Split Zone No.13

Volume 4

202 Nie Zun the Amnesiac

An evil smile appeared on Nie Zun. “I get to decide, not you.”

I wanted to kick him, but he was too quick and caught my leg in his hand. I was in nothing but a towel...

“You you you, let go of my leg.” I blushed as I saw him trying to lift it.

Nie Zun smiled mischievously, as if satisfied with my reaction. He then let go of me. I didn’t dare move this time.

He leaned in closer again, blowing air into my ears. “You look pretty good up close...” I thought to myself angrily, Annoying retard. I’ll make you kneel on instant noodles when you regain your memories.

You can’t fight a hungry wolf head-on at times like this. You had to use persuasion. “Since I’m good-looking, let me get up first. You can look all you want when the hotel attendant sends me my clothing. How about that?”

Nie Zun looked me up and down again. He looked like he was observing a naked woman. With a smile on my face, I maintained eye contact with him. My heart was racing now, and if he had continued looking, I might just get a nosebleed.

“I’ll let you go this time.” Nie Zun turned and lay down beside me, no longer paying me any heed. I sat up quickly. When I looked back at him, he was already using his arms as a pillow, resting with his eyes closed.

The doorbell rang right at this moment.

Thinking that it would be the attendant sending clothing, I walked over and opened the door quickly, only to be met with Gaoqin Jiuye. He was holding a brand new red dress.

For some reason, I kept telling myself that I had to prevent Gaoqin Jiuye from realizing that Nie Zun was in the room. I quickly thought about the structure of the room. Gaoqin Jiuye shouldn’t be able to see Nie Zun from his current position. But if he moved a couple of steps forward into the room, he would definitely be able to see Nie Zun.

Right, I got this. I placed a hand on the door and the other on the doorframe as I said, “It’s you sending the clothing?”

Gaoqin Jiuye looked me up and down. It was only at this point did I realize I was still in that towel...

He smirked. “Are you doing this on purpose?”

I looked down at myself. My arms were outstretched and I was covered in nothing but a towel. Though nothing could be seen through that towel, this pose was a little...

I retracted the hand that was on the doorframe and quickly closed the door behind me with the other hand, leaning my back against the closed door.

Snatching the red dress from him, I started to chase him away. “Okay, I got my dress. You can return to your room now.”

Gaoqin Jiuye glanced at the door behind me. “You seem weird. Why? Is there a man hidden in your room?” He meant this as a joke, but I couldn’t help tensing at this. Stay calm, stay calm, Li Shen. Don’t let him see through you.

I smiled at him calmly. “Yes, that’s right. There’s a man in the room. What about it? You want to come in and have a look?”

Gaoqin Jiuye waved a hand. “Fine, you don’t look like you want to let me in either. Go and get changed quickly. Who’re you waiting for when you’re dressed like this walking around in the hallway.”

I stared at him. “Don’t be idiot. Go back to your room.”

Gaoqin Jiuye walked back to his room without much ado. I let out a sigh of relief only after I watched him enter his room. But I took in another breath shortly after as I realized I didn’t bring the keycard with me. I had just closed the door behind me.

Do I knock? If I do that, Gaoqin Jiuye will hear it for sure. Why would I be knocking on the door to an empty room?

I’ll call for Nie Zun. No, that’s a worse option. The door opened as I was still thinking about what to do. I turned around in pleasant surprise, meeting Nie Zun’s lazy gaze.

The door to Gaoqin Jiuye’s room opened right at this moment. He popped his head out from his room. “Why’re you not going in?”

I glanced at Nie Zun and realized that he was about to walk out. I smiled at Gaoqin Jiuye and said quickly, “I’m going in now. I was just daydreaming for a bit.”

Nie Zun seemed to be on the verge of saying something, so I pushed him into the room, kicking the door closed behind me. I used too much strength and the both of us ended up falling onto the floor. The red dress was strewn onto the floor as well.

Nie Zun looked slightly confused at this. I seemed to see a sliver of the old Nie Zun in him now, but he regained that audacious look as he looked at me. “Can’t wait but to push me down like this?”

I wasn’t in the mood for this banter now. Rolling over to his side, I said, “You get up first.”

