Even after Lan Yin left, Ke Bu still could not pull himself together. He felt as though the Zhi family had frightened away the version of himself who normally remained indifferent to worldly affairs. Over the past two days, he had nearly burned through ten years of his life force.
“What am I supposed to do? Hurry, Zhi Li, find a boat and smuggle me to Israel.”
“Have you forgotten about us?” Su You Yan appeared at the doorway. Behind her stood Ying Xiu Jie, Chu Hao Yu, Gong Zhu, Zhang Luo, and Zhou Xin He.
“How long were you eavesdropping?”
“Since the part where your thing was called a tiny thing,” Chu Hao Yu said with a malicious smile.
“Thank you for reminding me yet again.” Ke Bu no longer had enough strength left to fight back. His heart was as dead as ashes.
Su You Yan pushed up her glasses and calmly said, “Starting now, group meeting.”
Ke Bu hurried forward and tightly clasped Su You Yan’s hand, then went around shaking everyone’s hands like a leader greeting his supporters. “Thank you. Thank you, everyone. I have no way to repay your kindness.”
“What an appropriate idiom—‘no way to repay us.’ You never intended to repay us in the first place, did you?”
Ke Bu turned his head aside and muttered quietly, “Tch, you noticed.”
“It’s fine. We don’t want much. You can repay us with your life later.”
“That’s already a great deal.” Ke Bu pulled out a chair and sat down. Zhi Li took out his phone and glanced at the time. “You only have twenty minutes.”
“Are you in a hurry?” Ke Bu asked.
“What? I told you we were continuing tonight. Did you think I was joking?”
“Continuing what?” The moment Ke Bu asked, he remembered. He lunged forward and covered Zhi Li’s mouth. “Don’t say it aloud.”
Su You Yan removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes before sitting down as well. “Then hurry. Let Ke Bu enjoy the pleasure of being penetrated one final time before he dies.”
“I want to preserve my strength. Stop talking nonsense.”
Gong Zhu blinked his large, watery eyes and said earnestly, “Why don’t we all kneel and beg Uncle? Isn’t that what they always do on television? We’ll say, ‘If you refuse, we’ll remain kneeling and never rise.’ He’ll surely be moved by our sincerity. Lord Zhi Li, what do you think?” Naturally, they had to ask the person who understood Zhi Zuo Si best.
“Then prepare to kneel until you die.”
Ying Xiu Jie waved his fists. “Why use such a sissy method? I say we all attack together. No matter how powerful he is, there’s no way he can defeat every one of us, right?”
“Have you forgotten how Lan Yin dealt with us the first time we met? Besides, the agreement was for me to fight him alone. If all of you join in, that would violate the rules. What if he cancels my eligibility to compete again in the future? Is there no method that follows the rules while at least allowing me to die with some dignity?” Ke Bu analyzed. With Zhi Li and the others around, he had gradually regained his reason and composure.
Zhang Luo tapped away at his computer. “Why don’t I hack into his computer and see whether there’s anything shameful inside? Then we can use it to threaten him.”
The method was not entirely impossible. Everyone turned toward Zhi Li. Zhi Li had resumed playing the mobile game he had not finished last time. Without looking away from the screen, he said faintly, “Then go try.”
“Don’t worry. Leave it to me,” Zhang Luo said confidently.
“Mm. By the way, eat a good meal before you go.”
“Why?”
“So you won’t enter the next world hungry.”
“…………”
“…………”
Zhou Xin He remained standing, her fingers twisting nervously together. Several times, she tried to speak, only for someone else’s voice to interrupt her. Finally, her face turned bright red as she shouted, “I-I have an idea. I don’t know whether it’ll work.”
“Go ahead.”
“What if I secretly put some medicine in Uncle’s lunch?”
Everyone stared at her in astonishment. Ke Bu was especially heartbroken. Xin He, what exactly has this group done to you? Have even you begun drifting farther and farther away from kindness?
Twenty minutes later, they still had no result. Everyone unanimously decided to bring Lan Yin into the discussion the following day.
That night, Ke Bu tossed and turned miserably on Zhi Li’s bed. His legs kicked the blanket into complete disarray, while one noise after another came from his mouth. He pulled the sketchbook away from Zhi Li and yanked open his own clothes. “If you’re going to do it, hurry up. Once you’re finished, I need to continue being depressed.”
“Where did you learn such a method of seduction?”
“Who’s seducing you?” Ke Bu irritably draped one leg over Zhi Li’s. “Zhi Li, what if your father genuinely dislikes me?”
“It’s impossible for him to like you before he forgets Yin.”
“Will you only be satisfied after you anger me to death?” In truth, Ke Bu’s feelings were complicated. Although he instinctively feared the arrival of tomorrow, he sincerely liked this method of resolving the issue. There was no hatred, contempt, disgust, screaming, hysteria, or even sadness. The attitudes of both Lan Yin and Zhi Zuo Si gave him a sense of release, as though a heavy burden had finally lifted.
He did not say it and did not want to admit it, but he liked this unusual family. He liked Lan Yin and Zhi Zuo Si. Their lack of hypocritical malice was the most beautiful part of this family—the kind of family Ke Bu longed for.
