Chapter 64

(Kisses; Of Blood, Mice, and Bats.)

“Gu Liang, does it hurt?”

“It’s alright. Just a little.”

As Gu Liang was speaking, Yang Ye found some cotton b.a.l.l.s used for make-up from the dresser, and he helped Gu Liang wipe the wound on his neck gently. The beads of dark red blood were immediately absorbed once the cotton ball touched it.

Yang Ye’s eyes darkened as he gazed at the cotton ball, and then he threw the cotton ball into the dustbin.

Just now, he had been concerned with the script’s time requirement, so he had bitten down without waiting for Gu Liang’s response.

And now, as he was staring at the wound on Gu Liang’s neck, he asked in a low voice: “The question I asked just now, you have yet to give me a reply.”

Gu Liang gave him a strange look, like he was failing to comprehend the utility of the question.

A vampire biting a person and turning said person into a vampire was a frequently seen plot. The nature of it was quite similar to a zombie biting a person and turning that person into a zombie.

However, the only difference now was that there were two men playing the parts in the scenario, but it did not seem to be too consequential.

—Where are his thoughts wandering to?

Gu Liang stared at Yang Ye: “You’re merely taking a bite; it’s not like someone is using a knife to stab me. Why is there a question of willingness?”

Upon hearing that, the hand that Yang Ye was holding a new cotton ball with, became heavier unconsciously as it was moving.

“Hiss— Be gentler.”

That made Yang Ye lighten his action as he used the cotton ball to touch his wound gently. “This area is different from the others.”

Gu Liang: “?”

Raising his eyelids, Yang Ye stared into his eyes. “What if the script required someone else to kiss you for example?”

Gu Liang thought in his heart, What was there to compare about this?

Yang Ye followed by saying: “Wouldn’t that be disrespecting you?”

Why was he using the word ‘disrespecting’ now?

In Gu Liang’s cognition, if a man were to kiss a woman because of the script requirements, that could be considered as disrespecting the woman.

In terms of biological constructs like strength and physique, it could not be denied that women were the weaker party between the two genders.

Although he had a d.a.m.nable father who did not know how to respect women, the education that Gu Liang had received since his childhood had taught him that boys should respect, protect and take care of girls.

Therefore, if the script were to ask him to kiss a woman or be kissed by her, he would absolutely refuse.

Of course, even if it was changed to a man, he would not be willing either.

After all, he still had a slight obsession with cleanliness.

That being said, he felt that it could not be called “disrespecting” when it was changed to a man. Moreover, why was he being made into the person that had been “disrespected”?

Apart from not wanting to be kissed, the other person might not necessarily be capable of kissing him either.

Honestly speaking, he could not comprehend Yang Ye’s thought processes in the least.

Gu Liang casted a sidelong glance at him, saying: “We’re two matured men, who is disrespecting who? We’re both male, whether it’s kissing or being kissed, both of us would feel revolted.”

After saying those words, Gu Liang realised that there was an even bigger problem.

— What kind of comparison was Yang Ye making exactly?

Could a casual bite compare to a kiss?

He’s making it sound like allowing him to have a bite of me is equivalent to letting him kiss me.

Even Yang was a little helpless from his answer, and he smiled angrily.

He threw the cotton ball in his hand into the dustbin again. Then, he stared at Gu Liang, stating, “Let me rephrase my question. I’m asking you to remove the punishment from your consideration, not make a choice between being bitten and getting punished. No matter what the circ.u.mstances are, I don’t want to see you locked up in the small black room again.

“Let us a.s.sume that you won’t be punished no matter what you do. Would you willingly allow another person to bite you then?”

Gu Liang shook his head.

Yang Ye’s voice deepened as he asked him the next question: “And what if that person was changed to me?”

A moment later, Gu Liang replied with utmost honesty: “After the comparison you previously made, I find that this question has become even stranger.”

Yang Ye: “You’re not allowing me to kiss you?”

Gu Liang: “……”

In the face of his silence, Yang Ye still continued to question: “You don’t allow other men to kiss you because you’d feel revolted, but what if that person was changed to me?”

