Chapter 44: Realizing Too Late

Sometimes, girls always say one thing but mean another, and no matter how bold a girl may seem, she’s no exception.

Unfortunately, Shen Yao realized this truth far too late.

Cheng Orange blamed all of Shen Yao’s unusual behavior on Qiao Yunxue, of course.

But the real reason she was angry was probably because Shen Yao was still speaking up for Qiao Yunxue.

Shen Yao felt powerless.

He couldn’t change Chengcheng’s opinion of Qiao Yunxue, just as he couldn’t change the things that were happening to him.

He went home, opened the medicine box, and took out another pill to swallow.

Maybe it was just psychological, but after taking the pill, that dizzy, vertiginous feeling eased quite a bit.

It was still early, and Aunt hadn’t come home.

He turned on his mobile phone. Cheng Orange’s QQ avatar was grey; their last message had ended with Cheng Orange’s “Be right there.”

Shen Yao’s mind was in turmoil. He wanted to type something to Cheng Orange, but his fingers felt as heavy as lead and not a single word would come out.

He felt that something subtle had changed in his relationship with Cheng Orange, like a thin veil had fallen between them—indescribable, unclear.

Meanwhile, Qiao Yunxue had over forty unread messages, all of which were reproaches.

Didn’t she have a life of her own? Maybe she should just install a surveillance camera on him.

Shen Yao pretended he hadn’t seen Qiao Yunxue’s messages and leaned back on the sofa to take a nap.

Just then, his mobile phone suddenly vibrated.

Shen Yao picked it up and saw it was a call from Boss Note.

He was puzzled—whose number was this?

He answered, and the voice on the other end immediately explained, “Shen Yao! Why haven’t you replied to my messages!”

It was Qiao Yunxue.

Shen Yao thought that if Qiao Yunxue ever became someone’s wife, she’d be the extremely controlling type.

Some people might find that flattering, but he just found it troublesome.

“I have things to do, you know. I can’t be glued to my phone all day.” Shen Yao sounded a little tired.

“Things to do? Don’t tell me you’re on a date with someone else?” Qiao Yunxue said sarcastically.

“I don’t care about your private life, but don’t forget about our task. We have to uncover the monster’s secret, remember? You need to report your mental state to me—has your Urban Legend Syndrome flared up today?”

Shen Yao glanced at his watch. “Thanks to those pills you gave me, I had another hallucination today and almost embarrassed myself in public.”

Qiao Yunxue’s tone softened a little. “You… weren’t in any danger, were you?”

“No.”

Qiao Yunxue let out a breath. “Good. Those pills can only relieve the symptoms. If you really want to overcome it, it’s up to you.”

After a moment, she continued, “Shen Yao, are you afraid of water?”

“What’s so scary about water?”

“I’m not talking about drinking water, I mean Deep Water Phobia.”

Shen Yao was stunned. “I don’t know.”

It was the truth. It was his first time hearing the term.

Qiao Yunxue’s voice drifted over, a bit eerie.

“I found a new urban legend on the forum, about the swimming pool in neighboring Xilin City. Are you free tomorrow? I want to investigate as soon as possible.”

“Tomorrow… Does it have to be so urgent?”

“The sooner the better. I really hope it can be sooner.” Qiao Yunxue’s voice sounded odd, a bit too anxious, and… perhaps a little guilty?

Shen Yao walked over to the calendar. Tomorrow was Thursday.

Aunt had to take a short business trip, and he hadn’t found any temp work, so he was actually quite free.

“I’ll go to the villa and meet you tomorrow morning then.”

“Don’t come to the villa, just take the intercity bus straight to Xilin City. I’ll reimburse your fare.”

Qiao Yunxue spoke quickly, not giving Shen Yao any time to reconsider. “It’s settled!”

“Hey, wait—” Shen Yao wanted to say more, but she hung up before he could finish.

He stared at his mobile phone in confusion.

What was up with Qiao Yunxue? Why was she so… anxious?

*

The next day, Shen Yao woke up even earlier than his alarm.

Ever since he got Urban Legend Syndrome, his sleep quality had gotten worse and worse.

