Paper Life 20

Yu Zhibai had said that the tip of Shang Nan's tongue was very beautiful, a thin shade of red.

Zhang Gou's fingers still lingered on Shang Nan's chin, the pads of his fingers rubbing reluctantly; it certainly wanted to, wanted to...

But he ultimately just pulled Shang Nan into his arms, "When it comes, it will tear me to shreds."

In the end, it was just a container.

"I have no way to get you food," Zhang Gou said, holding the cold Shang Nan, "Nor can I make you any warmer."

Because it was the dirtiest, darkest existence in this world.

Shang Nan didn't know what Zhang Gou was thinking. From what he understood from 14, Yu Zhibai was Zhang Gou, and Zhang Gou was Yu Zhibai; both were Paper People.

The difference was that Yu Zhibai was more advanced.

"Oh, I still have a bar of chocolate." Zhang Gou struggled to pull a crushed chocolate bar from its pocket. It was the kind from small shops costing a few yuan, with an industrial milk scent. It broke off a tiny bit to feed Shang Nan.

"Yu She," Zhang Gou suddenly said. Its voice was very low and hoarse. If it wasn't Yu Zhibai, the things it thought about were repeatedly just those few things. "Yu She was my mother. She loved wearing red clothes. She was abandoned by my father, and later raised me together with Grandma."

"She had many suitors, rich ones, poor ones, old and young, ugly, very ugly, extremely ugly ones. They didn't mind Yu She bringing me along, but Yu She rejected them all. She felt that being with me and Grandma was already happiness enough."

"Many people cursed her, cursed her behind her back, cursed her to her face. You can guess, right? They always use that same set of insults against women," Zhang Gou's eyes were calm and dim. "I was bullied a lot. Starting from kindergarten, they even used needles to prick my back. Even the teachers hated me; every time they sent me out of the school gates, they would give me a hard shove."

"They were truly bad. Yu She died, and they still wanted to lift her clothes to take a look. No one saved me. Grandma rushed to the hospital to see Mom first; she cried for a long time before remembering I was there too."

"The doctor said there was no need to save me anymore. I wasn't dead yet at that time, but my eyeballs had already been removed. Grandma carried me back on her back. It was raining that day. She left Yu She at the hospital and just carried me."

"I think that was the last time Grandma loved me that much."

"There were no taxis, and we had no money. Grandma walked for over an hour with me on her back. She cursed as she walked, cursed Yu She, cursed me, cursed the taxis, cursed the heavens for being unfair. As she cursed, she started crying again."

"Grandma laid me flat on the ground, lit incense, burned paper, and sprinkled her own blood on my brow. Then she began to make a paper effigy. She made a Paper Person exactly like me. The next day, I became it, and it became me."

"Grandma let me stay at home while she went to the hospital again alone. I only found out later what she went to do. She went to make a scene at the hospital, then the police station, then with the person who hit and killed Yu She. She got one million back. She said Yu She couldn't die in vain."

"That was the last thing she could do for me. Later, she became weaker and weaker, always sleeping. I couldn't feel that I loved her anymore, and I didn't love Yu She anymore. I couldn't feel hunger, nor did I possess pain anymore."

Shang Nan felt Zhang Gou's body trembling. Its voice was even hoarser than before, "Yu Zhibai?"

"I am a monster. Guess why I am a monster?" Zhang Gou suddenly said this out of nowhere. It seemed to have stepped out of that tragedy. "They will all turn into Paper People, they all will."

"What?" Shang Nan thought he heard wrong.

"I said they will all turn into Paper People," Zhang Gou pressed its fingers against Shang Nan's lips which had regained some color. "You don't know, every time the bench smashed onto my body, every time I returned home, I had to spend a long time repairing my broken bones."

"But Nannan, I won't fight back. I have so much resentment; even if I do nothing, they will suffer a backlash," Zhang Gou gave a muffled laugh, "It has nothing to do with me."

