The young stepson spoke with righteous indignation, but upon closer examination, there was a distinct aroma of tea.
The barrage of comments reflected the viewers' frustration.
[Alright, alright, you little tea master, did you just knock my beads into my face?]
[What do you mean, "younger and more caring"? In that case, Yu Deng should be with me!]
[I'm pondering a question—could it really be that Yu Deng's late husband has no connection with Yu Deng?]
[Good question. Over the past few days, there have been several unexplained black screens. I have a bold idea...]
[Damn, If that's the case, things just got interesting. I'll immediately call my shura field enthusiast friends to the livestream.]
"Little Mom, what do you think?"
Yu Deng's mind was blank. He didn't know what the Cheng family wanted him to do, nor did he know if his late husband loved him.
He tried to think scientifically and rigorously. "Actually, being widowed should mean the marriage is dissolved, right? Is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"
Isn't this something he should mention to those NPCs? It's so troublesome.
However, one thing Cheng Xiao said did strike a chord with Yu Deng.
The killer was targeting the Cheng family's direct line. If the killer included him in the count, would they also come for his life?
Yu Deng uncertainly sought help from the system. "System, if I follow this line of thought, it would be safer for me to sever all ties with the Cheng family. Am I analyzing this correctly?"
System 01: [...] Very good analysis. Don't analyze it next time.
"System."
[Regarding the storyline and tasks, the system cannot provide answers. The host should consider carefully.]
"Oh."
Seeing Yu Deng hesitating, Cheng Xiao clicked his tongue, feeling displeased.
Why was Yu Deng still fixated on that person who was already dead? Was it because the deceased was an unattainable ideal?
"I—I'll consider it."
A breeze swept through the room, accompanied by the faint rustling of paper and a subtle feeling of being watched.
After the players finished their discussion, Cheng Zhaoxia finally snapped out of her grief and stopped crying.
It seemed that one of the concubines had said something, prompting Cheng Zhaoxia to angrily retort, "How could I be the killer? Wenhao was my biological son. How could I harm him? Of course, my father's death has nothing to do with me!"
Yu Deng, even from a distance, heard her sharp, angry outburst and wondered why she was so agitated.
Hadn't the old players said she hadn't left the house? The alibi was perfect, so why was she so eager to defend herself?
Yu Deng shook his head, puzzled by her reaction.
This was the third person who had died in the Cheng family. The servants had become skilled and numb, carrying Cheng Wenhao's oddly contorted body and placing it in a new mourning hall.
Yu Deng heard a servant sigh softly.
"It's such a pity about the young master, and Miss Lin too. Ah, the ways of the world are unpredictable."
Oh.
Yu Deng suddenly remembered that in recent days, their attention had been on the various disputes and love-hate relationships within the Cheng family's direct and collateral lines. For such a detective case, shouldn't other lower-profile characters, like Miss Lin and those concubines, also be investigated?
It seems that detective work can't be divorced from such details.
He had admitted that he wasn't good at this, and only now did he think of it.
Fearing he might forget, Yu Deng immediately asked his stepson.
"Of course, we're investigating," Cheng Xiao said. "Such things must be looked into, but how much we can find depends on luck. The guests discussed it yesterday."
After casually saying that, Cheng Xiao suddenly realized. The fact that his stepmother was asking such questions meant that he himself was also unclear about the situation.
Yu Deng let out a soft sigh and lowered his head.
So they had already discussed this in a meeting.
Actually, their logic is understandable. Although Yu Deng is seen as a friendly NPC, there's an inherent difference between him and the players, so they wouldn't trust him completely.
Oh, except for Cheng Xiao, who is insistent on associating with the NPC.
So not notifying him about the meeting is quite normal.
He just felt a little bit aggrieved.
Yu Deng bit his soft, full lips, holding back the tears that were welling up in his eyes.
He stood there, dejected, like a kitten that didn't get its treat.
［Baby, seeing you so upset is breaking my heart.］
［Knowing that our Deng Deng is a bit of a fool and still not including him in the fun, (smh)］
［Deng Deng is trying hard to complete his tasks, but the players didn't inform him about the meeting. Yu Deng is good, the players are bad!］
［Poor Yu Deng.］
"If you want to know, I can just tell you."
Seeing Yu Deng's downcast demeanor, Cheng Xiao quickly said.
"They investigated the deceased Fourth Concubine yesterday. Her family was quite wealthy before, running a school and investing with Old Master Cheng. But after her family fell on hard times, she married into the Cheng family."
"Miss Lin is the legitimate daughter of the Lin family, though her mother passed away early. The Lin family isn't as wealthy as the Cheng family, but they're still a prominent household."
