FI CH59: The Changeling

Xuenima was still in high heels, stumbling towards that direction.

Lin Su’s gaze slowly hardened.

Behind him, there seemed to be a silence for two seconds, then a voice leaned in. “…Why are you sweating? Your mother-queen…”

Lin Su turned his head and covered his mouth, staring gently. “Shh.”

He Zhenling’s lips pressed against his palm as he looked down.

As the two were pressed close together, staring at each other, the “thump, thump” of high heels in the corridor stopped. The same voice came again. “This guest, er… miss, you…”

“Ah, where is this? Help me…”

Lin Su peeked out with alarm.

Just as he peeked, he heard a scream. “Ah!!”

Xuenima’s figure flickered, and a slender high heel “carelessly” landed on the crew member’s foot! The latter immediately bent over, leaning against the wall, as the fiery red figure spun out again.

Xuenima stumbled towards the other direction. “Sigh~ and where is that?”

“Wait, guest!”

The crew member hissed in pain and hobbled after it. “That’s a work area, please don’t run around—”

A series of “thump, thump, thump” high heel sounds faded into the distance.

Lin Su: “…”

He Zhenling: “…”

Lin Su let out a slight sigh of relief, grabbed He Zhenling, and headed towards the corridor. “Let’s go.”

He Zhenling’s gaze dropped, and he followed a few steps behind.

The entrance was unguarded. They went down the stairs; it was quiet all around, with only the sound of their footsteps. Lin Su scanned the area. “Do you feel it? The magnetic field here is wrong. There are no electronic devices. And…”

He let go of his hand, took out his phone, and looked. “As expected, there’s no signal either.”

He Zhenling said, “Mm,” his gaze forward. “Over there.”

Lin Su put his phone away. “Let’s go, over there.”

In front of them was a wide door, unlocked.

Lin Su stopped in front of it. A thin, pale hand grasped the handle and, without hesitation, pulled it open—

The light from the corridor flooded into the dark room.

A flash of light passed before their eyes.

The door was fully opened, and both of them fell silent at the same time.

In the light from behind them, they saw that the entire room was lined with a dense array of mirrors. They were tilted at an angle, forming an arc.

In the center of the floor, a scarlet magical array was drawn.

Lin Su only paused for a second before walking in.

His figure was reflected in the mirrors on all sides, fragmented and separated like a kaleidoscope. The scene was quite bizarre, but he was completely unaffected. He squatted down and wiped the array on the floor.

His jade-white fingertips were stained with a touch of rouge red. “Black dog’s blood, cinnabar, ashes, and soil from a grave.”

He clapped his hands and stood up. “An array for siphoning luck.”

He Zhenling’s face grew cold. He subconsciously pressed his waist, finding nothing. “…” After a pause, he took out a tissue and handed it over. “Wipe it.”

“How thoughtful, my fiancé.”

Lin Su accepted it with pleasure and wiped his hands.

He Zhenling pursed his lips and turned his head. “…Mm. What are your plans?”

“Since we’re already here, we should at least leave a tourist’s mark.”

As Lin Su spoke, a bamboo brush appeared in his hand.

A faint gold floated up, then the brush descended onto the center of the array. He added a nose and eyes to the middle of the star, paused for two seconds, then added two teeth.

He Zhenling: “?”

Lin Su turned to show him. “Look! Patrick Star~”

“…”

He Zhenling stared silently for a few moments, then walked up, took some of the cinnabar from the side, and smeared it inside, filling it in. “You didn’t color it.”

Lin Su: “…”

He praised, “You’re still the more meticulous one.”

After the two finished drawing Patrick Star, they closed the door. “Let’s go, back.”

The guard hadn’t returned. The two went up the stairs.

They flirted as they walked up. It wasn’t until they came out of the stairwell that they realized they had gone up an extra floor and were now on the first floor.

After washing his hands, Lin Su was still not satisfied. “This floor also has a restaurant. Let’s go to the bow for another round.”

He Zhenling carefully wiped his knuckles and said slowly, “‘Little Boss’ has the final say.”

Lin Su sighed, his face hot. “That’s enough. You… you’ve been a bit unrestrained lately.”

The answer he got was a laugh. “Compared to you, it’s acceptable.”

The restaurant was only a few dozen meters away.

Just as they reached the entrance, they heard several loud voices from inside. Lin Su walked in and saw two groups of people standing distinctly apart. One group was dressed in designer brands and suits, clearly the children of wealthy families.

The other group wore shirts and casual wear; they were the students from H University.

Standing at the very front was Zhou Li, and it seemed a dispute had broken out.

Lin Su turned to He Zhenling. “Get me something to eat. I’ll go take a look.”

He walked over in a few steps.

