"Is this yours?"
As Yang spoke, he took a pair of glasses from inside his jacket and held them out.
Qin Manjiang's pupils contracted. He stared at the glasses, his mind briefly going blank.
These were... his glasses.
He had lost them in the fire at Threshold Cinema and thought he would never find them again...
Taking the glasses from Yang, Qin Manjiang gazed at them in silence.
"That ghost left them behind," Yang said.
After a long silence, Qin Manjiang asked, "Have any of you come across a certain code name?"
All three turned their attention to Qin Manjiang.
He raised the half-rimmed glasses and settled them on his nose. A faint smile appeared on his previously expressionless face. "He goes by Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior."
Hearing the rather playful code name, all three shook their heads. "Never heard of him..."
As expected.
Qin Manjiang nodded without another word and looked out at the torrential rain.
In truth, he could see the world clearly without these glasses. But with them, he could see himself more clearly.
During the drive, Zhong Xueran asked Yang about Guanyin Village.
This time, however, Yang refused to discuss it.
He had never been one to withhold information. There could only be one reason for this: that incompletely explored area had placed Yang under restrictions imposed by its rules, preventing him from telling them what had happened over the past few days.
It was already seven in the evening when they returned to Fu City.
After exchanging contact information with everyone in the car, Qin Manjiang got out.
Yang lowered the window. "Mr. Qin, thank you for your help. I'm sure we can continue working well together."
Qin Manjiang nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
The car drove away. Qin Manjiang watched it carry the four of them out of sight.
The rain had stopped, and some of the day's heat steamed up from the ground.
He headed back toward his rented apartment at an unhurried pace. Turning his head by chance, Qin Manjiang saw a storefront and the man reflected in its mirror.
He did not particularly like looking in mirrors.
He had been that way since childhood.
Just as Li Xijiu had said, he had the face of a refined scoundrel, a villain. He rarely spoke to people he did not know well, and there was something unapproachable about him.
Qin Manjiang had always assumed he disliked mirrors because he disliked his own face.
Only today did he realize that... he disliked looking in mirrors because, no matter how he looked at that face, it always felt faintly unfamiliar.
The emotions in his heart never quite matched the expression on his face, as though they belonged to two separate people.
He was not devoid of feeling. Not knowing whether Li Xijiu was alive or dead filled him with anger and guilt. Yet just as those emotions were about to erupt, that pane of glass between his body and soul appeared again.
It seemed to say...
You cannot get this worked up.
You should not feel such intense emotions.
What is right? What is wrong?
Why is there something inside my body enforcing these standards?
Long ago, Li Xijiu had said something to him:
"Qin, you're like an anatomical model. You're ridiculously standardized!"
"Standardized how?"
"In all sorts of ways. I can't really explain it..."
"..."
At the time, he had dismissed it as more of Li Xijiu's usual nonsense. Thinking back now, though, he really had... been far too standardized all his life.
His emotions never became excessive. His stride always measured seventy centimeters. His resting heart rate was always seventy beats per minute. He always blinked fifteen times a minute. He never dreamed. He always... woke up at precisely seven thirty in the morning.
Qin Manjiang looked away, slowly tilted his head back, and closed his eyes toward the sky.
He had never felt it so distinctly over the past twenty years. But since entering the Ghost Story Game, the sensation of being pushed forward by some force had grown increasingly clear.
His adoptive father, who had died under strange circumstances.
His younger sister, who appeared to have gone mad but had actually become a Ghost Story Game player.
His closest friend, trapped in the Ghost Story World, his fate unknown.
His deceased biological parents, who had suddenly appeared and were also players.
Doctor, who had brought him something his biological father left behind.
And that utterly ordinary phone.
It was as though someone had wound up his life, making it suddenly accelerate within a very short time.
That invisible pane of glass blocked the genuine emotions surging inside him, but Qin Manjiang's will could not be changed.
He could disregard the biological father who had abandoned him. He could disregard the perilous game.
But he wanted to do something for the people he cared about.
His adoptive father's death remained unexplained, so he would uncover the reason.
His sister had fallen into madness, so he would cure her.
