Chapter 30
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When Ye Zun woke up, it was almost evening.
The delicious aroma of food floated over from the kitchen.
Lin came over and warmly looked down at Ye Zun who was opening his eyes on the sofa. “Awake? You must be very hungry ba.”
Ye Zun was indeed very hungry. He sat up, and when the thin blanket slipped off his shoulders, he subconsciously stretched out to pull it back up.
“Be careful of your injuries.”
Lin held his left wrist and helped him up, facing Ye Zun who didn’t have a shirt on with a natural expression.
Ye Zun just woke up and his mind was in a daze. It wasn’t until he was brought to the sink with a mirror by the priest and saw himself in the reflection that he started to feel a little awkward after a few breaths.
But the priest didn’t seem to notice his lacking etiquette, and smiled politely. “Ah, I almost forgot that you will catch a cold if you don’t wear a shirt.”
He turned and left to get a pair of loose house clothes, carefully guiding Ye Zun’s injured left hand and dressing him meticulously.
Ye Zun looked at the priest in the mirror, who was helping him squeeze toothpaste and getting a cup of water ready. With an excessively high-born and perfect face, even doing this kind of thing made him look as elegant as someone shooting a top-level pictorial. If he hadn’t seen the clarity in his eyes, he would’ve never known that this man, who made people feel alienated and cold, was actually warmer than anyone else.
——How did I get so lucky to have made such a perfect friend?
Lin raised his eyes to look at Ye Zun. The corners of his lips lifted a soft curve, and in those black crystal-like eyes lying in the clear spring, the surface of the water revealed a faint smile. “Will you be all right by yourself?”
Ye Zun nodded. “I will.”
The man didn’t make him feel uncomfortable and left him alone to wash up, turning around and heading to the dining room to set up.
For dinner, he had prepared western food.
Although Ye Zun was not used to western food, he still thought the taste was delicious.
“I thought you would want to eat a light meal so I didn’t prepare any meat dishes,” the man said.
Ye Zun looked at the green salad and pasta dish in front of him. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. “Just this is very good. If you had prepared steak, I might’ve wasted it.”
After passing this instance, for the time being, he did not want to eat meat at all.
The dessert after the main meal was made from blueberry and yam. Sour, sweet and cold. Ye Zun ate a lot, but the priest seemed to have only moved it around a little.
[T/N: search 蓝莓山药甜点 for images of the dessert]
Before Ye Zun asked any questions, Lin smiled reservedly, looking at him and saying, “En, I am fasting, as there is a very important ritual I have to soon partake in. It’s very important.”
Ye Zun didn’t understand his religion, so he just nodded.
“Oh, right.” Ye Zun brought out several old and new diary notebooks.
After he left that house, he roughly cleaned himself up halfway through his trip to the priest’s house. At that time, the game gave him a reward.
He had eight storage spaces that could store items and be accessed. These diaries were taken out from inside.
He was also rewarded 80 magic crystals. Together with the ones he previously received when he passed the novice trial, as well as the 30 that he had given away before, he had a total of 150.
Before, once he entered the instance, he didn’t pay attention to where the magic crystals given by the novice trial went. When the new reward was issued, he found that it was deposited into the game’s demon ID card.
[T/N: the things in-game are ‘demon [noun]’, same with the magic crystals but I’m in too deep to change that]
The ID card occupied the first space from the eight storage spaces given. It was locked at the beginning, and only when the greyish-white translucent box appeared in the air did it get unlocked in front of Ye Zun.
Ye Zun was in a very poor condition at that time. He was entirely focused on going to see Lin, but he still remembered to collect Nogawa Kaoru’s diaries, which occupied a single space.
Right now, that was where he took these diaries from.
Ye Zun looked at the priest sitting opposite from him. “Father, isn’t it your job to observe and record the changes of events in the world of the instance? These diaries should come in handy.”
Lin thanked him and took over the diaries, flipping through them to read.
During this process, Ye Zun slightly lowered his voice. “Father, you were right. Most horror stories really do happen for a reason. They couldn’t say anything about the violent treatment they experienced in reality, and it turned into nightmares and hallucinations. They couldn’t shout out their fears in reality, so it became the ghost that killed them.”
Lin stood up, walked over to his side, then raised his hand and gently stroked his head. “Very few people can kill their own fear, so they need someone else to come. So to be able to face your own fears head on, it is very amazing.”
Ye Zun: “It’s very hard.”
He smiled wryly and lowered his eyes.
——I wasn’t actually that calm. My heart was beating very fast, and my legs were trembling involuntarily. When I was injured, I was so scared. I felt like I was going to die there.
——But, it was precisely because I felt that I was dying, that there was no way for me to be afraid of my fears anymore.
“Ah, this time, I believe it,” the priest said.
Ye Zun raised his head and looked at him. “What?”
Lin smiled a little. “You really are good at fighting. If you protect your vitals next time, it will be even better.”
Ye Zun’s ears were slightly red and he couldn’t help but smile.
Lin stroked his head some more, then withdrew his hand.
From the slightly heavy mood, the atmosphere slowly returned to something peaceful.
After dinner, Lin sat at the desk, flipping through the diary given by Ye Zun while writing a report for the church.
