Chapter Nineteen: You Misunderstood
(Gongsun, you’re still awake, aren’t you?)
Shiyu’s telepathic message, for once, carried a rare trace of panic that was plainly audible.
The gray-haired young man immediately set down his pen and replied, (What’s wrong?)
(I’ve encountered a situation I never imagined possible. Honestly, I’m in a state of chaos and, for the moment, have no idea what to do.)
Gongsun Ce stood up, preparing himself for battle. He asked gravely, (Calm down, Shiyu. What exactly happened?)
(Just now, my phone lit up…)
An ability attack using electronic devices as a medium? A power with harsh prerequisites but a troublesome effect? Is he panicking because he’s under mental assault? If even Shiyu can’t find a countermeasure and comes to me for help, then this enemy must be formidable—likely a rival not to be underestimated in either ability or cunning!
(And then?)
(Listen to me, Gongsun. I know this will sound incomprehensible, but you must hear me out to the end.)
Gongsun Ce swallowed nervously.
(Don’t worry, I believe you.)
(I picked up my phone and saw that Cardesia—)
Cardesia? Impossible, that woman got caught up in this too?!
What is the enemy’s aim? Using Cardesia as leverage against Shiyu Lianyi? Or is this some intrigue orchestrated by Qiluo? Shiyu mentioned the phone again—so electronic devices are the vector for this attack?!
To be safe, he immediately powered off his phone and, with telekinesis, shut off the circuit breaker in his room.
Amid the darkness, Gongsun Ce listened tensely to his friend’s plea for help.
(This is so strange, Cardesia, she…)
(Hey, calm down! What happened to her?!)
(It’s… it’s a cat… she…)
What are you hinting at? The esper racked his brains—was it the enemy’s appearance? Or some characteristic of their power?
A superpower that combines cats, electronic devices, and negative emotions… Not good, there’s no telling how the enemy might strike!
Gongsun Ce held his breath and forced himself to think deeper, searching for more clues in his friend’s words.
Shiyu Lianyi’s voice was laced with confusion, bewilderment, hesitation, and a sense of utter incredulity.
(She… sent me a selfie—a cat-eared maid outfit selfie.)
What? A power triggered by a cat-eared maid selfie? What could this possibly—
…
?
?!
The esper snatched up his ballpoint pen and slammed it onto the desk.
(You’re using your powers in the dead of night just to brag about this to a single guy—are you insane?!)
(No, Gongsun, that’s not what I meant.)
(Goodnight, Mister Gongsun is going to sleep now—goodbye!)
·
Two minutes later, having finally regained his composure, the gray-haired young man listened to his friend’s confession, scowling.
(Cardesia has never done anything like this before. At first, I thought she’d been ambushed by an unknown esper.)
What a coincidence, I just misunderstood you the same way.
(And then you confirmed it?)
Shiyu’s voice sounded even more lost than before.
(I reached out to her immediately with my power—she said it was a late-night “kill shot” reward…)
The gray-haired youth pressed a hand to his chest and drew a deep breath.
He spoke urgently in his mind: (Shiyu, don’t be fooled by appearances—this is a catastrophic event!)
(Is it really?!)
(Of course! Listen carefully and do exactly as I say. First, open that photo!)
(…I opened it.)
Shiyu’s reply came after a few seconds; he must have been frantically searching his photo album just now.
(Now for step two: press and hold your finger on the center of the photo until the multifunction bar pops up on the screen.)
(Okay.)
Bracing himself on the desk, the gray-haired youth spoke with unprecedented seriousness: (Listen closely, Shiyu—this is critical! Carefully check if there is a line labeled “Forward”!)
(“Forward”… yes, I see it right there!)
(It’s not too late—don’t do anything unnecessary! Right now, click “Forward,” immediately!)
His instructions were like those of a veteran expert remotely guiding a green recruit to press the doomsday switch at a world-crucial moment! The suited young man’s voice trembled with unprecedented tension: (Click… “Forward”…)
(This is the final step! Find “Gongsun Ce” in your contacts and forward that [photo] to me!!)
(—Wait, no, no, Gongsun, this is just too weird no matter how you think about it.)
“Tch!”
The esper cursed aloud and in his heart at the same time.
(Fine, so you already know it’s not an accident, what else is there to say? Go back and enjoy your sweet night.)
The suited young man gave a wry smile.
(I was just wondering, is there a chance…)
(You’ll never know unless you go for it.)
(But…)
Gongsun Ce looked thoroughly exasperated.
(I’m not clairvoyant or a prophet—talking with me all night won’t get you answers. Go for it, my friend! Call her! Video chat! Go knock on her door right now!)
Shiyu Lianyi laughed softly.
(Haha.)
(Still laughing, huh? Just two hours ago you were asking for my help with your love life, and now that such a golden opportunity presents itself, you’re letting it slip by?!)
(That was when Cardesia said she wanted to introduce me to a girlfriend.)
Gongsun Ce clapped delightedly.
(Outstanding. Tomorrow we’ll devise a battle plan, but before that, promise me you’ll go for it this weekend, all right?)
(…)
(Shiyu, my friend. If you just stand there waiting passively, even if our mighty War God of Love shows up, all we can do is stand behind you and shout “Ribbit—” “Yeah—” like background extras!)
On the other end of the telepathy, the other person heaved a long sigh.
(I understand… Thank you, Gongsun.)
The troubled young man ended the telepathic link, probably off to admire the photo. The youth who had neither received a photo nor had love troubles of his own sprawled at his desk, feeling even gloomier than his friend.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
Why, just why? We’re all the same age—why do some guys get to see beautiful girls in maid costumes late at night, while I’m stuck here racking my brains over stationery?
“Outrageous, absolutely outrageous!”