He woke up feeling suffocated, his nose stuffed up. When he pulled open the curtains, sure enough, it was another smoggy day.

Yaoguang City had this kind of weather every so often.

Some people blamed it on the factories in the Province Capital not following pollution regulations, while others said it was because the Northwest Woods had been turned into grape trellises.

When Shen Yao left the house, the sky was just beginning to brighten. Smog and dust swirled, and you could barely see ten meters ahead.

Usually, by noon, the smog would dissipate; they’d all gotten used to it over the years.

He wore a mask and walked to the Osmanthus Road Bus Stop.

There was no one else under the shelter, and at first glance, the whole world was washed in yellow, with him alone stranded on an island.

It was only six in the morning.

He wondered if there’d even be a bus to Xilin City this early…

He waited for a few minutes before seeing two bright headlights appear out of the fog.

As it got closer, he realized it was a bus, its lights like the eyes of a monster crawling out from the swirling dust.

The bus stopped at the platform with a soft hiss of escaping air.

He boarded and called out, “To Xilin,” and the masked bus driver replied, “Seven yuan.”

Shen Yao counted out seven bills and dropped them in the transparent box.

Just as he turned to find a seat, his footsteps suddenly halted.

There was already another passenger on this early bus.

It was a woman, but she looked a little strange.

Her head was enormous, swollen as if with edema, almost touching the bus ceiling, while her eyes were tiny, and her limbs about normal.

Besides that, her entire body was soaking wet, like a mutated female corpse fished from the water.

Female corpse—there was no better way to describe her.

Shen Yao stared at her, and she stared back, eyes unblinking and fixed on him.

Another hallucination… What kind of fear is it this time?

Shen Yao sighed helplessly, ignored the swollen female corpse’s eerie gaze, and picked a seat at random.

The bus started moving.

Shen Yao took out his mobile phone and messaged Qiao Yunxue: “I’m already on my way out. Where are you?”

As he waited for her reply, he suddenly noticed water dripping down from above, splashing onto his phone screen.

He looked to his side and saw that, at some point, the woman with the huge swollen head had moved to the empty seat next to him, tilting her head to stare down at him.

If he hadn’t already known she was a hallucination, she would have scared the life out of him.

But when you’re prepared, Urban Legend Syndrome has a hard time frightening you with such direct horrors.

He chose to ignore the female corpse beside him.

The bus drove on and stopped at another middle school in Yaoguang City.

Several students boarded, and the first three passed Shen Yao and the female corpse, laughing and chatting as they went to the back seats.

But the last girl to get on paused when she turned to look Shen Yao’s way.

The female corpse beside Shen Yao seemed to sense something. Her gaze left Shen Yao and locked onto the girl.

The girl hesitated, but finally, with a calm face, walked to the rear.

As she passed by Shen Yao, the female corpse also got up and followed right behind her, staring just as intently at the newcomer as she had at Shen Yao.

Wherever she passed, water puddled on the floor, with dead algae and broken river snails mixed in.

Shen Yao didn’t notice these small details.

He’d already closed his eyes, waiting for the bus to arrive.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when the bus driver called out, “We’re here, young man.”

Shen Yao jolted awake and glanced back at the now-crowded bus.

Sure enough, there was no sign of the woman with the enormous head.

Looks like these hallucinations aren’t so scary after all.

He got off the bus and found the weather sunny outside.

The smog in Xilin City wasn’t nearly as bad as Yaoguang.

He breathed in the fresh air and strode toward the swimming hall.

Qiao Yunxue was waiting at the entrance, holding a parasol.

This swimming hall had been temporarily closed after a recent accident.

When she saw Shen Yao, she waved him over.

Once he got close, she wrinkled her nose in distaste and asked, “Why do you smell like river muck?”

“?” Shen Yao sniffed his clothes in confusion—sure enough, there was a foul, river-soaked stench.

He patted at his clothes and found that almost the entire right side of his shirt and pants were damp.

Only then, belatedly, did he turn to look at the departing bus, and a chill that started shallow and then ran deep slowly rose in his heart.