Chapter 163: How about choosing one of the two?

"Tsk, if someone asks you a question and you can't answer it, that's fine. But just leaving them hanging like that isn't a good habit."

As the boy spoke, he reached out and gently pinched the loquat's waist.

It didn't hurt much, but the tingling and numb sensation still made Pipa flinch slightly despite being completely restrained.

"What exactly do you want to do?" Pipa asked in a hoarse voice.

Upon hearing this, the boy smiled softly.

"What, are you angry? Or have you finally decided to stop pretending?" The boy's tone was gentle as he pinched the back of Pipa's neck from behind, his fingertips seemingly unintentionally rubbing that inch of flesh back and forth.

His fingers were warm, and the pads of his fingers were even slightly hot.

In this respect, compared to Li Xiao, who always feels cold to the touch all year round, she is actually more like a living person.

"You can't answer any of my questions, but you keep asking yourself one question after another. Don't you think that's going too far?" the boy said, seemingly reproachfully.

That feigned aggrieved tone was even more like Li Xiao's.

Something flashed through my mind.

Pipa vaguely felt that the answer was there, but she could never quite grasp the crux of the matter.

At this moment, not only was his body trapped between the vines and the boy, unable to move, but his thoughts also seemed to be trapped.

"What exactly are you..."

"What? Can't you guess yet?"

The boy grumbled in dissatisfaction, his tone a mix of coquettishness and reproach.

"Even though the hints were so obvious, I still couldn't figure it out at all. I'm really going to be so sad."

He spoke sad words, but showed no sign of frustration; on the contrary, there seemed to be a hint of excitement.

As if echoing the boy's emotions, the vines on the loquat seemed to wrap around it even tighter, especially in places where the loquat couldn't see, and the thing that had just licked the side of the leg seemed to move again.

They actually started peeking out, trying to burrow deeper.

Feeling the gentle licking sensation, Pipa clenched her teeth to keep from screaming out loud.

Fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

"You can't even handle this much? What will you do later?" The boy's low voice whispered in my ear, his breath hot on the reddened skin.

Upon hearing this, Pipa froze, immediately having a terrible premonition.

Noticing the desperate situation of the person in his arms, struggling like a dying fish but powerless to break free, the boy smiled with great pleasure.

As he laughed, his tone suddenly became serious: "It's better to relax at times like this, otherwise you won't be the only one suffering."

"..."

"Is it trembling? That's not good. Be good, listen to me."

As the boy spoke, he patted the back of Pipa's head as if comforting a frightened little animal, then turned around and bit Pipa's shoulder.

It seems to be the spot where I was first bitten by the eyeless snake that the vines had transformed into.

However, this time he clearly used more force.

The sharp canine teeth quickly pierced the flesh, and warm blood gushed out, which was soon licked clean by warm lips and tongue.

A tingling, painful sensation spread from the wound, quickly engulfing a large area, starting with the neck, shoulders, chest, and back—areas that were relatively close together.

Soon, it flowed like blood through the veins of the body to every part of the body.

Pipa started trembling uncontrollably again, her breathing became rapid, and she felt alternating chills and fever, as if countless insects—no, countless tiny threads—were crawling under her skin.

He was in so much pain that he wanted to fall to the ground and roll around violently.

Alternatively, you could use a knife to cut open the skin, slice by slice, and remove all the threads, then sever them.

Does it hurt?

"..."

The boy smiled and asked softly. His voice was right next to my ear, but it sounded as if it came from some distant place, indistinct and with a strange distorted tone.

Suddenly, everything around me seemed to become strange.

Whether it's the boy in front of me, or loquat herself...

The feeling was like immersing oneself in a tranquil body of water.

If you try to listen or look through the water, what you get will naturally be a distorted view.

Loquat, surprisingly, didn't feel anything was wrong with it; on the contrary, she accepted it with unusual ease.

I was enveloped in a lazy feeling all over my body.

He was so listless that he seemed ready to close his eyes at any moment, and at one point he even wanted to let himself fall into the deep water.

But the instinct for survival held him back, making it impossible for Pipa to let go easily.

—Don't fall.

I don't want to... fall down.

It's like there's a voice inside me saying...

But at the same time, the vines that were originally tightly wrapped around her seemed to be loosening.

Clearly...

The loquat wondered, "I tried with all my might but couldn't break free at all; on the contrary, it's only getting tighter..."

Just as I was wondering what was going on, the vines started to loosen even more.

With a whoosh, before Pipa could react, she plummeted straight down.

Although it didn't fall directly, the feeling of being suspended in mid-air still made Pipa extremely uneasy.

Because he sensed that the vines were gradually unraveling, one after another, and then retreating orderly back into the darkness.

The feeling of weightlessness became more and more obvious.

Pipa clearly realized that she was teetering on the brink of collapse.

But his limp limbs were powerless to do anything, and he could only watch helplessly as the darkness below crept closer and closer...

A drop of sweat slid down his forehead, dripped from his eyelashes into his eye, and caused an indescribable stinging sensation.

Pipa then realized that her body was already sticky and damp, especially her clenched palms and the area around her neck that was covered in strands of hair, like a patient who had just recovered from a fever, sweaty and cold.

A gust of wind, seemingly coming from nowhere, sent a shiver down his spine.

"Hello……"

The sound came from above, accompanied by a slight vibration.

It turns out that at a certain moment when he was about to fall, his body unleashed a survival will even stronger than he had in his previous state.

So, at that critical moment, Pipa stretched out her arms and forcefully grabbed the boy who seemed to be watching her fall with indifference, her hands tightly clasped behind his neck.

"Don't you find me annoying? Well, here's your chance to get away from me, okay?"

The boy's voice was soft and his tone sincere, as if he were genuinely offering advice out of kindness: "Now let go, jump down. Don't worry, it only looks high. Even if you fall to the ground, it won't take long. Anyway, it's not the first time."

"..."

Pipa had no strength left to speak; she used the little energy she had to support her body.

Even so, Pipa felt that she probably couldn't hold on for much longer.

My palms, damp with cold sweat, were already showing signs of slipping.

If this continues, it's only a matter of time before they fall.

Still refusing to speak?

The boy's voice came from above again, his casual words sounding like a judgment to Pipa: "So, does that mean you've tacitly accepted my proposal?"

She paused, then let out a puzzled "Huh?" and asked, "Why aren't you letting go? Is it because you were holding on too tightly before, and now you can't let go? Sigh, it seems I'll have to help you myself—"

As the words fell, Pipa truly felt a warm hand cover her clasped, icy palms.

In an instant, I was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, and my mind went blank.

The mouth reacts before the brain.

"Wait...wait a minute—"

He struggled to squeeze out broken words from his throat.

Upon hearing this, the boy paused slightly, but did not immediately remove the hand that was ready to push the other person into the abyss at any moment.

"It seems you're not entirely satisfied with my suggestion. Indeed, life would be a bit monotonous if there were only one choice."

He paused, then added, "How about we choose one of the two?"

"..."

"Silence means consent."

"..."

"Alright, choosing between letting go of my hand and letting me hug you... isn't that difficult, is it?"