trying to find some clues from his expression. However, Xie Yu simply lay lazily on the sofa, his two long legs curled up casually, his expression calm, and even a smile playing at the corners of his lips. He looked exactly like a cynical second-generation heir, giving nothing away.

Xie Yu let him stare: "How about it, does Teaching Assistant Shen have a word he likes?"

Shen Ci withdrew his gaze and said flatly, "Up to you."

"Up to me? Then I'll have to think carefully." Xie Yu propped his chin on his hand and casually glanced out the window. At this time, the sun was slanting to the west, and there was a patch of red-gold fiery clouds in the southwest.

Although large parts of the original novel were mosaicked, some environmental descriptions remained. For example, when Shen Ci walked into the room, the author mentioned the view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, saying, "the setting sun melted like gold, the evening clouds merged like jade," and when the two were sleeping, it was described as "the stars twinkling, the night growing thicker." That meant they were supposed to go at it from dusk until dark this time.

It was just past six o'clock now, still about an hour before dark. He had to stall for some time.

Xie Yu feigned deep thought, taking his time to choose.

"Hmm, first of all, this word can't be too common, like 'no' or 'don't'. These are too frequent. If you say them, I won't be able to tell if you really can't take it anymore or if it's just foreplay. Secondly, the word can't be too complicated either, otherwise, when the time comes, you might not have the stamina to say it out loud. Hmm... we need to find a compromise."

Shen Ci: "..."

He uncomfortably rubbed his fingertips together.

Xie Yu was happy to spout nonsense to stall for time. He kept a distance of several meters from Shen Ci, not overstepping a single bit, as conservative as a gentleman strictly abiding by the rules, yet the words coming out of his mouth were becoming increasingly out of tune. A Safe Word was obviously a private matter, but Xie Yu brought out the attitude of a student writing a thesis. This wasn't good, that wasn't good either, and he even had to eliminate them one by one, as if he weren't discussing a Safe Word with a pet, but naming a child.

Xie Yu methodically analyzed, summarized, and concluded, finally deciding: "In short, we need a rarely used word with a short pronunciation."

He raised his eyes to look at Shen Ci. "Teaching Assistant Shen, do you have any opinions?"

Shen Ci: "..."

Who would have opinions on this kind of thing?

He didn't utter a single sound.

Xie Yu wasn't surprised at all. The Shen Ci in the novel was just like this. He had a good-looking exterior, but his personality was extremely cold, and he was exceptionally unyielding. He never cooperated outside of the contract.

And the original owner despised this aloof personality nurtured in the slums, determined to crush his unyielding nature and carve him into an ornament to hold and play with in his hands. That was why he tortured him over and over again.

Since Shen Ci didn't speak, Xie Yu simply spoke for him. Young Master Xie looked around and his gaze landed on a porcelain vase in the hotel's glass cabinet. It was a blue-and-white Linglong pure vase with a quaint and slender shape. The body of the vase was wrapped with a circle of cyan lotus patterns, looking elegant and dignified. In terms of temperament, it was somewhat similar to the Shen Ci in front of him.

So Xie Yu asked, "Porcelain, how about Porcelain? The pronunciation is simple, and it's not commonly used."

Shen Ci remained silent. His gaze, originally focused out the window, now returned to Xie Yu's face, seemingly considering what new idea this second-generation heir had come up with now.

Xie Yu leaned forward: "Speak."

Shen Ci: "...Okay."

Silence fell between the two of them once again.

At this time, Shen Ci's shirt was half-off, with most of the buttons undone. His cold, white skin was exposed, breaking out in goosebumps. He didn't pull his clothes back up, but just stood there quietly like a lifeless commodity.

Xie Yu glanced at the floor-to-ceiling windows.

There were large swaths of flocculent fiery clouds in the sky. It was still twenty minutes away from sunset. He still needed to stall.

Forcing a chat wouldn't work; he and Shen Ci didn't have any common topics and couldn't chat for twenty minutes. Estimating the time, Xie Yu simply took out his phone and made a call.

An abrupt ringtone exploded in the room. Shen Ci trembled slightly and turned his head. Xie Yu got up, walked to the cabinet, and said something in a low voice. The bedroom was large, and they were far apart, so they couldn't hear everything clearly, but one could vaguely hear, "Right, right, right," and "Come to my room."