[14: It's like this. The Paper Person is full of resentment. Those who bully him, including Lu Yang but not limited to Lu Yang, will suffer the backlash of violence themselves when they inflict violence upon it.]

"But I, I still hurt so much." Zhang Gou's eyes were wet, like a misty rain had passed through, ink spreading in the depths of its eyes, leaving a residual dampness on the ground.

Shang Nan's fingers touched its tears; sticky, it was a drop of ink.

In the dusty warehouse, on the hard, cold bed board, Shang Nan was encircled in his arms. Zhang Gou's body blocked part of the invading chill.

Shang Nan thought for a while. After a long time, he lifted his head with some difficulty and lightly kissed Zhang Gou on the face. It was a brief touch, and the momentary warmth dissipated quickly.

Zhang Gou was stunned for a long time. The ink in the depths of its eyes dispersed, becoming uneven, revealing a few small patches of snowy white in the eyeballs. Although it couldn't change the look in its eyes, Shang Nan could feel that the other's emotions were actually changing, like turning from a wild cat baring its fangs and brandishing its claws into a kitten hiding under the eaves, drenched by heavy rain.

At this moment, Shang Nan became its whole world.

Early the next morning, Shang Nan was curled up in the corner, sleeping in a daze. His nose was stuffed, so he couldn't smell the moldy scent in the warehouse anymore.

He had an extra piece of clothing on him; it was Zhang Gou's.

At this moment, Zhang Gou wore only a thin sweater. It was very thin; when it bent its back, it looked like half a bracket.

"Do you want water?" Zhang Gou found a broken porcelain bowl from somewhere unknown, with several chips on the rim. It filled a large bowl of water from the sink.

Shang Nan glanced at the cement-built sink. Even if he felt a bit of disdain inwardly, he couldn't care too much right now; his throat was so dry it felt like it was about to smoke.

Zhang Gou brought the rim of the bowl to Shang Nan's mouth and fed him the water.

The daylight outside brightened, and the warehouse became much brighter than at night.

Shang Nan was weak in his hands and feet from hunger. The cramped environment also made his body very uncomfortable. He lay back down and fell asleep again.

Time quietly passed for a long while. Shang Nan could feel his body temperature getting lower and lower. Because there was no food and no source of heat, he kept his eyelids closed. His face was so pale he looked more like a Paper Person than Zhang Gou, his bright eyes slowly losing their luster.

"I'm giving you something."

In his daze, a roll of paper was stuffed into Shang Nan's palm. He didn't have the strength to open the paper roll to see what it was.

......

The sky turned bright then dark, dark then bright.

The heavy iron door behind them was pushed open with force. The noise and clamor of the outside world flooded into the warehouse like a deluge, instantly drowning this small world that had been as silent as a tomb.

The rain had long since stopped. Above the dark clouds, a few rays of golden sunlight even penetrated through.

Police, teachers, classmates... a swarm of people squeezed in. Zhang Gou hadn't slept; it didn't need to sleep. It sat on the ground guarding Shang Nan. Shang Nan slept very deeply. Zhang Gou's hand tightly clasped Shang Nan's hand resting on the edge of the bed. As soon as these people came in, Zhang Gou immediately lowered its head; it didn't have new eyeballs to change into.

Fortunately, no one paid attention to him at all. They only cared about whether the heir of the Shang Family was okay.

"Slap!"

This slap was thrown by Dai Lili at the middle-aged police officer leading the group. Her eyes were full of red veins as she pointed a finger at the boy curled up on the bed board. "Trash, trash, trash!" She cursed three times, her volume getting louder each time, her emotions more broken with each repetition.

After cursing, she stumbled towards Shang Nan in her high heels. She pushed aside the bowing Zhang Gou and patted Shang Nan, "Shang Nan?"

"Shang Nan?"

"Shang Nan?"

Shang Nan had no reaction.

