Lang Xiao agreed to stay, but the immediate challenge had not been resolved.
Every nightfall, the flora and fauna of this world would undergo a drastic transformation as they absorbed the energy emanating from him.
If his emotions remained stable, it was manageable. However, if he recalled past events and lost control of his energy, the plants and animals would swarm him, devouring him until nothing was left.
He would recover by dawn, only to endure the same torment day after day.
After being trapped in purgatory for so many years, he had become numb to this torture. However, Ning Xin didn’t want to experience another life-and-death escape, so she grabbed his hand during dinner, ignoring the darkened face of Nie Ran, and earnestly pleaded with Lang Xiao.
“Please, please don’t get lost in your memories tonight, okay?”
Lang Xiao, who was nibbling on boiled meat, looked troubled. “I… I’m afraid I can’t control it…”
“Then you’ll listen to me.”
As long as there was something to keep his attention, he wouldn’t think of anything else, right?
Ning Xin hastily finished her meal, walked into the warehouse, and after a while, emerged with a pile of things, which she dumped on the coffee table with a clatter.
She instructed Lang Xiao to wash up and then sat down on the sofa, where Nie Ran raised an eyebrow.
“What are these?”
“Board games, novels, magazines…”
With no electricity in the asylum, there was naturally no television. In their idle moments, they could only sit around, finding no entertainment.
The last time Ning Xin went to the supermarket, she specifically bought some small items to pass the time, but with their busy schedules, they hadn’t been used at all until now.
Nie Ran casually picked up a novel and flipped through it, mocking her.
“Childish.”
Ning Xin flipped her eyes and lit a candle, shouting to Lang Xiao:
“Don’t bother washing dishes, let’s play.”
It was getting dark outside, and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity over a few dishes.
Lang Xiao shook the water off his hands and walked over to the two.
Ning Xin gestured for him to sit down, and she sat next to him, picking up a book.
“How about I teach you how to read?”
He was surprised, “Now?”
“Yeah, it’s a bit dark, but it’s okay. Let’s start with something simple.”
Lang Xiao placed his hands on his knees, sitting upright and proper, looking like a model student.
Ning Xin flipped through a few pages of the book and found a word, “This is you.”
“Me?”
“Not me, you.”
Lang Xiao was confused.
Ning Xin herself wasn’t very educated, nor did she have any teaching experience. When faced with this situation, her eloquent tongue failed her. It took her a while to say:
“This represents the literal meaning of ‘you’. When you want to express this meaning with a single character, you use this word, understand?”
He looked at her with his beautiful eyes, half understanding.
Ning Xin picked up a notebook and pen, writing the character stroke by stroke for him to see, then letting him try to write it.
Lang Xiao clumsily imitated her posture, grasping the pen and drawing a crooked line on the paper.
Seeing how lacking his basics were, Ning Xin gave up directly teaching him how to recognize characters, instead writing down ten simple characters in the notebook.
“These are the simplest Chinese characters. Start with the first one and write each character twice until you’re proficient.”
Lang Xiao nodded and squatted next to the coffee table, earnestly starting to write.
Nie Ran got up to pour himself some water and passed by her, saying, “You’re wasting your time.”
Ning Xin shrugged, “If it’s a waste, then it’s a waste. I don’t mind.”
He shrugged noncommittally.
Suddenly, Lang Xiao stopped writing and turned to ask, “Dean, do you know these characters?”
“What characters?”
He slowly sketched out two columns of characters in the blank space, but because he didn’t understand their meanings, it looked like he was just drawing.
Ning Xin looked at them for a while, then brought the candle closer to barely make them out.
“Green bamboo sets off one-third of the scenery, red plum blossoms herald the arrival of spring to ten thousand households… This is a couplet! Where did you see it?”
“A couplet?”
“Yes, during New Year’s or other celebrations, or even during events like weddings or funerals, people would specifically write two matching phrases to put up next to their door.”
Suddenly understanding, he said, “There were a few years when I was locked in a cage, and this was posted on the door nearby.”
Ning Xin patted his head, “You have a good memory to remember that.”
“Cough cough!”
Nie Ran coughed loudly.
She turned back and said, “If you’re cold, you can go upstairs and sleep.”
Anyway, all the doors and windows were sealed tightly. As long as Lang Xiao remained stable emotionally, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Nie Ran wasn’t pleased, “I’m not cold!”
“Okay, okay, if you’re not cold, then stay seated. Such a nerve…”
Ning Xin muttered quietly, then turned back and praised Lang Xiao, “Great job, that’s exactly how you write it.”
Lang Xiao, feeling praised, became even more enthusiastic.
The two of them held candles, their atmosphere harmonious and affectionate like siblings, but Nie Ran sat in the shadows, his face sulky like a plague god.
After dark, specks of light emanated from Lang Xiao’s body, unable to escape and instead floating within the small building, providing illumination for them.
Ning Xin blew out the candle and sat beside him, watching him write.
The sofa was too soft, the surroundings too quiet, and gradually the drowsiness crept in, causing her eyelids to droop together.
“Dean, I…”
Lang Xiao finished writing a whole page, hoping for praise, but when he turned around, he found her asleep on the sofa.
With a serene expression and light breathing, she seemed so peaceful that one wouldn’t want to disturb her.
Was such a presence real? Was there really someone who didn’t curse him as a monster and even taught him to read and write?
A white figure appeared in his mind, so beautiful and kind, slowly merging with Ning Xin…
The white light flickered, the scene changed, and the floor beneath his feet faintly showed the illusion of grass.
Suddenly awakening with closed eyes, Nie Ran furrowed his brow and leaped over, grabbing his neck with one hand.
Lang Xiao was knocked down to the ground by him, emitting a muffled grunt.
Ning Xin opened her eyes, startled by the scene.
