Chapter 044: Three Sentences Fill the World-weary Villain with Hope (Part 9)
"The little thing is quite fierce."
Yufa slowly withdrew his hand, his fingers resting on the car door moving up and down as he smiled with interest. "Protecting the master is a good thing, but you have to consider the situation carefully."
Chen Wenjian narrowed his eyes, his azure vertical pupils became the size of a needle tip, cold and fierce, like a tempered blade.
A cat and a man faced each other in the air. Although there was a huge difference in their sizes and heights, they were equally matched in terms of momentum and neither could overpower the other.
Yufa had always valued Chen Yunli, not only because his appearance was appealing to him, but also because of his abilities, which had only just begun to emerge. Now, with the addition of this... cat, Yufa's opinion of Chen Yunli could not help but rise even higher.
"Mr. Youfa is my colleague, not my enemy." Chen Yunli reacted, reached out to cover Chen Wenjian's cat head, and gently pressed it back.
Chen Wenjian pretended to struggle, but he tapped his forehead and said, "Be good," and only then did he obediently put the thing back into his pocket.
But before that, it still did not forget to glare at Youfa through Chen Yunli's fingers.
Yufa deliberately curled up the corners of his mouth and gave it a victorious smile.
"Sorry, it didn't mean it." After calming down the temper of his "ferocious beast", Chen Yunli apologized to him.
"It's okay. Good pets protect their masters. I understand." Youfa shrugged nonchalantly, without reaching out again. He verbally instructed Chen Yunli to fasten his seat belt and then went back to the driver's seat.
The car drove through the crowded street, turned from the main road into the alley, and stopped in front of the restaurant at the end of the alley.
Chen Yunli got out of the car first. While waiting for Youfa to park the car, he looked up at the restaurant. At first glance, it seemed old, but after entering, he felt inexplicably familiar.
The restaurant is not big, with a long counter half a person's height separating the front hall and the back kitchen.
The tables, chairs, bowls, chopsticks, and ornaments on display were all made of colored porcelain or wood. These two materials, as they age, acquire a particularly elegant and quaint quality. Inside and outside the door seemed like two different worlds: the former a dim and bleak silhouette of the old times, the latter a concise and lively film of the new society.
"Sit down." Youfa led everyone to the round table in the middle of the restaurant and personally pulled out a chair for Chen Yunli. "Mr. Chen, sit here."
"Flattery." You Fei muttered.
Chen Yunli thanked them and sat down. Opposite him was the counter. The waiter walked towards the crowd with the menu in his arms. He was about to walk between Chen Yunli and Youfa, but suddenly changed his steps and stood next to Ming Shaotu.
"What would you like to eat, guests?" The waiter spread out the menu with a pure black cover, and his fingers holding a black pen made his skin look even paler.
Chen Yunli glanced at him casually and was about to ask what was on the menu when he saw him turn sideways with his back to her. His slightly long hair covered his eyebrows and face, hiding his features.
Chen Yunli raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but recall the waiter's appearance when he walked towards him. The more he recalled, the more blurry his face seemed.
It was also at this time that he understood why he felt that this restaurant looked familiar.
The style and atmosphere here are very much like a library.
While Chen Yunli was pondering, Youfa had already begun ordering dishes with familiarity: "I'd like a baked lobster in broth, salt-baked short ribs, and five servings of mushroom soup. Mr. Chen, take a look at the menu. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
As he spoke, he took the menu from the waiter and handed it to Chen Yunli.
Chen Yunli came back to his senses, glanced at it casually, and added a dish of stir-fried vegetables.
"You like vegetarian food? Hmm..." Yufa pinched his chin and nodded thoughtfully.
On the other side, Ming Shaotu and You Fei each ordered two dishes they liked. The waiter wrote them down one by one and walked quickly towards the kitchen.
During the entire process of ordering food, he didn't let his face be exposed to Chen Yunli's eyes for even a second, but the more he covered it up, the more curious Chen Yunli became about him.
It is known that there are creatures of the Ke type in this world. The library's main body is a silver giant python, and this restaurant gives him a similar feeling to the library, so it is very likely to be of the same type as the library.
If this is true, then the waiter's attitude towards him is very intriguing.
Ming Shaotu had poured a pot of hot water and was slowly and methodically washing the five sets of tableware when he suddenly felt someone touch his arm. He turned around and saw Chen Yunli approaching.
