My Boyfriend is the Heartthrob, and I’m Just a Passerby.

[This must be a dream…]

[Is it a dream?]

No matter what, his mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening before him.

Bo Zhehan stared blankly at the person in front of him—the horrifying split on his cheek.

The next second, Ye Jishu’s voice rang out from behind him.

“What are you doing?”

“……”

Bo Zhehan didn’t dare turn around.

Who in their right mind would expose their back to an unknown creature?

Wen Yuhe stood before him, a faint smile lingering on his lips.

Noticing his reaction, that smile deepened—as if pleased by his fear.

As Bo Zhehan stared at the person before him, a realization struck him.

He and Wen Yuhe were about the same height.

Which meant—Ye Jishu couldn’t see what he was seeing.

That was why this person had no reservations about revealing his abnormalities.

“How unexpected. I was just looking for you,” Wen Yuhe said, fixing his gaze on him. “Not coming out? Zhehan, I never thought I’d run into you here.”

As he spoke, the tiny teeth within the split on his cheek opened and closed.

It was as if something was alive inside him.

The tear wasn’t fixed in place—it moved, shifting across his face like something swimming beneath his skin.

[No way. No way I’m stepping outside! He wasn’t an idiot!]

And yet—

Bo Zhehan couldn’t control his own actions.

“…Alright.”

His mouth opened, and the word slipped out.

Before he could see Ye Jishu’s reaction, his body had already stepped forward, and he instinctively reached back to close the door behind him.

“Click.”

The hallway fell into a deathly silence.

And yet, none of the other students opened their doors to check what was happening.

It was only then that Bo Zhehan realized—he was trapped, like a rat in a cage, caught within the space woven by the person before him.

“So annoying.”

Wen Yuhe’s face darkened, all traces of warmth vanishing from his expression. He paced back and forth irritably in the hallway before clicking his tongue in frustration.

“You and I are in the same social circle. If you talk, things will get messy. Up until now, my life has been perfect. I won’t let anyone ruin—”

“I won’t say anything!” Bo Zhehan shouted. “Everyone else would just think I’m crazy!”

Wen Yuhe abruptly stopped, turning his head with a smile.

“Did I say you could speak?”

A chill ran down Bo Zhehan’s spine, and cold sweat poured from his skin.

The next second, Wen Yuhe’s right eyelid split open—revealing rows of tiny, jagged teeth.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Stay put.” Wen Yuhe spoke coldly, then slapped his own eyelid.

“Don’t crawl out. Do you think you’re something special? If you dare come out, I’ll dissect you all over again.”

His words seemed to have an effect.

Within the gaping split, the teeth let out a dense, grinding chitter—the sound of something shuffling and writhing in fear.

Bo Zhehan stared at the man before him.

He stared—dazed, frozen in place.

As if the body before him was nothing more than a hollow husk, crammed full of something else.

A low, rhythmic buzzing filled the air, like cicadas swarming under the shade of trees.

That wasn’t just one creature’s set of teeth.

Blood seeped through the gaps, staining Wen Yuhe’s skin red.

[Rats.]

[Those gnawing teeth—he had seen them not long ago.]

“…Ah. Got it.”

Wen Yuhe’s voice shattered the chaotic thoughts swirling in Bo Zhehan’s mind.

“You’re a pure human, aren’t you, Bo Zhehan? The only reason you’re still standing here, holding onto your sanity, is because of Jishu… So, you already know his effect.”

“…”

“As long as I touch him, these disgusting things will be forced out of me. But it’ll leave me weak—so I need a pure human to help me keep Jishu from leaving this room.”

Wen Yuhe smiled as he fixed his gaze on him.

“Will you help me? At the very least, we’ve known each other for a long time. I’d rather not be rough with you.”

A threat.

It was absolutely a threat.

He claimed he would be weakened, but who knew just how much that actually meant? And against something like him—an unknown existence—even if Wen Yuhe only used a tenth of his strength, Bo Zhehan would be slaughtered like a helpless animal.

“You’ll help me, won’t you?”

“We’ll be friends in the future.” Wen Yuhe’s tone was gentle, persuasive. “I’ll even put in a good word for you in front of your parents. Uncle and Auntie always tell me to spend more time with you…”

Wen Yuhe had always been that kind of person.

The golden child.

Handsome, brilliant, kind—a flawless model of what everyone aspired to be.

The complete opposite of Bo Zhehan.

If someone like him became a so-called “friend,” even a neglected child like Bo Zhehan would finally receive some attention from his parents.

[A slap followed by a sweet date.]

He understood this trick all too well.

Monsters were terrifying.

But sometimes, people were just as revolting—especially the weight of their judgmental stares.

