Han Ze’s eyes were slightly red, and he tightly clenched the fists resting on his knees. His trembling voice was full of self-reproach. “I’m sorry.”
Han Ze had never felt as useless as he did at that moment, so useless that it deepened the inferiority complex he already had.
The sense of helplessness that came from not being able to win, no matter how hard he tried, was eroding his mind and body.
It was pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.
The kind of medicine that could save a life as long as there was still a breath left was extremely expensive in the Life and Death Casino shop, and even if resold, it wouldn’t lose much value.
There was no such thing as wasting it by redeeming it.
But he had lost the gamble, and he didn’t feel worthy of the young man spending so many gold coins on him.
He also didn’t want to become a burden to the young man.
So Han Ze had no intention of accepting the medicine at all. He just kept his head down, not even having the courage to look up at the young man, not wanting the young man to see him in such a miserable state.
Ruan Qing withdrew the hand holding the medicine and looked at Han Ze, asking softly, “Aren’t you angry?”
Han Ze seemed not to understand and paused before speaking in a hoarse voice, “Angry... about what?”
Ruan Qing lowered his gaze to look at Han Ze, who had his head down. “Angry that I treated you this way.”
“Angry that I used you.”
Ruan Qing did it on purpose.
He deliberately spoke to Han Ze like that in front of everyone.
He wanted to see how others would react, especially the reaction of the maid boy.
He also wanted to know just how strong Han Ze really was.
After all, if he were only slightly strong, the system wouldn’t have told him that Han Ze was very powerful.
He also wanted to use this to understand Han Ze’s role in this instance.
An ordinary NPC couldn’t possibly be this strong, so from the moment the system said those words, Ruan Qing realized that Han Ze’s identity was definitely not simple.
At the very least, he was definitely not an ordinary NPC or someone like the staff of the Life and Death Casino, but rather a more important existence.
Ruan Qing was very certain that the maid boy was not a player; he had long suspected that the maid boy was the final boss of the Life and Death Casino instance.
The original owner did register when entering the Life and Death Casino, but to know his information, to know which room he lived in, to know his age, it would be necessary to ask the staff of the Life and Death Casino.
The Life and Death Casino strictly prohibited anyone from accessing the gamblers’ information, even if one tried to exchange gold coins for it.
So, the fact that the maid boy knew his information was highly suspicious.
What’s more, he could perform those little tricks right under Su Zhen’s nose, which meant his strength was definitely not lower than Su Zhen’s.
That would mean he could only be the final boss of the Life and Death Casino instance.
This was confirmed in the maze as well.
What’s strange was that the maid boy’s attitude towards Han Ze was somewhat odd, as if he didn’t harbor much hostility.
Moreover, when the maze changed, he happened to move along with Han Ze, a coincidence so extreme it was almost terrifying.
Ruan Qing never believed in coincidences; there must be someone behind this, and there’s a high probability that this person was the maid boy.
There was definitely some connection between the maid boy and Han Ze.
Ruan Qing leaned towards the theory that the two were actually the same person, with one inheriting the brain and the other the strength.
Han Ze was actually stronger than he showed, but his mind was slow, making it difficult for him to fully unleash his power.
Though Ruan Qing’s mind worked quickly, his dynamic vision couldn’t keep up with those people’s speed, preventing him from giving more precise commands.
Defeat was inevitable.
So, from the very beginning, Ruan Qing had no intention of winning. From the start, he had already exchanged for a teleportation talisman to leave the maze.
If it were anyone else, they would have noticed his manipulation long ago.
But Han Ze was so dense that he didn’t see it at all.
However, now that Ruan Qing had said it directly, even a fool should realize that he was used.
But contrary to Ruan Qing’s expectations, after hearing his words, Han Ze lowered his head even further, and his shoulders began to tremble slightly.
Ruan Qing stared at the transparent liquid dripping onto Han Ze’s hands in a daze, unable to react for a moment.
Huh?
Crying? Is he crying?
Han Ze bit his lower lip hard, his hoarse voice tinged with a bit of sobbing and trembling, filled with extreme self-blame, “…I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”
“I wasn’t able to let you use me, nor was I able to help you win the bet.”
“I’m sorry.”
Tears dampened Han Ze’s hands, resting on his knees, as he kept bowing his head and apologizing incessantly.
He spoke so much that by the end, his voice had weakened to the point of almost disappearing.
It was clear that he was so sorrowful that he seemed almost out of breath, struggling to breathe.
If he had been crying loudly and causing a commotion, even if he was justified, it might have eventually made the listener impatient. But from beginning to end, Han Ze didn’t make a sound as he cried.
He just silently shed tears, his whole body filled with despair and sadness.
He wasn’t sad about being used; he was sad because he couldn’t be used to win the bet.
Ruan Qing lowered his gaze, looking at the silently weeping Han Ze for a few seconds before finally taking a deep breath and putting the medicine into his own mouth.
Then, Ruan Qing knelt on one knee on the sofa, leaned forward, and lifted Han Ze’s chin with his hand. In Han Ze’s bewildered and shocked gaze, Ruan Qing lowered his head and kissed him directly.
Then, he transferred the medicine into Han Ze’s mouth.
