Before stepping into the villa, Lin Huai tilted his head slightly to avoid being struck by a branch yet in the boy’s hallucination, this simple action twisted into something else entirely.
He saw that eerily beautiful young man cast him a deliberate, suggestive glance, the corners of his lips curling upward.
‘Unwilling to accept it, aren’t you? You want to have me, don’t you?’ he heard that voice, brimming with temptation. ‘Then come find me. Think of a way to possess me, to keep me all to yourself… make it so I cannot move, cannot go to anyone else, make me…’
‘Belong only to you.’
A strange, enchanting laughter echoed deep within the boy’s mind. As if waking from a nightmare, he staggered back in panic.
Meanwhile, Lin Huai and Chu Tianshu had already entered the villa.
The boy lowered his head. His hands were already covered in blood.
Covered in blood.
‘The smell of blood.’ He expressionlessly licked his palm. ‘The smell of my blood… he can bleed too.’
He recalled that at home, there seemed to be a very sharp knife.
A good knife was worth a fortune.
A fortune… for a single smile.
“Creak!”
One after the other, Lin Huai and Chu Tianshu stepped into the eerily oppressive residence.
The place seemed as though no one had lived in it for a long time; even the air carried a faint, moldy stench. The lighting inside was dim. In the living room sat a sofa and a television. As Lin Huai pushed the door open, he caught sight of a shadow flickering briefly on the second floor.
He narrowed his eyes.
They had only just stepped into the entryway when the previously open door shut behind them without any wind.
A heavy, oppressive yin aura surged through the surroundings. Lin Huai looked around warily. Chu Tianshu grasped the doorknob and tried to turn it, then said, “It won’t open.”
Lin Huai crouched down to examine it as well. “If I’d known, I would’ve just removed the door first…”
“It’s fine. This works just as well.” Chu Tianshu weighed the wrench in his hand. “Like catching a turtle in a jar.”
From upstairs came a series of eerie giggles, followed by the sound of a woman crawling across the floor.
Lin Huai said, “She’s probably thinking the same thing.”
Instead of going upstairs right away, the two of them first made a round of the first floor. To their surprise, the house appeared relatively clean.
“The yin energy is very heavy.” Chu Tianshu sniffed lightly and gave his assessment. “The owner of this house is very powerful.”
“Clang!”
A crawling sound echoed from the staircase. Lin Huai turned around, narrowing his eyes.
Almost instinctively, he shifted into a stance ready to attack.
His originally dark eyes turned blood red and the ends of his school uniform began to stain with a deep crimson hue.
At that moment, however, Chu Tianshu grabbed his hand.
“Your hand is so cold,” Chu Tianshu said in a low voice. “Are you afraid?”
Lin Huai: …
“My hands are always cold, ”
Lin Huai’s hands were indeed cold but Chu Tianshu’s were warm. He enclosed Lin Huai’s cool fingers within his own palms and said softly, “Don’t be afraid.”
Lin Huai narrowed his eyes. “Do I look like I’m afraid?”
“Alright.” Chu Tianshu looked at Lin Huai, who looked fully capable of taking on five Kayakos at once and scratched his head. “I just thought saying that would make me seem more boyfriend material…”
“Boyfriend material…”
“Meow”
A shrill, eerie cat’s cry rang out. The two turned around to see a pale faced boy crouched beside the television, staring at them with his mouth wide open.
As soon as they turned to look at him, he dashed upstairs with rapid footsteps.
“That child should be Toshio, right?” Lin Huai said.
“Mm, probably.” Chu Tianshu commented, “He’s actually pretty cute.”
Lin Huai: …
The corner of his eye twitched. “Cute?”
Whether it was the pale, bluish face, the gloomy expression, or the dark aura surrounding him… from any angle, that little boy could hardly be described as cute.
“Isn’t he?” Chu Tianshu looked at him in confusion. “Small, simple minded, he screams and cries when beaten but when you pick him up and play with him, he smiles very cutely…”
“How is screaming and crying even part of that… Anyway, I hate human children,” Lin Huai stated. “Just thinking about living under the same roof as such a small creature, having to endure their screaming, crying and all kinds of childish behavior every day, is enough to give me a headache.”
He narrowed his eyes, as if recalling the chaos caused a few months ago when Shao Wei’s five year old sister had come running into the dormitory: “Bratty kids will knock over your cup, ruin your drawings, mess up your desk, delete your files and even break your models and figurines… mm, I hate bratty kids.”
