After the string of words left his mouth, Lin Jian Yin realized that he had somehow scolded someone again. He immediately closed his mouth, but the words were already out. Even Bai Xue Chen was shaking his head at the side, in a manner as if it were all over. Moreover, the person who had gotten scolded was fully stunned for several minutes. Finally, she managed to completely digest Lin Jian Yin’s poisonous words. With a calm face, she said in a flat tone, “I understand now. I won’t dress so inappropriately in the future.”
“Don’t mind him. Jian Yin’s just like that. He scolds even me as regularly as he eats, so don’t take his words to heart. He doesn’t have any malicious intent.” Bai Xue Chen had no choice but to speak up for his best friend, so that Lin Jian Yin would not set a new record by scaring a manager away two days in a row.
“It doesn’t matter.” He could not tell whether Ye Meng Ling was truly unaffected, though her expression was calm and her tone fairly even. She grabbed her bag and shoved her notebook back inside.
Lin Jian Yin frowned and blurted out, “It’s moldy and the color of s.h.i.t. Why are there such ugly woolen bags?”
“…” Bai Xue Chen looked speechlessly at his best friend, who “couldn’t say a single nice word.”
Lin Jian Yin also knew that his mouth had caused another disaster. Embarra.s.sment was written all over his face.
Ye Meng Ling froze briefly, but her tone was strangely more upbeat. “Oh, I knitted it myself. My craftsmanship is probably quite bad.”
She turned her head to smile at the two handsome men, but this smile only had goose b.u.mps crawling up their backs. With that smile, she said, “I’m sorry, I still have to make song requests from several composers. Mr. Lin, please do not forget that there is a radio show in three days’ time. Please arrive two hours early to look through the contents of the script.”
After she finished speaking, Ye Meng Ling picked up the bag that had been criticized as ugly, then walked toward the lounge door at an abnormally brisk pace. Just as she opened the door, Lin Jian Yin suddenly thought of something and reminded her, “Hey, in three days’ time, don’t be late. I detest people who are late the most.”
Ye Meng Ling paused. Then she turned around and bowed deeply, saying at the same time, “I understand. I’ll definitely be on time.”
Bai Xue Chen waited until Ye Meng Ling had closed the door to the lounge before he started clapping his hands. Shaking his head, he sighed, “I take my hat off to you. You really are the famous Lin Jian Yin, Mr. Haughty Lin, who has a reputation in show business as a manager killer. It looks like the eighth manager is already imminent.”
When he heard that, Lin Jian Yin’s face turned ugly. He too admired Ye Meng Ling’s ability to handle matters, but when words came out of his mouth, they were always overly critical of others. However much he tried to change, he couldn’t get rid of this habit. Lin Jian Yin’s expression became vexed, but out of his mouth came the words, “What can I do? Who let her wear that hideous get-up? Don’t talk about me. You couldn’t stand it either, right?”
“I couldn’t stand it, but I wouldn’t say anything.” Bai Xue Chen raised an eyebrow and nagged, “You’re too straightforward. Words have to be polished—polished, you understand? Even if it’s truly ugly, you have to say that white is not this year’s fashion trend, and have her change to an outfit with more color. Or you could say, ‘Natural beauty is popular this year. You don’t have to put on such pale make-up’… In short, you can’t call her ugly so directly!”
“Who could be as contrived as you? Ugly is ugly!” Lin Jian Yin exclaimed.
The door to the lounge slowly opened, and the two men turned to look in unison. The ghostly figure of Ye Meng Ling was standing in the doorway. She calmly explained, “I forgot my pen.”
The two men had matching looks of discomfort as they watched Ye Meng Ling walk in. She picked up the pen she had placed on the table and then walked toward the door again. As she pa.s.sed Lin Jian Yin, she turned her head and said with a faint smile, “You’re right, ugly is ugly.”
Lin Jian Yin’s eyes widened. He couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or sarcastic.
