Chapter 97
Chapter 97
That night was very peaceful. It was just that Chi Xiaochi had another dream, causing him to wake up at about three in the morning.
Chi Xiaochi stared at the ceiling for a while, before saying, “Hey, Ah Tong.”
Xi Lou: Sorry, I’ve gone deaf.
Chi Xiaochi persevered, “Ah Tong, let’s have three yuan’s worth of conversation.”
Xi Lou: Sorry, I don’t even want to have three mao’s worth.
Even up to now, it still wasn’t very easy for him to accept another person appearing in Song Chunyang’s body.
Even though this person had a smooth tongue and a playful personality like Song Chunyang, Song Chunyang was happy because he was simple. Meanwhile, even if Chi Xiaochi was smiling, no one would be able to tell if it was sincere or fake.
Unable to dredge up someone whom he could talk with, Chi Xiaochi let out a helpless sigh. After placing a hand behind his head, he turned and considered the sound asleep Gan Yu lying next to him.
Because the bed wasn’t very big, Gan Yu was sleeping on his side so as to only take up a smaller half of the bed.
Upon seeing this, the tip of Chi Xiaochi’s heart wavered.
This sleeping habit made him think of a certain someone.
In those times, Chi Xiaochi would often stay over at Lou Ying’s home. Lou Ying had a good constitution, with a body that was warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Chi Xiaochi just so happened to be the opposite, cold in the winter and warm in the summer, so he liked to be near the other when sleeping; it was as comfortable as curling up next to the air conditioner.
When he was younger, Chi Xiaochi slept like the dead. His sleeping posture wasn’t very good either. After falling asleep, he would often kick off his own quilt, then pull Lou Ying’s over.
Even when he was woken up by his movements in the middle of the night, Lou Ying was never very angry. He would give up his own quilt to him, then get off the bed and pick up the quilt he’d kicked off and use that to cover himself.
However, one time he truly made too much of a fuss. Lou Ying had swapped quilts with him twice, but not even half an hour later, groaning and moaning, he once more kicked his quilt off the bed, then started trying to snatch Lou Ying’s.
Once turned to twice, twice turned to thrice, no matter how good of a temper Lou Ying had, he was still a little angry.
The next day, Chi Xiaochi woke up to the sight of Lou Ying laying out youtiao and spicy soup on the little table in the apartment. The spicy soup was made with beef, and the youtiao was bought from the best breakfast stand in the vicinity. They had a first-class crispiness, and were most delicious when still hot.
Chi Xiaochi blearily tried to get up, but who knew that even after twisting and turning for a long time, he still wasn’t able to right himself.
The quilt had been rolled into a tube, with Chi Xiaochi, arms and legs and all, wrapped inside like zongzi filling. A thin rope for tying up a knapsack was wrapped around and around this blanket roll from top to bottom, finished off with a knot tied at the waist, wrapping Chi Xiaochi up so tightly that he couldn’t even move.
Chi Xiaochi was a little confused, “Lou, Lou-ge……”
Lou Ying turned around and found that zongzi filling on his bed had woken up, his hair mussed, lying on the bed and staring balefully at him. He smiled slightly, “Hungry?”
Chi XIaochi looked down, then nodded obediently. “En.”
Lou Ying, “Free yourself, then you can eat breakfast.”
Chi Xiaochi rolled around a few times, but wasn’t about to get out.
He then tried to bend down and bite at that knot, but wasn’t able to bend over.
Chi Xiaochi’s eyes spun. Guessing the reason behind himself turning into a spring roll, he instantly softened his voice, playing cute, “Lou Ying Lou Ying.”
He knew that Lou Ying was an utter softie/’s heart was the softest.
Sure enough, Lou Ying’s gaze gentled. He sat back down on the side of the bed, and pinched the tip of his nose both gently and helplessly. “You can’t kick off your quilt from now on.”
Chi Xiaochi agreed faster than anything, on his face a smile that was both sweet and obedient, trying to curry favour. “Okay.”
With one look, Lou Ying could tell that he wasn’t taking this to heart. “If you’re like this, who would be willing to sleep in the same bed as you? How are you going to marry a wife in the future?”
The Chi Xiaochi of that time had found the matter of starting a romance and sleeping with a wife too distant, still not as real a concept as the breakfast on the table.
