Why Am I the One Being Pursued? Chapter 29

"Oh."

"The oranges are pretty sweet."

"That's good."

Their exchange was remarkably brief and straightforward. Before one person had even finished speaking, the other's reply followed. Then came a long silence. The two simply ate the oranges in their hands, neither knowing what the other was thinking.

"There's something on your shoulder."

Only when Hanya's gaze fell upon the handprint on Bai Jun's shoulder did the brief silence break.

Bai Jun looked at the handprint on his new clothes in surprise. After thinking about it, it was probably from when Sushang had greeted him with a pat earlier. That girl was rather strong, after all.

Hanya placed the half-eaten orange in her hand on her thigh and smoothed his clothes flat for him.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. By the way, where do you think we should go next?"

"What do I think? Hmm... Sanyu Bookstore, I guess. I heard they've recently stocked a lot of good novels and comics. We should be able to enjoy ourselves there." Bai Jun tossed the orange into his mouth, thought for a moment, then answered according to his true feelings.

"You're hopeless. Asking you was a mistake after all."

"Who told you to ask? Is it wrong for me to answer honestly? Besides, doesn't Xue Yi like reading too?"

"Shut up. I didn't ask you to argue."

Hanya sighed, picked up the leftover orange from her thigh, and irritably stuffed it into Bai Jun's mouth, forcibly choking off his complaint. "Let's go watch a movie."

Bai Jun swallowed the orange with difficulty and looked at Hanya strangely. "A movie? Didn't you say Xue Yi likes listening to illusion plays? Those are completely different things."

Hanya rolled her eyes but could not be bothered to explain it to him. A dim, hazy setting, accidental physical contact with the person in the narrow seat beside him, an ambiguous atmosphere as they faced each other, hormones stirred by the plot... He would understand when the time came.

In any case, she would bring him to experience it first!

"Seriously... Hm?"

Bai Jun's expression instantly froze. For some reason, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. A powerful sixth sense told him danger was near, but when he stood up and warily scanned the street, he found nothing.

"What's wrong?" Hanya noticed his abnormality and asked in confusion.

"Nothing... It was probably just my imagination."

Bai Jun shook his head. As he withdrew his gaze, he inadvertently caught sight of a handkerchief lying on the other side of the street. In the breeze, the tear marks on it were especially conspicuous.

Looking at that handkerchief, Bai Jun could not shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

No, it must have just been his imagination...

But the Bag Clearly Smelled Like Bai Jun... (4.5k)

The cinema was called Klausk Cinema, funded and established by people from Penacony.

It was said to be a branch of Klausk Film and Television Park, a famous animation film company known throughout the universe, located on the Luofu. It could be called paradise for animation and film enthusiasts; one could tell just from the cinema's decor.

The reception hall on the first floor was splendidly decorated, with dazzling movie posters adorning the walls. Under the soft lighting, receptionists dressed in standard Penacony-style attire stood upright before the ticket hall and counters. Upon seeing guests, they warmly stepped forward and introduced recently released animated films for their consideration.

Going straight up the stairs at the front of the first-floor hall led to the screening rooms, though one first had to pass through the long ticketing area.

Hanya declined the receptionist's eager assistance and walked straight to a poster featuring an adorable hamster knight. Turning, she pointed at it and asked, "Let's watch Hamster Ball Knight. Or we can watch something else... Ever since earlier, you've seemed distracted. Are you feeling unwell?"

Bai Jun, who had been pondering where that earlier gaze had come from, blinked. Once he realized Hanya was talking to him, he lowered the thumb that had been rubbing at the corner of his lips and hurriedly shook his head, finding his excessive worry somewhat laughable.

"It's nothing. I was just spacing out. As for the movie... pick whatever you want. Why ask me?"

"That's good, then. I'll buy tickets for Hamster Ball Knight."

"Mm-hmm. Then I'll go watch Hanuo Brothers. We'll meet back here afterward." Bai Jun lazily stretched, yawning as he headed toward the Hanuo Brothers ticket counter in the opposite direction, completely failing to notice Hanya's suddenly stiff expression behind him.

Hanya stopped mid-step as she was about to head to the Hamster Ball Knight ticket counter. Then, with a stiff expression, she slowly turned around. Her eyes locked onto Bai Jun with utter disbelief. "Y-you said... what?"

"Hm? I'm going to watch Hanuo Broth—Gah!"

Before he could finish, Hanya, radiating black aura all over her body, threw a heavy punch. Caught off guard, Bai Jun took it head-on. His previously puzzled expression instantly became extraordinarily dramatic.

"You really are beyond saving."

Hanya dragged the half-dead Bai Jun with one hand and expressionlessly walked up to the terrified receptionist, interrupting him just as he was about to call the authorities. "Two tickets for Hamster Ball... no, Hanuo Brothers. And a family-sized snack bucket."

"Stop playing dead and get inside already."

Hanya handed Bai Jun the tickets and a large bucket filled with assorted nut popcorn and Penacony specialties. She also took the six shopping bags that had been hanging from his hand and urged him along with slight dissatisfaction.

