The other party wore a voice changer, and the sharp sound echoed in the alley. Lin Lan’s jaw was forcefully pinched, and he finally saw the “face” of the other person.
He wore a clown mask on his face, grinning strangely at him. The school uniform on his body was wide and oversized, altered beyond recognition. The loose tie hung down, giving him a violent and thuggish appearance.
Through his shoulders, one could see various men and women behind him. Each of them wore masks, resembling a group of demons and monsters. Laughter emanated from the voice changer, mingling together in an earsplitting and uncomfortable manner.
What kind of people are they…
Lin Lan winced in pain, all of this happening while he was detached from his senses as a bystander. It was difficult to imagine how much pain the previous “Lin Lan” had endured.
He tried hard to focus, observing every detail. The clown man in front of him looked thin, with a square necklace around his neck, a luxury brand from abroad.
The other person extended a cold hand and forcefully slapped his face. The fingers had a delicate, feminine bone structure, and the index finger wore an extravagant ring with a square white diamond, rebellious and wanton in the dark night.
“Lin Lan, my patience is limited,” even through the mask, one could feel the disdain of the clown man towards the original owner. He released his hand and immediately wiped it with a handkerchief, “How long are you going to pretend?”
The original owner trembled in fear, shaking all over. “I-I really don’t know… please, please spare me…”
“Tsk, you’re like a dog now. You’ve exhausted all my patience.” The clown man stood up, callously discarding the handkerchief. “Press him against the wall.”
The group of demons and monsters, as if receiving some kind of reprieve, hastily pulled Lin Lan up from the ground and forcefully pressed him against the cold wall.
Clothes were torn from behind, and when the original owner tried to resist, he received a harsh kick to the back of his leg. Trembling, he knelt in a humiliating posture, praying to the wall as if to a deity.
“Please, I beg you…”
The clown man behind him chuckled, his voice sounding eerie through the voice changer. “It’s a good time to try my new thing.”
The spine seemed to have a poisonous scorpion crawling on it. Hands and feet were forcefully held down, and like a fish on a chopping board, a sharp sound rang out. A massive electric shock spread from the spine, and Lin Lan was on the verge of fainting from the intense pain.
His body was thrown on the ground like a rag, clothes disheveled, and various eerie sounds filled the air, even though Lin Lan, even if not in his own person, felt a tremendous sense of humiliation.
Damn these bastards.
Damn, is there no justice left…
Suddenly, the surroundings became quiet, and the person beside him suddenly let go, standing up and scolding, “Hey, who are you? What are you doing here? Get out quickly.”
The original owner struggled to lift his head. In the pitch-black alley, there was a light source. A neatly dressed teenager stood at the intersection, holding thick books. Backlit, he stood like he had just come out of the study room.
This figure was Xiao Shengjing from his school days.
He was tall, wearing a school uniform and a white shirt, with the unique slimness of a youth, like a willow standing at the intersection.
Lin Lan could feel the original owner’s heartbeat. He also recognized this person as his secret crush, desperately reaching out for help.
“Hey,” someone warned him fiercely, “don’t meddle in other people’s business.”
Xiao Shengjing stood backlit, and Lin Lan couldn’t see his expression. He only saw him slowly retreating and disappearing completely from the intersection.
The heart instantly shattered, painful to the point of convulsions. The hand seeking help was ruthlessly stepped on, caught in endless torment once again.
Lin Lan couldn’t describe that feeling, as if all hope had been extinguished, falling into the abyss of despair, and the pain in his heart hadn’t even caught up with the physical agony.
Lin Lan could understand the original owner’s feelings. Being abandoned without hesitation by the person he liked felt like the whole world was collapsing.
But he could also understand Xiao Shengjing’s decision. Faced with such a group of demons and monsters, anyone would step back, right? Even if he had arrived, he would have left first and figured out another way later.
The torment endured for who knew how long, and then a siren sounded in the alley. The clown man hesitated, waving his hand to signal everyone to leave.
“Ting—” The weapon that stabbed his spine fell to the ground. It was a personally customized stiletto, filled with densely packed spikes.
The spikes on it were very regular, like some kind of seal, coincidentally overlapping with the wound on his back. In a trance, the world spun, and consciousness was pulled back to the real world.
The senses returned, and Lin Lan’s first reaction was to feel nauseous. The pain in his body still flowed between the nerves, taking a long time to recover.
From the recent memories, Lin Lan could roughly confirm some information. The person who led the bullying seemed to be either wealthy or influential, wanting to know something from him. However, “Lin Lan” genuinely didn’t know, so he could only endure the torment.
