Chapter 23 Part 2

“Of course, they weren’t about to pass up something so juicy. They opened it and flipped through the pages, landing on a few lines Yu Xingzhou had written. It was nothing more than a teenage boy grappling with the terror of discovering his sexual orientation set him apart from everyone else. But those words became fuel for their vicious attacks.”

“They tore out that page of raw confession and plastered it on the blackboard. Then they mocked him mercilessly, claiming he had some filthy disease. Before long, the whole school knew.”

Jing Chi listened, his fists clenching in fury.

He knew this was just an illusion realm, but at the same time, he knew it was something Yu Xingzhou had endured for real.

A boy barely out of his teens, so scared of his own feelings that he poured them only into the safety of his diary.

Yet that secret he couldn’t even face himself ended up exposed on the blackboard for all to see, without mercy.

In that moment, it must have felt like being stripped bare and put on display, utterly defenseless.

Jing Chi couldn’t begin to imagine the depths of Yu Xingzhou’s despair.

As for Li Ze’s death, Jing Chi felt not a shred of pity. For one thing, this was only an illusion. For another, the man had it coming.

Once the exam wrapped up, the school—still reeling from the incident—dismissed everyone early under the pretense of the test. No evening self-study today; the students were free to head home.

Jing Chi took his time packing up. As he did, he glanced around at the others nearby.

His eyes fell on the beverage sitting on the desk. Seizing the moment when the boy wasn’t looking, he slipped it into the backpack.

Yu Xingzhou was bent over, pulling out his own things, and didn’t notice a thing.

By the time he straightened up, the drink had vanished.

Something flickered in his eyes, as if lost in thought for a moment. Then he shouldered his bag and walked out.

“You’re actually looking forward to this? Have you forgotten how someone just like him joined in mocking you last time?”

The evil spirit’s voice was venomous with rage, laced with sarcasm and a touch of exasperated disappointment. “You’re me, after all. Why can’t you be cold-blooded?”

Yu Xingzhou offered no rebuttal, nor did he reply.

He had grown accustomed to accepting everything in silence. The boy trudged homeward, following his usual routine.

But this time was different. Someone trailed a short distance behind.

Jing Chi walked openly, keeping neither too close nor too far.

Thank goodness the System had placed him in the same building as Yu Xingzhou. It couldn’t have been more convenient.

The two of them entered the elevator one after the other. Jing Chi stared at the boy’s back and couldn’t resist striking up a conversation. “What a coincidence, Student Yu! We live in the same building.”

All he got in response was silence. He watched as the boy’s head drooped lower, nearly vanishing into his collar.

Jing Chi let out a soft chuckle, tinged with helplessness. “Am I really that terrifying?”

At last, Yu Xingzhou raised his head. He shot Jing Chi a quick glance before giving a stiff nod.

The picture of ultimate social anxiety.

Jing Chi could only shake his head in resignation.

The elevator soon dinged at the third floor.

Jing Chi stepped out and waved. “See you tomorrow, Student Yu.”

The moment he was gone, the timid figure behind him straightened up. He watched Jing Chi’s retreating back with an inscrutable expression.

The evil spirit muttered impatiently in Yu Xingzhou’s ear. “He’s so annoying.”

Yu Xingzhou gazed up at the glowing “3” on the elevator panel. At last, he spoke, his words slow and deliberate. “Is he? He’s still better than you.”

The evil spirit fell silent, fuming.

Back home, Yu Xingzhou unlocked the door to his empty apartment. He headed straight to the bedroom and unzipped his backpack.

There, plain as day, was the missing beverage. No wonder the bag had felt off-balance on the walk home.

He picked it up, studying it as if it were some unsolvable riddle.

“It’s just a drink,” the evil spirit warned. “Don’t let cheap tricks like this cloud your judgment. Don’t forget our goal.”

A flicker of irritation crossed Yu Xingzhou’s face, but he didn’t argue.

He hesitated for a moment, then set the bottle down on the desk as if giving up.

“Let me take over.”

In the next instant, the boy’s eyes turned pitch black, radiating an eerie aura.

He snatched up the bottle and squeezed. Liquid sprayed out, soaking his hand.

It dripped steadily onto the floor, evoking the image of blood pooling on the ground.

Yu Xingzhou grinned, his smile spreading slowly across his face as he recalled that exhilarating rush from earlier in the day.

He wiped his fingers clean with a piece of paper in a casual stroke, then pulled a wooden puppet from his backpack. The puppet’s expression seemed frozen in terror—but why would a mere puppet look terrified?

The young man’s fingertip traced over those infuriating eyes on the puppet, and his expression turned icy in an instant, his gaze brimming with hatred and contempt.

Just a little scare had made the guy pass out, stripping away all that former arrogance and swagger.

Not even a bit of fun.

Later, he woke the man up, then with a mere twitch of his fingers, slowly drained every last drop of blood from his body.

