Chapter 18
As the person approached, a sweet fragrance of rouge wafted over, accompanied by a melodious and enchanting voice that lingered in his ears.
Wen Xin felt his mind go blank.
He leaped off the bed in an instant, not even bothering to put on his shoes.
Even though the arrival of the furballs had made him much more cheerful, he rarely lost control of his emotions like this. At this moment, he was truly startled.
The beautiful woman in pink froze with her hand suspended in mid-air.
Looking around, everything was unfamiliar; there was nowhere to run.
Wen Xin pinched his fingers to keep himself calm. “Who are you, and why did you bring me here?”
Unexpectedly, the other person looked him over, appearing even more puzzled than he was. “You don’t like it?”
Wen Xin frowned, filled with questions. Like what? Like what exactly?
Then he met the woman’s misty eyes, dark and bright with a touch of innocence.
This sense of déjà vu…
An odd suspicion flashed through his mind. Wen Xin curled his fingers and tentatively asked, “Xiao Qi?”
The little fox’s name was Twenty-Seven.
The beauty’s entire body stiffened instantly, her gaze evasive. “Who’s Xiao Qi?”
Wen Xin: “…”
That evasive expression was exactly the same as that little fox.
He couldn’t help but rub his forehead.
Seeing the person so flustered, he had to say helplessly, “Alright, you’re not Xiao Qi.”
He had been under the little fox’s illusion before, so it wasn’t hard to realize that all this was just an illusion. He just didn’t know why the little guy suddenly pulled this trick.
Wen Xin sat back down beside her. “You still haven’t told me why you brought me here.”
The beauty murmured, “You haven’t been resting well; I wanted to make you feel more comfortable.”
So that’s how it was.
Immediately, Wen Xin couldn’t bear to blame him. He just smiled wryly and rubbed his head. “If it were you suddenly thrown into a completely unfamiliar place, would you feel comfortable?”
He casually made a joke, “I almost thought I’d time-traveled.”
The beauty seemed enlightened, her eyes suddenly brightening. “Then I know what to do!”
Before Wen Xin could ask what she knew, the scene suddenly changed.
He opened his eyes and was momentarily blinded by a dazzling spotlight. Then he found something cold and heavy in his hand. Looking closely, it was a pure gold trophy!
Wen Xin looked utterly bewildered.
Click, click.
A barrage of shutter sounds erupted in front of him. He looked up sharply to face countless camera lenses.
Reporters swarmed the stage, excitedly asking him how he felt about winning the Best Actor award.
In the audience, passionate fans were cheering like a tidal wave, as if the entire square was about to be overturned.
“Wen Xin! You’re the best, Wen Xin! We love you!”
“The Best Actor, a treasure of the world, the superstar of the film industry!”
“Look over here, ahhhh! Wen Xin looked at me! I want to have your babies, Wen Xin!!”
Faced with these enthusiastic calls, Wen Xin was at a loss, his body stiff.
Seeing that some fans were so excited they climbed onto the stage, he instinctively stepped back.
The beauty stood beside him, waiting to see Wen Xin’s happy expression, but found that he was even more flustered.
Confusion deepened in her eyes. “You don’t like this either?”
“Um… then let’s try the next one.”
In an instant, the scene before Wen Xin changed again.
The square became a palace, the stage became a dragon throne. He wore a heavy and magnificent dragon robe, donned a crown. Twelve jade-beaded tassels woven with colorful cords hung from the crown, swaying gently.
Countless officials prostrated themselves, shouting respectfully at the top of their lungs, “Long live the Emperor! Long live! Long live!”
Their shouts made Wen Xin’s hands and feet weak. He nearly collapsed but managed to steady himself by holding onto the armrest.
Noticing his discomfort, the beauty quickly changed the scene again.
A victorious general admired by thousands, a scientist standing on the podium with the highest achievements, a heartthrob with countless admirers, a group president owning ten properties and a nine-figure bank account…
In just over ten minutes, Wen Xin experienced nearly a dozen peak moments of life’s winners.
But each one lasted less than a minute due to his bewilderment and shock.
Finally, he found himself holding something cold—it was a gun.
“Please, spare me! I won’t dare offend you again. I was blind and foolish. Please spare my life—”
Wen Xin opened his eyes in shock.
A stranger was tied up tightly by men in black, forced to kneel before him, tears and snot mixing as he kowtowed repeatedly.
The muzzle of the gun in Wen Xin’s hand was pointed right at the man’s forehead.
The man wailed, “I’m begging you—”
Wen Xin’s hand trembled, and the gun fell to the ground, but he still heard the gunshot.