Chu Tianshu: …
“Well, actually, not every child is that annoying,” Chu Tianshu said. “A friend of mine once met a kid who was quite cute.”
Lin Huai: ?
“But from a certain perspective, he wasn’t exactly an ordinary child. His way of thinking was rather… different from normal people’s…”
“For example?”
“He would take on all kinds of odd jobs just to run away from home and when those failed, he’d start planning a robbery and even while planning the robbery, he’d very politely use courteous language… things like that…”
Chu Tianshu rubbed his nose.
Lin Huai: …
“The friend you’re talking about… could it be…”
Lin Huai’s eye twitched, though he wisely chose not to press further. After a moment of silence, he said, “Why don’t you just have one yourself in the future?”
“You can give birth?”
Lin Huai: …damn it.
From upstairs, the clacking sounds of the vengeful ghost crawling continued yet the two people downstairs seemed completely indifferent to it.
Lin Huai speechlessly pried Chu Tianshu’s fingers off his hand one by one. “What do you mean by that?”
Chu Tianshu: …
“What did you just say?”
“Hahaha, I was just joking.” Chu Tianshu tapped his head lightly. “Why are you reacting so strongly?”
Lin Huai: …
“By the way, why is there dust everywhere…” Chu Tianshu looked around, wrench in hand. “Hm? Where did Kayako go? I had such a big Kayako right here…”
“You…”
Looking at Chu Tianshu, who appeared utterly unconcerned, Lin Huai fell into deep thought.
After being reborn and losing his memory, he had read quite a number of novels and watched plenty of TV dramas in order to make up for his lack of knowledge about human interactions.
For many straight men, their understanding of friendship and the boundaries of interaction between men could be quite unconventional, so much so that it often made others feel compelled to exclaim “yoooooo.”
In real life, this kind of interaction included but was not limited to, the back rows of classrooms after class, where groups of boys would gather and twist around together, or on the sports field after an athletic meet, where boys would hoist up their closest and most popular friend and carry out certain… enthusiastic displays.
In fictional works, it was reflected in countless stories of deep and sincere bonds between men.
These included but were not limited to, scenarios like “the whole world betrayed me but only you stood by me,” “the whole world forgot me but only you remembered,” “if you disappear, at least I will know,” or even “even if I have to break your arms and legs, I’ll drag you back to the village.”
From a certain perspective, genuine friendship between men was often far less restrained. They would casually joke in ways that overturned expectations and naturally engage in behavior that others might consider excessively suggestive. Therefore…
Chu Tianshu was probably just making a typical “straight guy joke” with him?
After going through this entire train of thought, Lin Huai felt that he had arrived at the correct conclusion. He clicked his tongue. “Alright, I get it now.”
“What do you get?”
Chu Tianshu turned to look at him. Lin Huai stroked his chin. “I think I understand the scale of jokes between straight men now. I was probably just overreacting before.”
Chu Tianshu: …
“After all, this is a world where everyone is inexplicably obsessed with me. It’s only natural for me to have a bit of an extreme reaction,” Lin Huai commented. “Back at the broadcasting room too, you’re a straight guy, so why were you suddenly making so many… questionable jokes? And before that, you even said something about pursuing me…”
Chu Tianshu: …
He suddenly fell silent and turned his face away. Seeing his wordless reaction, Lin Huai felt an inexplicable sense of unease rise in his chest.
That expression of sudden guilt…
Could it be…
In an instant, memories surged like a tide, the creepy guy who stole his bread, the one who secretly photographed him, the one who screamed upon seeing him at the school gate… all those unpleasant recollections flooded back. Looking at the pitch dark villa and listening to the sound of Kayako crawling around, Lin Huai, for the first time, felt…
Fear.
“W…. wait, Brother Chu.” Lin Huai grabbed Chu Tianshu’s arm anxiously. “You haven’t been affected by that buff too, have you? You’re the only straight man in this world I can trust…”
Chu Tianshu: …
“Seriously? You’ve fallen for it too?” Lin Huai’s lips twitched uncontrollably. “Wait, should I put on a mask first? No, I mean, someone like you, a straight guy, shouldn’t your aesthetic preference be for gentle, beautiful, kind and cute rich young ladies?”
