Chapter 58: The First Kiss

He could vaguely tell what Xie Wuyu was doing.

Carrying him onto the bed, covering him with a blanket, kissing his face gently, undressing his sweat-soaked clothes, wiping the sweat from his body, and changing him into clean pajamas.

Throughout the process, Pei Liu was weak and limp, offering no resistance, letting Xie Wuyu handle him gently like an obedient doll.

Because of his dizziness, his thoughts were also muddled, and he couldn’t help but wonder: If I’m just emergency rations, does he really need to take care of me so meticulously?

When they first met in that villa, Xie Wuyu already liked holding him, kissing his face, and licking away his tears. Because he was a ghost, Pei Liu hadn’t thought of it as ambiguous at all, only thinking the ghost was licking food, as if ready to take a bite of his flesh at any moment.

But now, perhaps because he was sick, his mind was relatively fragile.

Pei Liu thought of the question Xie Wuyu had just asked him—saying not the Pei Liu of this world, but yourself.

Xie Wuyu knew he didn’t belong here.

He was the first person to recognize the real him.

In an instant, his heart was touched.

Pei Liu half-squinted his eyes and couldn’t help but lean closer to Xie Wuyu, curling up in his arms with a touch of dependence, closing his eyes to fall into a deep sleep.

He didn’t know if Xie Wuyu actually liked him or not.

But at this moment, while heavy snow drifted outside, the room was as warm as spring.

Nestled in Xie Wuyu’s arms, covered by the soft quilt, his heart felt settled, and he slept exceptionally well.

The set.

The filming had reached its end, and it was time to shoot the final climax scene.

Today’s scene was very important, and Director Chen joked with a smile: “Yu Chu, are you ready? You have to kill Shen Wenrui today.”

Yes, in the final ending of this drama, the villain naturally wouldn’t meet a good end.

After being forced to kill for the first time, Yu Chu stepped into the abyss and continued to sink, his character becoming darker and darker. His gloomy gaze was a complete contrast to his initial innocent purity, like a piece of white paper covered in messy black ink.

Shen Wenrui was the one who drew on this paper, obsessed with sculpting his beloved creation, wanting to shape him into perfection.

Yu Chu had killed again and again, becoming numb, no longer afraid of blood, and even enjoying the thrill that killing brought him. Taking lives effortlessly and controlling other people’s lives was truly joyous. Shen Wenrui was also highly satisfied with him, praising him with a smile and gifting him a large bouquet of red roses he had personally nurtured with fresh blood to celebrate his success.

After indulging in this for a period of time, Yu Chu saw his distorted reflection in the mirror and woke up with a jolt; he seemed to have turned into another person. The face was still the same, but it was so unfamiliar. His reflection in the mirror grinned maliciously at him. Yu Chu forcefully smashed the mirror, and every shattered piece on the floor reflected his ugly appearance.

The police male lead noticed his change and hoped he would surrender. But Yu Chu refused.

In the end, because Shen Wenrui wanted him to kill an innocent child, Yu Chu broke down completely and engaged in a fierce struggle with him.

This was the very scene they were about to shoot.

The snowy outskirts left the world completely white and flawless.

But on the ground, there was a trail of messy, overlapping footprints, along with bright red blood that soaked and stained the snow.

Shen Wenrui lay on the ground, a deep cut across his abdomen, bleeding heavily, his silver-white hair stained red. He was pale, gasping for breath and exhaling white mist, but even so, his face didn’t show a shred of defeat, as if he still held a trump card.

Yu Chu knelt on both sides of his waist, his clothes torn and messy, his body covered in wounds, but his eyes were very bright, staring fixedly at Shen Wenrui on the ground, gripping the sharp blade in his hand tightly.

As long as he plunged it fiercely into his heart, all of this could end completely.

At this moment, Shen Wenrui suddenly raised his hand, gently touching his face, the blood on his thumb smearing onto Pei Liu’s face. He smiled and said gently: “Splendid indeed, you truly are my most beloved creation. Come, kill me.”

