After the New Year, Shen Kuangye and Lu Xiangyang stayed home with Lu Ning. They had no relatives coming over, so their days were filled with eating, sleeping, and playing games. Occasionally, in the quiet of the night, they would tease each other—holding each other while out of breath, kissing each other's cheeks, or just quietly watching one another in the dark.
Lu Xiangyang finally realized, belatedly, that he had probably searched for the wrong recipes—angrily discovering that these were by no means recipes meant to promote health and fitness! First he got tricked by Chinese medicine, now by recipe searches; he resolved never to trust anything on the internet again.
After that, he also stopped experimenting with all sorts of strange soups for Shen Kuangye.
But Shen Kuangye's teasing of Lu Xiangyang didn't decrease at all.
Several times, Lu Xiangyang was teased to the point of barely being able to speak. He would drape his arm over Shen Kuangye's shoulder and whisper softly: "Brother, kiss me."
Shen Kuangye tilted his head and kissed his cheek, but Lu Xiangyang wasn't satisfied. "Not here…"
"After the Abyss ends," Shen Kuangye whispered, "okay, baby?"
Lu Xiangyang obediently nodded, knowing that Shen Kuangye was also holding back with great effort.
One morning, Lu Xiangyang finally remembered to log into social media and saw a message pop up in front of him:
"Brother, don't you get bored?"
Lu Xiangyang asked very seriously.
Shen Kuangye, watching a replay of a Japanese league match, casually popped a strawberry into his mouth and naturally held Lu Xiangyang's hand. "Bored with what?"
Chewing the strawberry, Lu Xiangyang said, "I'm worried that it's boring being with me."
It was rare for Lu Xiangyang to say something like that out loud.
Shen Kuangye glanced at him. "What do you want to do?"
Caught in his little scheme, Lu Xiangyang hummed: "I want to go out and play with you, brother."
Shen Kuangye pinched his cheek and asked gently, "What do you want to play?"
Lu Xiangyang's eyes immediately lit up. He leaned on Shen Kuangye and said, "Do you know? The game center downtown now has the 'Imitator' mode, the one with VR glasses for a real-life experience."
'Imitator' was essentially a Werewolf version of Identity V.
Shen Kuangye hadn't played this mode before, though Li Shu from the club loved it. Every day after ranked matches, Li Shu would sneak in a game, earnestly swapping cards with others in the corners, and then scream inexplicably. When it came to the case analysis, he would transform into a Sherlock Holmes.
For a while, Li Shu's catchphrase became "Exquisite, exquisite," and he spoke in classical Chinese, addressing others as "young master," e.g., "Young master, would you like some chips?"
Shen Kuangye wasn't particularly interested in modes other than ranked matches, but if Lu Xiangyang liked it, he would accompany him.
Lu Ning had gone to accompany Xu Wen today and wouldn't be back until evening. So it was just the two of them at home.
Lu Xiangyang, who had been cooped up at home, must have been bored, so Shen Kuangye said, "Okay."
With Shen Kuangye's consent, Lu Xiangyang quickly got up to change in the bedroom, humming along the way.
Shen Kuangye's lips curved slightly as he kept his gaze on the match.
When Lu Xiangyang reopened the door, Shen Kuangye's casual glance froze.
Today, Lu Xiangyang was wearing a white striped shirt with a black-and-white tie-dye sleeveless sweater over it, a white scarf around his neck that Shen Kuangye had bought him. He looked fair and refined, very young, like a high school student.
"Not good-looking?"
Lu Xiangyang asked uncertainly. It was his first time trying this outfit, and he had spent a long time thinking it over.
Shen Kuangye finally snapped out of it, his Adam's apple moving, eyes never leaving him. "Good-looking."
They were cautious about going out, afraid of running into fans, so they wore masks. Even so, they still drew attention.
While Lu Xiangyang went to buy two skewers of Japanese-style chicken at the store, he looked back to see two boys already surrounding Shen Kuangye.
One particularly delicate-looking boy smiled: "Handsome, can I add you on WeChat?"
Before Shen Kuangye could refuse, Lu Xiangyang dashed over like a firecracker, face full of displeasure.
He suddenly wanted to laugh but held it back.
Shen Kuangye calmly said to the boy: "Sorry, not convenient. I have a boyfriend."
Lu Xiangyang stopped in his tracks.
After the two boys walked away, Shen Kuangye came up beside Lu Xiangyang and waved in front of his face. "Back to reality."
Lu Xiangyang's cheeks flushed lightly, like the sunset had accidentally brushed them with a soft glow. His eyes lowered, long lashes fluttering.
"What did you just call me?"
Shen Kuangye smiled faintly and repeated: "Boyfriend."
Lu Xiangyang glanced around awkwardly. "I haven't agreed yet… didn't we say we'd wait until after the Abyss?"
He still remembered the night Shen Kuangye hadn't kissed him.
