After Accidentally Sending Empathy Dolls to My Four Top Donors - Chapter 2

Breakdown — Baby, are you there? Video call me.

But wasn’t that doll in the living room?

Could there be someone else in this house besides him?

Wen Leling’s heart leaped into his throat. He threw on a bathrobe, intent on investigating, but the moment his toes touched the floor, the lingering sensation of kneading and stroking suddenly jumped to the sole of his foot.

At first, it was just a short, soft, and negligible itch. In the blink of an eye, it felt like a rapidly growing vine spreading from his ankle, creating a tingly, numbing itch.

Wen Leling could not help but curl his toes and arch his instep. His fair, tender soles rubbed restlessly against the floor, leaving faint red marks. He let out a few broken whimpers like a little rabbit as he stumbled out of the bedroom.

He was going to catch this pervert who broke into his house!

But there was no one. It was gone.

There was no person.

The doll was also gone.

Wen Leling stood frozen before the empty display stand, feeling as if he had been struck by lightning.

It was gone. The doll was missing.

That was no ordinary doll; it was a synesthetic doll linked to him. It needed to absorb the essence of living people other than himself to survive. If the doll’s supply of essence was cut off, he would die along with it.

Because of this, Wen Leling always dressed the doll exquisitely and placed it in the living room. Whenever he invited friends over, they could not resist touching or playing with it. This allowed the doll, and by extension him, to be satisfied covertly and without suspicion.

So, who was selfish enough to steal his doll?

Is it not better for everyone to be happy together?

Wen Leling urged himself to stay calm. Panicking would not help. As long as the doll was alive, that was what mattered.

However, he could not stop pacing anxiously. A pair of rabbit ears quietly manifested, flattening against his soft hair. He bit his clean, pink fingernails while mentally scanning for suspects.

Four people had visited his house today: Friend A, who delivered a custom rabbit outfit; Friend B, who brought a bag of ingredients for hotpot; Friend C, who had been persistently pursuing him; and his new assistant, Ah Long.

A, B, and C had been his friends for years. They were reliable tools who would not do something as tacky as stealing. That left only Ah Long. Wen Leling was certain.

He remembered when Ah Long first started a week ago. The moment he entered the apartment, he was glued to the doll, praising it from head to toe. Upon learning that Wen Leling would be giving out physical dolls as rewards to his Top Fans, Ah Long’s flattery went into overdrive. He had begged to buy one at the original price, but Wen Leling had firmly refused.

He felt that if a doll ended up in Ah Long’s hands, it would be used for strange things.

As expected.

At the thought of the doll being defiled, Wen Leling stopped caring about the late hour or his manners. He grabbed his phone and called Ah Long.

The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up. The background was deathly quiet. Ah Long spoke in a husky, lingering drawl.

“Lele? It is so late.”

He sounded like someone who had just finished indulging and was barely pretending to be composed.

Wen Leling’s blood boiled. He cut through the innocent act and got straight to the point. “Ah Long!”

His voice was tight with anger. “Did you touch the doll in my living room?”

The other end went silent. Wen Leling became even more convinced he was the selfish thief! Furthermore, ever since the call connected, the sensation of being touched had vanished. He did not believe in such coincidences.

After a moment, Ah Long stirred. Sounding guilty and stuttering, he said, “D—doll? That… Lele, let me explain.”

“Go ahead, I am listening.” Wen Leling wanted to see what kind of story he would cook up.

“Yesterday, while you were eating with friends, I came to deliver the dolls. One box opened, and I missed the catch. I accidentally dropped the doll on the floor. Its leg fell off. I was afraid of causing a delay, so I…”

Wen Leling sucked in a cold breath, a bad premonition rising. His voice trembled. “So you what?”

Ah Long paused for a long time before squeezing out the words. “So I used that doll to fill the gap.”

“You! What did you say!?”

Filled the gap?

His synesthetic doll was sent out as a reward to one of the Top Fans?

He was going to explode!

Wen Leling was livid, his body shaking with rage. His angry voice shattered the dead silence.

“I… you, Lele…” Not expecting Wen Leling to be so furious over a doll, Ah Long was at a loss.

“Do not ‘I’ or ‘you’ me, and do not call me Lele! You are fired!”

Wen Leling hung up immediately. He rushed to check the shipping status of the Top Fans and realized they had all sent him messages. He checked them one by one.

Yesterday – 20:46 Lele’s Only Certified Husband: [Baby, I received the gift. I love it, but why did you not send any clothes?]

No clothes? Then it is probably not him. My doll was dressed beautifully, a mini version of myself.

Yesterday – 21:06 Cuddle Lele: [Thanks, love the gift. Are you streaming tomorrow?]

I cannot tell. I will put him on the To Be Verified list.

Yesterday – 21:10 Love Lele Forever: [Received. Thanks for your hard work. Get some rest. Goodnight.]

“…” So cold. I will add him to the list.

Yesterday – 22:09 Lele’s Loyal Dog: [Baby, are you asleep? Can we video call?] Lele’s Loyal Dog: [I am not feeling well. Even using the doll did not help.]

It is him!

Fuming and acting on impulse, Wen Leling stomped up the stairs back to his room and replied to his prime suspect.

[Gēge, are you awake?] [Do you still want to video call?] [I can.]

As if the other party had been waiting for his reply, a video call request popped up within three seconds.

Wen Leling turned off the lights before hitting Accept.