Dai Lili's hands were trembling; not just her hands, her whole body was shaking. She put a finger under Shang Nan's nose, let out a sigh of relief, and then turned to shout at the people behind her, "What are you standing there for?!"

On this trip, she brought a doctor, her own security guards, and the police. she originally wanted to bring reporters too, but was stopped by the police.

Everyone knew of this madam's neuroticism and hurried over to check on Shang Nan.

"He's just in a coma, he's fine," the arriving doctor said. "Fluid replacement, and let him eat something when he wakes up..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Dai Lili raised her handbag and hit him hard twice, "You know just by looking like that?"

The doctor sighed and said helplessly, "Send him to the ambulance."

Shang Nan was carried onto the 120 ambulance by the hospital staff. Zhang Gou was subconsciously ignored. These people swarmed in and took Shang Nan away like stars clustering around the moon.

However, it was good that he left.

Zhang Gou looked up, watching the direction Shang Nan left, and slowly raised its head. The eyeballs in its sockets had long lost all color. Now that everyone was gone, he lowered his head and raised his hand. Two slender fingers inserted into the eye sockets along the outer contours of the eyeballs. The fingers curved behind the eyeballs, exerted a slight force, and an eyeball fell into his palm. The second eyeball was also easily plucked out.

Footsteps came from outside the door. Zhang Gou raised his head, looking blankly towards the main entrance.

A shadow slowly elongated, folding against the wall. The visitor finally approached. Exquisite and upright contours, a slightly pale face—no one would perceive him as non-human at all. He looked gentle, reserved, and calm.

He walked leisurely in front of Zhang Gou, lowering his eyes to look at the person sitting on the ground. The light fell behind him, casting a shadow that enveloped Zhang Gou. Zhang Gou was made to look particularly ordinary and plain by contrast, its empty eye sockets meeting Yu Zhibai's scrutiny.

Yu Zhibai slowly withdrew the hand kept in his pocket. He opened his palm and offered it to Zhang Gou; it was a pair of new eyeballs, with blood vessels and pupils... all painted on.

"Take it."

"Th... thanks."

Zhang Gou clumsily pressed the eyeballs into the sockets. A "riiip" sound suddenly came from beside his ear. He was stunned, watching the piece of skin Yu Zhibai peeled off his own face... or to be more accurate, a piece of paper—the spot Shang Nan had kissed earlier.

Immediately, wind poured in through that gap.

Yu Zhibai put that paper into his jacket pocket, took a new sheet, bent down to seal the missing part, and lamented, "I should have come myself if I had known."

Zhang Gou's lips pressed into a straight line. After a long time, he asked, "What about those people?"

"Who knows." Like a casual murmur, it made Zhang Gou feel cold all over.

In the end, Yu Zhibai was the complete 'it'. Everything about it originated from Yu Zhibai. It was made of paper, and that resentment was also ethereal. The truly terrifying one was never Zhang Gou, nor the chest full of resentment Zhang Gou carried.

The lush branches above ground cannot compare to the twisted roots underground. After all, whatever appearance the parts above ground grow into depends on what the parts underground can provide.

......

Shang Nan was sent to a VIP ward in the hospital. He underwent all the necessary checks. He wasn't injured, just dehydrated from not eating for a long time.

Dai Lili accompanied Shang Nan at the hospital for a while. Seeing that he was really fine, she left with peace of mind, telling the hospital to just notify her when Shang Nan woke up.

The ward was very quiet. The city's colorful neon lights illuminated half the sky. His phone and schoolbag had been brought to the ward, and messages on the screen kept updating.

At seven in the evening, when the nurse was changing his IV drip, he slowly opened his eyes.

The nurse looked down and saw him, her face full of surprise. "You're awake? I'll go call the doctor and notify Ms. Dai."

Before Shang Nan could react, she had already pushed the treatment cart out.

The ward was luxurious. If one didn't pay attention to certain details, one wouldn't tell it was a hospital at all—walls painted beige, a lush green Happiness Tree in the corner. It was a suite, with a living room and kitchen outside.

