IWBL: Chapter 207

The back of the peeper visibly stiffened. This action caused half his head to pop out of the trash can. He first hesitated whether to turn his head to the left or the right. Finally, he chose the left side that felt like a human palm.

However, when the peeper looked at Xiao Li’s palm, the hair belonging to the doll bent and knocked on his right shoulder in a dissatisfied manner. The peeper froze for a moment, recalling the fear of being dominated by the hair. He subconsciously stopped his movement and turned to look to the right.

Then Xiao Li laughed and squeezed his shoulder lazily. Both the left and right sides applied pressure at the same time. The peeper didn’t know what to do. After a difficult choice, he chose the direction of the human palm. He saw a strange yet familiar face. The young man raised his chin and casually asked, “What are you doing here?”

He asked a question but there was no emotion like curiosity in his eyes.

The peeper in the trash can had messy hair and was of a short stature. This was why he could forcibly squeeze himself into the trash can. He was wearing a school uniform with no zipper and his feet were in the trash can. It was Xu Jiaheng.

Xu Jiaheng glanced at Xiao Li and then the hair on his right shoulder. He followed the hair all the way down to Xiao Li’s pocket. The impact of this strand of hair made him forget what he wanted to say in the beginning. He stammered, “T-This hair belongs to you?”

Xu Jiaheng tried to stand up as he spoke. This caused his forehead to hit the hanging beam above the trash can, making a muffled noise.

Xiao Li didn’t blink. “…Oh, this is my assistant.”

“The time at my window was actually—” Xu Jiaheng clutched his forehead as he twisted out of the trash can.

Xiao Li interrupted him. “What are you doing in the trash can?”

Xu Jiaheng, “……”

Xiao Li patiently led the topic back and repeated his question.

Then Xu Jiaheng replied in a daze, “Picking up trash?”

“Then why hide and look across the street? Are you playing hide and seek by yourself?”

He paused before continuing, “In addition, even if you are picking up trash, didn’t you mother teach you not to squat in the trash can to pick up trash?”

A strange confusion appeared on Xu Jiaheng’s face. “…I just wanted to see if you were attacked and your means of resisting the attack.”

Xiao Li asked, “Why not take the initiative to go over?”

Xu Jiaheng lowered his head. This time, some time passed before he slowly raised his head. “It is because I like this… looking at you.”

Xiao Li was surprised. “You like trash cans? A child’s preferences are really special and strange!”

Xu Jiaheng, “……”

Couldn’t he f*king get over the trash can?! Xiao Li finished talking and glanced at the reincarnators across the street. Then he walked toward them.

He had taken two steps when he saw that Xu Jiaheng didn’t follow. Xu Jiaheng even showed signs of running away. Xiao Li turned his head to look at the boy. “Don’t you want to see if they are attacked at close range?”

He emphasized the words ‘close range.’

Xu Jiaheng shook his head like a rattle. “I’m going back.”

“Where are you going back to?” Xiao Li asked with interest. “Your mother’s embrace?”

“You know I won’t go back there. She is terrible.” Xu Jiaheng trembled at the mention of his mother and a piece of chewing gum fell from his rolled-up pants. “I am living in the house of my deskmate.”

The doll picked up the chewing gum with her hair and threw it back into the trash can.

Xiao Li wondered, “Have you realized that you are the same as your mother now?”

Xu Jiaheng didn’t seem to understand Xiao Li’s words. “How can that be? No.”’

He started to step back while keeping an eye on Xiao Li. He disappeared at the end of the road in the blink of an eye. Xiao Li didn’t stop him. At the same time, on the opposite side of the road, the reincarnators leaning against the wall no longer felt the thorny gaze on them. Perhaps it was because Xu Jiaheng had left.

“The feeling is gone.” Jin Handong spoke first.

The moment she finished speaking, Bruce instinctively wanted to open his eyes. However, he restrained himself before the impulse turned into action. “I feel the same way.”

“Wait a minute in case of a trap.” Wen Wenwen still had his eyes tightly closed. Then he wondered, “Did you hear anything?”

“The wind?”

“No, it was like something hitting the wall or a tree branch. It was a type of muffled noise.” Jin Handong had also heard it and she tried to guess the source of the sound. “Maybe the wind blew something against the wall.”

A familiar voice filled with a bit of mockery interjected at this moment. “It is the sound of a head bumping into a trash can.”

Jin Handong, “……”

Bruce, “……”

Sherlock was here so Wen Wenwen was finally able to open his eyes with confidence. He adjusted to the light and said, “What did you just say? The wind was too strong and I didn’t hear it clearly.”

The combination of ‘head’ and ‘bump’ wasn’t unusual. The strange thing was ‘trash can.’ How could a head bump into the trash can?

