Chapter 158 Scene 23 I’m afraid she’ll hate me if she hears…

In the house that had not been cleaned for a long time, a thick layer of dust accumulated on the floor, and the lazy afternoon sun poured in through the broken window covered with spider webs.

The black cat opened its eyes, crawled out of the tattered cardboard cat bed, and shook off the dirt on its body.

Insect eggs, dust, and floating hairs seemed to be telling it that it had been sleeping here motionlessly for a long time.

The cat walked through the living room, the bedroom, the kitchen, and the bathroom.

It had only lived in this house for less than seven days, and before it could even remember what it looked like, it had already turned into a piece of rotten wood.

Where did the family that originally lived here go? Why did they disappear without a word? It suddenly missed them.

The photo of the girl's bright smile was still in the bedroom. The black cat jumped over the rice spread on the floor, jumped onto the desk, and gently brushed the dust off the photo with its claws.

The wind creaked, blowing through the old wind chimes on the windowsill.

“Willow Leaf…?”

“…”

"Liu Ye, is that you?"

The boy's somewhat childish voice sounded behind him.

He Yuezhe, the black cat, turned her head.

A young man in a thin white vest stood at the door, his fists clenched, disbelief in his eyes.

"I'm Ba Ergou, a friend of Liu Hui. We've met before. Do you remember? It was just downstairs. My family runs a butcher shop. I even fed you meat. You..."

“…”

"Do you remember me?"

The black cat didn't move.

"I'm not a bad person, really. I, I didn't expect you to be here. This place has been abandoned for a long time," Ba Ergou said nervously. "I just wanted to get a photo."

“…”

"I, I promise, I'll leave as soon as I find it and I won't bother you at all!"

"……Meow."

"You, you agree?"

"Meow."

"Then I'm in?"

"Meow."

“…”

“…”

"Well……"

"Ba Ergou is very afraid of this black cat."

"……Why?"

"Because whenever he sees a black cat, he thinks of Liu Hui and becomes shy."

“…”

So the black cat moved reluctantly, turned its back to Ba Ergou, and lay down.

"Ah, ah, thank you, Liu Ye, then I'll come in..."

"Meow."

"W-What happened?"

“…”

"I'm in?"

“…”

"Ah, let me think, where is that photo..."

“…”

"Hey, it's not on the bed, nor on the windowsill, nor in the schoolbag..."

“…”

“It’s over, there’s nothing anywhere— WAAAA ...

“…”

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'm leaving now! I'm leaving now!!!!!"

"Meow……"

Looking at Ba Ergou who was so scared that he shrank to the ground and ran away with his head in his hands after being touched lightly by him, He Yuezhe cried out speechlessly, then rubbed the photo in his hand towards the edge of the table.

"Hey—you're not chasing me away, are you?"

"Meow."

"Me! Ouch, I didn't scare you, did I?"

"Meow……"

"I was scratched by a big cat before, so I'm a little afraid of cats. I'm sorry."

"Meow."

"Hey, how did you know this was the photo I was looking for?! You're so smart!!"

Ba Ergou carefully picked up the yellowed and fragile photo from the table, held it in his palm, squatted down, and looked at the black cat very devoutly.

"Liu Ye, are you scared living here alone?"

"Meow." The black cat shook its head.

"So, do you have anything to eat?"

"Meow." The black cat shook its head again.

"Well, do you want to come with me? I have a lot of meat at home and you can eat your fill."

"……Meow."

^

"Meow……?"

"Oh my god! Why is there a cat meowing? What the hell did you bring home, dog?!"

"Nothing..."

Being hidden in Ba Ergou's clothes, He Yue maliciously poked his skinny body with her nails.

“…”

"That's enough, hurry back to your room and do your homework. I don't want to bother with you anymore."

"Aqiu..." Ba Ergou sneezed, "I know."

"Squeak."

"Bang."

“…”

“…”

"Meow?"

The black cat crawled out from the boy's clothes and looked around curiously.

There was a tile floor that was swept clean and shiny, a small bed that was only big enough for one person to sleep on sideways, and a wobbly desk.

It's so clean here that it smells like disinfectant.

To be honest, if you ignore the bed and the table, He Yuezhe really thinks this place looks like a toilet.

"Liu Ye, my father is very fierce and hates cats," Ba Ergou said as he sat at the desk. "So, you must stay away from him."

"Meow."

"Look, that little window over there leads directly to the corridor. If you're bored, just go out and play by yourself."

"Meow."

"I'm sorry, Liu Ye. Although I said I would take care of you, I'm not strong enough right now. I, I still need time to fulfill my promise."

"But one day, I believe, we will live a good life."

As the boy spoke, his hands kept moving, and it was obvious that he had already started writing something.

He Yuezhe jumped over, stood at the head of the bed, and watched him writing furiously on the paper.