Yang Ye’s gaze was too scorching, and it was to the extent where Gu Liang felt that under his scrutiny, all of his emotions were on full display and there was nowhere for him to hide them.

At this moment, he seemed to truly understand what Yang Ye was trying to say.

However, there was still that iota of uncertainty.

The close proximity of Yang Ye’s inhales and exhales, alongside the unblinking stare that was being directed at him, gave Gu Liang an extremely unfamiliar sensation, like his spine was bunching together and inducing a slight numbing effect.

And simultaneously, that bit of distrust and self-inferiority buried in his bones, gave rise to a certain dread under that heated and exacting attention instead— it was the type of dread that could invoke uncertainty and helplessness precisely because he cared.

There was nothing to write home about with regards to Gu Liang’s emotional history.

Although his bare relations.h.i.+p experiences were best described as a pa.s.sing breeze that left no traces, it still gave him the impression that his own feelings would fizzle out into nonexistence by the end of it all.

He had already made preparations to spend his last years alone early on.

The first love he had in his youth was an immature, confusing and sloppy start. Strictly speaking, perhaps it could not even be considered as a relations.h.i.+p. However, it would be going too far to say that he did not put his heart into it, because he did jot down lecture notes for the girl and send her home after school.

However, the final result was that they had parted without any farewells and phone calls were always rejected; the ending was incredibly sloppy.

Afterwards, there was Xun Feng confessing his feelings, but Xun Feng had later told him: “Apologies.”

— He apologised because he had misconstrued his own feelings, and he never truly liked Gu Liang.

His first love could be removed because he discovered in hindsight that those feelings had nothing to do with genuine adoration in actuality.

Back in those days, his family had been collapsing into shambles, and what he was truly craving for was friends.h.i.+p and company, recognition from people his own age, because their acknowledgement meant that he would not be treated differently just because of his parents.

And the reason why Gu Liang was capable of saying k2018;it’s fine’ and k2018;they were still friends’ with a light and breezy tone to Xun Feng was because he did not harbour any special feelings for Xun Feng.

Consequently, what if his remembered first love was exchanged for Yang Ye?

What if Yang Ye was the person who said that he liked him first, but later reneged by saying, “Apologies, I misconstrued my own feelings”?

Could he still keep his calm then?

Was it even possible for someone to truly like him?

Did he deserve another person’s adoration?

Owing to the fact that his head was in an utter mess, Gu Liang instinctively chose to retreat.

He turned his body to evade Yang Ye. Getting off the bed, he stepped into his slippers and took off the clothes on the hanging rack before he headed towards the bathroom.

To Gu Liang’s surprise, he noticed that the ceiling of the bathroom was a dense ma.s.s of black upon opening the bathroom door— Unexpectedly, there were countless bats hanging there.

They opened their eyes to glare at Gu Liang in succession, their eyes red like blood.

Following closely, the bats closest to the door unfurled their wings in a series of rustling noises, opening their mouths to bare their sharp teeth before they flung themselves at Gu Liang.

Before the bats reached him, Yang Ye threw himself at Gu Liang first.

Just as his back impacted the ground, Yang Ye held onto his shoulders and pulled him into his arms before placing him on the ground gently to ensure that he was not hurt from the hall. Concurrently, Yang Ye used his entire body to cover his person completely and protected him thoroughly.

Gu Liang tilted his head to look past Yang Ye’s shoulder, and perceived a bat diving straight for his back to claw him.

“Yang Ye, be careful!”

Yang Ye raised a hand to cover his eyes. “Don’t be afraid, don’t look, I’m alright.”

“No! Move away!”

Owing to the countless bats in flight, the noise generated by the stir of their wings was extremely loud. They issued a strange sound from their nose, as if they were being devoured.

Not knowing what kind of terror Yang Ye was facing, Gu Liang desperately tried to break free.

But in the next instant, all the bats stopped.

They hovered in mid-air and nodded their heads, like they were bowing to Yang Ye.

