Chapter 39: Your Back

Li Zhi Ran left. The room once again contained only Xu Lin.

He waited a while, then instead of staying put, he quietly opened the door and peered into the surrounding darkness.

No sign of Li Zhi Ran.

Should he try to leave now?

But if she discovered he was gone, would her emotions become unstable?

Or… did she leave him alone so confidently because she wasn’t worried at all—because he simply couldn’t leave?

Whatever. Let’s test it first.

Xu Lin tiptoed to the apartment’s front door without meeting any obstacles along the way.

Standing before it, he glanced back once more.

Nothing unusual.

He reached toward the handle.

!

Just before touching it, his hand suddenly froze.

He felt it—a gaze fixed on him from behind.

He whipped around, but saw only pitch black.

That gaze had vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Xu Lin frowned, shook it off, and turned back to the door.

He placed his hand on the handle and gently twisted, trying not to make a sound.

Yet…

“This handle is way too stiff…”

It didn’t budge.

He applied a little more strength.

Still nothing.

“Is it locked from the inside?”

He scanned the area around the handle for any kind of deadbolt or latch.

There was nothing.

Just a solitary handle—no keyhole in sight.

“Wait!”

Last time he left, there had definitely been a keyhole.

What was going on?

Xu Lin refused to give up. He gripped the handle harder, ready to force it.

?!!!

Suddenly his hand met empty air. He quickly steadied himself to avoid slamming into the door and making noise.

He looked back at where the handle had been.

“It’s gone!”

The door was now perfectly smooth. Lock, latch, handle—everything had disappeared.

An invisible repulsive force pressed against him from the door, as though urging him to leave.

“So that’s how it is…”

Xu Lin understood completely.

No wonder she was so relaxed about leaving him alone. She never feared he’d sneak out—because it was impossible.

Rustle rustle.

In his disappointment, he heard movement somewhere inside the apartment. He snapped alert.

Still nothing visible.

“I need to get away from this door, now!”

That thought flashed through his mind, and he made his decision.

He turned and walked deeper into the apartment.

Groping through the darkness again, he headed back toward his room.

“This is…”

Halfway there, he recognized a familiar area.

The kitchen.

He suddenly recalled the strange events from earlier.

That running water and clattering dishes—he’d found it odd even then. Curiosity flared once more.

Could there really be a dish-washing familiar?

Li Zhi Ran had refused to let him stay and watch, giving him that indescribable excuse.

Now that he was here, his curiosity burned hotter.

He stepped quietly toward the kitchen.

Rustle rustle.

The moment he approached, that odd sound came again. His footsteps faltered.

But he pressed on, reaching the sink where they’d left the dishes.

The bowls and plates were indeed gone.

They really had been cleaned!

He searched the kitchen but found nothing resembling a dishwasher.

So there really is a dish-washing familiar?

Of course, it was also possible Li Zhi Ran had washed them herself while he was unconscious.

Would everything here always work like this from now on?

The thought made him unconsciously rub his head.

It ached faintly.

He was starting to suspect that what knocked him out earlier wasn’t some mysterious force, but a swift whack from behind.

But then what about the water sounds?

If the lights could be voice-activated, why not the faucet?

?

Suddenly Xu Lin felt eyes on him again. A chill crawled up his spine.

He looked around frantically.

As if sensing his reaction, the gaze vanished instantly.

Hallucination?

This wasn’t the first time he’d felt that eerie stare in this apartment.

Last time he’d been here, nothing like this had happened.

Was it because he hadn’t stayed long enough before?

No!

Something clicked.

He hurriedly opened the system and checked his status window.

“Nothing…”

No 【Delusion Wave】 in the negative status section. No new statuses at all.

Suddenly a cold wind seemed to blow against his back—something approaching.

He spun around.

Still nothing.

Without lingering in the kitchen, Xu Lin quickly left and hurried back to his room.

Once inside, he shut the door and flipped the switch.

The cold white glow of the incandescent light filled the space.

This room was still the safest.

