Chapter 27: Can You Kiss Me Then?
The little tree-stump house was cramped and so quiet that they could hear each other breathing.
Dong Li slowly came back to his senses.
His cheeks were still bright red as he looked nervously at Lufiel.
How did he just… kiss him like that?
Dong Li hadn’t been prepared at all.
And they had never kissed that way before…
Lufiel lowered his eyes.
They were still so close that all he had to do was lean forward a fraction and they could continue where they left off.
At this distance, the system should normally have issued another warning.
Perhaps because he had only just received a red warning, though, Lufiel simply couldn’t initiate any further intimacy. He didn’t seem to be required to move away either.
Dong Li hadn’t resisted.
Aside from being dazed and at a loss, he looked perfectly willing.
The way he licked his lips even seemed like an invitation for Lufiel to continue.
But they were inside a hidden area.
The half-demons were still busy gathering herbs, and if Lufiel’s coordinates were exposed now—even as a vague range—it would draw plenty of players into the Illusion Forest.
The truth medicine also seemed to be having some other effect.
Lufiel tightened his arm around Dong Li’s waist, forcibly suppressing himself as he leaned back with Dong Li still in his embrace.
Dong Li ended up sitting on his lap.
He lowered his head and buried his face against Lufiel’s neck, the tips of his ears beneath his golden hair burning red.
The position was even more intimate than before.
Only layers of clothing separated their body heat.
Dong Li worked hard to calm his breathing.
Dazedly, he thought that after being apart for so long, his boyfriend seemed to have changed quite a bit…
If Lufiel had kissed and hugged him like this before, Dong Li probably never would have thought he was cold.
After a while, Dong Li finally stopped feeling quite so embarrassed.
He slowly lifted his head.
He tried to straighten up a little, but Lufiel murmured beside his ear, “Don’t move.”
His arm was still locked firmly around Dong Li’s waist, refusing to loosen even slightly.
“Rongrong, let me hold you,” Lufiel continued. “The game system has restrictions. I can’t initiate too much.”
Dong Li stared at him blankly, violet eyes filled with confusion.
But the truth medicine was still in effect.
Lufiel couldn’t be lying.
So Dong Li obediently stayed still, merely adjusting himself a little in their intimate position before looking at him.
“What do you mean…?”
Lufiel lowered his head, unconsciously breathing in Dong Li’s soft exhale as he explained, “It’s part of the system’s protection for all NPCs.”
Most NPCs in the game were attractive, and the full-dive simulation was highly realistic.
So even if a player formed a partnership with an NPC, they still weren’t allowed to cross certain boundaries.
“NPC… I know. I’m an NPC, and you’re a player.” Dong Li tried to work through it. “So you’re not allowed to…”
So that was why Lufiel had never initiated hugs or kisses when they were dating?
Was that why he had always seemed so distant?
Dong Li had read a few posts on the forum before.
He vaguely remembered seeing something about this.
“But…” The blush still hadn’t faded from his face. Dong Li hesitated. “You just…”
“Just now,” Lufiel paused, “I received one warning.”
Dong Li’s eyes widened.
“A warning… What happens?”
“If I receive two severe warnings, my coordinates are immediately made public,” Lufiel said. “And I become red-named and wanted.”
Some of the player’s real information, including their name, would also be exposed.
With so many people across the server, some players feared that kind of consequence.
Others didn’t care.
Dong Li frowned delicately as he thought.
He could vaguely understand why the restriction existed.
But…he and Lufiel were dating.
Why did it still apply to them?
Halfway through that thought, Dong Li suddenly remembered something.
Lufiel had gone red-name once before.
People on the forum had mentioned it.
So Dong Li asked.
Lufiel was silent for a moment before answering,
“Yes.”
“In… the Fuling Region?”
“Mm.”
Dong Li already had a faint suspicion why.
Still, he couldn’t help asking, “What did you do?”
“I entered the alchemy hut too many times,” Lufiel answered calmly. “And restricted an NPC’s movement too many times.”
Different behaviors were counted differently by the system.
Not long after the open beta began, Dong Li’s former consciousness had disappeared and he had become an ordinary NPC.
Lufiel had endured it for several days, waiting.
Eventually, he couldn’t bear it anymore.
With no other option, he had thought that perhaps if he pushed past the system’s restrictions, something might change.
The final violation that pushed him over the limit happened in the rear mountains of the Fuling Region.
Lufiel had trapped Dong Li inside a sword-aura barrier for an entire hour.
Fortunately, the rear mountain area was enormous.
Other players occasionally passed through.
So even after Lufiel’s coordinates were made public, no one saw exactly what he had done.