Yu Chu’s expression froze, his fingers trembling slightly from exerting too much force.

He suddenly wondered if Shen Wenrui had anticipated everything, knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist killing him. Was this psychopath waiting for this moment, having planned even his own death, as a crucial step to completing his creation?

Yu Chu’s gaze was complex, indescribable.

But in the end, he still plunged the knife down, firmly and decisively killing Shen Wenrui.

On set, however, Pei Liu got stuck at this step.

…He couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Director Chen noticed he paused for too long, called cut, and asked him what was wrong.

Pei Liu lowered his eyes, apologizing guiltily: “I’m sorry, I couldn’t get into character. Let’s do it again, please.”

This was a scene he was acting with Xie Wuyu, and it was fake, but he inevitably connected it to themselves. His situation with Xie Wuyu was naturally different from the script, but Xie Wuyu was an evil spirit, and he was also under his control. If he had the chance to kill Xie Wuyu in the future, would he do it without hesitation?

Pei Liu’s thoughts wandered, placing himself in Yu Chu’s shoes.

When Xie Wuyu touched his face, cooked for him, took care of him when he was sick, saved him from the killer…

For a moment, he couldn’t help but daze off.

He forgot about Yu Chu and Shen Wenrui, his face blank.

Because he didn’t capture the right feeling, they had to pause and take a break.

Frowning, Pei Liu apologized sincerely once again.

The assistant brought over a down jacket and wrapped him in it.

They entered the warm room, drinking hot ginger tea.

Generally speaking, if a lead actor was out of character and NGs occurred multiple times, the other actors being dragged along would certainly feel some displeasure. But Xie Wuyu didn’t show a shred of annoyance; instead, he was unexpectedly relaxed. Without even realizing it himself, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

The prop fake knife Pei Liu had been holding earlier was placed aside.

Xie Wuyu glanced somewhat disdainfully at this crude prop. It was too fake; things that humans couldn’t kill, let alone him.

However, seeing Pei Liu’s hesitant and reluctant look, he was in a very good mood.

After resting for over ten minutes, Pei Liu gathered his emotions. In the next shoot, putting himself in Yu Chu’s shoes, he finally delivered the fatal stab to Shen Wenrui, right in the center of his heart.

The pre-arranged fake blood bag burst, flowing with blood.

The blood seeped into the snow, spreading continuously beneath Xie Wuyu.

Pei Liu also collapsed on Xie Wuyu due to exhaustion from the struggle earlier.

Black hair and silver hair intertwined, much like the relationship between them—tightly connected, never to be untangled.

The final scene of the ending.

The police rescued the imprisoned victims, surrounding the abandoned warehouse in the suburbs.

Yu Chu, played by Pei Liu, walked out step-by-step, covered in blood, holding the weapon with an expressionless face.

He had killed Shen Wenrui.

But Shen Wenrui hadn’t truly vanished; he had taken his place, becoming Shen Wenrui.

The police demanded he stop, and Qin Wu also advised him anxiously.

But he kept walking.

Finally.

Bang.

A gunshot.

Snow fell softly.

He fell to the ground, his fingers curling to grasp a small clump of cold snow. He looked up at the vast blue sky, gave a smile, and then closed his eyes forever.

Director Chen shouted: “Cut!”

The drama had finally wrapped up.

The next day, the entire cast and crew held a wrap-up banquet.

The lead actors were all present.

This was Pei Liu’s first time acting, and being able to smoothly finish it, he let out a long sigh of relief. He felt as if he had experienced a grand dream, truly living a segment of Yu Chu’s life.

He had never encountered these things before, but after experiencing it firsthand, he realized acting was truly wonderful and had grown to like it a bit. If possible, he wanted to continue acting.

The people in the crew had spent time together, jointly creating a drama, and had developed feelings. Approaching parting, they felt some reluctance.

