The male lead, a man who refuses to eat (42)

"I saw you and Lin Yang at the coffee shop yesterday."

Si Jiu was jolted out of a daydream—one involving the dilemma of whether to pounce on him or let him pounce on her—and whipped her head around to look at him. "I wasn't... I just went to make things clear with him."

She even gripped his sleeve, looking for all the world like someone terrified he might walk away.

This sight left Xie Yu feeling both amused and heartbroken. But heartbreak aside...

"However, I saw you two kissing."

"Bullsh—! Oh!"

She had let her true nature slip, and even a cutesy interjection couldn't save it.

System: [Give it up, Host Daddy. Just be yourself. I can’t even watch this anymore.]

[No, I have my proud stubbornness. I am the delicate girl Xu Weiwan; the persona must not crumble.]

System: [...Good luck.]

"I didn't kiss him." Her face flushed a deep red, whether from shame or agitation, it was hard to tell. "He tried to force a kiss on me, and I pushed him away. We didn't touch at all. You can't accuse me of that."

She looked like a startled little rabbit, her eyes even turning red.

Xie Yu couldn't stand seeing her eyes red, and he feared her tears even more. Whenever she cried, he tended to lose control.

"Alright, alright!" He patted the top of her head soothingly. "There, there. Wanwan is a good girl."

Si Jiu: "..."

"You misunderstood me," Si Jiu accused him, pouting.

"My fault," Xie Yu replied with complete sincerity.

"You ignored me!" Si Jiu said fiercely.

"I deserve to die," Xie Yu responded solemnly.

"You didn't even look back when I fell," Si Jiu complained, looking aggrieved.

"I'm an idiot," Xie Yu said with a straight face.

"Pfft..."

So this is what it’s like to be so crazy that you even insult yourself! Hah, her mood instantly lifted.

Seeing her smile, Xie Yu suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Who is Qi Yan?"

Si Jiu: "Hic!"

Damn, that startled a hiccup out of her.

"When you woke up just now, you called out the name Qi Yan. Your tone was so anxious..." And there was a sense of sorrow in it, too.

"Uh..." Si Jiu’s gaze darted away.

Xie Yu’s heart sank. Reason told him not to keep asking, but his mouth wouldn't obey. "And who is Xiu? When I kissed you for the first time, you were looking at me and calling that name."

Si Jiu: [Kiddo, shock me unconscious.]

System: [Daddy, I am a law-abiding, good system. I don't do corporal punishment on my hosts.]

In truth, Si Jiu could have easily spun a web of lies, but facing the look in Xie Yu’s eyes, she found herself unable to speak.

Desperate, she tried to bluff her way through. She bit her lip, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly. "What are you doing? You just don't trust me, wuwuwu..."

The tears fell on cue, and she looked quite beautiful while crying.

The System dropped the snack it was holding in shock, subconsciously watching Xie Yu’s expression.

It saw his eyes shift; a faint, creeping excitement began to rise within them.

System: Holy cow! See you in the dark room.

"Wanwan, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. You know I can't bear to force you. But you don't need to cry."

Si Jiu’s vision was blurred with tears, so she didn't notice the golden light flashing in his pupils, shifting from a point to a circle, then gradually elongating and narrowing.

Xie Yu’s eyes flickered with struggle, the black and gold colors constantly alternating.

In the end, as the ebb and flow reached a breaking point, just a second before his eyes fully transformed into vertical slits, he heard his own voice speak without his permission: "When you cry, it makes it impossible for me to restrain myself."

Immediately after, Xie Yu’s consciousness plunged helplessly into darkness.

Si Jiu looked at him in astonishment, catching sight of his strangely distinct black-and-gold double pupils. She blurted out, "Xiu?"

"Is that, my name?"

He leaned in close, pressing against her bit by bit, forcing her to collapse back into the sofa.

"I like, this, name."

He whispered behind her ear, "Did you, miss me? It took me, so much effort, to come out and see you. Are you, happy? Are you moved?"

Si Jiu: I’m too scared to move!

Your "weapon" is pressing firmly against me—how the hell am I supposed to move?

You’re basically a reptile, aren't you? Seriously, is that all you can do?

"Look, Xiu, calm down. What are you trying to do?"

He licked the tears from the corner of Si Jiu’s eyes and let out a dangerous, low laugh. "First, do, you! Then, go, do away with, that disgusting, crawling bug named Lin Yang."

*Do* and *do away with*—a world of difference.

Si Jiu: "..."

Good heavens! What kind of secondary personality is this?!

It was clear that he knew everything Xie Yu had gone through, while Xie Yu clearly knew nothing about him and was completely helpless against him!