"Could it be that you hit too hard..."

Bai Jun covered his throbbing abdomen. Though he spoke very quietly, Hanya still heard his complaint.

She lightly patted Bai Jun's shoulder, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on her face as she said word by word, "Get. Inside. Now."

"Okay, I know I was wrong. I'm going in..."

Faced with the choice between life and death, Bai Jun decisively chose obedience. Holding the snack bucket in one hand and the tickets in the other, he entered the screening room.

He felt his way through the darkness without any lights. Soon, among the neatly arranged dark red upholstered seats, he found the seat numbers on the tickets. After Bai Jun sat down, Hanya soon took a seat beside him with two bottles of SoulGlad.

The two said nothing, quietly watching the broad screen made all the more expansive by the reflected lights. As the lights gradually dimmed, the atmosphere in the cinema became increasingly tranquil, with only occasional snickers and soft discussions drifting through the air.

Only once Hanuo Brothers began did the rustling sounds around them gradually disappear.

Ten minutes later—

"This is so nostalgic, so artistically styled. This black-and-white color palette is simply inspired! Ah, it's so great. Penacony, one day I have to go there myself!"

Twenty minutes later—

"Who is this person? When did they appear? Isn't the plot jumping around a little too much? No, I need to sit up and pay attention."

Thirty minutes later—

"No, why isn't this over yet?"

Forty minutes later—

"Zzz..."

Looking at Bai Jun, whose eyes were shut as he slept peacefully, Hanya's expression was indescribably strange. He had clearly been quite energetic earlier. How long had it been before he wilted like this?

As for the film's plot, she did not pay it any attention. Because she worked every day through dream divination and endured the deluge of karmic information from Mara-struck Bodies, she had long found everything in the world dull and uninteresting.

More importantly, her attention had never been on the film from the start. It had all been drawn toward Bai Jun beside her.

As long as he stayed quiet and did not casually open his mouth, his charm was indeed exaggerated enough to astonish people.

His tall, perfect figure, skin as pale as fine snow, cool and handsome features, gentle brows and eyes, clean, slender fingers, even his mild, pleasant voice...

Studying his face so close at hand, Hanya felt ripples rise in her heart, which had never before been stirred. Covering her chest with a hand, she could even feel her heart thumping wildly.

Like a moth drawn to flame, some quality about Bai Jun was attracting Hanya's attention as fiercely as fire. Before she knew it, it had burned through some string of reason within her.

Hanya held her breath. Her cool right hand quietly took hold of his fingers, and in the instant they touched, she felt unprecedented warmth from his hand. Like the sun, it was so scorching that it nearly melted away all her reason.

In an instant, she cast the thought of stopping while she still could to the back of her mind. Cautious yet bold, she moved from his fingers to his palm and tightly interlocked their hands like a couple.

She stared blankly at her hand tightly clasped with Bai Jun's. A faint blush spread over her fair skin, and for some reason, she felt lightheaded.

A certain desire hidden within her body gnawed at her reason like ants. A tiny spark seemed to ignite deep within her heart. She could vaguely sense that if she allowed that flame to keep rising, her former self might never return.

"So warm..." Hanya nevertheless thought involuntarily.

Just as she was sinking deeper into intoxication, Bai Jun's eyelids suddenly twitched in his sleep. Startled, Hanya immediately pulled her hand back. Sure enough, before long, Bai Jun slowly woke up. He smacked his lips, rubbed his eyes, and asked in confusion, "Is the movie over?"

"N-no."

Hanya turned her face away and propped up her burning cheek with one hand. Her usually beautiful lead-gray eyes now carried a hint of infatuation. Apart from the murmuring whispers repeating in her thoughts, she had no room left for anything else.

If there were a mirror before her now, perhaps she would see her flushed cheeks and unfocused gaze. But that no longer mattered.

"Ah, why isn't it over yet? This is so boring..."

Bai Jun irritably scratched his hair. His new clothes felt somewhat constricting, so he undid the top button of his shirt, then used his hand to undo the cuff around his other wrist.

To Hanya, those unhurried movements were like the crafting of a work of art. Especially the glimpses of porcelain-white skin showing at his collar—elegant yet lethally seductive. Before she realized it, she felt a warmth in her nose.

"Ah, why do you have a nosebleed?" Bai Jun looked at her in surprise and hurriedly tried to take out some tissues from his pocket. After searching around and finding nothing, he remembered that the tissues were in his old clothes, so he bent down to search through the shopping bags on the floor.

"That's a little too lethal."

"What?" Bai Jun stuffed the old clothes back into the bag, raised his head again, and handed Hanya several tissues. Since he had not heard what she said, he leaned closer and asked in confusion.

"N-nothing..." Hanya's gaze drifted aside as she pushed away his approaching face.

"If it's nothing, hurry up and wipe it. Has work been too stressful lately?"

