CH 8

Maybe because of his conversation with Yu Li, Xie Fei ended up having a dream that night. In his dream, the deep sky was endless with no light shining through. And then in the darkness, a star suddenly lit up. Then another, and another…..until billions of stars were all lit up in the empty and dark space.

The stars were arranged and combined into mysterious symbols, as if they all came together to map the universe into reason while containing a vast and unspeakable force capable of destroying everything.

When Xie Fei woke up, the images in the dream all blurred together and became fragmented. Dizzy, he drew back the curtains and was faced with the bright sky.

Last night, Xiang Fei offered to make breakfast today so Xie Fei wasn’t in a hurry. He planned to go back to sleep but thought about the broken and worn out fence in the inn. Sighing, he got up and went to the bathroom to wash.

Downstairs, he heard that the two guests already set out. Meanwhile, Yu Li left earlier than them since his agent came around to pick him up at 6 o’clock.

Xiang Fei’s cooking skills barely passed but Xie Fei still willingly filled his stomach with food. He told her to continue cleaning the rooms while he and Ah Fu went to the yard to mend the fence.

Making a new bamboo fence wasn’t difficult. First, they removed the scars found on the bamboo then cut them into the required length. Afterwards, they sawed it in half then into four equal parts before binding them all together using bamboo strips. They were then shaped and designed into a specific pattern before being plunged into the soil.

Although simple, it was quite complicated.

Xie Fei and Ah Fu were busy doing this for most of the day but in the end, only half of the broken fence was fixed.

As Xie Fei prepared himself to cut the bamboo with a knife, he suddenly heard a rush of  heavy footsteps followed by Yang Duoduo’s screams.

“Ah!!! Amazing! Mom! Are you some kind of fairy Brother Ah Fu?”

Xie Fei’s hand shook from her outburst, almost scarring himself. Thankfully, he was able to avoid that from happening. He stared at the gate in a daze, seeing Yang Duoduo dragging her cousin towards them like a tank rushing into war. She ran all the way to Ah Fu and immediately talked, not giving others a chance to speak. She couldn’t wait to tell them what happened today.

It turned out that last night, Ah Fu predicted that she was in danger of losing money and that she had to pay more attention to her wallet and her phone. Thinking of this, Yang Duoduo thought about the people coming and going in the film and television base and how most of the time, there were thieves present. So, before going out she brought a bluetooth alarm with her. Unexpectedly, as she walked around Shaoyang town’s food street, her alarm suddenly went off. The phone in her pocket was gone.

“At that time, the thief hadn’t gotten far so I quickly got back my phone on the spot!” Yang Duoduo still felt terrified as she talked about her experience but it couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice. “Brother Ah Fu, if it weren’t for you, the phone I just bought would’ve been long gone. I haven’t even finished paying the installment.”

“It’s nothing,” Ah Fu said, as if such a thing wasn't a big deal. With bright eyes, he glanced at Xie Fei at the side and immediately gave her a warm smile. “Don’t worry. Even if the phone got lost, I’m an expert in finding lost things. I can 100% help you get them back.”

Yang Duoduo fiercely nodded her head. She completely believed in Ah Fu’s ability and admired him for it. With glittering eyes, she said: “Not only that but today I actually saw oppa! He’s a hundred times better than any photo! No, a thousand times! It’s too bad though that oppa only had one scene and he quickly left after the shooting. If I can see him a few more times, I can close my eyes peacefully and--oppa?”

Xie Fei and Yang Duoduo turned their heads at the same time, looking straight at Yu Li who was standing in front of the gate’s fence. He had a baseball cap on and a pair of sunglasses in one hand. A grim expression was hidden underneath when he saw the likes of Yang Duoduo, silly and foolish fans, in front of him.

Obviously, Yu Li forgot about the guests in the inn.

The gears in Xie Fei’s mind started turning, thinking about how to solve the situation in front of them when Yu Li suddenly took a step forward. He stood in front of Yang Duoduo and Xu Lingyi and snapped his fingers. With a snap, the two sisters’ eyes suddenly lost focus.

Yu Li gave a sidelong glance at Xie Fei and said, “Don’t think I could be hit with this kind of thing!1” After saying this, he swiveled around and strode into the inn.

Xie Fei: “...”

Ah Fu: “...”

As soon as Yu Li’s figure disappeared, the two sisters immediately sobered up. Yang Duoduo continued talking about her experiences in the film and television base, beaming with joy. Looking at her, not only did she forget about Yu Li’s arrival but she also failed to notice those seconds of having her memory erased.

So, this was the effect of using that pen in the Men in Black movie?

Xie Fei couldn’t help but feel sorry for Yang Duoduo, having to miss her idol just like that.

No matter how loud and talkative Yang Duoduo was, she eventually calmed down and went back to her room with Xu Lingyi. After all, she was out for a whole day and her energy wasn’t limitless. As soon as the two left, Xie Fei tapped Ah Fu’s elbow and whispered, “Brother Ah Fu, did you notice that Miss Xu was watching you this whole time?”

Although Xu Lingyi had her sunglasses on, Xie Fei felt that the woman’s sight hardly left Ah Fu. Even when walking away, she looked back at him several times.

Since Ah Fu was a demon, his five senses were naturally more sensitive than that of human beings. He nodded his head. “Miss Xu is rather strange.”

The two people were silent for a while until Ah Fu jolted, shocked. “Does she have a crush on me?”

Xie Fei carefully sized up Ah Fu’s “funeral head,” “nightclub makeup,” and “dog collar” around his neck then thought back to Xu Lingyi’s standard urban “cold and chic2” dress. Intuitively, he said, “I don’t think so.”

