Chapter 28: The Unexpected Encounter

Jiang Chuan turned around and saw Tang Zhen standing in the corridor.
“Your medical kit,” Tang Zhen said with a smile, “It’s quite late after applying the medicine, so I didn’t want to knock on the door abruptly. I just brought it back to my place.”
Jiang Chuan shook his head, “It’s fine, I troubled you last night.”
If it hadn’t been for Tang Zhen acting as the doctor, he wouldn’t have known how to handle An Wen’s injury.
Tang Zhen extended his hand, an inviting gesture, “How about you come over to my place for a while?”
Jiang Chuan looked up at his hand and caught a glimpse of the warmth in his smile.
The young man, not much older than him, had charming features and a gentle demeanour that made him very convincing and made one instinctively want to trust him.
Yet, it was difficult to discern his true thoughts.
“Alright,” Jiang Chuan nodded, “If it’s not too much trouble.”
Tang Zhen led Jiang Chuan to his apartment.
The place was quite small, containing only one room separated by a curtain that divided the living space.
At Tang Zhen’s invitation, Jiang Chuan sat down on the only chair in the room.
Tang Zhen then took a seat on the edge of the bed and poured him a glass of water.
“Thank you,” Jiang Chuan politely accepted the glass and set it on the side.
He didn’t drink, maintaining his cautious demeanour. Tang Zhen showed no objection to this and smiled, saying, “Do you remember I told you I’m a guitarist?”
Jiang Chuan nodded.
He had noticed a guitar case tidily placed in the corner of the room, polished and clearly well cared for.
But why was he bringing this up?
Tang Zhen smiled, “Shall I play a song for you? Do you want to listen to some music?”
He walked over, took out the guitar, and as his fingers glided effortlessly over the strings, bright notes filled the air.
Jiang Chuan, who had intended to say there was no need, could only watch as Tang Zhen approached: …Alright then.
“Anything is fine,” Jiang Chuan politely replied, “But I’m not very knowledgeable about instruments.”
Why would he want to listen to him play guitar in Tang Zhen’s home?
It felt a bit strange.
However, in the context of their survival variety show, all oddities could be explained by tasks. Jiang Chuan speculated that Tang Zhen had received a related task.
Was there a task about playing the guitar for someone else?
Jiang Chuan was quite puzzled.
He also suspected that Tang Zhen was another “lover” of his identity, as there were not many contestants, and besides Shan Qi, the only one suited to his age and identity was Tang Zhen.
Jiang Chuan just hadn’t figured out how to handle Tang Zhen’s attitude yet.
Shan Qi was rather straightforward, to put it bluntly, he was a bit naïve. In front of him, he seemed like a silly goose easily led around, and with just a few words, he could be easily manipulated.
But Tang Zhen was different.
His demeanour towards people was very gentle, and he always wore a smile, making him seem approachable. However, Jiang Chuan knew that such individuals were the hardest to see through; their true thoughts were often hidden beneath their gentle masks.
Until Tang Zhen voluntarily revealed information about his identity, Jiang Chuan decided to keep quiet.
Tang Zhen adjusted the tuning, “Then I’ll pick a song that I often play.”
The music began, and unexpectedly, Tang Zhen played very well, the melody flowing like water from his long fingers.
Jiang Chuan listened to the smooth and pleasant music, his gaze drifting to the spotless floor.
The chair he sat on was wooden and a bit uncomfortable. After sitting for a long time, his waist felt slightly sore, prompting him to subtly change his sitting position.
He leaned back a little against the chair’s backrest to rest, his calves lightly shaking from relaxation.
Today, Jiang Chuan had pulled out a simple set of short sleeves and shorts from the bottom of the wardrobe, soft in texture and very comfortable to wear.
The shorts rose just above his knees, causing a bit of soft flesh to spill out when he sat down.
His calves were straight and slender, falling gracefully, pale and radiant.
Jiang Chuan’s figure was slim, with just a slight plumpness on his thighs, and his exposed arms and ankles looked as though they could be easily grasped by one hand.
With relaxation, his calves swayed slightly; the movement was not obvious but still revealed he had let his guard down.
Above was his beautiful face, with black hair and snow-white skin. Long, dark eyelashes hung down, giving him a quiet and obedient appearance.
He was carefully listening to Tang Zhen play the guitar, unintentionally keeping time with the beat.
Just as one piece of music was about to finish, the person sitting in the chair suddenly toppled forward without any warning.
The music abruptly stopped, and Tang Zhen casually set the guitar aside and reached out to catch Jiang Chuan.
He had “fallen asleep.”
Due to the effect of the Sleep Card.
Tang Zhen carefully placed Jiang Chuan onto the bed, adjusting his position to lay him flat.

What is happening? What does he want to do?
Where did this bad man come from?! Why would he want to make my spouse faint?!
Jiang Baobao didn’t even drink the water; he just sat there immobile, so how did he still fall into his trap?!
What is this? My spouse fainted; is this a joke? What is this? My spouse fainted; is this a joke?
This is really very perverse and creepy; he was so nice before, I never expected it would turn out like this.

The author has something to say:
Open the door, [Image].

The water cup on the table hadn’t been touched. Tang Zhen glanced over it disinterestedly.
There was certainly nothing wrong with the water; there were no drugs here that could cause someone to faint, and the guitar was not a problem either.
Tang Zhen was using a skill card exchanged with points from the survival variety show.
A novice wouldn’t understand this and wouldn’t have excess points for exchange, so he can’t possibly know that real things in the survival variety show can trigger a situation without him having to do anything.
The Sleep Card was priced at two hundred points, it was a one-time card that lasted only an hour, and its effect was somewhat lackluster.
Contestants with that many points generally wouldn’t choose to exchange for it; they’d prefer cards with healing or life extension abilities.
It wasn’t needed when things were safe, and it was of no use when facing terrifying monsters.