Thank you very much, Salt Rose or Topaz, for the ko-fi! :blobaww:

Zhu Ming had long noticed that Xi Xianqing didn’t like making eye contact with others.

When conversing, he always habitually averted his gaze, either turning his face away or focusing on some distant object.

In the eyes of outsiders, one would probably think that this person was extremely arrogant and unwilling to properly look at people.

But from Zhu Ming’s perspective, this was actually a way of concealing his true emotions, a refusal to reveal his inner thoughts.

Thus, this habit became a key for Zhu Ming to interpret Xi Xianqing—whenever Xi Xianqing avoided eye contact, it generally meant there was a significant disparity between what he was thinking and what he was saying.

So at this moment, when Xi Xianqing rarely fixed his gem-like eyes directly on him, Zhu Ming’s mind went momentarily blank—he actually didn’t know how to respond.

“It doesn’t only include these two NPCs…”

Zhu Ming could only allow himself to try to be as calm as possible as he locked eyes with Xi Xianqing, “What does it mean?”

Xi Xianqing quietly looked at his face for a while, then shifted his gaze away and spoke after a long pause, “In that corner, there’s also a resident singer NPC.”

Zhu Ming: “…?”

For a split second, he thought Xi Xianqing was joking. But when he turned to look, he indeed found an ordinary NPC holding a guitar in the dimly lit corner.

It was just that the lighting in the corner was faint, and the two NPCs standing beside them had such exquisite models that the singer’s presence had been overlooked.

Zhu Ming immediately heard Xi Xianqing ask, “Do you think it’s feasible?”

This is actually a bit strange to say the least, because Xi Xianqing was the one who would need to kiss the NPC, yet he was asking Zhu Ming whether it was “feasible.”

However, Zhu Ming didn’t notice this slight peculiarity at the moment, as his mind wasn’t fully present either.

It felt as if his consciousness wasn’t entirely in his body.

He realized he was more like an observer floating above the ceiling, watching himself and Xi Xianqing sitting in front of the bar at the moment.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when Zhu Ming finally heard himself answer, “This game is capable of synchronizing spiritual manifestations. Theoretically, it should be possible to detect the feather response.”

Xi Xianqing remained silent.

Only after a long time did he stand up, as if calmly staring at Zhu Ming’s side face, and said word for word, “Okay, I’ll go then.”

Zhu Ming was silent for a moment and let out a “hmm”.

“Then… I’ll give you some space too. I’ll wait outside the door with Dish Soap and observe the reaction of its tail feathers.”

He also stood up, paused briefly, and asked, “Can you get Dish Soap to follow me?”

When he looked up, Zhu Ming noticed that Xi Xianqing was staring at him steadily.

Xi Xianqing didn’t say anything, but his chest rose and fell for a split second. A few seconds later, the green peac0ck perched on the bar counter drooped its feathers, slowly hopped onto a high stool, and then landed on the ground, eventually walking to Zhu Ming’s side.

Without looking at Zhu Ming again, Xi Xianqing turned and strode quickly toward the corner.

Zhu Ming stood frozen for a moment. It was unclear if he was looking at the green peac0ck by his feet or talking to himself when he said, “Let’s go.”

Walking out of the bar, rain drizzled down in the evening light.

Zhu Ming stood at the eaves and turned around.

His task now was simple: to wait and observe any ripples in Dish Soap’s tail feathers.

He turned back and stared in front of him:

On his left was the green peac0ck with its head raised, its beady eyes cold and emotionless as it stared at Zhu Ming’s face.

On his right was a white fox with fluffy fur. It shook its tail, glanced at the green peac0ck beside it, and then raised its head to look at Zhu Ming.

The white fox tilted its head, its gentle, round eyes quietly gazing at its master as if asking, “Do you want its tail feathers to fluctuate or not?”

Zhu Ming was quietly stunned.

The rain continued to fall, and the faint sound of a jazz saxophone intermittently drifted from the bar.

Zhu Ming’s eyes never left the green peac0ck’s tail feathers for a second, but he observed no visible ripples.

After a moment, he looked up, pressed his lips together, and suddenly turned around to head back toward the bar’s entrance, intending to push the door open.

—But in the next instant, the door was pulled open from the inside first.

Xi Xianqing stood inside the bar, facing Zhu Ming, who was in the fine drizzle outside.

Zhu Ming, somewhat startled, asked, “You… already finished?”

The dim lighting inside the bar cast Xi Xianqing’s expression into the shadows.

He did not say anything, only the depths of his throat issued a vague “hmm”.

