Chapter 66: The Price of Aid and a Morning of Discovery

“My name is Zhong Tian.”

Zhong Tian had initially intended to lecture Yu Yinlian, but realizing Su Linxi, who couldn’t perceive Yu Yinlian, was standing behind him, he knew continuing might lead Su Linxi to suspect his sanity. Thus, after introducing himself, he fell silent, turned, called for Su Linxi, and departed.

Yu Yinlian gazed at the food in her hand, then looked up at Zhong Tian, who was pushing his bicycle away, her emotions a complex tangle.

‘There are other individuals with special abilities in this world… and one who can actually see me…’

Yu Yinlian’s recent resolve to “never again step into the real world” was instantly shattered by the beautiful young man named Zhong Tian.

This left her suddenly feeling lost about her future.

‘Even though… he promised to help me…’

Under the soft glow of the small supermarket’s lights, she watched Zhong Tian’s figure vanish from her sight before silently turning and stepping into the darkness, entering that unobservable world.

****

Su Linxi found Zhong Tian’s behavior earlier quite peculiar.

Though curious, she refrained from asking.

Zhong Tian had not offered an explanation, which surely meant he had his reasons, and Su Linxi believed she shouldn’t trouble him with her own curiosity.

Pushing his bicycle, Zhong Tian walked slowly beside her on their way home.

Barely two minutes into their walk, Su Linxi noticed Zhong Tian’s steps becoming unsteady, his breathing growing heavier.

*Clang!*

Zhong Tian swayed, bumping into a roadside tree, bringing his bicycle down with him.

Su Linxi gasped in alarm, quickly crouching beside him to carefully help him up.

“What’s wrong?!”

“It might be… a fever…” Zhong Tian’s voice was utterly weak, yet with Su Linxi’s support, he struggled to stand. “I’m troubling you again…”

“I’ll call a ride-share. We’re going to the hospital.”

Even through his clothes, Su Linxi could feel Zhong Tian’s alarmingly high body temperature, which convinced her this was no ordinary fever but perhaps a side effect of his ability.

‘Who did he use his ability on just now?’

Though Zhong Tian wasn’t particularly heavy, supporting him proved somewhat strenuous for Su Linxi in her current physical state.

“Perhaps it would be better if I sat down.”

Zhong Tian suggested.

“Let’s go over there.”

Su Linxi led Zhong Tian to a nearby stone bench, settled him down, and then stepped aside to call a ride-share.

The moment Zhong Tian sat, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and his consciousness quickly blurred…

****

Yu Yinlian returned to her school dormitory.

She entered without switching on the lights, fearing that drawing attention might attract unwanted visitors—even if those people couldn’t see her.

Still, she yearned for undisturbed solitude.

Using a small rechargeable lamp, Yu Yinlian illuminated her small desk in the dorm, then prepared a cup of instant noodles.

She had a kettle in her room, sparing her the inconvenience of fetching hot water from outside like the others.

Opening the back door, she allowed moonlight to stream into the room; this, combined with the desk lamp, provided enough light to see without being noticeable from outside the dorm.

Yu Yinlian had spent the last few days in this manner; initially, she found the dimness disagreeable, but after growing accustomed to it, she found the faint glow surprisingly pleasant.

Now, she found overly bright environments rather difficult to tolerate.

*Whirr—*

While she was lost in thought, the water finished boiling.

She poured the hot water into the instant noodle cup, steam rising, and only set the kettle down once the water covered the noodles.

Yu Yinlian pulled a corner of the noodle lid, then used a plastic fork to carefully pierce upwards, securing the lid onto the cup.

The waiting period for instant noodles always felt tedious; she picked up her phone, unlocked it with practiced ease, yet found herself with nothing to do… aimlessly swiping left and right across the home screen.

Truthfully, she longed for a conversation, but there was no one she could talk to.

Any message sent from this unobservable world would simply be ignored…

She put down her phone, leaned back in her chair, and gazed up at the dormitory ceiling.

‘Tomorrow… I’ll go talk to Zhong Tian… and return the money too.’

She recalled the few tens of yuan she had originally intended to keep as a memento.

‘Though it won’t be enough to repay him.’

‘I’ll see what kind of compensation he needs.’

‘He did say next time wouldn’t be free, so he must have already thought of how I can compensate him, perhaps by helping with chores or something…?’

‘But even so, it would at least ease my conscience.’

With that thought, she straightened her posture, opened the noodle lid, and began stirring the noodles with her plastic fork.

****

By the time Zhong Tian’s consciousness fully cleared, it was already two in the morning.

His body was no longer burning with fever, though he still felt a lingering weakness.

Su Linxi remained seated beside him, seemingly having waited there the entire time.

“I’m sorry,” Zhong Tian began apologetically. “I’ve troubled you to bring me to the hospital again…”

Su Linxi shook her head, indicating it was no trouble at all.

“I feel much better now; I should be fine,” he said, rising from the hospital bed and shaking his head, feeling that there was no longer any serious issue. “Let’s go home… it’s too late.”

Su Linxi nodded in agreement.

The doctor had also confirmed there were no problems and that he could leave once he woke up.

“I asked your sister to request leave for you,” Su Linxi said, walking beside him. “You can return to class tomorrow afternoon.”

“Alright.”

Given it was already two in the morning, and Zhong Tian wasn’t one to pull all-nighters, waking up at six would mean he’d gain nothing from his morning classes.

It was far better to take leave and catch up on sleep at home.

Just as Zhong Tian exited the hospital, he yawned.

‘I must have slept for several hours, yet why am I still so drowsy…’

Then, a sudden question struck Zhong Tian: ‘Why did I lose consciousness?’

