Chapter 21: Stay With Me Tonight

Pei Liu stared at him blankly, unable to look away, as if bewitched.

It wasn’t until the man’s cool hand grasped his wrist and asked in a low voice: “Why aren’t you coming in?” that Pei Liu suddenly snapped back to his senses.

Right, he remembered now. This person was here to record the show just like him—the sixth guest, Xie Wuyu. Because there weren’t enough rooms, they were sharing one.

They were close in age, shared similar interests, quickly became acquainted, and got along very well. Although Xie Wuyu seemed aloof and cold on the outside, spending time with him revealed that he was warm on the inside, with a gentle and considerate personality. When Pei Liu was sick with a fever the day before yesterday, it was Xie Wuyu who stayed behind to take care of him.

I must be too exhausted to have spaced out like that, actually thinking there shouldn’t be anyone else in my room.

Trust returned to Pei Liu’s eyes as he smiled and walked into the room. Xie Wuyu closed the door behind him. Faint black mist drifted around him, but his expression was normal; he had swapped his usual complex brocade robes for modern clothes without any awkwardness, looking as though he had always been a normal human.

Pei Liu naturally started talking to Xie Wuyu about what had happened that day, as if this was how things had always been, sharing his inner thoughts without any reservations.

Since there were no chairs in the bedroom, they sat side by side on the edge of the bed to chat.

When Pei Liu mentioned that everyone refused to stay in the same room, he was visibly disappointed.

Xie Wuyu, however, comforted him: “Actually, it’s better not to stay together. Isn’t it a common trope in horror movies for the people around you to suddenly turn into ghosts? How do we know who among them has a problem? For example… that one wearing the dress.”

He paused mid-sentence, clearly uncaring about others to the point of not even knowing their names.

These words perfectly hit Pei Liu’s worries. He frowned and whispered: “You suspect he’s possessed by a ghost too?”

Xie Wuyu nodded. It wasn’t a suspicion; he had seen it with certainty.

However, there was no need for Pei Liu to know that. Just like Pei Liu wouldn’t know that the person sitting right in front of him was the most dangerous entity in this place.

“So, you went to the gate today, trying to escape?” Xie Wuyu asked leisurely.

Pei Liu nodded, still feeling lingering fear just thinking about it: “Yeah, I clearly walked out the gate, but when I looked up, I was back inside.” Experiencing the fake tropes of movies firsthand in reality was an indescribable feeling; his skin crawled with goosebumps, and saying he wasn’t afraid would be a lie.

Xie Wuyu curled his lips slightly in an imperceptible smile, raised a hand to touch Pei Liu’s face, his thumb gently rubbing his skin: “Don’t be afraid. Don’t you have me with you?”

Having someone by his side did provide a lot of reassurance, especially since this person was Xie Wuyu. For some reason, whenever Pei Liu saw him, he subconsciously wanted to get closer and rely on him.

However, being touched on the face by a man still felt uncomfortable and overly intimate. Pei Liu felt this was an action reserved for couples, and couldn’t help leaning his head back slightly, trying to avoid it.

Xie Wuyu’s fingertip paused, his eyes narrowing slightly before his expression returned to normal. His fingers pressed against Pei Liu’s face again, carrying an undeniable air of authority. Only, this time, he wasn’t touching his cheek, but his lower lip.

“Did you bite yourself?”

Pei Liu hadn’t noticed at all. Hearing him say it, he finally realized a faint stinging pain.

“I bit down a bit deep, left a mark.”

For some reason, listening to Xie Wuyu’s low voice made Pei Liu a bit nervous. He instinctively licked his lips, nearly licking the other’s finger. It took two seconds for Pei Liu to realize what he had done, and he pursed his lips in embarrassment.

Xie Wuyu seemed satisfied with his inspection, retracted his hand, and said mildly: “It didn’t break the skin.”

“…Oh.” Pei Liu felt the atmosphere was a bit weird; they had gotten along so well before… wait, how was it before?

Unable to remember, Pei Liu decided not to dwell on it and changed the subject: “I’m going to take a shower; I sweat a lot.”

He stood up, walked quickly to get his clothes, and asked casually: “Have you showered?”

Looking down, he saw only his own suitcase on the floor and asked in confusion: “Where’s your suitcase?”

Xie Wuyu replied calmly: “In the closet.”

Opening it, Pei Liu indeed saw a black suitcase at the bottom. However, the hanging clothes only belonged to Pei Liu; there were no traces of another person living there. Does Xie Wuyu have OCD?

He went into the bathroom, stood under the showerhead, and let the warm water soak his body and wash down, slowly relaxing his entire being. As the white steam rose, everything became hazy.

A drop of water suddenly landed on his face; its temperature was icy cold, catching him off guard and making him shiver.

Pei Liu was instantly jolted out of his comfort, his mind uncontrollably conjuring horrifying scenarios, not even daring to look up at the ceiling. The bathroom was spacious and silent, save for the patter of water, and his heartbeat was so loud he could almost hear the echo.

Pei Liu swallowed nervously, hastily looked toward the door, consciously avoiding the mirror, and shouted loudly: “Xie Wuyu! Xie Wuyu!”

Receiving no response, Pei Liu panicked even more, feeling as if he had been isolated in another world inhabited only by ghosts. He called out repeatedly, his voice growing louder, carrying obvious urgency and trembling, sounding almost on the verge of tears.

Finally, a blurred figure appeared outside the door, and a low, pleasant voice asked: “What’s wrong?”

