Paper Life 30 Part 1

Shang Nan questioned 14: "Is this a side effect after the blackening value dropped?"

[14: Probably.]

[14: Data shows that when any creature falls in love, their brain doesn't work quite right. Even those closest to them might not be able to understand.]

The wind blew from the east, seeming to blow away the ink-black color in the depths of Yu Zhibai's eyes directly.

Shang Nan asked Yu Zhibai in return, "When I first liked you, I didn't even know you were a Paper Person."

"Besides," Shang Nan lowered his brow and eyes, reaching out to hold Yu Zhibai's hand hanging beside his coat, "My liking you has nothing to do with whether you are a Paper Person or not."

Be it a cat, a dog, a gorilla... a gorilla still won't do. Shang Nan looked at Yu Zhibai, imagining the other as a gorilla, and couldn't help laughing out loud, "As long as it's not a big monkey, it's fine."

Yu Zhibai had been living with Shang Nan during this time. Not only that, Yu Xiaoyu and her semi-finished little companion also came along, standing in the living room. If a stranger accidentally broke in and saw these two Paper Persons, they would probably be scared out of their wits.

She still had the habit of welcoming Shang Nan and Yu Zhibai home at the door. When she saw the roses in Shang Nan's hand, she exclaimed, "Just like on TV."

"Xiaoyu, go find a vase." Shang Nan placed the flowers on the cabinet and lowered his head to change his shoes.

Yu Xiaoyu cheerfully went to find a vase. She now knew the items in this house better than Shang Nan did; she liked it here.

Yu Zhibai went to cook. Shang Nan had only eaten a serving of takoyaki since noon. For some reason, seeing those baby octopuses made Yu Zhibai feel psychologically uncomfortable. It wasn't nausea, just... discomfort. A very strange feeling.

He took out small lamb chops from the refrigerator. These were the best ones selected and delivered by the supermarket in the morning, along with other vegetables, all the best choices. The asparagus was so tender it snapped with a pinch, the tomatoes were uniform in size and slightly soft, but the delivery person said these were naturally ripened tomatoes; if they were 'tech tomatoes', they would remain hard until they rotted.

Yu Zhibai learned how to use the oven, the dishwasher, and everything he hadn't used or seen before. Paper Persons are smart, with high IQs; he didn't even need to take out the instruction manuals, figuring it out on his own.

Shang Nan lay on the sofa and took a photo of Yu Zhibai's back as he busied himself in the kitchen; even his back was very photogenic.

A message notification popped up at the top of the phone. It was a group message, but not the class group.

Shang Nan clicked into it and found it was a newly created group named: Life and Death Together, Share the Wealth. There were ten members, all people who played together today, and the group owner was Zhang Hu.

Before Shang Nan clicked in, they had already been chatting for a while.

[Zhang Hu: Zhao Xiaofan was sent to the emergency room, damn it. His condition seems to be the most serious. He's the only child in his family, and his mom almost fainted from crying, chasing me to ask what happened. I actually regret it quite a bit; if I had known, I shouldn't have called Zhao Xiaofan.]

[Lin Xin: I fractured two ribs. I guess after I recover, my dad will beat me.]

[Zhu Mai: Then I have more than you. I have fractures, plus chest compression injuries, a huge bruised area.]

[Rich Handsome Guy: I'm alright, just took a few punches, probably a bit of a concussion.]

Shang Nan asked in confusion: Are you guys not together?

[Zhang Hu: Nope, our parents arrived at the hospital before we even got there. They separated us into different rooms for checkups one by one. I just didn't know their situations, so I created a group.]

[Zhang Hu: Shang Nan, are you and the top student okay? I saw you being dragged away by that thing too.]

[Shang Nan: I'm fine. Yu Zhibai came quickly, and later Lu Yang went to chase you guys.]

At the mention of Lu Yang, the group instantly exploded.

[Zhang Hu: Damn, what is going on? Didn't he die? How did he come back to life? And ran into the mall?]

[Lin Xin: I just searched online and asked my grandfather. I didn't mention Lu Yang, I asked vaguely. Grandfather said it is possible for people to come back from the dead, but they might not be human anymore after resurrection. I think Lu Yang might be in this situation.]

[Zhu Mai: So he's a ghost?]

