GRMFBS CH289

The iron railing of the headboard was icy cold, while Xiao Gu’s hand was warm.

Zhan Yan wanted to meet Gu Jiancheng at the earliest, earliest point in time, yet there was such a vast stretch of time separating them.

When the first layer of that multi-layered instance shattered, he had followed Gu Jiancheng—who broke the instance—into the second layer, watching how Gu Jiancheng shattered that second layer of the instance and acquired his skill from the third.

Gu Jiancheng’s mind had been affected when he obtained the skill, causing him to see illusions once again. Flames blazed in the kitchen, and the hometown he could never return to was like a mirage amidst the firelight. Xiao Gu felt like a moth.

The reason Zhan Yan turned into a moth in his dream was that he had been attached to Xiao Gu’s subconscious perspective the entire time.

He had wanted to meet Xiao Gu from the earliest, earliest time and accompany him through those years. Yet, it was just a dream.

Zhan Yan’s breathing involuntarily grew rapid. The hand holding his exerted a bit more strength, steady and reliable, attempting to soothe him.

Zhan Yan felt even more like crying. He opened his eyes wide, slowed his breathing, and slowly swallowed back his tears.

Xiao Gu hadn’t even cried, so why was he crying?

He should be angry.

He was going to destroy Infinite!

Holding Zhan Yan’s hand, the dream Gu Jiancheng had just experienced gradually blurred.

He recalled that instance again, and began to think back to his past—a past he hadn’t revisited for a long time due to the fallout from that instance.

The Monster Doctors embedded in his memory vanished like wrong answers erased from an exam paper with an eraser.

Zhan Yan’s hand reached through the iron railing, right beside his ear, tightly holding his own.

For a moment, Gu Jiancheng felt as though he really had raised a moth. The scale powder gently falling from its wings wiped away all the gloom in his memory, passing through Infinite’s cage to land right by his ear.

Gu Jiancheng’s slender index and middle fingers rested lightly on Zhan Yan’s wrist, feeling the steady thrum of his pulse.

It was a bit fast, very forceful. As if he was angry, driving Gu Jiancheng’s own heartbeat to become fast and forceful as well.

What kind of dream did Yan Yan have?

Unable to guess, Gu Jiancheng could only gently rub that small patch of skin with his fingers, stroke by stroke.

The pulse beneath his fingertips gradually slowed down.

Has Yan Yan recovered a bit from the emotion of that dream? Gu Jiancheng speculated.

But it’s still a bit too tense. Like he’s pondering something. Thinking about things before sleeping leads to insomnia, and… they seem to be unhappy thoughts.

Gu Jiancheng withdrew his fingers and squeezed Zhan Yan’s hand, gently tickling his palm twice.

After a while, Gu Jiancheng heard Zhan Yan’s breathing and heartbeat slow down. Staring at the pitch-black ceiling, he smiled silently.

Turning his head, Gu Jiancheng lightly kissed the back of Zhan Yan’s hand. He closed his eyes and fell asleep peacefully.

After waking up from his dream, Zhan Yan grew increasingly wide awake.

He needed more and more clues and information. The original point of this was to investigate the Monster Doctor. Where did the Monster Doctor go? Could it be that his dream wasn’t finished yet, and the Monster Doctor would only appear later on?

However, his Candle Dragon blessing had been completely drained. The small candle stub had burned out, leaving behind only a small puddle of candle wax.

He would have to message Dad to ask if he could get another blessing from the Candle Dragon. But it was too late right now; he couldn’t message Dad, or his dad would think he was staying up late…

Zhan Yan shifted his gaze to the small puddle of candle wax in his Information Tray.

If I collect this puddle of candle wax and find a new wick for it, would it still work for a while?

While idly pondering, Zhan Yan suddenly felt his hand squeezed gently again, as if urging him to sleep. A finger lay across his palm, lightly drawing two circles, whether intentionally or subconsciously.

Zhan Yan smiled.

He had thought his excited state of mind wouldn’t settle down so easily, but holding Gu Jiancheng’s hand while that finger idly moved in his palm, he couldn’t help but recall the image from his dream where tiny Xiao Gu held out a finger in front of him, expecting him to step onto it.

Closing his eyes, he soon fell asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, Zhan Yan’s arm was numb.

The moment he opened his eyes, he first felt as if he was missing an arm. Then, as he turned his head, his cheek and ear brushed against something cold, smooth, and soft.

A few seconds later, Zhan Yan realized that was his own arm.

Meow it… the blood circulation in this posture has been cut off for too long.

Gu Jiancheng woke up too. Only upon waking did he realize he was still holding Zhan Yan’s hand—a hand that felt both soft and cold.

He was instantly startled awake.

Zhan Yan was trying hard to pull his arm back, but it wasn’t working well, so he had to try using his other arm to move it. This arm wasn’t completely devoid of sensation; touching it yielded a numb awareness. He could already foresee how painful and hard to endure it would be once the blood rushed back in QAQ.

Gu Jiancheng had already cautiously guided Zhan Yan’s arm back through the gap in the railing.

He supported Zhan Yan as he sat up from the bed, letting the arm hang naturally to speed up the blood flow return.

At the moment, day had barely broken, and only a sliver of light filtered through the gap in the curtains. The air was quiet, and bird calls were just beginning. The dorm room was hazy and dim.

By this meager light, Zhan Yan saw Gu Jiancheng’s cautious and remorseful appearance. He couldn’t help but smile, saying in a whispered breath, “I put my hand over there myself.”

His lips twitched twice involuntarily as he spoke.

Sensation had begun returning to the arm with the restored blood flow. A random touch to it… hiss.

