When Ye Qingyun woke up the next day, she found herself lying in the middle of the bed in a starfish shape, unceremoniously invading Gu Chenyuan's territory, while Gu Chenyuan's half of the bed was empty.

Ye Qingyun recalled the harsh words she had said to Gu Chenyuan last night—that she would kick him off the stage if he crossed any lines—and looking at her current sleeping posture, she couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Thankfully, Boss Gu disdained to lay a hand on this little newbie, otherwise he could have kicked him against the wall and never been able to pry him out.

Ye Qingyun got out of bed and quickly washed up.

According to Ye Qingyun's original plan, as long as he could take care of Gu Chenyuan to the point that his life was not in danger and that he could use his supernatural abilities to protect himself, he could leave Gu Chenyuan and live a carefree, secluded life.

That's right, that's how it is. I bet it won't be long before he breaks up with Gu Chenyuan!

Ye Qingyun had high hopes, but after two days, he realized that something was wrong.

Gu Chenyuan showed no signs of improvement, spitting out blood every now and then, his already pale complexion growing even paler. Moreover, he had been secretly glancing at him these past two days; whenever he looked back, Gu Chenyuan would quickly avert his gaze and pretend nothing had happened.

If anyone else had seen him this way, Ye Qingyun would have suspected that the other person had a crush on him. But since Gu Chenyuan was doing this, there was absolutely no possibility that he had a crush on her.

Considering Gu Chenyuan's physical condition, Ye Qingyun thought about it and came to the conclusion that there was only one possibility—Gu Chenyuan was extremely weak and was terrified that he would abandon her and leave alone, so he would secretly look at her from time to time.

Oh, that's terrible! How could he possibly have run away on his own?

But Gu Chenyuan's illness couldn't continue like this, so Ye Qingyun thought about it and decided to find out more about the situation.

————

That evening, Ye Qingyun drank the nutritional supplement for dinner and looked at Gu Chenyuan with a sour face: "Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you going to die?"

Gu Chenyuan glanced at him, then quickly looked away at the ground and said softly, "It's nothing, just a minor injury." Gu Chenyuan paused, then continued, "I'm only alive because of your care. I'll have to trouble you again during this time."

These words were spoken in an extremely gentle tone, which broke Ye Qingyun's heart.

Gu Chenyuan must be seriously injured to have no choice but to speak softly to this villain! The aloof beauty has no choice but to bow her head. If this is the case, he will definitely go and write a whole row of negative comments to vent his anger on Gu Chenyuan!

Ye Qingyun felt terrible inside, but still said fiercely, "You know you're a nuisance? Heh, you can have me take care of you, but you'll have to be my slave in return!"

Gu Chenyuan lowered his dark eyelashes, his pale lips and skin so white that you could almost see the veins, making him seem utterly otherworldly. He responded softly to Ye Qingyun's words: "Mm."

"Alright, where are you hurt? Where does it hurt?" Ye Qingyun stepped forward.

Gu Chenyuan reached out and covered his abdomen, then coughed a few more times.

Ye Qingyun: "Is it an internal injury or an external injury? Let me take a look."

Gu Chenyuan didn't react for a moment until Ye Qingyun looked at him in confusion, at which point he reached out and unbuttoned his clothes.

Looking at Gu Chenyuan's actions, Ye Qingyun finally realized what Gu Chenyuan had been hesitating about—good heavens, he might be the first person in the entire book to make Gu Chenyuan take off his clothes on his own initiative!

Gu Chenyuan's future partner will definitely be jealous... Forget it, Gu Chenyuan doesn't have a partner anyway.

As Gu Chenyuan moved, the injured areas he mentioned were revealed—smooth skin, a smooth waistline, and well-defined abdominal muscles, all presented to Ye Qingyun.

Ye Qingyun was originally gay, but when she saw those testosterone-fueled abs, she was momentarily captivated by their beauty before quickly regaining her composure and focusing her attention on Gu Chenyuan's injuries.

Gu Chenyuan appeared completely unharmed, showing no signs of serious injury.

"Internal injury?" Ye Qingyun frowned.

"Hmm," Gu Chenyuan replied, his face expressionless, yet Ye Qingyun inexplicably felt that he was angry.

It's normal to be angry; Gu Chenyuan has probably never been looked at like that before.

"Tsk." Ye Qingyun held out her hand. "Let me see?"

Gu Chenyuan paused for a moment, then finally nodded.

Ye Qingyun gently pressed down on the injured area that Gu Chenyuan had mentioned. The muscles under her hand felt excellent and were very elastic, which made Ye Qingyun's mind waver for a second before she came back to her senses and used some of her spiritual energy to check.

He could feel Gu Chenyuan's supernatural power boiling over, rampaging wildly within his body, causing some damage to his internal organs.

Strange, could it be that he was stimulated in some way, causing his ability to malfunction?

As he was heading to the village, he saw some herbs growing in a grove of trees that could soothe the agitation of supernatural abilities. He could pick some for Gu Chenyuan to try.

Thinking this, Ye Qingyun left a harsh message telling Gu Chenyuan to stay put, then went to gather herbs and turned to leave.

————

The door closed, and Gu Chenyuan sat up straight, buttoning his shirt button by button with a blank expression.