When he arrived, he saw Zhou Li holding a tray, frowning. “I’ve already apologized, and I didn’t even do anything.”

A rich kid across from him didn’t believe it. “Didn’t do anything? Could Xiao An be this scared?”

Following his gaze, he saw a “young master” of about 19 standing behind the group. He was dressed in a custom-made suit, delicately and handsomely raised, but his face was pale, as if he had been frightened by something.

A broken plate lay at his feet, its contents scattered.

Lin Su’s gaze suddenly paused again.

At that moment, a ball of white light flew back and landed on his shoulder. [Mama’s back! …Huh, what’s going on?]

He temporarily put aside the topic of education and said to Xuenima, “Fate is indeed full of coincidences.”

[Huh?]

Before Xuenima could ask again, Zhou Li spoke. “You don’t believe what I’m saying, so ask him yourself. I just came over to get some food. He dropped his own plate and even startled me.”

The rich kid turned his head. “Xiao An, just say it! You’re the young master of the Song family, what are you afraid of?”

Hearing this, Song Jin’an’s face paled even more. He said evasively, “It’s nothing, really nothing. Forget it, I’ll just get some more food.”

Lin Su sized up the expressions of the group. It sounded like this “Song family” held a high status in the upper-class circle. At least among these few, this “Young Master Song” was the center.

Sure enough, another rich kid chimed in to support him. “You’re already like this, and you still say it’s nothing?”

Zhou Li was getting impatient but was holding back his temper.

Song Jin’an, for some reason, seemed to tacitly agree.

Seeing that the group was about to step forward to seek justice, one of them even holding a full plate of food, a voice suddenly came from the side, tinged with lament.

“You guys have more drama than your families have money.”

“…”

The group’s movements paused, and they turned to look.

Lin Su stood a few steps away, the Chinese-style outer shirt giving him a unique charm, but his words were very direct. “Young master, you must take care of your health. If you collapse on the spot, everyone and every animal within a ten-li radius will be the culprit who harmed you.”

Everyone: “…”

Hua Xi said with pleasant surprise, “Junior Lin!”

Song Jin’an’s face turned ugly from his words. The rich kid who had spoken first looked over, his target shifting.

“Who are you? How are you talking?”

Zhou Li stepped in front of him. “Junior, it’s fine.”

Lin Su peeked out from behind him and continued, “Just like you guys, opening my mouth and spouting nonsense.”

Zhou Li was at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. “Junior, junior…”

The rich kids were fuming. Just as they were about to charge forward aggressively, a tall, cold figure came into view. He Zhenling walked over with a plate and stopped in front of Lin Su.

“I got you these.”

As he spoke, his gaze shifted and fell on the young boys. “…What’s going on?”

He Zhenling was tall, his aura like a Tang-style saber. As his sharp gaze fell, the rich kids immediately fell silent. They looked at his expensive coat, hesitant.

Lin Su sighed lightly. “It’s nothing.”

He Zhenling said in a gentle voice, “You’re already this scared, and you still say it’s nothing.”

Lin Su said, “Sigh… it’s really nothing.”

The group in front of them: “…” Crap.

After a couple of seconds, one of the rich girls seemed a bit intimidated and turned to find a way out. “Forget it, forget it, it must all be a misunderstanding. Let’s just disperse.”

The others also exchanged glances and muttered, “Yeah… let’s go.”

Just as they were about to leave, Lin Su suddenly smiled again and directly called out Song Jin’an, who had been silent the whole time. “Since it’s a misunderstanding, and the matter started because of you, aren’t you going to say something?”

Song Jin’an was startled for a moment, his face turning from white to red.

The rich kid next to him glared at Lin Su. “Hey, that’s enough! We’re not pursuing it anymore. Don’t think just because you’re good-looking—”

“I’ve already roasted you this much, and you’re still complimenting my looks.” Lin Su lamented, “How good-looking am I…”

“…”

The other side was choked into silence again.

Song Jin’an finally spoke, hurriedly saying to Zhou Li, “I’m sorry.”

Zhou Li was indifferent. “Oh.”

After that, both sides dispersed.

…

A light gaze fell from the side.

Lin Su looked up and saw He Zhenling had already retracted his gaze. He said, not too heavily, not too lightly:

“They were roasted by you that much, and still complimented your looks. ‘Little Boss’ has extraordinary charm.”

Lin Su paused, and lightly tugged at his sleeve. “…Your tail feathers are also beautiful.”

“…” He Zhenling looked down. ?

As they were talking, Zhou Li came over to thank them. “Junior, thank you for helping us out.”

He Zhenling said, “It’s nothing.” Lin Su glanced in the direction the group of rich kids had left, then said to Zhou Li, “Senior, keep an eye on that young master. Let me know if anything seems wrong.”