They say the light of a full moon makes people lose their wits; tonight, this old superstition would be proven true once again. Perhaps from basking in the moonlight on the rooftop for too long, the overstimulated gray-haired youth decided to take action.
·
Miss Qin usually kept a healthy routine; by the time Qiluo returned home, she was already preparing for bed. Remembering that there was a temporary guest in the house today, she decided to delay her sleep until the guest finished washing up, intending to carefully lock the main door afterward. Thus, Qin Qianbai, dressed in pajamas and a nightcap, was now playing on her phone on the sofa.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was another knock at the door.
Qiluo poked her head out of the bathroom, toothbrush in mouth.
“Qin Qianbai, someone’s at the door~”
“Mm.”
Miss Qin stepped forward; through the peephole she saw the face of the gray-haired young man.
“?”
She opened the door.
Moonlight spilled across the corridor, lending a dreamy, hazy quality to everything and draping the young man outside in a veil of pure white.
Her bespectacled neighbor wore an unusually troubled expression.
He stood silently at the threshold, gazing at her.
What’s wrong with him? Coming over again so late at night—did he have something to say…?
For a moment, a dozen thoughts flashed through Qin Qianbai’s mind. She realized she was a bit anxious, even flustered; as her imagination ran on, an indescribable feeling swelled in her chest.
As if he’d been waiting for this precise moment, the young man spoke in a low voice.
“Miss…”
He was always a handsome youth, his gray hair gentle and natural, not like the cheap dye jobs, but as if he’d been born with it. The square glasses gave his face an air of intelligence, like a poet with a touch of melancholy standing before her.
When he was serious, he was actually quite attractive—only, when he joked around he looked like a fool.
—What is it you want to say to me?
Thump, thump, thump, thump. Her heartbeat quickened unconsciously; in an instant, a moment felt as long as a year.
At last, she heard the young man’s next words.
The poetically melancholy young man collapsed onto the floor.
Lifting his head in anguish, like an athlete who refuses to give up on his dreams even after a crushing defeat, he declared with deep emotion:
“I… I want to see a cat-eared maid!”
Ah.
An illusion, after all.
The one standing there had only ever been an idiot.
“Look at you—a face with three parts pity, seven parts sympathy, and one hundred ninety parts anger.”
“No one could recognize such a complex expression! And anyway, why be angry?!”
Miss Qin planted one hand on her hip, her gaze as if she were looking at rotten wood sunk in a mud pit.
“Knocking on a girl’s door at midnight to say you want to see a cat-eared maid outfit—if you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you want to know why you shouldn’t be angry?”
Gongsun Ce said mournfully, “You can’t imagine how much I’ve just been traumatized.”
“In return, A-Ce, imagine the very real, physical trauma you’re about to receive.”
The gray-haired youth melted to the floor, like a pile of sentient, whining slime.
“Miss Qin, I’ve worked so hard all day—why am I denied such treatment? Go ahead, hit me! My heart was already shattered by a merciless barrage of lovey-dovey attacks; now I’m only here, clinging to a hopeless dream, seeking comfort I’ll never find!”
He began to wail in a manner unbefitting any human. Judging from the pitiful noises, he might well have degenerated from a slime into a true puddle of mud.
In a sense, this was the ultimate self-defense technique—after all, few people in this world would bother striking a pile of mud.
Miss Qin looked down at the gray-haired puddle for a while. When it stopped twitching, she raised her right hand to her ear.
“Meow.”
The puddle leaped up like a fish jolted by electricity.
“Well then, good night.”
The young lady closed the door and went back inside.
The esper stood in a daze, clutching his chest, his eyes full of confusion, bewilderment, hesitation, and two hundred forty parts of incredulity.
“Am I hallucinating from stress lately…? No, I’ve been fine these past few days…”
Calm down, Gongsun Ce.
Take a deep breath. Look at the moon hanging in the sky, and with a clear and rational mind, review everything that just happened a few seconds ago.
Click click, the tape in his mind began to rewind. Gongsun Ce carefully recalled the whole process and sighed from the bottom of his heart.
“Am I an idiot?”
He was the only one standing in the corridor; with no one to remind him and no mirror, he couldn’t see the foolish grin plastered across his face.
He bumbled back to his room, flopped onto his bed, and thought that, all in all, today hadn’t been so bad.
Suddenly, it seemed that nothing was too difficult to handle. Troubles, expected or not, drifted away like clouds before this sudden good mood.
With this cheerful feeling, the esper brought his somewhat eventful day to a close.
·
Meanwhile, in places beyond the esper’s sight, as in every city, countless other stories were playing out tonight in the Celestial Capital.
For example, Director Liu paid a visit to a villa on the mountain.
For example, the head of a superpower organization lost his beloved walkman to a weirdo.
For example, the same troubled leader received a peculiar missing person’s request.
For example, a girl, having lost something precious, was at a loss and filled with sorrow.
For example, a dozen anxious students tossed and turned, unable to sleep, after hastily plotting a prison break.
None of these matters had any connection to the slumbering gray-haired youth—at least, not yet.
If there was one thing that would soon involve him, one would have to look toward a certain garden community in the Dingyi District.
Mo Yuankai tapped away at his keyboard, then paused.
Leaning back in his gaming chair, he murmured in confusion, “What’s going on?”
·
The next day.
Getting up, receiving a last-minute call to work, attending class, then racing off to another shift during the lunch break, then back to class—such trivialities need not be detailed. At 3:30 in the afternoon, as the second class after lunch began, in a clubroom reserved at the last minute, the provisional vice-president Gongsun Ce slapped the table and announced the topic for today’s club meeting:
“The first club meeting and Shiyu’s love strategy session now begins!”