Chapter 1 – Found You
Under the dim street lamp, the thin young man walked alone in the deep alley.
The surrounding walls are mottled and silent.
The figure projected by the street lamp on the dilapidated concrete floor was stretched, shortened to a point, and then stretched as he hurriedly walked.
Suddenly, the figure stopped, and the young man’s footsteps stopped. He seemed to hear a sound and looked back slightly.
A gust of wind blew up the short strands of hair on his forehead, revealing the wary gaze at the bottom of the teenager’s eyes, and the taut, cold side of his face.
There was no one behind, only the sound of a dense jujube tree blowing in the wind, echoing in the quiet alley.
Wen Yu clenched his shoulder bag straps with both hands and continued to speed up the pace of going home.
He has always been courageous, never afraid of anything.
It’s just that since getting up early today, he has been flustered. His nerves are on high alert, sensing the approach of an unknown danger.
Even the wind blowing in his ears seemed to be sending a signal, reminding him that something was about to happen.
Soon, the silence in the alley was broken as the sound of creaking bicycles came from the distance.
It gradually gets closer and becomes clearer.
The boy still walked without turning his head back, but his hands gripped the shoulder straps tighter, and he tensed his back more vigilantly.
“Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu!”
A man’s thick voice rang behind him, accompanied by the sound of a bicycle.
The boy’s thin shoulders loosened imperceptibly. He turned his head and looked back: “Uncle Liu, why are you here so late?”
The middle-aged man who pedaled his bike over is called Liu Yiming, a police officer from the police station in this old part of town.
He stopped, raised his hand and wiped the sweat on his head, frowned, and said, “Are you just coming home? School ends this late these days?”
Wen Yu nodded: “The college entrance examination is coming soon, the teacher has extended the evening study time.”
Liu Yiming: “Haven’t you already gotten admission to the School of Fine Arts at S University? Are you still studying so hard? I say from now on, don’t go to the evening study.”
The teenager smiled and said, “It’s okay, there are not many days left anyway. Is there something wrong at this late hour, Uncle Liu?”
The cold, handsome face finally took on the youthfulness and vigor that should be present at this age.
The tails of the eyes that had been wary and sharp were also bent into two beautiful arcs, the clear eyes shone softly under the cold moonlight.
He is handsome and clean which makes people want to get close to him.
Liu Yiming took out two large paper bags from the frame of the bike and stuffed them into his hands: “This is your favorite eight-treasure duck made by your aunt. This is a set of oil paints that I asked someone to buy. Although it’s simple, it can be considered as a present for you for your eighteenth birthday.”
Wen Yu was taken aback and then he realized what day it was today. He thanked him softly, “Thank you, Uncle Liu.”
Liu Yiming patted the boy’s thin shoulders: “We’ve finally seen you grow up. It has not been easy these years. Okay, go home quickly and eat it while it’s hot. I will come to see you often these days. If you encounter anything, please contact me.”
Liu Yiming sent Wen Yu to the door of his house and turned around to leave after seeing him open the yard door to enter.
The look that had been smiling and amiable gradually changed into a look of concern.
He took out his phone and looked at a message his colleague had sent to him.
[Li Haowu was released from prison today, this kid has a poisonous heart, be careful of his revenge on that child Wen Yu.]—
Wen Yu’s home is located in an old residential area on the edge of the city. It is a small courtyard with a single gate. The century-old osmanthus tree in the courtyard is the age of this courtyard.
The mottled walls made of blue bricks, the old and painted mahogany doors, and the incompletely carved ancient gatekeepers and warriors under the eaves are all silently telling the age of this home.
The house was dimly lit and furnished simply.
The perpetual calendar hanging on the wall shows today’s date: May 18.
He himself had forgotten that today was his eighteenth birthday.
It meant he had come of age.
It also meant that he had to move out of the house.
The phone suddenly rang.
The screen showed the caller: Guan Haitao.
“So fast.”
Wen Yu picked up the phone with a self-deprecating laugh, “Second uncle.”
The tone was flat and clear.
Guan Haitao: “Hey, Xiaoyu, are you asleep?”
Wen Yu: “Not yet.”
Guan Haitao coughed on the other end of the phone and laughed: “It’s like this. Your great-aunt and the others discussed with me today about the small courtyard your grandfather left behind when he was alive.
“The year your grandfather passed away, I told you to come and live at my house. You refused and insisted on living in that shabby house. When we saw your stubbornness, we agreed to let you live there until you were an adult.
“You’re also eighteen today, it’s time to sell that yard.”
Wen Yu: “Yeah.”
Guan Haitao continued to laugh and said, “Oh, while the current market is good, it is estimated that the land can be sold for five million. Our family share by heads, you kid can also get hundreds of thousands.”
Wen Yu: “Yeah.”
Guan Haitao: “Then let’s make a deal. Will you move to my house first or do you want to find a house outside?”
Wen Yu: “Second Uncle, can you sell the house after I go to college?”
“Go to college?” Guan Haitao’s tone rose and the speed of his speech became more urgent: “It’s not that I didn’t tell you, but kid you are too stubborn. You’re now working in that design studio and you’re still getting paid $1,500 a month. If you go in directly and become a regular employee, you can at least get five thousand, right? Why are you still thinking of going to college?
“Besides, is the S University School of Fine Arts something you can get into just by taking the test?”
Wen Yu’s tone remained the same, calm and indifferent: “I’ve already received the admission notice of the S City Academy of Fine Arts.”
