Chapter 51: The Eighth Night
“It’s true that calling it a tool isn’t wrong at all. Whether from the aspect of being ‘useful’ or ‘versatile’, it’s quite a ‘practical’ item.”
“To say I’m a tool is a bit excessive, isn’t it?”
I was somewhat at a loss for words. I simply mentioned my thoughts from the morning, and this was the response I got.
“But being considered a practical tool is not bad at all. I’m honored to be of use to everyone.”
“If Juncheng were a tool, he would definitely be an ‘important tool’, one that cannot be destroyed or discarded, hehe.”
“I’m grateful for the Young Miss’s appreciation.”
“Of course, I love you the most! Hehehe.”
Lianbing kissed me on the lips and pressed her cheek against my chest, closing her eyes. I hugged her tightly, savoring the beauty of her delicate body.
On the bed, Zheng Jinqun and I were lazily talking about what happened afterward. It was proof that we had taken the final step in our relationship. Aside from the wedding ceremony, we were essentially like a married couple.
I felt this more intensely than before.
I was no longer alone, nor would I ever be able to return to being alone. This weight had become a part of me, warming both my body and soul.
…That must be just an illusion.
I shook my head and stroked Lianbing’s silky hair.
“You and Lan seem to have gone through quite a bit.”
“Maybe to you, Juncheng, Xue Li looks like a gentle maid. But when she’s working as my maid, she feels more like a strict tutor, doesn’t she?”
“Indeed, a strict tutor.”
The two of them took turns being educated by Miss Shirley. It was now Lan Hua’s turn, and Lianbing seized the chance to have some free time.
Miss Shirley likely realized that if the two were together, I would be led to an inn completely defenseless, so she had separated them.
Perhaps this was part of a scheme. Just earlier, when changing shifts, Lan Hua had said a load of things, expressing that Lianbing shouldn’t sneak away and do things without her knowing. Lianbing had smiled and nodded, but then ended up pulling me into the room.
Hey, hey, we could really end up pregnant…
Of course, all this was under Lan Hua’s watchful gaze, and Lianbing knew this yet still went ahead. I guessed Lan Hua would probably make the same choice. If “Ice and Lan’s first collaboration” was meant to end here.
It seemed like “Ice and Lan’s first collaboration” was wrapping up in various ways.
The two were actually quite similar, especially in their assertiveness.
It was precisely because of this that they couldn’t get along… Well, as long as they didn’t fight.
I understood now. The supposed harmony of the harem doesn’t really exist. Instead, one must navigate between multiple women.
“Checks and balances” is the key to maintaining the current state, the secret to keeping the harem.
It felt a bit like the style of an organization.
And to be able to think this way, I was somewhat satisfied.
I was calm to the point of scaring myself.
Becoming this way was after that absurd morning spent with Yu Hui and Lily. The last bit of warmth inside me had finally dissipated.
My mind had become calm… but it seemed I had cooled down too much.
It was like jumping from the scorching noon of a desert to the midnight chill; the temperature plummeted, and it even started to snow.
But now, I could think things through.
This state wasn’t new to me; I had once escaped from a spiral nightmare by letting go of my emotions.
Yet now, it felt a bit different.
What had changed?
I had left the care of Yu Hui to Lily. I originally wanted to take care of Yu Hui myself, but she had sent me away…
She always thought of me first. Sometimes I wished she’d be a bit more willful.
Lily was completely unaffected. If there were problems, they were psychological; she couldn’t even look at me, and whatever I said she just complied with, showing no autonomy. Was this a submissive attitude? It felt more like a doll.
Seeing her like that made me strangely anxious, and I couldn’t help but want to scold her, even hit her.
At that moment, I was startled by my own thoughts.
I had entered the room.
Having so many relationships was already enough of a headache. If I really hit a woman, I’d rather cut my own head off.
What kind of feeling was this… What was wrong with me?
I had finally achieved the coveted harem life, and no Shura Field or dark kitchen knife incident had occurred. Surrounded by so many beautiful girls, everything was unfolding perfectly. It was simply exhilarating!
…?
“I’m jealous, Juncheng.”
“Uh, uh? What’s wrong?”
“You were just thinking about other girls.”
They had both just lost their virginity, and I should have been there with them.
“With such thoughts, I should have told you, ‘I only think of you.'”
“Because it’s you, I can say it. I don’t want to lie to you, and I know you can tell when I’m lying.”
“Sometimes lies are necessary, you know? Even if I know you’re lying, I hope you still say it.”
“Sorry… next time.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me!”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t want you to deceive me, but I want to hear your lies.”
“That’s really contradictory.”
Lianbing pouted, looking dissatisfied as she made her demands.
“Tomorrow, anytime.”
“Will Miss Shirley let you go?”
“I don’t care! I’ll find a way to escape.”
“You won’t escape at all… Well, if you want, I can talk to Miss Shirley for you.”
“Mm~ Juncheng, you’re the best~”
…Ah…
…That’s also the best for me.
It should have been a wonderful situation, but why was I feeling—
I couldn’t feel the warmth.
Had I grown tired of it so quickly?
That couldn’t be right. I still found them extremely alluring. They were the most beautiful existences in the world.
I felt cold, as if I were dead.
Li Nai said that zombies are beings caught between life and death, infinitely close to dying.
…Close to death, huh?
At noon, I had an intimate exchange with Lianbing, and in the afternoon, we played beach volleyball together.
In the end, Xinran and Keling’s sister duo took first place, while Li Nai and Xue Qing’s pair narrowly lost. Mengfa and I ended up at the bottom.
