Plague (5): Two-way running

Tan Xiao slept very soundly this time, until the alarm he had set earlier woke him up at six-thirty. He had taken a day off from his part-time job yesterday but forgot to change the time.

He instinctively reached for his phone on the bedside table, eyes closed, but couldn’t find it. He groped left and right, his elbow brushing against something warm and soft. When his brain finally woke up and he saw the unfamiliar arrangement of the room, he remembered that he wasn’t sleeping in his rented apartment but had ended up in Dr. Wen’s room.

The place where he had just accidentally bumped his hand was probably Dr. Wen’s face. Seeing Wen Yi wake up because of him, Tan Xiao suddenly felt a bit guilty.

Wen Yi saw Tan Xiao half-sitting and looking at him, and rubbed his somewhat drowsy eyes: “What’s wrong?”

Unlike Tan Xiao, who was sleeping soundly, Wen Yi clearly hadn’t slept well last night. The dark circles under his eyes were particularly noticeable against his fair skin.

He took off his gold-rimmed glasses while sleeping. When wearing the glasses, Wen Yi had a gentle and refined appearance. After taking them off, Tan Xiao discovered that Dr. Wen’s eyes were actually very beautiful.

His features weren’t particularly delicate, but they could be described as quite handsome. His greatest asset was his fair skin, but once he took off his glasses, those bright, fox-like eyes instantly enhanced the brightness of his entire face. Without his glasses, Dr. Wen appeared a bit more aggressive than when he wore them.

These were bright and spirited eyes, like the legendary fox spirits, effortlessly captivating and enchanting. Whether he was talking or silent, they had a mesmerizing effect, making one feel slightly entranced.

Wen Yi saw him staring blankly and instinctively touched his own face: “Is there something dirty on my face?”

Tan Xiao suddenly shook his head vigorously, leaning in a bit closer. Up close, Dr. Wen’s eyes weren’t pure black but a very beautiful deep brown: “Dr. Wen, has anyone ever told you that your eyes are particularly beautiful?”

The young man’s slender fingers traced a spiral in the air: “They’re like a whirlpool in the deep sea, and in a flash, they suck my soul right in!”

Wen Yi was clearly someone with thin skin; his cheeks immediately flushed pink, like a ripe peach, rosy and juicy: “You’re exaggerating, I’m not a Dementor.”

“No, no, no, how could Dr. Wen be such a nasty thing as a Dementor?” Tan Xiao couldn’t stand Wen Yi’s disdain. Although a moderate sense of inferiority could make a man more attractive, Dr. Wen deserved more praise, “You’re not a Dementor, you’re a fox spirit.”

Wen Yi: ……

He didn’t think fox spirit was anything nice to say.

Now that he was awake, Tan Xiao stretched lazily and said, “I’m going downstairs to buy breakfast. What do you want to eat?”

He had previously taken a part-time job at a fruit store mainly to naturally greet Wen Yi, but due to the sudden medical disturbance, their relationship had significantly improved. He planned to quit this part-time job that was taking up his time.

Of course, the landlady was still his landlord for now, so Tan Xiao planned to be a bit nicer and maybe buy a few hundred coins’ worth of fruit. But if the landlady was willing to breach the contract to kick him out, that was fine too; he could not only claim the penalty but also play the victim and move in with Dr. Wen.

The landlady might not be happy, but Tan Xiao never lost out.

Wen Yi shook his head: “I’ll go with you.”

He raised his arm, which was fixed with a cast: “I just temporarily injured my hand, so moving around isn’t a big problem.”

Actually, his left hand was his dominant hand. Although his right hand was injured, having breakfast with Tan Xiao was not a problem at all.

“Alright then, let’s each freshen up and meet in half an hour.”

Tan Xiao returned to the neighboring rental apartment. It was the first time he would have breakfast with Dr. Wen Yi, and it was Dr. Wen Yi who had suggested it, so it could be considered their first proper date. He changed several outfits, always feeling that something was not quite right.

