Chen Shouyi felt the hairs on his neck stand on end. He didn't dare stay here any longer and decided to leave at once.
Before leaving, he untied the rope, scooped up Shell Girl along with her shell, and hurried toward the passageway.
It would be a shame if he left Shell Girl here and she died—or escaped.
Before long, he had left the Unfinished Building.
Watching the bustling street, crowded with people and traffic, Chen Shouyi let out a quiet breath of relief.
Compared to the strange and unpredictable Otherworld, Earth made him feel much safer. There weren't so many mysterious, bizarre creatures here, nor ghosts or spirits. Everything put him at ease.
Just then, he looked at the shell in his hand and saw that the fantastical, iridescent glow it had once given off had now faded completely. Its vivid colors were gradually draining away, and its surface had become mottled.
Chen Shouyi froze for a moment, then suddenly understood.
No wonder the shell was so beautiful, and no wonder Shell Girl had chosen it as her home. It turned out this shell wasn't ordinary.
Unfortunately, after arriving on Earth, its supernatural properties had faded, leaving it ordinary.
Still, he didn't feel there was much to regret.
From beginning to end, he hadn't known what the shell was good for.
He thought of Shell Girl inside and gently lifted the shell open a crack.
Fortunately, she was still alive. She was just curled up inside, looking terrified and trembling all over. The changes in her surroundings had clearly frightened her badly.
Seeing that she was alive, Chen Shouyi felt reassured.
As he passed a shop selling accessories, he suddenly had an idea and went inside.
It was the first day of National Day, and the shop was fairly busy. Most of the customers were girls, though there were also men accompanying their girlfriends. People like Chen Shouyi, coming in alone, were few and far between.
He browsed slowly and soon picked out a roll of Tape, a roll of Nylon Rope, a small pair of scissors, and several outfits in Barbie doll size. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any underwear, so he had to make do.
When he went to pay, the cashier glanced at the five or six sets of Barbie doll clothes and couldn't help taking a second look at him.
Half a minute later, Chen Shouyi walked out of the shop without changing expression. He then went to the supermarket and bought honey.
He'd noticed earlier that Shell Girl seemed to live on flower nectar, so honey probably wouldn't be a problem. Given her appetite, she should be easy to keep fed.
After leaving the supermarket, it was only three in the afternoon. The sun was still blazing, and Chen Shouyi suddenly felt he had nowhere to go.
Looking at his still-fair skin, he realized that nearly half a day of exposure in the Otherworld hadn't seemed to do much. With a physique of 13.5, he was practically immune to ultraviolet radiation.
He took out his phone and chatted with Zhang Xiaoyue as he wandered aimlessly. He didn't decide to go home until nightfall.
"Mom, I'm back." As soon as Chen Shouyi had said this, he took advantage of Mother Chen being distracted and hurried upstairs.
This was the busiest time at the restaurant. Mother Chen was carrying vegetables when she caught a glimpse of him darting past and racing up the stairs. She called after him, "Aren't you going to eat?"
"I ate at a classmate's house." He suddenly stopped, came up with an idea, and decided to tell a kind lie.
There were no lights on the stairs. The darkness was his best cover, and he turned around without worry. "Oh, right, Mom. I've already met the fitness requirement for the Martial Apprentice exam. I'm still a little short on swordsmanship and archery, though."
"Really? You've passed the fitness requirement?" Mother Chen was overjoyed. She'd always worried that her mediocre son would amount to nothing, and hadn't expected him to give her such a wonderful surprise after starting his senior year.
"Mom, haven't you noticed how much stronger I've gotten lately? So I'm thinking of taking a leave of absence.
"I looked into it these past few days. There's a tutoring center offering an intensive, residential prep course before the exam. I heard their success rate is high, so I want to sign up."
"If it'll help, then of course you should. How much does it cost?" She was frugal about some things, but when it came to anything that could help her children's grades, she was always astonishingly generous.
"About eighteen thousand, for fifteen days." Chen Shouyi hesitated, then gave her a figure. There were plenty of prep courses like this, and that was the going rate. If he asked for too little, she might get suspicious.
"But I'd have to stay away from home!" he added, pretending to hesitate.
"You're a grown man. Why are you afraid of staying away from home? When do you sign up?" Mother Chen asked with a laugh, in a good mood.
"Tomorrow morning."
"So soon? Good thing there's still some money in my account. I'll transfer it to you once I'm done here!"
In the darkness, Chen Shouyi watched his mother smile, her face full of relief. His eyes suddenly stung, and he felt like crying.
In his memories, he'd never done anything that made his parents feel proud. All they'd ever known was disappointment, again and again.
"But that'll never happen again. You'll be proud of your son." He wiped his eyes, turned, and went back to his bedroom, locking the door.
He sat at his desk and rubbed his face. After sitting there in a daze for a while, his thoughts drifted.
Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly took Shell Girl out of the plastic bag.
Shell Girl lay inside, motionless, her eyes swollen and vacant, utterly devoid of life.
Tape sealed her mouth, and her hands and feet were tied together.
Chen Shouyi gave an awkward laugh. After a moment's thought, he scooped her out of the shell, took a small pair of scissors, and cut through the Nylon Rope binding her hands and feet as she stared at him numbly.
Then he peeled the Tape off her mouth.
He picked up the Barbie doll clothes he'd bought earlier and decided to dress her.
Leaving her naked was too distracting, and it made him awkward every time he saw her. It would feel more natural if she wore clothes.
He carefully pinched her arm and slipped a top onto her, afraid that the slightest pressure would crush her.
In fact, there was no need to be so careful. She was tougher than he'd imagined. After all, she was a creature from a world with three times Earth's gravity; she wasn't as fragile as she looked.
As he dressed her, Shell Girl remained motionless, letting him do as he pleased. She seemed utterly lifeless.
She didn't cry, because she'd already shed all her tears; she didn't scream, either, because it would have been futile.
When she felt the world around her change and realized she'd lost all her abilities and could no longer fly, she'd fallen into utter despair and numbness.
After finally getting the Princess Dress on her, Chen Shouyi wiped away a sheen of sweat and let out a soft breath.
"Oh, right. The honey."
He quickly took the honey out of the bag, picked up the Metal Spoon, scooped up a shallow spoonful, mixed in some warm water, and set it in front of her.
The Spoon was longer than she was tall, and its bowl was three times the size of her head.
Shell Girl's nose twitched faintly a few times. Then she turned her face away and lay motionless.
Seeing that she was refusing to cooperate unless forced, Chen Shouyi couldn't help prodding her with his finger a few times. She rolled back and forth across the desk, but she still didn't make a sound.
Chen Shouyi finally gave up and decided to leave her alone. She probably wouldn't die if she went hungry for a day.
He took the Wood Sword from under the bed and resumed practicing.
But he'd barely performed one Forward Lunge Stab when the Wood Sword pierced the air with a sharp shriek. He hurriedly stopped.
A moment later, someone knocked sharply on the door.
"What is it?" Chen Shouyi asked in a low voice, standing close to the door.
"Brother, you're back. What was that sound in your room just now?"
"Nothing. It came from outside. I don't know what it was, either."
"Oh. It scared me!"
His younger sister soon left, and Chen Shouyi breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at the sword, then at his hand. When he'd practiced in the Otherworld, he hadn't had a clear sense of how strong he was. Only now did he realize he'd reached this level.
That sword strike just now must have come close to the speed of sound.
He suddenly realized that making the excuse to stay away from home for a while had been incredibly wise. If he kept living here, practicing swordsmanship would be a problem, to say nothing of everything else.
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