Monster - Chapter 50
Chapter 50: Hello, Lin Sandie
After nearly half a month in the hospital, Lin Sandie was finally discharged. The ever-busy Yan Ting cleared her schedule for the day to personally drive Lin Sandie home.
Sitting in Yan Ting's car, Lin Sandie stared blankly at the scenery outside. To avoid straining her injured right arm, the doctor had secured it in a sling across her chest, and her coat was merely draped over her shoulders.
Yan Ting drove, her attention frequently drifting to Lin Sandie. The light from outside illuminated her profile, revealing a layer of fine, pink fuzz on her earlobe. Yan Ting's gaze grew tender and obsessive. This was her woman. The thought filled her with a deep sense of pride and joy. She had never realized she could love the same person for so long.
"Why were there so many guards watching my room a few days ago?" Lin Sandie suddenly asked, still looking out the window.
"...A few days ago, that woman named Lou caused a major disturbance at the villa. Ms. Kang Yi was injured," Yan Ting explained. Since Lin Sandie had made her pledge of allegiance and left a deep impression on the higher-ups, she was tacitly considered one of them, so Yan Ting didn't hide much. "We originally wanted to capture her alive, but she unexpectedly called the police, which led to the Lower House getting involved. Councilor Sui Xi even came personally to take her away."
Lin Sandie turned her head to look at Yan Ting, her expression asking, what does that have to do with my question?
"None of us expected it. The next day, when I was reviewing the surveillance footage from the hospital, I discovered that after she was injured, she didn't go back to the Black Goat Walled City. Instead, she went to your hospital room and nearly crawled into your bed. I don't know what happened after, but she ended up sleeping on the adjacent bed."
Lin Sandie was speechless. She didn't know why, but lately, she would fall into a deep sleep the moment she closed her eyes, and only an alarm clock could wake her. Every time she woke up, strange information would surface in her mind. This change meant that the formerly light sleeper hadn't even noticed Lou's approach.
But that wasn't the point. Lin Sandie lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. The point was her own strange constitution. Why was she always surrounded by so many lunatics?
Yan Ting glanced at her again, hesitated for a moment, then asked seriously, "San San, do you know that you've been doing very dangerous things?"
Lin Sandie had always been a smart, rational, calm, and steady person. She should have had better ways to escape her predicaments. During her "pledge of allegiance," for instance, she had single-handedly convinced Kang Yi to give her an extra knife and made all her companions develop a favorable impression of her and willingly help. This allowed her to turn the tables and kill her opponent from a position of weakness.
But before that, when she returned to her hometown and faced that sudden catastrophe, she had followed Lin Youceng into the mountain forest without any resistance. Although other factors were at play, it was an extremely risky move that could have easily gotten her killed. More recently, she had revealed too much information during her call with Lou. Yan Ting had a faint suspicion that Lin Sandie was intentionally walking on the edge of danger.
This, however, made it difficult for her to understand Lin Sandie's true intentions. If she wanted to die, she could have just let her opponent kill her during the pledge of allegiance.
"The most dangerous thing I've ever done, isn't it being with you?" Lin Sandie said sarcastically.
The family Yan Ting could use to threaten her was now gone. Ever since the "performance," Lin Sandie found everything rather dull. Her life was a chaotic, bleak, and hopeless mess. She wanted to live, but living meant being controlled with no hope of escape. So, occasionally, she felt like testing Death, hovering on the edge of its grasp to see if it might bring about some kind of turning point.
Things couldn't possibly get any worse.
"...Although the higher-ups didn't pursue the matter of the information you leaked to Lou, I think being so careless will easily put you in a passive position." Yan Ting looked as if she didn't want to dwell on Lin Sandie's words.
She didn't want to face the fact that Lin Sandie no longer liked her, and she dared not even think that Lin Sandie had long wanted to leave her.
"How do you know I don't like being passive?" Lin Sandie remained unmoved by Yan Ting's "concession," her tone still icy.