The clothes in the suitcase were too few, so today he was going to the mall to buy ten or eight sets of clothes!

In the end, Tan Xiao still wore a white shirt and a pair of light brown wide-leg pants that draped very well. A T-shirt seemed too childish and casual. This classic combination was great; the wide-leg pants added a casual feel, giving a bit of a workplace elite vibe, but not as exaggerated as formal insurance attire.

Mainly, Dr. Wen should also wear a white shirt, so with him dressed like this, it was practically a couple’s outfit!

But half an hour later, when Tan Xiao opened the door, he saw Dr. Wen in the hallway wearing a pure white T-shirt and light-colored jeans. Their shoes were the same, both white sneakers.

Dr. Wen didn’t have glasses on his nose, and at first glance, he looked like a young college student just stepping onto campus.

When he saw Tan Xiao, his cheeks inexplicably started to flush again: “Am I dressed too young?”

Wen Yi usually wore a white shirt with loose black pants, but today, after washing up and changing clothes, he inexplicably dug out the old clothes buried at the back of his wardrobe.

After all, he was twenty-seven this year, while Tan Xiao was only eighteen. Being with such a vibrant high school student, he always worried about appearing too old. Unexpectedly, Tan Xiao deliberately dressed more maturely today.

“No, no,” Tan Xiao sincerely praised, “What do you mean by trying to look young? Dr. Wen, you are already very young, and it’s hot weather, so you should wear short sleeves.”

The shirt he was wearing was also one of those particularly breathable and lightweight short-sleeve shirts. They both wore short sleeves and light-colored pants, so rounding it off, they were like a couple dressed in matching outfits!

“Doctor Wen, how high is your prescription? Does it affect you if you don’t wear glasses?”

Wen Yi shook his head, “Not very high, about two or three hundred degrees.”

He was more accustomed to wearing framed glasses, but when he looked in the mirror, the image of Tan Xiao praising his good-looking eyes in the morning came to mind, so he put down the framed glasses and took out the rarely worn daily contacts.

Anyway, he couldn’t perform surgery in the next few days, so there was no need to worry about the slight difference in his contact lens prescription affecting accuracy.

While at the breakfast shop, he noticed that many customers were wearing masks, and a lot of them were coughing.

Tan Xiao frowned and quietly said to Wen Yi, “The flu is really bad lately. How about we get takeout and eat at home?”

The tables in the breakfast shop weren’t very far apart, and it always felt like the spit from other customers could fly onto the plates of the people at the next table.

Wen Yi nodded, “Okay.”

Tan Xiao’s appetite was just average, and in the end, he packed a bag of frozen yogurt, a marinated tea egg, and two pickled vegetable buns.

Wen Yi wanted the same as him, but Tan Xiao reminded him, “The pickled vegetable buns are a bit spicy, which isn’t good for your wound recovery. You can have two steamed buns instead.”

Wen Yi replied with an “Oh,” and obediently changed his order, “Then I’ll have two steamed buns.”

The breakfast shop owner, who knew Wen Yi, was packing breakfast while saying, “Dr. Wen, your brother cares about you so much. You two brothers have such a good relationship.”

Tan Xiao corrected him, “I’m not his brother, I’m his future boyfriend.”

Previously, he had said he was a suitor, but since Dr. Wen didn’t refuse his offer to share a bed yesterday and even took the initiative to invite him today, Tan Xiao felt he was just one step away from becoming his official boyfriend.

The breakfast shop owner’s smile suddenly became a bit stiff, but being in business, he had seen and heard a lot. No wonder Dr. Wen didn’t have a partner; it turned out he liked men.

The boss glanced at Tan Xiao’s face, which was more outstanding than many big stars. This face, this figure, this temperament, and this age—no wonder Dr. Wen had such high standards when it came to finding a partner.

He forced a smile and gave Tan Xiao a thumbs-up: “Dr. Wen is really impressive, keep it up!”

