Chapter 78: The Date
It was the New Year’s holiday.
People, recovering from the recent turmoil, were picking up the pieces, trying to have a peaceful New Year’s Day. Shops were redecorating, couples were out shopping, making amends, families were finally able to enjoy outings together, the streets filled with a festive atmosphere.
Even in the old residential compound, time seemed to be moving forward again, people preparing for the upcoming Lunar New Year.
Akhe, wearing the black coat Xiang Er had once admired, took Xiang Er out.
Of course, Xiang Er now knew that all of Akhe’s clothes were self-conjured. How ridiculous it seemed now, her previous worry about damaging Akhe’s clothes and being unable to compensate her.
Even the clothes were a lie.
Akhe used her tentacles to dress Xiang Er in a white dress, one of Xiang Er’s favorites, but as soon as it was on, Xiang Er would rip it apart, a cold smile on her lips.
Akhe would patiently put on another dress, and another, dozens of dresses, all torn to shreds by Xiang Er. Akhe’s expression remained gentle, not a trace of anger, instead, she said cheerfully:
“You’re very strong today.”
Finally, after finding a suitable outfit, Akhe had to use her tentacles to restrain Xiang Er, preventing her from destroying this one as well.
It was a long, cream-colored dress with pink accents, and a matching beige coat, perfectly complementing Xiang Er’s delicate frame. Akhe, satisfied, held Xiang Er in place with her tentacles, squatted down, and with her own slender, white hands, put on Xiang Er’s ankle boots.
Xiang Er’s feet were small, and Akhe, affectionately squeezing her ankle, received a swift kick in the chest in return. She caught Xiang Er’s foot, kissed her ankle, and held it gently.
Xiang Er froze, realizing that every act of defiance was like a reward for Akhe, and it infuriated her.
Akhe opened the apartment door, and the long-absent sunlight fell on Xiang Er’s face, making her look up.
The sun, distant and small, offered no warmth, it, too, seemed fake. Xiang Er couldn’t help but wonder, was her perception being altered again?
Akhe’s voice, soft and reassuring, said:
“No. I won’t alter your perception again, from now on, I promise, everything you see, everything you experience, all your memories, will be completely real. And I never altered your perception before, I only… I only erased some of your memories…”
Her voice trailed off, a hint of guilt in her tone.
Xiang Er didn’t believe a word, and she asked bluntly:
“That last day, wasn’t it you who… did that to me?”
Akhe was taken aback:
“What?”
The memory of that last day surfaced in Xiang Er’s mind. Before attempting suicide, she had desperately searched for Shen Yuhe, her dignity forgotten, her mind consumed by the need to be with her… hadn’t it been this monster, this Evil God, who had manipulated her mind? She had been… violated… that’s why she had broken down!
Aside from the lies, the betrayal, the grotesque true form, Xiang Er had thought that the Evil God at least respected her autonomy, that It needed her permission, her wish, before acting.
But after returning from the mall that day, the Evil God had completely taken control of her mind, her love, her very being, a toy to be played with, it was… a violation she couldn’t forgive!
Realizing that her mind had been manipulated, that she had been violated… the last thread of her sanity had snapped, and she had seen only one way out: suicide!
And now, this creature was trying to rewrite history, claiming that it had never altered her perception, how could that be possible?
Xiang Er didn’t bother explaining, just turned and walked down the stairs.
Akhe, looking at Xiang Er’s slender, retreating figure, frowned:
“Are you talking about… that time?”
Her face suddenly lit up, and she hurried down the stairs after Xiang Er, her voice eager:
“That was because of the monster in the mall, not me! It wasn’t me at all!”
Xiang Er stopped and turned to look at her.
Akhe, like a drowning person clinging to a lifeline, her face alight with hope, her words tumbling out incoherently, tentacles even sprouting from her body, gesturing wildly:
“It’s true! Oh… your memories…”
One of Akhe’s tentacles reached out and touched Xiang Er’s head.
