Chapter 16: All Night

Chapter 16: Through the Night

That evening, Lin Shenshi sealed the replies and carried the stack of letters to the eighth floor of the office building.

The door to Room 803 was ajar, left slightly ajar.

"Professor Lu, I'm coming in."

Lin Shenshi pushed the door open, but the room was empty.

A clock hung on the wall opposite the window, its hands ticking softly.

Lu Yuan's office was filled with books—humanities, classic literature, drama—all sorts of genres. Spread open on the desk was a half-read copy of *The Painted Veil*.

Lin Shenshi recalled Lu Yuan reading during his last visit, though it wasn't this particular book. It was unexpected that this seemingly respectable beast from an NP-themed story was, in fact, a diligent scholar committed to self-improvement.

He could only hope Lu Yuan wouldn't direct his curiosity toward exploring the mysteries of the human body.

Lin Shenshi pursed his lips, intending to place the letters on the desk and leave. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something and instinctively glanced back.

No one was at the door; the hallway was quiet. Lu Yuan hadn’t returned yet.

Lin Shenshi set down the letters, pulled open the half-open drawer, and saw the white medicine bottle that had caught his attention.

The label read—

[Estazolam]

Lin Shenshi’s heart pounded.

If he remembered correctly, this was a type of sleeping pill. Just one tablet could induce sleep within five minutes.

Was Lu Yuan already preparing to drug the protagonist shou?

Thankfully, he had already agreed with Yu Lanzhao to avoid the office. Otherwise, it would have been truly dangerous.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Lin Shenshi quickly returned the medicine bottle to its original place and closed the drawer.

The crisp sound of leather shoes approached the room. Lin Shenshi feigned having just placed the letters down, then turned respectfully. "Professor Lu, you’re back? I saw you weren’t here, so I took the liberty of leaving the replies on your desk."

Lu Yuan’s gaze swept over the stack of letters before fixing heavily on him. Without a word, he brushed past Lin Shenshi and walked into the inner room. The man looked somewhat weary, lacking his usual sharp and imposing demeanor. A strand of hair, usually neatly combed, had come loose and hung messily over his forehead.

As they passed each other, Lin Shenshi caught a strong whiff of alcohol.

Lin Shenshi stepped aside. "If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave."

"Who said you could leave?"

Lu Yuan’s voice came from the inner room, low and hoarse, carrying a barely perceptible hint of anger. "Come in."

Lin Shenshi stood frozen, hesitating about whether to enter, when suddenly he heard the sound of shattering glass and something heavy hitting the floor.

Startled, he hurried inside and saw Lu Yuan half-kneeling on the floor, his face pale, his slender phoenix eyes tightly shut. His gold-rimmed glasses were askew, and shards of a broken glass lay scattered on the floor.

After taking a sharp breath, Lu Yuan opened his eyes. His deep, dark pupils showed no sign of pain; instead, they burned with anger. Expressionlessly, he pulled out the glass shard embedded in his palm, and blood instantly spurted out.

"……" Lin Shenshi instinctively moved to help, but before he could take half a step forward, Lu Yuan coldly tossed away the glass fragment.

The transparent glass, now stained crimson, rolled to a stop at Lin Shenshi’s feet.

Still in his kneeling position, Lu Yuan leaned back against the edge of the bed, supporting himself with one bent knee. His injured right hand rested casually on the bedside, blood trickling down his well-defined fingers.

His dark, profound eyes lifted halfway. "Get me a glass of water."

"…Alright." Lin Shenshi didn't know how to describe what he was feeling at that moment. As instructed, he picked up another glass from the desk, hurried out of the inner room, and filled it with warm water from the dispenser.

When he returned, Lu Yuan was leaning back, his neck arched and his head resting on the bed. He seemed utterly exhausted, eyes closed as he tried to rest.

The bedroom attached to the office was small, and Lu Yuan was tall. With one long leg partially extended, he occupied much of the room.

Drops of blood fell steadily from his fingertips, soon forming a small red puddle on the wooden floor.

In the original story, Lu Yuan was the oldest of the three main gongs, thirty-five years old. Yet time seemed to have left no trace on his face, instead adding a mature charm that made his already handsome features even more captivating.

Honestly, if not for knowing the perverted pile-driver nature hidden beneath his refined appearance, Lu Yuan would still be quite likable.

Lin Shenshi sighed inwardly, walked over, and knelt beside him. "Professor Lu, here’s your water."

Lu Yuan didn’t move.

For a moment, it seemed as though he had already fallen asleep.

Just as Lin Shenshi was about to stand up and leave, a large hand suddenly gripped his wrist.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes blearily. "Where do you think you’re going?"

"……"

Lin Shenshi’s hand trembled, nearly dropping the glass. He held it out. "Your water."

The dark eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses looked over, seemingly still clouded by sleep or muddled by alcohol, hazy like a misty morning in a deep mountain forest.

"Water…" Lu Yuan murmured, releasing his grip. "…Drink water."

"Yes, you said you wanted water earlier." Lin Shenshi offered the glass again, but no hand reached out to take it.

Instead, Lu Yuan’s handsome face drew closer. Lowering his head, he pressed his thin, alcohol-paled lips to the rim of the glass, sipping gently. Lin Shenshi instinctively tilted the glass to help him drink.

