Chapter 3189: Honest
Li Yao was stumped by the question. He scratched his head for a long time, not knowing how to answer it.
“In fact…”
After pondering for a while, Li Yao could only say, “Actually, I didn’t leave last night. I stayed here to take care of you. Brother Niu, have you forgotten?”
“Forgot my a.s.s!”
Zhang Daniu said, “I remember clearly that you must have left. Let’s take a step back and say that you really didn’t leave and stayed here to take care of me. What happened next? You watched me sleepwalking for four to five hours? Otherwise, how would you know that my a.s.s was stuck to the chair the whole time? This… this is too horrifying! Quickly tell me, how long have you been here? How did you get in? How did you know my situation in the middle of the night? You, you, you… are you really a student of the Normal University?”
“Really, Brother Niu!”
Li Yao said sincerely, “I’m really… a college student. There’s been a misunderstanding. Please listen to my explanation. I mean you no harm. I’m here to save you, and I hope that you can help me!”
“Show me your student ID,” said Zhang Daniu.
“What?” Li Yao was dazed.
“Cut the c.r.a.p, student ID!”
Zhang Daniu glared at him. “You snuck into my house at six o’clock in the morning. My entire body is aching and I have a splitting headache. Who knows what you actually do? Who knows whether or not you are a student of the Normal University!”
“I—I didn’t bring it. Who would bring that for no reason?”
Li Yao stammered, “Besides, I was not ‘sneaky’. I kicked the door open in a hurry and saw that you were almost crushed by the bookshelf. I saved you, Brother Niu!”
“Cut the c.r.a.p. Who is your ‘brother’?”
Zhang Daniu looked at the bookshelf that had fallen to the ground in a mess. He simply didn’t believe it. “Weren’t you the one who knocked it over just now? Otherwise, how could you have known that the bookshelf was going to fall on me before you even entered the door? It’s fine even if you don’t have a student ID. Give me the number of your counselor or one of your teachers. I’ll call and confirm!”
“Well—”
Li Yao did not expect that Zhang Daniu would be so sharp after being stung by the pain in his a.s.s. “It’s—it’s too early. It’s only five o’clock in the morning. Everyone is sleeping…”
“You also knew it was too early. You broke in and kicked me into a corner?”
Zhang Daniu waved his fists at Li Yao. From the looks of it, if his thighs weren’t as thick as Li Yao’s arms, he would have long since rushed over to beat him up. “It’s fine if you don’t call the instructors and teachers, but it’s fine if you call your fellow students, right? You can use a video chat and ask them to go to the window to take a picture of the campus scenery of the Normal University. Or you can ask them to send over the coordinates of the Normal University. This shouldn’t be difficult, right?”
“Very—very difficult.”
Cold sweat was rolling down Li Yao’s face and back. He didn’t know how to respond at all. “Well, Brother Niu, no, Teacher Niu, we are the graduating cla.s.s. All the students have gone out for their interns.h.i.+ps. None of them are in school.”
“You are in the graduating cla.s.s, but your cla.s.smates are not in school. Your junior sister, the ‘little rabbit in the sea of stars’, is not in the graduating cla.s.s, is she?”
Zhang Daniu said, “You can call her and ask her to confirm your ident.i.ty. Of course, it will be more convincing if you can take a few pictures of the girls’ dormitory.”
“…”
Li Yao was defeated and surrendered.
“Alright, Teacher Niu. At this point, I can only speak the truth. But before I open my heart and speak frankly, please believe that I really don’t have any ill intentions. Moreover, I am truly a loyal fan of yours. I really have no choice but to resort to this…”
Li Yao took a deep breath and made up his mind. “I—I’m not from a normal university. I’m from a technical university. But my name is indeed Li Yao. It’s not a lie. You can prove it however you want!”
“From the Inst.i.tute of Science and Technology?”
Zhang Daniu frowned. “So what if you’re a polytechnic? Why are you pretending to be a teacher? Wait, since you’re not from a normal university, then what about the ‘little rabbit in the sea of stars’ and the sci-fi a.s.sociation…”
“That’s right.”
Li Yao looked at Zhang Daniu sincerely. He put his hands together and asked for his forgiveness. “There is no ‘rabbit in the sea of stars’ or ‘science fiction a.s.sociation’. The—the girl is just a disguise.”
The air was frozen for a moment.
The atmosphere became subtle.
Every word that Li Yao said was like an intense electric current that was flowing between Zhang Daniu’s facial muscles and nerves.
The author’s expression turned angry at first. It was an instinctive reaction of being deceived. Every pore on his body opened up as if it was a conditioned reflex, as if he was about to spurt out steam.
Then, his intense anger turned into deep disappointment. He felt so wronged that he was about to burst into tears.
But in the end, when he sorted everything out, he discovered an even more terrifying truth that made him s.h.i.+ver uncontrollably.
“You, you, you, you are a pervert!”
Zhang Daniu took a few steps back. “First, you pretended to be a woman to chat with me. Then, you invited me out under the pretext of the Science Fiction a.s.sociation to get me drunk. In the middle of the night, you even peeped at me for four to five hours! Four to five hours! What exactly do you want? No, it’s because you’ve already done something? Quickly tell me, what did you do when I was drunk!?”