The man was still alive, unable to cry out for help, reduced to staring with those wide, terrified eyes as he felt his lifeblood ebb away. He screamed silently, his breaths growing fainter, savoring that creeping despair drop by drop.

The evil spirit had been curious whether blood from a wretch like him would run black and foul-smelling. Disappointing—it hadn’t.

Jing Chi hadn’t bothered to inspect closely during the day. Had he done so, he would have found Li Ze reduced to a bloodless, withered corpse, his face twisted in a grotesque rictus.

“Didn’t he say we suck people’s essence and blood? So I just drained his dry.”

The evil spirit muttered to himself, an innocent smile playing on his lips.

That eerie aura was utterly foreign to the real Yu Xingzhou.

The Yu Xingzhou trapped inside the body remained silent, offering no reply.

But the evil spirit knew he had enjoyed it too. The young man’s lips curved upward in bloodthirsty glee.

He then placed the wooden puppet neatly on the desk, as if arranging a prized trophy.

~~~

Jing Chi was fiddling with his own items.

He examined the tools the original host had brought: a peachwood sword, a round disk, and several sheets of yellow talisman paper.

After toying with them out of curiosity, he stowed them away in the cabinet. He doubted he’d have any use for them.

After all, he didn’t rely on such things. He conquered villains with his personal charm, didn’t he?

At that moment, the system popped up with impeccable professionalism, dutifully reporting the scene with Yu Xingzhou to Jing Chi.

Surprise flickered in Jing Chi’s eyes, followed by a regretful shake of his head. “Sigh, if he wasn’t going to drink the beverage, he shouldn’t have wasted it.”

The system fell instantly silent, at a loss for words.

The host’s focus felt oddly unique. Maybe that old saying held true: those not of the same kin wouldn’t share the same door.

~~~

The next day, Jing Chi slipped into the classroom right on the bell.

He spotted Yu Xingzhou beside him, already a full page deep into his practice sheets. He couldn’t help but admire the guy’s dedication to his studies.

“Morning.”

Jing Chi flashed a smile at the person next to him. Even though he received no response in return, he didn’t mind.

It was supposed to be English morning reading time, but the teacher hadn’t arrived yet.

Down below, the students began murmuring among themselves.

“You guys hear? There’s been a murder at our school,” one girl whispered mysteriously.

“What?” Shocked gasps rippled through her classmates. “No way—when did this happen?”

She’d thought her voice was low, but curiosity spread like wildfire. With a helpless shrug, the girl continued.

“Yesterday afternoon. Remember that scream? I know the girl who heard it—she told me herself. Someone died in the restroom on this floor. She was the first to find the body. Scared her half to death.”

“Oh my god, that explains why school was so weird yesterday. The pop quiz out of nowhere, sending us home early.”

“Keep this quiet, everyone. Don’t spread it around—I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“Who was it?”

“Some guy, I think. Not sure on the details.”

“A guy? How’d a girl find him?”

“Weird part is, he turned up in the women’s restroom for no reason.”

“Some kind of creep?” someone speculated.

“Hey, has anyone seen Li Ze since yesterday afternoon?”

The question hung in the air.

“Oh god, you don’t think…”

Everyone drew in a sharp breath, a chill creeping down their spines.

“Skipping morning reading for gossip? What are you whispering about?”

The English teacher’s face darkened as she strode in and smacked the blackboard.

“Get to it. Recite the words you highlighted yesterday. You’ve got twenty minutes before the quiz.”

The class groaned at the short timeframe, abandoning their chatter for collective sighs.

Soon, the rustle of turning pages filled the room.

Jing Chi pulled out his brand-new English textbook and leaned in close to Yu Xingzhou’s face.

His movements seemed to startle the young man. Yu Xingzhou’s body shuddered abruptly, and the hand resting under the desk clenched tighter.

Jing Chi pretended not to notice his unease and pressed on with shameless persistence.

“Desk mate, I wasn’t here yesterday, so I don’t know which section we’re supposed to memorize. Could you lend me your book for a bit?”

Yu Xingzhou lifted his gaze to Jing Chi beside him, taking in that handsome face alight with a playful smile.

Those eyes in particular—outer corners upturned, inner ones slightly downturned, the irises a striking amber. They were captivating, especially when they crinkled like this in amusement.

He blinked slowly, hesitation and reluctance warring on his face. At last, with clear reluctance, he slid the book over to Jing Chi.

Once it was out of his hands, he hurriedly turned his eyes to the window. For some reason, his heart was beating a little faster.

“His eyes are gorgeous. I want to gouge them out and roll them around like marbles—just to stop him from bewitching you and keeping you all flustered.”

The Evil Spirit’s voice drifted lightly, laced with malice.

Yu Xingzhou frowned at once and shot back, “Don’t spout nonsense. I didn’t.”

The Evil Spirit let out a cold chuckle. “You might fool others, but not me—your very own self.”

With Yu Xingzhou falling silent, the Evil Spirit huffed in satisfaction but didn’t push further.