Some of the water trickled down Lu Yuan’s sharply defined jawline. He wiped it away with his hand. "You still don’t know how to take care of people."

Lin Shenshi was taken aback. "What?"

Before he could ask anything else, Lu Yuan’s long arm reached out and pulled him into a hug.

Lin Shenshi’s eyes widened in disbelief as he felt the other’s heart pounding fiercely against his chest.

What… was happening?!

Lu Yuan was hugging him???

"Yu Lanzhao, Yu Lanzhao, Yu Lanzhao…"

Three calls, growing increasingly intense, each laden with emotions so thick they felt almost tangible.

Lin Shenshi’s tense body relaxed.

—So he had mistaken him for Yu Lanzhao.

Lu Yuan wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his head in the crook of his neck. His drunken breath carried a scorching warmth, his mind hazy, and his words went too far.

"...I really want to...devour you entirely..."

His arms tightened like a predatory python—the more one struggled, the harder it was to break free.

Lin Shenshi patted his back, calming him. Gradually, Lu Yuan relaxed his hold.

But his arms did not withdraw.

The man pulled him closer, his voice muffled: "Tell me, if someone deeply loves another person, but that person doesn't like them, even hates them, and tries every possible way to escape—what should I—what should he do?"

Lin Shenshi's heart stirred: this was a good opportunity.

Lu Yuan's dark turn and controlling behavior stemmed from the stimulus of seeing the one he loved being taken by others. If, before he became twisted, he could be reasoned with and his positive emotions amplified, wouldn't that fundamentally resolve Yu Lanzhao's predicament?

Lin Shenshi took a slow, deep breath: "...I think I would set him free."

Lu Yuan showed no particular reaction, so he mustered the courage to continue: "To love someone is to want their happiness. Whether they love me or not, whether the person by their side is me or not, as long as they are well, I would set them free."

"If, for selfish desires, you clip your lover's wings, that is not love. A lover obtained by force can never become a true lover."

The air fell silent.

After a long while, so long that Lin Shenshi thought Lu Yuan had fallen asleep, a bleak, wretched laugh sounded by his ear.

It seemed like self-mockery, like self-loathing, and in the end, it all turned into a cold, ruthless resolve.

"Is that so."

"—But I wouldn't. Even if I have to lock him up, put a collar on him, lock him in a cage... even if he curses me every day, I would imprison him without hesitation. At least..."

"He would still be my lover. Even if he resents and hates me, he would only moan and pant beneath me, not run off to someone else's bed."

With each word spoken, the arm around his waist tightened again.

This time, with unprecedented force, as if it meant to snap him in half.

Lin Shenshi's heart jumped in panic, and he instinctively struggled. A bloodstained hand pressed against the back of his neck—the blood was scalding, but the fingertips were icy cold, like the skin of a cold-blooded serpent, seeping a bone-deep chill.

"Don't move."

"If you keep struggling, I can't promise what I might do."

The gloomy tone was like a demon's murmur, a ghost's creeping approach, sending chills down Lin Shenshi's spine.

He froze completely in place.

Scorching breath sprayed against his neck; he felt like a prisoner strapped to a pyre, being roasted.

Sensing his compliance, Lu Yuan's voice softened, carrying a sigh of satisfaction:

"Just like this...let me hold you quietly for a while..."

The man's breathing was low and heavy, like a lion stalking the grass. Lin Shenshi dared not move again, afraid that his neck would be snapped the next second.

The tranquility of the night enveloped them from all directions. Having stayed up all night, drowsiness washed over him now as everything grew quiet. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier. By the time Lin Shenshi regained consciousness, dawn was already breaking.

"!"

Lin Shenshi shot upright like a sprung trap.

His eyes widened as he realized he had, at some point, ended up lying on the bed—and right beside him was the sleeping Lu Yuan.

Ahhhhhhh!

What in the world???

How did he end up in Lu Yuan's bed???

This'll be the death of me.

If Lu Yuan found out he had slept without permission in his bed, wouldn't he kill him on the spot?

Lin Shenshi quickly and quietly got up, stepped over the shattered glass on the floor, pushed the door open, and left the office.

Almost the moment the door closed, Lin Shenshi took off running. Only when he reached the arched bridge over the man-made river did he stop, leaning on the railing to catch his breath.

The early autumn morning already carried a chill. Dew had settled on the railing, making it wet and slippery. Lin Shenshi realized belatedly his hand was covered in moisture.

The sun had just begun to glow at the horizon, and few students were awake on campus yet.

Lin Shenshi sneaked back to his dorm room. Just as he closed the door, a voice suddenly came from behind.

"Xiao Shi."

Yu Lanzhao, dressed in street clothes, sat by the window. The dark circles under his eyes showed he had not slept all night.

"Ah—Ah Zhao?" Lin Shenshi stammered despite himself. For some reason, he felt a sense of guilt, like a wife caught out all night by her husband.

"You—why are you still awake too?"

"I was waiting for you." Yu Lanzhao walked over, his eyes dark and unreadable. "I waited all night for you."

The stormy emotions in his eyes were dark and indistinct. Lin Shenshi instinctively retreated.

"Thump."

His back pressed against the door.

Yu Lanzhao did not stop, closing in step by step until their chests were pressed together. He could even feel the burning body heat of the young man beneath his clothes.

"Xiao Shi."

He heard the young man's demand.

"Where did you go after delivering the letter last night?"