Main Story Chapter 9-15: Enslaved Heart (被奴役的心) | Light and Night 光与夜之恋

Previously on Chapter 9-13... (read here)

Evan: The Spirit Ring will protect whoever wears it. Create a disaster, and the answer will reveal itself.

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This rain lasted for three continuous days.

You: The rainy season has clearly passed long ago, the weather is so abnormal.

It's finally a sunny day, I followed the original plans and began surveying in the residential areas.

Sariel's flu doesn't seem to have recovered yet, he sounded sick. After I've pestered him for so long, he has finally agreed to let me do this myself.

The surveying progress went very smoothly, under the cooperation from the residents, I finished my task earlier than expected.

However, the skies hasn't been kind. Just when I walked to the door, the dark clouds have already pressed themselves low. I hurriedly hid under the eaves, opened an app to call for a ride.

The winds are howling, and the trees are swaying so much they look like they are about to collapse at any time.

This community area is located in the outskirts, and there aren't any shops around me in sight. So I can only try my best to stand well. The icon on my screen flashed again and again, still trying to search for an empty ride.

You: Should I look for a place to shelter from the rain/

There's no time to hesitate, I carried my bag before my chest, and returned back to the community area.

Beep-- Beep-- A loud car honk sounded from behind in an appropriate timing. Could I have managed to call for a ride? I turned around in surprise, but only to find a familiar face.

You: ... Evan?!

The thin yet dense raindrops fell on my forehead, bringing a sense of coolness.

Evan walked quickly towards me. Under my surprise, there's already a black umbrella covering over my head.

Evan: Are you okay?

You: Why are you here?

Evan: I was doing something around here, and I just happened to see you. What a coincidence.

You: Around here?

My instincts told me this isn't the real answer, yet the pouring rain spare me no time to think about it, only to follow Evan into the car.

Zhou Yan has been waiting in the driver's seat, seeing our return, he switched on the heater.

Evan: Here, take the towel.

You: Don't you need it?

I pointed at him. It's probably because he has shielded me with the entire umbrella that only my right shoulder and shoes are wet. Yet half of his shoulder and the front of his shirt are drenched wet.

Evan: I still have a towel, don't worry.

You: Okay, thank you.

Seeing me taking the towel, he turned away, and faced the window.

Evan: Let me know once you're done.

In a moment, the car is completely quiet, only the heater blowing between us.

You: I'm done.

I folded the towel properly and placed it on the seat, who knows Evan actually took it over, and wiped his drenched shirt as if nothing happened.

You: ! I'll turn around too!

Evan: *chuckles* It's fine.

The narrow smile from his eyes made my cheeks subconsciously turning hot, I quickly turned away to the windows, not looking sideways at all.

The raindrops hits on the glass windows in slanted lines, letting out crackling sounds, yet the sounds of fabrics scrubbing against each other still continuously entering my ears.

Evan: I'm done, you can turn back now.

I turned around stiffly, and Evan has even changed his suit jacket. There's suddenly a blanket in his hand that came from nowhere, he opened it and draped it over my shoulders.

Evan: You can wrap it a little tighter if you feel cold.

You: Thank you...

Evan: I have yet to ask you, why are you here?

You: I'm here to conduct user survey, collecting some thoughts and needs on clothing items.

Evan: You mentioned you accepted a designing mission of the sub brand Pristine, is it related to that?

You: Yeah, I'm here exactly for that, I hope I can do it well.

Evan smiles as he pushes his glasses.

Evan: Aren't you going to prepare for the spring and summer grand show for next year too? Won't it be too stressful?

You: Actually, I gave up on the grand show. Since I have limited energy, so I had to make a choice.

Evan: Looks like I didn't guess it wrongly.

You: Guess wrongly?

Evan: Hearing your words on that day, I had a feeling about it already. If there are conflicts between the two, you would probably choose Pristine over the other.

You: Why is that?

Evan: It's probably just an instinct. There are many things that happens without a reason. Just like we are both here, and met coincidentally. I was closing my eyes back then, and there were two trees surfaced in my mind, then I saw you hugging onto one of them with no hesitations. It's this sort of instinct.

He didn't hold back to curve his eyes into smiles as he spoke.

You: I think I understand it a little. It's like I'll have a sense of security whenever I see you during hard times. I'm uncertain of the reason, but I feel like I wouldn't need to be afraid of anything as long as you are here.

Evan is still smiling, seeming not surprised at all.

You: But sometimes I also think you don't seem like you ever needed anyone else. Just like-- the sun, but this simile is inaccurate, but I always have this kind of feeling. The sun is continuously shining, yet there's nowhere for it to hide and recharge. There's also no companion, and it can only glow on his own.

