Chapter 298: Stargazing

Chapter 298: Stargazing

Fresh Snow woke up to find herself lying on the large, soft bed in the room on the second floor, her hair and clothes almost dried.

The light was off, leaving the room illuminated by the moonlight coming from the window. In the soft spotlight sat Gao Yang.

“You awake?” Gao Yang asked quietly.

Fresh Snow opened and closed her mouth before croaking, “Gao Yang...I’m sorry...”

After a pause, Gao Yang cracked a smile. “Why are you apologizing?”

Fresh Snow’s eyes reddened, her weak voice brimming with guilt. “I almost ate you... I don’t deserve to be your good friend...”

She rolled to her side and curled into herself, not knowing how she should face Gao Yang.

Under the moonlight, her pale shoulders trembled as she sobbed silently.

Staring at her from the back as she blamed herself, Gao Yang said after a pregnant pause, “It must be really painful when you starve, Fresh Snow.”

She didn’t say anything.

Gao Yang continued, “Does this happen every time?”

Still no answer.

“We’re good friends. Good friends don’t keep secrets from each other.” Gao Yang pulled the ultimate trick.

After a good moment of silence, Fresh Snow spoke weakly, slowly, “It didn’t used to be so bad, but recently, it’s been getting worse and worse. Sister said that I was close to my limit...”

“Your limit?” Gao Yang’s heart sank.

“Ghosts don’t live long, and we die if we starve.”

Gao Yang got closer to her. “How old are you, Fresh Snow?”

“I’m 27.”

Gao Yang was shocked. How can that be? You look no older than 17! The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Fresh Snow could tell what he was thinking. “My sister and I are twins, but I turn into a cat often and sleep for a long, long time, and while I sleep, I don’t age or feel hungry.”

Realization dawned on Gao Yang.

Under normal circumstances, Fresh Snow should’ve grown up at the same pace as her sister. However, she was special in that she could turn into a white cat, and the white cat was sort of a state of hibernation. The good part was that hibernation stopped her from feeling hungry; the bad part was that during hibernation, she stopped growing physically and mentally.

That was why Fresh Snow was still effectively a young girl despite her being 27.

“Gao Yang...” She still had her back to Gao Yang, and the tremor in her shoulders never stopped. She choked out with childlike petulance, “If only I weren’t ghosts...”

Gao Yang’s chest tightened.

There was a time when he had thought that way, too.

If only Li Weiwei weren’t a monster, if only Wang Zikai weren’t a monster, if only Wan Sisi hadn’t died, if only his family would all turn out to be human...

But ‘if only’ was the most pointless phrase in this world.

The reality was that Fresh Snow was faced with the choice between eating people, or starving to death.

Gao Yang was human. He believed eating people was a sinful, terrible act.

Fresh Snow, however, was a Spectre, and humans were food to Spectres. What place was there for moral judgment in a creature eating what they considered food?

She turned to him with questions in her eyes.

Eat me, now.

I may regret it in a minute, but at least at this moment, I want you to live.

I’ve led a blessed life. I have so much more than you do.

I don’t want you to return to the stars before I do. I don’t want you to wait up there on your own, so far away and so lonely...

Buzz.

The sound jerked him out of his thoughts and returned to him his rationality.

He rolled to a sitting position and checked his phone. It was a message from Vermilion Bird, telling them to meet up for the mission.

Gao Yang patted Fresh Snow on the head. “I’m going outside, Fresh Snow. Rest well.”

“Yeah.”

Fresh Snow nodded quietly, flashing Gao Yang a smile.

...

Private Water Villa, Falling Star Island of Naldives, eleven o’clock at night.

When Gao Yang arrived, the others were already there.

They each had their weapons of choice and a supply bag on their backs. Green Tea stood out in particular, dressed in military camouflage with a submachine gun on his back. Hanging across his chest were magazines, and two grenades dangled on his waistband.

Gao Yang wondered how he had even brought all those gears here.

Still, he believed Green Tea was doing it right. Although the possibility was slim, there was still a chance that they could be put into a crisis like the total silence they faced in the Eleventh High School. Then firearms would be incredibly useful.

Inside the living room, White Rabbit, Qing Ling, and Wu Dahai sat around a dining table, talking about something quietly.

Ronnie and Can sat on the sofa, both visibly nervous, evident in the way their eyes kept shifting.

Chen Ying, Green Tea, and Joker claimed the other sofa, and the three of them were talking about something in a low voice too.

Scarlet Fox stood before the bedroom door, his hands clasped together as he kept watch with an impassive expression.

“Where’s Elder Vermilion Bird?” Gao Yang asked.

“In the room,” Scarlet Fox said concisely. “Questioning a body.”

Gao Yang was a little taken aback. “Whose?”

“I don’t know. Elder White Tiger brought it here...”

Creak.

The door opened. Scarlet Fox immediately stepped to the side, and Vermilion Bird and White Tiger filed out of the room.

Vermilion Bird looked a little tired. The usually cynical look on her face was even more pronounced now, and there was a line of worry between her brows.

White Tiger still looked as relaxed as ever. He talked into his phone with his other hand on his hip. “Alright, yeah, yeah. Stop dallying about and move. We’re setting out too. Yeah, I will. You guys be careful too.”

He hung up and turned to Vermilion Bird. “What do we do with the body?”

“We’ll take it back to base after the mission.” Vermilion Bird waved a dismissive hand at him before walking toward the bathroom. “I’m going to wash my hands. We’ll set out ASAP.”