Xiang Er, disgusted, swatted the tentacle away, but a wave of dizziness washed over her.
Something… memories, new memories, were surfacing!
Xiang Er was lost in the memories. She saw herself and “Shen Yuhe” getting out of the car at the mall, then she saw “Shen Yuhe” in the sky, rescuing people with her slime, and then… she, suspicious, entering the mall, confronting “Shen Yuhe,” then being kissed, then fainting.
And after that, those shameful, frantic memories, her naked body at the bathroom door… Akhe, her body covered in tentacles, holding her, had indeed said something about “poison,” but she had been delirious then.
Akhe’s voice, rapid and urgent, explained:
“You must have absorbed some of the monster’s blood in the mall, the pollution in its blood amplified your desires, suppressed your reason, you were almost completely consumed by the pollution, I had to… use my tentacles to… extract the toxins from your body… and then… I lost control, but I never altered your perception! I only erased a few memories!”
Xiang Er stood frozen on the stairs, trying to piece together the fragments of memory.
Her voice cold, she asked:
“Are you saying that… all those… all those crazy things I did, it was because of the monster’s toxins?”
Akhe’s voice was filled with excitement:
“Yes! Well, not entirely… I said, the toxins amplified your deepest desires, and your desire… was me!”
As she said this, she suddenly appeared in front of Xiang Er, her gaze locking onto Xiang Er’s.
Her face, the familiar, beautiful face of Shen Yuhe, the face that Xiang Er found so alluring, now wore a sweet, earnest smile, like a condemned prisoner granted a reprieve, a traveler in the desert finding an oasis… Her voice soft, each word carefully enunciated, her face glowing with each syllable, as if savoring the sweet taste of life itself:
“Your desire… was me.”
She stood on the step below Xiang Er, and although taller, she bent slightly, so that Xiang Er had to look up to meet her gaze.
Her eyes, filled with hope and anticipation, looked up from beneath her eyelashes.
Xiang Er’s face, backlit, her hand on the railing, its expression obscured, only the sharp line of her jaw visible, like a blade.
The blade of the dagger Akhe had given her, the dagger she had used to try to kill herself.
Time seemed to freeze in the narrow, cold stairwell, a sliver of sunlight filtering through the window, illuminating a strand of Xiang Er’s hair, her small figure a powerful judge, passing sentence.
Under Akhe’s loving, hopeful gaze, in the faint yet bright sunlight, in this crumbling old building…
Xiang Er’s lips parted slightly, and she uttered a single word:
“Liar.”
Akhe froze.
Xiang Er brushed past her and continued down the stairs, without another word.
Step by step, like the turning wheel of karma. Every action has its consequences, and with the consequences… no one believes the cause.
Who would believe the truth from a liar?
Even if it was the truth.
Even if… that liar loved her, desperately, pathetically.
The world outside seemed different somehow. Xiang Er glanced around, seeing many people, young and middle-aged, carrying gifts, entering and leaving the buildings.
It was New Year’s Eve, and they were visiting their families. Xiang Er walked on, her face cold and expressionless, so pale that even the sunlight seemed to turn to ice on her skin.
She walked alone, not knowing where she was going. She had no place in this broken world, no freedom, and she had been deceived, repeatedly, by a liar.
Did she look that gullible?
Xiang Er chuckled self-deprecatingly, ignoring the people around her. As she reached the gate of the compound, she heard Akhe’s footsteps behind her.
The same rhythmic clicking as Shen Yuhe’s, the sound that had once made Xiang Er’s heart flutter, now filled her with disgust.
She quickened her pace, exiting the compound, passing several street vendors selling vegetables and daily necessities, just like always.
Why could everyone else live their normal lives? Why didn’t they have to suffer the torment of a deceitful Evil God? Xiang Er felt a pang of envy.
She suddenly dashed across the street against the red light, muttering “sorry” to the driver who almost hit her.
With a screech of tires, a car braked sharply, and Xiang Er, caught by a thick tentacle, was pulled back into Akhe’s arms.