He said, “Then I won’t marry a wife, and stay with Lou-ge for my whole life.”
Lou Ying laughed, “Silly.”
Then he untied the quilt, releasing this sweet-mouthed zongzi filling. He ruffled his hair. “Quickly go and wash up. The youtiao won’t taste good when they’re cold.”
Even though he said that, Chi Xiaochi had never thought that there was any problem with his sleeping posture.
His family’s apartment was very small, and filled with junk. His parents slept on a double bed that could hold both of them, and he slept on the floor.
The space on the floor was a lot bigger than that on the bed. Even if he kicked off his blanket, once he felt cold, he could drag his quilt back just by reaching out his hand. Other than if he moved his position, most of Chi Xiaochi’s body would be within the range of protection of the quilt.
Only until many years later, his first time filming, when he had his own room and a big bed where he could rest on his own.
He very naturally fell asleep, but was woken up in the middle of the night from the cold of the air conditioning.
He reached out to pull over his quilt, but found that his quilt had already completely fallen to the floor.
That night, Chi Xiaochi kicked his quilt off the bed a total of two times.
The next day, he asked the crew for two 3kg sandbags.
Since then, he rarely kicked off his quilt.
Thinking of this, Chi Xiaochi reached out and tested the temperature of Gan Yu’s wrist.
In the task world, it was currently autumn. Under the might of the autumn tiger (hot spell during autumn), the room was still inevitably a little stuffy, but Gan Yu’s body was cool. It could be imagined how comfortable it would definitely feel if he hugged him.
As Chi Xiaochi looked at the sound-asleep Gan Yu, he actually felt his throat tighten slightly.
If he really was an embodiment of 061, if 061 really was Lou Ying……
Chi XIaochi had already vowed to not give himself any more chances to be disappointed long ago, but when things had come to a head, he still couldn’t quite control himself.
……that wouldn’t actually be good.
Chi Xiaochi put away all those unnecessary thoughts, planning on playing his card game for a while as he waited for dawn.
Suddenly, he heard the faint sound of a woman singing coming from the hallway, pinching her throat and crooning long, shaking notes. He couldn’t make out any lyrics, but the tune actually sounded very far-away and pleasant.
Chi Xiaochi shuddered, subconsciously shuffling closer to Gan Yu.
The song started drifting closer, making anyone who heard it break out in goosebumps.
Chi Xiaochi, determined to not court disaster, acted as if he couldn’t hear it, but he still couldn’t help but start inching closer to Gan Yu’s side again.
The voice got closer again. He didn’t know if it was heading here.
Chi Xiaochi just felt his heart beating like a drum, the sound of it thumping enough to draw the person singing in the corridor over.
He pressed down hard on his heart, wholeheartedly hoping for someone to hug him right now. That way, maybe it would counteract his fear a little.
Unexpectedly, in the next second, Gan Yu reached out and wrapped his arm around Chi Xiaochi’s waist.
Chi Xiaochi stiffened. Gan Yu straightened out his arm, while the other intimately and naturally wound around his neck to press down on the back of his head, letting him properly nest in his arms, like he was comforting a frightened cat.
Through the thin layer of his pajamas, his fingers gently scratched at Chi Xiaochi’s spine.
This was a reassuring touch, like he was stroking a cat.
Chi Xiaochi went a little limp from his petting, his entire body going numb like it had been electrocuted. His mind was still focused on that midnight singing. He was so nervous that he was sweating, but he actually didn’t feel sick.
The brother and sister had woken up at some unknown time, just that neither of them made a sound.
Gan Tang silently got off the bed. She stared quietly at the door, in her hands a dagger that she had grabbed at some point. From how she held the dagger, it was clear that she was an old hand.
The singing woman moved closer to the door with dragging footsteps.
The closer she got, the more Chi Xiaochi couldn’t help but look at the door.
In the dark, Gan Yu, who had opened his eyes long ago, frowned slightly. He wrote on Chi Xiaochi’s back.
He said, “Look at me. Don’t be afraid.”
The singing floated past Chi Xiaochi’s door, never stopping.
Chi Xiaochi let out a sigh of relief, his tensed body relaxing slightly. He started trying to move out of Gan Yu’s embrace.
Who knew that after the series of tossing and turning just now, he and Gan Yu had already moved to the edge of the bed. He shifted back slightly, and carelessly knocked into the empty glass cup that had been placed on the bedside table.
