Alphas and Omegas kept passing by, the atmosphere wasn't exactly noisy, but it was far from deserted either.
As Qin Chu walked through this atmosphere, he felt as if water had gotten into his ears, and all the sounds around him seemed distant and indistinct.
As I reached the intersection, the bag I was carrying wobbled slightly.
Qin Chu glanced down and saw that it contained the art supplies he had just bought. He hadn't bought much—just two cans of paint and a few brushes—and they felt so light in his hands that he had almost forgotten about them.
After staring at the bag in his hand for two seconds, Qin Chu couldn't help but think, "It's a good thing I didn't throw it away when we were outside..."
"I'm going to the art studio to drop something off," Qin Chu said.
It was fine when he didn't speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the faint, dense smell of blood wafted out again. This time it wasn't Levi's pheromones, but the real smell of blood.
Just now, Qin Chu's mouth hit Levi's forehead. With a hard skull in front and sharp teeth behind, the world where only Qin Chu's lips were injured was thus created.
Qin Chu pursed his lips and saw Levi stop and look at him.
For some reason, Qin Chu subconsciously raised the bag in his hand. It was as if he was trying to prove that he was really just putting something away, not running away in a panic.
“Yes.” Levy nodded.
Qin Chu breathed a sigh of relief. Although he hadn't fled in panic, he urgently needed to separate from Levi for a while to calmly think about the problem.
He carried his things a few steps toward the studio, then stopped, turned around, and looked at the person who had followed him.
“I’ll go get the room key,” Levy said.
Qin Chu continued to look at him.
“It really was just the room key,” Levy added. “I went to the studio before leaving the base this morning, and I think I left the room key in the sink.”
Qin Chu had no choice but to continue walking forward.
At this time, even if there are people in the base, they are limited to the non-teaching area. The area around the teaching building is becoming increasingly deserted. Before long, only Qin Chu and Le Wei were left on the road.
When Qin Chu arrived at the teaching building, he suddenly realized that he had made a mistake.
Levy is coming to the studio to pick up his room key.
He could have simply handed over the art supplies to him; there was no need for him to come himself.
But now that we're downstairs at the art studio, it seems strange to bring this up again.
Qin Chu had no choice but to follow them upstairs.
Entering the elevator, walking through the corridor, and opening the door to the art studio, Qin Chu didn't even go in. He simply put the bag he was carrying behind the door and turned around, saying, "Take your time looking. Lock the door when you leave."
But before he could lift his foot to leave, his wrist was grabbed.
The man who had been silent the whole way suddenly started to attack, and Levy, standing in the studio, grabbed him.
The lights in the corridor were already off, and the lights in the studio hadn't been turned on yet. Only the outside light shone through the glass, casting dappled shadows on Levy.
The man, holding onto the door with one hand and pulling him with the other, asked intently, "Senior, aren't you going to give me any response?"
I finally asked that question.
If we bring this up any later, after today, it will seem rather abrupt.
But at this very moment, it was just right.
Qin Chu did not answer immediately.
He looked up at the windows in the corridor.
From this angle, you can still see some fireworks, but only a few scattered ones that disappear in a flash.
Quietly waiting for the light on the horizon to fade, Qin Chu moved his wrist and broke free from Levi's restraints.
“…Stop pretending,” he said softly.
Author's Note:
Hey, finally it's out in the open.
Chapter 97, Fifth Story (16)
It's a cloudy day today.
Once the curtains are drawn, there's no difference between morning and evening.
Qin Chu had gotten up very late, and when she drew back the curtains, there wasn't a ray of sunlight.
The entire base was shrouded in thick clouds, presenting a dim gray hue.
After watching for a while, Qin Chu went into the bathroom to take a shower.
With his hair still damp from being wet, Qin Chu didn't change into his uniform. Instead, he casually dried his hair, put on his pajamas, and snuggled back into bed.
Lunch is in two hours. There are some noises coming from outside the corridor, but it's not as lively as usual.
Qin Chu woke up a few hours late, which was unprecedented for him, but the other art students in the dormitory building were all staying in their dorm rooms.