Shen Kuangye found him so adorable that he followed along with his words. "Okay. Then now… you're the one you like."
Anticipating that the game center would be crowded, they wisely kept their masks on.
The attraction of the first offline Imitator mode was high; the density of Identity V players was astonishing.
At noon, most of those waiting outside were looking down at their phones, playing ranked matches. In contrast, the two of them felt a little out of place.
One girl, after finishing her game, put her phone down and looked around. Her eyes suddenly froze on something, and she excitedly nudged her best friend: "Stop playing for a second, you have to see this!"
Her best friend, battling in the Manor, frowned: "See what? I've just flashed my skill; I'm going top-left, then bottom-right."
"No, look!"
"Unless WILD and SUN are streaming now, don't talk to me, I'm in my promotion match."
The girl sighed helplessly, frustrated: "Your CP is right in front of you!!"
Her best friend, during a pause in the chase, glanced over and instantly forgot she was even in a ranked match; the promotion match suddenly seemed less important.
She quickly opened her camera and posted to Weibo's CP super-topic.
[OMG, OMG, look who I ran into!]
[Picture]
Fans of Xiang Ye's super-topic had been starving for content.
The real stars rarely streamed, and after the Autumn Season ended, they were almost impossible to find. Fans had only their secondary creations to feed on. A high-profile fan had to prepare for college exams months ago, leaving even less content.
Fans would camp daily, trying to catch the couple's ranked matches. They even analyzed Lu Xiangyang's skin collection repeatedly.
On New Year's Day, someone noticed that Lu Xiangyang's skin collection suddenly had a ton of gold and collaboration skins. Many speculated that Shen Kuangye had gifted them to him.
Everyone wished for even a tiny hint about their CP, but there was nothing.
Peaceful and calm.
At this moment, Shen Kuangye and Lu Xiangyang were completely unaware of the online chatter, engrossed in carefully studying each character's skills.
This mode was essentially a low-level Imitator gameplay. The Firework Wolf character hadn't been released yet.
The roles were divided into three factions: the Detective Team (good guys), the Imitator (werewolves), and the Mysterious Guest (neutral).
The werewolves could black out lights and kill; the Detective Team needed to reach the power room to repair and restore light. The Mysterious Guest currently included the Fool, Chess Player, and Vagabond.
When it was time to play, staff first equipped everyone with headsets and transparent VR glasses, then led them into an empty room.
Inside the glasses, players could choose their preferred Manor characters and corresponding skins.
Shen Kuangye chose "Seer Dark."
The scene instantly turned black, then a blue light appeared in front of his eyes.
[Player Number: 1]
[Your Role: Sentinel]
[Skill Description: When you are eliminated, the opponent must initiate a meeting.]
As the blue light faded, Shen Kuangye realized he had somehow reached the game's spawn point.
He had a map in his hand and was in the East Bathroom according to it.
Other players were already moving. The only thing he could see was the character and skin the other players had chosen. Unless they touched another player, they couldn't know their true identity.
Shen Kuangye looked up at the White Sand Street Asylum, suddenly feeling a strange sense of realism, as if he had truly entered the game's virtual environment.
His card required him to guard the generator, since Imitators would usually blackout lights and then kill in the power room. Sentinels countered them effectively.
Right now, Shen Kuangye needed to either find someone to declare their role or just guard the power room, letting the people doing tasks know he was the repair card. Naturally, he chose the latter.
He glanced around the hall. Everyone was doing tasks or rushing to other rooms.
Only one player, labeled "2," the Seer White, was sneaking around the hall, looking suspicious. The small gestures seemed oddly familiar, like a certain idiot.
Shen Kuangye walked over and smiled: "Want to swap roles?"
Lu Xiangyang, hearing his voice, brightened and whispered, "Brother, how did you recognize me?"
They had clearly gone to different rooms.
Although he couldn't see Shen Kuangye's real face in the glasses, the VR was so realistic he could even see the fine stitching on Seer Dark's face, and the character models were adjusted to human proportions, making them appear like lifelike dolls.
Lu Xiangyang cautiously glanced around, noticing a Black-skinned Lawyer at the East Bathroom door eavesdropping. When caught, the Lawyer awkwardly scratched his head and walked away.
This place was still too dangerous. Lu Xiangyang told Shen Kuangye, "Let's go to the garden to swap roles."
Knowing exactly what mischief Shen Kuangye might be thinking, he calmly nodded: "Okay."
Once in the garden, Lu Xiangyang confirmed nobody was around before quietly asking, "What's your role?"
Shen Kuangye observed his little actions and, fully aware, told the truth: "Sentinel."
Lu Xiangyang looked doubtful: "Really?"
How could he not trust him?
Shen Kuangye nodded. The next second, the lights suddenly went out.
A second later, all players' screens displayed:
[Crime Scene Witnessed: Player 2 discovered Player 1's body.]
Then everyone was pulled into a virtual meeting room.
Player 2, Lu Xiangyang: "..."