Shen Ci, who had been standing properly, suddenly raised his head upon hearing this. He tightly gripped the hem of his shirt and looked at Xie Yu in disbelief.

Xie Yu was still on the phone: "Right, right, right, 3501, the presidential suite on the top floor."

He looked up and happened to see Shen Ci's deathly pale face, and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Shen Ci gripped his shirt hem so hard that the blue veins on his wrist were visible. He tried his best to steady his emotions: "No, no."

Xie Yu asked: "No? No what?"

Shen Ci closed his eyes, his figure tense, his body trembling slightly, even his fingertips beginning to shake. He looked embarrassed to the extreme: "...Just you, no multiples."

At the same time, Xie Yu asked: "No green onions or no cilantro?"

They looked at each other simultaneously.

Xie Yu was bewildered: "Ah?"

He was on the phone, and the person on the other end was also talking quite loudly, so he didn't hear what Shen Ci said clearly and pressed on, "Do you have dietary restrictions?"

Xie Yu truly hadn't thought about multiplayer games. It was just that there were still twenty minutes left, and he felt that just wasting time together wasn't going to work, so he called the hotel to order room service, picking a few dishes according to his own tastes. It wasn't that he deliberately ignored Shen Ci's taste, he just figured that even if he asked, Shen Ci wouldn't tell him, so he simply ordered for him. Unexpectedly, Shen Ci directly opened his mouth to say no.

Xie Yu didn't hear clearly, but he figured that Shen Ci was probably saying, "I won't eat."

He thought to himself, 'As expected of a future big shot, the novel's protagonist. Even down and out like this, he's still quite picky.'

In the novel, Shen Ci's family situation was poor. He usually ate in the cafeteria, only spending five or ten yuan. Things like tofu mixed with green onions, or water spinach with minced garlic—it was all leaves and grass, with not a trace of meat. Xie Yu thought he wasn't a picky eater and would eat whatever he was given.

On second thought, he mused: 'But if he's picky, let him be picky. The original owner is wealthy and imposing; being a little picky with food isn't something he can't afford to raise.'

Xie Yu handed the phone over. "Then you order."

Shen Ci: "..."

His expression was hesitant, but his tense muscles slowly relaxed. He silently took the phone. A sweet female voice came from the other end: "Hello, sir, what would you like to eat? Our hotel's French desserts are very famous, and the head chef has won many international honors. I highly recommend the black truffle mousse and the vanilla canelé..."

Shen Ci felt it was absurd.

He had been agonizing over how to overcome the humiliation and take off his clothes, yet the person on the other end was talking about black truffle mousse and vanilla canelé.

The chattering recommendations on the phone were all expensive dishes. Shen Ci didn't reply immediately. He just looked at Xie Yu with a weird expression and asked a seemingly random question, "You're letting me eat?"

Xie Yu: "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

This was a purely subconscious reaction, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he had misspoken.

Young Master Xie was picky and a slight germaphobe; he never allowed others to eat dinner before spending the night.

However, the words had already been spoken, and Xie Yu couldn't swallow them back. He waved his hand, signaling Shen Ci to order.

The staff member on the other end of the line was still chattering away with introductions. Shen Ci casually ordered two dishes and stopped speaking.

Ten minutes later, the staff knocked on the door pushing a cart, setting a table full of food. Xie Yu motioned for Shen Ci to sit down and then started scrolling through the original owner's phone.

The original owner was a wealthy playboy, and the circle he mingled with consisted of other wealthy playboys. His messaging app had a pinned group chat called F1 Group. At this time, it had 99+ new messages. Xie Yu tapped into it and saw someone was tagging him.

He Zhiyuan: "@Young Master Xie, have you gotten your hands on that academic type you fancied yet?"

He Zhiyuan: "How does it taste? Looks really good, that temperament, so aloof. I haven't done a prestigious university student before, Young Master Xie sure is lucky."

He Zhiyuan: "When Young Master Xie gets tired of playing, let me have a taste too?"

Xie Yu didn't speak.

The friends of a second-generation heir were also a bunch of second-generation heirs, spouting foul words that were truly obnoxious. He was about to turn off his phone when another message popped up.

Li Yang: "Yo, got a new target. Looks like Young Master Xie won't be logging onto the game tonight?"

