Liu Tianyu had no idea about Jiang Chuyan's change of mind at this time.
Of the study group, He Yuan, needless to say, was the center of attention, the center of attention. Xu Yuanzhou was also said to have a good family background, his family holding positions of high rank in the capital. If it weren't for He Yuan, he would have been considered a powerful second-generation rich kid in his inner circle. Jiang Chuyan kept a low profile at school, but everyone knew she was Xu Yuanzhou's childhood friend and came from a respectable family. Not to mention Jiang Chuyan's famed beauty, coupled with her academic prowess, meant many in the department wanted to get close to her. Even Bai Ke, the woman ostracized by her college roommates for her effeminate, makeup-laden demeanor, was said to have gained some fame online, a bit of a celebrity, earning a ton of money...
Liu Tianyu, on the other hand, was a college student from an ordinary family. He usually hung out with a bunch of classmates and didn't think there was anything wrong with him. But now, surrounded by this group of people, he felt outshined. Furthermore, he had a feeling that these people seemed to look down on him.
It's hard not to feel uncomfortable when your heart is stabbed, and it's inevitable that you will feel a little jealous.
Seeing Jiang Chuyan ignored him, Liu Tianyu couldn't help but add, "Ha, why do I feel like Jiang Chuyan, you're just being particularly nice to Young Master He? Look, Old Xu has blood on his face, but there's no beauty to wipe it off? You're being unfair, aren't you? Even if you were to start a harem, you still have to treat everyone equally."
"Pfft, Old Liu, you're talking nonsense again. Brother Chuyan isn't that kind of person!"
As if she found it very funny, Bai Ke laughed again when she heard Liu Tianyu's words.
According to common sense, Jiang Chuyan would have to refute it if someone teased him like this.
However, at this moment, he just glanced in the direction of the few people, then put away the tissue and went back to talking to He Yuan.
"What should we do next? This chicken...how should we deal with it?"
He asked.
He Yuan's gaze paused on the young man's fair face, and a glimmer of light seemed to flicker in his light-colored eyes.
…
Xu Yuanzhou was highly focused at this moment. Even though Jiang Chuyan looked calm, he could still sense a bit of coldness from his boyfriend.
Fuck, Liu Tianyu is such an idiot. Can he just shut up if he can't speak?
Xu Yuanzhou cursed inwardly, and when he spoke to Liu Tianyu again, his tone had become a little cold and hard.
"Liu Tianyu, when we got in the car just now, Chu Yan saw that you had low blood sugar and brought you some bread. How could you forget so quickly? What's the point of saying that a bowl of water is not evenly balanced? If you can't joke, don't make such a joke—"
After saying that, he couldn't help but glare at Liu Tianyu.
"Well, I just said it casually."
After being confronted by Xu Yuanzhou, Liu Tianyu's momentum instantly softened.
After all, he was just a little jealous at most, and Liu Tianyu was absolutely unwilling to confront other people in the study group.
Liu Tianyu touched his nose, and seeing that everyone else was moving towards Jiang Chuyan again, he hurried forward as well.
To ease the awkwardness, he had to make small talk. Just then, He Yuan came back in the car and took a few plastic bags. Seeing that he was about to pack up the bloody chicken carcass, he shouted.
"Hey, this chicken... should be free-range, right? It's so fat, why don't we put it to good use and let us eat it, hahaha. It scared us like that and splashed blood all over our heads and faces..."
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt a slight chill on his back.
He Yuan, who was squatting on the ground pretending to be a chicken, glanced at him.
Liu Tianyu's voice suddenly stopped. The boy swallowed his saliva and took two steps back involuntarily.
Although even he himself didn't know why he did this.
"What, what's wrong? This whole thing about sending away evil spirits, could it really be true? You guys aren't all that superstitious, are you?"
Liu Tianyu suppressed the strange fear that was welling up in his heart and spoke dryly to save his dignity.
"Why are you so disgusting?"
Bai Ke glanced at him with an expression of disbelief.
"Who wants to eat this kind of thing…"
"Well, even if you're not superstitious, who can eat a chicken like this?"
Xu Yuanzhou also echoed with disgust.
"But then again, He Yuan, why are you packing it up? Can't you just throw it into the woods?" As he spoke, Xu Yuanzhou watched as He Yuan sealed the chicken carcass layer by layer with plastic bags.
"cannot."
He Yuan answered directly.
While He Yuan was pretending to be a chicken, Jiang Chuyan didn't say much the whole time, just helping silently.
When the two of them moved, there was a subtle sense of tacit understanding.
Xu Yuanzhou saw it all, and the words Liu Tianyu had just said began to echo in his ears inexplicably -
"Why do I feel like Jiang Chuyan is just particularly nice to Mr. He..."
An inexplicable feeling of discomfort flashed through Xu Yuanzhou's heart.
He Yuan had already stood up and walked towards the car with the plastic bag.
The body parts that had been badly smashed had long been covered by layers of plastic bags, and they looked heavy hanging on the tall young man's fingertips.
Xu Yuanzhou didn't know why, but he deliberately raised his voice a little higher than before.
"Wow, Mr. He, is that true? It's so strong? You're not really going to take it back to eat?"