However, they were all adults and were used to partings. After sorting out their emotions and getting a night’s sleep, they would continue working, and it wouldn’t affect their lives.

Someone brought up a conversation about a ghost encounter in the neighboring crew. A few days ago, while packing up props in the middle of the night, a staff member heard strange noises. Walking out to look, he discovered someone had jumped off the building. Terrified, he quickly ran back to call for help and prepare to call emergency services. But when they returned, the ground was empty; there was nothing. Others said he might have run into another crew filming, but when he asked around, there was no jump scene scheduled at that hour.

The storyteller spoke vividly, lowering his voice, making those listening feel as if they were right there, their backs breaking out in cold sweat.

Just then, someone patted their shoulders, startling them into shivering screams.

Qin Wu was also startled: “What are you guys doing?”

“So it’s Teacher Qin.” They breathed a sigh of relief, patting their chests.

Qin Wu was completely bewildered, and then heard about the ghost story. However, unlike them who just joked about it and didn’t take it seriously, he warned: “Stop talking about these things; it’s easy to attract unclean things.”

“Teacher Qin, don’t go scaring people.”

Qin Wu’s family worshipped a deity, so he wasn’t speaking mindlessly. Earlier, their crew had also run into Director Chen’s dad’s ghost.

After warning them, Qin Wu went to socialize. A waiter carrying a tray offered him a drink. Qin Wu didn’t pay attention, reaching out to accept it and thanking him, but then heard a gloomy, resentful voice: “Best Actor, you’re a Best Actor, why? My acting is so good, this position should belong to me…”

Qin Wu felt a chill invade his body, his consciousness sinking instantly as his body was possessed by ghostly energy.

His expression went stiff, his face turning an unnatural pale green. He drifted through the banquet hall, enjoying the compliments and gazes of others, his smile growing wider and wider.

Until he ran into Pei Liu.

He was a newly deceased ghost. While alive, he had wanted to pursue a career in acting, but because his acting was too terrible, he couldn’t even get jobs as an extra, and could only work a regular job to support himself. After dying, his obsession led him to drift to the set, following the actors to act.

He had no idea that there was a terrifying, ghost-eating human on set.

Pei Liu noticed something off with Qin Wu and asked: “Teacher Qin, I’d like to ask you a question, if I may?”

“Qin Wu” gave a wicked smile: “Go ahead and ask. I’m a Best Actor, is there anything I don’t know?”

Pei Liu reached out his hand and smiled: “How long do you think a normal handshake should last?”

“What kind of stupid question is that? Let me give you a demonstration, watch closely.” The fake Qin Wu was full of confidence, reaching out to grasp Pei Liu’s hand. But in the next second, a chunk of his ghost form was missing, devoured!

The ghost was stunned and horrified. What’s going on?!

A human can eat ghosts?

Preposterous, utterly preposterous.

He froze for two seconds, then turned and ran.

That was Qin Wu’s body. Fearing something might happen to him, Pei Liu didn’t have time to think too much and quickly gave chase.

“Qin Wu” ran, looking back frequently in terror. After turning into a ghost, he had never encountered such an outrageous thing, scared out of his wits, even forgetting he could leave this body.

Pei Liu reached out to catch him, but since his body was frail, he missed several times.

“Qin Wu” truly couldn’t handle this frustration. His eyes turned red with rage, and his ghostly energy surged as he turned and lunged fiercely at Pei Liu, grabbing his neck with both hands and roaring loudly—

“I’m going to kill you!”

And then, Pei Liu devoured another chunk of his ghostly energy.

“…”

At this point, the ghost finally remembered he could escape, drifting out of Qin Wu’s body to flee.

Without control, Qin Wu closed his eyes and collapsed toward the floor. Pei Liu quickly reached out to catch him, while simultaneously wanting to prevent the ghost from possessing anyone else, reaching out with his other hand to catch it. But he only managed to graze it, and in the end, it got away.

