May 24, 2023 by Wyrd
The man standing at the door, although dressed casually, had a handsome appearance with distinct features and an aura of elegance, accompanied by an undeniable arrogance.
At this moment, the man was looking down at Ruan Qing, his deep eyes, dark and unfathomable.
Although the man didn’t show much expression, it inexplicably caused a trace of unease to rise from the depths of one’s heart.
After clearly seeing the man’s gaze, Ruan Qing inwardly cursed.
He slightly lowered his head to avoid the man’s gaze, as if startled by something. Then, disregarding the pain, he stood up, leaning against the door. With a strong effort, he tried to close the door.
Considering that the original owner of the body was afraid of encountering people, Ruan Qing’s action was not out of place.
However, the handsome man outside the door seemed to still be immersed in the previous scene, not realizing what was happening. When he saw the door closing, he instinctively reached out to block it, without considering the consequences.
Ruan Qing’s body had weakened, and although his strength wasn’t great, the force behind the door closing was definitely not insignificant.
However, even when the man’s hand got caught in the door, his expression remained unchanged, as if he didn’t feel any pain at all. He continued to stare blankly at the beautiful young man before him.
As a distinctly jointed hand blocked the door, Ruan Qing’s eyes widened, the watery gaze suddenly filled with astonishment. His hand instinctively exerted more force, trying to forcefully close the door.
At this point, the man also reacted. Instead of retracting his hand, he used his strength to hold on to the door, preventing the young man from closing it.
Ruan Qing’s strength was too weak to resist against the man. Not only did the door not close, but the man’s strong force even pushed it open.
If this continued, the door would definitely be pushed open. Helplessly, Ruan Qing bit his lower lip, his body uncontrollably trembling.
He stared intently at the man before him and asked, “What... are you doing?”
Although the young man tried to put on a fierce appearance, due to his moist eyes, he looked more like a coquettish kitten.
Moreover, the young man’s voice was soft, trembling with a hint of nervousness or fear, like a feather gently stirring at the depths of one’s heart.
The man finally snapped out of his daze this time. He looked at the exceptionally beautiful young man before him, opened his mouth, but for a moment, no words came out.
He didn’t even know what he was going to do, but his hand subconsciously reached out.
However, the man realized that he seemed to have frightened the young man. After a few seconds of silence, he finally uttered a sentence, “...It’s time to pay the rent.”
Ruan Qing was slightly stunned upon hearing that, seemingly surprised that the man had come to collect the rent. He hesitated for a moment and bit his lip, his voice filled with nervousness. “I will transfer the money to your card later.”
After speaking, he intended to close the door.
However, the man didn’t give him the chance. He held onto the door handle and showed no intention of letting go.
“Please wait a moment.”
The man no longer displayed the attitude of kicking the door and mocking as before. He unconsciously softened his tone as he looked at the beautiful young man before him. “I was a little rude just now... Are you... okay?”
Although the man appeared apologetic, his gaze carried a strong aggressiveness, which made Ruan Qing even more uneasy when it fell on his face.
“I’m fine,” Ruan Qing whispered and quickly reached out, pushing the man’s hand away.
Then he closed the door.
He even locked the door, as if the man were some kind of ferocious beast.
The man, who was left outside the door, stood still and didn’t move. He simply lowered his head and looked at the hand that had just been touched by the young man, his deep eyes becoming even more profound.
So soft...
...
With the door locked from the inside, even with a key, it couldn’t be opened from the outside.
If it weren’t for Ruan Qing’s initial delay in waiting for his death, this oversight of leaving the door unlocked would never have occurred.
The previous actions had already drained a lot of Ruan Qing’s energy.
After the man’s gaze was cut off by the door, his body went limp. He no longer cared whether the person outside had left or not. He slid down along the door and settled on the ground, feeling a mix of suppressed grievances and the urge to cry.
Ruan Qing did have an impression of the man. Upon entering the game instance, the system would provide some information about the other NPCs to help him better portray the role of an NPC.
That man was the landlord of this room, or rather, the landlord of this building.
It wasn’t a problem to say that he collected rent.
After all, the previous tenant had already delayed paying the rent for over ten days this month.
However, even if the man was the landlord, Ruan Qing couldn’t let his guard down.
