Chapter 18 - The Vanished Mermaid (Part 11)

It was too bizarre; who would open the door under such circumstances?

Luo Yiran resolutely refused the angelic young man outside the door, lying with a straight face, “Sorry, I’ve already fallen asleep.”

The young man outside blinked his beautiful blue eyes gently, not showing any anger. He continued in a soft voice, “Sir, please let me in.”

The voice was clean and crisp, not quite pleading but almost, making Luo Yiran’s ears feel a bit warm. He hesitated for a moment.

His hesitation gave the magician an opportunity. The magician let out a soft, mocking laugh, then pinched his voice to sound even sweeter and softer than the young man outside, saying with feigned grievance, “Young master, what are you doing… Am I not enough for you?”

“…”

Luo Yiran was taken aback, nearly falling off the magician’s shoulder.

The young man outside still wore a smile, but his eyes were filled with confusion. However, he quickly regained his composure, furrowing his brows slightly as he continued, “Sir, it’s so cold outside.”

As beautiful as the mermaid he had seen during the day, though his eyes lacked the mermaid’s innocent purity.

The young man persisted, taking a step forward and leaning his upper body against the door, causing the neckline of his long gown to slide forward, revealing a patch of pale skin on his chest.

“Sir, if you won’t let me in, could you lend me a piece of clothing?”

The magician reacted swiftly, and before the doll could recover from his shock, he continued in his sweet, pinched voice, “Dream on! Young master, don’t forget that all your clothes are specially made by me! If you dare give them to that little flirt outside, I’ll never speak to you again!”

Luo Yiran couldn’t take it anymore, “…Shut up.”

The magician was delighted but responded with a voice full of grievance, “Young master, you’re being mean to me…”

As the last note fell, the magician added with a soft chuckle in his real voice, “Young master, friendly reminder, don’t fall for someone just because they’re beautiful.”

The doll stood on the magician’s shoulder, having been so shocked earlier that he was now clutching the magician’s gray hair to prevent himself from actually falling off.

But being so close to the magician’s face meant the magician’s amused voice was right in his ear, low and husky.

“You’re so annoying.”

Speaking in someone’s ear or at a very close distance always feels intimate and ambiguous, but having just experienced a socially awkward moment, Luo Yiran only found the magician irritating.

The magician fell silent. The doll approached the door, seriously suggesting, “I don’t want to open the door, but my window is open. If you’re sincere about coming in, you can climb up the hotel’s exterior via the pipes.”

The blonde boy was taken aback, raising his voice in protest, “You want me to climb the building?!”

The doll scoffed, “You don’t even consider how disrespectful it is for a guy to try and seduce me. You’re lucky to get a chance at all.”

“Take it or leave it.”

The young man was incredulous, touching his face-how could it be? If he saw my face, he couldn’t possibly remain unmoved. How is he still so cold-hearted?

Could it be that he only took a glance? But with a face like mine, how could anyone bear to only look once?

The blonde boy couldn’t figure it out, biting his finger in frustration before casting a reluctant glance at the door and turning to leave.

As the footsteps faded, Luo Yiran didn’t look outside, nor did he check the peephole. The person outside was beautiful, but for him, one glance was enough.

Moreover, after that first glance, Luo Yiran’s senses were all out of whack. The doll didn’t have a heart, but at that moment, he truly felt a sense of heart flutter, as if a heart had suddenly appeared in his chest, beating wildly.

Shouting: Beautiful, wonderful, love him.

Too bizarre.

So Luo Yiran never looked through the peephole at the blonde boy again.

As for climbing the building? He was just speaking off the cuff.

The young man looked too fair and delicate; he couldn’t possibly climb the building.

Thus, Luo Yiran contentedly closed the window, tidied himself up, and, ignoring the magician’s protests, directly manipulated the magician to enter another wardrobe.

“Young master, I won’t harm you while you sleep.” The magician’s voice was firm from within the wardrobe.

Luo Yiran knew the magician was unlikely to harm him; it’s possible the magician was restricted by rules, as long as he remained a puppet, he couldn’t harm his master. But just to be safe, Luo Yiran ignored everything, focusing solely on manipulating the magician to settle inside the wardrobe.

After all, killing someone doesn’t always require direct action.

Luo Yiran painstakingly lowered the wardrobe latch, completely sealing the wardrobe.

“Good night.” Luo Yiran clapped his hands, smiling as he said, “Hope you won’t say anything bizarre tomorrow.”

The magician understood-being locked in the wardrobe was partly due to his earlier theatrics.

Ignoring the occasional resentful calls from the magician, Luo Yiran fearlessly climbed into bed.

There was no possibility of complete reconciliation between him and the magician… both wanted to kill each other, so reconciliation was impossible. Thus, the doll felt no need to feign civility with the magician.

Luo Yiran stepped onto the soft sheets, wobbling to the center of the bed, then lifted a corner of the blanket and snuggled in.

He contentedly closed his eyes, “Good night.”

