Yue Yiyue looked at Gu Nanqiu in confusion, unsure what she meant.
Gu Nanqiu had casually said something huge.
“My birthday?” Yue Yiyue stood there, bewildered.
Gu Nanqiu offered up her phone: “Yeah, yeah, why don’t you try it?”
“It’s your birthday, May 19th.” With that, Gu Nanqiu tapped the numbers on the screen.
Yue Yiyue found herself staring at her own dazed face on the wallpaper.
“When was this taken?” Yue Yiyue stared at the photo, where she looked dopey and blank. It felt utterly strange.
“A few days ago, when you were spacing out there. The sunlight was just right, and you looked so cute hugging that plush toy.” Gu Nanqiu winked at Yue Yiyue. “Later, let’s go take some banner-style wallpapers~ You use mine, and I’ll use yours.”
“Yiyue, I carefully matched today’s outfit just for this! I seriously picked it out for a long time.”
Gu Nanqiu… had already crossed the line of friendship, hadn’t she?
Even if Yue Yiyue was rather obtuse, she still sensed it.
Yue Yiyue subtly took a step back, switched to the settings page, and changed the gesture lock to Gu Nanqiu’s birthday: “Done.”
“Then can I check your phone?” Gu Nanqiu tilted her head. This was something Yiyue had taught her: always ask before touching someone else’s things.
“I want to know what Yiyue’s been looking at. I heard a lot of people talking about you on my way over.” Gu Nanqiu gazed at the person before her and sighed, half coquettish and half complaining: “Yiyue, you’re so popular.”
‘I regret bringing you out.’
“Sorry.” Yue Yiyue handed over her phone. “My wallpaper isn’t you.”
It was a Maine Coon Cat she had found that resembled Gu Nanqiu.
They were equally cute.
Gu Nanqiu looked at the slim phone in Yue Yiyue’s hand. She took it joyfully and handed over her own in return: “Yay! Yiyue, you check my phone too!”
Not wanting to waste Gu Nanqiu’s kindness, Yue Yiyue obediently opened Gu Nanqiu’s WeChat.
At the top of the list was only one pinned chat—Yiyue Baby, followed by a bright red heart.
As if she were someone terribly, terribly important.
What did Gu Nanqiu mean by this?
Did she need a campus romance?
The Little Sisters she had brought along before had all enjoyed their first taste of university life by jumping straight into dating.
She could not confess to Nanqiu so rashly… It needed to be more formal—flowers, and what else?
Yue Yiyue suppressed her slightly fluttering little thoughts and tapped around randomly before handing the phone back: “Let’s go. We’ll head to the dining spot first. You can look through it slowly after ordering.”
————
When eating out with Gu Nanqiu, Yue Yiyue usually booked a private room.
Otherwise, people always wanted to foot the bill or ask for contact info.
It had started affecting their meals after so many times.
Today was the same.
The private room was well-sealed, but the waitress came in and out frequently. Her gaze always lingered on Gu Nanqiu as she asked if she needed anything, ever so attentive.
Yue Yiyue kept her head down, eating the tender fish meat, while Gu Nanqiu across from her hummed cheerfully and picked some food for her.
“Yiyue, this one tastes great. You’ll like it.”
She slowly chewed the thin slices of meat in her bowl—only for Gu Nanqiu to add more.
Yue Yiyue calmed down a bit. Maybe this was fine.
Playing dumb and muddling through in a daze.
Classes started in two days, and once they separated on campus, Nanqiu’s interest in her would naturally fade.
She should cherish these days.
The meal was not finished when clamor erupted outside, rowdy and chaotic.
Yue Yiyue felt an inexplicable unease.
There was also a nauseating smell in the air, stirring up bad memories.
“Nanqiu, something happened.” Yue Yiyue’s gaze swept to the vase in the corner. She picked it up and weighed it in her hand—good heft.
“Stay behind me. Sorry, we might not be able to take photos this afternoon.” Yue Yiyue cautiously pried open the door a crack and spotted the Waitress who had brought their dishes multiple times.
The moment the door cracked open, she saw a chance for survival: “Quick, let me in… Slam the door shut…”
People from other private rooms poked their heads out at the noise, only for the Waitress to snap at them harshly: “Everyone back inside! Don’t talk!!! No one say a word!!! ”
With that, she dove headlong into the nearest private room.
————
Outside the private room, a man devoutly clutched a book. He stared at the person before him, whose square Box Head replaced a normal skull and sprouted a mouth: “You have sinned.”
No sooner had the words fallen than a fresh, bright red heart appeared in the man’s hand. He tossed it casually into the Box Head: “So delicious—pure sin—”
A male customer nearby fainted dead away at the sight.
The Box-Headed Man tilted his head down for a glance and muttered to himself: “Sin level insufficient… Can fatten it up some more…”
With that, he tore off a corner of the Box Head and stuffed it into the man’s arms.
Then he continued his hunt for delectable sin.
Several hours later, police knocked on the private room doors one by one.
“The perpetrator has fled. Same modus operandi—” Through the door, Yue Yiyue caught snippets of conversation at the entrance.
