Pretend to be crazy

The first thing to awaken was his senses.

As soon as Blaze regained consciousness, he controlled his muscles to remain relaxed so as not to wake Shen Yan. At the same time, he carefully regulated his breathing. His eyes moved downward, taking in the sight of Shen Yan, who was sleeping soundly, resting his head on his arm.

Shen Yan had outstanding bone structure—every inch of his face, from his brow bone to his nose bridge to his jawline, was perfect. His brick-red lips were slightly parted, and his warm breath, along with the gentle brush of his slightly long hair, tickled Blaze’s collarbone. It was itchy, but he had no energy to pay attention to the sensation.

His gaze swept over Shen Yan, from his jawline to the side of his neck, then down to his chest, where red marks bloomed.

Some were from bites. Others from kisses.

Shen Yan’s skin was fair—a healthy, luminous kind of white with a faint undertone of flesh pink. Blaze’s eyes locked onto the bite mark on his shoulder, and his mouth filled with saliva, as if his teeth were truly sinking into that piece of flesh, feeling its warmth and texture between his lips.

Yesterday… what had happened?

He and Shen Yan…

His heart pounded like a drum. Fragments of memory flashed chaotically through his mind.

He had kissed Shen Yan. Held him. Shen Yan had reconciled with him, coaxed him to sleep. But he hadn’t been satisfied. He had desperately licked him, begged like a coward for Shen Yan to love him just a little more.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

How humiliating.

It was disgraceful. He didn’t want to admit that had been him.

And yet, Shen Yan had indulged him.

He was so kind.

Why was he so good to him?

As he pondered, a vague idea slowly became clear.

Maybe… Shen Yan truly loved him.

His eyes lifted. Viewing all their past interactions through the lens of “Shen Yan loves me” suddenly made everything make sense—his kindness, his possessiveness, his instinct to protect him.

A lover.

Shen Yan was his lover.

So, they had already been in love all along.

His lips curved into a faint smile. He readily accepted this new relationship between them.

Shen Yan had faint shadows under his eyes. His lowered lashes cast a fan-like shadow on his under-eyes, making him look somewhat fragile.

The cold war over the past few days must have taken a toll on him too.

The thought that someone had lost sleep and peace of mind because of him made Blaze feel both guilty and tender—yet, at the same time, a secret delight stirred within him.

He would apologize to him.

Progress with Mobius had been accelerating lately, as if some invisible hand was assisting him.

Soon, he and Shen Yan would finally be able to go somewhere that belonged to only them.

Blaze moved his head slowly, burying his nose in Shen Yan’s soft hair, inhaling the fresh scent of his shampoo. Surrounded by warmth and contentment, he drifted back into sleep.

When he woke again, Shen Yan was standing at the bedside, back turned, getting dressed.

The curtains were drawn, filtering the simulated sunlight from outside. The softened light diffused gently into the room, while a thin beam of morning light seeped through a gap in the curtains, casting a sacred glow on Shen Yan’s turned profile.

The loose black sweater he pulled over his head fell into place, draping over his firm, narrow waist.

“You’re awake?” He ran a hand through his hair. His hair grew fast—after staying in district Seven for a couple of months post-disembarkment, the ends had already reached his shoulders. The overgrown bangs poked at his eyes. “Little Blaze doesn’t know how to cut hair. You could—”

Shen Yan paused, swallowing the rest of his sentence.

Blaze also got out of bed.

He moved naturally, stepping forward to embrace him from behind, slipping his hands under his sweater to wrap around his waist.

His chin rested in the crook of Shen Yan’s neck. With a slight turn of his head, he could kiss the spot that had just been touched by the morning light.

Proximity breeds opportunity. No reason not to kiss him. Blaze quickly pressed a trail of kisses onto Shen Yan’s skin and murmured gently, “I can. I’ll cut it for you.”

Shen Yan: …

Bro.

If you’re gonna cut my hair, just cut my hair.

What’s with the touching?

Shen Yan went rigid—so stiff he could almost hear his own bones grinding. He sluggishly pulled Blaze’s hands, which were sliding up his abdomen, out from under his sweater, then swiftly backed away two or three steps.

Stopping near the balcony, he saw Blaze start to follow him and immediately said, “Stay right there. Don’t move.”

Blaze was baffled, looking at him in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Yan was speechless. “You seriously don’t know? What exactly do you think our relationship is that you’re touching me like that?”

Blaze’s smile faded. “What do you mean?”

Shen Yan also realized something was off. They locked eyes.

A suffocating silence.

Shen Yan’s mouth twitched.

“You… don’t remember anything from yesterday, do you?”

