Not a good person
Wen Ya spent some time figuring out the current situation.
Her adoptive parents are the main characters in this dream. Everything here has happened before. So, she discovers that in this house, her mother is beaten every three days and every five days. Her adoptive father, Li Huaming, is practically using her mother, Zhou Kangyan, as a punching bag.
Once inside the inner world, one loses control of their own destiny. Moreover, Wen Ya estimated that her current body was about five or six years old. Every time that beastly father beat her mother, she wanted to stop him, but she was powerless to do so. Zhou Kangyan was afraid that she would also be beaten, so she would always hold her tightly and protect her, or lock her in the room in advance, in any way she could separate her from Li Huaming.
Wen Ya felt very frustrated and asked Zhou Kangyan why she didn't run away.
Zhou Kangyan just smiled and patted her head: "Where can you run off to? Your dad and I have been together for so many years."
Wen Ya didn't understand.
It's also worth mentioning that many men who commit domestic violence use alcohol as an excuse, but her beastly father doesn't drink often, and he actually behaves better after drinking.
Wen Ya looked at Zhou Kangyan and said, "He's just bullying you. You can't let him bully you like that!"
Seeing her serious expression, Zhou Kangyan chuckled: "Dad is just having a bad day, don't blame him, he wasn't like this before..."
Wen Ya didn't know what to say. For a moment, she felt a surge of exasperation, but then she calmed down. She suddenly found it somewhat amusing; how had spending so much time with that big, goofy guy influenced her? She couldn't save anyone, so why waste her breath?
The most important thing right now is to find Zhao Wentian.
When Wen Ya entered the inner world, she was with Zhao Wentian, so he must have entered as well, but it's unknown whose body he possessed.
The flow of time in this world is strange. Wen Ya noticed that time only seemed normal when she was with her adoptive parents; otherwise, it passed very quickly. Fortunately, Zhou Kangyan wasn't too restrictive, and she could go out and play during the day.
So Wen Ya took the opportunity to observe the other people in the community when she went out. Logically speaking, since they had come in, they must be circling around the dream owner and must know her adoptive parents.
However, when Wen Ya was alone, a day would pass in the blink of an eye, and she gained nothing even after many days in the game. On the other hand, the time it took for Zhou Kangyan to be beaten seemed to drag on endlessly.
Witnessing and experiencing such violence firsthand made Wen Ya feel extremely uncomfortable. She knew that the passage of time was not important, but over time, she felt as if she had truly become Zhou Kangyan and Li Huaming's child, growing up in such a violent family.
Whenever she had such thoughts, she would wake up with a start, as if from a deep dream. No wonder her grandfather said to be careful of nightmares filled with evil spirits.
Her grandfather once told her that when exorcists enter the dream realm of evil spirits, they always choose to act quickly to avoid unexpected changes, which refer to the inner world. Although the inner world isn't particularly dangerous, the exorcists have to experience someone else's life and witness the ghosts die without being able to change the outcome; that feeling has a greater impact on them. Therefore, after leaving, they are always in a daze for a period, unable to distinguish between dream and reality, which greatly depletes their vital energy.
Wen Ya could truly understand this feeling at this moment.
Although she couldn't find Zhao Wentian, Wen Ya learned a lot about Zhou Kangyan and Li Huaming's affairs, because every time Zhou Kangyan was beaten, she would hug her and talk about the past.
Li Huaming and Zhou Kangyan were childhood sweethearts. Zhou Kangyan grew up in a family that favored sons over daughters and whose father was an alcoholic. Whenever her father got drunk and was about to hit her, she would run next door to find Li Huaming. Young Li Huaming was a simple and honest boy who took care of Zhou Kangyan from elementary school to high school.
“Your dad used to save his eggs for me every morning, and he would let me eat the best food first. He was very good to me.”
Wen Ya listened quietly. The room was dark, and Zhou Kangyan's voice carried an eerie warmth. She had just been slapped by Li Huaming because the water she poured for him wasn't the right temperature.
Wen Ya sensed that Zhou Kangyan was like a wealthy man who had spent all his money, who once possessed countless treasures, but was now destitute and could only rely on reminiscing about his past glory to soothe his current hunger.
Zhou Kangyan lives in the past, and the boy who slayed the dragon in the past eventually became the dragon himself.
“But he’s hitting you now,” Wen Ya said coldly.
“No,” Zhou Kangyan touched Wen Ya’s face, “Don’t talk about your father like that. There’s a reason why he… became like this. Don’t hold a grudge against him.”
Upon hearing this, Wen Ya completely lost the desire to speak. She couldn't explain it; it was simply inexplicable to call her love-struck.
Li Huaming and Zhou Kangyan did have a good time together. After graduating from high school, Li Huaming was admitted to a vocational school, while Zhou Kangyan failed the entrance exam. In those days, vocational schools were highly regarded, and the Li family was originally very satisfied with Zhou Kangyan. However, when they saw that Li Huaming had been admitted, they began to look down on Zhou Kangyan.
Despite the pressure from his parents, Li Huaming resolutely chose Zhou Kangyan and took her with him to the city to study.
And so Zhou Kangyan fled that home. She found a job in the city, rented a place, and cooked and did laundry for Li Huaming every day. That's how they started living together. There were no ceremonies, no promises, no beginning and no end. She lived her life like this, thinking it was the best life she could ever have.