The original owner of the body didn’t know much about the landlord. They only met once during the signing of the rental agreement, so it couldn’t be ruled out that the man was not the killer from the horror livestream.
Even if he wasn’t, Ruan Qing still had to be cautious of him.
The man’s recent change in attitude and the way he looked at him made Ruan Qing all too familiar.
That gaze was just like the initial gaze of those deranged maniacs from before he entered this horror game.
Ruan Qing shattered the last trace of hope in his heart. Indeed, even in this wretched game, his constitution remained peculiar.
Ruan Qing sat on the ground for about a minute before calming his emotions. He lowered his gaze to the object the man had thrown in.
It was six steamed buns.
Ruan Qing remembered that today was the day when the aunt downstairs who sold steamed buns would send him some. That’s why he didn’t lock the door.
It seemed that the aunt had asked the landlord to deliver them.
The plastic bag containing the steamed buns wasn’t tied tightly, and due to the man’s rough throw, one of the buns had rolled out. The snowy white bun stood out conspicuously on the gray floor.
Although the room looked a bit run-down, the owner had kept it very clean, so the floor wasn’t very dirty.
However, Ruan Qing had a bit of a cleanliness obsession, so he looked at the bun with great disdain.
However, Ruan Qing didn’t have a choice now. The discomfort in his abdomen was a clear symptom of prolonged hunger.
The original owner, due to social anxiety, never left the house and had no job, which also meant no income.
He barely managed to survive by taking online game companion orders.
However, recently, his identity as a keyboard warrior was exposed, revealing that he was a creepy and foul-smelling man. This led to other players targeting him in the game.
Basically, no one was hiring him as a companion anymore.
No clients meant no income.
That’s why the rent was almost half a month overdue.
The six steamed buns were bought with his last money.
Moreover, this body had been starving for at least two days or more. If he didn’t eat soon, he probably wouldn’t need the killers from the horror livestream to intervene.
Ruan Qing endured the pain and disgust, slowly picked up the steamed buns from the ground.
Feeling overwhelmed by his current situation and accidentally touching his injured area, tears welled up in Ruan Qing’s eyes again, on the verge of falling.
He couldn’t control this crybaby body in such a short time. Ruan Qing suppressed his frustration, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress his emotions and tears.
His eyes reddened, and he quietly comforted himself, “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
In the narrow and dilapidated room, the young man crouched on the floor. A layer of mist clouded his gem-like eyes, and a hint of sadness appeared at the bottom of his eyes. Awkwardly consoling himself, he emitted a pitiful and helpless aura.
It was as if he was about to burst into tears the next second after being bullied. Extremely pitiable. One couldn’t help but want to hold him in their arms and comfort him, not allowing him to suffer any grievances.
The barrage on the screen this time was overwhelmingly supportive.
[Wuwuwu, he’s really so pitiful. I want to hug him tightly.]
[What’s wrong with that jerk? Why kick the door for no reason? Couldn’t he just knock nicely?]
[He doesn’t understand the meaning of courtesy, does he!? Even if this young man is a little cutie deserving of death, that guy shouldn’t be so rude, right!?]
[Everyone, hold on! Even if he wants to harm him, there’s no way he can survive for more than three days!]
Amidst a barrage of curses in the chat, the young man on the screen sat back in his chair and took out a small steamed bun, nibbling on it delicately.
The young man ate slowly and gracefully, like a squirrel holding a pinecone, involuntarily capturing the attention of others.
Ruan Qing, while munching on the bun, fiddled with his phone, lost in thought.
There were only six buns, one per day, enough for six days. It wouldn’t be impossible to stretch it for seven days.
However, the discomfort in Ruan Qing’s abdomen didn’t disappear after finishing one bun.
The bun wasn’t particularly large, but for someone who had been hungry for almost two days, one was simply not enough.
Ruan Qing pursed his lips, looking at the remaining five buns on the table, hesitating.
After a moment of hesitation, he ultimately picked up another bun.
In his current situation, being selected by the horror livestream, he wouldn’t survive until the seventh day without enough strength.
Moreover, only with a well-functioning body could his brain operate quickly.
As the bun went down, Ruan Qing finally felt much better, and his mind became clearer.
This game instance was called the “Horror Livestream Room,” obviously some kind of live broadcast.
So, who were the viewers?