Bang!
Wen Xin shuddered violently, turning back in panic.
He saw countless men in black holding guns, muzzle flashes bursting. With each flash, someone fell, blood gushing from beneath the corpses, flooding the ground.
A subordinate came over to report, “Boss, as per your orders, those blind fools have been dealt with.”
Before he could finish listening, Wen Xin’s lips had lost all color.
Earlier, he could still smile reassuringly at the little fox.
But now, he couldn’t even speak. His heart was filled with anger and shock as he looked around.
The beauty in pink stood behind him, gazing directly at the lifeless corpses.
Wen Xin swallowed back the questions on his lips. Without thinking, he rushed over, anxiously trying to cover her eyes. “Don’t look!”
The beauty was a bit surprised and moved slightly. In the end, she said dejectedly, “You still don’t like it.”
Hearing this, Wen Xin’s hand covering her eyes began to tremble.
He slowly lowered his hand, and as expected, beneath his palm was still a pair of clear, bright black eyes.
Even though she had just constructed such a bloody and dark scene, her face remained innocent and naive, without a trace of gloom.
A chill suddenly rose up Wen Xin’s back.
He took a step back, wanting to retreat, but the beauty immediately sensed his intention.
“…You’re afraid of me.”
The beauty in pink hadn’t expected Wen Xin to react this way.
She clenched her sleeves, utterly puzzled, and asked Wen Xin with a confused and aggrieved expression, “Why?!”
It was because Wen Xin had helped Jiujiu awaken that she wanted to repay him, not hesitating to use a large amount of her mental power to construct these illusions.
But why wasn’t Wen Xin happier? Instead, he seemed more tired and distressed, even becoming afraid of her?
Wen Xin’s mind was in turmoil.
He stepped back, suddenly realizing the potential danger of the little fox.
It wasn’t about her abilities—it was about her unawareness of the malice in her own nature.
But seeing the little fox tugging at his sleeve, looking so aggrieved she was about to cry, Wen Xin’s affection for the fluffy ball overcame his fear, and he stopped in his tracks.
Something wasn’t right.
“I’m… sorry.”
He gritted his teeth, walked over, and wiped away the little fox’s tears. “I’ve never encountered these things before; I got a bit nervous. It’s not your fault, okay?”
As he comforted her, Wen Xin tried to think through his muddled mind, wondering why the little fox was acting this way.
Finally, he noticed something incongruous.
—Those scenes wouldn’t be so vividly presented unless someone had personally experienced them.
However, as far as he knew, the little fox was even younger than the canary, just a monster cub.
How could a little fox who knew nothing have so many deep and varied desires?
Thinking about the little fox’s background, Wen Xin had a bad feeling. He asked softly, “Why do you think these scenes would make someone feel comfortable?”
The little fox sniffled. “Because they all liked them.”
To prove she wasn’t lying, she simulated the illusions once more.
On the podium that initially made Wen Xin feel out of place, a stranger replaced him, a brazen smile on his face as he held the trophy high, lifting his chin in enjoyment.
In the court where thousands bowed, another man sat on the dragon throne, arms outstretched, eyes wild, as if he had become the supreme emperor. “All rise! Hahaha, rise, rise!”
Scene after scene flashed before Wen Xin and the little fox.
Finally, at the secret execution site.
Unlike Wen Xin, who dropped the gun, this man directly blew off the head in front of him, and then viciously kicked the body several times. “How dare you mock me? Laugh! Keep laughing! You damn fool, let’s see if you’ll dare look down on me again.”
“Chop him into mince and throw him out to feed the dogs!”
…
Wen Xin couldn’t help but close his eyes, his mind in chaos.
He didn’t know how to evaluate these people. Turning back, he asked the little fox hoarsely, “They all liked it? How did you feel? Did you like it?”
“Me?”
The little fox’s voice was soft, visibly confused.
After a long pause, she hesitantly said, “Some looked very dazzling; some made me… want to run away. But they said it’s okay because those things wouldn’t happen in reality.”
Wen Xin frowned. “Wouldn’t happen in reality? Then what are these scenes?”
“They’re their inner desires. Whatever they want, I construct illusions of it to test my abilities.”
The little fox wrinkled her nose. Talking about the past, she couldn’t help but complain with distress.
“But even outside of testing times, people would come to me. One after another; it was really tiring and gave me headaches.”
“…” Wen Xin asked, “How many people came to you like this? How many times? Do you remember?”
“Hundreds? Thousands?” The little fox thought for a while but couldn’t recall, so she gave up. “It’s okay. Whenever the headaches got bad, they would give me medicine. After taking the medicine, I wouldn’t have random thoughts anymore, and I could keep the memories to use anytime!”