He stood up quickly. I picked up the dress and made my way to the washroom. I took out that teleportation pill Jiao S gave me previously, tucking it safely into my new dress. After I changed, I took a glance at Nie Zun as I walked out. Just one glance and I seemed to be stranded on the spot.

He was leaning with his back against the wall, looking casual with both hands in his pockets. His body leaned forward slightly as he stood with his legs crossed. Those wispy bangs obscured an eye.

“Nie Zun...” I muttered, forgetting that he had lost his memories in this particular moment.

Nie Zun looked a little stunned at the sudden change in my attitude towards him, but he reacted quickly. Straightening up, he said, “What, confessing to me now?”

I got my wits back together and ignored him. I lay down on the bed.

“Don’t you have anything you want to know?” Nie Zun lay down beside me, but I kept my eyes closed.

I answered softly, “What do you wish for me to ask? Ask why you reappeared? Ask you what your goal is?”

Nie Zun said, “I thought you’d ask if I had remembered you.”

My eyes snapped open.

Whether you remembered me?

Yes, Nie Zun, do you remember me?

Nie Zun continued beside me, “What do you plan on doing if I can never remember?”

I answered, “Then we’ll just get to know each other again.”

Nie Zun leaned in closer to my ear. “You like me?”

I turned to look at him, using my hands as a pillow for my head. “Ask me again when you’ve remembered who I am. I’ll give you the answer at that point.”

I leaned in close, pulling on his sleeve. Closing my eyes, I said, “Don’t talk anymore. Just let me sleep close to you like this.”

What I didn’t say was that I was never able to fall asleep ever since you left.

I don’t know how long I’ve had this insomnia for. I knew that I had to rest if I wanted my MF to recover properly, but I’ve been overtaxing myself.

Nobody could understand the exhaustion that was seeping through me, not even you.

Even if you don’t remember me at this point, I’d be able to sleep well as long as you were by my side.

I had a dreamless sleep.

***

It was still night when I woke up. There were about ten more hours until daylight.

I suddenly felt that I should make use of this opportunity to do something, since Du Yue and the rest would probably wait until daylight before leaving.

I woke Nie Zun. “Hey, didn’t you ask me if I had any questions for you? I have one now.”

Nie Zun opened his eyes. They looked extremely clear, devoid of the sleepiness seen in people who’ve just woken up. “You’re really weird. You refuse to ask earlier and now you’re waking me up in the middle of the night to ask me a question.”

I smiled apologetically. “I just happened to wake up. Have you seen Huai Du?”

Furrowing his brows, Nie Zun asked, “Who’s Huai Du?”

I pushed him. “Don’t pretend. That’s the king in the Gate of Ghost. He’s the mysterious individual who’s been controlling you all this time.”

A sudden realization seemed to hit Nie Zun. “Oh, him. No, I’ve never seen him, but he asked me to come look for you.”

“So this means you came here on purpose? That it wasn’t a coincidence?”

“No, I set off to look for you but ended up here before I found you. It was purely coincidental that we met here,” Nie Zun explained patiently.

I stared at him. “You seem to have become friendlier. Why is that? Do you remember something?”

“No. I don’t remember you at all.”

“Then why are you friendly towards me now?”

“Am I? I just don’t feel like killing anyone right now.”

“...I never thought you were actually a crazed killer. Seems like our true selves would be revealed only when we lose our memories.”

“Do you think about this nonsense on a daily basis?” Nie Zun looked at me with a slight smile as he said this.

I didn’t smile. Instead, I asked seriously, “Why did he want you to look for me?”

“Tch, women. Unpredictable like the weather. Fine, he wants that item you have.” He pointed at Scorpion Ray on my left hand.

“Why are you helping him? Why do you listen to him?”

Nie Zun seemed to be a little stuck at my question. He seemed to wonder why he was following Huai Du’s orders.

“Hey, I asked you a question.” I waved a hand in front of him.

Finally, he answered, “Oh. I don’t know. I just remember that there was this voice which accompanied me during that tormentous time in that tablet. That voice belonged to him.”

“Tormentous time?” I frowned. Seems like it wasn’t easy, whatever he had to go through.

Nie Zun nodded. “Yes. I don’t remember much, but I remember that voice of his. This is why I think that I should be listening to him. I might be able to find the answers to some questions only if I do that.”

“What questions?”

He smiled mysteriously. “I can’t tell you that. It’s personal.”