When Su Xianyu's fingertips landed on Feng Lin's wrist, he trembled violently, as if scalded, but stubbornly refused to pull back his hand.
The man in the red shirt still maintained the posture of reaching out, his eyes full of anxiety. "Xiaoyu, what are you hesitating about? Haven't we always..."
"Who are you?" Su Xianyu interrupted him, her gaze as clear as if it could pierce through people's hearts.
The smile on his face froze. "I'm Feng Lin. What's wrong with you?"
"But A Lin would never let me stand barefoot on the floor." She said softly, her gaze skimming over the man's stunned face and landing on his side.
There, Feng Lin's hand, hidden behind his back, had its fingertips almost touching the pair of cotton slippers.
But it was as if bound by an invisible chain, only able to maintain that position, with fine beads of cold sweat oozing from his forehead.
When both men caught Su Xianyu's attention at the same time, it was as if a bug had occurred in the small world, and the space began to tremble.
Only the real Feng Lin, although in a difficult situation himself, still managed to pay attention to her situation.
The man in the red shirt seemed not to hear her words and reached out to touch her shoulder. "Xiaoyu, stop fooling around. Come here..."
"Get out of the way."
Su Xianyu took a step back to avoid his touch, and her tone suddenly turned cold.
Just then, Feng Lin seemed to break through some kind of imprisonment and stumbled forward to shield Su Xianyu behind him.
He stared fixedly at the man opposite, his eyes surging with the familiar paranoia and madness. "Don't you dare touch her."
The figure of the man in the red shirt began to turn transparent. He looked at Su Xianyu in disbelief. "Why? I'm clearly just like him..."
"You're not the same." Su Xianyu poked her head out from behind Feng Lin, her voice clear and firm.
"Even if you can imitate his look in the eyes, you can never imitate the way he loves me."
As her voice faded, the figure of the man in the red shirt completely dissipated in the air, as if he had never existed.
Time and space resumed flowing, and the familiar scene of the room gradually came back into focus.
Feng Lin's tense body instantly relaxed. He turned around and hugged Su Xianyu tightly, with such force that it seemed as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.
His body trembled slightly. "Xiaoyu..."
"I'm here." Su Xianyu hugged him back and gently patted his back. "It's okay now."
"I thought... I thought you would choose him." He murmured, his voice thick with grievance, like a large dog that had been abandoned.
Su Xianyu grabbed Feng Lin's wrist and walked towards the sofa. The sweat in his palm had dampened her fingers, but he stubbornly held her hand even tighter.
"Sit still." She pressed Feng Lin onto the sofa. Just as she was about to get up to fetch the first-aid kit, he pulled her into his embrace.
He grumbled discontentedly. "That fake just touched your hand."
"I dodged." Su Xianyu reached out and smoothed the creases between his brows.
"Your finger is cut and you don't even know when. And you're still worried about this?"
Feng Lin buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice a bit muffled. "Put on your slippers. You just finished your period. Touching something cold will make you feel pain."
He paused for a moment, then suddenly bit her earlobe, with a hint of fear and fierceness. "That fake didn't even know this and still dared to impersonate me."
"It hurts." Su Xianyu slapped the back of his hand, but he tightened his grip.
"I'm sorry, Xiaoyu. I didn't mean to." Feng Lin said, but only loosened his grip slightly, without letting go completely.
Su Xianyu had no choice but to stay nestled in his embrace. "What on earth has been going on with you these days?"
"It's the voice in my head." Feng Lin suddenly looked aggrieved and buried his face deeper.
"That voice kept nagging me every day, saying that I had to act gentle and refined.
"I couldn't lose my temper with you, couldn't stare at you for more than ten minutes, and even had to endure it when you added extra pearls to your milk tea!"
Su Xianyu couldn't help but burst out laughing. "So that's why your face kept changing when you saw me drinking milk tea the other day?"
"You know your stomach isn't good!" Feng Lin looked up and glared at her, his eyes turning red again.
"I really wanted to throw that cup of milk tea away and then pin you down on the sofa and kiss you until you couldn't speak.
"But that voice said, 'If you do that, you'll lose her,' and I didn't dare."
Suddenly, he lowered his head and rubbed his nose against Xiaoyu's. "I'm so afraid of losing you, even the slightest possibility scares me."
Su Xianyu's heart softened. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Not scared anymore?"
"Still scared." Feng Lin kissed her urgently and fiercely, as if trying to pour out all the grievances he had held in these days.
This usually paranoid and cold man was now crying and seeking comfort. "That voice said that if I showed my true nature, you would hate me, so I had to endure it.
"But I'm even more afraid that if I keep acting like that, you'll find me strange and completely reject me."
"You silly thing." Su Xianyu reached out and wiped away his tears. Her fingertips touched his slightly cool skin. "How could I ever hate you!
"We've been together for so long. Do you really think you've hidden your true self well?"
She paused for a moment and said softly, "Actually, I've had this feeling too these days.
"There's always a voice in my head reminding me that I need to pass a level. Only by succeeding can I truly stay in this world without being rejected."
Feng Lin suddenly raised his head, his eyes red. "You too?"
"Yeah." Su Xianyu nodded. "Thinking about it now, it was probably a test set by the small world. Fortunately, we've both made it through."
She stood on tiptoe and gently kissed his lips. "Now that we've passed the level, we don't have to worry about those mysterious events getting in our way anymore."
"But it clearly indicated that I had passed the level before. I don't know why it had to pull this stunt."
As soon as her voice fell, a faint buzzing sound suddenly rang out in the air. It was the sound of a barrage notification.
[This is the perfect lover as a reward for the female lead's level pass. Isn't the experience good?]
"Perfect lover?" She subconsciously uttered the words. Then, realizing what was going on, she looked up at the words, her tone firm.
"My lover doesn't need to pretend. He just has to be himself. A Lin has always been irreplaceable in my heart."
[!! Xiaoyu can see the barrage?]
[Wc! Can Su Xianyu see what we're saying because she broke through the imprisonment and was promoted to the new protagonist of the small world?]
[Look at me, Wife Xiaoyu! I'm your die-hard fan!]
[Great! We can finally interact with the protagonist.]
[Does Sister Xiaoyu have a hickey on her neck?! Feng Lin, show some restraint...]
The light blue barrage floated in front of her eyes. Su Xianyu suddenly burst out laughing in the middle of a kiss.
Feng Lin stopped and looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She pointed at the empty space and deliberately teased him. "Someone said you looked like an angry cat just now."
Feng Lin looked in the direction she was pointing, his brows furrowing even deeper. "Who? Where?"
Su Xianyu pinched his cheek. "It's just like the voice in your head. But it can't hurt us anymore."
Although Feng Lin was still confused, he had experienced too many strange things during this period.
He didn't ask any more questions, but just tightened his embrace of Xiaoyu a bit.
"No matter what it is, as long as it dares to hurt you, I'll make it disappear."
The madness in his eyes began to surge again, but there was a hint of gentle caution that hadn't been there before.
Late at night...