Chapter 8: The feeling of being a puppet.

Xu You suddenly got the urge to run, so I woke up early the next day and started running in the morning.

Min Duan The building has only seven floors, covers a large area, widens the avenue around it, running around it is no different from a track and field, and there are fewer people and cars, so she runs around it.

Before she got to a kilometer, she was panting like a dog, and when she stopped and ground her way to three kilometers, she lifted her stride and headed upstairs.

Xu You climbed up to the seventh floor, and when she saw the people in the corridor, she gasped and moved over to Min Duan, "Good morning, do you feel the beautiful morning air and sunshine?"

She also said she'd come back from her run to wake him up for breakfast.

And talk about not being able to get it up. Heh, man.

Min Duan leaned lazily against the wall with both hands in her sweatshirt pockets, dropping his eyes to watch her with both hands propped up on her knees, hunched over and gasping for air.

She was wearing an orange tracksuit, looking as warm as a little Sun, and her ponytail, tied up high with a few stray hairs from the exercise, looked fuzzy from the morning light.

She was so alive, as fresh as the sunrise, and broke into his stagnant life with a forceful vitality.

He never liked to dig deep and think about anything, either because he was lazy or because there really wasn't anything worth a little extra effort to think about.

He used to be unable to remember faces, always feeling that those faces were blurry and hard to see, leaving no impression at all.

Xu You is not the same, at first he saw her face is also fuzzy, only remember she will laugh, but also very noisy, but slowly, her face gradually clear up, like from the paper stand up into three-dimensional vivid people.

Since when, exactly?

He's not sure.

--

Xu You, covered in sweat, simply took a shower, changed into a looser set of clothes and started cooking breakfast.

In the morning she didn't really like greasy things, so she made millet porridge, got a few slices of toast, fried two eggs, and shared breakfast with the big man.

Min Duan ate and drank his fill, washed the dishes and went back to his house to catch up on his sleep.

Xu You lying in the sofa, looking out of the windowsill hanging a small fish-shaped wind chime, pondering that today there is nothing to do, why not go to the flower and bird market to buy two goldfish back to raise.

At that exact moment, a cell phone text message beeped.

Xu You picked up his cell phone and saw a text message with a note from Yiyan Zhao: [Next Saturday is Lan Lan's birthday, there will be a celebration banquet, do you want to come?

Xu You paused and searched for relevant information in her mind, when the original body was in college, there was a senior brother Yiyan Zhao who took care of her in the same major, and Yiyan Zhao and Lanlan Lin were in the same class, so it looked like they had a good relationship.

When you think about the Lanlan Lin's attack on the You family and the death of Qi You, Xu You will have to meet Lanlan Lin in order to prevent the plot from moving forward.

Xu You typed back, [Thank you for the invitation, senior brother, of course I want to go].

The reply came back quickly: [Are you free today? We haven't seen each other for a long time, why don't we catch up?

Xu You thought for a moment and knocked down a single word: [Good.]

Yiyan Zhao immediately sends the location of a restaurant and finalizes the noon time with Xu You.

Xu You After reading it, he casually threw his phone on the sofa, squinted his eyes and rubbed his hands together, it seems that he has something to do today, so he can't pick the fish.

She put on light makeup, cleaned up briefly and headed out the door.

When Xu You arrived, Yiyan Zhao was already waiting, dressed in a well-tailored dark blue suit, with his frontal hair styled back, revealing a smooth forehead, looking mature and steady.

Xu You walked over and smiled politely, "Senior, long time no see."

Yiyan Zhao smiled back, "It's been a long time, and Xiao Xu is beautiful again."

The two men exchanged a few pleasantries and sat down to order.

The food came quickly, the waiter poured them red wine, and Yiyan Zhao raised his glass, "Come on, Xiao Xu, let's drink."

Xu You clinked glasses with him, took two sips, and continued to gossip, "Senior is now doing his own business, really young and promising, called for admiration when he was in college."

"Now I'm just doing a small business," Yiyan Zhao said, "Xiao Xu was much more famous than my senior brother, won all the awards without blinking, beautiful and elegant, so many suitors that you can line up from the school building to the cafeteria."

"No such thing, it's only when Shifu takes all the girls' hearts."

......

The banter carries on for the second half of the conversation, from reminiscing about their college days to their current work lives, and both men let down some of the wariness they hadn't seen in a long time.

