Chapter 137: The Alter Ego Says He Loves Me (26)
Xiao Ji glanced at Lin Chuan, then looked at Xiao Yinnian.
“Perhaps we didn’t go out to find a ‘toy,’ but rather, the ‘toy’ has returned.”
Xiao Yinnian didn’t understand for a moment. “What do you mean?”
Xiao Ji remained silent.
After a long time, Lin Chuan finally lowered his head and whispered, “Yin-ge, I am also a ‘toy’.”
Xiao Yinnian remembered the little girl saying last night, “As long as you’re dead, you’re all my toys.”
He also remembered Su Wan saying earlier, “The items in your rooms were lost, so you wanted to slaughter me and use my corpse as a protective talisman!”
He looked at Lin Chuan, stunned on the spot.
Lin Chuan looked at the expression on Xiao Yinnian’s face, raised a hand to touch his own neck, and said guiltily, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep it from you, Yin-ge.”
Xiao Yinnian couldn’t describe what he was feeling. Normally, hearing such words would make one’s skin crawl.
A dead person had been inseparable from him for so many days, and they had even slept in the same bed at night.
But Xiao Yinnian didn’t find it scary. He just couldn’t wrap his head around it and didn’t know where to start asking.
He wiped his face, paced back and forth in the room twice, and then stood back in front of Lin Chuan. “When did it happen?”
Lin Chuan picked at his fingers. “I’m not very smart, and my physical strength is average. Actually, the nursing home was the third mission I went through, but I repeated it five times because I couldn’t get out…”
Xiao Yinnian’s brows were knit into a deep “川” (chuan) shape. “Were you harmed by someone? Or did you fail to beat an NPC?”
“I guess I failed to beat the NPCs. Actually, I almost cleared it the first time, but just like the last time, at the very end in the basement, I couldn’t outrun the people who broke through the iron cages. I was submerged.”
Lin Chuan answered, “I didn’t say anything at first because I thought I still wouldn’t be able to leave and would be trapped inside forever. Seeing you guys escape successfully would have meant my meeting you wasn’t in vain.”
“But I didn’t expect Ji-ge would take me with him at the end and actually pull me out of the nursing home.”
After speaking, he looked at Xiao Yinnian. “Yin-ge, I don’t have any bad intentions. I just thought that maybe you guys would have a way to take me out. Being trapped in the same ghostly place day after day… even if I’m already dead, I’m not resigned to it.”
Xiao Yinnian looked into Lin Chuan’s eyes as if he had suddenly thought of something. “Six months ago, my direct superior suddenly had an urgent matter at home and didn’t come to the company for half a month. Was that because of you?”
Lin Chuan scratched his head. “Yeah. I was raised by my young uncle. When I died, he was devastated.”
Xiao Yinnian had many questions. After accepting the fact that Lin Chuan had been dead for a long time, he quickly organized his thoughts and asked, “How did you contact me when you returned to the real world? What about others? Can you maintain contact with them too?”
Lin Chuan shook his head. “I can’t figure that out either. My young uncle can’t see me; I can only contact you.”
“When you signed the mission contract, what item did you choose as a medium? Can you let me see it?”
Xiao Ji, who had been silent, suddenly spoke to Lin Chuan.
Initially, after they signed the contract at [Desire], they had chosen that jade tablet in the shop as a medium to successfully link with the mission world.
This should be the case for everyone.
Hearing this, Lin Chuan pulled a wooden hairpin from his robes.
Carved upon the wooden hairpin was a lifelike image of a phoenix in flight.
He handed the hairpin to Xiao Ji. “I saw this hairpin at first glance back then. I don’t know why, but it felt very familiar.”
Xiao Ji understood instantly.
This was a token of love between him and Xiao Yinnian in the past.
Perhaps because the connection between the jade pendant on Xiao Yinnian’s neck and this hairpin was too deep—or perhaps these two items themselves shared some kind of link—it had allowed Lin Chuan to successfully establish a special connection with Xiao Yinnian.
Xiao Yinnian looked at the expression on Xiao Ji’s face. “Is there something special about it?”
Xiao Ji nodded and said to Xiao Yinnian, “This hairpin and your jade pendant are a pair.”
Xiao Yinnian snatched the hairpin, brought it close to his eyes, and inspected it meticulously. Then he pulled out the jade pendant hanging from his neck and compared the two for a long time.
Frowning, he said, “Are you tricking me? How can these two be a pair? The craftsmanship is clearly not by the same hand.”
Xiao Ji reached out, snatched the hairpin back, and returned it to Lin Chuan with a stern face. “Then don’t worry about it.”
After that, he said to Lin Chuan, “Keep the item safe. When this is over, I want to reclaim it.”
Lin Chuan didn’t understand why but simply nodded. “Okay.”
Xiao Ji told Xiao Yinnian not to worry about it, and Xiao Yinnian didn’t ask further how Xiao Ji knew there was a connection between the two items.
He only asked Lin Chuan, “Why did you enter in the first place? What wish did you make? Is it convenient to say?”
Lin Chuan gave a “hai” sound. “It’s actually quite laughable. I didn’t have any serious wishes. It was just… how do I put it? I was young, ignorant, and rebellious.”
“In the end, it was because of fate.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yinnian knew he didn’t really want to talk about it and didn’t force him. He just patted his shoulder. “Then it was destined for you to meet me.”
Lin Chuan chuckled. “Exactly. I was always so cautious before, afraid you’d find out and wouldn’t be able to accept it. Now, I can let loose and help you.”
If things were as Xiao Ji said—that the mistress’s sister was wary of the little girl, and all dead things were categorized as the girl’s toys—then by bringing Lin Chuan along, they almost wouldn’t have to worry about the mistress’s sister posing any threat to them.
Moreover, with Lin Chuan’s status, investigating things in this kind of mission world would inevitably be much easier than for them.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yinnian couldn’t help but feel a bit excited. “With you and A-Ji, aren’t we truly invincible?”
But Xiao Ji poured cold water on Xiao Yinnian’s head. “The mistress’s sister is still wary of the little girl, which shows that ghosts also suppress each other. Lin Chuan isn’t an invincible existence; he’s just more easily ignored by NPCs.”
Lin Chuan said, “That’s enough. Although I’m also restricted by the rules, at least I won’t truly die. At worst, they kill me, and I’ll still be resurrected.”
No one would want to die and come back to life repeatedly.
Xiao Ji glanced at Lin Chuan. “When it’s not necessary, you should still try to see yourself as a human.”
Lin Chuan was speechless and shut up.
Originally, based on the current situation, every room had a dead object, so at least tonight there shouldn’t have been any more trouble.
But unexpectedly, before they could finish their conversation, something happened in the courtyard again.
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