CH 30.1

Fourth Floor (8)

Translated by boilpoil

Edited by boilpoil

It Is Rude to Waste What Belongs to Other People

We will skip the ripples Jiang Yiyi’s actions have spread across the already tumultuous waters of the fourth floor for now.

In the meantime, Jiang Yiyi has made good on his words by dragging Jian Si back to the cell with him. With the cell door shut, the storms raging outside no longer have anything to do with him.

Jian Si is cowering at a corner furthest away from Jiang Yiyi. He is looking at him with fear, shaking uncontrollably.

Lin Yi has left in a hurry earlier, clearly he’s busy with something.

Lunatic is business as usual, following Jiang Yiyi quietly.

Jiang Yiyi sinks back into his sofa, and observes Jian Si.

Jian Si’s shaking is worsening under his stare.

Jiang Yiyi says nothing for a while——He’s wondering what to do with this good-for-nothing.

Jian Si, though, is unable to face the silence calmly. Fear has overtaken him, in a more severe degree than when accosted by death——Death that he brushed past multiple times on the fourth floor already.

Still, not a single time compares with just now, when he had the feeling that he actually died.

His body, his soul, his instincts. All of them scream to be as far away as possible.

Jian Si’s fears are simple. Death is enough to deter him. Anything else other than that? Too distant to think about now.

Still, as the silence continues to reign supreme, he does realise he has to say something to topple it——Do something, so that he can survive Jiang Yiyi.

“I…” The moment he said the syllable, his tone quavers, collapses, fades and disappears into the air.

Jiang Yiyi’s gaze is still on him.

The fear of dying rolls in anew, his subconscious dictates his actions before his rational side can, and Jian Si quickly chooses a path to survival, “I… I don’t want to clear my case anymore. I don’t need to find out at all. I just want to live.”

Jiang Yiyi pauses in slight surprise, and contemplates if he should even praise him for his increasing intelligence——It is a sign of his uselessness, how ever expected it is, that he would so quickly abandon the one principle goal he had after being wrongfully imprisoned, in order to survive. It is not exactly a commendable attitude, after all.

“Although I believe you are misunderstanding me…” Jiang Yiyi pauses, as he is now witnessing an even more twisted expression——One of a person utterly overtaken by fear.

“But I am under no obligation to explain everything to you.”

There are many good qualities Jiang Yiyi possess, one of which is not being affected by emotions and impressions. The only thing that dictates his attitude is the labels he attaches to each person, rather than what they exhibit in public.

Regardless of Jian Si’s terrible performance so far since they met, Jiang Yiyi has nothing but irreverence——Given the number of fools in this world, if he becomes emotional at every one of them, that might be all that he can feel for the rest of his life.

Jian Si is trying to shrink into as small a pile as possible under his gaze. There is a slight anger building in from his fear——A familiar anger, that he feels when his coworkers giddily push their work onto him, when his supervisors chide him for non-mistakes.

What is it that makes you dare look down on him from on high? What is it that makes you think others deserve your judgemental attitude? You are merely another human just like he is, how dare…

Jiang Yiyi is slightly bemused, chuckling from the information he just gleaned from the guy.

“Now, I do find it slightly less implausible the crimes on you were factual.” A meek ember of anger is meagre indeed, but nonetheless a remarkable flame.

Most people in Stargaol are not stupid enough to attempt to provoke Jiang Yiyi, or allow such a little flame of anger emerge after facing Jiang Yiyi’s wrath head-on. Instead, their experience allows them to immediately select the correct option in life.

Jian Si is different from them——Although it seems quite reasonable considering he is the protagonist.

Jian Si has buried his head in his legs now, hiding his face. Jiang Yiyi’s comment merely sends him sinking lower, and he does not mean to argue back, it appears.

“That does not really matter, anyway.” Jiang Yiyi has figured out what to do with him now. If only to observe that spark further, he wants to see what is it that stands out, allowing him to be the protagonist of this game.

He grabs the book from the coffee table, and returns to the page he was last on, and says, “you have two choices. Stay by my side, keep to yourself, and be invisible.”

“Or…” Jiang Yiyi flips a page, “return where you were, and then come back to me, by your own efforts.”

Jian Si’s head moves slightly——He looks up at Jiang Yiyi——Unable to discern anything from his face, he quickly returns to burying his head.

With a voice still trembling a little, he asks, “what… do these choices mean?”

“The first choice means, you will never run into danger again. It is absolutely safe by my side.”

“The second choice means, you will return straight to the Hell you know.”

Although Hell is quite an overstatement for the fourth floor, considering Jian Si’s abilities, ‘Hell’ might be the most accurate descriptor for him.

After a few seconds of silence, he looks up, looking straight into Jiang Yiyi’s eyes, “if I died, or, if I am still not able to come back to you by my own efforts…”

Jiang Yiyi claps the book shut, leans forward, turning the stagnant atmospheric pressure against Jian Si, almost suffocating him.

“Now that your life is mine…” Jiang Yiyi smiles, “I think it will be rather rude to waste what belongs to other people.”

Jian Si shudders. He received no straight answer, but he thinks, he just received a threat more tangible than death.

“I… I won’t…” Jian Si has a hard time swallowing; he quickly promises, “I will do it. I will come back to stand before you…”

“I take it you have chosen the second option?” Jiang Yiyi returns his attention to the book, and his tone returns normal, “even though it may be a challenging task for you…”

“I do hope you will become stronger.” Jiang Yiyi tells Jian Si, who is still shaking, “or it will be quite troublesome for me.”

Jian Si nods like a chicken pecking at seeds; his eyes are repeatedly darting towards the door. His wish to leave immediately is abundantly clear.

Jiang Yiyi also glances towards the door he left slightly ajar, then nods to him.

Jian Si rises quickly, and disappears before Jiang Yiyi in the blink of an eye——It leaves the impression that this cell is the actual Hell this floor.

After watching him leave, Jiang Yiyi ponders aloud, “does he really know what choice he just made?”

Lunatic’s eyes move a little, and, for once, he speaks, “he k-k-knows.”

Jiang Yiyi looks back at Lunatic.

“He’s different.”