Monster - Chapter 52
Chapter 52: Love at First Sight
Hearing the sound of the bedroom door closing, Lou, who had been feigning sleep on the bed, immediately opened her eyes, a mischievous, triumphant smile on her face.
"Are you really going to wait here to be caught?" Miu the crow reminded her.
"Lin Sandie probably won't tell the Little Police Flower that I'm still here. After all, she still needs to ask me about the Legislators. But just in case…" Lou threw off the covers and sat up, glancing around the room before getting up again to open the upper wooden door of the wardrobe.
Lin Sandie's wardrobe was large, with the upper section opened up into a single space. It was used to store some winter clothes that weren't currently being worn, thick quilts, and the like.
Lou climbed up nimbly, lay down on her side inside the wardrobe, grabbed one of Lin Sandie's sweaters to use as a pillow, and pushed the other thick clothes and quilts outward before closing the cabinet door from the inside.
"What do you plan to do next?" Miu asked Lou while monitoring the outside. Ever since they had infiltrated the villa, it had become more respectful of Lou's opinions, though the urge to give her a good beating still surfaced from time to time.
"We'll see after Sui Xi gets the results of her investigation into those monsters." Winter had just passed, and the clothes in the wardrobe still carried Lin Sandie's unique scent mixed with fabric softener. Lou covered her eyes with the sleeve of Lin Sandie's sweater. Beneath the sleeve, her beautiful face broke into a genuinely delighted smile. She was far more pleased about getting close to Lin Sandie than she let on.
The scent on Lin Sandie's clothes relaxed Lou. For the past few days, she had been Bedeviled. Although she often spent the entire day in bed, she hadn't gotten a single moment of good rest. Her earlier desire for an afternoon nap had been genuine.
"Little Crow, keep an eye on them. If anyone bullies Lin Sandie, call me." With a yawn, Lou pillowed her head on Lin Sandie's sweater and truly fell asleep.
Lou had never had any dealings with Lin Sandie before. As a Sentinel who had lived for many years, she was aware that her attitude toward Lin Sandie was a bit too gentle and soft, and she had made many superfluous moves that didn't help her mission. But Lou believed it was a sudden burst of passion that would likely extinguish itself soon.
She didn't know that the thing called fate was still toying with her, just as it had when she was weak, sending that Little Rabbit to her side, only to take the Little Rabbit away again.
Having been a powerhouse for too long, Lou had unwittingly developed a touch of arrogance. She never considered that she, too, was a Sentinel driven by instinct. In the past, she had always managed to defeat her instincts with her superior abilities and experience, so she failed to realize that some instincts never disappear.
Perhaps her gentleness and softness toward Lin Sandie were the intuition and instinct of a Sentinel for a Guide? Perhaps the reason she subconsciously "cherished" Lin Sandie now was that she had already missed her a million times over?
She slept so soundly in Lin Sandie's wardrobe that she was only forced to open her eyes when a pair of cool hands pinched her cheeks. Drowsily, she saw Lin Sandie's livid face.
"Oh…" Lou's nerves had always been strong. Even mental shocks had limited effect on her, let alone being frightened by someone's anger. So, upon seeing Lin Sandie's furious expression, she merely grumbled in complaint, turned to face the inside of the wardrobe, and prepared to go back to sleep. As she turned, the clothes that had been pushed to the edge finally gave way and fell out.
"Are you a cat? A wardrobe is not a place for you to sleep!" Lin Sandie hadn't wanted to scold a woman only a year or two younger than her in such an undignified manner, but Lou was just too much. Every time she thought she had composed herself, the other woman would effortlessly infuriate her.
If she hadn't been bothered by the messy state of the clothes in the wardrobe and decided to tidy up, she would never have known that Lou was secretly sleeping inside it.
"What time is it~" Lou reluctantly turned her head to ask Lin Sandie.
"…A little after 5 PM. Officer Xing just came by. The body and the things Yan Ting left behind have been taken away." Lin Sandie answered with forced patience. "She said Yan Ting's phone is missing. Did you take it?"
"Yeah, I took it. It has something I want. But it's not dinnertime yet, so I'm going to sleep a little longer." Feeling it was too difficult to talk to Lin Sandie with her back turned, Lou yawned again, rolled over, and nuzzled her face against the sweater.
She's my savior, she's my savior, she's my savior… Lin Sandie chanted silently in her heart as she looked at Lou's lazy face.
"Don't sleep in here," Lin Sandie said.
"Then carry me down~" Lou whined coquettishly.
"I'm not going to carry you down. I only know that if you don't come down, I'll smash your head in." The "savior" buff she had just applied to Lou instantly wore off. Standing on a stool, Lin Sandie looked at Lou in the wardrobe with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, speaking in a crude manner she would never use with anyone else. Never mind that her injuries made it impossible to carry anyone; even if she weren't injured, she would never carry Lou.