Ye Meng Ling did not give any explanation, and the door slowly closed behind her lonely silhouette.
The two of them were silent for a long time. Then, Bai Xue Chen opened his mouth to ask, “Do you want to call the managing company to send another one?”
“You’re one to talk!” Lin Jian Yin was so furious that his face and neck were red. “It’s all your fault! Earlier, she wasn’t that angry yet.”
“Hey, hey, speak with good conscience. I had no idea she would suddenly return. However you put it, it’s you who hurt her more deeply, right?” Bai Xue Chen argued loudly.
“You think! When she runs off too, you’ll owe me late-night snacks for a whole year.” When he spoke of late-night snacks, Lin Jian Yin abruptly recalled the events of the previous night and his temper immediately flared up. “That’s right! It was you—why didn’t you just tell me yesterday that that G.o.d ‘n Devil’s Antique Store is upstairs?”
“Upstairs?” Bai Xue Chen blinked. He looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
“Yeah, on the fifty-first floor,” Lin Jian Yin answered.
Bai Xue Chen didn’t seem to want to stay on that topic. He merely shrugged and said, “I forgot.”
Bai Xue Chen’s casual reply irritated Lin Jian Yin even more. He jumped up, jabbed his index finger at the tip of Bai Xue Chen’s nose and shouted, “It’s all your fault! Do you know what I bought at that antique store yesterday? It’s the Nintendo I played as a kid! Ridiculous! I actually paid to buy my own things. I paid for it, paid for it…”
Strange, did I pay for it? Lin Jian Yin frowned as he pondered, but he did not have any recollection of paying any money. However, hadn’t the owner said that the cartridge was sold at a huge discount? Now, how could he explain that?
“What did you pay?” Bai Xue Chen asked nervously, and then he thought of something and added, “Did you meet G.o.d Charity?”
“I did. Don’t tell me there are others?” Lin Jian Yin responded, confused.
Bai Xue Chen hesitated, and then explained vaguely, “Oh, there’s another owner. That other person isn’t very nice. It’s good that you met G.o.d Charity. He won’t take advantage of you.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Since you’ve gotten something, have you used it yet?” Bai Xue Chen asked curiously.
“The game? I’ve played it. But I fell asleep while playing. I also can’t remember when I fell asleep.” Lin Jian Yin was uncertain. Last night, had he really played the game, or was it only a dream?
“Oh.” A smile flashed across Bai Xue Chen’s face.
But Lin Jian Yin was still thinking. Does that Miss A Hundred Points, Hmph truly exist or not?
After Lin Jian Yin used his poisonous tongue to fiercely scold Bai Xue Chen and extort a meal of sumptuous French cuisine from him, he returned home at three in the afternoon. Just as he stepped into the room, he heard a strange beeping noise coming from the living room.
Oh no, did I forget to turn off some electrical appliance? As Lin Jian Yin muttered anxiously, he hurriedly removed his shoes and then rushed into the living room to search. The television was off. The sound system was not on. The air conditioner wasn’t operating. The coffee maker was also untouched. Then what is it?
Lin Jian Yin frowned. Then with a flash of intuition, he looked at the floor where he had carelessly left the Nintendo. There was a blue light flashing on the inserted cartridge. Lin Jian Yin listened carefully, and sure enough, the beeping sound was coming from the Nintendo. Lin Jian Yin stared at the Nintendo on the ground. He really couldn’t remember. Had the Nintendo made beeping noises when I played it as a kid?
“What are you beeping for? Are you telling me to play you?” Lin Jian Yin frowned as he observed the Nintendo, but he was truly immensely curious about everything that had happened the night before. Was it a dream or was it real? Does Miss A Hundred Points truly exist?
Lin Jian Yin sat down cross-legged again without further thought. After turning on the television, that same vortex appeared in front of his eyes. It felt strange, and he simply closed his eyes. After an unknown amount of time had pa.s.sed, he thought, The vortex should have disappeared by now, right?
