Give Me A Smile!

Due to the sheer size of the entire floor, it took Jin Jiuchi, Tang Ye and Xinxin the whole morning to sweep it.

Jin Jiuchi wiped the sweat on his forehead and beamed in satisfaction when he looked at the clean floor. "Oh, we're faster than I expected! Do you think we will be able to get everything done in less than six days? What if we really finish it? Does it mean we can leave this place earlier?"

Tang Ye and Xinxin looked hesitant. Tang Ye took the lead to answer, "I don't really know about that, Brother Yang. In my first Cycle, we needed to stay in a secluded village for three days and learn their unique art of tea ceremony. In the end, we barely managed to master it within the allocated time. What about you?" he asked Xinxin.

Under Tang Ye and Jin Jiuchi's curious stare, Xinxin showed a nervous look and tugged on her bangs clipped by the cyan blue hairpin. "Um, as for me… I was transported into a tropical forest. I… and the others had to rush to the other side of the forest to get a flag, and then hurried back again before nightfall…"

Tang Ye exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "So, your first Cycle lasted only for a day? How nice!"

Xinxin's expression turned bitter, presumably recalling some unpleasant memories. "There's nothing nice about it…"

Jin Jiuchi rubbed his chin in contemplation, his gaze darting between Xinxin and Tang Ye back and forth. A secluded village and a tropical rainforest… did it mean that Jin Jiuchi would also get a chance to visit many more places after this? Ohoho, how could this place be so interesting?! Jin Jiuchi still had no clear idea what the 'Cycle' was, but one thing for sure, he was so ready to go to new places and meet all kinds of people!

Even though there were annoying people like Sister Hong, didn't the Cycle also allow him to meet such an ethereal and beautiful Nian?

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the jade doll who was sitting so primly and elegantly on the plain wooden chair, only to realize that the jade doll had been staring at him since God-knows-when. As soon as their eyes collided in midair, Jin Jiuchi flashed him a million-watt smile, causing Nian's purple eyes to widen subtly before he turned his head away.

Jin Jiuchi's smile instantly faded to a pout. How could Nian look away once their eyes met? Wasn't it common sense to offer another smile in return?! Come to think of it, he did not recall ever seeing the jade doll smile…

"Nian'er! Nian'er!" Jin Jiuchi bounded toward Nian and bent his waist to see the jade doll's exquisite face better. Once again, Jin Jiuchi was awed by how stunning he was. Every inch of his face seemed to have been carved to perfection to highlight the best part of his features; the gentle yet sharp arc of his brows, the adorable slope of his nose, the lips that were always pressed into tight lines. But most of all, Jin Jiuchi's favorite was his long and thick silver lashes that framed a pair of the most unique and breathtaking eyes he had ever seen.

"W–What do you want?" Startled, Nian leaned backward to put some distance between them, eyes wide in surprise. This crazy pervert couldn't have realized how he had been ogling on him, right…

"Nian'er, give me a smile!" Jin Jiuchi put two fingers on the corner of his curved lips as a demonstration. "Come on, just like this~"

"...Huh?" Too taken aback by the request that came out of nowhere, Nian could not react for a while.

Seeing him putting on a blank face, Jin Jiuchi clicked his tongue impatiently and reached out to help Nian stretch the corner of his lips. "Come on, smile~"

Alas, before his fingers could even make contact with those beautiful lips, Nian instantly bristled like a cat whose tail was being stepped on and slapped Jin Jiuchi's dirty paws away. "Don't touch me!"

Jin Jiuchi clutched his hands to his chest with an extremely wounded look. "Nian'er, how can you be so violent?!"

Nian froze. It suddenly dawned on him that he had overreacted this time. He already knew that this man was a weirdo who would come up with the weirdest idea at random times, so why would he get so worked up? Alas, could anyone blame him though? Who told Jin Jiuchi to be so touchy-feely?! His own sexual orientation and the fact of how gorgeous this annoying man was did nothing to help either!

Refusing to back down, Nian turned his head away with a harrumph. "What are you talking about with the two of them?" He tried to shift the topic.

Sure enough, Jin Jiuchi was instantly distracted. He told Nian enthusiastically, "Oh, we're talking about their first Cycle. It seems like I haven't heard you talk about it before. How about you, Nian'er? What kind of Cycle have you gone through before this? Is it more exciting than a secluded village and a tropical rainforest?"

The kind of Cycle he had gone through…

Nian fell into a daze as the relentless sound of crashing waves faintly echoed in his ears. Silver lighting struck above his head, illuminating the deadly creatures swimming below his feet. He struggled to keep afloat, the salty taste of ocean water and blood choking his throat. All around him were shrill screams of despair, players crying out for help and mercy only for their words to be cut off abruptly when the nightmare creature dragged them down to the belly of the ocean…

"Nian'er…" A sudden warmth enveloped him, pulling him out of the vortex of memory. Nian gasped and his vacant eyes immediately regained focus. And the very first thing he registered was the scorching heat from the body that was hugging him tight, dispersing the chills that permeated his limbs.

So hot and stuffy. It kinda felt like… being smothered by a huge husky.

"Nian'er, Nian'er…" Jin Jiuchi nuzzled his face into the crook of Nian's neck and sniffed him lightly. "You smell like fear, Nian'er. Are you thinking of something horrible? It's okay, everything will be okay…"

Nian was still reeling from the horror triggered by the reminder of the worst day of his life and that's why he was slow to react when Jin Jiuchi started to rock them back and forth like he would a crying baby. What the hell was this man doing? Moreover, he even knew how to comfort someone?

Torn between laughter and tears, Nian thumped Jin Jiuchi lightly on the back and said in a muffled voice, "Let go." How could someone's temperature be so high? He was going to be suffocated by the heat!

"But Nian'er… you're afraid."

Nian scoffed. "Well, not anymore. Hurry and let me go. Aren't you embarassed? Everyone is looking at us!"

Jin Jiuchi made a hum of protest that vibrated from deep within his chest. Nian could vividly feel it from where his arms were pressed against the man's chest. He could also perceive the man's powerful heartbeat and the overly warm exhale that fanned his neck…

Jin Jiuchi drew back and regarded him with genuine concern. "Are you really okay?"

Nian did not see this kind of concern coming from him when Old Guan met his demise. Hell, he didn't even know that Jin Jiuchi was capable of showing such a serious look. The man's unusually sharp silver eyes fell on him like a warm ray of sunlight, causing his face to redden slightly.

"I told you I'm fine!" He pushed Jin Jiuchi away, huffing and puffing.

Fortunately, before Jin Jiuchi could say anything more, Nian caught the landlady appearing from the staircase.

"Good evening, everyone. I can see that you have been working hard to clean the place. Nice work," she praised them with a flat tone and dead eyes, making it so that the players could not even feel an ounce of happiness from it.

Madam Liu continued to say, "Lunch is ready. Please come to the dining hall to get it."

"Lunch!" Jin Jiuchi shot up to his feet, his eyes shining in joy. He turned to the jade doll and offered his hand, beaming so bright that it could rival the sun. "Let's go, Nian'er!"