9 Chapter 9
I saw Dazai Osamu again a week after we parted. By then, Bailibian had already tidied up the messy living room, and even the quilt, unfortunately caught in the rain, had found its comfort and returned to its warm and cozy state. However, to show his displeasure, its owner didn't put it back in its original place, but instead put it away in the closet—though this didn't bother Dazai Osamu, who never went to bed.
Dazai Osamu, who was not scolded but received an extra dinner as usual, still did not feel ashamed of his prank. He even expressed his unreasonable complaints about the dinner in front of him to the chef who provided him with the food, "The size of the beef is completely inconsistent. It makes people have no appetite at all. Putting this kind of thing in front of me, are you provoking me?"
The picky eater did not receive the compensation he deserved. Bailibian, who had long been accustomed to being criticized, chose to remain silent as usual. Just as he finished cleaning up his dishes and was about to go back to his room to rest, Dazai Osamu called him, "Baili,"
Baili Bian turned back in confusion, his eyes sweeping across the living room coffee table when he was surprised to find that Dazai Osamu hadn't touched a single bite of tonight's dinner—a situation he hadn't encountered in a long time. "What's wrong?" Faced with the sudden change in his only dining companion, Baili Bian had to show some concern.
"What do you think is the meaning of life?"
Hmm, this is a popular topic. But facing Dazai Osamu's serious expression, Bailibian realized that it was inappropriate to use the standard of saving the world to fool him at this time. So he thought carefully for a moment, then said frankly: "I don't know. If I have to give an answer, then I think it's meaningless."
In Dazai Osamu's eyes, the young man before him was as calm as ever, his eyes revealing an unbroken peace. How could such a person believe that life was meaningless? He had asked the same question to many people before, and the man before him was not the only one to give such an answer, but he was still curious. How could someone who, in return for the transcendent, only asked for a house, who kept his garden in perfect order, who decorated his home with warmth and care, feel that life was meaningless?
"Why?" he asked in a voice almost whispering.
"Because..." Why? Baili Bian didn't know. He simply felt that imposing personal significance on something as simple as "living" was too burdensome. It was just a simple journey that could end at any moment. He couldn't see any use for attaching any other value to it other than slowing down his progress.
Thinking of this, he gave his answer.
"A journey that can end at any time, it can end at any time..." Dazai Osamu repeated Bailibian's answer over and over again, and finally laughed. "Baili actually gave such an answer, it's really a surprise."
Bai Libian was no longer surprised by Dazai Osamu's sudden outbursts. After confirming that he had no other questions, he returned to his room. It was too early to go to bed, but playing a game was just right. So he opened his Tetris game, and then heard a loud bang. Bang—
It sounded like something had fallen to the ground. Although he was certain that it was Dazai Osamu's doing, Bailibian still walked out of the bedroom and observed the situation on the first floor at the stairs - but he didn't see anyone, nor did he see any signs of damage to any large objects.
With the protagonist's mentality of "taking a look to feel at ease", Bai Libian walked down the stairs, but he didn't find Dazai Osamu in either the living room or the bedroom. Just as Bai Libian was about to turn around, he went into the kitchen to look for him, and happened to see Dazai Osamu hanging on the stairs - the bandages that were originally wrapped around his body were made into ropes and tied to the handrail of the stairs. The height of two floors was enough for the underage Dazai Osamu to hang himself. Since the place where he was strangled happened to be his neck, it was not difficult to understand that he was hanging himself.
Bailibian breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, it was Dazai Osamu who had just fallen. Although the appliances in the house were not expensive, for a teenager living alone, the pressure of purchasing another one was inevitable.
"Get ready, Dazai, I'm going to put you down." Although 'respect the fate of others and give up the desire to help others' is a golden rule in City A, the other party is going to be hanged in his own room after all, and he can't just stand by and watch.
Considering the height, Bailibian didn't choose to go upstairs to cut the bandages. Instead, he lifted Dazai Osamu directly from the first floor, intending to put him down. However, the moment he picked up Dazai Osamu, his eyes, which had been closed, opened. Then, when Bailibian didn't react, he performed a somersault—a vertical jump in the air—and escaped Bailibian's control, finally hanging smoothly on Dazai Osamu's body. The only mistake he made was that his head unfortunately hit the wall during the mid-air jump, causing him to fall into a coma.