Chu Tianshu: …
He looked at Lin Huai with a disdainful expression and, as if in retaliation, pried his fingers off one by one.
“Who do you think I am? Do you think I’d be so easily influenced by something like that?” he scoffed. “Do you really think that I would only feel this way toward you because of it…?”
Lin Huai: …
He still looked at Chu Tianshu with suspicion. After staring at him for a moment, Chu Tianshu suddenly stepped forward, closing the distance bit by bit, until he had backed Lin Huai into a corner.
Lin Huai: #Q%@#%!%DSA!!
“Y…. you, me, this…”
Only at this moment did Lin Huai truly feel the pressure emanating from the other person and only now did he realize…
Chu Tianshu was actually a full head taller than him.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The Realm accepts your wallet. The translator accepts coffee. ✦
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 111 · Although the author really didn’t want to writeChapter 112 · An explanation of the main storylineChapter 113 · Lin Huai’s QuestionChapter 114 · Hello classmateChapter 115 · Let me introduce the protagonist’s family backgroundChapter 116 · The innocent and naive Lin XiaohuaiChapter 117 · The Trisolarans ArriveChapter 118 · He Isn’t Fighting AloneChapter 119 · Why Here?Chapter 120 · A World Where Everyone Is Sculpted in ClayChapter 121 · How Could It Be YouChapter 122 · I want to sell my carChapter 123 · The Mysterious Transfer StudentsChapter 124 · Gu BeichenChapter 125 · The Male Lead of This StoryChapter 126 · A Voice Never Heard BeforeChapter 127 · You’re Tomie, aren’t you?Chapter 128 · I’ll give youChapter 129 · I just want to be with youChapter 130 · The Principal’s OfficeChapter 131 · Chu: I Disbanded Your Hate GroupsChapter 132 · Speak ProperlyChapter 133 · A Trisolaran Enters the Grand View GardenChapter 134 · Ji FengjianChapter 135 · About Me and YouChapter 136 · Kayako Likes ItChapter 137 · YouChapter 138 · I’ll Beat MyselfChapter 139 · I Want to See MyselfChapter 140 · The Trisolarans’ First Experience of Love and SexChapter 141 · The Trisolarans Try Romance Once MoreChapter 142 · The Trisolarans Try Romance for the Third TimeChapter 143 · It’s All This Buff’s FaultChapter 144 · The Way You Straight Men TalkChapter 145 · Why are you taking it so seriously?Chapter 146 · Chu Tianshu Shows Off His MusclesChapter 147 · Enter the DreamChapter 148 · Leave a little secretChapter 149 · Shadow StreamerChapter 150 · Don’t Look at MeChapter 151 · The Trisolarans betrayed StalinChapter 152 · Then I WillChapter 153 · The Trisolarans rewrite the Book of Life and DeathChapter 154 · What Career Could Be More Important Than Your Wife?Chapter 155 · Aren’t We Already Together?Chapter 156 · MVP of the Entire FieldChapter 157 · Meeting the FamilyChapter 158 · A Phone Call Across Time and SpaceChapter 159 · Lu Jin, You’re So MiserableChapter 160 · The Lands Of DaughtersChapter 161 · The So Called Pregnancy StreamChapter 162 · The Street Where Only the Two of Us ExistChapter 163 · No bare faceChapter 164 · Question 1: Do you have hair loss?Chapter 165 · LaxativesChapter 166 · Where Exactly Do You Exist?Chapter 167 · Seven ZeroChapter 168 · The issue of 0 and 1Chapter 169 · Wind ChimeChapter 170 · Visa and Wind ChimesChapter 171 · Continue to persecute Lu JinChapter 172 · Examiner: I’ve fallen in love with himChapter 173 · Lin Huai intimidates scalpersChapter 174 · Night of EvilChapter 175 · Congratulations to the Male Guests on Successfully Finding Their PartnersChapter 176 · Before ThisChapter 177 · The gong says he is terrifiedChapter 178 · The Tasker CampChapter 179 · I’m So ScaredChapter 180 · The Final Transitional ChapterChapter 181 · Four Beauties Among the FlowersChapter 182 · Plum FragranceChapter 183 · Dry Weather and Flammable ThingsChapter 184 · The Heartless Sword ManualChapter 185 · Only MeChapter 186 · The North PoleChapter 187 · Let Brother Lin Learn to Meow Like a CatChapter 188 · Good Night