The next morning, Shen Yao woke up early. In fact, he hadn't had a proper sleep at all, fearing he might be murdered. So, he stayed awake most of the night. Shen Yao glanced around, still drowsy, only to find that Xiao Ye was long gone.
"System, what will happen if I accomplish all the mission?" he asked.
The system replied:
[ The system will automatically return the host to his world. If the host fails to comply with the mission, the system will take the host's life as compensation. ]
Upon hearing the system's answer, Shen Yao's body slightly trembled. He understood that he was going to die in the end, but hearing it made him feel scared nonetheless. Come to think of it, why should he be afraid of death when his mission was practically suicidal?
The more he thought about it, the worse his headache became, so he decided to ignore it for now and look for something to eat. Of course, he had nothing in the house except for the supply he had.
"What!!?"
Shen Yao's face darkened as he recalled last night's incident. Since he hadn't slept—and maybe wouldn't—he decided to check the contents of the box, hoping to find something useful, like cream for his wound. But after taking out the last bread, there was nothing else. His face turned blue with frustration, but he didn't want to die in front of a killer. So, he mustered up his courage, looking deeper into the box as if something would magically appear if he did.
"Aha!" Shen Yao exclaimed, raising a tiny unlabeled bottle containing some liquid. Without hesitation, he started rubbing it on his wound. He was too busy to notice the guy next to him waking up.
It was only after applying the medicine that he noticed the change in the atmosphere. With a panicked expression, he turned to Xiao Ye and was shocked to find that he was already awake, staring at him like a tiger staring at its prey. Shen Yao, like prey, could only hope and pray for his safety.
Shen Yao: "W-what?"
Xiao Ye didn't answer but gave him a cold look. Shen Yao couldn't stand it and decided to look away, trying to think of a way to break the silence. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He raised the bottle that was still in his hand, thinking that Xiao Ye might at least be comfortable if he offered him something. But to his surprise, Xiao Ye stared at him indifferently.
"You had an injury, right?" Shen Yao said, but Xiao Ye misunderstood. With a colder expression, he firmly grasped Shen Yao's wrist, causing him to flinch in pain.
"What's wrong with you? I… I just don't want you… t-to die—ow!"
"After what you did?" Xiao Ye's words froze Shen Yao's complaints and reasons, replaced by a sense of regret.
"What do you want then?" Shen Yao stubbornly asked while trying to break free from Xiao Ye's grip. Xiao Ye seemed to find it interesting and slowly loosened his hold.
"Hmm." The tall guy then pointed behind him.
Since Shen Yao was shorter and not as strong as Xiao Ye, he could only watch as the man carelessly threw the bread into his big mouth, while his other hand rested protectively on top of the box, as though afraid someone would steal it. Xiao Ye's deep green eyes stared at Shen Yao with a hint of mockery. Shen Yao's face started to darken as his frustration grew. Deep inside, he cursed Xiao Ye and secretly hoped he would choke on his food so that Shen Yao could finally curse him before he died.
As he thought of this, a smile formed on his face, and he stared at Xiao Ye like a kitten gazing at its owner. Xiao Ye, thinking this was Shen Yao's way of asking for food, began eating the bread rapidly. But who would have thought that he would choke on it?
Xiao Ye held his neck, coughing up the bread. In his hazy vision, he could see Shen Yao silently snickering at him.
"You—" Xiao Ye pointed at Shen Yao, but the sight made him laugh even more. This time, he could clearly sense the mockery in Shen Yao's laughter.
Shen Yao felt both victorious and guilty at the same time, but what could he do? It wasn't like Xiao Ye could blame him for his own misfortune.
He laughed so hard that his stomach ached.
"I... you... you should—" Shen Yao inhaled as he tried to stop his laughter, but before he could even finish saying "see your face," Xiao Ye cut him off. Shen Yao's face went from green to red, then green again. He was so distracted that he didn't see it coming. Shen Yao's already dirty face was now covered with mashed-up food from someone else's mouth. His face turned red from anger, and all he wanted to do was choke the person in front of him. If it weren't for the fact that this vessel of his wasn't strong enough, all he could do was swallow his anger and grit his teeth.
Shen Yao glared angrily at Xiao Ye. To his shock, Xiao Ye wasn't annoyed. He wiped his face and thought that a villain like him should have been irritated by Shen Yao's glare, but it wasn't what he expected. Instead, Xiao Ye just walked past him.
That night, Shen Yao waited for Xiao Ye to return. Eventually, he realized that no one was coming back. Fearful, he waited, fearing a monster might return with a knife or other weapons to torture him in his sleep to get back at him for the earlier events.
After waiting for what felt like hours, finally, a black-clad man entered the small house. His footsteps were barely audible as he silently approached the sleeping figure on the floor. The knife in his hand gleamed with a terrifying glint, carrying an unmistakable hint of killing intent. The window curtains swayed as the cold breeze entered, and the light illuminated the young man's face—from his knitted eyebrows and straight nose to his pursed lips—everything about him resembled a handsome man!
Shen Yao, who wasn't actually sleeping, felt the presence and went stiff. He closed his eyes and braced for something to pierce his back, waiting for who knows how long. But to his surprise, instead of being stabbed, he heard the person sigh and drop next to him with a thud.
Shen Yao closed his eyes and pursed his red lips as he tried to calm himself. Suddenly, an idea came to him.
Since he had made a deal with Xiao Ye…
Yes, he made a deal with the devil to make him stay, and that deal only benefited Shen Yao a little. So adding a small request to the deal seemed trivial.
Or so he thought…
A young man with round emerald-green eyes, reflecting his fresh and pure soul, stared at his own reflection in the water. He puckered his red cherry lips before letting out an exaggerated "woah." Next, he inspected his eyebrows, and another "woah" escaped his mouth as he traced his slim brows. Then he pinched his chubby cheeks, and this time, it wasn't a "woah" that escaped his lips.
"Impossible! Why am I this cute?" Shen Yao couldn't believe what he was seeing. Though he knew this was the physical look of his vessel, it still felt like it wasn't the face of the original Shen Yao. He seemed to see someone familiar in the reflection, and at the same time, another unfamiliar face overlapped with his own, forming the current him.
Shen Yao couldn't help but feel a strange admiration for the original Shen Yao, though envy couldn't be prevented. He subconsciously frowned as he thought about how cute and attractive this version of Shen Yao would be in the future. How lucky this Shen Yao was to have such cute looks!
Needless to say, Shen Yao concluded that his past looks must have been really, really ugly. He was about to criticize his old self, whom he could barely remember, when a voice interrupted him.
Due to his paranoia, Shen Yao grabbed the basin and, without even looking, accidentally spilled the cold water onto the person behind him. Only after the last drop of water fell on Xiao Ye's head did Shen Yao realize his mistake.
Slowly, he turned around, shrinking his neck while his hands instinctively dropped the basin.