Chapter 31: Neither She Nor I Can Control Ourselves
I was just saying it; I didn’t expect her to take it seriously.
A normal lullaby would be fine, but a lullaby sung in ‘Ah-yu’ style would turn into “Anticipation”![1]
I’ll refuse in a more tactful way.
“Um, cough, you don’t have to sing, do you? It’s almost eight o’clock, and we want to go back early.”
Upon hearing my words, Aunt Qing lowered her head slightly and said in a dejected tone.
“Yes, yes… You’re right, it’s not the time for lullabies…”
Does she have to be so disappointed? Does she really want to sing a lullaby that much…
It’s really no use…
“Well, if we can sing while walking and it doesn’t delay us, we can still listen.”
“Okay! No problem! No problem!”
Hearing my compromise, Aunt Qing clapped her hands with joy and repeatedly agreed in an excited tone.
“Great, great! I haven’t heard it in a long time either. Then I’ll count down three, two, one, Mom, you start singing, and we’ll start heading towards my home, how about that?”
We naturally had no objections to Li Nai’s suggestion.
Then Li Nai began to count down, “Three…”
I walked ahead of the main group, fearing that Aunt Qing’s singing would be like Nobita’s.[2]
After that, the countdown reached zero, and the singing began.
The distant melody seeped into my body from behind, taking my mind from the noise and annoyance to a pure land.
It’s quite nice.
Although the lyrics are just one word, the melody still has twists and turns. The pleasant female voice becomes a bit sharp but not grating, melodious and pleasant, making one intoxicated.
But these are not the main points. The main point is that I seem to have heard such a special lullaby before…
Although I can’t say I’m particularly familiar with it, it’s not completely unfamiliar. In other words, “This is not the first time I’ve heard this lullaby.”
This strange feeling made me stop in my tracks, standing still.
Then, her singing echoed in my mind again, but it was no longer a monotonous melody, but a song with lyrics.
In the dark night, listening to the song, you fall into a deep sleep.
In your sweet dreams, a smile, forgetting your fear.
.
Gazing at you in the song, the moonlight illuminates the earth.
F SF Light Novel
Remembering the past in a smile, shedding quiet tears.
Sleep now, sleep now, quietly close your eyes.
Sleep now, sleep now, soothe your sorrow.
Why do I remember the lyrics of this song?
Her singing sent ripples deep into my heart, capturing very deep memories…
Several people walked past me. I wanted to move my feet too, but it felt very slow.
The whole world seemed to slow down… Thought Acceleration activated automatically, speeding up my thinking.
Was it to prolong the time of the song?
But in this slowed-down world, the song I heard was also infinitely stretched…
However, the song did not stop, and the next lyrics continued to echo around.
In the dark night, weaving warmth, you fall into a deep sleep.
(In your dream, a warm embrace, forgetting sorrow.)
In the warmth, because of you, the sea reflects the stars.
(So quiet in the embrace, memories buried deep.)
Sleep now, sleep now, quietly close to your heart.
(Sleep now, sleep now, my heart goes with you.)
“If possible, I hope the one sleeping in the sea is…”
(If possible, I wish to sleep in the sea with you.)
My own voice interjected midway, and we sang this lullaby together.
It’s that ghost, it knows this song too…
Did it peek into my memories?
Strange, what is this feeling?
Sad… so… bright…
Suddenly, I was plunged into an inescapable sadness, causing my spiritual fluctuations to be immense, and Thought Acceleration also stopped.
“Ah, sorry, I seem to have gotten a bit carried away.”
Snapping back to reality, Lanhua was waving her hand in front of me, trying to get my attention.
I just disliked her singing earlier, and now I’m lost in thought. I’m really talking to myself.
But after my explanation, Lanhua’s surprise remained on her face. She pointed to my cheek and said with a somewhat complicated expression.
“No, that, Juncheng…” “Hm?”
What’s wrong with me?
Why are you looking at me like that?
“Jun Jun, why are you crying?”
At this moment, Ruansui also came closer, took out a handkerchief from her pocket, frowned, and with a worried look, wanted to wipe it for me.
“Huh?”
I’m crying?
Seeing Ruansui’s worried expression, I reached out and touched my cheek. I actually felt tears.
This is truly a miraculous phenomenon. I didn’t feel myself crying at all, not even the sensation of tears flowing down my cheek.
But the fact is, I really cried.
“Why…”
This is so strange… Could it be that the inexplicable sadness just now resonated with my body?
But why would I feel sad?
Xueqing silently moved closer and hugged my waist. Yuhui also soothed my back behind me.
Hey, hey, really, I’m not a real baby. Don’t be like this, it makes me so embarrassed.
I quickly wiped away my tears with my arm. The tears stopped flowing. Perhaps by the time I realized I was crying, the tears had already stopped.