"Liu Ye." Ba Ergou shouted.

"Meow."

"...Doesn't this sound like empty promises?"

"Meow." It's not just similar, it's exactly the same.

"Then, then please don't tell Liu Hui about this, okay?" Ba Ergou said, "I'm afraid if she hears it, she'll hate me..."

"I'm afraid she'll hate me if she hears..."

"You'll hate me..."

"Hate me..."

"Hate me..."

"I……"

"Did he really say that?"

"Yes."

"Uh, he's crazy to say that to a cat."

"Liu Hui, don't you like him?"

“…”

"Um?"

"You! Soul-Saving Master! What are you asking?! I finally got a chance to see you on the 37th day of the lunar month, and you're laughing at me like this!"

"How could I laugh at you..."

"Okay, time is running out, let me finish what I want to tell you first."

"You should have noticed that ever since you had that dream, my parents have disappeared from this world, and everyone's memory of them has been completely erased."

"...You mean, this world is controllable?"

"Controllable? Well, that's pretty much it. This world is 'unreal'."

"I originally thought that since the Werewolf world we were in before was fake, this world should be a real world branch born from the ending of the Werewolf world."

"World branch?"

Liu Hui's speech speed was not fast, but the meaning and some of the words in her words gave He Yuezhe goosebumps as he listened.

"Ding Dong! Seed He Yue Zhe, your growth progress has been updated!"

"Ding Dong! Seeds are folded, your current growth progress is: 30%!"

What……?

"Yes, that is, a world independent of the main plot. It is the same as the main plot before a certain point in time, but after a certain point in time, it will change."

"I roughly understand," He Yuezhe nodded. "So, you now suspect that this branch of the world we're in was also fabricated by someone, or something?"

"That's right, so, Master, you'd better destroy it directly—"

"laugh--"

"You are not the real Liu Hui."

He Yuezhe pulled out the dagger, blood gushed out, and the flames instantly ignited the figure along the wound.

"Who are you!?" She grabbed the figure's neck and asked angrily.

“Hehehe…” The figure laughed sinisterly, “I… am the… [protagonist]… the… [protagonist]… that… you… can never… kill… ahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!”

The figure's face was distorted, melting and dripping like wax.

"One day, you will call my name!!" the figure screamed and grinned.

"One day, you'll give up on these useless garbage [supporting characters]!!"

"One day, you will die because of me--!!!"

"Sh ...

The dagger stabbed into the figure's body again and again, leaving countless holes that were shocking to see.

"HA ...

"I am the [protagonist], and the world revolves around me!!"

"These scars—"

"boom--!!!"

"I will return it all to you eventually."

“!”

The figure approached her at a speed that He Yuezhe could not perceive, and their noses touched.

"Destroy this branch, destroy these supporting characters whose differences you've already discovered."

"But what if I say," He Yuezhe raised the corner of his mouth, "you are not the protagonist?"

"Shut up! This is impossible! I am the [protagonist], I am the [protagonist]!!!"

"Well then, [Protagonist], good night."

"What are you talking about?!!!!!"

Pressing the protruding hexagonal button in the center of the figure's body, its face finally froze into a pure white face without any facial features.

He was wearing a white T-shirt covered with countless labels, such as "good-looking", "handsome", "perfect body", "hard-working", "rich", "optimistic"... Countless labels shining with different brightness were like a sea of ​​stars.

“…”

"Ban Wei Le, take a good look at this world you created, these humans, what have they become just for your imagination?"

"If this continues, this place will probably be destroyed."

He Yuezhe let out a soft sigh, closed his eyes, and stopped looking at the black cat that was gnawing at the figure's body.

…

…

Ba Ergou's life is very dry: get up, recite lessons, go to school, go home from school, do business, do homework, recite lessons, and sleep.

People born in the Year of the Dog are also very dry, with dry hair, dry skin, dry eyes, and a non-dry nasal cavity.

"Aqiu!"

“…”

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

“…”

"Hey, hey, hey, if you have to sneeze, go somewhere else and don't get your fur dirty!!"

"Okay...Aqiu!"

"Ba Ergou, what's your point today? If you don't want to work, get out. I don't need a helper like you!!"

“…”

Yes, that’s right. Ba Ergou’s father only treated Ba Ergou as his helper, not his son.

"Aqiu! Cough cough cough, I feel so uncomfortable..." Ba Ergou sneezed again, rubbed his nose and walked back to his room.

"Meow."

The black cat stood on the desk, holding a thick, sharp piece of white paper in its hand.

"Liu Ye, where are you from..."

"Meow."

"L- ...

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Author's note: I'll be updating tomorrow too, so... I'll be taking a break the day after tomorrow and the day after that!!

[Cat head][Cat head]

(I probably won’t come back early, I guess.