Though Luo Yiran was a light sleeper, he could quickly fall into a deep sleep in any environment. Soon, he was completely still, lying motionless in the center of the bed, like a real doll.

Not long after the doll fell asleep, the wardrobe latch automatically lifted. If viewed from certain angles, one could see fine threads connecting to the latch.

The magician extended a hand from within, moving almost silently, quietly stepping out of the wardrobe, then slowly inching towards the bed.

At that moment, the wardrobe containing the two men emitted a faint sound, like someone turning over.

The magician paused, his head turning towards the motionless doll on the bed.

The doll remained silent.

The magician smirked-when asleep, the doll truly resembled an ordinary, soulless puppet.

The wardrobe quieted down, and only then did the magician resume his steps towards the bed. But just then, a thumping sound came from outside the window.

The sound drew closer, and the magician stopped, staring at the window.

As the sound approached, a sweaty head finally appeared at the window.

The young man’s blonde curls were plastered to his forehead. He stared at the magician, wrapped in bandages and dressed in a black suit, for a moment.

The young man hesitated, but still continued climbing up, extending a hand to grab the window ledge and flip inside.

But as soon as he reached out, he was blocked. The young man was stunned, incredulously feeling around the window edge-nothing! No ledge to grip! This guy didn’t open the window!

Liar!

The accusation in the young man’s eyes was unmistakable, but the magician remained unmoved.

Liar…

The young man mouthed the words to the magician.

The magician snorted, casually approaching the window. Fortunately, the hotel was practically soundproof, so the magician pinched his voice, using the earlier tone to quietly say, “What does this show? It shows that the little flirt outside can only remain outside, unable to come in.”

The young man: “…”

The young man: “???”

The magician pointed to the bed, reverting to his real voice, “See that? The one you’re trying to seduce is over there, and the window was closed by him personally.” Manipulating him to close it equated to the doll closing it himself, no problem.

The young man looked over and saw the little doll lying peacefully on the bed, stunned-why is it a doll?!

“But he’s mine.” The magician continued lightly, “If you want to compete with me…”

Click.

The wardrobe suddenly made a sound.

Both the magician and the young man turned to look at the wardrobe.

Snore… Snore…

The unmistakable, rhythmic sound of snoring came from the wardrobe, clearly indicating someone was inside.

The magician fell silent.

This time, the young man laughed, his blue eyes revealing a mysterious meaning, “Yours?”

“But your doll isn’t just your toy.”

The young man’s tone and demeanor changed, as if he had become a different person in an instant.

He looked at the magician wrapped in bandages, “Long time no see, magician. Congratulations on getting out of that place, but how does it feel to be a player’s puppet?”

Though the wardrobe’s occupant was already aware, and becoming Luo Yiran’s puppet didn’t bother him, the magician was still irked. He responded with a cheerful, mocking tone, “Oh, a guy who can’t even get inside and is using someone else’s body, what are you babbling about?”

Ignoring the electronic warning of rule violation in his ear, the magician reached out and pushed the window open, then, without hesitation, pushed the young man down.

With a thud, the young man who had fallen from the sixth floor paused, then got up again.

The magician’s voice carried a mocking tone, “My young master appreciates your affection, coming all this way in the middle of the night. Truly, your efforts are commendable.”

The young man rubbed his head, his blue eyes clearer than before. If he made a pure, innocent expression, he might look identical to the mermaid in the water tank during the day. But he didn’t; he pulled out a strange smile, “His setting is the most outstanding employee, naturally attracting attention.”

“And having just arrived in ‘World Human’ and burning Little Red’s Fairy Tale Forest…” The young man tilted his head, squinting his eyes, “Thanks to Mr. Gardener’s promotion, now everyone has listed him as a key observation target.”

“Well, it’s truly an honor for the young master.” The magician leaned on the window ledge, smiling down.

This distance might make such low-volume communication impossible for ordinary people, but clearly, neither of these two were ordinary.

“…You truly live up to being one of the most hated bosses.” The blonde boy frowned, his delicate and beautiful appearance evoking endless pity, yet the magician remained indifferent to his face and words. He shrugged, then withdrew his body, directly closing the window.

The young man snorted softly, then closed his eyes.

In the next moment, the young man’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, and he opened his eyes again, looking up in confusion, “Huh? Wasn’t I climbing up just now?”

“Ouch, why does my head hurt a bit?”

The magician knew that person had come to see him, after all, they hadn’t met in many years. If he saw an old acquaintance become a player’s puppet, he would also feel compelled to mock a bit.

He cheerfully returned to Luo Yiran’s bedside, then lifted a corner of the blanket, preparing to lie down. But as soon as he placed his leg on the bed, his body froze.

He paused, then shifted his gaze to the doll’s direction.

The doll in the center of the bed opened his eyes, speaking coldly, “Allowing you to move around doesn’t mean you can overstep your bounds.”

“…”

The magician’s gray hair hung beside the doll, and he let out a low, deep laugh, “Young master, how much did you hear?”