Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Days Living with the Doll
Irene seemed to understand exactly what Yu Sheng meant by “rules-type.”
“To be honest, I’m not completely sure,” she admitted. “I told you—my memory is blurry in a lot of areas, even basic things. Whatever this painting did to me wasn’t just memory loss. Over time, it broke down my thinking.”
She tapped the side of her head. “As for ‘hunger,’ most of it is just rough impressions. I reorganized what I remember based on my own understanding. Treat it as reference at best.”
Yu Sheng nodded slowly. “Either way, it’s hard to deal with.” He rubbed his chin, thinking. “Looks like we need a backup plan. If we can’t handle it, we’ll have to find a way to bring Foxy out of that valley. If she leaves that otherworld, she should be able to shake off the influence, right?”
“It should work,” Irene said after a moment. “An otherworld’s influence can’t spread into reality.”
Then she sighed. “But dragging someone out while hunger is locking things down is already ridiculously hard.”
As she spoke, Irene suddenly lifted her head and stared straight at Yu Sheng. “Wait—are you really planning to go deal with it yourself? No, forget how you’d do it. How do you even know you can get back to that valley?”
“Didn’t you say it yourself?” Yu Sheng replied casually. “Once someone touches an otherworld, they can never fully sever the connection. I took it like falling into quicksand—you can crawl out for a bit, but you’re only buying time before you sink again…”
Irene’s eyes widened. “I did say that, but what I meant was: once you deal with an otherworld, your link to the whole domain beyond sanity gets stronger. You’ll have a higher chance of running into other otherworlds or supernatural events. It doesn’t mean you’ll definitely go back to the first one. That part is random!”
“But I have a feeling I’ll see that valley again.” Yu Sheng met her gaze, more serious now. “And that thing. I’m not completely disconnected from it. It… feels like it’s still waiting for me to go back.”
A heavy look flickered through Irene’s crimson eyes. “…Spiritual intuition?”
“I don’t know if that’s what you call it,” Yu Sheng said with a shrug. “But after dealing with that monster, I can feel some things. It’s vague, but it seems accurate.”
“An ordinary person doesn’t develop spiritual intuition this quickly, even after a shock—let alone control it,” Irene said, looking him up and down like he was a puzzle with missing pieces. “You might be a natural-born investigator…”
Yu Sheng blinked. “Uh. Is that a good thing?”
Irene thought for a moment, then said flatly, “Investigators have pretty high death rates.”
Yu Sheng: “…”
Before he could respond, she added, “But an ordinary person who touches an otherworld and still can’t develop intuition dies even faster.”
Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched. “All right, then. Not a big problem.”
Irene stared at him, clearly at a loss for how calm he was. Yu Sheng just shook his head and stood up from the table.
A voice immediately came from the painting. “Hey! Where are you going?”
“The kitchen.” Yu Sheng shot her a look. “I slept all day, and dinner still isn’t handled. Also, why do you jump every time I move, like I’m about to throw you away?”
“Because obviously!” Irene snapped. “I can barely move myself. Do you know how insecure that feels? And you’re the kind of person who can fall into an otherworld just by stepping outside. How am I supposed to know you won’t stand up one day and vanish, and then we’ll be separated forever…”
Her mouth was as irritating as ever—but Yu Sheng frowned, and something in him softened. For all her sharp words, she was worried.
And for the first time, he really understood what it meant to be trapped inside a painting: the helplessness of having no control over your own life, and the fear that the one person you could finally talk to might disappear.
He reached out and picked Irene up from the table.
She immediately yelped. “Hey! What are you doing? I—I’m watching TV! I’m warning you, don’t hang me back in that room upstairs! I—I’ll stop talking, just put me down—”
“Cooking alone is boring,” Yu Sheng said. “You’re free anyway. Come to the kitchen and keep me company.”
Irene froze. She peeked out from the edge of the frame, as if she couldn’t believe him. Then she nodded so hard her whole painting wobbled.
“Okay! Okay!”
Yu Sheng carried her into the kitchen and set her on the windowsill. Then he opened the fridge to see what he had.
Foxy’s face surfaced in his mind the moment he saw the food—Foxy squatting in the ruined shrine, a rotten leaf between her teeth, staring at him from afar.
She was still hungry.
Yu Sheng pressed his lips together, shoved the thought down, and pulled out the leftover stew from that morning and two mantou. Leftovers with mantou tonight, and porridge on the side.
He put the mantou and stew into the microwave, washed rice for the porridge, and worked in silence. Within half a minute, he started regretting bringing Irene into the kitchen.
Because Irene didn’t stop talking for even a second after he opened the fridge.