They lived a long and harmonious life together, but when did things change?
It was Li Huaming who got the job after graduation, it was him who was ostracized because of his background, it was him who was frustrated and unsuccessful, it was someone who was a good-for-nothing but rose to prominence because he married the bureau chief's daughter, it was him who offended a good-for-nothing and was framed and lost his job.
After losing his job, Li Huaming's personality changed drastically; he became sensitive and easily angered. The first time he hit her was when Zhou Kangyan, seeing him constantly depressed, bought him a roast chicken, saying it was to improve his life. But when Li Huaming saw the roast chicken, he suddenly flew into a rage, accusing her of looking down on him because he was unemployed, and therefore she could humiliate him at will.
From then on, Li Huaming seemed to have found a new pleasure in beating Zhou Kangyan whenever he had the chance. Even after Zhou Kangyan became pregnant and gave birth, he did not change his ways, but instead became even worse.
In Wen Ya's view, Li Huaming simply felt he could only control Zhou Kangyan, and violence was an expression of power. Besides, Zhou Kangyan had never resisted and could even rationalize everything through her own maneuvering. Violence can be addictive; in short, Li Huaming was addicted to hitting her.
Wen Ya couldn't change anything; everything had already happened, and there was no point in trying to persuade her anymore. So she turned around and stopped listening to Zhou Kangyan's endless nagging.
The next day, Wen Ya went out as usual. She had been observing from the shadows for days without any results, but the neighborhood was only so big, so which one could Zhao Wentian be?
As she walked downstairs, lost in thought, she bumped into someone. She whispered, "Sorry," and then tried to squeeze past them.
The stairwell in the old apartment building was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. Whenever they encountered someone, they would usually wait for them to pass before proceeding. However, Wen Ya, taking advantage of her small size, would squeeze into the gap to the side. Usually, people would let her pass, but today, this person showed no respect for elders and stood there for a long time without moving.
Wen Ya suppressed her inner irritation and looked up, only to see a serious-looking old man staring at her.
Wen Ya paused, then recognized him as her neighbor across the hall, whose surname seemed to be Chen. Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Wen Ya called out, "Grandpa Chen." After saying that, she realized something was amiss.
She's been in this world for so long, and apart from her adoptive parents, everyone else seems like an NPC in a program, doing specific things every day. Even when she greets Wen Ya, it's very mechanical. Her expression is enthusiastic, but her tone is flat, and it's always the same.
No one stared at her with such scrutiny as Old Man Chen.
Wen Ya recalled the days she had spent in the inner world; she didn't seem to have met this neighbor before, only knowing him from the original owner's memories. So, today was the first time she had met him.
Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she tentatively asked, "Are you... surnamed Chen?"
Old Chen sighed, "Just hearing you call me 'Grandpa' makes this trip worthwhile. Wen Ya, I'm so glad I found you."
A certain place in Chunhe Residential Area.
There's a children's play area here, but because it's poorly maintained, the slides and rocking horses look dilapidated, so no kids play here. Also, because there are no roads, few people come here, making it a good place for conversation.
"So you were at the South Gate before?" Wen Ya looked up at Zhao Wentian, then suddenly turned her neck. "...Why don't you sit down? My neck is a little sore."
Zhao Wentian laughed: "Wen Ya, Wen Ya, you still have moments like this. Although saying this now is a bit of making the best of a bad situation, I still think you're cuter the way you are now."
According to Zhao Wentian, he had also been looking for her. However, he would wait at the gate early every morning, watching people come and go, while Wen Ya would leave later than him and just wander around the neighborhood observing. So even though they lived across the hall from each other, they had never bumped into each other. If Zhao Wentian hadn't forgotten his keys and gone back to get them today, they wouldn't have bumped into each other in the hallway.
"What do you call this? It's like searching high and low without finding it, only to discover it right under your nose!"
Wen Ya: "...So you've discovered something?"
Zhao Wentian's expression turned serious: "There really is one. I discovered that this 'I' is the NPC who has been attacking me from the outer layer."
Wen Ya frowned slightly upon hearing this: "What a coincidence?"
"Yes, but I don't understand why he attacked me. He kept preventing me from going upstairs, which is obviously a protective mechanism. Was he preventing me from going to the evil spirit's house, or was there some other reason?"
Wen Ya hesitated for a moment before saying, "The most important thing now is how to get out. Have you heard your grandfather talk about the world inside the illusion?"
“No…” Zhao Wentian raised his hand and touched his chin. However, with his current body, this gesture no longer made him look dashing, but rather a bit old and decrepit. But he didn’t notice it at all. “Few people enter the inner world. I guess the key lies with the dream master.”
Wen Ya thought the same thing, but after being here for so long, she still couldn't find a solution: "But I..."
"Master? Brother Zhao???"
Suddenly, a childish voice interrupted their conversation.
Wen Ya and Zhao Wentian turned around at the same time, and what came into view was a delicate and beautiful baby, about two years old, even smaller than Wen Ya's body. She had her hair tied up in a topknot, was wearing overalls, and her big, dark eyes were looking at them in surprise.
"Is it you guys? Great God?" The baby's watery eyes showed a hint of grievance.
The familiar address shocked Wen Ya: "...Si Mucheng?"
Upon hearing this, the baby burst into tears: "I've finally found you!! Waaaaah!"
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