[Zhang Hu: Isn't that nonsense? If he were human, could he take on so many of us alone? And he got burned away by a fire; only ghosts are afraid of fire.]

[Zhu Mai: Heavens, that's too perverted, really too twisted. Why can't he just die cleanly?]

[Sad Rainy Day: Where did that fire come from?]

[Zhu Mai: Dunno.]

Shang Nan felt there was no need to tell them it was Yu Zhibai; they wouldn't guess who it was anyway.

[Zhang Hu: What is Shang Nan doing?]

Shang Nan sent the photo he just took to the group and said: Yu Zhibai is roasting small lamb chops for me.

After a few seconds, there was no reply from Zhang Hu, but a new poll appeared in the group.

——Do you agree to kick Shang Nan and the top student out of the group? 1: Yes; 2: Kick them out ruthlessly.

Initiator: Zhang Hu

"Vase." Yu Xiaoyu came over holding a white porcelain vase.

Shang Nan turned off his phone and sat up.

Fresh cut flowers wouldn't last long just sitting like that. Shang Nan disassembled the bouquet, added a few drops of disinfectant to the water, and arranged the flowers in the vase. This way, they would probably last over a week.

The time set on the oven was up.

Yu Zhibai thought for a moment, then put on heat-resistant gloves and took out the baking tray. Just in time, the steamed rice and the stewed corn and pork rib soup were ready too.

He didn't need to eat, and neither did Yu Xiaoyu, so he only made a portion for one.

Shang Nan had mentioned wanting to eat roasted lamb chops last time. He had just said it casually, but Yu Zhibai remembered. When the people from the mall called to ask what ingredients were needed, he mentioned the lamb chops first.

Yu Zhibai's culinary skills were excellent. He laid pumpkin and chestnuts under the lamb chops. The chestnuts had to be peeled by hand after purchase; they weren't ready-made. The lamb chops released juices during roasting, coating the pumpkin and chestnuts, making them fragrant and soft.

"It's so delicious." Shang Nan's eyes lit up, "Much better than in restaurants!"

The sound of rain pattered outside. Rainwater formed a glowing curtain along the French windows. The overhead light was bright yet soft. The light couldn't illuminate Yu Zhibai's eyes, but it could illuminate Shang Nan's. So blazing, so bright.

It was a bit hot. Shang Nan's lips were even more vivid in color than before the meal. He cupped his hand under his chin, taking small bites of the pumpkin. Yu Zhibai sat opposite him, watching quietly, his face illuminated snow-white by the light.

"Xiao Bai," Shang Nan pointed to his own eyes, signaling Yu Zhibai, "You need to change your eyes."

"Oh." In front of Shang Nan, Yu Zhibai lowered his head and used his fingers to precisely gouge out his eyeballs one by one. With a "clatter," the useless eyeballs were thrown into the trash can.

Yu Zhibai stared at Shang Nan with two pitch-black, hole-like eye sockets.

"..."

"I'm full." Shang Nan put down his chopsticks, "I'll clean up. You go wash up and change your eyes while you're at it."

Yu Zhibai didn't stand on ceremony with Shang Nan; he stood up and walked away silently.

When Shang Nan was putting the emptied plates and dishes into the dishwasher, he strangely felt like he was living a domestic life with Yu Zhibai.

[14: After the blackening value clears to zero, you can pick a suitable time to leave.]

Shang Nan paused slightly, then sighed, "That's soon, only 20 left."

[14: Yes. The blackening value clearing to zero represents that it has changed its view of this world. Even without you, it will learn to accept this world on its own. Moreover, you aren't leaving completely; you can have countless versions of you. They will replace you to accompany it for the rest of the journey. You still need to complete missions in other worlds.]

Shang Nan turned off the water, "I understand."

......

It wasn't too late yet. Shang Nan looked at the calendar on his phone, calculating when the New Year would be. He wanted to accompany Yu Zhibai through the New Year before leaving.

Yu Zhibai didn't put in his eyeballs when sleeping at night. He turned his head sideways, looking at Shang Nan.

Shang Nan glanced at him, "Sleep."

Yu Zhibai didn't answer, not even with an "Oh."