Only then did Xie Yu type: "Logging on."

The group was full of wealthy second-generation fair-weather friends. Li Yang was considered one of the more normal ones. His hobby was playing games, and when he couldn't find teammates normally, he'd drag Xie Yu to play. And since Xie Yu was just worrying about not having anything to do tonight, he readily agreed.

After eating his meal, he plugged in his earphones and lay on the sofa, ignoring everything else. He didn't spare a single glance at Shen Ci, fully engrossed in playing the game. He played until ten o'clock before yawning, getting up, and staggering to his feet.

Shen Ci watched him walk into the bathroom.

Through a layer of frosted glass, the sound of water rang out. Xie Yu washed up hastily and came out wrapped in a bathrobe. "You go take a shower."

This was one of the few lines in the original text that hadn't been censored.

He circled Shen Ci with his eyes, scanning him from head to toe. "You should know what to do."

Shen Ci paused for a moment. He got up and walked into the bathroom, his face showing neither sorrow nor joy. Once the bathroom door closed, completely cutting off Xie Yu's line of sight, he leaned his back against the cold wall and silently closed his eyes.

In this suite of over two hundred square meters, only this bathroom could temporarily contain Shen Ci's breakdown.

But even so, he didn't dare to, and couldn't, delay for too long. After silently steadying his emotions, Shen Ci reached out to turn on the showerhead. Hot water cascaded down from above, pouring onto his skin. As the water sprayed, Shen Ci realized that the hand holding the showerhead was actually trembling.

After all, the person sitting outside the door was definitely no saint.

Eldest Young Master Xie Yu loved to play, and played particularly wildly. Everyone in the upper crust of Jiang City knew this, but Shen Ci had never come into contact with this circle before, nor had he ever thought he would be entangled with Xie Yu. All the achievements, pride, and even dignity he had accumulated along the way were as light as a piece of paper in front of Xie Yu, ready to be trampled underfoot at any time and ground into mud with his shoe.

Separated by a wall, Xie Yu was looking through Shen Ci's physical examination report.

According to the description in the novel, on the day the agreement was drafted, Xie Yu demanded that the other party go for a physical examination. Shen Ci didn't cooperate, working his part-time jobs and attending classes as usual. Xie Yu had someone directly park a Bentley right at the entrance of the laboratory, looking like he wouldn't let it go until he succeeded. This attracted many onlookers, and Shen Ci, unable to bear the harassment, reluctantly gave in and went to the hospital.

As he flipped through it, he found it somewhat shocking.

Shen Ci's physical condition was in a constant state of sub-health all year round. Insomnia, anemia... Xie Yu even suspected that a simple cold could become the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"System," Xie Yu called out to the System while looking at the blood test data. "Are you sure the protagonist's physical condition can survive so many mosaics? Playing with these two letters won't turn into a murder scene, right?"

System was nonchalant: "Don't worry, Host. Protagonists are very durable."

He definitely wouldn't die. As for feeling pain... if the protagonist of an abusive protagonist novel didn't feel pain, would it still be an abusive protagonist novel?

Xie Yu: "..."

He cast a sidelong glance: "Damn, what kind of hellish organization is yours anyway?"

A bunch of freaks?

At this time, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

Xie Yu stuffed the documents into the nightstand, closed the cabinet door securely, and pretended nothing had happened.

Shen Ci put on his covering clothes, buttoned up to above his collarbone, and carefully smoothed out every wrinkle in the mirror—as if wrapping his body in the faded, pale fabric gave him a sense of security. Then he lowered his eyes and opened the door.

Things having reached this point, avoiding it was meaningless.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his expression to complete placidity, and only then walked to the bedside and looked at Xie Yu on the bed.

Then, he froze.

The imperious young master of the Xie Family was quietly burying his face in the quilt, half of his face rubbing against the pillow, revealing a fluffy head of hair. Stripped of his arrogant daytime demeanor, he actually looked quite gentle.

He was asleep.

Shen Ci stared blankly at Xie Yu's sleeping face. After a long silence, he walked to the bedside and raised his hand to turn off the main light.

He sat down on the sofa to the side, leaned against the sofa cushion, and closed his eyes.

And on the other side, Young Master Xie, who appeared to be sleeping soundly on the surface, was bargaining with the System.

