By evening, several people still needed to find a place to stay, which was quite a hassle.
The villagers were very hospitable, but the number of rooms available for guests was limited. Xiu Se Village rarely had outsiders, and no one prepared guest rooms. Only the village chief, Wu Deli, and another aunt had a small room used as a storage space. The village chief allocated the rooms: Xin Meng and Xiong Jiabao stayed at the aunt’s house, Li Yougen and Dong Xiu stayed at Wu Deli’s house, while You Yi was assigned to the village chief’s home after Wu Xuehua secretly tugged at the village chief’s sleeve.
Xin Meng noticed Wu Xuehua’s furtive glances towards You Yi and, not knowing why, suddenly blurted out, “I’ll switch with him; let him stay with Xiong Jiabao!”
All eyes turned to him, and Xin Meng felt a bit embarrassed, stammering without being able to explain his sudden outburst.
The village chief stroked his beard, ignoring Wu Xuehua’s anxious gestures, and nodded, saying, “That works; it’s settled then.”
Wu Xuehua stomped her foot in frustration.
Xiong Jiabao, however, secretly tugged at Xin Meng, “Hey, Xin bro, why aren’t you staying with You Yi?”
Xin Meng couldn’t tell him about the inexplicable awkwardness he felt inside. After hesitating, he grabbed Xiong Jiabao’s hand and said earnestly, “The situation here is unclear; it’s quite dangerous to stay alone. How could I put you in danger just for my own comfort?”
Xiong Jiabao was immediately moved, patting Xin Meng’s shoulder vigorously, “Xin bro, you really… are so loyal! I appreciate this sentiment, but don’t let it delay you! I can stay at Wu Mei’s house by myself!”
Wu Mei… Xin Meng twitched his mouth but didn’t pursue it, “Delay me from what?”
“From that!” He pointed at You Yi, making a gesture with his thumbs up.
Xin Meng was confused, “What?”
“Come on, aren’t you two a thing?” Xiong Jiabao urged.
“A thing? What thing?” Xin Meng was completely baffled.
“Tsk, so you really haven’t figured it out yet!” Xiong Jiabao patted Xin Meng’s head, “You’re still so naive.”
Xin Meng: “…”
On the other side, Dong Xiu was also dissatisfied. He ordered Xin Meng, “I want to stay alone; Xin Meng, you go sleep with Li Yougen.”
Although he didn’t hold a grudge about Li Yougen biting him earlier, he didn’t want to rest in the same room with him. In fact, he didn’t want to share a room with anyone, so he tried to forcefully switch with Xin Meng.
But as soon as he finished speaking, before Xin Meng could respond, he felt a terrifying icy gaze fall upon him. He stiffened, slowly turning his neck to meet You Yi’s gaze.
“N-No, it’s fine…” Dong Xiu stammered, “I’ll stay with Li, Li Yougen…”
Xin Meng, standing behind You Yi, was not fond of Dong Xiu’s commanding tone. He hadn’t intended to listen to him anyway and didn’t pay attention to his expression. When he heard Dong Xiu change his mind, he let it go, thus failing to notice something was off.
Dong Xiu awkwardly averted his gaze, his back drenched in sweat.
If he didn’t change his words… he might be killed…
Receiving such a signal made Dong Xiu sweat profusely, his lips turning pale.
Li Yougen, who witnessed everything, became a bystander but felt the same way, lowering his head and not daring to voice any complaints.
There was no electricity in the mountains, and there were no entertainment options at night, so the villagers went to bed early, almost as soon as it got dark. The group didn’t want to linger over this matter any longer and quickly followed the assigned villagers back home.
Xin Meng was left alone, led by the village chief into a small partitioned room. The space was tiny, filled with a few miscellaneous items, and there was a small single bed next to the window.
The bed was already made, and Xin Meng thanked the village chief. After he left, he was left alone in the room.
He lay down fully clothed on the bed but couldn’t fall asleep. His gaze was fixed on the dark window outside, and for some inexplicable reason, he kept thinking about a strange thing—
Did You Yi not eat lunch or dinner? Would he be hungry?!
Of course, he attributed his concern for You Yi to worries about the team’s strength. After all, You Yi was their strongest asset. If he was affected by hunger, the survival chances of the entire team would decrease.
The more he thought about it, the less he could sleep, and the more worried he became. He regretted not switching with Xiong Jiabao earlier; now he was stuck in this dilemma. What was he being so awkward about? Why was he acting so childish?
Finally, unable to lie still any longer, he rolled out of bed, quietly opened the door, but realized he would have to pass through the village chief’s bedroom to get out, which might wake him. Xin Meng thought for a moment, then simply closed the door, walked back to the bed, grabbed his backpack filled with food, opened the large window, and jumped out.
When You Yi and the others left, Xin Meng had roughly remembered the direction they went. After exiting the village chief’s house, he followed the direction in his memory, but soon he regretted it. There weren’t many houses, but there were enough that he didn’t know where they were staying. How could he find them? He couldn’t just knock on every door!
As he stood there in a dilemma, he suddenly heard footsteps. He immediately looked up and saw that the person walking towards him in the dark was none other than You Yi.
Xin Meng’s tense body immediately relaxed. He suddenly realized that no matter how strange the situation was when You Yi appeared, seeing him always gave him an indescribable sense of security.