“Hey, your fridge is huge! Can you even use a fridge this big by yourself?
“That’s the meat you stewed this morning, right… I have to say, after you processed that ‘local specialty,’ it looks pretty normal. But seriously, it won’t suddenly come back to life in the bowl, will it?
“You’re just making porridge? That’s not much to watch. Why don’t you carve a flower out of a radish? Or carve a seal—hey, that works too.
“Why didn’t you turn on the range hood… Oh. You’re not stir-frying.
“Is it getting dark outside? Turn me around, I want to see the street… Fine, fine. If you can’t, you can’t.
“What’s your mom’s last name?”
Yu Sheng finally snapped. He carried her to the sink and held the frame over it.
“Do you believe I’ll soak you right now? I’ll scrub you with dish soap until your colors fade. Do you believe me?”
Irene shrank back, hugging her teddy bear tight. “Fine. I won’t talk.”
The world finally went quiet.
She sat on the windowsill again, watching him with wide eyes. Yu Sheng leaned against the counter and stared into space. For a while, neither of them spoke.
After who knew how long, Irene broke the silence. “I still think it’s dangerous to face hunger alone. I can’t remember how strong that entity really is, but it’s not something an ordinary person can handle. You… will die.”
“I’ll resurrect.”
“I’m being serious!”
“So am I.”
Irene stared at him, anger flashing over her face. It lasted only a few seconds before she sighed, the fight draining out of her.
“Then think of another way. Find the people in this city who specialize in dealing with otherworlds. Don’t take risks.”
“I don’t want to take risks,” Yu Sheng said quietly. “I just feel like risk is going to come find me.”
He nodded once. “But I get what you mean. I won’t throw my life away for nothing. And those professionals you mentioned—I’ll go find them.”
Relief softened Irene’s expression. “Good.”
Dinner passed in relative peace. Irene watched a mindless city drama on TV and occasionally commented on the characters. Yu Sheng ate seriously, answering her now and then.
He ate this meal down to the last drop. In the end, he even used a mantou to wipe the edge of the bowl clean.
After he cleaned up the kitchen and dining room, he changed into going-out clothes and spoke casually toward Irene. “I’m heading out for a bit.”
Irene snapped her head up, suddenly panicked. “Where are you going?!”
“To the little convenience store on the corner. I’ll buy some food and come back. It’s not far.” Seeing her expression, Yu Sheng couldn’t decide whether to laugh or sigh. “Don’t be so nervous. It’s not like I fall into an otherworld every single time I step outside.”
He paused, then added more seriously, “The house is weird, but from now on, every time I open a door, I’ll check first.”
“Uh… okay.” Irene scratched at her head, still unsettled. “But I thought there was a lot in the fridge.”
“I’ll buy more,” Yu Sheng said. “Stuff that doesn’t need the fridge. Easy, ready-to-eat things.”
Irene understood at once.
“Oh. Okay.” She hesitated, then added in a smaller voice, “Be careful when you go out… And seriously, when you open a door, don’t just step through. Look first!”
Yu Sheng smiled.
It had been a long time since anyone told him, Be careful out there. Even if the one saying it now was a foul-mouthed doll in a frame, it still felt… nice.
He finished changing, then—after a moment’s thought—stuffed several pieces of bread and biscuits into his pockets. Only then did he walk to the front door, put his hand on the knob, and take a quiet breath.
Ever since the last time he’d pushed this door open and dropped straight into an otherworld, a shadow had settled over it.
But he couldn’t just never leave the house.
Yu Sheng clenched his jaw and slowly turned the knob.
First he cracked the door open, then opened it wider, peering out and checking again and again.
When nothing jumped out at him, he finally exhaled and stepped outside.
The door wasn’t that evil after all.
Maybe falling into an otherworld didn’t happen often. Maybe it needed special conditions. Maybe it triggered only after opening and closing the door a certain number of times, or at a specific time of day.
Yu Sheng walked down the quiet street. Once his heart finally settled, his thoughts wandered again—but beneath it all, he felt genuinely relieved.
Before long, he reached the small convenience store on the corner and pushed the door open.
The instant he did, something jolted in his chest, and—
Hot wind slammed into his face.
Beyond the doorway, scorched ground shimmered with heat. A crashed aircraft on a distant hill spewed thick smoke into the sky. Two figures in black powered armor—like alien combat suits—were grappling with each other. One suddenly raised an arm, and with a hiss a plasma blade flared from the wrist and stabbed forward.
Both armored soldiers turned at the same time, as if sensing his gaze. Dim red light flickered across their faceplates as they locked onto him.
Yu Sheng: “…?”
He jumped back and slammed the door shut with a bang.