I don't know why I suddenly spoke this much, perhaps I was just responding to the instincts he had on me, or perhaps this is exactly my instincts right at this moment.

Evan stared at me without uttering a word, looking a little startled.

You: Did I put it weirdly...?

He did not acknowledge nor deny it, only smiling, and moved his gaze out of the window.

The car is still driving forward in the rainstorm, like a little boat on the ocean.

Zhou Yan: Boss, we need to refill the petrol over there.

Evan: Okay.

The car parks at the petrol station, Zhou Yan opens the car door and walked into the shop.

Evan: It might need you to stay in the car alone for a while, there's something I had to work on.

He pointed at his phone. 

[Choice]

Light: Agree, stay in the car

Night: Decline, follow him out from the car

[Light: Agree, stay in the car]

I immediately nodded. 

You: Just go ahead, I'll be fine.

Evan: Okay, call me if anything happens.

I'm only left alone in the car. I opened my phone, getting ready to report on work progress.

Suddenly, a deep sense of tiredness surged from my body. I blinked my eyes, feeling extremely sore.

You: So sleepy...

[Night: Decline, follow him out from the car]

You: I...

Just when I was about to agree with him, an unsettling feeling suddenly surged from my heart, as if it's telling me to not leave Evan's side.

You: I don't want to stay in the car alone.

Evan: Are you afraid?

You: Not really, I--

Evan: Y/N, look into my eyes.

Before I can even respond to anything, he has already leaned down, gently holding the back of my head, making me to lift my face to meet his gaze.

I'm a little confused, and subconsciously grabbed onto his sleeves tightly.

A beautiful red flows across that pair of deep eyes, like the neon lights scattering in the dark night. I can't help but to be attracted, and could no longer see anything else.

In that instant, a deep tiredness quietly climbed onto my body, and I fell into slumbers right after.

Looking at the girl's tranquil face on his chest, Evan gently placed the girl back into the car, and closed the car door.

I had a dream.

In the dream, Nobita spent so much of effort to score a full mark in his exams, and received pocket money from his mother.

He bought a lot of dorayaki for Doramon, happily rushed home to only find Doraemon went missing.

You: !

When I opened my eyes, I noticed myself laying in the car, the rainstorm outside the window have already stopped.

You: How did I fall asleep? Are they still not back yet?

My heart suddenly throbbed, I rubbed my eyes and was about to have leave the car to have a look, yet changes happened right at this moment.

Just when my fingers touched the handle, click-- a crisp sound sounded in the car.

My heart stopped, and instantly realized that the car door is locked.

You: What is going on?!

No matter how hard I pushed, the door isn't budging at all.

On the next second, the lightning splits and brightened my view. The gales swirls up the dusts, the skies and land instantly became turbid.

My heart skipped a beat, and noticed something that isn't feeling right! Because I noticed not only I can't hear the thunder, I also can't hear the winds.

It feels like someone has pressed the mute button in my world, it's scarily quiet.

An extremely bad premonition surged from my heart.

The rumbling sounds of engine broke the silence, it seems like there's an invisible leg stepping aggressively on the accelerator.

The car dashed out in high speeds!

The scene of the city collapses like wooden blocks, what appears before me is a wilderness, and the entire road surface are just suffocating colors of sand.

The trees on both sides are crazily growing as they twist, continuously expanding outwards, as if they are about to fill the entire space between the skies and land.

It's a tall slope to a cliff before me, and it's only a few meters away from me!

Right now, I can no longer feel my heartbeat, my body is filled with cold sweat. I have to make the car to stop as soon as possible!

In a panic, I climbed my way to the driver's seat as the car tremble, and used all my might to step on the brakes!

You: ......

But there are no signs of the car stopping, and it's still speeding forward!

I have never imagined myself to die in an unimaginable traffic accident.

The lightning brightens the blue skies, and also brightened my pale white face.

The waves under the cliff are like monsters that are widening their mouths, and very quickly I'm about to fall into its mouth.

To have my body and bones shattering into ashes, it'd probably hurt a lot.

I'm feeling so unwilling, there are so many things that I have yet to do, and I had to bid farewell from this world.

Raising my head, the layers of cloud are rolling before my eyes, so close that it feels like I can almost touch the skies.

I finally closed my eyes in exhaustion, and wait for the judgment of Death.

Yet at the moment I'm falling down in high speeds-- at a certain moment, I suddenly feel like I've stopped in the skies. A warm breeze howls under my feet, and lifted me up.

When I suddenly opened my eyes, I saw myself being surrounded within a pink light.

Borrowing the power of the winds, it brings me higher and higher, and finally landed properly at the side of the cliff.

You: I'm... saved?

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, looking down from the cliff, but I can only see the waves surging.