The glass cup fell towards the ground.
Chi Xiaochi instantly burst into a cold sweat, but before he could respond, Gan Yu flipped over, pressing down on his body, and grabbed the glass cup that had been about to break.
The singing paused for a moment, its master seeming to have heard something and was now listening closely for the source of the sound.
All the people in the room held their breath, at full attention, not even daring to breathe an unnecessary breath. Gan Yu lay across Chi Xiaochi’s body, steady as Mount Tai, utterly unmoving.
After a short while, the singing started up again.
It seemed that the woman hadn’t noticed the little commotion.
The sound of singing got further and further away, until it disappeared entirely.
Gan Yu, lying on top of Chi Xiaochi, gently placed the glass cup back on the bedside table, then got off of his body. He helped pull his quile back over him, saying in a soft voice, “Go to sleep.”
Gan Tang nodded, obediently lying back down.
Chi Xiaochi didn’t say anything about how once he woke up, it was really hard for him to fall back asleep. He lay down and closed his eyes, pretending to have fallen asleep, but his heart was still thumping erratically, pounding loudly in his chest.
After an unknown amount of time, guessing that the siblings had probably both fallen asleep again, Chi Xiaochi opened his eyes again.
Because of how scared they were of the photograph of the balloons, they had adjusted the position of the beds so they at least wouldn’t still be directly facing the photograph and wouldn’t have to see a big, smiling face the moment they woke up at night.
From Chi Xiaochi’s current angle, when he looked up, he could see the layered shadows cast by trees on the window. The shadows were intermittent and muddled together. It was as if he could hear the sound of the branches and leaves making contact with each other.
But in less than a few moments, Chi Xiaochi’s breath caught in his throat.
A woman’s face appeared out of the darkness, slowly pressing up against the window glass, staring in coldly.
……This was the third floor.
Because of how closely she was pressed to the glass, that face’s features were distorted, becoming as flat as a catfish. Chi Xiaochi had the vague feeling that this face was a little familiar, but how would he dare to look closer. He closed his eyes, pretending to sleep, but he couldn’t keep his shoulders from shaking.
Just as that gaze was about to fall on Chi Xiaochi, Gan Yu, who was sleeping next to him, seemed to have dreamed of something. He let out a muffled murmur, then pulled Chi Xiaochi into his arms, his forehead pressing against Chi Xiaochi’s sweat-slick forehead.
His soft, drawn out breaths huffed against Chi Xiaochi’s face, giving him an enormous amount of comfort.
Chi Xiaochi pressed his forehead against Gan Yu’s just like that, not daring to lift his head and take a look. He actually gradually calmed down, drifting off to sleep.
The next day, as the sun rose in the sky, at about seven, only then did he wake up once more.
The two’s heads were pressed together, never having changed their position.
Gan Yu’s handsome features, even magnified several times, was still enough to make one’s heart beat faster, let alone the possible identity behind the face. Even Chi Xiaochi, who had a face so thick that no gun nor knife could penetrate it, couldn’t quite stay unaffected, shrinking backwards.
This movement woke Gan Yu up. He opened his eyes, smiling at him before saying a word. “I started hugging you again?”
CHi Xiaochi thought, this “again” could be said to be used exquisitely.
Gan Yu smiled warmly. “Sorry, my sleeping posture is rather bad.”
What else could Chi Xiaochi say? He could only believe in his nonsense.
When the task-takers gathered for breakfast, they were all quietly discussing the singing they had heard last night.
And when seeing Chi Xiaochi and the Gan sibling appear together, Yuan Benshan’s face was a little ugly.
For these past two days, all he had been thinking about was the matter with Guan Qiaoqiao. Now that Guan Qiaoqiao had already been dealt with, he really needed to manage his little boyfriend who didn’t know to keep up his guard against other people.
He sat down next to Chi Xiaochi and let out a light cough. “Yesterday night…… Did you hear it.”
Chi Xiaochi nodded, saying truthfully, “Scared me to death.”
Gan Yu handed a boiled egg he’d peeled to Chi Xiaochi, and joined in the conversation, “Chunyang was really scared terribly. You should eat more to suppress the shock.”
Yuan Benshan gave him a look. “I’m talking to Chunyang.”
Gan Yu said politely, “So am I.”
