Chapter 44
Am I going to die? Just like this, dying for no reason at all?
I felt it was absurd, but my vision was growing blurrier and blurrier. Breathing had become so difficult. My limbs were starting to grow cold. I... am I really going to die?
There was no fear, just a sense of regret. How could I die like this? How could I lose my life just like that? There were still so many things I hadn't done...
In this moment of death, those insignificant little things from before suddenly all became important. Leveling up on Star Fire, the files piled up on the desk, morning tea, the boring and repetitive movies, the junk food that Shangguan cursed so many times...
All these things I had once disliked or loved became vivid one by one, and among all these things, one person's figure was the most prominent—Shangguan...
"Shangguan..."
My neck suddenly relaxed. I slumped to the ground, and for the first time realized how precious breathing was. Gasping deeply, my heart was full of confusion.
"I knew it. How could A-Yi not like Flying Brother? Look, even in a life-or-death situation, he still thought of him." Yang Yun's voice came from far away. I looked up in confusion, only to find him crouching right in front of me, his face filled with innocent joy.
"Well then, since you've made your choice, I'll give you back to Flying Brother." He said, taking out his phone, pressing speaker, and quickly dialing a number. After two beeps, a connecting sound came through. He immediately used the most innocent tone: "Flying Brother, it's me, A-Yun."
"...What is it?" Shangguan's voice came from the other end of the phone, faintly tinged with exhaustion. My heart tightened, and I unconsciously held my breath.
"Ah, it's nothing much. I just heard that your obedient baby ran away, so I wanted to ask if you found him. Either way, I did spend a wonderful week with him, so I should at least check in..."
My eyes went wide immediately. What do you mean, spent a wonderful week? And besides, I was clearly right here with him, yet he had the audacity to ask whether anyone had been found. Wait—did he just call me what? Obedient baby? I opened my mouth, then swallowed back the words at my lips. Even if the person on the other end of the phone wasn't Shangguan, just this guy's quirks were enough to make one's heart race with fear.
"Do you have anything else?" Shangguan's voice was full of impatience.
Yang Yun quickly said: "Wait wait wait, your obedient baby really hasn't been found yet?"
Shangguan hung up without the slightest courtesy. Yang Yun touched his nose, looking at me with a grinning face: "What do we do, A-Yi? It seems Flying Brother isn't really that interested in where you are. Sigh, I guess I'll have to make him suffer for a few more days. Well, since he's the one who's going to be miserable anyway, I'll just wait a bit longer."
"Three more days. I don't believe he can take it anymore. At that point, hehe..."
He murmured quietly to himself, his voice full of scheming.
I watched him warily: "What exactly are you trying to do?"
I really doubted whether this guy was insane. One moment he wanted to harm someone, the next he was calling Shangguan, and after calling, he was just making small talk, now full of scheming again, as if plotting something.
"Guess, guess. If you guess right, I'll let you go immediately." He was still grinning.
If I could guess right, I'd be nearly as crazy as him! Right now I had no interest in playing any guessing games with him. I was focused entirely on how to escape. I had already started calculating the distance to the seventeenth floor, considering whether I could use the bedsheets to make one of those escape ladders I'd seen in movies. Even though this guy never went out, there were always times when he showered or used the bathroom—those were all my opportunities.
I was also thinking about whether I should call Shangguan and warn him about this Yang Yun. In this instant, my brain was operating at its maximum capacity, running at incredible speed.
But before I could figure out how to actually implement anything, my chin was suddenly lifted up: "A-Yi, were you thinking about calling Flying Brother?"
I curled my lips: "I'm doing everything I can to avoid him."
"It doesn't matter. Whether you want to call Flying Brother or do anything else, it's all fine. Even if you run away, that's fine too. Just that, the guy with the horse— what's his name again— in any case, the owner of that coffee shop probably will have some involvement."