Ye Zun sat on the sofa in the study, covered with a thin blanket and playing on his phone.
The actual main task was to study that demon ID Card.
【 ID: Ye Zun】
【 Race: Human 】
【 Title: None 】
【 Ability: None 】
【 Magic Crystals: 150 】
——What can the magic crystals do? I vaguely remember those experienced players saying that they can be used to improve their abilities or something.
Seeing the pitiful 150 in his account, then thinking about how he was priced at 5,000 by those veteran players back then, it really was worth a lot.
A translucent greyish-white dialogue box made of a colour that looked like withered bones appeared in front of his eyes. The words across the box were still red as before, reading:
【 Magic crystals are the only common currency in the Demon God’s Amusement Park. It can be used to buy anything, and can also improve the player’s ability level when used correctly. In the instance world, you can exchange it for currency. 】
Seeing the last sentence, Ye Zun let out a sigh of relief.
If he was being honest, he had always been concerned about this. There was not much money left on his e-banking card. It was also impossible to enter an instance in the future and work to make a living, while risking his life to crack the answer for the instance.
It was great that the currencies could be exchanged. It didn’t matter how much the exchange rate was. He didn’t care about material enjoyment. As long as he can survive, it was fine with him.
With suddenly nothing to do, Ye Zun felt a little dazed.
Before entering the instance, he used to be very busy. Usually, he had to attend his classes while preparing for his part-time jobs. After he was certain about entering the part-time model industry, he had to take time to exercise so that his body would not be too thin or overweight. Because it often took a long time to go out to shoot, he had to make up for his missing courses in private. In his third year, he was a little away from graduating, but he had to write a thesis at the same time.
And now, all of a sudden, he didn’t need to do anything, and he couldn’t even exercise because of his palm injury.
Ye Zun put the phone in the third slot of his storage space. Stepping down on the rug with his bare feet, he walked to the bookshelf near Lin.
Even if it was just a short business trip, the priest’s study contained many different kinds of books.
Ye Zun picked up a copy of《 The Book of Lost Things 》to read.
Lin finished the final report. He closed the book and put down the pen, then he watched Ye Zun.
Even when he stood next to Ye Zun by the bookshelf, tilting his head slightly and watching him curiously for a long time, the other party didn’t realise he was there and just kept his focus on the page.
Because his left hand was injured and bandaged, it was extremely difficult to turn the book, but he didn’t know why he chose not to sit back on the couch to find a more comfortable position to read.
The skin pale from blood loss looked warm and clean under the orange light. The lines of those cheeks should have been pure and innocent, but because of the gorgeous bone structure that showed through his thin frame, they looked somewhat fragile yet strong. But at this moment, the beautifully shaped lips were naturally agape slightly, and his expression was relaxed, like an unguarded utopia.
After finally reading through a passage of a twisting and turning plot, he let out a long sigh of relief. Ye Zun raised his eyes unintentionally, and suddenly noticed the priest leaning on the bookshelf beside him, closely watching him.
He instantly panicked inwardly.
“Were you bored from the wait? I’m sorry I took too long.” Lin spoke to him calmly and warmly.
Ye Zun settled down with his voice, a little embarrassed by his subconscious overreaction, and shook his head. “No, there are many books in Father’s study. I haven’t had time to read for a long time, so I didn’t feel bored.”
“Do you like reading?”
Ye Zun nodded and immediately afterwards, as if he was afraid of being misunderstood, he pursed his lips slightly and explained with a frown, “I just like to read casually, nothing like those literary masterpieces. Even if it’s a children’s book, out-of-date newspapers, or magazines on the streets, I’m very happy to read anything. It’s not a love of reading, I’m just curious to know what is going on in other people’s minds, what kind of thoughts they have when looking at the world.”
After he finished, he paused a little, then lowered his eyes and blinked. As if he had said the wrong thing, he pursed his lips, then looked back at the priest who was watching him quietly.
“Did I, say something weird again?”
Lin’s eyes were in the shadow of the lights and the black crystals became more and more clear. The eyes like a mountain spring were warm, slightly sheltered by a cool, soft smile that seemed somewhat deliberate. He looked at him curiously and attentively. “Why do you say that? You always seem to be afraid of saying the wrong thing in front of me. Is it because I am not kind enough, and unable to let you feel at ease?”
Ye Zun immediately shook his head, gazing at Lin earnestly and honestly. “Of course not, it’s not because of Father. It’s just me.”
He slightly furrowed his brows, confused and troubled. “With Father, there’s nothing that I can’t say, so I will put it out in the open. I’ve told you before, my personality is easy to hate. I’ve been called a freak, since they don’t know what I think about. It’s true that there are times that my mind is far from everyone else’s thoughts, and I wonder if my brain really is different from other people’s. It is because of this uncertainty that I started to like reading. When I was in university, there was this time where everyone read books together. The atmosphere was very good, so I subconsciously answered that I liked reading because I wanted to know what was going on in other people’s minds. As a result, I was mocked for being pretentious.”
——Those people’s attitudes were already not as simple as mocking me. Even now, thinking about it makes me uncomfortable.
