parfum

Chapitre 14

He was a fair-skinned boy with naturally curly hair; his features were decent enough, but nothing particularly memorable. What was going on? Could love really be so inexplicable?

Chen Kai pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Zhao Yu. "Zhao Yu, right?"

"That's right, that's me!" Zhao Yu finally came to his senses after being asked.

"Hello, I'm Chen Kai! We played that game together last night!"

"Yes, yes! I remember you! Don't mention that game!" Zhao Yu said, putting a hand on his head. "I feel like I've really attracted something bad. My head has been throbbing badly since last night. The two guys in my dorm who went with me are still in bed!"

"Really? I'm fine!" He paused and asked Zhao Yu, "I wanted to ask, who told the true story yesterday? Did you?"

"No!" Zhao Yu looked at him strangely. "Those stories are all fake when you think about them later, and so are the two in my dorm!" He then laughed. "Where in this world are there so many ghosts and monsters for us to encounter?"

Chen Kai then realized that Zhao Yu had a very sunny smile, which explained why Du Juan liked him. Perhaps he was just overthinking things and making a mountain out of a molehill.

He was about to get up to buy food when Dujuan returned and was delighted to see him: "Why don't you eat with us!"

"Okay! Okay!" Chen Kai nodded hurriedly and went to buy food as well.

He hadn't gone far when a familiar figure brushed past him in the bustling crowd, heading straight for Du Juan and Zhao Yu.

Who was that man? He couldn't see his face clearly, but his back looked so familiar. Just as he was trying to remember, he heard Du Juan scream, "Ah!"

The man was grabbing Du Juan's wrist and gesturing wildly, seemingly doing something.

"Let go!" Du Juan was startled and stood up abruptly, turning to Zhao Yu and asking, "Who is this person? Do you know him?"

Zhao Yu also stood up and reached out to grab the man: "What's wrong with you? If you don't let go, I won't be polite!"

But the man was very persistent. He seemed unable to speak, but just gestured as if he wanted to say something.

More and more students gathered around, and some even tried to break up the fight. Seeing things were getting out of hand, the man yanked his hand away from Du Juan, pushed aside the people around him, and rushed out. The man seemed very strong; he knocked two boys to the ground. He ran out of the cafeteria, and most of the students were eating and no one chased after him; they just sat there, stunned.

Chen Kai stood there blankly, not knowing what was going on. The more he looked at the man's retreating figure, the more chilled he felt. That thin back and disheveled hair seemed to be him, the man who had been squatting on the round table in the darkness last night when the tenth candle went out.

Chen Kai rushed back to comfort Du Juan. Du Juan was sitting in a chair with a look of fear on her face. When she saw Chen Kai, she said, "It's okay, it's okay! Go buy some food!" She was quite strong.

When Du Juan returned with the food, she found Zhao Yu chatting and laughing. She was lounging lazily on the table, holding chopsticks in one hand with one end in her mouth, her eyes glancing sideways at Zhao Yu.

Chen Kai was startled when he saw her expression: "What's wrong with you! How come you've changed so much in such a short time?"

"What's wrong? Haven't I always been like this?" Du Juan looked at Chen Kai with a half-smile. This expression reminded him of Fei Xiao, who was equally cynical and disillusioned with the world.

"No, it's nothing!" He could only sit down opposite them with his food.

Du Juan picked up a piece of fish from the plate, put it in her mouth, and sucked on it loudly. Soon, only the grotesque fish bones remained, stained with sauce. As she ate, she glanced sideways at Zhao Yu beside her, as if looking at something amusing. Chen Kai's gaze was cold and sharp, making him feel uneasy.

But Zhao Yu was oblivious, just looking at Du Juan with a happy expression and talking to her. Chen Kai couldn't remember what they were saying. After the meal, all he remembered was Du Juan's red lips, the pale fish meat, and her cold gaze flitting in front of him.

The way she ate seemed to be carrying out a horrific massacre, with bones and flesh flying everywhere, and her red lips as red as blood. Chen Kai felt a chill run down his spine. Had the world really changed completely? Were there no people he knew who were the same as he remembered?

He felt as if he were immersed in cold water, his body temperature slowly being drained away. How could eating in the cafeteria make him feel like this? The surrounding noise was deafening, but he couldn't hear a word, and the faces around him gradually became blurry.

Suddenly, it felt as if someone had grabbed his hand—a warm yet firm hand. It was as if they had given him a lifeline in this cold world, pulling him out of the frozen water.

"Chen Kai! Chen Kai!" Someone called him. This time he heard it and answered, sweating profusely, "It's me!"