Not long after, hurried footsteps came from the corridor. A dark mass of doctors and nurses squeezed in. Shang Nan's head, face, hands, and feet were all touched, and his eyes were pried open and shone with a medical flashlight.

"He's fine now, but just in case, stay a couple more days for observation," the doctor put the flashlight into his white coat pocket. "I'll have someone buy you food. Eat light meals for these two days, otherwise, your stomach might not be able to take it."

Shang Nan hadn't spoken for too long, so he could only nod in response.

The group of people left immediately. In the corridor, they noticed a handsome and beautiful boy coming towards them. "You are..." Heading this way, the only patient currently in this section was the Shang Family's young master.

Yu Zhibai smiled, "I am Shang Nan's friend."

He didn't seem to have finished his sentence. Under everyone's gaze, he added the second half, "The best kind."

"..."

"What is your name?"

"Yu Zhibai."

A young doctor walked back to the ward and returned quickly. "Teacher, he's telling the truth."

They let Yu Zhibai in.

Yu Zhibai pushed open the slightly ajar door of the ward. The moment it saw Shang Nan, intense pain flooded its chest.

Its heart had stopped beating completely years ago; logically speaking, it shouldn't feel heartache.

Shang Nan seemed a bit thinner, making his eyes look even larger and rippling with light. His hair stuck out messily in all directions. When he saw Yu Zhibai, obvious joy appeared in his eyes.

"You're here? I'm so hungry." Shang Nan leaned against the headboard. His left hand was still on the drip, and his right hand was clutching his phone replying to messages—from teachers, classmates, brothers, and sisters.

Locked in the warehouse for almost four days, Shang Nan had only drunk some water. After arriving at the hospital, he was given some fluids to maintain physical strength, but a human is a human; one only feels satisfied when food is eaten through the mouth.

Yu Zhibai took down the table board from the end of the bed and placed it on the bed. "I brought porridge."

He helped Shang Nan sit up properly, took out the lunch box, and thoughtfully handed Shang Nan a spoon.

The porridge was still hot. It had vegetables, minced meat, and small shrimp inside. Just smelling it, one knew it was delicious.

Shang Nan buried his head and fed himself small mouthfuls. The meat was prepared well with no fishy smell, and the white rice was cooked soft and tender. He looked up in surprise, "Did you make it yourself?"

Yu Zhibai sat on the chair, very close to the bed. "In the first few years, I also needed to eat."

After a while longer, Shang Nan felt his stomach was a bit better, so he asked in a low voice, "Where is Zhang Gou?"

"He went home."

"Which home?"

With the comparison, Shang Nan found that the feeling of facing Yu Zhibai and facing Zhang Gou was different. Yu Zhibai was obviously more like a human. No, accurately speaking, if he didn't expose himself, you couldn't distinguish the difference between him and a human. But Zhang Gou was not; Zhang Gou was just a crudely made defective product, full of flaws and loopholes.

"What do you plan to do with it in the future?"

The tranquil smile on Yu Zhibai's lips slowly vanished. He tilted his head, "You care about it that much?"

"..."

Shang Nan almost choked. A small patch on his ear turned red. "Aren't you two the same person?"

Yu Zhibai's smile was very faint, "But I still want you to like me more."

"What is that?" Yu Zhibai's gaze shifted to the side of Shang Nan's pillow. A roll of paper, the thickness of a cigarette. Its existence was very abrupt. Yu Zhibai leaned over and took it in his hand.

Slowly unfolded.

It was five paper hearts connected together.

Only after it was fully unfolded did Shang Nan slowly find some vague impressions. This seemed to be what Zhang Gou had stuffed into his hand.

"It's it..."

"It was me who gave it to you." Yu Zhibai lifted his eyelids, rolled the hearts back up, and placed them by Shang Nan's pillow. "I just wanted to see if you still remembered."