“Well?”

“…”

Wen Yuhe smiled. “I knew you’d agree.”

The teeth embedded in his face let out a faint chittering sound before retreating into his skin.

Bo Zhehan turned around.

Even so, the fine hairs at the back of his neck stood on end.

He pushed open the door.

Ye Jishu lifted his gaze to meet him.

[What is he thinking right now? Suddenly, he was alone with Wen Yuhe, and it seemed like they had reached some sort of agreement…]

He took a step forward, and Wen Yuhe followed him inside.

“C-Can you stand up for a moment?” he asked nervously.

Ye Jishu stared at him for a few seconds.

Though his expression remained blank, there was a faint trace of confusion in his eyes.

Then, he complied and stood up.

[…Why does he look a little stiff? It’s kind of cute.]

No—this was not the time to be thinking about that!

Slowly, he approached Ye Jishu. Then, in a sudden burst of movement, he grabbed the other’s wrist.

Bo Zhehan’s heart pounded wildly from nerves.

It was an impulsive move.

With all his strength, he yanked Ye Jishu toward him, then spun around and slammed into Wen Yuhe, shoving him aside before bolting toward the door with Ye Jishu in tow.

Everything happened too fast.

By the time he regained his senses, they had already sprinted to the end of the hallway.

[So fast.]

[…Is he really not an athlete?]

Still clueless about what was running through the other’s mind, Bo Zhehan hastily tried to explain, afraid that Ye Jishu would shake off his grip.

“I’m telling you, Ye Jishu, that Wen Yuhe, he’s—”

Clack.

His sprint came to an abrupt halt.

In Bo Zhehan’s field of vision, shadows stretched along the stairwell as the dim light cast an outline—a black figure appeared.

[No way… Have we already been caught…?]

A trace of despair crept into his heart.

However, as the figure stepped out from the darkness, an unexpected face was revealed.

“Lin Lin!” Bo Zhehan blurted out.

“You two, go downstairs first,” Lin Lin ordered sharply, his expression grim. “And cover your ears in a moment.”

Though he didn’t specify a subject, Bo Zhehan instantly understood who he meant.

He wasn’t talking about Bo Zhehan—he was talking about Ye Jishu.

But why did he have that instinct?

Was it because Lin Lin had initially been about to draw his gun but suddenly retracted it upon seeing Ye Jishu, tucking it back under his uniform jacket?

Or was it because Wen Yuhe maintained his normal appearance in front of Ye Jishu?

Bo Zhehan’s heartbeat pounded erratically.

As they passed Lin Lin and reached the landing at the stairwell’s turn, Bo Zhehan abruptly pulled Ye Jishu into his arms.

Ignoring the shocked expression on Ye Jishu’s face, he pressed the other’s head firmly against his chest, his arms wrapping around him tightly.

Then, he reached out and covered Ye Jishu’s ears.

Bang! Bang!

In the next moment, gunshots echoed through the hallway.

Bo Zhehan couldn’t hear Lin Lin speaking—only the eerie scraping and rustling sounds.

A shiver ran down his spine.

An image flashed in his mind—those countless gnawing teeth.

Lin Lin’s bullet shattered the knee of whatever stood before him.

Under normal circumstances, a human should have already lost all ability to move.

Yet, Wen Yuhe merely stared coldly, entirely unaffected.

His knee slowly began to regenerate.

Then, like a creature feeding, the wound twisted and pulsed, spitting the bullet out from the seam in his flesh.

“You have great aim,” Wen Yuhe remarked with a smile. “Going straight for the limbs and the temple.”

“But unfortunately, it’s useless against me.”

“Oh, by the way—are you a cop? You look kind of familiar… Have we met somewhere before?”

Lin Lin stared at him.

Though his expression didn’t waver, his eyes burned with hatred.

Normally, even if Lin Lin was consumed by fury, his nerves frayed, and his mind swarmed with chaotic thoughts, he would never let his emotions slip so visibly—so uncontrollably.

But this time—

It wasn’t just because Wen Yuhe was another randomly encountered [source of infection].

It was because of that familiar, detestable face.

Half a year ago, he had seen this person.

It was when a buyer came to take a retired police dog. The man had been standing beside his father, crouching down to gently stroke Marilyn.

That was the last time he saw her alive.

A few days ago.

Following his assigned mission, Lin Lin had left this district.

Wei Yangze had warned him—if he wasn’t prepared to die, he should never return to this place, where the eerie tranquility felt unnatural.

Should he keep digging?

He had already sensed something off about Ye Jishu.

Or should he just turn a blind eye and do his job as a secondary-dispatch officer?

But just as Lin Lin’s mind was spiraling into chaos—

He saw the mission report.