As Ruan Qing kissed him, Han Ze’s eyes still held tears at the corners. His eyes widened in shock, his pupils contracted, and his whole body stiffened.
He seemed even more dazed.
When the bitterness and something soft entered his mouth, Han Ze didn’t dare move a muscle.
Han Ze had never felt his heart race so fast before, as if it was about to jump out of his chest at any moment, almost to the point of bursting.
He even felt his thin lips stiffen.
But the soft sensation on his lips clearly registered in his brain, warm and soft like cotton candy, completely overshadowing the bitter taste of the medicine in his mouth.
At that moment, Han Ze couldn’t taste the bitterness of the medicine at all.
All that remained was a faint, lingering orchid fragrance and the warmth on his lips that seeped deep into his heart.
Han Ze experienced that unusual reaction once again, even more intensely than before, overwhelming and unfamiliar.
It made him want to do something.
But Han Ze didn’t know what to do. He just stiffened and tilted his head back in line with the young man’s fingers, letting the young man press the bitter thing into his mouth.
He instinctively swallowed the bitter thing.
Before swallowing it, Han Ze didn’t even know what it was, nor did he care.
Even if the young man had fed him poison, he would have swallowed it down willingly, as if it were sweet nectar.
After seeing Han Ze swallow the medicine, Ruan Qing stepped back and wiped the blood from the corner of his own mouth with his thumb.
It was the blood from the corner of Han Ze’s mouth.
Han Ze was filthy all over, with hardly a spot on his body that wasn’t stained with blood.
Ruan Qing had merely lifted Han Ze’s chin with his fingers, yet his fingertips were already stained with blood, let alone after kissing him.
Ruan Qing glanced at the blood on his fingertips, pulled out a tissue from the side, and as he wiped the blood off his hands, he lifted his chin slightly. “Go clean yourself up.”
Han Ze stared dumbly at Ruan Qing, and after hearing Ruan Qing’s words, his face instantly turned bright red, flushing all the way from his handsome face down to his neck.
The next second, he stood up in a flustered panic and stammered, “Oh, oh, okay.”
After saying that, Han Ze clumsily walked toward the bathroom, clearly still in a daze.
He even bumped into the wall beside the bathroom before entering, making quite a loud noise.
Han Ze’s face reddened even more, and he didn’t dare look back at Ruan Qing. Instead, he quickened his pace and rushed into the bathroom.
Then he closed the door behind him.
The system fell silent at this sight, and finally spoke in a low, hoarse voice in Ruan Qing’s mind.
[Why did you kiss him?]
Ruan Qing didn’t answer the question directly, but chuckled softly and asked in return, ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Don’t you like this reward?’
The system fell silent once more.
Like it? How could he not? He liked it immensely.
This was the first time this person had ever kissed someone voluntarily—a genuine, true first.
There was no force involved, no coercion, purely his own will.
This was a treatment no one else had ever received.
The system and his avatar were in sync; he could perceive all the avatar’s reactions.
Including the thoughts of the avatar, including the avatar’s five senses. Naturally, it also included that kiss.
It was just a kiss, a kiss that Ruan Qing promised Han Ze as a reward after he won the bet.
Han Ze didn’t win the bet, yet he still received that kiss.
This wasn’t a reward at all; it was Ruan Qing’s favoritism.
Ruan Qing’s favoritism towards Han Ze.
But he wasn’t a fool, and he would never become one.
Which meant that in the next dungeon, Ruan Qing’s favoritism would disappear.
Often, the most painful thing wasn’t the inability to obtain something, but the loss of it after having it.
The system ultimately said nothing, as if he didn’t exist, not answering Ruan Qing’s question.
Nor did he ask about Ruan Qing’s thoughts.
Ruan Qing looked away after Han Ze entered the bathroom, confirming that his body was fine since he could run and bump into walls.
The items from the Life and Death Casino shop were indeed powerful.
Apart from the fact that items exchanged within the dungeon couldn’t be taken out, they seemed no different from those in the system mall.
After wiping off the bloodstains on his hands, Ruan Qing took another tissue and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
The livestream had already been closed before he entered the room, so Ruan Qing wasn’t worried that anyone had seen him kiss Han Ze.
The sofa was covered in bloodstains from Han Ze, obviously unsuitable for sitting, so Ruan Qing sat directly on the edge of the bed.
He then picked up the tablet and clicked on the livestream of the maze.
The gamble was still ongoing, and currently, the person with the most flags was... the maid boy.
The maid boy had almost completely stopped concealing his identity, moving effortlessly through the maze.
He never took a wrong turn, and whenever he encountered a door, he opened it easily.
It was as if he was strolling through his own backyard.
The maid boy walked leisurely, but suddenly glanced in a certain direction, even blowing a kiss in that direction.
And that direction was towards the screen, as if he was blowing a kiss to the livestream audience.
The other gamblers watching this scene erupted in wild cheers, while Ruan Qing, expressionless, placed the tablet face down on the table.
The entire Life and Death Casino was almost under the control of the maid boy. How could one possibly win against such an existence?
YES! THEY KISSED!
ReplyDeleteOMGGG YESSS
ReplyDeleteAAAA THAT WAS SO CUTEE
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