Yan Ting gritted her teeth. She glanced at Lin Sandie and saw the unconcealable exhaustion on her pale face.
"You're tired. Get some proper rest."
"What are your plans for me next?" Lin Sandie rested her head against the car window. She caught a glimpse of her own reflection next to the monstrous form of Yan Ting and thought idly, Why can I see monsters, but Yan Ting can't see that she is one? If she saw that her beautiful skin has turned into an ugly monster, would she break down immediately?
"It's not decided yet. I hope you'll stay at the company. Zhang Jun said he wants to recommend you for a position in Disorder Land."
"Heh. Me? As a jailer? Or a prisoner?"
"I don't know yet." Yan Ting frowned slightly, her patience wearing thin. "I don't like your tone."
"I don't like your tone either," Lin Sandie shot back, glaring.
"Don't think that after one performance they'll unconditionally see you as one of them!" Yan Ting's grip on the steering wheel tightened. Lin Sandie's lack of subservience pushed her to the brink of losing control.
Yan Ting fought to suppress the impulse to hurt Lin Sandie.
"So what do you want to do?" Lin Sandie asked lazily.
Yan Ting fell silent, but the car filled with a cold, oppressive atmosphere. When they arrived downstairs at Lin Sandie's apartment, Lin Sandie opened the door and left without a second glance. Yan Ting's face was grim as she followed behind, carrying Lin Sandie's luggage.
In the Black Goat Walled City, ever since returning from her "bedeviled" state, Lou had spent several days curled up in bed. She had surrounded herself with all sorts of rabbit dolls, so many that she was completely buried when she lay down. She didn't eat, didn't speak, didn't bathe, didn't exercise...
Her expression was constantly changing as she conversed with the rabbit in her mind. Beyond that, she had pressed the pause button on even her most basic physiological needs.
There were no rules for when a Sentinel fell into a bedeviled state. Miu the crow had thought Lou could pull herself out of it, but from the looks of it, she didn't seem to want to. Miu was powerless to bring her out of this state, which forced it to disturb Pie, the main god who had issued their mission.
"Just look after her. Make sure she eats and drinks on time, and make her use the toilet." That was the only instruction Pie gave before falling silent. Though Her tone was as casual as asking Miu to care for a stressed cat, Lou was a living person. This put Miu and Wang Lirou in a difficult position.
Xu Siqian and Wang Lirou had no choice but to care for her as if she were a paralyzed patient, bringing her meals on schedule, setting alarms to remind her to use the bathroom, and changing her into clean clothes. Xu Siqian was so angry she wanted to beat the troublesome, crazy girl, and only the good-tempered Wang Lirou holding her back prevented a "domestic tragedy."
Today, Wang Lirou brought Lou her meal as usual, watching her finish it before preparing to tidy up and head to his shop.
"What on earth is wrong with you?" After washing the dishes, Wang Lirou returned to find Lou leaning against the sofa, holding a rabbit doll to her ear, listening with intense focus.
Seeing that Lou didn't answer, Wang Lirou sat down beside her and began to gently comb through her messy hair.
"You know, sometimes you just have to let yourself off the hook," Wang Lirou said with a sigh, his thoughts drifting elsewhere. After untangling Lou's long hair, he wove it into a beautiful braid.
"Can I use this?" Among the many rabbit-shaped items on the coffee table, Wang Lirou spotted a hair clip with a pink rabbit on it and asked Lou gently.
"Mm."
Wang Lirou smiled and fastened the clip onto her braid.
"Is there anything I can do to help you, Lou Lou?"
"No. No one can help me." Lou closed her eyes, waiting for the rabbits to speak to her again, her posture shutting everyone out.
Wang Lirou was at a loss. He wasn't used to seeing a Lou who wasn't smiling or causing trouble. Just as he was about to try comforting her again, she suddenly opened her eyes and sat up straight.
"?" Miu looked at her, puzzled.
"The Line I placed on Lin Sandie fluctuated." Lou shot up, grabbing her coat and wallet from a chair. Still in her pajamas and slippers, she bolted outside. Her reaction was so swift and decisive that it made Miu wonder if this whole "bedeviled" act was just her messing with them.
