Chapter 38: Wrong Turn, Diverted Path
What if I just ignore her? But if I do that, will she hold a grudge against me?
From the color of her title, I can tell that Lanhua is clinging to me because she likes me. And from various clues, she should be one of those “yandere” girls from legends…
I originally thought girls with such extreme, obsessive emotions only existed in anime, but I actually encountered one… This is truly a rare occurrence; you could call it lucky, right?
Uh, being pestered by a yandere is not a good thing… Various unpleasant scenarios flash through my mind, like being imprisoned, tied up, kept like a pet, being chased, even being attacked with a kitchen knife…!
I flinch, my teeth gritting unconsciously.
Calm down. Even a yandere wouldn’t suddenly kill someone. If someone killed just like that, they’d be completely insane, a short-sighted criminal, wouldn’t they?
Extreme yanderes like Yuno Gasai are exceptions to the exception; generally, they don’t develop to that extent.
Let me search my mind for information about yanderes and analyze it carefully.
Generally, girls with yandere attributes won’t directly cause trouble for the protagonist because being with the protagonist is their main goal. They’ll just find ways to eliminate anyone or anything that obstructs them.
Before being discovered by the protagonist, they will endure, and endure, and when they can’t hold back any longer, they will take action.
Then, after their various terrible behaviors are discovered, they enter… well, the so-called stalking phase, right? Like what Lanhua did to me before…
At this point, if the protagonist foolishly falls for another girl, or plays the field, it will cause the yandere girl to become angry and blacken, leading to the most terrifying ending, all sorts of horrific murder plots…
So, from this, we can derive a method of handling the situation. As long as we do the opposite and continue to respond to their affection, we can maintain a relatively peaceful relationship with a yandere… In some ways, we might even live happily…
“The problem is I can’t respond!”
I negate the conclusion I reached after analyzing and thinking.
Let alone responding, I just rejected her!
Ahhh! So what exactly is this situation going on?! I simply cannot understand it!
Lanhua is different from ordinary yanderes in one crucial aspect: she knows I have a girlfriend! She was even there when Lianbing confessed to me!
And I didn’t foolishly choose to play the field; I directly and decisively rejected Lanhua.
Thinking about it this way, she should now hate me and want to kill me, right?
Yet her reaction is… well, harassing me with text messages in the middle of the night?
And judging by the contents of the messages, she’s using emoticons and even teasing me; her mood doesn’t seem too bad… In fact, she might even be happy.
It’s baffling…
I don’t understand! Oregairu!
As expected, experience from manga and novels is useless…
*Bzzzz—*
2017-4-4 01:35
[Perhaps Juncheng, you’re troubled about why I’m still pestering you even though you rejected me?]
“…”
Could this guy have mind-reading abilities?
The lack of emoticons means Lanhua is getting serious too.
I thought about it and replied with a simple [Yes, I don’t understand.].
Then, after a while, Lanhua replied.
2017-4-4 01:37
[I don’t blame you, Juncheng, I like you even more. Although I’m hurt, I like you even more~ Hohohoho~]
“Uh…”
Being told someone likes me like this, even I would feel shy…
Then she started recounting her own story.
The general summary is: she started paying attention to me from the first year of high school when she sat behind me as my neighbor. → By the time she realized it, she had already fallen in love with me. → But because she was hesitant, she never dared to confess. → Unexpectedly, Lianbing confessed to me first. → Unwilling to accept it, she wanted to win me back. → She wanted to understand me better, so she started stalking me. → And then I rejected her…
At this point, Lanhua stated her current feelings.
She said…
[I don’t want to give up.]
[I know, Juncheng, your girlfriend is Lianbing, but I still don’t want to give up.]
[So I’m going to…]
A meaningful pause makes me imagine the worst, is she going to do something to Lianbing…!
I quickly interrupted and sent a text message.
2017-4-4 02:02
Delivered [Aren’t you good friends with Lianbing! What are you going to do to her! Don’t be impulsive! Lanhua!]
Don’t be impulsive! I mean, if you really try to do something to Lianbing, you might get killed by her instead!
[Don’t be impulsive… Hoho, don’t worry, Juncheng, I won’t do anything to Lianbing…]
[Since we’re friends, sharing your boyfriend with me should be acceptable, right? This is the time to test the depth of our friendship.]
“What the heck…!”
[This is also natural, right? Because I understand Juncheng better than Lianbing, and I pay more attention to you than anyone else, Juncheng!]
Then came a whole lot of personal information about me!
It was so detailed that it made my scalp tingle!
Even a private investigator couldn’t achieve this level!
You’re insane…!
There were even things in the list that I hadn’t noticed myself. Because it was so detailed, it made me feel a sense of awe, like looking up at a towering mountain.
Just by looking at this information, one could understand what kind of person I am…
Hmm? Wait a minute…
A sudden flash of inspiration strikes my mind, connecting it to another troublesome matter.
Through Lanhua, can I find someone similar to me?
However, using a yandere… uh, it feels like courting disaster…
I’ll just note this idea down for now. Whether to use it or not… well, I’ll decide based on the situation.
