Chapter 8 – After All, the Energetic One Was Me

Wen Renlian’s smile was gentle but not overly enthusiastic; even if he had asked that kind of question, it didn’t make others feel awkward.

If Kuang Zheng was like a mountain, and Ge Zhu was a gust of clear breeze, then Wen Renlian was a sly fox. He did not intend to begin with divination or fortune-telling that he was skilled in. He also wasn’t like Zhou Zhongqiu who would secretly observe the situation. Instead, he openly showed his curiosity, asking a question that had easy answers but was hard to reply.

Of course Jiang Luo had never slept with Chi You.

In fact, there was only one answer to this question, and even Wen Renlian, himself, knew it. Because in the story recounted by Lu Youyi and Ye Xun, Jiang Luo hadn’t realized that he had fallen in love with Chi You until after Chi You died.

How could Jiang Luo have slept with Chi You, when the latter was still alive?

However…

Jiang Luo propped up his chin and turned his head towards the window to look outside.

The morning sunlight shone through the glass window and fell diagonally upon his body. The years were quiet and blissful¹岁月静好: idiom meaning a time period where a person’s live is blissfully uneventful, banal and peaceful; 安宁平和: a reiteration. These two phrases are meant to create a scenery for the readers.; tranquil and peaceful. A tiny sparrow suddenly flew towards the window. It landed nimbly on the window sill beside Jiang Luo; its shiny, dark-coloured, bead-like eyes quietly watched Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo casually pet the little sparrow and looked at the golden auspicious aura in the air. Within these precious Feng Shui grounds, ghosts like Chi You would not be able to show up no matter what.

Thus, he boldly said, “No.”

Wen Renlian rolled his eyes, not surprised. Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Luo said, “But last night, I experienced sleep paralysis.”

The sparrow by the window stared at Jiang Luo with its every movement.

On Jiang Luo’s gorgeous face, two layers of peach blossom-coloured blush gradually bloomed. From shallow to thick, it was stimulating like dizzy ripples (in water). His face was reflected in the sparrow’s inorganic eyes; even the flutter of Jiang Luo’s gently drooping eyelashes were all captured by its eyes.

Jiang Luo’s blushing face gave the others around him a bad premonition.

Sure enough, Jiang Luo uneasily coughed a few times, “I had a spring dream²春梦 – literal: spring dream; meaning: wet dream😏.”

Astonished, Wen Renlian’s eyes grew slightly wider.

Since Chi You was the shou in 《Devil》, Jiang Luo naturally placed himself in the role of the gong. Even if his face was more flamboyant than that of Chi You, it didn’t affect his confidence.

Jiang Luo seemed a little shy as he raised his hands to cover his face. His black hair covered his palms and both sides of his face. He spoke hesitantly, “In the dream, he was very energetic.”

Jiang Luo held back his laughter. With a sweet and sticky tone, he continued to talk about Chi You’s physical characteristics recorded in the book, “I have only now discovered that there’s a set of three tiny moles on his lower abdomen.”

Since their last confrontation, Jiang Luo and Chi You have completely torn apart their pretences.

Chi You was no longer just interested in killing him; he was extremely interested and wanted to kill him. He was virtually a lunatic. Since the lunatic wanted to kill Jiang Luo no matter what, Jiang Luo had no choice but to do whatever it took to protect his life.

At that moment, he was adding all sorts of spicy details³加油添醋 – literal: add oil, increase vinegar; has a number of sub meanings. The sentence entirely means to add details and exaggerations in one’s explanation. The kicker is that ‘加油’ is also a well known saying of encouragement telling someone to do their best (like Korean: Hwaiting and Japanese: Ganbatte) and ‘醋’ (vinegar) is a common euphemism for jealous. I’ll just leave that with you. with schadenfreude; happily getting revenge for that last time when he had been strangled.

“I don’t know if he got hurt,” Jiang Luo lowered his hands and spoke with concern. His eyelids lowered, about to flow with tears of sorrow, “He’s always been like this… everything he did was just to make me happy. He never thinks about himself.”

Bystanders: “Tss—“

They sucked a breath of cool air in unison.

They were closer to Chi You than Jiang Luo; several of the boys had also previously seen Chi You in the hot springs behind the school. Naturally, they knew that Chi You had a strange three-pointed mole on his body.

Moles in different places represented different meanings. In their eyes, the connotations of moles were crucial, but they couldn’t understand the significance of Chi You’s three moles.

However, Jiang Luo’s ability to talk about this sort of hidden trait on Chi You’s body had already proven the authenticity of his words.

The faces of all the people in the group became peculiar.

No matter how they listened to his words, it seemed like Jiang Luo was the one who occupied the dominant position.

