Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 146: Good Night
When the last flame was extinguished, the entire east and west wings had been burned to the ground.
Countless ashes carrying sparks floated in the air, carried by the night wind to unknown distances.
Nothing was left.
The hidden compartments in the east wing, filled with nightmares, and the cabinets in the west wing, possibly holding people, all turned to ruins and scorched earth in the flames.
The courtyard remained unscathed.
The fire dragon, as if determined to burn only the rooms, moved from west to east with fierce momentum, ending abruptly.
A layer of black, snowflake-like ash fell on the cabinet in the courtyard.
Click.
The hanging lock opened on its own.
The four companions exchanged bewildered glances. After the cabinet was kicked out, they tried every method to open it, all in vain. Yet now, as the last glow of fire vanished, it opened itself.
Xu Wang reached out, removed the lock, and gently opened the cabinet door.
The moonlight finally penetrated the darkness inside the cabinet, illuminating the curled-up figure…
[Owl: Congratulations on passing the 9/23 test and handing in your papers! See you tomorrow~~]
One second, there was a desolate wasteland; the next, a bustling street corner.
Despite the disorienting sensation of weightlessness serving as a divider, the world switched so quickly that it left no time to adjust.
The sky was still dark.
But the streetlights were on.
Sanitation workers were already sweeping the streets, and cars occasionally passed by. The bone-deep gloom completely disappeared, replaced by open streets and the tangible presence of everyday life.
Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Qian Ai, and Kuang Jinxin stood under a streetlamp, with Chi Yingxue, who had awakened, in their midst.
He sat leaning against the lamppost, slowly raising his head to look at each companion’s face, his eyes still carrying a hint of daze and bewilderment.
But Xu Wang felt that Chi Yingxue wasn’t entirely blank about what had happened. His bewilderment seemed more like a temporary inability to detach from a certain situation.
Almost simultaneously, the four companions crouched down, concernedly looking at Chi Yingxue. There was no prior eye contact; it was entirely spontaneous.
“Are you okay? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?” Xu Wang didn’t want to delve into what Chi Yingxue had experienced in the hidden compartment—whether he had passed through a near-death experience like them. He just hoped everything was fine with him.
Chi Yingxue looked worse than usual, paler, with a faint sweat on his forehead, and his lower lip was bright red as if he had bitten himself.
Yet he tilted his head, looked around at his four companions, and suddenly gave a light, lazy smile. “Just a little sleepy. What’s with your expressions?”
Wu Sheng and Qian Ai were stunned, unsure whether he was being genuine or evasive.
Kuang Jinxin frowned slightly, worriedly looking at him.
Xu Wang, however, was somewhat relieved. At least, the Chi Yingxue before them was still the same person they knew and were frustratedly fond of.
But the other half of his heart was still hanging…
“What about Yan Wang?” Xu Wang still asked.
He had actually never brought up Yan Wang in front of Chi Yingxue before, feeling like having two incompatible teammates. As the captain, if he couldn’t help them reconcile, he tried to avoid conflicts.
But now, he could only ask Chi Yingxue, even deciding to tell him everything Yan Wang had done for this level once Chi Yingxue had a chance to calm down.
Chi Yingxue didn’t answer immediately.
He lowered his gaze, as if pondering or searching for something.
The streetlamp cast a shadow through his lashes, leaving a dark patch in his eyes.
“I can’t find him anymore.”
It took a long while for the companions to hear him say this.
His voice was so soft that it was almost impossible to discern any emotion.
But Xu Wang was sure. There was no shock or surprise there, just a trace of perplexity and much more helplessness.
At that moment, he understood that Chi Yingxue was aware of the entire process. He was both the child hiding in the cabinet and the shadow with the scent of orange soda, as well as the omnipresent faint moon, clouds, and wind—he could sense everything in 9/23.
……
In the following two days, Chi Yingxue didn’t say a word.
During the day, he locked himself in his room, and at night, he sat in the 9/23 space capsule.
They had completed this level, and the hidden compartment would not open again, so they just sat in the space capsule through the long nights.
Chi Yingxue sat quietly in the corner, staring blankly at the ceiling, and they kept him company.
Yan Wang was gone.
He came into existence because of Chi Yingxue’s fear and disappeared with the fear’s eradication.
Although it wasn’t spoken aloud, they all knew it. Even Qian Ai, who was somewhat unclear about Chi Yingxue’s “I can’t find” statement at the time, realized this truth during these two days of gloom.
The healing of a split personality should be a good thing, but logic can’t replace emotions, nor can it erase the memories of fighting side by side.
If they felt this way, what about Chi Yingxue?
The child who set the last line of defense in his heart as Yan Wang’s birthday—did he ever think there would be a day of parting?
……
Xu Wang was prepared for a long haul and had even held a private meeting with his teammates. If Chi Yingxue needed three days to recover, they would wait for three days; if he needed ten, they would wait for ten.
Unexpectedly, after the second time sitting quietly in the Owl, Chi Yingxue said without warning, “Book the tickets.”