Since today is the first day of the second stage results, I guess many people are constantly refreshing their personal computers right now.
Qin Chu also entered the competition system to check.
After waiting a short while, the competition results were updated, and the purple "pot lid" that was previously displayed on the homepage was replaced by a new painting.
This time, Qin Chu did not come in first place; his painting ranked third, which is still a very respectable result.
The portrait of the blue-eyed star beast was very eye-catching. Once it was posted on the website, many people could accurately guess who the painting depicted without even seeing the actual creature.
Having practiced for such a short time, Qin Chu wouldn't rank third in terms of painting skills alone.
However, as someone who has dealt with star beasts for many years, no one is better able to capture the dangerous beauty of these creatures. Therefore, in terms of its spirit, this painting is unparalleled.
Qin Chu clicked on his own painting and glanced at it.
The scanning technology used by the competition organizers was quite good; the image quality of the painting was not compressed.
He swiped down twice and saw the description of the painting, as well as the information about the model in the description.
After staring at the model's photo for two seconds, Qin Chu pressed the back button.
The page returned to the homepage.
Although he wasn't interested, Qin Chu, being an art student, still clicked on and looked at each of the top-ranked paintings.
Presumably spurred on by Qin Chu's "pot lid" drawing in the preliminary round, the artwork submitted this time was all very abstract. For example, Qin Chu frowned and stared at the first-place drawing for a while before realizing it depicted a pair of clasped hands.
Then he opened the profile and discovered that the number one artist was his neighbor, Omega.
Yes, the first pair marked in the entire base.
After staring at the painting for two seconds, even though Qin Chu felt no jealousy, his understanding of the base's nature still gave him a moment of suspicion...
There is suspicion that the competition score might be related to the marking speed.
It shouldn't be.
Qin Chu quickly denied it, otherwise, given his relationship with Levi, how could he possibly be ranked third?
His relationship with Levy...
Qin Chu thought of what happened last night again.
"Stop pretending." He said these three words, puncturing Levi's pretense, which had not been carefully maintained.
Levy did not answer him, nor did he grab his arm again.
The man, reeking of alcohol, slowly walked to the small bed in the art studio and lay down.
He collapsed onto the bed like a boneless rag doll, as if he had finally succumbed to the effects of the alcohol, or as if he had suddenly let go of some burden.
Levy's arm was covering his face, so Qin Chu couldn't see his expression.
All he could see was the man slightly move the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was both self-deprecating and bitter.
Then the man spoke a sentence through his hoarse voice.
He said, "I'm giving Qin Rui back to you. Do you like it?"
Do you like it?
Has Qin Rui returned?
Qin Chu did not answer.
After a while, he asked only one question: "When did you regain your memory?"
Levy replied, "After the susceptible period."
After the susceptible period.
Qin Chu looked at the quantum computer screen in front of him and rubbed his temples.
That is to say, when Levi first came to his studio, this person's memory was as complete as his own, remembering the previous world and every world before that.
They're putting on quite a convincing act.
Qin Chu was always perceptive, but this time, whether it was the man's acting skills that were on full display or his subconscious resistance to the fact that Levi had regained his memory, he managed to overlook so many loopholes.
He lost his composure when it came to Levy.
In the last world, Qin Chu also lost his composure when Qin Rui died, but this time it was obviously different. He often cared about some trivial things for no reason.
Now he finally knows that Levi regained his memories but kept it from him, and maybe even secretly laughed at his angry expression several times.
But to his surprise, Qin Chu wasn't as angry as he had expected.
Because Levi had practically been wearing the words "I just want to make you angry" on his face all this time, and had been annoyed for so long, Qin Chu couldn't help but admire his "consistency between words and deeds".
If we stop here, it won't have much of an impact.
They were never on good terms to begin with, but this guy just pretended to have amnesia and tricked him. He can always get back at him in the next world.
But then, Levy confessed his feelings to him.
Confessing your feelings isn't a big problem; it can simply be considered part of "playing tricks."
However, Qin Chu had to admit that Levy's timing was very clever.
He chose to do it last night, when he had left the banquet hall but hadn't fully returned to the base.