A car?
Was having a car such a big deal?
The Sports Rep stood before a limited-edition sports car—the kind one usually only saw in tabloid news—and fell into a profound silence.
Actually, having a car *was* a pretty big deal.
Si Jiang held his head high and tossed his car keys in his hand. He could have easily started the car with his phone, but he chose not to. He waited for the scissor doors to swing upward, revealing the leather interior, before speaking leisurely. "After you, both of you."
He had three sports cars under his name. One had been crashed recently and was currently gathering dust in a warehouse after being sent for repairs. Another had been driven off by Chen Bai to pick up girls. This was the last one. If he recalled correctly, his parents had given it to him as a coming-of-age gift.
Although the Sports Rep didn't have a particular obsession with cars, who wouldn't want to sit in a luxury vehicle? He nodded with a grin, about to climb into the passenger seat.
"Wait."
"Where do you think you're sitting?"
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
Before his backside could touch the leather—which was likely worth more than he was—the Sports Rep was forced to abort his mission. He looked at the two of them in confusion.
Zong Yan was swiping through her phone screen, standing by the rear of the car. She spoke coldly, "This car won't work."
"Huh?! A sports car won't work?!" The Sports Rep was shocked. Was Zong Yan actually some undercover heiress from an old-money family? Even this car wasn't good enough for her?
Si Jiang was displeased. "What do you mean it won't work? The model might be a bit old, but the performance is excellent."
He had actually been looking forward to Zong Yan's reaction, thinking this would be the first time she rode in his car. *Heh, as expected, this woman will never act according to my wishes.*
Zong Yan looked at the Sports Rep's expression. Despite his heartbroken reluctance, she shook her head firmly. "We have a lot of things to buy. A sports car's trunk is too small."
She turned naturally toward the dark-faced Si Jiang. "Do you have a larger car? If not, we'll take the bus."
"Maybe we could squeeze? If we squeeze, there's still a bit of space inside..." the Sports Rep tried desperately to salvage the situation. He looked at Si Jiang expectantly. *Brother, whether I get to experience the thrill of a sports car in this lifetime depends entirely on you.*
However, he saw the usually cool and aloof Si Jiang wearing a bizarre expression. Si Jiang crossed his arms and kicked his own car. "Useless thing."
Sports Rep: *...If you don't want it, can I have it?*
"I have one. Of course I have one!" Si Jiang gritted his teeth, pulled out his phone, and dialed Chen Bai. "Hey, where are you? Where did you park your Land Rover?"
***
The car was exceptionally quiet throughout the journey.
The Sports Rep had originally wanted to climb into the passenger seat again, but under Si Jiang's death stare, he finally came to his senses and retreated awkwardly to the back seat.
Zong Yan was already sitting in the back, leaning against the window, looking down at her phone. He politely maintained a significant distance from her.
Si Jiang got into the car and glanced at the empty passenger seat. Whether it was his nose or something else that felt uncomfortable, he let out a cold snort.
Zong Yan looked up, her eyes meeting his in the rearview mirror. She blinked.
*Blockhead.*
Si Jiang inserted the key and started the engine in silence.
Although the Sports Rep was full of muscle, he wasn't exactly stupid. He felt the atmosphere in the car was incredibly strange.
*Are Zong Yan and Si Jiang not close?*
It seemed that way. Every time they were in class, they sat far apart, and he rarely saw them talking. Zong Yan was indifferent to everyone, and Si Jiang was even worse—except when playing basketball, he always had an "everyone stay the hell away from me" attitude.
*Could it be that like poles repel?*
For once, the Sports Rep began to ponder such questions. Si Jiang's attitude toward Zong Yan had always been odd—the way he suddenly changed his tune and volunteered to drive earlier, for instance. And Zong Yan seemed quite familiar with his car.
*Did they know each other before?*
*How strange.* It felt like his brain was finally starting to function.
Eventually, the Sports Rep couldn't help but ask, "Si Jiang, did you and Zong Yan know each other before? What's your relationship?"
Si Jiang had been staring blankly at the goods on the ground, bored out of his mind. Hearing this question, his body tensed up.
"Why are you asking?" He frowned and glared at the Sports Rep.
The Sports Rep scratched his head. "Just asking. It feels like you two are pretty familiar with each other."
"Could it be that you two..." *Were friends before and then had a falling out?*
Before he could finish, Si Jiang snapped at him like a cat with its fur standing on end, "Who has that kind of relationship with her! I'm not close to her at all!"
Sports Rep: "Huh?"
