Page 80 Behind-the-Scenes
“Cherry Sauce kissed Lù Zǐ using Chairman’s identity in her dream!”
Just as Xiǎo Lěi was about to report the situation from the dream, she loudly protested right after waking up from it. The sound of her loud voice startled Lù Lí, who quickly covered her mouth.
“Xiǎo Lěi, lower your voice! Don’t wake them up!”
“Oh, that’s fine.”
I waved my hand and explained, “At least we used divine techniques to hypnotize them. Even if fireworks were set off next to their ears, they wouldn’t wake up.”
Xiǎo Lěi’s eyes lit up, and she asked again, “Huh? They won’t wake up no matter what?”
“Um… wait, what do you want to do?”
The idiot clenched her fist and looked at Xiǎo Kǎi, who was sleeping soundly on the sofa, and excitedly pouted.
“If I kiss Chairman now, can’t I make up for the loss in the dream?”
I hit her wooden-headed skull with a hand knife, making a clang sound. Is there something hollow inside?
“You idiot, the one who kissed Lù Zǐ was me! What loss could you possibly have?”
“Then… can Cherry Sauce play the role of Chairman and kiss me?”
“Who wants to kiss anyone!”
A merciless punishment hand knife struck the idiot’s forehead, knocking tears out of her eyes.
“Hmm, it hurts!”
She held her head, curled up in a corner of the sofa, closed her eyes, and moaned softly.
Lǐn Huā asked, “Cherry Sauce, are you sure you didn’t get caught? I’m definitely fine, but Zǐ Jiàng isn’t as easy to deal with as Kǎi-Chan. If there’s any flaw, she could figure out the truth instantly.”
“I didn’t get caught… I think.”
I wasn’t very confident, maybe she just saw through it without exposing it.
Lù Lí said, “It’s fine, once my sister falls in love, her intelligence will instantly match Xiǎo Lěi’s, not much smarter.”
Since even her own sister said so, it must be true.
Zhào Zhào, standing beside her, asked, “If that’s the case, can we go back now?”
“No, Big Dope and Lí Jiàng shouldn’t come.”
“Huh? Why?” Lí Jiàng asked instinctively.
“When we gather, it might arouse suspicion from Zǐ Jiàng. You need to be careful with your sister’s mind.”
Zhào Zhào scratched his red plane hair and replied, “Then let’s go outside first, come back after dinner. Would that be okay?”
“Mm, that’s fine… Professor, I’ll leave the rest to you, okay?”
Professor Shí Huǒróng had been listening nearby. When Lǐn Huā suddenly spoke, she answered quickly.
“It’s nothing big, leave it to me!”
After bidding farewell to the professor, we left the video hall before Xiǎo Kǎi woke up.
On our way back, I reviewed the operation.
The initial plan was proposed by Lǐn Huā and refined by me.
Using the characteristics of dreams, we separated Xiǎo Kǎi and Lù Zǐ, placing them in two similar yet different dreams.
Lǐn Huā would pretend to be Lù Zǐ to work on Kǎi-Chan’s thoughts;
I would disguise as Xiǎo Kǎi, responsible for interacting with Lù Zǐ.
For this, the stage of the dream was crucial.
However, we couldn’t use Xiǎo Kǎi and Lù Zǐ’s dreams because they had high control over their dreams. They might realize they were dreaming, especially Xiǎo Kǎi, who was adept at manipulating dreams. Lǐn Huā, as the main actress, also needed to enter the dream, making her dream unusable too.
That left Xiǎo Lěi, who was still connected to Xiǎo Kǎi via restraints, as the only option to build the “stage.”
She not only had to memorize the screening room setup but also create a movie based on the selected videotape purely through imagination. To help her get familiar with the video playback, we showed her a horror film beforehand.
Perhaps influenced by the horror film, the screening room in the dream seemed a bit eerie…
In this operation, Xiǎo Lěi’s task was critical. She needed to create a realistic dream and prevent her own random thoughts from destabilizing the “stage.” Any oversight could lead to Lù Zǐ and Xiǎo Kǎi noticing, no matter how hard Lǐn Huā and I tried.
Of course, such a complex and meticulous job required teamwork. Fortunately, we had another “dumb gorilla” to form a more powerful “dual-core processor.”
Explaining it simply, most of Zhào Zhào’s brainpower was allocated to Xiǎo Lěi, doubling her thinking capacity for a period to enhance her control over the dream. This was a secret technique only achievable with a soul split into two, though doubling an idiot doesn’t make her much smarter…
While Xiǎo Kǎi and others were preparing in another screening room, some subtle movements alerted Lù Zǐ, but thanks to Professor’s cooperation, she helped cover it up.