Although Tan Xiao was young and good-looking, Dr. Wen was a well-known golden bachelor in their area. After all, Huaxi Hospital was the largest hospital in the region, and the 27-year-old chief physician was said to be the youngest PhD graduate from a prestigious university.

If it really worked out, it would be the big news in their area for tea-time gossip.

Tan Xiao nodded earnestly: “I’ll work hard.”

He was quite serious, but Wen Yi’s face was already flushed red beside him.

The breakfast shop was right next to the fruit store. After buying breakfast, Tan Xiao went to the fruit store to quit his job, with Wen Yi holding the breakfast and following him in.

When they saw Aunt Zhao, Tan Xiao immediately said, “Aunt Zhao, I have something to do suddenly. I originally said I would work part-time for two months, but I’ve decided not to anymore. Could you settle my part-time wages for the past few days?”

The boss lady, Aunt Zhao, looked up at him with a somewhat dazed expression and said, “Huh?”

Tan Xiao reminded her, “You forgot, I’ve worked for six days, five hours a day, totaling 600 spirit coins.”

“Aunt Zhao, why are you acting a bit strange today? You’re nothing like your usual self.” Usually, Aunt Zhao was very warm and welcoming, but today she seemed like a different person.

In Aunt Zhao’s mind, the system’s prompt sounded: [Warning, current character role-playing degree deviated, you are currently being unspeakably observed, please respond quickly, otherwise the system will eliminate the player within five seconds.]

Each player’s panel had a character deviation progress bar, and if it exceeded 60, there was a risk of exposure. Aunt Zhao, who sold fruit, was temporarily replaced by a male player last night.

The system didn’t provide the original owner’s memories at all. He learned about his identity early on through messages from his family on his phone and came to work with a stiff upper lip. After all, staying at home posed a greater risk of exposure.

Customers buying fruit wouldn’t question that he had been replaced. Who knew this part-time employee was so perceptive?

Even more inexplicable was that with just one sentence, his green deviation value shot up to red, reaching a high-risk level of eighty, and he even got a negative buff. Under the indescribable gaze, his originally full sanity value of 100 plummeted.

The masked “Aunt Zhao” fumbled through the cash register drawer and pulled out some money: “I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, and I was too busy today, so I forgot for a moment. I remembered now, and I definitely won’t delay your part-time wages.”

He then noticed that Tan Xiao was exceptionally good-looking, just like someone who had walked out of a comic. With looks like that, he must be a particularly important NPC with a storyline in the game. Give the NPC a bit more money to quickly dispel any doubts about him!

Tan Xiao looked at the stack of cash that had been shoved into his hands, counted out 600 from it, and shoved the rest back. “600 is enough, I won’t take more.”

What a joke, did he look like the kind of person who would try to take advantage? Besides, Dr. Wen was watching, he definitely wouldn’t take an extra cent.

Tan Xiao smoothly collected his wages and then forgot about Aunt Zhao, not bothering to dwell on her strange behavior. As long as the money was in hand, that was all that mattered.

Tan Xiao looked around the store at the fruits and finally bought a bag of peaches and a round, seedless watermelon: “Dr. Wen, how about we have some chilled watermelon for lunch? We can share it half and half.” In this scorching summer heat, there’s nothing better than chilled watermelon!

He wanted to eat the peach himself because it reminded him of Dr. Wen he saw in the morning.

The latter naturally shifted his gaze back to the smiling face: “Okay.”

Perhaps because of the life-saving grace, or perhaps for some other reason, the seemingly gentle yet actually aloof Dr. Wen became very approachable.

As the two figures disappeared from her sight, “Aunt Zhao” let out a sigh of relief and slumped into her seat!

[You dispelled the natives’ suspicions, and the unspeakable gaze shifted away]

Accompanied by the system’s prompt sound, the crisis was averted, but just from that one unspeakable gaze, his sanity panel dropped by 40!

“Scared me to death!” If there were a few more like that, he would fail the game! What kind of fruit store was he running? He should hurry up and sell off all the fruits in the store at a discount; he needed to close the store for a month to rest!