The Protagonist and the Villain Both Kissed Me [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 48:

Inside the storage room on the second basement level, the tall mirror appeared utterly ordinary, yet the space within it held an entirely different world.

Su Xi was pulled to the edge of the bed by Little Mirror. Watching the boy cling to him without any intention of letting go, Su Xi sighed helplessly. He had no idea how to handle children and lived in constant fear of upsetting them. But remembering his reason for coming, he finally reached for the boy’s collar and gently pulled him back.

“Brother…” Little Mirror struggled, trying to bury his head back in Su Xi’s chest.

“Be good. I have something to tell you,” Su Xi said softly. Since he was the one asking for a favor, he softened his attitude significantly. “We can hug after we’re done talking, okay?”

“Okay.” Little Mirror nodded but chose to sit as close to Su Xi as possible.

Su Xi thought for a moment, organizing his words before speaking. “You mentioned before… that besides seeing the future, you can also grant wishes here, right?”

“Yes! Brother, do you want to make a wish?”

Upon hearing this, Little Mirror became visibly excited. He hopped off the bed and stood in front of Su Xi, joyfully grabbing his hand and shaking it. “I can fulfill any wish you have.”

“Then… I want the Fuguang Institute to return to its former peace.” Su Xi met the boy’s eyes, feeling that something was off, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He shifted the subject: “If I make a wish, what do I have to pay?”

There was no such thing as a free lunch, let alone a free wish. He expected to pay some kind of price.

“Since it’s Brother… just give me a kiss, okay? Kiss me, and I’ll grant your wish.” Little Mirror pretended to think seriously for a moment. A few silver strands of hair fell over his forehead, masking the emotions in his eyes.

“Just a kiss?” Su Xi was stunned. Are all the high-level subjects in this Institute ‘love-brains’? He could understand the adults losing control over his constitution, but even a child liked him this much? Afraid the boy would change his mind, he leaned down and pressed a light, butterfly-kiss to Little Mirror’s cheek.

The sudden kiss left Little Mirror frozen in place. He lowered his head awkwardly, a pink flush spreading from his ears down to his neck. He bit his lip, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Thinking he had scared the boy, Su Xi reached out to touch his shoulder. Instead, Little Mirror looked up, his face streaked with tears. Crystalline droplets pooled in his eyes. Wait… he’s crying?

For the first time, Su Xi was at a loss. He reached out cautiously to wipe away the tears, but Little Mirror lunged into his arms, pinning him down onto the bed.

Before Su Xi could offer comfort, he felt a wetness on his face. He looked up in shock to see Little Mirror’s face growing in proportion, his features becoming more defined and mature. Su Xi’s pupils constricted as the realization finally hit him.

“Uranus…” His voice was more frantic than he realized.

“Yes, Brother. It’s me.”

Uranus was breathtakingly handsome. He buried his head in Su Xi’s neck, his voice tinged with a slight sob. “It wasn’t easy to shake off that guy Xiao Yangyao. Mephisto moved the backup device somewhere else… but don’t worry, Brother. Since it’s your wish, I will definitely help you fulfill it.”

The impact of “Little Mirror” being Uranus was massive. Su Xi couldn’t process it all at once. No wonder he had thought they looked alike. In a place like the Fuguang Institute, where mutants were everywhere, what was so strange about a subject capable of changing forms? It was only because the worlds Su Xi had lived in before were so “normal” that he had overlooked the possibility.

“Get up first.” Su Xi pressed his hands against the man’s chest. The adult Uranus was heavy, and being pinned under him made it hard to breathe.

“Does Brother not like me this way? It’s okay, I can change back.” As he spoke, Uranus reverted to the form of Little Mirror. He clung to Su Xi, his eyes still watery from crying.

Su Xi wondered why he kept attracting these people. Recalling the System’s warnings, he vowed to be more careful in the next world and avoid looking for trouble.

Time flowed differently in the mirror. While Su Xi had spent only three hours inside, twelve hours had passed in the outside world. It was now noon on the second day of the lockdown.

On the fourth floor, in the containment room, Mephisto’s eyes were clouded with gloom. His emerald eyes were cold with murderous intent. He stared at the door he had violently torn open and began to sing a low, soft melody.

Moments later, footsteps echoed in the hallway. A04 and Xiao Yangyao walked in, their movements clearly being manipulated.

“Where is he?”

Mephisto rose from the pool, his fish tail having transformed into human legs. Looking at the glittering jewels and gold at the bottom of his tank, he felt he should have just used this place as a nest, forced Su Xi to bear his offspring and multiply. Then, the man would never have left him.

In his mind, humans and merfolk were the same; reproduction was the ultimate goal. The only difference was that humans were viviparous while merfolk laid eggs. Humans required a different sex to reproduce, but a merman could make a male partner pregnant.

