Chapter 5: Talk Therapy
Frankly, Lin XiaoYi was convinced her deduction was spot-on.
Although her grades were excellent, which proved that she was not only one of the most beautiful babes on campus but also one of the brainiest, Lin XiaoYi still enjoyed reading the occasional webnovel in her downtime, which kept her imagination well-fed and very lively.
However, fantasy was fantasy and reality was reality, and never should the line be muddled. Of this, she was well aware, so she would not normally have changed her mind about Bai Zhi so quickly. However, she had just witnessed a supernatural incident that threw all her preconceptions out the window.
Despite having dated a string of no less than seven girlfriends, Bai Zhi, the well-known Casanova of Marina City University was never accused of sexual molestation in any degree. His principal failings were in mooching off his partner, swindling them and generally being a bum, spending all his time playing video games at the internet café.
Thus, though he was notoriously unsavory, people did not come after him, but tolerated his existence. If he ever dared to rob a woman of not only her money but her chastity as well, the student body would swiftly ensure that he was soon expelled.
Just what could cause an intelligent, attractive young man with a bright future to sink so low into degeneracy? Was it really all the consequence of becoming addicted to video games?
Lin XiaoYi thought not. After experiencing that horrific encounter, she began to develop a very different theory.
She had never paid close attention to the mess of urban legends that were hotly circulated online, but there was a time when she looked into it out of curiosity. Her research had led her to the same observation made by Bai Zhi—that there had been an explosion of such stories beginning around three months ago.
Coincidentally, that was the exact time when "Bai Zhi" had become so engrossed in his video games that he developed an addiction!
Meaning? Well, the truth was obvious!
Feeling like she had uncovered some arcane knowledge, Lin XiaoYi felt her breath quickening with excitement.
Bai Zhi was not some deadbeat who spent all day feeding a video game addiction, but was a hero secretly protecting the people from the threat of supernatural entities!
She had always been fascinated by the occult, and her recent research into the explosion of urban legends showed it.
Perhaps the seven women he had dated had been like her, special individuals who had drawn the attention of some otherworldly creature. That would explain why Bai Zhi had dated so many women in quick succession. He was actually secretly preventing girls like her from succumbing to such creatures' attacks!
As the saying goes, "To do without asking is kindness, to give without getting is goodness". After dispatching whatever supernatural entity was plaguing the girls, he did not get attached, but simply moved on. To avoid a panic, he would rather suffer the burden of a bad reputation than expose the horrifying truth!
Could there truly be someone who only dated girls with no interest in the pleasures of the flesh, but did it solely to fund their video game habit? No way!
Lin XiaoYi stared at the back of the man before her with a fervent, passionate gaze.
To prove her conjectures would be easy, she thought.
She was sure that, once Bai Zhi dispatched this supernatural entity—just like he must have done with the other seven girls—then he would no longer harass her night and day as he had done before, but instead, would act completely uninterested in her!
As her eyes roved over the silhouette of the person who was shielding her, Lin XiaoYi could not help guessing at what would happen next. With so many people surrounding them, how would Bai Zhi deal with the monster?
———
An irritated Bai Zhi looked at the girl sitting opposite him with a puzzled frown. "Whatcha lookin' at?!"
It was an understandable reaction. If, while you were eating, someone were to suddenly look up and directly at you, you would react like he did too.
For God's sake, it had already been an uphill climb trying to nab a seat in the middle of rush hour at the cafeteria, couldn't a man eat his lunch in peace?
After a momentary stunned silence, "Xia Wen" quickly recovered and flashed a sweet smile at Bai Zhi, saying, "...Um, excuse me, I was talking to my friend? You know, the one who gave up her seat for you and is standing behind you right now.
" Could you move aside a little, please? I need to see her—"
Before "Xia Wen" could finish, Bai Zhi interjected, "How is that my problem?
"All I want is to eat my lunch in peace. Is that so much to ask? Don't you know that you gave me the heebie-jeebies when you stared at me like that? Put yourself in my shoes, how would you feel if someone gave you a death stare in the middle of your meal?"
"That's not— I didn't mean..."
Shocked by his retort, "Xia Wen" began to stammer out an excuse, but Bai Zhi interrupted her once more.
"Can't you empathize, huh? Don't you know how badly you've ruined my day? It's basic etiquette! You can't go around doing this to people, it's asking for a beating."
Slamming his chopstick down, Bai Zhi spoke with righteous fury.
"You're lucky I'm a pacifist—if you'd met a real belligerent type, you'd be in big trouble, believe me! Still lookin'?! You wanna try me? Keep ogling, I dare you, and if you dare to, I'll deck you!
"Don't you read the news? There's people who took a one-way trip to the ICU 'cause they looked at someone wrong—hold your tongue, listen to me— You may not want to hear what I have to say, but good advice, like good medicine, comes as a bitter pill.
"I'm telling you a pearl of truth, but it contains an ocean of wisdom! You may not know these things now, but when you get out into the real world, you think about what I'm telling you today and you'll realize just how true my words were. You'll thank me!
"So you see, I've spent my precious time to talk sense into you, because I'd hate to see—Hey, where're you going? I'm not done!"
Xia Wen got up from the table, her expression stormy, shooting a malicious gaze violently at Bai Zhi. Without a second glance at her prey, "Xia Wen" turned and walked out of the cafeteria.
"...That's it?"
Behind the puzzled Bai Zhi, Lin XiaoYi took in the whole scene with sparkling eyes.
