Chapter 5

He had been too panicked earlier. Bai Wei hadn’t felt Lu Sen’s breath or pulse for long. Perhaps Lu Sen had suddenly collapsed, and his heart had temporarily stopped. Therefore, Bai Wei found it hard to explain why he had immediately left his unconscious husband and hurried to the backyard to destroy things.

If Lu Sen found out about the “fertilizer”…

Earlier, Bai Wei thought he could become an outlaw from then on, but now he had backed down.

When he turned around, he was already on the verge of tears, rushing into Lu Sen’s arms.

“Honey!” he cried, “I thought you were dead!”

“I wanted to run out and find the doctor who lives on the backstreet. But I forgot there’s no door to the backyard.” Bai Wei sobbed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, I saw you lying there without breathing, and I thought you were dying…”

As he cried, it seemed he was choking up, continuously making sobbing noises. Seeing him like this, Lu Sen also became flustered, patting him and comforting him, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, I’m not that easy to kill.”

Yeah, you’re too hard to kill. Bai Wei rolled his eyes in his mind but kept crying out loud, “But I couldn’t even feel your pulse.”

“Well… I’ve had this problem since I was a child. When I’m under stress, my heartbeat and breathing stop temporarily.” Lu Sen hugged Bai Wei with one arm and touched his nose with the other. “Don’t be so easily scared, you’ll get used to it soon.”

“Oh…” Bai Wei sniffled.

Looking at Bai Wei, who was tearfully nestled in his arms, Lu Sen lowered his head and gently touched his nose. “And how could I die so easily? I’m going to be with you for the rest of my life. Remember what we said? Only death can separate us.”

Oh my god, the corpse is talking.

“Mm.” Bai Wei buried his head in Lu Sen’s chest. He deliberately turned to change the angle, so Lu Sen wouldn’t see the suspicious bag of “fertilizer.” “Until death do us part.”

Lu Sen also held Bai Wei tightly, making sure his gaze was directed away from the direction of the cellar. Seeing Bai Wei cooperate so well, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Bai Wei didn’t see what was hidden in the cellar.

If Bai Wei had seen it… maybe he would have had to use his abilities to make Bai Wei forget everything.

—-

In the past, he would have done that. After all, as long as Bai Wei could stay by his side, it didn’t matter if he was a beautiful, amnesiac collection. He would keep Bai Wei like he kept his prized artworks, making sure Bai Wei stayed as he was now.

But after last night… he realized he didn’t want to do that anymore.

He didn’t want Bai Wei to lose his memory.

He settled Bai Wei back in the living room and then ran into the neighbor, the accountant’s wife, who had come to visit. She was full of energy, her eyes darting around.

Bai Wei’s scalp tingled the moment he saw her, and his entire head felt like it was about to explode.

If Bai Wei were to pick the most annoying neighbor on this street, Mrs. Accountant would undoubtedly take the top spot. She was familiar with the gossip of every household and had a strong desire to control every little movement in the neighborhood.

On the first day Bai Wei moved to Snow Mountain Town, she inquired about their names, occupations, the reason they moved here, why they didn’t continue living in the city, and what exactly had happened. From the takeout boxes that they threw away, she figured out that their marriage was troubled, and they rarely went out together. She was always greeting Bai Wei, asking where he was going, when he would return, and why he wasn’t going with Lu Sen… Sometimes, Bai Wei felt like she was a terrifying detective.

And Mrs. Accountant was more frightening than a detective. At least a detective wouldn’t blabber about his family’s matters everywhere. Bai Wei once suspected that Mrs. Accountant might have told the town’s detective about his troubled relationship with Lu Sen, and to this day, he still believed this.

This was causing him great distress, and he nearly stopped going outside or trying to meet anyone in Snow Mountain Town.

“Good morning, Bai Wei!” she said cheerfully, like a lively old lady, as if she were a magpie, creating a sharp contrast to the gloomy interior. “I saw Lu Sen bought you some food at the morning market. Life should be like this, taking care of each other, waking up early and sleeping early, very good! Don’t stay cooped up at home all day, don’t ruin your health… Oh, what happened? Why are your eyes so red from crying so early in the morning?”

Bai Wei’s whole body stiffened. He felt that if he didn’t stop the old lady’s mouth, outrageous gossip would spread all over Snow Mountain Town. While he was thinking of an excuse, Lu Sen had already spoken up. “Just now, Ah Wei went to the backyard to tend to the flowers and encountered a big longhorn beetle, and a lot of red spiders.”