Xu You, seeing that the atmosphere was just right, pinched his wine glass, gently shook the liquid inside, and asked in a seemingly casual manner, "I still don't know what I should give to my senior classmate for his birthday next week."

Yiyan Zhao raises his eyes, "Just give it away, just for fun, it's supposed to be for fun."

To be honest, he didn't expect Xu You to say yes; from the moment he met her, he had noticed that she was cold and quiet, a loner who didn't really like to be around or socialize, which made her stand out amongst the many other girls he had met.

Back in college, he chased her for quite a while, but she didn't even bat an eye.

Now she had changed quite a bit, she was able to talk and laugh, and had indeed become prettier, wearing light makeup, a light blue floral dress, and long hair that fell over her shoulders and curled slightly at the ends.

There was an indefinable air of serenity that made people comfortable and unable to take their eyes off of it.

"Is she good to get along with?" Xu You worriedly said, "I'm dumb and not very good at talking."

Speaking of which, Yiyan Zhao realized in his heart, no wonder Xu You agreed to his dinner invitation today, but he wanted him to make a match, but he didn't mind, using favors to fish for people, and then closing the line in the end, it's the best of all possible worlds.

Yiyan Zhao leaned forward a bit with one hand on her chin, raising an eyebrow and smiling, "I'm here, don't be afraid."

Intelligent people talk, do not have to point out, mutual understanding can be.

Since the goal had been achieved, Xu You chatted for a while, then said goodbye and went home, and insisted on AA, to which Yiyan Zhao agreed without saying anything.

As she grabbed her bag and stood up, she intentionally swept around the restaurant, having been vaguely aware that someone was watching her, and not just a line of sight, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary with a quick glance now.

Xu You took a taxi back to the neighborhood supermarket, purchased some ingredients and fruits, and finally carried back in big bags and small bags.

Upon reaching the seventh floor, Xu You caught a glimpse of Min Duan leaning expressionlessly against her doorway.

Xu You walked over and explained, "I had to go out for something today, so I'm a bit late coming back now."

It s not like Min Duan is going to starve to death if he s a little late, but he habitually waits at the door while she s already eaten outside, and she inexplicably feels a little guilty when she does the math like that.

Min Duan looked at her with downcast eyes, his voice light, "Going to do what?"

Xu You casually handed him the bag in his hand before rummaging through his bag for his keys, "Going to meet a college friend."

Min Duan took what she was holding, his tone not so good, but sure: "Male."

"Yes, it's a senior." Xu You opens the door, turns and reaches out to retrieve his things, but Min Duan doesn't let him, walking in silently with his things and setting them on the table.

It was already past two in the afternoon, and I don't know how long he had been waiting outside the door; she had wanted to come back earlier, but Yiyan Zhao had intended to stay behind, and with her shopping round the supermarket to replenish her ingredients, she had unconsciously delayed.

Fearing that Min Duan is starving for a long time, Xu You quickly fried two dishes.

But Min Duan doesn't seem to have much of an appetite today, and puts down his chopsticks after a couple of bites, while Xu You has eaten and can't eat much.

It's a good thing there weren't too many dishes, so it wasn't too much of a waste.

--

In the next few days, Yiyan Zhao often invited Xu You to go out to eat, Xu You know he is a character in the bush, he changed girlfriends during the college years as fast as turning the pages of a book, and also chased the original, but the original is very interested in everything is very low, Yiyan Zhao chased for a long time did not get, and then also did not go away.

Yiyan Zhao was showing so much passion right now that she could tell what he had in mind with her toes.

But people like Lanlan Lin have their own circles, and if Xu You wants to fit in, she'll have to build bridges, not for any other reason, but just in case the drama unfolds and Lanlan Lin tries to screw with the You family, she won't be able to get away with it.

From time to time, Xu You would agree to Yiyan Zhao's invitations, but fortunately, he didn't act out of character, and it was a normal socialization, just eating and chatting.

It's finally Lanlan Lin's birthday. She's the only daughter of the chairman of a large corporation, so naturally, a birthday party is no small feat. Xu You puts on exquisite makeup, wears a dress with high heels, and looks in the mirror in order to not be rude.

After making sure everything was in order, Xu You put the plate of food for Min Duan at seven o'clock tonight on a stool in the corridor before leaving.