He was actually fine; all the so-called injuries were self-inflicted. The fact that his condition had worsened these past few days was simply because he wanted Ye Qingyun to stay with him more.

Gu Chenyuan originally thought that he might feel uncomfortable and unhappy because of Ye Qingyun's physical contact when she treated him, but in fact, when Ye Qingyun's warm hand touched him, he not only did not feel uncomfortable, but also felt a little excited.

What displeased him was that Ye Qingyun had looked at it and touched it, but remained completely calm.

Ye Qingyun didn't look at Pu Tian like that back then.

Ye Qingyun clearly likes men, but she has no feelings for him at all.

Is his physique really that bad that Ye Qingyun couldn't even flirt with him? Or is his appearance simply not Ye Qingyun's type?

These two thoughts swirled in Gu Chenyuan's mind, making him increasingly frustrated.

He shouldn't get angry about something like this.

But he was still angry.

He wasn't angry at Ye Qingyun, he was angry at himself.

It's useless.

Gu Chenyuan pressed his furrowed brows, took a deep breath, stood up from his chair, and looked around the room, searching for something to distract him.

His emotions are not right right now. He shouldn't be so emotionally volatile over such a small thing. He needs to change that.

Gu Chenyuan noticed a pile of miscellaneous items on the desk in the corner, with a notebook buried at the bottom. He walked over and saw that the cover of the notebook had several large characters written on it: "Research and Investigation Notes on 'God'".

god?

Gu Chenyuan frowned even more as he recalled how the villagers wanted to give Ye Qingyun to the so-called "god" when he first arrived in the village. He picked up the notebook and opened it to the first page.

Gu Chenyuan quickly skimmed through the text and understood the purpose of the notebook's author in writing this research.

The notebook's owner was someone chosen to be given to "God" in the previous decade. Worried about her future, she inquired in many ways and tried to obtain as much information as possible about "God".

My grandmother told me that this custom started in her great-grandfather's generation. She said, "Don't expect God to die, because God is not a person... God is a bloodline passed down through generations."

Gu Chenyuan was highly sensitive to the term "bloodline," and his expression immediately darkened as he quickly flipped through the remaining content.

They can control the climate and environment of this planet; to oppose them is to oppose the planet itself, and is undoubtedly a path to self-destruction.

My grandmother told me not to be too pessimistic, because God treats his partners very well. She had heard rumors that if one is favored by God, one will receive divine power, be free from illness, and live a long life.

[Truly worthy of being of divine blood, perfectly flawless.]

wrong.

Gu Chenyuan immediately realized the errors in the notes.

He has done extensive research on bloodline abilities, so he is quite knowledgeable in this area.

Those who gain power through bloodline will also be subject to certain limitations because of their bloodline.

For example, although he was exceptionally strong, the consequence of this was that he could not betray the one he loved.

Even if you discover that the person you love doesn't love you at all and is just using you, even if your love for that person has faded, you can't leave, you can't regret it. Otherwise, at best you'll suffer a splitting headache, at worst you'll self-destruct.

What they have is a path of love from which there is no return, and everything is in the hands of others.

Gu Chenyuan was never one to be manipulated, so he never thought he would fall in love with anyone, and he rejected the idea from the bottom of his heart.

Except... except for some unexpected intrusion.

Gu Chenyuan knew the limitations of bloodline power, so he simply didn't believe it when someone suddenly said that some bloodlines were perfect, bringing only power without any flaws.

As Gu Chenyuan looked at the words and thought about his own situation, he couldn't help but drift into a daze.

If... if that "god's" bloodline restrictions were similar to his, and Ye Qingyun happened to know about it, what would Ye Qingyun do?

Will he, like everyone else, go to great lengths to win favor?

————

Ye Qingyun successfully left the village and followed the road she remembered until she arrived at the grove of trees, where she found the herbs she wanted.

Ye Qingyun squatted down and carefully picked the fruit.

The process of harvesting this medicinal herb is quite troublesome, so he has to be careful.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Qingyun finished picking a handful of herbs and was about to move to another spot when a loud clap of thunder was heard, followed by a torrential downpour.

Ye Qingyun: "...?"

This rain came so suddenly!

Ye Qingyun looked around and found a small hole in the middle of a boulder not far away, so he quickly ran over to take shelter from the rain.

Looking at the heavy rain outside, Ye Qingyun noticed that there seemed to be another figure in the rain.

"Come here quickly, you can take shelter from the rain here!" Ye Qingyun shouted to the figure.

The figure approached him, and Ye Qingyun gradually saw the person's face clearly.

It was a strikingly handsome young man, probably only sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a loose-fitting robe, strolling in the downpour.

"Was that you calling me?" the boy asked.

Ye Qingyun nodded, squeezed in, and made room for the boy to take shelter from the rain.

The boy walked over and suddenly grabbed his hand.

"You're my bride this time, aren't you?" the boy laughed. "Come with me, we won't go back, I'll take you straight to my home."

Ye Qingyun: "...?"

————

Night deepened.

Gu Chenyuan sat in the chair waiting, glancing at the door from time to time, his usually composed face now showing signs of anxiety.

Ye Qingyun has not returned yet.