Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 851 Successful deception

Upon hearing this, Yu Shijiu paused in his steps.

He turned to look at Thumbelina, tilting his head in confusion: "Why can't we sleep in the same room?"

Thumbelina was stunned. She hadn't expected Yu Shijiu to ask her that question, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Why…” Thumbelina said, “We are different, Shi Jiu.”

Yu Shijiu seemed not to have fully grasped the situation yet, and blinked as she asked, "Are we different in some way?"

"..." Thumbelina was completely stunned, remaining silent for several seconds before whispering, "We, we are...we are different genders..."

Yu Shijiu: "..."

Yu Shijiu then realized what was happening. He hissed, raised his hand to touch his head, and chuckled softly.

Thumbelina.

Yu Shijiu's voice held an almost undisguised laugh, "Think back, before we came out of that thick grass, what did we almost marry?"

Thumbelina: "...Toad."

Her voice was low, carrying a hint of lingering fear.

"Yes, a toad."

Yu Shijiu laughed and said, "We're not even the same species as toads, yet they're forcing us to marry them, aren't they?"

Thumbelina didn't quite understand the relationship between species and gender. She opened her mouth blankly and said, "This...this is different—"

"What's the difference?"

Yu Shijiu retorted, her eyes filled with emotion: "If we were still living in Mom's house, how could we have imagined that one day we would be forced to marry a toad?"

Thumbelina: "..."

Thumbelina felt there was something strange about what he was saying, but when asked to pinpoint what was wrong... she really couldn't say.

Thumbelina's face flushed red instantly, unable to utter a rebuttal. She stammered, opening her mouth repeatedly, but could only produce some unclear sounds.

"I know what you're worried about."

The boy beside him suddenly chuckled, a smile playing on his lips, and said:

How about I tell you a secret?

Thumbelina let out a soft "Ah!" and asked疑惑地问道, "What secret—"

Before she could finish speaking, the boy who had been walking beside her and holding her wrist suddenly lowered his head and leaned close to her ear… Thumbelina's eyes widened in surprise, and she took a step back, feeling both embarrassed and shy.

"do not move."

Before Thumbelina could express her discomfort, the boy's deliberately lowered voice reached her ears again—"Actually, I like men."

Actually, I like men.

Actually, I like men.

Actually, I like... men.

male.

male.

The short sentence traveled deep into Thumbelina's ears in the silent, dusty tunnel, like a firework exploding in the winter night sky, stunning her so much that she froze on the spot, completely motionless.

Meanwhile, outside of the game instance "Thumbelina".

In the live broadcast square.

There was an uproar in the audience.

Many players stared wide-eyed at Yu Shijiu on the screen, who was smiling and telling Thumbelina that she liked men, their mouths agape in astonishment.

"My God! Yu Shijiu actually likes men?"

"I think he mentioned it... though he didn't say it explicitly..."

"I'm shocked! I can't believe it! I absolutely can't believe it! How could he like men?!"

"Hey, hey, hey, what does it have to do with you whether someone likes men or women?!"

"It's a bit unbelievable. I thought someone like him wouldn't like anyone..."

"Tsk, that's normal, it's just human nature. No matter how cold-blooded a person is, they still have feelings, right? It's just a matter of degree..."

"..."

A cacophony of voices reached the ears of the man sitting in the front row. He seemed to hear them, yet he also seemed not to, as he looked up at the black-haired boy on the screen in front of him, who was leaning close to Thumbelina's ear.

The black-haired boy on the screen smiled, his fleshy cheeks glowing softly in the dim candlelight. He gazed at the shocked Thumbelina, his smile as gentle and obedient as flowing water, like the brightest ray of light in the tunnel.

"..."

Lu Chusheng's breathing became rapid.

He felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his rapidly beating heart seemed to be trying to break through the shackles of his ribcage, relentlessly drilling into the gaps and taking root in his flesh.

Lu Chusheng stared intently at the screen, the surging emotions in his chest making his brain dizzy. It was as if the deepest layers of his memory had been smashed by something again.

Two times, three times.

Until the intense pain erupted from the depths of his brain, Lu Chusheng's indifferent face briefly showed a blank, bewildered expression.

—This is the same Yu Shijiu who, a long, long time ago, seemed to have said the same thing to herself…

When is it

When exactly?

Lu Chusheng reached out and covered the spot where his heart was pounding, feeling the increasingly rapid beat under his palm. He gently and slowly exhaled a breath of air mixed with pain.

When...

—In the Thumbelina game instance.

typical.

"...Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Yu Shijiu's voice seemed to reappear in her ears from afar, as if through a membrane. Thumbelina jerked her head up as if she had been electrocuted and let out a small scream.

Yu Shijiu: "?"

He awkwardly rubbed his ears, which had been disturbed by the noise, and said in surprise:

"What's wrong? Are you that surprised?"

For the first time, Thumbelina showed an expression of utter horror. She stared at Yu Shijiu in disbelief, unable to comprehend what she had just heard.

"you you you……"

Thumbelina uttered several "you"s in a row, as if she hadn't quite organized her thoughts. Her tone grew increasingly forceful as she spoke, and even her eyes inexplicably reddened.

Yu Shijiu found her behavior a bit strange and frowned, saying:

"I just like men, it shouldn't be a big deal, right? Why are you acting like I've done something heinous?"

"..." Thumbelina finally took a deep breath. She finally regained her breathing rhythm and stared at Yu Shijiu with a complicated expression, "This is an unforgivable crime."

Yu Shijiu: "?"

Yu Shijiu frowned deeply and retorted, "Impossible. I didn't force anyone to like me, nor did I coerce anyone. How can this be considered wrong?"

"..."

Thumbelina was so confused by his non-stop talking that she almost lost her mind, and could only whisper:

"No, this won't do...this definitely won't work—"