The young stepson stared directly at Yu Deng. His words sounded like an inevitable vow, and also like a provocation aimed at an unseen competitor.
Cheng Xiao watched Yu Deng without blinking, eagerly anticipating his reaction.
Would he feel offended by the younger generation's disrespect, or would he naturally accept it?
Regardless of Yu Deng's reaction, Cheng Xiao's thoughts remained unchanged. At this moment, he was extremely excited to voice his innermost desires.
Yu Deng took a few seconds to react, finally understanding Cheng Xiao's meaning.
His round, beautiful eyes filled with anger, and his voice raised a few notches in disbelief. "You actually consider me an inheritance."
Yu Deng lifted his chin and snorted, "You can't talk about me like that."
Like a proud, yet somewhat clumsy and spoiled kitten, he meowed angrily at the bad human.
It made people want to scoop him up and cuddle him.
Cheng Xiao paused and agreed, "You're right."
"You are a treasure."
Yu Deng was a little satisfied with that, and casually remarked, "And your kissing skills are really terrible. It hurts."
Cheng Xiao: "…"
He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll practice properly."
Yu Deng didn't realize he had said something provocative.
After reprimanding the arrogant stepson who called him an inheritance, Yu Deng pushed his shoulder, telling him not to block the way.
The other players had already started to leave. Cheng Xiao didn't want others to see Yu Deng in such a lively manner, so he naturally picked him up.
"Oh, right." After walking a few meters, Yu Deng suddenly remembered the yearbook he saw last night and decided to remind Cheng Xiao, who was also a player. "You might..."
"Hmm?"
Yu Deng said, "It's nothing. It's just that you might not be a biological child of the Cheng family."
After saying this, Yu Deng glanced at his stepson's reaction, noticing that he was unfazed and just nodded indifferently.
"Okay, I understand," Cheng Xiao said.
It was probably some hidden story in the background setting, not a big deal. Whether or not he was biologically related to his deceased father, he wouldn't give up on Yu Deng.
Cheng Xiao smoothly shifted the topic back to the Cheng family's murder case. Yu Deng couldn't come up with anything and complained for the umpteenth time in his mind.
"Seriously, even if they don't want to involve the police, keeping everyone in their rooms would make it easier to figure out who went out to commit the crime."
Now it was all a mess.
"Because they can't swallow their pride."
Hearing this voice, Yu Deng suddenly looked up and realized he had been muttering out loud. The one who answered him was Cheng Wenhao.
This person was already somewhat frail, and after staying up all night for the vigil, his eyes were dark and his steps unsteady. The few steps from the door to the stairs seemed like a struggle, as if he could be blown away by the wind. His bent and exhausted appearance made him look even weaker than his fiancée.
Yu Deng nodded to Cheng Wenhao and Lin Ziyue, who were walking towards him.
Cheng Wenhao pulled a wry smile, "Keeping those concubines locked up would be worse than killing them, right? After all, they've been noble ladies for so many years. How could they be willing to be treated like suspects and prisoners? Just like Grandpa, almost seventy years old and still unwilling to let go of power."
Realizing his words were inappropriate, he closed his mouth with a hint of frustration.
But Yu Deng understood his implied meaning for once.
At this age, Old Master Cheng was still in power, simply because he couldn't let go of the authority and prestige of running a big family. It was quite rare to see a family where two generations still had to call someone "Young Master" and "Young Miss" because of the patriarch's advanced age.
Yu Deng carefully examined this nephew and hesitated to ask such a question in front of Miss Lin. Cheng Xiao, however, had no reservations and directly asked Cheng Wenhao, "Did you really sleep that long the day before yesterday?"
Cheng Wenhao's face turned green, "Brother, why are you asking the same question as those guests? I did mess up, but there's no need to lie about it."
Lin Ziyue tugged at his sleeve, and the two of them said no more, returning to their room to rest.
Yu Deng and Cheng Xiao went to the parlor to have breakfast with the other players.
After a few days of interaction, the players confirmed Yu Deng as a harmless, friendly NPC and usually didn't avoid him anymore.
The breakfast was plain porridge, very light and watery. The group didn't dare to complain, burying their heads in the bowls. The office worker and the designer girl were eating bread.
Cheng Xiao barely ate, staring at Yu Deng the whole time.
Yu Deng was clearly dissatisfied with the breakfast. He ate elegantly, but after a few bites, he was just sipping the porridge slowly.
His soft pink lips moved continuously, gently touching and emitting a moist shine.
Cheng Xiao's gaze hardly ever left them.
"Who knows if something will happen today," sighed a player. "Actually, aside from the first day, it's been like watching a scripted drama unfold."
"Don't let your guard down."
After breakfast, Yu Deng, followed by Cheng Xiao, walked to the inner door of the mansion and saw two servants wiping down the furniture.
Yu Deng recognized them; they were the ones chatting the night he kept vigil.
When chatty NPCs appear in a mystery setting, they're usually there to reveal information to the players.
Yu Deng and Cheng Xiao exchanged a glance, then silently walked a bit further away before sneaking back to eavesdrop. Yu Deng perked up his ears, trying to catch what they were saying.
As expected, his intuition was right; the two servants began to chat.
"You brought breakfast to the young master and Miss Lin, didn't you?"
"I did. They're really close. The young master even wanted to cool her food for her."
"You probably don't know, but they have quite a story. Miss Lin, being beautiful, was harassed at school, and it was our young master who saved her. They fell in love and decided to marry."
