Pandora’s Box

“I think you have a lot of material from your streams, so I cut out some clips and edited them.”

“?? What materials?”

“Screen recording of your live streams.”

“??? Are you recording this live?”

“Well, it’s very convenient to have a recording software.”

Zhuo Wenyang sent a screenshot of a folder in his hard drive, containing live videos sorted by date and semi-finished edits arranged by versions.

“…..”

He sent me another video.

“This one was recently edited, take a look. I think you do pretty well here, but at 3 minutes and 58 seconds, check if you need to cut it out considering it may cause a little controversy.”

“…..”

All of this occurred too rapidly that I didn’t even had the time to process all this myself.

I was completely immersed in my admiration for Zhuo Wenyang, making and editing the video for me, that I shouted in glee. At this moment, I blushed and sincerely praised, “This, this, you are really awesome!”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes, you are very good at grasping key elements. The clip slicing is smooth and the BGM is also well selected. You are the master of editing!”

Zhuo Wenyang said, “It’s okay. My capability is average since I learned it two days ago.”

“…..”

Was this the daily life of a top student = = ???

He sent me another message, “There are still some rough cuts, do you want to take a look? You can give me some feedback.”

I was truly flattered. I curiously asked, “Well, why did you learn how to edit something like this?” Merely to learn a new craft?

He said, “Huh? Don’t you like to live stream now? I am happy to follow you. I compiled the interesting parts into short videos to follow current trends that are shared amongst young audience. This way, more people will be able to see you.”

“…..” I bit the bed’s quilt and rolled around silently, dancing, jumping up and down, and tearing at the corners of the quilt with my teeth like a rogue husky. I was happier when I found out about this more than getting additional fans.

After this moment of happiness fazed over, I realized that it was not an appropriate thing. Even if Zhuo Wenyang’s time was not as valuable as Lu Feng’s, it should not be used to do these meaningless tasks.

Managing the broadcast room and editing videos for me? To satisfy my vanity? I couldn’t afford to hire anyone for such trivial matters but I had to delay him writing his thesis to promote this?

I said, “Well, but should we consider leaving this to someone else? I think that there are people who specialize in editing videos and the price isn’t too expensive.”

He didn’t respond.

It look him a while before he replied, “Are you looking for a professional to do it? I did consider that a public relations company can help you manage and your popularity will increase. It’s easy for you to gain traction, but if you don’t want to pursue this seriously, you may not have a hand in this. Live broadcast time may affect your studies. However, if you want, I can arrange this and formulate a plan for you to see.”

“………,” I said, “No, no, I don’t want to be popular! Don’t look for a marketing company to help me, I’m not worth the money! I just don’t want to waste your time. Look at how busy you are everyday. I’m not talented enough for you to help me do this. If I want to increase my popularity, I should do it myself. I can also learn how to edit, cut, or spend money to hire someone. Just do what you want. Anyways, this is not something you should spend your time on.”

After a while, he replied, “This isn’t a waste of time.”

“……”

“I enjoy doing this.”

“…..”

“There are jobs that I can’t choose. But this one is my choice.”

“…..”

In the evening, Cheng Yichen returned from the bookstore and helped me tidy up my room. He touched the quilt and paused, “Hah? What’s wrong with your quilt? It’s all torn and wet?”

He inspected it closely and glanced at me in surprise, “Did you bite it?”

“……Mm.” It was all Zhuo Wenyang’s fault that I got carried away.

Therefore, I later spotted Cheng Yichen searching on Baidu, researching “What is the reason for children to bite corners of their quilt? Is it due to zinc deficiency?”

“…..”

That night, I was eating at home until the power unexpectedly went out. Lu Feng made a call and was told that there wasn’t a problem with the wiring in the area. They were currently being repaired.

In the darkness, Cheng Yichen was able to find a couple candles. He lit them up and we all had a candlelight dinner. If it wasn’t for the white wax on the table and my single status, this meal would have been romantic.

Spring in T city was short. It felt like winter not too long ago, but the summer heat rapidly took over.

The weather was gloomy during the afternoon and clouds looked heavy, but there wasn’t any rain in sight.

I daydreamed about Lu Feng’s mansion. There was probably no chance of power outages there. If the line happened to be broken, it must had its own power generator. It must had everything.

However, the owner of said mansion, Lu Feng, was sitting opposite of me right now, sweating profusely while eating beef noodles cooked by Cheng Yichen.

After dinner, everyone continued eating fruits in the dimmed light of the living room. Although there was no TV to entertain, the environment was very peaceful.

Ke Luo was not here tonight. He had something to do so only Lu Feng, Cheng Yichen, Zhuo Wenyang, and me were at dinner.