He smiled a little embarrassedly, but his brows furrowed a bit more, obviously still a little troubled and distressed about this matter in his heart.
He didn’t want to be considered a hypocritical and weird person by the priest at all.
“There’s no other meaning to it, I really do think this, so I just subconsciously… I don’t think there is anything wrong with this way of thinking, but I don’t know why they would think this was pretentious…”
The priest smiled, the corners of his lips forming a curve far more obvious than any smile he had shown before. Because the cool eyes under the shadows were also jumping with a smile like a flowing stream, his eyes had more life in them than ever before, and looked a little more vivid.
He looked at Ye Zun without blinking, his clear and gentle eyes full of pleasant surprise, and he said with a slight astonishment, “So do I! We are exactly the same ah.”
Ye Zun was slightly stunned. Due to the priest’s unusual enthusiasm, his pupils slightly dilated, and the depths of his eyes were filled with a disbelieving softness of the same surprise. He stood quietly, listening to the man.
It was rare for the priest to show such clear emotions. Not only the restrained smile in the past, but his whole person was overflowing with a genuine smile, staring at Ye Zun intently and earnestly, as if in amazement, eagerly looking at him as if he were a miracle. “It’s true, I like to read and I am not picky with the subject matter, I just wonder, what is going on in other people’s minds? What does the world look like in other people’s eyes, how is it different from mine? We really are the same!”
His eyes blinked. No matter how gentle he was, he had always given off a cold and alienating aura because of his restrained emotions and dignified demeanour. With this sudden and unreserved show of enthusiasm, it was the same beautiful sight as something sparkling, making people feel flattered by this favour from a far superior person, like seeing a miracle.
Ye Zun also started to smile, not knowing he was doing so. Quietly smiling at him in a trace, his clear eyes did not blink once.
The priest was still smiling in amazement. “Believe me, it is not some kind of consolation, or me deliberately pleasing and humouring you because I want to be close to you and receive special treatment. I really do have exactly the same way of thinking as you.”
Ye Zun’s eyes slightly curved. “En. The same as Lin, I am very happy.”
Lin’s emotional fluctuations had passed, but his eyes were still holding a soft smile. He tilted his head slightly and looked at Ye Zun with concentration and curiosity, without the slightest discomfort for his different performance from how he was in the past. “However, our way of thinking, does it really come off as pretentious in other people’s eyes?”
Ye Zun pursed his lips and smiled. “It seems so.”
“Oh——” Lin seemed to understand. He raised his chin slightly and nodded. The corners of his lips lifted faintly and his eyes lowered down on him as he said softly, “Next time, you can say this without it weighing on your mind because, with me here, being pretentious with you, if someone calls you a freak again, won’t you feel more at ease?”
Ye Zun looked at him and nodded. He couldn’t help but want to smile.
What he didn’t say was that he didn’t really care what others thought of him. All he cared about was how Lin thought of him. As long as this person didn’t hate him, it didn’t really matter how others judged him.
“Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me again? I told you, I really do think so.”
Ye Zun just smiled, his clear eyes sparkling.
——Because, being able to enter this game and getting to know Lin, it really is too good.
If he was in a normal world, even if he lived safely and steadily to a hundred years old, it was nothing compared to entering this terrifying world of demons and meeting this person.
——Your existence in this world, meeting me and becoming my treasured friend, it really is too wonderful.
For this miracle, this meeting that took place despite such a low probability, he wanted to thank whoever made it happen.
Before this, he had been living well all by himself, but after getting to know this person, he realised that the past was not very good at all. He was actually lonely. He has always been lonely.
The author has something to say:
En, I have insomnia and my condition is not good. The original plot about Shen Yuan can only be finished in the next chapter.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
When Ye Zun woke up, it was almost evening.
The delicious aroma of food floated over from the kitchen.
Lin came over and warmly looked down at Ye Zun who was opening his eyes on the sofa. “Awake? You must be very hungry ba.”
Ye Zun was indeed very hungry. He sat up, and when the thin blanket slipped off his shoulders, he subconsciously stretched out to pull it back up.
“Be careful of your injuries.”
Lin held his left wrist and helped him up, facing Ye Zun who didn’t have a shirt on with a natural expression.
Ye Zun just woke up and his mind was in a daze. It wasn’t until he was brought to the sink with a mirror by the priest and saw himself in the reflection that he started to feel a little awkward after a few breaths.
But the priest didn’t seem to notice his lacking etiquette, and smiled politely. “Ah, I almost forgot that you will catch a cold if you don’t wear a shirt.”
He turned and left to get a pair of loose house clothes, carefully guiding Ye Zun’s injured left hand and dressing him meticulously.
Ye Zun looked at the priest in the mirror, who was helping him squeeze toothpaste and getting a cup of water ready. With an excessively high-born and perfect face, even doing this kind of thing made him look as elegant as someone shooting a top-level pictorial. If he hadn’t seen the clarity in his eyes, he would’ve never known that this man, who made people feel alienated and cold, was actually warmer than anyone else.
——How did I get so lucky to have made such a perfect friend?