Blaze stepped forward quickly, his eyes locked onto Shen Yan’s. “Of course I do. Even if I forgot some details, those kiss marks aren’t fake, are they?”

Shen Yan pressed a hand to Blaze’s chest, pushing him back to a less intimate distance. “Remembering the wrong things doesn’t help… Yesterday, you held a gun to your own chin, insisting on recreating the marks I had before. I refused, and you threatened suicide. If I hadn’t been fast enough to grab the gun, you’d be a corpse by now. You get that?”

As he spoke, he pointed at the ceiling. “See for yourself.”

Blaze looked up. The ceiling bore a dark bullet hole.

The sense of stability and sweetness he had just felt seemed to be sucked into that black void, leaving him light-headed, his soul peeling away from his body, plummeting from paradise straight back to earth at dizzying speed.

He swayed slightly, bracing against the wall.

Shen Yan brushed past him, heading to the kitchen to make something to eat, but before he reached the door, Blaze called out to him.

“So… you don’t love me?”

Shen Yan turned back. Blaze had his head lowered, golden hair falling over his eyes, concealing his expression.

After a pause, Shen Yan asked, “Do you want to be my friend, or my boyfriend?”

Through the veil of golden strands, Blaze’s gaze was dark, obsessive. “It doesn’t matter. I just want you to stay by my side forever.”

“Shen Yan, you’ll stay with me forever, won’t you?”

Shen Yan didn’t answer. He seemed to be thinking.

Case closed.

Turns out, he was a cyber-superhuman.

His superpower? Straight-to-gay conversion.

Activation requirement? Just sharing a bed for a few nights.

He genuinely valued Blaze. Maintaining a relationship wasn’t difficult for him. But what he couldn’t tolerate was someone trying to alter what he had already defined.

Blaze was his friend. Unless he decided otherwise, he couldn’t be anything else.

He tried to salvage the situation. “We’re friends. Of course, I’ll stay with you. But saying ‘forever’ is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Kissing friends?” Blaze smirked and tilted Shen Yan’s chin up. “Shen Yan, why won’t you admit you like me? Didn’t you feel anything when we kissed?”

Shen Yan’s face was blank. He said expressionlessly, “No.”

Blaze leaned in closer, pinning Shen Yan against the door. “Really?”

“Really.”

Their breaths intertwined. Blaze’s serpent-green eyes bore into him.

“Whether it’s true or not, we can never go back to being just friends.”

Hearing that, Shen Yan suddenly chuckled.

“Alright, I get it.”

He hooked an arm around Blaze’s neck, pulling him down into a deep kiss, tangling their tongues together.

Lost in the moment, Blaze didn’t notice the cold glint in Shen Yan’s eyes.

A sharp sting at his neck. Then, a wave of drowsiness crashed over him.

He tried to fight it off. Shen Yan supported him for a moment, letting him clutch onto his arm, his tongue numb and unable to form words, before he collapsed onto the floor, staring at him.

He let him hold on, calmly waiting as Blaze’s grip weakened until his fingers finally slipped free.

Blaze’s half-open eyes stared blankly. Shen Yan reached out and smoothed them shut.

Ever since Gen tricked him with drugs, he had learned his lesson.

Even a friend as dangerous as Blaze needed a failsafe.

Too bad it actually came in handy.

He stood, stretched, his joints cracking.

His body had been too tense. He was finally starting to loosen up.

Little Blaze clung to the doorframe, tilting its head up to look at him.

“Did you guys have a fight?”

Shen Yan smiled, “No, it’s a breakup.”

Little Blaze was shocked.

Shen Yan packed up the electronic devices in the room, dragging Blaze to unlock the door. Little Blaze desperately tried to stop him, but was picked up and thrown over Shen Yan’s shoulder.

Little Blaze whimpered in his ear, “Xiao Yan, don’t go! I’ve already downloaded a complete guide to haircuts—I can totally be a professional barber!”

Shen Yan propped it against the wall, wrapped him up tightly with a coat like a cocoon, and placed it in Blaze’s arms. As Little Blaze struggled, it fell to the ground, whimpering, “Xiao Yan, take me with you! I only need a tiny bit of battery power—I’m very low maintenance!”

Just as Shen Yan stepped into the passageway, he unexpectedly turned back and released Little Blaze from his bindings.

Little Blaze clung to Shen Yan’s arm. Shen Yan patted his head. “Remove your monitoring and tracking device, and I’ll take you with me.”

Little Blaze hesitated. “But…”

“Will you take it off or not?”

His very purpose was to monitor Shen Yan, ensuring he wouldn’t slip away without a trace.