A moment later, they returned to their hanging positions in the bathroom again, and closed their eyes.

Standing up, Yang Ye closed the door to the bathroom before he walked back to Gu Liang’s side in a large stride.

Gu Liang had stood up by then. When he saw Yang Ye walking over, he went up to hold onto his wrist and said strictly: “Don’t do that in the future. It’s dangerous.”

Instead of withdrawing his hand, Yang Ye continued to move forward until Gu Liang was pushed against the wall.

Before Gu Liang could react, his back was already pasted against the ice cold wall.

— Why are the walls of this ancient castle so cold?

Shuddering from the cold, Gu Liang slanted forward reflexively, which caused him to lean into Yang Ye’s body.

His warmth was transmitting through his clothes, and subsequently, he could clearly sense Yang Ye’s forceful heartbeat as well.

Gu Liang backed away immediately, leaning against the wall again.

Despite that, Yang Ye pressed a step closer, until there was essentially no gap between him and the wall.

Yang Ye opened his mouth, “What are you hiding for? You haven’t answered the question I asked.”

Gu Liang, who had always been calm and self-possessed, was reduced to an extremely childish retort: “Am I obliged to answer any question you ask?”

“Yes, you’re right. I shouldn’t have asked you so much from the start.

“I should have directly kissed you just now.”

And before Gu Liang could react, Yang Ye’s lips had already collided with his.

Staggered and dumbfounded, Gu Liang widened his eyes. His brain went blank for three full seconds before he realised what was happening.

In the beginning, all Yang Ye did was a mere, gentle graze of his lips.

After a short while, he kissed him once more, twice, a third time.

Each kiss was heavier than the last.

Gu Liang could feel the heat on his lips which formed an exceedingly sharp contrast with the cold wall at his back.

The bloodied breath that was characteristic of a vampire seeped in, filling his mouth and nose with that sweet scent, but Gu Liang had yet to come to his senses. His first reaction was— So this is what kissing tastes like.

The bathroom that was part.i.tioned off by a wall was teeming with bats, and the old armchair in front of him quietly blended into the oil paintings.

In the empty s.p.a.ce, the dust in the age-old guest room of the ancient castle floated and sank. As he looked past Yang Ye’s ear, Gu Liang stared at the dust unconsciously as his thoughts seemed to drift to a further place.

The sensation of being kissed right then and there was far too strange.

But this strange feeling was then superseded by another sensation…

Afterwards, Gu Liang relaxed his hands out of subconscious reflex, dropping the prepared clothes he was holding in his hands, and they fell to the ground with an audible thud.

Gripping onto Yang Ye’s shoulders, Gu Liang tried to resist and push him away unconsciously, but it did not possess much strength. Hence, his posturing made it seem like he was forcibly clutching onto his clothes instead, but it was impossible to discern if he wanted the person to take a step closer or stay further away from him.

This game felt so unreal.

When Gu Liang woke up this morning, his forehead had grown a swell after it was knocked against, and he met the vampire-turned Yang Ye soon after. The notion that he was dreaming only heightened as a result.

And the dizzy sensation caused by the kisses only served to increase the surrealism without a doubt.

What finally pulled him back to reality was the increasingly heavy sound of friction coming from the wall behind his back, and the stinging pain on his lips from being kissed.

He exerted some strength with the hands he was holding onto Yang Ye’s shoulders with, and finally shoved him away.

Subsequently, he heard Yang Ye asking by his ear: “So, do you feel revolted if I’m the one kissing you?”

Gu Liang: “……”

“Was it comfortable?”

“…………”

Yang Ye: “I’ll ask you a question then, do you dare to admit to it?”

Gu Liang sucked in a breath, trying to control the speed of his speech to the best of his abilities to make his voice sound as placid as it could be. “Why would there be something that I wouldn’t dare to admit to?”

Yang Ye: “Then do you dare to admit that you like me? Even if it’s just by a smidgen.”

When Yang Ye was making his inquiry, he was looking at Gu Liang from a higher point of elevation.

