Chapter 42: Day 42 as an Object

Hearing the words “Abnormal Heartbeat,” Shen Wenyi, who had just finished showering and stood behind the gap in the door, lost all color in her previously rosy face in an instant.

She narrowed her eyes, gazing at Shen Wenyi with suspicion.

So what if she’d been caught shipping their CP? It wasn’t some terrible, unspeakable secret—it barely even qualified as gossip. Why was Shen Wenyi reacting so strongly?

Shen Wenyi lowered her lashes, her chest heaving violently several times. More than just pale, even her originally red lips had gone somewhat white. Only her voice remained steady, as if nothing was wrong.

Shen Wenyi said flatly, “I heard Little He mention it once. Said it was a blogger who writes fanfiction—about you and me. What, you read that stuff too?”

I did read it, but didn’t you read it as well?

This casual, dismissive tone, as if it had nothing to do with you. If I hadn’t been transmigrated into those Bluetooth earbuds and heard it with my own ears, you really would have fooled me.

She said, “Don’t change the subject. Open the door. If you don’t open it, I’ll expose you. I have evidence, you know.”

Shen Wenyi said, “What evidence?”

She said, “Open the door and I’ll tell you.”

Shen Wenyi suddenly changed tack. “Earlier, you said that if I put on the earbuds, you’d tell me a piece of news. Tell me now.”

If Shen Wenyi hadn’t brought it up, she would have completely forgotten about that. She’d just made it up on the spot back then. What news was there to tell?

Fine, time to improvise. Wasn’t there a ready-made topic right here?

She said, “Didn’t I just tell you? It’s that Abnormal Heartbeat. I was just warning you to be careful. It’s one thing if I find out, but it’d be troublesome if others discovered it.”

Shen Wenyi watched her for a moment, then gave a slight nod. “I see. You weren’t complete just now. Tell me the whole thing again, properly.”

Hadn’t she made it clear enough? I discovered you ship our CP. That’s it in one sentence. How much more complete does it need to be?

Shen Wenyi urged, “Well? Speak.”

She said, “Shen Wenyi, think carefully. Are you sure you want me to say it here? I’ve got a loud voice, a real soprano. Aren’t you afraid someone else will hear?”

Shen Wenyi glanced at her, then suddenly shut the door. ???

What… what’s the meaning of this? At a time like this, shouldn’t she be frantically dragging me inside to stop me from yelling it out for everyone to know?

Shen Wenyi’s reaction was beyond her expectations. Truth be told, she could just turn around and leave. She hadn’t really come with any selfish motives anyway. She just thought Shen Wenyi got hurt because of her and wanted to help apply some medicine.

Alright, maybe there was a tiny bit of selfishness. So many things had happened today, and Shen Wenyi had a huge problem with her now. She was afraid it would affect completing missions later, so she thought using the medicine to smooth things over.

But if Shen Wenyi didn’t appreciate it, then forget it.

Holding the Bone-Setting Liniment, she turned to leave, took a step, then stopped.

If that hand wasn’t treated properly, it would hurt for days, especially the first day. It’d hurt even worse after a night’s sleep.

She sighed, turned back around, and knocked on the door again.

As expected, she just couldn’t make her heart ruthless. She’d never be a villain in this lifetime.

“Shen Wenyi, if you don’t open the door, I’ll really start shouting. I mean it, I’ll shout! Shen Wenyi? Shen…”

Clack. The door opened. Shen Wenyi’s face was still utterly bloodless, making her brows furrow involuntarily. Was it really that serious? With this kind of mentality, how had she fought against me all these years? How hasn’t she died of rage?

Shen Wenyi’s lashes were lowered, not looking at her. She stepped aside from the door and said, “I just closed it to undo the security chain. What are you shouting for?”

It took that long just to undo a security chain? Who knows if you spent that time with the door closed panicking, leaning against it, not knowing how to react?

She stepped inside. In the instant they brushed past each other, she glanced at Shen Wenyi’s eyes. The corners were a little red. Could she really have been so panicked she almost cried? This wasn’t like the usual Shen Wenyi at all.