Lin raised his eyes to look at Ye Zun. The corners of his lips lifted a soft curve, and in those black crystal-like eyes lying in the clear spring, the surface of the water revealed a faint smile. “Will you be all right by yourself?”
Ye Zun nodded. “I will.”
The man didn’t make him feel uncomfortable and left him alone to wash up, turning around and heading to the dining room to set up.
For dinner, he had prepared western food.
Although Ye Zun was not used to western food, he still thought the taste was delicious.
“I thought you would want to eat a light meal so I didn’t prepare any meat dishes,” the man said.
Ye Zun looked at the green salad and pasta dish in front of him. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. “Just this is very good. If you had prepared steak, I might’ve wasted it.”
After passing this instance, for the time being, he did not want to eat meat at all.
The dessert after the main meal was made from blueberry and yam. Sour, sweet and cold. Ye Zun ate a lot, but the priest seemed to have only moved it around a little.
[T/N: search 蓝莓山药甜点 for images of the dessert]
Before Ye Zun asked any questions, Lin smiled reservedly, looking at him and saying, “En, I am fasting, as there is a very important ritual I have to soon partake in. It’s very important.”
Ye Zun didn’t understand his religion, so he just nodded.
“Oh, right.” Ye Zun brought out several old and new diary notebooks.
After he left that house, he roughly cleaned himself up halfway through his trip to the priest’s house. At that time, the game gave him a reward.
He had eight storage spaces that could store items and be accessed. These diaries were taken out from inside.
He was also rewarded 80 magic crystals. Together with the ones he previously received when he passed the novice trial, as well as the 30 that he had given away before, he had a total of 150.
Before, once he entered the instance, he didn’t pay attention to where the magic crystals given by the novice trial went. When the new reward was issued, he found that it was deposited into the game’s demon ID card.
[T/N: the things in-game are ‘demon [noun]’, same with the magic crystals but I’m in too deep to change that]
The ID card occupied the first space from the eight storage spaces given. It was locked at the beginning, and only when the greyish-white translucent box appeared in the air did it get unlocked in front of Ye Zun.
Ye Zun was in a very poor condition at that time. He was entirely focused on going to see Lin, but he still remembered to collect Nogawa Kaoru’s diaries, which occupied a single space.
Right now, that was where he took these diaries from.
Ye Zun looked at the priest sitting opposite from him. “Father, isn’t it your job to observe and record the changes of events in the world of the instance? These diaries should come in handy.”
Lin thanked him and took over the diaries, flipping through them to read.
During this process, Ye Zun slightly lowered his voice. “Father, you were right. Most horror stories really do happen for a reason. They couldn’t say anything about the violent treatment they experienced in reality, and it turned into nightmares and hallucinations. They couldn’t shout out their fears in reality, so it became the ghost that killed them.”
Lin stood up, walked over to his side, then raised his hand and gently stroked his head. “Very few people can kill their own fear, so they need someone else to come. So to be able to face your own fears head on, it is very amazing.”
Ye Zun: “It’s very hard.”
He smiled wryly and lowered his eyes.
——I wasn’t actually that calm. My heart was beating very fast, and my legs were trembling involuntarily. When I was injured, I was so scared. I felt like I was going to die there.
——But, it was precisely because I felt that I was dying, that there was no way for me to be afraid of my fears anymore.
“Ah, this time, I believe it,” the priest said.
Ye Zun raised his head and looked at him. “What?”
Lin smiled a little. “You really are good at fighting. If you protect your vitals next time, it will be even better.”
Ye Zun’s ears were slightly red and he couldn’t help but smile.
Lin stroked his head some more, then withdrew his hand.
From the slightly heavy mood, the atmosphere slowly returned to something peaceful.
After dinner, Lin sat at the desk, flipping through the diary given by Ye Zun while writing a report for the church.
Ye Zun sat on the sofa in the study, covered with a thin blanket and playing on his phone.
The actual main task was to study that demon ID Card.
【 ID: Ye Zun】
【 Race: Human 】
【 Title: None 】
【 Ability: None 】
【 Magic Crystals: 150 】
——What can the magic crystals do? I vaguely remember those experienced players saying that they can be used to improve their abilities or something.
Seeing the pitiful 150 in his account, then thinking about how he was priced at 5,000 by those veteran players back then, it really was worth a lot.
A translucent greyish-white dialogue box made of a colour that looked like withered bones appeared in front of his eyes. The words across the box were still red as before, reading:
【 Magic crystals are the only common currency in the Demon God’s Amusement Park. It can be used to buy anything, and can also improve the player’s ability level when used correctly. In the instance world, you can exchange it for currency. 】
Seeing the last sentence, Ye Zun let out a sigh of relief.
If he was being honest, he had always been concerned about this. There was not much money left on his e-banking card. It was also impossible to enter an instance in the future and work to make a living, while risking his life to crack the answer for the instance.
It was great that the currencies could be exchanged. It didn’t matter how much the exchange rate was. He didn’t care about material enjoyment. As long as he can survive, it was fine with him.
With suddenly nothing to do, Ye Zun felt a little dazed.