"Isn't it Zhang Gou?"

"He and I are the same person, Nannan."

"..." Shang Nan suppressed the urge to poke Yu Zhibai hard with his spoon.

......

Outside the window, it started raining again at some point. The patter was urgent and dense.

Yu Zhibai was under the lamp helping Shang Nan organize the notes he missed these past few days.

Shang Nan drowsily replied to Zhang Hu's messages. Today was Saturday, tomorrow was a holiday, so they didn't have to wake up early.

[Zhang Hu: Are you really okay? Lu Yang has guts, kidnapping someone in broad daylight. What was he after?]

[Zhang Hu: I thought you asked for leave. I asked around, and even Yu Zhibai didn't know where you went, and your mom didn't know either. Only then did we realize you were missing. You have no idea, your mom came to school and almost beat Zhang Xueli to death.]

[Zhang Hu: But Yu Zhibai didn't seem anxious at all. If he hadn't said he didn't know, I would have thought you two were playing some game of hide-and-seek.]

[Zhang Hu: Lu Yang is finished this time. He went crazy later and ran to school, smashing Yu Zhibai's head open. The blood flowed even more than when his neck was pricked last time. That's how we knew you were locked up by people he hired. He's already in the detention center now.]

[Zhang Hu: Both your families have money and power. I see this matter is going to be a big mess.]

[Shang Nan: I'm fine. How Lu Yang will be handled, we'll see.]

He remembered Zhang Gou saying that Lu Yang would suffer a backlash.

Zhang Hu chatted with him for a while then yelled about going to play games. Shang Nan was about to sleep when he felt the need to use the bathroom. His drowsiness instantly dissipated.

The IV bag was still more than half full. He couldn't wait that long.

Shang Nan threw off the blanket and sat up on the bed with difficulty, supporting himself with one hand. He stood barefoot on the floor and reached out to take the fluid bag hanging above his head.

The slight movement was heard by Yu Zhibai, who was concentrating on writing notes. He looked over at Shang Nan, rarely showing a displeased expression, no longer pretending.

Yu Zhibai strode over and took down the fluid bag, "Why didn't you call me?"

He stood with his back to the light, his silhouette enveloping Shang Nan. Shang Nan couldn't help but take a step back, "Ah, I saw you were writing homework so seriously, I didn't want to disturb you."

After speaking, he looked down to put on his slippers. "I want to go to the bathroom; I can hold it myself." Having said that, Shang Nan reached out to take the fluid bag from Yu Zhibai's hand.

Unexpectedly, Yu Zhibai avoided it. Shang Nan's hand grabbed empty air and hung awkwardly in mid-air.

Shang Nan looked at Yu Zhibai in confusion.

Yu Zhibai stood to Shang Nan's left, supporting him. "Embarrassed?"

A beautiful red instantly rushed from the base of Shang Nan's neck to his whole face. His skin was pale, so even a little redness was very obvious. Thus, Shang Nan immediately lowered his head, "No, let's go."

He had eaten, so he wasn't that weak anymore, but he was still supported by Yu Zhibai. The other's palm moved from supporting his shoulder at the start to slowly resting on his waist. He wanted to say something, but felt it unnecessary, like he was making a fuss over nothing.

The bathroom light was a warm tone, a cozy goose-yellow. After entering, Shang Nan looked at Yu Zhibai, "You can go out now."

Yu Zhibai didn't say anything. He hung the fluid bag on the hook on the wall and then retreated out, thoughtfully closing the door.

One hand was indeed inconvenient, but for this kind of thing, Shang Nan couldn't possibly ask for help from others.

Afterwards, before Shang Nan had time to pull up his pants, Yu Zhibai pushed the door open and walked in, looking straight ahead as he pressed the flush button.

......

Shang Nan's shock and shame were written on his face. He and Yu Zhibai looked down together. The hospital gown had an elastic drawstring; Shang Nan's waist was very thin, so if he didn't tie the knot, he certainly couldn't wear them.