Zhi Li turned off the light and pulled Ke Bu into his arms. A long while passed without any further movement. Ke Bu asked, “Aren’t we doing it?”
“Sleep. We can move it to tomorrow night. Tonight, just behave and sleep.”
Zhi Li’s rare consideration was gentle as a breeze. Nestled in his arms, Ke Bu murmured, “I’m too worried to sleep.”
Zhi Li placed his lips beside Ke Bu’s ear. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Mm!” Ke Bu fell asleep inside the warm world that belonged to him. The wind repeatedly lifted and lowered the blue curtains, making them brush against the floor-to-ceiling windows. The covers of the trashy romance novels scattered across the table fluttered back and forth. Moonlight descended in layer after layer like thin mist, spilling across the floor and secretly watching Ke Bu’s hand clutching tightly at Zhi Li’s clothes—secretly watching the two of them and their love.
The following day, while Zhi Li was still asleep, the others gathered inside Lan Yin’s bedroom to discuss the matter and finally settled on a strategy. Dora revealed a smile from behind the door and turned to leave, only for Su You Yan, who had noticed her, to come out and grab her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Sister You Yan, listen to you. Of course I’m going back to sleep a little longer.”
“You’re planning to warn them, aren’t you?”
Dora spread her hands. “Since you discovered me, I suppose I can only admit it. Brother Zhi Li is only allowed to belong to Dora. Once Dora grows a little older, I’ll deal with every one of you one by one. Naturally, I can’t let you take advantage of this opportunity now.”
“Don’t even think about it.”
“You think you can stop me?” Dora smiled, broke free from Su You Yan’s grip, and fled into a room.
Su You Yan followed her. The instant she entered, Dora shut the door, ripped away her skirt, and revealed a pair of hot pants underneath. A belt tied around her waist fell open, exposing rows of slender silver needles. Her canine teeth conveyed a bloodthirsty message. “Then I won’t hold back from savoring your pain.”
Su You Yan threw aside her glasses and tied up her hair. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
Once everything had been decided, the others came out. Gong Zhu asked, “Huh? Where did You Yan go?”
Ke Bu looked around. Su You Yan was indeed nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, he heard extremely disturbing noises coming from the room to his left. He carefully pushed the door open a crack. After a single glance, his face turned pale, and he immediately shut it again.
“What’s wrong?” Ying Xiu Jie moved to open the door.
Ke Bu hurriedly stopped him. “Don’t go in. She and Dora are filming a horror movie. If you get dragged into it, you’re finished.”
“………………….”
When Ke Bu stood before Zhi Zuo Si, he did his utmost to steady his nerves and prevent his legs from weakening. Only when confronted with brutal reality did he realize how insignificant he was. He had little confidence in Lan Yin’s plan. He imagined a scene from a martial arts film in which the senior expert extended one hand and said, “Come. I’ll let you fight me while I use only one hand and one leg, and I’ll even give you three free moves.”
But no matter how long he waited, those words never came from Zhi Zuo Si’s mouth.
Zhi Zuo Si’s clothes stirred restlessly in the sea breeze, while strands of hair brushed across his mature, strikingly handsome face. The setting sun cast his tall, slender body into a beautiful silhouette.
Zhi Li picked up a wooden stick and drew a circle in the sand around the two men. “Regardless of the reason, whoever leaves this circle loses.”
Zhi Zuo Si shrugged coldly. “I’d like to see what kind of trick you’re planning. Hey, you vulgar thing over there. How long do you expect me to wait?”
Ke Bu understood exactly whom that cruel title referred to. He swallowed and anxiously glanced toward the stage where the beach bar usually held nighttime performances. Zhi Zuo Si crooked a finger at him. Ke Bu advanced one agonizing step at a time.
At that moment, the black curtain over the stage was pulled aside. Zhou Xin He stood holding drumsticks. Chu Hao Yu and Ying Xiu Jie had an electric guitar and bass strapped across their chests. Gong Zhu stood before a keyboard. At the very front stood that peerlessly beautiful woman, one hand resting on the microphone stand while the mischievous wind sent her long hair flying in every direction.
Although Zhou Xin He and Gong Zhu knew nothing about their instruments, Lan Yin had instructed them simply to play as chaotically as possible. Lan Yin tested the microphone, then glanced at Zhang Luo. Zhang Luo turned the speakers to their maximum volume.
Standing on the stage, she watched Zhi Zuo Si’s face darken. “Darling, allow me to dedicate a song to you.”
Every member of this family possessed a fatal weakness, and Lan Yin’s happened to counter Zhi Zuo Si’s perfectly. It turned out that Zhi Zuo Si did not merely dislike noise. His weakness worked similarly to Zhi Li’s dark transformation: noise gave him a splitting headache and weakened his combat ability.
Ke Bu weakly looked toward Zhi Li beside him. “Th-This will make him weaker? To what extent?”
If he were reduced to Chu Hao Yu’s level, Ke Bu might still stand a chance. Zhi Li’s beautiful face showed no visible change. “Just enough for him to fight Yin to a draw.”
“How is that any different from not weakening him at all?!!”
Next
Futile Devices Scans 
Leave a comment