A Dream

It was at another basketball game that Xiao Xiao saw Yang Yi again. This one was an invitational match hosted by Polytechnic University. Officially, it was a chance for the two schools' basketball teams to visit each other, exchange ideas, and improve together... Of course, everyone knew it was really Polytechnic University's chance to avenge its defeat.

Since Eldest Brother was playing, Xiao Xiao and the others naturally came along to Polytechnic University to cheer him and their own school's basketball team on.

As they walked through Polytechnic University's gates again, students flowed along both sides, laughing and chatting. Xiao Xiao heard their voices, but only heard them; his thoughts had already returned, against his will, to that alley.

After agreeing to Ling Yao's offer to eat the monster, Xiao Xiao obviously couldn't stay there and watch Ling Yao eat a monster a whole size bigger than itself.

Gu Diao began struggling again. The last thing Xiao Xiao saw before turning away was its pair of crazed, obsessive pupils, narrowed almost to needles. In their vivid crimson depths, a despairing black had seeped in, yet its gaze remained so defiant it seemed ready to destroy everything.

Xiao Xiao didn't look back. No matter how fiercely Gu Diao fought, he knew it was already beyond saving.

"Tap... tap..."

Xiao Xiao slowly stepped out of the dim alley and into the gentle, bright daylight.

He leaned lazily against the alley entrance, propping his forehead up with one hand as his soft fingertips rubbed at the throbbing pain.

He could already tell that he was in for a long stretch of misery.

Ling Yao hadn't taken long to eat. Just as it disappeared, Xiao Xiao sensed something, and a message came to him in his mind. He froze for a moment. How advanced—could it even "send a voice over a thousand miles"?

Xiao Xiao turned toward the depths of the alley. Even with his greatly enhanced eyesight, he couldn't see through walls. All he could see was a stone wall.

Xiao Xiao couldn't figure out why he had stayed behind.

The monsters he summoned would disappear as soon as he willed it or gave them a command in advance.

Besides, ordinary people couldn't see them anyway. That certainly made things much more convenient for him.

Maybe it was just the headache. He needed to rest for a while.

Ignoring the slight irritation in his heart, Xiao Xiao gently knocked the back of his head against the wall. The impact dulled the pain inside a little.

A warmth spread through his hand. The familiar sensation made Xiao Xiao immediately raise the hand holding the Monster Compendium. Faint, winding, and endlessly twisting patterns marked its black cover. Silver light flowed across it, with threads of blood-red seeping through. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the red seemed richer now, moving as if alive as it swam through the silver glow.

A warm current flowed slowly through Xiao Xiao's body. Most of it entered his brain, while the rest spread through his limbs and bones. It even reached his eyes and ears.

Xiao Xiao felt as if he were soaking in an open-air hot spring. His whole body was languid and comfortable, so comfortable he could almost close his eyes and drift off.

He tilted his head slightly upward. The soft sunlight enveloped him, and his thin, sensitive eyelids covered his eyes. A warm current seemed to flow beneath them. He couldn't tell whether it was the sunlight, the warmth inside him, or both.

All he knew was that he had never felt every cell in his body cheering and dancing like this.

The feeling was intoxicating, something he couldn't help but crave.

Xiao Xiao held his position until every sensation had faded away. Only then did he slowly open his eyes, still somewhat reluctant to let go of the feeling.

The world before him hadn't changed at all, yet Xiao Xiao felt as if he were looking at a whole new one.

His sharper senses let him appreciate more fully the beauty of the world he had long since taken for granted.

"Wow, everything's so bright." Rather than squint, Xiao Xiao opened his eyes wide and eagerly took in everything around him.

The bright light seemed to shine into his heart. The gloom from before melted away, leaving only clarity and warmth.

The basketball arena was packed, filled with a deafening roar.

Once again, Xiao Xiao and the others had taken advantage of Eldest Brother's place on the team to snag good seats up front.

"There are so many people!" Zhao Luzheng exclaimed, looking around.

"Hmph. They just want to see our school lose. They can dream on! If they lose again, they'd better not cry about it!" Zhuge Yun sounded like a firebrand.

Fortunately, everyone in this section of the stands was from Yan University. Otherwise, Xiao Xiao really wondered whether they would make it out of Polytechnic University after Zhuge Yun said that.

"Second Brother." Zhao Luzheng sounded helpless. "You can say that at our school or just think it to yourself, but is it really a good idea to be this obnoxious on their turf?"

"I'm just telling the truth!" Zhuge Yun folded his arms across his chest and looked down his nose at everyone.

What a fool. Xiao Xiao was speechless, but couldn't help finding him a little funny.

"Right, exactly!"

"That's right! Those Polytechnic University guys think playing on their own court means they'll beat us?"

"Who's scared of who? Let's crush them!"

Clearly, the Yan University students around them agreed with Zhuge Yun. One after another, they chimed in to back him up.

Zhuge Yun looked smug. Before long, he was chatting away with the crowd, spittle flying as he hit it off with everyone around him.

Xiao Xiao didn't join them. He got up and walked to the railing, looking down toward the players' benches on the opposite side.

Yang Yi stood out from the crowd as usual. He caught the eye at once.

It seemed he truly believed that everything that had happened before was just a dream, and that he had moved on from it.

"...This human could see monsters because of Gu Diao. Now that Gu Diao is dead, he won't be able to see them anymore..." Ling Yao's words from before it disappeared came back to him.

Xiao Xiao had left Yang Yi in the alley. After hearing what Ling Yao said, he'd decided it would be better if they had no further contact.

Yang Yi later came to Yan University, but he didn't know Xiao Xiao's name. Perhaps he hadn't paid Xiao Xiao much mind during their previous encounter, or perhaps he had simply forgotten. In any case, he had never asked for Xiao Xiao's name, and Xiao Xiao had never offered it.

So Yang Yi, who knew Xiao Xiao's face but not his name, had to put in quite a bit of effort to find him.

When Yang Yi questioned him, Xiao Xiao denied everything outright.

"No. I've only seen you before, at the last basketball game."

"I've never seen you anywhere else."

Of course, there was a flaw in that story. Yang Yi's roommate had seen him and knew he had gone to look for Yang Yi.

That was why Xiao Xiao had planned to never set foot in Polytechnic University again.

But he couldn't exactly skip Eldest Brother's game.

After Eldest Brother had performed well in the last match against Polytechnic University, the school team had begun giving him special attention. Naturally, he had a chance to play in this match too.

As a good friend, how could Xiao Xiao not come and cheer him on when he had no valid excuse?

Xiao Xiao hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he came.

He didn't really care whether Yang Yi thought the events from a while back had been a dream. Whatever Yang Yi might suspect, it was all pointless if he couldn't see monsters.

Xiao Xiao just didn't want any trouble.

Thinking it over, Xiao Xiao felt at ease. He came to Polytechnic University's basketball arena again without any reservations and, just as he'd expected, saw Yang Yi again.

Whatever Yang Yi thought, he could only treat that time—and Gu Diao—as a dream.

It was the only choice, and the best one.

"Tweet!" The game began.