Saying this, she proudly nodded her head.
But thinking that she hadn’t helped Wen Xin this time, she lowered her hand in disappointment.
Wen Xin felt a heavy weight pressing on his chest, aching and suffocating.
Medicine—what kind of medicine could block thoughts?
Taking such medicine, and over a long period, could there be no side effects?
Wen Xin wanted to ask more, but the little fox frowned tightly, clearly resistant.
He clenched his fingers and hoarsely changed the topic. “…Do you have any scenes of your own, ones that make you feel comfortable?”
When he asked this, Wen Xin was prepared for the little fox to say no.
But she replied, “Yes.”
When the little fox was at the base, she wasn’t very happy.
Because of her special abilities, most of the time she was kept in a room with nothing inside. It was cold and lonely; she could only hug her own big tail.
Only after taking the medicine did the researchers dare to let her out.
But even when she was released, no mutants would come near her; everyone was afraid of having their inner thoughts seen.
Only that one time, when the poor canary was beaten until he vomited blood and accidentally bumped into her while escaping.
The little fox curiously tilted her head, picked up the trembling little bird with her mouth, and hid him behind her.
From then on, the lonely little fox had a small friend.
If they weren’t still hiding their identities, the little fox really wanted to show that part of the past to Wen Xin.
Because having the canary to lean on felt really comfortable, much better than hugging her own tail!
Wen Xin saw that she didn’t want to say more and didn’t press her. His tone unconsciously softened. “Then you should remember that feeling, okay? Don’t be confused by other people’s inner thoughts.”
The little fox nodded, half-understanding.
She hadn’t forgotten her original intention—to make Wen Xin comfortable—and kept asking.
At this point, Wen Xin couldn’t bear to refuse her. He asked the little fox to conjure up his own phone and played a video he had taken while traveling.
“This one—I want to see it.”
The little fox was puzzled. “But there’s nothing on it.”
Wen Xin chuckled. “Isn’t there a tree?”
But compared to the grand scenes from before, a scene with just a tree seemed pitifully simple.
Wen Xin said, “Sweetie, didn’t you say you wanted to make me comfortable? Then this is what I want.”
The little fox had to comply. She connected with Wen Xin’s senses and constructed the scene from the video.
It was an endless grassland.
In the distance were majestic mountains stretching endlessly, the sky vast like the sea, and a blanket of green grass covering the earth.
Wen Xin held the little fox and came under the tree, leaning his back against the trunk as he sat on the ground.
The little fox twitched her ears and was about to speak when she heard the young man’s warm, magnetic voice from above, “Shh—”
A ray of sunlight broke through the clouds, shining right upon them.
The little fox felt a deep warmth.
She couldn’t help but look up.
A gentle breeze brought the light scent of grass, brushing against her cheeks, making her fluffy fur sway softly.
The young man reached out, scratching her chin and stroking her head.
It was indescribable.
The little fox felt the scent of grass, the warmth of the sun, the breeze blowing past, and the young man’s slender fingers gently scratching her chin.
It was as if all the noise had faded away, unpleasant memories becoming distant, leaving only tranquility and warmth.
At this moment… it seemed she didn’t need to take medicine to stop thinking about anything.
They didn’t know how long they sat there.
So long that Wen Xin was awakened by his preset alarm. As he sat up, he also woke the little fox at the foot of the bed.
When their eyes met, the little fox suddenly let out an excited “Yip!”
Wen Xin, still drowsy, saw the fluffy ball pounce over and quickly caught her.
The result was that the fluffy ball not only wanted to pounce on him but also stuck out her tongue to lick his chin.
“Alright, that’s enough…”
The little fox didn’t know how to express her excitement.
She truly felt as Wen Xin had said—so comfortable, so happy—that she bounced around on the bed.
“Yip! Yip yip!”
I like it! I love it so much!
Wen Xin’s face was repeatedly brushed by her fluffy big tail. He was helpless yet amused. “It’s early in the morning; don’t make a fuss.”
But when the little fox pounced again, he still reached out to catch her.
The little fox nestled in his arms, her ears twitching, tail wagging so fast it left afterimages. Her bright black eyes looked up, and she happily let out another cry.
“Yip!”
*
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
Tang Qi hurriedly arrived at Wen Xin’s doorstep, knocking frantically. “Wen Xin! Wen Xin! Something terrible has happened! Did you see the news? City H has been locked down!”
Ahhhh the emotional rollercoaster in this one… QAQ
Thank you for the translation!!