Like grabbing onto a lifeline, Pei Liu let out a breath of relief and pleaded: “Can you wait outside the door for me? I’ll be done in a minute.”

Xie Wuyu remained silent, not answering.

Pei Liu thought he was going to refuse. Anxious, he instinctively took two steps forward, stepping out of the water curtain, unsure of what to say, and could only call his name again.

In reality, such a door practically didn’t exist for the entity. His gaze pierced right through it, seeing everything inside, his eyes darkening.

When Pei Liu heard him hum in response, his heart eased. He quickly rinsed off the soap while chatting idly with Xie Wuyu outside the door. It didn’t matter what they talked about; the most important thing was knowing he was there.

Finally finishing his shower, Pei Liu hastily grabbed a towel to dry off, clumsily pulled on his underwear, and without even putting on the rest of his clothes, opened the door and walked out, nearly colliding with Xie Wuyu.

Xie Wuyu reached out to support his waist, his broad palm directly touching the skin. Perhaps because Pei Liu’s skin was warm and flushed from the shower, the contact chilled him, as if he had touched a block of ice. He couldn’t help shrinking away and letting out a muffled groan.

Xie Wuyu casually retracted his hand, letting it fall by his side, his fingers curling slightly. His gaze landed on Pei Liu’s bare chest, fair with a hint of light pink, as if pondering something.

Pei Liu immediately explained: “It’s too steamy inside; I came out to put my clothes on.”

With that, he pulled his T-shirt over his head and put on his pants, doing it right in front of Xie Wuyu without thinking much of it. Having someone nearby just felt more reassuring, and since they were both guys, there was nothing to be shy about.

Because he had dried himself carelessly, he wasn’t completely dry. His hair was still wet, dampening the collar of his shirt and leaving water marks on his body. His black hair was messy, the ends clumping together and clinging to his neck. Paired with his somewhat flustered and helpless expression, he looked incredibly endearing.

He followed closely behind Xie Wuyu, like a little tail.

Being trailed so closely didn’t displease Xie Wuyu in the slightest; on the contrary, it put him in a good mood.

Gradually, as Pei Liu sat on the edge of the bed drying his hair, he regained his composure.

The moment Xie Wuyu moved, Pei Liu looked up: “Where are you going? To take a shower?”

The words blurted out, and he even subconsciously grabbed Xie Wuyu’s clothes.

Xie Wuyu lowered his eyes to look. Pei Liu immediately snatched his hand back as if shocked, pursed his lips, and let his gaze wander, feigning nonchalance.

Xie Wuyu curled the corner of his lips. There was no need for him to shower, but he nodded anyway, grabbing clothes and entering the bathroom as if going through the motions.

Meanwhile, Pei Liu sat on the edge of the bed. The overhead lightbulb flickered. He glanced down at the floor, afraid something might crawl out from under the bed, and quickly pulled his feet up.

After a moment’s thought, he jumped off the bed, hurried to the bathroom, clung to the door frame, and asked: “How much longer will you be?”

Xie Wuyu’s voice seemed to carry a hint of amusement: “I just got in.”

Pei Liu hesitated: “…Then I’ll go check on the others and come back later.”

He didn’t want to stay alone.

The sound of the water inside paused for a second. For some reason, Pei Liu suddenly felt a bit cold and shivered.

“Wait.” A cold, deep voice carried clearly through the door, bearing an undeniable weight.

Pei Liu didn’t really want to leave the room anyway. After thinking it over, he leaned against the wall by the door to wait for Xie Wuyu to come out. At the same time, he couldn’t stop looking around the room with vigilance and unease, wishing he could shrink into a tiny ball.

A few minutes later, with a click, the bathroom door opened, and steam poured out.

Pei Liu instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Once relaxed, drowsiness easily took over. He half-squinted his eyes and said lazily: “Let’s go to sleep.”

Pei Liu lay down on the bed first, burrowed under the covers, then looked at Xie Wuyu, patted the empty space beside him, wearing an expression that said, Hurry up.

Xie Wuyu paused briefly, then naturally walked over and lay down on the other half of the bed.

The bed wasn’t huge. It was spacious for one person, but a bit cramped for two adult men; their limbs were bound to accidentally brush against each other.

Pei Liu thought Xie Wuyu was somewhat aloof and a clean freak, so he tried to curl up to avoid touching him.

But shortly after lying down, a pair of arms reached over, expertly pulling him into an embrace and hugging him tightly.

Pei Liu: “…???”

He froze, turning his head in surprise, but in the darkness, he couldn’t clearly see Xie Wuyu’s face.

“Why are you…”

It wasn’t him overthinking; this was just too weird. Would straight guys cuddle up and hug each other to sleep? Not to mention Xie Wuyu touching his face and lips earlier.

Pei Liu struggled, trying to push his arms away, but didn’t expect Xie Wuyu’s strength to be so immense—he didn’t budge an inch.

Pei Liu couldn’t help asking: “Are you straight?”

Xie Wuyu didn’t understand what the term meant.

Pei Liu practically spelled it out: “I am.”

Xie Wuyu replied casually: “Me too.”

Then why are you hugging me like this? This is exactly how couples cuddle, with our bodies pressed entirely against each other. This is incredibly awkward.

The person in his arms continued to shift restlessly. Xie Wuyu’s expression darkened slightly, and the black mist grew faintly agitated: “Don’t move; this is how we slept the past few nights.”

Pei Liu paused, thinking back.

Seems… that’s actually true. Why didn’t I mind it at all before? And I slept pretty soundly?

‘Am I a Schrödinger’s straight man?’