It was the first time Qiu Yu had heard Chen Ce Bai speak so crudely.
But she didn't mind—it even made her want to laugh.
She couldn't help but reach out, wrapping her arms around his neck, and nuzzled her cheek against the cold, sharply defined line of his jaw.
Chen Ce Bai paused.
She leaned in and murmured by his ear, voice sticky-sweet, "No matter what you become, I'll still like you." In the dark, she batted her eyelashes at him. "Even when you talk dirty like that—I like that too…"
Chen Ce Bai said nothing.
In the dim bedroom, the viscous matter slithered and squirmed like some scaled reptile, retreating from all directions back into his body.
These "things," influenced by him, seemed to adore Qiu Yu—desperately drawn to her.
So, just before one stream of goo re-entered Chen Ce Bai's body, it suddenly morphed into a man's hand. It cupped Qiu Yu's chin, pressed a thumb to her lips, and brushed lightly across her wet tongue.
Chen Ce Bai watched it all.
He didn't stop it.
One day, he would fully become a monster. He needed to learn to coexist with these revolting things.
And yet, a subtle sense of guilt lingered, refusing to dissipate.
They were legally married. The ooze obeyed his will. It was part of him.
But still—it felt like they were accomplices. Two co-conspirators committing some silent sin in the dark.
Qiu Yu was getting sleepy.
She yawned, switched on the bedside lamp, and went to the bathroom.
Chen Ce Bai got up to shower.
After finishing, Qiu Yu slipped back under the covers. Listening to the soft sound of running water, sleepiness washed over her. She was about to doze off—then a thought jolted her awake.
—When Chen Ce Bai had finished wiping her feet, he had both hands on either side of her, caging her in.
She remembered clearly—after he revealed his origins, she'd seen the position of his hands in the faint neon light and rubbed her head lightly against the back of one.
If both his hands were on either side of her…
Where had the third hand come from?
A chill raced down Qiu Yu's spine. She shivered.
She pulled the blanket tighter around her, shaking her head, telling herself she was imagining things.
There wasn't a third person in the room. Chen Ce Bai had been right beside her—of course it made sense for him to cup her chin.
Besides, only his fingers were that cold.
And maybe just a little… sticky.
Could it have been because of her?
Qiu Yu was wide awake now.
She sat up and decided to wait for Chen Ce Bai to finish his shower.
When he emerged from the bathroom, still damp and not yet dried off, Qiu Yu crooked a finger at him.
Chen Ce Bai tilted his head slightly, then walked over.
She grabbed his wrist and, catching him off guard, pushed him down onto the bed.
He looked surprised for a moment—but only for a moment. Quickly regaining composure, he casually wiped his wet hair as he looked at her, calm and unreadable.
As if nothing she did could surprise him anymore.
Qiu Yu stared at him, eyes wide and gleaming with mischief—like a clever, innocent cat. Her hand trailed downward, watching his expression closely.
Soon, something shifted in his cold, narrow eyes. His jaw tightened. His Adam's apple bobbed, his breathing became faintly erratic.
Qiu Yu was puzzled.
She was the one in control—but his presence felt like a thick, inescapable swamp, slowly pulling her into its depths.
When they were done, she fluttered her fingers in front of his face deliberately, then swiped them lightly across her lips.
At that moment, Chen Ce Bai looked like he could devour her whole.
Her heart pounded. She leaned in and rubbed against his lips. "Giving it back to you," she said with satisfaction.
Chen Ce Bai realized—she thought that writhing substance had been something else.
He chuckled, didn't correct her. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and turned her misunderstanding into reality.
·
Qiu Yu didn't fall asleep until nearly five in the morning. Luckily, she only had an interview the next day—scheduled at 4:00 PM, with drone assistance for filming. Otherwise, she'd never have managed.
She slept until one in the afternoon before dragging herself out of bed.
Chen Ce Bai had already left for the lab.
Before leaving, he'd laid out her clothes, shoes, socks—all within arm's reach.
He'd also prepped breakfast and lunch. All she had to do was press a button and the house's AI steward would heat and deliver them to the dining table.
Lying in bed, Qiu Yu stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, not quite sure what she needed to do besides brush her teeth.
After washing up, she grabbed her interview notes and headed to the company for hair and makeup.
Normally, she didn't wear makeup. But for this interview series, a consistent style was required.
After her styling was done, Qiu Yu donned a pale blue suit and ran her fingers through her fluffy curls.
Her small, round face had been contoured into a slimmer, sharper shape by the makeup artist. Paired with her long, seductive upturned eyes, her usual soft beauty now looked striking and intense.
