In the evening after school, today was Saturday, the only night in senior year without evening self-study.
The classroom was sparsely populated, with only a few diligent students still around.
Shen Guhan sat sideways, looking at Ye Jinyun, who was still sprawled wide-open over the desk. Birds chirped outside the window, and the classroom was especially quiet.
As the sun set, the brows and eyes of the boy on the desk twitched slightly.
“You’re awake?” Shen Guhan flipped through a nearly brand-new textbook, and at the beginning of the page, the three characters Ye Jinyun were written in flamboyant, flowing strokes. He looked at them with great interest.
Ye Jinyun stretched lazily, glanced around, and saw that only he and Shen Guhan were left. He looked at Shen Guhan in surprise.
“Why haven’t you left yet?”
After sleeping through the entire day, he had already forgotten all about the matter of agreeing during the day to let Shen Guhan stay over at his house.
Seeing Ye Jinyun’s unfamiliar, distant gaze, Shen Guhan put down the textbook in his hand and said, “I’m waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me? For something?” Ye Jinyun felt baffled.
Looking at Ye Jinyun, who had completely forgotten what had happened during the day, Shen Guhan was not annoyed either. He said, “You promised to let me stay with you.”
“That does seem like something that happened.”
Ye Jinyun scratched his head. He thought it over and did have some impression of it, but it seemed like he had only agreed to let Shen Guhan stay for one night?
“Let’s go.” Shen Guhan quickly stood up and picked up the schoolbag Ye Jinyun had carried that morning, cutting off Ye Jinyun’s thoughts.
“Don’t take it. Just leave it here. There’s nothing in it anyway.” Ye Jinyun glanced sideways at his actions and said indifferently.
Shen Guhan lifted the schoolbag. It was feather-light, with nothing in it at all. It seemed that Ye Jinyun had come to this world simply to sleep. He looked at Ye Jinyun again, trying to see something from his face, but he could see nothing at all.
“Why aren’t you leaving yet?” Ye Jinyun had already reached the door and saw that Shen Guhan was still carrying his schoolbag. He said impatiently.
“Mm.” Shen Guhan set down the schoolbag in his hand and followed Ye Jinyun.
The dim streetlights by the roadside filtered through the branches and scattered sparsely over the clean ground, stretching the shadow of the person ahead. Shen Guhan walked step by step beneath that shadow.
Suddenly, the person in front stopped.
“At night, what do you want to eat?” Ye Jinyun asked.
What to eat? Shen Guhan opened his mouth, only to realize that there was no trace of food in his mind at all. It was as if he had never needed to eat.
“What do you want to eat?” Shen Guhan had never been this patient before.
Since Shen Guhan did not make any unreasonable demands, Ye Jinyun was happy to be at ease. He went straight to the ramen shop next to them and ordered two bowls of beef noodles.
“One bowl is twelve, Weixin or Zhifubao?” Ye Jinyun carried the two packed bowls of ramen and took out his phone.
Shen Guhan looked at the metal rectangle in Ye Jinyun’s hand and fell silent.
“You didn’t bring any money, did you?” Ye Jinyun looked at Shen Guhan in surprise. Wasn’t he supposed to be a rich second generation?
“I forgot to bring it.” Shen Guhan kept a straight face, not the least bit guilty.
“Ohhh.” Ye Jinyun gave Shen Guhan a meaningful look. “Bro, are you running away from home?”
Running away from home? Shen Guhan looked at Ye Jinyun’s slightly sympathetic gaze, then finally said after a pause, “I guess so.”
Ye Jinyun did not continue fussing over the money issue and led Shen Guhan straight back home.
Ye Jinyun’s home was in an old residential complex, with no elevator. Fortunately, his place was on the third floor, so they got there quickly.
Shen Guhan looked at the square, pitch-black house, like a cage. Was this Ye Jinyun’s real home?
He silently stepped inside.
“My parents might be back a little late, so you and I will eat first.” Ye Jinyun walked straight to the old wooden table and called to Shen Guhan.
“Okay.” Shen Guhan sat down too.
Watching Ye Jinyun play on his phone with one hand while casually taking a few mouthfuls of noodles, Shen Guhan lowered his head and took a bite.
“What is this?”
Ye Jinyun looked up, swallowed the noodles in his mouth, and said, “You’ve never had beef noodles before?”
Shen Guhan tasted it again and only felt that the flavor was extremely special. Although it was mortal food, he felt that he had instantly taken a liking to the taste.
He narrowed his eyes and said, “Not bad.”
Seeing Shen Guhan eat just a bowl of beef noodles as though it were some kind of delicacy from the mortal world, Ye Jinyun shook his head with a smile, only feeling that rich people talked too much even while eating, and then said, “If it tastes good, eat more.”
“Okay.” Shen Guhan ate slowly. He felt that being here with Ye Jinyun was very comfortable.
Click.
The door opened again, and a middle-aged woman dressed in a refined, intellectual style walked in. Her face was full of fatigue.
“Mom.”
In the dim room, it was as if light had shone into Ye Jinyun’s eyes.
Shen Guhan turned his head. The middle-aged woman tugged at the corners of her mouth, seeming to want to smile at Ye Jinyun, but the fatigue on her face did not allow it. In the end, she only managed an awkward curve.
“There’s a guest at home?” The woman’s voice was hoarse, and her tone carried an unhidden coldness. It did not sound pleasant.
