“Forget it, I won’t say anything.” Wen Zhiying changed her mind again.
Xia Yu: “??? “
“My body is still with you. Aren’t you afraid I’ll get back at you?” He threatened Wen Zhiying.
“Do whatever you want, just don’t turn it into a short video drama.” Wen Zhiying remained calm and indifferent.
Xia Yu had to change tactics and started playing the emotional card: “You promised to tell me, how can you go back on your word?”
“I never said I would tell you. I just asked if you wanted to listen.” Wen Zhiying’s mood gradually became cheerful as she played with words. “I never said that if you listened, I would have to speak.”
Helpless against someone so determined to be evasive, Xia Yu silently opened his laptop and searched “scariest movies” on the search engine.
He clicked on a link, turned off all the lights in the room, and sat silently on the bed watching the movie.
Initially, Wen Zhiying was relaxed. Half an hour later, she started feeling uneasy. An hour in, she continuously exuded a sense of “scariness,” and with only the final half-hour of the movie left, Wen Zhiying was barely holding on.
This surprised Xia Yu somewhat. Even he felt a bit scared watching this movie, yet Wen Zhiying actually managed to endure.
It didn’t matter, though. Scary visuals and sound effects alone wouldn’t frighten Wen Zhiying, so he could enhance the movie experience with realistic physical sensations.
Xia Yu controlled his breathing and movements. When the protagonist was chased by a chimera creature, the visuals and sound effects simulated the floor vibrating as the creature ran past. Xia Yu also manipulated his body to create the sensation of the bed shaking.
Every time the protagonist was startled, he reacted the same way.
Wen Zhiying soon couldn’t take it anymore: “Don’t watch anymore! I’ll tell you!”
“Go ahead.” Xia Yu shifted his gaze from the screen.
“Turn on the lights first and stop the movie!” Wen Zhiying demanded.
He got off the bed, and Xia Yu followed the girl’s instructions, doing everything she asked before sitting on the edge of the bed.
Still shaken, Wen Zhiying told Xia Yu, “Lift your feet up. Don’t leave them at the edge of the bed.”
“Don’t worry. It won’t be like in the movie where a monster bites your legs off from under the bed.”
“Don’t say that!” Wen Zhiying snapped angrily.
Xia Yu retracted his feet and lay in the center of the bed. “Now you can start talking.”
Wen Zhiying was somewhat annoyed. She really didn’t want to recall that period.
“It’s what I told you before. Back then, my mom wanted to keep writing prose to make money but couldn’t, so she used my work instead. After the essays our teacher had us write were all published, she made me keep writing, but how could I have such talent? I was just a child back then.”
Wen Zhiying paused here and asked, “You probably know what happened next, right?”
“I can guess,” Xia Yu replied.
“Then I don’t need to say it.” Wen Zhiying sighed with relief.
Lying on the bed, Xia Yu pondered this matter. He recalled the information he had previously asked Yu Ningmeng to gather about Wen Zhiying.
Earlier, he had asked Yu Ningmeng to find Wen Zhiying’s old neighbors and inquire about the Wen family.
The neighbor mentioned frequently hearing Wen Zhiying crying.
What kind of sorrow could a young girl have back then? Most likely, she was forced by her mother.
In such a short period, Wen Zhiying had experienced her father’s death and the family’s bankruptcy. At a time when she should have received more care and comfort from her mother, she was instead treated as a ghostwriter, constantly pressured to write. One could easily imagine Wen Zhiying’s emotional state.
No wonder all those drawers full of prose and poetry were never submitted for publication—she must have developed psychological trauma.
“Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?” Wen Zhiying suddenly spoke up.
Xia Yu didn’t know what to say. Should he comfort her now? But Wen Zhiying clearly didn’t want to talk about it.
“Fine, get up then. Let’s finish watching that horror movie,” Wen Zhiying continued.
Her mood turned excited. Xia Yu picked up his laptop and clicked play.
That’s just how horror movies are—scary yet thrilling.
After finishing the movie, Xia Yu lay in bed, following Wen Zhiying’s advice: he turned on the nightlight, placed his slippers crosswise at the edge of the bed, wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, and fell asleep.
At six in the morning, he returned to his own body.
He turned on the light, stretched, played with his handheld console for a while, and after seven o’clock, when he heard movement outside, he got up.
Outside, his maternal grandparents were cooking vermicelli. Seeing Xia Yu get up, they urged him to sleep a few more hours, but Xia Yu had already slept for eight hours and had to decline.
After washing up and eating the vermicelli, Xia Yu took two bowls to An Siyao and You Xue’s room.
Inside the room, he found Kong Hanyue there as well. The three of them were sitting under the covers, each holding a game controller and playing a game.
After placing the bowls of vermicelli down, Xia Yu went to get another bowl.
“Come play with us!” Kong Hanyue waved at Xia Yu while eating her vermicelli.
If it were only An Siyao in the room, Xia Yu would have immediately taken off his clothes and jumped into bed without hesitation. But right now, You Xue and Kong Hanyue were also there.
He declined the invitation.
Walking out of the room and into the courtyard, he met Zhong Yunze coming downstairs. There was a small attic upstairs where Zhong Yunze had slept the previous night.
Zhong Yunze’s first action upon coming downstairs was to look at the river.
“There’s ice, too bad,” he sighed.
“There’s no way you could have gone boating if there were no ice,” Xia Yu patted his head.
“Why do you keep hitting me on the head? Talk properly!” Zhong Yunze complained. “You’re only one year older than me!”
“I’m a college student, and you’re still in high school,” Xia Yu replied.
Zhong Yunze opened his mouth but couldn’t argue. It frustrated him that such a small age difference could be twisted into a significant gap through a simple change in perspective.
“I already have a girlfriend, and you don’t,” Xia Yu added.
“Who says I don’t? I do too!” Zhong Yunze looked at Xia Yu proudly.
Xia Yu smiled, turned around, and walked toward the room. “Mom, that kid Zeyue has a girlfriend now!”
“What?!” Kong Hanyue immediately put on her clothes and came out.
She pulled Zhong Yunze aside and started interrogating him sternly: “What do you think this is? You’re dating now?! Tell me everything!”
Zhong Yunze lowered his head, obediently accepting the scolding.
He shot a resentful glance at Xia Yu, never expecting him to be so underhanded.
Xia Yu shook his head at him, signaling that he was still too inexperienced.
Turning around, Xia Yu went to Zhong Yunxin’s room.
Zhong Yunxin had also woken up and was rummaging through her suitcase looking for regular clothes.
Seeing her, Xia Yu was a bit startled—Zhong Yunxin’s hair was red.
It was clearly black yesterday. How did she suddenly change its color?
Noticing Xia Yu’s shock, Zhong Yunxin proudly pulled out a black wig. “Ta-da! Pretty clever, right?”
Xia Yu looked at Zhong Yunxin with a hint of regret: Although you’re clever, you shouldn’t have told me.
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