Doll Survival Game - Chapter 131

It was as if their gazes had met, but the Demon knew that Luo Yiran couldn’t see them.

“Quite sharp, isn’t he?” The Demon watched Luo Yiran retract his gaze inside the dormitory and then sighed to the magician, “Tone down your staring, will you?”

The Demon stood by the window, observing Luo Yiran. He couldn’t help but rub his face. Earlier, when Luo Yiran was changing clothes, the magician had slapped him away with a heavy hand. “You hit too hard! I’m the one who brought you here, you know!”

The magician had far more restrictions than him, with very few places he could go.

Well, he had only managed to come here with a pass anyway.

Not hearing a response from the magician, the Demon couldn’t resist leaning closer again. His voice carried a teasing tone, “Are you trying to get closer to your young master?”

“Forget it. In our current state, we’re like ghosts to them. They can’t see or touch us.”

Even though they could see Luo Yiran, they couldn’t interact with him.

Luo Yiran’s gaze had swept past them several times-at the school gate and just now in the dormitory-but seeing was one thing; perceiving was another.

The Demon floated toward the window like a ghost, glancing at the silent magician. “Hey, cat got your tongue?”

The magician finally spoke, his voice filled with obsession. “The young master… He’s truly adorable.”

The Demon: “…”

Unable to hold back, the Demon rolled his eyes slightly. “You’ve said that several times already!”

But it was true-he really was adorable. The magician gazed at Luo Yiran, who was now different from his doll-like state. This version of Luo Yiran had a unique charm.

His skin was pale, his hair black and soft, his eyes slightly round yet bright. To the magician, he looked utterly soft and endearing.

From the Demon’s perspective, however, this was clearly a cunning little fox pretending to be innocent.

Besides, Luo Yiran’s youthful face was deceiving. His height and build were that of a typical high school student-taller than most, even.

What’s so cute about that?

Just as the Demon finished this thought, he saw Luo Yiran walk to the window with a displeased expression and lean forward to check outside.

The Demon instinctively backed away, but the magician didn’t. Instead, he braced his hands on the window frame and leaned closer. As Luo Yiran moved, their noses brushed past each other.

Though they couldn’t physically touch, neither the magician nor Luo Yiran felt anything.

Still.

It was creepy. The Demon thought so, watching Luo Yiran fail to see anyone before shutting the window and drawing the curtains. The window even scraped against half of the magician’s body as it closed with a loud sound.

The Demon burst out laughing.

The magician touched his bandaged nose, unfazed by the window that couldn’t actually harm him. “Adorable,” he said casually.

The Demon: “…”

The magician turned to the Demon. “Aren’t you leaving?”

The Demon glanced up, brushing off his clothes. “Why should I? If I leave, you won’t be able to stay either.”

The magician settled by Luo Yiran’s window. “It doesn’t matter. Wherever the young master is, that’s where I’ll be.”

The Demon couldn’t understand this sentiment, but he was curious about certain things, so he had no intention of leaving just yet.

His skeletal wings unfurled behind him, a glint of intrigue flashing across his face. “I want to see how vast this world is.”

The magician remained unmoved.

The Demon glanced at the window. “Suit yourself. But don’t forget the terms of our agreement.”

The magician nodded nonchalantly, leaning back slightly as if resting against the window. “I’ll fight you.”

The Demon snorted softly, then turned away. With a few powerful beats of his skeletal wings, he soared far from the small dormitory building.

High in the sky, he stretched out his hand, feeling the wind brush through his fingers. His eyes narrowed-

It really was quite nice, Luo Yiran.

Though the magician’s behavior was undeniably creepy.

Even if the magician knew the Demon had labeled him as creepy, he wouldn’t care in the slightest.

He simply sat quietly by the window, listening to the occasional sounds coming from inside Luo Yiran’s dormitory.

The sounds were calm but not cold. They reminded him of the recent minor instance with the Dead Woman, where Luo Yiran’s expressions had gradually shifted from lively to indifferent on that high rooftop.

Like a machine.

The magician extended his hand toward the night sky, hesitating briefly before flicking his wrist. A red rose appeared in his palm, which he placed gently on Luo Yiran’s windowsill.

What a pity, young master.

You can’t see such a beautiful rose.

The magician closed his strikingly beautiful eyes in silence.

Roses…

-Like a dreamlike memory, where morning dew, roses, and gentle sunlight coexisted.

A man in a white robe held a child in his arms, standing before a massive canvas. Behind them was a warm-colored castle, surrounded by carefully cultivated roses just beginning to bloom.

In front of them lay the sea and sky.

The child pointed at the ocean, a look of fascination on his face.

“…”

So beautiful.

Such beauty seemed to banish all filth and corruption.

The magician’s eyes fluttered open slightly, his long lashes revealing a pair of shimmering, ocean-like eyes.

He had a pair of eyes that could also be described as beautiful.

“Young master…”

The magician seemed to want to say something, though Luo Yiran couldn’t hear him.

But before he could speak, the window behind him suddenly swung open.

The magician instinctively widened his eyes as the windowpane passed through his body. Turning back, his clear eyes met Luo Yiran’s round, warm gaze.