Bai Wei didn’t expect Lu Sen to cover for him and find an excuse even faster than he could. He glanced at him in surprise.

“Longhorn beetles! Red spiders! How could you let such things infest your backyard? They eat the leaves. I’ll send my old man over to help you take care of it…”

She looked more distressed than either of them, and was about to run back to find her husband. Bai Wei trembled again and was about to stand up to stop her, but Lu Sen was faster than her.

“Grandma, I’ll go to the backyard to handle the broken flowerpot we just knocked over. Can you stay here with Ah Wei? I think he doesn’t want to go back to the backyard right now.”

The old lady turned back, this was fine… wait, the backyard?

Bai Wei couldn’t let Lu Sen go to the backyard!

But he reacted too late. At that moment, Bai Wei was already caught by the old lady.

He was on the verge of breaking down. Lu Sen, however, curved the corner of his mouth into a smile.

Lu Sen rummaged through the storage room based on his memory and found a big lock.

Bai Wei’s arrival had made him feel that the cellar was no longer safe. At this point, it was better to lock it up. Even if Bai Wei asked, he could come up with another excuse.

There was a bag of flower fertilizer lying on the cellar lid. Lu Sen opened the cellar, checked the dust on the door, and confirmed that Bai Wei had never opened it. He casually threw the bag of fertilizer into the cellar and locked the door with the big lock.

Light filtered into the cellar, and Lu Sen could vaguely see two humanoid figures standing inside.

These two humanoid figures looked exactly like Lu Sen. They were his “shells.”

Just like snakes shed their skin every year, Lu Sen shed his “shell” every three months. Since moving to Snow Mountain Town, Lu Sen had already shed his skin twice. He stored these discarded “shells” in the backyard cellar, planning to save them as medicinal materials or for other purposes.

Within a month, a third shell would appear.

—-

In the ten days before and after shedding, Lu Sen would fall into a state of heightened emotions, intense desires, irritability, and an inability to control his emotions. In the past two times, he had used business trips to the repair shop as an excuse. He stayed outside to quietly shed his skin, then put the discarded shells in his car and brought them back to the cellar. Bai Wei didn’t care at the time and never asked where his husband went during those half-month periods.

But now, Lu Sen noticed the change in Bai Wei.

Was leaving still a good idea?

Lu Sen felt some unease, though he didn’t know why.

The neighbor’s old lady urged Lu Sen to go to the repair shop. Bai Wei, who had cried earlier but had calmed down, was sitting on the sofa watching him. His pale cheeks and handsome features made him look like a beautiful model.

“Work hard,” he said with his petal-like lips. Because Lu Sen had kissed him, his lips were no longer a pale pink but a lively, plump red.

Lu Sen felt stirred inside. He still wanted to bite him.

“And, come home early,” the neighbor’s old lady winked at him and added the following sentence by herself.

Bai Wei’s face darkened in his mind. But in front of Lu Sen, he still showed a well-behaved expression. Lu Sen nodded and said, “I’ll come home early.”

Lu Sen’s repair shop was on the outskirts of the town, near a highway. Snow Mountain Town was isolated, and very few people traveled here. Most of the townspeople were used to fixing their own cars. Lu Sen rarely had any business, but fortunately, he had learned how to cook the books.

Lu Sen had many mysterious bank accounts both domestically and abroad. These accounts contained the savings from his time as a mercenary, as well as treasures he had retrieved from the seabed. Every month, he would take a sum from them as his income for the month and deposit it into the account he gave to Bai Wei. Then, he would write some random repair records in the shop’s ledger.

For example, “July 12th, Naruto Uzumaki replaced a bumper.”

For example, “May 9th, Napoleon bought a bottle of windshield washer fluid.”

Or “November 11th, Bu Jingyun modified the vehicle, adding one cylinder.”

Bai Wei didn’t check the accounts, and the tax office didn’t either. If they insisted on checking, they would never be able to trace the full records.

Lu Sen used this repair shop to cover up his previous business. He wasn’t interested in running it, and usually just spent his time on the sofa watching things to pass the time. Although Snow Mountain Town was boring, and his retired life wasn’t perfect, it was sufficient for hiding his identity and healing his old wounds.

As he was chewing on this feeling, the editor said, “What about before? How long has it been since you… you know… had that? Was your previous performance unsatisfactory to him? Did he feel pain, was it? Has he ever told you?”

“We haven’t…”

At that moment, Lu Sen interrupted himself and suddenly understood everything.