Why do I know the lyrics to this lullaby?
And Aunt Qing, who can sing this lullaby… deliberately covering her head so I can’t see her name… you…
I wanted to turn around and look at Aunt Qing. I felt that if I saw her true face at this moment, I would get a clear answer, or perhaps confirm a suspicion in my heart.
But in the end, I didn’t dare to turn back, and Aunt Qing didn’t call out to me.
Changing my mood, I said optimistically.
“Ah, how embarrassing, a grown man like me actually cried…”
“Juncheng, don’t cry.” RA
Xueqing looked up, resting her chin on my stomach, her mouth forming a pout to comfort me. I touched her head and smiled helplessly.
“Well, it’s nothing. This just means Juncheng, you’re very sensitive! I cried too when my mom sang me lullabies before!”
To my surprise, Li Nai didn’t mock me. Instead, she nodded with a look of empathy, pinching her chin and saying.
“This lullaby has a tragic undertone.”
Lanhua’s evaluation was quite accurate. It seems it wasn’t just me; she also heard the sad feeling, right?
But only I reacted so strongly that I cried. This means this song must have a special meaning for me after all.
“This soothing feeling is more conducive to sleep.”
Yuhui analyzed it this way.
But is that really the case?
Aunt Qing never gave an explanation. After singing the lullaby, she silently followed behind us without a word.
I couldn’t ask any further, so I could only continue heading towards Li Nai’s home.
All the way, I kept calling out to the ghost living in my heart, but that guy showed no intention of responding. It seems that to talk to it, I can only achieve the condition of “being alone.”
Li Nai’s home is a rare two-story building nearby, so it’s easy to recognize. Since both Li Nai and Aunt Qing have fully awakened, climbing stairs is not an obstacle for them.
When we entered the house, the roadblock on Aunt Qing’s head almost fell off. Unfortunately, she reacted quickly and adjusted it.
Damn it, should I try to find a way to get Aunt Qing to take off that roadblock?
“Then Mom, I’ll take my friends upstairs. Hurry up and take off that eyesore roadblock, it looks so stupid~”
“You little brat! When did it become your turn to lecture me!”
“Because it’s really stupid!”
Player Li Nai chose to court death, launching a verbal assault!
The target was mocked, the target was provoked!
Player Li Nai used a hug, but it was useless!
Aunt Qing delivered a beautiful combination punch!
8 HITS!
Player Li Nai was KO’d!
“…Mom, you hit so hard.”
“Hmph, who told you I picked you up as a child. I’ll go to the kitchen to prepare some snacks. I’ll leave my silly girl to you all.”
After saying that, Aunt Qing left first and walked into the kitchen at the other end of the living room.
Even after such a fierce set of actions, the roadblock on her head hadn’t moved at all. Could it be stuck to her scalp?
I squatted down, looking at Li Nai, who fell with a pained expression, and poked her cheek, saying with amusement.
“Why do you always court death? Don’t tell me it’s that ‘because you’re a zombie, you’re already dead’ reason again, which has been used many times and sounds very boring.”
“Um, because…”
“Because you’re a masochist?”
“I have to say, this reason, which would normally be despised, is quite convincing when you say it.”
Could this also be a sequela of becoming a zombie?
Just like my original self, I say whatever comes to mind. And my personality is relatively gentle, while Li Nai is quite erratic, so it’s certain she would become like this.
I exchanged a look with Yuhui, and she understood my intention. The two of us tacitly supported Li Nai by one arm each and headed upstairs.
“Huh? Isn’t this the same as your home, Juncheng?”
Upon reaching the second floor, Lanhua suddenly said this, making me glare at her fiercely.
Seeing me glare, Lanhua stuck out her tongue playfully.
Stick your tongue out, damn it!
The less said, the better. The mention of this matter makes me angry! This guy installed cameras in every corner of my house while I was in the hospital! I found and destroyed four or five, and who knows how many I didn’t find!
-Except for the fact that there is no attic, the rest is exactly the same as my house.
But as she said, Li Nai’s home is similar in layout.
Li Nai’s room is where Xinran…
…Is it a coincidence? Wait a moment, I’m going to change clothes! I should wear that outfit here!”
“Ah! Um, could you please change in the room here?”
Li Nai, who had recovered at lightning speed, cheerfully opened the room door and welcomed us with open arms.
We waited outside the door for less than ten minutes. She came out wearing a zombie-themed tracksuit with a large red stain.
And the clothes she was wearing had already been changed.
—
[1] “Tàntè” (忐忑) is a song by Chinese singer Gong Linna, known for its unsettling and anxious melody.
[2] Nobita is a character from the manga and anime series Doraemon, often depicted as having a poor singing voice.