With the filming drone in tow, she was about to drive to the interview location when she spotted a familiar figure downstairs.
Pei Xi was waiting outside the office building.
He wore a navy-blue suit over a pale blue shirt and a slim tie—matching her outfit almost perfectly.
Qiu Yu thought of what Chen Ce Bai had said.
—The way he looks at you… like he wants to consume you whole. Or maybe… you like being looked at that way. That's why you keep letting him cross the line.
She hesitated before greeting Pei Xi. As they made small talk, she carefully studied his expression.
There was none of what Chen Ce Bai had described.
If Chen Ce Bai looked at her like a man looks at a woman—deep, focused, almost predatory…
Then Pei Xi's gaze was almost bland by comparison. Indifferent. Lacking intensity.
Or maybe… was Chen Ce Bai simply too in love with her? So much that everyone else's gaze seemed dull next to his?
Could Chen Ce Bai really love her that much?
Qiu Yu couldn't help but revisit every detail of her time with him.
She'd first noticed him during an experiment. The specifics were blurry now, long forgotten.
She just remembered the white lab coat, the pale blue rubber gloves on his hands, his head slightly bowed—exposing clean, sharp hairlines.
He had the kind of face that should've radiated calm, yet his aura was more like a lone wolf's—dangerous and fierce.
—A lone wolf is fiercer than any pack, because it hunts, ambushes, and attacks alone.
Most people never imagine themselves as prey.
But the moment Qiu Yu saw Chen Ce Bai, she wanted to be.
She wanted to be looked at with that kind of intense, unwavering hunger.
Like people who fall for doctors and fantasize about being their patient.
Qiu Yu was shy, but she didn't avoid her own desires. Especially ones that harmless.
She hadn't told anyone about her crush on Chen Ce Bai. Nor had she tried to get close. She just stole a few extra glances whenever they crossed paths.
And Chen Ce Bai had always been cold—especially toward those with corporate backgrounds. His eyes held a veiled disdain and scorn. She never dared approach him.
Now, she thought—it must've been because of his mother.
They had actually met once before the compatibility testing.
At the time, her parents had told her, almost like an order, that after graduation she should marry Pei Xi—unless she had a better option.
By "better," they meant someone with a stronger family background.
Chen Ce Bai didn't qualify.
Even if he became a top researcher at a monopolistic company, that still wouldn't be good enough for her parents.
Besides, he didn't even know her. He'd never like her.
She'd seen how he looked at her friends—with cold disdain, like he never wanted anything to do with them.
…Was she really going to marry Pei Xi?
Qiu Yu felt a heaviness settle in her chest. She spent a long time sitting alone in a park.
Unknowingly, darkness began to fall.
The park was densely wooded and shadowed, as if the trees themselves devoured the light from the streetlamps.
She wandered in circles and realized—she was lost.
Trusting her instincts, she walked forward. Eventually, she made it out of the park—but had no idea where she was.
Just as she was about to keep walking, a cold hand reached out from the shadows and grabbed her wrist.
Her heart dropped. She whipped around, startled—and found herself staring into Chen Ce Bai's sharp, narrow eyes behind his glasses.
He didn't explain why he was there.
"You're going the wrong way," he said simply. "It's dangerous here. I'll take you back."
His voice was firm. Not a request, but a command.
Qiu Yu swallowed and nodded. "Okay… Thank you."
She really had gone the wrong way. The park gates were locked, and the only way back was through a noisy, chaotic alley.
Chen Ce Bai walked ahead of her, tall and upright, shielding her from the people in their way.
It was the first time Qiu Yu had witnessed the underside of the world: drunkards, brawlers, screaming couples, rooftop sharpshooters… men and women waiting for buyers in the shadows.
One man, wearing an immersive headset, slumped next to a trash bin, flailing and cursing at thin air.
Then, without warning, he ripped off the headset, drew a gun from his waistband, shoved it into his mouth, and pulled the trigger—
Qiu Yu's pupils dilated in horror.
But before she could scream, a hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward—another hand covered her eyes.
Chen Ce Bai had turned around and pulled her to him.
His voice came from above her head: "Keep walking."
He was protecting her—but his grip felt like a hostage-taker's.
Qiu Yu wanted to laugh.
But she couldn't.
It took a long time before she could breathe again.
"…What happened to that guy?" she asked.
Chen Ce Bai answered flatly, "Most in-game assets are tied to real-world currency. He probably lost everything."
Qiu Yu understood now.
Her parents had once explained this phenomenon to her.
For example, every year, biotech companies would release large-scale games targeted at lower-tier markets.
