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墨書 Inktalez
"Is something wrong?"
Xu Nuan turned around and stood still, looking at Gu Ze, deciding to take the initiative.
Gu Ze took two steps forward, looking down at Xu Nuan, and slowly began to speak.
"What are you hiding?"
Xu Nuan felt as if she were trapped under Gu Ze's gaze, unable to move or breathe; it was a different sensation from confronting Zhang Xiao.
"Is there anything I haven't hidden?"
Xu Nuan chuckled lightly, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Gu Ze, her tone serious.
"I will never harm anyone. That's all you need to know."
Silence.
Xu Nuan noticed Gu Ze taking another step closer, continuing to look down at her.
"Everyone has secrets, but there are distinctions. I'm very interested in your other secrets, but I will respect you. However, Zhang Xiao is different; he is dangerous. What are you hiding for him?"
Every word from Gu Ze made Xu Nuan feel the urge to retreat and run away, but she couldn't give in; running away would only confirm his suspicions.
She hated confrontations; no one seemed to care about her feelings.
Qin Yaojie rushed into the game without a care, while Zhang Xiao relentlessly pressured her. Why was Gu Ze the same way?
Why couldn’t Gu Ze be different? Xu Nuan immediately thought of this; it seemed she liked to treat people differently.
Xu Nuan pondered that if she continued to maintain her indifferent attitude, Gu Ze would retreat like a gentleman as he had before. Just then, she heard Gu Ze’s next words.
“Are you afraid of him?”
Xu Nuan instinctively shivered, completely unaware that Gu Ze was inching closer.
“You’re not afraid of anything. You’ve never compromised, so Nuan, what are you hiding?”
Xu Nuan sensed the restraint in Gu Ze’s words, but before she could respond, he placed his hands on her shoulders and pressed down slightly.
“Ah.”
The arm that had just healed suddenly throbbed with pain, causing Xu Nuan to cry out involuntarily. Realizing her mistake after the sound escaped her lips, she tried to salvage the situation.
“Um… your strength is a bit…”
The rest of her words faded away under the intensity of Gu Ze’s approaching face and the anger etched on it.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Xu Nuan frantically tried to stop Gu Ze from pulling at her clothes. “Why are you being so brazenly inappropriate?”
Xu Nuan deliberately tried to change the subject, but Gu Ze ignored her and continued to press on.
"You’re hurt. Who did this to you?"
Gu Ze's expression remained emotionless as his hands kept moving.
"Just ask without getting physical, okay?"
Xu Nuan was infuriated; Gu Ze's behavior was simply unreasonable. Without thinking much, she bit down on his hand that was trying to pull at her clothes, applying a bit of pressure. It was only when she heard him gasp that she sheepishly let go, stepping back and adjusting her collar while awkwardly explaining.
"I didn’t want to do that; you were being too much."
As she spoke, Xu Nuan secretly glanced at the bite mark on Gu Ze's wrist and suddenly realized that she might have bitten down a bit too hard. The imprint was quite obvious. Rubbing her head in embarrassment, Xu Nuan found herself momentarily speechless.
Gu Ze stared at the bite mark for a long time before retracting his hand. Then he fixed his gaze on Xu Nuan and spoke.
"If I don’t get physical, then you tell me the answer. Or you can just admit it was Zhang Xiao who did this."
Xu Nuan's eyes darted away as she began to stammer.
"How could it be him? I just got up too quickly in the lounge and bumped into the wall. I've been really unlucky lately, haven’t I? Haha."
She laughed awkwardly, praying in her heart that Gu Ze wouldn’t press further. She couldn’t reveal anything yet—not until Zhang Xiao, the source of danger, was out of the picture.
"You’re not brainless or clumsy; you can’t just walk into a wall while being fully awake. How unfortunate," Gu Ze remarked.
Xu Nuan twitched her lips, sensing a strong hint of sarcasm in his words.
Still unable to meet Gu Ze's gaze, Xu Nuan scanned her surroundings, her mind racing as she sought a way out of the situation. Suddenly, she heard the rumble of thunder, and before she could react, large raindrops began to fall.
Xu Nuan blinked and suddenly blurted out, "I’ve been really unlucky lately. One moment it’s sunny, and the next it’s pouring rain, right?"
She felt that her expression must look quite sycophantic; it was the first time in her life she had acted so obsequiously.
It all depended on whether this person in front of her would appreciate it.
When Xu Nuan raised her eyes, she caught a glimpse of amusement in Gu Ze's eyes, though it quickly shifted to seriousness.
For some reason, Xu Nuan felt a bit dissatisfied. The sensation of rain hitting her skin was unpleasant, and her face was already drenched.
"Even if we haven’t reached the twenty-minute mark yet, you should put on your raincoat first; your clothes are getting wet."
Of course, her own clothes were also soaked, but she didn’t dare move until Gu Ze did something first.
Why should she adhere to the twenty-minute conversation rule? Xu Nuan silently protested as she watched Gu Ze take two steps forward and extend a hand toward her.
"What are you doing?"
Xu Nuan instinctively tried to dodge, but she couldn't escape Gu Ze's quick hands. The coldness of her chin was immediately met with a wave of warmth.
Rain! Foundation! Bruises!
At that moment, Xu Nuan wished for a lightning strike to come down; she was truly having the worst luck.
"This bruise can't possibly be from a collision, right?"