She walked straight to the bedside, unscrewed the cap of the Bone-Setting Liniment, poured some into her palm, and rubbed her hands together vigorously to warm it up.

The smell was still this pungent, truly disgusting. No matter how many times she smelled it, she couldn’t get used to it. It was only for Shen Wenyi; if it were anyone else, herself included, she would absolutely never touch this awful stuff.

Enduring the nausea, she turned her head to look at Shen Wenyi. “Come here. I’m not going to eat you. Why are you standing so far away?”

Shen Wenyi didn’t move. The door was locked, but the person was still standing by the entrance, just watching her coldly like that.

She added, “I really just came to help you apply medicine. I’ll leave right after. Hurry up and come here.”

Shen Wenyi still didn’t move.

Was this a rival? More like an ancestor!

She sighed. If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain, alright?

She walked back to the entrance. Her hands were covered in medicated oil, so she couldn’t pull Shen Wenyi. She circled around behind Shen Wenyi, opened her arms wide, hands held up, and used her forearms to herd Shen Wenyi from left and right toward the bed.

“Let’s go. Look at the time. Hurry up and get the medicine on so we can sleep.”

Shen Wenyi instinctively struggled, a faint blush visibly seeping from her ears. She tightened her arms, not letting Shen Wenyi break free, leaning her whole body against Shen Wenyi’s back.

Unable to struggle free, Shen Wenyi took a deep breath and, surprisingly, lowered her lashes and obediently let herself be pushed along. As she walked, she said, “Can you tell me now?”

She said, “Fine, I’ll talk. I know you ship our CP. The evidence is that I’ve already dug up your alt account—it’s in the Abnormal Heartbeat Group.”

Shen Wenyi paused, turning her head to look at her. “My alt account? What is it?”

She said, “Your alt account is…”

She paused. A faint fragrance of hair drifted to her nostrils. She looked down at Shen Wenyi. Damp, long hair hooked behind Shen Wenyi’s ear. The small vermillion mole on her earlobe held a droplet of water; with the slightest movement, the droplet flashed with a faint glimmer, sliding down the sinewy line of her neck, slipping past the hollow of her collarbone, sliding all the way into…

This angle, from behind and above looking down, was truly… the perfect voyeuristic angle.

She quickly let go of Shen Wenyi. Her heart gave a strange, violent lurch. She’d seen far more explicit things before, so why was she panicking now just from a glimpse of a hint of cleavage?

She took a few short breaths, steadying her emotions. Shen Wenyi had turned back around and was looking at her, still waiting for an answer.

She said, “Don’t ask so many questions for now. Look how wet your hair is. Dry it quickly, or you’ll catch a cold. I’ll apply the medicated oil, you dry your hair. We can do both at the same time. Once we’re done, I’ll tell you properly.”

The hairdryer’s sound wasn’t loud, but it was still a bit noisy, making conversation inconvenient. This suited her perfectly.

Shen Wenyi dried her hair with her left hand while she took Shen Wenyi’s right hand, helping her massage the swollen thumb.

“Tell me if it hurts. I’m afraid I can’t control the pressure well.”

The Random Five Senses Blocking Talisman still had twenty minutes before it expired. Right now, she still had no sense of touch.

Shen Wenyi didn’t reply. The room fell silent, leaving only the whir of the hairdryer and the subtle sound of her rubbing the thumb.

She briskly rubbed the swollen thumb. Friction generated heat, which helped the medicated oil work. She massaged it for over ten minutes.

Shen Wenyi, having dried her hair, sat on the chair watching her work. Her eyes were studded with stars, flickering on and off. No one knew what she was thinking.

Once she’d rubbed it enough, she withdrew her hand and screwed the cap back onto the Bone-Setting Liniment bottle.

“Let me borrow your sink to wash my hands.”

She said this as she walked into Shen Wenyi’s bathroom.

Shen Wenyi followed her in, standing behind her and watching her. That manner of sticking close, not leaving an inch—like a spirit haunting from behind. A beautiful spirit haunting from behind.

Gazing at her, Shen Wenyi said, “Can you tell me now?”