The coordinates for 10/23 were in Hunan.
Xu Wang didn’t know if Chi Yingxue had genuinely rallied or if he had buried even more emotions inside, but life is like that. Whether you like it or not, the calendar keeps turning its pages.
“Have you talked to your brother about this?” With such an important matter, Xu Wang felt it was something the family should know.
Chi Yingxue simply shook his head. “I’ll talk about it when I return to Beijing.”
It was a matter between brothers, so Xu Wang didn’t press further.
As the sky began to lighten, Xu Wang and Wu Sheng booked high-speed train tickets to Hunan.
On the hotel rooftop.
Located in the most bustling area of the city center, leaning on the rooftop railing offered a view over much of the city. At this moment, the city was waking up with street lights dimming one by one and buildings emerging from the darkness, giving rise to the hustle and bustle.
But Chi Yingxue wasn’t looking at any of this.
He sat on the only sofa in the corner of the rooftop, quietly looking at the sky.
The sofa, neither new nor old, seemed either deliberately placed for guests’ rest or forgotten by the hotel. Yet at this moment, he and the sofa harmonized like a painting.
Most of the sky was already bright. Today’s clouds were thick, but the sun persisted in piercing through the clouds, casting its light upon the earth.
When Kuang Jinxin arrived on the rooftop, he first saw the sunlight, then Chi Yingxue bathed in the morning light.
Feeling someone’s intrusion, Chi Yingxue turned his head.
“The train tickets are booked,” Kuang Jinxin approached the sofa, “for three o’clock in the afternoon.”
Chi Yingxue looked at him and said, “Oh.”
Expecting just a routine notification and then departure, Kuang Jinxin instead sat down, as naturally as if the other half of the sofa was specifically reserved for him.
“Beautiful,” Kuang Jinxin suddenly said out of the blue.
Chi Yingxue was puzzled. “Hm?”
Kuang Jinxin looked towards the sunrise, just peaking over the clouds, sincerely saying, “The sunrise is really beautiful.”
Chi Yingxue had no interest in discussing scenery, especially now when he preferred to be alone.
Without hesitation, Chi Yingxue stood up and headed towards the door without even a goodbye.
“No one will protect you anymore,” Kuang Jinxin suddenly said, looking at his retreating figure.
Chi Yingxue stopped and took a few seconds before slowly turning back, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “What did you say?”
“I said no one will protect you anymore,” Kuang Jinxin repeated, louder and more emphatically.
Chi Yingxue’s eyes narrowed further, and he said word by word, “I don’t need anyone’s protection.”
“Then it’s even better that Yan Wang is gone,” Kuang Jinxin said. “Since you don’t need his protection, and there’s no one else to fight over your body.”
Chi Yingxue was silent for a long while, then suddenly smiled faintly. “Yeah, it’s better that he’s gone.”
Kuang Jinxin stared at him. “Then why are you panicking these past two days?”
“Who told you I was panicking?” Chi Yingxue still smiled, but his voice turned cold.
Kuang Jinxin looked at him for a while before asking, “Do you know what dream I had in the hidden compartment?”
Chi Yingxue was taken aback. The topic change was too sudden for him to grasp.
“I dreamed of the moment my parents died in a car accident,” Kuang Jinxin said calmly and openly. “The captain, Sheng Ge, and Qian Ge all know, but you were always in the hidden compartment and didn’t come out, so I’m telling you again.”
Chi Yingxue frowned. “Maybe I don’t want to hear it.”
“You have no choice but to listen,” Kuang Jinxin insisted. “I went through your nightmare, so to be fair, you should go through mine again. Now, I don’t even require you to go through it; just listen. And you’re still bargaining?”
Chi Yingxue: “……”
It felt like a strange “fair exchange,” but Chi Yingxue couldn’t pinpoint the flaw at the moment.
“My parents died in a car accident when I was very young. I have no memory of it. The accident, all I know is from what my grandparents told me, then I just imagined…”
As if determined that Chi Yingxue wouldn’t leave, Kuang Jinxin looked at the increasingly blue sky, continuing on his own.
“The first real memory I have is of being beaten. Just kids playing together, not knowing anything, just running around and playing dumb, but they specifically bullied me and hit me because I had no parents…”
“I remember very clearly. Every time it rained, they would push me into a mud pit, then circle around and laugh…”
He chuckled bitterly, but the bitterness was fleeting, like a passing cloud shadow, gone when you look again, leaving only brightness.
“Then, a neighborhood big brother found out I was always being bullied and stood up for me. He was older than all of us, already in ninth grade, and could easily take on a group of kids by himself. From the moment he protected me, I was never beaten again…”
“How lucky.” Chi Yingxue finally offered a lukewarm response.
Standing two meters away from the sofa, he didn’t continue to leave, nor did he come closer. Instead, he just turned around, watching Kuang Jinxin from a distance, as if bored, so why not listen to a story.
