***
Bonus chapter! Thank you to --- for the donation! ^^
***
Miao Ciyu’s hands clenched into fists, his veins bulging from the force, but in the end, he said nothing. He just stood there, head lowered, silent, exuding a dangerous and oppressive aura.
For a moment, the thoughts of everyone present diverged.
The players were stunned—how could such a flimsy excuse actually work?
[What can you do when your wife cheats? Of course, you forgive him. Men will be men—it’s normal for them to play around outside. He still loves you most, see? He’s even willing to lie to you.]
[LMAO, you didn’t even marry my wife through honest means—what right do you have to be angry? If we’re ranking, you wouldn’t even make the cut. Be grateful you got the title of "official spouse" (smile.jpg).]
[Wife just made a mistake any man would make. Bringing it up would only hurt all three of you. He doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, doesn’t abuse you—where else would you find such a good man? Be content with your lawful marriage and focus on managing his harem properly in the future (dog head.jpg).]
The two stood together like newlyweds, a perfect match, completely ignoring the others around them.
In the end, it was Miao Li who remembered first. Holding Ruan Qing’s hand, he thanked Miao Ciyu with the air of a male host—smiling gently yet assertively.
"Thank you for saving Ah Qing. It’s late now, and he’s still shaken, so I won’t see you out. Another day, I’ll bring Ah Qing to thank you properly."
Though his words were polite, they carried the smugness of a victor—a declaration of ownership.
A claim. A warning. A threat.
A warning? Miao Ciyu let out a silent, cold laugh. Just as he was about to speak, he caught Ruan Qing's pleading gaze.
He froze, his eyes darkening to an extreme degree. After giving Ruan Qing one last icy glare, he turned and walked away without a word.
And just like that, the suffocating farce came to an end.
The players watched the man’s retreating figure, thinking to themselves how impressive the village chief’s son was—to have things escalate to this point without everything blowing up in his face.
Or maybe it had blown up, just not in front of him.
Though the two men’s killing intent was faint, almost imperceptible, it didn’t escape the notice of players who had survived countless horror games. Neither of them was as calm as they appeared.
There was no way these two could coexist peacefully.
After all, one mountain cannot shelter two tigers. Powerful, dangerous men would never tolerate their lover being coveted by another—nor would they willingly settle for being the "other man."
And really, the term "other man" sounded downright absurd when applied to a situation like this.
With Miao Ciyu gone, Miao Li didn’t even glance at the strangers nearby before taking Ruan Qing’s hand and leading him back into the courtyard. In an instant, only the players remained in the corner.
The sky had grown darker, to the point where it was nearly pitch-black. The players silently turned their eyes to Mu Ye’an and Fang Qingyuan.
The two seemed distracted, ignoring the players’ gazes. In the end, it was the short-haired girl who spoke first.
"What do we do now?" she asked the others.
The bespectacled male player replied grimly, "Moving around at night is too dangerous. We should find a place to settle down first."
The others agreed. With visibility so poor at night, searching for clues was already difficult—and since they still didn’t understand much about Miao Village, acting recklessly now would be unwise.
Fortunately, when the villagers had led them here earlier, they’d noticed quite a few empty houses. Finding shelter shouldn’t be too hard.
The players headed toward one of the vacant homes.
***
Miao Li’s house had been burned down—on the eve of his wedding, no less. The fire had destroyed too many things, including much of what was needed for the ceremony. Even Miao Li’s wedding attire hadn’t escaped the flames.
The wedding would have to be postponed by a day.
Ruan Qing didn’t actually want the delay, but the ceremony had already been rushed. Now, with Miao Li’s home reduced to ashes, going through with it immediately would hardly feel like a proper wedding.
A house that's burned down doesn't necessarily have to be rebuilt—but a wedding can't be held in anything but the proper colors. Yet, to Ruan Qing's surprise, Miao Li insisted on reconstructing the house.
This filled Ruan Qing with unease, even making him suspect that Miao Li had somehow figured things out… and no longer wanted to marry him.
For now, Ruan Qing didn’t dare object. He didn’t even dare say much, simply helping Miao Li rebuild the house in silence.
Two people alone couldn’t finish the work in a day, so Miao Li called in several villagers to assist.
Lost in his fear of being exposed, Ruan Qing failed to notice that the usually indifferent villagers were acting unusually eager this time—though their pupils were unfocused and vacant, as if they were puppets being controlled.
Ruan Qing had little strength and no experience with hard labor. Just carrying two pieces of wood was enough to scrape his hand.
It wasn’t serious—not even a drop of blood welled up. In a little while, it would probably heal on its own.
But for someone as delicately raised as Ruan Qing, it still stung.
Miao Li looked at the pitiful, aggrieved expression on the young man’s face and felt both exasperation and an uncontrollable surge of desire—even an embarrassing physical reaction.
The boy’s exquisite features were twisted in distress, his beautiful eyes glistening with unshed tears. He looked so fragile it made people want to comfort him… or indulge in darker impulses, to make him cry—or cry even harder.
Miao Li had already tried to persuade him to just watch from the sidelines, but he’d insisted on helping.
This wasn’t helping. This was stirring trouble—stirring him up.
The boy was already unbearably delicate, and now he was holding out his hand, staring at Miao Li with that wounded look.
He was waiting to be pampered, not—
He couldn’t… scare him.
Suppressing the darkness in his gaze, Miao Li took Ruan Qing’s hand and brought it to his lips, blowing on it gently. "So clumsy."
Ruan Qing hadn’t actually been in much pain—he’d just wanted an excuse to get attention. But the warmth of Miao Li’s breath against his skin suddenly made the scrape throb.
Blushing, he pushed his hand further toward Miao Li. "It still hurts… blow on it more."
The reaction Miao Li had barely restrained came surging back, stronger this time—impossible to ignore. His gaze burned into the boy before him, the intensity in his eyes terrifying to behold.
Like a venomous snake fixated on its prey, poised to devour it whole.
Yet the prey remained blissfully unaware, still shyly offering his hand—completely oblivious to the danger he was in.
Miao Li's Adam's apple bobbed silently as he lowered his gaze, concealing the terrifying intensity in his eyes. He bent down and gently blew on Ruan Qing's hand again.
Whether he misjudged the distance or simply wanted to fulfill Ruan Qing's request, this time, his lips nearly brushed against Ruan Qing's skin.
