The most stable shape in the universe is the Triangle.
Three is a magical number; it can be the Holy Father, Holy Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in honor within Christianity.
It can be “one begets two, two begets three, three begets all things.”
It can be the Past Buddha, Present Buddha, and Future Buddha.
It can be Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
It can be Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.
Three can also be Id, Ego, and Superego.
Three can also be the three inevitable stages of a love that ends without illness: the passionate disregard for all else at first meeting, the exhaustion and sharp edges during friction, the wretchedness and panic at parting.
The alarm clock rang.
Shen Yao woke up on time, not a moment early, not a minute late.
He had never had the habit of staying in bed.
He believed that everything should be done as perfectly as possible—today’s matters finished today, never delayed to the point of regret.
He glanced at the time on his Watch, and chose to take the earliest Bus to the Villa District.
When he boarded, he even deliberately paid attention to whether there were any strange “things” on the Bus.
Unfortunately, this time, there were no Strangeness riding with him.
In fact, once you get used to it, you’ll realize that Strangeness isn’t so frightening.
They are actually phenomena born from extreme emotions, unaffected by human will; whether you fear them or not, they are always here, and as long as you master the Rule, you can coexist with Strangeness.
Last time on the smoggy Bus, that swollen Female Corpse-like Strangeness—the Rule might have been “to see.”
As long as you pretended not to see it, you wouldn’t be harmed by the Strangeness.
If you get used to seeing them, those big-headed Strangeness are even a bit cute.
Shen Yao got off at the street outside the Villa District.
The Bus couldn’t enter the rich district, so he had to walk the last stretch.
The elderly driver was trimming the bushes.
When he saw Shen Yao, he nodded slightly. “Miss is still sleeping. Mr. Shen, please wait in the living room first.”
Shen Yao nodded.
He had been coming and going so frequently these days that everyone assumed he and Qiao Yunxue were truly very close.
In the living room, the enthusiastic housekeeper handed him a glass of chilled Fruit Tea.
Shen Yao carried the Fruit Tea to the study.
Qiao Yunxue liked to sleep in, or rather, she stayed up late every night, so she always rose late in the morning.
It was still early, so he simply picked up a book from the study to kill time.
All the books in the study belonged to Qiao Yunxue, most of them miscellaneous topics, probably to assist in her research on Strangeness.
One book, “On Inspiration,” caught his eye.
Examining the book cover carefully, he found that it only bore the mark of the Forum Eye of Berlin—no author, no publisher.
Flipping through a few pages, he realized this book was the very foundation of Qiao Yunxue’s strange tales—the root of Strangeness theory.
The book discussed the existence and origin of Inspiration.
The first half was identical to what Qiao Yunxue had described: Inspiration only exists between newborn children, the dying, and pessimistic outsiders.
But the latter half, which Qiao Yunxue had never mentioned, dealt with the effect and change brought by Inspiration.
Inspiration, besides allowing one to see Strangeness, could also serve as a bridge between the Zero Dimension and reality.
If someone fell into extreme pain and extreme pessimism, their Inspiration could even change reality.
Currently, only one case was known: in Bordeaux, France, a woman named Geli, codenamed “Witch,” under extreme circumstances, distorted reality, fusing more than twenty people and buildings into a single entity at the molecular level.
The fused entity could even maintain consciousness for 27 hours and possessed a certain ability to communicate.
After Geli’s Inspiration exploded, she aged rapidly and died.
By the time the other members of the Berlin Eye Mutual Aid Association arrived to rescue her, Geli had already aged into a ninety-year-old woman.
“This kind of anti-physical distortion is simply fascinating. It suggests that the Zero Dimension is not just a dimension invading our own, but a subspace capable of connecting with reality. Perhaps it has existed since the birth of humanity, and it’s only with the invention of the Internet that we humans have had the chance to touch it. Could it be that humans and Strangeness are just residents of two different worlds?”
After this passage was a big, bright red question mark—clearly a note made by Qiao Yunxue.
“In addition, Inspiration can also rise or fall. It’s known that long-term interaction with highly Inspired people can increase Inspiration, and frequent exposure to Strangeness environments can also increase Inspiration, while maintaining a healthy lifestyle can reduce it…”
There was still a long section of discussion afterward, but Shen Yao heard footsteps in the corridor behind him and quickly closed the book, putting it back on the shelf.
Turning around, he saw Qiao Yunxue with her messy red hair, wearing loose pajamas, walking in.
“What are you doing here so early? It’s summer vacation—you can’t rest at home and have to come bother my sleep…”
She walked to the teapot and poured herself a cup, completely unaware of how solemn Shen Yao was today.
She never really cared about others, did she?
“Qiao Yunxue, I have something to say to you.”
Qiao Yunxue didn’t even look at him. “If you have something to say, just reply to my QQ messages, will you? I sent you so many messages and you didn’t reply to a single one. What kind of lackey are you supposed to be?”
Clack.
Qiao Yunxue finally turned.
She saw Shen Yao unfastening his Watch and setting it on the table.
The back of the Watch was opened, and the Chip inside had already been removed by Shen Yao.
Qiao Yunxue’s pupils dilated and contracted; her expression nearly froze.
But quickly, she raised her teacup to her lips again and again.
After half a cup, her expression grew much more composed.
“Qiao Yunxue, I’m quitting. I’m done,” Shen Yao said.
Qiao Yunxue gave a careless “oh,” as if she didn’t care at all.
“Shen Yao, did you forget your promise?”
“The promise is void,” Shen Yao replied without hesitation.
Qiao Yunxue turned away, facing the window, holding her cup and looking at the driver trimming the bushes outside. “Do you know how many people want to work for me?”
“I don’t want to know.”
“All this, just because of a surveillance Watch, you’re going to fall out with me?” All that could be seen was her back; her expression was unreadable.
“Just because of that?” Shen Yao was incredulous.
“Your values have been completely twisted. What do you need to monitor me for? After what happened with that telephone Strangeness, you still don’t trust me? And what exactly are you hiding from me? I can’t work under someone so full of ulterior motives. I’m quitting.”
“I haven’t hidden anything from you,” she said.
“What about the medicine? The so-called cure you gave me, was it just milk tablets?”
“……”
“That day, after Cheng Orange and I finished the roller coaster, my symptoms appeared—and right after, you called to interrogate me. Were you monitoring me?”
“……”
“In the pool, I must have taken some photo of something, right? Where did you hide the pictures I took?”
“……”
Qiao Yunxue couldn’t answer a single question.
Of course she couldn’t, because all of Shen Yao’s suspicions were true.
Suppressing her trembling voice, she said, “Shen Yao, if you regret it now, it’s not too late. You can still stay.”