I seized the opportunity when Xiǎo Kǎi left the screening room for a Coke, pulling both him and Lù Zǐ into separate dreams seamlessly. It appeared like a momentary daze to them, not raising suspicion. Although Xiǎo Kǎi felt something was off, he didn’t know why and, due to his timid nature, slunk back to the screening room.
The subsequent actions went smoothly. Lǐn Huā successfully encouraged Xiǎo Kǎi to take a crucial step, and I convinced Lù Zǐ to follow Xiǎo Kǎi home. After putting them to sleep, the operation was a success.
By the way, Lù Lí carried Xiǎo Kǎi back to the screening room, even going out to buy two Cokes to recreate the dream scene, which helped too.
—
Cherry Sauce <-> Kǎi
—
[16:38]
Since waking up on the sofa in the screening room, Zǐ Jiě has been acting strangely, avoiding eye contact and blushing when we do meet, yet holding onto my hand tightly. On the way home, she clung to my arm like a giant bird.
This is too strange!
Did I do something to her?
We did drink Coke, right?
What’s with this hangover feeling?
“Zǐ Jiě, um… I accidentally fell asleep earlier… Can you tell me what happened afterward?”
Feeling like I made a mistake, I hesitantly asked.
Zǐ Jiě covered her face and shyly said, “Doing that and pretending to be innocent? You need to take responsibility!”
The shocking words made everyone on the subway look over… Oh no, what did I do?!
“Zǐ Jiě, I really can’t remember.”
“Those things require repeating… Is this some kind of play? Pervert!”
Zǐ Jiě held her flushed cheeks, pretending to be coy, and I frowned.
When women took over, Zǐ Jiě’s clingy behavior was somewhat cute, but her intelligence seemed to vanish, making her act foolishly.
Is this the legendary love-struck girl without intelligence?
“We’re here. I’ll call… mom.”
It’s Sunday, so it’s mom indeed.
Since we’re adding an extra pair of chopsticks, I should notify her ahead of time. But bringing girls home when there are already two might make her view us oddly.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you over there.”
Zǐ Jiě mistakenly thought I wanted to dismiss her, so she sat alone on a chair in the middle of the platform. Before I could tell her not to worry, my phone rang.
“Xiǎo Kǎi, calling at this time means you decided to come home for dinner, right?”
“Um… Mom, I might bring someone else.”
“No problem! Another girl?”
Mom’s question made me uncomfortable.
“…Yes.”
“Is she a girl transformed from a man?”
“It’s Lù Zǐ, the girl you met at the school sports meet.”
Though we only met once, tall girls like Zǐ Jiě always leave a lasting impression.
“Oh! The taller twin sister?”
“Yes, exactly…”
“Xiǎo Kǎi, while everyone is great, I think you should date ordinary girls too?”
Does she think all the girls around me are transformations, worrying about my sexual orientation?
Worrying is unnecessary; perhaps it already is.
“…Why talk about this now?”
Mom laughed heartily, then quickly composed herself. There was noise in the background, probably from Lǐn Huā and others.
Mom said, “Lǐn Huā and the others are home too. I’ll prepare dinner for seven. It’s been a long time since our family was this lively. Let me show off today!”
Mom sounded energetic, but I was taken aback.
“You said Lǐn Huā and the others went out?”
There was a door opening sound at the entrance.
“Yes, they said staying home on weekends is a waste, so you went out soon after.”
What did they do today?
Wait, could they have been following us and Zǐ Jiě? (Alert)
Considering this possibility, I quickly asked, “Do you know where they went today?”
“They went to the commercial area, I saw them carrying cakes from there… Wait, Xiao Lǐn Huā wants to talk to you!”
Lǐn Huā took the phone from mom.
“Kǎi-Chan! When are you coming back?”
“I’m at the subway station, I’ll be back soon… Where did you go today?”
“Why can only you and Zǐ Jiě go out on dates, but not me and Xiǎo Lěi? We shopped in the commercial area all day and bought lots of stuff, including for you!”
So they were shopping?
“Was Cherry Sauce with you?”
“Of course, but don’t worry! Though we knew where you were, we didn’t approach you. Everyone played separately. Is that not allowed?”
Although Lǐn Huā seemed open, I didn’t fully trust her. This cunning little devil was good at lying without showing it. Maybe she followed me and Lù Zǐ all day.
If she teamed up with Cherry Sauce to trick me, would I stand a chance?