Lin Jian Yin slowly opened his eyes. A green and lush landscape greeted his eyes. A gentle breeze blew past, and the bobbing heads of the long prairie gra.s.s exposed small white flowers underneath. A few clouds slowly floated across the bright azure sky. Everything before his eyes looked like scenery from a fairy tale.
“Beautiful things are always more popular.”
Lin Jian Yin froze. It felt like the sound was coming from behind him, but just when he was thinking of turning back to look, he remembered that he didn’t have a head! Looking down, he saw he was now firmly stabbed into the gra.s.s. Don’t even mention turning his “head”; he couldn’t even move his body.
“But I don’t have any right to say this either. If the scenery before my eyes was really ugly, would I continue to play this game?
“I also judge others’ beauty and ugliness. What right do I have to say that others are wrong to judge mine?”
Lin Jian Yin listened carefully. This voice seemed to belong to Miss A Hundred Points from yesterday, except that, compared to yesterday when she was timid at first but became bold later, she seemed to be very sad now. Although he knew that eavesdropping on someone’s monologue was wrong, he couldn’t help but want to hear her feelings.
“Because her boyfriend fell in love with a great beauty and she herself was tossed aside, she did not believe in love anymore, and no longer dressed herself up… Sigh, even the corniest love stories wouldn’t be written in this manner anymore, right?”
Indeed they aren’t. Lin Jian Yin nodded his head. Of course, this so-called nodding was only two large eyes shifting up and down.
For a while, there was silence behind him. Then, Miss A Hundred Points started cursing under her breath, “Stupid sword! Smelly sword! Rotten sword! Why haven’t your eyes and mouth grown out yet? Don’t tell me I’m supposed to look for the prince and propose to him alone? Like h.e.l.l I’d succeed!”
“You’re right, if you propose to the prince in such a dreadful outfit, the only place you’d truly succeed is in h.e.l.l!” Lin Jian Yin could not help mocking her.
Silence came from behind him again. Lin Jian Yin felt a faint sense of uneasiness about the silence of the person behind him. As expected, he was pulled up by Miss A Hundred Points, who stared at him with a dark and icy gaze. Her rage index seemed even higher than it had been yesterday when she had given him the name “The World’s Number One b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
“How long have you been listening?” Miss A Hundred Points ground out between her teeth.
Lin Jian Yin blinked innocent eyes. “Not long.”
Miss A Hundred Points wordlessly carried him away. When Lin Jian Yin noticed that there was a little stream ahead, he was anything but rea.s.sured. Sure enough, Miss A Hundred Points held him precariously with two of her fingers, the rapidly flowing stream less than five centimeters below him. Gently, she reiterated her question.
“How long?”
Lin Jian Yin looked at the water flowing beneath him. The stream looked very cold. He replied honestly, “Since the part about the scenery being very beautiful.”
“Oh.” The girl looked very calm. She pulled out a handkerchief from her waist and said with a smile, “You’re a little dirty. I’ll give you a wash.”
A wash? Lin Jian Yin didn’t have time to object before his entire person—it should be said the entire sword—was plunged into the stream. Then, a slender hand fiercely scrubbed the sword blade with the handkerchief, not even sparing his eyes and mouth. It was so painful that he had to close them to endure it. However, he then discovered something extremely troubling.
He couldn’t breathe… My G.o.d! Technically speaking, he was a sword, so why did he still need to breathe? Nevertheless, in this situation, bubbles were continually streaming from his mouth. The pain of suffocation was rapidly increasing, and he couldn’t help but struggle frantically. He wanted Miss A Hundred Points to realize that he needed to breathe, but unfortunately, she was currently fuming and didn’t notice anything wrong with him. The more Lin Jian Yin struggled, the harder and deeper she pushed him into the stream.
Soon, he could no longer blow bubbles out of his mouth and the scene before his eyes gradually grew darker. As his consciousness slowly faded away, Lin Jian Yin thought despondently, I’m probably going to become the first sword in history to have drowned.