Bailibian was not very happy to have suddenly obtained a Dazai Osamu pendant. The sudden weight could crush him at any time, but just when he was about to push the other party to the ground inhumanely, he found through the glass of the living room that the gate of the front yard was opened, and then dozens of men with guns broke into his yard. The other party obviously also discovered him and shot at the floor-to-ceiling window, but the bulletproof glass was obviously not in vain, and the other party's first attack failed.
It was then that Bailibian remembered that Dazai Osamu's ability was "No Longer Human," and that having come into physical contact with him, he had already lost the ability to use it. Although abandoning him and then unleashing his ability would have been a good option, Bailibian chose to flee through the designated escape route, carrying Dazai Osamu on his back. The strangers chasing him were clearly unaware of the structure of Bailibian's house, and after he entered the hidden entrance, they stopped pursuing him, or rather, they could no longer find him.
When Dazai opened his eyes, he and Bailibian were already on a deserted beach. The sky was still black, with no trace of the sun or stars, making it impossible to tell what time it was. "Open your eyes, Dazai." Bailibian's tone was emotionless, but Dazai was still keenly aware that he had been exposed.
If it's exposed, it's exposed. Anyway, Dazai Osamu thought nonchalantly, he never thought he could hide it from Bai Libian. As for Mr. Mori's mission...
"Dazai-kun and Baili-kun have a very good relationship. After I received the call, I thought Baili-kun would not care about you. I didn't expect that he would not only be willing to rescue you, but also specially take care of you for two days. Such a relationship is really enviable."
"But Baili-kun's strength is truly even greater than imagined. He sneaked deep into the enemy camp and took Dazai-kun away silently without leaving any trace. Even if GGS wanted to take revenge, they couldn't find him..."
"It's truly a unique ability. Even if I personally sent someone to look for it, I couldn't find it... Dazai-kun must have a way."
After all, I'd already made an effort. Since I'd failed, it was all up to Mr. Mori to do. Dazai Osamu briskly threw the burden back onto Mori Ogai, not feeling the slightest bit wrong. He was even more curious about what Bailibian would do. When did he realize he'd been tricked? Was it at the beginning, during his escape, or even after reaching the beach?
"Do you have money, Dazai?" Bailibian looked at the sea in front of him. Yokohama is a coastal city, but in all his time here, he still hadn't seen the sunrise over the sea in Yokohama. This was a rare opportunity, and it was just the right time to make up for the regret in his heart.
This was a question Dazai hadn't expected. But he was honest and said, "I don't have any cash, but I do have a card." Although Dazai's salary card was always missing due to frequent swimming, coincidentally, he didn't go swimming today.
"Your salary? How much is it?" After waiting for a long time and still not seeing the shadow of the sun, Bailibian felt a little sleepy.
Dazai Osamu, who had never cared about his salary, recalled the salary that Mr. Mori had told him at the beginning, and then gave a more conservative estimate - although he didn't spend much, he didn't think that Mori Ogai would be willing to reimburse him for the cost of those suits after entering the water every time.
"Give it to me." Bailibian's tone was very light, and he didn't turn his head to look at Dazai Osamu, as if he didn't want the other party's salary card, but asked the other party to pass him a piece of paper.
Unable to figure out what Bailibian wanted, Dazai Osamu subconsciously obeyed. Then he heard the other party say in a tone that was three parts sneer, four parts coldness, and three parts nonchalantly: "This is your compensation to me. Don't worry, I will return it to you after I use it."
Although the extent of the damage to the house was unclear, judging by the enemy equipment Baili Bian had seen last night, while the house wouldn't be seriously damaged, the furnishings and appliances would likely need to be replaced, and the garden would definitely need to be re-tended. Overall, it would be a considerable amount of work.
As for the amount Dazai mentioned, after deducting the cost of renovating the house, the cost of reinforcing the house, and finally the time and energy he would waste, the total amount would probably be exactly zero. As for how Dazai would make a living these days, that was none of his business.
At that moment, the sun rose. First, a tiny glimmer of light, then half the sky, finally a crimson sun slowly rising from the golden sea. Bailibian watched the entire scene silently, but he felt no sense of wonder. He even thought coldly, "This is no different from the sunrise in City A. The only pleasant thing is that there aren't so many couples around here taking this opportunity to propose or break up."
After estimating that those people from last night had left, Bailibian stood up without any reluctance, patted the dust off his body towards Dazai Osamu, and walked towards home. Although he already had a rough guess about the part to be renovated, he still needed an on-site survey to determine the final renovation plan.
【Author’s words】
Asking for a bottle of nutrient solution every day
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