No one discovered Dong Li’s unusual existence.
Dong Li opened his mouth.
“You…”
He remembered none of it.
A pang of sympathy rose in his chest, and he couldn’t help wrapping his arms tighter around Lufiel.
“Rongrong,” Lufiel continued, “I can’t cross those boundaries. But you’re different.”
Dong Li looked up.
“Me?”
“Mm.” Lufiel’s voice was low and slow. “The system won’t restrict you. You can do whatever you want.”
It sounded almost as though he were saying—Dong Li could do whatever he wanted to Lufiel.
Dong Li blinked, still only half understanding.
“Really?”
He raised a hand and experimentally pinched Lufiel’s cheek.
His cool palm pressed against Lufiel’s face.
Lufiel watched him intently.
“Rongrong,” he coaxed softly, “kiss me again?”
Dong Li understood.
Lufiel wanted him to initiate it.
His heartbeat immediately sped up again.
Did he mean…kiss like they had just now?
But Dong Li didn’t know how…
The blush that had finally begun to fade returned full force.
Dong Li gathered his courage, leaned forward, and kissed him.
His lips touched Lufiel’s.
Just a brief press.
Then he immediately pulled back.
Apparently deciding that really wasn’t enough, Dong Li leaned in and kissed him a second time.
This time, he was a little bolder.
Following instinct, he gave Lufiel’s lips a tiny lick.
It still couldn’t really be called a kiss.
It was more like the affectionate nuzzling of a spoiled kitten.
When Dong Li pulled away again, Lufiel’s Adam’s apple moved.
His breathing grew heavier.
He was barely holding himself back.
But now truly wasn’t the right time.
Even if Lufiel didn’t care about becoming wanted, they should at least wait until the half-demons finished preparing and they had left this place.
Dong Li buried his face against him again and waited for his heartbeat to settle.
He still didn’t really know how to kiss.
If he had a choice, he would much rather have Lufiel kiss him…
But because of the system restrictions, Lufiel couldn’t.
If his coordinates were exposed after he became wanted, they would probably end up surrounded just like in Northern Dark Forest.
Though Heidan and Yuanbao were still nearby…
Dong Li didn’t like this system restriction very much.
Even so, he was happy.
He had finally learned so many things he never knew before.
For example—his boyfriend really did like him.
The truth medicine should still be working.
Dong Li raised his head again and couldn’t resist asking, “Lulu, do you think I’m too clingy?”
“No.”
Dong Li leaned comfortably against him, tracing the pattern along the edge of Lufiel’s collar with one fingertip.
“Then what do you like about me?”
“You’re cute. Pretty. Clingy.”
Dong Li became even happier.
He leaned over and kissed Lufiel on the cheek.
“I like you too,” he mumbled. “I like Lulu the most.”
Lufiel asked, “What do you like about me?”
“You’re handsome,” Dong Li answered with his usual straightforward honesty. “I fell for Lulu the moment I saw you.”
Dong Li had told him the same thing before.
Granted, the first time they met, Lufiel had accidentally touched Rongrong’s tail, and Dong Li had gotten angry enough to throw stones at him.
But later, whenever they spent time together, Dong Li never hid how much he liked him.
He was always clinging to Lufiel.
At least, that was how Dong Li remembered it.
Which was why he had always thought he was the one who pursued Lufiel.
Lufiel lowered his eyes and gave a quiet acknowledgment.
His gaze remained fixed on Dong Li’s fair, flushed face for a long time.
Holding Dong Li this closely helped ease some of the impulse—but it was also an extremely dangerous distance.
Even so, Lufiel didn’t let go.
Almost entranced, he breathed in Dong Li’s warm breaths and watched his thick lashes tremble.
The two of them stayed alone in the little wooden house for a long time.
The truth medicine was nearly wearing off.
Outside, the sunlight had dimmed slightly.
Rongrong had already explored nearly the entire settlement.
At one point, it wandered back with Heidan and Yuanbao in tow, followed by several curious half-demons.
The little group stopped beneath the vine stump and looked up at the house for a moment.
Then Rongrong led everyone away again without disturbing them.
Inside the wooden house, Lufiel gently stroked Dong Li’s golden hair.
“Rongrong, should we do the partnership quest again?”
“Partnership?” Dong Li asked curiously. “What’s a partnership quest…?”
He understood the words individually.
But not quite what they meant together.
Dong Li thought about it.
Then his violet eyes slowly brightened.
“If we finish it…” he asked, “will you be allowed to kiss me?”
Author’s Note:
Lufiel: Patience is approaching its absolute limit.