And with just one glance, he froze.

How could the world be this cruelly coincidental?

Here, in this very district—

He had encountered the very [Source of Infection] that had made him abandon his role as a police officer and join the Bureau of Control.

Right in front of him.

“Oh! Now I remember.”

Before him, Wen Yuhe suddenly laughed.

“You were that dog’s previous owner, weren’t you?”

[She was more than just a dog.]

[She had a name.]

Lin Lin reloaded his gun.

“You were the one who picked my father from those sellers. I appreciate that,” Wen Yuhe continued.

“We’ve always used lab rats. But it gets boring, you know? They just squeak and die so quickly. But a dog…”

Lin Lin fired again.

The bullet didn’t harm Wen Yuhe, but the sheer impact knocked him back, slamming his body into the corridor’s glass window.

Before he could steady himself—

Bang!

Another shot struck his temple, snapping his head violently to the side. Blood splattered as a hole tore through his flesh.

Wen Yuhe stared at him coldly. Slowly, his head twisted back into place.

And then, with a grotesque grinding sound, a swarm of chittering teeth emerged from his body.

Rats.

It was rare for animals to harbor deep-seated hatred.

But if they were tortured to death—especially if they were creatures already seen as vile, already burdened with the concept of [resentment] and [darkness—]

Then the hatred could twist a human into a [Source of Infection.]

That was what had happened to the man before him.

His body was likely filled to the brim with the corpses of rats.

“I will take Ye Jishu,” Wen Yuhe declared. “I already know what he is.”

“I’ll make you watch as he helps me return to a human form.”

“If I become human—there’s nothing you can do to me, is there?”

“Oh, no… You can’t do anything to me now, either.”

Lin Lin had no retort.

Because Wen Yuhe was right.

Even now, Lin Lin couldn’t kill him.

All he could do was wait for Wei Yangze to arrive.

“Don’t… joke around.”

A low voice echoed from behind the window.

Wen Yuhe’s expression twisted in shock.

What was that voice?

Who was there?

How had someone entered his space?!

He whipped his head around.

The next moment, black liquid slithered up from the window’s edge.

It wriggled across the filthy floor, reeking of damp rot, slowly taking shape—

A human form.

“Even after leaving… I have always been watching Jishu…”

[Always. Always watching.]

The dark mass murmured, its head hanging low.

Its fingers, limp at its sides, curled tightly into trembling fists.

“If it’s you…”

“Don’t even think about touching Jishu.”

Lin Lin’s eyes widened in shock.

The figure standing before them—

It was none other than the missing [third-stage Source of Infection.]

The very classmate who had died in the elevator.

At the same time—

Wen Yuhe staggered back.

Because, of course—

He recognized him too.

It was precisely because he had sensed the presence of his own kind that he sent that message to Ye Jishu after investigating the death—luring him into dropping his disguise and attacking Professor Chen.

And then, through this, he tested Ye Jishu’s true nature.

Was he really that person?

That was likely why he had appeared here.

The rats inside him stirred restlessly.

He didn’t want to abandon his human shell and turn into something disgusting—like his roommate!

[But if I run into a third-stage of my own kind head-on, there’s nothing I can do.]

Wen Yuhe clenched his jaw.

“I’m taking Jishu away. It’s too dangerous. Right now, it’s too dangerous…!”

But the danger he spoke of—

It definitely wasn’t him.

His roommate continued rambling, his mind clearly unraveling, words jumbling together—

“If… a normal life… is destroyed, then it means… he will… no longer hold back… and then he will…”

[What the hell is he talking about?]

And then, suddenly—

A figure surfaced in Wen Yuhe’s mind.

The entire space turned ice-cold.

A slick, clammy sweat drenched his back in an instant.

He felt it.

That presence.

It had arrived.

—At the stairwell’s landing.

Bo Zhehan heard the sounds vanish.

Cautiously, he loosened his grip, just about to lower his head and whisper something to Ye Jishu—

When he sensed a gaze on him.

Bo Zhehan looked up.

And the next second—

His heartbeat thundered, like a storm crashing down.

Yan Mei was standing on the step below.

He was still wearing his thin outer coat—

Damp from the outside air, carrying a humid chill that drifted up the stairs toward them.

Those deep, bottomless eyes—

Silently watching the scene between them.

And then—

Yan Mei smiled.

“How lively,” he murmured.

Then, looking directly at Ye Jishu, he said—

“Jishu, did you miss me these past few days?”

[But he said he’d be back in three days.]

[And yet, today is only the second—]

Just like the stories—

Where [Bluebeard] returns home too soon.

Yan Mei stepped forward, oppressive heat radiating in waves as he closed the distance between them.