“The person who spied on you squeezed himself into the trash can opposite you.” Wen Wenwen reminded him a bit of Zheng Yi. Xiao Li was really patient with this type of companion and explained it to him. “I happened to come over and saw that you were all here with your eyes closed. Therefore, I looked for it and found it.”

Wen Wenwen simulated the scene in his mind and squeezed out a sentence. “…It is true that people will always look at people.

“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?” Kesia spoke in awkward Chinese after Wen Wenwen.

Wen Wenwen gave her a look that said ‘you used it in the right place.’ China really had a long history.

“Sherlock, did you see the person peeping at us?” Jin Handong grabbed the key point. “Do we know them?”

Xiao Li replied, “Xu Jiaheng.”

“It is him…” Bruce blurted out.

“How should I say it? I have a feeling of ‘it really is him’ and ‘it turned out to be him.’” Wen Wenwen recalled what happened after meeting Xu Jiaheng and couldn’t help regretting it. “If I knew then I would’ve insisted on being more prudent and not brought him back.”

Compared to him, Kesia was more free and easy. She spoke fluently in her mother tongue, “We agreed together in the beginning. In the instance world, there is no need to regret any decision. I thought of this possibility when I agreed but the idea of finding a way to live from him was stronger. This made me willing to take risks.”

Even the dead He Tian had this idea. He had believed in his own items.

She mentioned the path to live and Xiao Li was reminded of something. “Did you find out the screenwriter’s name?”

The rest of them glanced at each other before Wen Wenwen finally came forward. “You have to ask Old Wang about this.”

Wang Huai leaned on the wall. He didn’t look fully awake. He opened his mouth and yawned before explaining, “The other day when I went out, I found it. The answer is that there is no screenwriter. The movie was created out of thin air. There is no script, no director and the staff weren’t willing to tell me anything else.”

Wen Wenwen inquired, “How do you know that person was telling you the truth?”

“I used Veritaserum.”

Xiao Li raised his hand and asked like he didn’t understand. “…Veritaserum?”

Wang Huai glanced at him and remembered the time when he partnered with Shimizu and the things Shimizu told him about Sherlock. “I didn’t think that you really don’t use items…”

Old Wang and Sherlock were basically two different extremes. Wang Huai didn’t have much but he had the most items, just like Doraemon. After all, he was the man who robbed the treasure island.

“It is a type of item that can make people or little ghosts tell the truth.” Wang Huai explained. “I call it, Veritaserum.”

Perhaps sleepiness was really contagious. Xiao Li also felt a little sleepy. He shook his head and became slightly more awake.

At this time, the door of the shop next to the reincarnators opened. There were young men holding a basketball and a pack of cigarettes in their hands. The leader had hair that was dyed red. He drew out a cigarette and lit it. Then he threw the rest of the cigarette pack into the arms of a younger brother. “Let’s go and play.”

“Boss, the court is occupied. It is first come, first play today.” The younger brother caught the pack of cigarettes and said with a smile.

“Damn, I forgot.” The red-haired boss exhaled a thick puff of smoke. “Then find an open space and set up a stand. We can play anywhere.”

“Then the land in the front. No one goes there.”

They passed by the reincarnators. Perhaps it was because he had never seen so many new faces. The red-haired boss stared at Xiao Li and the others for half a minute. He saw their large number and decided not to speak. He turned and walked away. The strange thing was that as they left, the fog in Styland became thicker.

Wen Wenwen was keenly aware of this. “We should go back immediately. Something isn’t right.”

He thought it was strange that there was no time limit for this task. If they closed their eyes to avoid the peeper then they could easily survive. It had been too long and now it was obvious that once a certain period of time passed, the difficulty of the instance would increase. In the end, it was likely that they wouldn’t be able to see at all in the fog.

Everyone walked back in the direction they came from but the fog was too thick and even carried a thick smell. It was the smell of blood mixed with the smell of mud and it was particularly unpleasant.

It was during the day and dark shadows were moving in the fog. They didn’t know what was mixed in the fog but it was obvious that the situation had escalated further. The humidity of the air increased. Combined with the low visibility, Wen Wenwen tripped from where he was, as he was in the lead. He fell back to the ground in Xiao Li’s direction.

Xiao Li was caught off guard but Shen Chenzhi reached out to pull him away. Wen Wenwen didn’t fall on him and fell directly on the ground. He groaned with pain.

Wen Wenwen’s eyes tearfully complained to Xiao Li about his unsympathetic behaviour. Xiao Li thought about it. “…Do you want  me to hold you?”

Wen Wenwen pulled himself up. “No need.”

Single dogs still had to hurt themselves. Once he went back, he would go on the forum and complain about the love and hatred between the bigshots with the other single dogs.

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