2017-4-4 02:12
[For now, as long as I can watch Juncheng, it’s enough… I’m watching now, and I’ll continue to watch forever, hohoho~]
Gah! She said she’s watching me right now…! Through what is she watching me?
A surveillance camera!
I quickly asked.
Delivered [Did you install a surveillance camera in my room!]
Judging by the sense of being watched, there seems to be more than one!
Where could they all be!
I started searching my room again, but I couldn’t find a single one. I suspect they might be pinhole cameras.
2017-4-4 02:20
[Yes, it’s necessary to be able to watch Juncheng at all times~ Haha, aren’t you cute, Juncheng? No matter how much you search, you won’t find them, right?]
She must have snuck into our house while I was out with my sisters yesterday and installed surveillance cameras, right?
That has to be it, because no one was home all day yesterday.
But where did she install them…
No, I can’t find them at all just like this…
Ugh, ugh, ugh, suddenly I don’t want to stay in this room anymore, I feel so uncomfortable! It’s like a transparent room with absolutely no privacy!
But if I leave this room, where will I sleep…
Should I just make do with sleeping on the sofa in the living room for a night?
2017-4-4 02:22
[It’s useless, you know? Your whole house is within my sight. Ah, though, I didn’t install any cameras in your sisters’ rooms, hoho… Juncheng, are you thinking of sleeping with your sisters?]
“…!”
Even though it was just a silent text message, I could almost hear Lanhua’s voice at the end of it growing colder!
If I really went to sleep with Xinran and Keling, she might go berserk!
However, I didn’t plan on sleeping with my sisters anyway.
If I did that, it would be like jumping from a hot brazier into a fiery pit! Even if my head was stuck in a door, I wouldn’t do something so stupid!
In that case! To avoid Lanhua’s gaze… I have no choice but to…!
I immediately jumped onto the bed, covered my head with the blanket, curled myself into a ball, and became one with the blanket, a ‘quilt monster’, leaving only an ‘air hole’ to ensure breathing was unobstructed.
Since I don’t know where Lanhua is watching me from, I’ll just hide myself!
*Bzzzz—*
My phone rang, and the last text message of the night arrived.
2017-4-4 02:22
[Hoho, the current Juncheng is as cute as a hamster~ Then goodnight~ My little mouse~ (づ~3~)づ╭?~mua~]
“…”
Even though I was in my own room, I felt no sense of security.
Even though I was wrapped in a blanket, I felt cold all over.
Damn it… Just like Lanhua said, I feel like a hamster trapped in a cage…
With a sense of unease, I started to ramble in my thoughts, and I don’t know when I finally fell asleep…
…
When morning came, I suddenly woke up and realized something terrible had happened!
“Oh oh oh oh! This is bad!”
I actually overslept!
Lianbing’s birthday party is at eight, and it’s already 7:30!
According to the address Miss Shirley gave me, getting there within half an hour is an impossible mission… Moreover, I still need to wash up and change clothes. No matter how I think about it, I’ll be late.
Ah… How embarrassing…
It’s all because of those text messages from Lanhua late last night that I was so unsettled. Thinking that there might be surveillance cameras and listening devices installed somewhere in my room, I couldn’t sleep peacefully at all.
In the end, I couldn’t help but fall asleep due to mental exhaustion.
Ah, now is not the time to waste time, hurry up and get going!
I immediately washed up, changed into a suit, said hello to my sisters, and ran out of the house.
Taking the usual route, there’s no way I can make it on time.
Suddenly, I remembered that Black Street.
If I go through that street, I’ll be able to reach the birthday party venue on time!
Hmm… When all else fails, it’s worth a shot!
To take a shortcut, I headed to Beishan Park and arrived near the usual vending machine.
On the bench lay a homeless uncle sleeping with a newspaper covering him.
Then I miraculously discovered that the place had returned to its original state! There was no sign of a blood pool, not even the smell of blood, it was all cleaned up.
Kaoru Tsukiyose did say someone would come to clean it up… Just who were they…
Ah, now is not the time to be thinking about this.
I remember walking down this small path with Xueqing that day… I walked around that secluded path but couldn’t reach that street.
Huh? Did I take the wrong turn? Why am I back at the vending machine?
“Hey! Kid, what are you looking for?”
The homeless man who had been sleeping lifted his newspaper and asked me with an annoyed expression.
“Uh, I’m looking for a street…”
“Ah, I know, you’re looking for Black Street, right? Really, what are kids these days doing, can’t even find their way! I’ll take you there, stop wandering around aimlessly, it’s annoying to watch!”
“Uh, thank you for your trouble…”
The homeless man yawned, scratched his head, and shook off a flurry of dandruff, then led me down the alley. After walking for a while, as we neared the exit, he stopped and pointed inside, saying to me.
“Here, it’s Black Street from here on!”
“Hey, but… I’ve already walked down this road just now…”
“Just do as I say, why so much nonsense! Get going!”
“Whoa!”
He gave my butt a hard kick, and propelled by the force, I stumbled forward a few steps.
When I came to my senses, I found myself already in Black Street……!
