Chapter 18: Horror Livestream Room (18)

How to prove it? The young boy frowned, appearing somewhat distressed, as if unsure how to demonstrate it.

After all, he didn’t seem to know why he liked the doctor so much in such a short time, liking him to the point where his heart felt joy upon seeing him.

The young boy contemplated for several seconds, took a deep breath, and shyly lifted his gaze to the doctor in front of him.

The doctor continued to look at him tenderly, seemingly encouraging him to boldly prove it.

Perhaps swayed by the doctor’s smile, the young boy summoned up the courage to straighten himself and slowly leaned closer to the doctor. His face turned completely red, a glimmer of moisture appeared in his eyes, exuding a tantalizing sense of youthfulness.

The doctor smiled, not evading, calmly observing the young boy, awaiting his actions.

And anticipating his actions.

The young boy got closer and closer, close enough to catch a faint fragrance emanating from him. Even the strong medicinal scent on his neck couldn’t overpower that subtle fragrance.

It was like a blooming orchid in the dark abyss, igniting all desires and longings within the depths of one’s heart.

The doctor gazed at the remarkably obedient person before him, involuntarily fixing his gaze on the young boy’s slightly pursed lips. He lightly rubbed his index finger against the pad of his thumb a few times, as if the soft and warm sensation still lingered on his fingertip.

It was so soft, making one’s heart itch with anticipation.

Just as the doctor’s gaze deepened, thinking the young boy would lean in for a kiss...

The young boy suddenly grabbed the doctor’s hand and pressed it against his own heart.

Seemingly wanting the owner of the hand to feel his heartbeat.

No, not seemingly. He wanted him to feel his heartbeat.

This was probably what the young boy had been thinking about for so long, the proof he had come up with.

The doctor: “...”

The doctor’s expression momentarily froze at the sensation of a beating heart transmitted through his hand.

Even though there were clothes and even the straps of the young boy’s crossbody bag between them, the doctor could still clearly sense the frequency of the young boy’s heartbeat.

At this moment, the young boy’s heart was beating rapidly, faster than usual.

It was the kind of rapid heartbeat that came from intense exercise, being startled, or encountering someone they like.

Indeed, there was no better proof than this.

The young boy’s face grew even redder, shyly lowering his head and tightly gripping his sleeves. It was as if he was getting close to someone like this for the first time, his flushed face resembling a blooming flower, incredibly vibrant.

The doctor’s expression had always been gentle, but this was probably the first time he found himself at a loss for words.

However, he wasn’t angry. The young boy’s awkward reaction brought him even more delight.

The doctor didn’t trouble the young boy any further. He gently chuckled, withdrew his hand, and rubbed the young boy’s head. “Alright, I believe you now. But you still need to take care of your health before pursuing me, okay?”

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing’s eyes brightened, and he couldn’t contain his happiness. Shyness was momentarily forgotten as he beamed at the doctor and nodded vigorously. “Mm!”

The young boy’s unbridled joy was not concealed at all. His eyes and brows were filled with a joyful expression, shining brightly. Even the dim room couldn’t hide his beauty.

However, the young boy’s inner thoughts were vastly different from his happy expression. Ruan Qing calmly spoke in his mind, his voice indifferent. ‘System, is Jiang Sinian dead? If he’s dead, does it mean I failed the sub-quest of paying rent?’

At first glance, he noticed the bloodstains on the doctor’s body, which were most likely Jiang Sinian’s.

The system was somewhat surprised by Ruan Qing’s alertness but not entirely unexpected. After all, when scanning the young boy’s data initially, it was clear that his intelligence was far above average.

His weakness lay only in his broken and fragile body.

[The system cannot provide players with information or assistance regarding dungeons. Please explore on your own.]

Ruan Qing chuckled ambiguously, ‘Thank you.’

System: “...”

From what Ruan Qing observed since entering this dungeon, the system provided irrelevant reminders but didn’t offer any information or assistance regarding the instance.

This indirectly reminded Ruan Qing that his question was related to the information about the instance.

Without acknowledging Ruan Qing’s gratitude, the system’s tone remained cold as it spoke. [Why weren’t you hypnotized?]