“Why aren’t you sleeping well?” You Yi walked up to him and naturally took his hand.
Xin Meng looked down at their clasped hands. You Yi’s hand was large and broad, covered with thick calluses. It didn’t feel particularly comfortable to touch, but his palm was warm, as if it could warm a person’s heart.
This gesture felt a bit too intimate…
“I wanted to find you…” However, he not only didn’t pull his hand back but also unconsciously spoke his thoughts aloud.
You Yi didn’t ask what he wanted to find him for; he just held his hand and led him forward. “This place feels off; don’t let your guard down.”
“Okay.” Xin Meng walked beside him like a child being led by the hand, not asking where they were going, just obediently responding. He kept asking, “Have you eaten? Are you hungry? I have some food in my bag; I brought it for you.”
“Mm.” You Yi stopped, and Xin Meng looked around. They had reached the edge of the village, at the foot of the mountain, with a forest behind them.
The two sat back against a large tree trunk. Xin Meng hurriedly opened his backpack, took out the food, and handed it to You Yi. You Yi took it, tore open the packaging, and quietly began to eat. The surroundings fell into silence, with only the faint sounds of chewing and the rustling of the packaging. The night in the mountains was exceptionally dark; Xin Meng could hardly see anything but felt inexplicably at ease, without a hint of awkwardness.
When You Yi quickly finished eating, Xin Meng heard him say, “Try not to go out at night; there’s something strange in this village.”
Seeing that he finally expressed his opinion, Xin Meng quickly turned around and eagerly asked, “Why do you say that?”
You Yi replied, “Don’t forget, this is a horror game.”
Right, they had entered a horror game, but…
This village was just too comfortable.
If this comfort wasn’t just a facade, hiding turbulent undercurrents beneath, or the calm before a storm, it seemed unlikely that the game would let them pass so peacefully.
As Xin Meng began to feel uneasy, he suddenly felt a hand cover his, a hot palm pressed against the back of his hand. You Yi said, “Stay calm; there will always be a way to clear the game.”
“Mm.” Xin Meng nodded, somewhat surprised that You Yi had come to the same conclusion.
He turned back, kicking at the ground, trampling a patch of grass into disarray.
“Um…”
“What?” You Yi asked.
“Well…” Xin Meng bit his lip, unable to see his expression in the dark, “The village chief’s daughter, the one named Wu Xuehua, seems to like you a lot…”
Although she had shown some affection towards Xin Meng before, it was clearly different. Back then, her curiosity and interest were more apparent, but when she saw You Yi, she displayed that shy demeanor typical of a young girl. This made Xin Meng pay more attention to it. He usually didn’t gossip about others, but this time, when mentioning Wu Xuehua, his tone wasn’t particularly pleasant. “She’s an NPC; she can’t…”
“I don’t like her.” You Yi’s response was immediate and unwavering.
Xin Meng couldn’t help but smile slightly, then quickly suppressed it. He continued, “But she seems quite cute…”
“Not as cute as you.” You Yi said again.
Xin Meng muttered under his breath, “How can a guy like me be described as cute?” but couldn’t help but smile.
Close to midnight, You Yi walked Xin Meng back to the village chief’s house, watching him jump through the window, lie down on the bed, and cover himself with the blanket. After saying goodnight, he turned to leave. Xin Meng had long forgotten to worry about the cleanliness of the blanket, burying half his face in it, muttering, “I just don’t want to admit that he is more popular with girls than I am… Yes, that’s it,” self-hypnotizing himself, and gradually fell into a deep sleep.
At Wu Deli’s house.
Dong Xiu stood by the window, looking outside. Li Yougen was already lying in bed but hadn’t fallen asleep yet. He turned to Dong Xiu and asked, “Did they come back?”
“Yeah.” Dong Xiu frowned, “It’s so late; what were those two doing outside? I hope they’re not plotting something behind our backs.”
“Pfft,” Li Yougen scoffed, “Maybe they went for a wild rendezvous. Just look at Xin Meng; he’s such a flirt, pretending to be all proper.”
Dong Xiu agreed wholeheartedly. If he wasn’t a flirt, why would he always be at odds with him? Hearing Li Yougen insult Xin Meng made him feel refreshed all over, and he found Li Yougen less annoying, “But that You Yi is too dangerous.”
“I’m not saying you,” Li Yougen sat up, complaining, “Why did you say, ‘You go sleep with Li Yougen’? That was too ambiguous. Not only did you end up with a bad deal, but you almost got me killed too. You knew they had that kind of relationship; isn’t that just crazy?”
Dong Xiu regretted not being more cautious with his words at that time, resulting in a misstep.
“No, those two are getting too close; we need to be careful they don’t trip us up during the game!”
Li Yougen hesitated, “It shouldn’t be a problem; there’s no conflict.”
Dong Xiu adjusted his glasses, looking at him with a cold smile, “There was no conflict when escaping, so why did you push Qi Xiaokui?”
Li Yougen turned his head away, feeling guilty, and changed the subject, “Well, it’s best to be cautious of them; what’s important is that we can clear the game.”
“Exactly.” Dong Xiu nodded in satisfaction, unaware that You Yi, who was about to reach the end of the road outside, glanced back at the window. By the time Dong Xiu looked outside again, the place was already empty.