He thought back to the Black Harbor City, to the incident two and a half years ago when he was stranded there. Bai Wei must have already forgotten what happened back then; he hadn’t even taken the current form he now used for his disguise. It was during his shedding period, and what happened between him and Bai Wei… oh, he remembered that Bai Wei must have been in a lot of pain at that time. Those fair, long legs had struggled on the bed like a stranded fish. It was something that happened in one night, and afterward, Bai Wei moved out of Black Harbor City. Their reunion occurred when he took on the role of Bai Wei’s “fiancé,” and by chance, he recognized Bai Wei as his “fiancée” from Black Harbor City.

And, Lu Sen glanced at Yang Di.

It was still before marriage.

Lu Sen silently swallowed the rest of his words. The editor thought he had guessed correctly. He patted Lu Sen’s shoulder and gave him a serious look, advising him to start reflecting and perhaps find some materials to improve his technique. Lu Sen didn’t feel like running his shop anymore; he didn’t even want to speak. The great Lu Sen, who had ruled the seas and the land, suddenly felt like he was weak and insignificant in front of these humans.

Lu Sen had always hated this feeling. Now, all he wanted was to learn.

Until one sentence lit him up again.

“Anyway, your wife must really love you. She even wants to play that bread game with you. My god, after two years of marriage to Minmin, we don’t play that kind of thing anymore!” The editor commented as he was leaving the repair shop. “Your wife looks so cold on the outside, but I didn’t expect her to play like that behind the scenes. You lucky devil!”

Lucky devil!

—-

After ushering everyone out of the shop, Lu Sen rested his chin on his hand. He stared at the bills filled with Naruto, Luffy, and Bu Jingyun’s names, and at the comics on the computer screen, his face shifting between confusion and a smile—only for it to change into something eerie and strange. Finally, he became serious and began to think.

So marriage wasn’t just the only way to collect humans. It also meant that Bai Wei had become his wife. She wasn’t an art piece that he admired in a display case. They had to interact, take care of each other, and in those interactions, they would find joy.

Bai Wei was his wife! Wife means wife. His wife, in this disguised form, was still his wife. So Bai Wei was his wife, his beloved wife.

So, this was the reason why he had always felt that Bai Wei was both similar to and different from an art piece. He wanted to collect Bai Wei, to keep her for himself, and even take her away from that oppressive home… even though at that time, he had wanted to inherit Bai Wei’s grandfather’s business.

But wife… how should he treat his wife?

How should he interact with her, share feelings with her?

At that moment, Bai Wei finally freed himself from the meddling neighbor lady.

After perfunctorily agreeing to help the neighbor’s child with extra lessons, he was able to smile politely and send the neighbor away, running to the backyard to deal with the “fertilizer.”

But the “fertilizer” was no longer where it should have been!

Did Lu Sen take it? Had he discovered something and taken the fertilizer to examine it? Bai Wei’s forehead broke out in cold sweat as he began to consider another possibility.

Like the lock on the cellar.

Lu Sen had suddenly locked the cellar. What unspeakable things were hidden in that cellar?

Was his “fertilizer” also placed there?

Before murdering Lu Sen, Bai Wei had to do one thing—steal the key to the cellar. Normally, people would keep the key in their clothing pockets, so Bai Wei had to find a way to get Lu Sen’s full set of clothes the moment he returned home, making sure he didn’t have a chance to hide the key anywhere in the house. In that moment, Bai Wei had an idea.

Get the key, get the wallet, lock the door, and drive away in one smooth motion. Bai Wei drove to the town’s clothing store as fast as he could. Before entering the store, Bai Wei felt his scalp tingling.

He felt a sourness in his stomach, and his whole body was resisting walking into this busy place.

It was all because of that report.

Perhaps celebrities and models could no longer satisfy people’s insatiable curiosity, so reporters began to find topics in ordinary people’s lives. Recently, a popular short drama and lifestyle blogger mentioned in a talk show about his experience in a university literary competition, listing how it had impacted him negatively.

The blogger originally shared his life online, known for being “down-to-earth” and “hardworking.” He later gained fame for his short dramas that ridiculed his boss and school. Not only did he earn a lot, but he was also hailed as a “role model of ordinary people achieving success through hard work.” His comment on the show, “That competition was such a blow to me, it made me feel rejected by the entire societal evaluation system,” sparked a lot of sympathy. Soon, enthusiastic netizens began searching for that competition.