The distance was even closer than before, so close that if he tilted just slightly, his pupils could press against Luo Yiran’s eyes.

But the magician didn’t move. He saw that there was no trace of him in Luo Yiran’s eyes.

Luo Yiran paused for a moment, then frowned as he carefully scanned his surroundings.

The magician knew what Luo Yiran was searching for, but it was futile.

Luo Yiran wouldn’t see him.

And no matter how many times Luo Yiran felt something “strange,” as long as he tried to express it, he would be “corrected.”

So, young master, don’t speak…

“Puppet?” Luo Yiran’s voice was very low, uttering the word in a rare tone of inquiry.

The magician froze.

Luo Yiran’s voice was truly soft, as if he feared Xia Lang might hear and panic.

But because it was so soft, at this close distance, even without feeling the breath brushing against his cheek, one could still imagine it.

The magician watched Luo Yiran’s expression turn blank again after uttering those two words, followed by a look of confusion.

It was as if he couldn’t understand why he had opened the window during the season with the most bugs and mosquitoes, and so Luo Yiran closed the window again-though this time, he didn’t draw the curtains.

This world was probably vast; it had been several days, and the Demon still hadn’t returned… The magician was certain he had gotten lost.

But it had nothing to do with him.

Following Luo Yiran, the magician glanced at the map on Luo Yiran’s phone. This small area had too many streets, let alone the wider world.

Moreover, the Demon had always been oblivious to his surroundings; he might even think the distance wasn’t far.

The reason he couldn’t return might also be because, in their current state, they couldn’t interfere with this world. He couldn’t even ask for directions.

Oh, right. There was one more thing.

The magician tilted his head back and looked at the sky: if the Demon was flying, it would be even worse. From such a high vantage point, all the buildings would probably look the same.

As he was thinking, Luo Yiran received a phone call.

The magician openly eavesdropped beside him. It seemed to be from that gray-haired, curly-haired player among the World Humans, whose voice was extremely loud.

Luo Yiran was very dismissive, casually responding with “Mm,” “Oh,” “Ah,” “I see,” and “Is that so.”

Just these few phrases, used interchangeably.

Via picked up on the dismissiveness and directly said he wanted to come find Luo Yiran and Xia Lang to hang out and chat face-to-face!

The magician frowned, then stared at Luo Yiran, watching him nod in agreement.

Tch.

Ever since that night when Luo Yiran had called out to him, Luo Yiran could no longer perceive his gaze.

The magician followed Luo Yiran toward the school gate, where Xia Lang emerged from the crowd.

Today was the day to collect grades, and the school was bustling with people. The magician didn’t see any accompanying adults near Luo Yiran and Xia Lang, unlike the other students.

He thought for a moment, then his floating body suddenly landed on the ground.

The magician adjusted his collar and stood slightly ahead of Luo Yiran’s side-he had just seen how the father of a girl in the young master’s class stood beside his child.

Luo Yiran reached out and waved his hand, his arm passing through the magician’s body.

Xia Lang approached.

The magician watched as Xia Lang brushed past half of his body and then, upon reaching Luo Yiran, wore an expression of utter despair: “I didn’t pass.”

Luo Yiran’s eyes flickered slightly: “Not entirely unexpected.”

Xia Lang: “…”

Xia Lang: “I’m going to cry now!”

The magician’s gaze was fixed entirely on Luo Yiran. He watched as Luo Yiran laughed, his eyes filled with tiny shards of light.

Then he paused briefly, and after watching Luo Yiran and Xia Lang leave for a while, the magician followed-

Forget it.

“…”

The scorching summer vacation truly began only after the grades were collected.

Xia Lang didn’t remain happy for even half a day before Luo Yiran drafted a study plan for him, while his own schedule remained completely blank.

Though Xia Lang didn’t dare protest, he was somewhat comforted when Via, who had come to hang out with them, was successfully dragged into the study army by Li Qi Feng.

This instantly made him feel balanced.

Even though Via was better at studying than he was…

But it was so strange! He clearly had a face that leaned toward the bookish type, so why was he bad at studying??

…Could it be that he and Via’s faces were swapped?

Via didn’t seem to mind being forced to study; after all, Luo Yiran was much more humane. Once the work was done, he could play freely, completely unlike the harshness of the uncle…

However.

Via sneaked a glance at Luo Yiran.

Luo Yiran looked up, his smile curving upward in a way identical to his doll-like appearance: “What’s wrong?”

Via: “…”

Hiss, what’s with this kind face???

It’s way, way, way too wrong!!

Luo Yiran shouldn’t look like this!

“Via.”

“Present.” Via instinctively sat up straight, then twitched the corner of his mouth.

“Damn, reflex…”

Luo Yiran had more than just that kind face; his voice was equally steady, and steadiness resembled steadiness. In the past, whenever he slacked off while doing problems, the uncle would call him in the same tone.

So he fell for it without realizing it.

“What do you want?” Via said irritably.

Youshun Town was a large town, with a decent flow of people. At this moment, the sound of passing cars came from outside, but Luo Yiran remained motionless as he asked amidst the ordinary noise, “What did you experience in the last instance?”