She quietly opened the door and locked eyes with the officer there.
“That thing didn’t come this way. Everyone in the private rooms is fine.” After reporting into his walkie-talkie, the police officer signaled that it was safe.
He had everyone lingering in the private rooms come out.
Yue Yiyue didn’t grasp the full horror until they reached the main entrance.
“This is the Heart-Scooping Incident I mentioned…” Gu Nanqiu clung tightly to Yue Yiyue, seemingly too scared by the scene to look: “I never thought it would…”
Her dark hair hid the resentment on her face. Damn it, why at a time like this? They had been set to take photos that afternoon… What the hell were they doing?
Yue Yiyue averted her eyes as much as possible from the bodies on the ground, each with a massive cavity scooped from their chests.
She covered Gu Nanqiu’s eyes: “Don’t look. Just follow me.”
In a distant corner, a child stared expressionlessly toward Yue Yiyue.
She silently watched Yue Yiyue’s back vanish completely from view.
That woman—she seemed familiar?
But right now, more pressing matters called. She turned to the pitch-black slime and the frolicking Tentacles happily feeding.
She needed to grow stronger. She remembered—she had to find someone…
————
Afterward, neither had the mood for shopping. With their plans disrupted, they grabbed takeout from another restaurant and headed home.
Back at the house, Yue Yiyue put the food in the kitchen.
She watched pale-lipped Gu Nanqiu on the sofa with concern.
She handed over a cup of warm water and sat beside Gu Nanqiu, pulling her into her arms: “Are you on your period?”
The text had never mentioned it, so Yue Yiyue could only guess.
“Where does it hurt?”
Gu Nanqiu set the cup on the table and buried herself in Yue Yiyue’s embrace: “The smell there was so overpowering, so foul.”
She greedily inhaled Yue Yiyue’s scent in big gulps, while her restless Tentacles brushed Yue Yiyue’s back from scant inches away.
She wanted to wrap Yue Yiyue entirely.
She wanted to tuck Yue Yiyue deep into her body… Only then would no one else covet her.
Yue Yiyue’s phone suddenly began to vibrate.
“Run, run, run, run, run.”
“Right now, go back.”
“Yiyue, don’t indulge, don’t nurture—”
“Aaah Yiyue, why are you so good to %￥—jealous, I’m so jealous.”
A fog had risen outside unnoticed, and gale winds howled, rattling the glass with shrill cries.
Raindrops pelted the windows ferociously.
Yue Yiyue looked up at the weather outside. She felt an inexplicable rotten floral scent at the tip of her nose.
“Nanqiu, how are you?” The abruptly darkened sky slightly impaired Yue Yiyue’s vision, but it was still manageable.
The person in her arms trembled faintly, her hands clutching Yue Yiyue’s waist like a lifeline. Her voice sounded pitiful: “Yiyue, stay with me a bit longer. Don’t… look at me.”
Her voice was eerily ethereal, like a siren calling to prey.
Or like a distant Ancient God summoning its faithful servant.
Yue Yiyue did not understand, but she complied anyway. She even adjusted her position to make it more comfortable for Gu Nanqiu to hold her.
Moments later, Gu Nanqiu leaned in. Her scarlet tongue tip licked at Yue Yiyue’s lips bit by bit, then lovingly took them in, suckling gently.
She sensed the Main God’s aura drawing near…
She had thought her mother would turn a blind eye…
Her tea-colored eyes turned scarlet. She closed them to hide her disarray: “Yiyue.”
“It wants to stop me…”
She’d gotten ahead of herself these past few days. Her mother… her mother had been drawn here.
Damn it, damn it, damn it.
The urge to lay all her cards on the table and confess her love to Yiyue had to be suppressed once more.
To stay with that child Yiyue forever, she had to follow the rules. The High-Dimensional God’s calm, gentle words echoed in her ears.
Yiyue’s soul could not take it…
“Yiyue, sorry, I was too hasty…”
These were the last words Yue Yiyue heard before falling into a deep sleep.
————
It was nice weather today. Yue Yiyue gazed at the brilliant sun outside the window.
She stretched lazily, though she had no idea how she’d gotten back to the bedroom.
Recalling yesterday’s chaos,
Yue Yiyue figured she must have passed out from exhaustion right after returning.
Good thing Nanqiu had changed her into sleepwear.
She looked at the person sleeping peacefully beside her. A fleeting thought crossed Yue Yiyue’s mind—that she ought to do something about Gu Nanqiu.
The next second, that notion vanished.
No need. Yue Yiyue just needed to freshen up normally.
Speaking of which, with the heart-digging right in front of Gu Nanqiu, she’d surely get dragged in later.
Recalling the Original Work’s description of this Pollutant.
Rule: Maintain Purity.
It had no interest in normal people.
It fed on evil, with sin as its finest nourishment.
Please follow the Rule: No One Stands Under Streetlights at Night.
If you see it, ignore it.
If unfortunately targeted, Go to Nearest Restaurant Rule.
At this point, Yue Yiyue circled “Restaurant” and crossed it out in red, changing it to go straight home.
This was a fake Rule. in the original work, Nanqiu nearly died here.