“I—I didn’t do anything!”
Li Yao took two steps forward, trying to explain, “Let me explain…”
“Don’t come any closer! I’m going to shout for help!”
Zhang Daniu was so scared that his voice turned hoa.r.s.e. He didn’t know whether he should cover his chest or his a.s.s, “It’s already dawn. The next-door neighbor should be at work. There are a lot of people coming and going. I’m telling you, get the h.e.l.l out of here. Otherwise, I will really call the police. I-I-I will call the police!”
“No, no, no. Master Niu, don’t be agitated. Please don’t be agitated. I’m leaving, I’m leaving!”
Li Yao glanced at the door that was still open. His head was dizzy, too. Helpless, he could only take two steps back and comfort the author. “Well, I’m going to leave now, but can you show me your outline before I go? I promise that I won’t tell anybody. I just want to know the truth of the Vulture Plan and the secrets behind Earth. Really, I’m a loyal fan. Didn’t you say that the end is coming? I might not be able to fill the two holes easily. I really can’t die in peace if I don’t figure out the two things. Really, just let me take a look!”
“Watch your a.s.s!”
Zhang Dapao groped among the books and found a penknife, which gave him great courage. He waved the penknife and shouted, “Get out! Get out! Now!”
“Just let me take a look. One look. I’ll get lost immediately!”
Li Yao was both ashamed and sorry. “Please, or you can tell me the truth of the Vulture Plan and the mysteries of Earth. Just tell me!”
“No, I don’t. Who the h.e.l.l knows the secrets of the Vulture Plan and Earth?”
Zhang Daniu was fuming with anger. He said nastily, “I don’t have an outline. I don’t have any secrets. I haven’t even reached that part yet. Who knows the d.a.m.n secrets of the d.a.m.n plan!”
“What?”
Li Yao’s heart turned cold. He stammered, “Didn’t you say that you had an outline yesterday?”
“Nonsense. It’s a lie. Wouldn’t it show that I’m far-sighted and confident?
Zhang Daniu spat, “It’s not like I’m writing a f*cking world-famous novel. What the f*ck kind of outline do I need for a web novel? I only have one secret writing technique. I don’t care about the outline, the writing style, or the core ideology. F*ck you! Just do it when I’m typing on the keyboard. Do it wherever I go!”
“Why are you still cursing?”
Li Yao was stunned. “You weren’t like this yesterday. You were very elegant yesterday!”
“Yesterday, you were still a college student with fluttering long hair and swaying skirt!”
Zhang Daniu said ruthlessly, “Get out now, you sick pervert!”
“No. I don’t understand. You mentioned ‘Vulture Plan’ and ‘Mystery of Earth’ before.
Li Yao hurried to ask, “If you don’t have an outline and don’t know what the Vulture Plan is, how did you write it?”
“This is a ‘b.u.t.ton’. Do you know what a ‘b.u.t.ton’ is? It’s a small secret that I tell you every day so that you can read it tomorrow!”
Zhang Daniu flew into a rage out of humiliation and spoke the truth, “I was originally planning to write 30-50 million words as long as the results of this book were good. I would write as many words as I could. If I didn’t dig a few pits in the beginning, if I didn’t hide a few ‘b.u.t.tons’, how would I be able to entice the readers to keep up with me? Anyway, there’s enough time. I’ll write while I think about how to make up the ‘Vulture Plan’!”
“Huh?”
Li Yao did not expect such a trick at all. “What—what if you haven’t figured it out in the end? It is the most important trap in the entire book!”
“If I can’t figure it out, I might as well become a eunuch or a cripple!”
Zhang Daniu replied confidently, “What’s the big deal about writing a web novel?”
Li Yao was completely frustrated.
He felt that his head was humming. A mouthful of sweet blood was stuck in his chest. He wanted to spit it on the author’s face.
“How—how could you do that?”
Li Yao was extremely angry and heartbroken. “Master Niu, I thought that you were a very ambitious author with integrity. How could you deceive the readers’ feelings?”
“And you f*cking lied to me about my feelings. In short, there is no outline, no secrets. Do you understand? If you do, then get the h.e.l.l out!”
Zhang Daniu took out his phone and pretended to make a call. “You really think I don’t dare to call the police?”
“No, Master Niu. I’ve thought about it. It’s definitely not as simple as you said. Maybe even you don’t realize what the ‘Forty Thousand Years of Cultivators’ novel is all about. The ‘Vulture Plan’ definitely has a truth. Maybe, you are indeed farsighted and confident. But you don’t know it yet. You need someone to remind you.”
Li Yao was so anxious that he decided to take a gamble. “Truth be told, Master Niu, I was inspired by your novel recently. I found that I had undergone tremendous changes both physically and psychologically. I—I have awakened!”
“Why are you waking up?”
Zhang Daniu’s face and voice both changed. “I’m not interested in your physiological and psychological changes. Get out!”
“No, I have really awakened.”
Li Yao took a deep breath and said, “I discovered that I was a—superhuman!”