Yiyan Zhao parked a short distance downstairs, leaned out of the car door and waited for her, saw her keep approaching and couldn't help but take her left hand and drop a kiss, "You look beautiful tonight."

Xu You pulled the corner of his lips slightly and drew back his hand, "Thanks for the compliment."

The two men get into the car and sit down, Yiyan Zhao starts the engine and the car moves up into the driveway.

And not far from the building, with the seventh-floor window wide open, stood a man with a deadpan stare as he watched the car drive into the distance.

--

The location was a private villa, and Yiyan Zhao led her all the way in, greeting people familiarly.

"Mr. Zhao, new lady friend, huh?" The woman with wavy curls said flirtatiously.

"Don't talk nonsense," Yiyan Zhao laughed warmly, "This is my senior sister Xu You."

Xu You follow him all the way in, keeping a smile on your face and responding appropriately.

"I didn't realize that Mr. Zhao had such a beautiful sister." A man said.

"Thanks for the compliments, you're very handsome too." Xu You said.

Inside and outside the villa was decorated in European style mainly in white, inside there were many famous paintings hanging on the walls and many expensive antiques, in the center was the dance floor, the sound of piano and cello flowed out slowly.

A gathering of the upper class, and many others use it to draw relationships and talk business.

Yiyan Zhao smiled sideways at Xu You, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Xu You did not say anything, just politely smile back, to be honest, a kinda good-looking person affectionately said there I am in this kind of ambiguous words, the little girl is very easy to heart.

Maybe Xu You has been watching Min Duan for a long time, and his aesthetic level has been violently raised, so he is not good at this flowery carrot.

Yiyan Zhao with Xu You from the spiral staircase to the upper floors, to the top of the open-air terrace, the background of the sky is brilliant fireworks, there are more than a dozen people, a pair of men and women arm-in-arm standing in the center, the male handsome female is very conspicuous.

Yiyan Zhao picked up a glass of red wine and greeted the pair, "Shaoji, Lanlan."

Lanlan Lin wore a dark red fishtail dress, revealing a large portion of skin on her back, with a chiseled figure and winking eyes, "Yo, bring a new friend?"

Yiyan Zhao introduced, "This is Xu You, our senior sister from the university." He turned to Xu You and said, "This is Lanlan Lin, today's birthday girl."

Xu You gave a polite greeting, and Lanlan Lin nodded slightly.

Shaosi Xu's eyes settle on Xu You, not knowing what to think.

Yiyan Zhao, a good acquaintance, quickly drove the conversation, and Xu You participated appropriately, during which Shaosi Xu clinked glasses with her, eyes a little probing, but said with a warm smile, "You look very much like a human being."

It sounds like a pickup line, but Xu You realizes that Shaosi Xu isn't joking, he's having an underground affair with Qi You, presumably because she's a bit like her.

Xu You didn't change his face and smiled brightly, "Your way of striking up a conversation is a bit outdated."

Shaosi Xu smiled and didn't say anything else.

As time went by, the party soon came to an end, and when he was leaving, Yiyan Zhao didn't forget his mission and said to Lanlan Lin, "Why don't Lanlan leave his contact information to Xiao Xu, and then we can make friends and get together in the future?"

Lanlan Lin is in a good mood tonight, and she is impressed by Xu You's ability to talk and act well, so she gladly exchanges contact information with Xu You.

Throughout, Shaosi Xu's eyes always fall on Xu You, but Xu You just pretends not to know.

Yiyan Zhao insisted on sending Xu You back, and she couldn't help but agree.

The night was low, with no stars or moon in sight, and the lights on the road and the shadows of the trees brushed across the windows brightly and darkly, making the space inside the car half-lit and half-obscure.

The driver drove in front of the car, and Yiyan Zhao and Xu You sat together in the back.

Xu You was a little jaded and tired after dealing with this kind of socializing, but Yiyan Zhao was a lot more excited, and he'd had a lot to drink tonight, and he was close to her at the moment, rambling on and on.

"Koh, you didn't even have a boyfriend in college, and you don't have one now, do you?"

"I don't know how you've been doing all these years, why don't you call your senior brother, have you forgotten me as your senior brother?"

"I couldn't reach you several times and thought you had pulled the plug on me."