System: "Hmm, let me see. All non-mosaic lines have been performed. The protagonist feels humiliated and uneasy. Key task node completed. Base score 80... Deduct 40 points for adding extra non-essential lines... Overall evaluation 40 points."

"Wait," Xie Yu interrupted. "What non-essential lines did I add?"

System: "There's no Safe Word in the original text; this behavior violates the character setting."

"It doesn't, right?" Xie Yu pondered. "I remember the original owner was an exceptionally 'professional' rich second generation when it came to special games?"

System: "Yes."

"Under normal circumstances, shouldn't a Safe Word be agreed upon in this game?"

System: "...Yes?"

"As a professional, he must possess the corresponding professionalism. Therefore, he should agree on a Safe Word?"

System: "..."

The System thought carefully, finally relenting: "Alright, then deduct twenty. You know, you shouldn't have asked Shen Ci about his dietary restrictions."

There was indeed no arguing this point, so Xie Yu nodded in agreement.

The two reached a consensus, and the System turned off its screen and shut down. After all this arguing, Xie Yu also felt a bit sleepy. He pillowed his head on his arms, calculating the subsequent plot, but suddenly heard a suppressed cough coming from the sofa nearby.

By the moonlight, Xie Yu looked over.

Shen Ci's forehead was pressed against the sofa cushion, his back tensed like a bow. One hand pushed against the backrest while the other gripped his throat, as if trying his best to suppress the sound in his throat.

The sofa was a single-seater. Shen Ci had a slender, tall figure, so he could only draw his legs in, his posture like a curled-up shrimp. The temperature of the hotel's central air conditioning was set very low, and he was only wearing a thin shirt that was mostly soaked with sweat. At this moment, he was shivering violently, doing his utmost to suppress the sound in his throat, letting out only the slight bits he couldn't hold down.

It must be very painful to swallow all the coughing sounds back down.

Xie Yu hesitated about whether to pretend to be asleep, but felt the person nearby coughing more and more fiercely, his entire back tensed and trembling.

Xie Yu: "..."

He estimated the System's evaluation criteria, then reached out and clicked the bedside lamp on.

Shen Ci's back stiffened.

Xie Yu sat up and scolded with a cold face: "In the middle of the night, are you going to let people sleep or not?"

Shen Ci lowered his eyes: "Sorry, I will restrain myself."

"Restrain yourself my ass!" Xie Yu sized up Shen Ci, irritably grabbing a pillow. "Why are you on the sofa? Who told you to sleep on the sofa? Get up here."

"..."

Shen Ci paused, but ultimately said nothing. He half sat up and began to unbutton his shirt with lowered eyes.

Xie Yu raised his eyelids: "What are you taking off? Just come up."

Shen Ci stiffened. His fingers gripped his cuffs, his expression unreadable: "I don't have many good clothes."

Xie Yu: "...?"

He didn't understand the logic here, but saw Shen Ci give a self-deprecating smile and say, "Forget it, let it be."

He got on the bed from the other side, kneeling on the mattress wearing only his shirt, seeming to wait for something.

After a thousand twists and turns of thought, an unbelievable idea popped into Xie Yu's mind: 'He thinks I'm going to tear his clothes?'

System popped out silently: "For the original owner, this is indeed standard procedure."

Xie Yu: "..."

He rolled over, turning his back to Shen Ci, and feigning a sleepy look, said impatiently, "I told you to get up here, so get up here. Coughing away in the middle of the night, noisy as hell. You ruined my sleep."

Shen Ci paused, then immediately lay flat on the other side. This was a large bed nearly two meters wide. Xie Yu slept on one side alone, showing not the slightest intention of sleeping together with him. He hesitated whether to take the initiative to go over, but saw Xie Yu flip a section of the quilt backwards, covering him completely.

Young Master Xie's sleep-talking-like voice rang out: "It's so late, go to sleep."

Shen Ci paused.

He clutched a corner of the quilt. The quilt was very large; even if they lay flat on opposite sides of the bed, drawing a clear line between them, it didn't feel crowded. The section thrown over him covered him loosely, still carrying Xie Yu's body heat, and was surprisingly very warm.

He kept his body tense, waiting for Xie Yu's next instruction, but Xie Yu just rolled over, and the sound of heavy breathing followed.

Xie Yu seemed to have fallen asleep again.