Zhu Ming couldn’t quite describe how he felt. After a moment, he nodded and smiled lightly.

Placing his hand on the doorknob, he turned to look at Dish Soap, whose tail feathers were drooping. “So it seems I misjudged.”

Xi Xianqing still didn’t make a sound.

“I lost.” Zhu Ming shrugged, admitting defeat with ease. “This theory might indeed…”

Zhu Ming didn’t finish the second half of his sentence.

That was when he realized something illogical—if the task had been completed, why hadn’t the victory prompt sound, signifying a completion of the choice, gone off?

A subtle premonition crept over him, and he suddenly looked up. “Did you just not—”

The voice was suddenly drowned in the depths of his throat.

Zhu Ming felt his jaw gripped in an instant, tilted upward, and then his lips were forcibly covered by something dry and soft.

His pupils contracted sharply, and he didn’t know where to look. All he could see was the continuous drizzle falling from the eaves. His gaze stiffly shifted downward to Xi Xianqing’s furrowed brows and lowered lashes.

-And the roots of his slightly pinkish ears.

With their noses almost touching, the sensation on his lips was vivid. Xi Xianqing’s way of kissing was exactly like his personality—reckless, arrogant, and inexplicably tinged with anger.

—His clumsy and inexperienced teeth bumped against Zhu Ming’s lower lip, causing a sting that made Zhu Ming flinch and stumble backward a few steps.

Just as his back was about to hit the wall, he felt a hand supporting his waist.

His body naturally leaned forward, and the kiss deepened seamlessly.

Breaths intermingled, inexperienced yet intense, as the sound of the steady rain outside grew more blurred in the moment. The next instant, the ding-dong signifying victory rang out once again.

The seventeenth choice has been completed.

At the same time, a cold system prompt sounded in Zhu Ming’s ears: “Your gameplay time has reached three hours. For your mental and physical health, the system has forcibly logged you out of the game.”

The surrounding sounds gradually faded from Zhu Ming’s ears—the rain, the jazz music, and finally, Xi Xianqing’s breathing. At the very last moment, a sharp “beep” pierced through.

Zhu Ming violently opened his eyes.

Darkness greeted him. He lay there, his mind blank, before reaching out in the dark to remove the helmet, gasping as he woke up from the game pod.

Although it was just his consciousness that had entered the game, the sting on his lips lingered as vividly as if it had happened in reality.

He covered his mouth and turned his head to look at the person beside him.

The door of the game pod opened, and Xi Xianqing also sat up at that moment.

Zhu Ming’s breathing was still unsteady. One hand covered his mouth while the other pointed at Xi Xianqing’s face. “You—”

Before he could finish saying “you,” Xi Xianqing spoke first in a hoarse voice, “When I got closer just now, I realized that NPC playing the guitar had a horribly rendered face. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

The finger Zhu Ming was pointing at him trembled slightly. “…”

Xi Xianqing’s shoulders rose and fell for a split second. “And we were about to be forcibly logged out of the game. I didn’t have time to think too much—I just wanted to clear the level as quickly as possible.”

Zhu Ming lowered his hand, his mouth slightly open as he exhaled, his expression showing that he urgently wanted to say something.

Thinking Zhu Ming was still dissatisfied with his explanation, Xi Xianqing became a bit flustered and defensive. “You were the one who said it yourself—everything in the game is just code, and for the sake of testing—”

“Can you let me get a word in?” Zhu Ming interrupted him, unable to bear it any longer.

Xi Xianqing: “…”

Zhu Ming closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing. “Right now, release Dish Soap immediately and bring me the sensory gloves for the lab pod—now, immediately, right now!”

Xi Xianqing: “…?”

Zhu Ming rapidly unwrapped the cables tangled around him, unable to conceal the excitement in his voice. “Then carry me to the living room! It’s more spacious there. Hurry!”

Zhu Ming had never been so frazzled in his life.

The usual response to a kiss might involve silent reflection, a delayed wave of shyness, and then casually looking away as if nothing happened.

But Zhu Ming’s mind had only one thought at that moment: Since the kiss already happened, I need to prove my theory is correct as soon as possible.

For researchers, there’s an unrelenting obsession with validating their theories that few others can comprehend.

With the sensory gloves strapped on, his phone set to record, and a wave-detection light screen placed on his lap to record, Zhu Ming prepared everything for the crucial observation phase.

Zhu Ming stared at the green peac0ck’s every move with a subtle expression and held his breath.

In the center of the living room, bright particles gradually gathered. Dish Soap stood calmly before the two of them, took a couple of steps, then turned its back to them, displaying its long tail feathers that showed no signs of rising.