His arms and legs brushed against hers, no longer as scrupulously polite as they had been tonight and before, and feeling the source of heat on his side, as well as the smell of alcohol, Xu You unceremoniously moved to the other side.

Just when Xu You was already sticking to the car door with nowhere to retreat, the car finally pulled up under the house, she immediately opened the door and got out of the car, speaking quickly, "Thank you for taking care of Shifu today, Shifu also go back to rest early."

Yiyan Zhao followed her down without a second thought, tugging on her wrist, his face red from the alcohol, his eyes bright, his body staggering twice, he stepped forward and hugged Xu You, his head resting on the nape of her neck, exhaling softly in a drunken breath, "How do you want to thank me?"

"I've done you such a great favor," he said as his hand traced Xu You's waist through the fabric, "why don't you invite me upstairs for a cup of tea?"

Today Xu You wore a shoulder-length dress, his hot face on the shoulder, Xu You a chill, she closed her eyes, clenched her teeth, and was about to raise her foot to give him a fatal kick, when the weight on her shoulder suddenly light, Yiyan Zhao like a sandbag was thrown out.

Xu You froze for half a second, and subconsciously looked at her half-lifted leg... wait, I don't think she's touched him yet.

"With a muffled thud, Yiyan Zhao was thrown against the wall and slid down it to the ground, crumpling in pain.

Xu You turned his eyes to see the inch-haired big brother who appeared from nowhere, and after he threw Yiyan Zhao out, he walked over to him with a calm step, grabbed Yiyan Zhao by the neck, and lifted him up and pressed him against the wall.

Yiyan Zhao's whole face was red from suffocation, her mouth was open and closed, she couldn't say a single word, and she could only make a small, muffled sound.

Xu You remembered, this inch-haired big brother who swung people into the wall at the drop of a hat was the man she had met in the stairwell that day, and he now had no light under his eyes and was a puppet being manipulated by Min Duan.

She looked over to the other side of the room, and there was a long figure standing in the corner downstairs; there was no streetlight, and the view was so dark that the man almost blended in with the darkness, and it was hard to notice for a moment that there was someone else there without looking closely.

Xu You called out softly, "Min Duan?"

The dark figure moved, taking a step toward her, stepping into the circle of light cast by the streetlamp on her side of the street, his face half illuminated, half in shadow, his expression seeming obscure.

Min Duan walked two meters away from her and stopped, his voice was cold, "Why are you close to him these days?"

His eyes were dark, and with the dim light, Xu You had trouble discerning the emotions in his eyes for a moment, only finding his tone too cold.

Xu You subconsciously uttered two words, "What?"

When she finished speaking, she realized that Min Duan had sent someone to spy on her during this period of time.

Min Duan didn't want to say much, his eyes glaring morosely at Yiyan Zhao , he whispered a phrase before snapping his fingers.

Inch-haired big brother let go of Yiyan Zhao, Yiyan Zhao stood without a trace of expression or movement, becoming a puppet to be manipulated. Yiyan Zhao stood without a single expression or movement, becoming a puppet to be manipulated.

Min Duan gestured vaguely at him and asked, "Your purpose in approaching her."

Yiyan Zhao replied, "I want to fuck her."

Xu You : "......" She still wanted to make up that kick to him.

Min Duan's eyes narrowed as he hooked out an arc of a smile, revealing his white teeth as he said in a grim tone, "Wrong answer, you are trying to die."

Yiyan Zhao repeated, "I was trying to die."

Then he turned his body sideways, facing the wall, and then threw back his head and slammed it down hard, again and again, smashing the wall with his head in a deadly manner.

Xu You was startled and looked to the driver in the car, who was unresponsive and should be under control as well, and she scanned the area again to make sure there were no cameras.

By the time she was sure she was safe, Yiyan Zhao had smashed her head open.

Lacquer sinks into the night, the cool breeze, the light is miserably dark, the man who is already covered in blood is still madly smashing his head against the wall, ringing out a muffled sound, and a flower of blood blooms on the ground.

The scene was bloody and violent and oozing.

Xu You saw that Min Duan's expression remained unchanged, without the slightest intention to stop, and the dark scarlet color under his eyes was a true killing intent, which he did not conceal.

