This Damned Thirst for Survival

Wen Renlian’s smile is gentle but not overly warm, and even when he asks such questions, it doesn’t raise any ill feelings.

If Kuang Zheng is a mountain and Ge Zhu is a breeze, then Wen Renlian is a cunning fox. Rather than start with divination and fortune-telling, as Zhuo Zhongqiu does, he puts his curiosity out in the open and asks a question that is both easy to answer and not so easy to answer.

Jiang Luo certainly did not have sex with Chi You.

There is really only one answer to this question, and Wen Renlian himself knows it. For in the story told by Lu Youyi and Ye Xun, Jiang Luo realises that he is in love with Chi You only after Chi You has died.

How could Jiang Luo have slept with Chi You when Chi You was alive?

But ……

Jiang Luo rests his chin and turns his head to look out of the window.

The morning sunlight slants through the glass window, a peaceful and calm moment in time. A tiny sparrow suddenly flies outside the window, landing gently on the edge of the window next to Jiang Luo, its dark beady eyes looking at Jiang Luo quietly.

Jiang Luo stroked the little sparrow with his hand and looked at the golden ruiqi in mid-air. Under such a feng shui place, a ghost like Chi You could not appear in any way.

So he boldly said, “No.”

Wen Renlian arched his eyes, unsurprised, and was about to say something when Jiang Luo said, “But last night, I experienced a ghostly pressure on my bed.”

The sparrow in the window stares at Jiang Luo with a single movement.

On Jiang Luo’s lush face, two shades of peach blossom gradually emerge. The inorganic eyes of the sparrow reflect his face, and even Jiang Luo’s lightly drooping eyelashes are reflected in his eyes.

Jiang Luo’s red face, however, brings a sense of foreboding to those around him.

As expected, Jiang Luo coughed uncomfortably, “I had an erotic dream.”

Wen Renlian’s eyes widened slightly in dismay.

Because Chi You is the subject in The Evil Dead, Jiang Luo naturally assumes the role of the subject. Even though his face is even more flamboyant than Chi You’s, it doesn’t affect his confidence.

Jiang Luo seemed a little shy and raised his hands to cover his face, his dark hair hiding his palms and his face from the sides as he said slowly, “In the dream, he was very active.”

Jiang Luo stifles a laugh and, in a sweet voice, continues to talk about Chi You’s physical features as noted in the book, “I realised that he had three tiny connected moles on his waist and stomach.”

Since their last encounter, Jiang Luo and Chi You have been completely torn apart.

Chi You wants to kill him when he’s not interested, but even more so when he is interested.

He is now gloating and adding fuel to the fire, taking his revenge for the last time he was choked.

“I wonder if he’ll get hurt,” Jiang Luo said worriedly as she lowered her hand, her downcast eyes on the verge of tears of sorrow, “He’s always been like that …… doing everything with the sole intention of making me happy, never thinking of himself.”

The man beside him: “Hiss-”

A whole lot of breath was drawn backwards.

They were closer to Chi You than Jiang Luo, and a few of the boys, who had also seen Chi You in the hot spring pool at the back of the school, naturally knew of a bizarre three-dotted mole feature on Chi You’s body.

In their eyes, the meaning of moles is not trivial, but they cannot understand the meaning of the three moles in Chi You.

However, the fact that Jiang Luo was able to give such a cryptic characterisation of Chi You is testament to the truth of his words.

The faces of the group turned odd.

They all sounded as if Jiang Luo was the one to take over.

Jiang Luo choreographs Chi You with great pleasure, the corners of his mouth surreptitiously raised, and Yu Guang glances at it, only to meet the eyes of the little sparrow standing on the window casket.

Jiang Luo was about to withdraw his hand when the sparrow suddenly pecked his finger and flew away on its wings.

Jiang Luo lifted his hand to see that there was only a dot-like red mark on his finger, and a small droplet of blood the size of a grain of rice gushing out.

He pulled out a piece of paper to wipe away the blood, looked steadily at the wound for half a minute and said, “The little bird here is so mean.”

“Ghost pressed bed, spring dream ……” Wen Renlian slowly sat up, “It’s really out of my expectation.”

After sighing for a while, Wen Renlian smiled and said, ” Jiang Luo , are you staying at school tonight?”

Jiang Luo nodded his head.

Students in their major actually had to live at the school, but the original owner resented the simplicity of school life, and because everyone in her class had to be better than she was, she left early and came late to not take the school rules to heart, relying on her family background.

But even Zhuo Zhongqiu, the eldest daughter of the Zhuo family, stays at the school and never leaves the school unless on a mission. It’s not because of the rules, but because they don’t want to leave this feng shui place.

Who would want to leave when there is an opportunity to take advantage of the convergence of vital energy and spiritual energy, which vaguely forms the effect of a dragon vein?