Jiang Luo happily arranged Chi You’s position. The corner of his mouth secretly raised. When he glanced out from the corner of his eye, however, he met eyes with the little sparrow standing on the window sill.

He was stunned. Gently, he stretched out his hand to touch the little sparrow. The little sparrow calmly and quietly let him pet it; however, when Jiang Luo was about to withdraw his hand, the sparrow suddenly pecked his fingertips. It spread its wings and flew away.

A sensation similar to a needle prick flared; Jiang Luo raised his hand to examine it. There was only a red dot left on his fingertip, and a small drop of blood—the size of a rice grain—gushing out.

He took out a tissue and wiped away the fresh blood. He stared attentively at the wound for half a minute, then said, “The birds here are so fierce.”

“Sleep paralysis, spring dream…” Wen Renlian gradually sat up, “It really exceeds my expectations.”

After sighing for a moment, Wen Renlian smiled and said, “Jiang Luo, are you staying at the school tonight?”

Jiang Luo nodded.

The students of their major were actually required to live at the school, but the original owner of the body disdained the school’s living conditions as being too simple and crude. Since everyone in the class was also stronger than himself, he relied on his family background. Leaving early, arriving late; he did not take school regulations to heart.

In fact, the school’s regulations were not very harsh. However, even Zhuo Zhongqiu, the eldest daughter of the Zhuo family, would stay at the school obediently, and usually wouldn’t leave the school unless a commission was assigned. They stayed, not because of regulations, but because they were reluctant to part with the grounds’ rare Feng Shui condition.

A convergence of vital and spiritual energy, secretly creating the effect of a ley line. Such a cheap bargain, who would be willing to leave?

That’s why the original owner, this big blockhead, thought he was f*cking awesome and secretly looked down on Zhuo Zhongqiu, the eldest daughter of the Zhuo family.

Since Jiang Luo hadn’t lived at the school for a long time, his dorm room had long ago turned into a storage for miscellaneous things. Wen Renlian then explained, “Do you mind if I put you in Chi You’s room temporarily?”

This was probably another test.

If Jiang Luo had told a lie, or if it really was Jiang Luo who had killed Chi You, he would naturally be afraid or feel awkward living in the said dead person’s room. He would also rather not go to school let alone live there. However, Jiang Luo just gratefully said, “I have long wanted to visit his dormitory.”

The school’s dormitory was just behind the academic building. This class of eight people fully occupied a large area. Along the way, Jiang Luo saw a training ground, a meditation room, a music classroom; there was even a swimming pool, a hot spring, and various athletic fields.

Jiang Luo: …

Was this the “simple and crude” student lifestyle in the original owner’s memory?

Chi You’s room was larger than the students’ room. After all, Chi You was a teacher. Jiang Luo pushed open the door and felt that the room was a bit too big.

He visually estimated that it was about one hundred and eighty square metres. With only one person living there, it definitely looked empty and lonely. Jiang Luo walked through all the rooms. Lu Youyi and Ye Xun accompanied him, for fear that he would become overly nostalgic and emotional.

Ye Xun said: “If you don’t want to stay here, you can stay with us instead.”

Jiang Luo asked, “How big is your room?”

Lu Youyi thought a bit then uncertainly said, “Fifty square metres?”

Jiang Luo instantly said: “Nah, I’ll just stay here.”

“It’s fine to stay here,” Ye Xun said indifferently, “but you better not harbour any hopes that Chi You will show up to visit you. We’re at school, and any kinds of evil spirits can’t enter or leave. Even if you stay here, you won’t be able to see Chi You.”

Jiang Luo revealed an expression of having his thoughts accurately deduced, and his complexion abruptly turned pale.

Ye Xun appeared as if it was exactly as he’d expected, “In the past two days, we got someone to clear out your previous dorm room. You can only stay here for one night. Jiang Luo, people and ghosts walk different paths; you need to wake up.”

Jiang Luo sat on the sofa. He buried his head; his shoulders trembling.

The others looked at this scene with complicated expressions. Ge Zhu shook his head, sighed, and took the lead to leave the room, making a quiet space for the ill-fated pair of mandarin ducks.

Wen Renlian was the last to leave. He was about to close the door when he heard Jiang Luo whisper, “Wen Ren, can you give me a pack of cigarettes?”

Wen Renlian blanked out for a moment, then immediately smirked. He turned and went back towards the sofa. Very elegantly, he fished out a pack of ladies’ scented cigarettes from his purse and placed it on the table. He also took out an exquisite lighter engraved with rose thorns and placed it on the side. “Did you smell the smoke on me?”

Jiang Luo made a humming sound.

