Chapter 15 Drug Effect Takes

Chapter 15: The Potion Takes Effect

Luo Qingxi pounded on Door 111 with loud bangs, his fair palm turning completely red, yet there was still no response from inside. Even when he pressed his ear against the door again, the creaking of the bed frame had ceased entirely.

Luo Qingxi grew anxious but had no choice, repeating, "Solace, open the door, let me in."

Time ticked by. Just as Luo Qingxi considered the possibility of breaking in through the window, a deep, heavy voice finally came from inside: "...You don't have the waist token."

It was Solace's voice, but much hoarser than usual, lacking that ever-smiling, leisurely ease. Every word was forced out heavily with effort.

Luo Qingxi touched his waist and remembered that when he changed clothes, he had locked the waist token along with the down jacket in the locker. Solace's waist token should have a sensing function, enabling precise location tracking of affiliated tokens.

Luo Qingxi: "What do you need my waist token for?"

Silence again from inside.

Luo Qingxi was in a bind, asking, "So, should I go back and get it?"

Solace, who would normally respond to any of his words, now had gone completely quiet, leaving Luo Qingxi deeply worried.

Sweat glistened on Luo Qingxi's forehead. With no other option, he ran back, "I'll go get it. Wait for me."

He thought that once he had the Teleportation Waist Token, even if Solace wouldn't open the door, he could directly teleport to Solace's side and solve the problem.

But he hadn't anticipated that when he returned with the token, the lights in Room 111 were off. Among the row of brightly lit VIC suites, it stood out starkly, like a forgotten, desolate old house.

Luo Qingxi stood in the shadow of Room 111, looking around in a daze, speculating on where Solace might have gone. No matter how he reasoned, it all felt very dangerous.

He immediately gripped the waist token, silently recited Solace's character address number, and waited for the black mist teleportation, but the token seemed broken—no reaction at all.

He didn't understand the workings of the Teleportation Waist Token, but logically, only if Solace had unilaterally cut off their connection would such a result occur.

What a classic misdirection and cutting me off!

Luo Qingxi felt a deep sense of helplessness in the game. He pounded on the door again, refusing to give up: "So—la—ce!"

"Which unruly little pet is making all that noise! Don't you know there's no shouting allowed? Who is your trainer?" At the corner, a guard's flashlight beam flickered and moved closer.

Before the VIC suites was a small garden with low shrubs, interspersed with pebbles and koi ponds, purely ornamental. And Solace's Room 111 happened to be in the very center of the row, leaving Luo Qingxi no place to hide.

"Where is it? Don't try to hide. Come out and accept your punishment!"

Danger was closing in rapidly—

Just as Luo Qingxi had given up and was preparing to be caught and punished, a large, scorching hand reached out from behind, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him in.

With a "click," the door closed, and Luo Qingxi stumbled to a half-kneel, finally seeing Solace himself.

"You…"

Luo Qingxi opened his mouth and realized Solace's condition was very wrong.

Solace was half-kneeling like him, his sharply defined face blurred by the faint light from outside the door. He faced the door, expressionless, seemingly with no intention of explaining.

The cold room was filled only with his heavy breathing, which he swallowed through tightly compressed lips, only to be replaced by even heavier gasps a moment later.

After a few seconds, Luo Qingxi understood: Solace was listening for the guard's movements outside.

He'd never seen Solace so on edge and completely focused. Normally, no matter the situation, Solace would handle everything with a lazy grin and total ease.

Luo Qingxi didn't understand why he had to be so serious. After hesitating, he whispered, "You okay?"

Solace didn't answer. A few seconds later, as if confirming something, he stood up, reopened the door, and said hoarsely, "Go."

With the light streaming through the door crack, Luo Qingxi saw clearly.

Solace's black hair was soaked with sweat, his pupils already unfocused. Though he frowned, trying to focus, it was futile. He was entirely on the edge of losing control.

Luo Qingxi also stood up. Approaching Solace, he could feel the heat radiating from him and a faint metallic smell, which reminded him of the abnormal temperature of the hand that had grabbed him.