“I thought I was very lucky too. I almost saw him as my own brother back then.” Kuang Jinxin looked at Chi Yingxue, smiling brightly. “Then, in less than a year, he got into a key high school and had to move closer to the school.”
Chi Yingxue frowned.
He really didn’t like where this story was going.
“When he was leaving, I clung to him, crying, not letting him go, no matter who tried to persuade me…”
Kuang Jinxin fell back into his memories, seemingly looking at Chi Yingxue, but his gaze fell somewhere unknown.
“I told him, once you’re gone, no one will protect me anymore. He said, in this world, the only person who can always protect you is yourself…”
“He still moved away. Once he left, those kids beat me again, but I fought back, like a maniac, fighting for my life, until I knocked them all down…”
His gaze met Chi Yingxue’s again, proud. “After that, no one dared to bully me again.”
Chi Yingxue shrugged. “So he was right. It’s better to rely on yourself.”
Kuang Jinxin lost his smile and shook his head solemnly. “No, he was wrong.”
Chi Yingxue: “Wrong?”
Kuang Jinxin said, “I could fight back because I remembered him—remembered the protection, encouragement, and warmth he gave me. They gave me strength.”
Chi Yingxue fell silent.
The warm sunlight outlined his beautiful profile, and for a moment, it seemed as if another shadow flickered across his expression.
“In this world, there are people who can always protect you.” Kuang Jinxin looked at him quietly, his gaze gentle yet firm. “As long as you keep them forever in your heart, they can always protect you.”
……
18:00 Beijing time, Hunan.
Since they hadn’t contacted in advance, the omnipotent President Chi Zhuolin hadn’t managed to arrange the presidential suite for the small team this time. They checked into a budget hotel with two twin rooms and one double room.
The double room was given to Chi Yingxue. After all, they had mooched off his presidential suite for so long.
But after checking in, Xu Wang regretted it a bit, thinking they should have booked a twin room and assigned either Lao Qian or Kuang Jinxin, or even himself, to stay with him for the night.
After discussing this idea privately with the other teammates, Kuang Jinxin said, “Captain, don’t worry. Chi Yingxue isn’t as fragile as you think.”
Xu Wang was half convinced, torn for two hours, but by eight o’clock in the evening, he still stealthily knocked on Chi Yingxue’s room door.
The door opened, but Chi Yingxue showed no intention of inviting him in. He just stood behind the door, looking at him blankly.
Xu Wang felt a bit awkward but seeing him looking stable without any signs of instability, he steeled his heart and pushed the item he had been holding for a long time through the door gap into the other’s hand.
Caught off guard, Chi Yingxue received it, only to see it was a small badge with the Arabic numeral “6” engraved on it. The badge was exquisitely made, but its meaning was unclear.
Raising his eyes, he looked at the captain in confusion.
“That, it’s a team member number,” Xu Wang said, his voice a bit shaky due to uncertainty. “I’ve already distributed theirs. This one’s yours.”
The badge was ordered by Xu Wang online the day they completed the level. No special customization was needed, as many shops had these Arabic numerals ready, and he chose a local store, receiving the delivery the next day.
Chi Yingxue flicked the badge with his thumb, frowning. “I’m number 6?”
“Yeah,” Xu Wang paused for a moment. “Yan Wang is number 5.”
Chi Yingxue fell silent, looking at him quietly, showing no emotions.
Xu Wang let him look, not avoiding his gaze.
Some things, if not addressed, remain knots; only when spoken can they let in the sunlight.
“Give it to me,” Chi Yingxue suddenly said.
Xu Wang was confused. “What?”
“The number 5 badge.” Chi Yingxue lifted the corner of his mouth. “I’m number 6, and also number 5.”
Realizing what he meant, Xu Wang immediately took out another badge from his pocket.
This time, before he could hand it over, Chi Yingxue reached out to take it himself.
“Thank you, captain.” Chi Yingxue smiled faintly, then closed the door with a snap.
Xu Wang: “……”
This teammate was as infuriating as ever!
Behind the closed door.
Chi Yingxue turned and walked back to the bed, eagerly pinning both badges onto his clothes as he walked.
The badges were small and delicate, fitting nicely on the collar, chest, or hem without affecting movement.
But lying in bed, Chi Yingxue spent three whole minutes not daring to toss and turn.
Eventually, he reluctantly took off the badges, wrapped them carefully in soft tissue, and placed them in the most hidden and secure part of his backpack before lying down again.
The curtains in the room were drawn. The thick curtains blocked out the lights from outside.
The room was as dark as a deep night, with only a bedside lamp diligently shining.
Chi Yingxue lay on his side, staring at the lamp for a long time.
Eventually, he reached out to turn it off.
When was the last time he turned off the lights before sleeping? Chi Yingxue couldn’t remember. Perhaps there never was such a time. His nights, no matter when or where, always needed a light on.
He hated the dark, or rather, feared it.
Like the current darkness of this room, devoid of any light.
But now, he felt secure.
“Goodnight.”
In the darkness, his gentle whisper sounded as if he were speaking to himself or perhaps to another person.
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