Li Xijiu was trapped in another world, so he would find him.
Lowering his head, Qin Manjiang opened his eyes just as a white streak of lightning stretched across the sky over Fu City.
The dazzling white light illuminated Qin Manjiang's cold, stern face as thunder roared.
He took out his phone, pushed up his glasses, and walked forward with a smile on his lips, into the storm that was about to return.
Maybe, just as Li Xijiu said, I'm better suited to being a villain.
Anyone who schemes against me had better be prepared for utter ruin.
Even a ghost story.
Stepping out of the elevator, Qin Manjiang had just taken out his keys when he noticed someone sitting against the wall beside his door.
It was a young woman.
She was short, her face hidden. She hugged her knees with her face resting on them and seemed to be asleep.
Her suitcase looked even bigger than her curled-up body.
Qin Manjiang walked over and silently studied the young woman for a moment.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
The barking startled her awake. Looking up, she discovered a dangerous-looking man in glasses staring at her.
"Little White! Stop barking." She gave the leash a gentle tug.
Only then did Qin Manjiang notice a leash tied around her wrist, with a little yellow dog at the other end.
Homeless?
Is she walking the dog, or is the dog walking her?
Why is a yellow dog called Little White?
Qin Manjiang asked none of these questions. He simply looked at her and said, "Move aside."
He showed her the keys in his hand.
Her eyes lit up. She hurriedly stood and straightened her clothes. "Are you the landlord? Hello, I saw your rental listing... Is this place... eight hundred?"
Qin Manjiang raised an eyebrow.
So that was it.
It was pouring outside. No wonder she had been waiting by the door. He had no idea how long she had been there.
Qin Manjiang nodded and opened the door. "Come in. We can talk inside."
She hesitated, then gripped the leash tightly and followed Qin Manjiang inside with the little yellow dog in her arms.
The little yellow dog sniffed the air without struggling in her arms.
Qin Manjiang switched on the light, glanced at her, and said, "It's all right. Put it down."
She quickly nodded and set the little yellow dog on the floor. It was well behaved, neither running around nor barking, and lay quietly beside her feet, occasionally looking up at Qin Manjiang.
Qin Manjiang poured her a glass of water. "The listing was quite clear. I'll be living here too. Since you're a woman, that might be inconvenient."
"It's all right... The local police station is just a short walk downstairs. I saw it..." she replied quietly.
Qin Manjiang closed his mouth and dropped the subject.
"Then take a look at the room. It's this one. My sister lived here for a while, but I've already cleared it out."
"Okay, okay. I... I wanted to ask, could I pay half the rent first?"
She asked the question suddenly.
Qin Manjiang looked her up and down. She did not look like a rich girl who had run away from home. She wore ordinary casual clothes, had no accessories, and was not even wearing makeup.
"Are you having some trouble?"
She nodded in embarrassment. "I only just arrived in Fu City. I lost my phone and wallet. All I have left is a little cash on me..."
She gathered her courage. "Please... Please let me stay first. Once I've reported my bank card lost, I can find a way to withdraw the money. Then it'll be fine!"
"So you only have four hundred on you?" Qin Manjiang asked.
Her eyes dimmed, and she lowered her head.
Qin Manjiang took a sip of water. "No."
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled outside the window. The downpour battered the awning with a deafening clatter.
Urgency showed in her eyes. She was about to speak when Qin Manjiang continued, "Stay here for now. If you give me all four hundred, what will you eat?"
She abruptly raised her head to look at Qin Manjiang. Before she could speak, he fixed her with a serious look. "But I have one condition."
She nodded quickly, her long hair swishing with the movement.
"Keep an eye on it from now on. Don't let it keep licking me."
Speechless, Qin Manjiang pointed down at his feet. The little yellow dog was wagging its tail, happily licking his ankle.
Thank you, purej999, for the Helmsman-level support! Thank you, Moru, for the Helmsman-level support, thank you! Thanks to Roast Duck, Lü yeah, Book Friend 2022, Old Books, and Meat Eater for the tips. Thank you, everyone!
That's all three updates finished. If you have votes, please send a few my way. Thank you, and good night!
(End of chapter)
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