"Do you know someone sitting next to you?" A woman's voice, it sounded like Du Juan's.

Chen Kai looked back and saw a person dressed in white with black hair who had appeared out of nowhere, holding his hand.

"Is it Feixiao?" Chen Kai's consciousness was still blurry. What was wrong with him?

“It’s me!” Fei Xiao said with a straight face, her gaze as cold as steel, devoid of emotion, staring at Du Juan opposite her.

"What's wrong with me? You haven't gone home yet?" Chen Kai asked him, feeling completely weak and his thin sweater was soaked with sweat.

"I've come to take you home!" Fei Xiao said, lifting him up and turning to Du Juan, "I don't know who you are, but you'd better get back to where you belong as soon as possible! Otherwise, I won't be polite!"

"What are you talking about? Are you Chen Kai's friend?" Du Juan stared wide-eyed, completely bewildered.

Feixiao ignored him and half-dragged, half-pulled Chen Kai away. In a daze, Chen Kai glanced back at Du Juan sitting at the dining table. Her lips seemed unusually red today, curving into an eerie arc against her white skin.

"What happened?" Chen Kai asked Fei Xiao, lying on his soft bed at home. He felt as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, and his whole body was weak.

“It must be Soul Capture!” Fei Xiao looked at him. “You’re probably always following her around, getting in her way!”

"Then, what exactly happened to Dujuan?" Chen Kai asked him. "And that talisman, did you finally find it?"

Feixiao looked at him. "Your female classmate? It seems she's possessed by someone. As for that talisman..." He shook his head. "No, I couldn't find it. I don't know who took it!"

"Hehe, that's easy to do!" Chen Kai said to Fei Xiao with a smile, "With your great abilities, why don't you just find that damn thing?"

Feixiao smiled and shook her head: "Things aren't that simple. In the game you played that day, wasn't that girl the last one to tell a story?"

“That’s right, she was the last one, and she was the one who suggested playing the game!” Chen Kai nodded. What did it matter?

"The last person is the puppet. All the magic will be transferred to her. She is now just an empty shell, and the soul inside is a ghost."

"Wow, that's terrifying!" Chen Kai was startled, thankfully he hadn't gone to tell the last story.

"So we forced the thing possessing her body out, but we were afraid it would have some impact on her mental state!"

"Will he become an idiot?" Chen Kai asked doubtfully.

"More or less!" Fei Xiao nodded. "Or maybe he's a madman!"

Chen Kai's heart sank upon hearing this. Although he hadn't interacted much with Du Juan, it was truly regrettable that a normal female college student had suddenly become mentally disabled. Moreover, she didn't seem like a particularly unpleasant person, and he genuinely hoped she could recover. Life is so short, and they had so little time left to live; how could their youth be cut short like this?

"Is there any other way?" Chen Kai asked Fei Xiao, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Feixiao interlaced her fingers and placed them under her chin, as if she was thinking about something. After a while, she said, "Yes, maybe the person who possessed her has some unfulfilled wish in this world. Once he fulfills his wish, he will naturally leave!"

"Maybe?" Chen Kai asked him. But what if there's a "what if" scenario? What if that person doesn't want to go back at all?

"Maybe they just wanted to have a fling and then leave!" Fei Xiao smiled, turned to leave, and said, "You should rest for a bit, I'll think of something else!"

"Feixiao!" Chen Kai hesitated, wanting to say something, but then stopped himself as he watched him leave.

"What's wrong?" Feixiao turned to look at him. "Don't worry, I'll definitely take care of these things!"

"I dreamt of Prince Jin!" Chen Kai stared intently at him, waiting to see his reaction. If he hadn't heard what Prince Jin in the sea of flowers wanted to say to him, Fei Xiao would surely know.

"Oh!" Feixiao responded, "If there's nothing else, I'll go out. I have things to do!" After saying that, she closed the door and left the room.

What's meant to happen will happen. Fate entangled him like silk threads, so what if it's a thousand years? He couldn't escape the word "destiny"!

He sighed deeply and returned to his room. "Zijin, Zijin, what are you trying to take away?"

Chen Kai was fully recovered two days later. He went to school with a heavy heart, carrying his schoolbag, afraid that he would hear classmates talking about a bloodbath or murder as soon as he stepped into the school gate. Although Fei Xiao had used some methods to monitor Du Juan during this time, he was still very worried.

But reality disappointed him; the school was calm and peaceful, and students were still rushing to and from class.

"Hey! Chen Kai!" He was walking on campus with his head drooping when a strong hand grabbed him.

"Huh?" He came to his senses and saw that it was the chubby Liang Dong. The cold weather made him look even more bulky because he was wearing a heavy coat.

