Translator: Cinder Translations
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However, out of habit, she still stared into the latter's eyes, trying to appear as fierce as possible. "If I find out you're lying to me, you know what will happen!"
"I'm an orphan if I lie to you!" Jiang Cheng raised his right hand, looking very serious.
After all this commotion, Chen Xiaomeng was also tired. Holding the rope in her hand, she pointed at Jiang Cheng and said, "You, get off the bed."
"Tsk," Jiang Cheng's mouth moved, showing an unwilling expression but ultimately surrendering to her oppressive power. He slowly got off the bed.
"What are you doing with that look?" Chen Xiaomeng frowned when she saw his face, feeling a bit angry. "I'm not going to do anything to you!"
Jiang Cheng paused for a few seconds, then looked at her with an expression that was difficult to describe, a look only she could understand. After a while, he moved his body awkwardly and said, "Be a bit bolder. Actually, I'm weaker than you think."
Chen Xiaomeng replied, "... Do you really have to leave the bed to be happy?"
"I don't care," Jiang Cheng suddenly regained his courage, grumbling, "There's only one bed here. Why should you be the only one sleeping on it? I want to sleep on the bed too."
"I'm fragile, if I sleep on the floor and catch a cold, the ladies who love me won't let you off. You better think about it!"
"I've thought about it very clearly," Chen Xiaomeng turned around and pointed toward the door. "I'm giving you two choices. One, shut your mouth and sleep on the floor. Two, get out immediately!"
"If you let me sleep on the bed, I can give you some information," Jiang Cheng changed his tone, suggesting, "About this mission."
Upon hearing that, Chen Xiaomeng's expression became subtle. She sized Jiang Cheng up, then nodded after a few seconds. "Alright, but I warn you, don't try to lie to me."
Jiang Cheng, acting like a sycophant, moved closer to Chen Xiaomeng. But when he noticed her unkind gaze, he wisely backed off.
"I feel something's off with Li Lu," he whispered.
Chen Xiaomeng glanced at him, signaling for him to continue.
"Li Lu said she was just an ordinary housewife, with a husband who's a civil servant working long hours and a 3-year-old daughter. Her life was trivial and plain, which matched her personality," Jiang Cheng continued. "During our previous conversations, she never actively expressed an opinion. She showed more of a dependent personality, like someone who just follows the crowd."
"But when it came to the decision about whether we should go to Xiao Shijian Village tomorrow, she suddenly became very active, even stubborn. This is totally out of character for her. She should have supported the conservative Pei Qian, not Zhou Rong."
Chen Xiaomeng nodded, her expression growing cautious. "So, you suspect she has some kind of clue, which is why she made that decision."
"Mm-hmm."
When Chen Xiaomeng looked back at Jiang Cheng's previous position, she found he had disappeared, and the blanket on the bed was vaguely shaped like a person.
"Let's sleep quickly," Jiang Cheng popped his head out of the blanket, enthusiastically calling to Chen Xiaomeng. "It's bad for your skin if we stay up late."
Chen Xiaomeng walked over, resisting the urge to pull Jiang Cheng out of the warm blanket. She whispered, "Do you think the information is on her?"
"I don't know. I just find it strange," Jiang Cheng moved around under the blanket as though he was doing something.
Then, under Chen Xiaomeng's astonished gaze, he pulled out his clothes and pants from under the blanket and neatly placed them on a chair beside the bed.
He then turned to Chen Xiaomeng, his eyes full of expectation.
Chen Xiaomeng coldly glared at him and lifted her leg.
Before he was kicked, Jiang Cheng very consciously rolled off the bed. Chen Xiaomeng didn't even bother to undress. She simply lay down in Jiang Cheng's spot.
The flame of the oil lamp slowly dimmed.
Half awake, Chen Xiaomeng suddenly felt movement from beside her. It was intense enough to shake the bed.
She immediately sat up and glared at Jiang Cheng on the other side of the bed. "What are you doing?!"
"Nothing," Jiang Cheng's head was buried in the blanket, his voice muffled. "I just had a nightmare. It was really scary."
Having a nightmare within a nightmare—wouldn't that pull someone into an even deeper nightmare, like in the sci-fi movie Inception?
Chen Xiaomeng subconsciously thought about it, suddenly feeling that the idea was terrifying. But then, she remembered it was Jiang Cheng who was experiencing it, and a part of her couldn't help but look forward to it.
She slowly closed her eyes, but suddenly—
Clang—
Screech—screech—
Clang—
Screech—screech—
Jiang Cheng began twitching violently, as if he were having a seizure, shaking the bed with each movement. Chen Xiaomeng was startled, even though they hadn't yet reached Xiao Shijian Village. The mission had already unknowingly begun.
Undoubtedly, Jiang Cheng was the first to show abnormal behavior.
In an instant, Chen Xiaomeng rolled off the bed, her movements quick and precise, as if rehearsed. In this situation, the actions of a newbie and an experienced person in a crisis would be very different. After leaving the bed, Chen Xiaomeng immediately moved towards the door, her lips tightly pressed together, silent.
Her first reaction was that her earlier guess had been confirmed: at least in this nightmare mission, falling asleep and having a nightmare could be very dangerous.
Just like Jiang Cheng right now.
His entire body curled up under the blanket, jerking and then heavily falling, like a fish trying to flop on land, desperately beating its body. The old bed creaked loudly with each of his movements.
She suspected the bed might collapse any second.
After about a minute—or maybe even less—just as Chen Xiaomeng was about to flee, Jiang Cheng, who had been shaking violently, suddenly stopped moving.
The whole room fell silent.
The faint flame flickered, and the air was thick with dust stirred up by Jiang Cheng's thrashing.
Whew—
Jiang Cheng sighed from the bed. He stretched his hand out, scratched his head, then turned over, his expression serene as though it had all been a simple exercise or maybe... a game.
Chen Xiaomeng's pupils contracted sharply. She realized she had once again been played by Jiang Cheng. The anger inside her flared up, and she quickly walked over and kicked the shape under the blanket.
The kick was forceful, and Jiang Cheng was knocked to the ground with a loud "thud."
Then, there was nothing more. That night, Jiang Cheng slept on the floor, still wrapped in the blanket, without a pillow—he used his clothes and pants to form one.
(End of the Chapter)
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