Li Qiyang stood on the bridge, watching helplessly as the pastor's figure was swallowed up by the dark river.
The water surface quickly returned to calm, without even a single bubble rising.
He was so anxious that he stamped his feet on the spot, but dared not go into the water rashly.
As a typical homebody, he can't even doggy paddle.
"Help! Someone jumped into the river!" Li Qiyang shouted again at the top of his lungs, his voice sounding particularly shrill in the quiet night.
However, the surrounding houses remained dark, with no lights on and no one coming out to check.
"Don't bother calling him, he won't die."
A hoarse voice suddenly came from behind.
Li Qiyang turned around abruptly and saw a hunched old man standing not far away, holding a dim kerosene lamp in his hand, the faint light illuminating his wrinkled face.
"Who are you?" Li Qiyang asked warily, instinctively taking a half-step back.
The old man coughed twice, then slowly raised his withered finger and pointed to the river: "I am a resident of this town. As for that pastor..."
He paused, his tone eerily calm, "He jumps into the river once a week, but don't worry, he can swim."
Li Qiyang's eyes widened, and he exclaimed incredulously, "Wh-what?!"
Are there really people like this?
The old man sighed, the light from the kerosene lamp flickering in his cloudy eyes: "This town has gone mad long ago. Come with me."
A night breeze swept by, and Li Qiyang shivered.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally took a step and followed the old man's back.
…
Seeing that Shu Bai seemed to be asleep, Li Yuheng lit a cluster of ghost fire at his fingertips, and with a gentle flick, the flames transformed into countless tiny points of light, dancing around him and Shu Bai like fireflies.
Wherever the light touched, clothes became neat again, messy sofas became flat again, and even scattered hats flew back into paper bags automatically.
Shu Bai seemed to sense something, slightly lifting his eyelids, his eyes still slightly red at the corners. He frowned, staring at the flickering light before him: "What is this?"
"A little bit of magic just for handsome guys, aren't you envious?"
"...showing off."
Li Yuheng chuckled and leaned closer, pinching his earlobe: "This is called 'virtuous and capable,' understand?"
Shu Bai slapped his hand away.
Li Yuheng ignored him completely, instead wrapping his arms around his waist even tighter and rubbing his chin against his shoulder: "Ugh, you're so heartless, Xiao Shubai, you just use me and then throw me away~"
Shu Bai: "..."
He took a deep breath, and unable to bear it any longer, he raised his hand, and a cloud of black mist slapped onto Li Yuheng's face.
Li Yuheng was slightly knocked back by the smear, but his smile widened even more: "Wow, my wife is putting a face mask on me!"
Shu Bai suddenly reached out and pinched Li Yuheng's cheek. Although she was so tired that her eyelids were drooping, she still forced herself to glare at him: "I'm asking you, who taught you to cook?"
Li Yuheng blinked, looking completely innocent: "Do I need to be taught? I was born knowing how."
Shu Bai sneered and tightened his grip on her finger: "Tell the truth."
"Hiss—be gentle, be gentle!" Li Yuheng gasped dramatically. "I'll talk, I'll talk!"
Shu Bai relaxed his strength and waited for Li Yuheng's reply.
As a result, Li Yuheng said in a serious tone: "You are Babo Ben, and I am Benbo Ba."
Shu Bai: "..."
Her pale hand fell limply to the ground, her fingertips trembling slightly, and she closed her eyes.
Li Yuheng was shocked and grabbed his wrist: "What happened to you? Is your hand broken?!"
He frantically examined the pale arm, pinching it from fingertips to elbow, muttering, "It's all my fault, I shouldn't have let you support yourself with your hand for so long... Let me check if the bones are hurt..."
"…Shut up."
Li Yuheng immediately fell silent, but his hands continued to move, carefully adjusting his pale wrist joints.
After confirming that the bone was alright, he breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his pale hand against his face: "You scared me to death... I thought you were really going to turn into Yang Guo. No, no, I should still bandage you up."
So, Li Yuheng made a serious gesture in the air, pinched one end of the "bandage" out of thin air with his fingertips, and carefully began to "wrap" it around Shu Bai's wrist.
"Don't move, don't move," he said solemnly, pressing down on Shu Bai's wrist. "This bandage is specially made; it can improve blood circulation and remove blood stasis."
Shu Bai watched his performance expressionlessly. Li Yuheng's fingers moved nimbly through the air, occasionally making a "ripping" sound as if he were tearing a bandage.
His earnest expression made it seem as if he were truly bandaging a wound.
"All done!" Li Yuheng tied a neat bow, admiring her "masterpiece" with satisfaction. "How was it? Was my technique professional?"
Shu Bai looked at her empty wrist and her lips twitched: "...Where's the bandage?"
“Oh my, this is the latest invisible bandage,” Li Yuheng explained in a serious tone, “Only a super handsome guy like me can see it.”
Shu Bai: "..."
He just watched Li Yuheng silently.
Suddenly, Li Yuheng raised his hand to cover his face, and through his fingers came his muffled voice: "No one else, only you."
Shu Bai was slightly taken aback, and after a moment, he responded softly, "...Oh."
Li Yuheng abruptly pulled his hand away, his eyes widening: "Only 'Oh'?!"
He looked incredulous, as if he had suffered a great injustice, his lips turned down, like a child whose candy had been stolen.
Shu Bai lazily lifted his eyelids and gave a faint "hmm".
Li Yuheng: "..."
Is ten times too few?
However, seeing how tired Shu Bai looked, Li Yuheng ultimately stopped making a fuss.
He sat up quietly, carefully lifted his pale legs, and bent them to place them on his lap.
His pale knees became a natural pillow, and Li Yuheng rested his head on them, staring at him without blinking.
Shu Bai mumbled with her eyes closed, "What are you looking at..." Her voice was filled with weariness.
Li Yuheng did not respond, but simply reached out and began to massage Shu Bai's calves with moderate pressure.
His technique was surprisingly professional; he started from the ankle and massaged upwards little by little, effectively relieving the muscle soreness.
As the massage continued, her sparse white eyebrows gradually relaxed, and her breathing became even.
Just when Li Yuheng thought he had fallen asleep, Shu Bai suddenly whispered, "No matter who you are..." The voice was so soft it was almost a sigh, "You are not allowed to disappear."
Li Yuheng's hand paused slightly, then he continued the massage, a gentle smile quietly appearing on his lips.
"I promise I won't," he replied softly, his voice more serious than ever before.
Shu Bai seemed to have fallen asleep and did not respond.
Just then, 0090's voice suddenly rang in Li Yuheng's mind: "Young Master, when are you finally going to unplug the power? We're already on the third dungeon."
Li Yuheng replied lazily in his mind, "What's the rush? The male lead does things in a natural and gradual way."
0090: [...]
A natural progression?
Why didn't you say "it will all fall into place" when you were "cooking" earlier?!
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