--
Chapter 6: He is a Hero
Bai Zhi shook his head exasperatedly as he watched the figure of Xia Wen disappearing into the crowd. Noticing that she still had a pile of food left on her plate, he muttered, "She really left without a single word of apology... and worse, she wasted food! I can't believe her."
That was one thing he could never understand—why was it that whenever he shared important life lessons, people always ended up giving him the stink eye?
"People are way too soft! What, I can't even have a conversation?"
With another resigned shake of his head, Bai Zhi cleaned up his area and turned to leave the cafeteria.
Before he could take a step, he found his way blocked by a gorgeous beauty.
"Umm..."
As he took a proper look at the face of that beauty, Bai Zhi suddenly recalled the cringeworthy things his namesake had done, and his face fell.
The school's most eligible bachelorette, Lin XiaoYi. She had a heart of gold and a healthy, supportive family, but most importantly, that family was wealthy. She was the very person who had been the target of "Bai Zhi's" constant courting and flirting, all so that he could hopefully mooch off her. At least, up until his all-night gaming session which ended in sudden death.
"You..."
As soon as he noticed Lin XiaoYi about to speak, Bai Zhi recalled the several times before when such interactions between her and "Bai Zhi" would draw undue attention. Resolving to distance himself from the dismal legacy of his unfortunate namesake, Bai Zhi spoke up assertively and forced Lin XiaoYi to swallow whatever it is she had wanted to say.
"I must apologize for the shameless harassment I subjected you to before. I regret it all most deeply. I promise that, from now on, I shall not interfere with your life. Let us part ways amicably, you to the East and I to the West, and never the twain shall meet."
In the same amount of time it took her to process his entire speech, Bai Zhi had made his exit and been swallowed up by the crowd… which meant that he failed to catch the expression on Lin XiaoYi's face.
As she watched him leaving, she showed all the signs of excitement and interest. "Just as I thought, Bai Zhi is no ordinary person..."
Only yesterday, this guy was brazenly pestering her and declaring that he would successfully date her no matter what. For him to change his tune overnight and turn into someone who treated her with total indifference, anyone could see that something did not add up. That is, unless his very soul had been replaced, which was clearly preposterous.
She even felt thankful about her encounter with the creature who had disguised itself as her good friend Xia Wen. If she had not gotten the call that allowed her to reveal the imposter, she might never have realized Bai Zhi's secret. Hearing him promise that he would no longer pester her gave her a sense of relief—it was just like how he had left his seven prior girlfriends in the dark.
Lin XiaoYi took a deep breath. "To keep his true identity secret, he's even willing to endure being misunderstood and having a bad reputation..."
Just at that moment, Xia Wen arrived at the cafeteria huffing and puffing, her cellphone still in her hand. She spotted Lin XiaoYi standing with her fists clenched and looking determinedly in the distance, and promptly made her way over. Collapsing at the table, she made a pitiful face at her friend.
"That was exhausting... XiaoYi, you have to treat me to hotpot this weekend. Hey, what's wrong?"
Xia Wen was shocked to see her friend turn to her with a wild, fervent look in her eyes.
"Wennie, I've finally found The One!" "
Lin XiaoYi clapped her hands over Xia Wen's shoulders, her eyes almost blazing with excitement.
Xia Wen looked thoroughly confused.
———
In the summer heat, the sound of cicadas droned endlessly from among the trees.
"So, this is the bastard..."
Hidden amongst the branches, a pair of eyes watched unblinkingly as a certain youth walked past the tree.
The Face-Borrower was an unusual vengeful spirit. Normally incorporeal and formless, the spirit had the ability to determine the person whom its targets' considered nearest and dearest, then take their form. Then, by carefully manipulating its victim, the spirit would cultivate a feeling of terror within them. Once the victim was at an appropriate degree of terror, that was when the Face-Borrower would feast. It was a spirit that fed on human fear.
However, fear also being its source of power, if its target did not feel any fear of the Face-Borrower, then it was effectively harmless.
Lin XiaoYi had been its first target, and step by step, the Face-Borrower had managed to successfully take control of her fear, but at the critical moment, its hunt had been ruined by some guy with a big mouth...
"I will make you taste that which they call Fear... How dare you spoil my fun?!"
The figure passed safely by the tree, and with a cold humph, the pair of eyes hidden in the foliage gradually disappeared.
———
"Bai Zhi!? XiaoYi, did he drug you or something?"
Back in the girls' dorms, Xia Wen had been pestering Lin XiaoYi to reveal the name of "The One". When she finally did, Xia Wen was flabbergasted.
"Just yesterday, you told me that he was a pain in the you-know-where! How did he turn into The One overnight? What in the world happened?! Don't you remember? This is the guy who dated a string of seven girls!"
"Well~ Of course I know! Relax, I'm just as informed as you are of such things~" Lin XiaoYi replied casually, her eyes never leaving her laptop screen as she busily searched the internet for some explanation of what had happened to her today. "But you know, what does all that have to do with him being The One for me? Nothing at all!"
"OMG XiaoYi, you're definitely high on something. What do you mean 'nothing at all'?" Xia Wen scratched her head in disbelief. "He's a scumbag, you know? The playboy who dated seven girls back-to-back! The swindler who steals his own girlfriend's money and spends it on video games! The good-for-nothing who spends all day playing video games, barely attends his classes and has no ambition whatsoever! That scumbag! Except for that handsome face, if that scumbag has even a single quality, I certainly haven't heard about it!"
"Mmhmm... he does, though." Putting down her mouse, Lin XiaoYi turned to her friend with a joyous grin on her face. "He hides in the shadows, protecting the light. He's… a hero."
Xia Wen's jaw dropped.