She squeezed out hand soap as she laughed, “Alright. Actually, there are three suspect accounts. I’m not sure which one is you, but I’m certain you’re in the group. Don’t bother denying it. I’m not exposing you right now, so denying it is useless anyway.”

Shen Wenyi’s gaze flickered slightly. She curled her fingers gently and said in a low voice, “Three… suspect accounts? Which ones?”

She said, “One is a bare throwaway account. The QQ Space isn’t even activated. The profile picture is still the system default, and the username is Don’t Ask Who I Am. Another is a very low-level alt, not a single status update, rarely online—it’s called One Night Knowing Cold. Then there’s one with a slightly higher level. Its photo album only shows one picture: that old silk tree at No. 3 High School. The username is Missing You.”

No. 3 High School was the high school she and Shen Wenyi attended.

She finished speaking, but Shen Wenyi didn’t say anything.

She looked up at the bathroom mirror while washing her hands. “Why aren’t you talking? Stunned by my sharp powers of observation?”

Shen Wenyi stared at her for a long moment, then suddenly pressed her lips together and smiled. That smile truly was like winter snow melting away, sweeping aside the previous gloom and giving her the illusion of spring blossoms blooming.

Shen Wenyi’s tone even relaxed considerably. “What kind of evidence is this? It’s all just wild guesses.”

She said, “So what if I guessed? As long as the guess is right. It’s not like we’re in court, where the evidence has to be rigorously solid.”

Shen Wenyi said, “Never mind rigorous or not. First of all, you’d have to suspect I was in the group to start digging for accounts. How did you become suspicious?”

“I…”

Oh no. Earlier, she’d just blurted out Abnormal Heartbeat to get Shen Wenyi to open the door. She never expected Shen Wenyi to interrogate her this much. How was she supposed to answer this?

Shen Wenyi was also strange. Normally, wouldn’t the response be: Why do you know about Abnormal Heartbeat? You read Abnormal Heartbeat’s fanfiction too—what gives you the right to threaten me?

And then wouldn’t the matter just be dropped?

She rubbed the soap bubbles on her hands, her eyes shifting evasively. She looked up at Shen Wenyi in the mirror, a smile curving her red lips.

“Guess how I became suspicious.”

Stall for time first, then make something up.

Shen Wenyi said, “I don’t know.”

She squeezed out hand soap for the third time, rubbing her fingers as she said, “It’s easy to guess. Think about it again.”

I need more time to fabricate.

Shen Wenyi shook her head slightly.

She glanced at Shen Wenyi in the mirror, then lowered her head and continued washing her hands. The water splashed loudly. She reminded Shen Wenyi, while also activating her own brain cells for fabrication, “You can try guessing from a different angle first. Why would I know about Abnormal Heartbeat? And why would I be in the Abnormal Heartbeat Group?”

Shen Wenyi, her long lashes lowered, guessed, “You found it browsing the super topic?”

She nodded. “Right. Guess again.”

Shen Wenyi said, “You… read Abnormal Heartbeat’s stories, found them… quite interesting? So you joined the group?”

She neither confirmed nor denied it. “Now guess why I knew you were in the group?”

You know your own slip-ups best. Guess why you gave yourself away yourself, okay? Don’t make me fabricate. I can’t say the truth, and I can’t make up a lie. I’m counting on you!

Shen Wenyi furrowed her brow, concentrating deeply for a long while, then shook her head. “Can’t guess.”

You’ve really failed my expectations!

She said, “If you can’t guess, think it over carefully. You’ll figure it out eventually.”

Shen Wenyi narrowed her eyes, looking at her in the mirror. “You… you wouldn’t be deliberately bluffing me, would you? You don’t actually know I’m in the group at all.”

Hmm? That’s a good excuse.

She squeezed out hand soap for the fifth time, washing away the medicinal oil smell that seemed impossible to wash off no matter how many times she tried. She glanced up at the mirror and smiled. “I am indeed bluffing you. But why would I bluff you? Can’t you guess?”

Shen Wenyi said, “Because you wanted to trick me into opening the door.”