He Yuan paused.
He tilted his head slightly, as if looking in the direction of Xu Yuanzhou.
At this moment, Xu Yuanzhou felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
He always felt that the look He Yuan gave him just now was a bit scary. It was a completely emotionless look, not like the look of a human, but more like that of a reptile.
But in the next second, He Yuan had already stood firm and turned around. When facing Xu Yuanzhou, his face was extremely calm, without the creepy coldness just now, and his tone when explaining was also very calm.
"The idea of spreading evil spirits might be considered nonsense. However, according to the rules of Longzhao, substitutes used to spread evil spirits can only be placed in the mountains and wilderness. This way, they will die in the wild beasts of the mountains or on the dangerous natural terrain. Even if the evil spirit is transmitted, it will not affect humans. But this time, this substitute that spreads evil spirits was deliberately placed on the mountain road. According to the local saying, the evil spirit has now spread to all of us in the car."
He Yuan raised the plastic bag in his hand. The body swayed, and traces of blood still seeped out from the knot where the plastic bag was tied.
"So I'm going to take it back and ask the village chief to find out... who broke the rules."
I don't know when the wind in the mountains stopped.
The whole mountain was silent, without even a bird singing.
It was an uncomfortable silence.
And in this silence, there was only He Yuan's voice, which was deep and without any ripples.
As he whispered, everyone's expressions became a little stiff.
"This kind of thing, if you believe it, it exists, if you don't believe it, it doesn't exist, right?"
After a while, Xu Yuanzhou replied dryly.
He Yuan stared at him, then suddenly grinned and laughed.
"Of course—"
At this moment, the eerie aura lingering around He Yuan disappeared without a trace along with his hearty laughter.
"You don't really believe it, do you?"
He Yuan shrugged and said with a relaxed look.
"Ah? But you just..."
Liu Tianyu stuttered and stared at the boy in front of him, still a little unresponsive.
"Ah, well, I do want to take this chicken back. I wasn't lying to you just now. The rule here in Longzhao is that evil spirits shouldn't be left on human paths." He Yuan said, "And my family has a lot of rules in this regard. Although I don't care, it's still a bit unlucky to encounter an evil spirit's substitute. Bring the body back to the village chief. He should be able to solve the problem."
"I-I see."
After hearing what He Yuan said, Liu Tianyu and others showed expressions of understanding.
Indeed, when the He family reaches a level of wealth and power, they are more particular about such illusory metaphysics.
Only Jiang Chuyan heard He Yuan's explanation and subconsciously looked in his direction.
...He Yuan said he likes the atmosphere of Longzhao so he comes here to hike every year.
But as a hiker, he seemed a little too familiar with the customs and rules of Longzhao?
Of course, this doubt only flashed through Jiang Chuyan's mind.
*
He Yuan wasted a lot of time because of the chicken that ran out inexplicably. He reminded others that he would drive faster next time.
"...It would be too dangerous to wait until dark to drive this road."
He Yuan said.
Then he looked at Jiang Chuyan again and added quickly.
"If you think it's too bumpy, tell me."
Jiang Chuyan nodded.
After pausing for a moment, he somehow asked He Yuan, "But aren't you in a hurry? If I feel it's too bumpy... you won't stop, right?"
He Yuan's eyes widened. He obviously didn't expect Jiang Chuyan to say that. He looked a little helpless.
"Of course you are more..." The boy stopped talking as if he had bitten his tongue, and then changed the subject awkwardly, "I, I have other flavors of candy here."
Jiang Chuyan and He Yuan looked at each other for a moment, and after a moment, he couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.
"Thank you, tangerine peel candy will be fine." Jiang Chuyan muttered, "And I don't get carsick... Just drive without worry."
…
Sure enough, after getting back on the road, the car was shaking much more than before.
The worst thing was that even though the chicken's body had been sealed in so many layers, the bloody smell was extremely strong and lingered in the carriage.
The three people in the back seat bore the brunt of the stench, nauseated by the fishy, sweet, and slightly warm smell of a corpse. The previously cheerful and lively Bai Ke had completely lost her spirit, her face pale and even her facial muscles contorted.
There was no longer any laughter or joy in the carriage, only the sound of retching.
It was at this moment that Jiang Chuyan suddenly heard a faint sob.
["Don't--"]
"Don't go—"
…
["Run away!"]
The sound was so weak that Jiang Chuyan even thought someone in the back seat had turned on the speaker of the video to relieve nausea.
So he didn't care too much.
Just inadvertently, Jiang Chuyan tilted his head slightly and glanced at the back seat out of the corner of his eye.
Liu Tianyu was vomiting while holding a plastic bag.
Xu Yuanzhou was also pale, his head resting against the window, clearly just trying to hold it in. Beside him was Bai Ke, a man so uncomfortable he felt like he had no bones, completely hanging on Xu Yuanzhou's shoulders. Because of this, a gap opened up between Liu Tianyu and Bai Ke.
…
And that extra shadow was lying between Bai Ke and Liu Tianyu.
The author has something to say:
He Yuan: It's so annoying. I can eat three of these rubbish in one bite—but I still have to hold back.