Don’t Close Your Eyes

That distracting bandage was taken away, leaving You Huo's hands empty.

For some reason, Qin Jiu suddenly became very persistent. One after another, he left light kisses on the corner of his eyes. It was very different to the kisses before.

You Huo was kissed until he felt a little ticklish but he didn't move away.

Qin Jiu had his head tilted and his jawline was sharp and angular. Regardless of his protruding jut in his throat or his shoulder muscles, they were all filled with strength. This person here would always carry vigilance even when relaxed. It was as if this sense of aggression of his was innate.

But at this moment, his kisses were extremely gentle, as if he was treasuring and comforting....

"....What's wrong?" You Huo asked in a low voice.

Qin Jiu's eyes were half-closed. There was some light in between those narrow slits.

He continued to stubbornly kiss You Huo's eyes and only answered after a long time with a deep voice: "Nothing.....Just couldn't help it."

You Huo stood in place and didn't speak.

In fact, he no longer remembered most of the things Chu Yue had mentioned. Perhaps he no longer cared after growing up and, over time, even he himself felt that he was naturally cold and indifferent.

But at this moment, all the emotions he thought he never had was easily noticed by Qin Jiu.

He remained silent for a moment before holding the back of Qin Jiu's neck and kissing him back....

This scene almost coincided with the one from the past.

Many years ago, Qin Jiu who was still an examinee had also done the same. As they entangled, he had pulled off that bandage and said with a low and hoarse voice, "My Big Invigilator's eyes are very beautiful…..

"Very, very beautiful."

At that time, Invigilator You Huo had his eyes closed and was breathing heavily. He suddenly grabbed Qin Jiu's shoulder and moved up to kiss him, just like how he did several years later.

He bent his long and straight leg and changed his position as they kissed. When he was pressed down, his usually cold and half-lidded eyes looked up slightly whilst covered in a layer of mist.

His hoarse voice was muffled between their interlocked lips.

You Huo suddenly thought of another sentence——

He no longer remembered when and why it was spoken. Qin Jiu, who was now an invigilator, had said to him: "Don't close your eyes at me Big Invigilator. You don't need to avoid me. You don't have to ever do that."

"I won't be afraid of you, I won't distance myself from you and I won't think of you as a monster."

"That is how much I love you."

The scene in the confinement room was still the same.

It had been a while since they had entered but nothing had changed.

The empty ruin side hadn't appeared; there was no smell of smoke in the air nor was the sky gradually darkening.

The confinement room in the mirror was only a confinement room in appearance. It didn't have any true punishment effects.

It was just a room filled with memories.

Those that they could remember, those that they couldn't, memories of them confronting each other, memories of them being intimate.....

It was all here.

It may sound absurd.

The world in the mirror was just an illusion; a fake.But here, they could find the truth.

The exam world was so large and diverse, but they could only be truly free in this small confinement room.

***

At eight o'clock in the morning, there was finally movement in the building.

Following the timetable, everyone woke up one after another. The first thing they did after waking was to count the number of people present to avoid another "werewolf killing" scenario where half of them had "died" after opening their eyes.

Fortunately, everyone was still around.

"Those two brats didn't attack last night?" Yang Shu didn't understand.

"After being made to cry like that yesterday, it's normal not to attack." Yu Wen scratched his bird nest head and said, "Did you hope that they would do something?"

"I don't hope that they would do something. I just felt that they're not acting the way they should logically be acting." Yang Shu said.

Yu Wen was confused, "When did they have logic?"

Yang Shu: "..."

"I know what you mean." Wu Li said calmly, "I also find it a little strange."

Seeing that the others were confused, she explained, "If those two children are ordinary characters, it would be normal for them to throw a tantrum, but they are the key subjects of the question. If they stopped doing anything after something like that, how could they be the key to the question?"

Yang Shu added, "They should be crying while reluctantly continuing its task."

Like that octopus from that deserted island. Even after encountering the most horrible food in history, it still came out to eat people when it should.

Shu Xue suddenly spoke up, "Actually....I vaguely heard something last night."

"What did you hear?"

Shu Xue thought back for a moment and said with a red face, "I forgot. It sounded like....."

She held up a finger and was only able to finish her sentence after a long pause, "The sound of balls bouncing?"

"Balls bouncing?"

Everyone looked up at the second floor suspiciously.

Sali and Shirley had just woken up. They stood behind the railings upstairs holding each other's hands.

Perhaps it was because their hair was a mess and their pyjamas were the same, for a moment it was hard for them to tell who the younger sister and who the older brother was.

Old Yu said fearfully, "I heard the young lass there bouncing her rubber ball yesterday and when I opened my eyes again, she was at the door."

A chill ran down everyone's back.

The most troublesome part of this exam was the forced sleep. As soon as it was time for them to sleep, they were out like a light. There wasn't even a night watchman keeping an eye on the situation.

Most of the people present had been attacked and are all the more familiar with the feeling of being confined alone whilst in a helpless state.

The most terrifying thing wasn't the brats suddenly appearing before you. It was being unable to wake the others up when they appear.

