Chapter 59

Page Nine: The Pretended Death of Father

In the end, Tán Lǐn Huā still agreed to my terms—

To go out and play with me one day during the summer vacation, on the condition that she would take off all her disguises and face me with her true self.

But this was not an easy task for Tán Lǐn Huā, just as Yán Liúzhuǎn had said, he had worn masks for too long and could no longer clearly see his true self.

Oh my, I never thought I would have to evaluate others like this…

If only she knew that there were no limits to the time she could turn into a girl, her awful personality would eventually be exposed.

But to correct it, she must do so before transforming.

Exactly! Only when he knows I hold his life and death in my hands can he listen to my advice and be coerced by the very act of becoming a girl.

This trick might not work well on Thunder Meow-Meow, but it will surely be effective on Tán Lǐn Huā, who dreams of becoming a girl.

There would be no feast of grilled meat; Tán Lǐn Huā now just wanted some peace and quiet, and had no mood to treat me to dinner.

Old Fēng’s stall was gone, and she still had to eat dinner at home, even unsure if Father had cooked.

Such a gloomy mood indeed.

Whether it was Old Fēng, Thunder Meow-Meow, or Tán Lǐn Huā, these unlucky souls chosen by me were nothing but trouble.

“I’m back.”

As soon as I opened the door, I sensed something was wrong.

Silence, no response at all. The living room lights were on and the air conditioning was running, could Father have gone out to buy groceries?

No, that was impossible; he didn’t have the courage to go out alone.

I took off my shoes and tiptoed into the living room, only to find Father rigidly slumped between the sofa and coffee table, motionless.

Coffee had spilled on the coffee table, dripping onto the floor, creating a scene reminiscent of a murder site, filled with the eerie atmosphere of a horror film.

I checked for breath under his nose; thankfully, he was still breathing.

“Father?”

I gently slapped his cheek, trying to wake him, but there seemed to be no reaction. This symptom appeared to be due to female phobia.

Unless a female burglar had entered the house, the problem must lie with the laptop.

Father never watched videos; the purpose of using the laptop was still to treat his female phobia through a galgame.

But if this treatment had been ongoing for over half a month, why did it fail today?

With these questions in mind, I looked at the laptop.

The program name read “Heart-Pounding Literature Club.”

On the screen was a game character named Monika, depicted with her chin resting on her hand, looking at the camera.

At first glance, everything seemed normal—wasn’t this what galgames were like?

Then why did Father end up like this?

After great effort, I managed to move Father back to his room and cleaned up the mess on the coffee table, making some noodles for dinner.

When I went upstairs again, Father still hadn’t recovered… something was wrong… this time felt unusually long.

I thought for a moment, then used Father’s finger to unlock his phone, opened the contacts, and found Wū Qínglán.

He had recommended that my father use a galgame to treat his female phobia, so he was like a doctor to my father, and asking him might provide some clues.

I dialed.

“Hello, Uncle Cháng?”

The call was answered almost immediately, but the voice sounded lazy.

“Hello, this is Cháng Kǎi. My father’s condition seems abnormal. Could you give me some information?”

“Mmm, I remember you. So what happened to Uncle Cháng? He seemed fine when I sent him home?”

“He played a beautiful girl game and seems to be traumatized, lying in bed motionless.”

“Did he reach a bad ending? Some games’ endings can be quite heart-wrenching. What’s the game called?”

“Heart-Pounding Literature Club.”

“…”

“Little Kǎi, have you ever played that game?”

“Well, no.”

“Don’t touch it, and delete the game from Uncle Cháng’s computer.”

“What kind of game is it?”

“It’s a game that turns normal people into someone like Uncle Cháng. Sigh, Uncle Cháng’s condition must have worsened after playing this.”

“Is it that dangerous?”

“This treatment plan might be over. I’ll think of another method.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I hung up and deleted the game from Father’s laptop.

But taking risks is part of human nature. Back in my room, I downloaded the game from Gteam despite my reservations.

The game wasn’t very long.

But when I returned to the scene with Monika resting her chin on her hand, fear crawled up my spine.

Fortunately, I was prepared mentally, so my brain didn’t shut down.

This was a horror game disguised as a romance game!

How did Father come across such a psychologically damaging game?

Checking on Father’s room again, he was already asleep.

His brows were furrowed, and he occasionally let out fearful cries, seemingly unable to escape the shadow of Monika even in his dreams.

It was midnight.

First, I erased Yán Liúzhuǎn’s name.

Goodbye, exhibitionist girl.

Then, though reluctantly, I erased Tán Lǐn Huā’s name.

Would Tán Lǐn Huā cry now? Had she realized what kind of person she should be?

…

The next day, Father’s mental state had not improved.

He was helped into the car by Wū Qínglán, walking unsteadily like a drunk uncle.

For the next few days, my life returned to its usual routine of staying at home, drinking cola, and playing video games.

On weekends, Xiǎo Hǎi Táng brought along Orange and Zhao Zhào, who had escaped the tutoring hell, to play board games at my place.

Actually, Orange and Xiǎo Hǎi Táng really wanted to go out, but neither Zhao Zhào nor I would agree, clinging to the floor to prevent Xiǎo Hǎi Táng from dragging us outside.

Go out in this heat? What’s wrong with you?

In response to my statement, Xiǎo Hǎi Táng viciously declared that she would drag me out of the house someday, tie me to her Yamaha R6, and ride me on scorching asphalt, enjoying a sunbath.

That’s lethal.

Aside from that, I would call Tán Lǐn Huā every day to do some ideological work;

Occasionally, I would clean the house, buy groceries, and cook—my cooking skills must be decent since even Wū Qínglán came over for meals.

This mundane yet peaceful summer life lasted for several days until an indescribable fear returned.

…

Today is August 1st, entering August means I have to face the pressure of performance evaluations again.

But that’s not the main point. The current pressure comes from my new neighbors.

My neighbor’s house has been vacant for many years, and the owner hasn’t found a suitable buyer, whether they rented it out or sold it. Today, a father and daughter moved in… probably a father and daughter.

This isn’t the main point!

The main point is that their move-in ceremony was too terrifying!

Ten black luxury cars arrived, followed by a crowd of dark-suited men with sunglasses carrying various luggage into a European-style house.

Are these gangsters?

How inefficient!

Shouldn’t they have hired movers?

I nervously hid in my room, peering out from the balcony.

I dared not show myself, fearing eye contact and being shot.

Compared to that low-life gangster group known as Thunder Meow-Meow, these guys were truly intimidating.

The man moving in was dressed in a suit, sunglasses, scarf, and Panama hat. From the balcony, I could only see the brim of the hat, making it hard to tell his appearance.

However, today’s outdoor temperature was 39 degrees Celsius, and even for the sake of showing off, this outfit was too heavy.

In contrast, the little girl looked much cuter, wearing a snow-white sleeveless dress revealing her tender arms and a sapphire hairband on her head.

Her round, chubby face suggested she was a very obedient and sensible type.

Just thinking about having a suspected gangster boss as a neighbor made me anxious.

The black luxury cars drove away, and I finally relaxed a bit.

But unexpectedly, the gangster-like man took off his coat, carried a few paper bags, and walked out of his yard.

Then,

He turned and entered my yard.

…

“Ding-dong!”

The sound of the doorbell.