Chapter 161 – 1992-2020
Lian Qiao was sitting on the toilet, flipping through the e-books on his phone in boredom.
There were no puzzles to solve in this instance. At present, it seems that the only requirement was to guard RenDong until 2020. Downloading an encyclopedia on the mobile phone seemed to be the only way to relieve boredom in the bathroom.
In the end, it’s a bad habit. Lian Qiao has been used to reading in the bathroom since he was a child. Most of his messy miscellaneous knowledge comes from toilet reading materials. Of course, after the popularity of smartphones, he also learned a lot from online sources.
There was no Internet in the ghost world so he can only read offline e-books. Although rationality told him that even with a power bank, the battery of the mobile phone should be saved, but how could he go to the bathroom without using his mobile phone!
As an unrepentant nerd, how could he do it!
After the body is emptied of toxins, the stomach feels much better. Lian Qiao rubbed his empty stomach and couldn’t help shouting out again: “Ren-dong-there’s-no paper, did you hear me?”
There was no response from outside.
Lian Qiao’s heart tightened: RenDong would be unsafe, right?
As soon as he thought of this, he wished he could rush out immediately to confirm RenDong’s safety. However, the cool feeling on his butt made him calm down instantly.
No… I can’t get up like this!
So embarrassing!
In desperation, he could only continue to shout outside: “RenDong——RenDong—are you there? Ren—— Dong——”
There was still no answer.
…Damn it! Did something really happen?!
So… find something else to wipe first?
Lian Qiao looked around, only to find that there was nothing in the shabby bathroom—other than RenDong’s face towel.
What a joke! How can I use that!
What’s more, the towel rack is far away and even if he wanted to get the towel, he would have to stand up first…
Lian Qiao sat on the toilet and couldn’t help blaming himself: his worry about RenDong actually wasn’t enough to simply make him lift his pants and stand up!
He said he loves RenDong but his love turned out to be nothing more than that! He is a hypocritical scumbag!
Lian Qiao lowered his head in shame but suddenly saw a touch of red in the corner of his eyes.
……Huh?
He turned his head in surprise, facing a pair of dark eyes in the upper corner.
“Hey!” Lian Qiao gasped for a moment.
It was a little girl in a red dress. Her skin was so white that it was almost transparent and there was no blood on one face. With crooked teeth, she gave him a mischievous grin.
The little girl had no whites in her eyes, only a pair of dark eyeballs. She just hugged her knees and curled up in the corner of the bathroom, slowly lifting something towards him.
–toilet paper.
Lian Qiao: “…Fuck.”
He really never expected that there would be such a LOW ghost in this world – actually stealing his toilet paper!
But what hurt Lian Qiaodan was that even though the little girl was only a few steps away from him, he could do nothing to her! He can only stare like this, watching her succeed in her prank!
When had Lian Qiao suffered from this kind of anger!
He gritted his teeth angrily but there was nothing he could do. This little ghost was really vicious! Seeing that he didn’t dare to jump up and smash her ghostly head, she actually squatted not far away with a roll of paper and laughed at him!
How can there be such a disgusting female ghost!
Lian Qiao thought for a moment calmly and made a very rational decision.
He yelled at the top of his voice: “Ren-dong-help! Haunted-ghost-la-haunted ahhhhhh!”
At the same time, there were two knocks on the door suddenly. Lian Qiao was overjoyed: “RenDong?”
“Uh, no.” A familiar female voice came from outside. It was Little Apple, “What’s wrong with you? Do you.. er, do you need help?”
Lian Qiao: “…” Why did you come here? Where’s my family’s RenDong?
Facing Little Apple’s concerned question, he was in a dilemma and his face was sour with embarrassment.
Originally, there were only him and RenDong in this room, so he didn’t lock the door when he went to the bathroom. If he was willing to accept Little Apple’s help, the doorknob would open with just a twist… But the problem is, he doesn’t want to!
Even if it’s just to open a crack, he doesn’t want to!
Then he will be dirty! Not good enough for RenDong!
But what can he do if he doesn’t ask Little Apple for help! He can’t be suffocated on the toilet by a roll of toilet paper!
It was all RenDong’s fault! Where did RenDong go? Did RenDong not love him anymore and didn’t even want to help him get toilet paper!
Thinking about the pattern of PLAY these days, Lian Qiao felt more and more wronged. His mouth was flattened and he was about to cry.
At this time, Little Apple outside the door suddenly said again: “Huh? Where have you been?”
A clear and soft child’s voice replied: “I went to get toilet paper.”
RenDong!
Lian Qiao’s expression was instantly lit up and his whole body was refreshed. He couldn’t help but shout outside: “RenDong! Come and save me! There is a ghost here!”