Wen Renlian smiled once more. He pulled close his shawl and turned around, “Jiang Luo tong xue, you should smoke less.”

The sound of high heels gradually faded away, and the door was shut.

After confirming that everyone was gone, Jiang Luo lazily raised his head and leaned on the sofa. He kicked off his shoes, stood up, walked to the bedroom, and opened Chi You’s closet.

Chi You had only been dead for a few days; the room was still very clean. Chi You’s clothes were all formal. Unexpectedly, there was no casual wear. He found a slightly large shirt that was still new. He played a song on his phone and hummed along as he went into the bathroom.

The sound of water resounded. Half an hour later, Jiang Luo walked out of the bathroom with his hair dripping wet.

He walked barefoot to the refrigerator. He found a bottle of ice-cold beer inside and also washed a wine glass. Walking towards a table, he bit open the bottle cap with his teeth.

Jiang Luo was in a good mood. The water droplets at the ends of his hair were sucked into the grey towel draped around his neck. The shirt on his body was wide, covering over his thighs.

Drinking a glass of ice-cold beer after taking a bath was the most refreshing thing. Jiang Luo let out a sigh. Holding the wine glass, he pulled a cigarette from the cigarette pack. He lit the head and leisurely walked onto the balcony.

The noon sun was shining brightly. The cool breeze brushing against his freshly bathed body was extremely comfortable. Jiang Luo leaned against the railing and let out a breath of smoke in satisfaction.

The hem of his clothes flew up with the wind and quickly fell down again. Not far away, a sparrow nimbly flew to the top of a tree, looking down upon⁴居高临下: Hopefully the double entendre got through. The bird is looking down at Jiang Luo, but these words are also an idiom meaning to look down on someone with disdain/condescendingly. Jiang Luo on the balcony.

Jiang Luo’s wet black hair was well taken care of by the sunlight; very quickly, it became dry. The wind turned his black hair into a mess. His two long legs—slender and straight—were carelessly exposed outside. He smoked his cigarette bit by bit, quietly admiring the school’s scenery.

The sparrow saw this scene clearly. Its pupils were dull and empty; at first glance, it looked like a dead bird.

When Jiang Luo saw the beautiful panorama, he could not help but feel better. He watched the scenery all afternoon. Feeling quite relaxed, he went back into his room to catch up on his sleep.

The air at the academy was extremely fresh; it didn’t take long before Jiang Luo fell into a deep sleep.

The night grew darker.

The sparrow on the tree spread its wings and landed on the balcony. It entered the bedroom, flapping its wings as it flitted onto the bed.

The sparrow spat out a drop of fresh blood from its mouth onto the centre of Jiang Luo’s brows.

The dark blood gleamed ominously; Jiang Luo’s brows furrowed as he was pulled into a deeper slumber.

……

Jiang Luo felt himself sweating profusely.

His breathing became heavy and gruelling. His whole body felt unbearable as if it were being roasted by fire. Gradually, there was a smell of burning char at the tip of his nose.

Inhale, exhale.

His consciousness gradually became lucid; however, his body seemed like it was being pressed down by a mountain. He couldn’t move for half a minute.

F*ck.

Sleep paralysis.

Jiang Luo tried his best to open his eyes, but suddenly, someone laughed a few times in his ear. As soon as the laughter resounded, the heavy feeling on his body instantly disappeared. He abruptly opened his eyes.

His eyes were instantly filled to the brim with the sight of flames.

The room was on fire; the bed where he laid seemed to be most severely damaged.

Jiang Luo was alarmed. He subconsciously tried to get up, but was violently pulled back onto the bed in the next moment. He looked above his body and saw two iron chains firmly locked around the wrists of both his hands.

With an ugly expression, Jiang Luo looked up to the other side.

Next to the desk, sat a tall and slender figure. The man elegantly held a book; the corner of his mouth carried a mild and pretentious smile. He looked just like a gentleman. He wore a well-fitted and luxurious black suit and shiny leather shoes, as if he were the most decent and elegant aristocrat— a highly sought after existence even among the upper-class.

He felt Jiang Luo’s gaze and smiled as he put the book on his lap. His two slender hands were lightly placed on the cover of the book. He greeted Jiang Luo, “Good evening.”

It was Chi You.

Jiang Luo looked at him with uncertainty.

The corners of the room were very dark. In the entire room, it seemed that only the place where he was staying was the centre surrounded by the majestic flames. Jiang Luo absolutely couldn’t believe that Chi You, whose soul had been shattered into pieces, could now appear in front of him in this way. He also didn’t believe that Chi You could enter the school so openly and honestly.