"Do you often come here for dinner?"
Ming Shaotu wiped the water stains off his chopsticks, placed the steaming chopsticks on the bowl, and pushed them to his side. "It's not a frequent visit. People in our line of work must have regular 'dinner gatherings', and the place is fixed."
His tone was understated, as if he was unintentionally revealing to Chen Yunli the details of the library and its superior unit.
Which line is this?
What is the purpose of regular dinners?
Why do we need a fixed dining location?
Chen Yunliyin was thoughtful and continued to ask, "This restaurant gives me a very similar feeling to the library. Is it also a 'safe and absolutely safe' place like the library?"
Ming Shaotu smiled slightly: "I guess so, but not as safe as the library."
As he spoke, he placed a clean spoon next to Chen Yunli.
Yufa heard the two talking, but without paying attention to what they said, he came over and said, "I'm the librarian's direct superior. If Mr. Chen encounters any problems at work, you can come to me."
"Of course, I'm also happy to answer your questions about life," he added.
"Thank you." Chen Yunli smiled at him, holding up his chin and picking up the slightly hot spoon. "Is this a white porcelain spoon?"
Yufa was a little dizzy from his laughter: "Yes, the tableware in this shop is all porcelain, clean and safe."
Chen Yunli turned the handle of the spoon without commenting.
The four of them sat and chatted for a while when the waiter came out from the kitchen carrying a large tray with nine dishes and a pot of glutinous rice on it. They were steaming hot and looked great.
He lowered his head deeply, his long bangs covering the tip of his nose, covering most of his face, leaving only his light-colored lips and pointed chin exposed. He also deliberately turned sideways to avoid facing Chen Yunli.
Chen Yunli seemed to have been whetted by him. He stood up and walked around the table under the pretext of pouring water, observing his appearance from different angles.
The waiter's hair almost stood up when he stared at him. If the dishes had not been served yet, Chen Yunli suspected that he would run away.
Just as Chen Yunli was slithering closer to the waiter, a cold, slender hand suddenly rested on his shoulder. Its long, curved nails pressed down on his clothes, bouncing them up and down like a ghost hand in a movie.
"Don't scare him, my friend. He can't stand your careful scrutiny."
The thin voice was like the sound of falling snow, lightly and casually penetrating into Chen Yunli's ears. It appeared as abruptly and terrifyingly as the hand.
Chen Yunli's back muscles were stiff, and he almost threw him over his shoulder. Fortunately, the man was alert and retracted his hand before that. He swam slowly from behind him... Oh no, moved in front of him.
He was a young man half a head shorter than him, with a black nightgown hanging loosely on his body. His eyelids were drooping as if he had not woken up yet. He had fair skin and delicate features. At first glance, he looked like a half-asleep doll in a shopping mall window.
Chen Yunli couldn't help but glance down at his body. What was exposed under his pajamas were human ankles, not a tail. The shadow that just flashed by, and his upright walking movements, were probably just his illusion.
The young man yawned and nodded at him. "Hello, I'm the owner of the restaurant, and the last person to dine with you tonight, Yue Xun."
"Hello, I'm Chen Yunli." By the time Yue Xun had interrupted, the waiter had already disappeared. Chen Yunli withdrew his gaze and returned to his seat. "What do you mean by saying he can't withstand my careful scrutiny?"
"You don't know?" Yue Xun was stunned, and glanced at everyone, "You haven't told him yet?"
You Fei was drinking soup from the bowl. Upon hearing this, she glanced at Chen Yunli cautiously, then lowered her head and replied, "We're worried...if we tell you, it won't work."
The others nodded in unison.
"..." Yue Xun curled his lips, "You guys are so funny."
Chen Yunli looked left and right, stroking his chin, and could probably guess what they were thinking.
Combining the previous clues and the changes in the image of the library in Ming Shaotu and You Fei's eyes when they left the library just now, Chen Yunli speculated that he should not be affected by the power of restraint, and could not see the true appearance of the monsters, and could fix the world in his eyes, thereby affecting other people who could see the "truth of the world."
This is a passive ability. As long as he exists, this ability will continue and expand, protecting both himself and those around him.
If he guessed correctly, he must have protected Ming Shaotu and You Fei unintentionally, which was why they had reacted like that before.
As for why the waiter avoided his sight, it was probably related to his identity.