Soon, they found that the winner of the competition was a 16-year-old boy, so young yet surpassing a university student like the short drama blogger, and even had a beauty that couldn’t be concealed even by blurry photos. Self-media outlets quickly seized the opportunity. The boy quickly gained unwanted popularity in a short period.

That boy was Bai Wei himself.

—-

In just three days, he was glorified, only to be quickly torn down. People discovered his wealthy background, questioned the legitimacy of his award, or directly began to hate the rich. They found his post-adulthood works to be obscure and hard to understand, sparking a debate about whether “art should be down-to-earth.” Some claimed his award was bought by Bai Wei’s family, calling him a vain person who was always out and about. There were even rumors that the glorification in the first three days was bought by Bai Wei himself.

Some even compared him to the short drama blogger’s current situation. After graduating from a prestigious school, Bai Wei seemed to vanish, with no new works to show for himself. In the past year, he hadn’t produced anything—clearly, Bai Wei had been a privileged, top student and rich kid. On the other hand, the short drama blogger, “awkward,” “hardworking,” “down-to-earth,” and “steady,” had fought for seven years and finally stepped into the public eye. Many people began posting videos calling for “the kind of values we need in our time.” Others called Bai Wei a “tragic child,” one who became famous too early and was destroyed by vanity, superficiality, and his education.

The rumors about Bai Wei and his family falling apart, running away with his partner, and hiding in a small town reached a peak. Many people were curious about these rumors. A journalist even tracked down Bai Wei’s location, traveling all the way to Snow Mountain Town to interview him.

He didn’t meet Bai Wei directly, but it was here that the journalist uncovered the “truth” about Bai Wei’s troubled marriage and even fabricated stories about Bai Wei looking down on the town.

The journalist wrote an extensive article that made many people in Snow Mountain Town aware of the “writer” with a troubled marriage. The outside world began to think of Bai Wei as someone unable to accept his own mediocrity, heading toward mental breakdown, much like the “Fang Zhongying” figure. In sharp contrast to Bai Wei, a short drama blogger’s life was happy. Recently, he “successfully chased a star,” dating a wealthy, beautiful girlfriend, and the couple shared sweet moments on social media, making their relationship seem stable and well-grounded.

After that, no more reporters came to Snow Mountain Town. Bai Wei thought this might be due to his grandfather exerting some pressure. But clearly, not only would his grandfather be more disappointed in him, Bai Wei felt his life in the town was ruined — or at least, that’s what he thought.

—-

After being recognized as the “writer” from the rumors by a bookstore owner during a visit, Bai Wei stopped going out.

He hated the look in people’s eyes when they recognized him. He felt miserable, thinking that no matter where he moved, things wouldn’t get better unless he could escape the entire world.

Now, because he had to murder Lu Sen, he had no choice but to step back into the business district, a place he hadn’t visited in a long time.

The clothing store owner was very surprised to see him: “Oh, Bai Wei!”

The last time Bai Wei was here was when he had just arrived in the town. It was no surprise that the owner remembered him well; with Bai Wei’s striking appearance and demeanor, anyone who met him would never forget him.

The enthusiastic greeting didn’t comfort Bai Wei. On the contrary, he felt as if he were sitting on nails, like there was something sharp stabbing his back. Bai Wei walked around the store, holding his wallet, faintly hearing the owner talking with a staff member behind him, their voices buzzing like an electric fan.

Although he couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, instinctively, he tried to catch the frequency of the fan blades.

Bai Wei didn’t want to tolerate it anymore. He decided to resolve it quickly and turned to the owner, saying, “I want to buy a complete outfit for my husband.”

“Why suddenly think of buying clothes for your husband?” the owner was interrupted, clearly shocked.

Bai Wei knew his behavior was odd. But with no other choice, he lowered his eyes and said, “Half a month ago was our wedding anniversary. I was too busy to get him a gift…”

“Oh, that’s really bad,” the owner sympathized. “But men, as long as you pamper them a bit, they won’t mind. So, what kind of clothes do you want?”

Bai Wei didn’t care much about picking clothes for Lu Sen, but the thought of Lu Sen standing next to him in ugly clothes gave him a headache. So he said, “The most expensive. A full set: shirt, jacket, pants, belt, tie, socks, wallet…”

He felt awkward when he said the last word but still added, “And underwear.”

“Underwear too?”