Serial killers or ordinary people?
In the face of uncertainty, Ruan Qing prepared for the worst.
Every action of his had a high possibility of being observed by a serial killer.
After finishing the bun, Ruan Qing leaned back in his chair, tilted his head slightly, closed his eyes, and remained motionless for quite some time.
As if he had fallen asleep.
Four hours passed at a leisurely pace, and the young man in the chair finally moved.
Ruan Qing slowly opened his eyes, devoid of the drowsy haze of just waking up. He took out his phone to check the time.
1:23 a.m.
Ruan Qing picked up the clothes on the bed and put them on over his T-shirt and pajamas. He also wore a mask.
Then he grabbed a slightly worn crossbody bag from the corner of the room and neatly packed the remaining steamed buns inside. He also picked up a small knife and put it in his pocket. After shouldering the bag, he quietly made his way to the door.
The entire process was completely silent.
The original owner of the body often went out at midnight because there were hardly any people around at that time.
But Ruan Qing had no intention of coming back.
First, he didn’t have money to pay the rent, and he didn’t have time to focus on earning money.
Second, this room was on the fifth floor, and if someone broke in, there would be no chance to escape.
So Ruan Qing never intended to stay in this room for seven days from the beginning.
When Ruan Qing reached the door, he didn’t open it immediately. He sidestepped and peeked through the peephole to observe the situation outside the door.
After confirming that there was no one outside, Ruan Qing gently turned the doorknob and quietly left the room.
The corridor was dimly lit, unable to illuminate the distant areas and certain dark corners.
This floor housed seven, or eight rooms, so the corridor was long, resembling a hotel hallway.
At the end of the corridor was the elevator, which was somewhat indistinct under the dim light. Shrouded in darkness, it seemed like a gaping monster.
Ruan Qing tightened his grip on the strap of the crossbody bag and walked towards the elevator without hesitation.
Just as he was about to reach the elevator, a deep, resonant, and magnetic male voice sounded not far behind him.
“Where are you going so late?”
Before Ruan Qing could react, the voice continued in a half-smiling tone, “Is it because you can’t afford the rent and are planning to run away?”
May 24, 2023 by Wyrd
The man standing at the door, although dressed casually, had a handsome appearance with distinct features and an aura of elegance, accompanied by an undeniable arrogance.
At this moment, the man was looking down at Ruan Qing, his deep eyes, dark and unfathomable.
Although the man didn’t show much expression, it inexplicably caused a trace of unease to rise from the depths of one’s heart.
After clearly seeing the man’s gaze, Ruan Qing inwardly cursed.
He slightly lowered his head to avoid the man’s gaze, as if startled by something. Then, disregarding the pain, he stood up, leaning against the door. With a strong effort, he tried to close the door.
Considering that the original owner of the body was afraid of encountering people, Ruan Qing’s action was not out of place.
However, the handsome man outside the door seemed to still be immersed in the previous scene, not realizing what was happening. When he saw the door closing, he instinctively reached out to block it, without considering the consequences.
Ruan Qing’s body had weakened, and although his strength wasn’t great, the force behind the door closing was definitely not insignificant.
However, even when the man’s hand got caught in the door, his expression remained unchanged, as if he didn’t feel any pain at all. He continued to stare blankly at the beautiful young man before him.
As a distinctly jointed hand blocked the door, Ruan Qing’s eyes widened, the watery gaze suddenly filled with astonishment. His hand instinctively exerted more force, trying to forcefully close the door.
At this point, the man also reacted. Instead of retracting his hand, he used his strength to hold on to the door, preventing the young man from closing it.
Ruan Qing’s strength was too weak to resist against the man. Not only did the door not close, but the man’s strong force even pushed it open.
If this continued, the door would definitely be pushed open. Helplessly, Ruan Qing bit his lower lip, his body uncontrollably trembling.
He stared intently at the man before him and asked, “What... are you doing?”
Although the young man tried to put on a fierce appearance, due to his moist eyes, he looked more like a coquettish kitten.
Moreover, the young man’s voice was soft, trembling with a hint of nervousness or fear, like a feather gently stirring at the depths of one’s heart.
The man finally snapped out of his daze this time. He looked at the exceptionally beautiful young man before him, opened his mouth, but for a moment, no words came out.
