The girl in the painting, who called herself "Irene," and Yu Sheng from outside the frame were locked in a staring contest. So far, they hadn't established the slightest bit of trust.
Yu Sheng had no way of confirming whether what this "person in the painting," who looked like some kind of cursed object, was telling the truth, including the things she mentioned like Alice's Cottage and being sealed in the painting. It was the first time he had heard of any of it—and so, when Irene said she didn't know why she was in this house, he didn't dare to believe a single word.
On the other hand, Irene also felt that this human named Yu Sheng was definitely still plotting to burn her with the lighter. Her eyes had been constantly watching the lighter…
"I think you must have bought the painting yourself and hung it in your house, then turned around and forgot…" Irene repeated. "Doesn't that happen often? You humans always want to collect any rare thing you see, and then you buy it and let it collect dust at home…"
Hearing this, Yu Sheng actually felt a little unsure, because he really wasn't certain about the origins of the things in this house—after all, he had only been "here" for two months. Not only was he unfamiliar with this world, he was also unfamiliar with himself. Who knew what state this house and its owner were in two months ago?
Would that have been another "Yu Sheng"?
But these thoughts only flashed through his mind. Facing the gaze of the scarlet eyes of the person in the painting, Yu Sheng subconsciously shook his head and replied, "That's impossible—this painting looks very expensive. It doesn't look like something I can afford…"
"Hey, what if it's very cheap!" Irene hugged her teddy bear and scooted forward. "There are so many fake vases, fake fans, and fake paintings these days. Maybe the last seller wholesaled me along with other paintings for two and a half yuan a jin from some fake antique dealer, or maybe the second-hand dealer didn't know what they had…"
Yu Sheng had a strange expression on his face. "The frame of your painting feels like solid old wood, and there are gold threads inlaid on the edges…"
Irene thought for a moment. "Rosewood veneer filled with resin! And copper-plated iron wire on the outside."
Yu Sheng: "…Then the cost is already more than two and a half yuan a jin."
"Four and a half is also fine, can't be any higher. No one will buy it if it's any higher."
Yu Sheng: "…"
Irene stared with her scarlet eyes. "Hey, why aren't you talking anymore?"
Yu Sheng squatted in front of Irene's frame, suddenly feeling a little amused, and then he really did laugh out loud. He sat back on the floor with a thud, laughing so hard that he looked up at the ceiling, his upper body leaning back—he had never thought he would experience such a scene in his life, squatting in an empty room, arguing with a doll sealed in an oil painting over these nonsense, just to discuss whether the frame sealing the doll was a fake wholesaled at two and a half yuan a jin or four or five yuan a jin…
And not long ago, he had had his heart ripped out by a frog that had spawned in the freezing rain.
All of this was so damn interesting.
But Irene was a little scared by Yu Sheng's sudden laughter. She and her frame had been taken down from the wall by Yu Sheng and placed on the floor. At this moment, she could see the bare ceiling and hear the laughter from the side. This finally made her couldn't help but shout, "Hey, don't laugh! What's so funny about this?"
Yu Sheng slowly stopped laughing. He scooted forward a bit, looked at Irene in the frame, and his expression suddenly became serious again. "That strange dream I had before, was that your doing?"
He was referring to the time he had chopped at the locked door with an axe in his dream, and the strange laughter that came from behind the door. Now it seemed that this obviously strange dream was definitely related to the girl in the painting in front of him.
Oh right, he had also strained his back in the dream—and it still hurt.
"No!" Irene immediately shook her head, but then she stopped, her expression hesitating. "Well… not entirely not…"
"What do you mean?" Yu Sheng frowned. "You're talking in circles."
"You had the dream yourself, but I did sneak in," Irene explained patiently. "I just sensed someone was dreaming and wanted to use this method to find someone to help. I didn't mean any harm! I didn't know you couldn't open that door, and that you had such a bad temper, chopping at the door with an axe just because you forgot your key…"
Listening to Irene's rambling, Yu Sheng gradually understood. "So, you didn't lock the door? And you didn't induce the dream? You just have the ability to enter other people's dreams?"
"That's right—actually, I can do a lot more!" Irene nodded, a look of pride on her face, but this pride soon faded. "But now that I'm sealed in the painting, I'm almost left with only this ability…"
Yu Sheng was half-convinced by Irene's words, and at the same time, he had more questions and thoughts about what he had experienced in that strange dream. Then, he had a second question: "You said you wanted to find someone to help you through the dream? Help with what?"
"To help me get out, of course!" Irene said as if it were obvious. "It would be best if I could get out of this painting. If not, at least get me out of this room. It's empty and there's nothing here. It would be nice if there was a TV on the opposite wall… a voice-controlled one would be even better. I'm not very good with remote controls. There's a brand that's pretty good…"
Yu Sheng discovered that this girl in the painting had a typical free-associating personality. If no one was there to rein her in and let her talk to herself, her train of thought would always diverge to unexpected places—and usually in the direction of getting carried away.