The two were silent for a moment.

Xi Xianqing’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. “Maybe it’s not like what you thought…”

“No.” Zhu Ming interrupted him softly. “Now, try controlling your spiritual power.”

Xi Xianqing was stunned.

Half skeptical, he took a deep breath and calmed his mind.

A few seconds later, Dish Soap’s butt abruptly shook. Its feathers began to quiver and slowly spread open.

Xi Xianqing’s pupils constricted slightly as he struggled to steady his breath, his fingers silently digging into the edge of the sofa.

Zhu Ming’s hand holding the recording device trembled slightly, but he said nothing.

The green peac0ck appeared as if it would fully unfurl its feathers. Its butt twitched again, then suddenly stopped.

—And then, at a visible pace, the tail feathers began to droop, wilting slowly back into place.

Zhu Ming’s breath hitched. He snapped his head to the side and commanded, “Don’t lose focus. Concentrate. Don’t let your thoughts wander.”

Xi Xianqing wordlessly clenched his teeth.

The flush on his ears deepened as he cast an unreadable gaze at the green peac0ck before exhaling and turning his face away.

The green peac0ck’s tail feathers, which had stopped their downward droop, began to happily twitch again.

It began to fully unfurled its magnificent fan of feathers, then proudly swayed its butt and strutted across the living room, head held high.

With his theory confirmed, Zhu Ming’s shoulders finally relaxed. He let out the most relieved and contented breath he’d had in days.

Five minutes later, Dish Soap still haughtily swayed its butt around the living room, flaunting its dazzling tail feathers and walked in the living room for the umpteenth time.

Zhu Ming stood with his arms crossed, lips pressed together in silence, lost in thought. On the other side of the sofa, Xi Xianqing sat stiffly, his expression frozen in an unfamiliar blankness, as though he was a statue.

Raising their heads at the same time, their gazes met briefly before both looked away.

After a moment, Xi Xianqing couldn’t help but speak. “…What do you think?”

Zhu Ming was also silent for a moment, “I don’t know. What do you think?”

An invisible ball was tossed back and forth between them. Xi Xianqing’s eyes narrowed with irritation as he retorted, “You’re the doctor I hired. I’m asking you about my treatment plan, and you’re asking me what I think?”

Zhu Ming rubbed his nose. “Because you’re a sensitive patient, and I’m a doctor with a fragile heart. The last time I proposed a plan, it made you furious, so this time I thought I’d check how you feel first.”

At this time, they were extraordinarily humble.

Xi Xianqing’s heart was stuffy and blocked, “Just say it.”

Zhu Ming raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Promise to keep your emotions in check?”

Xi Xianqing shot him a glare.

“Well, based on the observations so far, kissing seems to temporarily restore your spiritual power and allows you to control Dish Soap’s tail feathers.”

Zhu Ming sighed softly, “Of course, the duration of this effect is currently unknown.”

“But from a purely scientific perspective,” he added with a raised eyebrow, “for now, we can only say there’s a correlation between kissing and the tail-feather display; but they’re not necessarily causal.”

Xi Xianqing: “…What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, kissing does help with displaying your feathers, but it’s not the actual cure.”

Zhu Ming softened his tone. “If the real cause can be identified, theoretically, you can recover completely. You wouldn’t need any external aids, such as kissing, to display your feathers on your own.”

“Of course, one step at a time. For now, kissing is undoubtedly a good starting point for research.”

He looked with satisfaction at the healthy feather display of the green peac0ck. “You could think of kissing as a medication that helps you display your feathers, but the treatment effect is extremely short-lived.”

Glancing at the person beside him, he cautiously changed his tone. “Of course, it’s also a somewhat taboo medication, one that treads on the edges of morality.”

After a long silence, Zhu Ming heard Xi Xianqing speak in a low voice, “If kissing is simply treated as a form of medication… it’s not entirely unacceptable.”

Zhu Ming let out a “hmm”.

A few seconds later, he realized what Xi Xianqing had just said and, he gave another “hmm?” in disbelief.

Xi Xianqing’s lips moved, and then he added two more words, “But still.”

Zhu Ming knew it was impossible for Xi Xianqing’s mindset to open up so completely all at once.

He looked somewhat at a loss as he stared at Xi Xianqing’s face, waiting to hear what kind of condition would follow the transitional phrase.

“For security and confidentiality reasons,” Xi Xianqing leaned back on the sofa, his legs elegantly crossed. His gaze lingered briefly on Zhu Ming before appearing to land calmly in the distance. “I don’t want to take this medication from an outsider.”