He only remembered walking along when his body suddenly heated up, and he collapsed, without any prior warning.

It was as sudden as a side effect of his ability.

‘But I hadn’t used mind-reading…’

Lost in thought, he yawned again.

‘Never mind, I should just go home and sleep. I’ll think about it after I wake up.’

****

Early morning.

Yu Yinlian awoke in her dormitory.

Her first action was to pull out her phone and check the time.

It was already nine o’clock.

Ever since she had entered this unobservable world, she had barely returned to a classroom or attended a single lesson.

Only occasionally would she visit the teaching building, simply observing her classmates from the outside as they attended their lessons.

There was no particular meaning to it; she just watched, using it as a way to pass the time.

Today, however, was different.

After washing up and meticulously attending to her appearance, she even put on her school uniform and returned to the Senior Two teaching building.

Zhong Tian had mentioned he was in Class Three.

Thus, she arrived at the entrance of Senior Two, Class 3, peering inside.

The class was currently in its second period, a mathematics lesson, and many students, unable to withstand the math teacher’s ‘power’, were sound asleep on their desks, impervious to the teacher’s most impassioned speeches.

Yu Yinlian scanned the room but failed to spot Zhong Tian.

There were two empty seats in the class; ‘could Zhong Tian have taken leave?’

Yu Yinlian recalled Zhong Tian from the previous night.

‘Could it be due to a side effect of his ability…?’

The thought suddenly struck Yu Yinlian with a profound sense of guilt towards Zhong Tian.

He had bought her over a hundred yuan worth of food and promised to help her; if he were suffering severe side effects because of her, even death wouldn’t be enough atonement.

Yu Yinlian resolved to wait for him in the teaching building; once she clarified the situation, she would apologize if necessary and express her gratitude.

****

Zhong Tian slept until half-past nine that morning.

This was the latest he had woken up recently.

Checking his phone, he decided there was no point in eating breakfast; he could just go back to school for two classes and then have lunch.

‘Hmm… even though the leave was until the afternoon, it’s better not to miss classes if possible.’

He changed his clothes, washed up, and headed straight out.

‘The bicycle was left on the roadside last night; I wonder if Su Linxi locked it…’

Zhong Tian walked for a few minutes, reaching the spot where he had inexplicably collapsed the previous night, and found his bicycle propped against a tree.

He mounted the bicycle and rode directly back to school.

It was already nine-fifty by the time he arrived.

The third class started at nine fifty-five; a quick walk would still get him there on time.

Inside the teaching building, as the long break was about to end, a lively clamor still filled the air.

Many students chatted and played in the corridors, while others, having gone to the snack shop for treats and drinks, were now rushing back to their classrooms.

Zhong Tian jogged into the corridor, returning to his seat just before the class bell rang.

Wu Rui, his deskmate, looked surprised to see Zhong Tian, then moved his chair to clear a path for him to sit down.

‘Phew.’

‘Made it.’

He sat down and asked Wu Rui beside him, “Wu Rui, could I borrow your notes from the first two classes later?”

“Ah, no problem at all.”

Zhong Tian nodded, steadying his breath, which had been somewhat disturbed by his jog, and waited for the teacher to arrive.

****

Yu Yinlian watched Zhong Tian from outside the corridor, still somewhat lost in thought.

Just moments ago, Yu Yinlian had seen Zhong Tian jog back and immediately waved at him, calling his name loudly twice, but he hadn’t responded, hadn’t even glanced her way, simply rushing straight into the classroom.

‘Could it be that he can only see me when he activates his ability…?’

Yu Yinlian felt something within her heart dim instantly.

She walked to a nearby stairwell, chose a step, and sat down.

****

Time flowed on amidst the teachers’ lectures and the students’ lively chatter during breaks, and the morning at Taisan High School concluded just as ordinarily.

The “meal-rush runners” from each class, like sprinters, waited for the exact moment the teachers dismissed them, then, clutching their bowls, burst out of the classrooms.

Yu Yinlian, aware of the impending rush, had already exited the teaching building and positioned herself outside in a spot where she wouldn’t be bumped.

Although ordinary people wouldn’t perceive her presence even if they collided, she would still experience the impact, so avoiding them was necessary.

Her gaze remained fixed on the stream of people; she was waiting for Zhong Tian.

‘I’ll find him soon, wait for him to finish eating, and then step into the real world to chat for a bit…’

Moments later, she spotted Zhong Tian, walking leisurely behind the crowd.

Yu Yinlian followed, only to realize he wasn’t heading towards the cafeteria.

Watching Zhong Tian enter a narrow path, Yu Yinlian paused in thought for a moment before deciding to follow.

She knew that path; it was a small route used by the school’s maintenance workers when repairing air conditioners, leading directly to the dorm’s back balcony.

She watched Zhong Tian lift his skirt, skillfully vault over the low fence, and enter a dormitory balcony, pushing the door open directly.

Yu Yinlian noticed that the clothes hanging on the balcony clearly belonged to a boy…

‘This…’

After Zhong Tian entered the dorm, the air conditioner’s outdoor unit whirred to life, emitting a buzzing sound.

A moment later, standing outside on the balcony, she heard a boy’s voice.

“I unilaterally declare! Air conditioning is the greatest invention in this world!…”

‘It seems I’ve stumbled upon some of Zhong Tian’s… private matters…’

‘Hmm… now that I think about it, it would be stranger for such a kind and beautiful person not to have a boyfriend…’ Yu Yinlian suddenly felt it wasn’t appropriate to stand outside, yet she was also a little curious…

She was curious about what kind of person Zhong Tian’s boyfriend was, and what Zhong Tian was like when interacting with his boyfriend.

‘Perhaps I should take a look…’

‘After all, I won’t be discovered.’