*What 'kind' of relationship?*
The Sports Rep felt like they weren't talking about the same thing. He was just about to explain when he saw a figure standing behind Si Jiang, holding a crate of bottled water. He didn't know how long she had been there.
She was lean and upright, her solitude like moonlight reflected in a dark ravine. Her gaze as she looked at them was exceptionally calm.
Zong Yan had finished haggling with the shopkeeper at some point and had carried out the last of the items.
*Crap. Caught red-handed gossiping about someone's privacy.* And it was the girl he had a crush on. He instantly became embarrassed and regretful, his cheeks flushing red.
Seeing his reaction, Si Jiang immediately realized something. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He kept his neck stiff and didn't look back.
Zong Yan carried the water past them and placed it in the trunk. Her expression was as steady as a statue, as if nothing could affect her.
"Load everything in. It's time to go," she said calmly, dusting off her hands.
"Oh. Right!" The Sports Rep hurried into motion, finally fulfilling his intended purpose.
Si Jiang looked at Zong Yan standing there, hesitating over whether to go over to her. But Zong Yan didn't even give him a glance before getting straight into the car. He breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a pang of disappointment as he silently loaded the supplies.
***
That day, Zong Yan did not go to his house.
She didn't go the next day, either.
On the third day, she refused again.
Her answer was: "Busy with work."
Si Jiang threw his phone onto the bed and buried himself under the covers.
*Busy, my ass! This is revenge!*
He stared stubbornly at the plain bedsheets as if he could find some hidden pattern in them. *Si Jiang, you can't always let her lead you by the nose.*
After lying there for a while, his face felt stiff. He rolled over and stared blankly at the ceiling. He was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep.
"Argh, so annoying!"
"Damn it all!"
It was unclear who he was cursing.
The room was exceptionally quiet. Aside from his own breathing, it was hard to hear any sounds from outside. Since returning to the country, Si Jiang had grown to hate the soundproofing here. It felt like being locked in a sealed chamber where he was the only person left in the world. Only when he was utterly exhausted and no longer reacting would he be let out.
Those useless doctors thought he was back to normal, but he had gone mad long ago.
Just like now, he could clearly feel a pair of ice-cold hands resting on his shoulders, bringing with them the damp, salty stench of seawater.
Si Jiang's heart rate accelerated instantly. Half of his body froze; he didn't dare move.
*It's back again...*
The lights were on, the room was bright—why was it still appearing?
Si Jiang instinctively reached for his chest in a panic, but his hand found nothing. His heart sank. His talisman had been taken by Zong Yan, and she hadn't returned it yet.
What was he supposed to do? Without the talisman, how could he possibly resist it?
A fragmented, whispering sound, like a ghostly curse, gradually grew louder. It was right against his ear, sounding like metal clashing as it funneled directly into his mind.
"Si Jiang... you're a bit different today."
It leaned in maliciously before Si Jiang's eyes. It watched with satisfaction as his pupils dilated in terror, reflecting an abnormal fear.
"Oh?" It tilted its head curiously, and its neck snapped, oozing yellow-green putrid fluid.
That face, identical to Si Jiang's, was covered by a grey hoodie. It wore a sinister smile. "Si Jiang, where is your treasure?"
Si Jiang kept his mouth shut, his hands trembling uncontrollably. He couldn't let it know the talisman was gone. That was his final line of defense against it.
"Si Jiang, I'm asking you."
Receiving no answer, it became enraged. In an instant, its features twisted and deformed, revealing countless maggots writhing within.
"Who do you think you are? Nothing but a piece of abandoned trash. You should have sunk down with me long ago. Why aren't you speaking?"
Si Jiang's lips trembled, but he remained motionless.
Suddenly, it laughed again. "You're ignoring me, but surely you won't ignore *her*?"
As it spoke, under Si Jiang's terrified gaze, its features began to fade, turning into a faceless plane before vanishing in an instant.
Si Jiang slumped on the bed, drenched in cold sweat. He grabbed his phone, about to bolt out the door.
Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to him, making him stop dead in his tracks.
"Si Jiang."
It was a very cold, ungentle voice. When she called him, it often carried a faint tone of command.
"Si Jiang, where are you going? Aren't you going to sleep?"
*Si Jiang, don't look back. It's a trap,* he warned himself.
But his body turned around inch by inch, uncontrollably. It was as if he could never disobey the instructions of that voice.
Just like during those countless days and nights of deep despair, only this voice could act like a bell, like a lighthouse, preventing him from drifting completely into a state of chaos.