— From the tips of his ears to his face and down to his neck, his skin was red through.

Yang Ye mused in his heart, he was still hesitating about whether he should confess last night, and it was beyond any of his imaginings that he would be kissing Gu Liang without any qualms today.

The kissing could be disregarded. The shocking part was that he was forcing the other person to say that he liked him first before he even admitted to it.

Yang Ye realised that everything he was doing right now was running counter to all the steps he had previously decided on in secret.

In his earlier conceptions, he thought that if he were to take his current course of actions, it would be taking it too far; Gu Liang would definitely thrash him into h.e.l.l, and it was the sort where he would be pummelled down to the eighteenth level, unable to redeem himself for the rest of eternity.

But now that the matter had reached this stage, he could not advance only to retreat; he could only accept the error and adapt to it, pressing closer step by step.

Moreover… The situation was far better than he had originally antic.i.p.ated.

To his astonishment, he was not punched by Gu Liang, and it was quite apparent that there was hope.

Gu Liang lowered his head, refusing to meet Yang Ye’s eyes.

Yang Ye continued to stare at Gu Liang, not knowing if he was feeling shy or choking back on his anger. He contemplated for a moment before changing to a serious tone of voice. He said: “Lawyer Gu—”

“I haven’t been a lawyer for a long time.”

“Then… Executive Gu?”

“I wasn’t an executive by any measure.”

“Director Gu—”

“Deputy.”

Tch, he was still being so strict in this point in time.

“Cough, Deputy Director Gu—” Yang Ye raised his hand to brush against Gu Liang’s tall and straight nose gently, “I have a love affair here, would you like to attend to it?”

Gu Liang: “……”

“I’ll change the phrasing then? A target for affection, will you take aim?

“Deputy Director Gu, how about being my boyfriend?

“If you don’t want to respond, I’ll be your boyfriend then?”

Gu Liang did not answer.

Their cards vibrated at that moment. Gu Liang returned to the head of the bed to pick up his own card. There was a newly issued plot written on the surface.

“After being bitten by a vampire, you came to the unexpected discovery that there was a large amount of bats in the bathroom. Feeling curious, you decided to go to the other rooms to take a look. You recalled that when Sc.u.mbag Yu was leaving last night, he did not lock his door, so you decided to go to his room. For some unknown reason, this vampire followed you inside as well.

“And as you were walking into the bathroom, this vampire followed in your steps and stopped behind you.

“It was at this moment where you looked at the mirror and discovered a strange matter…”

When Gu Liang put down his card, Yang Ye had just kept his card in his pocket as well.

Raising the gla.s.s of water that was placed at the head of the bed, Gu Liang raised his head to drink a few consecutive gulps. Then, he gazed at Yang Ye: “We’ll talk about it after this case ends.”

Neither Gu Liang nor Yang Ye moved after those words were put down.

After a long, drawn-out moment, Gu Liang walked up to Yang Ye, stooped over and picked up his clothes before waving at Yang Ye. “Since I can’t go into the bathroom, I need to change my clothes in the bedroom. Go out.”

Yang Ye: “…..”

* * *

After waiting outside the door for a short while, Gu Liang stepped out. He was dressed neatly, and the b.u.t.tons at his neck had been clasped firmly, concealing any indication of spring.

Yang Ye took out the gla.s.ses in his pocket and wore them before he turned his head in the direction of Sc.u.mbag Yu’s room. “Let’s head over directly?”

“Mn.” Gu Liang nodded.

He surveyed the corridor.

The corridor did not undergo huge changes compared to yesterday. There was only the addition of a few dead mice who had their necks snapped and bitten, while others had their bodies broken into half. Consequently, there were a fair amount of old blood from the mice on the carpet, which made it look slightly sinister and terrifying.

Eyebrows furrowed, Gu Liang strode over Sc.u.mbag Yu’s room door and pushed open the door to walk in.

Sc.u.mbag Yu’s room did not experience any changes either.