Before entering the instance, he used to be very busy. Usually, he had to attend his classes while preparing for his part-time jobs. After he was certain about entering the part-time model industry, he had to take time to exercise so that his body would not be too thin or overweight. Because it often took a long time to go out to shoot, he had to make up for his missing courses in private. In his third year, he was a little away from graduating, but he had to write a thesis at the same time.
And now, all of a sudden, he didn’t need to do anything, and he couldn’t even exercise because of his palm injury.
Ye Zun put the phone in the third slot of his storage space. Stepping down on the rug with his bare feet, he walked to the bookshelf near Lin.
Even if it was just a short business trip, the priest’s study contained many different kinds of books.
Ye Zun picked up a copy of《 The Book of Lost Things 》to read.
Lin finished the final report. He closed the book and put down the pen, then he watched Ye Zun.
Even when he stood next to Ye Zun by the bookshelf, tilting his head slightly and watching him curiously for a long time, the other party didn’t realise he was there and just kept his focus on the page.
Because his left hand was injured and bandaged, it was extremely difficult to turn the book, but he didn’t know why he chose not to sit back on the couch to find a more comfortable position to read.
The skin pale from blood loss looked warm and clean under the orange light. The lines of those cheeks should have been pure and innocent, but because of the gorgeous bone structure that showed through his thin frame, they looked somewhat fragile yet strong. But at this moment, the beautifully shaped lips were naturally agape slightly, and his expression was relaxed, like an unguarded utopia.
After finally reading through a passage of a twisting and turning plot, he let out a long sigh of relief. Ye Zun raised his eyes unintentionally, and suddenly noticed the priest leaning on the bookshelf beside him, closely watching him.
He instantly panicked inwardly.
“Were you bored from the wait? I’m sorry I took too long.” Lin spoke to him calmly and warmly.
Ye Zun settled down with his voice, a little embarrassed by his subconscious overreaction, and shook his head. “No, there are many books in Father’s study. I haven’t had time to read for a long time, so I didn’t feel bored.”
“Do you like reading?”
Ye Zun nodded and immediately afterwards, as if he was afraid of being misunderstood, he pursed his lips slightly and explained with a frown, “I just like to read casually, nothing like those literary masterpieces. Even if it’s a children’s book, out-of-date newspapers, or magazines on the streets, I’m very happy to read anything. It’s not a love of reading, I’m just curious to know what is going on in other people’s minds, what kind of thoughts they have when looking at the world.”
After he finished, he paused a little, then lowered his eyes and blinked. As if he had said the wrong thing, he pursed his lips, then looked back at the priest who was watching him quietly.
“Did I, say something weird again?”
Lin’s eyes were in the shadow of the lights and the black crystals became more and more clear. The eyes like a mountain spring were warm, slightly sheltered by a cool, soft smile that seemed somewhat deliberate. He looked at him curiously and attentively. “Why do you say that? You always seem to be afraid of saying the wrong thing in front of me. Is it because I am not kind enough, and unable to let you feel at ease?”
Ye Zun immediately shook his head, gazing at Lin earnestly and honestly. “Of course not, it’s not because of Father. It’s just me.”
He slightly furrowed his brows, confused and troubled. “With Father, there’s nothing that I can’t say, so I will put it out in the open. I’ve told you before, my personality is easy to hate. I’ve been called a freak, since they don’t know what I think about. It’s true that there are times that my mind is far from everyone else’s thoughts, and I wonder if my brain really is different from other people’s. It is because of this uncertainty that I started to like reading. When I was in university, there was this time where everyone read books together. The atmosphere was very good, so I subconsciously answered that I liked reading because I wanted to know what was going on in other people’s minds. As a result, I was mocked for being pretentious.”
——Those people’s attitudes were already not as simple as mocking me. Even now, thinking about it makes me uncomfortable.
He smiled a little embarrassedly, but his brows furrowed a bit more, obviously still a little troubled and distressed about this matter in his heart.
He didn’t want to be considered a hypocritical and weird person by the priest at all.
“There’s no other meaning to it, I really do think this, so I just subconsciously… I don’t think there is anything wrong with this way of thinking, but I don’t know why they would think this was pretentious…”
The priest smiled, the corners of his lips forming a curve far more obvious than any smile he had shown before. Because the cool eyes under the shadows were also jumping with a smile like a flowing stream, his eyes had more life in them than ever before, and looked a little more vivid.
He looked at Ye Zun without blinking, his clear and gentle eyes full of pleasant surprise, and he said with a slight astonishment, “So do I! We are exactly the same ah.”
Ye Zun was slightly stunned. Due to the priest’s unusual enthusiasm, his pupils slightly dilated, and the depths of his eyes were filled with a disbelieving softness of the same surprise. He stood quietly, listening to the man.
It was rare for the priest to show such clear emotions. Not only the restrained smile in the past, but his whole person was overflowing with a genuine smile, staring at Ye Zun intently and earnestly, as if in amazement, eagerly looking at him as if he were a miracle. “It’s true, I like to read and I am not picky with the subject matter, I just wonder, what is going on in other people’s minds? What does the world look like in other people’s eyes, how is it different from mine? We really are the same!”
