Ye Chen stared at the tissue she handed over and reached out his hand before hesitantly accepting it.
He took the tissue and stuffed it in his nose. It took a while before the bleeding stopped.
Ye Chen pinched the tissue and asked, “Did you find those people just now?”
“Hmm.”
An unsurprising answer.
“Why… why are you so nice to me?” At the start, he thought she had a hidden motive but after such a long time, she had not done anything to him.
“To make you think that I’m your friend.” ‘To be your friend, I have worked very hard!’
“…”
“Why do you want me to think that you’re my friend?”
He had not heard this for the first time, but it was his first time asking that question.
“Err…” The girl in front went into deep thought.
Bastard, how should I reply to him?
‘Should I say I’m completing a mission? To go back?’
[You can’t, Little miss!]King agitatedly shouted and did not even notice Chuzheng calling it bastard. [Of course, you can’t say that you are completing missions.]
‘Then, what should I say?’
[You can say anything as long as you don’t say that you are completing missions… Wait, let me think, don’t spout nonsense!]King was afraid little miss would say words about getting rid of society.
When it first met little miss, it thought she was a bronze player. It had not known that she was the King.
[How about you say… you like him.]
‘Getting rid of them was still better.’
[…No! No! No!]King shivered in fright.
“After being a nasty person for so long, I’m thinking of trying to see if I can be a friend.”
After Chuzheng read out her lines, she felt something was off.
Bastard, I’m a bad person in your eyes?
[…]’Aren’t you clear if you’re a bad person or not?’ [Of course not. I’m talking about the proprietress. Proprietress! Little miss, you are pretty with a sweet voice. How could you be a bad person?]
Ye Chen looked at her strangely.
At that moment, the store owner delivered two cups of bubble tea and cut off his scrutinizing gaze.
“What is this for?” Chuzheng took up the pile and asked Ye Chen.
Ye Chen did not know if she was pretending or not but still pointed to the wall beside them. “You can write whatever you want to say such as wishes on the paper, and paste it there. It’s just for entertainment purposes…” It was useless.
Ye Chen swallowed the last few words back and reversed the question. “Do you want to write one?”
“Oh.”
Chuzheng’s reply was cold.
Ye Chen thought that she did not know how to write, but who knew when she picked up a pen and started writing.
Ye Chen realized that Chuzheng wrote words very slowly but her words were very nice as though it was printed from the computer as every word was especially accurate.
However…
What was she writing?
Get rid of XX?
Who was XX?
Was the ‘getting rid’ she meant, the same as what he understood it as?
Following which, Chuzheng wrote quite a few pieces which were all to get rid of XX. Clearly, she had not wanted to get rid of just one person but many people.
He thought they agreed it was for wishes!
Why had she written it like a curse!
–
Chuzheng sent Ye Chen home and Ye Chen remained silent as always.
He wanted to talk but had not known how to break the silence.
“I’m home.”
Ye Chen looked at the building in front of him.
“Hmm.” Chuzheng gave him his things. “Good night.”
“…Good night.”
Ye Chen took a deep breath before turning around and proceeding upstairs.
When he looked back, that girl had already left. The street lights stood lonely at the roadside and the darkness afar looked as though it could swallow him up.
He was used to such an environment.
Darkness…
Coldness…
“Ye Chen! Where did you go?”
A shout came from upstairs and Ye Chen immediately held his school bag tightly.
The woman upstairs rushed down quickly and it was unknown what she was holding but she hit it towards Ye Chen.
A “huhu” sound drifted through the corridor.
“Now, you can leave the nest already? You came back so late, what have you been doing? I can’t even manage you anymore…”
The woman’s scolding drifted off the corridor and she was not even the least scared of disturbing their neighbors.
If someone were to come out, they would be scolded by the woman as well. Thus, everyone became accustomed to it and closed their doors, waiting for this incident to pass over.
When Chuzheng came back to pass Ye Chen her homework, she witnessed that scene.
[Little miss, do something!]King immediately encouraged Chuzheng.
How troublesome!
How troublesome!
At that moment, Chuzheng only had one word pasted on her face. Unconcerned.
If she did not complete the mission, she had to repeat again and again… Continuously repeating!
Who wanted to repeat continuously!
She did not want it!
[Little miss, don’t just stand there. Do something! Hero… No, it’s time for the beauty to save the hero!]
“…”
That bastard was really noisy.
Was there a way to block him off?
With that thought, King’s voice disappeared.
Hmm?
It really could be blocked off?
Bastard? Bastard?
…Blocking off canceled.
[Little miss, ahh…]This was bad! Little miss got a new skill! Medicine! Medicine!
Block off!
The noise in her brain stopped and Chuzheng became happier as the bastard was too noisy.
Chuzheng waited until the woman stopped scolding and left Ye Chen in the corridor, not allowing him to enter the house.
Ye Chen sat at the corner of the stairs as though he wanted to blend in with the darkness.
Chuzheng stood for a while before slowly walking over.
Ye Chen heard sounds of footsteps and raised his head to look over. At that moment, Chuzheng felt as though she was glared at by a fierce wolf who looked warm on the outside yet cold on the inside.
Its sharp canines were shown yet it dared not scratch others, showing a sense of pitifulness.
“I forgot to give you my homework.” Chuzheng expressionlessly sat beside him and gave him her homework with no sense of pity.
Ye Chen lowered his head and took it over before messily stuffing it into his school bag. He held his bag as though something was reaching out in the darkness and circled around Ye Chen tightly, making him unable to breathe.
After a moment, he broke the silence. “You saw everything just now?”
“Hmm.”
“…Do you think that I’m useless?” He was in such a sorry state all the time.
Chuzheng had a dull look and her tone was even duller. “When one has no power yet, the best way is to tolerate it.”
Ye Chen turned his head and looked at her but it was a pity as he could only clearly see her silhouette.
He should be feeling ashamed for his inferiority in front of her. She was as though the clear and bright moon in the sky while he was the dirtiest and darkest ditch on earth.
They did not belong to the same world.
The more he did not want her to see him in such a sorry state.
Unfortunately, she saw everything.
Chuzheng asked him. “Do you have a place to go?”
Ye Chen thought for a while before shaking his head. But Chuzheng might not have seen that so he spoke up. “No.”
“Come with me.”
Chuzheng stood up and patted off the dust on her body.
Ye Chen lifted up his eyes and looked at her, but had not stood up.
“I still have to pass up my homework tomorrow.”
Ye Chen: “…”
So it was all for the sake of the homework.
–
The proprietress had a house for herself. When the proprietress was unhappy in the family house or when she argued with her stepmother, she would come here.
Sometimes, she would take in a few fair-weather friends.
Ye Chen followed Chuzheng and entered the house. The house was empty and felt very dull.
“This is the study room, you can do the homework here.”
Chuzheng pushed open a door.
Ye Chen nodded his head and carried his bag in.
Chuzheng’s homework was not a lot and was easy as well so he finished it very quickly. He noticed that there were many messy things piled up on the study table.
He looked back and saw the tightly closed room door before he carefully flipped through those things.
There were a few crumpled exam papers in between.
Ye Chen smoothed the crumpled exam papers and saw that all of it had a fail grade. There were even weird marks on it as though someone cried and the makeup dripped on the paper.
Did she know how to cry?
Ye Chen supported his chin and went into deep thought. How would that cold and indifferent face look when she cried?