But when Gu Liang stepped in front of the bathroom door, he faltered momentarily before he placed his hand on the handle.

“Liang Liang, move aside, I’ll do it.”

“……”

“These bats are afraid of me, so I should do it.”

Walking over to Gu Liang, Yang Ye directly carried Gu Liang by the waist as if he was a.s.suming a “lifting” posture before he placed him at the side.

Gu Liang: “…………”

Subsequently, Yang Ye opened the bathroom and stuck his head in to peer inside. “It’s alright, there’s nothing awry inside, there aren’t any bats. Liang Liang, you can come in.”

After pausing for three seconds, Gu Liang asked: “Can you not call me that?”

As he was speaking, Gu Liang moved into the bathroom.

There was a basin directly facing the door, and there was a huge mirror above the basin.

At that moment, Gu Liang understood what the “strange matter” written on the card was.

— The mirror could not reflect Yang Ye.

He and Yang Ye were clearly standing in front of the mirror, but the mirror was only reflecting him, whereas Yang Ye was absent.

In the instant where he saw the mirror, Gu Liang’s heart was occupied by an intense and strange feeling.

It was only when he twisted his body and saw Yang Ye standing by his side, whole, that he let out a small exhale.

The pair’s cards vibrated once more.

A new plot had been issued again.

“Ding dong, the following is popular science time. Vampires have no souls, which means that mirrors cannot reflect vampires.

“After a human is bitten by a vampire, they will not become a vampire immediately since a [Transformation Period] exists. The transformation period lasts for three days, and with each hour interval, their ident.i.ty will be exchanged once.

“Actor Ming, you were bitten at 8 o’ clock sharp. You will be in your human state before 9, and you will be in a vampiric state from 9 to 10. After 10 o’ clock, you will become human again, so on and so forth.

“Ding dong, Player Gu Liang has received three side tasks.”

Gu Liang: “……”

“One, in front of humans, conceal your ident.i.ty as a vampire, or else you will be treated differently, and you might encounter something unfortunate.

“Two, in front of vampires, conceal your ident.i.ty as a human, or else you will be killed by other vampires.

“You have the face of an idol; flowers blossom upon seeing you, you are loved by all. Hence, the vampire who bit you started having tender affections for you, thus treating you as a toy in his idle life, and he will help you conceal your ident.i.ty.

“Simultaneously, he needs to conceal his ident.i.ty as a vampire in front of humans as well. After being bitten by him, you became a vampire dependent on his strength, so your third given task is to help him conceal his ident.i.ty.

“While the both of you might be mutually using each other, please help each other for the sake of your mutual benefit.”

After Gu Liang received his tasks, he gazed at Yang Ye: “You need to conceal the fact that you’re a vampire?”

Yang Ye nodded. Then, he smiled after thinking of something, and stretched his hand towards Gu Liang: “It looks like we have an emotional connection. Happy cooperation?”

Gu Liang extended his hand to clap his hand reluctantly, before he turned towards the mirror in front.

After staring at the mirror for a moment, Gu Liang picked up the broom that was at the side. Before Yang Ye could yell out “Liang Liang, put it down I’ll do it”, Gu Liang raised the broom and swung it hard, shattering the mirror with a loud crash.

Once he was done shattering the mirror, Gu Liang began to clean up the fragments calmly.

Following, he poured the fragments he had swept up into the dustbin, opened the closet, and found a set of new hygiene products for was.h.i.+ng up. “I’ll take a quick shower, you can go after me. Afterwards we’ll—”

Yang Ye: “I know, we’ll go to the other rooms to break the mirrors. You can go and shower.”

A moment later.

Gu Liang stared at Yang Ye who was standing in front of the basin. “Can you go out then?”

Yang Ye: “Hey, we’re already an old couple, what are you being embarra.s.sed for?”

Gu Liang: “……”

* * *

Inside the bathroom.

