I kept raising Hanhan; recently the developers even unlocked some new storyline missions. In those animated flashbacks, my cub appeared as a hidden, chronically ill illegitimate child lonely, sickly, cooped up in a grand villa, regularly subjected to medical procedures, and constantly bullied by older kids. The scene lingered on him gazing through the window his only view of the world so full of isolation and helplessness it stung.
I glanced over at Xu reading, and couldn't help but wonder: If Hanhan really was Xu, did he endure this same silent torment as a child?
Trying to sound casual, I asked, “Boss, were you ever really sick when you were young?”
He looked up, a vague flicker in his gaze, but replied, “No, I was never gravely ill.”
I couldn’t bring myself to push more, even as images of Hanhan’s gaunt little frame haunted me. Was Xu lying or was there something about his past I just couldn’t grasp yet?
Instead, I changed topics: “Who were those guys who jumped us after the gala, anyway?”
Xu put down his book and snorted dismissively. "Just some useless parasites. They can't run a company and resort to dirty tricks. They harassed me at the gala, then couldn’t let it go and followed me here."
So that’s why Xu missed the gala he was busy handling those so-called relatives. Word had it, the other heirs in the Xu family were hopeless all trouble, no talent. When the family was on the brink of ruin, it was Xu who single-handedly saved everything, at the cost of his own childhood and health.
The deeper I saw, the more I realized how fragile Xu really was a soul covered in old scars, keeping up an unbreakable façade.
When Xu started feeling better, Hanhan’s affinity in-game finally hit a new milestone which meant, in the story, I could start nudging Xu’s real-world routine. Soon as lunchtime rolled around, I swapped his boring lunches for specially-prepped nutritious meals. Xu started eyeing his food like it might explode. The looks on his face were priceless. I decided to keep my little secret for a while longer.
But plans never keep up with change Dr. Xue sent me a voice file about an “update” in Xu’s condition.
As one of his only confidants, she said I needed to be part of his care. Nervously, I pressed play and heard.
Xu: “Dr. Xue, I think my place is haunted. My meals keep changing without explanation.”
Xue: “Since when?”
Xu: “It’s been little things for a while—I couldn’t remember what happened most nights. I thought it was meds. But lately, the memories are clearer. It’s almost like like someone is raising me. And whoever this is, they’re a real weirdo constantly poking at me.”
Xu: “I’m also remembering a lot of uncomfortable things. Like how my stomach always hurt during the day. And these random white roses, I instinctively feel like they belong here, but now I realize I never actually bought any"
Dr. Xue concluded that his delusions were getting worse, likely due to recent stress.
Feeling guilty and worried, I rushed to Xu’s apartment, not seeing until later that Dr. Xue had left me a follow-up: "Don’t go to Xu’s place for now he’s very unstable after all that happened. He’s defensive and could lash out."
Still, I went, intent on being honest about the care, the cub, the meals. As I tried to explain, even showing him Hanhan in the game, the urgent red prompt at the bottom of the screen flashed: "Warning: Cub’s current mood is highly unstable handle with care."
Xu’s mood snapped before I could process it, he grabbed my throat, eyes dark, voice icy.
“You enjoy raising me, huh? Well, I think you’re pretty interesting, too. Why don’t you just stay with me let me raise you instead? That way, every day, you can only ever look at me. How does that sound"
Before he could finish, Dr. Xue burst in and knocked him out from behind.
While I teetered between relief and shock, Dr. Xue dusted off her hands, barely glancing at Xu. “Don’t worry. I was careful not enough to hurt him. Lucky for you I came when I did got worried when you didn’t reply. Silly brat.”
She explained Xu wasn’t truly violent. His grip hadn’t been that hard I’d just been startled by the sudden shift. And Xu, for all his dangerous talk, never intended to hurt me. What he wanted , well, was to keep me close, to “raise” me.
Suddenly I realized: getting “adopted” by a yandere? For some reason, the thought made my pulse speed up. I quickly shoved the possibility away. This was Xu I knew he wasn’t some lunatic.
But if it had been anyone else, I would’ve been terrified.
Once Xu Yingqi’s emotions stabilized, regret washed over him for everything he’d done. But, as Dr. Xue explained, his episodes tended to amplify the darkness lurking in his mind a thought that made me nervous. I had to stop myself; if I dwelled too long on his pain, I’d start catching serious feels.
Maybe it was seeing his most broken side, maybe it was how he reacted to my most closely guarded secret, but things between us started to shift. Xu began taking me along everywhere business meetings, lunch, even company events. Unsurprisingly, whispers started swirling around us at work. But I couldn’t be bothered; some genius game developer
dropped a new banner again.
This time it was the Spring Rains event, with a limited skin called “Feverish Longing.” I stared at my phone, caught off guard. The digital version of Xu was soaking in a wooden tub, hair dripping, a white tank clinging to him nothing explicit, but enough to make my heart do uncomfortable gymnastics. Especially the way the water dripped from his hair, trailed along the strong lines of his jaw, and slipped down past the collarbone. It didn’t just fall into the bathtub; each bead seemed to land squarely on my chest.
But knowing this game, I wouldn’t be able to pull the skin until the actual Spring Equinox. So I waited, anxiously, and Xu started giving me odd looks understandable, since lately I’d been giving him all sorts of moony stares myself.
I didn’t have to wait long for my life to be thrown sideways, I got kidnapped.
I always knew Xu’s family situation was a mess, but I never imagined his siblings would stoop this low. Joking to myself in a crisis, I thought, If I'm their target, I must be important to Xu. But trash is trash, and their “plan” fell apart fast weren’t criminal masterminds by any stretch. The police quickly picked up the trail, but not quickly enough. One of Xu’s greedy relatives actually managed to pull a gun.
Time froze. I’m an orphan I’ve only ever cared about two people, and my greatest wishes felt wrenchingly unfinished. Was this it for me?
Just as the attacker squeezed the trigger, Xu threw himself in front of me, shielding me with his own body. The SWAT sniper neutralized the threat, but not before a bullet tore into Xu’s stomach. Red flooded my vision, warm and terrifying and so heartbreakingly alive. I couldn’t hear the shouting officers or the questions swirling around me. All I could see was Xu, drifting further and further away from me.
Chapter 04
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