“What?! Is there really a ghost?” The first one who answered was Little Apple and she spoke in shock, “Wait! Someone come help!”
Lian Qiao: “Damn it! Don’t! No need! Just let RenDong—” Before he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that Little RenDong was only four years old right now!
How could he save him? Could it be that Little RenDong is going to fight ghosts with a crowbar that is taller than himself?
Lian Qiao looked at the corner in despair and found that the smile on the corner of the little ghost’s mouth was even more rippling.
Ahhhhhhhh how does this female ghost understand people’s hearts so well! She completely grasped my weakness!
Just when Lian Qiao was at a loss, Little RenDong’s wintery voice sounded again.
“It’s okay. He was joking, you go out first.”
Little Apple: “But…”
RenDong: “This is his hobby. He just likes to act like a baby on the toilet, so ignore him.”
Little Apple: “??? “
Lian Qiao: “??????” Acting like a baby on the toilet?! Why does his comment seem full of bad connotations?
Lian Qiao instantly filled his brain with an indescribable picture of 100,000 words and couldn’t help but feel his whole body rippling.
But in the next second, he suddenly remembered that there was a gloomy vicious little female ghost staring at him in the corner and he wilted instantly.
Light footsteps sounded outside the door and it sounded like RenDong.
Lian Qiao asked nervously: “Is she gone?”
RenDong: “Gone.”
The doorknob turned and the bathroom door opened. Lian Qiao clamped her legs shyly, pointed at the female ghost in the corner and complained, “It’s her! She stole my toilet paper! She bullied me!”
Little RenDong turned her head and looked at the corner, blinking his big black and white eyes. He said: “Ah?”
Lian Qiao: “…?” Why did you say “Ah” with your mouth but there is no surprise on your face?
Little RenDong rubbed his eyes, stared at the corner of the wall as if he was blind, and said stiffly: “I didn’t see anything.”
Lian Qiao: “…” That’s right. (Note)
Lian Qiao stared suspiciously at Little RenDong, the only information he could get from that face pretending to be scared was: RenDong’s acting skills are really bad!
While keeping an eye out for the female ghost in the corner, Lian Qiao took the toilet paper from RenDong, quickly wiped his butt, pulled up his pants and jumped up.
After delivering the paper, RenDong went back to the desk and continued to study like a normal person, as if he really didn’t see anything unusual in the bathroom.
When Lian Qiao walked out of the bathroom, he suddenly remembered that he hadn’t washed his hands, so he couldn’t help hesitating. He didn’t want to wash his hands in front of the sink with his back to the little ghost…. God knows what he would see in the mirror…
But when he looked at the corner again, he found that the corner was empty. The little ghost was gone.
……Eh? She really just left like this?
In disbelief, he looked the entire bathroom up, down, left, and right, then ran into the bedroom, studying the entire room carefully. He was sure that the vicious little ghost had really left.
Could it be that this female ghost really came out to steal toilet paper… And after the prank succeeded, she resolutely left?
Doesn’t she want to kill anyone?
Lian Qiao felt inexplicably empty.
He returned to RenDong in bewilderment, puzzled.
Little RenDong looked down at the book, turned a page and said calmly: “She doesn’t hurt anyone, so you can let her go.”
According to Lian Qiao’s habit, if you encounter this kind of ghost in the instance, it must be beaten to death on the spot. But this little female ghost was a bit special, she doesn’t seem to have any malicious intentions… Ah bah, there was a malicious intention, stealing toilet paper is malicious!
But her malice seems to be limited to this…
To be honest, Lian Qiao was trapped on the toilet just now, not to mention that he didn’t have a weapon at hand and he wasn’t even wearing pants. If the little ghost really wanted to do something to him, Lian Qiao would have absolutely no chance to resist and it would be too late for him to ask for help. However, the female ghost was really just squatting in the corner and watching him make a fool of himself. The more embarrassed he was, the happier she was.
Was she really just a naughty little girl?
After thinking about it, Lian Qiao suddenly felt relieved.
“You’re right,” Lian Qiao sighed, “Maybe I’m just a real person fighting ghosts and playing with inertial thinking. If it’s in the game, when encountering this kind of NPC, many times you don’t need to confront her directly but rely on dialogue to unlock a solution.” For example plot clues or hidden storylines. And this kind of kid who was easy to fight at first glance, maybe it’s fishing for a reaction. She doesn’t seem to be lethal but if you really kill her, she may blow herself up and launch a full-screen attack or a curse or something, which will cause even further harm.
Little RenDong put down his pen, turned his head sideways and looked at him thoughtfully.