Ruan Qing couldn’t help but chuckle as if he had heard something amusing. ‘What are you talking about? I’m just an ordinary person, so of course I was hypnotized.’

Ruan Qing looked at the doctor and revealed a shy smile, pure affection evident in his eyes without any concealment.

‘I’m really, really fond of the doctor now.’

Contrary to his appearance, Ruan Qing’s tone was flat, devoid of any fluctuations. It was almost impossible to detect his affection, as if he were saying, ‘The weather is nice today.’

System: [...Well, I certainly couldn’t tell.]

In fact, what Ruan Qing said was true. How could he possibly resist a form of hypnosis that transcended science?

Hypnosis was simply a means of implanting thoughts in a person’s mind without their awareness. It could only be effective when the individual didn’t resist and was essentially a disguised form of psychological guidance. It wouldn’t have any immediate impact on a person’s intelligence or memory.

If it were the original host, he would probably believe that he had found his true love upon entering the hospital, falling deeply in love with the doctor without a hint of doubt.

However, Ruan Qing was different. He would never fall in love with someone so quickly, nor would he let his guard down easily. So when the doctor tried to hypnotize him, he realized it.

But he could only allow himself to be hypnotized.

Because it was evident that he couldn’t overpower the doctor, and Jiang Sinian outside the door might not be able to rescue him in time. So, apart from surrendering, he had no other choice.

Fortunately, the content of the doctor’s hypnosis happened to be what he detested the most.

Therefore, when Ruan Qing regained consciousness and found the sudden surge of affection in his mind, he immediately knew that he had been hypnotized.

However, what Ruan Qing didn’t expect was that the doctor’s hypnosis was significantly different from any hypnosis he had experienced before.

The doctor’s hypnosis was remarkably powerful, to the point of being unbelievable. Even though Ruan Qing’s rationality told him that he couldn’t fall in love with someone in such a short time, his heart and emotions truly loved the doctor uncontrollably.

Sometimes, it even attempted to overpower his rationality and undermine his will.

This was troublesome and absurd. It went beyond the realm of ordinary hypnosis.

Ruan Qing tried to suppress the intense emotions, but after about five minutes, it became unbearable. Forceful suppression only made the emotions surge and become more uncontrollable.

Since suppression was impossible, he decided to let it be.

Having one more “person to like” wasn’t a big deal, after all. Besides, the person he liked would always end up in a high-risk situation.

However, the doctor’s hypnosis was far from ordinary means. The doctor was likely using special methods to hypnotize him.

There were two possibilities: either drugs were involved, or external forces were utilized.

Ruan Qing was more inclined to believe the latter because the doctor didn’t have an opportunity to drug him from the time they met until he was hypnotized. Therefore, it was more likely that external forces were involved.

And that so-called external force was likely that huge eye.

The enormous eye was behind Ruan Qing, but he didn’t dare to turn around or confirm what that eye really was.

Although the illusions disappeared after the doctor entered, the strong feeling of being watched persisted, as if those enormous eye was constantly staring at him.

It sent shivers down his spine and prevented Ruan Qing’s heart from calming down. His mind was screaming to escape from this place.

But Ruan Qing couldn’t. He even had to pretend not to know about it.

The doctor had no idea what Ruan Qing was thinking. He leisurely took off his white coat and placed it on the nearby table, revealing a pristine white shirt, untouched by any dirt. Every movement and gesture carried gentleness and elegance.

He doesn’t seem like a typical doctor; instead, he resembled an artist.

After putting away the clothes, the doctor looked at Ruan Qing and said, “Sinian has some things to attend to and left beforehand. Where would you like to go next? Back home? I can take you there.”

Ruan Qing looked up at the doctor with a pleasantly surprised expression, his eyes shimmering with scattered radiance. “Can you really?”

“Yeah,” the doctor smiled and nodded, hinting at something as he spoke, “It’s almost noon anyway, and I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

If it was an ordinary person, they might have readily accepted the invitation to have a meal from someone they liked.

But Ruan Qing couldn’t do that because he had no money left,  he didn’t even have enough to buy a few mantou buns. How could he possibly afford to treat someone to a meal?