“Come on, use your magic! Comrade!”
We were taken out in a single round… “Come on, use your magic! Comrade!”
The winning girls chose me as their prize, as Li Nai had unilaterally decided to include me in the rewards.
Of course, it wasn’t the kind of R18 development that siblings might have; it was just regular sibling conversation.
Or maybe it was more like an interrogation.
They mainly complained that they hadn’t seen me in days and began to question me about where I had been. My answer was “nowhere.” It wasn’t really a lie, right? I had indeed spent most of my time in the hotel room, nowhere to go.
Though not technically my room.
However, Keling was adamant that I was lying and claimed I had definitely gone on dates with other women. That wasn’t entirely incorrect…
If she figured something out, she didn’t point it out directly, but her gaze grew colder, completely reverting to her former self.
If she could come to dislike her brother and find her own happiness, that would be great.
But all those overly flirtatious guys who casually hit on her could go die. I wouldn’t hand my younger sister over to you!
Even though Xinran and Keling were mad about my whereabouts over the past few days, they later each took an arm, tugging me along everywhere. It’s as if younger sister complex was an incurable disease… It really can’t be fixed.
While sending Xinran and Keling back to their room, Xinran looked deeply into my eyes, and I felt a gust of wind that made me involuntarily squint.
Did she have something to say to me?
By evening, I was walking along the beach holding Xue Qing’s hand, searching for Xuan’er.
But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find her.
Where could Xuan’er have gone all day?
“It’s perplexing… If only Lan were here.”
Searching aimlessly like this wasn’t effective. Though this is called the “Southern Kingdom Island,” it wasn’t small at all—almost the size of a medium-sized city. Trying to find one person here was quite a task.
The reason I was looking for Xuan’er was that I had already decided to feed her a bit of my blood every day.
Even if it could only buy some time, I didn’t want her to endure alone.
Could it be that she was avoiding me because she didn’t want to drink my blood?
“…It looks like it’s going to rain…”
“It’s a typhoon.”
As soon as those words fell, the weather changed drastically.
Day turned to night, fog rolled over the sea, and the wind and waves grew stronger.
When the first beach umbrella was swept into the air by the gale, the people on the beach finally realized what was happening. They didn’t even have time to grab their belongings before fleeing in a panic, creating chaos.
Fortunately, the hotel was nearby; as long as we could slip into that building, we would be in a shelter away from the outside, regardless of how fierce the wind and waves got.
“An Juncheng! Come back!”
I turned to see Teacher Chen Xin calling out to me at the hotel entrance.
I heard my name being called.
In that moment of hesitation, I suddenly crashed against something—
No, it wasn’t ‘something’—it felt like a ‘wall’ was coming down on me!
Oh no—this typhoon came fast!
In a moment of desperation, I embraced Xue Qing and rushed toward the hotel entrance. But at the last second, I lost my balance and was blown away.
The last thing I saw was Xinran reaching out her hand towards me.
Before I could react, a fierce wind lashed against me, making it impossible to open my eyes. After a moment, I felt cold liquid hitting me violently, enveloping my entire body in an instant.
Instinctively, I wanted to shout, but I swallowed a mouthful of water instead.
What the hell is going on?!
Why am I being dragged into the sea? Which direction is the wind blowing from? This is so strange!
I struggled desperately, flailing my limbs in an attempt to surface. In the end, perhaps due to luck, I really did come up for air.
…!!
However, I couldn’t see land!
The fierce wind was howling, but I had no idea where it was coming from or where it was taking me. All I could discern was the chaos in this stormy sea, swirling in all directions.
In the storm, it felt like both the ocean and sky were spinning, the scene of thunder and lightning was right in front of me, and I felt I might be struck down at any moment. If that happened, I would probably end up like the zombies Li Nai spoke of, burning in the water.
I felt as if I heard someone’s voice, but that voice quickly faded into the deafening roar of thunder, leaving my last shred of psychological support dissipated.
Because I was maintaining ambiguous relationships with multiple women, the heavens were finally fed up with me,
…and decided to strike me down for being scum.
The pitch-black sea had transformed into a terrifying place, with a massive whirlpool swirling in it, like a washing machine sucking in everything around it. Naturally, I was drawn into it as well.
Using every ounce of strength to escape was futile; I couldn’t hear anything anymore. Ultimately, I was completely pulled in.
In the center of that whirlpool, I witnessed an unbelievable scene.
Amid the chaos, there were burning crimson flames.
Even in the cold, deep sea, they continued to burn defiantly and mysteriously, unfaltering and unending.
Was that… the unquenchable fire?
How strange, why would it—
But my consciousness continued to fade, and at the same time, I heard a chime, much heavier than before, like a container filled with water being struck, repeating in waves.
I ultimately lost consciousness.
…How long have I been unconscious?
It seemed like it was still night…
Where was this? It felt like an island.
My stomach hurt; it seemed I had ingested quite a bit of seawater.
I rose, feeling dizzy, and looked around. The waves crashed against the shore, and countless sparkling points of light danced on the beach under the moonlight.
It seemed something had washed up on the shore, perhaps another victim, though it could also be garbage. Regardless of what it was, I decided I should take a look.
Without thinking twice, I dashed toward it.
It looked like a person.
As I got closer to the drenched figure, I turned them over.
When I saw their face, even I couldn’t help but widen my eyes in shock.
On the eighth day of vacation, I was blown into the sea by a sudden typhoon and washed ashore on an uninhabited island. The most incredible thing was that I encountered another version of myself as a victim.