He tried his best to avoid the waves of heat and let his mind quickly calm down. He soon discovered that something was wrong. During the day, the desk was on the right side, but now it was on the left side. He strained to look up at the window. Outside the window, the weather was gloomy and peculiar, as terrifying as Hell. Even the lock on the window handle had to be opened on the left-hand side.

Everything was the opposite of reality. Jiang Luo’s expression gradually became serene. He looked at the figure at the desk and said, half-smiling, “Is this the mirror world or inside a dream?”

Without waiting for Chi You to speak, he muttered to himself, “I think we should be in a dream. The current ‘you’ doesn’t have the ability to pull me into the mirror world at the school—”

“Right, Chi You?”

Chi You smiled and put the book on his lap on the table—the letters on the cover were also reversed.

The sound of leather shoes and raging fire combined to create a distorted and unhinged melody. Chi You leisurely walked to the edge of the bed. The light of fire that was about to reach the bed’s surface shone upon his matchless, handsome face⁵俊美无俦 – handsome without peer.; it split his face into distorted sections of bright and dark. Chi You lightly chuckled and stuck out a hand from the darkness.

His hand clearly didn’t touch Jiang Luo, yet Jiang Luo’s neck seemed to be choked by an invisible palm. He was forced to raise his head like a dying swan that was being held by its neck; his hair slipped behind his back.

“As someone who likes you – likes you to the point that even after death, still wants to take you away – As. Your. Lover.” The tone of the figure standing at the end of the bed became more and more pleasant. He was full of fascination and novelty as if he had found a fun toy; only, it made others feel chills all over. “Of course, I should fulfil your wishes.”

His steps were light and rhythmic as he methodically made his way around the bed. The sound of his leather shoes mimicked a countdown to the end of his life.

The invisible hand around his neck disappeared, and Jiang Luo dropped heavily onto the bed. His breathing was heavy and laboured. A hand reached over the top of his head and picked up a strand of his black hair.

Jiang Luo looked above. Chi You’s face under the firelight resembled a demon’s; he smiled as he said, “Sleep paralysis?”

As soon as Chi You finished speaking, Jiang Luo felt a burst of heavy pressure crushing down. The flames violently flared up; it had already burned to the place where he was lying.

Each breath Jiang Luo took was suffocated with the scent of dense smoke and char. He heard the sound of his own hair being scorched and felt the pain travelling from his four limbs to his entire body.

He tried but couldn’t move; the only thing that could move was his eyes. The intense pain of being burned was like he was physically in Hell. Jiang Luo gritted his teeth so hard it creaked as he glared at Chi You who was at the head of the bed.

Chi You watched him with a smirk, but the indifference beneath the smile resembled a freezing ice cave. He was covered in shadow; his jaw and that ruthlessly raised corner of his mouth illuminated by the flames made people shudder in fear.

Jiang Luo was burned alive.

After the excruciating pain, he opened his eyes once more.

It was still that gloomy and terrifying room; still within a dreamscape that was the opposite of reality.

Expressionless, Jiang Luo rolled out of bed. With quick steps, he walked to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of beer, and smashed it against the corner of the table. Then, he took the sharp, halved beer bottle and searched the whole room for the man.

Step by step he went until he entered the bathroom. He was immediately shoved into the bathtub by a person who suddenly appeared behind him.

The bathtub that was previously empty was now overflowing with water. The water was ice-cold and biting; Jiang Luo was held submerged under the water by a strong hand.

“Were you looking for me?” Chi You’s elegant voice echoed above the water surface. He smirked and repeated the words Jiang Luo had spoken earlier that morning, “That’s no good. After all, in the dream, the energetic one was me.”

——————–

The author has something to say:

Gong : Loving you means I will kill you, mwah.

Shou : Ha Ha

T/N: Not soon, but maybe in another month or so this turtle will be able to post more chapters in a week. Fingers crossed.

• 1
  岁月静好: idiom meaning a time period where a person’s live is blissfully uneventful, banal and peaceful; 安宁平和: a reiteration. These two phrases are meant to create a scenery for the readers.
• 2
  春梦 – literal: spring dream; meaning: wet dream😏
• 3
  加油添醋 – literal: add oil, increase vinegar; has a number of sub meanings. The sentence entirely means to add details and exaggerations in one’s explanation. The kicker is that ‘加油’ is also a well known saying of encouragement telling someone to do their best (like Korean: Hwaiting and Japanese: Ganbatte) and ‘醋’ (vinegar) is a common euphemism for jealous. I’ll just leave that with you.
• 4
  居高临下: Hopefully the double entendre got through. The bird is looking down at Jiang Luo, but these words are also an idiom meaning to look down on someone with disdain/condescendingly.
• 5
  俊美无俦 – handsome without peer.