Si Jiang remembered many times when he had been huddled in a corner, his arms covered in bandages with no place left to bite. It had driven him to the point of no escape, and then Zong Yan's voice would suddenly emerge from that wax block, as if she were standing right in front of him, calling his name.
In those moments, he could overpower its strength.
Occasionally, when he sat on a bench staring blankly at the gravel in a flowerbed, a thought of picking them up and hiding them would arise. Then, a hand with thick calluses would stop him and say, "Si Jiang, no."
"Si Jiang, where is the thing I gave you?" he saw Zong Yan ask him.
*The thing you gave me... didn't you take it back?*
Si Jiang was utterly confused. He opened his mouth to answer, "Isn't it with—"
Wait. No.
How could Zong Yan forget?
He snapped awake instantly.
The "Zong Yan" in front of him suddenly turned ferocious, lunging toward him.
"No!"
Si Jiang sat up, drenched in sweat. The room was filled with bright light. He had fallen asleep after all.
"Whew..."
Terrified into a cold sweat by the nightmare, he panted in exhaustion and checked the time on his phone. It was only a little past eleven at night.
There was no way he was getting any more sleep tonight. And—recalling the dream—he didn't want to stay in this room anymore. He might as well call Chen Bai. He hadn't been to a bar in a long time anyway. At least when surrounded by a crowd, he felt somewhat safe.
***
Zong Yan really did have work today, and her recent workload was indeed heavy. The entire department was rushing to finish orders for a major project. There was no room for error.
As an intern, she didn't suggest leaving early and stayed until the end with everyone else. When the final draft was finally approved by the boss, the entire office erupted in cheers.
"Let's go, let's go! To celebrate, we're going for late-night snacks!"
"Who's paying?"
Countless pairs of bloodshot eyes turned toward the man sitting in the inner office.
The man—who wasn't actually that old and kept himself in good shape, though he looked a bit weathered and didn't bother much with grooming—was the design supervisor, Yan Ge. He waved a hand. "Put it on my tab."
"Hooray!"
Zong Yan, who had always been considered a "woman of iron," had her eyes opened that day. Her colleagues had looked like they'd had their life force drained during overtime, as if they might drop dead the next second. But as soon as they finished the barbecue, they all sprang back to life, noisily insisting on karaoke, clubbing, and drinking until they dropped.
For the first time, Zong Yan felt her own energy was lacking. She really wanted to go back and rest. But she was dragged along to a bar—a deafeningly loud place she used to be very familiar with.
Except before, she had been a waitress. Now, she was a customer.
The female colleagues beside her were already getting restless, wanting to go dance. Some were scanning the bar for "high-quality prey," occasionally laughing and commenting on a bartender's physique or looks.
Zong Yan listened silently.
In truth, she thought the men they were talking about were just average. Those with good bodies didn't have features that compared to Si Jiang's. Those with handsome faces lacked Bai Mao's clean aura. Those with a good aura often fell short in the looks department.
She found it all rather dull.
Suddenly, the colleague next to her got excited and pointed toward a booth in the corner.
"Hey, look at that one! That one is top-tier! Based on my years of experience drawing human anatomy, his proportions are perfect."
"Since when do you draw anatomy?"
"A private hobby. Shh, that's not the point."
Lacking interest, Zong Yan followed her gaze.
In a nearby booth, several men were leaning back on the sofas, their profiles turned toward them. The table was covered with imported liquor, and several sexy women were clinging to them, chatting and laughing.
Zong Yan: "..."
The one in the middle—wasn't that Si Jiang?
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
体委 (Tǐwěi) | Sports Rep | Short for 体育委员 (Sports Representative/Committeeman).
生活委员 (Shēnghuó wěiyuán) | Life Rep | Class representative in charge of logistics, finances, and student welfare.
陈柏 (Chén Bǎi) | Chen Bai | Si Jiang's friend.
路虎 (Lùhǔ) | Land Rover |
晏格 (Yàn Gé) | Yan Ge | The design supervisor at Zong Yan's internship.
白袤 (Bái Mào) | Bai Mao | A character mentioned for comparison (likely from previous chapters).
秀男 (Xiùnán) | Show boy / Candidate | Used jokingly by the girls to refer to the Sports Rep as a "candidate" for Zong Yan's "harem."
翻牌子 (Fān páizi) | Flipping the sign | A historical reference to emperors choosing which concubine to spend the night with; used here jokingly.
答应 (Dāyìng) | Promised Lady / Daying | The lowest rank of concubines in the Qing Dynasty.