The most important point, Xiao Shengjing probably didn’t abandon him to die back then; the siren sound must be related to him.
Struggling, Lin Lan sat on a chair, looking at himself in the mirror, pale-faced and covered in cold sweat.
No wonder “Lin Lan” suffered from such severe anxiety disorder. Under such bullying, it was a miracle that he didn’t collapse.
Suddenly, Lin Lan thought of something and aimed at the mirror again.
The scar on his back had almost healed, but the shape was still visible. Like a tattoo, the sharp tool left an indelible mark on him, carrying a strange sense of beauty.
What does this mark mean exactly? Lin Lan drew it down and searched the internet but found nothing.
However, one thing Xiao Shengjing should not have lied about, he indeed did not abandon him to die. He saved “Lin Lan,” which could be considered indirectly saving himself. Otherwise, he should still be lying in bed as a vegetable.
Lin Lan let go of his guard against him, his mind murky. Thinking about tomorrow’s competition, he reluctantly gathered the energy to take a shower and went to bed.
In the latter half of the dream, he returned to the pale hospital bed. In the haze, he saw Xiao Shengjing standing motionless by the window. He had been guarding him, the vegetable version of himself, never leaving.
Xiao Shengjing in both worlds was a good person. They were cultured, responsible, and had moral principles, worthy of trust.
Lin Lan tried to move his fingers. It was difficult at first, but it seemed to move a bit later. However, Xiao Shengjing, with his back to the hospital bed, didn’t see it.
“Lin Lan…”
“Wake up, Lin Lan…”
White light exploded in his mind. Lu Shi was shaking him, “Damn, Lin Lan, who sleeps so soundly? There’s a match today, wake up.”
Looking at the time, Lin Lan was relieved. Before going to sleep yesterday, to prevent himself from oversleeping, he specifically told Lu Shi to wake him up.
After getting up and tidying himself, he found that his hair had grown a bit long. He asked Lu Shi, “Is there a cheap barber shop nearby?”
“The barber shops downstairs are all expensive. If you don’t mind, you can let Ayu help you cut it. Mine was cut by him.”
Looking at Lu Shi’s plain hairstyle and ordinary face, like a silly young man, Lin Lan replied, “No, thanks.”
He still cared about his hairstyle.
Coach Zhang gathered the team briefly, gave some instructions, and let everyone pack up and get ready to go. This match was a promotion match, with a BO51Best of 5. The first team to win 3 games, wins. format. As long as they could defeat the opponents, they would secure an LPL spot, and the opponents would enter the pending zone.
Their opponents this time were the second-to-last team in LPL. Despite the ranking, no LPL team was easy to deal with. In the past, almost all LDL promotion matches ended in complete defeat.
So, even though their morale was high, everyone understood that the gap between DT and LPL’s second-to-last team was significant.
However, Coach Zhang had a saying, “We have nothing to lose. Just face them head-on. Treat this as the last game, don’t leave any regrets.”
The team’s spirits instantly soared, everyone mobilized, and Lin Lan also smiled, infected by their emotions.
Ayu and Xiao Hai sat in front of Lin Lan. Xiao Hai’s hand had almost completely healed, and the scars were also about to disappear. The two were chatting together, discussing trivial matters and things about their families. Suddenly, Ayu said, “My eyelid twitched a lot today.”
“Which eye?”
“The right one.”
“It’s okay, probably just too much stress and lack of sleep. By the way, did you call your grandma? She still didn’t answer?”
“Yeah, maybe she went out. I called Sister Song and asked her to check for me.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Lan couldn’t help but glance at Ayu. He remembered there were superstitions about eyelid twitches. Checking online, it was not yet eleven o’clock, belonging to the time of the snake, and if the right eyelid twitches during this time, one should be cautious about accidents and the safety of family members.
The bus suddenly made an emergency stop, causing a sense of panic among the passengers.
Lin Lan covered his chest, feeling inexplicably uneasy.
Author’s note:
The next chapter will be behind the paywall. Nightly updates at 00:00, every Saturday at 18:00 without unexpected changes. If there are no updates, an announcement will be made in advance. For the first three days after entering the paywall, a small red packet will be sent to those who left reviews (because I like lively scenes)~
As for the arrangements after entering the paywall, don’t worry. Lin Lan has decision-making power in the team, and all necessary changes will be made. As for the rest, it can’t be revealed anymore. Overall, it will be a pleasant journey from start to finish~
