Translator: PandaWu
Editor: Drogan
QC: Dray
First Published on Chaleuria.
“A…coin?” I was confused. “Like a one yuan coin?”
“It doesn’t matter how much it’s worth.” Mr. Cat smiled. “I just like to collect human currency. However, I heard that humans lately changed all the coins into paper bills. So just give me a coin as a souvenir.”
“Oh, well.” Though I was still a little confused, I took out a one yuan coin from my wallet and gave it to Mr. Cat.
“Wow, it’s interesting, there’s even a portrait on it.” Mr. Cat excitedly shook his tails before putting the coin under a light to study it. Then, he took out an old iron box and carefully put the coin inside.
I saw over Mr. Cat’s shoulder that there were various coins inside his iron box, coins such as ones from the Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty and some other old coins that I didn’t recognize. Strangely enough, even though these coins were old, it looked like they would never age inside this box. They looked as new as my one yuan coin.
“Oh, right. “ Mr. Cat put his box away and turned around. “Didn’t you mention before that you have something important for me?”
Right! I almost forgot the most important thing!
I hurriedly took out the envelope Wen Jiubo gave me and handed it to Mr. Cat.
“A letter?” Mr. Cat took out a pair of glasses from a drawer and put them on. “Who gave you this letter?”
“Uh, it’s the exorcist Wen Jiubo who asked me to deliver to you,” I explained.
“Alright, I see.” Mr. Cat lifted his glasses and opened the envelope. Apparently, the letter was short since it only took a few minutes for Mr. Cat to finish reading it. Mr. Cat looked at the letter and then at me with a stunned look on his face.
What’s wrong? Was there something on my face? I subconsciously touched my face.
“Fate works in mysterious ways.” Mr. Cat seemed to have realized something, he looked me in the eye and laughed happily. “The road ahead of you will be long and tough since you’re with this guy.”
“I already know.” The moment I thought of Wen Jiubo’s behavior, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.
“Alright, it’s late. You’d better return home now. I’ve received the letter. Give my thanks to Mr. Wen when you return.” After saying that, Mr. Cat put the letter in his pocket and said, “Also, thank you for the coin.”
“It’s me who should thank you for your noodle soup.” I stood up, scratching my hair.
“It’s nothing, you’re always welcome here.” Mr. Cat grinned.
I nodded, but as I was about to leave, he called to me from behind.
“Hey, human. Be careful on your way home,” Mr. Cat warned. “There are dangerous creatures nearby.”
“Thank you, I’ll watch out.”
After thanking Mr. Cat again, I took my backpack and walked back along the pavement with moss.
Surprisingly, there actually was a demon who was kind and nice. I felt glad when I thought of that bowl of noodle soup.
You only need one yuan to eat such delicious noodles. As the owner said, I think I will visit his restaurant again if I have time.
While I was pondering, all of a sudden, I stopped. I felt like I had kicked something.
I looked down and saw a vase with two white lilies on the pavement. I had knocked it over by accident and the water was flowing out.
….Was there a vase on the pavement when I came in? I was skeptical, but still, I bent down, picked up the vase and placed it back properly by the side of the road.
At this moment, a breeze suddenly blew, messing up my hair. A chill ran down my spine, forcing me to shiver uncontrollably.
It was getting cold, I had better run home quickly. Thinking that, I picked up the pace and left this narrow alley.
In the blink of an eye, I stood on Jinhua road again. The alley behind me vanished and a concrete wall re-appeared.
However… Why was this road so dark right now? I recalled that I had entered the alley at dusk, but now every store on the road was closed and even the street lights were off.
I took out my phone and it showed that it was currently… 3:40 in the morning?!
————————————————————
“Wen Jiubo!”
With a ‘bang’, I kicked open the front gate of the old residence. I furiously rushed to the living room and pushed the door open. I banged the table so hard that the poor table shook violently.
“Mm? You’re back.” Wen Jiubo crossed his barefoot legs while seated on the sofa. He was so focused on his cell phone game that he didn’t even bother to look at me.
His attitude made me even angrier. I raised my voice, “Are you kidding me?! A whole day passed since I went inside that alley! Do you know how many classes I missed? Di Zizhen kept the dorm door open for a whole day, waiting for me to return. Shi Yitong and Su Xiaoyun looked for me for a whole day, and every teacher in our school knew I disappeared and they were going to call the police! I came back to the dorm at three in the morning, and our dean even gave me a demerit point!”
“Isn’t that funny?” Wen Jiubo smiled, but his fingers hardly left his cell phone for a second. Clearly, he didn’t pay any attention to what I had just said.
“Funny my ass!” I grabbed his phone and threw it on the sofa. “I’ve worked so hard to be a good student, to give all my teachers a good impression. Now it’s all over, how will you compensate me for my loss?!”
“Fine, fine, don’t be mad at me. Shit happens.” Wen Jiubo still had that big smile on his face as if he was enjoying this moment. “Why didn’t you pay attention to the time though? You can’t blame me for this.”
“Why didn’t I watch the time?! I stayed there only twenty minutes to have a bowl of noodles. How could I have possibly known a day had passed?!” I complained.
“Didn’t I tell you before?” Wen Jiubo stood up, stretching his body. “Time flows at a different speed in different worlds. Devil’s Night with Su Xiaoyun proved that. Don’t say that I’ve never warned you before.”