So he simply opened his mouth, appearing hesitant to speak, but in the end, he didn’t say anything. He just clung to his shoulder bag, seemingly feeling somewhat inferior.

The doctor didn’t ask for Ruan Qing’s answer nor seemed to mind. He left the laboratory with Ruan Qing and even locked the door behind them.

Leaving that laboratory, the feeling of being watched finally disappeared, and Ruan Qing let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief.

Although it was daytime, the underground parking lot was relatively dim, but it didn’t affect his line of sight.

The car the doctor drove, like Jiang Sinian’s car, was a luxury vehicle, indicating that both of them weren’t lacking in money.

As soon as Ruan Qing saw the car, his feelings of inferiority intensified. A sense of being anxious and troubled welled up inside, and he couldn’t suppress it.

After all, he couldn’t even afford a meal, while the person he liked was quite wealthy. The disparity was significant, and it was only natural to feel inferior in such circumstances.

Speaking of which, it was quite novel. This was the first time Ruan Qing had experienced such emotions, and it didn’t feel entirely bad.

Originally, Ruan Qing intended to sit in the back seat, but the doctor beat him to it and courteously opened the passenger’s door.

Ruan Qing could only offer a small smile to the doctor and said “thank you” before sitting in the passenger seat.

After the doctor got into the car and fastened his seatbelt, he didn’t start the engine but instead looked at Ruan Qing.

Then, leaning slightly, he approached Ruan Qing’s side. His gaze was focused, gentle like water, and his pupils reflected the figure of the young boy as if he was observing something immensely important.

The doctor moved closer and closer, so close that Ruan Qing felt like he could touch him by just lifting his head.

As if he were about to kiss him.

Ruan Qing widened his eyes, his heart racing in an instant. The sound of his own heartbeat was loud enough for him to hear, and he even nervously forgot to breathe.

He sat there stiffly, afraid to move.

His long eyelashes trembled with nervousness, a faint blush appeared on his delicate face, but there was a barely noticeable excitement and joy in the doctor’s eyes.

To the young boy’s highly anticipated gaze, the doctor only reached over and fastened the seatbelt beside the young boy, being very thoughtful. “There you go.”

“Thank... thank you.” Ruan Qing’s face instantly turned red, feeling extremely embarrassed and awkward. At the same time, a hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes.

The doctor smiled warmly and said, “No need to thank me.”

Ruan Qing shyly lowered his head, then calmly commented in his mind, ‘He’s quite good at training dogs.’

System: “...”

After the car started, Ruan Qing provided the address of his place of residence.

However, instead of driving directly to his rented house, the doctor drove to an underground parking lot of a restaurant.

After parking the car, the doctor looked at Ruan Qing and asked, “Do you have any other plans later? Would you mind joining me for a meal?”

Ruan Qing hesitated for a moment, indicating that he had something to do. Just as he was about to refuse, the doctor happily spoke up, “That would be great! Being a doctor keeps me so busy, and usually, I eat takeout alone. Today is the first time I have someone to accompany me.”

Ruan Qing couldn’t find the words to refuse anymore. Eventually, he put on his mask and obediently followed the doctor to the restaurant.

The restaurant was a five-star establishment, and the decoration looked extremely luxurious, a place that ordinary people couldn’t afford to go to.

The people coming and going all had the appearance of successful individuals.

The doctor didn’t mention his name, and yet the nearby waiter politely addressed the doctor, “Mr. Wen, please follow me.”

Ruan Qing glanced at the waiter and followed the doctor, preparing to go upstairs.

However, as they had just reached the staircase landing, Ruan Qing spotted a familiar figure at the corner of the stairs.

It was...

Ji Yan.

He had his hands in his pockets, seemingly lost in thought and distracted.

Most importantly, he was heading downstairs!

If he was to go upstairs, they would definitely collide.

Ruan Qing’s heart sank slightly. He was currently dressed in men’s clothing and wearing a mask, and didn’t resemble the girl from last night. But still.

Regardless of whether the staircase was narrow or wide, the distance they would brush past each other was undeniably dangerous for him.

 

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