Chapter 6: Hunger

Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Hunger

"Cough... cough."

Perhaps Sui Sui’s gaze had been a little too fervent, or perhaps he had remained silent for far too long. Whatever the reason, Bai Suichen, who had been standing quietly behind him, finally let out a soft cough to draw his attention.

The sound instantly snapped Sui Sui out of his daze.

Only then did he realize that he had been staring at Yizhou without blinking. Heat immediately rushed to his face, and he scratched his cheek with an awkward smile.

In his defense, anyone would have reacted the same. After all, he had unexpectedly come face-to-face with his idol.

Reading about Yizhou in a novel and seeing him in person were two completely different experiences. The young man before him was even more handsome than any description could ever capture. His features were as though carefully carved by the heavens themselves, his bearing calm and dignified, yet carrying an invisible pressure that naturally drew everyone’s attention.

For a brief moment, Sui Sui’s inner fanboy had completely taken over.

Feeling that continuing to stare would only make things more awkward, Sui Sui hurriedly shifted his attention to Bai Suichen. "Brother, why did you only arrive now? You almost missed the banquet."

Seeing that he had finally regained his little brother’s attention, Bai Suichen rubbed the back of his head and laughed sheepishly.

"You can’t blame your brother this time." He immediately pointed at the person beside him. "It’s all your Senior Brother Yizhou’s fault. He insisted that we couldn’t come empty-handed, so we had to make a detour to prepare a gift."

Without saying much, Yizhou calmly showed a gentle smile and lifted his hand. In a faint flash of light rippled through the air as a medium-sized wooden box appeared from his storage ring.

He stepped forward and handed it to Sui Sui. Curiosity immediately lit up Sui Sui’s eyes. Carefully opening the box, he found a pristine white fur coat resting neatly inside. The snow-white fur looked incredibly soft, without a single blemish. Merely touching it, he could already feel a gentle warmth flowing from it.

"Winter is approaching," Yizhou said gently. "On the way here, I happened to hunt several Fire Foxes and asked a seamstress to make this. Fire Fox fur naturally retains warmth and helps protect the body from cold qi, which is very fitting for Junior Brother ."

His expression remained as gentle as ever. "I hope you like it."

Sui Sui’s eyes instantly brightened."This is for me?"

Without waiting for an answer, he eagerly lifted the coat from the box and draped it over his shoulders. The moment it settled around him, a gentle wave of warmth spread across his body, dispelling the lingering chill from the evening breeze. It felt as though he had been wrapped in a patch of warm sunlight.

"So warm..." He looked up at Yizhou, his clear eyes sparkling with unconcealed joy.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Sui Sui said, his voice was filled with genuine happiness.

This was the first gift he had ever received from the protagonist. Even if Yizhou had handed him nothing more than an old rag, Sui Sui would have treasured it like the greatest heavenly artifact in existence.

The protagonist is really thoughtful, although his face appears cold and distant, his real personality is actually gentle and he always liked to smile, worthy of being described as a Buddhisattva in the earlier part of the novel.

Before he could continue admiring it, Bai Suichen suddenly squeezed himself between the two of them.

"Ahem!"The older brother puffed out his chest proudly before waving a hand.

"Move aside, move aside. My gift is much better!" The next moment one storage bag after another appeared on the table.

"There are exactly one hundred gifts here! Every single one was personally chosen by your handsome and considerate older brother." His voice became increasingly excited as he enthusiastically introduced each item, making Sui Sui laugh helplessly.

The two brothers quickly fell into cheerful conversation, their laughter blending into the lively atmosphere of the banquet.

As the two brothers chatted happily, their laughter drifting through the lively banquet, a pair of dark, inscrutable eyes silently watched them from a secluded corner. More precisely, that unwavering gaze remained fixed on Sui Sui alone.

The owner of those eyes was none other than Yizhou. His expression remained calm and serene, yet beneath that composed exterior, countless thoughts quietly stirred.

Interesting...

This little fool had become rather interesting.

In his previous life, Bai Sui Sui had remained a fool as far as he could remember. Yizhou recalled that around this time, Bai Sui Sui had indeed fallen into the lake and suffered a high fever. Similarly Bai Suichen had rushed home to accompany and care for his younger brother, but when the fever subsided, nothing had changed.

