Ch16 - Demonic Eye (1/2)
There were four beds in Zhou Sheng’s dormitory. Two were piled up with sundries — his roommates had rented a room outside. The other bed belonged to Fu Liqun, and looking at it now, you could tell that he didn’t return to the dorm last night.
Yu Hao, “There’s only the two of you in your dorm?”
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Zhou Sheng had taken his shirt off the moment he entered. He had lean muscles and well-defined abdominal muscles as he walked around shirtless in front of Yu Hao. For a homosexual, this was simply a temptation that was at the level of a celestial dish. Yu Hao had always told himself that he couldn’t fall for a straight guy again, otherwise he would eventually die a terrible death. However, he was still a little overwhelmed when he was faced with the physique of an excellent male specimen right before his eyes, so he could only try his best to not look at Zhou Sheng.
“Fu Liqun stayed out overnight.” Zhou Sheng opened his wardrobe and rummaged through his rumpled shirts; he had to sniff them one by one to find one that he could wear. Yu Hao passed him the clothes and socks that he had cleaned, then Zhou Sheng threw him a kiss and said, “Wonderful, love you~” before he turned around and entered the bathroom.
Yu Hao, “……”
Zhou Sheng’s table was in a mess. It was piled up with a few EVA figurines1, the complete set of One Piece, as well as swimsuit ladies lying on top of cup noodles2. There were a few time cards3 that had been scratched and a brand new English CET-4 book thrown to a side — only the first three questions of the book had been completed as expected.
But the sports shoes underneath the table were laid out very neatly.
Yu Hao inadvertently caught a glimpse of a golden handicraft that had a large dial on it next to the alarm clock —— within the circle was a hollowed-out solar ornamentation, and it was surrounded by four hollowed-out bird-shaped patterns that had been carved into it. It looked like a classically gorgeous gold ring.
Yu Hao had a nagging feeling that he had seen it somewhere before, so he faced the bathroom and asked, “What’s this?”
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Zhou Sheng was humming as he bathed. When he heard Yu Hao, he stopped, “What is it? Bring it over and I’ll take a look.”
Yu hao didn’t ask any more questions. After Zhou Sheng finished bathing, he came out wearing only his briefs and Yu Hao almost suffered a nosebleed. He quickly said, “Put your clothes on, don’t catch a cold again.”
Zhou Sheng went to take a look at his phone with an indifferent expression on his face. After he sent a message out, Huang Ting called him back a few times. Yu Hao picked up the artifact on display. Zhou Sheng put his clothes on and casually took it from Yu Hao to place it in his pocket, “Lucky item. I carry it around with me when I go for competitions so that I can have a peace of mind, it……put on more clothes, our battle begins! Let’s go!”
Zhou Sheng patted Yu Hao’s shoulders. Yu Hao suddenly felt a lot more at ease, and all the concerns he had vanished within an instant. It was as if with a strong friend like Zhou Sheng by his side, he had nothing to fear.
Ying city turned even colder after it had snowed throughout the night, but it was as warm as spring within the flower cafe. Yu Hao wore too many layers today so the heat made him feel a bit restless. He and Shi Ni both had a cup of chocolate in their hands, while Zhou Sheng was drinking black coffee. Silence fell upon the three of them.
“For you guys.” When Shi Ni took out her Christmas gifts, her hands were trembling from nervousness.
Yu Hao accepted her gift — it was a box of exquisite chocolates. There were only four pieces inside and it looked very expensive. He casually asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”
“Un.” Shi Ni was obviously a little tired. She was wrapped up in a down jacket with her long hair tucked behind her ears and could already be considered a small adult. She looked up at him and asked, “What do I need to do?”
Yu Hao sincerely said, “It’s up to you.”
Zhou Sheng leaned back on his chair as he scrutinised Shi Ni; he hadn’t said a single word from the start. His gaze was filled with pity, sorrow and anger, but he sensibly left this up to Yu Hao to handle.
Shi Ni fell silent again. Yu Hao knows that she must be feeling very uneasy right now, and she might even be regretting her decision. After all, the one who had accompanied her by her side was Xiaoxiao, but now that all her support had disappeared within an instant, she needed to rebuild the bridge of trust between her, Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng.