“What are you doing?”
Nie Ran straddled him, his fist already raised halfway, but upon hearing her voice, he lowered it.
“You can see for yourself.”
Ning Xin looked around and noticed the slowly disappearing illusion, understanding everything. With lingering fear, she walked over to Lang Xiao and helped him up.
“Are you alright? Why did you suddenly remember the past again?”
Lang Xiao hung his head low, looking despondent.
Ning Xin didn’t scold him. Instead, she led him to sit on the sofa, patting his shoulder.
“Writing alone must be boring. Let’s chat.”
He looked at the sofa but remained silent.
She initiated a topic.
“Have you ever tried sour fish with pickled vegetables?”
…
With Ning Xin’s efforts, the two began chatting.
Nie Ran, being a big eater, got hungry quickly and went to the warehouse to grab a bucket of instant noodles.
The aroma wafted through the small building, and Lang Xiao sniffed with envy, lifting his head.
Nie Ran turned away, continuing to eat with his back facing him.
Ning Xin advised, “Are you hungry too? Let’s cook some meat. Your stomach can’t handle this stuff; it’ll give you diarrhoea if you eat it.”
Lang Xiao understood this principle as well, but saliva wasn’t something he could control. He kept licking his lips and swallowing saliva.
Seeing how much he craved it, Ning Xin said to Nie Ran, “Let him have a taste. Just a little taste.”
Nie Ran impatiently replied, “Make your own instant noodles.”
Ning Xin placed one hand on her hip, “Hey, I’m the one who taught you how to make instant noodles. Can’t you even let someone have a taste? We live together; we can’t be selfish with food.”
He stood up impatiently and shoved the instant noodles into Lang Xiao’s hands.
“Eat it. Eat until you’re full.”
Then he went upstairs.
Lang Xiao looked panicked, feeling like he had done something wrong. Ning Xin comforted him, saying, “Don’t mind him. Eat, but don’t eat too much.”
Downstairs, the two of them shared the instant noodles, while upstairs, Nie Ran paced back and forth in his room.
After all, he had once been an emperor. In terms of intelligence, strength, and agility, he excelled in every aspect. Yet, he had fallen to such a miserable state.
The two downstairs got along perfectly, harmonizing with each other. In a few more days, wouldn’t he be reduced to the lowest level in this building?
The mere thought of it was unbearable.
Nie Ran waved away the dawn, preparing to devise a solution.
Suddenly, there were three knocks on the door.
“Are you asleep?”
Ning Xin’s voice came through the door.
He glanced at the door, then silently jumped into bed, fully clothed, and pretended to sleep.
After waiting for a while with no response, Ning Xin continued on her own:
“Sorry for eating your instant noodles earlier. You must still be hungry, right? I made another bucket for you, added two eggs, I’m leaving it by the door.”
Soon, footsteps sounded, indicating she had gone downstairs again.
Nie Ran waited for a minute or so to make sure she wouldn’t come back before gently opening the door.
Sure enough, there was a bucket of steaming instant noodles in the hallway, emitting the aroma of Old Tan’s pickled vegetables. Inside were two braised eggs, smelling delicious.
Nie Ran held it in his hands and tiptoed to the corner of the stairs, peeking down.
The two were still chatting, but it was only limited to conversation.
Ning Xin described delicious things from the 21st century, while Lang Xiao looked at her with envy, his mouth watering.
He withdrew his gaze, entered his room, finished eating the noodles, and comfortably fell asleep, a new idea forming in his mind.
In the living room, Ning Xin and Lang Xiao chatted half the night, almost dozing off towards the end, having to prop their eyelids open with their fingers to continue talking.
Thankfully, nothing unusual happened afterward, and they safely and peacefully passed the night.
After the sun rose, she opened the windows, rushed to her room, and collapsed into bed.
When she woke up, she wasn’t sure what time it was. The sunlight outside was bright, casting a vibrant green glow through the leaves, almost making her think it was the peak of summer during her high school years. But as she turned her head and saw the person standing by the door, she immediately snapped back to reality.
During junior high summer vacations, she didn’t know a man like him.
Nie Ran wore a white short-sleeved T-shirt and black pants, tall and imposing, with sharp features, lazily looking at her.
“Awake? Come down for breakfast.”
Breakfast?
Ning Xin sat up cross-legged. “But I didn’t cook anything.”
Nie Ran gave her a disdainful look and turned to go downstairs.
She hastily followed in slippers, only to see two dishes already placed on the table.
The dishes were simple: a plate of braised pork with potatoes and a plate of Chinese cabbage.
Nie Ran lifted the lid of a pot, revealing that the porridge was already cooked.
Lang Xiao couldn’t even take care of himself, let alone cook, so it was obvious who prepared these dishes.
She blinked, leaning against the table edge, looking at him with a smile.
“Why do you suddenly look so handsome?”
Nie Ran was speechless but still picked up a bowl of rice and set it on the table.
Ning Xin laughed even more warmly.
“Oh my, you’re so diligent. I’ll feel embarrassed…”
Nie Ran sneered and passed by her, saying, “Go wash your face.”
Ning Xin took a bite of potato. “No rush, let’s eat first, or the food will get cold.”
“But you have eye boogers on your face, which affects my appetite.”
“…Fine.”
Ning Xin went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, cursing him silently in her heart.
Nie Ran watched her huffing away like an angry pufferfish, couldn’t help but smile, and added another stick of firewood under the pot to keep the porridge warm.
Lang Xiao, still half-asleep, stumbled downstairs, caught a whiff of the aroma, and hurried to the table.
Nie Ran coughed twice, nodding towards the broom in the corner.
Reluctantly, Lang Xiao diverted his gaze, grabbed the broom, and obediently began sweeping the living room.
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