"The Old Lady was from a prestigious family, and the Cheng family married into them. The Second and Third Concubines were both singers, and the Fifth Concubine was the daughter of a small merchant. She was once favored by Old Master Cheng."
Yu Deng's tears were interrupted by this flood of information. He sorted through the clues, which seemed to match what he knew, and felt a bit better.
The audience was also organizing the plot and expressing their doubts.
［This batch of players is getting stranger. Even with two experienced players, they still wait until people die to make progress..］
［Let's categorize this group of players: Yu Deng is a bit clueless, Cheng Xiao is focused on Yu Deng. The two old players are a mystery, Zhang and Ke are clear but naive college students, Mediterranean is still unconscious, and the office worker and designer are unremarkable. This seems somewhat expected］
［Perhaps it's because the scenario requires surviving for seven days, so everyone is just taking it one day at a time, waiting for new clues to refine their conclusions.］
［I wonder how many will survive this time.］
...
During these four days, nothing else happened during the day. The days seemed to get shorter, and it would quickly turn dark.
The fourth night was approaching.
[Host, please note that your personal side task remains incomplete. You have three hours left to complete it.]
Ah, right, he still had a task. He was so frightened by Cheng Wenhao's death today that he almost forgot about it.
Yu Deng dragged his feet and opened the rosewood wardrobe to choose.
［Hmm, why is Yu Deng looking at skirts now?］
［Didn't you notice the host's current task? My wife has a cross-dressing task, everyone!］
[Oh my god, I got excited immediately!]
Yu Deng was overwhelmed with choices.
The wardrobe was filled with common Republican-era dresses, including Western-style dresses, student uniforms, Ma Mian skirts (skirts with pleated panels), and mostly qipaos (cheongsams).
[Host, please wait a moment.]
Yu Deng took a break from selecting clothes. "Hmm, what's up?"
[Due to a large-scale petition by your livestream audience, the main system has evaluated and adjusted your task. An additional voting session has been added. You need to wear the style chosen by the audience.]
Yu Deng: "..."
What? Forcing a fan service activity without consulting him first?
Yu Deng was once again forced into something he didn't want, and he grumbled to the audience, "Pick a nice one, will you?"
The audience agreed eagerly. Five minutes later, voting ended, and the highest votes went to a navy blue qipao.
This qipao reached Yu Deng's lower calves, had a high slit, with a pseudo-lace detail at the back, and golden embroidery on the skirt. The whole dress was very elaborate and beautiful. It came with a pair of white short socks and a pair of leather shoes.
Yu Deng picked up the dress and examined it for a moment, finding it quite satisfactory.
But the dress wasn't very satisfying for Yu Deng; it was quite difficult to wear. At least Yu Deng found it quite a challenge.
He clumsily put the dress on, and the complex design at the back made him struggle for a long time, getting increasingly tangled.
Yu Deng's arms were sore from lifting them. He began to complain to the voting audience, "Look for yourselves. The dress you chose is so hard to put on. I can't even manage it."
[Hmm, I see. Hehe, wife, slurp...]
Since the dressing process was mostly complete, the livestream wasn't blacked out at the moment. However, the audience's responses were only perfunctory, with the screen full of comments like "slurp, slurp."
Yu Deng struggled for a long time and then gave up.
Anyway, if others are going to see it, it's not too much to ask someone else to help him with the dress.
It seemed that Cheng Xiao was the most suitable choice.
Yu Deng took the unwearable socks and knocked on the door next door.
"I was just thinking—" Cheng Xiao opened the door and then stopped abruptly.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Cheng Xiao suddenly pulled Yu Deng into the room, locked the door, and stared intently at him.
His beautiful little mom was wearing a dress.
It was a qipao.
The dark blue fabric made his already fair skin look even whiter. The form-fitting material accentuated his slender waist, and his straight, long legs were highlighted by the high slit, revealing a hint of alluring curves.
Yu Deng hadn't made any special effort to look feminine. He hadn't applied makeup, his delicate Adam's apple was visible, and his hair was still his usual fluffy short style. Even so, he didn't look out of place at all.
The dress softened his originally delicate and gentle features a bit, making him appear more like a pampered young lady.
With his long lashes fluttering and the corners of his eyes slightly lifted, his eyes looked moist and expressive, capturing anyone who met his gaze.
Cheng Xiao's eyes were fixed on him, his throat dry.
Yu Deng took a few steps forward, wrinkling his nose slightly. "Can you help me put on this dress? I can't seem to manage it."
Cheng Xiao didn't immediately understand. "What?"
Wasn't it already on?
Seeing Cheng Xiao's confusion, Yu Deng turned around. "It's the back. I can't manage it. Can you help me?"