Congratulations, you got it right!

But she couldn’t admit it now. She needed to establish an image of honesty and trustworthiness in Shen Wenyi’s heart, so there’d be fewer obstacles for future missions.

She said, “That question wasn’t comprehensive enough. You understood it wrong. It should be: why would I hope you were in the group? Can’t you guess that?”

Shen Wenyi looked at her in the mirror, her gaze darting away briefly.

Shen Wenyi said, “I can’t guess.”

Because a nemesis wouldn’t care whether I live or die, but a nemesis who secretly has a crush on me would.

With an answer that difficult, it’s only right you can’t guess.

She turned off the faucet, reached for a towel, and wiped her hands, which finally had barely any smell left. She didn’t turn her head to look at Shen Wenyi behind her, but instead kept looking at the mirror, meeting Shen Wenyi’s eyes in the reflection.

Only when facing a false image could she avoid feeling guilty.

She said, “I didn’t lie to you. I really might lose my life at any moment. But I can’t tell you why, because I’m not sure how you’d treat me if you knew.”

Shen Wenyi raised her eyes. “What do you mean?”

It means I don’t know if you’d use the missions to manipulate me. I’m afraid you’d force me into a Little Black Room and have your way with me, understand?

I’m truly too contradictory. I want you to like me, so you’ll help me complete missions. Yet I also want you not to like me, so I don’t have to worry about you using it against me, and we can part on good terms afterward.

She said, “I’m only telling you this to let you know that I don’t have any bad intentions toward you. Even though we’ve fought and struggled against each other all these years, and you might not believe these words, my approaching you is truly just hoping I won’t suffer a fate worse than death. It’s absolutely not to compete with you or snatch anything away.”

She wasn’t afraid of death, but a fate worse than death was truly unbearable.

Shen Wenyi said, “I don’t understand what you mean. If you’re going to speak, speak clearly. If not, then don’t. What’s the point of being so vague and confusing?”

She said, “You’ll understand naturally in the future.”

Shen Wenyi said, “Then bring this up in the future. Why say it now? Deliberately keeping me in suspense?”

A flash of inspiration struck her. She said, “Well, don’t you also have things you haven’t told me? If you won’t speak, why should I?”

She knew that saying these things now would leave Shen Wenyi completely baffled, but she didn’t dare risk revealing everything. Saying half and holding back half now—if the truth really couldn’t be hidden in the future, these words today would be a lifeline she could freely use and twist to her advantage.

She dried her hands and was about to leave, but Shen Wenyi blocked her way.

“Wait.”

She looked back at Shen Wenyi. “What is it now?”

Shen Wenyi said, “You still haven’t told me. Why exactly did you bluff me?”

She said, “Guess.”

Shen Wenyi said, “I can’t guess.”

She said, “If you can’t guess, guess slowly. It’s not some urgent matter of life and death, running to reincarnate.”

Having said this, she started to leave again.

When she’d redeemed Human Form Duration this morning, she’d bundled it with the remaining time on the Random Five Senses Blocking Talisman. The blocking talisman would end in one more minute, and Human Form Duration only had ten minutes left. She needed to get back quickly.

She hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Shen Wenyi spoke again. “If I tell you, will you tell me?”

She paused and turned her head back. “What?”

Shen Wenyi said, “I’ll tell you my secret. You tell me why you bluffed me, why you said you’re living a fate worse than death, and the real reason you follow Abnormal Heartbeat. Tell me all of it.”

She said, “One in exchange for three. Aren’t you being a bit too shrewd?”

Shen Wenyi said, “To show sincerity, I’ll speak first.”

She nodded hesitantly, not understanding why Shen Wenyi had suddenly changed her mind. Wasn’t she adamantly refusing just before, preferring death over speaking?

The bathroom light was already off. Shen Wenyi stood at the boundary between the bathroom and the guest room, her figure slightly distorted. The faint light fell before her, merely brightening the tip of her nose. Her entire being seemed shrouded in mist, hazy and dreamlike.

Shen Wenyi looked at her, red lips moving slightly. She said softly, “You… close your eyes.”