His eyes blinked. No matter how gentle he was, he had always given off a cold and alienating aura because of his restrained emotions and dignified demeanour. With this sudden and unreserved show of enthusiasm, it was the same beautiful sight as something sparkling, making people feel flattered by this favour from a far superior person, like seeing a miracle.
Ye Zun also started to smile, not knowing he was doing so. Quietly smiling at him in a trace, his clear eyes did not blink once.
The priest was still smiling in amazement. “Believe me, it is not some kind of consolation, or me deliberately pleasing and humouring you because I want to be close to you and receive special treatment. I really do have exactly the same way of thinking as you.”
Ye Zun’s eyes slightly curved. “En. The same as Lin, I am very happy.”
Lin’s emotional fluctuations had passed, but his eyes were still holding a soft smile. He tilted his head slightly and looked at Ye Zun with concentration and curiosity, without the slightest discomfort for his different performance from how he was in the past. “However, our way of thinking, does it really come off as pretentious in other people’s eyes?”
Ye Zun pursed his lips and smiled. “It seems so.”
“Oh——” Lin seemed to understand. He raised his chin slightly and nodded. The corners of his lips lifted faintly and his eyes lowered down on him as he said softly, “Next time, you can say this without it weighing on your mind because, with me here, being pretentious with you, if someone calls you a freak again, won’t you feel more at ease?”
Ye Zun looked at him and nodded. He couldn’t help but want to smile.
What he didn’t say was that he didn’t really care what others thought of him. All he cared about was how Lin thought of him. As long as this person didn’t hate him, it didn’t really matter how others judged him.
“Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me again? I told you, I really do think so.”
Ye Zun just smiled, his clear eyes sparkling.
——Because, being able to enter this game and getting to know Lin, it really is too good.
If he was in a normal world, even if he lived safely and steadily to a hundred years old, it was nothing compared to entering this terrifying world of demons and meeting this person.
——Your existence in this world, meeting me and becoming my treasured friend, it really is too wonderful.
For this miracle, this meeting that took place despite such a low probability, he wanted to thank whoever made it happen.
Before this, he had been living well all by himself, but after getting to know this person, he realised that the past was not very good at all. He was actually lonely. He has always been lonely.
The author has something to say:
En, I have insomnia and my condition is not good. The original plot about Shen Yuan can only be finished in the next chapter.
When Ye Zun woke up, it was almost evening.The delicious aroma of food floated over from the kitchen.Lin came over and warmly looked down at Ye Zun who was opening his eyes on the sofa. Awake? You must be very hungryba.Ye Zun was indeed very hungry. He sat up, and when the thin blanket slipped off his shoulders, he subconsciously stretched out to pull it back up.Be careful of your injuries.Lin held his left wrist and helped him up, facing Ye Zun who didn't have a shirt on with a natural expression.Ye Zun just woke up and his mind was in a daze. It wasn't until he was brought to the sink with a mirror by the priest and saw himself in the reflection that he started to feel a little awkward after a few breaths.But the priest didn't seem to notice his lacking etiquette, and smiled politely. Ah, I almost forgot that you will catch a cold if you don't wear a shirt.He turned and left to get a pair of loose house clothes, carefully guiding Ye Zun's injured left hand and dressing him meticulously.Ye Zun looked at the priest in the mirror, who was helping him squeeze toothpaste and getting a cup of water ready. With an excessively high-born and perfect face, even doing this kind of thing made him look as elegant as someone shooting a top-level pictorial. If he hadn't seen the clarity in his eyes, he would've never known that this man, who made people feel alienated and cold, was actually warmer than anyone else.How did I get so lucky to have made such a perfect friend?Lin raised his eyes to look at Ye Zun. The corners of his lips lifted a soft curve, and in those black crystal-like eyes lying in the clear spring, the surface of the water revealed a faint smile. Will you be all right by yourself?Ye Zun nodded. I will.The man didn't make him feel uncomfortable and left him alone to wash up, turning around and heading to the dining room to set up.For dinner, he had prepared western food.Although Ye Zun was not used to western food, he still thought the taste was delicious.I thought you would want to eat a light meal so I didn't prepare any meat dishes, the man said.Ye Zun looked at the green salad and pasta dish in front of him. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. Just this is very good. If you had prepared steak, I might've wasted it.After passing this instance, for the time being, he did not want to eat meat at all.The dessert after the main meal was made from blueberry and yam. Sour, sweet and cold. Ye Zun ate a lot, but the priest seemed to have only moved it around a little.T/N: search for images of the dessertBefore Ye Zun asked any questions, Lin smiled reservedly, looking at him and saying, En, I am fasting, as there is a very important ritual I have to soon partake in. It's very important.Ye Zun didn't understand his religion, so he just nodded.Oh, right. Ye Zun brought out several old and new diary notebooks.After he left that house, he roughly cleaned himself up halfway through his trip to the priest's house. At that time, the game gave him a reward.He had eight storage spaces that could store items and be accessed. These diaries were taken out from inside.He was also rewarded 80 magic crystals. Together with the ones he previously received when he passed the novice trial, as well as the 30 that he had given away before, he had a total of 150.Before, once he entered the instance, he didn't pay attention to where the magic crystals given by the novice trial went. When the new reward was issued, he found that it was deposited into the