"Why are you always so absent-minded?" Liang Dong said, pulling him away. "We have class in room 401!"

"I know, but isn't Class One having their classes over there?" Chen Kai really wanted to see what Du Juan looked like now.

"Why are you going to Class One?" Liang Dong squinted and scrutinized Chen Kai's face, as if trying to find some answer in his expression.

"No, nothing, I just wanted to visit a classmate..." Chen Kai stammered.

"Hehehe, I know, you want to see Du Juan, right?" Liang Dong said with a wicked grin. "You're out of luck. She's really getting together with Zhao Yu from their class. They've only been together for two days and they're already inseparable!"

"Anything else? What other changes have occurred?" Chen Kai asked eagerly.

"Anything else? There's something else... I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's like he's become a completely different person!" She then exclaimed hastily, "Oh well, I'm not going to talk to you anymore. Anyway, this class is going to be a public lecture, all the classes in our department will be taught together, you'll see for yourself!"

"Is it a different person?" Chen Kai suddenly had a terrible feeling.

During the second class, Chen Kai sat in his seat, eagerly anticipating the arrival of students, his eyes fixed on the door of the lecture hall. Students gradually entered, but Du Juan and Zhao Yu were nowhere to be seen.

After a while, the teachers were all standing on the podium, but still no two people came in.

Chen Kai guessed they had skipped class, opened his book, and had already given up all hope of their arrival.

Just then, the door to the classroom with its copper trim was pushed open, and a girl walked in, her bright red dress seemingly blinding.

Is that Du Juan? Or is it not? She's a completely different person now, a blissful smile on her face, her heavily made-up face twisted and terrifying.

"Du Juan?" Chen Kai, sitting near the aisle, called her softly. Du Juan's eyes were fixed straight ahead, heading towards the empty seat behind her. Zhao Yu, who was behind her, nodded when he saw Chen Kai.

Chen Kai turned to look at Du Juan's back. She was graceful and beautiful. If her beauty before was soulless, now it felt as if her beauty was bursting out of her body, threatening to overwhelm everyone around her.

Looking at her, Chen Kai suddenly realized for the first time in his life that beauty could also be awe-inspiring and terrifying.

During class, he kept looking back, and later he simply put his glasses on the table and observed the two people through the reflection in the lenses.

Through the distorted lenses, the two were chatting and laughing, constantly cracking jokes and giggling under their hands during the breaks in the teacher's lecture. They really did look like lovers.

Chen Kai sighed, hoping that the ghost possessing Du Juan was just trying to have a romance, as Fei Xiao had said.

He lay on the table, listening to the lecture while observing the two people. The glasses distorted their faces, making them look increasingly frightening. Du Juan's red lips seemed disproportionate to her face, appearing infinitely magnified.

He rubbed his eyes, not daring to watch any longer, and put on his glasses to listen to the lecture. Perhaps Feixiao was right; he didn't need to worry about anything, and it was better to leave these matters to him.

In the large classroom that could hold a thousand people, Chen Kai felt as if two gazes, sharp as knives and arrows, were fixed on the back of his head, piercing through everyone's heads. Did she know? Did she know he was watching her?

This class was so uncomfortable that I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles.

After class, Chen Kai followed the crowd out of the classroom. Just as he stepped out of the classroom door, a cold hand suddenly reached out from the crowd and grabbed his wrist.

"Ah!" Chen Kai's already tense nerves seemed to snap, and he cried out in shock.

"It's me! What are you afraid of?" A soft, seductive voice, red lips opening and closing in front of him.

It's Du Juan! Chen Kai looked at her deathly pale face, his heart clenching. Why was she picking on him? Or did she realize he knew something?

"Chen Kai! I'm scared!" Du Juan said to him with a sob in her voice.

Despite the constant flow of people around him, Chen Kai still felt a chill run through his body. People say a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, and Du Juan's face was even more unpredictable, making it impossible to know what she was thinking. The thick layer of powder on her face also concealed her true expression.

"What...what are you afraid of?" Chen Kai asked tremblingly. It should be him who is afraid now.

"I've been followed by someone lately!" Du Juan said, on the verge of tears. "I'm so scared!"

"Um, um, aren't you with Zhao Yu every day?"

"Zhao Yu? Zhao Yu?" Du Juan said, seemingly having forgotten who this person was. After a while, she said, "He can't help me at all, I know that!"

Stalking? Stalking? Could it be that one of Fei Xiao's little devils has been discovered?

Chen Kai quickly told her, "Everything will be alright, don't worry!"

"Really? How did you know?" Du Juan asked him in confusion.