Ye Jinyun’s gaze dimmed, then brightened again, and he answered, “Mm.”
“Go to your room after you finish eating.” The middle-aged woman walked straight into one of the rooms, leaving only those words behind, and said nothing else.
Shen Guhan put down the utensils in his hand and looked thoughtfully at the dejected Ye Jinyun.
But Ye Jinyun turned his head as if nothing had happened and asked, “Are you full?”
Half a bowl of beef noodles seemed to have lost all its fragrance. Shen Guhan nodded.
“Are you going to sleep?” Ye Jinyun’s whole body sank into the bed as he asked in a muffled voice.
Shen Guhan also imitated Ye Jinyun’s movement and lay down beside him, asking, “Are you sleeping?”
Ye Jinyun did not seem to be in high spirits. He pulled the blanket beside him over his face and said, “Sleep.”
Very soon, Ye Jinyun made no more sound, and Shen Guhan had no choice but to close his eyes too.
…
Shen Guhan opened his eyes. The sounds from the next room passed through the wall into his ears.
“You went to that woman again?” The woman’s hoarse voice was tightly suppressed.
After a long while, a man’s voice full of irritation finally said, “I’ve already said it many times. What else do you want me to do?”
“Do you really think I’m an idiot? Or do you think everyone else is blind?” The woman’s voice rang out again. “Please, if you’re going to do this dirty thing, can you do it cleanly? You don’t want any face, but I still want mine!”
As the woman’s voice rose, the man became even more irritated. “Believe whatever you want.”
Then came another short argument, and soon the man left.
Heavy footsteps approached, and Shen Guhan closed his eyes again.
Click. The room door opened, and the woman walked into the room where Shen Guhan and Ye Jinyun were.
The curtains in the room had not been drawn, and the moonlight at night was surprisingly bright.
Ye Jinyun lay by the window, the blanket still covering his face.
The woman stood by the window, motionless.
After a long while, the woman sighed and walked out of the room.
Shen Guhan felt a slight trembling beside him. Under the moonlight, the blanket looked even softer. He reached out and pulled Ye Jinyun fully into his arms, saying, “Sleep.”
The person in his arms made no sound, and the room once again fell quiet.
…
The next day, Shen Guhan found that he was no longer beside Ye Jinyun, but had returned to the intersection from yesterday morning. He saw Ye Jinyun carrying his schoolbag, almost falling asleep, and stepped forward to stop him. “Ye Jinyun.”
“Brother, why are you stopping me?”
Shen Guhan let go and only said, “I mistook you for someone else.”
“You’re sick.” Ye Jinyun cursed under his breath, clearly in a bad mood, and quickened his pace.
Watching Ye Jinyun leave, Shen Guhan understood by now that Ye Jinyun’s illusion realm was endlessly repeating the day he had experienced yesterday.
Why was Ye Jinyun sinking into such an illusion? This kind of illusion was very easy to see through, and was among the most basic of illusion realms. For someone like Ye Jinyun, the chosen one, it should have been extremely easy.
“01.” Shen Guhan wanted to understand the reason.
“I’m here,” 01 replied. It was almost dozing off, and the instant Shen Guhan called, it woke up at once. “What can I do for you, my dear Demon Lord?”
As some famous person said, life is just like this and that. Since one cannot resist it, one might as well learn to accept it happily. 01 felt that it had adapted fairly well.
Hearing 01’s words, which had gone too far over the line, Shen Guhan subconsciously released his pressure. The entire illusion realm rippled, as if it might disappear in the next second.
“Demon Lord, please don’t be angry. If you tear open the illusion realm, Ye Jinyun’s soul will be destroyed along with it.” 01 had never expected that it had only meant to take a little verbal advantage, and Shen Guhan would actually release his pressure, nearly causing it to leave this illusion realm for good.
“Mind your mouth.” Shen Guhan’s face was cold. Thinking of Ye Jinyun, he still withdrew his pressure.
The illusion realm returned to normal again.
“Yes, yes.” 01 hurriedly agreed. It felt that it had been foolish, thinking that because Shen Guhan was gentle and tolerant toward Ye Jinyun, it had forgotten Shen Guhan’s role as the big villain, and it had even dared to joke with him. It hurriedly tried to make up for it.
“What are your orders?”
“What’s going on with that woman and man?” Shen Guhan asked, following behind Ye Jinyun.
“That woman and man are Ye Jinyun’s biological parents,” 01 quickly told Shen Guhan everything it knew. “What you just experienced was Ye Jinyun’s parents arguing over divorce.”
“Arguing over divorce?”
“It means a separation, a divorce.” 01 explained.
“Why are they arguing over divorce?”
“Because Ye Jinyun’s father cheated and kept a mistress, in other words, took an outside woman.” 01 was afraid Shen Guhan would not understand, and continued explaining.
“Took an outside woman?” Shen Guhan recalled his own father, the previous Demon Lord, with a palace full of demon consorts, freely favoring women whenever he went out.
Although he found it disgusting, in the World of Longevity this was a place where the strong were respected, so it was extremely normal. Thus he did not understand. “Why would taking an outside woman lead to divorce?”
“Because this world Ye Jinyun is in values monogamy.” 01 said.
“The World of Longevity does too.” Shen Guhan was puzzled.
“Because, because…” 01 wanted to explain, then realized it could not get through to Shen Guhan, and finally gave up. “Anyway, in this world, people who love each other must be a couple for life.”
“A couple for life?”