I fanned myself weakly while eating melons, complaining, “It’s so hot. Why is it so hot? Is this a greenhouse? I can’t take it anymore! Is there any way to cool down?”

Cheng Yichen thought for a while and then asked with a smile, “Shall I tell you some midnight stories?”

Hearing the words, midnight stories, I immediately cheered up and vigorously agreed, “Yes, yes!”

The older master was about to take charge!

After a few minutes, I was on the verge of tears.

Cheng Yichen’s voice was very ominously pitched and he spoke eloquently. In this dimly lit space, weakly illuminated by a few candles, there was a melancholy appeal.

“I heard about this story when I was a child. There was once a heartless man who dumped his fiancee. The fiancee was so full of hatred that she ended up jumping off the building at 12AM in the middle of the night while wearing a red dress and shoes.”

“Folk legend says that if you die while wearing red, you will turn into a ghost. The heartless man was very scared so he asked an expert for help. The expert gave him many charms and advised him, ‘At 12AM, she will come and seek you out. Hide well and don’t let her find you. If you really can’t hide, remember to not look into her eyes. With these talismans protecting you, you’ll safely pass the night.’”

“Sure enough, near 12AM at night, he heard a strange voice outside,” Cheng Yichen told, “It seemed like someone jumped in.”

“Tong-tong-tong…” (sound effects of someone coming)

I was about to cry. I didn’t expect this to be such a show!

Cheng Yichen’s voice lowered as he continued, “The heartless man was hiding under the bed, not daring to utter a breath. The sound was approaching closer and closer. Tong-tong-tong…”

I still had a half-eaten melon in my mouth, tears in my eyes, and didn’t dare to breathe.

“The sound came and stopped at his bed.”

“He was scared to death, but he remembered what the expert said. As long as the ghost didn’t see him, he’d be fine.”

“After a long time, there was no movement. He stopped himself from peeking under the bed to see if the fierce ghost’s feet were there.”

Cheng Yichen paused and spoke, “But he forgot that his fiancee died by jumping off the building, falling head first.”

I let out a yowl and grabbed Zhuo Wenyang next to me. The heat of his skin through his shirt and the feeling of his sturdy muscles gave me a sense of security.

Cheng Yichen smiled and asked, “Do you feel cooler now?”

I replied with a scrunched up expression, “…yes, very much so.”

My whole back was cool.

Lu Feng was very supportive as he prompted, “Tell me another one?”

I was still immersed in this chilling mood, “Ehh, well yeah….”

I was not afraid of getting into fights with people, but I was quite fearful of ghosts. Cheng Yichen was a good story teller so even though I was scared, I couldn’t help but want to listen more. Similar to watching a horror movie, you would cover your face with your hands but only enough for you to peep through your fingers to continue watching.

In terms of storytelling, Zhuo Wenyang probably inherited it from his own father.

Cheng Yichen told another story. Lu Feng sat beside him expressionlessly but would occasionally display an exaggerated, frightened expression. If I wasn’t so scared myself, I would have laughed out loud.

Zhuo Wenyang was listening earnestly and quietly while holding a slice of melon. His face remained neutral and he didn’t even sweat. He was calm and composed.

I asked him, “Why aren’t you scared?”

Cheng Yichen explained with a smile, “He listened to these stories since he was a child.”

“…..”

Definitely his biological son.

This way, the candlelit midnight stories lasted until nine o’clock but power was still not restored. After cleaning up the cups with Uncle Chen, everyone dispersed to rest.

The rain that was held back for a whole day finally came down. It was heavily raining outside and the wind was relentless.

I usually stayed in my bedroom. As a single dog who didn’t have parents around, I felt empty and lonely. It was too quiet and desolate.

Now that I was not alone at all, I felt that the house was very lively. There were people all around me; there were people over there, people above the ceiling, and people below me under the bed.

Listening to ghost stories was akin to drinking white wine. At first, the taste was ordinarily sour and refreshing, but the aftertaste was quite strong. After three days, the aftertaste was more pronounced.

All the various types of horror movies I’d ever watched came to mind, Sadako, Kayako, Ghost Baby Hanako, and so on came one after another.

I buried myself under the quilt and prayed incessantly, “Everyone, you are all far away in Japan so don’t come here…”

However, there was no relief since I felt as if they were beside me, above my head, and behind me.

I wanted to cry. I wasn’t sure if Lu Feng was afraid of ghosts but if he was trembling now, I couldn’t even gloat when imaging it.

The problem was, he was at least accompanied by Cheng Yichen while I was not!

Comparing him to me drove me mad!

I was lonely and cold. I bit the bullet and knocked on Zhuo Wenyang’s door with no good intentions.