The rest of the apartment felt like a haunted house theme park.

Xu Lin no longer felt like exploring anywhere outside this room.

“But what am I supposed to do now?”

He glanced around at the sparse furnishings: bed, desk, chair, wardrobe.

Buzz buzz.

His phone vibrated.

He pulled it out quickly—WeChat from Lin Shen Xue.

He froze slightly.

Last time he was here, he hadn’t received any messages from her until he stepped outside.

At first he thought there was no Wi-Fi, but then he remembered adding Li Zhi Ran without issue.

Later he suspected something in the apartment specifically blocked Lin Shen Xue’s messages.

But now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Seeing it was from Lin Shen Xue, a flicker of warmth actually rose in his chest.

Yet that warmth was instantly overshadowed by the faint gravitational pull seeping from the screen.

He steadied his mind, sat on the edge of the bed, and opened their chat.

Snowman: [Xu Lin, sorry for not messaging you in so long.]

Starting with an apology again.

It hadn’t even been a full day.

Xu Lin comforted her as usual.

Mu-Mu: [By the way, I’ve decided on the time for what we talked about yesterday.]

Followed by an excited Yuki Hongye emote.

Snowman: [That’s great! Even when I was out today, I kept looking forward to it.]

Xu Lin could feel gravity threatening to spill from the screen.

His body stiffened, bracing for impact.

Yet the next second, the gravity remained confined within the screen.

Was she controlling it?

Or was it because he was here?

Mu-Mu: [I’d like to do it on Sunday. We can still discuss the exact time.]

Snowman: [Okay, Sunday. Xu Lin, how about we meet at 8 a.m. in the park where we met before?]

She’d already decided both time and place. Did he even have room to refuse?

It was clear she really had been looking forward to this all day.

Xu Lin could only agree.

Snowman: [Xu Lin, are you satisfied with the outfit I gave you?]

At this, his expression immediately turned complicated.

Good thing Lin Shen Xue wasn’t here to see it.

Mu-Mu: [Very satisfied.]

That was the only acceptable answer right now.

An excited emote.

Snowman: [Thank you… Xu Lin, on Sunday I’ll be wearing a new outfit. Will you look forward to it?]

Shy emote.

Xu Lin was about to type “looking forward to it” instantly—it was a perfectly normal response.

But his fingers stopped.

Snowman: [It matches the one I gave you today.]

Now it all made sense.

He immediately deleted the word “looking forward.”

Mu-Mu: [Then I’ll wear the outfit you gave me too.]

After sending it, Xu Lin felt a twinge of nerves.

But her reply came back full of joy.

At the same moment, gravity leaked from the screen again.

Once more, it was forcibly suppressed inside the phone.

And this time he clearly felt it—a mysterious power rising around him.

He looked up. The magic circle on the wall flickered once.

So it really is because of this room!

He scanned the room again, searching for anything else unusual.

?!!!

A powerful gravitational pull suddenly slammed into him, enveloping his entire body.

Xu Lin froze.

“Even this room can’t block it completely?”

A burst of black light flared, instantly swallowing the cold white glow of the lamp. The next moment it surged toward Xu Lin.

He instinctively tried to dodge, but then realized—this power wasn’t aimed at him.

It was targeting the gravity attacking him.

The two forces collided around him, fighting for dominance.

In the end, the dark energy—backed by a continuous supply—shoved the gravity back into the phone.

【Extracted Tag Energy <Chuunibyou> 2000 points】

The system’s voice rang out.

As expected, Li Zhi Ran’s power.

Though the amount of tag energy she supplied was remarkably stable—rarely exceeding 2000 points.

Xu Lin felt no joy. He immediately looked back at his phone.

He desperately wanted to know what Lin Shen Xue had just sent that triggered such an explosive surge—forcing even the defenses Li Zhi Ran left in this room to respond with such obvious force.

When he saw the message, goosebumps exploded across his skin.

Snowman: [Xu Lin, when I was out handling some things today… I think I saw your back.]