Bai Wei feared this would add another rumor to the town. But the store owner just looked at him with a more suggestive gaze: “Oh, little husband is so possessive~”

Bai Wei: …

He just couldn’t give up on the possibility that Lu Sen might hide the key in his underwear. Why did the owner look at him like that? Bai Wei pushed the thought away, trying to calm himself by imagining leaving Snow Mountain Town with Lu Sen’s body and the life insurance money.

By then, those whispering people would just be a thing of the past.

The store owner laughed lightly, her smile unexpectedly warm and kind. She said, “Bai Wei, darling, what’s your husband’s size?”

Bai Wei figured she had probably heard the rumors too, but she didn’t ask any questions. “Get the biggest size.”

“Do you want everything in the biggest size?” the store owner teased.

“… Yes!”

Bai Wei thought that if Lu Sen, who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, couldn’t fit into the largest clothes, he could just die at the repair shop.

He impatiently sat down on the sofa and waited. Despite everything, his upbringing still kept his posture perfect. The staff behind the counter whispered to each other, one saying, “I’ve always thought Bai Wei seemed like a prince who doesn’t belong in Snow Mountain Town. If he doesn’t fit in, it seems kind of normal.”

But the owner didn’t respond to that. She just laughed and said, “There’s a night shop nearby, I’ll go get them some free gifts.”

Staff member:?

“The size should be the largest.” The store owner winked at the staff.

Bai Wei didn’t care about what they would give him. He was only concerned that they were taking more time than he expected. He had to get home before Lu Sen returned, so he could get all of Lu Sen’s clothes.

Finally, the store owner came out with a pile of bags.

Bai Wei glanced at the bags and confirmed that everything he needed was there. But the store owner pointed to the large pink-black bag and said, “This is a gift for you~”

“Thank you,” Bai Wei said, though he wasn’t interested in the gift.

It would just be thrown in a corner anyway.

The store owner added, “Some of these are the largest sizes, and two are your size.”

Bai Wei still didn’t care about the implications: “Okay, thank you.”

He took out Lu Sen’s card from his wallet and realized he had grabbed the wrong one in his hurry — the card he usually shared with Lu Sen was in the grocery bag. The one in his cardholder now was another card belonging to Lu Sen.

Lu Sen had said this card could be used for expensive purchases. Bai Wei entered the password for the shared card — their wedding (elopement) anniversary.

Wrong password.

Bai Wei had no choice but to call Lu Sen. To his surprise, the call connected after only one ring, as if Lu Sen had been waiting for him. Lu Sen said on the other end, “Darling, I’m almost home.”

Wasn’t it still an hour and a half before Lu Sen finished work? Why did he leave early today?

“No, no! That’s not right!” After saying this instinctively, Bai Wei knew he should immediately make up for it. He glanced at the clothing store owner nearby, walked to a corner, and whispered, “I’m in the commercial district, come pick me up here.”

That seemed like a good enough reason.

Lu Sen replied, “Did you not drive? There’s still a car at home.”

Damn, this guy’s memory is so good. Bai Wei forced his tone to soften. He said, “No, I want you to come pick me up here.”

After saying that, he was stunned by his own words.

On the other end of the phone, Lu Sen’s deep laughter came through. He seemed pleased: “Okay.”

“Wait, don’t hang up.” Bai Wei interrupted him, “I’m using your card to buy something, the silver one… what’s the password? I entered our anniversary, but it’s wrong.”

Lu Sen replied, “Try the day we first met?”

Bai Wei tried the day they first met. He noticed the clothing store owner had been watching him and smiling, and his fingers secretly clenched.

The POS machine beeped with a card failure message. This made Bai Wei feel even more on edge.

“It’s still wrong… why don’t you get a credit card? Using a credit card is so much more convenient. You always use a debit card, and I ended up entering the wrong password twice.” Bai Wei couldn’t help but complain, then immediately couldn’t believe he had said those words.

It sounded like a little petulance… Had he been pretending too much these past couple of days that his brain was starting to fail?

“Still wrong?” Lu Sen mumbled on the phone, “No, don’t use your card yet, let me think… oh, it’s that day. Enter that day.”

He said six numbers. Bai Wei typed them in and found the date somewhat familiar.

The password was correct.

Just as the POS machine buzzed and printed a receipt, Bai Wei froze. He suddenly realized what that date meant to him.

It was a day three years ago, at a motel in the suburbs of Black Harbor City. He endured the pain, straddled a stranger, and tightly squeezed the stranger’s neck.

On that day, he killed a stranger. In panic, he fled from the Black Harbor City where he had intended to settle for years and returned to North City.

That was the day his life changed forever.