Yu Hao had gone through something similar before; there was once a period in his life that made him distrust everyone around him. But now, he was beginning to understand that the most genuine and sincere relationship people can share…is one of mutual trust. The words “I trust you” have been said — this was the premise that all emotional bonds are formed upon, and it marked the beginning of someone’s journey out of their darkness as they ventured towards the sun.
The first bonds of trust form in one’s family during childhood, but Mr. Shi’s actions had completely disintegrated and shattered her trust, so she didn’t dare have faith in anyone anymore. But now, she was trying to trust them. Or rather, she could not completely extinguish the hopes she had for others hidden in the depths of her heart. When she said the words “I trust you” under Xiaoxiao’s encouragement, it triggered Yu Hao’s memory of his past self. Slowly, he began to understand the crucial element that was necessary in undoing the knot in Shi Ni’s heart.
【Do you have some time today?】
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Yu Hao inadvertently glanced at his phone and saw Chen Yekai’s WeChat message.
Te Ljb mbeiv bcis gfqis tlw klat j rlwqif wfrrjuf jcv abiv tlw atja tf kjr bearlvf.
“Qtja’r Wljbzljb’r regcjwf?” Te Ljb ibmxfv tlr qtbcf rmgffc jcv revvfcis mtjcufv atf abqlm ys jrxlcu j mbwqifafis ecgfijafv defralbc.
“Her surname is Lu4.” Shi Ni said, “Why?”
Te Ljb cbvvfv, atlr tjv mbcolgwfv tlr rqfmeijalbc. Lf kjr agslcu ab rfjgmt obg atf ilcxr yfakffc tfg vgfjwrmjqf jcv gfjilas, jr lo tf kjr cjnlujalcu atgbeut j wjhf.
“Has she left?” Yu Hao asked again.
“She left in the morning.” Shi Ni took her phone out for a look and said, “She has already boarded the plane.”
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
Yu Hao asked, “Did she leave any souvenirs for you?”
Shi Ni stretched her left hand out — she was wearing a braided bracelet around her wrist. She said, “We have one each.”
Yu Hao thought that when they enter her dream again, this bracelet could be of some use, like his laundry fork. But after Yu Hao thought about it for a bit, he felt a little uneasy. He had been trying his best to analyse Shi Ni’s dream the whole day today, and the only volatile element in it was the demonic eye above the lighthouse.
As stated in《Lord of the Rings》5, the demonic eye serves as a symbol of an omniscient being’s surveillance; which is to say, Shi Ni’s every single move was being monitored by Mr. Shi. Even though this was only how Shi Ni perceived it to be, there must be a reason why she had formed this perception over the years.
Yu Hao didn’t dare to bring this matter up bluntly, otherwise it would trigger an even greater sense of fear within Shi Ni which would allow the demonic eye in her dream to grow even stronger.
“When will your father come back?”
“The day after tomorrow.” Shi Ni said dejectedly.
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Yu Hao pondered for a long while. Zhou Sheng suddenly stretched his leg out under the table and bumped him lightly. Yu Hao looked up at Zhou Sheng and knew what he was thinking—— brief and sharp pains were better than lasting, dull ones. He had to say what he needed to.
But Yu Hao suddenly changed his mind and faced Shi Ni as he asked, “What is your father most afraid of?”
“Ah?” Shi Ni looked surprised.
She had always been waiting for Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng to bring her to the police station, as if she was being taken there for an injection. The future terrified her, and she felt as if she was waiting for a sentence.
Yet Yu Hao never mentioned it, so Shi Ni’s tense nerves had begun to relax without her notice.
“Think about it, treat him as a big boss.” Yu Hao frowned and said, “What kind of weakness does he have that would make him fear you?”
But what Yu Hao was thinking about was actually the demonic eye that floated above the lighthouse in her dreamscape. When he enters the dreamscape again tonight, he would have to engage in their final battle with the demonic eye. He connected this to the last time when he had used a laundry fork to ruthlessly get rid of his dark self, and even though he and General were the main forces this time, Shi Ni’s help may play a very important role in their impending fight.
“Weakness?” Shi Ni seemed like she had never thought of that question before.
Zhou Sheng finally spoke, “For example, who he’s most afraid of, or what he’s most afraid of? Does he have some secret that he doesn’t want other people to know about? Is he involved in any bribery cases? How much money is he hiding under his bed?”
Shi Ni, “???”
Yu Hao said, “It’s impossible for her to know those kinds of things!”