20 A Dream Can't Hurt You

Ye Delun was seated on a sofa along with everyone else.

Kang Maixiu, who sat next to Xiang Tingfeng together on their own sofa, was still holding onto the broken lamp from before. He didn't try to hide it, nor did he put it away. When the three of them were able to make it back into the room, Gao Shunyuan didn't at all seem surprised at the sight of the lamp. Nor was he questioning where the three of them were. He simply motioned towards the two cups of tea on the coffee table and said to them. "Please enjoy."

Ye Delun peeked at the lamp in his lab. He recognized it immediately as the lights on the hallway walls.

Gao Shunyuan walked back through the doors carrying more drinks for Ye Delun, Shen Lin, and Yin Meng. He politely handed Ye Delun his glass. Ye Delun looked down at the liquid and saw that it was filled with chocolate milk. He took a glance at Zao Xing beside him and questioned him with his gaze. Yet the tall man only looked down at him with a warm smile. Ye Delun wondered how the man knew he liked that drink. Was the character so connected to him that they had the same interests? Or was it that his master also liked chocolate milk?

"Now that you all are together, you can use your remaining time to discuss amongst yourselves. Getting more acquainted with each other will help you pinpoint who is the one planning to end you all." Host and Gao Shunyuan gathered again at the door. They were once again, going to leave them alone. "I sincerely hope in your success. Good luck." He smiled through the crack in the door and closed it behind him.

Ye Delun watched him leave. He was confused about what the man's purpose was. He was technically his 'master' as Zao Xing had said last night. And the system told him that the man was in 'love' with him. And yet he was letting these people have the chance to point him out as the murderer.

'What a strange guy...' He thought.

"Alright." Yin Meng said. He stood at the front and looked towards everyone sitting down. "I'm sure that it's obvious, but I think it would be best to establish it first." Everyone turned their eyes towards him and gave him their attention.

"There is no murderer." He said. "The Host more than likely made it up to keep us distracted from the real problem. Which is this house."

"I agree." Kang Maixiu said. He raised the broken lamp from before. "Xiang Tingfeng ripped this off the wall either and the wall only grew one back. The pathways change on their own like some kind of labyrinth and all of the exits won't open."

Yin Meng studied the lamp in Kang Maixiu's hand for a moment as he thought about what he said. "Back in the room before, me, Shen Lin, and Ye Delun witnessed the carpet clean up the bloodstains from the floor. That's how the house only has two caretakers. Because it cleans after itself."

Everyone stayed silent to soak in his words. Ye Delun though, had his mouth open. He was struck dumb. 'These people...' He thought. Was he dismissed just like that? They said that there wasn't a murderer, and yet the murderer was sitting right next to them.

He glanced at the suspicion bar and saw that it hadn't gone down at all.

'And yet I'm still being suspected? What for?'

"There's something that you kids keep forgetting." Duan Li said from her spot on her sofa. Her legs were crossed over each other and her chin rose. She sat as proud as a male peacock meant to show off its feathers. Too bad she didn't have anything appealing to reveal.

"This is all just a dream." She spoke. "We're all in some dream that just happened to be some kind of nightmare. Of course the house isn't going to work right. And neither are things going to look normal. Because none of it is real. A dream can't hurt you. So stop panicking over something so childish." Her words seemed relatively reasonable. It was a shame she wasn't correct.

Ye Delun found it hard to relate to them. To him, these people were characters created to play through the story. The world that they would call home wasn't the same as his. Their real bodies are sleeping in their beds back at home and their minds are sent here. To him, he's just playing a game in first-person...

Yin Meng glowered down at the old woman. "Alright, then you don't need to help. Feel free to sit here till you die." He turned and spoke to Kang Maixiu. "Show me how the light broke." Kang Maixiu raised his thin eyebrow at the order. He wasn't exactly thrilled at the man's show of leadership but thought that it was for the best. He wasn't one for leading, and he didn't think there was anyone else suited for the job.

He stood up to follow his out. Xiang Tingfeng stood up as well, but Kang Maixiu stopped him. "Stay here." He said. "I'll be fine."

The two of them left through the door while everyone else sat in awkward silence. Right when the silence was beginning to be unbearable, a message appeared in front of him.

[Choice! Choice!]

[There's free time for you to discuss things with others! Who will you speak to first?]

[Duan Li]

[Li Yusheng]

[Shen Lin]

[Yang Lan]

[Xiang Tingfeng]

Five options took shape in front of him. He thought about who to choose carefully. Picking someone like Duan Li probably wasn't a good idea. He thought that it would be too complicated to try and talk with her. Especially after the comment, Yin Meng had made. Her face looked furious.

Li Yusheng wasn't a bad choice, but when Ye Delun looked towards the man he quickly changed his mind. Li Yusheng stayed sitting alone in his seat. He didn't look over around the room nor did he seem interested in anything they were saying earlier. Ye Delun didn't feel that it would be right to interrupt his thoughts. That, and the man looked a little intimidating by how hard he was looking at the wall.

That left him with three other choices. Ye Delun didn't have anything wrong with any of the last three. Shen Lin was nice and pretty. Yang Lan was not only the only other real person here but also very forgiving. And Xiang Tingfeng was poliet and kind.

And as Ye Delun looked at the lower three choices, the only one that he really wanted to talk to just happened to be one person. That person being Xiang Tingfeng.

Because Ye Delun, this wimpy kid, wanted to ask about his muscles.