After these few days, not one of the task-takers on the scene couldn’t tell that that little blind guy had actually hooked two men. That surnamed Yuan was the rightful empress, and as for that doctor, they said they were colleagues, but who would believe that?
All the task-takers were amazed at his ability to form an imperial harem even in the task world.
They couldn’t learn even if they tried, couldn’t learn even if they tried.
Chi Xiaochi, the centre of attention, really had the self-cultivation of a little slut. He drank Yuan Benshan’s porridge, then ate next-door Old Gu’s peeled egg, utterly unmoved.
Before this, Yuan Benshan had practically never worried about Song Chunyang placing himself into someone else’s hands, but Gan Yu’s appearance made it so that he couldn’t help but overthink.
A little anxious, he pressed his elbow against the table, drawing oppressively close to Chi Xiaochi, but kept his voice under control and gentle with all his might, “You should consider my feelings a little before sleeping with other people.”
Chi Xiaochi blinked. “I agreed to form an alliance with them.”
Yuan Benshan was stunned for a moment. His face slowly turned green. “Why didn’t you discuss this with me first?”
Then, he lowered his voice, “You told them about that thing?”
Chi Xiaochi pointed at his eyes, lowering his voice as well, “You think I wanted to? They noticed my eyes weren’t the same colour the moment they came in, I couldn’t hide it from them.”
Yuan Benshan knotted his brow.
Indeed, Gan Yu was Chunyang’s colleague, they had unavoidably crossed paths. If he’d found out about the secret of Chunyang’s eyes, they had to either kill them or form an alliance with them.
Comparing the two options, the latter was much more cost-effective than the former.
Yuan Benshan had observed them coldy for several days, and could tell that the Gan siblings were calm in their actions, and they hadn’t formed an alliance with others, reaching the eight world as a pair, they shouldn’t be soft persimmons or pig teammates.
Upon thinking of this, Yuna Benshan even found it a little fortunate that Guan Qiaoqiao had died, making room for the two.
After all, in the system’s rules, the maximum number of people in an alliance should not exceed four.
Even after making up his mind, Yuan Benshan still showed an expression of disapproval. “We should bring Qiaoqiao something to eat. She’s our ally too, we should ask for her opinion.” Gan Yu and Gan Tang met gazes, then placed down their chopsticks one after the other, expressing that they would go with them.
Watching the four who had their swords drawn and bows bent just a moment ago walk up the stairs together, the crowd of task-takes simply wanted to prostrate themselves in admiration towards Chi Xiaochi.
Fuck, amazing.
Before heading upstairs, Yuan Benshan already had an idea of how it was going to go.
The door had already been locked, and there was no spare key. Their trip was doomed to end with a door that remained closed to their knocking.
By the time Song Chunyang and the others realised something was wrong, it would be too late.
That ghost should already be very close to Guan Qiaoqiao by now, no matter how it was, she was done for.
There was a high chance that she had already been dragged into the painting, or had been torn to pieces, leaving no body behind.
Even if she died on the bed in the position she had been in when he had left, the blame for her death could be completely pushed onto the ghost.
That he had purposely tied that surgical knot in a way that was the opposite of how he usually would. Going by Chunyang’s temperament, he would only be sad about his good friend being killed by the ghost, and wouldn’t suspect anything.
Immersed in his imagination, Yuan Benshan smiled. He turned and started heading up the second floor stairs. The moment he looked up, he was like he had been struck by lightning, freezing in place.
Guan Qiaoqiao stood at the top of the stairs to the third floor. She had done her face up in her usual makeup, and had even changed into her clothes for her character early. She was brimming with smiles. There was no trace of her crazed appearance from the past two days left.
Those photos seemed to no longer have any effect on her.
She looked down at the four people who all had different expressions on their faces, and said, “I’m sorry for delaying the filming for the past few days.”
Then, she smiled sweetly at Chi Xiaochi. “Chunyang, I’m here.”
Chi Xiaochi instantly felt cold air rush up from the bottom of his feet.
He’d thought of it now.
Yesterday night, he’d felt like the face that had been pressed against the window, looking in, had been incredibly familiar, but for a time, hadn’t been able to think of who it belonged to.
Now, he’d thought of it. That pale, catfish-like face that had been floating in the dark night sky, was the same as the face right in front of him.
……Was the person standing in front of them, still Guan Qiaoqiao?