So he毫不犹豫地打断了对方: "Then why were you laughing so strangely when you were looking for help? What was with the mocking laughter from inside when I was 'opening the door' outside?"
"That wasn't me!" Irene quickly waved her hands, then held up the brown stuffed bear in her hands. "It was laughing!"
Yu Sheng didn't say anything, just stared at her with a deadpan expression, his eyes saying, "Are you taking me for a fool?"
"Really!" Irene looked a little anxious, shaking the teddy bear in her hand vigorously. "It was sealed in this painting with me, but maybe it's been too long, its brain isn't very sharp anymore. Now it can only laugh foolishly. Usually, it laughs strangely when I poke it, but sometimes it laughs suddenly on its own without being poked. I'm often startled by it too…"
Yu Sheng listened with a straight face as Irene explained enthusiastically. After noticing the serious look on the girl's face in the painting, he gradually became half-convinced. His gaze finally fell on the stuffed bear. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded. "Then make it laugh. Let me hear if it's the same."
Irene immediately reached out and poked the teddy bear's head.
The teddy bear didn't react.
Irene was stunned for a moment, then poked the teddy bear's head again with force—still no sound. She herself looked like she was about to cry.
"Sometimes… it's like this," the girl in the painting said with a sad face. "It doesn't laugh even when I poke it…"
The corner of Yu Sheng's mouth twitched.
"So, sometimes it laughs when you don't poke it, and sometimes it doesn't laugh when you do. In short, whether you poke it or not, it might or might not laugh—" he analyzed in a tongue-twister-like fashion, coming to a conclusion. "So does this bear's laughing have anything to do with you poking it or not?"
Irene was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Right… that's right."
Yu Sheng didn't really want to continue dealing with this seemingly not-so-bright "cursed oil painting."
And he no longer cared about the mocking laughter he had heard in his dream.
A rumbling sound came from his stomach. The dinner he had missed after coming home and falling asleep was now making its presence known. Yu Sheng shook his head with a smile and slowly got up.
"Hey, are you leaving?" Irene asked, her voice immediately a little panicked. "You're not going to leave me on the floor like this, are you? At least hang me back on the wall. There's wallpaper to look at on the opposite wall. The ceiling has nothing…"
Yu Sheng reached out and picked up Irene's frame from the floor—then winced from the pain in his back.
"I'm taking you to the living room, so stop your yapping," he said casually.
Irene immediately cheered up, hugged her teddy bear, and sat back in her chair, watching as Yu Sheng dragged her frame out. "That's good. You're actually a pretty nice person. Oh right, is it dinner time now? What are we having for dinner tonight?"
Yu Sheng looked down. "Can you eat?"
"I can watch!"
Yu Sheng felt that he must be sick to continue dealing with this thing.
He supported his back, carrying Irene's frame with some difficulty, and slowly walked towards the stairs leading to the living room. The trash talk coming from the oil painting in the middle never stopped—
"Hey, your house is pretty big. So there's such a large space outside that room?"
"What's in the room opposite? Your bedroom? Hey, is there anyone else here?"
"Do I need to greet anyone? Will they be scared? Ordinary people probably haven't seen a talking doll and oil painting before…"
"Oh right, I haven't asked for your name yet! What's your name? Yusheng? What a strange name… not the edible kind of yusheng, right?"
"What's wrong with your back? Your back is already shot at such a young age? Let me tell you, you have to protect your back. You humans' joints are very troublesome, and they can't be easily disassembled… Huh? Why are you glaring at me? Your look is scary…"
Yu Sheng finally reached the top of the stairs, supporting his back with difficulty, and looked down at the steps below—he hadn't noticed it before, but today, with his strained back and carrying a particularly heavy oil painting frame, the stairs seemed exceptionally steep.
He had originally planned to carry Irene's frame down the stairs with both hands, but now he suddenly realized that his physical condition didn't seem to allow for it.
Yu Sheng lowered his head, thinking silently.
The noisy girl in the painting seemed to sense something. Her voice gradually trailed off, her expression slowly becoming tense.
Yu Sheng lowered his eyes, glanced at the girl in the painting who had been rambling on and on, her topics becoming more and more annoying. "Irene."
The girl in the painting jumped. "Hey… hey?"
"I feel like your frame is pretty sturdy."
"It… it is?"
Yu Sheng silently placed Irene's frame at the top of the stairs.
"It might be a little shaky. Sit tight."
Irene finally realized what was happening, her eyes widening in an instant. "Hey, wait—"
"Here you go!"
The oil painting frame embarked on a clattering and banging adventure down the stairs.
Accompanied by Irene's enthusiastic thanks all the way: "Yu Sheng you son of a— ahhh waaahhh waaahhh ooh ooh ah *&%￥#*—"