The fool had remained a fool.

Yet in this life...He had unexpectedly recovered.

What exactly triggered this change?

Contrary to Sui Sui’s assumptions, the person standing before him was not the protagonist living through his first life.

But the Yizhou who had already been betrayed by his closest friends.

The kind-hearted, upright, and warm young man who once believed that sincerity could move people’s hearts had long since died. Standing here now was merely a man who had crawled back from death, carrying every memory, every grievance, and every ounce of hatred from his previous life.

Truthfully, Yizhou had never intended to attend this banquet. It was only after Bai Suichen casually mentioned that Bai SuiSui had suddenly recovered from his foolishness that he decided to come and see the change with his own eyes.

After all, something that had never happened in his previous life had unexpectedly occurred in this one. Such a deviation was enough to pique even his interest.

He wanted to know whether this unforeseen change would simply remain an insignificant variable...Or whether it would eventually disrupt the plans he had painstakingly prepared. Thus, throughout the remainder of time, he quietly observed Sui Sui’s every movement.

At first, he suspected that another soul had stolen the boy’s body. After all, during the years he had spent within that mysterious space, his horizons had broadened considerably. He had witnessed countless bizarre phenomena, and body possession was hardly an uncommon occurrence in this world.

However, the more he observed, the less convinced he became. First is he could not detect any fluctuation in the other’s soul, usually body possession will leave some traces in the soul when one looked more thoroughly, additionally for someone like him who had been reborn, he was very sensitive to things related to the soul, however so far there was no trace of that at all.

The second reason was, whenever Sui Sui looked at him, those clear eyes were still filled with the same undisguised admiration as in his previous life.

No...If anything, they seemed even more reverent than they had been in his previous life. There wasn’t the slightest hint of unfamiliarity in his words or actions, nor did he appear to be deliberately pretending.

For a moment, even Yizhou found himself unable to reach a conclusion. In the end, he chose not to dwell on the matter any further. Regardless of what had happened. As long as this unexpected variable did not interfere with his plans, he could reluctantly allow the little fool to continue living.

However there was indeed something weird that he noticed from Bai SuiSui.

He didn’t know whether it was merely his imagination, but the little fool seemed to carry an unusually alluring fragrance. It wasn’t the usual scent of incense or medicinal herbs, nor was it the fragrance of flowers.

Rather, it was a scent unique to Sui Sui himself—faint, yet strangely intoxicating. It drifted through the air with the evening breeze, subtle enough that no one else seemed to notice, yet to Yizhou, it was incomparably distinct.

The fragrance was like an invisible hook, quietly tugging at the primal instincts buried deep within him.

For a fleeting moment, an inexplicable impulse surged through his body.

He wanted to pull the other closer...To lower his head

And then consume him completely.

The thought came so suddenly that even Yizhou was momentarily startled. Without realizing it, a faint crimson light flickered across the depths of his eyes before quickly disappearing into the darkness of the night.

Perhaps sensing the intensity of that unwavering gaze, Sui Sui suddenly turned toward where Yizhou was seated.

The moment their eyes met, Sui Sui flashed him a bright, carefree smile, his clear eyes curving into crescents without the slightest hint of wariness.

Yizhou returned the smile just as naturally, his expression remained gentle and composed, giving away nothing.

At this time nobody realized, not even Yizhou himself... But beneath that calm exterior, a strange hunger was quietly beginning to awaken.

—

Footnote

Storage Ring/Storage Pouch/Storage Bag (储物戒 / 储物袋, Chǔwù Jiè / Chǔwù Dài): Magical storage artifacts with an independent space inside, allowing their owners to carry and retrieve items far beyond their physical size.

Fire Fox (火狐, Huǒhú): A magical beast with an affinity or fire. Its fur naturally retains warmth and is often used to craft cold-resistant clothing.

Cold Qi (寒气, Hánqì): Yin-aligned cold energy that can invade the body and hinder cultivation or damage one’s health.

Bodhisattva (菩萨, Púsà): In Buddhism, an enlightened being who embodies great compassion and helps others attain enlightenment. Used figuratively to describe someone exceptionally kind and benevolent.