“No, no, I’m no good. I believe in the philosophy of staying single and unmarried.” Ah Fu felt that he lost a little bit of face but dared not refute the boss. He could only recall the past to make it up to himself.

“Back in the day, there were a lot of female demons who brought treasures from both heaven and earth, just to go to the Dongfu. Later, when I joined here many of them approached me, throwing money and fawning over me. Just a few decades ago, there were even sons of high officials flattering me and holding all kinds of money hoping they could reel me in. But my heart never wavered3.”

“......” What about a while ago?

Xie Fei kept silent for a moment and then perfunctorily said, “It’s good that you’re not tempted. It’s best to be pure.”

Ah Fu puffed his chest, proud of himself. Of course, he didn’t forget to step on his fellow teammates. “I’m definitely different from Xiang Fei.”

“What about Yu Li?” After asking, Xie Fei felt that it wasn’t very good of him to pry into other people’s private lives. Before he could tell Ah Fu to drop it, he heard a faint sigh. “He…”

Xie Fei’s ears immediately perked up.

“Besides having to endure the public’s oppressive tendencies, who still has time to see someone?”

“......” The power of 60 million fans!

Xie Fei recognized Ah Fu’s innate bitterness over the topic and let him be. The two continued to work until Xie Fei checked the time. Seeing that it was already four o’clock, he told Ah Fu: “Brother Ah Fu, help me collect the tools. I have to go to the village market after this and buy some things.”

Ten minutes later, Xie Fei reached the village entrance using the small three-wheeler.  The market was full of people coming and going. In addition to the villager who set up their stalls selling various things, there were also a lot of tourists wearing garlands and holding selfie sticks.

After all, despite being at the periphery, Xining village was part of the tourist packages around Shaoyang Town. Moreover, today was a Saturday so it made sense that it was livelier than usual.

After so many days in the village, Xie Fei still wandered around, experiencing the market for the first time. He pushed the small tricycle around and walked around blindly. He found out that most of the stalls sold snacks, local specialities, and other cheap handicrafts which were quite similar to most of the scenic spots he visited in his original world. It was like an exact copy. As he walked, Xie Fei’s interest in his surroundings faded. He spotted a fruit stall and stopped in front of it, taking a picture and sending it to Yu Li.

【Boss Xiao Fei】Mr. Yu, do you like these?

Yu replied in seconds. “I don’t eat pomegranates. Too lazy to peel.”

Xie fei typed in another word when the other side sent a new message----

【Yu】I don’t eat grapes, sticks to your hands.

【Yu】Green apples are too sour to eat

【Yu】Mangoes can cause allergies, won’t eat

Xie fei took a deep breath and looked at the WeChat page, quickly typing out a line of words. “Then what about what you can eat?”

【Yu】Anything

【Boss Xiao Fei】(smiles)

Xie Fei immediately locked the screen and understood the second code of conduct for getting along with Yu Li. If you wanted to make a decision, it was better to do it directly and Yu Li wouldn’t be picky. But if you give the other party a chance to choose, it would be too difficult.

He carefully picked out some ingredients and filled up half of his small tricycle, the calculator in his heart never stopping. However, after tallying all the prices, he only had a little over three hundred yuan for expenses. Thinking of the water, electric, and network bills that they had to pay next month, he felt a headache coming on. If one day he really reached the end of the rope4, could he borrow some money from Yu Li?

No, that’s out of the question. It’s better to save more money for the future

Xie Fei was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice that a person was coming right at him from the front. The moment he turned the car, the two collided.

“Bang--”

“Ah!”

Following the stall owner’s exaggerated scream, a black high-heeled shoe flew up then fell straight to the ground. Xie Fei steadily held on to the tricycle’s handles, remaining calm. He stared suspiciously at the woman lying on the ground stupefied. She seemed to be familiar...this dress...wasn’t this Xu Lingyi?

“Miss Xu?!” Xie Fei exclaimed and hurriedly jumped out of the vehicle to help her up. “Are you all--” He barely finished his words when a pair of bloodshot eyes stared right at him.

Xie Fei couldn’t see them clearly before due to the pair of sunglasses but now it was obvious. Her eyes were red and swollen, the bags under her eyes puffy and deep. Xie Fei was stunned. He saw that Xu Lingyi’s jaw was wounded, blood pouring out. Even the lapels on her clothes were stained with blood. He was frightened at the sight, jumping up and rushed to find some paper towels when suddenly, he was violently pushed away!

Xu Lingyi quickly got up and rushed towards the bus parked on the street. Her actions were totally incompatible with her temperament, to the point it even looked a little funny. She dashed towards the backdoor and hopped in.

Seeing that the door was about to close, he called out, “Ms. Xu, wait!” He instantly picked up Xu Lingyi’s fallen shoes, sunglasses, and phone, scrambling to reach the bus. After a few strides, he managed to enter the bus in the last minute.

The doors closed and the bus strangely became quiet. The passengers inside gave him a scrutinizing glare, vigilant over his odd actions. From their perspective, a woman just entered the bus. Her face was covered in blood, her clothes were disheveled--she looked like someone just cornered her in. Then, a youth came chasing after her, holding a pair of high heels in his hand.

No one spoke for a long time until an elderly aunt with a hot, cauliflower-like hairstyle hesitantly asked: “Sister, do you want to call the police?”

T/N:

1. “休想蹭我热度！- lit. don't imagine that it's possible for the heat to smear me

2. 白骨精 - refers to the White Bone Demon in the novel Pilgrimage to the West --> wicked and ruthless woman

3. 心如止水 - one's mind settles as still water

4. 山穷水尽 - the ends of hills and rivers; come to the end of one's resources

hello again!! i have exams every month now so updates might be once a month instead of 2x huhu but also i'm so surprised people are reading this novel!! wah thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed this chapter <3