As Xu Nuan silently screamed in her mind, she heard Gu Ze's voice change pitch and immediately looked up at him. There was no need to describe Gu Ze's expression with words like gloomy or furious; the palpable dark aura surrounding him was enough to frighten Xu Nuan.
"What are you going to do?"
Her instincts told Xu Nuan that Gu Ze was genuinely about to explode.
The gentler a person usually is, the more terrifying they become when they get angry.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xu Nuan felt Gu Ze's hand brush against her chin, and then the warmth vanished. He took a large step away from her and walked forward.
Amidst the thunder and rain, Xu Nuan vaguely heard a low murmur.
"Take care of him!"
What had once sounded like a deep, resonant cello now resembled the sticky hiss of a snake flicking its tongue.
Xu Nuan shivered in the rain and quickly turned around, only to find that Gu Ze had already run far ahead.
"Run?"
Xu Nuan exclaimed in alarm, quickly chasing after him while shouting.
"Hey, Gu Ze, listen to me, this has nothing to do with him!"
"Hey, Gu Ze, stop!"
Gu Ze, who was running happily, ignored her. Xu Nuan, struggling to keep up, suddenly tripped and fell to the ground, scraping her palm and getting her clothes dirty with mud.
"Tch, is bad luck really sticking to me today?"
Xu Nuan felt a bit disgruntled and somewhat wronged. However, thinking of the weapon in Zhang Xiao's hand made her push those feelings aside. As she hurriedly got back on her feet to continue chasing Gu Ze, she realized he had already stopped and was silently watching her.
Through the curtain of rain, Xu Nuan locked eyes with Gu Ze.
What kind of gaze was that?
It made Xu Nuan feel as if it had traveled through an entire century just to reach her.
Clouds, lightning, raindrops, grasslands.
Everything in the world seemed softened by that gaze, which was solely focused on her.
"I'm sorry."
Xu Nuan suddenly felt the urge to say those words.
"Gu Ze, stand still and don’t move!"
She shouted this at Gu Ze.
And indeed, Gu Ze stood there without moving.
Xu Nuan ran over, tilting her head slightly to look up at Gu Ze. The raindrops falling on her face made her squint a little, but it didn’t hinder her from speaking.
Under that gaze, she softly uttered a single phrase.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't look at me like that."
Just as Xu Nuan was about to explain further, Gu Ze reached out and covered her eyes, leaving behind those words.
Warmth radiated from him; he was warm inside and out.
That kind of gaze was warm indeed.
With her eyes closed, Xu Nuan didn’t push away his hand and spoke slowly, each word deliberate.
"I'm sorry."
"When he leaves, I will tell you the reason. Until then, please ignore him and my actions."
Xu Nuan finished speaking and quietly waited for Gu Ze's response.
She was selfish and pitiful, using Gu Ze in this way.
She felt his hand tremble slightly but was unwilling to pull away.
"I will drive him away."
After a long pause, Gu Ze finally uttered those words.
Xu Nuan quickly pulled Gu Ze's hand away, meeting his gaze as she added, "No, he must leave on his own."
Only then would Zhang Xiao stop searching for the Third Batch of Players and would no longer come after her. They would all be free from Zhang Xiao's threat.
"Alright."
Gu Ze ultimately restrained his outward emotions.
Xu Nuan smiled faintly and added one more thing.
"I'm sorry."
Every sound carried a different meaning.
If she felt wronged, then how much more wronged was Gu Ze?
What a selfish and ridiculous person!
"Don't say that to me again."
After compromising, Gu Ze expressionlessly threw down this line, turned, and walked away without looking back.
Those three words were more hurtful than silence and indifference.
It almost made him believe that there was no hope for a lifetime.
When the two drenched individuals caught up with the other four, they found Xu Hang and the others sheltering from the rain in a cave, while outside, a swarm of glowing butterflies danced in the air. The heavy rain did not deter their flight.
"Did you two have a fight or something? You didn't even put on your raincoats."
Seeing Xu Nuan and Gu Ze enter the cave, Zhang Xiao, leaning against the cave wall, chuckled lightly, his gaze lingering between Xu Nuan and Gu Ze.
Xu Nuan felt nauseous and scared, but she still forced herself to respond.
"I forgot."
Gu Ze tossed a towel into Xu Nuan's hands, then glanced at Zhang Xiao before silently standing beside Xu Hang.
Xu Qiaoqiao let out a sigh of relief and quickly shifted her gaze away from Zhang Xiao, surveying the situation inside the cave.
It appeared to be a den occasionally inhabited by wild beasts. At the far end of the cave lay a layer of dry grass, and the ground was scattered with small stones. The walls showed no signs of moss or any greenery, remaining quite dry.
Meanwhile, Xu Nuan noticed that Deng Yinyin's expression darkened as soon as she entered, and then she turned away, refusing to look at anyone.
Feeling helpless, Xu Nuan thought that her relationship with Deng Yinyin might never improve.
She didn't mind; there was a difference between teamwork and personal feelings. Just because she liked the team didn't mean she had to appreciate every individual in it.
Perhaps, when they encountered the First Batch of Players, Xu Hang and Gu Ze would be unwilling to play alongside them. That would likely be the moment of separation.
As Xu Nuan contemplated this, purple lightning flashed outside the cave one after another, accompanied by continuous rumbling thunder. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the vast grassland beyond.
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