Xu You had difficulty accepting the scene of a man smashed alive in front of his eyes, and was also afraid that Min Duan would get into trouble, so he stepped forward and tugged on the hem of his shirt, "Alright, stop it."

Min Duan glanced at her, his lips pursed downwards and his face was so sullen he didn't look painfully happy, but he snapped his fingers anyway.

Yiyan Zhao received the command and immediately stopped moving, lost his strength and fell into a corner and fainted.

Xu You wanted to see if he was dead or alive, but just as he took a step, Min Duan grabbed his wrist and pulled him all the way into the building.

His brow was knitted tightly, his eyes blazing with dark fire and clouded with a layer of dark fog that couldn't be dispersed, his intense emotions causing his breath to catch, his chest to rise and fall, and the tips of his fingers clasping her wrists to whiten slightly.

Xu You was pinched to the point of raw pain, he forced himself not to say anything, and his mind was rapidly thinking of countermeasures.

Min Duan didn't give her a chance to react and took her all the way back to the seventh floor, and instead of letting Xu You go back to her room, he pulled her into his house.

As soon as the door opened, Xu You immediately froze, his room ......

Everywhere in his room was black, black walls, couch, floor and furniture, hardly any other bit of color could be found.

The depressing and heavy feeling was overwhelming, straight to the point of being breathless.

Min Duan was on his feet and brought Xu You directly to the lab.

The lab finally had some other color, but it was mostly cold white and silver, with large test benches and lab beds, and then a bunch of instruments she couldn't name.

Xu You suddenly remembered his own ending in the world line, being imprisoned by Min Duan on an experimental bed, conscious and watching himself being dismembered, and finally dying in pain.

"Wait, what the hell is going on here," Xu You couldn't keep his cool, "so I worked so hard just to walk back to the original plot?"

The system came out sadly and said, "Who made the villain's trust value only 35 right now, I'm afraid it's useless for you to pout and beg for forgiveness."

What the hell? Wasn't it slowly rising to 50 a while ago, and now it's only 35? This thing can still go down?

Min Duan let go of her wrist and walked over to the test bench, scanning the instruments on the table, picking up a scalpel with a smile on his face and walking towards Xu You.

Xu You swallowed hard, stiffened up, cold sweat broke out behind his back, and frantically yelled at the system, "I'm fucking dying, you have to help me!"

"I'm now a low-cost version, a lot of permissions are not opened, really can not save you, although the record of failure to do the newbie mission will only have you one," the system encouraged, "then you next world to try again."

Sounding a bit gloating, Xu You grits her teeth, "Then put me on a pain shield."

"Not enough permissions," the system said lightly, "It won't work yet pro."

...... Holy shit, what a fucking unreliable system.

Xu You even cursed two expletives, has been about to collapse, she really do not know why the plot will be such a direction, it is too late to think about it, she is not afraid of death, but truly afraid of pain, especially by a knife dissected to the death, the feeling of pain, just think of it, the scalp will be tightened.

The broken door doesn't even have a doorknob, and when it's closed Xu You has no way to get out, and then again, the confined space doesn't even have a window, so she doesn't even know where she's going to escape to.

Xu You banged on the door twice, and Min Duan was already behind her, circling her with one hand and saying faintly, "The door can only be opened by me."

The indifferent tone of his voice made Xu You's scalp tingle and her hairs stand on end. Xu You struggled desperately in his arms, but the disparity in strength made her struggles seem especially weak.

Min Duan had one hand on both of her wrists and was pressing them against the door panel. Xu You reacted subconsciously by raising her leg to kick under him, and he curled his leg slightly away from her to suppress her movement.

Xu You whole person is strictly pressed by him on the door can not move, the two people close to each other, she can even smell the crisp breath of his body, intimate distance makes her face a little hot.

She smiled coyly, "Let's talk things over, are you hungry, what do you want to eat, I'll make it for you now?"

If you can't solve a problem with one meal, then two.

"You betrayed me." He said.

A muffled voice rang out overhead, and Xu You was stunned, not reacting for a moment.

Not giving her time to respond, Min Duan leaned down and met her eyes, "Don't want to give you another chance to betray me."

He shook the scalpel in his hand, his eyes lighting up with a snowy cold light.

"So-" Min Duan lengthened his trailing voice and narrowed his eyelashes in a smile, like an unforgiving hellish ghost.

"Want to know what it's like to be a puppet?"