"Miao, look!" Fu Lan finally reached a secluded spot under the shade of a tree. Sitting down, he pulled his collar aside to reveal bite marks on his collarbone, grinning at his phone screen.
The next moment, he lifted his shirt hem. "Miao, look—here too!"
Traces trailed down his abdomen, vanishing beneath his waistband, leaving the rest to the imagination.
His fingers slowly traced along his waistband, brushing past sensitive areas before settling on his thigh.
The young man giggled mischievously. "I’ve kept every mark you left on me. They’ll still be here when I get back—though this one’s fading a bit."
He dragged his thumb lightly over his thigh, leaning closer to the screen with a feverish smile. "When I return, you’ll just have to renew it for me!"
Xia Miao covered her face in embarrassment from her room. "Keep your voice down! Do you really want everyone to know about this?"
Fu Lan shrugged. "What’s the big deal? There’s no one around. And even if someone heard, it’s just proof of how much you love me."
He smirked triumphantly. "You’re the one who loves me so much. Now you’re scared of people finding out?"
"Fu Lan!" Xia Miao snapped, flushing with anger. "Be serious for once! And tone it down!"
Fu Lan pouted. "Haven’t I toned it down enough?"
She’d told him not to accept gifts from others, so he stopped.
She’d said he needed boundaries with people, so now he wouldn’t even let those annoying pigs get close.
He’d been restraining his troublemaking urges, obediently following her rules.
Xia Miao sighed. "I heard what you said to them earlier. It was too harsh—you’ll provoke them."
"So what?" Fu Lan batted his lashes, fiddling with the ruby earring on his left ear—a recent gift from Xia Miao during their trip to the jewelry store. Now he had a whole collection of pretty accessories, enough to switch them out daily.
Xia Miao hesitated. "Maybe… you should just come back."
Fu Lan’s eyes lit up like he’d struck gold, excitement bubbling over. "Aha! You miss me. Admit it!"
Xia Miao gave up. "Fine. I miss you. So hurry back already!"
Fu Lan had been enjoying toying with those foolish pigs—they were so easy to rile up. But if Xia Miao missed him, well, he couldn’t refuse.
After all, she loved him so much. She probably couldn’t function without him.
Feigning reluctance, he sighed. "Alright, alright. You’re so clingy. Fine, I’ll come home."
Xia Miao fell silent, biting back whatever she wanted to say. Arguing with an idiot was just self-sabotage. Finally, she growled, "Just get your ass back here!"
The call ended abruptly. Fu Lan stood frozen for a moment, processing her outburst.
But he didn’t feel guilty. If anything, he took it as proof of her desperation for him, fueling his self-satisfied grin.
Fu Lan was eager to rush back and let Xia Miao undress him—until his gaze caught on the wild roses blooming in vibrant pink and white on the distant hillside. His eyes sparkled. He’d pick the prettiest ones to bring home to his girlfriend.
Night fell, the temperature dropping as silence swallowed the mountaintop.
They’d planned a barbecue for the evening, but Luo Xiaoluo heard no signs of the usual lively chatter outside. She considered stepping out to check—until Xia Miao called.
"Xiaoluo, are there any buses down the mountain this late?"
Luo Xiaoluo thought for a moment. "Probably not at this hour. Why?"
"Fu Lan said he’d come back to me, but he’s not here yet. He’s not answering my calls either. I’m worried something happened."
"He’s a grown man. What could possibly—"
Outside Luo Xiaoluo’s tightly curtained tent, the night air reeked of thick, metallic blood.
Drag marks of severed limbs littered the ground.
Someone clutched a dismembered hand. Another hugged a severed leg. A third cradled a pair of eyeballs with trembling care, guarding their hard-won trophies from being snatched away.
Lin Baobao had been drawn out by the stench of blood. The scene before her turned her ghostly pale, a hand clapped over her mouth in horror.
"Give him to me! He’s mine!"
"No, Fu Lan belongs to me!"
"I love him the most!"
Their classmates had descended into madness, tearing at each other like rabid animals. Several lifeless bodies lay strewn across the ground—casualties of the battle for their "beloved."
Humans were slaves to desire. Some craved wealth, others power, and many lusted after beauty. But "Fu Lan" was the embodiment of their deepest yearnings—a living, breathing manifestation of their obsessions.
One glimpse of him had ignited an insatiable hunger, burning until nothing remained but mindless, ravenous husks.
Even those lying half-dead in the carnage dragged themselves forward with bloodied hands, rasping, "Give… give him… to me…"
Amid the blood-soaked battlefield, something rolled to Lin Baobao’s feet.
Instinctively, she picked it up.
A severed head, its eye sockets hollowed out, the once-handsome face now grotesquely enchanting under a mask of crimson.
Suddenly, its lips parted, spewing venom.
"Idiots! My girlfriend is waiting for me!"
Tendrils of flesh sprouted from the pooled blood, some already forming writhing, half-formed faces.
They shrieked in unison: "She’s MY girlfriend!"
"My girlfriend—Miao!"
"Miao is mine!"
The head howled, voice raw with fury. "Shut up! SHUT UP! You fakes! Miao is MINE—only MINE!"
The crowd fought savagely for ownership of the scattered "Fu Lans," desperate to claim and possess. Yet these mutilated fragments of him were just as frenzied—each clamoring for sole rights to their "girlfriend."
Lin Baobao’s vision swam with red. Rational thought dissolved into white noise. Before she could process it, her body moved on its own—clutching the head tightly as she fled into the dark.