Shen Yan’s order directly contradicted Little Blaze’s core programming. Its system glitched momentarily as it rapidly calculated which choice would better help him fulfill the task Blaze had assigned. But in that brief moment, Shen Yan had already come to a realization—no matter how much the little robot acted cute and pitiful, it was still just a machine.

And a machine only obeys its master.

And he was not its master.

He powered Little Blaze down and left without looking back.

District Seven had been anything but peaceful these past two months.

First, the Rose Experiment Lab exploded, its data lost, its test subjects escaped. Then, the entire Mobius family mysteriously perished in a fire—every last member who had returned for the family head’s succession ceremony was consumed by the flames.

These events alarmed the higher-ups. Both District Six and District Five sent in personnel to investigate and maintain order. With the Mobius family gone, the entire aristocracy was reshuffled. In the end, the family that took over Mobius’ position also inherited its name, becoming the new Mobius.

Conspiracy theories spread online. Some claimed it was the doing of rival families. Others believed the Mobius ideology had provoked the true aristocrats from District One, who simply erased them in retaliation.

And then there were those who spoke of the Mobius curse.

A hundred years ago, Mobius had suffered a fire just like this one. The scale, the circumstances—nearly identical.

The only difference was that last time, a few members survived, and a wise family head swiftly restored the family’s former glory.

But this time, there would be no miracle. Even the authorities confirmed that all members of Mobius were dead. The truth was buried.

All of this happened high above the clouds. The forces involved stirred beneath the surface, rumors flickering across the internet, quickly swallowed by the endless flood of new information. Discussions about it were swiftly drowned out by more attention-grabbing headlines.

Shen Yan swiped away the news notification, finished the last sip of his coffee, and stood up to leave.

A large hand pressed him back into his seat.

He looked up and saw Ruan Zhixian. He picked up the menu. “What do you want to drink?”

Ruan Zhixian sat across from him. “You don’t seem surprised to see me, bro.”

Shen Yan curled his lips into an easy smile. “Why wouldn’t I be? You took so long to come find me—I almost thought you’d forgotten about me.”

Ruan Zhixian pulled Shen Yan’s coffee cup toward himself, fished out an ice cube, and popped it into his mouth, his gaze soft.

So soft it was almost eerie.

“How could I forget?” He bit down, the ice cracking between his teeth. He swallowed the melted remnants and said, “You told me there was a good show to watch. Of course, I had to see it from start to finish.”

A pretty waitress arrived with Shen Yan’s new drink and coffee.

In that brief moment, Shen Yan’s mind raced.

Who had informed him?

The only communication they’d had since their last meeting was when he was captured by the Red Dot people and called Ruan Zhixian for help.

Back then, Ruan Zhixian was his only option. He was unfamiliar with District Seven, and the police were in bed with the gangs—useless.

A show? What show?

He had been imprisoned by Blaze. Where would he have found time to put on a performance?

Shen Yan hesitated, his eyes flickering.

Could it be that Ruan Zhixian thought he had orchestrated the Mobius incident? That he had manipulated Blaze into doing it?

…What a massive black pot to carry.

Fine. He carried it.

He sipped his coffee, his face calm, his breath steady. “So? Was it entertaining?”

“Very.” Ruan Zhixian sounded sincere. “When did you come up with this plan?”

Shen Yan thought, I didn’t plan anything. Fate just happened to line up like this. Wild, right?

But that couldn’t be said. If he admitted that, Ruan Zhixian would flip the table.

So instead, he put on an air of wisdom, blew on the latte art in his cup, and ignored him.

After a brief silence, Ruan Zhixian abruptly asked, “What are your plans next? I have a surprise for you.”

Shen Yan: “How surprising?”

“You’ll see.”

Shen Yan knew he was up to no good.

But he never expected it to be this ridiculous.

Ruan Zhixian took him to a secluded villa. It was under Shen Yan’s name, though he had never lived in it.

The moment the owner stepped through the door for the first time, the smart home assistant cheerfully blasted a trending pop song.

And in that absurdly joyous soundtrack, Shen Yan found himself staring at three people.

Blaze, Falson, and Warren.

All present.

Three pairs of eyes. Six pupils.

All burning holes into him.

No one spoke first.

It was Ruan Zhixian who finally broke the goddamned silence.

He strolled up from behind, slinging an arm around Shen Yan’s shoulders, chuckling.

“Bro, you know them already, so I won’t bother with introductions.”

“They said they were very, very eager to see you. You must have a lot to talk about.”

“So go ahead and chat. I won’t interrupt.”

Ruan Zhixian patted Shen Yan’s shoulder and turned to leave.

The door slammed shut.

And Shen Yan’s heart stopped.

Holy shit.

What a thrilling cyberpunk life.

I love it.

Shen Yan: Blacks out on the spot.