Just then, bells suddenly started to ring.

Everyone was startled.

Yu Wen pulled out his phone with embarrassment, "Sorry, sorry. I forgot to turn off the alarm."

Seeing the phone, Shu Xue suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!".

"That's right, the phone!" She pulled out a somewhat old black phone and mumbled, "When I heard the sound yesterday, I touched my phone and seemed to have taken a picture because I was afraid that I wouldn't remember after waking up."

Her phone was something she won from the casino and was only occasionally used to check the time.

"But don't keeps your hopes up. It might not be very clear." Shu Xue added.

Everyone hummed in acknowledgement, but their eyes continued to stare at the screen.

On the screen was an extra icon under yesterday's date.

But it wasn't a photo. It was a video.

Shu Xue opened it.

The video wasn't long. It only lasted 5 or 6 seconds.

The first two seconds were a blur and the last two seconds were a blur. It was probably the moment Shu Xue picked up the phone and placed it down.

Only the second in the middle captured something.

Yu Wen used his fast reflexes to pause the video during one of the frames.

In the stopped picture, the door to the master bedroom was open and there was a figure standing at the door with their head lowered.

It wasn't Shirley nor Sali.

The figure was much taller than the two siblings and their hair fell past the face with one side brushed behind the ear. Although the scene was out of focus and unclear, everyone recognised that person.

It was Yang Shu.

"What?!"

Yang Shu's face was pale, "I was sleeping. Why am I standing there? When was this taken yesterday? Did you make a mistake?"

She touched the screen and the time the video was taken appeared in the top corner ——-

It was at 2:13am last night.

She touched the screen again to start the video

The subsequent scene made her face even paler.

She saw herself in the video raise and lower her hand....She was bouncing a ball children would typically play with.

The picture suddenly blurred but the "thud, thud" of the ball continued.

If they didn't already know Yang Shu, they would have already moved three metres away from her.

For a moment, no one in the living room spoke. An inexplicable sense of fear crept up everyone's spines causing their scalp to go numb.

Yang Shu panicked for a moment before quickly calming herself back down.

"Should I prove myself first that I haven't been replaced by someone in the mirror?"

Hearing those words, everyone immediately realised why they felt fearful.

It was because they were afraid of the possibility of their companions unknowingly being replaced by things from inside the mirror and being stuck together with something dangerous.

Wu Li said, "Those words just now is enough proof. To be able to still say something like that despite having such a pale face, only you can do that."

Yang Shu was a little touched by her trust, but she still said, "Aren't you also one who can?"

Wu Li said: "I won't turn pale."

Yang Shu: "...…."

It's fine if no one was replaced. Everyone was relieved.

But they still found this very scary.

They took the two brats downstairs and asked, "What did you two do last night?"

"Sleep." The brother and sister answered in unison.

"Didn't bounce your balls?"

Shirley's lips wriggled.

"Speak."

"We used to, but we didn't last night." Shirley let out a strange smile.

***

Inside the mirror, the 8am timetable failed to wake You Huo up.

He frowned and habitually moved his arm over his eyes to continue sleeping but his stomach started to protest....

The arm around his waist moved.

The shirt he put on last night was very roughly buttoned up. The hand at his waist moved up from his thin waist to his abdomen. Qin Jiu's voice was still filled with sleep, "Get up and eat something?"

You Huo restrained his hand and didn't open his eyes. He still wanted to sleep a little more.

But his stomach sounded again....

The great master was extremely peeved. He was finally awakened by himself.

For once, his bad mood was directed at himself.

Qin Jiu took in his expression and let out low chuckles against his back.

Laugh my ass.

You Huo patted his hand to indicate for him to move it away before supporting himself up.

For a moment, his actions were a little stiff.

But he let out a snort and quickly recovered.

Qin Jiu similarly got up after him. With two tall men together, the room seemed to be a whole lot smaller.

They washed up and left the room one after the other.

The scene in the mirror was synchronised with reality. There was even sunlight falling through the windows onto the wooden steps.

Compared to the dim basement, the light was a little dazzling.

Qin Jiu lazily wandered up the stairs with both hands in his pockets. Under the sunlight, he squinted his eyes and suddenly stopped in place.

"Why aren't you moving?" You Huo who was a step behind him asked him this.

"Suddenly remembered that I forgot something."

"What?"

Qin Jiu turned around and lowered his head to plant a kiss on the corner of his lips, "Morning."

You Huo: "...Morning."

In the living room, Chu Yue who had just walked over quickly backed away, "Are you two done? If you're done, I have something I want to ask."

Qin Jiu straightened up: "What is it?"

"Don't you two feel especially hungry?" Chu Yue asked.

Invigilator A who was woken up because of hunger humbly agreed, "Yes, a little."

Chu Yue clutched her stomach and frowned, "I don't know if I'm thinking too much or anything but I'm not usually this uncomfortable after a day of not eating anything. I feel a little too hungry right now…..Even just looking at you two makes me feel hungry."

KK has something to say:

More dog food this chapter!