But for some reason, Lin Sandie felt as if this conversation had happened somewhere before.
Lou grinned. Of course, she knew the current Lin Sandie couldn't carry her, so she didn't mind. She curled up slightly and jumped down from the wardrobe. It was a good thing Lin Sandie's wardrobe was sturdy, or it would have fallen apart.
"What are we having for dinner tonight?" Lou linked her arm with Lin Sandie's.
Before seeing Lou sleeping in her wardrobe, Lin Sandie had actually prepared a speech. She had planned to be dignified and polite, steady and refined, just as she was with everyone else. She would say things like, "Thank you for saving me. I will do my best to fulfill any request you have." But whether it was Lou's coquettish refusal to get out of the wardrobe or the first thing she said after jumping down, all of Lin Sandie's prepared words were thrown into disarray.
It seemed that whenever she was near Lou, all the rules Lin Sandie normally abided by would dissolve into chaos. All rules were broken, her emotions were scattered, and she herself became a chaotic entity.
"…What do you want to eat?" Lin Sandie sighed softly.
"Fried chicken," Lou said after a moment of thought.
"I'll order takeout for you." Lin Sandie immediately took out her phone.
"You're not eating?" Lou keenly detected the singular pronoun in Lin Sandie's words.
"No, I'll get fat."
"But you haven't eaten in a long time either, right? Besides, our faces will still be cute even if we get fat~ I always gain weight when I'm on a long vacation." Lou lifted the hem of her T-shirt, looked down, and pointed to the soft flesh on her inner thigh, demonstrating earnestly to Lin Sandie. "Look, when you're fat, the meat here gets really soft. I love touching it myself…"
Lin Sandie glanced over and immediately averted her gaze. She subconsciously wanted to say that her girlfriend didn't like her getting fat, but just as she opened her mouth, she suddenly realized that she had completely broken up with Yan Ting today.
Lou had slit Yan Ting's throat right in front of her this morning. She was dead. She would never appear before her again, telling her a long list of her preferences.
Yan Ting wanted her girlfriend to maintain her figure, so she couldn't eat any high-carb foods.
Yan Ting wanted her girlfriend's hair to be waist-length, so she couldn't cut it even in the sweltering summer.
Yan Ting wanted her girlfriend to dress like a lady, so she couldn't wear clothes that made her feel comfortable.
…
Lin Sandie had thought she would feel something about Yan Ting's death, but now she felt nothing at all. Feeling sad for Yan Ting was, of course, impossible, but she didn't seem to feel much joy either.
Freedom had come so suddenly that it left Lin Sandie feeling a little lost.
"Then we'll have fried chicken tonight. Do you want soda or beer?" Lin Sandie continued tapping on her phone, adding another portion to the order.
"Caw!" A crow's cry suddenly echoed in the room, and then Lin Sandie saw a sleek, glossy crow appear on Lou's shoulder.
"I want soda. The little crow wants beer."
After everything she had been through, Lin Sandie had become very calm. She merely glanced at Miu the crow and continued tapping on her phone. "Fine, but you have to clean up the mess you made."
After placing the order, Lin Sandie put her phone in her pocket and grabbed a stunned Lou, pulling her out of the room. "First, clean up the bloodstains in the living room. I'm injured and can't keep bending over. Then you have to help me clean the bathroom. And finally, you have to rewash this sweater you were using as a pillow and neatly fold and put away the clothes that fell out…"
"Lin Sandie!" Lou gasped. "I'm your savior! What do you take me for?!"
"Clean up, and I'll play house with you."
"Alright." Lou suddenly grabbed Lin Sandie's collar, dragging her back into the room just as she reached the doorway. A bewitching smile played on her lips. "I'll clean everything up, but I want you to play house with me right now."
Barefoot, Lin Sandie stumbled a couple of steps before managing to stop herself from falling into Lou's arms. She understood what Lou was implying, and her already pale face flushed crimson, her ears burning hot. She never expected this crazy woman to be so frank about her desires. It was too insane, too over the top. How could someone be so free, like an untamed beast that knew nothing of the world, unbound by any of its rules?
Lou wasn't forceful. She simply pulled Lin Sandie into the room and let her go, then stood by the bed, smiling at her as if in provocation. The evening sun streamed through the window, casting an orange glow on Lou's skin—the color of desire.
Lin Sandie felt like her heart was about to leap out of her chest. For someone who lived every day with caution, it felt as if clusters of light were constantly exploding in her brain.
The person before her was herself, a sight that always brought her a sense of peace whenever she saw it in the mirror. And in this world of monsters, she was the only creature that made her feel safe.
"I'm still injured," Lin Sandie's voice was a little hoarse. She glared at Lou, who was inviting her, and fled in disarray.
"Hahahaha! Lin Sandie, you're a coward."
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