He had to admit, this disheveled Solace was exceptionally sexy. It also stirred a long-dead emotion in Luo Qingxi's heart—guilt.

He remembered: the Line 21 subway was a single-player game, and he was the primary target, so Solace was less affected. But the Sodom Reform Hospital was a two-player instance, and Solace had drunk the green wine for him, essentially taking the bullet for him.

Luo Qingxi pushed the door that Solace had opened back shut with a "click." "No."

Those two words seemed to have drained all of Solace's self-control. The potion surged back, and even with his silver tongue, Solace couldn't argue now.

That mouth, usually full of clever quotes and sharp retorts, could now only emit clearly audible heavy breaths.

Solace stumbled back a few steps, but tripped over a chair in the center of the room and fell onto the bed, writhing in pain, throwing his head back. Veins bulged on his neck, his Adam's apple prominent.

Luo Qingxi had never seen such a scene. He hurried forward: "Solace—"

"Go, get out." Solace pushed him away briefly, his rapid breaths punctuating his words. "Once the potion fully takes effect... you won't be able to leave."

In the chaos, Luo Qingxi's mind raced.

"But... but why must I leave? You drank that wine and played this instance for me, so you ended up drugged. If I stay, even if I can only be one percent helpful, that's better than nothing. Why must I leave..."

Luo Qingxi was truly flustered. For once, he rattled off words like a machine gun.

"First, I can handle it myself..." Solace exhaled a long, hot breath. His large, knuckly hand clenched the edge of the bed, grinding his molars, "Second, Qingqing, I don't want anyone to see me at my most embarrassing."

Luo Qingxi hadn't expected Solace to still be able to list points one and two under these circumstances.

But he understood.

When he was playing the "Custom Boyfriend" app, from the very first meeting, he had already treated Solace as half his boyfriend. But Solace, as a pure Holo-Human, might only see him, someone he'd known for just a few days, as an ordinary friend.

"I won't take advantage of you or push myself on you. I know you have your pride. I won't laugh at you." Luo Qingxi said, a bit awkwardly. "I'll go get you a cold washcloth."

Even as the game progressed and he gradually developed some genuine feelings for Solace, there was still a little game-logic in his head—

His custom boyfriend was drugged with an aphrodisiac, and after all his hard work, he had finally reached him. There was no way he would just turn around and leave after a few words. How's the game supposed to progress like that?

"Fine..." The drug hit a brief calm before its full onslaught. Solace's eyes were bloodshot, but he'd calmed down a little. He gave in, "After you wash the cloth, you leave."

Hearing Solace's defeated tone, Luo Qingxi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he'd won a small victory.

He didn't know the light switch for the room, but his eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. He hurried to the bathroom attached to the VIC bedroom and found some disposable towels.

As he ran the cold water, he heard a rustling sound from the bedroom, followed by Solace pressing the call button and saying in a strained, distorted voice: "Swap me to a room with a bathtub, and send someone to Room 111 to pick up the little princess."

"You..."

Luo Qingxi turned his head, unsure what to say. He only felt that Solace was really a ruthless guy—if he were an enemy, he'd be eaten alive by his endless schemes.

Solace was so insistent that Luo Qingxi finally started thinking about giving in to his request.

So bad.

When he turned around from the bathroom with the cold wet towel, taking in the full view of the VIC suite, the first thing he noticed was the weapons Solace had set down on the table.

They were two black short guns and a dagger. Strangely, the dagger's blade was dull and didn't reflect light at all, as if it were stained with...

Luo Qingxi immediately remembered Solace's faint rusty smell.

—That wasn't the smell of iron, but the smell of blood!

Luo Qingxi wrung the towel until water dripped from it and strode straight toward Solace. Taking advantage of the man's weakness, he grabbed his big hand and lifted his sleeve, practically taking advantage of his weakened state.

Solace's forearm was covered in crisscross wounds. Besides one long scar very similar to the one from the night they first met, there were multiple small horizontal cuts that had just stopped bleeding, varying in severity, clearly showing the perpetrator's unstable state.