game's demon ID card.T/N: the things in-game are demon noun', same with the magic crystals but I'm in too deep to change thatThe ID card occupied the first space from the eight storage spaces given. It was locked at the beginning, and only when the greyish-white translucent box appeared in the air did it get unlocked in front of Ye Zun.Ye Zun was in a very poor condition at that time. He was entirely focused on going to see Lin, but he still remembered to collect Nogawa Kaoru's diaries, which occupied a single space.Right now, that was where he took these diaries from.Ye Zun looked at the priest sitting opposite from him. Father, isn't it your job to observe and record the changes of events in the world of the instance? These diaries should come in handy.Lin thanked him and took over the diaries, flipping through them to read.During this process, Ye Zun slightly lowered his voice. Father, you were right. Most horror stories really do happen for a reason. They couldn't say anything about the violent treatment they experienced in reality, and it turned into nightmares and hallucinations. They couldn't shout out their fears in reality, so it became the ghost that killed them.Lin stood up, walked over to his side, then raised his hand and gently stroked his head. Very few people can kill their own fear, so they need someone else to come. So to be able to face your own fears head on, it is very amazing.Ye Zun: It's very hard.He smiled wryly and lowered his eyes.I wasn't actually that calm. My heart was beating very fast, and my legs were trembling involuntarily. When I was injured, I was so scared. I felt like I was going to die there.But, it was precisely because I felt that I was dying, that there was no way for me to be afraid of my fears anymore.Ah, this time, I believe it, the priest said.Ye Zun raised his head and looked at him. What?Lin smiled a little. You really are good at fighting. If you protect your vitals next time, it will be even better.Ye Zun's ears were slightly red and he couldn't help but smile.Lin stroked his head some more, then withdrew his hand.From the slightly heavy mood, the atmosphere slowly returned to something peaceful.After dinner, Lin sat at the desk, flipping through the diary given by Ye Zun while writing a report for the church.Ye Zun sat on the sofa in the study, covered with a thin blanket and playing on his phone.The actual main task was to study that demon ID Card. ID: Ye Zun Race: Human Title: None Ability: None Magic Crystals: 150 What can the magic crystals do? I vaguely remember those experienced players saying that they can be used to improve their abilities or something.Seeing the pitiful 150 in his account, then thinking about how he was priced at 5,000 by those veteran players back then, it really was worth a lot.A translucent greyish-white dialogue box made of a colour that looked like withered bones appeared in front of his eyes. The words across the box were still red as before, reading: Magic crystals are the only common currency in the Demon God's Amusement Park. It can be used to buy anything, and can also improve the player's ability level when used correctly. In the instance world, you can exchange it for currency. Seeing the last sentence, Ye Zun let out a sigh of relief.If he was being honest, he had always been concerned about this. There was not much money left on his e-banking card. It was also impossible to enter an instance in the future and work to make a living, while risking his life to crack the answer for the instance.It was great that the currencies could be exchanged. It didn't matter how much the exchange rate was. He didn't care about material enjoyment. As long as he can survive, it was fine with him.With suddenly nothing to do, Ye Zun felt a little dazed.Before entering the instance, he used to be very busy. Usually, he had to attend his classes while preparing for his part-time jobs. After he was certain about entering the part-time model industry, he had to take time to exercise so that his body would not be too thin or overweight. Because it often took a long time to go out to shoot, he had to make up for his missing courses in private. In his third year, he was a little away from graduating, but he had to write a thesis at the same time.And now, all of a sudden, he didn't need to do anything, and he couldn't even exercise because of his palm injury.Ye Zun put the phone in the third slot of his storage space. Stepping down on the rug with his bare feet, he walked to the bookshelf near Lin.Even if it was just a short business trip, the priest's study contained many different kinds of books.Ye Zun picked up a copy of The Book of Lost Things to read.Lin finished the final report. He closed the book and put down the pen, then he watched Ye Zun.Even when he stood next to Ye Zun by the bookshelf, tilting his head slightly and watching him curiously for a long time, the other party didn't realise he was there and just kept his focus on the page.Because his left hand was injured and bandaged, it was extremely difficult to turn the book, but he didn't know why he chose not to sit back on the couch to find a more comfortable position to read.The skin pale from blood loss looked warm and clean under the orange light. The lines of those cheeks should have been pure and innocent, but because of the gorgeous bone structure that showed through his thin frame, they looked somewhat fragile yet strong. But at this moment, the beautifully shaped lips were naturally agape slightly, and his expression was relaxed, like an unguarded utopia.After finally reading through a passage of a twisting and turning plot, he let out a long sigh of relief. Ye Zun raised his eyes unintentionally, and suddenly noticed the priest leaning on the bookshelf beside him, closely watching him.He instantly panicked inwardly.Were you bored from the wait? I'm sorry I took too long. Lin spoke to him calmly and warmly.Ye Zun settled down with his voice, a little embarrassed by his subconscious overreaction, and shook his head. No, there are many books in Father's study. I haven't had time to read for a long time, so I didn't feel bored.Do you like reading?Ye Zun nodded and immediately afterwards, as if he was afraid of being misunderstood, he pursed his lips slightly and explained with a frown, I just like to read