In the banquet hall, Xie Wuyu, in his human identity, dealt with people perfunctorily. Because of this shoot, Director Chen highly appreciated his acting skills, hoping to collaborate again next time. But Xie Wuyu had no interest in acting; he only came this time because of Pei Liu.

After brushing them off, Xie Wuyu discovered Pei Liu was out of his line of sight, and turned to leave.

He quickly passed through the doors and corridors, arriving before Pei Liu, sensing an unfamiliar ghostly energy.

“Did you run into a ghost just now?” Xie Wuyu’s voice was deep. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Pei Liu discovered he seemed a bit angry.

Xie Wuyu cast a cold glance at the unconscious Qin Wu Pei Liu was supporting. Having guessed the general course of events, his expression grew somewhat impatient. With a wave of his hand, Qin Wu’s body was suspended in the air and thrown against the wall, his head hitting the wall with a loud bang, yet he still didn’t wake up.

Pei Liu was certain now. He was truly angry.

Xie Wuyu’s face was dark, looking as if he would devour him at any moment.

The atmosphere was tense and dangerous.

Pei Liu hesitated for a moment, then said in a small voice: “…I got hurt.”

Xie Wuyu fell silent for a few seconds: “Where?”

Pei Liu pointed at his knee, which he had bumped just now. Xie Wuyu made him sit on a chair, then crouched down himself, rolling up his pants. Sure enough, there was a bruise on his knee, looking quite hideous against his snow-white skin, like a flaw added to a perfect warm jade.

Xie Wuyu’s face grew colder, pressing his hand on the bruise with slight force.

Pei Liu immediately gasped, retracting his leg, saying it hurt.

Xie Wuyu sneered: “You deserve to feel pain, only then will you learn your lesson.”

But in the next second, as his thumb gently stroked the bruise, it vanished, his skin returning to its fair state as if he had never been injured.

“Where else are you hurt?”

Pei Liu replied obediently: “The side of my waist.”

Xie Wuyu lifted his shirt hem, revealing a section of waist that glowed white, caressing the soft, narrow waist, touching a patch of delicate skin. His fingers lingered for quite some time.

Finally, Pei Liu remembered the ghost had also choked his neck. Although the time was short and he had fought back, the other’s force was immense, and his throat still ached now.

He pulled down the collar of his sweater.

Xie Wuyu immediately saw a ring of faint bruises, highly striking.

The air pressure plummeted instantly, black mist surging.

Xie Wuyu turned to look at the nearby Qin Wu, saying coldly: “He did this?”

In just a second, before Pei Liu could react, Xie Wuyu walked toward Qin Wu, his gaze terrifying, as if filled with killing intent.

Startled, Pei Liu hurriedly went to stop him: “It wasn’t him, he was possessed by a ghost just now!”

But Xie Wuyu’s state was highly abnormal, like a beast whose territory had been invaded, losing its reason, with only the desire to slaughter remaining.

Pei Liu couldn’t stop him. Seeing Xie Wuyu was about to strangle Qin Wu’s neck, in his panic and helplessness, his head grew hot, and without knowing what he was thinking, he actually stepped forward and kissed Xie Wuyu.

He had originally intended to kiss his cheek as Xie Wuyu had done to him in the past, but in his haste, he missed, his lips bumping directly against the corner of his mouth, causing a slight sting.

But unexpectedly, Xie Wuyu actually stopped because of this. Turning his head, his gaze was dark as he stared at Pei Liu.

Pitch-black and deep, like a deep pool capable of devouring a person.

Pei Liu felt his heart tremble under his gaze, his legs going weak, and he instinctively took a step back.

“Why are you dodging?” Xie Wuyu said.

Pei Liu’s voice trembled: “…I’m not dodging.”

Xie Wuyu stepped closer, instantly pulling their distance extremely close, enveloping Pei Liu in his shadow, leaving him with nowhere to go.

He reached out to grasp the back of Pei Liu’s neck, and following the strong desire in his heart, lowered his head and kissed him.