Gu Jiancheng didn’t say anything. From a pouch hanging on the wall by the bed, he pulled out a small spray bottle—

[Using the cover of the pouch, Deep Shadow Gu Jiancheng retrieved the painless all-purpose healing spray he had bought long ago from the Sea of Shadows.]

Scrolling back through the gossip entries, this was when Gu Jiancheng realized he lacked healing abilities after Zhan Yan had a fever, leading him to buy various healing props through Wan Shitong. This healing spray was bought together with that diagnostic pen he used to poke Zhan Yan’s forehead.

Zhan Yan looked at the annotation for the all-purpose healing spray in the item description.

Ah, it’s just a numb arm from being pressed on; there’s really no need for a prop of this level.

Fearing that Zhan Yan moving again would bump his arm, Gu Jiancheng leaned over in a very awkward posture and sprayed a ring around Zhan Yan’s arm.

The spray was cool at first, then quickly turned warm, feeling like being soaked in hot water.

Gu Jiancheng gently lifted his hand. His thick, dense eyelashes fluttered open in the morning light, revealing a pair of eyes as deep as if they could suck someone in.

“Does it still feel bad?”

His voice was low and raspy.

Zhan Yan froze for two seconds, his face suddenly flushing red.

He remembered that day at the hotel.

Gu Jiancheng had already lowered his head again, lightly kissing the back of his hand.

The spray had resolved the discomfort caused by the returning blood flow, but the sensations in this arm were still slightly numb and itchy.

After that soft touch on the back of his hand, a numbing itch surged straight through his whole arm, passing his shoulder and reaching his heart.

It… it didn’t seem to be better yet.

In fact, it seemed to have gotten worse, leaving even his chest feeling numb and itchy.

Bao Qingshan yawned as he sat up from his bed. Turning his head, he caught sight of Gu Jiancheng and Zhan Yan in that awkward posture.

“What’s going on?” Bao Qingshan’s brain wasn’t fully awake yet.

Zhan Yan snatched his hand back with a swish and began glaring at Gu Jiancheng.

Gu Jiancheng turned his head and gave Bao Qingshan a dark, heavy look.

Bao Qingshan shuddered, instantly snapping fully awake.

You young couples have really had enough!

There were no classes that morning, but Mom visited and brought Xingxing along. Mom didn’t stay long, but she left Xingxing behind.

“I have some business to attend to over the next few days in Beiling City. Just send Xingxing back before your class starts.”

Zhan Yan blinked, feeling that something was off about this.

Since when did Mom manage company business?

He began scrolling through the gossip entries.

Alright then, it wasn’t just Mom—Dad also intended to use the excuse of filming a show to stay long-term in Beiling City.

Even though he was the only pure support-type in the whole family with zero combat capability, there was no need for this much protection.

How was he supposed to date like this—

So, young couples who showed off their affection excessively really would get their karma.

After thinking it over for a while, Zhan Yan decided to give his parents something to do.

Zhan Yan: [Dad, can you help me get another Candle Dragon’s blessing?]

When Zhan Yunkai received this message, he recalled that before Approaching Science, he had also asked for the Candle Dragon’s blessing. At the time, he had suspected the identity of Approaching Science, and though curious, he had been embarrassed to ask. But now that Approaching Science was his own son, Zhan Yunkai intended to ask properly.

Zhan Yunkai: [What does the Candle Dragon’s blessing do? Why do you only want her blessing?]

Zhan Yan: [It can help me look up older information. I’m currently investigating the Monster Doctor.]

Zhan Yunkai: [I’ll give it a try.]

Zhan Yunkai: [But the Candle Dragon has been sleeping very deeply lately. I reckon it’ll be hard to get a response.]

It didn’t matter; he hadn’t planned on relying purely on the Candle Dragon’s blessing anyway. Asking Dad for help wasn’t entirely for that either.

He had prepared another plan simultaneously: upgrading the Gossip System.

Zhan Yan: [Mom~ Can you get a ready-made list of all the various organizations, big and small?]

Though he phrased it as a question, Zhan Yan knew that the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau definitely had one. With Ning Xi’s control-freak style, if an uninvestigated organization popped up in his territory, Ning Xi wouldn’t be able to sleep well all night.

Ji Yueming readily agreed, asking: [What do you need this list for?]

Zhan Yan briefly explained the ability upgrade like so.

Ji Yueming understood. So Bai Ze’s divine ability needed to be unlocked and restored. Collecting new information was a simple matter. After speaking with Ning Xi, Ji Yueming went straight to the librarian Tu Yue to get the experience pack.

“What do you need these for?” Tu Yue was very curious.

It was rare for a Tianshi to ask for anything, let alone information on so many organizations while only asking for organization names without needing detailed investigation reports—what could this possibly be used for?

Ji Yueming: “For my son.”

Her expression carried a subtle brag. My son is about to get stronger again, heh.

Tu Yue: “Approaching Science…”

Tu Yue felt a bit conflicted. He had always wanted to ask Approaching Science about what was going on with Deep Shadow’s “love-treatment sequelae.”

Ji Yueming: “Are you still investigating how Deep Shadow got rid of his sequelae?”

Tu Yue nodded: “Aren’t you curious?”

Ji Yueming wasn’t curious. Regardless of how Deep Shadow resolved it, it had nothing to do with her anyway.

She waved her hand: “Ask him yourself.”

Zhan Yan finished tasking Dad and then tasking Mom, ensuring both parents were kept busy so they wouldn’t hang around looking for excuses to watch him date all day. Xiao Gu’s vest couldn’t withstand being scrutinized like that. Fortunately, he had already attached the confidentiality star to Gu Jiancheng; otherwise, relying solely on the fake identity made by Wan Shitong, the anomalies in Xiao Gu’s identity would have been dug up long ago.

Dating while wearing a vest was truly hard.

If only there were an opportunity for Deep Shadow to farm some goodwill with his parents.