Cheng Xiao then realized that the back of the dress wasn't the traditional full coverage but had a small section of cut-out fabric.
The fabric and ribbons there were tangled up by Yu Deng, leaving a large exposed area.
"You came here like this?" Cheng Xiao took a deep breath and began to help Yu Deng with the ties.
The next moment, Cheng Xiao's gaze froze again.
On the soft, sweet-smelling skin, there were clearly several hickeys—one, two, three—on his back.
Cheng Xiao ran his fingers over those spots with some force, his breath uneven as he tied the dress, then turned Yu Deng around and lifted his face.
"Who bullied you again?"
Yu Deng looked up in confusion. "What? You're hurting me. Let go."
Cheng Xiao subconsciously loosened his grip, but his eyes remained dark. "So, little mom besides me, who else has been close to you?"
Yu Deng was about to say no one but then remembered the shadow from last night who had come and done something to him while he was showering.
Seeing Cheng Xiao's fierce expression, Yu Deng's temper flared. "I'm not telling you."
"So, there really is someone else?"
Cheng Xiao immediately thought of every male in the mansion, clenching his fists so hard that he heard a faint crack.
[Beep beep]
Yu Deng was startled by the main system's notification. "What's going on?"
[A large amount of destructive intent was detected from the special task target. There is a 99% chance that the task target will destroy the instance. Measures must be taken to prevent this.]
[Please have player Yu Deng sign a contract with player Cheng Xiao to prevent him from destroying the instance.]
"Got it, got it." Yu Deng was currently irritated. "I haven't even finished my task yet, so stop bothering me."
[...]
The main system quietly placed the task at the top of Yu Deng's personal panel and went silent.
"Little mom, why aren't you speaking? Is it not just me?" Cheng Xiao asked softly.
Yu Deng thought for a moment and said, "You… you're different."
After all, the shadow was a ghost, and Yu Deng was still somewhat afraid of it. However, because it was not a human and was just a shadow, Yu Deng didn't have a clear sense of its actions.
But Cheng Xiao was different.
The young man was much taller than him, and his body was warm. The sensation of being close to these two was different.
But Cheng Xiao clearly misunderstood Yu Deng's meaning.
He thought Yu Deng preferred that wild man and was even protecting him now.
Cheng Xiao lowered his eyes and gazed at Yu Deng's delicate face inch by inch.
The rebellious young wolf was so angry that he wanted to immediately show Yu Deng how much better he could be, proving that he was the only chosen male.
But perhaps because he knew how delicate and sensitive Yu Deng could be, his first reaction was, "I can do better than those people." Cheng Xiao said, suppressing his turbulent emotions.
Yu Deng was someone who knew how to take advantage of situations. He looked at the person in front of him and sat on the edge of the bed, instructing his stepson, "Then help me put on the socks."
Cheng Xiao stared for a few seconds and then slowly knelt down, lifting Yu Deng's foot.
His dry palms held Yu Deng's ankle, and his slightly rough fingertips caressed the slender ankle, making the skin warm.
Yu Deng's feet were also very white, with well-trimmed and clean nails, which had a healthy pinkish hue.
Cheng Xiao played with the foot for a while before, at Yu Deng's urging, taking the cotton socks and putting them on slowly.
Like a well-trained large dog, he was earnestly trying to please and serve the delicate and temperamental young lady, just to show that he could take care of 'her' better than other males.
He even carefully straightened the lace trim on the top of the socks.
After putting on the socks, Yu Deng leaned back a bit, lifted his legs, and checked them.
The qipao was designed with a high slit, and with Yu Deng's legs lifted, the skirt naturally gathered in the middle, not covering his white and slender legs at all.
The back of his legs was pink, his knees were pink, and the white of his thighs was dazzling.
The snow-white thigh flesh was constrained by the underwear, with a subtle indentation that highlighted the softness of the flesh.
Cheng Xiao looked silently for a few seconds, then reached out and grabbed the flesh of the thighs, pressing deeper into the indentation.
Yu Deng felt uncomfortable from the rough pads of Cheng Xiao's fingers and squirmed a bit.
"Cheng Xiao."
Cheng Xiao held Yu Deng down and lowered his head to the inside of the indentation.
It felt like licking and biting.
"Mmm."
Yu Deng had never been touched there before, let alone bitten.
It felt stranger than a kiss, even weirder than being nibbled elsewhere.
It was both painful and itchy, like a small electric shock running up his spine.
Yu Deng's cheeks and earlobes turned red quickly.
He bent his right leg, and the foot in the short sock lightly stepped on Cheng Xiao's side face, cursing, "How dare you bite there, you uncouth jerk, go away!"