The original owner was the only one who thought he was a great fool and secretly despised Zhuo Zhongqiu, the daughter of the Zhuo family.

Jiang Luo hadn’t lived at the school for a long time and his dormitory had long since become a utility room. Wen Renlian explained, “I’ve put you in Chi You’s room for the time being, do you mind?”

This is only another trial.

If Jiang Luo had told a lie, or if Jiang Luo had killed Chi You, he would have been so scared and uncomfortable living in the dead man’s room that he would have preferred not to live at the school rather than go there. But Jiang Luo was grateful: “I’ve wanted to visit his dormitory for a long time.”

The school dormitory is at the back of the school building and the eight people in this one class take up a large area. Along the way, Jiang Luo sees a training ground, a meditation room, a music classroom, a swimming pool, a hot tub and various sports fields.

Jiang Luo : ……

Is this the “humble” student life that the original owner remembers?

Chi You’s room is bigger than the students’ – after all, Chi You is a teacher – and Jiang Luo pushed the door in and thought it was a bit too big.

He estimated that it was about 180 square feet, and that it would be absolutely empty with only one person living in it. Jiang Luo went through all the rooms, accompanied by Lu Youyi and Ye Xun, fearing that he might be overwhelmed by the situation.

Ye Xun said, “If you don’t want to stay here, you can stay with us.”

Jiang Luo asks, “How big is your room?”

Lu Youyi thought for a moment and said uncertainly, “Fifty square feet?”

Jiang Luo said instantly, “No, I’ll stay here.”

“Staying here is fine,” Ye Xun said lightly, “but you’d better not get your hopes up that Chi You will show up to see you, this is a school, no evil spirits can come or go, you won’t see Chi You even if you stay here.”

Jiang Luo looked as if his mind had been guessed, and his face turned abruptly pale.

Ye Xun looked as if that was the case, “We’ll have your previous dormitory cleared out in a couple of days, so you’ll only be able to stay here for one night. Jiang Luo , people and ghosts are different, it’s time for you to come to your senses.”

Jiang Luo sits on the sofa, his head buried and shoulders shaking.

Ge Zhu shook his head, sighed, and led the way out, leaving the pair of bitter lovers with some space to settle down.

Wen Renlian walked last and was about to close the door when he heard Jiang Luo whisper, “Wen Ren, can I have a packet of cigarettes?”

Wen Renlian froze and then smiled as he turned back to the sofa and elegantly pulled a packet of ladies’ cigarettes from his pouch and placed it on the table, taking out a delicate lighter with a rose thorn engraved on it and setting it aside, “Smell the smoke on me?”

Jiang Luo gave a “hmm”.

Wen Renlian smiled again and turned around with his shawl, ” Jiang Luo, smoke a little less.”

The sound of high heels faded away and the door was closed.

When he was sure everyone had gone, Jiang Luo lazily lifted his head and leaned back on the sofa. He kicks off his shoes, stands up and goes to the bedroom and opens Chi You’s wardrobe.

Chi You has only been dead for a few days and the room is still clean everywhere. Chi You’s clothes were all formal and surprisingly there was nothing casual about them. He found a new, slightly larger shirt, put a song on his phone and went into the bathroom humming a tune.

Half an hour later, Jiang Luo emerges from the bathroom with water dripping from his head.

He walked barefoot to the fridge, retrieved a cold beer from it, washed another glass, walked to the table and popped the cap with his teeth.

Jiang Luo is in a good mood, drops of water from the ends of his hair being sucked into the grey towel resting on his neck. The shirt he is wearing is wide and covers the base of his thighs.

Jiang Luo sighed tersely and took a cigarette out of his packet with his glass, lighting it sideways as he walked slowly out onto the balcony.

The midday sun is bright and the breeze is pleasant on his freshly showered body as Jiang Luo props himself up against the railings and exhales a pleasant puff of smoke.

The hem of his coat is blown up by the wind and quickly falls back down. A sparrow flies lightly to the tip of a tree not far away and looks down at Jiang Luo on the balcony.

Jiang Luo’s damp black hair is quickly dried by the sun. His black hair is dishevelled by the wind, and his two long legs are long and straight, spreading out wide. He sucked on one and quietly admired the view from the school.

The sparrow saw the scene clearly, its pupils were lightless and empty, at first glance, as if it were a dead bird.

Jiang Luo can’t help but feel better when he looks at the view, and after an afternoon of watching the scenery, he was almost relaxed enough to go back to his room to catch up on his sleep.

The air at the college was extremely fresh and Jiang Luo did not take long to drift off to sleep.

The night is getting darker.

The sparrow in the tree spreads its wings and lands on the balcony, it enters the bedroom, flaps its wings and leaps onto the bed.

Sparrow spits out a drop of blood from his mouth at Jiang Luo’s brow.

The dark blood glowed with an unsettling light and Jiang Luo’s brow furrowed as he was pulled into a deeper sleep.