"Really? What a pity now."
Yu Deng listened while pondering. It seemed the players had gathered similar information.
The servant lowered his voice.
"The young master really wants to inherit the Cheng family estate. After all, he's a direct descendant, but the old master thinks of him only as a grandson. When it comes to heirs, Young Master Chaolin is the truly talented one."
"Shh, the old master said we shouldn't mention that young master."
"Oh, right. But the day before yesterday afternoon, I think I saw the young master go to the old master's room."
"Really?"
"He just looked similar. I'm not sure."
Yu Deng was puzzled.
But Cheng Wenhao kept insisting he was asleep and didn't go out. Who was lying?
Perhaps these two chatty NPCs were today's clues, but it could also be that they were annoyed by the players' questions. The NPCs' attitudes were much worse than the previous days, leaving the players frustrated and without new information by the end of the day.
The sky outside darkened once again, marking the third night in the dungeon.
Yu Deng, who was injured yesterday, found washing painful, so he had only managed a quick rinse. Tonight, he couldn't bear it any longer.
Ugh, he felt dirty.
Having had no incidents in the bathroom the past two nights, Yu Deng was now fully confident in the system's assurance that his special status would prevent him from being attacked first.
He grabbed a new bathrobe and headed in.
It's worth noting that yesterday, Yu Deng had found a chance to ask the butler about getting some underwear. Now, his wardrobe finally had a few new items of intimate apparel.
Otherwise, he'd have to wear his stepson's ill-fitting clothes again.
The bathroom lights were a warm orange hue, slightly dimmer than those in the room. Yu Deng hung up his bathrobe and casually tossed his dirty clothes into the nearby laundry basket.
Hot water cascaded from the shower above. Yu Deng initially shivered from the sting of water on his wound but soon relaxed, enjoying the comfort of a hot shower.
In the bedroom next to the bathroom, It appeared once more.
Today, the figure was a bit more solid, barely discernible as a vague black shadow. But when the shadow tried to reveal facial features, it was as if they were repelled, failing to manifest.
Only when it was transparent and invisible did its features become clear.
Ignoring this, It slipped into the bathroom.
The bathroom lights flickered briefly, then dimmed.
The hot water had been running for a few minutes, filling the bathroom with humid steam and a sweet, soft fragrance in every corner.
The small beauty in the center of the bathroom had his back to the shadow. His entire body was snow-white, with a slender waist and legs, yet certain areas were plump and full of flesh.
When he inadvertently turned slightly, it became clear that he wasn't entirely snow-white; his slightly parted lips were tinged with red, and two small points on his body were a deep crimson.
It watched Yu Deng, its gaze both obsessive and lewd.
As Yu Deng continued washing, he suddenly shivered and asked in confusion, "System, why do I feel so cold all of a sudden?"
The system: […It's normal.]
Yu Deng: "???" . What's normal about this?
In the next second, he noticed the room dimming significantly, and he shivered from the cold.
He was suddenly embraced from behind by something cold and unknown.
Yu Deng froze, his legs trembling. "A-Are you here for me?"
The presence didn't speak, merely lowered its head and lightly licked the wound on Yu Deng's shoulder blade.
So cold, so ticklish.
Yu Deng bit his lip, the corners of his eyes turning a delicate shade of blush.
He didn't dare look back, staring only at the wall in front of him, where he saw a large, shadowy figure.
Ugh, this strange shadow must be a ghost, right?
Yu Deng was terrified. "System, didn't you say they wouldn't usually notice me first?"
[Yes, under normal circumstances.]
Hearing the system start to categorize, Yu Deng knew something was wrong.
[This is a special case. If they are inherently interested in you, or their interest far exceeds the system's suppression of your presence, they will find you precisely.]
Yu Deng felt brushed off and pouted, "You didn't tell me there could be special cases."
[That was my oversight. But don't worry too much; it has no aggressive intentions towards you.]
Really?
Meanwhile, the shadow, displeased with Yu Deng's distraction, lightly bit the uninjured shoulder.
"Ow!" Yu Deng couldn't help but push back, feeling the coldness, and then shrank back timidly.
He asked softly, "So, who are you?"
The shadow seemed to say something, but it was as if it was isolated in another space, and Yu Deng couldn't hear anything.
It was no longer human. Hugging the fragrant and beautiful little wife, instinct had long overpowered reason, guiding its actions.
The shadow licked and bit chaotically, trying its best to leave marks.
Yu Deng couldn't take the biting anymore. Realizing the shadow didn't intend to harm him, he bravely turned around.
The shadow had a humanoid shape, but its features were obscured by the mist, making it hard to see or communicate with.
Yu Deng's voice carried a hint of a sob as he scolded, "You- you can't move around like that. It hurts."
The shadow reluctantly stopped.
"Always biting me, are you all dogs?"
The shadow was momentarily enraged by the word "all," but then stilled at Yu Deng's next words.
Yu Deng frowned, speaking softly, "Even if you're dogs, I only want obedient good dogs, not bad ones."
The shadow paused for a long time.
After a while, it lowered its head and licked Yu Deng's cheek in a gentle, appeasing manner.
"Don't bother me while I'm bathing," Yu Deng continued to make demands.
The shadow was silent for even longer, then actually retreated a little.
Yu Deng quickly turned back around and continued his shower.
Water droplets slid from his neck, down his spine, and then fell to the floor, but a few of them vanished silently.
Behind him, where Yu Deng couldn't see, the shadow's throat moved, its eyes showing satisfaction.