Kaleidoscope of Death

Chapter 105: Award Ceremony

"Alright."

Since Cheng Yixie wouldn't let Cheng Qianli say more, Lin Qiushi knew better than to ask. He got up, saying he wanted to go back to his room, shower, and rest.

Cheng Qianli made a sound of agreement, and watched him go.

After showering, Lin Qiushi went back to his room and took an afternoon nap. He had dinner with the others in the mansion.

The chef tonight was Lu Yanxue, so the dishes were all more intricate. Lin Qiushi's attention wasn't on the food though. He waited and waited, but didn't see so much as a shadow of Ruan Nanzhu.

"Is Nanzhu not home?" Lin Qiushi asked Chen Fei.

"Went out to do something," Chen Fei answered. "He might be back in the evening."

"Oh," Lin Qiushi nodded.

At night, he sat on a chair on the porch, cooling himself and waiting for Ruan Nanzhu at the same time. But Ruan Nanzhu didn't return. Even when midnight came around, Lin Qiushi didn't see him.

A bit sleepy, Lin Qiushi took a nap on the chair. He woke at dawn, but still could find no trace of Ruan Nanzhu.

Guess he wasn't coming home today. Lin Qiushi sighed lightly inside, and returned to sleep in his room.

The atmosphere inside the mansion had been odd lately as well. It likely had something to do with Ruan Nanzhu's sudden bout of business, and Cheng Qianli's upcoming door.

Cheng Yixie was gone all the time too. They were lucky to see him once every three days.

These days, Cheng Qianli focused in a lot. He'd started to watch horror movies by himself again, curled up on the living room couch, constantly screaming like a rubber chicken being squeezed.

"Why are you watching if you get so scared?" Lin Qiushi asked him.

"I'm going into the door soon, I can't be a burden to my brother can I," Cheng Qianli said woefully. "They all say I'll be fine if I practice."

Lin Qiushi sighed, reached out, and rubbed the top of Cheng Qianli's head. He wasn't even eighteen yet, was only just a kid—but the things in the world of the doors didn't go easy on you just because of your age. Before monsters and ghouls, everybody was equal.

The weather was hot. Enthusiasm was hard to muster up for anything.

Finally, four days after coming out of the door, Lin Qiushi saw Ruan Nanzhu—arguing with Cheng Yixie.

This wasn't the first time the two argued, but it was the first time Lin Qiushi had seen Ruan Nanzhu so angry.

Ruan Nanzhu said, "Cheng Yixie, you're putting your own life at risk."

Cheng Yixie stood across from Ruan Nanzhu with a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. His lips were pressed in a tight thin line, like an oyster that refused to open. Ruan Nanzhu seemed at the end of his rope with the stubborn oyster, trying to smash it open with blunt force.

"Cheng Yixie—" Ruan Nanzhu gritted out his name, character by character. "Why do you never listen to me?"

Though Cheng Yixie and Cheng Qianli looked exactly the same, their dispositions were polar opposites. With downcast eyes, his only response to Ruan Nanzhu's sharp question was a light: "Mh. Ruan-ge, I'm sorry."

"You're quenching a thirst with poison here." Ruan Nanzhu said his last words, and against Cheng Yixie's obstinacy, he finally seemed a bit exhausted, waving his hand. "Go."

"I—" But Cheng Yixie stopped.

Ruan Nanzhu was already done talking. He turned and went back inside the house, leaving Cheng Yixie standing alone in the blistering heat. Then Lin Qiushi heard Ruan Nanzhu's door slam loudly shut.