……

Jiang Luo felt drenched in sweat.

Breathing became heavy and difficult, the body felt like it was on fire, and a burning smell gradually reached the tip of my nose.

Inhale and exhale.

Mentally, he gradually became lucid, but physically he felt like a mountain was crushed under him, unable to move a single inch.

Fuck.

Ghost pressed bed.

Jiang Luo struggled to open his eyes when someone suddenly laughed in his ears, and the sound of this laughter made the heaviness that weighed on him disappear instantly, and he opened his eyes violently.

The fire that filled the room was instantly reflected in the eye.

The room was on fire and the bed he was in was the worst hit.

Jiang Luo was startled and made a conscious effort to get up, but the next moment he was violently yanked back onto the bed. He looked at his body and saw two chains firmly locked around his wrists at his hands.

Jiang Luo looks up with a grimace to the other side.

Next to the desk sits a tall figure. The man was elegantly holding a book, with a gentle, hypocritical smile on his lips, just like a noble, gentlemanly upper-class man. He was dressed in a smart, slim black suit and polished leather shoes, as if he had just returned from a dinner party and was a sought-after presence in the room.

He felt Jiang Luo’s gaze and smiled as he placed the book in his lap, his slender hands resting gently on the cover as he turned towards Jiang Luo and said, “Good evening.”

This is Chi You.

Jiang Luo looks at him gloomily.

The corner was dark, and it was as if the only centre of the room was surrounded by majestic flames. Jiang Luo could never believe that Chi You, whose soul had been shattered, could now appear to him in this form, nor could he believe that Chi You could enter the school openly.

He did his best to avoid the heat and to calm his brain quickly. He soon realised that something was wrong; the desk was clearly on the right side tomorrow, but now it was on the left. He struggled to look up at the window, the weather outside was eerie, like a netherworld of horror, and the locking handle on the window was surprisingly left-hand opening.

Everything was the opposite of reality, and Jiang Luo’s expression gradually calmed down as he looked at the figure at the desk and said with a smirk, “Is this in the mirror or in the dream?”

Without waiting for Chi You to say anything, he said to himself, “I think it’s in a dream, you don’t have the skills to pull me into a mirror at school right now.”

“Right, Chi You?”

Chi You smiled and placed the book on his lap on the table – the words on the book were also reversed.

The sound of leather shoes combined with the sound of the fire was a twisted and insane cadence. Chi You walks slowly to the bed, the light of the fire, which is already reaching the bed, shining on his handsome face, cutting it into bright, dark, distorted patches of colour. Chi You laughed softly and poked a hand out of the darkness.

His hand is clearly not touching Jiang Luo, but it is as if Jiang Luo is being held by an invisible hand around his neck. He was forced to raise his head like a dying swan, his hair sliding down the back of his spine.

“As a crush, lover, who likes you to death and wants to take you away,” the figure standing at the end of the bed spoke in increasingly pleasant tones, fresh and full of interest as if he had found a fun toy, but only sent chills down his spine, “of course I’m going to grant your heart’s desire. ”

He walked gently, rhythmically and slowly around the bed, the sound of his leather shoes like a solitary countdown.

The invisible hand around his neck disappears and Jiang Luo slams heavily onto the bed. He breathes heavily as a hand reaches over his head and picks up a strand of his black hair.

Jiang Luo looked up and Chi You’s face looked like a demon in the firelight as he chuckled, “A ghost on the bed?”

As soon as Chi You’s words left his lips, Jiang Luo felt a heavy pressure and the fire burst into the sky, reaching the spot where he was lying.

Jiang Luo’s nostrils were filled with the suffocating smell of smoke and burning, he heard his hair burning and felt the excruciating pain from his limbs to his whole body.

He couldn’t move a muscle, and the only thing he could move was his eyes. The intense pain of the fire was like being in hell, and Jiang Luo’s teeth were clenched as he stared at Chi You at the foot of the bed.

Chi You looked at him with a smile, but the coldness beneath it was as cold as ice, the shadows covering him, the lower jaw in the firelight and the mercilessly curved corners of his mouth, chilling.

Jiang Luo was burnt alive.

After the sharp pain, he opened his eyes once more.

Still eerie rooms, still dreams that are the opposite of reality.

Jiang Luo rolls out of bed with an expressionless face. He walks briskly to the fridge, takes a bottle of beer from it and slams it hard on the corner of the table, then searches the whole house for someone with the half-tipped beer bottle.

Going from room to room until he reached the bathroom, he was pinned down in the bath directly behind him by a man who suddenly appeared.

The bathtub, which had just been empty, was now overflowing with water, cold and biting, and Jiang Luo was buried in it with a heavy hand.

“Are you looking for me?” Chi You’s elegant voice sounded over the water and he smiled, repeating what Jiang Luo had once said in the morning, “That won’t do, after all, in the dream, it was me who took the initiative.”

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