Yu Zhibai's eyes changed. He squatted down, hooked his fingers into the waistband and pulled it up, then hooked the two strings and tied a very beautiful butterfly knot. It is a Paper Person, it doesn't blush, nor will its heart race, but Shang Nan already felt as if his whole body was on fire.

"Who let you in?" Shang Nan asked in a low voice.

Yu Zhibai lifted his eyelids to look at Shang Nan for a while before slowly standing up. While taking down the fluid bag, he answered, "You need me."

As long as Shang Nan needed, it would be there, even at a time like this.

Shang Nan was sent back to bed by Yu Zhibai. Yu Zhibai went to turn off all the lights. "You sleep first, I'll help you finish the notes."

"Can you see without light?"

"I can."

Shang Nan was indeed very sleepy, and even sleepier amidst the sound of rain.

He saw Yu Zhibai's face turn snow-white, and his lips became red as blood—pale white and blood red, this was the Paper Person's true appearance.

Shang Nan was already used to it. After watching for a while, he actually fell asleep.

But he didn't sleep well. After having a messy dream, he woke up again. When he woke, Yu Zhibai was sitting by his bed, eyes closed.

The needle in Shang Nan's hand had been removed at some point, covered with a styptic patch.

He was very close to Yu Zhibai; he could touch Yu Zhibai's face just by lifting his hand.

Do Paper People sleep too?

Shang Nan remembered the things Zhang Gou said. He was wondering, what was Yu Zhibai like as a child? What was he like before becoming a Paper Person?

Yu Zhibai must have been a very beautiful little boy as a child. He probably wasn't as wicked and pretentious as he is now. He was still human back then, able to feel pain and cry; all emotions and physical sensations were real.

He had always lived a bad life, whether in the past or now.

Shang Nan reached out his hand and poked Yu Zhibai's face with his finger.

Almost the instant Shang Nan's finger touched it, before he even poked down, Yu Zhibai instantly opened his eyes. He stared straight at Shang Nan, and only after a long time did he speak, "What are you doing?"

Its tone was faint and wooden, without emotion.

Shang Nan turned over to face it, "Looking at you."

After speaking, Shang Nan grinned.

After smiling, seeing Yu Zhibai's expression change, he secretly regretted it. Miscalculation. He shouldn't have teased Yu Zhibai.

The corners of Yu Zhibai's mouth split open, the arc stretching extremely wide, "Have you considered the matter of dating me that you mentioned before?"

The topic jumped too fast; Shang Nan almost couldn't catch up.

But Yu Zhibai's expression clearly meant: Shang Nan asked for it.

"No... no, haven't thought it through." Shang Nan withdrew his hand and covered himself with the quilt, "I still need a little time."

[14: Its mood is quite good now. My data here also shows that its emotional state has stabilized a lot recently. I think it should be because its attention has shifted from others to you, that's why this situation occurred.]

[14: At least, it now knows there are existences in the world more beautiful than vengeance and suffering.]

Shang Nan kept his eyes closed for a long time, but because he was pretending, and pretending poorly, his eyelashes kept trembling. He really couldn't hold it anymore and carefully opened his eyes. Upon opening them, his whole body stiffened.

The Paper Person's face was extremely close to him. Yu Zhibai had stood up at some point, bending over, the tip of his nose almost touching Shang Nan's.

Shang Nan looked at the other's pitch-black eyes, feeling that even his voice was trembling, "What are you doing?"

"You opened your eyes, I'll take that as a yes," Yu Zhibai said.

"What?"

"Can I kiss you now?"

"But..." The second half of Shang Nan's sentence hadn't come out yet before it was swallowed back down. He widened his eyes, looking at Yu Zhibai's face close at hand.

The touch on his lips was cold, soft, and lacked any technique.