Racing downstairs and through the sunless corridors of the Black Goat Walled City, Lou hailed a taxi on the road at the edge of the city and headed straight for Lin Sandie's home.
"What's the situation over there? When did you put a Line on Lin Sandie?" Seeing Lou bouncing her leg restlessly in the back of the taxi like a hyperactive child, Miu couldn't help but feel nervous too.
"When she was hospitalized half a month ago. Lin Sandie's life is in danger now." Lou pulled all the cash from her wallet and tossed it into the driver's lap. "Faster. Keep the change."
"Holy shit..." The driver immediately floored the accelerator.
"You haven't actually fallen for Lin Sandie, have you?" Miu exclaimed.
"Fly over there and see for yourself!" Lou didn't answer Miu's question. Instead, she grabbed the crow brooch on her chest and threw it out the car window.
"Fuck!" Miu cursed, transforming into a crow just as it was about to hit the ground. "You'll die a horrible death for this!"
Despite the cursing, it flew swiftly in the direction of Lin Sandie's home. After all, it owed Lou a huge favor for the incident at the villa.
Fallen for Lin Sandie? Perhaps that's possible, Lou thought. She felt a passion and curiosity for Lin Sandie that she didn't feel for anyone else, but it was definitely not about wanting a long-term relationship.
Because Little Rabbit had once taught her that it was easy to like someone, but to commit to a long-term relationship, you had to spend time together, work through your differences, and only make a decision after confirming you were compatible. If you weren't, you shouldn't continue.
She and Lin Sandie were people from two different worlds; being together was never going to be easy. Besides, they weren't in love, they didn't know each other, they hadn't understood each other's pasts or empathized with each other's feelings. How could they just randomly get together?
So, if Lin Sandie agreed, it would be better to just play at love, like playing house. Getting into a real relationship would be too long and troublesome, according to Little Rabbit's rules.
Arriving at Lin Sandie's apartment complex at lightning speed, Lou saw Miu, who had arrived first, swoop down and drop a key card for her.
Lou didn't hesitate, rushing up to Lin Sandie's floor and using the card to open her door.
Lin Sandie's living room was in chaos. A severely mutated monster was straddling her, having completely lost its sanity. Its two arms, covered in blinking eyes, were wrapped tightly around Lin Sandie's neck. Her face was flushed red, her glasses knocked to the side, forcing her to stare directly into the creature's gaping mouth, which was lined with dense, sharp teeth.
Seeing this, the frantic Lou suddenly became calm. She straightened her clothes slightly. Even though her high-end, rabbit-embroidered pajamas and plain indoor slippers made her look less than formal, her expression was as solemn as if she were meeting a date. She walked to the cabinet in Lin Sandie's open-plan kitchen, took out a gleaming silver cleaver, and then approached the monster from behind.
As she was on the verge of losing consciousness, Lin Sandie saw a face identical to her own. That face wore a likable smile, the kind she herself used to wear. Those deep yet bright eyes, always full of life, were also once hers. But they had long been tainted by filthy desires, soaked in fearful nightmares, and ravaged by all the helplessness in the world until they lost their light. Now, all that remained was caution, indifference, and selfishness...
"Hi," Lou greeted the monster.
The attacking monster spun around abruptly. Without the slightest hesitation, a silver light drew a beautiful arc through the air. Blood immediately gushed from the monster's throat like water from an overturned bucket. It clutched its neck, making a gurgling sound as it stared in disbelief at the woman who looked exactly like its lover. Death had come so simply and swiftly. It was forced off the stage before it ever had a chance to tell its story.
"Hello there~ Lin Sandie~" Lou didn't even glance at the collapsing monster. She smiled brightly at Lin Sandie, like a tamed beast whose fangs were still dripping with blood after a kill, eagerly waiting to claim its reward from its master.
"Would you be willing to play house with me?"
Comments
Post a Comment