Sure enough, as long as he calmed down, Lian Qiao could think of this. His game awareness has become instinct, allowing him to subconsciously avoid many dangers. In the dungeons of Matryoshka and Esophagus, Lian Qiao fully demonstrated his talent as a game player.
But in this dungeon, Xu RenDong clearly felt that he was anxious.
Out of some unresolved anxiety, Lian Qiao was always in a state of impatience. Once there was a possible danger, he rushed forward without thinking, lost his rational judgment and instead detonated the bomb that would not have exploded otherwise.
Lian Qiao naturally didn’t know what RenDong was thinking, so he asked in surprise: “What’s the matter?”
Xu RenDong smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I just suddenly realized that I haven’t heard you mention games for a long time.”
Lian Qiao sighed: “It’s true that I haven’t touched games for a long time. You hadn’t fully recovered yet and the instance time was coming around. How could I think about gaming?”
Xu RenDong showed a look of reminiscence, with a smile on the corner of his mouth: “I remember when I first met you, every time I watched you play an instance, you always seemed very excited. Everyone else was suffering but you seem to be really enjoying it. So much so that I often wonder if you are the big boss behind the scenes who is just hiding your identity.”
Lian Qiao was helpless: “Isn’t it because I thought I hugged a thigh? You were so kind to me in the first instance and you even said that you were a Nine-Level Boss… I thought I could follow behind you and got excited.” He angrily poked RenDong’s soft little face, “I don’t know that you are a fake boss, not worthy of your name at all. You are obviously about to collapse, but you still grit your teeth and say that you are fine. Sigh! I really dare not think about what kind of hard life you lived before you met me.”
RenDong: “I haven’t entered any instances before I met you but it’s not so hard.”
Lian Qiao: “… …”
His tenderness was blocked by the straight man RenDong’s speech and suddenly he felt a mouthful of old blood choked in his throat, unable to swallow or spit it out. He couldn’t help showing a helpless smile: “You…”
RenDong said: “Fortunately, this is the last instance. When this instance is over, we will…”
Lian Qiao blurted out: “Go back to your hometown and get married?”
As soon as he said it, he immediately realized that he had set a flag and shut up quickly.
Old man Xu RenDong didn’t get this and was slightly startled when he heard the words: “…Married?”
Lian Qiao felt that this topic could not be discussed any further and was about to change the subject, but saw RenDong frowning. He thought about it seriously and then said: “It’s not impossible to get married. We can apply for immigration and go to a country where gay marriage is legal to register. But as for the wedding…” He hesitated and said, “Your parents are people with status. It may be difficult for us to have a formal marriage ceremony.”
Lian Qiao was stunned. He subconsciously wanted to say that he didn’t mean it, but seeing RenDong’s serious expression, his heart suddenly felt soft and painful. He was speechless for a while then silently hugged RenDong into his arms. He sighed lowly: “You, why do you make people’s hearts ache so much?”
RenDong was puzzled: “Aren’t you the one who said you wanted to get married?”
Lian Qiao chuckled: “Okay, okay, let’s get married. When you grow up, we’ll get married.”
RenDong: “…”
He looked down at his chubby little body and only then remembered that he was only four years old at this time. It is really inappropriate to say such things with the face of a child. Then he pushed Lian Qiao away with a blushing face and said angrily, “Don’t disturb me, I want to read a book!”
Lian Qiao smiled, stopped bothering him, opened the e-book he had just read halfway and continued reading.
This book was called “Angela Carter’s Strange Tales” and it tells about the ghost stories collected by the author from all over the world. It feels a bit like a collection of fairy tales similar to “Arabian Nights” but the content was very bizarre, full of explosive and eye-popping plots.
When Lian Qiao saw a story about rabbits, a strange feeling suddenly flashed in his mind.
—By the way, didn’t RenDong just now say “I haven’t entered an instance before I met you”?
That meant that the “Matryoshka” was the instance copy he had encountered. But why…
Lian Qiao thought back and found that his memory was a little fuzzy. He remembered… RenDong’s performance that time was very amazing and, within half an hour after entering the dungeon, he found all the buttons and elevators, so that when he declared that he was a big boss, no one doubted him.
Although he confided the truth to Lian Qiao in the second copy of the Esophagus and said that his claim that he was a Nine-Level Boss was just for fooling others but…
“Oh!”
Something flashed through his brain, setting his nerves on fire.
***
The author has something to say:
{MTL} Note: stick reading: stick reading, refers to: 1. When reading Chinese, there is no return to reading according to the rebate, but a direct reading method. 2. The dialogue in the play lacks emotional ups and downs, like reading aloud. {/MTL}
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