Chapter 8: I’m Afraid of the Dark

After that, he went into the nearest internet cafe.

Chen Ciyi paid the deposit and walked in. The internet cafe was dimly lit. He searched row by row for the computer with his assigned number. Before he reached it, he spotted a familiar figure—the same one who had explained to the girl in front of him that she had to leave early for tutoring.

Huh?

Chen Ciyi’s lips curled into a smile as he walked toward that figure. Xu Yannuo was currently playing the game “Dream Battlefield.” Her character was at a high level, and on her screen, she was already on a killing spree. Xu Yannuo’s hand speed was fast, her skills top-notch, and her kills were straightforward and brutal. The wildness in her gameplay made it hard to believe the player was a girl. If they were teammates, Chen Ciyi would have wanted to call her “bro.”

Chen Ciyi smiled and said, “Hey, desk mate, cramming for class?”

After that, Chen Ciyi noticed Xu Yannuo’s hand freeze, and the game character that had been dominating just moments ago suddenly stopped moving.

After a brief pause, Xu Yannuo realized it was Chen Ciyi’s voice. Even if she didn’t remember his voice, she could tell it was him from his punch-worthy tone and the words he said.

Xu Yannuo turned his head and glared back..

Why is he everywhere?!

Ever since she met him that night, her peaceful life had turned upside down in an instant. Why does he always manage to stir up trouble whenever he’s around her?!

And isn’t he supposed to be a top student? Instead of going home to study at night, what’s he doing wandering around a shady internet cafe?

Under Xu Yannuo’s glaring gaze, Chen Ciyi not only didn’t leave but even pulled over an empty chair next to Xu Yannuo and sat down. After locking eyes for a few seconds, Chen Ciyi smiled, then took out a pack of cigarettes from his school uniform pocket, unwrapped it, and amiably offered one to Xu Yannuo.

Xu Yannuo looked at the cigarette but didn’t take it, feeling a bit triumphant at finally catching the other person’s flaw. “The top student the school went to great lengths to recruit actually smokes?”

Chen Ciyi didn’t press her either, showing no urgency at being caught. He simply smiled and tucked the cigarette back into his school uniform pocket. “We’re both in the same boat.”

“You…”

Seeing Xu Yannuo bristle again, Chen Ciyi’s lips curled up further, adding fuel to the fire. “But the cigarette was just something I picked up off the street. Unlike you, my dear desk mate—fighting and visiting shady internet cafes are the real deal.”

Chen Ci wasn’t lying—he genuinely didn’t smoke and couldn’t understand why Zhang Zhao and the others did. It seemed utterly pointless, and the smell was downright choking. Having a couple of cigarettes in the school restroom was tolerable, but when they lit up one after another during dinner at the restaurant, the smoke clinging to clothes was just fucking annoying.

The pack in his school uniform pocket was bought by Zhang Zhao just before they went to the pool hall. Afraid his mother would find it at home, he left it with him but forgot to take it back when he left, so it ended up staying with him until now. As for why he wanted to give it to Xu Yannuo, thinking about her extreme duality, he couldn’t help but want to probe more sides of her.

Xu Yannuo looked at Chen Ci’s probing gaze and his infuriating expression, took a deep breath, and said, “So, what exactly do you want?”

Chen Ci glanced out the basement window, “Time to go home. It’s not safe after dark—want to walk together?”

Xu Yannuo looked at him as if he were an idiot. “You should know I don’t need you to walk me home.”

Chen Ci smiled, “Of course I know. I meant me—it’s too late, it’s not safe. Shouldn’t you, my desk mate, walk me home?”

“What’s unsafe about you, a guy?”

“I’m afraid of the dark!”

“……” Xu Yannuo just wanted to kick him flying! It was her virtue of not bullying the weak that saved him.

In the end, neither saw the other off. After leaving the internet cafe, Xu Yannuo warned him once more to pretend to be blind and keep his mouth shut when returning to school, then they each went their separate ways.

Xu Yannuo lived in an old residential area not far from the school, a walk of less than 15 minutes, yet it took her nearly half an hour to get home.

Under the moonlight of the night, she passed by rows of trees lining the roadside and familiar shops with their recognizable signs. With each step, she drew closer to home.

With each step closer to home, her mood sank deeper, as if she were gradually stepping into a pitch-black cage—a place she didn’t want to return to, yet had no choice but to, for she had nowhere else to go.

Reluctant as she was, and as slowly as she walked, the road was only so long. No matter how she delayed, she would eventually reach home. Sometimes, she wished this path would never end.

Standing at the foot of her building, her steps hesitated once more. Instead of going straight up, she first glanced at the windows of her home. Seeing only darkness inside—no one was home—Xu Yannuo quietly sighed in relief. She then stepped forward, pulled open the aged unit door, and headed upstairs.

Her footsteps were very light, as if afraid of startling herself. She walked all the way to the fifth floor, to her own doorstep, without a single motion-sensor light in the entire building turning on.

Xu Yannuo quietly took out the key and accurately inserted it into the lock in the pitch darkness. Her hand hesitated for a moment before she turned the key and opened the door. If one looked closely, they could see her hand trembling slightly during those few seconds of turning the key.

The door opened, revealing the same pitch-black interior she had seen earlier, so quiet that the faint hum of the refrigerator was audible. Having been walking in the dark all this time, her eyes had already adjusted to the dimness. Even without turning on the lights, she could now clearly make out the furnishings inside.

Everything was just as it had been when she left in the morning—no shattered remains of household items littering the floor, no bloodstains or signs of a struggle. The goosebumps Xu Yannuo had felt upon entering the building gradually subsided. She sighed in relief, closed the door, changed her shoes, and went straight to her room, shutting the door behind her.

It was unusually quiet today. Her mother had texted her at noon saying she’d be back late, which was why Xu Yannuo had stayed out longer, planning to return only when it was time to sleep. She checked her phone again—no new messages from her mother. She must still be working overtime.

Truthfully, even if her mother were home, Xu Yannuo didn’t particularly want to return—in fact, she wanted to even less. Coming back meant facing her father, Xu Cheng, who was like a ticking time bomb. If he came home in a bad mood, the house would instantly descend into chaos—completely without warning.

But if she didn’t return, she worried her mother wouldn’t be able to manage alone at home. The horrifying image of her mother—face covered in blood, clutching her stomach, curled up on the ground—would send chills down her spine and make it hard to breathe every time it crossed her mind.

Xu Yannuo irritably ran her fingers through her hair, pushing those images away. She opened the wardrobe, grabbed her pajamas, and headed to the bathroom to shower.

The shower spray washed over her back, revealing several shocking bruises. Three days ago, when Xu Cheng came home drunk, he grabbed her mother’s hair and started beating her for some unknown reason. She ran over to intervene, and those blows naturally landed on her instead.