“You.” Guan Haitao paused for a moment and then snorted: “Okay, you are good. Whatever, you can live for a few more months. But I have to go to the real estate agent to log in the house for sale information.
“There will be buyers visiting the house during this period. if you are not at home, I will have to open the door and go in ah.”
After hanging up the phone, Wen Yu looked around the dimly lit home, his pale lips pressed tightly, and his eyes were dark and uncertain.
After a long time, he stepped on the dark wooden stairs to the second floor, step by step.
There was a crisp sound from the switch in the corridor, and the incandescent tube lighted up like daytime, illuminating the small living room space on the second floor.
In the center of the living room sits a wooden easel with an unfinished landscape on a stretched canvas.
On the canvas, there is a clear blue sky, lush and dense forest, and dots of wildflowers.
But it always feels monotonous and dull, lacking something important.
Wen Yu opened the paint box and took out the paintbrush. After some preparations, he stood in front of the easel with the palette in hand.
He lifted the brush but did not know how to fill the unfinished landscape.
He felt that the lush forest should be painted with a large house of ancient architecture. Like a big temple, a place dedicated to a god.
But what the temple should look like, he could not form an idea in his brain no matter what.
Like the inspiration dried up, and as if he had seen it somewhere, but could not remember no matter what.
His mind goes into a dead-end, it became empty and dull.
The cool breeze in the middle of the night blows into the room through the window screens, but it also blows away the unsolvable irritability of the teenager.
Sweat slid from his forehead, along the curve of the taut cheeks, slipping down to the jaw, and dripping on the old floor.
Time passed minute by minute until the hands of the old clock on the wall reached two o’clock in the morning.
Wen Yu looked intently at the painting in front of him, and gradually, his whole body was placed in the forest in the painting.
Surrounded by distant mountains, lush trees, and blooming wildflowers.
The sound of the stream rushed beside him, the butterflies and birds flew briskly beside him, and the air was cool and refreshing.
It was as if he was in a fairyland.
He stared at the surrounding scenery in amazement, stepped forward, and started walking as if looking for something.
Suddenly, the day turned into night.
A full moon hung in the night, but the cold white light could not penetrate the lush forest trees no matter what.
The surroundings were eerily dark and silent.
Wen Yu was scared in his heart and wanted to escape. As soon as his body moved, there was a tingling sensation of being bound in his hands and feet.
He was shocked to find that his hands and feet had somehow been bound, lying in the middle of a huge stone altar in thin clothing.
A gust of night wind blew, blowing the luxuriant and dense tree branches and leaves, clattering in the darkness of the night as if a huge beast was waving its claws and teeth, and may pounce on him at any time.
He looked around in horror and tried with all his might to break free from his bonds.
But with a slight movement, the rough hemp rope binding his hands and feet seemed to have countless small needles stinging the nerves on his weak skin, he shuddered in pain.
Suddenly, he saw a vague figure approaching him step by step.
Who?
Wen Yu wanted to shout loudly, but couldn’t even release a trembling voice because of extreme fear.
The black shadow approached; it was like a tall man. He couldn’t see his appearance clearly, but his whole body was filled with an icy cold aura.
The man’s figure slowly stretched out his hand towards Wen Yu, the palm of his hand fell on his throat and strangled his blood veins.
It’s just that this hand is like an ice sculpture, the touch is bitterly cold.
It is definitely not the temperature that a normal person should have.
Wen Yu was terrified to the extreme. He ignored the piercing pain in his wrists and ankles, twisting and struggling desperately, trying to escape as soon as possible.
But to no avail.
The man’s palm left his throat, but the fingertips pressed against the skin of his neck and slid down, passing between the clavicle and gradually reaching his chest.
The thin clothes were pushed aside effortlessly, the skin that was not covered by the clothes touched the freezing cold air, shuddering under the man’s fingertips.
No!
Wen Yu shouted, but couldn’t make any sound.
A sense of fear that he had never had before filled every cell of his body.
He opened his eyes wide in horror, watching the man’s figure leaning toward him a little bit as if burying his head in the side of his neck and ears.
The strong wind blows, the luxuriant branches and leaves sway as if struggling, the sound of rustling surrounds the ears, and a heavy sigh is faintly mixed in the wind:
“Found you.”
***TN
My new project~ (o˘◡˘o)✩✧ I’ve been wanting to pick up a horror kind of project. <3
I will not be putting this on Novelupdates because g00gle, sadly, demonetized me for 30 days (or more), coz I’m getting my traffic elsewhere. They don’t believe that I get thousands of reads every day because no one really searches for my website on g00gle search. They think I’m a scam. I cri.
You can just bookmark my website. (。•́︿•̀。) Sorry for the inconvenience.
Oh no, how dare they
Im happy i found this, looks interesting
Thank you for your hard work!
I really liked your translation of Beloved Husband :3
So I immediately came here after seeing that you began a new project
Thank you for your hard work <3
i came to take a look around because i knew you were going to announce the new project. sorry about the ads thing. shocking. i had never really thought about that issue. i guess i’ll start googling ur site to come here LOL. i hope you manage to solve it… thank you for the new novel. it feels very atmospheric and i’m very enthused about it
this looks like it’ll be interesting! thanks for translating
Oh my god. So thrilling!
Look nice! Thank you !
Hello! Firstly thank you for your amazing translation. Can I re-translate it to my native language, Burmese? I will definitely make sure to give you credits and link back to your site.
Hello! Firstly thank you for your amazing translation. Can I re-translate it to my native language, Burmese? I will definitely make sure to give you credits and link back to your site.
Hey, yeah okay.