It was also Bai Jun's first time seeing Hanya get a nosebleed. In his impression, although she had worked herself to the bone for years, suffered from insomnia and prolonged depression, had chaotic emotions, and seemed as though she could suddenly drop dead at any time, she had always been physically healthy. He had never seen any change in her mental state.

But seeing her suddenly get a nosebleed reminded Bai Jun of his experiences in his previous life, and he felt a heartfelt concern born of shared suffering.

"It's just a little internal heat. The movie's over, so hurry up and leave."

After saying that, she hurriedly stood up, picked up the shopping bags on the floor, and walked out of the cinema, leaving Bai Jun sitting there in complete bewilderment.

What could I say?

After following her out of the cinema, it was roughly two in the afternoon. Bai Jun had assumed there would definitely be some other plans, but he watched Hanya, with two wads of tissue stuffed into her nostrils, put away her planner.

"That's it. Tomorrow, you just need to follow this process once more. Then when you meet my sister..." Hanya frowned. For some reason, the words stuck in her throat. Whenever she tried to say them, an inexplicable irritation rose in her heart, so she could only skip over it.

"Anyway, you understand." Hanya handed the five shopping bags in her hand to Bai Jun. "I nearly forgot your clothes. Remember to dress smartly tomorrow. As for the time, around dusk. I'll notify you then."

Before leaving, Hanya suddenly turned around and gave Bai Jun a gentle smile. "I was very happy spending time with you today. No, I should say that I haven't been this happy in a long time."

If possible, I hope we can go shopping together again next time.

Hanya quietly kept those words in her heart without saying them aloud.

Bai Jun waved his hand and silently watched her somewhat cheerful figure walk down the steps one by one, finally disappearing at the end of his vision.

He stretched, then was about to leave when he lowered his head and saw the only five shopping bags in his hands.

If he remembered correctly, shouldn't there have been six?

Inside Prison of Deep Seclusion of the Ten Lords Bureau.

There were no hysterical roars or wails from prisoners around them, only the occasional thunderous rumble of gigantic gears and machinery. Other than that, there was a silence nearly as dead as the grave.

Within the pitch-black darkness, the cyan lantern floating beside Hanya provided a rare source of light. The sound of her open-toed shoes stepping on the floor was faint, yet in the silent environment, it was unmistakable—terrifying beyond what any words could describe.

She expertly bypassed the mechanisms and calmly followed the correct route toward the central hub. Along the way, she encountered quite a few underworld messengers. Their pace was equally slow. Every few steps, they carefully inspected whether the mechanisms along the path required maintenance, ensuring no accidental activation would cause danger.

"Lady Hanya, y-you're back!"

A familiar voice sounded beside her ear. Hanya turned and saw a green figure walking toward her, carrying numerous parts in her hands, sweat beading on her forehead.

"Huo Huo, has everything been going smoothly?" Hanya stepped forward and, as usual, gently stroked Huo Huo's hair. Her tender manner resembled the way one treated a kitten or puppy.

"O-of course! Lady Xue Yi's maintenance work has gone smoothly, without any problems!"

Huo Huo greatly enjoyed Hanya's concern. Her soft, drooping fox ears trembled happily. Unfortunately, Tail was not one for sentiment, otherwise it would surely have wagged like the tails of other Foxkin.

"Tch, you've disgraced foxes everywhere. Aren't you just a pet dog? Give you a little cake and you happily wag your tail and beg for favor." Tail complained as usual.

"Y-you say I wag my tail and beg for favor, but isn't my tail you...?"

"Huh? Say, you little brat, hasn't your mouth been getting nastier lately?"

As always, Huo Huo's sweet exterior and dark interior quickly shattered Tail's defenses. It swayed as though it were about to fly up and drag Huo Huo to her death here, but thankfully Hanya stopped the two troublemakers in time. "Noise is prohibited within the Ten Lords Bureau. Underworld messengers in particular must remain cautious and meticulous, or be careful that your tongues are cut out."

Huo Huo was terribly frightened by this and hurriedly shut her mouth. Tail, on the other hand, had always been unconcerned. Its cyan flames swayed as though it had smelled something.

"Why do I smell Bai Jun? Hey, little crow, did you go see him earlier?"

"No."

"No? Impossible. My nose is sharper than a dog's. You definitely went to see him!" Tail's tone carried a hint of pride, as though it were celebrating the fact that its sense of smell surpassed a dog's. "For instance, that brat's scent is still lingering on your hands, your clothes, and that shopping bag you're carrying."

"Tch, disgusting."

"S-sorry, Lady Hanya!"

Hanya looked at Tail with disgust, while Huo Huo also realized something was wrong. After hurriedly apologizing, she hugged Tail and fled.

Hanya adjusted her mood as well and continued onward. She pushed open the mottled, heavy doors. Beyond them lay the central hub of Prison of Deep Seclusion.

Xue Yi rose from her coffin, moving her mechanical body, stiff from maintenance, and gradually restoring its performance to peak condition. Just as she was about to stand and practice a few sets of military boxing to test her limbs, she turned and saw Hanya entering.