The screen flickered on. The other side was brightly lit, but the man did not show his face. A low, raspy, and aggressive male voice came through.

“Baby, I miss you so much.”

“What is wrong?” Wen Leling asked with feigned concern. His round eyes scanned the moving camera feed, searching for the doll.

Instead, he saw a chibi plushie lying on clean sheets, stained with an unidentifiable cloudy liquid. That was a reward from a previous batch.

Wen Leling was not surprised. This Top Fan was a Sentinel—an S-grade Sentinel with a high demand for guiding.

However, before his awakening, the Sentinel had stumbled upon Wen Leling’s stream and fell in love with his voice. After awakening, the man insisted on remaining chaste for him, vowing never to accept guiding from any Guide.

Wen Leling had no choice. Not wanting a death on his hands, he cooperated with the Sentinel’s requests. Since then, whenever the Sentinel felt distressed, he would seek Wen Leling out via video call. If Wen Leling was busy, the Sentinel would use a plushie to cope.

But this was not a long-term solution. It could last for a moment, but not a lifetime. Besides, Wen Leling had never planned on being with him.

Once I find the doll and negotiate its return, I will persuade him to accept a proper Guide, Wen Leling thought.

“Baby, I want to see you.” “I feel so bad right now.”

Wen Leling wanted to find his doll quickly, but the Sentinel was acting like a rambling drunk, making it hard to get a lead. He decided to play along to calm him down. “Wait for me, I will get my mask.”

“No, I want to see Baby’s face.”

“I cannot. We agreed on no faces on video. Did you not say you did not really want to see it anyway?”

Wen Leling remembered it clearly. When the Sentinel first awakened, he desperately demanded a video call, saying he was going to die. Wen Leling could not just watch him die and agreed, but only on the condition of not showing his face.

The Sentinel had gone quiet for a long time before replying: [Fine, no face then. I did not really want to see it anyway.]

After that, they called often, but the Sentinel never spoke of anything substantial. Wen Leling would just hear the man and a leopard growling at him.

Out of respect for his Top Fan, he did not laugh. Perhaps out of embarrassment from that first time, the Sentinel never showed his face either. Wen Leling had no memory of what the man looked like. He had only ever been interested in the Sentinel’s money.

Ignoring the Sentinel’s pestering, Wen Leling put on his butterfly mask and turned on a desk lamp.

On camera, the youth sat leaning against the headboard in a bathrobe. The collar was wide open, revealing his pale, thin chest. Under the warm light, his skin looked incredibly delicate, silently exuding an irresistible temptation.

“Baby, Baby, Baby.” “I am going to die.”

The Sentinel called out urgently as if trapped in a nightmare. Wen Leling was the only one who could save him, yet he felt cold and distant.

The Sentinel chased him through the screen, suddenly swinging the camera around. The bloody visual impact made Wen Leling freeze.

It was a man with a pale, ashen face, standing nearly 190 centimeters tall. He wore a dark, tight-fitting sweater stained with fresh blood, emphasizing his tall, sturdy build. His icy aura and bloodshot eyes made Wen Leling’s heart skip a beat.

Unlike before, Wen Leling could see that the Sentinel’s Mental Territory had collapsed into a pile of ruins. This was not just a manic episode anymore; it was a mutation on the verge of losing all sanity.

The Sentinel was right. He was dying. He needed guiding immediately!

Wen Leling asked nervously, “Are you okay? Can you contact your Guide?”

The Sentinel waved a hand. “I do not want to.”

So stubborn!

Seeing white, fluffy leopard ears and a long tail sprout from the Sentinel as he bared his fangs at the camera—as if to bite someone—Wen Leling squeezed his eyes shut in fear. But then, he heard a “Meow.”

Wait? A leopard that sounds like a cat?

Do not laugh. Do not laugh. This is serious.

Wen Leling sat up straight, trying to maintain a serious face. “Fine, fine. No Guide. But can you tell me your name?”

If he knew the name, he could contact Mr. Xia to handle it.

The Sentinel brushed back his sweat-soaked hair and whispered, “My name is Xiao Wenye.”

Xiao Wenye?

What a coincidence! This was the S-grade Sentinel he was supposed to be responsible for!

If he went to Mr. Xia now, would the man not just dump the problem back on him?

Forget it. The guy was about to die. There was no time for that.

Wen Leling grabbed a second device to make an emergency call to Mr. Xia while soothing Xiao Wenye. “Where is the doll? Hold my doll for a bit.”

“Use the new doll.”

He was not just checking if the doll was there. The new doll would have some of his Guide spiritual energy on it, which could temporarily suppress Xiao Wenye’s mutation.

Xiao Wenye seemed to think for a moment before saying, “New doll? That has not arrived yet.”

It has not arrived?

Did I get the wrong person again?

Wen Leling could not count how many times he had felt shocked and helpless in the past hour.

Refusing to give up, he checked the shipping status. It was marked clearly:

Signed for by proxy. Not signed for by the recipient.

Wen Leling’s head buzzed. He felt like he was technically alive, but his soul had already left his body.

He really should not have rushed. He had done all this work for nothing and just made more trouble for himself.

Enough.

He really did not have time for Xiao Wenye’s drama. After reporting the situation to Mr. Xia, the Tower dispatched a duty Guide for rescue.

The rescuers arrived quickly. Wen Leling said he was leaving, but he stayed on the line until they arrived before hanging up. He collapsed back onto his bed like a zombie and sent a message to the remaining two people:

[Gege, are you awake?]

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