Zhou Li seemed thoughtful and nodded. “Okay.”

After he left, Lin Su sat down with He Zhenling, holding his plate.

The person in front of him spoke sharply. “There’s a problem?”

Lin Su twirled his bacon pasta. “The changeling prince.”

He Zhenling raised an eyebrow and glanced over. “Looks like they look very similar. No wonder he was so scared.”

“It depends on what the person thinks. If he’s clear-headed and kind…” Lin Su slurped up some noodles. Thinking of Song Jin’an’s evasive and silent attitude throughout, he shook his head. “…it won’t be easy.”

“What are your plans?”

A plate of noodles was slurped up in two or three bites.

Lin Su put down his plate and daintily wiped his mouth. He sat upright in his chair, like a scale that never tips.

“What I plan to do all depends on what the person involved does.”

On the other side, a group of rich kids were sitting together.

Song Jin’an sat in the middle, his head down, deep in thought.

The others around him were still talking about what had just happened, complaining with a touch of banter, pointing fingers at each other. “Who was that guy anyway? I thought he was from H University at first, but then he looked like someone from our circle.”

“His mouth is really unforgiving. Hey! Le Jiawei, you too. You roasted someone and still complimented their looks. I’m impressed.”

Le Jiawei was embarrassed. “Alright, alright!” He quickly changed the subject and looked at the silent Song Jin’an. “Xiao An is still in a bad mood. What’s wrong?”

Song Jin’an forced a smile. “It’s nothing.”

A rich kid sitting next to him suddenly thought of something, chuckled with a “hey,” and said mysteriously, “Hey, let me tell you something fun…”

“What, what?”

“Don’t spread this around, I heard it from a grapevine. They say there’s an ‘array’ on the second basement level of this ship, the kind that siphons luck. They invited that group of poor students with good grades over—because these so-called ‘favored sons of heaven’ have strong luck.”

A series of gasps came from around them.

Song Jin’an’s heart suddenly stirred, as if something was churning inside him. …If, a little bit of luck was siphoned away, would he not be so lucky, and not be recognized and taken back?

He had known for a long time that he was not their biological son.

But the Song family was so good. He had grown up being the center of attention. If it was discovered that he was a fake…

No, absolutely not!

He clenched his fists in panic. After a second, he asked as if curious, “How do you siphon luck?”

The rich kid laughed. “How would I know? But I’m telling you guys, don’t go down there out of curiosity.”

“Sigh, we won’t, we won’t. We cherish our lives!”

“Let’s not talk about it. Let’s go, let’s go play pool.”

The group got up with a whoosh.

Song Jin’an followed in the middle, thinking to himself: It’s just siphoning a little luck, it’s not like it’s taking a life. Just let people go back to where they came from.

…

It was already afternoon, on the back side of the open-air deck.

The sunlight slanted under the sunshade, and few people came here.

Lin Su had claimed this prime spot, dragging a deck chair and lying side by side with He Zhenling.

Xuenima was secretly climbing a coconut tree when it was caught.

A hand slapped it, making it visible. […Squeak!]

Lin Su lay back and held it up for judgment. “Regarding your education… where did you learn that outfit you wore at noon?”

Xuenima flapped. [From TV.]

Lin Su said gently, “From now on, you can only watch skits and children’s channels.”

[QwQ]

As he held Xuenima, a voice suddenly came from the side. “Whose face did you use?”

Turning his head, he saw He Zhenling looking straight at it.

Lin Su blinked, about to ask something, when the person in front of him turned to him, pursed his lips, and said, “If it looks too much like you, it will cause trouble.”

Lin Su said regretfully, “I thought you had ulterior motives.”

A vein twitched on He Zhenling’s temple. He said calmly, “…What ulterior motives would I have.”

Xuenima, being held, defended itself. [For such a thankless task, I used the butler’s face.]

Both of them fell silent at the same time. “…”

Lin Su: …Forget it.

He magnanimously let Xuenima go to eat the coconut.

The sunlight was just right, the distant sea surface glittering as if sprinkled with crushed diamonds.

Lin Su took out his phone and took a picture.

He was about to post it on his Moments when he clicked into the app and paused. ?

He stared silently for several seconds.

He Zhenling turned to his side. “What’s wrong?”

Lin Su turned the phone screen to him. The latest post that had just refreshed was from Zhou Li, posted a dozen or so minutes ago. The picture was of a familiar array.

[Li Li Yuan Shang Pu]: Ugly-cute Patrick Star, haha. [Image]

“…”

He Zhenling: ?

__

Author’s Note:

Su: I’m not saving you.

Big Bird He: No one is allowed to defy our artistic skills. (▼-▼#)

Li Li is a husky.

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