Akhe, her human facade holding Xiang Er close, whispered:
“Be careful.”
Xiang Er slapped her across the face.
Akhe turned her cheek, softening the blow. Xiang Er pulled away, continuing to walk, and Akhe followed, her voice close to Xiang Er’s ear:
“Remember? We used to walk this way, we bought toothpaste and toothbrushes at that convenience store…”
She chattered endlessly, and when Xiang Er tried to avoid her, she followed, her words a constant stream of meaningless noise.
Until Xiang Er, unable to bear it any longer, shouted:
“Shut up!”
Everyone around them turned to look, their whispers echoing.
Before, being stared at like this would have embarrassed Xiang Er, but now, she wasn’t afraid anymore. She screamed, her voice filled with anguish:
“You think I’ve forgotten? I remember everything, more clearly than you! Monster, get away from me!”
Akhe, stunned by her outburst, her expression a mask of grievance:
“How could you… I remember everything so clearly…”
Xiang Er had already turned and continued walking, her pace quick, turning randomly at every corner.
She didn’t notice that every car, every pedestrian around her, was watching her, their gazes strangely intent, following her like a tide.
Akhe vanished, then reappeared beside Xiang Er, her voice pleading, almost fawning:
“Okay, okay, we’re on a date, I shouldn’t have said those things… let’s go shopping, shall we?”
She took Xiang Er’s arm, her touch persistent, despite being repeatedly shrugged off.
Just then, a voice crackled from a walkie-talkie:
“Report! Target approaching Area Ao39, Class S pollutant ready for deployment.”
“Report! Class S pollutant going rogue! Unable to control! Unable to control!”
In a nearby car, An Yue spoke into her walkie-talkie, her voice urgent:
“Deploy the Class S pollutant, immediately!”
A worried voice replied:
“Are you sure? That’s a Evil God…”
An Yue, her gaze fixed on Xiang Er, whispered:
“As long as she’s there, it’ll be fine. Remember? We have to trust in the power of love.”
Xiang Er didn’t know where she was going. She just wanted to escape, to run far away, to another planet, away from that monster.
But… the memories, the sensations, the burning desires, kept flooding back…
Liar! Liar! That despicable liar! It had said those things just to torment her, to manipulate her mind again! Aaaaaah, liar!
Xiang Er bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, and the next second, black slime invaded her mouth, coating her tongue, its stench and sweetness making her gag!
“Ugh!”
She spat out the slime, remembering the first time “Shen Yuhe” had kissed her… She felt disgusted, wanting to rip out her own tongue, to be rid of this tongue that had been touched by the Evil God!
A sudden gust of wind, and Xiang Er looked up, the delicate tip of a transparent wing brushing against her face.
Was that… a giant dragonfly? Or a moth?
The giant moth swooped down, its long, thin legs seizing Xiang Er’s waist, lifting her into the air, thrashing her back and forth!
The moth soared high above the city, its massive jaws, lined with rows of teeth, slowly opening towards Xiang Er’s small, vulnerable head.
The people on the ground held their breath, some, unable to contain themselves, unleashing their powers, afraid the Class S pollutant would hurt the girl.
But the next second, a thick, pillar-like tentacle, thicker than a tree trunk, shot out and stuffed itself into the moth’s mouth!
The tentacle writhed and thrashed, tearing the giant moth to shreds, like a hand from hell blotting out the sun, the moth’s green blood and dismembered body raining down like a gruesome waterfall!
And another, smaller tentacle, gently caught Xiang Er, lowering her to the ground.
Amidst the shower of grotesque debris, the tentacle carefully cleared a space on the ground, placing Xiang Er safely on the clean pavement.
Then, Akhe, in her black clothes, appeared beside her.
Akhe, her presence commanding, her head slightly lowered, shielding Xiang Er from the gruesome sight, the sunlight illuminating her high nose bridge.
Like a powerful protector, she smiled at Xiang Er and whispered:
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
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