casually, nothing like those literary masterpieces. Even if it's a children's book, out-of-date newspapers, or magazines on the streets, I'm very happy to read anything. It's not a love of reading, I'm just curious to know what is going on in other people's minds, what kind of thoughts they have when looking at the world.After he finished, he paused a little, then lowered his eyes and blinked. As if he had said the wrong thing, he pursed his lips, then looked back at the priest who was watching him quietly.Did I, say something weird again?Lin's eyes were in the shadow of the lights and the black crystals became more and more clear. The eyes like a mountain spring were warm, slightly sheltered by a cool, soft smile that seemed somewhat deliberate. He looked at him curiously and attentively. Why do you say that? You always seem to be afraid of saying the wrong thing in front of me. Is it because I am not kind enough, and unable to let you feel at ease?Ye Zun immediately shook his head, gazing at Lin earnestly and honestly. Of course not, it's not because of Father. It's just me.He slightly furrowed his brows, confused and troubled. With Father, there's nothing that I can't say, so I will put it out in the open. I've told you before, my personality is easy to hate. I've been called a freak, since they don't know what I think about. It's true that there are times that my mind is far from everyone else's thoughts, and I wonder if my brain really is different from other people's. It is because of this uncertainty that I started to like reading. When I was in university, there was this time where everyone read books together. The atmosphere was very good, so I subconsciously answered that I liked reading because I wanted to know what was going on in other people's minds. As a result, I was mocked for being pretentious.Those people's attitudes were already not as simple as mocking me. Even now, thinking about it makes me uncomfortable.He smiled a little embarrassedly, but his brows furrowed a bit more, obviously still a little troubled and distressed about this matter in his heart.He didn't want to be considered a hypocritical and weird person by the priest at all.There's no other meaning to it, I really do think this, so I just subconsciously I don't think there is anything wrong with this way of thinking, but I don't know why they would think this was pretentiousThe priest smiled, the corners of his lips forming a curve far more obvious than any smile he had shown before. Because the cool eyes under the shadows were also jumping with a smile like a flowing stream, his eyes had more life in them than ever before, and looked a little more vivid.He looked at Ye Zun without blinking, his clear and gentle eyes full of pleasant surprise, and he said with a slight astonishment, So do I! We are exactly the sameah.Ye Zun was slightly stunned. Due to the priest's unusual enthusiasm, his pupils slightly dilated, and the depths of his eyes were filled with a disbelieving softness of the same surprise. He stood quietly, listening to the man.It was rare for the priest to show such clear emotions. Not only the restrained smile in the past, but his whole person was overflowing with a genuine smile, staring at Ye Zun intently and earnestly, as if in amazement, eagerly looking at him as if he were a miracle. It's true, I like to read and I am not picky with the subject matter, I just wonder, what is going on in other people's minds? What does the world look like in other people's eyes, how is it different from mine? We really are the same!His eyes blinked. No matter how gentle he was, he had always given off a cold and alienating aura because of his restrained emotions and dignified demeanour. With this sudden and unreserved show of enthusiasm, it was the same beautiful sight as something sparkling, making people feel flattered by this favour from a far superior person, like seeing a miracle.Ye Zun also started to smile, not knowing he was doing so. Quietly smiling at him in a trace, his clear eyes did not blink once.The priest was still smiling in amazement. Believe me, it is not some kind of consolation, or me deliberately pleasing and humouring you because I want to be close to you and receive special treatment. I really do have exactly the same way of thinking as you.Ye Zun's eyes slightly curved. En. The same as Lin, I am very happy.Lin's emotional fluctuations had passed, but his eyes were still holding a soft smile. He tilted his head slightly and looked at Ye Zun with concentration and curiosity, without the slightest discomfort for his different performance from how he was in the past. However, our way of thinking, does it really come off as pretentious in other people's eyes?Ye Zun pursed his lips and smiled. It seems so.Oh Lin seemed to understand. He raised his chin slightly and nodded. The corners of his lips lifted faintly and his eyes lowered down on him as he said softly, Next time, you can say this without it weighing on your mind because, with me here, being pretentious with you, if someone calls you a freak again, won't you feel more at ease?Ye Zun looked at him and nodded. He couldn't help but want to smile.What he didn't say was that he didn't really care what others thought of him. All he cared about was how Lin thought of him. As long as this person didn't hate him, it didn't really matter how others judged him.Thank you.Why are you thanking me again? I told you, I really do think so.Ye Zun just smiled, his clear eyes sparkling.Because, being able to enter this game and getting to know Lin, it really is too good.If he was in a normal world, even if he lived safely and steadily to a hundred years old, it was nothing compared to entering this terrifying world of demons and meeting this person.Your existence in this world, meeting me and becoming my treasured friend, it really is too wonderful.For this miracle, this meeting that took place despite such a low probability, he wanted to thank whoever made it happen.Before this, he had been living well all by himself, but after getting to know this person, he realised that the past was not very good at all. He was actually lonely. He has always been lonely.The author has something to say:En, I have insomnia and my condition is not good. The original plot about Shen Yuan can only be finished in the next chapter.