Shang Nan struggled a few times, even using his hands to push Yu Zhibai's shoulders. Yu Zhibai lifted his eyelids; his eyes were pitch dark, thicker and more viscous than ink, simply capable of swallowing all things.

Shang Nan trembled, unable to stop himself from withdrawing his hands. As if resigning to fate, he slowly closed his eyes.

The Paper Person's lips were icy cold, as were its mouth and tongue tip. The sense of invasion was extremely strong. The tip of the tongue licked along the walls of the mouth. Shang Nan felt unable to endure it, involuntarily sinking deeper into the soft pillow.

The Paper Person's palm had moved to the back of his head at some point, directly fishing Shang Nan up from the bed. Shang Nan was caught off guard as his upper body was lifted. The feeling of being completely controlled by someone wasn't that pleasant. Shang Nan fell entirely into panic, helplessness, and an inability to cope.

Shang Nan's fingernails couldn't scratch the Paper Person at all. He thoroughly experienced where the difference lay between Yu Zhibai and Zhang Gou.

He also knew why Zhang Gou said Yu Zhibai might tear it to shreds.

Zhang Gou was just a container, and Yu Zhibai could make a hundred or a thousand containers like Zhang Gou to replace him. But there was only one Yu Zhibai; there was only one Paper Person.

Yu Zhibai only let go of Shang Nan when he felt he had kissed enough. Shang Nan's lip color was ground into a vivid hue. His expression was dazed, and he only snapped back to reality when his side profile was touched by Yu Zhibai's cold palm.

Yu Zhibai sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes incredibly dim, but his movements were gentle. "You are my boyfriend now, right?"

Facing such oppressive eyes, Shang Nan couldn't say no, nor was it necessary.

"Yes." Shang Nan clutched the quilt tightly, looking at Yu Zhibai defensively, feeling the other might kiss him again.

The Paper Person tilted its head slightly, showing confusion, "Then why are you looking at me like that?"

Shang Nan closed his eyes and opened them again, "Is this okay?" His voice was a bit hoarse, like uncrushed ice made into a slushie, topped with strawberry or blueberry jam.

The Paper Person leaned over and licked Shang Nan's somewhat swollen lips neither lightly nor heavily, "Goodnight."

After speaking, it sat back on the chair, maintaining the initial posture, still gazing at Shang Nan.

Shang Nan felt that gaze was like a scraping knife, capable of scraping open his blanket and scraping off his clothes. He had no choice but to sleep with his back to Yu Zhibai.

......

The next day, Dai Lili came very early. When she arrived, Shang Nan had just woken up, but Yu Zhibai had gone to who knows where.

Dai Lili looked somewhat haggard, holding breakfast in her hand. After walking into the ward and seeing Shang Nan's complexion was good, she breathed a sigh of relief.

These were expressions of Dai Lili's psychology. When making eye contact with Shang Nan, her first reaction was evasion and awkwardness.

"Go brush your teeth, then come eat breakfast," Dai Lili said.

Only after Shang Nan washed up and sat at the table did she speak, "I came today to talk to you about the handling of your classmate Lu Yang."

Shang Nan lowered his eyes and listened quietly without saying a word. He reached out and took a bun from the box; pickled vegetable and minced meat, it looked quite tasty.

"His family and ours have always had business dealings. His father hopes we can be lenient. He will send his son abroad. Additionally, he is willing to gift all his son's shares in their company to you." Dai Lili felt it was somewhat incredible even as she said it herself. In fact, when Lu Yang's father found her last night and gave the conditions, she also felt it was incredible, and still did now.

Although Lu Yang was his ex-wife's son, and he now had a new wife and child, he hadn't touched a bit of Lu Yang's shares. Now he was gifting them all.

Shang Nan ate a few bites, felt it wasn't as delicious as the food Yu Zhibai made, and put it down. He looked at Dai Lili, "What do you think?"

Dai Lili hesitated.

Shang Nan answered for her, "You are very tempted, aren't you?"