“He was taken by Uranus.” A04 frowned irritably. After dealing with the rioting subjects on the second floor, he had returned to the stairwell only to find Su Xi gone. The scent in the air was faint, and the jacket he had left for the man had gone cold. He had clearly been gone for a long time.

A04 hadn’t expected Su Xi to leave so decisively, seemingly unconcerned about the consequences of making him angry.

Xiao Yangyao, who had remained silent, wasn’t as expressive as A04, but his mood was just as foul. His deep eyes darkened as he looked at Mephisto by the pool. “Where is the backup device?”

“Why? Regretting it now? You’ve already lied to him, it’s too late to take it back.” Mephisto sneered. Half a month ago, they had struck a deal with Xiao Yangyao. Consequently, Xiao Yangyao became the Institute’s spy, the traitor.

The agreement was simple: Xiao Yangyao would help the subjects find the items they needed and assist at critical moments to ensure the breakout was a success. In exchange, he wanted a drug that could permanently cure Su Xi’s constitution. The current treatments only alleviated the “skin hunger”; they couldn’t make it disappear.

Though Xiao Yangyao loved Su Xi in this state, he had a selfish fear. He believed that when he wasn’t around and Su Xi couldn’t take the deprivation anymore, Su Xi wouldn’t stay strong, he would inevitably seek comfort in someone else’s arms.

Even though Su Xi had been cold and self-restrained before, the current situation proved how fast things could change. He knew Su Xi was too good at attracting people; he should have just found a chain and tied him up.

“Mephisto, we are partners, not subordinates.” Xiao Yangyao’s cold face flashed with killing intent. ” I’ve done everything you asked. Where is the item?”

“What’s the rush? Aside from Uranus, we’ve all bullied him. It won’t be easy to get his forgiveness now,” A04 interrupted. He added with a smirk, “Besides, this skin hunger is the only way we have to keep him in check.”

“He will hate us for this.” Xiao Yangyao’s voice, previously firm, now sounded weak.

He could accept Su Xi disliking him, but he didn’t want it to reach the level of hate.

“If you cared about that, you wouldn’t have followed us.” A04 sneered as he walked up to Xiao Yangyao. “There’s no turning back once the arrow is shot. Isn’t that what you humans say?”

Mephisto watched them argue with an indifferent expression, masking his true thoughts. In the end, Su Xi would belong only to him. In the face of absolute power, what did empty promises matter? The man’s mission target was him alone. As long as he played his part, Su Xi would never leave.

Back in the second basement storage room.

Su Xi leaned helplessly against the headboard as Uranus carefully applied ointment to his skin. His back and body were covered in bruises from his earlier falls. Now that he was finally relaxing, he felt as if his bones were falling apart. Fortunately, the System had activated partial pain-blocking for him.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host! The Villain’s Salvation Value has increased to 90%. Please keep up the good work!”

When the mechanical voice rang out, Uranus was applying ointment to Su Xi’s waist. The cold cream hitting his warm skin made Su Xi let out a soft gasp. “Mm…”

Uranus immediately let go, thinking he had hurt him. He was a mess of regret and worry, his hands trembling as he apologized, “I’m sorry! Was I too rough…?”

“It’s not your fault.” Su Xi bit his lip. Seeing Uranus on the verge of tears again, he sighed inwardly. Why is this guy such a crybaby? He had never noticed this side of him before. He couldn’t help but mutter, “Are you a professional tear-jerker?”

“What?” Uranus paused, seemingly not expecting such a comment.

“Nothing.” Seeing that he hadn’t been heard, Su Xi didn’t plan on repeating it.

Looking at Uranus, Su Xi felt a flicker of worry. Can I really rely on just making a wish to this guy?

“Next time I come, I’ll bring you another strawberry cake,” Su Xi said vaguely, signaling his departure. 1368 was already urging him to finish the mission. This was only a low-level world, after all; if he didn’t speed up, he’d be playing “Battle Royale” every single day.

“Who are you going to see?” Uranus asked, picking up on the implication.

“Mephisto.” Su Xi didn’t know if Uranus could see his true intentions, but besides the protagonist, the villain was the most powerful entity here. Suddenly, a realization struck him. He asked the System: “Xiao Ba, is Uranus the protagonist of this world?”

“Yes, Host,” 1368 confirmed.

Su Xi was speechless. He hadn’t expected the conflict between subjects and humans to actually be a case of the subjects killing each other.

But it was likely a difference in philosophy. He couldn’t imagine why people treated Uranus as a wish-granting tool, or why Uranus was trying so hard to save the Institute.

He would find out the answer to that very soon.