She had always found it puzzling. Biotech firms clearly had the capability to develop more visually stunning, immersive, and artistically sophisticated games—so why did they always cater to players who might not even be able to afford legitimate copies?
Her parents had said, "For social stability."
—When the lower classes are addicted to violent, bloody, high-impact immersive games, they don't have time to worry about societal issues.
It was the same logic behind social platforms using big data to manipulate people into arguing with each other.
This was what class difference looked like.
Different classes, different ways of thinking.
When Chen Ce Bai's parents were worrying about how to survive tomorrow, her parents were busy thinking about how to govern people like Chen Ce Bai's parents.
At the time, Qiu Yu had thought she and Chen Ce Bai would never have anything to do with each other.
Who would've thought their compatibility score would be a perfect 100%—and that they'd marry right after graduation.
If Chen Ce Bai really did love her more than she'd ever imagined—so much that even Pei Xi's gaze seemed dull by comparison—then how had he endured the past three years?
Qiu Yu was lost in thought, and only after a while did she hear Pei Xi calling her name.
"What are you thinking about?" Pei Xi smiled. "I've been calling you forever. Were you thinking about the interview, or… your husband?"
He asked deliberately—he knew Qiu Yu didn't like discussing Chen Ce Bai in front of him.
As expected, Qiu Yu shot him a glare and said, a little annoyed, "Why are you here? I have an interview at four—I don't have time for this."
"Exactly why I came," Pei Xi said, frowning slightly. "The person you're about to interview is linked to several missing homeless persons cases. It's already on the company's radar. I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking, letting you take on something so dangerous."
Qiu Yu bristled at that last part, but since she knew Pei Xi meant well, she held back her temper.
She was just about to tell him to leave and go find her car when, in the very next moment, she felt it—
The cold, manic gaze of the Watcher.
This time, his gaze was even more possessive than ever before. It pressed down on the back of her neck with raw, invasive intensity.
Her skin tingled with fear, and for the first time, she could feel the weight of that stare.
At the same time, her chip buzzed with incoming messages.
Assuming it was from the Watcher, Qiu Yu frowned and opened her neural interface—but there was nothing.
Then she realized something.
She turned her head—and sure enough, Pei Xi's pupils were glowing silver as he stared, stunned, at his chip interface.
His eyes flicked rapidly back and forth as he muttered, "No way… That's impossible…"
Qiu Yu called his name a few times before he finally came to, face pale.
"My chip's been hacked. No matter what app I open, it's all the same screen."
Qiu Yu's heart sank. "What screen? Project it—I want to see."
Pei Xi hesitated for a moment, then finally did.
And she understood why he had hesitated.
Every app, every interface—even the weather forecast and navigation—all showed the same sentence.
Stay away from her.
Stay away from her.
Stay away from her.
...
The Watcher's possessiveness was escalating.
Qiu Yu's breath caught.
Suddenly, the sound of chaos erupted ahead—rushing footsteps, honking horns, the sharp buzz of police drones scanning the area. It all burst out like oil hitting a hot pan.
"Look at the billboards!"
"Oh my god… all of them changed…"
"Who is she? Why does it say to stay away from her?"
In the midst of the commotion, Qiu Yu looked up.
On every skyscraper in the city center—on every billboard, every holographic ad, even every neon sign—letters in different colors, sizes, and fonts were spelling out the same phrase:
Stay away from her.
It was as if the entire world had been reduced to just those words.
No one knew who "she" referred to.
Even Pei Xi wasn't sure if it meant Qiu Yu.
Only Qiu Yu knew—it was her.
The Watcher wouldn't allow Pei Xi to come near her.
It was the most disturbing thing she had ever seen. Cold sweat broke out on her palms. Without thinking, she dialed a number.
A few seconds later, the line connected. Chen Ce Bai's calm, steady voice came through:
"Qiu Yu?"
She took a deep breath, trying to steady her trembling voice. "…Can you come pick me up?"
Chen Ce Bai didn't ask anything—just as he hadn't asked why she'd gotten lost that one time.
"I'll be right there."
The call ended.
Pei Xi looked at her, as if wanting to ask what the hell was going on. But whenever he took even half a step closer to Qiu Yu, the nearby billboards and neon signs would flicker wildly.
In broad daylight, it was a deeply unsettling sight—so eerie it made the blood run cold.
"…So it really was because of you," Pei Xi muttered, face twisted in disbelief. "What is this? What's happening?"
Qiu Yu shook her head. "I don't know either."
She closed her eyes and sent the Watcher a message:
Are you insane?
There was no reply.
But she knew—he was still watching her.
Just like always.