Facing such a huge temptation, it was hard for anyone not to be tempted.

But Shang Nan wasn't tempted.

"Handle it however the police say to handle it." Shang Nan slowly unwrapped the juice straw. The straw inserted into the thick, dense juice, instantly enveloped. Although the boy's voice lacked vigor, hearing it left one completely unable to refute.

Dai Lili came today to be a lobbyist for Lu Yang, which was actually somewhat unexpected for Shang Nan. He thought that with a personality like Dai Lili's, she should have swung her handbag hard into the other's face and told them: Keep dreaming!

"How much are Lu Yang's shares?"

[14: Converted to this world's currency, 100 million.]

Shang Nan's breath hitched. He almost stood up to call Dai Lili back.

[14: Don't worry. After the mission succeeds, you can get points more valuable than this world's currency.]

The ward returned to silence. Shang Nan pushed away the unfinished juice and the unfinished bun. His gaze patrolled the ward once; no sign of Yu Zhibai.

Yu Zhibai was always elusive.

Maybe it had to do with him not being human.

Thinking of Yu Zhibai, Shang Nan couldn't help raising his hand to touch his lips. Although not bitten open, they had been licked and sucked severely, red as if congested with blood. Touching them brought a tingling, numb sensation.

Cleaning up the trash on the table, Shang Nan went to get homework from his schoolbag. Unzipping it, there was a doll inside with pitch-black eyes, startling Shang Nan.

[14: Paper Doll.]

Its size wasn't big, not even the size of a palm, but it won in realism. Hair, skin, limbs, facial features—it was almost a one-to-one recreation.

It was Yu Zhibai's appearance.

Shang Nan turned the Paper Doll over and over a few times, finding nothing strange.

[14: Actually, you can try to be more enthusiastic towards the Paper Person. Since you've already started dating, you should let him feel the sweetness of love, let him experience the beauty of the human world. Feeling-wise, this route is very convenient. Once the blackening value drops to 0, we can leave.]

So, Shang Nan watched romance movies all day.

The movie plots were sweet; just didn't know if the non-human Yu Zhibai bought into this stuff.

Yu Zhibai arrived at the hospital in the evening. He went to school for class; upon arrival, he was still wearing his school uniform and carrying a schoolbag, holding several lunch boxes in his hand.

The nurses on this floor had already registered him. Seeing it was him, they let him pass without asking much.

The door to the ward was ajar. He pushed it open gently. After pushing it open, the room was empty. It was bare; the homework and books on the table were arranged neatly.

"Nannan." Yu Zhibai walked in, closed the door, and called out to Shang Nan.

No response.

Where did he go?

Yu Zhibai's eyes became gloomy and depressed. But at this moment, his body was suddenly hugged from behind. Feeling Shang Nan's temperature and scent, his eyes instantly softened again.

Shang Nan let go of Yu Zhibai and moved in front of him. He was still wearing the hospital gown, looking fragile and pale, yet he was vivid.

"Surprise." Shang Nan pinched Yu Zhibai's cheek. "Happy or not?" Having seen Yu Zhibai's dark past, Shang Nan always felt Yu Zhibai was like a wounded puppy.

But the puppy was long since a Paper Person full of resentment.

The Paper Person was frightened. The frightened Paper Person directly pushed Shang Nan onto the chair, lowered his head and bit Shang Nan's lips as if grinding, more direct and unrestrained than last night.

Shang Nan tasted blood. It couldn't be Yu Zhibai; it could only be himself.

It seemed he had overthought it before.

The non-human Yu Zhibai actually quite ate up that stuff from romantic movies.

Shang Nan pursued victory, hugging Yu Zhibai's waist, whispering, "Yu Zhibai, I like you." After saying it, he blushed and his heart raced first.

Yu Zhibai was not stunned, did not hesitate, was not surprised. He bent down, staring at Shang Nan with dark eyes, his reddened lips slowly opening, "I want to, eat you."