Deep into the night, having finished dinner and taken a bath, Wei Tianyang had already laid down to sleep.
In the chilly room, suddenly, a faint scent of flowers began to waft through the air. He took a careful sniff and discerned within this fragrance a slight scent of a young girl.
Who?
There was a gentle knock at the door, followed by the handle turning with a click, and the door opened.
Starbucks entered the room, her hair disheveled, clad in a white gauzy spaghetti-strap dress, and then she quietly shut the door behind her.
Moonlight poured through the window, casting two horizontal shadows from the window frame across the midline of her collarbones and her upper abdomen. Her slightly curled, damp hair adhered to the curve of her cheek, dangling beside her lips.
She wore a smile that was not quite a smile, shedding her usual efficiency and revealing a beguiling charm instead.
"Starbucks? What are you doing here?" Wei Tianyang sat up from the bed.
"I’ve come... to show my gratitude," Starbucks said with a low chuckle.
He opened his mouth slightly, unsure of what to say, as he watched Starbucks slowly climb onto his bed.
The gunshot wound she had sustained during the day on her shoulder left no trace—Yaha’s abilities were indeed monstrous...
But now was not the time to think about that!
"Damn it..." Wei Tianyang rolled out of bed and quickly retreated to a corner of the room.
Starbucks looked somewhat surprised; she simply lay on her side on the bed, smiled, and said, "Do you still remember those three rules? Specifically the third one."
"I haven’t drawn my gun yet. What’s gotten into you?" Wei Tianyang said.
"It’s you who’s got it wrong; I’m just trying to express my thanks," Starbucks frowned.
"I get it! You can leave now!" Wei Tianyang said.
"Fuck, do you think Yaha’s kind of gratitude is to just say ’thank you’ to your face? Are you fucking underage or something?" Starbucks, irritated, changed her position and sat up cross-legged.
"I’m only 16!" Wei Tianyang yelled.
"So what? To survive, I’ve sold a lot, including myself. Didn’t you also sell yourself to Tiantai Pharmaceutical for money? We’re all the same," Starbucks said.
"That’s not the same!" Wei Tianyang protested.
"How is it not the same? If it weren’t, you wouldn’t be here in this hotel. Listen, Tiantai was just the final step; before that, we all had to do things... things that go against the norm, for something. So don’t fucking act like some pure lotus flower! Come with me, and after we’re done, I won’t owe you anything," Starbucks said with a laugh, stretching out her left leg towards Wei Tianyang and provocatively wriggling her toes.
"Come on, I’ll make you a man. I don’t like owing favors," Starbucks said.
"The only thing we have in common is those six holes in our backs, but our motivations are completely different. Don’t make it seem like I’m seeking pity like you. Go, I’m tired," Wei Tianyang said.
Starbucks, irritated at having been rebuffed, swung her legs off the bed and walked with a scowl to the door.
"Ishmael, in this world, interests are exchanged, everything has a price. Do you think what you’re doing is noble? One day, you will be despised for it, just like your name."
When Starbucks left, she closed the door forcefully, her footsteps also exceptionally heavy.
"My name?" Wei Tianyang murmured to himself.
Turning around, Du Yan and Li Bin were actually sitting in front of a small table, smiling at him.
"I’ll think more highly of you from now on. Not many boys can keep themselves under control," said Du Yan with a laugh, glancing at Li Bin.
"Trust me, little brother, you’re destined for great things," Li Bin said.
"I’ve helped you find Li Fei, now it’s your turn to help me," Wei Tianyang reminded.
"Not so fast, trust is built step by step, but at least I can promise you that in the Red House, all the partisans will be your eyes and ears, and there will be no more secrets from you here," said Du Yan with a smile.
After she finished speaking, they gradually faded into the shadows of the room. Wei Tianyang rolled into bed, wrapped himself in the blanket, cast the recent events out of his mind, and fell into a deep sleep.
Over the following days, Wei Tianyang didn’t step out of the hotel at all.
Yaha thought that his extreme behavior that night was due to a Black Medicine affliction and since meeting them Wei Tianyang hadn’t actually taken any antidote; thus, he was arranged to stay in the hotel to recuperate.
There were over thirty people in the Black House, but aside from meal times, he rarely encountered anyone. They would either stay in their rooms or go out to carry out Yaha’s orders. Plus, Yaha restricted others from contacting him, with meals being brought to his room by Kacha, so Wei Tianyang still wasn’t close with the group.
At 3 in the afternoon, Wei Tianyang sat in front of the window in a daze. With his eyes closed, he held a few tubes of antidote, and the warm sunlight made his face scorching hot.
Irritability. Temporary behavioral control loss... Aggressive tendencies.
That’s how Yaha described his symptoms.
Wei Tianyang unscrewed the cap of the syringe, hesitating over whether to give himself a shot.
Just then, there were four knocks on the door, followed by the sound of it opening with a click, and from the footsteps... well, there was no need to guess, who could it be other than Kacha?
"I’m not hungry right now, Kacha," Wei Tianyang said.
He put down the syringe, tossing them onto the bed.
Turning around, however, he saw Kacha holding a small book.
"I figured you’ve been pretty bored these days, so I got you a novel," Kacha said with a smile.
The sunlight shone on Kacha’s face, his harmless smile devoid of any cunning, which gave Wei Tianyang the illusion that perhaps for a long time to come, they would be very good friends.
He took the book from Kacha, a thick paperback in the size of 32-mo, made of light paper that was slightly yellowed. The gray cover bore no illustration, only four large seal script characters: "Decline of the Celestials".
Wei Tianyang recognized the characters for "heaven," "person," and "five," but the fourth one was new to him.
"What’s this book about?" he asked.
"It’s the story of a person who has gone through reincarnation. It’s a classical novel from the 19th century of Churi Country, written by the legendary Yukio Minoshima. After he completed the final Chapter of this book, he committed seppuku. Do you know what that implies?" said Kacha.
"That writing novels is a dead end?" Wei Tianyang responded naively.
Kacha laughed out loud, shaking his head, "There might be some truth to that, but if there is, it’s only part of it. I think, writing novels is not essentially different from taking photographs. Photography captures a moment in reality as an image, while novels encapsulate an era in a fictional form."
"Give me something I can understand, Kacha. I won’t lie, I... don’t know many characters. Reading this book will be tough," Wei Tianyang said.
"Don’t worry, I can teach you to read," Kacha replied.
Wei Tianyang didn’t refuse, pointing at the character for "decline," he said with a laugh, "This character looks pretty cool. When placed next to ’heaven, person, five,’ I think... it probably means something like there are five great powers belonging to celestial beings?"
Kacha touched his forehead with a faint smile and for a moment, did not know quite how to respond.