If he was not a human being, but a monster like the true form of the library, Chen Yunli's gaze would solidify his appearance into a certain form, and even affect his essence.
This also explains what Ming Shaotu said to him not long ago - as long as Mr. Chen works here, this place will just be a library. A safe library that will always be safe.
Thinking of Article 0 of the employee handbook, Chen Yunli twitched his lips.
He thought he had accidentally entered a strange story about rules, but he didn't expect that he himself was the strange story.
You Fei's concern that Chen Yunli's abilities would vanish after the incident was exposed wasn't entirely unfounded. Similar plots abounded in literary works, and such incidents occurred frequently in real life. Ming Shaotu and the two senior employees with the surname You had all encountered them, so it was no wonder they were so cautious.
Thinking of this, Chen Yunli smiled.
"Mr. Chen, have you figured it out?" Yufa put on disposable gloves and slowly peeled a few fried shrimps, placing them on a plate and pushing them to Chen Yunli. "Here, try the fried shrimps. They're the signature dish here."
You Fei looked over with a resentful look - that was what he ordered.
After expressing his resentment, he rolled up his sleeves, peeled two, and silently put them into Chen Yunli's porcelain plate.
Chen Yunli didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he didn't reject their kindness. "I understand a little bit...Mr. Ming, Mr. You Fei, the library you see now should be what I see, right?"
"Yes. And it will be like this in the future," Ming Shaotu said. "As long as you're in the library, your influence will last for a day. The library will be much more peaceful in the future than it is today. At least, abnormal books shouldn't appear again in the short term."
Chen Yunli ate shrimp and asked curiously, "What do those anomalous books look like to you?"
You Fei paused and said with difficulty: "It is a description that greatly affects the appetite. If you want to know, I can tell you after dinner."
"...Then there's no need for that." Chen Yunli chose to skip this topic.
Yue Xun sipped the mushroom soup in small sips. He tapped the spoon on the edge of the bowl twice, and then it turned into a handful of pale worms, which fell onto the table with a plop.
Yufa was eating lobster baked in soup. The lobster meat was cooked soft and elastic. When he looked up and saw the densely packed mountain of worms, his whole body froze instantly. Goose bumps broke out from the back of his neck to his heels, and he almost vomited.
The wriggling mountain of insects dispersed and slowly crawled towards Chen Yunli. Under their bodies were densely shaking flesh buds and short limbs. The dense sounds they made while crawling made people's scalps numb.
Everyone at the table seemed to be paused, their movements frozen, and their murderous gazes turned to Yue Xun, only to find that he was calm and composed, observing Chen Yunli's reaction.
Chen Yunli felt a little greasy after eating the grilled shrimp, so he picked up two pieces of vegetables with his chopsticks. Before he put them in his mouth, he saw Ming Shaotu and the other two staring at Yue Xun and the spoon in front of him.
Chen Yunli was confused and reached out to grab the handle of the spoon: "What are you doing..."
"hiss--"
Before he finished speaking, the four people, including Yue Xun, gasped and were so scared that they quickly retracted their hands.
Immediately afterwards, Chen Yunli saw from Youfa's eyes the reason why they were so shocked.
A line of golden flame ignited where his fingers touched, and under the flame were bloated, short and fat white worms. They rolled and twisted, screamed and wailed, and were burned to ashes by the flames.
But when he blinked, all that was left was a spoon in the eyes of the people at the table and others.
Chen Yunli and everyone else looked at each other in silence for a moment. He reached out and took out Chen Wenjian and rubbed his hand on the back of the confused Maotuanzi.
"Hmm?"
Chen Wenjian tilted his head in confusion, but Chen Yunli had no intention of explaining. He just peeled a shrimp and stuffed it into its mouth.
"Be good, eat the shrimp and I'll cleanse my hands."
Upon hearing this, the others turned around to find something to wipe their hands, and each of them accidentally kicked Yue Xun under the table.
Yue Xun didn't bother with them. He stared at Chen Yunli with great interest for a long time, then suddenly smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, are you interested in coming to my department for a few days?"
Chen Yunli was stunned. Before he could react, he heard the other three people say in unison: "Not interested!"
Yufa smiled wryly, "You're trying to steal someone from me. Did you wake up physically from hibernation, but your mind isn't?"
Chen Yunli: “?”
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