Luo Qingxi's eyes widened.

Though blood made him dizzy, he stared intently at those deep wounds. Guilt and a sense of debt flooded his mind, completely shattering his logical reasoning and game mentality. A cold, blazing fury burned in his eyes.

“I'm fine...” Solace withdrew his arm and lowered his sleeve.

In the bedroom, the sound of dripping water turned into a rustling water curtain crashing onto the floor.

“You're always saying you're fine.” Luo Qingxi's breathing became ragged. “Is this how you solve problems?”

Solace frowned, but before he could speak, he unfurrowed his brow. His pupils rapidly lost focus, then slowly refocused a bit. It seemed like he was engaged in a fierce struggle with an unseen demon.

Luo Qingxi knew the real effect of the drug was almost here. He seriously thought about what might happen to him, then said with certainty, “I can help you. With my body.”

His game account wasn't max level and hadn't unlocked the “steamy stuff” function. Solace wouldn’t really do anything to him; the 21.7 cm didn't scare him anymore.

If it were other physical contact, his mind burned with the thought, he could accept it now, he was willing.

Someone endured immense pain to protect him, silently carried everything, and always smiled and said it was fine, don't worry. How could he bear to stand by and do nothing?

Moreover, this was the first time someone had treated him like this...

Solace didn't speak, just shook his head, sweat from his hair dripping onto the sheets.

Luo Qingxi added, “I know, you also have feelings for me, right? If you think it’s too soon and don’t want to confirm a relationship, then we can just be one-night stands tonight, and forget everything tomorrow.”

If Luo Qingxi’s pursuers in the real world heard this, they would probably be greatly shocked and suspect that the untouchable beauty had been body-snatched.

But Solace just raised his eyes to look at him. His features were still handsome and familiar, but his demeanor was so gloomy he seemed like someone else. He ground out two words between clenched teeth: “No.”

Solace's body was trembling slightly from restraint, while Luo Qingxi was shaking with anger, unable to understand why he was so stubborn.

He threw the wet towel aside, bent at the waist, leaned in very close to Solace, and repeated firmly, “I’ve made up my mind… I've thought through everything you mentioned before. I don’t care what the real you is like, I don’t care about other opportunities. I only care about right now, and I just want what I want.”

Tonight, in one evening, he had said as many words as he'd normally say in a year. All because of Solace.

The culprit himself was still frowning, his pitch-black eyes no longer like an abyss, but like a dazed black fog with no trace of reason.

Suddenly, a “bang bang” knock sounded in the silence.

The Sodom Reform Hospital was extremely efficient. The burly silhouette of a security guard was reflected on the door, reminding, “Hello, your room is ready, number 132. I've come to take the little princess back.”

Luo Qingxi turned to look at Solace, whose eyes were somewhat confused. He actually began to pray that the drug had fully taken effect, softening and crushing Solace’s tough attitude, letting his little head do the thinking.

Otherwise, once Solace responded with a sound, he would be forcibly sent back to the pet dormitory by the security guard, with no other way out.

Solace raised his hand as if out of control, gently stroking his pale and cold cheek. The burning body temperature made him flinch slightly, but it also allowed his body, tensed all night, to relax bit by bit.

...He succeeded.

“Hello? Is anyone in there? Please open the door.”

Amid the security guard’s urging, Solace seemed to have lost his hearing, as if he hadn’t heard anything. His intense, striking face slowly approached Luo Qingxi, his thin lips almost touching Luo Qingxi’s lips.

Luo Qingxi closed his eyes in resignation, allowing the heavy masculine scent to envelop him, couldn't help but wonder what kind of beast Solace, completely controlled by the drug, would become.

Hot breath exhaled onto Luo Qingxi’s face. Just before being tightly kissed, he thought Solace had completely lost his mind, but Solace whispered very softly to him, “Don't blame me for not warning you. What you want will end up ruining you.”

Then, the soft lips delivered a force that seemed to ravage and crush him.