As the hot water gushed out from the shower nozzle, Gu Liang did not have the heads.p.a.ce to think about why vampires, bats, and dead mice had suddenly appeared in this ancient castle. He did not have the time to think about how and why Lady Rong and Butler Hao died, could not think about whether there was a conspiracy behind the car accident that Sc.u.mbag Yu’s group encountered, or why this vampire was a facsimile of Sc.u.mbag Yu, why it was being played by the player, and if there was a backstory to this.

Because he would always think of that kiss once he shut his eyes.

Before he realised what he was doing, he had already raised his fingers subconsciously to touch his own lips.

Although his fingertips were affected by the temperature of the hot water, it could not compare to the heat of Yang Ye’s lips at all.

Why did he…

How could he…

Does he genuinely like me? And what does he like about me?

Didn’t he say that I wasn’t his type?

He wore a sloven and inappropriate teasing appearance all day long, spoke romantic words the moment he opened his mouth, and it could not be discerned if he was putting up a pretence or if he was being genuine, which placed Gu Liang in a predicament because he did not know if he should trust him or not.

If he met such a person in reality, he would have shunned him and stayed further away from him a long time ago because he disapproved of him…

Yet, all these complicated thoughts formed one sentence at the very end.

— He kissed me.

He actually kissed me just now.

Gu Liang released a long sigh.

Forget it, there were mirrors to smash.

* * *

Last night, Designer Mei and Confidant Ai’s rooms were not locked as well.

After Gu Liang and Yang Ye were done showering one after the other, they pushed open Sc.u.mbag Yu’s room door and headed for those two rooms first.

Actor Ming’s room – of whom Gu Liang was portraying – only had bats in his bathroom, and his bedroom was safe.

However, the room that Designer Mei resided in was different: the pair saw a room full of bats the moment they opened the door.

Hence, the pair could only retreat for the time being, and they could not smash the mirrors in that room.

As for Confidant Ai’s room, it was the same as Sc.u.mbag Yu’s in the sense that everything was normal and there was nothing strange in there. The pair smashed the mirrors and proceeded to throw the shattered remains into the dustbin inside the room.

“Since Butler Hao and Lady Rong died together in the vegetable field, it means that they went outside, and they probably didn’t lock their doors as they were going out. Moreover, there should be other keys in the butler’s room.”

Gu Liang looked at Yang Ye: “We can’t know for sure if there will be other general plots soon. In order to save time, I’ll go to the butler’s room, you can go to Lady Rong’s room.”

Yang Ye did not agree. “No way. I’m afraid there will be bats attacking you. We just need to deal with all the mirrors as quickly as possible.”

After contemplating briefly, Gu Liang still went with Yang Ye’s suggestion. Subsequently, both of them went to Butler Hao’s room and found the keys behind the door.

In the previous script, Gu Liang had inspected Butler Hao’s room during the search for evidence.

Although it could be discerned that there were no bats in his room, there were numerous additions of antiquated and strange objects.

In spite of those additional oddities, Gu Liang did not have the luxury of thinking further; after he smashed the mirror with Yang Ye, the pair made their way towards Lady Rong’s room.

It was at this instant where the general broadcast sounded. “The system has given each and every player a substantial amount of time for adaptation, and everyone should have a preliminary understanding of their characters. Actor Ming who has stayed here for two consecutive nights, the mysterious guests who have just arrived at the ancient castle, and Magnate Rong who had just returned after his business discussion… Greetings to all of you, it is currently 8:50 in the morning.

“The chef has reported to work as per usual, and everyone can go to the main hall to enjoy their breakfast at any given time.

“Unfortunately, the chef then died in the kitchen, and how did that occur? Mn, we can only deduce that, he had died because of the food he had consumed.

“The current scenario possesses numerous segments, the final deceased is unknown for the time being.

“The free exploration for the first segment has already begun, everyone can treat ‘the ancient castle’s secret’ as their agenda, and find out the cause of these strange happenings.

“At 12 noon, please gather in the second-floor centralised discussion room, and begin voting for the tasks in the first segment.

“Once the vote casting concludes, the name of the current scenario will be announced, and every player will be welcoming the actual script enactment.”