He didn’t even know what he was going to do, but his hand subconsciously reached out.
However, the man realized that he seemed to have frightened the young man. After a few seconds of silence, he finally uttered a sentence, “...It’s time to pay the rent.”
Ruan Qing was slightly stunned upon hearing that, seemingly surprised that the man had come to collect the rent. He hesitated for a moment and bit his lip, his voice filled with nervousness. “I will transfer the money to your card later.”
After speaking, he intended to close the door.
However, the man didn’t give him the chance. He held onto the door handle and showed no intention of letting go.
“Please wait a moment.”
The man no longer displayed the attitude of kicking the door and mocking as before. He unconsciously softened his tone as he looked at the beautiful young man before him. “I was a little rude just now... Are you... okay?”
Although the man appeared apologetic, his gaze carried a strong aggressiveness, which made Ruan Qing even more uneasy when it fell on his face.
“I’m fine,” Ruan Qing whispered and quickly reached out, pushing the man’s hand away.
Then he closed the door.
He even locked the door, as if the man were some kind of ferocious beast.
The man, who was left outside the door, stood still and didn’t move. He simply lowered his head and looked at the hand that had just been touched by the young man, his deep eyes becoming even more profound.
So soft...
...
With the door locked from the inside, even with a key, it couldn’t be opened from the outside.
If it weren’t for Ruan Qing’s initial delay in waiting for his death, this oversight of leaving the door unlocked would never have occurred.
The previous actions had already drained a lot of Ruan Qing’s energy.
After the man’s gaze was cut off by the door, his body went limp. He no longer cared whether the person outside had left or not. He slid down along the door and settled on the ground, feeling a mix of suppressed grievances and the urge to cry.
Ruan Qing did have an impression of the man. Upon entering the game instance, the system would provide some information about the other NPCs to help him better portray the role of an NPC.
That man was the landlord of this room, or rather, the landlord of this building.
It wasn’t a problem to say that he collected rent.
After all, the previous tenant had already delayed paying the rent for over ten days this month.
However, even if the man was the landlord, Ruan Qing couldn’t let his guard down.
The original owner of the body didn’t know much about the landlord. They only met once during the signing of the rental agreement, so it couldn’t be ruled out that the man was not the killer from the horror livestream.
Even if he wasn’t, Ruan Qing still had to be cautious of him.
The man’s recent change in attitude and the way he looked at him made Ruan Qing all too familiar.
That gaze was just like the initial gaze of those deranged maniacs from before he entered this horror game.
Ruan Qing shattered the last trace of hope in his heart. Indeed, even in this wretched game, his constitution remained peculiar.
Ruan Qing sat on the ground for about a minute before calming his emotions. He lowered his gaze to the object the man had thrown in.
It was six steamed buns.
Ruan Qing remembered that today was the day when the aunt downstairs who sold steamed buns would send him some. That’s why he didn’t lock the door.
It seemed that the aunt had asked the landlord to deliver them.
The plastic bag containing the steamed buns wasn’t tied tightly, and due to the man’s rough throw, one of the buns had rolled out. The snowy white bun stood out conspicuously on the gray floor.
Although the room looked a bit run-down, the owner had kept it very clean, so the floor wasn’t very dirty.
However, Ruan Qing had a bit of a cleanliness obsession, so he looked at the bun with great disdain.
However, Ruan Qing didn’t have a choice now. The discomfort in his abdomen was a clear symptom of prolonged hunger.
The original owner, due to social anxiety, never left the house and had no job, which also meant no income.
He barely managed to survive by taking online game companion orders.
However, recently, his identity as a keyboard warrior was exposed, revealing that he was a creepy and foul-smelling man. This led to other players targeting him in the game.
Basically, no one was hiring him as a companion anymore.
No clients meant no income.
That’s why the rent was almost half a month overdue.
The six steamed buns were bought with his last money.
Moreover, this body had been starving for at least two days or more. If he didn’t eat soon, he probably wouldn’t need the killers from the horror livestream to intervene.
Ruan Qing endured the pain and disgust, slowly picked up the steamed buns from the ground.
Feeling overwhelmed by his current situation and accidentally touching his injured area, tears welled up in Ruan Qing’s eyes again, on the verge of falling.