Shang Nan also turned his head, looking at Yu Zhibai in confusion. The other party had no eyeballs right now; the sockets were two dark black holes, so Shang Nan couldn't guess what Yu Zhibai was thinking, or what his mood was like.

Outside, thunder boomed. Piercing lightning illuminated the entire room like daylight for a split second through the unclosed curtains. The bedroom light was on, but it was just a bedside lamp; amidst the lightning and thunder, the bedside lamp seemed insignificant.

Yu Zhibai's lips had pressed against his at some unknown moment. Shang Nan's eyelashes trembled. At the same time, a clap of thunder from outside struck from far to near. Shang Nan instantly came back to his senses, and Yu Zhibai pressed down on him, his palm gripping Shang Nan's wrist.

A monster is a monster after all; gentleness and modesty are all disguises. It bit Shang Nan's lips until they were painful and numb, and the butterfly scar on his collarbone actually began to burn faintly along with it.

Today would involve far more than just a kiss. Shang Nan looked at Yu Zhibai's face, both expectant and afraid.

Yu Zhibai looked at Shang Nan. Shang Nan had a pair of eyes that were clearly vibrant but appeared gentle on his face, so soft that they even revealed a faint divinity.

It cupped Shang Nan's face almost devoutly, bent down, and imprinted an extremely gentle kiss on the center of Shang Nan's brows.

Pain assaulted every part of his body—fingertips, hair strands, every pore. Shang Nan didn't know if others felt this way too. Outside, the thunder rumbled, as if splitting Shang Nan open right there. Within the pain, there was also a satisfying pleasure, like nirvana.

The temperature in the room began to rise. Chaotic breathing was restrained and suppressed. A layer of hazy white mist covered the window glass; when it accumulated to a certain extent, water droplets rolled down one by one from the top.

The hair on Shang Nan's forehead was wet with sweat. He was so tired that even turning his head felt strenuous. The soft pillow had long been pulled away by Yu Zhibai and placed elsewhere. Shang Nan turned his face and saw two Little Paper Persons desperately holding down his wrists.

"..." No wonder he felt like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered; it turned out the paper thing had so many helpers.

"Get lost." His voice was terribly hoarse.

As soon as his voice fell, his mouth was covered. The Paper Person without eyeballs had crimson lips, "Nannan, be good." Its voice was surprisingly excessively hoarse too.

Shang Nan didn't know how the night passed. He only knew that when he opened his eyes again, it was bright daylight outside, and he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand; lifting the blanket was difficult.

"What time is it?" He thought Yu Zhibai was in the room.

Hearing no response for a long time, he realized Yu Zhibai wasn't there. However, the blanket was gently propped up by someone—it was the Little Paper Persons, quite a few of them. They lifted the blanket and held Shang Nan's phone for him to see.

Two o'clock in the afternoon!

Shang Nan struggled to get up, hissing in pain with every movement. Left with no choice, he asked 14 for help.

[14: You should have said so earlier. Five hundred thousand points.]

With this, Shang Nan now owed 14 one million points.

But his body indeed felt much more comfortable, at least not affecting dressing, washing up, and walking anymore.

In the bathroom, Shang Nan saw that the butterfly-shaped scar on his collarbone had become vivid in color again and guessed that Yu Zhibai must have bitten it thoroughly again.

Being bitten by Zhang Gou was out of necessity. Yu Zhibai loathed even Zhang Gou, so much so that he had to bite it over again.

Shang Nan brushed his teeth and washed his face expressionlessly. In the kitchen, Yu Zhibai was making porridge. He had searched online; Shang Nan in this state needed to drink porridge.

Seeing Shang Nan come out, Yu Zhibai served the porridge and also made two small side dishes. He told Shang Nan to eat and went towards the bedroom himself.

Shang Nan held the spoon, "What are you going to do?"

"Oh," Yu Zhibai replied, "I'm going to eat those few."

Shang Nan: "..."

Yu Zhibai came out of the room very quickly. Shang Nan had no appetite; his throat hurt, and swallowing was uncomfortable. He only ate a few mouthfuls before speaking to Yu Zhibai, "Let's go pick up Grandma for the New Year in a few days. It's almost New Year's Eve."

"Okay." He looked at Shang Nan with faint, dark eyes and naturally swallowed his saliva.