He couldn’t control this crybaby body in such a short time. Ruan Qing suppressed his frustration, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress his emotions and tears.
His eyes reddened, and he quietly comforted himself, “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
In the narrow and dilapidated room, the young man crouched on the floor. A layer of mist clouded his gem-like eyes, and a hint of sadness appeared at the bottom of his eyes. Awkwardly consoling himself, he emitted a pitiful and helpless aura.
It was as if he was about to burst into tears the next second after being bullied. Extremely pitiable. One couldn’t help but want to hold him in their arms and comfort him, not allowing him to suffer any grievances.
The barrage on the screen this time was overwhelmingly supportive.
[Wuwuwu, he’s really so pitiful. I want to hug him tightly.]
[What’s wrong with that jerk? Why kick the door for no reason? Couldn’t he just knock nicely?]
[He doesn’t understand the meaning of courtesy, does he!? Even if this young man is a little cutie deserving of death, that guy shouldn’t be so rude, right!?]
[Everyone, hold on! Even if he wants to harm him, there’s no way he can survive for more than three days!]
Amidst a barrage of curses in the chat, the young man on the screen sat back in his chair and took out a small steamed bun, nibbling on it delicately.
The young man ate slowly and gracefully, like a squirrel holding a pinecone, involuntarily capturing the attention of others.
Ruan Qing, while munching on the bun, fiddled with his phone, lost in thought.
There were only six buns, one per day, enough for six days. It wouldn’t be impossible to stretch it for seven days.
However, the discomfort in Ruan Qing’s abdomen didn’t disappear after finishing one bun.
The bun wasn’t particularly large, but for someone who had been hungry for almost two days, one was simply not enough.
Ruan Qing pursed his lips, looking at the remaining five buns on the table, hesitating.
After a moment of hesitation, he ultimately picked up another bun.
In his current situation, being selected by the horror livestream, he wouldn’t survive until the seventh day without enough strength.
Moreover, only with a well-functioning body could his brain operate quickly.
As the bun went down, Ruan Qing finally felt much better, and his mind became clearer.
This game instance was called the “Horror Livestream Room,” obviously some kind of live broadcast.
So, who were the viewers?
Serial killers or ordinary people?
In the face of uncertainty, Ruan Qing prepared for the worst.
Every action of his had a high possibility of being observed by a serial killer.
After finishing the bun, Ruan Qing leaned back in his chair, tilted his head slightly, closed his eyes, and remained motionless for quite some time.
As if he had fallen asleep.
Four hours passed at a leisurely pace, and the young man in the chair finally moved.
Ruan Qing slowly opened his eyes, devoid of the drowsy haze of just waking up. He took out his phone to check the time.
1:23 a.m.
Ruan Qing picked up the clothes on the bed and put them on over his T-shirt and pajamas. He also wore a mask.
Then he grabbed a slightly worn crossbody bag from the corner of the room and neatly packed the remaining steamed buns inside. He also picked up a small knife and put it in his pocket. After shouldering the bag, he quietly made his way to the door.
The entire process was completely silent.
The original owner of the body often went out at midnight because there were hardly any people around at that time.
But Ruan Qing had no intention of coming back.
First, he didn’t have money to pay the rent, and he didn’t have time to focus on earning money.
Second, this room was on the fifth floor, and if someone broke in, there would be no chance to escape.
So Ruan Qing never intended to stay in this room for seven days from the beginning.
When Ruan Qing reached the door, he didn’t open it immediately. He sidestepped and peeked through the peephole to observe the situation outside the door.
After confirming that there was no one outside, Ruan Qing gently turned the doorknob and quietly left the room.
The corridor was dimly lit, unable to illuminate the distant areas and certain dark corners.
This floor housed seven, or eight rooms, so the corridor was long, resembling a hotel hallway.
At the end of the corridor was the elevator, which was somewhat indistinct under the dim light. Shrouded in darkness, it seemed like a gaping monster.
Ruan Qing tightened his grip on the strap of the crossbody bag and walked towards the elevator without hesitation.
Just as he was about to reach the elevator, a deep, resonant, and magnetic male voice sounded not far behind him.
“Where are you going so late?”
Before Ruan Qing could react, the voice continued in a half-smiling tone, “Is it because you can’t afford the rent and are planning to run away?”
